“Then I shall not stand on ceremony.” Manor Lord Wu said with a squinting smile as he picked up his cup of tea.
“Mm, excellent tea.” After taking a sip, Manor Lord Wu praised it repeatedly.
Lin Yun also lifted his cup.
As the tea entered his stomach, Lin Yun felt a stream of warmth irrigating his entire body, as if every cell in his body relaxed, and his mind experienced a sensation akin to enlightenment.
Lin Yun had drunk plenty of fine teas before, but never one as remarkable as this!
The old man Dong Jian smiled and said: “Old Wu, you have timed your arrival perfectly. I have not produced tea of this quality in a long time. This batch is absolutely a treasure!”
“Haha, any tea that you keep is bound to be exceptional. You are obsessive in your work, not to mention that tea leaves are another lifeline for you besides the sword path. Any tea that does not satisfy you would have been discarded long ago,” Manor Lord Wu laughed.
“Fine tea leaves demand extremely high standards not only for soil and climate, but also for rainfall, weather, sunlight, day-night temperature differences, and so on. Every aspect must strive for perfection, and such conditions are rare and serendipitous,” Dong Jian said.
Dong Jian continued: “Even if all these are met, the stir-frying process is crucial. Any slight inaccuracy in the timing will ruin the tea. I pursue nothing but perfection. If any link falls short, I discard it, no matter how much effort I have invested beforehand.”
“The teas you discard are already top-grade among teas. Even with a minor flaw, they would be highly sought after if released. It is a pity you insist on throwing them away. You could at least give them to me. I would not mind if they were not perfect enough,” Manor Lord Wu sighed.
“Old Wu, it is not that I am stingy and unwilling to give them to you. Any tea that comes from my hands, if it fails to meet the standards in my heart at any stage, I will not allow it to be drunk. It must be destroyed! The tea I stir-fried this time meets the standards in my heart at every stage. I shall give you some when you leave,” Dong Jian said.
“Haha, then I thank you in advance.” Manor Lord Wu said with a smile.
Upon hearing their conversation, Lin Yun felt a sense of shock towards this Senior Dong Jian.
His obsessiveness and pursuit of perfection astonished Lin Yun.
The fact that he could be so obsessive in pursuing perfection with tea leaves made Lin Yun believe that his decades of immersion in the sword path must be equally extraordinary!
“Old Wu, if you only wished to reminisce with me, you would have come alone. This time, you have also brought this young brother named Lin Yun to my place, so I presume… you have a request?” Dong Jian looked at Lin Yun, a smile playing on his face.
“Brother Dong, I am mainly here to catch up with you. Of course, I have indeed brought young friend Lin Yun for a specific matter. Young friend Lin Yun practises the sword, so I wanted to trouble Brother Dong to offer him some guidance,” Manor Lord Wu said.
Upon hearing this, the smile on the old man Dong Jian’s face abruptly ceased.
“Old Wu, as you know, I generally do not take disciples. Over these years, many have sought to enter my tutelage, even some great clans and major powers sending their sword-practising talents to apprentice under me, yet I have rejected them all,” Dong Jian said solemnly.
Dong Jian continued: “For me, I must spend sufficient time on my own research, as well as tending to the tea. I have no time to teach others, nor do I wish to waste energy on it. Moreover, I prefer tranquillity. To date, I have taken only four disciples in total, and now only little Nuo remains by my side.”
If Dong Jian were willing to open his gates to accept disciples, there would have been many people here long ago.
“Haha, how could I not know this? Brother Dong, you may have misunderstood my intent. I am not asking you to take him as a disciple. It is just for today, if you could offer him some pointers,” Manor Lord Wu said with a smile.
“Pointers for just one day would not be of much use. You know how I am: if I do something, I do it thoroughly. To merely offer casual pointers does not suit my style,” Dong Jian said.
“This…” Manor Lord Wu showed an awkward smile.
Dong Jian poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and then slowly said: “Old Wu, we are old friends. Since you have come, I cannot refuse to give you face. Very well, let my disciple little Nuo offer him some guidance on his swordsmanship.”
“Little Nuo?” Manor Lord Wu was taken aback.
Even Lin Yun was stunned. Although Lin Yun was quite eager for Senior Dong Jian to offer him some pointers,
To have such a disciple of the same generation as himself come to instruct Lin Yun…
