Chapter 2069: The Warm Sun Shines

"Tasteless? My temper!"

Upon hearing Ye Yuan's words, the tavern owner jumped with rage.

Others who witnessed this scene found it amusing but also felt sympathy for Ye Yuan.

This tavern owner, named Zhang Tu, had committed murder and arson in his early years, doing all kinds of evil. His strength had reached the mid-stage True God realm, and he was no pushover.

It was only later, after obtaining the recipe for Fiery Burn, that he opened the Fiery Tavern here, continuing to this day.

The tavern owner strode over to Ye Yuan in two or three steps and sneered, "Kid, I've been selling Fiery Burn in Jiuluo Market for over ten thousand years, and no one has ever said it's tasteless! If you don't give me a good explanation today, don't even think about walking out that door!"

Everyone looked at Ye Yuan with pity. Those familiar with Jiuluo Market knew that Zhang Tu was not to be trifled with.

Otherwise, with Fiery Burn selling so well, wouldn't someone have tried to take it from him?

No one dared!

Wu Ling rolled her eyes and said, "See? You've made him angry. Why can't you keep your mouth shut? Let's see how you handle this!"

Wu Song shot her a fierce glare, then turned to Zhang Tu with a flattering smile and said, "Boss Tu, this young friend of mine is new here and doesn't know the rules. Please don't take it to heart."

Zhang Tu sneered, "And who do you think you are, telling me not to take it to heart? I'm going to take it to heart! If word of this gets out, how can I keep my shop running?"

Then he turned to Ye Yuan and sneered, "Kid, don't say I didn't give you a chance. If you can produce a better wine than Fiery Burn today, then this matter is settled, and I'll even apologize. But if you can't, heh heh..."

Zhang Tu cracked his knuckles, clearly up to no good.

Wu Song frantically signaled Ye Yuan with his eyes and whispered, "Apologize! Brother Ji, hurry up and apologize to Boss Tu!"

Ye Yuan sat there calmly, ignoring Zhang Tu entirely. Instead, he smiled at Wu Song and said, "Brother Wu, sit down. For your kindness in defending me, I'll treat you to a drink today."

As he spoke, a small flask appeared in Ye Yuan's hand.

Ye Yuan uncorked the flask, and a rich aroma of wine instantly filled the entire tavern.

"What a fragrance! Fine wine!"

"My god, this wine is ten times more fragrant than Fiery Burn!"

"What wine is this? In all my life, I've never smelled such a wine aroma!"

...

As soon as the cork was lifted, exclamations filled the tavern. Many people, just by smelling the aroma, were already tipsy.

Zhang Tu's face turned extremely ugly. He hadn't expected Ye Yuan to actually produce the wine.

Just from the aroma, the wine in Ye Yuan's hand far surpassed Fiery Burn!

"Mm... so fragrant! Brother, I want some!"

Beside him, Wu Ling was already intoxicated, letting out a drooling murmur.

Saliva was practically dripping from the corner of her mouth.

This aroma was truly tempting!

Smack!

Just as Wu Ling reached out, Ye Yuan slapped her hand away.

"Ouch! Why did you hit me!"

That slap jolted Wu Ling awake from her pain.

But now, she looked at Ye Yuan in astonishment, as if she had seen a ghost.

This guy actually had fine wine on him!

"This wine is only for Brother Wu, not for you," Ye Yuan said indifferently.

"Hmph, stingy! I don't want it anyway!"

Despite her words, Wu Ling's eyes kept darting to the small flask, and saliva was again dripping from her mouth.

On the northern grasslands, women also loved wine.

Not just Wu Ling, but everyone in the tavern was smacking their lips, staring fixedly at the small flask in Ye Yuan's hand.

Under everyone's gaze, Ye Yuan poured a small cup of wine for Wu Song.

As soon as the wine left the pot, the fragrance grew even stronger!

Wu Song looked at Ye Yuan in astonishment, stunned by this unexpected stroke of luck.

Only he could drink this wine!

"Brother Wu, please taste how my wine is," Ye Yuan said with a light laugh, making a gesture of invitation.

Wu Song swallowed hard, his craving already stirred.

"Then... I won't stand on ceremony!"

Wu Song lifted the cup, brought it to his nose, and sniffed—he nearly dropped it.

So fragrant!

In all his years of drinking, he had never smelled such an intensely rich aroma.

The others watched Wu Song, drooling with envy.

But Wu Song, with the wine at his lips, was almost reluctant to drink it.

"Tsk, even Lord Xuyang wouldn't let me have a sip. Kid, you're in for a treat!" Ning Tianping said with envy.

Ye Yuan scolded with a smile, "You rascal, don't think I don't know how much you've secretly drunk. And you dare complain here? Do you think I won't hit you?"

Ning Tianping said sheepishly, "I'm just afraid of the cold, you know? Heh heh, your wine gets better the more you drink—it's several times stronger than Rumeng!"

Ye Yuan rolled his eyes and ignored him.

Having come to this bitter cold land, over the past half year, while gathering information, Ye Yuan had brewed this Xuyang Zhao.

Though Ye Yuan wasn't afraid of the cold wind, this harsh place was still uncomfortable.

A sip of warm wine would solve everything.

"Brother Wu, it's not that I'm stingy. You can only have one cup of this wine; any more and you'll collapse," Ye Yuan said with a smile.

Wu Song laughed, "Brother Ji, you underestimate me. I'm known as 'a thousand cups without getting drunk.' Even with this Liehuoshao, I can down five jars without issue."

With that, he tilted his head back and downed it in one gulp.

After drinking, Wu Song's face showed a strange expression.

Seeing this, Zhang Tu immediately burst out laughing, "Haha... I told you, what's so great about Xuyang Zhao? It can't compare to my..."

"Good wine!"

Zhang Tu was cut off mid-sentence by Wu Song's two thunderous words.

"Good wine! Good wine! Good wine! Damn, it's good!"

Wu Song said 'good wine' three times in a row, then let out a curse.

Zhang Tu's face immediately fell. Can't you let me finish before you die?

But the others couldn't wait any longer. They looked at Wu Song eagerly and asked, "Brother, what's so good about it?"

"Yeah, tell us!"

"Tsk, I really want a sip!"

...

By now, Wu Song's eyes were already glazing over. He shook his head vigorously, trying to sober up.

Seeing this, the others were secretly amazed.

This wine... so strong?

"I... I can't really say, but it's just good!" Wu Song said in a husky voice.

Zhang Tu said indignantly, with a sneer, "What good is it being tasty? My Liehuoshao has the effect of warding off cold. Drink one jar, and you won't need to use divine essence for three days! No matter how fragrant yours is, it can't compare to my Liehuoshao!"

As he said this, he looked proud.

The greatest use of Liehuoshao wasn't its taste, but its ability to ward off cold!

In this extreme cold, that was most practical.

As for taste, that was secondary.

But before he finished speaking, Wu Song directly unfastened his fur skirt, tore off his upper garment, and shouted, "Hot! So hot!"