nycdaug Chapter 183 Finally Winning the Tea Competition
Chapter 183 Finally Winning the Tea Competition
Chapter 183 Finally Winning the Tea Competition
Finally won the championship at the tea competition
The morning light cast a frosty hue on the gilded box with its handle, and Su Yunlan ran her fingertips along the sword mark on the lid.
Xiao Yuhan's sword still hummed in its sheath, the Big Dipper pattern on the black iron hilt echoing the silver bracelet on her wrist. The fragments of the rouge shop lantern that were shattered when breaking the formation last night were now turning into fine gold foil adorning the edge of the tea table.
The scorekeepers had already made three rounds. Xiao Yuhan's deep voice brushed past my ear, carrying the unique scent of cedar trees from the Northern Territory.
His hand, covered by a black iron wrist guard, gently cupped her wrist. The sword energy lurking beneath his armor was resisting the surging, chilling aura outside the barrier, causing ripples to spread across the star and moon reflections in the celadon teacup.
Suddenly, a crisp sound came from the judges' panel as a jade ruler struck the table.
Judge Zhao swept three copper coins with his wide sleeve, the hexagram landing precisely in the "Kan" position. "This cedar incense is wonderful, but it overpowers the original flavor of the tea." Before he finished speaking, a fragment of the blood jade pendant in his sleeve suddenly emitted a dark red mist, which condensed into ice crystals and fell down as it touched the tea smoke on Su Yunlan's table.
"Old Zhao must have caught a chill from stargazing last night." The white-haired Judge Lu lightly tapped the gilded compass, and the twenty-eight constellations on it suddenly lit up. "This hexagram clearly indicates 'Water and Fire in Harmony,' meaning Manager Su's tea smoke has turned misfortune into good fortune, adding a touch of luck." The compass needle suddenly pointed southeast, directly at the still-unmelted ice bead of Gu worm in Tea Master Wu's hair.
The warhorses outside the arena suddenly neighed mournfully, and the silver bracelet on Su Yunlan's wrist produced a clear and melodious dragon's roar.
She lowered her eyes and dipped the Ice Soul Silver Needle into the Spirit Spring Inkstone. The water reflected the star trails traced by Xiao Yuhan's sword energy—the sword marks from last night's formation breaking were extending along the Big Dipper's direction and had now wrapped around Judge Zhao's ankle.
&34; Please look, everyone. &34; With a light wave of her delicate hand, sixty-four silver needles were suspended in the air and arranged in the shape of the Eight Trigrams.
The tea leaves, picked up with a needle tip, unfurl in the morning light, each vein glistening with starlight-like crystals of spiritual spring water. They are drawn from the Tiger Spring at the third quarter of the hour of Mao (5:45 AM) and roasted with the Vermilion Bird Fire at the beginning of Chen (7:00 AM). You can verify this by observing the patterns on the leaves at the time of birth.
Suddenly, tea master Wu knocked over the tea pet, and half a piece of blackened rhinoceros horn rolled out of the gilded toad's mouth.
Su Yunlan glanced at the crimson runes quietly spreading beneath the judges' seats, and the silver hairpin on her spiritual platform suddenly burst forth with clear light, burning the filthy energy that was trying to climb the scoreboard into blue smoke.
"Wait a minute." Xiao Yuhan lightly tapped the ground with his sword sheath, and the Big Dipper sword energy flowed along the cracks in the blue bricks, freezing all the rhinoceros horn incense hidden in Judge Zhao's sleeve at the "Tian Shu" position.
As his dark cloak swept over Su Yunlan's shoulder, the dragon scale pattern reflected in the teacup in her hand, creating a halo of golden armor and iron horses. "Since it's a tea competition, why not test the divination results of this incense ash?"
Judge Lu clapped his hands and laughed, as a gilded compass hovered in mid-air, covering the incense burner.
As the yin-yang symbol rotated, the incense ash in the burner revealed ink paintings—the very same "Lu Yu Brewing Tea Picture" that Su Yunlan had painted with sword energy last night.
The tea smoke in the picture condenses into seal script characters: "A cup of clear spring water washes away the armor of soldiers, half a stove of pine resin calms the rivers and mountains."
"Impossible!" Wu, the tea master, shattered the ice beads in his hair, and the remains of the Gu worms turned into black mist that rushed towards the scorebook.
Suddenly, the silver bracelet on Su Yunlan's wrist transformed into a phantom image of a medicinal hoe. When the tip of the hoe touched the ground, a gushing spring of spiritual energy erupted, turning the black mist into countless stars on the ground.
