Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Supreme Ghost Wine? Yun Zhenyue Is Dumbfounded, Isn’t This My Cooking Wine?

Before Yun Zhenyue even had a chance to brag about Gu Yuan,

the ghost manager came hurrying down from the second floor.

He was holding a peculiar bottle of wine.

The bottle’s glaze shimmered with an ominous blood-red hue, like cinnabar aged for hundreds of years. When the light hit that patch of red, the patterns on the bottle’s mouth seemed to squirm like living creatures.

"Boss, I have a bottle of treasured vintage right here."

"This is no ordinary wine. The former manager specially rewarded me with it for all my hard work."

"The level of this bottle alone is on par with my necklace, to say nothing of the wine inside."

After he spoke,

the ghost manager poured a full glass for each of them.

The crimson liquid was visibly viscous, forming a small vortex at the bottom of the glass while emitting a tempting aroma.

"No, thank you. I don’t drink."

Yun Zhenyue refused, shaking her head.

Although she was indeed curious since the wine was from Gu Yuan, she was a teetotaler. Once, she had gotten drunk from just a single sip of liquor.

"It’s alright. This wine is special; you can’t get drunk from it,"

the ghost manager explained.

"Not only does it condition the body, but it also enhances one’s strength. It’s thanks to this wine that I was able to successfully advance from a Fierce Ghost to a Crimson-robed Ghost. However, the former manager only ever gave me this one bottle, and there isn’t much left."

...

Witnessing this, the audience watching the livestream was overcome with envy.

’Advance from a Fierce Ghost to a Crimson-robed Ghost?’

’Is this wine really that potent?’

’If Yun Zhenyue isn’t going to drink it, give it to us!’

Suddenly,

a veteran player from Dragon Country remembered something. Eyes wide with shock, he sent a message.

[Holy shit... D-Don’t tell me that’s Blood Red Level ghost wine?]

[I used to work at the Resentful Sea Winery, and I heard the owner specifically mention this.]

[When Blood Red Level ghost wine is poured, it appears blood-red and forms a small vortex. That means the Yin energy inside has reached its absolute limit!]

[Humans can’t absorb the Yin energy, but drinking it can nourish their bodies!]

[Tons of Crimson-robed Ghosts came to the winery begging for it, even offering the insane price of ten thousand ghost coins for a tiny cup! But the owner refused to sell, no matter what. He only had one small bottle, which had also been a gift to him from some big shot.]

’Blood Red Level ghost wine?’

’This is insane!!’

’In decades, humanity has never obtained a Blood Red Level Ghost Artifact!’

’You have to understand, every Blood-red Ghost Artifact is the most prized possession of a Crimson-robed Ghost!’

’If any country were to possess a Blood-red Ghost Artifact!’

’It would undoubtedly spark an international conflict!’

’And now you’re telling us this little bit of wine is Blood Red Level?’

’Isn’t that a total waste?!’

’Wouldn’t it be better to sell it, or trade it with a Crimson-robed Ghost for a different Blood-red Ghost Artifact?’

The Dragon Country audience was dumbfounded!

[Wait, what?]

[Did Yun Zhenyue just drink several thousand ghost coins’ worth in a single sip?]

[For real? You’re just trying to scare us. If it’s really Blood Red Level, wouldn’t Dragon Country become incredibly powerful if Yun Zhenyue sold it?]

[Damn... That ghost manager is so generous, giving away such a high-class wine?]

[Didn’t you hear? The former manager gave it to him. And as for who the former manager is—Gu Yuan, of course!]

...

「Meanwhile.」

Audiences from other countries were starting to panic.

’Gu Yuan can brew wine?’

’He can brew Blood Red Level ghost wine?’

This sudden revelation threw everyone’s thoughts into chaos.

The whole Blood Moon Restaurant manager thing could be explained away.

’Maybe he just got lucky. It started as a small shop, and he only managed to build it up after hiring a good manager.’

But this brewing skill... if it was real...

