He rolled along the ground in a sorry manner. As soon as he climbed to his feet, he called out, “Boss, bring me some alcohol!”
Pitter! Patter! Splatter!
The rainwater on him splashed everywhere.
Xue Bing narrowed her eyes and released her true qi, blocking the water droplets.
The others were not as fortunate. They had not reached the innate realm, so they only possessed inner force and were drenched. The water soaked all of the desserts on the table as well, rendering them inedible.
Then they looked at the man who had barged in. He was bulky and disheveled, dressed in yellow robes with sleeves that almost touched the ground. Originally, it was rather elegant attire, but his chest was exposed while his bare feet were muddy, so there was absolutely no elegance in sight.
Not to mention that his appearance was strange, bearing resemblance to a monkey. And, he was smiling from ear to ear, which made him seem slightly funny. It reminded them of a monkey in clothing.
Manager Hong was absolutely furious. If he was drenched, that was nothing, but the desserts he had prepared had all been ruined. He said firmly, “We don’t sell alcohol, so please go somewhere else, sir!”
“You call yourself a wine house but don’t sell alcohol? Don’t joke with me. Go fetch it quickly. I’ll pay you handsomely. Oh right, remember to bring some side dishes for the alcohol!”
“As I said, we don’t sell alcohol here!”
Manager Hong was aware he possessed martial arts, but this was at the base of the Snow Mountain sect. Right beside him were disciples of the Snow Mountain sect, so why would he be afraid of an unknown outsider?
The rash young man from the Snow Mountain sect wiped away the water on his face. He was about to question the man fiercely about where he was from and whether he was a spy from the World’s society when Xue Bing’s warning rang out in his ears, Stay quiet!
Her voice was icy-cold while trembling slightly. Gazing at the unfamiliar man, she suddenly recalled someone.
Rumble!
Another series of thunder boomed, shaking up all the cups and dishes as if a thunder dragon was wandering through the air above the restaurant. The lightning made the entire restaurant flicker.
The roaring thunder startled everyone, but only the man stood stationary as his shadows danced around on the walls. His face brightened and darkened with the lightning, which suddenly added a sense of viciousness and fierceness to his rather funny face.
A wild gust of wind rushed into the restaurant, lifting Xue Bing’s veil, but her clear eyes were fixed on the man’s sleeves. They did not dance with the wind, instead draping down like normal. Her red lips had turned pale before she even realised it.
It was him, it had to be him!
That murderous demon king who sowed chaos through the entire world!
Her blood seemed to freeze. Before she saw him in person, she never thought she could experience such fear.
He definitely did not come here to drink alcohol, but for the entire Snow Mountain sect.
She could basically imagine the scene where blood trickled through the Snow Mountain sect, and the first one to die would be manager Hong who did not even know who he was and refused to sell him alcohol. However, she could not even muster the courage to warn manager Hong.
Abruptly, the man let out a childish laugh, which seemed extremely eerie. It made them all shiver. Manager Hong took a step back and cried out, “you…”
“The fuck are you laughing at?”
The man looked behind him. A toddler crawled up his back, sitting down on his wide shoulders. He sneered as he said, “You wanted to drink, but they’re not even going to sell it to you. What’re you going to do now?”
Thunderstorms had always begun suddenly in summer. Not only did this bastard refuse to hurry up and find shelter, but he even happened to spot the flag of a restaurant and insisted on rushing over there. In the end, he was almost struck by lightning.
“What am I supposed to do? What else can I do?”
The man simply shrugged and turned around, arriving at the entrance. He peered through the wind and rain at the snow mountain in the distance, actually giving up like that.
He did want to drink some alcohol as he waited for the rain to stop, but there was no reason for him to harass a regular old man over this small interest of his. There would be people to invite him to alcohol once he reached the top of the mountain anyway! By then, if anyone still dared to act stubborn with him, he could chop off their heads and use that as a cup.
“You suck!” The toddler clapped his hands and laughed.
Xue Bing’s eyes were filled with surprise. Had she been wrong? In a situation like this, any person of the jianghu, as long as they were slightly vicious, would probably be out to kill. Even the good-tempered ones would teach manager Hong a lesson and force him to bring the alcohol.
However, when she saw the huge blade wrapped in white cloth on the man’s back, her wisp of hope shattered.
A few months earlier, her first senior brother had personally witnessed the Tiger Subduing master of the Salvation temple and the patriarch of the Ma clan dying to this exact blade. They were like pigs to a butcher, offering no resistance at all. From then onwards, her first senior brother had lost his mind slightly, regularly jerking awake from nightmares.
The child matched the most recent information as well. No matter where he went, he would bring a boy along with him. Some people suspected the boy to be his illegitimate child with the leader of the World’s society.
Afraid that it would only demoralise them, they kept this information a strict secret, so only a very small handful of people within the Snow Mountain sect were allowed to know about this. She happened to be one of them.
All of his characteristics were a perfect match. He was definitely the hero king, Li Qingshan!
“Hmph, at least you have some sense in you. You better not think you can do whatever you want just because you know a bit of martial arts. As long as you’re aware of what this place is!”
Manager Hong pointed at the snow mountain outside in both complacence and pride.
“It’s the Snow Mountain sect.”
Li Qingshan gazed at the glistening white snow atop the mountain. This was the last stronghold in the World’s society’s territory of the north. He would personally deal with them and test out his new innate ability in the meantime.
“That’s right. You’re a martial arts practitioner, so you obviously have to know what it is. These are all esteemed disciples of the Snow Mountain sect, and the one in the middle is the daughter of sect master Xue, the leading figure among the Ten Great Beauties of the World, first young miss Xue!” Manager Hong raised his hand and introduced them.