Just then, Xiao Yuhan's sword energy pierced through the barrier and returned, carrying the wind and snow of the northern border and nailing the stars into the Twenty-Eight Mansions.
The mahogany tray held by the scorekeeper suddenly glowed with a bluish light, and the cedar seeds that Su Yunlan had buried under the tray last night broke through the wood and instantly grew into a seven-foot-tall tea tree.
The leaves hanging between the leaves were not camellias, but her Ice Soul Silver Needles, nourished with the spiritual spring, each needle tip tied with the trace of the Big Dipper light that had been swept away from the eaves of the rouge shop last night.
"This is what is called a divinely ordained affinity for tea." Judge Lu laughed heartily, his goatee twitching, as the gilded compass enveloped the tea trees in the Purple Palace star map.
Dewdrops suddenly fell from between the leaves, each drop reflecting the precise timing Su Yunlan used when brewing tea—the mist gathered at Yin hour, the spirit buds picked at Mao hour, and the heat controlled at Chen hour, all perfectly timed.
Judge Zhao staggered backward, knocking over the incense table, and a fragment of a gilded box fell from his arms.
Su Yunlan lightly flicked the teacup with her fingertips, and the lid of the box, which had been damaged by Xiao Yuhan's sword energy last night, suddenly flew off and tightly covered the broken pieces.
The cold air emanating from the box condensed into a hexagram in the air: Great success, advantageous perseverance.
Suddenly, the sound of armor clanging came from outside the arena, and Xiao Yuhan's sword was drawn half an inch from its sheath.
The Big Dipper pattern on the sword's spine reflected the silver hairpin in Su Yunlan's hair, casting tangled light marks on the bluestone ground.
Suddenly, the silver needles in her sleeve formed the Hetu Luoshu Formation, trapping the rhinoceros horn incense ash that was trying to escape at the center of the formation.
The outcome is decided. Judge Lu throws the gilded token into the tea stove, and as the flames rise, it transforms into the clear cry of a phoenix.
Suddenly, the teacup on Su Yunlan's desk reflected a sky full of stars. What floated on the surface of the tea was not tea leaves, but the starlight of the Twenty-Eight Mansions that she had scattered when she set up the formation last night.
As the gilded gong hammer fell, the Big Dipper formed by Xiao Yuhan's sword energy happened to rotate to the Tianquan position.
The silver hairpin in Su Yunlan's hair flew out with a sound, and the spirit spring pearl hanging from the end of the hairpin struck the gong, and the resulting sound wave shattered the cold aura that lingered outside the barrier into dust.
The morning breeze, carrying tea smoke, swept across the rooftops of the Rouge Shop, and the red threads of curse severed last night transformed into the chirping of magpies bringing good news.
Tea Master Wu slumped down amidst the scattered ice beads, the last half-pearl in his hair reflecting the sword mark on Su Yunlan's gilded box.
The trace suddenly spread out in a frosty hue, wandering along the cracks in the blue bricks to the judges' seats, freezing the rhinoceros horn ash that had stained the soles of Judge Zhao's boots into the shape of a Bagua mirror.
The mirror clearly reflected the contract that remained in his sleeve—a sales contract written with rouge and vermilion.
As the organizers approached carrying the plaque made of golden nanmu wood, Su Yunlan was putting the last silver needle back into her gilded needle pouch.
The hoe pattern embroidered on the needle pouch suddenly glowed with a bluish light, echoing the dragon scale silver bracelet on her wrist to form a tai chi pattern.
Xiao Yuhan's cloak fluttered in the morning breeze, and the scent of cedar carried by the sword's energy brushed past her ear: "My lady, can you hear the sound of warhorses returning to their sheaths?"
As the last wisp of gloom in the southeast corner dissipated, the tea smoke from Su Yunlan's fingertips condensed into a tiny silver dragon, swirling around the Big Dipper pattern on Xiao Yuhan's sword hilt.
The sound of armor clashing outside the arena suddenly became as rhythmic as drumming, mixed with a long-suppressed, intense heat that crashed against the barrier, making the silver hairpin in her hair burn again.
The four characters "Heaven-sent Tea Master" on the golden nanmu plaque shimmered in the morning light. Xiao Yuhan's black iron wristband collided with the silver bracelet on Su Yunlan's wrist, and the dark pattern of the Big Dipper suddenly transformed into a dragon that wrapped around the silk sash around her waist.
The sounds of armor clashing outside the arena suddenly transformed into a dense drumbeat. His combat boots crushed the last trace of gloom in the cracks between the blue bricks, and his strong arms had already pulled the person into a cloak wrapped in the scent of cedar.
"Watch out for the teacup—" Before Su Yunlan could finish speaking, the gilded box with a handle had already landed steadily on top of Xiao Yuhan's sword sheath.
