There are too many female protagonists with deceased husbands in the Qin Dynasty's Past Books.

However, he didn't think much of it.

Seeing Jiang Mo's pale face, which was devoid of color and had a chilling bluish-white hue, she subconsciously thought that he might have caught a cold from going into the water to save her, and she couldn't help but feel guilty.

So he turned and walked toward his white horse:

"Brother Jiang, you should quickly take off your soaking wet clothes and let them air out. I happen to have some wine here to warm you up..."

Han Fei took a bottle of wine out of his baggage on horseback and was about to hand it to Jiang Mo when his expression suddenly changed slightly.

As if in disbelief, he shook the wine bottle in his hand.

Having not heard any sloshing of the liquor, he couldn't help but show an expression as if he had lost his parents.

But he still refused to believe it and opened the bottle, turning it upside down.

After staring at it for a long time, not a single drop of liquor flowed out. Han Fei couldn't help but show an extremely frustrated expression on his face. Even when he fell into the water and choked to the point of almost rolling his eyes back, he was not this frustrated.

Looking up, Han Fei met Jiang Mo's silent gaze again, making him even more embarrassed.

He scratched his wet hair and chuckled dryly as he spoke:

"Haha, wine really doesn't keep well. It's all gone before I know it. It's really strange. I clearly remember there was still some left."

Turning his head, Han Fei stared at his white horse and spoke in a serious tone:

"Brother Ma, did you steal the wine?"

The horse, which was chewing grass with its head down, snorted and continued to eat, looking like it couldn't be bothered to pay attention to its idiotic owner.

For some reason, Jiang Mo felt that Han Fei seemed to have been given a disdainful look by that horse.

However, Han Fei himself didn't care about this. After confirming that there was no wine in the pot, he casually tossed the rather exquisite wine pot aside.

"Brother Jiang, don't worry, I will definitely treat you to a good drink sometime in the future, and we won't leave until we're completely drunk..."

"Why wait until tomorrow? I know there's a restaurant nearby."

"really."

Jiang Mo's tone remained cold and indifferent, yet it ignited a fire in Han Fei's heart, and his eyes lit up instantly. This guy, caught up in his drinking urges, didn't even bother to dry his clothes, and grabbed Jiang Mo's hand, pulling him outside.

"Come on, let's go! We'll drink and chat when we get there!"

So Jiang Mo, carrying his fishing rod and fish, and Han Fei, leading his horse, quickly left the place.

Their outfits are so striking they make you want to burst into song:

You carry the pole, I lead the horse.

Chapter 57 After all that, it turns out there was no money.

The roadside tavern that appeared at the beginning of The Legend of Qin was not described in much detail in the anime, but Jiang Mo knew its location.

It was because he found this wine shop first that he was certain that Han Fei might have conducted a thorough search in the vicinity.

Returning via the same route didn't take much time.

Although it was located not far from the roadside, the wine shop didn't seem to be doing very well. When Jiang Mo and his companion arrived, they didn't see any other customers stopping by.

Only the still-bright wine flags fluttered in the wind.

Adding a touch of liveliness to this place.

The shopkeepers, who had no customers to serve, did not appear relaxed; instead, they looked worried.

He was counting on his fingers and muttering something to himself.

Hearing the approaching sound of horses' hooves, the shopkeeper looked in the direction of the sound and was about to put on a warm, welcoming smile when he saw two soaking wet men walking towards him.

They left behind footprints covered in water stains along the way.

The smile that hadn't fully blossomed instantly froze on his face. In that instant, all sorts of water ghost rumors he had heard before flashed through the shopkeeper's mind, and he couldn't help but tremble all over.

Especially the person leading the way.

It wasn't that the shopkeeper was inherently obsessed with good looks; it was just that compared to the scholar-like young man behind him, the person leading the way was far too eye-catching.

It was just as eye-catching as the strand of white bangs that fell across the other person's forehead.

But neither the somewhat strange hair color nor the other person's undeniably handsome and aloof face were the end point of the shopkeeper's attention at this moment.

His deathly pale skin, devoid of any color, made him look nothing like a living person.

Especially when the other party approached, only the sound of horses' hooves could be heard, but the footsteps of the person leading the way could not be heard, making the other party's figure seem even more elusive and ghostly.

He was still covered in blood splattered from the struggle of the fat carp.

It's truly terrifying.

"You, you all, don't come any closer! I, I..."

A scream pierced the sky, and the shopkeeper nearly fell to the ground, but he still instinctively reached out and hugged the two jars of wine on the table.

Jiang Mo, who was about to speak, was momentarily speechless at the other party's reaction.

Seeing the other person's horrified expression, he was completely at a loss for what expression to make.

In fact, Jiang Mo didn't need to worry about this at all. Given his current condition of facial paralysis to the point that his facial nerves were almost necrotic, no matter how much he loosened the muscles in his face, in the eyes of others, he would only appear indifferent and aloof.

"Don't be afraid, shopkeeper. We're not bad people."

