Chapter 170: Tea Friends

Early the next afternoon, a slanting autumn rain began to fall.

The fine, dense drizzle softly rustled against the eaves. The bluestone slabs paving the alley were washed to a slick gleam, and the scent of rain-drenched earth flooded into the shop.

Jiuyou was sitting behind the counter, carving a piece of jade, when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside. Pat, pat, pat. They slapped against the stone slabs, occasionally splashing into a puddle and kicking up a fine spray of water.

"Shopkeeper—Shopkeeper!"

Her voice arrived before she did. Xiao Ling'er dashed in from the curtain of rain. Water beaded on her clothes and the tips of her hair were damp, but she didn't care in the slightest. Her face beamed with an unconcealable smile. She stood by the door to catch her breath, blurting out the second she saw Jiuyou, "I made it light up! I have a chance to practice cultivation, too!"

Jiuyou set down his carving knife, walked over to the door, and handed her a dry cloth. "Dry yourself off so you don't catch a cold." He reached out and gently patted the top of her head. "That's good. Come in and sit down, the rain is still coming down hard."

Xiao Ling'er followed him inside but didn't sit. She paced back and forth across the shop, gesturing wildly with her hands, completely unable to contain her energy.

She babbled about how the immortal masters had ridden the wind on giant cranes, and how they had conjured a massive stone, saying that anyone who pressed their hand to it and made it glow could have their spiritual root tested. When she mentioned she was the only child in Haoyang Alley to make the stone light up, she puffed out her chest proudly, then self-consciously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Watching her, Jiuyou asked casually, "Then why didn't you leave with the immortal masters?"

Xiao Ling'er planted her hands on her hips and curled her lip. "They didn't want me. They said I had a five-element spiritual root and refused to take me."

Her tone held no disappointment. Instead, she waved a hand in a carefree manner. "If they don't want me, they don't want me. I still have Grandpa, Big Brother Qing, and all the neighbors in Haoyang Alley with me. This is fine. I want to be Haoyang Alley's second physician anyway—no, an immortal physician!"

Jiuyou looked at the child in front of him, still at the age of losing her baby teeth. He hesitated with the half-carved piece of jade in his hand, then set it back on the table.

"Alright, our future little immortal physician. Did you come looking for me today just to tell me this?" he asked.

"Of course not!" Xiao Ling'er leaned closer, her eyes sparkling. "Shopkeeper, didn't you say those immortal masters could fly through the sky, burrow into the earth, and move mountains? Tell me more! Tell me a lot more!"

Jiuyou gave her a look but said nothing. He picked his carving knife back up, pulled over a stool for her, and began to tell stories at a leisurely pace while he carved the jade.

He spoke of the people and events he had seen in the Cultivation World. He described how Grand Cultivators could cleave a mountain peak with a single palm strike, and the sensation of the wind whipping against one's robes while flying on a sword. Xiao Ling'er sat beside him, completely entranced. Resting her chin on her hands, she stared without blinking, as if gazing into another world.

Midway through a story, Jiuyou suddenly paused and looked down at her. "Xiao Ling'er, do you want to become someone that formidable?"

"I do!" the little girl answered without a second thought, her voice crisp and bright. But soon she scratched the back of her head, offering a sheepish smile. "But... I don't think I have what it takes. I just want everyone in Haoyang Alley to stay safe and sound. That's enough for me."

"Really?" Jiuyou asked.

"Really," Xiao Ling'er replied.

Jiuyou's grip on the carving knife paused slightly. He didn't look up, nor did he respond; his gaze remained fixed on the piece of jade in his hand. Outside the window, the drumming of the rain gradually eased. Fine droplets slid from the eaves, splashing against the bluestone slabs with soft, shallow taps.

He lowered his eyes, looking as though he wanted to say something, yet feeling that whatever he said would be inappropriate. He merely nodded, ducked his head, and returned to his work.

