Chapter Forty-Four Don't Believe Him

  Chu Hao didn't start speaking right away, instead he knelt down in front of a small table, lifted up his black tea cup and took a small sip. Creating an atmosphere was one of his specialties. As he put down the tea cup, it made a light clinking sound against the purple sandalwood tea tray. He stared at Lin Yue'er's face across from him, her expression slightly curious, before opening his mouth to speak: "There was once a woman who excelled in the art of tea, with the surname Mu. Her brewed tea was pure and refined, allowing people to savor its fragrance deeply. She was praised by the people at that time as the Tea Fairy."

  Lin Yue'er had never heard of this tea fairy with the surname Mu, but seeing Chu Hao's serious expression, she continued to listen.

  "It's a pity, this woman's tea is rare in the world, but those who can appreciate it are few and far between. It's hard to find someone who truly understands her tea, she doesn't deign to associate with those pretentious people, so she often travels outside, spending her days with tea as her companion."

  Later, a young master with the surname Ling heard that a woman with the surname Mu had exceptional tea-making skills and wanted to experience it for himself. This Young Master Ling was quite something, being skilled in appreciation, and no matter what kind of tea he smelled or tasted, he could tell where it came from and what water was used to brew it.

  One evening, he went alone, but the Tea Fairy wasn't home, so he sat down to wait. When night fell, the Tea Fairy returned with tea, saw a guest in her home, and realized that this person had come to taste her tea - after all, many people wanted to drink the Tea Fairy's tea, including some who were unbearable. The Tea Fairy had long since stopped receiving strangers, so she immediately turned around and left, making an excuse about forgetting something.

  Young Master Ling was patient and sat still, waiting for over an hour. The Tea Fairy returned again, opening her eyes wide and saying, "The guest is still here!" Young Master Ling said, "If I don't get to drink the Tea Fairy's tea today, I won't leave!"

  Upon hearing this, Lin Yue'er suddenly let out a snort of laughter, her eyes gleaming with meaning as she snapped her slender fingers and stared at Chu Hao: "This Ling young master is indeed just like you, quite shameless."

  Chu Hao's face was expressionless, and he said seriously: "Moonchild, you're wrong. This isn't called being a rascal, it's called being infatuated. The tea fairy saw that Ling Gongzi had an air of infatuation about him, so she put down the things she was buying and personally lit the stove to brew some tea. When the tea was brought out, the tea fairy pretended it was Huangshan tea to test Ling Gongzi's level, but he saw through her and said don't try to deceive me, this is obviously Luoshan tea, which has a similar production method to Huangshan tea. The tea fairy stuck out her tongue in surprise and repeatedly praised him, greatly admiring him. Ling Gongzi then asked what water was used to brew the tea, and the tea fairy replied that it was Huishan spring water. This time, Ling Gongzi was skeptical, thinking that Huishan spring water would have changed in quality after being transported from a thousand miles away. The tea fairy met someone who shared her interests and enthusiastically talked about her technique for transporting water, washing and filtering the well, waiting for new spring water on quiet nights, and lining the water jars with stones to ensure the water quality. The boat was sailed using only wind power, trying not to shake the boat and disturb the water quality as much as possible. This transported water was even better than ordinary Huishan spring water. After the tea fairy finished speaking, she again marveled at Ling Gongzi's discerning ability. Later, they brewed another pot of good tea, and Ling Gongzi immediately judged that this was spring tea, while the previous one was autumn tea. The two sides competed with each other, mutually admiring and respecting each other, and became friends.

  Lin Yue'er listened with relish, unwittingly becoming deeply engrossed in the story. When Chu Hao finished speaking, she was slightly moved and let out a soft sigh: "Brewing tea is not difficult, but appreciating it is; to find a kindred spirit who excels at discernment like this is truly a rare encounter..."

  Chu Hao was saying with great enthusiasm, where he couldn't bear to stop, this short essay was written by a Taoist named Zhang Dai in his previous life, "Taoyuan Mengyi", specifically the chapter "Min Laozi Cha". At that time, his master loved to read this article, so he remembered it in his heart. At this moment, the two old men in the text were rewritten by him as handsome men and beautiful women and brought out.

  After taking a sip of tea, Chu Hao relieved his thirst and continued: "It's not over yet."

  Lin Yue'er was lost in thought, and upon hearing this, she looked slightly surprised and exclaimed: "Is there more?"

  "Of course." Chu Hao nodded and said, "Later on, the Tea Fairy and Ling Gongzi lived together, every day tasting all sorts of good tea and water. They were deeply in love, from being bosom friends to becoming intimate lovers. Later, Ling Gongzi unfortunately went missing, the Tea Fairy was heartbroken, searching everywhere for a long time before finally getting news of his passing. The Tea Fairy felt that she would never find anyone else who understood her tea or herself again, so she smashed her most treasured tea set and from then on never brewed tea again."

