The Third Volume: Qiongzhou ? The Five Elements Chapter 1: Refreshing Breeze Silently Emerges from the Bamboo Forest

  Autumn is getting stronger, and the twelve peaks of Wushan Mountain are covered with a layer of colorful leaves. The red maple leaves fill the entire mountain. However, the bamboo forest along the official road to Fongjie City remains unchanged, just like its noble character, the bamboo leaves are still green and lush.

  It's already high noon, but the sun in the sky has just emerged from the thick fog, not scorching hot, just a warm and bright autumn sun of Shu, shining on pedestrians, warmly and comfortably, the weather in Shu is unparalleled since ancient times, indeed unique.

  By the bamboo path, "Bamboo Forest Teahouse" was bustling with activity. The fifty or sixty-year-old old shopkeeper and an eighteen or nineteen-year-old apprentice were hurrying back and forth, carrying tea water and steaming hot buns and bread, while continuously calling out to passersby and customers at the teahouse: "Welcome, sir! Come on in!" The drawn-out "la" sound was particularly soothing to hear, as was the crisp "Please take your time, sir!"

  Since ancient times, every profession has its own jargon, and this shopkeeper is naturally familiar with the cries of his trade.

  In the "Bamboo Forest Teahouse", all four tea tables were already occupied. At the easternmost table, three burly men sat eating steamed buns and drinking tea loudly, chatting as if no one else was present. Their headscarves were wrapped around their heads, but their right shoulders were bare, revealing iron-like black and shiny muscles. Although the Mid-Autumn Festival had passed and the weather had already turned cool, the three men didn't seem to feel the chill. Three gleaming long knives lay on the tea table. The three men had ferocious and intimidating expressions, occasionally lifting their heads to swallow their saliva, glaring hatefully at a table in the south.

  At the table to the south was a middle-aged couple with two children, the older one being an eight or nine-year-old boy and the younger one being a four or five-year-old girl. The whole family was happily chatting and laughing together. The little girl was being spoiled, shaking her head and refusing to eat the baozi filling that the beautiful woman was feeding her. The beautiful woman was very gentle and held the little girl in her arms, trying again to feed her.

  That middle-aged man, as soon as you see him, you know he's a honest and kind person. He looks at his wife and two children with a silly smile, but the little boy's eyes are always rolling around in circles, blinking from time to time, extremely cute, mischievous color is revealed on his face without a doubt. The four of them are not dressed very luxuriously, but they are thick and sturdy, there are also two large packages on the table, bulging and swollen, it seems that they are not local people, but travelers who have come from afar to hurry along the road.

  On the western table, there was only one young gentleman, wearing a green robe and a long shirt. He looked elegant and refined, with a gentle smile on his face. A folding fan lay on the table in front of him, adorned with a large piece of celadon jade that was quite valuable. Although summer had already passed, he still held onto the fan, which now served more as an ornament. With great refinement, he savored his tea, his white and soft hands cradling the cup. His eyes occasionally lifted to glance at the three burly men, a hint of disdainful smile on his lips, as if he was looking at something filthy.

  At the northern table, there was also only one person, about forty years old, wearing a plain robe and a square hat, with a slightly dark face and a slight mustache in the shape of three goats. It made people feel uncomfortable at first glance. On his left cheek, there were three large moles, black and shiny, which were very eye-catching. He sat alone, but on the long bench to his left was casually placed a bamboo pole with four clear characters: "Turn bad luck into good fortune". From his appearance and demeanor, it seemed that he was a fortune teller from the rivers and lakes.

  "Clop, clop......" The tea shop assistant heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the west side of the official road and quickly came out of the tea shop with a white cloth on his shoulder, waiting by the roadside. He was preparing to solicit business. Although this official road is long and inconvenient for travelers, "Bamboo Forest Small Tea Shop" is just the opposite, taking advantage of its geographical location, and its business is also better than elsewhere.

  Before long, two riders came galloping up, and the crowd heard them let out a unanimous "whoa...", everyone couldn't help but pay attention. Then, the two of them dismounted their horses quickly and neatly, and the people in the store suddenly felt a burst of clarity, even the old shopkeeper's dim eyes suddenly widened by a factor of two.

  Walking in front was a beautiful young woman in white, with skin as white as snow, black hair reaching her waist, and big eyes shining brightly. Everyone who saw her couldn't help but feel relaxed all over. Beside her walked a sunny-looking boy with the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, as if smiling all the time. His sky-blue long shirt was simple yet clean and fitted well.

