Chapter 72

"Ha ha!" Seeing Xu Mo's expression, the man surnamed Wei suddenly burst into laughter. "I was just joking, Mr. Xu, you took it too seriously."

Xu Mo, hearing his insincere words, felt no less worried. He thought to himself, "Not far behind me is the wine cellar. I don't know if these two have discovered it yet, but from the looks of it, they haven't. Regardless, these two are suspicious characters. If they see the wine in the cellar, who knows what trouble they might cause."

The wine cellar was built around a natural pit, with only a slight slope dug out to make it level with the middle. Digging deeper was difficult due to the many hard stones underground, so he didn't dig any further.

He then built a wooden frame on top, laid branches over it, and covered them with dry grass. It was quite simple and could be easily spotted by anyone passing by.

However, when Xu Mo built it, he never thought anyone would come to this remote mountain. The cellar was only meant to protect the wine from the rain. Who would have thought that this would become a hidden danger?

Xu Mo glanced at the two men, thinking, "How can I delay them for a while? As long as they don't discover the wine cellar, I can move the wine with the monkeys once they leave."

The man surnamed Chu reached into his backpack, took out two packets of compressed biscuits and a can of military rations, and placed them in front of Xu Mo, smiling. "We enjoyed Mr. Xu's fine wine, and we have nothing to offer in return. Consider this a trade." He paused and added, "We don't have much food, so we can't give you more. Sorry about that."

Xu Mo glanced at the items indifferently, thinking, "This kind of food, how could I possibly eat it?" But he thought the man surnamed Chu was more considerate than the man surnamed Wei.

Mango, who had been standing behind Xu Mo, scratching his head and picking lice, saw the new items and couldn't help but chirp a couple of times, pointing at the compressed biscuits and the can of rations with his paw.

Xu Mo turned and looked at Mango, smiling. "You want it? Take it." He picked up the compressed biscuits and the can of rations and handed them to Mango. Mango held them in his arms, not recognizing what they were, and his little eyes darted around curiously.

The man surnamed Chu continued, "I have a question for Mr. Xu."

Xu Mo turned to face him, waiting for him to continue, but said nothing.

The man surnamed Chu went on, "Mr. Xu has lived here for a long time. Have you seen anything strange or unusual?"

Xu Mo looked puzzled. "Strange or unusual? What do you mean, Mr. Chu?"

The man surnamed Chu hesitated, as if some things were hard to say. After a moment, he tentatively asked, "For example, have you seen any animals you've never seen before?"

"Not really." Xu Mo shook his head. For some reason, he thought of the cave near the valley. He wondered, "These two might be here for the monster in that cave. Should I tell them about it?"

He hesitated, unsure what to do.

"Oh!"

The man surnamed Chu didn't seem suspicious, but his face showed disappointment. He thought for a moment and said, "We plan to stay here for a while, and we'll need Mr. Xu's help."

Xu Mo replied noncommittally, "Sure."

The man surnamed Chu smiled and continued, "Since that's the case, we'll be neighbors. We'll set up our tent here."

Xu Mo was startled. "If you set up your tent here, I won't have time to move the wine."

He pointed towards the lake, trying to remain calm. "There's a lake over there with a beautiful view, perfect for setting up a tent."

He often went to the lake to practice his sense of touch. If these two stayed by the lake, it would affect his practice, but for the sake of the wine, he had to get them to move, even if it meant sacrificing his training.

The man surnamed Wei laughed. "No need. We'll stay with Mr. Xu. This wine..." He patted the wine jar in his hand and continued, "I want to drink more."

Xu Mo, hearing his words, felt his face turn sour. The man seemed to treat his wine as his own, drinking as he pleased. Xu Mo didn't respond.

The man surnamed Chu stood up. "It's getting dark. Let's set up the tent first. Mr. Xu, do you have any good spots to recommend around here?"

Xu Mo stood up and pointed straight ahead. "There's a flat spot over there, perfect for setting up a tent." He didn't want these two to go in the direction of the wine cellar, which was not far behind him.

But the man surnamed Wei was cunning. He pointed behind Xu Mo and said to the man surnamed Chu, "I think that direction is better, Old Chu. Let's set up the tent there." He even smiled at Xu Mo.

