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He was an Origin Qi Scholar in the fifth layer of the Origin Qi Realm.

He also had two sworn brothers, known as Red Eagle and Mountain Demon. They were in the third and fourth layer of the Qi Drawing Realm, respectively. In terms of cultivation level, all three brothers were stronger than Su Chen.

Drinking the wine for free was a small matter.

After all, wine was not that valuable.

However, what this signified was very different.

This was obviously a provocation, and at the same time it was a test.

In this world, the weak were prey to the strong. However, those idiots who tried to eat everything without observing things first were often eaten themselves.

So before swallowing up a target, they first had to test it out.

They needed to see if the other party was a piece of meat that could be hunted down. It was also prudent to determine if they were a weak piece of meat, and whether or not the meat would taste good. Finally, they needed to know if there were other wolves or dogs also eyeing that piece of meat......

Thus, everyone was watching attentively.

Watching to see how Su Chen would deal with Wolf Blade and his overbearing drinking.

If Su Chen was too gentle, then very quickly even more people would extort him in the same way. All of the Origin Qi Scholars would dare to do the same thing. They would first want to eat and drink for free, and then that would progress to simply taking whatever they wanted to take. In the end, they might even charge a “protection fee”, and Su Chen would be the one paying them money.

Of course, Su Chen could also respond with force. That depended on how he wanted to deal with these three Origin Qi Scholars who were testing him him.

Did Su Chen have a strong backer? A precious treasure? Or something else?

No one knew. However, in order to appropriately deal with this matter, he would have to reveal some kind of tactic.

Upon seeing his tactics, everyone would know how to proceed.

This small test was actually Su Chen’s first crisis.

If he could survive it, he could peacefully continue to do business until something else popped up.

Letting it slide wouldn’t work. Otherwise, he might as well take all the money that he had currently saved up and immediately get out.

Although Su Chen was not old, his experience was more than sufficient.

Sufficient enough to allow him to understand and estimate the human conscience. He knew the thoughts of those who were hidden in the shadows.

In the time that it took lightning to start a fire, Su Chen already had devised a plan.

He nodded his head and said, “Got it. I’ll come take care of it this evening.”

“Yes.” Li Shu tactfully left.

As nightfall drew nearer, the Starplucking Wine Pavilion’s business began to heat up.

The “miners” that had worked for an entire day all came to the Halcyon Gorge’s only place of leisure, pulling out the few bits of silver that they had in their pockets to buy wine. If there was no space in the wine pavilion, they would sit outside. Su Chen had set up a hut outside the pavilion, which was more than enough to seat over a hundred people. Because of this, the number of laborers that he had hired had also increased.

As the fragrance of alcohol began to spread, people also began to talk more. The air became filled with foul language. Occasionally, a few young women would also walk by. There would always be lechers who would reach out their perverted hands, inciting surprised cries and crazy laughter.

However, today was somewhat different.

The person behind the bar serving wine for people was not a store assistant, but the boss Demon Face himself.

Because he wore a mask, people could not see his face. All they could see was that sinister and eerie demon mask and a pair of hands that very clearly belonged to that of a youth.

“Why has Boss come to serve wine personally tonight?” a wine guest guffawed.

“I have nothing going on at the moment, so I would just be idling around otherwise,” Su Chen carelessly responded.

“If Boss really is just idling around, why don’t you come spend some time with me behind the house? There is a patch of wildlands there, and the scenery is pretty good.” A scantily-clad woman who was dressed very seductively drew closer, sending Su Chen a flirtatious glance.

“Hahaha, Little Hibiscus you slut, you’re trying to seduce Demon Face again?” one of the wine guests said laughingly.

The woman known as Little Hibiscus was one of the prostitutes here. She was always very interested in Su Chen. She would come to try and tantalize Su Chen every opportunity she got, but unfortunately Su Chen never displayed any interest.

Su Chen was always indifferent about fooling around with women, so whatever they said, he would only silently clean the wine cups. He dutifully performed the work that a laborer should do.

However, there were some people who evidently were unwilling to let him go that easily.

“Unfortunately, his ‘thing’ is not very useful. No matter how much you try to seduce him, he probably wouldn’t even be able to harden!” a gruff voice sounded from outside.

This sentence had exceeded the limits of a mere joke.

‘He’s here!’ everyone began to yell in their hearts.

The person that walked in accompanying this extremely loud voice was a tall, well-built man.

This person was roughly seven feet tall, quite a bit taller than Su Chen. People who were supposedly a ‘full seven feet’ could only be a person with this kind of body size. He was quite brawny, and his face was densely covered with facial hair. He carried a large blade made out of a wolf’s body on his back; the wolf’s head faced inwards, as if it were swallowing the moon. It was the Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf Blade, an Origin Tool that was quite well-known throughout the Halcyon Gorge.

To the left and right of him were two other males. One was wearing a red feathered robe, flying through the air lightly and gracefully. The other’s arms hung below his knees, and his nose was unusually large. He was known for his unparalleled arm strength.

Wolf Blade, Red Eagle, Mountain Demon.

