Chapter 38: On a Hot Day, Games and Sprite Are a Perfect Match

As the game hung in a loading state and the words "Please Wait" flashed upon the screen, the youths found themselves watching out of sheer boredom.

"Look at what the boss chose," they remarked, astonished to find Fang Qi playing as well, having selected a Paladin equipped with a broadsword and a small round shield.

"A special unit, probably equivalent to an elite soldier," they laughed. "To think someone would actually choose that. As expected, a commoner remains a commoner."

Fang Qi's face twitched. "I chose the developer's favorite class and you guys still find room to complain?"

Because Xu Zixin was on the verge of beating the game today, she arrived exceptionally early, standing before the shop's door by seven-fifty in the morning.

"It's already open?" Xu Zixin was struck with surprise, but what amazed her even more was how drastically changed the shop appeared today.

"Could I have walked into the wrong place?" Peering inside, she immediately caught sight of Fang Qi sipping a Sprite.

"I didn't make a mistake?" Walking in with doubt, Xu Zixin noticed that the small blackboard now bore several new additions, such as a new game and even beverages?

Leaving the new game aside for the moment—since her sole focus today was to beat Resident Evil—it was baffling to think that something like beverages would ever appear in this shop.

Pointing at the small blackboard, she asked, "Boss, what is Sprite? Give me a bottle to try."

Fang Qi nodded and handed one over to her.

The moment her hand brushed against the glass, Xu Zixin instinctively recoiled. "It's freezing?"

"Just a bit chilled, it won't bite," Fang Qi replied with a chuckle.

"Then I'll give it a try first!" Xu Zixin held absolute faith in Fang Qi, and being someone who loved trying new things, she cast aside the thought of beating the game for now to sample his shop's beverage.

"Chilled drinks?" An Cheng and his companions exchanged glances; given the sweltering heat of the day, it was indeed the perfect time for a cold beverage.

"It really is quite hilarious. A tiny shop like yours is actually trying to imitate others by selling drinks. Professional matters are best left to professional establishments!" An Cheng broke into a hearty laugh at the sight.

Seeing the man launch into a lecture, Fang Qi shrugged with displeasure. "Buy it or don't."

"...Listen to you get offended," grumbled Bu Che, the youth clad in dark robes beside him, equally displeased. It was merely a small gaming shop, not the Qingfeng Mingyue Pavilion. Charging an exorbitant fee for games was one thing since he had some tricks up his sleeve, but drink-making was hardly this shop's forte, so how could he charge so much?

"Can this drink of yours increase one's cultivation? By how much?"

Fang Qi shook his head. "It cannot."

The silver-crowned youth sneered, "Could it be that this drink enhances comprehension? Or perhaps cures deep-seated internal injuries?"

Fang Qi shook his head again. "Neither."

Slamming his hand upon the table, the silver-crowned youth's expression turned icy. "You certainly have some nerve, shopkeeper! It can do neither this nor that, yet you dare sell a bottle of horse piss for so many spirit crystals?"

Fang Qi shook his head, replying expressionlessly, "The drinks here just taste better."

"...How good could it possibly taste? Could it actually surpass the Jade Dew Wine of the Qingfeng Mingyue Pavilion?" Bu Che remarked with disdain.

Unfastening a small, jade-like gourd from his waist, An Cheng gave it a shake. "Exactly. Can it even compare to my Jade Dew Wine?"

"Oh!" Ouyang Cheng, a portly man in blue robes, licked his dry lips. "Brother An, you brought Jade Dew Wine along? That is the signature fine liquor of the Qingfeng Mingyue Pavilion!"

"Brother An, how about a sip for me as well?" Bu Che asked, eager to try.

"Naturally, there is enough for my brothers." The silver-crowned youth looked toward Fang Qi. Although this small shop possessed a few tricks, charging three spirit crystals for a beverage was something he had long found disagreeable. He looked at Fang Qi as if looking at an ignorant country bumpkin. "Care to try? Compare it to your own drink and see if you still have the audacity to sell it for three spirit crystals."

As they spoke, Xu Zixin had already taken a sip of the Sprite through a straw.

The moment it went down, her expression shifted drastically!

"How is it? Just as I said," An Cheng scoffed. "You belong to the Xu Family, do you not? The tiger generals of the Xu Family guard the borders with fierce renown. Aren't you afraid of lowering your status by drinking such filth?"

"No!" Xu Zixin's beautiful eyes narrowed into delicate crescent moons. In all her life, she had never tasted a beverage so sublime; as the crisp, sweet liquid flowed down her throat, countless bubbles danced upon her tongue, seemingly awakening tens of thousands of taste buds all at once! It felt as though her sense of taste had been magnified hundreds of times in an instant, allowing her to experience an exquisite flavor utterly unlike any other drink!

Taking a single gulp made her feel as though she had taken a clean, refreshing cold shower in the dead of summer, a wave of coolness permeating her entire body down to every single pore!

"This is amazing!" Xu Zixin shouted aloud, her face radiating pure bliss.

"Amazing?" The group found themselves entirely bewildered, slapping the table as they spoke. "You appear to be a lady of status, so why are you putting on an act with this shopkeeper to swindle us?"

An Cheng also let out a cold snort. "To dare deceive this young master, do you think your Xu Family can afford the consequences?"

"Deceive you into what?" Song Qingfeng said as he walked into the shop. "Boss Fang's shop brings in hundreds of spirit crystals a day. Would he really put on a show just to swindle three spirit crystals out of each of you?"

"Uh..." The men were instantly rendered speechless.

Song Qingfeng placed a handful of spirit crystals onto the table. "It's rare for the boss to offer something new. Give us one bottle each."

