……

Subsequently, Wang Shouzhe and his two companions alighted from the carriage. After a polite bow, Lei Yangyu immediately found an excuse to leave, and even Xu Anbang casually found a reason to leave the carriage.

This caused Lei Yangyu to glance at him sideways: “Brother Anbang, isn’t this your carriage?”

Xu Anbang helplessly shrugged.

What else could he do?

Ah, it’s not easy to be the head of a noble family these days~

Not to mention their ongoing legal troubles, on the other side, Wang Shouzhe had invited Xiahou Hongde onto the carriage.

Inside the carriage, the two sat facing each other.

Facing Xiahou Hongde’s slightly sharp gaze, Wang Shouzhe was calm and composed, as if the city lord opposite him was not here to cause trouble.

He smoothly brewed a pot of spiritual tea and offered him a cup with his sleeves folded: “This is ‘Jade Hook Green’, a treasured collection of the head of the Xu Clan in Changning. It’s light and slightly bitter, with a lingering taste, most suitable for savoring in this crisp autumn season.”

The tea leaves were like pieces of jade hooks, which complemented the mutton-fat jade porcelain teacup.

Xiahou Hongde remained silent, maintaining his dignified posture, picked up the teacup and took a sip, slightly frowning: “It’s too bland.”

“Indeed, I didn’t consider it well.” Wang Shouzhe chuckled softly, “City Lord Xiahou, being a military hero, prefers the grandeur of ‘power to pull mountains and cover the world’, naturally, you wouldn’t like this light-tasting spiritual tea.”

“Power to pull mountains and cover the world? What a spirit!” Xiahou Hongde’s eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but show a longing look, “Is this the feat of a senior from the Purple Mansion? No, I’m afraid even a person from the Purple Mansion can’t pull a mountain, right? Perhaps a senior from the Purple Mansion who specializes in battle bodies can do it with a smaller mountain?”

“……”

Wang Shouzhe’s eyelid twitched, almost unable to hold back.

I’m talking about the mood with you, but you’re discussing the practical possibility with me? Are these the same thing?!

However, he also understood.

The descendants of military families, from childhood to adulthood, received different education from the local Basalt families, and their concepts naturally differed greatly.

They value more the hot-blooded heroism and military discipline.

No wonder this sentence could resonate with the other party.

Immediately, Wang Shouzhe swiped on his storage ring, took out a pot of wine, and poured him a glass in a fine glass cup: “City Lord Xiahou, try my homemade ‘Fire Crystal Burn’.”

Fire Crystal Burn?

Xiahou Hongde stared at the crystal-clear glass, the wine inside was as red as fire, and the strong aroma quickly filled the carriage.

He frowned: “It looks like a spirit wine ‘Red Flame Rosé’ brewed from Red Crystal Spirit Rice, but the fire color is more intense, and the wine is clearer.”

Red Flame Rosé is a spirit wine widely welcomed by military officers, and it is sold in the famous Hundred Flavors Pavilion.

Why do only officers welcome it? Of course, because the ordinary Basalt soldiers can’t afford the “Red Flame Rosé”.

“My ‘Fire Crystal Burn’ is indeed brewed from Red Crystal Spirit Rice.” Wang Shouzhe introduced with a smile, “But the method and process are quite different, City Lord Xiahou can try it first.”

In fact, at tonight’s banquet, Huangfu’s Clan also brought out good wine to entertain, and Xiahou Hongde didn’t drink less. It’s not easy to get drunk at his level of cultivation.

He really didn’t think that Wang Shouzhe could have better wine than Huangfu’s Clan’s collection.

However, the fact that Wang Shouzhe took it out so solemnly meant that this wine should have some unique features. Moreover, the wine indeed seemed strong.

Out of slight curiosity, Xiahou Hongde picked up the wine glass and drank half of it in one breath.

“Hiss!”

The wine smoothly slid down his throat into his stomach. Where it passed, there was first a refreshing coolness, and then it burned like fire in his stomach. Even a master of Xiahou Hongde’s level felt his blood accelerate and an uncontrollable blush appeared on his face.

