Song of Adolescence

Chapter 151 A Meeting at the Teahouse

When Xiao Se and Lei Wujie first left Snow Moon City, if they’d gone straight to Lei Clan Fort, and taken their time to travel slowly, even as directionally-challenged as they were, they would have arrived in about half a month. But after all, they’d agreed on three months with Li Hanyi, and the Heroes Banquet was also in three months. So, Lei Wujie and Xiao Se had detoured northward to Qingcheng Mountain. Then, on the way back, they encountered multiple attacks, were forced to hide in Sword Heart Tomb to recover from their injuries, and later stayed at Yanzhi City for a while. Now that time was passing right before their eyes, everyone was starting to feel increasingly anxious.

"Shixiong, if we continue this way, how many more days will it take to reach there?" Ye Ruoyi asked in a low voice.

Tang Lian frowned slightly. "If nobody else stops us along the way, we should take another five days."

"How’s that possible? Those Hidden River assassins are like sticky armyworms," Lei Wujie groused with frustration.

They’d recently encountered no fewer than three waves of attacks from the Hidden River. Although they were not seriously injured, they were reaching the limit of their endurance and the group was already exhausted.

"There’s a teahouse up front. Let’s go there and rest first." Xiao Se saw a flag fluttering in the distance with the word "tea" written on it, and led everyone there.

"We don\'t have time to drink tea. Just buy some dried food and get back on the road," Tang Lian said in a hurry as he dismounted.

"There’s still a long road ahead. Sit down and drink a cup of tea. How much time can it delay you?" A light voice sounded, and everyone was stunned. They couldn\'t help but look in the direction of the sound. They saw a youth in a gray robe and common clothes sitting in front of the teahouse. He spoke with his eyes closed and didn’t look at anyone.

"Excellent point." Xiao Se nodded. "Rather than making haste on the road, it\'s better to have a cup of tea and think carefully about what to do next."

"Young master, please sit." The youth in common clothes nodded though his eyes remained closed. A waiter inside the teahouse immediately walked over with a teapot.

Everyone was confused, but seeing that Xiao Se had already sat down, they exchanged looks with each other, and also joined him at the table.

"He can\'t see," Ye Ruoyi whispered to everyone.

"This lady is right. I am indeed blind." Ye Ruoyi had spoken very quietly, but the youth still heard her. She couldn\'t help but show a surprised expression. The youth also seemed to be aware of her reaction, and continued, "Because my eyes cannot see, my hearing is better than average. I wasn’t deliberately trying to eavesdrop on this lady."

"Alright." Ye Ruoyi was on guard and she sat down slowly.

The atmosphere in the teahouse suddenly became tense, and Sikong Qianluo gripped the spear in her hand tightly. In the past few days, they’d also had plenty of experience with assassins that disguised themselves as ordinary merchants. Everyone surveyed their surroundings, and besides them, there was only one other customer in the teahouse. She was a young lady with a delicate face, holding a long package that she placed on the table, while she sipped her tea bit by bit.

"She’s my friend. I’ve been waiting for her for many years. Now that she’s come to see me, I will have to close up my teahouse," the youth in common clothes said softly with a smile.

The young lady ignored him, and continued sipping her tea slowly.

"She can’t hear?" Ye Ruoyi asked.

"Yes, I can\'t see and she can\'t hear it. She’s deaf." The youth in common clothes had a bamboo pole he used to get around and he tapped it gently on the ground. "But, don’t look at her when you’re talking. She can’t hear but she can see."

"One can listen to the wind and perceive locations, while the other can read lips. Neither are ordinary people." Tang Lian smiled coldly, his words sharp and cutting.

"I wonder if this tea is ordinary tea." Xiao Se held the teapot, poured himself a cup, and put it to his lips.

"Don’t," Ye Ruoyi exclaimed in surprise. "Test for poison first."

"No need." Xiao Se took a sip of the tea and exhaled a sigh. "Sure enough, this is Yunwu Twin-flags. A good tea."

"Good tea requires good water. There is a large spring nearby, named Xiya. It has only one outlet and produces only one pot of water a day. The quality is comparable to Mount Qiulian’s Fresh Lotus Spring. When good water is matched with good tea, it must also match with a person who understands tea." The blind youth smiled and stood up suddenly.

"It\'s been a long time since I drank this Yunwu Twin-flags," Xiao Se said softly.

"I brought it out from the Hall back then. After so many years, most of it is already gone. I just kept thinking that I’d see you one day so I kept this bag for you," the blind youth said.

Their brief exchange confused the others. It seemed as if the two already knew each other. When the blind youth started walking forward, and he was almost right in front of them, Tang Lian suddenly yelled, "Stop."

The blind youth smiled slightly and stopped moving forward.

Tang Lian, who was born in Tang Clan, was equally proficient in his ability to listen to the wind and perceive positions. He looked at the bamboo pole and called out, "What’s hidden in the bamboo pole?"

"What\'s hidden? Why don\'t you see it for yourself?" The blind youth waved the bamboo pole gently.

Tang Lian stepped out, and the fingertip blade in his hand flashed with silver light. In an instant, he’d pressed up in front of the youth. The youth swung the bamboo pole fiercely and collided with the sharp blade in Tang Lian\'s hand. The bamboo pole was instantly shattered, revealing the object hidden inside.

It was a peculiar-looking sabre with a slender and elegant blade that had a slightly curved edge. Although it was a sabre, it had a light and agile manner like a sword. Such a sabre was rare in Beili, yet it wasn’t like the sabres they preferred in Nanjue either.

"Taidao?" Tang Lian asked in confusion. These were the long swords used only by the Xuanying warriors of the island country in the west. This was the first time he’d seen it with his own eyes, and he’d only heard about it from Tang Lianyue before.

"Good eyes." The youth in common clothes smiled, took a step back, and did not continue to press forward.

"What\'s your name?" Tang Lian asked.

"I have no father, no mother, and no surname. My name is a single word, Zhu." The youth in common clothes replied.

"Zhu?" Tang Lian frowned and thought for a while, but couldn\'t think of anyone in the martial world going by this name.

The young lady sitting next to them suddenly put down her tea cup, stood up, and walked towards them.

"She\'s called Long Er," said the youth in common clothes. "Stop thinking about it. You’ve definitely not heard of us. But, we know you very well."

"Oh?" Lei Wujie’s curiosity was piqued. "You know us very well?"

"Lei Wujie, your father\'s surname is Lei, and your mother\'s surname is Li. They were both famous figures in Heavenly Revelations City. Unfortunately, one died on the battlefield, and the other broke off against the Emperor to save an old friend, and finally left Heavenly Revelations with serious injuries. Have I gotten any of it wrong?" The youth in common clothes said slowly.

Lei Wujie was taken aback. "How do you know!"

"I even know who you like. Do you want me to tell?" The youth in common clothes smiled slightly.

"No need, no need." Lei Wujie waved his hand repeatedly.

"I understand." Tang Lian kept his fingertip blade and withdrew his murderous intent. "You’re both from Bai Xiao Hall."

"You guessed it." The youth named Zhu nodded. "We are from Bai Xiao Hall."

"Hey, you." Sikong Qianluo, who hadn\'t spoken at all up till now, finally spoke. She was speaking to the deaf girl. "Why have you been staring at Xiao Se?"

When everyone turned and looked, indeed, they realised that the deaf girl had been staring at Xiao Se, her eyes sharp and penetrating, obviously displaying her intent!

"What do you want?" Tang Lian and Lei Wujie raised their murderous intent again, and stood in front of Xiao Se together.