The ice crystals that had formed on his wristband fell softly into her hair, merging with the starlight flowing from the silver hairpin to form a galaxy.
The sudden burst of cheers from outside the venue startled the Ice Soul Silver Needles perched on the tea tree, and countless streams of light wove a cocoon around the embracing figures.
Judge Lu stroked his goatee and struck the gilded compass, the brilliance of the twenty-eight constellations shining down on his tangled robes.
The lingering sword energy on Xiao Yuhan's armor cleaved through the morning mist, and as his black cloak billowed, Su Yunlan's silver bracelet suddenly conjured a phantom of a medicinal hoe. The spiritual spring that burst forth from the hoe's tip enveloped the two of them in rainbow light.
"Si Lang!" Su Yunlan's fingertips had barely touched the sword mark on his neck when he was lifted up by an arm carrying a chilling sword aura.
Xiao Yuhan's combat boots shattered the scattered stars on the ground, and the arc drawn by his black iron sword sheath severed all the shadows peering out from outside the barrier.
The spirit pearl hanging from the silver hairpin in her hair brushed against his Adam's apple, leaving a Big Dipper-shaped mark on his armor.
Suddenly, the warhorses on the sidelines neighed in unison, and Xiao Yuhan's cloak swept across the tea table, stirring up a thousand piles of snow.
The silk ribbon around Su Yunlan's waist wrapped around the hilt of his sword, and silver needles flying out of the gilded needle pouch formed the character for "double happiness" in the air.
When Judge Lu tapped the gilded compass on the bluestone ground, the twenty-eight star trails suddenly converged into concentric circles, freezing the rotating figure in the rising tea smoke.
"General Xiao, the Tea Queen deserves the strongest wine in the Northern Territory!" A drunken tea merchant shouted, and a rain of copper coins mixed with the scent of cedarwood fell all over the place.
A low chuckle escaped Xiao Yuhan's throat, and the sword energy seeping from the gaps in his armor strung copper coins into a necklace, gently landing on Su Yunlan's hair: "The wine of the Northern Frontier should be warmed with my wife's tea."
Suddenly, the gilded box with its handle emitted a clear and melodious dragon's roar, and the rhinoceros horn incense ash stored in the box last night condensed into the shape of twin lotus flowers.
Su Yunlan's fingertips brushed against the lotus core, and the spiritual spring suddenly reflected the image of camel bells jingling in a Western Regions caravan—the Canaan incense sealed in the glass bottle was overflowing with seven-colored mist, and the seal script of "Indian camphor" was faintly visible in the mist.
Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves broke the commotion outside. Sun Xiaosi, clutching half a charred rhinoceros horn, squeezed forward: "Manager, while cleaning Madam Wu's tea ceremony, we discovered this object emitting a strange fragrance from the incense ash." In his outstretched palm, peacock-blue sap seeped from the crevices of the charred rhinoceros horn, and upon contact with Su Yunlan's spiritual spring, it suddenly blossomed into a mandala pattern.
Xiao Yuhan frowned slightly, and his sword suddenly drew half an inch from its sheath on its own.
The Big Dipper pattern on the spine of the sword was reflected on the cross-section of the rhinoceros horn, revealing a densely packed star map.
Su Yunlan's silver bracelet trembled slightly. As the phantom of the medicine hoe was drawn in the air, the star chart transformed into the ancient method of spice preparation—the refining of Canaan incense required the light of the seventh star of the Big Dipper.
"My lady, do you know that on the snow-capped peak illuminated by the star Tianquan..." Xiao Yuhan suddenly leaned close to her ear, and unmelted ice crystals from his armor fell into her collar, "burying the Garuda Incense Burner that perished twenty years ago."
The gilded compass suddenly hummed. As Judge Lu pushed through the crowd, his goatee still stained with celebratory wine, he exclaimed, "Manager Su, you've done a wonderful job as the tea master! If you could use snow mountain dragon brain in your tea, even the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden would come to ask for a cup." His compass needle was pointing directly at Xiao Yuhan's sword hilt, where a wisp of peacock blue mist had somehow appeared.
Su Yunlan lowered her eyes to hide the starlight in them, and the tea she poured with her delicate hands suddenly reflected the image of a Western Regions spice market.
As Xiao Yuhan's kiss, accompanied by the snowstorm of the northern border, landed, the silver hairpin in her hair was carefully storing the illusion of Canaan Incense into a gilded needle pouch.
In the morning light, shattered by the trampling of warhorses outside the arena, the faint sound of camel bells echoing against the snow-capped mountains could be heard.