The Fragrance of Tea

Han Li did not step inside immediately, but the rich fragrance of tea had already met him at the doorway.

He blinked in mild surprise. He was no tea connoisseur, but even he could sense the faint spiritual energy drifting within that aroma.

His interest piqued, he stopped hesitating and walked in.

The teahouse was not large—three single-story rooms connected in a row, one large and two small. At this hour, every seat was taken by clusters of three to five patrons. A half-dozen or so more individuals in varied attire stood quietly to one side, waiting for a space to open up.

Despite the crowd, no one spoke above a murmur.

Most sat with their eyes half-closed, savoring the tea in front of them with evident enjoyment. Only a handful exchanged low whispers.

On the main wall of the center room hung a large sheet of yellow paper, a full zhang wide, inscribed with bold, flowing characters: “ONE POT PER PERSON PER DAY.” The words were eye-catching to the extreme.

Han Li found the rule slightly amusing. It was the first time he had heard of a food-and-drink establishment limiting how much a customer could consume.

He dismissed the thought with a faint smile and let his gaze sweep the room. Spotting a man who appeared to be the proprietor standing in a corner, he walked straight over.

The teahouse owner was a man in his forties with a thin mustache and a sharp, capable look about him. He stood behind a counter, head bowed, clicking away at an abacus while occasionally glancing at a ledger at his side.

Han Li approached the counter and stood there without a word, his expression calm. The proprietor looked up, startled by the sudden presence.

The moment he recognized Han Li, his face changed dramatically. He shoved the abacus and ledger aside, hurriedly came out from behind the counter, and spoke in a deferential, almost panicked tone:

“Senior, is there something you require this junior’s help with? I will do my utmost!”

The proprietor was a cultivator himself, but his cultivation was pitifully low—around the fourth layer of Qi Condensation.

Faced with Han Li, whose depth he could not fathom at all, he naturally felt ill at ease.

Without a word, Han Li lightly brushed his sleeve over the counter. A glossy, cyan jade pendant appeared on the surface.

The proprietor stared at the pendant, momentarily taken aback, then his face lit up with delight.

“So it is Senior Han! This junior was dreadfully rude! Young Master Qi informed me that you would be arriving soon. I have been waiting for your arrival for some time now.”

Han Li retrieved the pendant with the same casual motion and said evenly, “I need to see your young master now. Lead the way.”

“As you command, Senior!” the proprietor replied obediently.

He called over a shop assistant dressed as a waiter, gave him a few brief instructions, then led Han Li out the back door. They left the small town and headed west.

West of Golden Horse City stretched a vast expanse of yellow-green hills, too many to count, scattered across the landscape like an endless sea. The proprietor, however, knew the terrain like the back of his hand. He guided Han Li through a series of twists and turns among the mounds until they arrived at a sunken depression covering roughly a hundred mu.

In the center of this hollow stood seven or eight white stone houses. A few sparse green bamboo groves dotted the area here and there, thin and unremarkable.

Once they were near the compound, the proprietor stopped and bowed to Han Li.

“Senior, my young master is inside. There are formations set up around the houses. Ordinarily, I would need to report to him before bringing an outsider in, but Senior Han’s visit was already arranged. Please follow closely behind me. If you trigger any of the restrictions, it will be troublesome.”

Han Li cast a thoughtful glance across the hollow and at the bamboo groves, which seemed to have no discernible pattern, then said indifferently, “Understood. Just lead the way.”

The proprietor took a deep breath and began picking his way toward the houses with extreme care.

His path was bizarre. He would take three steps forward, then two steps back; five steps east, then six steps back west. The entire movement sequence was chaotic and seemingly random, with no obvious pattern.

And so, step by step, they slowly approached the stone houses.

When they were about ten zhang away, the proprietor finally exhaled and called out loudly to the largest of the houses:

“Young Master! Senior Han has arrived. Would you come out and greet him?”

“Senior Han is here? Excellent! Give me a moment—I’ll be right out!” Qi Yunxiao’s surprised voice came from inside. This was followed by a dull thump and then his rueful muttering:

“Ah, failed again!”

