As soon as we walked out of the mansion's gates, Azul started pestering me. "10 gold, Khan? Are you mad? What if she thought you were being arrogant, and Wan Cheng, you got into a deal with Wan Cheng? What sort of–"
"I have to go to the brewery. You've gotten your hunter now, so let's not talk about these things." No matter what I had done for Azul, this was in my own best interest, he and I weren't friends, and the only reason he had stopped being so disrespectful was because he had seen the spirit beast I had killed.
When I told him that, I left, the money from the captain at Camp Yi was still with me, and I didn't know how long that man would wait for his brew before deciding I had stolen from him.
And after that, I would have to prepare for the hunt. I didn't have time.
———————-
I opened the door to the brewery, and immediately the scent of wine and grapes flooded my nose.
The place looked like a rundown shack from the outside, and I wouldn't have been able to know it was a brewery if not for asking directions.
There was only one man in the whole place. He had thin eyes, like slits, and long white hair that he kept tied into a bun.
He was hunched over a large pot of clear alcohol with a wooden ladle in his hand.
"Have you come to buy some wine, child? You should know," he stroked his long goatee with his left hand, "they are very expensive."
'What a dark place, I can barely see his face.' "Yes, senior, I came to buy some Cold plum wine." I took the money from my pouch and gave it to him. "The Camp Yi captain told me to come get it on his behalf."
He looked up from his pot of wine and turned to me, "Oh ho, boy, it is not good for one so young to be involved with warmongers."
I held my tongue. He and the camp leader seemed to know each other. The old man chuckled, "Cold plum wine, eh?" He pointed at the small clay jar that stood on the table, "That's it right there."
When I took it, I thanked him, preparing to leave, "Before you go, child, have you tasted any of my wine before?"
I shook my head, 'I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to, this old man is making me feel uncomfortable.'
"Come sit down with me, let me know how my wine tastes, too long tasting your own creations can make you numb, eh?"
He noticed me still standing at the door and beckoned for me to come nearer. "Come now, I don't bite."
Gently, I put the jar on the ground next to me and sat next to him. "Very good. Here, this is a fifteen-year-old plain finish wine." I took a sip from the ladle, "How is it? Eh?"
The wine burned as it made its way towards my lungs. My throat itched as if the wine had dragged a thousand knives through it.
He laughed, "Hahaha, good reaction. Good reaction. A man must know how to take his fill of wine, you know?"
My feet were angled towards the door, and I put my hands out to help me get up. "Here, try this. It's made from dried hundred-day figs."
That was when I stopped. 'A spirit herb?' I hesitated, unsure whether to take it or not, "Senior, is this… a spirit herb?"
The man laughed, squinting so hard, I couldn't see his eyes. "Haha, no, boy, if they were, do you think I'd be able to get them?"
He took the jar in his hand and took a small sip before offering it to me again.
"This is called leftovers. When the gatherers are harvesting the herbs, the ones that have spoilt or have too little qi can be sold, or used as manure for other plants."
"Then doesn't that mean this contains qi as well?"
"Hmm?" The brewer removed some peanuts from a small sack hidden in his shoes. "Oh, yes, of course, but it's like saying a rock in the desert also has water."
I slipped the jar from his outstretched hand and took a swig. Qi! This is foolish.' I knew it was stupid of me, but I wanted to know what qi felt like.
"I don't notice any difference."
"Hahahah," *hiccup*. "Of course you don't. There's barely any in there. Would you satisfy your thirst with a drop of water?" The brewer took the jar out of my hand.
"The only reason they sell this stuff is that it can't make you stronger. If it were leaves from one of those qi herbs that gave you the strength of ten men, they wouldn't even let you breathe the air it produced."
I hiccuped and coughed. The alcohol was starting to have an effect on me, 'wait, there are herbs that—' Immediately, I stopped thinking and asked him the question. "Senior, are there herbs that allow you to grow stronger? Like cultivation?"
He looked at me as if I were asking him whether the sky was blue. "Of course, why do you think so many of them risk their lives and die whenever they hear mention of a spirit herb. What? You mean you didn't know?"
"No, senior." 'If there are herbs that are able to make me grow stronger, I have to find them.'
The reason I was asking was that I had gotten access to Lady Vesparas' library. If I were going to learn as much as I could, I might as well learn about spirit herbs, maybe I'd be able to find one when I was hunting the spirit beast.
"Thank you, senior, but I must leave, I've spent too much time here."
"Hmm?" Then he looked at the cold plum wine. "Oh, yes, yes, you must get the wine to that rascal, Tie," he shooed me away, "Carry on, it's just old dogs love to tell tales."
My eyes widened at the way he addressed the general. To speak casually about someone of such a high rank was a true way to get killed.
At first, I had only two things to do, prepare for the hunt and give the wine to the captain of Camp Yi. But now, I'd also have to prepare as much as I could for the library. Maybe there'd be something I could learn in there to help me with conversation.
I rushed towards Camp Yi. This time, I even hired a carriage. I wasn't willing to spend days on the road when I had so little time to use Lady Vesparas' library.
Overseer Liang sat in front of the head of the cloudshow gang. Today, he had brought the money.
"My lord," the overseer passed the bag filled with silver over to him, "here's the silver. As promised." Liang was jittery, almost jumping out of his seat due to all the excitement he felt.
He had been looking for a way to make Khan pay for weeks. Now he finally had his chance. The leader of the gang took the pouch and emptied all the coins onto a balance scale. When it was done and he was satisfied that the money was enough, he shook the overseer's hand.
"Alright, since you've brought the money, we'll get it done. You may leave." But the overseer didn't listen, instead dragging his girth to the edge of the seat and gripping at the edge of the table, "How long will you take, my lord?"
The man recoiled, visibly disgusted by the stench that wafted from the overseer's mouth, but the overseer didn't notice, "I'll send my men to do some more investigating on the boy. If you want this done right, it will take a while." He shoved the overseer, "Sit back."
"But, you said you would kill him when you get the money."
"Do you want us to just kill him anywhere? We have to find the places he frequents most, where he'll be most vulnerable. The boy took down a spirit beast once." The overseer clenched his fist, and the gang leader pretended not to notice. "It will take a few weeks, till then, we will let you know of any new developments."
Overseer Liang nodded his head, "Alright," he looked at his money longingly before getting up, "I just hope that it will be done soon."
"What do you mean? We are the cloudshow gang. If we set our sights on a person, we always get them."
At the door, the overseer gripped the handle tightly. "That boy humiliated me." A scalding whisper, "He stole from me. As long as you can do this, I don't mind the costs. Kill him."
The room went silent.