Chapter 82: A Fine-Looking Nun
There were a total of nine prefectures in the southern region, with Profound Blade Sect and the Heavenly Sword Villa situated in the same prefecture—the Southern Immortal Prefecture. The other two major sects were located elsewhere. As a result, after the Heavenly Sword Villa was destroyed, the Profound Blade Sect became the prime suspect.
After all, the Southern Immortal Prefecture had abundant resources; it could be said to be the leader of the nine prefectures. There was no doubt that after the destruction of the Heavenly Sword Vila, the Profound Blade Sect would be the one to reap the most benefits.
“Let's take a break and have some tea then. We're only about a hundred miles away from the Profound Blade Sect, there's no need to hurry," said Fang Chen with a smile.
Not long after, the group entered a teahouse which was bordered with travelers around its proximity. The teahouse was sheltered by a towering tree with lush leaves, providing a cool, dark spot in this hellish heat of summer.
Many vendors, martial artists and merchants were all gathered here. Upon seeing Fang Chen’s group, the crowd showed signs of wariness and made way for them.
The group consisted of over thirty people led by Yuan Zhuang and the other officers from the Grand Brilliance Bureau. As they regularly dealt with criminals and outlaws, the group were brimming with an air of authority with every stride. Despite the fact that the lower-ranked officials dressed casually, they were all warriors in the Qi Condensation Stage, and they all appeared stout and strong—except for Yuan Yu, of course. It was obvious to the crowd that they were not to be trifled with.
On the contrary, Fang Chen, Fairy Yu, Abbess Qing He, and Huangfu Jie appeared less threatening.
Seeing that a group of people had entered the establishment, the owner of the tea house walked over to greet them, his face nothing but welcoming. "Dear guests, I apologize, but we’re almost fully booked. We only have five vacant tables. Would you mind squeezing for a bit?”
Fang Chen nodded with a smile. "We don’t mind."
Shortly later, Huangfu Jie sat at a table with Yuan Zhuang and the officials, while Fang Chen, Fairy Yu, and Abbess Qinghe sat at another table. The constables were split among the last three tables.
The martial artists who were secretly observing them immediately concluded that Fang Chen was likely a wealthy young master of some prominent family, and that the other people he had with him were bodyguards assigned for his protection.
They didn’t wait long before a waiter served steamy cups of tea to each of their tables.
When the waiter reached Fang Chen’s table, he laid down a cup before each of them and said, “Here is your tea, dear guests."
Fairy Yu was surprised; the tea was steaming, but strangely, it wasn’t hot at all. Rather, its steam had a refreshing coldness to it.
"Why is this tea chilled, my lord?" Fairy Yu asked, her face blossoming with curiosity; only the rich could afford chilled beverages in the capital city. It was unexpected that a small teahouse in the Southern Immortal Prefecture served tea made with ice—which was an expensive commodity.
Fang Chen smiled and said, "Don’t you know? This tea is a local specialty.” He then elaborated, “There's a spring with naturally chilled water about thirty miles from here. When they use the water from the spring they needn’t boil the water to extract the full flavor of tea. Even lower-grade tea leaves can go a long way with that water, taking their level up a notch."
Hearing that, Fairy Yu was shocked. Who would’ve thought that there existed such a mystical spring in this area. Even Abbess Qinghe seemed a bit surprised. She stared at the tea and fell into contemplation.
"You’re really knowledgeable," Yuan Zhuang commented. His table was close to Fang Chen’s and he had heard what Fang Chen had said.
Yuan Zhuang and his company at the table exchanged glances. They’d never heard about such a mystical spring in the southern region before.
Recovering from her initial surprise, Fairy Yu wondered curiously, "If that's the case, why haven’t we seen such spring water in the capital city before?"
“Because it cannot be stored for too long. It needs to be consumed within three hours. After that timeframe, it's no different from ordinary spring water," Fang Chen explained.