A few days later, the autumn air was crisp and clear, and another layer of plane tree leaves fell in the alley.

Jiuyou went out to buy groceries. Carrying a sack of vegetables and a few jin of meat, he walked back down the street, occasionally nodding in greeting as he passed familiar storefronts. His pace was steady and unhurried, like a man long accustomed to this quiet life.

Passing by Li Daniu's home, he caught the man just as he hoisted a hoe over his shoulder to head to the fields. Jiuyou paused and asked casually, "Brother Daniu, how is your wife's illness?"

Li Daniu set down his hoe and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a sleeve, revealing a weary smile. "Same as always, good days and bad. The Brilliant Flame Herb only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. I just don't know when she'll finally recover." He finished with a soft sigh.

Jiuyou didn't press the matter. He merely nodded, exchanged a few more mundane pleasantries, and carried his groceries back to the shop.

He stowed his purchases on the second floor. Just as he came back downstairs, he heard a few light knocks at the door.

"Shopkeeper, are you in?"

Jiuyou pushed the half-open door wider to find a white-haired elder standing outside. The man wore coarse hemp clothing and had a gaunt frame. In his hand, he toyed with a small, palm-sized tortoise. He looked for all the world like an ordinary old man who spent his days idling outside the city.

"Are you here to buy a jade pendant, old sir?" Jiuyou stepped aside to clear the doorway.

The old man didn't rush to answer. He stepped inside and took a leisurely stroll around the room, letting his gaze sweep over the jade ornaments on the wooden display shelves before unhurriedly approaching the counter.

Spotting a freshly brewed pot of tea on the counter, he paused briefly before breaking into a smile. "So you like to drink tea too, little brother? What a coincidence. I happen to have some wild tea I sun-dried myself. If you don't mind, you could have a taste."

As he spoke, he fished a small, coarse cloth pouch from his robes. Opening it revealed brownish-green tea leaves. They were uneven in shape and looked exceedingly crude, yet they gave off a distinct, earthy fragrance.

Jiuyou took one look and didn't refuse. He accepted the tea leaves and boiled a fresh pot of water.

The two of them sat down at the counter. With a cup of tea each, they chatted idly.

"My surname is Yang, and I hail from out of town," Yang Yi said, cradling his tea bowl. He spoke in a flat tone, as if recounting someone else's story. "I ran into bandits on the road who robbed me of all my travel funds. I fainted from hunger at the clinic's entrance, and if it weren't for Physician Zhang's kind heart, I wouldn't have survived. Now I'm staying at the inn on the east side of town, taking some time to recover before making further plans. When I meet someone I hit it off with, I sit down and share a cup of tea."

Jiuyou listened, offering an occasional remark without prying. The small tortoise, however, remained perched by the old man's hand. Every now and then, it would poke its head halfway out, glance around nervously, and pull back in. From the looks of it, the creature wasn't afraid of strangers; rather, it seemed to be spooked by something invisible it couldn't vocalize.

...

From then on, Yang Yi dropped by every few days. Sometimes he brought a pouch of wild tea, claiming he'd foraged it from the mountains and it wasn't worth much; other times he came empty-handed, just looking to sit and drink a hot cup of tea.

They never dove into deep conversations. Occasionally they discussed the tea, or brought up a stray cat from the neighboring alley. Other times they said nothing at all, simply sitting in silence. When the tea went cold, they brewed another pot.

After two or three visits, he gradually became a regular.

The neighbors assumed they were just friends bonded over tea. Jiuyou never explained otherwise. He knew full well that the old man was no mortal, and that once his injuries healed, he would likely be on his way. But since the man chose not to expose himself, Jiuyou couldn't be bothered to pry.

Cup after cup of tea was poured, and the days flowed by in quiet tranquility. Like water dripping from the autumn eaves, their passing made little sound, yet slowly accumulated into a puddle. Whenever the wind swept through, the fallen leaves blanketing the alley would turn over at a slow, unhurried pace.