  Behind this story of Boya Zi's flowery words, Lin Yue'er felt more and more strange as she listened. When she heard the end, she saw Chu Hao looking at her with a hint of deep meaning in his eyes, shaking his head and sighing: "Yue'er, you brewed such good tea, only someone like Little Wang who truly understands can appreciate its flavor."

  Lin Yue'er finally got a taste, glared at Chu Hao fiercely, snatched the black teapot away in a huff, and said: "I won't brew tea anymore."

  Chu Hao smiled and stretched, patting his knee, saying: "Alright, Yue Er, after chatting with you for half a day, my mood has improved a lot. Xiao Wang will take his leave first."

  Lin Yue'er was taken aback, not expecting Chu Hao to leave so soon. After a moment of hesitation, she opened her bright and clear eyes and said: "Tomorrow is the day of the Tao Ran Ju auction. The items you sent over that day for the auction should be fine, right?"

  "Of course, there's no problem now." Chu Hao chuckled and gazed at that stunningly beautiful face, the smooth skin seemed to reflect light, feeling somewhat pleased with himself: "You don't even know who Little Wang is, I'm your confidant!"

  Lin Yue'er spat and said: "Shameless!" Then hesitated for a while, before saying: "Do I still need to follow you?"

  "No need, you're the young mistress of Bi Zhuang, how can you be so easily exposed to the public eye?" Chu Hao smiled and gave up on the idea of making Lin Yue'er his public face. A woman like Lin Yue'er was more suited to staying at home, brewing tea, singing softly, reciting poetry, and writing couplets; the outside world was too chaotic for her.

  Those shouldn't belong to her.

  He gave up the idea, and Chu Hao would have to take care of himself from now on. Chu Hao then got up and walked out of the house, saying: "I'll come find you again in two days, this period of time Xiao Wang is a bit busy, if he neglects you, you must be understanding towards Xiao Wang."

  Lin Yue'er's face turned cold, and she directly ignored Chu Hao's frivolous words, humming a sound.

  Until Chu Hao walked out of the east wing, a faint voice came from afar, clear and audible: "Yue'er, your tea is really good. If there's an opportunity, Little Wang will come back to taste it again."

  Lin Yue'er's slender body trembled, and she stared blankly at the tea set on the small table, her eyes filled with complex emotions. After a long while, she finally let out a faint humming sound: "Don't believe him, don't believe him..."

  After returning to his own yard, Chu Hao started practicing again. However, his attention was somewhat scattered, and everything from the previous martial arts field kept surfacing in his mind. After lunch, Chu Hao took a nap, then got up and practiced boxing for a while before walking into the miscellaneous room in the backyard, silently reciting the incantation and summoning the Hunyuan Cauldron.

  Looking at the spiritual treasure that can be grasped in one hand, Chu Hao sent out a divine thought and called out Chen Honghong.

  A few minutes later, there was no sound coming from her, Chu Hao shook his head and thought that Chen Honghong probably hadn't recovered yet, so he prepared to put the Hunyuan Ding back into his own body. But just at this moment, Chen Honghong suddenly shouted: "You stinky brat, what kind of energy is this, you've disturbed my good sleep!"

  Chu Hao's heart was filled with joy, and he hastily said: "Chen Honghong, you've finally woken up."

  "That bit of spiritual energy, I had already recovered yesterday, but just fell asleep again and was woken up by you, this heartless little brat." Chen Honghong still spoke bluntly, "What's the matter, speak up."

  Chu Hao recounted the previous events and finally said, "That Old Liu, didn't you ever feel that he was following us? Isn't he even more formidable than Tao Ranju's foundation-building cultivator?"

  Chen Honghong fell silent after listening, and only spoke after a long while: "This Liu old man is not simple. For such a long time, I really can't sense his aura. But if you say he's a foundation-building cultivator, it's also unlikely - which foundation-building cultivator would be willing to stay in the secular world as an ordinary housekeeper? Perhaps he has cultivated a method that allows him to hide his own aura, so I couldn't feel it." Chen Honghong paused and said seriously: "You little brat, this Liu old man is someone by your father's side, but you still can't be careless. You must quickly find the materials for the Hunyuan Cauldron - as long as the Hunyuan Cauldron becomes stronger, my strength will also become greater. At that time, people like this Liu old man will be like little cats and dogs, and I'll kill one with a single blow!"

  Chu Hao ignored the second half of his sentence and said, "I naturally know this. In this world, we two are isolated and helpless. That Old Liu is really troublesome. After the auction, I will also strive to improve my Refining Master's cultivation and create a Mustard Seed Manual."