Exposure

Once all the food and wine had arrived, he shut the private room's door, flung aside his bamboo hat, and began sweeping through the feast like an autumn wind scattering fallen leaves.

In the blink of an eye, three dishes had vanished from the face of the earth. He picked up a jar of Crimson Blood Brew, skipped the wine bowl entirely, and drank straight from the jar. In less than a hundred breaths, he had emptied it.

As he was working on the fourth dish, the door was kicked open. A burly man barged in, smacked Wang Daoyuan across the back of the head, and cursed, "I thought some kindred spirit had come to the restaurant, ordering five jars of wine at once. Never thought it'd be you, brat. You still haven't paid back the wine you owe me, yet you sneaked off to drink by yourself—drinking on my turf, no less—and you didn't even invite me. You've got no respect for your elders!"

With that, he sat down as if nothing had happened, grabbing a jar of wine in one hand and using chopsticks to pick up food with the other.

Wang Daoyuan said, "Twelfth Uncle, what are you doing here?"

The newcomer was Wang Shouye. Without pausing his chopsticks, he stuffed food into his mouth and said, "Come to think of it, this old uncle of yours has benefited from you. You caused such a huge stir that the Lineage gained another shop and opened the Drunken Immortal Restaurant.

"This old uncle is the Lineage's only brewer, so they sent me to brew wine at the Drunken Immortal Restaurant. It's a little troublesome, but there's free wine to drink, so this old uncle doesn't want to go back."

"Then congratulations, Twelfth Uncle. Your nephew offers you a toast. How about we get a few more jars?"

The two clinked their jars. Wang Shouye waved a hand. "Forget it. We don't have enough ingredients for wine or dishes right now. I usually don't even dare drink much. Today, I can only drink so freely because I'm mooching off your wine. If we drink too much and the Drunken Immortal Restaurant can't supply enough liquor, its signboard will come crashing down.

"You brat had better pay in Spirit Stones. If you eat and drink for free, just wait to be punished!"

Wang Daoyuan repeatedly said he would not dare. How could he possibly smash his own family's signboard?

The two drunkards downed five jars of Crimson Blood Brew. Of the seven or eight dishes, only fish bones remained, and the table was a complete mess.

Wang Daoyuan had drunk three jars and was already somewhat muddle-headed. He directly called out, "Waiter, the bill!"

The moment his voice fell, someone pushed open the door. But it was not a waiter—it was an elderly, white-haired man with the bearing of an immortal: Wang Zhide.

Wang Zhide asked with a smile that was not a smile, "Esteemed guests, were you satisfied with this humble establishment's food and wine?"

Wang Shouye had his back to Wang Zhide. Drunk and dazed, he did not recognize the voice.

Hugging his wine jar, he drained its final mouthful and answered carelessly, "Not bad. Especially this wine—it's really good, about as good as what I brew... hic."

Wang Daoyuan was sprawled across the table. The voice sounded somewhat familiar, so he raised his head and saw that smiling-but-not-smiling face.

He jolted in fright, slipped from his chair onto the floor, and shattered the wine jar he had been clutching to his chest.

Wang Zhide gave a cold laugh. "What is the matter, esteemed guest? Have you eaten and drunk your fill?"

Though he wore a smile, it looked incomparably ferocious in Wang Daoyuan's eyes. He instinctively scooted backward, swallowed hard, and did not dare speak, merely nodding.

"For this table, five jars of Crimson Blood Brew come to one hundred Spirit Stones. Together with these dishes, the total is one hundred and ten Spirit Stones. You broke one wine jar, so the fine is ten Spirit Stones. Do you have any objections, esteemed guest?"

How could Wang Daoyuan dare object? He shook his head vigorously and handed over the Spirit Stones.

Wang Zhide stared at Wang Daoyuan with a smile that was not quite a smile. "Business is concluded. Now it is time to discuss feelings. What did the clan head instruct? Did you receive my permission before leaving? Now tell me—how should you be punished?"

The moment Wang Shouye heard that someone wanted to punish Wang Daoyuan, he slapped the table and shouted, "I'd like to see who dares bully my nephew!

"Daoyuan, don't be afraid. With this old uncle here, let's see who dares touch you!"

With one hand, Wang Zhide lifted Wang Shouye out of his chair, and with the other, turned his head around. "Oh? So it's you. Talking so tough—do you want to trade a few moves with me?"

