Wine and People

At this moment, in Wenren Sheng's villa, Zhao Han was bent over in the living room, wiping the floor with sweat pouring down her face.

Only now did she understand why Wenren Sheng and Brother Li both said that the Hourly Workers they hired were unreliable.

Actually, it was not that the workers were unreliable. One of those two was lazy, while the other was powerless to do anything.

She looked up at the person lying on the living room sofa—Wenren Sheng's father.

Everywhere he passed, he left behind traces of a strange Otherworldly aura.

Ordinary People could not see this aura, but Otherworldly Users, or those who spent long periods around them, would sense that something was off.

It was like being in a house filled with drifting dust. It might look clean on the surface, but it still felt uncomfortable, such as an irritation in the nose.

To remove these Otherworldly auras, an Otherworldly User had to painstakingly purify and neutralize them every day, just as she was doing now—crawling across the floor and manually scrubbing them away bit by bit with a rag.

Brother Li could not do it, and how could anyone expect Teacher Wenren, who got off work at two o'clock, to clean every day?

"You're Xiao Han, right?"

While Zhao Han was busy, Wenren De suddenly spoke from the sofa.

Beer cans were already scattered all over the floor beside him.

"Uncle, do you need something?" Zhao Han put down her rag and looked up in surprise, unsure what he wanted.

"Uh, I feel like there's some movement upstairs..." Wenren De leaned against the sofa, looking as though he could not get up.

As expected of a senior Otherworldly User. Even though he had lost his Otherworldly power due to age, his senses were still sharp. She had not felt anything at all; her experience was simply too shallow.

She took out her phone and quickly said, "Then I'll go take a look."

"Mhm." Wenren De nodded with difficulty, then recited, "The evening sky threatens snow. Will you share a cup with me?"

It sounded as though there was some deeper meaning to it, Zhao Han thought as she headed up the stairs in the living room to the second floor.

To reach the second floor where she lived, she could either take the exterior stairs of the villa or use the stairs in the living room. Both led directly to the second-floor balcony.

Once she reached the balcony, the entrances to two rooms stood on its north side. To the East Side was the room where she currently lived, while she had never entered the room on the west side.

She cautiously glanced around and found nothing unusual. Several pots of flowers and plants that had been watered that morning were now basking in the summer sunlight, their blossoms blooming brilliantly in competition with one another.

Both doors were tightly shut, with no sign that an outsider had broken in. At least after taking part in one investigation, she had gained some experience in observation.

"Uncle, it doesn't seem like anything's wrong..." she called downstairs.

At that moment, Wenren De's voice came clearly from below.

"Is that so? Oh, right, I'm out of alcohol. Go check that room on the west side and bring me a bottle."

Zhao Han scratched her head, feeling that something was off.

Still, she walked over to the west-side room and instinctively pressed her hand against the door lock. The door opened immediately.

She had not expected Brother Li to add her fingerprint to all these door locks.

That kind of trust was really touching... Wait, if he had not added her fingerprint, how would she be able to get in to do the deep cleaning?

Her gratitude vanished instantly. Then she saw that the room was meticulously arranged, with quite a few antiques on display. It seemed to be a storage room.

She did not have time to inspect it closely. At a glance, she spotted a row of wine racks against the wall, filled with bottles whose brands she did not recognize. Judging by their appearance alone, they were probably all expensive liquor.

After leaving the room, she called down, "Uncle, there's a lot of alcohol here. Which kind do you want?"

Then she heard someone swallow.

"Anything... no, find me that bottle of thirty-five-year Maotai."

Although Zhao Han was a little slow, she could still tell from that clear voice that he did not sound like someone who was too drunk to move.

She walked over in a few steps and began searching the wine racks. As she searched, she noticed a newspaper placed beneath one of the bottles.

"Five Colors Steel Factory suffers major production accidents for two consecutive months. Five young workers violated workplace safety regulations by drinking before work and tragically fell into molten steel in front of the furnace, leaving no remains behind. President Xu Qingshu personally visited their families and paid enormous compensation... Reporter Zhu Xing, May 4, 2017."

Shocked, she read it a few times, but soon stopped paying attention. It was only old news from two years ago, after all. She continued looking for the thirty-five-year Maotai.

After searching for a while, she heard several familiar voices coming from the living room downstairs.

"Hello, Uncle." That seemed to be Wu Shanshan's voice.

"Oh, Shan Shan, you're here... Have a seat."

"Not bad. You didn't get drunk quite so early today. Perfect, Brother De, I haven't had your cooking in a long time." That was Wenren Sheng's teasing voice.

"Uh, all right. Xiao Han, come down and rest. Get ready to eat." Wenren De's voice sounded somewhat weary.

