Chapter 823: Chapter 754: The Tea Party
Duke pondered for a moment before stepping through the fence to the long table.
Mr. Rabbit happily clapped his hands, quickly walked to the head of the table, and pulled out a chair: "Please sit, please sit! Don’t be shy, make yourself at home!"
Duke sat down, his gaze sweeping over the teaware on the table.
Each piece was so exquisite it was unbelievable, the porcelain thin to the point of being almost transparent, decorated with intricate floral patterns.
Steam was rising from the teapot, emitting a faint, indescribable fragrance.
Mr. Rabbit sat beside him, adeptly picked up the teapot, and poured golden tea into an empty cup.
"This tea is my treasured possession, I usually can’t bear to drink it." He murmured while pouring tea, "It’s fate that you came here today, so I’ll make an exception and host you once."
Pouring the tea till it’s seven-tenths full, Mr. Rabbit pushed the cup in front of Duke.
"Come, taste it."
Duke looked down at the cup of tea.
The tea was golden yellow, clear and bright, with tiny specks of light floating on the surface.
The aroma wafted into his nostrils, causing his Spiritual Sea to tremble slightly.
A truly good thing.
Duke picked up the cup and gently took a sip.
The next second, his expression changed drastically.
The instant the tea entered his mouth, it transformed into a huge, terrifying energy, rushing through his body and Spiritual Sea.
The energy was too strong, so strong that his Spiritual Sea could hardly endure it, his entire mind shaking violently, as if it would burst at any moment.
Duke slammed down the cup, struggled to absorb the surging energy, and panted heavily.
Mr. Rabbit watched his reaction, froze for a moment, then slapped his forehead:
"Oh dear! Look at my memory!"
He quickly moved the teacup away from Duke, replaced it with another empty cup, and poured half a cup of clear water inside.
"Sorry, sorry, I forgot you little guys can’t handle this tea." Mr. Rabbit apologized, taking away the golden tea, "This tea is actually for me to drink, the energy is too strong, you really can’t drink it."
Duke took several deep breaths, and his Spiritual Sea slowly calmed down.
He looked at the cup of tea that had been taken away, silent for a few moments.
Just that tiny sip increased his Spiritual Power by ten points.
Moreover, the energy wasn’t completely metabolized, because Mr. Rabbit seemed to do something, helping him guide the energy to settle down.
Otherwise, Duke might not have been able to handle this energy.
"Just smell the aroma," Mr. Rabbit pushed the clear water toward him, and placed the golden tea where Duke couldn’t reach, "Keep the tea for when you become stronger."
Duke nodded, not insisting.
He lowered his head, leaned closer to the distant cup of tea, and took a gentle sniff.
The fragrance flowed into his nostrils again.
This time, just smelling without drinking, the aroma transformed into a gentle energy, slowly seeped into his Spiritual Sea.
His Spiritual Sea rippled slightly, then expanded.
Very subtly, but indeed expanding.
Duke closed his eyes, quietly feeling the nurturance of the energy.
A moment later, he opened his eyes, and his consciousness entered the Skill Tree.
The numbers on the attribute panel flickered slightly.
[Spirit: 424.6→ 424.7]
Just a whiff, and his Spiritual Power increased by 0.1 point.
Looking at the cup of tea before him, Duke seemed to see a Plane being born and destroyed within the tea, but upon closer examination, those scenes vanished as if they’d never existed.
He raised his head and looked at the rabbit fiddling with the teaware.
Mr. Rabbit noticed his gaze, and looked up with a grin:
"How do you like it? Isn’t my tea wonderful?"
Mr. Rabbit said while pouring himself a cup of golden tea, took a gentle sip, and showed an ecstatic expression.
"Ah, truly delicious." He smacked his lips and then turned to Duke, "You’ve come at an unfortunate time, a few days ago you could have met the Mad Hatter and the others. That guy always causes chaos when he visits, breaking quite a few of my cups, but it’s quite lively."
Mr. Rabbit continued babbling, as if he hadn’t spoken to anyone for ages, eager to spill out tens of thousands of years’ worth of conversation.
"The Red Queen occasionally visits too, but when she comes, I have to prepare black tea; she doesn’t like this golden tea. And the Dormouse, that fellow always sleeps when he visits, never waking up no matter how you call..."
As Duke listened, he cautiously took out his finest custom test tube from the Space Ring.
It was specifically made for storing rare materials, with inner walls engraved with multiple preservation and sealing runes, small in capacity but excellently sealed.
He slowly poured the golden tea into the test tube, handling it as if it were fragile glass.
Not a single drop was wasted.
Mr. Rabbit saw this, and instead of stopping him, smiled delightedly.
Those black eyes curved into crescents, and his long ears trembled.
"You like this tea?" his voice filled with genuine joy, "That’s wonderful, wonderful! I said it, who wouldn’t like the tea I brew!"
Duke sealed the test tube, carefully returned it to the Space Ring, then stood, slightly bowing to Mr. Rabbit.
"Thank you for your hospitality," he said, his voice calm and sincere, "I am Duke, from the Wizard Plane."
Mr. Rabbit waved his hand: "No need to be so polite, just call me Mr. Rabbit. Names don’t matter much here."
He glanced at the silver pocket watch on his wrist, the hands on the dial spinning rapidly at times clockwise, at times counterclockwise, completely without pattern.
