Supreme Master - Chapter 33: Fine Wine

Translator – Misty

Chapter 33: Fine Wine

Looking at Tan Siru, paralyzed on the ground, Ouyang Ye felt no worry or sympathy in her heart. If it had been before, seeing her senior sister like this would have certainly caused her great concern and anxiety. But now, things were different. Having witnessed with her own eyes how her senior sister, driven by greed, had attempted to put Gu Qingfeng in mortal danger, Ouyang Ye’s perception of her had completely changed. She had always known her senior sister to be selfish, but she had never imagined she would go so far as to attempt murder for her own benefit.

She recalled how her senior sister had demanded that Li Sen force Gu Qingfeng to kneel and apologize.

Gu Qingfeng refused.

Then her senior sister mocked him, telling him to put away his so-called dignity, claiming that his dignity was worthless.

At this moment, Ouyang Ye really wanted to ask her senior sister:

Whose dignity is worthless?

Whose dignity is more pitiable?

Looking at Gu Qingfeng,

Observing the man in white robe.

Ouyang Ye felt an indescribable complex emotion in her heart. There was something about the tranquil, twilight-like aura emanating from Gu Qingfeng that seemed familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.

It was familiar.

Yet also strange.

But she couldn’t figure out why it felt familiar, nor why it felt strange.

Watching the retreating figure of Gu Qingfeng.

A question involuntarily arose in Ouyang Ye’s heart.

Who exactly is this man?

She didn’t know.

And she couldn’t even imagine.

…

The sun set in the west.

The Cloudy Rosy Heaven Sect appeared even more resplendent and colorful against the backdrop of the setting sun.

After leaving the Red Leaf Forest, Gu Qingfeng strolled about while munching on Red Leaf Demon Fruit.

He thought of earlier, about how he toyed with those youngsters, initially hoping to recapture the feelings of his reckless youth. However, he soon realized he couldn’t find that old sensation and noticed that the youngsters of today were far more ruthless than before.

Back then, although those young rascals were arrogant, they were just blusterous and rarely resorted to killing. At most, they would give someone a beating, maybe draw some blood, but that was it.

But the kids of today were something else entirely. He had barely interacted with Li Sen when the latter harbored murderous intent.

Yes.

That was indeed murderous intent, not merely empty threats. With five hundred years of cultivation experience and countless battles under his belt, Gu Qingfeng was extremely sensitive to murderous intent. He could clearly feel that Li Sen truly wanted to kill him. Had it not been so, he wouldn’t have retaliated so harshly. And then there was Tan Siru, who, merely tempted by money, also harbored the intent to kill.

“In my youth, although I wasn’t exactly a saint and did indulge in violence and robbery, it was a chaotic era. If I didn’t kill, I would have been killed. There was no choice.”

Gu Qingfeng was no hypocrite, and he didn’t try to justify his past actions.

He simply felt that the young kids of today were far too brazen and dismissive of human life. Ready to fight and kill over trivial matters, they were indeed troublesome. Today, fortunately, it was him they encountered. Had it been someone else, that person might not have been so lucky.

“The kids of today are really not to be trifled with…”

Shaking his head, he sighed.

Returning to the Hidden Spirit Garden, he was considering taking a nap when he suddenly saw an old man leisurely lying on a wooden chair, enjoying a drink.

The old man, clad in a gray robe with unkempt gray hair and beard, looked somewhat scruffy. It was none other than Huo De. Upon seeing Gu Qingfeng, Huo De abruptly stood up with a displeased expression and said, “Gu lad, where have you been? This old man has been waiting for you for half a day.”

“Waiting for me for half a day?” Gu Qingfeng scoffed, walking over. “I was about to ask you the same thing. I finally come back for a visit, and you just disappear. What, were you afraid I’d mooch off you, or afraid I’d drink you into poverty?”

“Hahaha… I wish you would mooch off me, but I’m afraid you, lad, wouldn’t fancy that!”

“Don’t say that. I really don’t fancy this shabby place of yours.”

“You brat, I was just joking. You didn’t have to be so blunt. Besides, this place of mine…”

Huo De, the Daoist Master, was about to boast about his garden having everything one could desire, but then he thought better of it. He knew Gu Qingfeng was telling the truth. Back in the day, the Crimson Heaven Sect, founded by Gu Qingfeng, was unparalleled in scale, resources, grandeur, and even scenery—it was like a heavenly realm.

And yet, this was the very place Gu Qingfeng had destroyed with a flick of his finger…

What in the world could still catch his eye?

The answer was clear: nothing.

“So, where have you been these past two days?”

“Heh heh, seeing that you were back, this old man went out to get some fine wine for your welcome.”

“Really?” Gu Qingfeng eyed the old man suspiciously, walked over, and poured himself a cup of wine from the pot. He drank it in one gulp, tasted it, and shook his head disdainfully, saying, “This is the fine wine you brought back? I must say, Huo De, you’re known as a connoisseur of wine. How come your taste has deteriorated so much over the years?”

“This kind of low-quality liquor is fine for a casual drink, but how can it be called fine wine? The wine I brought back this time is something special, I assure you, you’ll like it.”

“Really? What kind of wine?”

“Just follow me, and you’ll see.”