The stone door slid open, and Qi Yunxiao emerged, his face full of disappointment. He still carried a wave of scorching heat from whatever he had been working on.

But the moment he saw Han Li, his expression cleared like clouds parting, and he stepped forward with visible excitement.

“It really is you, Senior! This is wonderful! Please, come with me. Let me do my duty as host. We don’t have much here, but I do have a few cups of excellent tea.”

Qi Yunxiao eagerly invited Han Li into the adjacent room. His manner was far more mature and composed than it had been a few years ago.

“Then I must trouble you, Brother Qi,” Han Li said politely, knowing he would still need the other man’s help.

He entered the room and took a seat beside a rectangular table.

“Senior, about the…” Qi Yunxiao began hesitantly, turning to Han Li after ordering the proprietor to brew some tea.

Han Li smiled without a word. With a flip of his hand, the Cloud Sky Notes appeared on the table. The book still gleamed with a silvery light, indicating that the seal remained intact.

Qi Yunxiao’s spirits lifted at the sight of the book. He was about to reach for it when he suddenly remembered something. He hastily said, “Senior, please wait a moment,” and hurried out again.

Han Li chuckled softly, guessing the young man’s intent.

Before long, Qi Yunxiao returned, beaming, with a wooden box about a chi long in his hands.

“Senior, this is a set of improved Reversed Five Elements Formation deployment tools. Their power didn’t reach the fifty percent of the original formation that I had initially hoped for, but I managed to push them to one-third. That’s still far better than the previous set,” he said apologetically. Clearly, failing to reach the promised level of improvement weighed on his conscience.

“One-third?” Han Li’s expression shifted. He was genuinely surprised.

In truth, he had never expected the formation tools to be improved at all. Even the original set, which only achieved one-tenth of the formation’s full power, had already satisfied him greatly. A defensive array that could trouble even a Core Formation cultivator like Lei Wanhe was already extraordinary. If its power could be increased two or three times further, it might truly be able to keep a Core Formation cultivator locked outside.

With this thought, Han Li accepted the wooden box for a closer look, while Qi Yunxiao picked up the silver book to examine its contents.

When Han Li opened the lid, a set of array flags and an array disc pulsed with dense spiritual energy inside the box.

He took each piece out and inspected them carefully. This new set contained far more components than the original, and the patterns and runes inscribed on the flags and disc were noticeably more complex. It seemed that Qi Yunxiao had not exaggerated—this set should indeed be significantly more powerful.

Satisfied, Han Li put the formation tools away and turned his gaze to the opposite side.

Qi Yunxiao was now gently stroking the Cloud Sky Notes, a look of pure joy on his face. He had evidently verified the seal as well.

“I am very pleased with this improved formation set. I have truly put you to great trouble, Brother Qi,” Han Li said with a faint smile.

“Senior, please don’t say that! I should be the one thanking you profusely for returning the book intact. It is I who should be grateful!” Qi Yunxiao shook his head vigorously like a rattle-drum, speaking with genuine sincerity.

Han Li smiled and exchanged a few polite remarks. The two of them then fell into easy conversation.

A short while later, the proprietor returned, carrying two cups of emerald-green tea on a tray.

The fragrance of this tea was even purer and more refreshing than the brew served at the teahouse in town. Clearly, it was made from even finer leaves. The spiritual energy it gave off was also noticeably richer.

At Qi Yunxiao’s earnest invitation, Han Li took a sip. A cool, crisp sensation spread through his mouth, and his mind felt clearer and more alert. He could not help but praise it:

“Excellent tea. To think you could imbue ordinary tea leaves with spiritual energy—truly ingenious. Did you prepare this yourself, Brother Qi? I am deeply impressed.”

Han Li meant every word. The very notion of infusing common tea leaves with spiritual energy was something he had never heard of before. Moreover, the tea’s fragrance was exquisite, no less impressive than the finest brews in the mortal world.

Qi Yunxiao’s face reddened with embarrassment, and he quickly explained:

“Senior, you misunderstand. I did not prepare this tea myself. It was a gift from a close friend. He spent nearly ten years researching and perfecting the technique to make this tea!”

(Finally got this written out. I’m just about dead tired. Time to sleep.)