  The two of them were indeed Chu Jiu and Lin Ming'er. They had just come down from the mountain for the first time, deliberately avoiding the seniors and disciples of the Diancang Sect and other major sects. After coming down from the mountain, they did not head directly north to Emei, but instead headed northeast, and after more than a dozen days, they had already bypassed Chongqing Prefecture, crossed the Yangtze River, and arrived in the Three Gorges area. The two of them saw that the scenery of the Three Gorges was completely different from the scenery of Diancang, and couldn't help but linger and return repeatedly. For several days, they had been traveling around, indulging in pleasure, which was truly one of life's greatest joys.

  Today, the two of them wanted to go to Fengjie Ancient City. Just as they were running and getting thirsty, they saw a teahouse at the end of the bamboo forest by the road. They were overjoyed and dismounted their horses to enter the teahouse.

  "Big brother, I didn't expect that this tea shop named 'Bamboo Forest Small Tea Shop' is actually not deceiving people, it's true to its name." Lin Ming'er said excitedly.

  On the ninth, I was also quite thirsty, so I called out to the waiter: "Waiter, bring two large bowls of tea!" Then I replied to Lin Meng'er: "Yes, what you said is true. This small teahouse is located next to the official road, yet it's deep in the bamboo forest. Travelers who have been on a long journey and are tired can rest here and really forget about their travel fatigue."

  Two people were laughing and talking while walking, but their footsteps didn't stop, they had already walked in.

  Lin Meng'er saw that there were people sitting at the four tables in all directions, and after a glance around, she thought to herself for a moment. She noticed that the fortune teller had not looked at her master brother and sister even once, and judging from his appearance and clothes, he seemed to be a rough person from the jianghu. The two tables in the southeast were already full, leaving no room for Lin Meng'er and her master brother to sit down. So she walked towards the young man sitting alone on the west side, who looked clean and refined. She gave him a slight bow before sitting down beside him on the left side of the bench. The young man's face lit up with pleasure, and his eyes scanned Lin Meng'er from head to toe.

  She was so used to being on Mount Cangyan that she would sit wherever she pleased, never asking anyone's permission. After coming down the mountain, it took her a while to adjust and therefore she didn't greet the young man either.

  After she sat down, it was early on the ninth day: "Brother Shifu, come over and sit here!"

  Chu Jiu saw Lin Meng'er already seated at the western table, so he had no choice but to follow. He was indeed well-versed in etiquette. Er Shixiong would occasionally share stories of his adventures on the jianghu with him. Thus, Chu Jiu first bowed and greeted the young man, saying "Brother, I'm afraid I'm disturbing you!" before taking a seat across from him on the long bench.

  Everyone only heard a "clang" sound, the shop assistant hurriedly noticed and walked over, only to hear the young man say: "Brother, I'm really sorry, I lost my hand for a moment!" His voice was unbearably annoying, yet sharp and sweet, extremely uncomfortable and unnatural to listen to.

  On the table, more than half of the surface was already flooded with tea water, and tea leaves were left behind. The tea water was still dripping from the edge of the table onto the bench. The teacup in front of the young man in green clothes had been knocked over, and the tea water was still flowing out. It was clear that he only wanted Lin Meng'er, such a beautiful girl, to sit beside him, but not Chu Jiu to sit opposite him, so he deliberately knocked over the teacup.

  "Oh dear customer, I'm so sorry! Sorry! Please wait a moment!" The shop assistant stopped pouring tea and hurried over to wipe down the table in front of Chiu-yi, apologizing at the same time.

  "Thank you, little brother!"

  He hadn't finished speaking when a loud "slap" was heard, and the young man in green had already slapped the face of the tea shop assistant, saying viciously: "Mind your own business!"

  This exit, turned out to be the local accent of Sichuan, so vicious and cruel. Lin Meng'er and Chu Jiu exchanged a glance, both secretly sighing that people are indeed unpredictable, and they never expected that this seemingly refined young man would be so selfish and venomous, even taking action against an ordinary shopkeeper.

  That fellow let out a loud "ah" and clutched at his face, clearly in great pain. The people at the three tables on that side were all startled and turned to look over here, while the young man seemed pleased with himself, merely blowing lightly on his own palm as if he thought the shop assistant's face had dirtied his hand.

  On the ninth, he was very apologetic and busy making bows to three tables of people in the east, south, north. The two children at the table facing south also turned their heads around, and on the ninth saw that the slightly older boy's face was slightly red, his eyes were black and shiny, while the little girl's mouth was slightly open, with a look of innocence, all very cute. The boy saw the ninth smiling at him and his sister, smiled back, made a ghostly face, stuck out his tongue, and turned around to leave. Their parents just slightly tilted their heads and continued to patiently tear apart the buns to feed the little girl, without turning around.

