novelraw Chapter 1035 - 566: Flood!
Chapter 1035 - 566: Flood!
With her words pointed out, Liu Yunfeng felt a bit embarrassed: "A friend lives in the courtyard just to the right, and I was about to pay a visit to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine. Would you like to join me, Elder Ning?"
His last sentence was purely out of courtesy, and indeed it was thick with formality. Unexpectedly, Ning Xiaoxian’s eyes lit up after hearing this, and she smiled graciously, "Oh, then we really can’t refuse such an offer. I’m sorry for suddenly visiting unannounced without bringing any gifts."
To everyone’s surprise, even including the Hidden Guard and Manager Yang, she actually brazenly invited herself to a stranger’s home! Liu Yunfeng blinked, puzzled at her intention, but since the words were already spoken, there was no reason to take them back. He had to lead the Hidden Stream group to knock on his friend’s door.
A green-robed little pageboy opened the door and invited everyone in to sit, serving a few cups of tea, and mentioned the host would return shortly, asking them to wait a while.
Liu Yunfeng’s friend, of course, was also a cultivator. He laughed, "Although my friend is a Loose Cultivator and looks rugged, he’s naturally a genius in business. He has been operating smoothly in Central Capital for many years, owning quite a few properties and engaging in substantial trades of spices and fabrics." Then, turning his attention, he asked Ning Xiaoxian, "Elder Ning, what brings you to this area?"
Ning Xiaoxian sipped the tea, smiling slightly, "I was also visiting a friend, but unfortunately, the door was tightly shut as if the host was not home. I was just fretting over it when you appeared, truly my timely rain."
Liu Yunfeng must be a frequent visitor, as the green-robed little pageboy recognized him as the master’s friend, thus leading them to the small pavilion on the third floor. From the carved sandalwood window, they could see the street scene below within a hundred meters clearly.
She reached out to summon the gatekeeper and asked, "Was there any sound outside just now?"
The gatekeeper thought for a moment, "About half an hour ago, there was the rolling sound of carriages passing by, but I didn’t go out to check. It only sounded for about fifteen minutes before disappearing."
Half an hour ago, wasn’t that when the robbers delivered the Spiritual Tea here? There is the witness. All the Hidden Guards looked at Ning Xiaoxian, but she remained unfazed, rewarding the gatekeeper with a small piece of silver.
The act must be performed thoroughly. The person behind the scene must have been preventing her from tracking to Li Mansion and then probing the neighbors for information, so a lot of large carts were deliberately arranged to enter Li Mansion from outside. Her opponent was quite meticulous, but next... regardless, the Spiritual Tea was no longer in this courtyard, and she was curious to see what other preparations were made by the other side.
Before long, with a loud laugh from downstairs, Liu Yunfeng’s friend Huainanzi indeed returned home, and a burly figure soon appeared at the staircase.
Elder Liu was right, his friend didn’t look like a cultivator with an immortal aura but rather like a roguish wanderer, exuding the breath of the Jianghu world.
As the host came upstairs, his eyes scanned quickly, pausing when he saw Ning Xiaoxian, the whistle and Jiu Mo, then smiled, "What a coincidence, you’re with Old Liu?"
Ning Xiaoxian raised her tea cup in a distant salute and said, "Just here for a sip of tea, hoping the host doesn’t mind us causing a disturbance."
This man was the very one who she had given a pot of "Qingbi" wine to in the workshop! There are over tens of millions of people in Central Capital, yet they managed to meet twice in succession. Is this coincidence really reasonable? Speaking of which, how did a towering fellow choose such a scholarly Dao name like Huainanzi?
Internally, she silently grumbled, while Huainanzi generously said, "I received a good pot of wine from you, and now just returning with a couple of cups of tea, still feels like I’ve gained. What’s there to complain about?" Turning to instruct the household servants, "Such petty-mindedness, seeing so many distinguished guests, don’t you know to serve the Spiritual Tea?"
The servant, shrunk his neck from the scolding, was about to dash off to make tea, when Liu Yunfeng already pointed at Ning Xiaoxian, laughing, "All the Spiritual Tea in the world comes from her. You’re actually going to entertain her with her own goods?"
Huainanzi’s eyes lit up, "Are you people from the Hidden Stream? Are you the Garden Director of the Hidden Stream Immortal Plant Garden? Excellent, excellent. Just days ago, I bought ten thousand pounds of Spiritual Tea from your Ningyuan Hall, right here in the Central Capital!" Laughing a few more times, he then turned to the servants, "Go awaken Chef Old Zhou and have him promptly prepare a table of fine wine and dishes for us!"
Liu Yunfeng joked, laughingly admonishing, "After being here so long, that’s the first sensible thing you’ve said."
Thereupon, the small pavilion was filled with wine and relit lamps as they reopened the banquet. After chatting for a while, Huainanzi inquired, "Ningyuan Hall’s reputation is increasing greatly of late, though it seems you haven’t involved in the East Sea trade?"