Upon returning to the dojo, Su Yueli dove straight into the rear courtyard and began tinkering with her alcohol-brewing business.
Sprouting, drying, and crushing the barley, she then boiled it in a large pot over a roaring fire to extract the sweet wort. Finally, she added a slightly bitter herb sourced from a Qingzhou City apothecary to substitute for hops.
Without modern equipment, she had to rely entirely on the most primitive rustic methods and a martial artist's precise control over the heat.
For ten consecutive days, Su Yueli barely stepped foot outside the rear courtyard.
During the day, she kept watch over the fermenting clay vats while guiding Tie Ling'er in practicing her breathing technique.
Although Tie Ling'er was clumsy and feared pain, she fortunately possessed an unyielding spirit deep down. After ten days, she could finally manage to swallow a few stiff breaths of blood qi.
As for Su Yueli herself, she did not neglect her fist training either.
Under the quiet focus of these ten days, River Blocker, the fourth style Lu Chen had taught her, had been honed from minor mastery to great perfection.
Ten days later, in the early morning.
Su Yueli lifted the lid of a clay vat, and a rich aroma of malt mixed with a trace of crisp bitterness rushed over her.
She scooped some up with a wooden ladle. A dense layer of white foam floated on the surface of the amber liquid.
Tipping her head back, she drank it down. The liquid flowed down her throat and straight to her stomach. It lacked the burning heat of strong liquor and the sourness of rice wine, leaving only an ultimate, crisp refreshment.
“It's done.”
Satisfaction shone in Su Yueli's eyes. Rare things were always prized, so earning some money with this wouldn't be an issue.
At noon, after the disciples in the front yard dispersed, Tie Tu came to the rear courtyard.
Ten days had passed, and the grief of losing his closest friend had been buried deep in his heart. His emotions seemed much more stable, though the white hair at his temples looked even more prominent now.
The moment he stepped into the rear courtyard, Tie Tu caught the scent of an unfamiliar alcohol.
“Yueli, you haven't left the house for ten days. What kind of mischief have you been cooking up?”
Tie Tu leaned over the clay vat, looking at the strange, foaming liquid inside with a face full of confusion. “Is this alcohol? Why is there foam floating on top?”
“Try some, Uncle Tie.”
Su Yueli scooped up a large, brimming bowl and handed it over. “I brewed it myself. It's called beer.”
Tie Tu accepted it half-skeptically.
As a Fifth Realm martial artist, he had tasted countless strong liquors from all over the land, but he had never seen alcohol of this color.
Tipping his head back, he took a tentative, large gulp.
“Belch—”
As the liquid slid down his throat, Tie Tu suddenly let out a loud belch.
His eyes instantly went wide, and he stared at the porcelain bowl in his hand in disbelief.
The alcohol content was extremely low, and it couldn't even be considered strong, but the ice-cold, slightly bitter, yet incredibly thirst-quenching taste was completely novel.
“Splendid!”
Tie Tu couldn't help but chug two more large gulps, full of praise. “Though there's a strange bitterness when it first enters the mouth, the aftertaste is absolutely exquisite. It relieves fatigue and quenches thirst! This brew is suitable for all ages!”
He laughed and wiped his mouth, but just as his smile appeared, it froze on his face.
Staring at the coarse porcelain bowl in his hand, a look of sorrow flashed in Tie Tu's eyes as he murmured in a low voice, “What a pity... If that stubborn donkey Old Lu were still alive to taste the fine brew his disciple made with her own hands, how wonderful that would be...”
The atmosphere in the courtyard instantly grew heavy.
The wind blew through the locust tree, rustling the leaves.
Realizing he had spoken out of turn and made his junior sad, Tie Tu quickly coughed twice to smooth things over.
“Ah, why bring that up.”
He set the porcelain bowl down and looked at Su Yueli seriously. “Yueli, though your brew is good, you are a young lady. What is the point of showing your face in the streets just to sell alcohol?”
“Since you are Lu Chen's disciple, you are like my own daughter. As long as I have a bite to eat here at the Iron Bone Dojo, you will never go hungry. Uncle Tie will support you for the rest of your life, ensuring you have no worries about food or clothing. You only need to focus on practicing martial arts!”
His words were resolute and powerful, carrying the most sincere righteousness of a martial artist.
Su Yueli merely shook her head.
“Thank you for your kindness, Uncle Tie, but I still want to earn some money of my own.”
She couldn't stay in this small courtyard forever.
She had to investigate clues about cultivators, deduce the ultimate heights of the martial path, and perhaps even face the behemoth that was the Cangyun Sect in the future.
This path of longevity was too difficult to walk; she had to have her own foundation and leverage.
Money was one of the sharpest blades in the mortal world.
Seeing Su Yueli's resolute expression, Tie Tu knew her temperament was just like Lu Chen's—once she set her mind on something, not even ten bulls could pull her back.
“Fine, do as you wish.”
Tie Tu sighed, and then his tone shifted as his expression turned serious. “However, if you're going to show your face out there, Uncle Tie has to test your foundation first.”
