"Well, the thing is, this Old Man Song the Third, he's utterly devoted to drink; besides swilling liquor, his only other hobby is brewing it. And, quite inconveniently, his brew is the absolute best in the entire Tianxiang region. The other day, after hearing your spirited discourse, he was immensely impressed, declaring you a kindred spirit in the world of spirits. He’s been talking about meeting you again every day, so I merely played matchmaker, hehehe. And to top it off, I wagered three jars of his finest wine. Truly, a legendary tale in the brotherhood of drinkers." The middle-aged man rubbed his hands, his expression utterly devoid of embarrassment or shame, wearing instead the smug look of a successful conspirator.

Jun Moxie was speechless for a moment. Ever since arriving in this world, he had always been the one taking advantage, exploiting others. Today, he’d been so cleanly manipulated without noticing even the slightest clue beforehand. And this was being called a legendary tale of the spirit world? Don't insult me...

What a profound humiliation! Young Master San felt his anger rising to a boil—this offense must be avenged! Just you wait, old man, your young master will properly greet you later and show you exactly why the flowers bloom so red!

But how to exact revenge?!

A stooped, thin, and small old man scurried out, taking two steps at a time, laughing heartily, "A distinguished guest indeed, a distinguished guest! I knew I heard the magpies chirping; it turns out two esteemed guests have arrived together. Young Master, it was a true regret we couldn't meet last time. Today, fortune allows us to finally meet. Please, please, come inside quickly." Though he mentioned two guests, his words had completely filtered out the middle-aged man, not even affording him the courtesy of stepping aside...

The middle-aged man, whether thick-skinned or genuinely unoffended, simply walked in as if he owned the place. As for his two guards, the moment they reached the small establishment, they vanished without a trace, presumably hidden in the shadows.

Jun Moxie's heart hitched. The instant the old man appeared, he felt a profoundly familiar sensation. Yet, looking at his face and figure, he was clearly someone he had never met, which struck him as odd. He smiled and entered the tavern, yet his mind was covertly alert.

"That day, hearing the young master's profound insights, you said: True drinking is about the mood, the atmosphere; it’s not simply about pouring wine down one’s throat—that’s just wasting grain." This sentiment struck me deep in my heart."

Old Man Song the Third diligently poured tea for his guests while chattering incessantly: "I have been brewing wine for decades, and in the way of brewing, I often believed no one in the world could surpass me. But half a lifetime of tedious maneuvering has been wasted on common folk dismissing it like this. Thinking back now, it is truly lamentable and pathetic."

"Precisely, it is merely wasting grain. I hold the same opinion today," Jun Moxie scoffed twice, glancing pointedly at the middle-aged man who was already clearing away a wine jar as if he belonged there.

"Haha, but in the young master's view, how does one drink without wasting the grain?" Old Man Song the Third appeared humble, his cloudy old eyes lighting up with interest.

"What is wine?" Jun Moxie countered with a question. "What is the original intention behind people’s love for wine? Is it merely for its inherent flavor?"

"What is wine?" Old Man Song the Third asked himself, suddenly looking a little lost. He claimed to have dedicated his life to brewing, but what exactly was wine? This single question stumped him. To say wine was merely a beverage... seemed to do it a great injustice. But what else could it be?

"Wine is mood!" Jun Moxie emphasized: "Therefore, drinking wine is actually drinking the mood! When the mood is good, things go smoothly; a drink to celebrate becomes a 'Celebration Wine'; when feeling down, drinking to drown sorrows makes it a 'Sorrow-Washing Wine'; when close friends visit, sharing thoughts, it becomes a 'Soulmate Wine'; seeing a friend off with melancholy, it is a 'Farewell Wine'; when soldiers clash on the battlefield, a deep drink is a 'Fiery Blood Wine,' a 'Foe-Slaying Wine,' or a 'Send-Off Wine'!"

"The taste within the wine is secondary; the mood before drinking is the true flavor of the wine." Jun Moxie poured a cup and downed it in one go, his expression distant and melancholic. "Alone in a foreign land, drifting uncertainly, drinking now is a 'Homesick Wine'! Like the saying goes: Alone in a strange land, lifting my cup to dispel sorrow only deepens my sorrow!"

"Superb verse, superb verse! Profound theory, profound theory! The young master is truly a great talent!" The middle-aged man and Old Man Song the Third had long been captivated by his speech, falling into silent contemplation. Only after a while did Old Man Song the Third snap out of it as if waking from a dream, repeatedly exclaiming his praise.

"Profound theory? What is profound theory?!" Jun Moxie sneered: "Within wine lies human character; there are three tiers of drinkers! What I spoke of—all those different scenarios—that is true drinking, acting according to one’s heart to savor the varied moods, using fine wine to taste the hundred flavors of life! These are the upper-tier drinkers! Ten thousand true drinkers can extract ten thousand and one different flavors, precisely because their moods differ!"

"In wine, there is no distinction between pauper and prince, no difference between beggar and high official. One who understands how to drink, who drinks from their true heart, is a master among drinkers. If one cannot drink according to their own mood, or even requires tests on appreciating and savoring the wine before tasting the actual flavor—ha! That is merely a game played by literati, completely reversing the true path of wine, a monumental absurdity!"

"Therefore, speaking of drinking for the sake of appreciation, tasting, or competing in literary skills through drinking games, that ranks as the second tier. While this manner of drinking, though not quite true drinking, possesses a certain elegance, it barely qualifies as belonging to the realm of wine enthusiasts. Because it carries the taint of 'pretense,' they cannot be called true gentlemen of the spirit world!" Jun Moxie declared with gravity.

