Chu Feng quickly lifted the bowl and took a small, careful sip.
The moment the Dragon Spring Water entered his mouth, he finally understood why something merely described as "refreshing" could make people willing to pay the price of a Noble Weapon for just a single bowl.
It truly offered no meaningful help to one's cultivation of martial power. Yet as the Dragon Spring Water coursed through his body, it was as if his entire being had been purified.
Even Chu Feng, whose heart had been brimming with anger, felt that fury dissipate by more than half after that single sip.
He promptly took two more large gulps.
With those two mouthfuls sliding down his throat, Chu Feng felt his entire body sink into an extraordinarily comfortable state — a sensation of relaxation and ease he hadn't experienced in a very long time.
He nearly forgot all of his worries, so intoxicated was he by the feeling.
"Daddy, look — that Dragon Spring Water seems really tasty!"
Just as Chu Feng was immersing himself in that blissful comfort, a young boy's voice yanked him right back out of it.
He turned toward the sound. At some point, two people had appeared beside him.
They were a middle-aged man and a young boy.
The middle-aged man had a rough, unkempt face covered in stubble, and his clothing was exceedingly shabby. It looked as though he had simply grabbed a burlap sack, draped it over his body, and tied it at the waist with a length of rope — and that was the entirety of his outfit.
He didn't even have shoes. His large, grimy feet were caked with mud.
Worth mentioning was the axe strapped to his back. It didn't look like a Noble Weapon — it didn't even look like a proper weapon at all. It seemed utterly ordinary, like the sort of axe a common laborer might use to chop firewood.
As for the young boy, he appeared to be around ten years old and was just as filthy. He wasn't much to look at, but there was something endearing about his simple, innocent demeanor.
"Young sir, um... that is to say..."
"I have an impolite request. Would you be willing to let my son taste just a little of your Dragon Spring Water? Just a tiny bit would do."
"Of course, if you'd rather not, that's perfectly fine. I apologize for overstepping."
The middle-aged man addressed Chu Feng with an embarrassed expression, barely able to meet his eyes as he spoke — as though he feared Chu Feng might lash out at him.
Chu Feng could tell that this wasn't someone with a thick skin. But for the sake of his son, he had mustered the courage to make this awkward request.
Looking at the father and son, Chu Feng couldn't help but think of his own father — and of his adoptive father as well.
He opened his palm and used his barrier to condense a small bowl, intending to share a portion of his Dragon Spring Water with the boy.
Whoosh —
But in that instant, a hand snatched the bowl of Dragon Spring Water right out of Chu Feng's grasp.
It was the Prison Sect's Hell Envoy.
"Those who come unprepared have no right to drink the Dragon Spring Water."
"And if you would give it away to someone like this, then you have no right to drink it yourself."
With those words, the Prison Sect's Hell Envoy downed the entire bowl of Chu Feng's Dragon Spring Water in one gulp.
"Heh..."
"Playing the good Samaritan?"
"Still pretending, are you? Now you've lost even your own share. Talk about lacking self-awareness."
The pale-faced man from the Heavenly Wind Sword Pavilion had apparently been watching Chu Feng the entire time. The moment he witnessed this scene, he immediately unleashed a string of mockery.
"My apologies, young sir. This is all my fault."
The middle-aged man looked thoroughly ashamed.
"I'm sorry, big brother. It's my fault — I got you in trouble."
Even the young boy apologized to Chu Feng with a well-mannered bow of his head.
"Don't say that. This has nothing to do with you."
"You really want to try the Dragon Spring Water, right? Let me think of something. Just wait here a moment."
Chu Feng said to the boy.
But who could have predicted that the moment he finished speaking, the pale-faced man from the Heavenly Wind Sword Pavilion would immediately pipe up again with another jab.
"Think of something? Are you going to be like that old man at the entrance, trading a Noble Weapon for a bowl?"
"Or perhaps you'd like to learn from this destitute pair and shamelessly beg someone to lend you a sip?"
"Even the people who came with you can't stand you — do you really think anyone else would lend you anything?"
The pale-faced man's words dripped with derision.
This time, however, Chu Feng didn't bother bickering with him. Instead, he rose to his feet and walked straight toward the man's group.
Seeing this, the people from the Heavenly Wind Sword Pavilion all assumed Chu Feng was looking for a fight. Their faces hardened as they fixed him with hostile stares.
One of them even reached back and gripped the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"My lady, would you happen to have any extra Dragon Spring Coins?"
But to everyone's surprise, Chu Feng paid the pale-faced man no mind whatsoever. Instead, he addressed the spirited, sharp-looking woman.
"I do have some, but I won't be trading them with you."
"I think the senior traveling with you is quite right. Those who come unprepared have no right to drink the Dragon Spring Water."
The woman replied curtly.
"Then how about I make a wager with you, my lady?"
Chu Feng said.
"I never gamble."
Having said that, the woman turned her back on Chu Feng, done with the conversation.
She clearly hadn't expected Chu Feng to propose a wager, and she seemed to despise the very idea — so much so that even the tone of her parting words turned impatient.
"I'll wager with you, my lady, that I can solve this True Dragon Chessboard."