"Come on, brother, drink!"
In the villages of Great Azure Mountain, several people sat in a circle, and bonfires lit one after another, creating a unique scene in the night. Wei Gongzhan, Great Azure Mountain a neighbor's overflowing bowl of fruit wine, unusually embarrassed, scratched his head and said, "This..."
"What's with this big, fussy thing you're doing? It's just a pot of wine!"
"Hehe." Upon hearing this, Wei Gongzhan stopped being coy and directly accepted the wine, saying, "I won't say anything more, Brother Li. This time, it's my fault for not handling things well. It's just that Brother Li's wine is too fragrant. My brothers and I couldn't resist it from the start. So, I'll make another trip tomorrow. This time, I'll definitely get things done. Once my fruit is planted, I'll definitely repay you with this pot."
"Hey, don't be so formal," the burly man Brother Li laughed. "It's good that you all like my wine. It proves that my skills are good. Now many former business owners are asking me about the production volume here. I guess the fruit wine from Great Azure Mountain is going to become famous in the future."
"Absolutely!" Wei Gongzhan quickly replied, "Our Great Azure Mountain fruit wine is so much better than those Snowflake Brew in the capital, it's sure to sell like hotcakes!"
"Hey, bro, you're pretty good! You've even tried Snowflake Brew?" The other person immediately became interested. "I've only heard the name. Isn't it supposed to be a tribute wine? You've had it?"
"Well... cough, I got some when I had powerful relatives back then." Wei Gongzhan cursed himself for being too talkative, and quickly waved his hand. "Back then, I thought that wine was the best in the world, but now that I've tasted the fruit wine from Great Azure Mountain, tsk tsk, I feel that even Snowflake Brew is nothing special!"
"Really? Hahaha!" Brother Li and his men burst into laughter, their eyes full of smugness.
The fruits of Great Azure Mountain are incredibly fragrant. The group discussed that the fruits of Great Azure Mountain are fragrant and the spring water is excellent, so they would definitely make a delicious wine. Thus, they started making fruit wine together. These days, it is very popular in the Tiger Guard Army. However, the soldiers are all rough men, and they don't know how it will perform when sold to civilians or better cities. But when Wei Gongzhan said that it tastes even better than Snowflake Brew, their confidence soared.
Even if they're exaggerating, the fact that they said that at least proves their wine does have market value.
"By the way, Brother Wei, are all your friends in Liuzhou? What are they doing?" a burly, dark-faced man asked curiously.
Wei Gongzhan's smile remained unchanged, but he was secretly on guard. This dark-faced man was named Liu Yong, and he was one of the more stable types among the neighbors. He guessed that his words had alerted Liu Yong.
It seems I need to think more carefully before I speak in the future.
Thinking of this, he quickly said, "I fled to Liuzhou. I used to work as a guard for a wealthy family. This time, a great calamity struck. Almost no one from that wealthy family was able to escape. We escorted the young master into the city and met two fellow villagers along the way. We stayed in Liuzhou for some time and have become somewhat acquainted."
"I see." The other person nodded. "I was wondering why you, Brother Wei, didn't look like a farmer. With your physique, why didn't you join the army? The benefits in our Liuzhou Tiger Guard Army are exceptionally good."
"I'm tired." Wei Gongzhan shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Especially after escorting the young master back, I saw too much bloodshed. I heard that as a Tiger Guard Army, I have to actively face those living corpses. I really just can't keep going."
Everyone nodded in understanding. Indeed, not everyone could turn grief and anger into strength; quite a few people were also traumatized by the zombies outside.
"It's alright, not being a soldier is fine too," the burly man surnamed Li laughed. "I was quite disappointed at first that I didn't become a member of the Tiger Guard Army, but after living in Great Azure Mountain for a while, I think it's pretty good here. Now, I wouldn't even bother going back. I wouldn't trade this life for being an officer."
"Haha, that's right!" Everyone else immediately burst into laughter. "Come on, let's have one!"
After downing a glass of wine, the group's faces flushed red. They quickly picked up the grilled worms from the fire, sprinkled them with chili powder and salt and pepper, and took a bite. The juices burst out, and they all squinted their eyes in satisfaction. So good!
Wei Gongzhan nodded in satisfaction. To be honest, if it weren't for family ties, he really would have liked to stay here, and it would have been best if he could have brought his mother over as well. It was just a pity.
"So, brother, is the young master you were protecting still in Liuzhou City?" someone asked curiously while eating meat.
"Young Master is different from me. His family all died tragically at the hands of the living dead. His family was wealthy from a young age, and he had also practiced martial arts, so he volunteered to join the Tiger Guard Army. I met him yesterday, and I heard he even passed the selection process and joined some kind of Support Group to go to Yunzhou to provide support."
"Wow, that's incredible!" The burly man surnamed Li exclaimed. "I heard from my good-for-nothing brother that only the most capable people can go to the Support Group. Only the team leaders can select them. Your young master was chosen right after he joined. That's amazing!"
"Hehe, young master is indeed impressive. He's always wanted to join the army, and his family has hired several martial arts instructors to teach him."