"I see." Fairy Yu nodded slightly and looked at Fang Chen with undisguised admiration.
Just then, a shout came from outside the teahouse’s door. "Whose horses are these? You’ve taken up all the space here! Where are we supposed to leave our horses now?”
As soon as that voice traveled into the teahouse, the owner hurriedly ran over to Fang Chen and, plastering a smile on his face, he whispered, “Ladies and gentlemen, you wouldn’t mind moving your horses elsewhere, would you? It’s really not a good idea to provoke the people outside...”
The group exchanged glances. Not a good idea to provoke the people outside? Could it be worse than provoking the Divine General of the Grand Xia Empire?
Fang Chen declined to argue. He looked at Yuan Zhuang and said, "Go move the horses."
"Yes." Yuan Zhuang nodded and went outside. After a while, he returned and reported, "My lord, I’ve taken care of it.”
Fang Chen nodded, waved for him to sit down, and continued to enjoy the chilled tea with Fairy Yu and Abbess Qinghe. With each sip he took, he could feel the stuffy summer heat dissipate a little. It was no wonder the teahouse had such booming business. For travelers, the chilled tea was truly a divine drink.
It wasn’t long after Yuan Zhuang returned that a group of people entered the teahouse. Seeing so many people inside, the leader's brow immediately furrowed. Before he could speak, a burly warrior beside him shouted coldly, "Innkeeper!"
"Coming, coming," the innkeeper called out quickly and hurriedly went over.
"The place is too crowded. My lord doesn't want so many people around him. Clear up some space and give us five empty tables, now!" The burly warrior spoke coldly, with wanton disregard toward the other guests.
The nearby customers heard that, and their expressions darkened. However, some seemed to recognize the group and quietly whispered something to their companions, who immediately grew fearful and dared not stare anymore.
The innkeeper was clearly troubled, and he stammered, "G-Gentlemen, I can at most free up one table. Can the five of you squeeze together...?"
As soon as the burly martial artists heard that, he turned furious and delivered a harsh slap to the innkeeper’s face, sending him flying several feet away, knocking over a table and spilling tea all over him. The burly martial artist bellowed, "What a joke! You want my lord to squeeze in with his servants? What do you take us for, huh?!"
The guests who had their table flipped, and their drinks ruined, became aflame with anger. They were clearly martial artists from the southern region, with formidable auras at that. One of them had even clearly reached the late Qi Condensation Stage, and he stood up, eyed the burly martial artist, and said coolly, "You’re going too far."
"Oh, there’s actually someone not afraid of trouble." The burly martial artists sneered. "Where are you from?"
"Black River Sect. You can call me Chen Da," The man stated his identity in a deep voice.
"He's the top expert of Black River Sect!"
The onlookers were filled with surprise. Black River Sect had some reputation in the area. They specialized in businesses related to the canal. The sect had a large number of skilled disciples numbering over a hundred. Chen Da, recognized as the top expert of the sect, was rumored to have withstood ten moves against a Qi Detonation Stage martial artist!
The burly martial artist chuckled. "Impressive,” he commented, then took out a token. “Since you’re from the Black River Sect, do you recognize this token?"
Chen Da scrutinized the token, then took a sharp breath. “Valiant Saber Guards?"
Valiant Saber Guards?
The crowd became agitated. Were those people part of the Valiant Saber Guards? That was a force personally commanded by the emperor of Grand Xia! Even high-ranking officials in the court had to treat them with great respect.
Chen Da's expression changed, and he bowed respectfully. "I was blind and offended Your Excellency. Please..."
The burly martial artist sneered. "You didn't offend me; you offended my lord."
Chen Da then turned his gaze to the young man behind the burly martial artist and asked, "May I know who you are?"
The addressed young man didn’t answer him, but instead his eyes were absorbed elsewhere. He suddenly burst into light laughter. “That’s one fine-looking nun," he praised loudly, lust and greed swimming in his eyes.
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