"Alright." Fang Qi immediately brought out three bottles, one each for Song Qingfeng, Lin Shao, and Xu Luo.

Lin Shao weighed it in his hand. "Oh, it's even in a glass bottle. Interesting."

The three of them then took a sip, only to feel a crisp, cool spring-like current surge from their throats down to their limbs and bones, as if a refreshing chill was breathing through every single pore of their bodies!

A look of sheer ecstasy washed over Lin Shao's face as he stared at the Sprite in his hand. "This stuff! It's so damn refreshing! One sip chills you straight to the core! It tastes incredible!"

"It feels just like diving headfirst into an icy spring for a cold shower in the blistering heat!" Xu Luo could not help but take another sip. "This beverage is simply miraculous!"

"I can feel thousands of bubbles dancing in my mouth!" Giving Fang Qi a massive thumbs-up, Song Qingfeng's face was filled with absolute delight. "This drink is so novel! It's so exhilarating!"

"No matter how good it tastes, can it really be better than Jade Dew Wine?" Witnessing their expressions, An Cheng's disdain began to waver, and he questioned them once more with a hint of uncertainty.

"As if this young master hasn't drank Jade Dew Wine before," Song Qingfeng replied with utter contempt. "Compared to my Sprite, that stuff is horse piss! Horse piss!"

"What did you call it?!" An Cheng slammed his hand on the table, instantly flying into a rage. "The Jade Dew Wine I brought is an exclusive supply from the Qingfeng Mingyue Pavilion! A single sip is worth ten days of ordinary cultivation! Its flavor is unmatched in Jiuhua; even the current Emperor praised it personally during his southern tour!"

"It's only three spirit crystals. Why don't you try it for yourselves to see which is superior?" Song Qingfeng sneered. "Could it be that you gentlemen cannot even afford three spirit crystals?"

Ouyang Cheng tossed nine spirit crystals to Fang Qi and said, "Then we shall try it! If the taste satisfies us, no price is too high. But if it doesn't..."

He pointed at An Cheng beside him. "This is Young City Master An of Jiuhua City. If you truly enrage him, even if the cultivator backing you can throw Xu Fuwei out, you had best think twice before attempting to oppose the strength of an entire city."

Expressionless, Fang Qi handed three bottles of Sprite to the trio.

The moment An Cheng took a sip, he felt an intensely crisp and pure sweetness blending with the fragrance of lemon, dancing alongside countless bubbles in his mouth, stimulating tens of thousands of taste buds and seemingly electrifying every nerve in his body.

An Cheng was utterly dumbfounded. "It's just a drink from a roadside shop! Why does it taste this good?! Why is there such a bizarre sensation?!"

"Jade Dew Wine is a recipe personally developed by Master Yu over several years, brewed from the dew of thousand-year-old spiritual flowers mixed with dozens of spiritual herbs!"

"The drink from this roadside shop probably uses nothing more than ordinary river water!"

Fang Qi's face filled with utter disdain. "The water used in this shop's custom Sprite is drawn from deep mineral springs beneath the Great Snow Mountain. It has been ground through deep volcanic rock over a thousand years, circulating, adsorbing, and filtering for a century. It is a volcanic rock cold spring."

"..."

"The sweetness inside," Ouyang Cheng pointed at the Sprite in his hand with complete bewilderment, "it must be honey... Such a thing, unless it is the thousand-year camellia honey exclusive to the Qingfeng Mingyue Pavilion..."

Fang Qi cut him off, "This honey is gathered by swarms of bees drawn to a rare spiritual flower known as the Ice Soul Flower. It possesses properties that soothe the nerves and calm the mind."

"As for the bubbles constantly dancing in your mouths, they are produced using an advanced, highly efficient, silent compression spiritual artifact, crafted specifically to compress carbonation into the beverage..."

Everyone fell to their knees in awe.

A mere internet cafe, yet they were this meticulous even with their drinks?

Before they knew it, the three of them had drained their Sprites completely.

Ouyang Cheng grandly brought out another nine spirit crystals. "Bring us another round!"

"My apologies." Fang Qi took a small sip of his own Sprite and sat back down in his seat, devoid of expression. "Limited to one bottle per person each day."

"What?!" We just started enjoying it, and you're telling us you won't sell anymore?!

The three men flew into a violent rage on the spot. An Cheng stepped forward, grabbing Fang Qi by the collar. "This young master commands you to deliver a crate of Sprite to the City Master's manor every day, otherwise I will ensure you regret it!"

Fang Qi smiled. "I will count to three. If you do not let go, this will be treated as causing trouble."

"Young Master An! Young Master An!" Ouyang Cheng and Bu Che hurriedly held him back, whispering urgently, "We didn't bring any men with us today. A wise man doesn't fight against impossible odds!"

"..." An Cheng was not entirely foolish. The memory of Xiao Yulu flashed through his mind, causing a volatile shift in his expression before he finally released his grip on Fang Qi's collar.

Yet, judging by the dark looks on their faces, one could easily see the sheer frustration brewing within them.

"Brother An... how about we have a few more sips of the Jade Dew Wine?" Bu Che suggested tentatively.

"How could anyone drink that now?!" An Cheng snapped angrily. "Horse piss! It tastes just like horse piss!"

Song Qingfeng and his companions burst into hearty laughter, glancing down at the half-empty bottles of Sprite still in their hands. "We should have known the shopkeeper would establish such bizarre rules!"

"Log on, log on!"

As the group handed over their money, Fang Qi offered a smiling reminder, "On a sweltering day like this, Sprite and gaming make the perfect pair!"

Song Qingfeng flashed an understanding grin. "A single sip while exploring the maps or stuck on a difficult level brings absolute peace and clarity to the mind!"