Lu Zheng said, “I can pay more. Whatever price you sell this tea to the merchant caravans for per jin, I will give you triple.”
The man shook his head. “We have a commercial contract. This is long-term business. No matter the price, we will not sell.”
Lu Zheng, “…”
Am I being looked down upon for trying to buy it by force?
Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying could not help laughing. Hand in hand, they happily watched Lu Zheng suffer a setback from behind.
“Fine!” Lu Zheng gave a thumbs up and did not press further to buy. “I will follow you to the merchant houses. Buying from them should be all right.”
The man nodded. “That is up to you.”
So Lu Zheng followed this group from the Southern Border into Yongzhou city and arrived at the first merchant house.
The first merchant house took thirty jin of February Fragrance from the man.
Ten guan per jin.
It was indeed the price of top-quality tea.
After the two parties completed the transaction, Lu Zheng asked to purchase from this merchant house.
“Not selling,” the shopkeeper said.
“Still not selling?” Lu Zheng glared. “You open your doors for business, yet you will not sell?”
“To be honest, the price these thirty jin of February Fragrance fetch each year is actually used by our master for gifting. They are not sold to the public.”
“I will pay more!”
“Sorry, not selling.”
Lu Zheng was stunned speechless. Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying stood behind him, holding hands and trying hard not to burst out laughing.
In truth, if Lu Zheng revealed his abilities, let alone buying, these houses would probably willingly give him the tea for free.
But Lu Zheng was clearly not the type to bully others with power. He would rather pay extra than use privilege. This helpless expression of his made the two women feel both amused and fond.
“Onward! To the next one!” Lu Zheng said huffily to the tea-selling man. By now, he was more anxious than they were.
The man could not help chuckling and patted Lu Zheng on the shoulder. “No rush, scholar. For February Fragrance, the three merchant houses take a hundred jin in total. To be safe, we probably brought a few extra jin. After I finish delivering to the other two, if there is any left, I will sell it all to you, and at a cheaper price.”
The other men carrying the loads also smiled. After all, Lu Zheng had two women with him and clearly came from wealth or nobility, yet he showed no sign of bullying. They felt quite favourable towards him.
Lu Zheng nodded in thanks. “Many thanks to you all. But I would like to buy a few more jin. Let us go ask at the other two.”
…
The second house also took thirty jin and gave Lu Zheng the exact same response when he asked to buy.
At the third house, they weighed forty jin, and the response to Lu Zheng’s request remained the same.
The only difference was that the shopkeepers at the first and second houses were middle-aged men, while the one here was a girl who looked only eighteen.
Qin Huilian curtsied slightly. Her smile was impeccable, but what she said was, “Sorry, this tea is not for sale.”
Lu Zheng, “…”
The tea-selling man laughed heartily and patted Lu Zheng on the shoulder. “Scholar, we have one and a half jin left here. If you want it, ten guan and it is yours!”
“Fine then. Many thanks, brother!”
Lu Zheng took out ten guan in paper money, bought the remaining tea from the man, then glanced back at Qin Huilian before leaving.
“Lu Lang, that girl has had a spell curse placed on her,” Liu Qingyan said in a low voice.
Shen Ying nodded. “The Penetrating Fragrance of the Flower Between Colourful Clouds Sect. It drifts for a hundred li, and only they can sense it.”
Lu Zheng weighed the tea in his hand. “She has been targeted by someone from the Flower Between Colourful Clouds Sect.”
Liu Qingyan could not help frowning. “The Flower Between Colourful Clouds Sect again?”
Lu Zheng nodded and sighed. “Do not frown. The rest of the tea will have to depend on this disciple of the Flower Between Colourful Clouds Sect.”
Liu Qingyan, still frowning in worry, suddenly let out a laugh at his words.
Shen Ying also laughed. “Lu Lang, you are taking advantage of someone’s misfortune.”
“No, no, no. I am merely making reasonable use of available resources. It was not I who attracted the Flower Between Colourful Clouds Sect disciple.”
Lu Zheng waved his hands repeatedly, not ashamed but proud. “Come, let us stroll the streets. We will return in the evening. By then, if we appear and save her, asking to buy ten jin of tea should not be a problem.”
…
“Shameless lewd thief!”
A light shout rang out in the courtyard of the Shuntai merchant caravan’s residence.
Then a clear sword light flashed, cutting through the sky as it darted back and forth around a thick mass of colourful clouds.
In the centre of the colourful clouds, a blue-robed youth who looked to be in his twenties or thirties was waving a banner, trying to escape over the wall.
Opposite him stood a white-robed youth, fingers formed into a sword gesture, urgently directing his flying sword to stab at the Flower Between Colourful Clouds Sect disciple.
In the inner wing rooms of the courtyard, the caravan members watched the fierce fight, some stealthily, others excitedly.
Immortals fighting!
This was not something one saw every day. They would have stories to boast about later!
What, are you scared?
Scared of what! Could they not see that the sword immortal had already gained the upper hand?
…
Half a li away from the caravan courtyard, on a certain rooftop, Lu Zheng watched the fight speechlessly.
A meddler has shown up!
“All I want is some tea. It is not even spiritual tea. Is this really necessary?” Lu Zheng said.
Liu Qingyan and Shen Ying ignored him, watching the fight with great interest.
February Fragrance was just ordinary tea. In truth, this was merely a joke and small interlude in their travels. They usually stayed in Tonglin County and rarely saw immortals fighting.
So even though neither combatant was particularly powerful, the women watched with relish.
“This youth looks a bit familiar!”
Liu Qingyan blinked. “Right, is he not the one who…”
“Xu Yihong!” Lu Zheng said.
“Who?” Shen Ying was curious. How did she not know?
“A disciple of Lone Wild Goose Peak on Huilong Mountain in Junzhou, Eastern Sichuan Circuit,” Liu Qingyan said.
“He once chased a lewd thief and crossed paths with us briefly.”
Lu Zheng rubbed his chin. “He really has it in for lewd thieves…”
While Xu Yihong was locked in fierce combat with the Flower Between Colourful Clouds Sect disciple, Liu Qingyan told Shen Ying about Xu Yihong.
Lu Zheng said, “It was from him that I first learned of the sword-refining method, which led to our journey west to Feiyu Mountain.”
“So it was him!”
Shen Ying’s first long journey had been with Lu Zheng to Feiyu Mountain. Lu Zheng had told her about the matter, but she had not known Xu Yihong’s name.
“Last time, he nearly perished together with that lewd thief. I hope nothing happens today,” Lu Zheng said, looking at the courtyard in the distance.
The next moment, the situation changed abruptly.
The blue-robed youth trying to break out suddenly paused. He waved his banner repeatedly, causing colourful clouds to spread and trap the flying sword for an instant.
Then, instead of advancing, he retreated. Leaping sideways, he jumped to the second floor and smashed into Qin Huilian’s room.
“Not good!”
Xu Yihong could not stop him in time. Just as he prepared to follow, he saw the blue-robed youth already carrying Qin Huilian out through a window on the other side, fleeing straight towards Lu Zheng’s location.