His eyes widened in surprise.

It took more than ten breaths before he relaxed completely, exhaled a sigh of relief, and praised with bright eyes: “What a ‘Fire Crystal Burn’! It’s really good wine, strong enough! Compared to this, ‘Red Flame Rosé’ can only be given to those young ladies to drink.”

He praised the Fire Crystal Burn endlessly, completely forgetting how much he used to love Red Flame Rosé. He held the glass tightly, staring at the Fire Crystal Burn, as if he had found a new love.

No wonder he had such a reaction, this Fire Crystal Burn was not brewed using ordinary methods. Instead, Wang Shouzhe tried to use the method of distilling liquor to brew this high-proof liquor.

Combined with the fire energy contained in the Red Crystal Spirit Rice itself, it naturally achieved the cool and smooth taste of high-alcohol content at the entrance, and then enjoyed the fun of burning flames in the throat.

The famous “Red Flame Rosé” is actually equivalent to a rice wine of about ten degrees, while “Fire Crystal Burn” is a high-proof liquor of sixty to seventy degrees, which can be directly ignited with fire.

They are not comparable at all.

“Young man, you do have a knack for understanding people’s hearts. It’s quite a talent.” Xiahou Hongde said, feeling slightly tipsy after downing half a cup of Fire Crystal Liquor. His speech was less guarded and more candid. “No wonder, the destitute Wang’s Clan of Ping’an Town has undergone such a drastic transformation under your leadership in just a decade.”

Speaking of this, Xiahou Hongde couldn’t help but feel a wave of emotions.

He had been stationed in Changning Guard for seventeen years.

For the first seven years, he barely had any impression of the so-called Wang’s Clan of Ping’an Town. In his eyes, it was nothing more than a struggling small family eking out a living in a remote corner of the town, a family on the brink of collapse.

But to his surprise, this struggling small family suddenly rose to prominence. The other two families in Ping’an Town disappeared abruptly…

If it was just that, Xiahou Hongde wouldn’t have cared much. But unexpectedly, this family continued to rise, not only becoming a Grade Eight noble family, but also growing to the point where it had the ability to influence the situation in Changning Guard.

This time, they even stirred up trouble behind the scenes, involving most of the powerful families in Changning Guard, indirectly confronting the Huangfu’s Clan, causing the prestigious Huangfu’s Clan to suffer a great loss.

“Commander Xiahou, you flatter me.” Wang Shouzhe smiled, respectfully pouring him a full cup of wine. “As the head of the Wang’s Clan, I’m just trying to lead my clan to live a better life. It’s not about talent or not.”

“But don’t think I’ll forgive you so easily.”

After praising Wang Shouzhe, Xiahou Hongde immediately became serious. His profound energy surged out, enveloping the entire carriage.

His overwhelming pressure bore down on Wang Shouzhe like a mountain.

“You stirred up trouble behind the scenes, causing a huge uproar in Changning Guard. You even dared to scheme against me, using me as a tool, even the Second and Third Patrol Camps have become weapons in your hands, indirectly involved in the family feud. Wang Shouzhe, tell me, how should I deal with you?”

He was somewhat angry and embarrassed. Unconsciously, he had been outmaneuvered by this young man! He really wanted to ask him, where do you think you’re putting me? Or, do you want to take over my position?

Facing the overwhelming pressure of a Heavenly Man, any other Spirit Platform Realm cultivator would probably be sweating profusely.

However, Wang Shouzhe remained as steady as a rock amidst the pressure, like a flat boat in a stormy sea. It seemed dangerous, but no matter how turbulent the waves were, they couldn’t capsize him.

He smiled calmly, “Commander Xiahou is joking. I believe that after nearly twenty years in Changning, you must be very familiar with the situation here and have some understanding of the past of my Wang’s Clan.”

“My Wang’s Clan of Ping’an Town just wants to live peacefully, cultivate our fields, develop our economy, earn more resources for our clan’s descendants, and secure a better future for them. But as the saying goes, ‘the tree desires stillness but the wind will not cease.’ We just don’t want to repeat past mistakes. If we have offended you in the process, we hope you can forgive us.”

