Carrying a bundle of harvests, Xue Yi wandered around the East Market Street.
When he reached the street corner, it was the teahouse Xiao Qingruo had mentioned, called "Qingyu Teahouse".
Although called a teahouse, it was quite majestic, with two stories spanning several hundred square meters, and decorated in a very elegant style.
It sold many kinds of tea, with large bowls of iced tea being especially popular in summer, but "Qingyu Dew" was even more popular!
"Waiter, how much does Qingyu Dew cost?" Xue Yi asked as he entered the shop.
The waiter welcomed him with a smile, "Honored guest from the Holy Might Manor, Qingyu Dew is our signature item. Small bowl is 40 coins, large bowl 60 coins. But it's been selling like hot cakes, so you'll have to wait a bit, please take a seat first."
A bowl of tea for 40 coins...
As expected, money from young ladies was easy to earn!
Business at the teahouse was indeed very good, with many groups of young women coming to chat and stroll while drinking tea, as well as some middle-aged and elderly people drinking tea to cool off. Young men like him were relatively rare.
Xue Yi looked at the sizes of the tea bowls and asked, "Do you have tea pots or jars for takeaway?"
"We do, many young ladies from prestigious families order takeout from us. A pot of Qingyu Dew can hold about five small bowls, and costs 300 coins including the pot delivered to your residence. We also have a bigger pot that holds twenty bowls, which is one tael of silver delivered." The waiter replied.
"Alright, give me one of the big ones, I'll carry it back myself."
Xue Yi took out a piece of broken silver from his clothes and flipped it to the waiter.
"Sure! Please wait a moment, honored guest!"
The waiter took the money to report the order, and the teahouse kitchen immediately became busy.
Qingyu Dew was a fruit tea, freshly made every time, so it took a bit more effort than regular iced teas, hence the wait.
Xue Yi found a seat and casually took out the piece of torn cloth that came free with the purchase of the Frost Beard Grass to take a look.
The torn cloth was quite old, faded gray overall, with vague, crooked words barely visible on it, and gave off a rotten stench.
"Ancient writing? Can't understand any of it at all. From some ancient tomb it seems... it must be very old." Xue Yi thought to himself.
The Taigu Divine Dynasty had established its rule for two thousand years without the written script changing at all.
One could tell from the writing on this cloth that it definitely wasn't recent.
He didn't know whose tomb the peddler had mentioned unearthing this from. If it belonged to some ancient expert, it might hold valuable insights.
But judging from the peddler's weak strength at the Dragon Tiger Realm, he likely did not dig up anything remarkable.
So there was no need to get his hopes up, the Frost Beard Grass alone was well worth the price.
Qingyu Dew was so popular that several new customers came in just after a short while to purchase it.
As Xue Yi waited, a young girl walked in.
The girl was sixteen or seventeen, very pretty with bright eyes and white teeth, delicate features, but dressed in men's clothing with a sword hung at her waist, looking like a young lady from a prestigious family who had embarked on a journey in the Jianghu.
"Shopowner, I heard your Qingyu Dew is quite good, give me a bowl please."
"Coming right up, miss, just a moment!" The waiter responded.
In less than two minutes, a bowl of fruit tea with crushed ice was served.
Xue Yi's eyebrows furrowed slightly, unhappy that this latecomer was served first: "Waiter, where's mine?"
The waiter quickly explained, "Esteemed guest, you ordered the large pot, it's still being prepared. This young lady only wanted a small portion, so it was ready faster. It'll be out soon!"
"Fine, hurry up then." Xue Yi didn't have much recourse, he could only continue waiting.
The swordswoman dressed as a man took a couple sips of the refreshing fruit tea, and let out sounds of satisfaction, looking completely refreshed and kept praising: "Not bad, not bad at all, it is good tea indeed. Waiter, can I get this on credit? I'm out of silver at the moment, just put it on my tab for now, and I'll pay you back double later."
"Uh, this... miss, we run a small business here..." The shopkeeper had a difficult expression.
"Oh don't look at me like that, it's not like I won't pay you. Another bowl!"
The female swordsman didn't feel awkward at all, and downed one bowl in large gulps before immediately asking for a second serving.
"But..."
The shopkeeper wanted to say no credit.
Seeing the shopkeeper's difficulty, the female swordsman looked around, and her eyes fell upon Xue Yi.
"Hey brother, can you help cover my tea bill?"
Xue Yi was speechless. This girl was way too casual, asking a total stranger to pay for her?
"Travelers of Jianghu inevitably face tight situations with money sometimes, just help a girl out. I'm Yan Chengxue, I'll owe you a favor, and pay you back by killing someone for you if I get a chance." The female swordsman said breezily with a smile, casually speaking horrifying words.
Killing to repay debts and such...
Xue Yi shook his head. "Forget it, no need to repay, consider it my treat."
Then he took out his skinny wallet, and fished out 80 coins for the shopkeeper.
80 coins was neither a small nor large amount, enough for a commoner family's expenses for two days, but not much for him as a guard of the Holy Might Manor.
This young lady didn't seem simple, he might as well take it as making a new friend.
"Thanks a lot, what do I call you?" Yan Chengxue looked very satisfied as she asked.
"Xue Yi."
"Okay, Xue Yi, I'll remember you."
Yan Chengxue nodded slightly.
The waiter brought over the second bowl of Qingyu Dew. This time she was in no hurry, leisurely savoring it.
After a while, Xue Yi's fruit tea was also ready. The waiter came out carrying a large heavy-looking pot, with quite a lot of ice cubes added inside.
Xue Yi looked at the quantity, it was indeed a substantial amount, with plenty of ice cubes added.
In this world, ice made by commoners was mainly through the nitrate cooling method, so ice cubes were considered a semi-luxury. Getting this much at such a low price was already very cost-efficient.
Satisfied with the tea pot in hand and bundle of goods, Xue Yi got up and prepared to leave.
Just then, Yan Chengxue suddenly called out, "Xue Yi, can you help me with one more thing?"
"What is it?" Xue Yi was a little impatient.
Yan Chengxue smiled and said, "Lend me some more silver, nothing much, just 10 taels will do. Otherwise I can't afford food and lodging, quite embarrassing for a Cultivator at the Long Life Realm."
Long... Long Life Realm?
Looking at this girl who couldn't be over eighteen, Xue Yi felt she was probably an alt account made by Xiao Qingruo.
Blatantly exaggerating with no shame at all!
With his senses, Yan Chengxue's strength was at most 7 layers of Gang Qi, not even as strong as him!
But then he thought...
What if this little girl was actually a 100-200 year old granny?
Cultivators at the Long Life Realm could steal lifespan from the heavens, and many would grow younger as they lived longer, regressing from their seventies and eighties back to a youthful appearance. And they could also conceal their energy levels.
Befriending a Long Life Realm cultivator didn't sound too bad.
Even if she was scamming him, it would only be 10 taels of silver. With a backer like Xiao Qingruo now, it really wasn't much!
Anyway it wasn't his own money, so Xue Yi decisively took out a 100 tael silver note and handed it to her, "10 taels? You look down on people too much. Here's 100 taels, spend it as you like!"
Then he swaggered out, leaving the teahouse customers stunned.
"My, so rich?"
"He's a guard of the Holy Might Manor?"
"Handing out 100-tael notes so arrogantly!"
Yan Chengxue was also a bit surprised to receive the note, not expecting this young man at the 9th layer of Gang Qi to be so generous.
"Xue Yi... not bad, not bad. Next time I help you kill someone, I'll kill ten!"
She was very satisfied, sitting back down to call out again, "Waiter, one more bowl!"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
