Published: August 25, 2025
Chapter 275: The Fragrance of Tea
This teahouse was not large—just three single-storey rooms joined together. Yet even before Han Li stepped inside, a strong, pleasant aroma of tea greeted him.
Han Li was somewhat surprised. Although he didn’t know much about the way of tea, he sensed a faint trace of spiritual energy within the fragrance.
Moved by this, he no longer hesitated and stepped inside.
The three rooms were lined up side by side—one large, two smaller—and all were filled with tea drinkers in groups of three to five. In fact, since there were no vacant seats inside, seven or eight people, dressed in various styles, quietly waited nearby.
Despite the many guests, no one spoke loudly.
Most had their eyes lightly closed, savoring the tea before them with relish, while only a few muttered quietly.
On the central wall of the large middle room hung a large yellow paper about a meter in size. Written on it in bold, flowing characters were the words: “Each person limited to one pot of tea per day,” making it highly conspicuous.
Seeing these words, Han Li couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly. This was the first time he had heard of a business restricting customers’ consumption.
However, he merely smiled to himself and did not dwell on it. After a quick glance around the room, he immediately approached a man in the corner who looked like the shopkeeper.
This was presumably the teahouse’s manager, a man in his forties with a small mustache and a sharp, astute appearance.
At that moment, he was behind the counter, bent over an abacus, occasionally glancing at a ledger beside him.
Han Li walked over in a few steps and stood silently before the counter.
The shopkeeper looked up in surprise and saw Han Li’s face. His expression immediately changed, and he hastily put aside the abacus and ledger, stepping out from behind the counter.
With an anxious and respectful tone, he said, “Esteemed elder, how may this junior assist you? I will do my utmost!”
To Han Li’s surprise, this shopkeeper was also an immortal cultivator, though at a rather low level—only around the fourth layer of the qi refining stage.
Now, facing Han Li, an unfathomably powerful “elder,” he naturally became nervous and uneasy.
Without a word, Han Li flicked his sleeve gently over the counter, and a crystal-clear azure jade pendant appeared on the table.
The shopkeeper was stunned at first, then his face brightened with delight as he exclaimed, “So it is Elder Han’s arrival! This junior was rude earlier! Young Master Qi has long instructed that you would come around this time. I have been waiting for you!”
Hearing this, Han Li quietly collected the pendant in the same way and calmly said, “I want to see your young master now. Lead the way.”
“At your command, Elder!” The shopkeeper obediently responded.
He then called over a waiter and gave him a few instructions before leading Han Li out the back door, straight out of the small city, heading west.
West of Golden Horse City was a wide expanse of yellow-green hills, countless in number of all sizes. The shopkeeper, however, navigated confidently through the mounds, turning and twisting a few times until they reached a shallow depression covering over a hundred acres.
In the middle of the hollow were seven or eight white stone houses. Around them, scattered here and there, grew a few sparse green bamboo stalks that looked insignificant.
After bringing Han Li near this place, the shopkeeper bowed and said, “Elder, my young master is inside. But there are formations set outside the house. Normally, I should inform him before bringing outsiders in. However, Young Master has already instructed me about you, Elder Han, so just follow me closely. Otherwise, if you trigger the restrictions, it will be troublesome!”
Han Li glanced thoughtfully at the surrounding hollow and at those seemingly random bamboo stalks, then said casually, “Understood. You just lead the way.”
Hearing this, the shopkeeper breathed in deeply and cautiously led Han Li toward the house.