"What's the use of hiring a martial arts master?" The burly, dark-faced man shook his head and laughed. "In our Great Jin army, it's useless for ordinary people to train so well."
" Brother Peng, were you a soldier before?" Wei Gongzhan asked with a curious look.
"I did it for a while." The burly, dark-faced man looked at Wei Gongzhan: "Judging from your appearance, brother, you must have done it too."
"Yes, I used to be one," Wei Gongzhan said honestly with a smile. "I retired as soon as my time was up, and only became a guard after coming to Jiangnan. What about you, brother? Why didn't you join the Tiger Guard Army?"
"Too many brothers I followed died, I'm not that interested in being a soldier anymore." The burly, dark-faced man shook his head, then smiled and looked around, "The prefect of Liuzhou is a capable man, managing this place so well is a blessing for us ordinary people. If he needs me in the future, I'll be there to help him immediately."
"Haha, that's right!" several men nearby chimed in, "We're living such a good life, anyone who dares to ruin it, we'll fight them to the death!"
Wei Gongzhan was taken aback and nodded to himself. This Chen Qing is indeed popular!
That makes sense; it would be strange if the people didn't love them when they had such a good life.
"By the way, did Brother Wei join the Tiger Guard Army with all your other friends? None of them joined our Great Azure Mountain?"
"No," Wei Gongzhan said with a wry smile, "I guess I'm the only one who's not very successful. The young master and another guard joined the Tiger Guard Army, while a scholar friend I met on the way got into the academy."
"Oh, you know some scholars?" Old Li immediately became interested. "I heard that academy has opened. Do you know the specifics of its rules, Brother Wei?"
"I don't know much," Wei Gongzhan gave a brief overview of the academy's situation.
The group listened with great interest, and afterwards, they slapped their thighs, exclaiming, "We adults are truly different! Even opening an academy is unlike anything else! Hahaha! My second son is so thin and weak; he's clearly not cut out for the army. I'll see if there's a chance to send him to an academy so our family can produce a scholar!"
"Then you, Old Li, need to work hard; studying costs money."
"Of course! Our wine has a great reputation these days, so I don't think it'll be a problem to send my child to school in the future."
"Oh my, you're putting on airs now. Just because Brother Wei praised you a few times, do you really think your wine can compare to Snowflake Brew?"
"Hahahaha!" The group burst into laughter.
Wei Gongzhan laughed along, but still said, "I'm telling the truth, Brother Li's wine is really better than Snowflake Brew."
"Don't fool me, brother. The kids' going to need this liquor when they start school."
"Absolutely no problem!" Wei Gongzhan boasted confidently, "If Brother Li's wine doesn't sell well, I'll chop off my hand and leave it here."
"Hey, hey, hey, you can't just say things like that."
And so, the group drank until they were slightly tipsy and their bellies were full. When it was time, Wei Gongzhan casually asked, "By the way, Brother Li, on my way back I was wandering around in the mountains and passed by the back of the mountain. I heard a woman's voice coming from a cave there. I don't know if I was mistaken?"
Upon hearing this, the group of people were stunned, their expressions turning strange.
"Uh, it can't really be true, can it?" Wei Gongzhan looked completely bewildered.
The group exchanged glances, then cautiously said, "Brother, you should avoid that place. There are indeed women in that cave, but they're not women, they're Lord Fox Immortal!"
" Lord Fox Immortal?" Wei Gongzhan immediately bewildered. "What is that?"
"Shh!" someone nearby quickly whispered, "We mustn't be rude to the Lord Fox Immortal, or the consequences will be dire!"
Wei Gongzhan's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "How serious is it?"
"Brother Wei, don't be so skeptical," the burly man surnamed Li said in a low voice. "In these mountains, anyone can do whatever the Lord Fox Immortal wants."
The burly man surnamed Li suddenly fell silent, covered his mouth, and made a croaking sound like a toad.
The key is not only that the voice is similar, but the shape has also become similar. The throat is swollen like a balloon, making it look like a human-shaped toad!
Wei Gongzhan's eyes widened, and he immediately rolled backward in alarm. His neighbor of more than ten days was actually a monster?
Looking back, the dark-faced giant was also strangely shaped, like a clay figure, exuding the stench of rotting swamp. He stared at him with his large, bell-like eyes. Wei Gongzhan gasped and fled without hesitation!
Upon seeing this, the burly man surnamed Li shouted, but the sound that came out was like a toad's, which only made Wei Gongzhan run even faster.
Seeing this, the man surnamed Li looked at his toad-shaped hand, then at the burly, black-faced man beside him who had turned into a mud figure, and sighed, "Well, we've been targeted."
"Hahaha!" the clay figure laughed heartily, splattering mud everywhere as he spoke, "Good, we should experience it! Our Great Azure Mountain isn't just about leisurely days; there's plenty of fun to be had, hahahaha!"
The next chapter will be posted later, probably after 9:30 PM. I've been quite busy these past few days, I'm really sorry.
Thank you again for your support with Mofang monthly tickets! There will definitely be an extra chapter at the end of the month, hehe. Now, Mofang 'm off to work hard on my writing.