The middle-aged man and Old Man Song the Third’s eyes gleamed with sharp realization. They inwardly wished to comment, but the boy’s words, highlighting the contrast between 'true' and 'false,' clearly implied that those stuffy scholars were nothing more than 'pretenders'! Anyone could catch the veiled meaning in his words.

Jun Moxie slanted his eyes, displaying an unrestrained aura, and continued: "Beyond these two tiers, the next lowest are mostly those trapped in vulgarity—whether buying drunkenness in brothels and taverns, socializing over drinks with friends in inns, or engaging in schemes over wine tables in politics or business within opulent mansions. The endless scheming that exhausts self and others—that is the lowest tier, the lower-class drinkers! As for those who use wine for conspiracy or malice, harboring ill intentions—they desecrate wine and aren't even worthy of my analysis!!"

Both the middle-aged man and Old Man Song the Third listened to Young Master Jun’s 'profound theories,' nodding slightly, then sinking back into silence, an underlying hint of pride stirring within them. Having immersed myself in wine for decades, I should certainly count as a true gentleman of the spirit world, right?

Little did they expect the Young Master to deliver an even more astonishing judgment. He lightly pointed two fingers at them, shaking them gently: "As for the two of you, you might—might—barely scrape into the second tier..."

"Nonsense!" Both men roared in unison, anger finally erupting. They both prided themselves as high-ranking connoisseurs in the world of spirits. While his theory might have some merit, to be judged as merely second-tier, and with the word 'barely' no less, after decades of dedication to the path of wine—it was utter provocation! Seeing their fury, Young Master Jun remained unconcerned. "Don't get upset that I say you barely make the second tier. True, your decades immersed in the path of wine should not be erased. However, the act of appreciating, tasting, and enjoying wine requires a prerequisite: the presence of truly worthy wine. Such a wine, you have neither tasted nor even seen. Just this lack of experience already places you beneath others!"

Jun Moxie raised a single pinky finger, shaking it lightly: "But, I can't blame you entirely. I believe in this current age, aside from myself, no one possesses such a wine. Old Man Song the Third, your wine here, even throughout the entire Tianxiang Empire, could be called the best. But compared to the wine I know, the wine I speak of, the wine I have tasted—to be blunt—it is worlds apart, impossible to be mentioned in the same breath!"

This statement was somewhat high-handed, but it was his opening salvo of salesmanship.

"Young Master’s discourse on wine is indeed dazzling and enlightening; I find it profoundly reasonable. However, when it comes to brewing, ha! I, Old Man Song the Third, have traveled the world and can state without hesitation: If my wine cannot pass your lips, I fear no other wine in the world will ever catch your eye!" Old Man Song the Third was already indignant at the young master suggesting his qualifications were insufficient, and hearing this second part, his eyebrows shot up—utterly unconvinced!

I have devoted my life to wine, dared to say I have tasted all the finest wines in the world, and among all the world’s great brews, perhaps none can compare to my secret recipe. Yet this brat dares to say it is worlds apart from his wine? How could Old Man Song the Third not be angry? But amidst his anger, there was a flicker of curiosity—how would the young master defend this? Heaven and earth are vast; perhaps there really are better wines he doesn't know about. Compared to the young master’s claims, the location of those better wines was certainly more important.

Jun Moxie merely smiled noncommittally, dropping his previous sharpness and offering no further debate.

The middle-aged man pricked up his ears, glancing between the two, then suddenly his eyes darted. "Song the Third, there's always a better wine beyond the known ones. If this young brother can truly produce a wine a hundred times better than yours, what will you do?"

"Then I will gladly take him as my master!" Song the Third’s eyebrows arched, a sharp light flashing in his eyes, and he blurted out the words. In that moment, his stooped body suddenly straightened, radiating fierce confidence and pride!

Beyond the confidence and pride, there was even a trace of genuine anticipation—if such magnificent wine truly existed, what harm was there in taking a new master?!

Jun Moxie’s heart stirred instantly; he instantly confirmed Old Man Song the Third's identity! So it was him!

No wonder he felt that sense of familiarity!

During the previous incident concerning the Huanghua Hall, which he and his Third Uncle, Jun Wuyi, had resolved, the two were pursued by a mysterious expert whose cultivation base was at the Heaven Profound level. Although Jun Moxie had managed to scare him off with clever tactics, that formidable strength, surpassing even Jun Wuyi’s initial Heaven Rank stage one, remained vivid in Jun Moxie's memory! Based on Jun Moxie’s judgment, this expert’s power was exceedingly high, perhaps only slightly below his grandfather, Jun Zhantian, and surpassing even Mu Xuetong and Xiao Han of the Ice Snow Silver City.

Who could have imagined any connection between that mysterious Heaven Profound expert and the tavern owner before him, Old Man Song the Third?!

But just as Old Man Song the Third carelessly uttered those words in a fit of pique, his aura, stirred by the fluctuation in his state of mind, revealed a trace of itself!

Though the trace of energy was fleeting, that microscopic release was enough for Jun Moxie to recognize him. Instantly, two figures in his mind began to split and merge in slow motion, like a film reel. Every movement, every subtle aura, repeated several times within Jun Moxie’s mind, until finally, the two figures coalesced into one!

He was confirmed!

Song the Third—so it was you!