The name "Wang Xian" exploded through the silent tavern.
The shopkeeper, Nangong Xuan, paused with the jade cup he was polishing in his hand. Out in the snow, the waiter let out an "Oof..."
The two of them stared at the travel-worn old Daoist before them, their eyes full of disbelief.
When Old Gu had mentioned Phoenix City earlier, a flash of suspicion had already crossed Nangong Xuan's mind.
Now that his guess had been confirmed, he still found it hard to believe—the enigmatic young man really did have a master, and that master had just walked into his tavern.
Old Zhang was stunned, too.
The hand stroking his beard stopped in midair, and a complicated look passed through his eyes.
So his apprentice hadn't been lying.
Wang Xian really had been here and drunk a jar of Drunk Without Care worth five hundred thousand Spirit Stones. Judging by the reactions of the shopkeeper and the waiter, that kid had probably drunk more than just one jar.
"Before my apprentice left..."
Old Zhang began with a wry smile, his voice carrying both helplessness and pride. "He left half a jar of Drunk Without Care for me, saying a jar was worth five hundred thousand Spirit Stones... I've never dared believe it."
Wang Xian's entry into the Demon Realm had long ceased to be a secret in Phoenix City and Sword City.
Old Zhang made no attempt to hide it. He spoke openly about his precious apprentice in front of Nangong Xuan.
"Well, would you look at that!"
The waiter slapped his thigh, sending snow flying all around him and scattering it skyward.
The image of that indifferent young man beneath the pear tree rose in his mind—the boy reaching out to catch the pear blossoms on the wind, then cutting