Exposure

The food and drinks arrived. He closed the private room door, tossed off his bamboo hat, and began eating like a whirlwind.

In the blink of an eye, three dishes had vanished. He picked up a jar of Crimson Blood Brew, didn't bother with a wine cup, and drank directly from the jar. In less than a hundred breaths, the entire jar was gone.

As he was tackling the fourth dish, the door was kicked open. A burly man stormed in and slapped Wang Daoyuan on the back of the head, cursing, "I thought a kindred spirit had arrived at the restaurant, ordering five jars of wine at once. Turns out it's you, kid. You still owe me several jars of wine, and now you sneak off to drink by yourself, on my turf no less, and you didn't even invite me. You're practically disrespecting your elders."

After speaking, he sat down uninvited, picking up a jar of wine in one hand and chopsticks in the other.

Wang Daoyuan said, "Twelfth Uncle, why are you here?"

The newcomer was Wang Shouye. He didn't stop eating, saying with his mouth full of food, "Speaking of which, your old uncle is benefiting from you. You caused such a stir, and the family gained a shop, opening the Drunken Immortal Restaurant. I'm the family's only brewer, and I was assigned to the Drunken Immortal Restaurant to brew wine. It's a bit troublesome, but I get free wine, so I don't want to go back."

"Then I must congratulate Twelfth Uncle. Your nephew will toast you. How about we get a few more jars?"

They clinked their jars together. Wang Shouye waved his hand, "No, no. The ingredients for the wine and food are not enough right now. I usually don't dare to drink too much. Today, I'm freeloading off your wine, which is why I can be so unrestrained. If I drink too much, the Drunken Immortal Restaurant's supply will run out, and our reputation will be ruined. You kid better pay the Spirit Stones. If you eat and drink for free, you'll be punished!"

Wang Daoyuan repeatedly said he wouldn't dare, claiming he would never ruin their own reputation.

The two drunks finished five jars of Crimson Blood Brew and left only fish bones from seven or eight dishes, with the table a mess of cups and plates.

Wang Daoyuan, already a bit tipsy after three jars, shouted, "Waiter, the bill."

As soon as the sound fell, someone pushed the door open. It wasn't a waiter, but a white-haired old man with an ethereal demeanor—Wang Zhide.

Wang Zhide asked with a forced smile, "Esteemed guests, are you satisfied with the wine and dishes at our establishment?"

Wang Shouye, with his back to Wang Zhide and half-drunk, didn't recognize him. Holding his wine jar, he finished the last sip and replied carelessly, "Not bad, especially this wine. It's really good, almost as good as what I brew... hic."

Wang Daoyuan, slumped over the table, heard a familiar voice. He looked up and saw that smiling, insincere face. He jolted, sliding off his chair onto the floor. The wine jar he was holding also shattered.

Wang Zhide sneered, "What's wrong, guest? Have you eaten and drunk your fill?" Although he was smiling, to Wang Daoyuan, his face seemed incredibly ferocious. He instinctively shuffled backward, swallowed, and dared not speak, only nodding.

"This table for you, five jars of Crimson Blood Brew cost one hundred Spirit Stones, plus these dishes, totaling one hundred and ten Spirit Stones. You broke a wine jar, so a ten Spirit Stone penalty. Do you have any objections?"

Wang Daoyuan wouldn't dare to object. He shook his head vigorously and paid the Spirit Stones.

Wang Zhide stared at Wang Daoyuan with a half-smile, "The business is concluded. Now, we need to talk about feelings. What did the clan leader instruct? Did you have my permission to go out? Now, tell me, how should you be punished?"

Upon hearing that someone was going to punish Wang Daoyuan, Wang Shouye slammed the table and shouted, "I'd like to see who dares to bully my nephew! Daoyuan, don't be afraid. Your uncle is here. I'll see who dares to touch you!"

Wang Zhide lifted the burly Wang Shouye from his chair with one hand and turned his head with the other. "Oh, and who is this? Speaking so boldly, do you want to spar with me?"

