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Chapter 13: Brewing
🕑 Added 2023-12-08 16:02:44 +0000 UTCImmortal Path Space : Table of Content/Chapter List
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Wang Hong delivered a swift kick to the Masked Man and scolded, "Fool, couldn't you just stay home? Had to come out seeking death. Who has Immortal Pill and doesn't immediately swallow it? Save it for others to snatch? Fool! Just because you've been given Immortal Techniques, you think you can cultivate them? If it were that easy, the world wouldn't have so many ordinary people without brains!" He kicked again for emphasis.
After venting his frustration, Wang Hong's mind gradually calmed. During the intense battle moments ago, his focus was solely on killing the opponent.
Now, in the calm aftermath, looking at the corpse before him, an unsettling feeling crept into his heart.
This encounter was dangerously close; if the surprise attack had failed, he might be the one lying on the ground now.
Covering the corpse with a piece of cloth, he began tending to his own wounds. The wound on his chest was deep, exposing bone. Fortunately, he had acquired a bottle of White Jade Powder from Ji Shi Tang - Medical Hall during his last visit.
He added a pinch of salt to lukewarm water and carefully cleansed the wound. Grimacing in pain, Wang Hong felt a sense of manliness, though he regretted having no audience to witness his stoic cleaning of his own wound.
After the cleaning, he evenly spread White Jade Powder on the wound and bandaged it with boiled hemp cloth. The remaining White Jade Powder was ingested with water.
Wang Hong contemplated the need to concoct some healing medicine in the future, but he lacked the Medicinal Herbs seeds.
Genuine high-quality Medicinal Herbs were not easy to come by; they couldn't be bought with silver alone.
The primary ingredient in White Jade Powder was the White Jade Mushroom, which had to be less than ten years old. This Medicinal Herbs was extremely picky about its growth environment and would generally wither and die before reaching ten years, except in exceptionally favorable conditions.
Having dealt with his own affairs, Wang Hong, suppressing his discomfort, searched the Masked Man and found a few taels of loose silver and another bottle of White Jade Powder. It seemed that White Jade Powder was indeed a must-have remedy for warriors during their travels, a tool for both killing and robbing.
Removing the Masked Man's face covering, Wang Hong discovered a white, thin-faced man in his fifties whom he had never seen before.
Wang Hong reported the incident to the patrol team and had them dispose of the body. By the time he finished, it was late at night, and due to blood loss, he felt a bit lightheaded. Wang Hong consumed the remaining meat soup and, having finished eating, went to sleep.
The next day, Wang Hong informed Military Formation Instructor Feng Lao Mo of his need for a few days off and dedicated himself to recovering at home. Currently, he was leisurely sipping tea and holding an old book.
A knocking sound echoed from outside. It was Zhang Tie Mao, Li Xiao Ya, Hua Wen Jue, and Lu Jin Gou, who had come to visit Wang Hong upon hearing about his injury.
During this period, they often practiced battle formations together and, being children at heart, quickly found amusement in each other's company.
Wang Hong offered them a plate of raspberries, seemingly a product of space that underwent gradual mutations over time. These raspberries, once the size of fingertips, had now grown to the size of pigeon eggs. Consuming them also had a subtle effect on enhancing cultivation, though not as pronounced as space's rice grains and wheat.
Li Xiao Ya picked one and, with a gentle sip, caused the fruit to burst, releasing a sweet juice that flowed down her throat. Comfortably sighing, she exclaimed, "Wang Hong, where did you buy these? They're delicious!"
Zhang Tie Mao swallowed three berries in one go, saying, "These should be wild ones from the mountain. I've picked such raspberries on the mountain before, although not as big or tasty."
"I picked them on the mountain yesterday. Unfortunately, the tree was too small; I only got this much," Wang Hong replied, intentionally mentioning that he had already picked them to avoid being asked to go together next time.
Lu Jin Gou, stuffing his mouth with berries, mumbled, "These berries would make excellent wine. I used to pick wild grapes on the mountain to make wine; these berries would probably yield a more aromatic brew than wild grapes."