The moment that those three people entered the wine shop, the mood of all the guests there quieted down. The entire wine shop that had just been filled with clamor suddenly fell silent.

Wolf Blade looked left and right, then darkly laughed and walked towards Su Chen.

“Demon Face, how come you are here personally to take care of us today?” Wolf Blade sinisterly laughed.

“Your strength was too great, and you scared my assistants. Since you want to put me out of business, I can only come and take care of you myself,” Su Chen replied indifferently. He placed the wine cups in front of them. “What would you three like to drink?”

“The best and the most expensive!” Wolf Blade replied, glaring fiercely at Su Chen. “However, I will not pay.”

Su Chen pretended not to hear. He didn’t even look at him, picking up the wine. “We have an excellent wine that just came in from the Li estate, a thirty-year-old Red Daughter1. Do you want to drink it here, or do you want to find a place to sit, and I’ll send it to you?”

Wolf Blade originally wanted to sit and drink at the counter, but Su Chen’s “I’ll send it to you” caused him to change his mind.

He loudly said, “Send it over to me!”

As he spoke, he began heading in the direction of a table.

The wine shop had been full for a long time, but he directly walked towards a table, and the martial artists sitting at that table immediately moved for him.

Wolf Blade sat down with a grunt. He turned his head around to look at Su Chen pouring the wine. He thought in his heart, this Demon Face doesn’t seem all that imposing? I’m putting so much pressure on him, and yet there’s no response. Most likely, he is cowering in fear.

Upon thinking to this point, Wolf Blade drew this conclusion and was already beginning to consider how he would mess with Demon Face next.

This wine shop and general store had pretty good business. If he could take over it, that would be for the best. However, the Halcyon Gorge was inhabited by him alone. If he were to forcefully take over, with so many people watching, it might not actually be easy for him to seize it. It was better to let Demon Face hold onto the store, and he could secretly accept a “protection fee”. He didn’t need too much. They could split it eighty-twenty – himself eighty, Demon Face twenty...... No, it was better to split it ninety-ten. That brat should be satisfied with one-tenth.

Just as Wolf Blade was making these considerations, Su Chen had already brought him his wine.

For the mysterious owner of the wine store to personally serve him wine greatly satisfied his ego. The three of them began to devour their food while it was still warm. Su Chen merely watched, meeting any of their demands.

All of the wine guests were closely watching, waiting for Su Chen to display his prowess. However, Su Chen did not say anything, disappointing everyone.

People even said mockingly, “As expected, he is someone without any guts. He is able to endure even after Wolf Blade has bullied him to this point.”

“In any case, the other group has three people, and they also have an Origin Tool.”

“Doesn’t that guy have an Origin Tool as well?”

Su Chen’s Cloud-Stepping Boots had not escaped anyone’s notice in the end.

“It can only be used to run away.”

These murmurs could not disturb Su Chen. He continued to silently pour wine and clean the tables.

When others saw this, they felt even more sure that Su Chen was a character without any guts. Some people scorned him, and even more people began to come up with various schemes and ideas as to how they could profit from Demon Face.

After three rounds of drinking, Wolf Blade had eaten and drunk his fill. He stood up and said, “My meal today was very filling. I’ll be taking my leave now,” he said as he prepared to leave with his two brothers.

Su Chen finally spoke. “Hey, you forgot to pay for your wine.”

“Hm?” Wolf Blade stopped walking, then turned his head to look at Su Chen.

Everyone’s interest was suddenly piqued; they knew that a good show was about to happen. Everyone wanted to know how Demon Face would deal with Wolf Blade and the two others.

Wolf Blade’s expression sank. “I seem to recall saying beforehand that I would not pay.”

Su Chen continued to speak, as if he had not heard. “Six jugs of wine and fifteen kilograms of Vicious Beast Meat costs seven low-grade Origin Stones. In addition, you ate two meals yesterday, costing fifteen Origin Stones. The total you need to pay is...... a thousand five hundred and seven Origin Stones.”

“What did you say?” Everyone present was thoroughly shocked by this number.

Even Wolf Blade was shocked by the number that Su Chen said. He laughed mockingly, “Do you not know how to do math? Seven plus fifteen, where did the other thousand five hundred Origin Stones come from?”

“There’s no mistake,” Su Chen indifferently replied. “For every night you don’t pay up, the price will multiply by a hundred times. These are my rules.”

Wolf Blade’s smile froze.

His voice sank. “Are you courting death?”

Su Chen replied, “If you can’t afford it, you can use your knife to mortgage it. I have valued it at five hundred Origin Stones. The remaining......”

Wolf Blade, however, did not want to continue hear him speaking. He whipped out his Moon-Swallowing Heavenly Wolf Blade and chopped towards Su Chen. “DIE FOR ME!”

Wolf Blade hadn’t taken more than a few steps before his figure swayed, falling to the ground. He was actually unable to stand up anymore.

He looked at himself with surprise, then looked at Su Chen, his eyes filled with panic. “You...... You motherfucker, you poisoned me!”

1. A kind of Chinese rice fermented wine