After hearing what she said, Jing Zhe laughed.
"I know what you're thinking. Aren't you just afraid to go back?"
Murong Xi pouted but didn't say anything.
"However, even if we're just having a meal, we don't necessarily have to go back to the city!"
"Not going back to the city? Then—"
Before she could finish speaking, her eyes suddenly lit up. "You mean that teahouse from before?"
Jing Zhe smiled and nodded.
Just now, when they were riding their horses this way, they passed a teahouse. Jing Zhe had drunk tea there once when he first came to Jingzhou, and he also chatted with the waiter there.
Because the road they were traveling on was the only route from Jingzhou to Yongzhou, Liangzhou, or Pengzhou, countless carriages and horses passed by every day on good days. So someone opened a teahouse on this road, and the business was quite good.
Of course, although it's called a teahouse, it also offers simple meals in addition to tea. When the two of them came out, he glanced at the teahouse and found that the door was open.
Murong Xi remembered after being reminded by him.
After making up their minds, they rode for a short while before the teahouse came into view. Once they arrived at the teahouse, Jing Zhe helped Murong Xi off her horse and immediately called out, "Waiter, bring us a pot of top-quality Maojian tea, and also bring us all your restaurant's signature dishes!"
The waiter, who had been dozing off in the shop, immediately stood up when he saw people enter. He was especially energized when he saw the two young people who looked like a handsome man and a beautiful woman.
However, upon hearing Jing Zhe's words, he gave a wry smile: "Young master, our little mountain inn doesn't have any signature dishes. We just have some cabbages and radishes stored up for the winter..."
"That's fine, just cook it for us!"
"Alright, the tea will be ready soon, please wait a moment, young master!"
As he spoke, the waiter ran inside.
Because of the snow and the approaching Lunar New Year, the teahouse was unusually quiet today, with no one else besides Jing Zhe and Murong Xi.
However, Murong Xi preferred it this way; if there were too many people, she would feel uncomfortable.
Jing Zhe and Murong Xi had just found a place to sit down when, in no time at all, the waiter brought over a pot of tea, poured a bowl for each of them, and then went back inside to prepare the meal.
As the two were talking, a man wearing a gray trench coat and a straw hat entered the shop. Although his face was not clearly visible, the long gray hair peeking out from under the hat indicated that he was not young.
Despite the freezing weather, the man in the straw hat was holding a long fan, and what was even more astonishing was that the fan was entirely black and made of iron!
Moreover, this man, who was not young, walked with extremely light steps and did not show any signs of old age. He was clearly a trained martial artist, which surprised Jing Zhe even more!
Because he couldn't discern his cultivation level! This put immense pressure on Jing Zhe, making his nerves tense.
This man is no ordinary person!
However, the man in the straw hat did not glance at Jing Zhe once after entering the shop. Instead, he walked straight to the table facing the door, placed his long fan on the table, sat down with his back to Jing Zhe and the others, and said in a deep voice, "Bring me your best tea!"
Xiao Er heard the noise and ran out of the house again.
It snowed recently, and with the Lunar New Year approaching, he hadn't seen a single customer for two days. He was even planning to close down and go home for the New Year if he didn't open for business today. But unexpectedly, he not only opened for business today, but he also had two tables of customers!
But he still smiled and said, "Sir, we do have good tea, but the price..."
The waiter spoke somewhat awkwardly, hoping that this rather strange man in front of him would be generous and buy him a pot of good tea so that he could go back and have a good New Year.
The reason why this man seemed strange was mainly because it wasn't raining or snowing outside, so why was he wearing a straw hat?
"Didn't you hear me say to bring up the best tea?"
The man in the straw hat spoke sternly. Although his voice was not loud, it carried an inexplicable sense of intimidation. The waiter was slightly taken aback, but a layer of cold sweat had already broken out on his body. He quickly nodded, said "Please wait a moment, sir," and ran to the back.
Murong Xi glanced at the man's back, pursed her lips, perhaps feeling that her private time with Jing Zhe had been disturbed, or perhaps feeling that the man in the straw hat was too impolite, Murong Xi clearly disliked the man in the straw hat.
After pouting, she glanced at Jing Zhe again and found that he was staring at the back of the man in the straw hat opposite him, his brows furrowed tightly, looking as if he were facing a formidable enemy. He was much more cautious than the Jing Zhe she had seen in the Western Frontier tent before!
So he whispered, "What's wrong?"
Then she pointed at the man in the straw hat, moved her lips, and mouthed as if to say, "Is there something wrong with him?"
Jing Zhe smiled and shook his head, saying softly, "It's nothing, I'm just a little hungry after walking around for so long."
When the situation was uncertain, Jing Zhe didn't want Murong Xi to worry as well. Murong Xi nodded thoughtfully.
At this moment, the waiter carried a pot of tea to the man in the straw hat, and soon after entering the room, he brought up the food to Jing Zhe and the others.
The vegetables were the simplest cabbage and radish, but they tasted alright, and since the two of them were starving, they ate very quickly.
The man in the straw hat was unusually quiet while drinking tea, and there was nothing amiss throughout. But the quieter he was, the less Jing Zhe dared to relax. After finishing his tea and paying, he hurriedly left the teahouse with Murong Xi.
Throughout the entire ordeal, the man in the straw hat made no unusual move, sitting quietly drinking tea without even raising his head.
As Jing Zhe emerged from the teahouse, he glanced back inside, somewhat surprised. Had he been overthinking things?
When Jing Zhe was leading the horses, he noticed that there was another horse next to theirs, and there was also some hay in the stable, with both horses munching away.
Is that man dangerous?
After Murong Xi mounted his horse, he asked again.
Jing Zhe thought for a moment and said, "I can't really explain it, but I always feel a bit oppressed when I'm around him."
"Does he know martial arts?"
Jing Zhe first shook his head, then nodded and said, "I can't tell that he knows martial arts. There are only two possibilities: either he really doesn't know martial arts, or he's better than me!"
Jing Zhe has now reached the peak of the sixth level, just one step away from the Grandmaster realm. Of course, this step is also the most crucial one, and it may take a long time to reach it.
"More powerful than you?"
Murong Xi opened her mouth, her face full of shock. After all, she had witnessed Jing Zhe's prowess. He could bring her out of the Western Frontier tent as if no one else was there. If he was even more powerful than Jing Zhe, then how terrifying must this man in the bamboo hat be?
Jing Zhe glanced back and said, "If he's more skilled than me, then he's a grandmaster!"
"..."
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