Hua Wen Jue elegantly twisted a berry between her fingers and said, "Little brat, not learning well, always imitating adults drinking."
"You're only a year older than me, and I didn't see you drink any less of the grape wine last time," Lu Jin Gou retorted hastily.
The speaker is unaware, but the listener interprets. Wang Hong noticed that the Raspberries plant in space, initially half a person's height, had grown taller than a person. The troublesome part was that it would bear a batch of fruit every few days, and if not harvested promptly, the fruits would fall to the ground, take root, and sprout anew.
Initially, growing this Raspberries plant was for his and his Younger Brother's daily snacks. Sometimes, if not finished, Wang Hong stored the uneaten berries in several large jars. Those jars of Raspberries happened to serve as an experiment for brewing.
Wang Hong discovered a benefit in space – as long as things didn't directly touch the ground, they could be preserved indefinitely without spoiling.
However, once in contact with the ground, anything with a hint of vitality would take root and sprout. Earlier, Wang Hong had made a wooden rack to store harvested grains in space.
Unexpectedly, two days later, new roots grew beneath the rack, and the rack was covered with fresh, tender twigs. After that, any rack Wang Hong placed inside was sun-dried outside and roasted with fire.
After some playful banter, the group reminded Wang Hong to be careful, as the Academy was currently not very peaceful, with frequent intruders. Wang Hong, of course, couldn't resist recounting his heroic deeds against the Masked Man, embellishing the story. This earned him admiration from Zhang Tie Mao and Li Xiao Ya, while Hua Wen Jue and Lu Jin Gou regarded him with suspicion.
Before leaving, they invited Wang Hong to go hunting in the mountains once he recovered. Wang Hong thought that with the vastness of Qing Yun Shan, once he entered the mountains, others would find it challenging to locate him, so he gladly agreed.
North of the valley where Qing Yang Academy was located, there was a cluster of houses for the instructors and their families.
In front of the residential area was a short street, lined with small shops on one side and various stalls on the other.
Most daily necessities could be bought and sold here, but larger transactions usually took place in the county.
Wang Hong, currently strolling down this street, was keenly observing the shops and stalls on either side. Stall vendors would energetically call out to passersby if they cast even a casual glance at their stalls.
Most items sold by vendors were local specialties, mountain products, and some were items that academy students dealt with in their spare time, such as harvesting Medicinal Herbs or selling mountain products. The shops, on the other hand, offered everyday items like oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, and clothing.
Wang Hong found a Wan Shi Jiu Fang and walked in. As he entered, a waft of alcohol greeted him, and his eyes fell on rows of large wine barrels.
Before Wang Hong could speak, a cheerful young woman approached, "Young sir, looking to buy some wine? Our store has various fine wines, including the ten-year-aged Yu Lan Chun, the twenty-year-aged Jin Yu Ye, and the newly brewed Burnt Knife."
After a brief thought, Wang Hong inquired, "I want to buy some wine for making Medicinal wine. Any particular type you recommend?"
The young woman recommended, "In that case, go for the newly brewed Burnt Knife. It has a robust flavor, and the price is reasonable, fifty wen per jin."
Wang Hong agreed on the spot, ordering a hundred jin of wine divided into ten small jars. He also asked the shopkeeper for some Jiu Qu for brewing. In total, he paid five taels of silver, with the Jiu Qu thrown in as a free gift.
Returning to his courtyard, Wang Hong dug up five forty-year-old Ginseng plants and five forty-year-old Purple Mushroom plants. He soaked them separately in the wine jars, adding bee wax seal, and then stored them in space.
He also crushed the remaining raspberries in space, added Jiu Qu, stirred it thoroughly, and sealed the jar. It would only require stirring every few days henceforth.
In reality, berry-like fruits could be fermented into wine by simply crushing them without adding Jiu Qu. However, compared to using Jiu Qu, the resulting wine would have more impurities and a less refined taste.
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 14: White Jade Mushroom
