Prologue
Cannon fodder waiter tears up the BE script
Qiqi Shenyan/Works 2025.2.22
[Exclusively serialized by Banxia Novels. Pirated versions may have significant discrepancies. Please support the genuine version.]
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That year, the sky was filled with snow and cotton, the snow was fierce and the wind was strong, and everything was dead silent.
A teahouse called "Liu Xiang Ju" stood firm, like a god, possessing an inexhaustible supply of food. It gave hope to the impoverished people, but it itself disappeared in another deep winter...
No one knows why it left. There are predictions and speculations.
Rumor has it that this teahouse was transformed by a god and has disappeared without a trace.
Back then, the legend of this teahouse caused a sensation across the country and was known to everyone.
But after hundreds of years, this shop has been forgotten by the world, and only a few people still remember it.
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"Ouch!" Mu You yelled, his eyes shifting. "What fell?"
Without even looking, Xiao Lin suddenly grabbed Mu You's sleeve and pulled him back: "You...you should stop touching the things in there. If the adults find out we came in, we'll be doomed."
Mu You didn't care at all, instead he became more excited: "What are you afraid of following me? If anything goes wrong, I'll take care of it!"
Seeing Xiao Lin still trembling, Mu You's cheeks were warm, and he muttered insincerely: "Besides, this is the 21st century, there are no monsters..."
Although sixteen is the age when boys are lively and adventurous, Mu You has become an unruly monkey since he was twelve. He has no ability to go to heaven or earth, but he is full of curiosity to join in the fun.
But what is even stronger than his curiosity is his feelings for his childhood sweetheart that he has hidden for more than ten years.
Indeed, he has been brave since he was young, but when faced with the question of whether to confess his feelings to Xiao Lin, he became weaker than ever.
In contrast, Xiao Lin at this moment was obviously not as energetic as him.
She only knew that this was a forbidden area that had been repeatedly emphasized by her ancestors.
So, she continued to hold Mu You's sleeve gently, trying to persuade him to go back: "Mu You, we should... let's go back quickly... It's so dark here..."
But Mu You glanced at her and was still interested in the mysterious booklet that had just fallen.
He completely ignored Xiao Lin's dissuasion, blew on the book cover, and vowed to find out the truth.
"Leave...what?"
Although he had not yet seen clearly what was written on the booklet, this booklet, which seemed to come from outer space, was a huge wonder to him.
After all, according to the development of novels and comics, the ancient books that suddenly appear in the wilderness are either treasure maps hidden by bandits or amazing martial arts secrets!
Xiao Lin heard his mumbling and slowly opened his eyelids, which were covered with fine lines.
Afterwards, Mu You wiped away the remaining dust on the cover with his hand and blew a few breaths on the book cover.
At this point, in the flying dust, the ink marks on the book cover gradually appeared.
He couldn't help coughing, but he could still clearly see the large characters in his peripheral vision: "Ahem...Liu...Xiangju? What is this?"
The curious boys and girls gently peeled back the old cover, exposing the yellowed paper to the air again. They leaned forward and moved a little closer, wanting to take a closer look at what was written on the pages.
In a moment, a white light flashed, followed by a powerful suction force, sucking the two of them into the pages without mercy...
——"Who? Who triggered the barrier?"
Mu You and Xiao Lin were so frightened that they huddled together, trembling all over. Their lips gradually turned pale, and even their eyelashes were shivering.
What? The book is talking?
Mu You and Xiao Lin were blinded by the bright white light before their eyes. Even if they squeezed their eyelids tightly shut, the bright light still stung their eyes...
---
When the light dimmed, they were able to open their eyes slightly, but the scene before them surprised them - they had fallen into a completely unfamiliar place - a bustling street center with an ancient atmosphere.
The prosperity of ancient times was just a few words on a piece of paper in a book. It was not until today that they could appreciate the eight streets and nine alleys in this city, where people could see each other closely.
There are shops on both sides of the street, and the scorching sunlight shines directly on the eaves of the red brick and green tile buildings, shining brightly and sparkling.
"Where are we now..." Xiao Lin was so anxious that he was about to cry.
"I...I don't know either..." Mu You, who was full of confidence just now, suddenly softened.
"What should I do? I need to go back!" Hot tears welled up in Xiao Lin's eyes. "I told you not to come! You just wouldn't listen! Look what you've done now! I don't even know where I've ended up!"
"Oh! There's no use crying now! I'm right here too!"
He didn't want to yell, but Xiao Lin's unstoppable tears forced him to raise his voice to scare her.
Looking at the unfamiliar environment around him, Mu You felt a dull pain in his head and began to stamp the ground involuntarily.
He thought about how they got here, but he couldn't think of a clue:
Apart from holding a tattered old book, then opening the cover, followed by a mysterious white light, the two of them ended up here!
All of the above seems so ridiculous.
He raised his right hand unconsciously and patted his stiff cheek with his fingers - was this not a dream?
But on second thought, staying where he was was not a good idea. Mu You scratched his head and kept scanning the surroundings.
Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he quickly turned around and patted Xiao Lin on the shoulder: "Oh right! Doesn't the cover of the book we're reading say 'Liu Xiang Ju'? Do you think it could be a store's notebook?"
"How should I know? I just want to go home!" Xiao Lin continued to cry and was so anxious that he kept jumping up and down.
"Oh no! I can't go back anytime soon. Finding a place to settle down is the most important thing."
Just then, someone was walking towards them. Mu You gently stroked Xiao Lin's back and took her forward to ask questions.
The man looked Mu You up and down, but because of his strange appearance, his brows furrowed. He hesitated for a long time before answering, "Are you two also going to exchange stories for tea? Just go straight ahead and turn left from Liuxiangju."
