Other People's Money Doesn't Hurt

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!"