Dusk Returns to the Ruined Building

Shen Yichen lived far from the mortal world, residing on Guanxing Mountain for over a decade, using heaven and earth as his furnace and the sun and moon as his eyes, yet his heart never learned to remain calm and undisturbed.

The old Taoist priest taught the Tao to follow its natural way and to have a calm and still mind. But what did Shen Yichen learn? The Tao and the mind are both natural!

"I wander through the world's sights, I overcome worldly tribulations, I experience human emotions, I detach myself from the mortal realm. Yixuan, let's drink!"

"Still drinking? Open your eyes and look at the sun! We should eat now. This time, you have to agree, I'll only eat once!"

Shen Yichen slowly opened his eyes; the sun shone brightly in the sky, obscuring the layers of clouds.

Shen Yichen muttered to himself:

"Where can we get some money?"

Shen Yichen closed his eyes again. He had run out of money, and he also remembered the two heroes of Qihui Mountain whom he had killed. He had robbed them of all his expenses along the way!

Shen Yichen always felt that the deaths of the two heroes of Qihui Mountain were strange, or rather, he had a vague feeling that the two heroes of Qihui Mountain were not dead.

"Yi Xuan, it's your turn to treat me now. I paid for everything along the way, from drinks to meals!"

"Sure, it's my treat. Let's go to that restaurant up ahead. It looks nice. Remember to bring some food with you after you eat. It'll probably take three to five days to walk to Beimeng Mountain!"

Shen Yichen stood up and turned to look ahead. He was slightly taken aback. There was another fork in the road, and at the fork, there was a restaurant and a teahouse, right at the entrance of Beimeng Mountain.

"Qingchen, it's my treat, but you have to remember to pay!"

After Yixuan finished speaking, he spurred his horse forward!

Shen Yichen was taken aback upon hearing this.

"Hey, you've been pretending to be drunk the whole way, haven't you?"

"I can get drunk whenever I want, and wake up whenever I want. It's none of your business."

Shen Yichen turned around, spurred his horse and chased after him. He guessed that Yixuan's condition was related to Tianxianglong. Tianxianglong was probably similar to his Qiankun Jade Pendant, which could cure hangovers!

No wonder Yixuan drank as much as he drank along the way.

Shen Yichen shook his head and muttered to himself:

"He tricked me again!"

Hongchen Restaurant, the last restaurant we visited before entering Beimeng Mountain, was bustling with activity.

After settling the horses, Shen Yichen and Yixuan, half-drunk and half-awake, arrived at the restaurant.

"Wild geese fly south, but even the heavens are hard to reach; the journey through the martial world is long; the heavens may be clear, but people are heartless; yet the mortal world beckons! Hey, Qingchen, this restaurant is quite interesting!"

"Since someone's inviting me, I won't stand on ceremony!"

Shen Yichen entered the restaurant first, but unfortunately, he was stopped.

"Sir, we're fully booked today. Would you like to have a cup of tea at the teahouse across the street while we wait?"

Shen Yichen was slightly taken aback, then withdrew.

"Hey, Yixuan, let's go to the teahouse across the street for tea!"

"Heaven may be clear, but people are heartless; the mortal world may invite you, Qingchen, but is Hongchen Restaurant really so disrespectful to me for the first time I've invited you to dinner?"

Yi Xuan went straight in and pushed the waiter aside.

"Qingchen, please!"

Shen Yichen shook his head. Yixuan was not one to suffer losses, but he was also one to cause trouble.

Shen Yichen entered the restaurant, and the waiter had already gone to inform the manager.

A portly, smiling shopkeeper came out.

"Welcome to Hongchen Restaurant, esteemed guests. We are quite busy today. If you don't mind, would you be willing to share a table with others? We are all people of the martial world, and it's good to make more friends when traveling!"

Looking at the shopkeeper's forced smile, Yi Xuan said coldly:

"Hmph, it seems the Red Dust Restaurant has some backing. What, do you think we're nobody?"

The shopkeeper was slightly taken aback!

"Young heroes, it's not that I'm not giving you face, but we're all people of the martial world, and we can't afford to offend any of you. Please do me the honor of treating you today, but you'll have to share a table with the other guests!"

Shen Yichen pulled Yixuan upstairs.

"We'll give you this face!"

Yixuan wanted to say something more, his face full of indignation!