  Lin Meng'er saw through it clearly, and let out a soft "hmmph". She was slightly angry in her heart, her face turned cold, and she said to Chu Jiu: "Brother Master, let's go!"

  After she finished speaking, she suddenly stood up and wanted to leave her seat. However, the young man's face changed color and he said: "Little girl, please sit down!" As he spoke, he also dared to be bold, his left hand reaching out to grab Lin Meng'er's right hand.

  Lin Meng'er's face turned cold, and she was furious in her heart. She had never been so boldly detained by anyone since she grew up!

  This person is really bold, but she doesn't show any fear. With a swift movement, her right hand's index finger directly pokes the boy's left hand "Outer Pass Acupoint". This move is quick and nimble, it's a clever trick from the "Guanyin Swordsmanship" called "Guanyin Points the Way", but she doesn't have a sword in her hand, using her fingers as a substitute for the sword, slashing horizontally!

  But unexpectedly, the young man seemed to have anticipated that Lin Meng'er would flip her palm and scratch. He had already made a clever move, shrinking his left hand and stretching it out, with a masterful technique, ready to grasp Lin Meng'er's left hand. He was delighted, thinking that this little girl's fingers were as white and smooth as spring onions, and her skin must be smooth and delicate!

  Just feeling happy, but suddenly felt a numbness in the palm of his hand, and then a pain in the "Outer Pass" acupoint on his palm, thinking that he had been hit by that girl.

  Lin Meng'er had already stood up, and the young man looked down to see that he was holding a chopstick in his hand. The tip of the chopstick happened to be pressing against the "Taiyuan Hole" on his own palm, as if it had been placed there by his own hand. The "Taiyuan Hole" being pressed made his palm lose strength, and he couldn't avoid the white-clothed girl's horizontal sweep. His "Waiguan Hole" was also hit, causing a wave of pain.

  "Thank you, senior brother!" The young man raised his head and saw the white-clothed woman smiling at the sky-blue shirted youth. He couldn't help but feel a surge of anger, thinking that he had really been blind earlier! He hadn't expected this sunny youth to unknowingly hit his own "Taiyuan acupoint"!

  On the ninth day, he didn't want to cause trouble and stopped looking at that despicable young man. He smiled sideways and said, "Brother, sorry, I've offended you a lot!"

  After finishing, he directly pulled Lin Meng's sleeve to the north edge of the fortune teller's table and went away. Lin Meng was still huffing with anger, sat down, raised her head and saw that the fortune teller had three big black moles on his cheek, she felt a sudden chill and discomfort, and didn't dare look again. Chujiu still politely bowed to the fortune teller and said: "Uncle, thank you for letting us sit!"

  He finished speaking, and saw that the fortune teller nodded slightly with a smile. Although his face was detestable, he didn't dare to care about it at this time, so he sat down. The shop assistant also covered his face and came over to pour tea.

  On the ninth day, however, he was in a good mood. He had just taught that young man a lesson and felt refreshed. He then said loudly, "Little Second Brother, bring us a pot of good tea water, four buns, and two steamed buns!" Both he and Lin Bi'er grew up in the south, but they preferred buns over steamed buns.

  The shopkeeper's most familiar cry was like this, and under habit, he loudly and leisurely called out to the boss in the back: "Northern table, bring another pot of tea water, four meat buns, two big steamed buns that are white and hot, sir please wait a moment, it will arrive soon..." As soon as he uttered the word "soon", he realized that the young man in green clothes on the other side was not a good person, had just suffered a loss, and might not let things go easily. He hastily shut his mouth.

  As expected, the shop assistant's guess was correct. The young man in green had suffered a loss and would not give up easily. He grasped his folding fan and stood up, walking step by step towards Lin Meng'er's table. Lin Meng'er felt slightly flustered in her heart and turned to look at the fortune teller and Chu Jiu, but they seemed completely unaware of what was happening, slowly sipping their tea without a hint of panic.

  At this moment, the shopkeeper stood there, holding a teapot, and it was neither proper for him to come over nor not to come over.

  "Young master, you're quite skilled, would you like me to read your fortune?" The fortune teller's teacup paused in mid-air, his eyes suddenly fixed on Chu Jiu. His voice was hoarse, as if he had just emerged from a fiery pit, and his eyes flashed with a hint of divine light, but it was only for an instant, and no one noticed, not even Chu Jiu himself.

  On the ninth day, there was a stir in his heart. The fortune teller's voice seemed to have a few similarities with his own hoarse voice when he taught the disciples of the Cuiyun Sect more than ten days ago. However, if this were really the case, neither he nor his junior sister apprentice knew him, and they didn't know what this fortune teller was up to.