“Old Lu's fist techniques only teach killing moves. Come, attack me with all your strength. Let me see how solid your foundation in the Third Realm Blood Exchange is!”
With that, Tie Tu sank his legs slightly and assumed a stance, suppressing his cultivation level to match Su Yueli's Third Realm level.
“Pardon my offense, Uncle Tie.”
Su Yueli also happened to want to test her own strength. Since she started practicing martial arts, she had never truly fought.
Her eyes lowered slightly. In the next breath, the bluestone slab beneath her feet exploded!
She shot forward like a cannonball, opening with the purely violent first style, Mountain Splitter!
Bang!
Fist clashed with palm, and a wave of air rippled through the courtyard.
Tie Tu caught the punch steadily. Just as he was about to offer some guidance, he saw Su Yueli's wrist flip, transforming her fist into fingers as she ruthlessly slashed toward his throat.
The second style, Bone Entangler! The third style, City Destroyer!
Su Yueli's offensive was like a tempest, one move closely following another without leaving any room for defense, every strike aimed directly at vital points.
The more Tie Tu fought, the more alarmed he became. This was indeed the most pure killing art, just like Lu Chen's!
If not for his deep foundation as a Fifth Realm expert and his rich combat experience, an ordinary martial artist of the same realm would have likely been torn to shreds by this girl long ago.
“Phew—”
The moment Tie Tu parried an elbow strike, Su Yueli took a deep breath, and the blood qi throughout her body suddenly surged in reverse.
Her right arm carried the terrifying explosive power of blocking a river as she smashed a fist toward Tie Tu's chest.
The fourth style, River Blocker!
As this punch was thrown, even the air produced a sonic boom.
Tie Tu's pupils contracted. Finally, he stopped suppressing his realm. The heavy blood qi of a Fifth Realm Martial Opening expert instantly surged out of his body, transforming into an invisible wall of qi across his chest.
“Boom!”
The dull, thunderous roar shattered the fallen leaves in the courtyard.
Su Yueli was forced back three steps by the counterforce of the Fifth Realm, her blood qi churning slightly.
Although Tie Tu had not retreated a single step, the right arm that had taken this punch head-on actually felt a wave of numbness.
“Great mastery?!”
Tie Tu withdrew his stance, looking at Su Yueli as if she were a monster, his face filled with utter disbelief. “You've already practiced even the fourth style to great perfection?!”
Su Yueli calmed her breathing and nodded. “I only just broke through a few days ago.”
“Old Lu... has raised a monster.”
Tie Tu took a deep breath, his expression complex and full of emotion. “With this kind of comprehension and innate ruthlessness, no wonder you could step into the Third Realm at this age. Yueli, to tell you the truth, other than my martial path realm being higher than yours, I really have nothing left to teach you when it comes to fist techniques and actual combat.”
In this world, talent was truly something completely unreasonable.
“Dad! Sister Yueli! What are you doing?”
Just then, Tie Ling'er ran over from the corridor carrying a plate of fruits, just in time to see Su Yueli force her usually formidable father to employ his Fifth Realm blood qi.
The little girl's eyes instantly lit up like stars. Filled with admiration, she ran over and hugged Su Yueli's arm. “Sister Yueli is so amazing! I saw it just now, that punch was so majestic!”
Turning her head, Tie Ling'er didn't forget to make a face at her own father. “Dad, don't you usually brag that barely anyone in Qingzhou City can take three moves from you? How come you were forced to defend against Sister Yueli today?”
Tie Tu's old face turned red, and he glared at his daughter. “Nonsense! I was afraid of hurting your sister, so I was holding back!”
Su Yueli looked at this comical father-daughter pair, a trace of warmth crossing her eyes.
“Uncle Tie's foundation is profound; I am not even a fraction of his match,” Su Yueli said with a light smile.
After resting for a moment, Su Yueli found a few clean wooden kegs, poured the fermented beer into them, and sealed them tightly with wooden lids and red cloth.
Then, she wheeled over a single-wheel handcart used in the dojo for transporting stone locks and loaded the kegs onto it.
“Uncle Tie, Ling'er, I'm heading out.”
Su Yueli patted the dust off her hands and grabbed the handles of the handcart.
Tie Tu looked at the large kegs emitting a tempting aroma of malt, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
“Ahem... Well.”
Tie Tu coughed dryly, a rare trace of embarrassment appearing on his face as he rubbed his hands. “Girl, since today is the first day you're selling this brew, let Uncle Tie... bring you some good luck by being your first customer.”
“Leave a keg for me. I'll use it to go with my dinner tonight.”
Hearing this, the corners of Su Yueli's lips curved slightly. She unloaded one of the kegs and placed it on the stone table.
“Enjoy it slowly.”
With that, she pushed the wheelbarrow and walked out the main gate.
With the scorching sun overhead, Su Yueli pushed the cart straight to the entrance of the East Market, the most bustling area of Qingzhou City. Finding a reasonably spacious patch of shade beneath a tree, she unloaded the kegs.
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