Xu Mo, seeing his smile, felt an intense dislike but couldn't stop them without arousing suspicion.

The man surnamed Chu nodded, agreeing. "Alright." He and the man surnamed Wei picked up their backpacks, walked past Xu Mo, and headed towards the wine cellar.

Xu Mo was in a panic but had no choice but to follow them, praying they wouldn't look inside the wine cellar.

The wine cellar was mostly hidden, with only a small door. If they didn't open it and look inside, they would likely just see a low shed and not notice the wine inside.

The two men soon reached the wine cellar. The man surnamed Wei glanced at the shed, turned to Xu Mo, and asked, "What's this? A toilet?"

Xu Mo, hearing the mocking tone in his voice, felt angry but said nothing.

The man surnamed Wei opened the door and saw the neatly arranged wine jars inside. He was surprised, then delighted, and shouted, "So much wine!"

Without asking Xu Mo, he took a jar of wine, opened it, and took a deep sniff. The aroma filled his nostrils and spread throughout his body, making him feel incredibly comfortable. He couldn't help but praise, "Good wine!" with a look of bliss on his face.

Xu Mo, seeing him hold the mulberry wine he had brewed, finally couldn't hold back. "If you want to drink, you should at least ask me first."

The man surnamed Wei suddenly flew into a rage, threw the wine jar to the ground with a loud "smash," and it shattered on a sharp rock, spilling the wine and filling the air with its fragrance.

He turned to Xu Mo, looking at him coldly, and sneered, "What, you don't want to?" He reached for the gun at his waist, ready to draw it if Xu Mo disagreed.

The man surnamed Chu quickly placed his hand on his, trying to calm him down. "Old Wei, calm down. Is a jar of wine worth it?" He subtly signaled to the man surnamed Wei.

The man surnamed Wei, seeing his signal, was taken aback, his face showing confusion. He wanted to ask the man surnamed Chu but held back. He released his grip on the gun.

Xu Mo, with his sharp eyes, noticed the subtle change in their expressions, even though they tried to hide it.

The man surnamed Chu turned to Xu Mo, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, Mr. Xu. My friend has a bit of a temper. If he offended you, please forgive him."

Before Xu Mo could respond, the man surnamed Wei coldly said, "Drinking your wine is a sign of respect. Believe me, if I get angry, I'll smash it all."

Xu Mo, feeling angry, looked at the gun on the man surnamed Wei's waist but said nothing, calculating his next move.

The man surnamed Wei, seeing his reaction, thought he was afraid and ignored him. He turned to the man surnamed Chu. "Old Chu, let's set up the tent here."

The man surnamed Chu agreed. "Alright."

He then turned to Xu Mo. "Old Wei is a bit straightforward, but he means no harm. Don't take it personally." He paused and added, "I'll keep an eye on him. Don't worry, he won't take the wine without permission."

Xu Mo responded indifferently, his face expressionless, but he was inwardly sneering.

The two men took out their tent from their backpacks, cleared a space next to the wine cellar, and started setting it up.

Xu Mo, unable to do anything, walked away without a word.

The man surnamed Chu called out, "Mr. Xu, come over and have something to eat once we finish setting up the tent?"

"Thanks, but no thanks." Xu Mo said this and walked away without looking back.

The man surnamed Wei, seeing him leave, whispered to the man surnamed Chu, "Old Chu, what was that look you gave me just now?"

The man surnamed Chu whispered back, "First, tell me, why did you reach for your gun?"

The man surnamed Wei dismissed it. "Of course, to shoot him. Damn it! I didn't know there was so much wine here. If I had, I wouldn't have wasted so many words. If I killed him, wouldn't all this wine be ours? We could drink it or sell it, and we'd be in control."

"Useless!" The man surnamed Chu scolded. "Tell me, how much wine is in the cellar?"

The man surnamed Wei thought for a moment. "At least a few dozen jars, maybe a hundred."

The man surnamed Chu sneered. "So what if it's a hundred jars? Even if there's a lot, it will eventually run out. If you kill this Mr. Xu, where will we get more wine like this?"

The man surnamed Wei's eyes lit up. "You mean..."

The man surnamed Chu, guessing what he was thinking, nodded. "Of course, the recipe. You mentioned it not long ago. How could you forget?"