Chapter 47: East Entrance [

The spring chill was biting; Old Man Wu sat on a grayish-yellow wooden chair wrapped in a cotton-padded coat, panting, while the wine-shop flag on the road, hoisted high by the cold wind, danced like a loach twice before hanging down powerlessly.

"There should be quite a bit of business today."

The State of Yue was located in the south with a hot and humid climate, and snow was rare in winter; the heavy snow of last year was even rarer. The heavy snow had made the entire Guli Road impassable for carriages and horses, and Old Man Wu had only received three groups of guests the entire winter. Now that spring had come and the snow had melted, there was still an eight-tenths chill, which was the perfect time for drinking.

Old Man Wu leaned lazily against the wooden chair and rubbed against it, the broken chair beneath him creaking and groaning; he squinted his eyes and saw a cloud of yellow dust rising on the small road in the distance through the window.

He hurriedly stood up, limped to the door, and called out loudly:

"Meat—wine—, mutton—!"

Seeing the carriage and horses slowly arrive and stop in front, Old Man Wu hurriedly spoke up:

"My lord, my humble shop has meat and wine, and the sour and spicy side dishes are also quite refreshing..."

But he saw the carriage curtain lifted, and two men wearing fur coats stepped down.

The leading man looked less than seventeen, heroic and spirited, holding a long saber in his hand; his face still held some youthful innocence, and he looked at the wine shop with a smile.

The man behind him looked to be twenty-five or twenty-six, with a precious sword hanging at his waist; his appearance was quite refined, his eyes were bright and piercing, and he looked at Old Man Wu with vigilance.

Old Man Wu immediately weighed the situation, smiled obsequiously, and said:

"The two of you, please come in; our shop's specialty, snowflake meat wine, is a delicacy on this road."

After speaking, he turned his head and shouted loudly:

"Guests are here—"

The two sat down at a table, and two men ran down from upstairs with a thud-thud-thud, bowing their waists and smiling ingratiatingly, standing behind Old Man Wu.

"Bring a pot of snowflake wine and a few dishes."

Wan Yuankai put down the long saber in his hand, and seeing the old man order people to go down and prepare it, he explained to Li Tongya with a happy smile:

"This snowflake wine is made by slicing the lean meat of a sheep's loin into thin pieces, boiling it until tender in excellent wine, and finely mincing it into a paste; then, sheep marrow and kidney fat are melted in a pot, mixed into the meat paste, and when served, it is steeped in warm wine to drink."

Wan Yuankai swallowed his saliva and said in a low voice:

"I came here with a clan brother five years ago and ordered this pot of snowflake wine; it was truly astonishing, and I haven't been able to forget it to this day. At home, there are only those few ways of eating it, and I've long since grown tired of it!"

The two chatted for a few sentences when a burst of noise came from outside the door; several men in cotton coats walked in, sat down boisterously, and shouted loudly:

"Old Man Wu, bring the wine!"

"Aye, the masters are here."

Old Man Wu hurriedly smiled and went to greet them, flattering them one by one.

"This spring chill is truly freezing; the brothers and I have been guarding the east entrance all night, and the birds are almost frozen off! Taking advantage of the shift change when the master let us go, we hurried up to drink a couple of cups."

The burly man with a tiger's back and a bear's waist who was leading them laughed loudly and continued to speak:

"Dahu, you don't understand this; this happens every few years, just get used to it! The few noble families in the prefecture are keeping a tight grip, it will pass in a few days."

A voice emerged from that table and spoke slowly.

Wan Yuankai pricked up his ears and listened for a while, then smiled and said in a low voice:

"This place is near Guanyun Peak; I guess these people are the secular retainers of the Xiao family."

Li Tongya nodded, and the image of Xiao Yuansi immediately appeared in his mind; he couldn't help but feel a bit more favorable toward this group of men.

The waiter brought up a pot of hot wine, along with a few side dishes and a bowl of snow-white mutton paste.

Wan Yuankai hurriedly picked up a small spoon, scooped a little of the paste, put it in the bowl, picked up the wine pot, and poured it into the bowl; as it steeped, an alluring aroma of mutton immediately filled the air.

The leading Dahu twitched his nose, his eyes lit up, and he praised:

"So fragrant, it's snowflake wine!"

Wan Yuankai didn't pick up the man's conversation, took a delightful sip, and signaled for Li Tongya to try it as well.

Li Tongya smiled helplessly, gave the man a polite smile, poured the snowflake wine, and took a light sip after it had steeped.

The mellow aroma of the fine wine and the deliciousness of the mutton, mixed with a faint milky taste, immediately rushed to the tip of his tongue; Li Tongya finished the wine in the bowl without realizing it and smiled lightly:

"Indeed, the taste is delicious."

Seeing that Li Tongya and his companion were ignoring him, the burly man pursed his lips in embarrassment and said in a low voice:

"Just because they have a little stinking money..."

Looking enviously at the next table, Dahu swallowed his saliva, turned his head, and started chatting with his brothers on his own.

Wan Yuankai had only drunk a few sips when he saw another burst of noise outside the door; a group of people walked in from afar, surrounding a young man in fine clothes and silk furs as they entered the wine shop.

"Clan brother! Don't look at this wine shop as dilapidated; this snowflake wine is a unique delicacy on this road. This east entrance is a desolate mountain wilderness, cold and lonely, and only this wine shop can provide some entertainment."

A man dressed in gorgeous clothes was bowing and flattering the young man in fine clothes, gesturing; the man looked to be thirty-five or thirty-six, yet he bowed his body and called the young man in fine clothes 'clan brother,' which looked quite comical.

"Hmm."

The young man in fine clothes had somewhat narrow eyes, wore snow-white fox fur, and had a golden brocade pouch tied at his waist; his appearance could be considered handsome, with a pampered and delicate look. Upon hearing this, he only responded lightly.

"Oh no, why has the master's steward come here!"

The burly man named Dahu's expression changed instantly; he turned his head away and pretended not to recognize them, and the whole table of burly men also lowered their heads, trembling and not daring to utter a word.

Dahu secretly glanced at the group of people and managed to recognize two of them; they were both big figures among the Xiao family's clan soldiers stationed at the east entrance, yet at this moment, they were standing respectfully behind the steward, not daring to utter a word.

The young man in fine clothes frowned slightly when he saw the environment in the shop, which scared the middle-aged steward so much that he was terrified, hanging his head and not daring to say a word.

The middle-aged steward had spent half a day thinking of wording in his mind, but he felt as if he were dreaming when he heard the young man in front of him laugh, which scared him out of his wits.

"This clan brother possesses spiritual apertures and has entered the immortal path; he has always been arrogant and domineering. He has been stationed at this east entrance for more than ten days and I have never seen him laugh; I'm afraid this is laughing out of extreme anger!"

The young man in fine clothes, however, cupped his hands quite politely, a kind smile appearing on his face, and said softly:

"I didn't expect to meet two fellow Daoists in such a remote little shop!"