Shen Yichen said in a low voice:

"Be grateful that someone's treating you to dinner. Eat more, take more. There are so many people here, can you please avoid causing trouble?"

"Qingchen, I'm giving you face today, but if I had my temper, I would have burned this restaurant down!"

"My young master, you're venturing into the world all by yourself, don't you know how to keep a low profile?"

Shen Yichen was truly helpless, while Yixuan was genuinely passionate and also truly domineering.

After Shen Yichen and Yixuan arrived on the second floor, they both took a liking to a table, because there was only one person at that table, and that person was drinking.

The man was blindfolded with a black cloth covering his eyes, appearing to be blind. He looked to be in his thirties, a handsome young man, with two distinctive strands of white hair near his ears.

Shen Yichen and Yixuan walked directly to the table.

"Brother, the Red Dust Restaurant is full today. May we, brothers, join you for a drink?"

Before Shen Yichen could finish speaking, Yixuan had already sat down and raised the wine pot, saying:

"Drunkenness is the way of the world, drunkenness is a manifestation of one's true nature, please!"

The blindfolded man actually bumped his eyes with Yixuan, and the two of them took a big gulp of wine.

"Qingchen, what are you daydreaming about? Sit down. People in the martial arts world who love to drink are all passionate and straightforward. Why are you being so hesitant?"

Shen Yichen was ridiculed again, and he was both angry and embarrassed, so he sat down directly.

Turning to the plump shopkeeper, he said coldly:

"Why aren't you serving the food yet? Bring out all your best signature dishes! My friend is still angry!"

"Please wait a moment, sir, please wait a moment, right away, right away!"

After the portly shopkeeper finished speaking, he turned and left, his smile vanishing instantly, replaced by indignation. He muttered to himself:

"Pah! Shameless! So young, and you don't even feel ashamed of what you say!"

The fat shopkeeper knew he couldn't afford to offend them. He ran a restaurant here and knew the importance of harmony bringing wealth, as well as the necessity of spending money to avoid disaster.

"Brother, what's your name?"

"Qingchen, if you can't speak properly, then shut up!"

Yi Xuan glared at Shen Yi Chen. Who asks for someone's name right away?

Shen Yichen didn't care. What's wrong with being straightforward?

"Qin Ming!"

The man with the black blindfold actually responded, and his response was very simple and clear.

"My name is Yi Xuan, and this is Qing Chen. We are newcomers to Yanquan, and we hope Brother Qin Ming will take good care of us in the future!"

Shen Yichen choked on his drink again and coughed incessantly. Yixuan's expression changed too quickly!

"I would love to take care of you, but do you really want me to take care of you?"

Shen Yichen and Yixuan, not knowing what was going on, exchanged a glance. At the same time, they both noticed that everyone around them was looking at them strangely—or rather, at Qin Ming.

Yi Xuan didn't stand on ceremony, raised the pot and said softly:

"It seems Brother Qin Ming is quite famous in the Yanquan martial arts world. Qingchen and I are new to Yanquan and don't know much. Please forgive us if we have offended you!"

"Let's drink!"

Shen Yichen and Yixuan could only keep him company while he drank.

Qin Ming's identity was probably extraordinary; there was wariness and even disdain in everyone's eyes.

Shen Yichen and Yixuan both felt something was off!

Their dishes arrived quickly, and Shen Yichen and Yixuan, those two foodies, started eating again, completely forgetting what they had said before entering the restaurant. They had no restraint at all, drinking with Qin Ming while feasting.

Qin Ming didn't eat much.

Shen Yichen and Yixuan both suspected that Qin Ming was really blind, because every time a new dish was served, Qin Ming would take the first bite very precisely and on the right time, and then never eat any more.

In other words, Qin Ming only ate the first bite of each dish, and then drank alcohol!

Shen Yichen and Yixuan didn't care about that.

"Hey, Qingchen, how was it? The food and taste of the meal I treated you to were pretty good, right?"

"Boss, take all the empty plates away and hurry up and bring out the new dishes! My friend is such a good friend!"

The fat shopkeeper's smile vanished completely.

Shen Yichen and Yixuan had already eaten three tables of food, and the next table would be the fourth, with each table overflowing with dishes.

Shen Yichen was drinking heartily when someone arrived at the second floor of the Red Dust Restaurant.

A woman exclaimed in surprise:

"Shen Yichen, you, you're not dead?"