Han Fei, with a gentle smile on his face, squeezed in front of Jiang Mo. His eyes were already fixed on the two jars of wine on the table, and he couldn't help but swallow hard as his nose twitched.

"These two jars of fine wine—just one sniff and you know they're excellent!"

Compared to Jiang Mo's overly cold appearance and temperament, Han Fei's appearance was undoubtedly more approachable, especially since he was also shivering from the cold after falling into the water, which reassured the shopkeeper in front of him.

"Hey, it's hardly good wine, just homemade strong liquor."

After looking Han Fei up and down a few times, the shopkeeper noticed an extraordinary air of nobility about him and immediately became very enthusiastic.

She introduced it to the young man in front of her in a sales-like tone:

"However, our wine is quite difficult to drink. A young master like you might not be able to get used to it."

On the surface, it seems like the shopkeeper is trying to discourage customers from leaving, but in reality, it's a ploy to lure them in.

Having operated this liquor store for many years, the owner wouldn't claim to have seen countless people, but he certainly has considerable expertise in identifying those who are heavy drinkers.

With just one glance, he could tell that Han Fei was a heavy drinker.

Telling someone like that that they can't drink this wine is like telling a hardcore gamer that an ordinary person can't beat the game.

Even if I didn't want to touch it before, I have to take a bite now.

"Strong liquor? Strong liquor is good! We need it right now to warm ourselves up."

Upon hearing this, Han Fei's eyes lit up, and while he was eager to generously donate, he didn't forget to continue communicating with the shopkeeper:

"Shopkeeper, is there any special story behind this wine?"

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper couldn't help but laugh, waving his hands repeatedly at Han Fei and saying, "It's homemade, so what's there to say? This wine is incredibly strong. One sip feels like swallowing fire or a knife, making your throat burn like crazy!"

Han Fei was pondering this when Jiang Mo, who had been mostly silent, suddenly blurted out:

"Shaodaozi" (a type of strong liquor).

"Shaodaozi? What a great name! It's straightforward and resounding, perfectly matching the rugged character of this liquor!"

Upon hearing this, Han Fei couldn't help but want to applaud, and on his own, he gave this nameless local wine a new name. But just as he was about to taste this strong liquor, he couldn't help but freeze.

After searching for a while, he finally realized that the money in his pocket was gone.

Thinking about it carefully, it must have been lost when I fell into the water.

"Um... I was fishing just now, and plop, I fell into the water. Brother Jiang came to save me, but then, splash, my silver was washed away by the water. He bestowed upon me a fine reputation..."

Seemingly extremely embarrassed, to the point that his language system malfunctioned, Han Fei remained silent for a moment before managing to utter some fragmented words.

While speaking, he gestured wildly with his hands and feet.

The shopkeeper, looking completely bewildered, clearly hadn't grasped what Han Fei was trying to say. However, as a seasoned businessman, he still keenly picked up on the key words mentioned in the other man's words.

The money's gone!

What? Turns out I don't have any money...

As this thought flashed through his mind, the shopkeeper had already wrapped his arms around two large jars of liquor in front of him and stared at Han Fei across from him with eyes that looked like those of a thief.

They acted as if they were afraid the other party would try to snatch it away.

"Brother Han, here's the silver."

Jiang Mo's concise words came from behind, accompanied by a crisp clinking sound as he tossed a handful of loose silver coins onto the table in front of the shopkeeper.

He wasn't deliberately using a pretentious, profound speaking tone to pretend to be an expert.

I was really worried that I would burst out laughing as soon as I opened my mouth, so I tried to minimize the number of times I spoke and express my thoughts in the most concise way possible.

In fact, the silver that Jiang Mo threw out was the same silver that Han Fei had thrown out.

Otherwise, given his constant trekking in the wilderness, he would definitely be even poorer than Han Fei, so how could he possibly have any money?

After all, even though Honglian was a princess, she didn't have ten taels of silver on her.

As for why Jiang Mo didn't take out the silver from the beginning, it was because he found Han Fei's anime-style opening performance very funny and wanted to witness it with his own eyes.

However, since it was Jiang Mo's first meeting with Han Fei, he couldn't very well openly mock him.

Once we get to know each other better, we can laugh at each other without restraint.

"How can that be? I promised to treat you, Brother Jiang!"

Without a second thought, Han Fei pushed the silver in front of him aside. Under the shopkeeper's speechless gaze, he slapped his forehead, a brilliant idea flashing through his mind:

"I've got it! I still have this on me!"

As he spoke, Han Fei took out an exquisite piece of jewelry from his person, intending to hand it to the shopkeeper to pawn.

But while the shopkeeper hesitated, a pale, lifeless hand preemptively pressed down on the necklace. Jiang Mo tilted his head, staring at Han Fei with a solemn gaze:

"Brother Han, it is best to keep the gifts from relatives safe."

Chapter 58 Brother Jiang, you've traveled a long way, where are you headed?