"Tea...tea soup?" Although Mu You didn't understand what this person said, he still imitated the ancients, bowed awkwardly, and walked straight forward with Xiao Lin in his hand.
According to passers-by, the place they are now in is called Kuixi Country.
Looking around, the people here live and work in peace and contentment, the hawkers' shouts are endless, and the carriages of nobles are constantly passing through the wide bluestone road.
After a while, they found the plaque by walking on the stone slabs.
"It's... right here..." Xiao Lin dusted himself off and hesitated at the door for a while.
She swallowed inadvertently and clenched her fists. There was no other way. This store was their only clue now.
Because it's a teahouse, even standing just a few meters away, the aroma of tea is uninhibited. The refreshing, sweet and elegant fragrance generously fills the entire lobby, refreshing the heart.
Apart from the busy waiters and diners enjoying tea in the store, at first glance, the store has a darker color scheme, and with rosewood furniture everywhere, it exudes an aura of coldness and mystery.
The hall is surrounded by simple stands, on which are placed standard tea cups and pine potted plants. The entire hall has no gorgeous decorations and few eye-catching carvings.
If I were to mention it, the only eye-catching thing is the painting hanging high on the wall - the mural is about four or five meters long and three meters wide, depicting a beautiful scene with hundreds of flowers in full bloom.
"What do you two gentlemen need? The green milk is so sweet today!" Just as the two were standing in front of the store, a servant came up to them with a bent waist and folded his hands.
Xiao Lin didn't understand what this green breast was, and was about to refuse it, but his eyes were drawn to a curtain that was lifted from somewhere deep inside.
A man came out from the back hall of the teahouse, like a piece of green pine needles falling on the dry and yellow land.
The man was wearing a black brocade robe embroidered with golden dragons, which sparkled in the light; he had a black jade belt tied around his waist, with exquisite jade pendants hanging on the belt, which tinkled when he walked; he was wearing a pair of white cloud-toed boots with slightly raised toes, which was extremely elegant.
Except for two strands of black hair tied behind his head, the rest of his hair was loose. It should have been an unruly look, but it gave him an air of restraint.
The man was tall and noble, walking towards this side with a serious expression.
He walked up to the two of them, tilted his head and waved at them, indicating that they should follow him.
Although Xiao Lin and Mu You were confused, they had no choice but to do as they were told.
When the three of them reached the back hall, the noisy voices in the store suddenly faded away and the surroundings became eerily quiet.
The man slowly sat down, smoothed his wide sleeves, and said to them, "Mu You and Xiao Lin, right? Sit down."
There was a chill in his eyes, yet he also looked mysterious and knowledgeable.
Mu You bowed to him but did not sit down.
He guessed that the strange man in front of him must be the owner of this teahouse, so he stretched out his trembling hand to cover Xiao Lin's palm beside him, and said in a sonorous voice: "Please take us back."
The boss sneered when he saw Mu You's expression.
The smile was chilling and sounded somewhat sarcastic.
He rolled up his sleeves and poured a cup of tea. He blew on it a few times before sipping it with his rosy lips. His tone was filled with disdain: "Go back? You were so shameless as to touch the barrier I set up, and you think you can go back so easily?"
The thought was terrifying, and Xiao Lin had to step back a little.
"Then when can we go back? We don't recognize anyone here..." The man exuded a chill, causing Xiao Lin and Mu You to lower their voices unconsciously.
The boss just raised his eyes slightly indifferently, with no emotion in his eyes.
Only then did they see the boss's appearance clearly——
Beneath his delicate sword-like brows were the double-poisoned phoenix eyes of a man. A dark red hue clung to his eyes, reaching all the way to the end of his eyes, accentuating the fierceness in his eyes. His eyebrows and eyelashes were like thick ink, and the words "keep away" were written all over his face.
However, what is even more eye-catching is the perfectly sized mole on his left eyelid.
It disappears when you raise your eyes and appears when you lower your eyes.
His eyes were extremely dark. At first glance, they seemed calm and peaceful, like a clear spring. However, intentionally or unintentionally, they turned into an abyss whose bottom could not be seen.
Xiao Lin usually likes to read some miscellaneous books. Staring at the eyes of the person in front of her, a rumor suddenly came to her mind:
"Classic of Mountains and Seas" records: People with demonic moles are demons in their previous lives. After doing good deeds, they were enlightened by eminent monks and reincarnated as humans, which is a sign left behind. Haven't you seen the idiom "demon's words confuse the people"? Therefore, people with demonic moles are good at rhetoric and good at misleading people.
"Go back? No problem."
The more nonsensical this person's words were, the more uneasy they felt.
He had wandered around to the back of the bookshelf at some point and leisurely pulled a booklet from the top. "There's a rule at Liuxiangju: trade stories for tea. Over the years, I've given away quite a few teas, but I'm still not satisfied with five of them. I don't like their endings."
Xiao Lin and Mu You said nothing, fearing that this person would suddenly do something else.
He continued to speak to himself, "The tea soups for the five of them are still in my hands, and I haven't been able to deliver them. If you two can help me deliver the tea soups, maybe I'll let you go if I'm so pleased."
Mu You immediately became excited after hearing this. He hurriedly stepped forward and spread his hands: "No big deal! Just give us the tea soup and we'll bring it to you right away!"
"Send it over?" The man sneered, frowning, his eyes filled with amusement. "The person is gone, things have changed, and who are the ghosts you want to entrust these bowls of tea to?"
Mu You Xiao Lin was confused.
What? The person is dead? What does that mean? And what exactly is this teahouse? The underworld? Or paradise on earth?
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