Wang Shouye, a burly man, being lifted by Wang Zhide's single hand, looked strangely comical. The moment Wang Shouye saw it was Wang Zhide, he immediately cowered. He fawned, helping Wang Zhide to sit down. "Ninth Uncle, please sit. How would I dare to fight you! I was just drunk and didn't recognize you."

He then turned to Wang Daoyuan and criticized him sternly, "You're too out of line, kid. The clan leader confined you for your own good. How could you secretly go out without informing Ninth Uncle?"

Wang Zhide glanced at him, then continued to reprimand Wang Daoyuan, "The Drunken Immortal Restaurant just opened, and various supplies are critically low. You come here to feast like this. Are you trying to ruin our own reputation?"

Wang Shouye chimed in again, "Exactly! Daoyuan is truly out of line. He must be severely punished. Since there's a shortage of ingredients now, I suggest we punish him by having him provide some Spirit Fish. After all, Daoyuan's fishing skills are quite high. There are so many people fishing by the riverbank in the market now, but no one catches as much as he does."

Wang Daoyuan grumbled internally: This Twelfth Uncle is too disloyal. Just now he was righteous and indignant, ready to stand up for me, but as soon as he saw Ninth Uncle, he went soft and even threw me under the bus. However, this is also helping me. Catching some Spirit Fish isn't difficult for me, and it can lessen the punishment.

With that thought, Wang Daoyuan quickly said, "Thank you for the reminder, Twelfth Uncle. Your nephew accepts the punishment and is willing to submit one hundred Pseudo Spirit Fish to share the family's burdens."

Wang Zhide seemed tempted, but his expression remained indifferent. "Submit five hundred. Each must be no less than a pound, and I'll pretend this never happened."

Wang Daoyuan readily agreed. Being confined didn't leave him much to do, and fishing could be considered a pastime. As long as his confinement wasn't extended, he'd consider himself extremely lucky. With his skills, catching ten or so fish a day was not difficult, meaning he'd complete the task in less than two months. If necessary, he could even use the fish from his Spirit Pearl Space to make up the numbers.

He was genuinely afraid of Wang Zhide. He had learned Talisman Crafting from Wang Zhide, who was his master and very strict with him. Furthermore, by family seniority, Wang Zhide was his grand-uncle. Being both a guardian and a teacher, who wouldn't be afraid? However, judging by Twelfth Uncle's behavior, he also seemed quite afraid of Ninth Uncle. He probably got disciplined as a child. Otherwise, as fellow family elders, even if a junior showed some respect to an elder, they wouldn't act like a mouse seeing a cat. Given Twelfth Uncle's personality, he was definitely more rambunctious than himself as a child, and being disciplined was probably a regular occurrence.

At this moment, Wang Shouye was massaging Wang Zhide's back, feeling relieved. If the main culprit was fine, then he, the accomplice, should be fine too, right?

Just then, Wang Zhide spoke, "Shouye, why are you drinking with Daoyuan? If I recall correctly, you should be brewing wine in the back courtyard? Not only did you not dissuade Daoyuan from running out without permission, but you also freeloaded his wine. You even backed him up when I wanted to punish Daoyuan. You've got some nerve!"

Wang Shouye quickly said, "Ninth Uncle, please listen to my excuse... no, please listen to my explanation."

Wang Zhide waved his hand, "Stop making excuses. You've always been good at finding excuses when punished since you were little, with novel and seemingly logical reasons that fooled me several times. Dealing with you requires no nonsense. You're punished with no drinking for a month. Also, I'm adding a task for you: keep an eye on Daoyuan. If he runs off again, you won't be allowed to drink until his confinement period is over."

Wang Shouye's face fell. He felt heartbroken about losing his free month of drinking and secretly resolved to squeeze back his losses from his nephew.

From then on, Wang Daoyuan never had a chance to slip away again. To protect his right to drink, Wang Shouye watched him like a hawk. Tricks like the Invisibility Technique were nothing more than child's play under Wang Shouye's powerful Spiritual Sense.