If it were not for the fact that Xue Bing dared not act rashly, she basically would have begun cursing old man Hong.
“Oh?”
Li Qingshan turned his gaze towards Xue Bing. She felt like his shining eyes had already pierced the veil and seen her appearance, perhaps even seen through her completely. Her heartbeat accelerated as a sense of numbness spread through her body.
Manager Hong gave Li Qingshan a stern scolding. “It’s fine if you drenched me in rain, but you didn’t even apologise when you got the rain on them. Don’t you know any manners?”
“It’s just a bit of rain. Why be so petty! Whatever, whatever, stop glaring at me. I barged in here in a hurry, so I’m sorry about that. Old man, would you like me to wash your clothes as well?”
Li Qingshan grinned and made fun of manager Hong, reaching out and grabbing him by the collar.
This was the foot of the Snow Mountain sect, so there would naturally be people from the Snow Mountain sect here. There was nothing strange about that. If the master of the Snow Mountain sect was present, then that would instead save him some problems. He would not have to climb up the mountain. However, why would he care about a young miss?
Xue Bing eased up inside. She ordered her senior and junior brothers, “It’s not like it was intentional, so let’s not haggle over this, All of you, sit down. Uncle Hong, I don’t really have an appetite. You better tend to the customer!”
The disciples of the Snow Mountain sect listened to her every single word, so they immediately sat down obediently, treating this as a minor incident that was completely negligible.
“Out of her generosity, the first young miss has decided to forgive you. Hey, let go. Don’t rip it. I have a wife, so I don’t need you washing my clothes!” Manager Hong gazed at that funny face and could not help but smile. “Kid, you sure do look like a monkey. Didn’t you want some alcohol?”
“Didn’t you say you don’t sell it?”
“I don’t sell it. I’m inviting you to some!”
“Heh, I’m afraid I might be a little too much for you.”
“Go out and ask around. Our Snow Peak restaurant’s ancestral cellar stores a hundred jar of Snow Peak alcohol at all times. With each jar removed, it is immediately replaced, so how many do you want to drink? Though, let me make this clear. You can’t use inner force to digest the alcohol!”
“What’s the point of using inner force to digest the alcohol? It’s called Snow Bounty wine, is it? A timely fall of heavy snow ensures a bountiful harvest. What a good name! C’mon, let me try it! You can invite me to alcohol, and I’ll invite you to some meat, but feel free to use inner force to digest the meat!”
“Look at how impatient you are, but it’s not bounty. It’s peak, the same as snowy peak. And using inner force to digest meat? You sure are imaginative! It’s raining today, so I have nothing better to do. I might as well have a few cups with you. Little Bei, go fetch some alcohol and meat!”
Manager Hong sat down boldly and ordered in a generous manner.
“Haha, I used to tend to the fields.” Li Qingshan sat down in front of him and glanced at Rāhu Xiaoming. “Look at this. I wasn’t wrong to come here, was I? When someone invites you to alcohol, it tastes especially nice!”
Rāhu Xiaoming curled his lip and leapt onto the table, shaking off all the rain on him.
“Sigh, you have such a small kid, yet you still come out roaming with him. Little Bei, go fetch a towel.”
“He insisted on coming along. I had no other choice either. Oi, what are you waiting for? Thank him.”
“Thanks.” Rāhu Xiaoming accepted the towel, but he was filled with a strange feeling. This was the first time in his life that he had thanked someone, and it was for the sake of an insignificant towel and to an ant-like mortal. His eyebrows became firmly furrowed as he lowered his head and sank into his thoughts.
“This child is?”
“My son.”
“And I’m your father!”
Rāhu Xiaoming leapt up, kicking Li Qingshan in the chest. A very long time ago, even the snow mountain outside would vanish to a kick like that, but now, it did not even tickle Li Qingshan.
“Sigh, look at what I’ve turned him into by spoiling him. I’m making a fool of myself.”
Rāhu Xiaoming glared at him. Within him, a long-lost desire for power began to burn.
The waiter made his way over with a jar of alcohol before serving up a hot dish of braised pork.
“You said you tended to the fields in the past. Why did you stop?” manager Hong asked casually.
“I lost my ox, so I came out to look for it.”
Manager Hong laughed aloud, only treating that as a joke. “Now that’s the first time I’ve heard of a reason for wandering the jianghu like yours. Though, men always aspire to leave home and achieve something great. If you didn’t come out wandering, you wouldn’t have developed such great martial arts!”
The rain poured down violently, slamming against the roof tiles. It was both noisy and quiet, which only made the lively atmosphere seem even more casual.
The thunder instead softened. A tiny town tucked between the mountains never really received much lightning in the first place. The obscure will of the heavens was left momentarily helpless against Li Qingshan in the restaurant too.
With the alcohol poured into the bowl, Li Qingshan was about to pick it up when Rāhu Xiaoming suddenly snatched it over and drank it all, leaving manager Hong wide-eyed. He had never seen such a young child so capable of drinking.
“Give me another bowl!” Li Qingshan told the waiter to join them. He said to manager Hong, “I’m afraid you’re not going to get your value if you’re eating alone!”
“Let me pour for you.”
The waiter huddled over happily. He found this man to be far more likable than those esteemed disciples of the Snow Mountain sect, but of course, he still stood no chance against the first young miss.
Within the gloomy restaurant, a few people of vastly different identities sat together and drank away!
Xue Bing glanced over again and again. She struggled to imagine that this was the demon king who stood on the mountain of corpses that her second senior uncle spoke of!
Perhaps the situation was not as horrible as she imagined it to be. For the sake of the Snow Mountain sect’s survival, she could not bother with being reserved anymore. She stood up and made her way over, gazing at Li Qingshan. “Could you count me in too?”