Wang Shouye was a hulking man, yet Wang Zhide lifted him with one hand. The sight was inexplicably comical.

The instant Wang Shouye saw Wang Zhide, he wilted. Fawningly, he helped Wang Zhide into a chair and said, "Ninth Uncle, please sit. How could I dare raise a hand against you? I drank too much and didn't realize it was you."

Then he turned and sternly criticized Wang Daoyuan. "You brat are utterly outrageous. The clan head confined you for your own good. How could you hide it from Ninth Great-Uncle and leave without permission?"

Wang Zhide shot him a glance, then continued scolding Wang Daoyuan. "The Drunken Immortal Restaurant has only just opened, and all sorts of supplies are in desperately short supply. Yet you came here to gorge yourself. Are you trying to smash our own signboard?"

Wang Shouye immediately chimed in from the side, "Exactly. Daoyuan has been far too outrageous. He must be punished severely. Since ingredients are scarce right now, I say we make him provide some Spirit Fish. Daoyuan's fishing skills are exceptionally high, after all. With so many people fishing by the riverbank in the market district, there truly isn't anyone who catches more than he does."

Wang Daoyuan grumbled inwardly, This Twelfth Uncle has no loyalty at all. Just now he was filled with righteous indignation and wanted to stand up for me. The moment he saw Ninth Great-Uncle, he went soft—and even took the chance to stab me in the back.

Still, this was helping him in a way. Catching some Spirit Fish was no difficulty for him, and it could lessen his punishment.

Thinking this, Wang Daoyuan hurriedly said, "Thank you for the reminder, Twelfth Uncle. This junior accepts the punishment and is willing to hand over one hundred Pseudo Spirit Fish to help the Lineage shoulder its burdens."

Wang Zhide was somewhat tempted, though his face remained unmoved. "Hand over five hundred. Each one must weigh no less than one jin. Then I will pretend this never happened."

Naturally, Wang Daoyuan readily agreed. There was not much to do while confined anyway, so he could treat fishing as recreation. So long as his confinement was not extended, he would be blessed by great fortune.

With his skills, catching a dozen or so fish a day was no challenge. He could complete the task in less than two months. If it came to it, he could also use fish from the Spirit Pearl Space to make up the numbers.

He truly was somewhat afraid of Wang Zhide. Wang Zhide had taught him talisman crafting and could be considered his master, and he had been extremely strict with him. By Lineage seniority, Wang Zhide was also his granduncle. Both a guardian and a teacher—who would not be afraid?

However, judging from Twelfth Uncle's behavior, he was also quite afraid of Ninth Great-Uncle. He had probably been disciplined by him as a child. Otherwise, though juniors should show elders respect even among the Lineage's elders, it would not be to the point of a mouse seeing a cat. With Twelfth Uncle's temperament, he must have been even more unruly than Wang Daoyuan as a child. Being disciplined was probably as commonplace as eating and drinking.

At that moment, Wang Shouye was massaging Wang Zhide's back, inwardly relaxing as well. Since the mastermind was all right, then he, the accomplice, should be fine too, right?

At that moment, Wang Zhide spoke. "Shouye, how did you end up drinking with Daoyuan? If I remember correctly, you should have been brewing wine in the back courtyard, shouldn't you? You saw Daoyuan sneak out without permission, yet instead of advising him, you mooched wine off him. When I wanted to punish Daoyuan, you even backed him up. You've become quite capable, haven't you?"

Wang Shouye hurriedly said, "Ninth Uncle, listen to my sophistry... no, listen to my explanation."

Wang Zhide waved a hand. "No more sophistry. Ever since you were little, you've been especially good at finding excuses whenever you were punished. Every excuse was particularly novel and sounded particularly reasonable. More than once, you even fooled your way through it. When dealing with you, there can be no long-windedness. Your punishment is no drinking for one month. In addition, I am giving you another task: keep watch over Daoyuan. If he runs off, then until his confinement ends, don't even dream of drinking."

Wang Shouye pulled a long face, grieving over his right to a month of free wine, and secretly resolved that he would squeeze the losses back out of his nephew.

From then on, Wang Daoyuan never again had a chance to slip away. To defend his right to drink, Wang Shouye kept an unblinking watch over him.

A little trick like the Invisibility Technique was no different from child's play before Wang Shouye's powerful divine sense.