Xu Zimo accepted the Immortal Brew and said calmly, “Consider this a favor owed. If you ever need something, you may come find me.”
After speaking, he smiled at Zhou Ming.
“Then I won’t linger. We’ll meet again.”
Zhou Ming chuckled and nodded.
Xu Zimo was about to leave when Prince Golden-Wheel, still hovering nearby and trying to impress Fairy Moon-Pluck, stepped up.
“This Dao brother, I too am fond of Immortal Brew. Could you perhaps bear to part with it?”
“Are we close?” Xu Zimo glanced at him and replied flatly.
“My father will soon be preaching at Grand Mist Mountain. You won’t even give me this bit of respect?” Prince Golden-Wheel saw Xu Zimo looked unfamiliar and assumed he didn’t know his identity, so he emphasized it again.
“Your father’s preaching is his matter,” Xu Zimo answered indifferently. “I’m not your father, don’t come tell me about it.”
“Insolent! How dare you speak to me like that!” Prince Golden-Wheel’s face flushed in anger, and he barked loudly. “Boy, what faction are you from? State your name!”
“Just a wandering cultivator,” Xu Zimo replied.
“Apologize to me now, immediately. I might consider sparing your life,” Prince Golden-Wheel snorted coldly.
Though Xu Zimo had used less than a tenth of his strength, Prince Golden-Wheel’s chest still burst open, blood gushing.
Writhing on the ground, his chest was mangled and bloody, his body twitching on the verge of death.
“Who are you?” someone shouted at Xu Zimo.
“It was just a verbal dispute. Why strike with such severity?”
“You want the same end as him?” Xu Zimo turned his gaze on the man and asked.
“You…” the man was instantly struck dumb.
“What’s going on?” At that moment, people from the Primeval Tower rushed up from below.
“Elder Withered Bones, someone’s making trouble here!” one of them quickly reported.
“Fellow Daoist, we’ll give you a chance to explain,” the old man of the Primeval Tower turned to Xu Zimo, his tone harsh.
“There’s nothing to explain. The fact I didn’t turn him to ash with one punch was already merciful,” Xu Zimo said.
“Then you’ll have to come with us,” the elder said coldly.
“Is that so?” Xu Zimo asked in return.
Before the elder could reply, an overwhelming aura burst forth from Xu Zimo, locking solely onto him.
In that instant, he felt as though a peerless demon king had descended, mountains of corpses filled his vision, rivers of blood flowing endlessly.
His very soul seemed frozen, his body stiff as his forehead dripped with cold sweat.
“Do you still want me to come with you?” Xu Zimo asked.
Snapping back to his senses, the elder felt like he had just walked to the edge of hell.
The back of his robes was completely soaked with sweat.
He swallowed hard.
“Milord, this fool was blind,” the elder quickly bowed.
“Please do as you wish.”
“Remember my name, Xu Zimo.”
He turned his gaze across the crowd, then glanced at the unconscious Prince Golden-Wheel lying on the floor.
He said faintly, “If his father wants revenge, he can come find me. I’ll be in Tranquil these days.”
With that, he stepped right over Prince Golden-Wheel’s body and walked downstairs.
The whole room was deathly silent, so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
Elder Withered Bones was the first to recover.
“Take Prince Golden-Wheel down for treatment. Report this matter truthfully to Mist Prime Emperor.”
Everyone nodded quickly.
Some thought Xu Zimo had just stirred up a catastrophe, sighing or gloating at his doom.
Others suspected Xu Zimo must have a powerful background, which was why he acted so fearlessly.
Among the few present, Elder Withered Bones understood best, this Xu Zimo was no ordinary man.
Either way, the Primeval Tower couldn’t afford to offend him.
………
“Uncle,” Fairy Moon-Pluck turned to Zhou Ming.
“Get close to him. He’s not simple,” Zhou Ming said with a smile.
“Perhaps your luck isn’t as bad as you think.”
Fairy Moon-Pluck gazed in the direction Xu Zimo had left, her eyes thoughtful.
When Xu Zimo stepped out of the Primeval Tower, Miss Jing was waiting at the door.
“You got the Immortal Brew?”
“So you knew all along,” Xu Zimo replied.
“Come on, I’ll take you to meet my master,” Miss Jing said with a smile.
Xu Zimo followed her silently.
He felt she seemed to know everything. From the day they met, he had had this intuition.
But such a thing was impossible.
Not even those with unrivaled power and flawless schemes could truly know everything.
Still, since she didn’t wish to explain, Xu Zimo had no way to press further.
They wound their way through the bustling streets and eventually entered a quiet alley.
Though only a dozen meters from the main road, it was utterly silent.
“This is the place,” Miss Jing stopped before a secluded courtyard.
Smiling at Xu Zimo, she said, “Open the Immortal Brew. My master will come to receive you himself.”
Xu Zimo slowly took out the jar and pulled the stopper.
A rich fragrance of wine immediately drifted out.
The aroma was unparalleled, so potent that even Xu Zimo, who wasn’t particularly fond of alcohol, felt his mouth water.
He was about to take a sip when suddenly a figure leapt over the wall.
Disheveled, the man snatched the jar from Xu Zimo’s hand.
“Immortal Brew, Immortal Brew… paradise in wine, the wine of immortals!” the man muttered excitedly, clutching the jar, intoxicated just by its scent.
“Master,” Miss Jing greeted with a laugh.
“Ah, Jing, it’s you,” the man turned around.
He looked refined, like an old-time scholar, but his hair was messy, his clothes unkempt, his manner wild and eccentric, with a hint of madness.
“And this is…?” the man glanced at Xu Zimo.
Pinching his fingers to divine, his expression suddenly darkened.
“Didn’t I say, I wouldn’t see him?”
“But Master, that Immortal Brew in your hand belongs to him,” Miss Jing replied with a smile.
“Then I’ll give it to him,” the man snorted.
He hugged the jar and held it out in front of Xu Zimo.
Xu Zimo reached out, but just as he did, the man quickly pulled it back.
“Forget it, forget it. Since you’re here, come inside and have some water.”
Clutching the wine, the man turned and walked into the courtyard.
Miss Jing smiled and explained, “Don’t mind him. That’s just how he is, somewhat… like an old mischievous child.”
“No worries. I’ve seen all kinds of people,” Xu Zimo said with a slight shake of his head.