Wang Shouzhe did not deny his actions, even though he was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. But which of the big shots in Changning Guard didn’t know what was going on?

“Enough, enough.” Seeing him apologize, Xiahou Hongde’s anger subsided a lot, and he drained his cup of Fire Crystal Liquor.

In fact, he was at a loss as to what to do with Wang Shouzhe.

This young man had handled everything flawlessly. Although he had used the Patrol Camps and Xiahou Hongde as tools, the evidence was irrefutable that the other party had colluded with the Yinsha Sect.

“The previous Huangfu’s Clan indeed brought it upon themselves.” Xiahou Hongde waved his hand, still savoring the taste of the Fire Crystal Liquor. “How about this, give me two hundred pounds of Fire Crystal Liquor, and I’ll forgive you.”

Wang Shouzhe couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.

Commander Xiahou, your forgiveness is too cheap~

Although Fire Crystal Liquor was brewed from Red Crystal Rice and consumed quite a bit, the cost of two hundred pounds of liquor was at most a few hundred Top Gold. Compared to the value of a Heavenly Man Realm cultivator, it was really nothing.

However, he didn’t respond directly. Instead, he took out a flat bowl made of mutton-fat jade porcelain, poured in more than half a bowl of Fire Crystal Liquor, and said, “The way you drank Fire Crystal Liquor just now is not the authentic way. Let me show you the proper way.”

Xiahou Hongde’s attention was immediately drawn.

He stared at the bowl, curious to see what tricks Wang Shouzhe could pull off.

Wang Shouzhe took out a Fire Element Spirit Stone, activated it with his profound energy, and the stone immediately ignited.

Then, Wang Shouzhe threw the burning Fire Element Spirit Stone into the bowl.

In an instant.

The Fire Crystal Liquor in the flat bowl ignited without warning, the flames blazing, forming a beautiful blue flame at the mouth of the bowl.

“This… this…”

Xiahou Hongde was stunned. The Fire Crystal Liquor could actually be ignited, no wonder it was so fiery.Xiahou Hongde was unaware that only liquor with an alcohol content above fifty degrees could burn, and that the flame of a sixty to seventy-degree spirit would be particularly beautiful.

“Lord City Defender, please enjoy this drink while it’s hot.”

Wang Shouzhe made a gesture of invitation.

Xiahou Hongde hesitated slightly. He had lived a lifetime and had never drunk liquor that was directly set on fire.

This was too thrilling~

However, out of curiosity, he steeled himself, relying on his cultivation at the Heavenly Realm, picked up the large bowl, and swallowed the burning fire crystal and fire elemental spirit stone in one gulp.

Seeing this, Wang Shouzhe’s mouth twitched.

The strong taste of flame instantly “ignited” Xiahou Hongde, sliding down his esophagus and into his stomach. He felt as if he was surrounded by a raging fire, his entire face turning red.

All the pores on his body opened in that instant, with steam rising from them.

This intense stimulation was an experience he had never had in his two hundred plus years of life.

After a long while, he came back to his senses, excitedly slapped his thigh and said, “Good, good liquor! This is the real fire crystal burn! The authentic way to drink fire crystal burn. It’s so strong~! But it’s a bit too much to enjoy it with a fire elemental spirit stone each time.”

“This…” Wang Shouzhe wiped the sweat from his forehead and said weakly, “Lord City Defender, did you also swallow the fire elemental spirit stone?”

“I did, and it feels very refreshing.” Xiahou Hongde smacked his lips, savoring the taste, then frowned and said, “It’s still burning in my stomach. I can only wrap it with my Xuanqi… What’s the next step? Should I digest it?”

“This, this, this…”

Wang Shouzhe was speechless, truly worthy of a monster at the Heavenly Realm.

He coughed and carefully explained, “Lord City Defender, you should find a secluded place to spit it out later. It’s meant for igniting…”

Sigh~ He had offered a drink and ended up losing a fire elemental spirit stone.

…