"That alcohol..." Before Zhao Han could finish, Wenren De called out again, "I must have heard wrong earlier. There's no movement upstairs. Hurry down."

Zhao Han could only return empty-handed in disappointment. By now, she had figured it out. Needless to say, Uncle Wenren had been denied access to the room and could not get any good alcohol himself. He had been trying to trick her just now.

When she came downstairs, she saw Wenren Sheng and Wu Shanshan sitting in the living room, while Brother Li was helping Wenren De cook in the kitchen.

"Hello, Senior." She hurried over to greet her.

"You cleaned up well. Looks like you're not just living and eating here for free." Wu Shanshan swept her gaze over the living room and nodded.

Zhao Han immediately understood. The other woman must have come here to clean every week before...

"All right, you worked well together during the last incident. Get along properly from now on." Wenren Sheng preemptively stopped any potential conflict between the two women.

"As long as she knows her place, I don't mind." Wu Shanshan smiled.

"I've learned a lot from you, Senior. Thank you for taking care of me." Zhao Han quickly nodded.

"That's good." Wenren Sheng nodded, then said to Zhao Han, "You've worked hard. Go wash up first. Later, you can taste Brother De's cooking."

At that moment, Wu Shanshan leaned into Wenren Sheng's arms again, as though she were claiming her territory.

Zhao Han hurriedly left the awkward living room and went to the first-floor bathroom. She had just worked up a sweat, and her entire body felt uncomfortable.

After she left, Wu Shanshan looked at her retreating back and said, "It seems she really doesn't have any problems."

"Mhm, no problems." Wenren Sheng nodded. "The Patrol Division's protection work has been quite good."

"Of course. You're a genius Otherworldly User destined to be recorded in history. They'll definitely pay special attention to you." Wu Shanshan spoke proudly.

"What genius? I've only been a little lucky." Wenren Sheng said sincerely.

"Lucky?" Wu Shanshan's expression changed slightly, but she quickly recovered. "I see. No wonder you're the only one in the Club who dares eat the breakfasts Wei Yiqing provides every day."

"You're all exaggerating too much. If you can get used to it, it's actually quite good," Wenren Sheng said seriously. "Eating it long-term may not only help you learn new skills, but it can also miraculously increase your Otherworldly power."

"It may be possible, but before we see any results, we'll probably die young." Wu Shanshan quickly refused.

Wenren Sheng smiled. Indeed, not everyone could withstand that dark cuisine whose ingredients could not even be identified. So far, he was the only one who could endure it and gain benefits from it.

The two chatted for a while longer, and Li Shuangyue had already begun placing dishes on the round dining table.

Wave after wave of enticing aromas immediately drifted into the living room.

"Uncle's cooking is really good," Wu Shanshan praised sincerely.

"Yeah. Even if all of us end up unemployed someday, Brother De's cooking alone could support an entire family." Wenren Sheng spoke meaningfully.

Before long, Zhao Han returned to the living room, fresh and clean, and began chatting with the two of them.

"Teacher, how is your preparation for the evaluator assessment going?" Zhao Han tried her best to find a topic.

"Oh, the assessment starts next Friday. There's nothing to prepare for in the Martial Exam. For the Written Exam, I'll just have to rely on luck." Wenren Sheng thought for a moment before replying.

"You're so lucky. You'll definitely be fine." Wu Shanshan encouraged him.

"I hope so. You two should work hard too. Although you're young and the difficulty won't be high, you still need to watch out for unexpected incidents." Wenren Sheng reminded them.

"Thank you, Teacher." Zhao Han immediately understood that he was referring to that backup list. Uncle had reminded her about it several times.

"Since that's the case, how about I stay here too until the exams are over? The Club dormitories don't seem very safe either." Wu Shanshan took the opportunity to suggest it.

"Uh..." Wenren Sheng hesitated.

"Mhm?" Wu Shanshan said nothing, merely glancing at Zhao Han.

"All right." Wenren Sheng had no choice but to agree.

As the sage said, people do not fear having too little; they fear having things distributed unfairly. Once there was a first, there would be a second.

At that moment, Wenren De called from the dining room, "The food's ready. Come eat."

The group entered the dining room together. Delicate dishes covered the round table, nearly every one of them like a work of art, making their mouths water. Fresh flowers had also been arranged in vases, greatly whetting their appetites.

Zhao Han was almost staring in a daze. Compared to what she had cooked last night, it was simply unbearable to look at...

"What a pity. It's just missing a bottle of good alcohol." Wenren De sat at the dining table and spoke pointedly.

"What a pity. Madam isn't here." Li Shuangyue replied as though nothing had happened.

"Ahem, eat, eat. Don't be polite." Wenren Sheng cut off their conversation and took the first bite.