’What if Yun Zhenyue actually succeeds in winning over Gu Yuan?’

’Wouldn’t Dragon Country have a limitless supply of Blood Red Level ghost wine?’

’Raking in hundreds of thousands, even millions, of ghost coins just like that?!!’

For the other countries, this would be a devastating blow!

[The Dragon Country people are making things up again. Only a fool would believe something so ridiculous.]

[Ten thousand ghost coins a sip? Do you think ghost coins are toilet paper?]

[Exactly. He’s just a resentful spirit. Even if he can brew wine, it would be garbage at best.]

[That ghost manager is definitely lying just to curry favor!]

[Yeah, talk is cheap, right?]

Little did they know,

Gu Yuan did, in fact, know how to brew.

It was a skill he had absorbed from another ghost.

He normally just did it for fun.

...

At the moment,

finding it too difficult to refuse the ghost manager’s kind gesture, Yun Zhenyue raised her glass and took a small sip.

It was true.

The wine had a complex aftertaste. The moment the liquid passed her lips, her tongue first met the subtle sourness of pickled green plums, followed by a faint, unidentifiable sweetness that spread across the back of her tongue.

But Yun Zhenyue’s expression was a little strange.

’This wine...’

’Why does it taste a bit like my cooking wine?’

She turned her head.

She saw Lin Jiu take a sip as well.

His face was a mask of utter shock, as if he had just drunk the legendary Jade Pool Liquid. He was completely lost in savoring it, a flush creeping up his cheeks.

When he parted his lips, a puff of white, impure air poured from his mouth.

Nearby,

Han Sumei and the others were staring so intently at the crimson wine that their eyes looked like they were about to fall into the glass.

They could smell the aroma, an aroma that made every cell in their bodies scream with desperate craving.

’Conditioning the body, enhancing strength.’

’We want to drink it too!’

After working so hard all day,

all they could do was watch Yun Zhenyue savoring fine wine, completely oblivious to the world.

How could they possibly accept this?

A grand feast and fine wine!

This was the life they had always dreamed of!

Everyone there wished they could replace Yun Zhenyue that very instant.

’If only I were the one sitting there...’

GULP~

It was unclear who swallowed first,

but suddenly a chorus of gulps echoed through the hall.

"So? It’s a pretty good wine, isn’t it?"

the ghost manager asked with a smile.

"It’s... nice."

Yun Zhenyue nodded awkwardly.

’It’d be even nicer if it didn’t taste like cooking wine,’ she thought.

She hadn’t felt any of the effects the ghost manager mentioned, like conditioning her body.

Of course, maybe that was because she’d had too much cooking wine in her life already.

Drinking more now probably wouldn’t do anything.

Seeing that Yun Zhenyue didn’t have the delighted reaction he’d expected,

the ghost manager was startled, secretly stunned by her composure.

’She drank such a top-tier ghost wine without even batting an eye.’

’It just shows how extravagantly this new boss must live every day.’

With this in mind,

he pulled a cigar from his pocket.

"I also have a cigar here—it’s Dark Red Level. Would you care to try? It’s not harsh at all. A single puff could probably extend a human’s life by a year."

"I’ll pass on that one."

Yun Zhenyue loathed tobacco, and her head shook back and forth like a pellet drum.

On the other side,

seeing the ghost cigar in the manager’s hand,

Han Sumei and the others were about to cry from envy!

’What kind of silver spoon did she have to be born with?’

’First fine wine, now a cigar like that.’

’One puff adds a year to your life?’

’And she’s rejecting a treasure like that?!!’

’That wasteful wench!’

’If you don’t want it, give it to us!’

’We swear we’ll take a few huge puffs and smoke that cigar down to the butt!’

"SOB..."

For some reason,

a female player from another country suddenly started to cry quietly.

She bit her lip, unable to contain the overwhelming jealousy bubbling up inside her!

What she felt for Yun Zhenyue went beyond mere envy.

She wished she could swap identities with her right this instant!

’Whoever wants to be a waitress can have the job! I’m done!’