Chapter 115: The Old Drunkard

"Rest assured, as long as the clue is true, I guarantee I will give you one thousand taels of silver. I can afford this small amount of money."

Lu Fang said seriously.

The old drunkard shook his head repeatedly, "No, no. Since you have no sincerity, then let's not trade."

After speaking, he was about to leave.

Who knew that at this moment, Hu Di brought a group of people over. Seeing that Lu Fang was also there, he cupped his hands and blocked the old drunkard.

"It's this old guy finding trouble for no reason."

The young man who had just been entangled pointed angrily at the old drunkard.

The old drunkard was not afraid of the crowd at all, rolled his eyes, and said, "Your Shatuo Gang has the nerve to come over? I clearly said I had clues, but you ignored me. It's not like you're the ones paying the one thousand taels."

Hu Di frowned and waved his hand, and more than twenty subordinates immediately surrounded the old drunkard. Don't underestimate the small force of the Shatuo Gang.

Beside Hu Di was a Sixth-Rank martial artist, in addition to scattered subordinates around the Eighth Rank, and Hu Di himself, a Seventh-Rank scholar.

If they were to face the old drunkard, they really wouldn't be at a disadvantage.

After all, this small city was a relatively prosperous stop on the border. If they didn't have some strength, it would be impossible to operate such a large force in the city.

"Please wait a moment."

Lu Fang stopped the eager Hu Di and smiled, "This ascetic monk, do you know his background? I saw his expression just now, and it didn't look like he was lying."

Hu Di frowned slightly and said, "It is said that he just arrived in the city. I don't know the specifics. Young Master Fang, looking at his appearance, I think he is just lying to cheat some silver."

Lu Fang glanced at the old drunkard and shook his head, "Forget it, let him go. I was here just now and witnessed the whole process. I can't blame him; it was indeed your subordinates who didn't even listen to the clues he had."

That's what he said.

But Lu Fang also thought the old drunkard in front of him was unreliable. As far as he knew, whether in his previous life or the Great Zhou Dynasty, ascetic monks were not like this.

At least they shouldn't be drinking.

He had a prejudice in his conduct; he had zero tolerance for people like drunkards or gamblers. For ordinary people, perhaps one could believe thirty percent, but for these two types of people, one could only believe ten percent.

Hu Di hesitated for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Fine, since Young Master Fang says so, it must be that my subordinates were a bit negligent."

He waved his hand, and the Shatuo Gang members immediately dispersed. Seeing this, he cupped his hands and said, "Young Master Fang, as of now, the situation is not optimistic. Basically, no one here has seen the woman in the painting."

Lu Fang nodded, "I saw your people asking for clues, so I can't blame you. I'll say the same thing: as long as you have real clues, you can transmit them to me at any time."

"Young Master Fang, straightforward."

Hu Di nodded with a smile.

Just as Lu Fang was about to leave, the old drunkard, who was sitting in front of a shop picking up a wine gourd to drink, suddenly called out to him, "Seeing that you don't look like a person who would renege, fine, for the sake of you speaking up for me just now."

"I can tell you the clues about the woman in the painting first."

"But I'll say the ugly words first: if you don't give me the silver when the time comes, I will follow you for a lifetime to collect the debt."

"Good." Lu Fang agreed, looking like he was all ears.

The old drunkard shook the wine gourd, listened closely, and shook his head, "No wine won't do. Let's go to the tavern to drink and talk."

After speaking, he ignored Lu Fang's response and staggered into a nearby tavern.

Lu Fang looked at the sky and saw there was still plenty of time, so he followed quickly. It seemed this old drunkard was a regular at this tavern. As soon as he entered the shop, he shouted loudly, "Bring all the best wine and food in the shop. This old monk doesn't abstain from meat or alcohol."

The shopkeeper was an old man from the Western Regions who spoke fluent Chinese, "This shop does not offer credit."

Lu Fang walked to the counter, placed twenty taels of silver, and said, "Listen to him, bring out the best side dishes in your shop. As for the wine, no need; we brought our own."

"Alright, a table of the best side dishes."

The shopkeeper shouted with a smile.

"How can there be no wine?" The old drunkard frowned tightly, looked at Lu Fang sitting opposite him, and asked puzzledly:

"Seeing that you don't lack this bit of silver, could it be that you are deliberately teasing this old monk?"

Lu Fang shook his head with a smile, "I have a request for you, Senior, how could I deliberately tease you? It's just that I happen to have a small jar of Bodhi Fruit Brew and quite a bit of Monkey Wine here."

He waved his long sleeves, and three jars of wine appeared neatly arranged on the dining table. Before they were even opened, one could smell the strong aroma of wine.

Just smelling it made one's mouth water.

Especially the smaller jar of "Bodhi Fruit Brew," that faint fruity fragrance drifted for a mile. Just smelling it made one feel refreshed.

The old drunkard's eyes lit up. He lay on the dining table, sniffed with his wine-red nose, and said with some surprise, "This wine fragrance is truly Bodhi Fruit Brew!"

This jar of Bodhi Fruit Brew was given to Lu Fang by Li Yu before he left, hoping that he could successfully break through to the Sixth Rank when the Buddha Kingdom trial ground opened.

One must know that the Bodhi Fruit Brew used by the Great Zhou Emperor for rewards was an extremely precious existence even in the Buddha Kingdom of the Western Regions.

If you don't have a certain achievement and status in the Buddha Kingdom, let alone drinking it, you might not even see it.

"You are indeed not an ordinary person, having even drunk Bodhi Fruit Brew."

Lu Fang was a bit expectant. Perhaps this sloppy old drunkard really had clues about Lu Ling's biological mother.

The old drunkard shook his head repeatedly, impatiently picked up the jar of Bodhi Fruit Brew, and carefully poured a cup of wine. His manner was extremely cautious; he even licked the drops of wine that splashed out.

"How would I have the ability to drink Bodhi Fruit Brew? I just saw others drink it before. Young Master has a grand hand; just this one jar is far from being comparable to a thousand gold."

Lu Fang nodded with a smile and did not urge him.

The old drunkard drank nearly ten cups in a row and ate most of the food brought up. Only then did he hiccup, wiped his mouth with his filthy sleeve, and grinned loudly:

"This life is worth it. Since Young Master Fang is so generous, this old monk won't hide it. I do know the clues about the woman in the painting."

"Oh." Lu Fang listened attentively.

The old drunkard simply picked up the wine jar and gulped down a few large mouthfuls, saying, "This old monk was indeed an ascetic monk more than ten years ago, but I encountered some troublesome things, so I lived freely and easily."

"Do you still have that scroll on you? Can you let this old monk take a closer look?"

"Don't misunderstand, it's not that I didn't figure it out and came to cheat you, but that place is simply too dangerous. If the woman in the painting is not that person, it's better not to go."

"That place is very dangerous?" Lu Fang took out another scroll from his storage bag. Although they were all copies, they were from the top painters in the capital, almost exactly the same. ===== CHAPTER 116 =====