“Oh, playing mysterious now, are we? You’re not setting another trap for me, are you?” Gu Qingfeng teased. “I remember you used to set plenty of traps for me back in the day.”

“What are you talking about, Gu lad? When have I ever set traps for you?”

Watching Huo De’s righteous demeanor, Gu Qingfeng couldn’t help but laugh silently, thinking to himself how the old man’s skin had gotten thicker over the years.

Back when he was a menial worker at the Cloudy Rosy Heaven Sect, he had been tricked by this old man a few times, becoming an experimental subject for various formations.

Later, when they left the Cloudy Rosy Heaven Sect to explore ancient ruins together, Huo De had tricked him several more times.

Of course, Gu Qingfeng had also set a few traps for Huo De in return.

The two had tricked each other and faced hardships together. Gu Qingfeng knew well the character of this old man. To hear Huo De had gone out of his way to get fine wine for him was something Gu Qingfeng was highly skeptical of.

Would Huo De really save any good wine for him if he had some?

Gu Qingfeng didn’t inquire further and followed Huo De through twists and turns into a cave. To his surprise, he found a vast hall with a huge table laden with various delicious dishes, numbering over eighty.

There was tender rice-flavored chicken, spicy nine-turn thousand-shoots, sweet and delectable willow leaf fish…

Looking at the table full of delicacies, Gu Qingfeng was momentarily stunned, as almost all of these dishes were his favorites from his youth.

“Gu lad, what do you think? All these are your favorite delicacies from the past. It took me several days and trips across half of the northwestern border to gather them.” As he spoke, Huo De took out a jar of wine from his storage bag and opened it with a pop, releasing a cloud of smoke.

The smoke seemed like a mixture of fire and frost.

Accompanied by the fragrance of the wine, Gu Qingfeng was startled and exclaimed, “This is… this is Thousand-Year Ice-Fire Brew!”

“Hahaha! Well done, Gu lad! I knew you’d recognize the Ice-Fire Brew as soon as I opened the jar!” Daoist Master Huo De, holding the wine jar, poured two bowls of the wine, looking very pleased with himself. “How about it, Gu lad? Satisfied with this Thousand-Year Ice-Fire Brew?”

Satisfied!

Extremely satisfied!

This Ice-Fire Brew was Gu Qingfeng’s favorite drink from the past, especially the thousand-year vintage. Even thinking about it now made him salivate. He picked up a bowl and drank it all in one gulp. The wine felt like burning fire and freezing frost as it entered his body, an indescribably thrilling sensation.

“Refreshing!”

Gu Qingfeng exclaimed excitedly, “Huo De, where did you get this from?”

This kind of thousand-year-old Ice-Fire Brew was rare in the world, mostly unearthed from ancient ruins. No amount of money could buy it, and it was something Gu Qingfeng had spent considerable effort searching for in his past.

“Heh heh, don’t worry about where I got it from. As long as you like it, I can give you all thirty-seven jars of my treasured Thousand-Year Ice-Fire Brew.”

With a wave of his hand, Huo De revealed thirty-seven jars of the Ice-Fire Brew, neatly lined up on the ground, astonishing Gu Qingfeng.

“How many ruins did you have to explore to find so much Thousand-Year Ice-Fire Brew… Huo De, have you been doing nothing but digging through old ruins these years?”

“How can you say that, lad… What do you mean ‘just digging through ruins’? Am I that kind of person?” Huo De poured another bowl of wine and said, “What are you waiting for? These wines are all for you. Come! Let’s eat and drink, today we’ll have a proper feast.”

Just as Gu Qingfeng was about to sit down, something felt off. Looking at the table full of delicacies and the thirty-plus jars of Thousand-Year Ice-Fire Brew, he laughed, “Huo De, tell me honestly, is this another trap you’ve set for me?”

“Come on, Gu lad, let’s not talk about those old, trivial matters. You’re the renowned King of Crimson Heavens. Even if I set a trap for you, what can it do? You dared to destroy the Immortal Court; are you really afraid of a trap set by me?”

Thinking about it, Gu Qingfeng realized there was some truth to it. He picked up the rice-flavored chicken and began to eat, cursing with a smile, “Back in my younger days, you set so many traps for me, I get a shiver down my spine just seeing you.”

“You brat…”

The two of them ate and drank heartily, enjoying large chunks of meat and bowls of wine. They were thoroughly enjoying the meal, reminiscing about the past.

However, as they reminisced, Gu Qingfeng began to feel something was amiss. Huo De only talked about the times he had helped him and avoided mentioning any traps he had set.

He claimed that he had taught Gu Qingfeng his first set of first techniques.

He said he had given Gu Qingfeng his first flying sword.

He even claimed that if it weren’t for him, Gu Qingfeng would have died in the Cloudy Rosy Heaven Sect.

As he listened, Gu Qingfeng started to understand what was going on. He didn’t speak, just ate, watched, and smiled.

Perhaps feeling uneasy under Gu Qingfeng’s gaze, Huo De’s face began to show signs of guilt, and he muttered, glancing away, “Why do you keep laughing at me, lad? Your laughter is making me uncomfortable!”

“Hehe…”

Gu Qingfeng smiled lightly, wiped the grease from his mouth, took a sip of wine, and said, “Huo De, you must need something from me, right?”

(End of Chapter)