Fang Yuan felt mixed emotions within his heart.
For one, he was happy to have gotten the five and a half stones, but there was a surprising bitterness within himself.
He had thought that he no longer cared for Fang Zheng, and after what Fang Zheng had originally done in his prior life, there was no reason to care in this one either.
And yet, why was he so angry?
That speech hadn't just been performative, he had felt genuine anger rising up within himself.
In the end, no matter how much he pretended otherwise, he could not completely repress his emotions. It had been another matter entirely when this had all been five hundred years in the rearview mirror and he had been a demonic overlord, but now, when he was back as young Fang Yuan, it looked like he was not as over his feelings as he'd once thought.
In his last life, he had been seen as only C-grade, his actual aptitude, and had been shunned by the clan as a result. It was not just that, Fang Zheng had completely turned on him at the time, until he had had no choice but to leave the village.
The betrayal stung his heart for a long time, though he had eventually forgotten about it- or so he'd thought. Traveling back in time had reopened some of the old wounds.
It did not change one thing that he had realized with experience- the world did not care for his feelings or for his emotions. So there was no point dwelling on them.
Secret quest unlocked!
An Elder Brother's Guidance II
"Oh shut your retarded mouth," Fang Yuan muttered, not even bothering to read the rest of the notification.
Behind him, the mortal waiter had no idea why he was suddenly being insulted by Fang Yuan, especially given the fact that he hadn't said anything.
Fang Yuan left to try to refine the Moonlight Gu, though once again, he was making frustratingly little progress unless he used his primeval stones.
That evening, he was eating and weighing his options. Should he give up on the Liquor Worm entirely?
He was fond of taking risks if they could pay off, but he was also not a compulsive gambler.
He knew when to cut his losses. Granted, there was an 'unknown' factor in the equation, namely, what the reward from the system would be, but he could not account for that.
'One more night... I think I should give it one more night...' he thought to himself.
At a nearby table, there was a loud bunch of customers. They were mortal hunters. Hunters were quite strong, though not as strong as Gu Masters, of course, but they could earn relatively well by hunting big prey such as boars. This was dangerous, but risk and reward nearly always walked together. That was why they were so loud as they were celebrating returning from a successful hunt.
"Excellent work, to think that you took down that black boar all by yourself," one of them said.
"Brother Feng, you're not drinking?"
"I'm sorry, I can't drink anymore."
"Ah, is the alcohol not up to your standards? Waiter, bring us some good wine, not this cheap stuff!"
"Ah, sirs, we do have good wine," the waiter said. "But it is a tad bit expensive..."
"What?! You think we can't pay up?" The hunters glared at the waiter, and a normal person might've wilted under their gazes, though this waiter was firm.
"A single jar costs 2 primeval stones," the waiter said.
The hunter's expressions immediately changed. 2 stones could feed a family for a few weeks. While they did earn more being hunters, it was not on par with the earnings of Gu Masters.
"You're not lying, are you? Is there really such expensive wine?"
"I wouldn't dare, our green bamboo wine is among the finest in the whole village," the waiter said.
Fang Yuan knew the waiter wasn't lying, as he had been buying high-quality wine in large amounts to try to entice the Liquor Worm to show up, though without success.
"Brothers, let's forget about it, I don't feel like drinking anymore as it is..."
Basically, the hunters, despite their early bravado, could only say 'eh, those grapes are probably sour anyway' after hearing the price.
Secret Quest Unlocked!
Drinking Is Fun Only With Friends
Fang Yuan only had to read the quest description to realize what it wanted to say.
It was a bit of a risk, but he had no shortage of primeval stones recently, and if he could use this opportunity to probe the system.
"Waiter!" Fang Yuan called out, taking out ten primeval stones. "I would like five jars of green bamboo wine, please. Give three of them to that table over there, please."
"Ah, Young Master, are you certain?"
"Yes," Fang Yuan said.
Within moments, the waiter had brought Fang Yuan two jars, and then walked over to the hunter's table. "Sirs, here is three jars of green bamboo wine."
"Ah, didn't we say that we aren't thirsty? Have you gone deaf boy?"
"This is a gift from the Young Master at that table over there," the waiter said, pointing to Fang Yuan. "He has already paid for them. But if you wish, I will take them back. The jars are still uncorked."
This caused their expressions to change as they all glanced towards Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan, for his part, held up a glass with a small amount of wine in it. "Ah, brothers, I had heard that you wanted to try some of this high-quality wine. I'm in a good mood today, and celebrating, and I thought it would be more fun to drink with others. Go on, feel free to enjoy on my dime!"
Fang Yuan was still wearing his academy uniform, and their eyes went wide. Though hunters were at the peak of the mortal world, they were still trash when compared to Gu Masters. They would not dare even look down upon someone like Fang Yuan, who was just a budding Gu Master.
If Fang Yuan were to walk over to them and smack one of them across the face, they would have no choice but to offer him their other cheek!
"Is it truly alright to take this...?"