Cultivation Begins with Daily Intelligence Reports

151: Borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha for brewing teaPushing open the creaking old wooden door, Lin Jingyu stepped into the familiar small courtyard. The nerves that had been taut all day finally relaxed, and his footsteps became a little lighter.

The shadow cast by the crooked old locust tree in the yard seemed exceptionally peaceful at this moment.

”Brother!” With a cry filled with the tremor of having survived a disaster, Lin Jingxia lunged forward like a frightened little rabbit, gripping his arm tightly.

Her eyes were swollen like peaches, and tear tracks that hadn’t dried yet still hung on her face; she had clearly been crying for a long time.

Behind her, Little Miss’s face was pale to the point of being translucent. Her thin, small body trembled slightly as she clutched the corner of her clothes, her eyes still lingering with the terror of a soul not yet calmed.

Lin Lingkuang’s towering, iron-tower-like figure stood guard nearby. Seeing Lin Jingyu enter unscathed, he finally let out a long sigh, his tensed muscles relaxing, and a look of relief appeared on his honest face:

”Jingyu, you’ve finally returned! We heard thunder just now and it gave us a fright. Is everything alright?”

At the same time, his eyes glanced toward the two Fairies behind Lin Jingyu.

With surprise and astonishment, he realized one of them was none other than the Shopkeeper of Miaoling Pavilion who had once given them medicinal herbs for free!

”It’s fine, everything is fine now.” Lin Jingyu patted his sister’s thin shoulder, his voice gentle yet carrying a power that soothed the heart. His gaze swept over Little Miss, also casting a comforting look at her.

He turned sideways, revealing the two figures following behind him:

”These two are Shopkeeper Qin of Miaoling Pavilion and Fairy Yun Momo. Thanks to their help today. This is my sister Jingxia, this is Little Miss, and this is Lin Lingkuang.”

He did not introduce the background or status of Qin Yue and Fairy Yun Momo too much. He knew clearly in his heart that these two noble guests were able to step into this humble courtyard because of him, Lin Jingyu, and not because of the Lin Family, this lowly clan.

Forcibly introducing his sister and the others to curry favor would instead seem deliberately sycophantic and only add to the awkwardness, and it might not even catch the eye of these two high-minded female cultivators.

”Excuse the intrusion.” Qin Yue held a perfectly appropriate faint smile at the corners of her lips and nodded slightly, counting as a greeting. Her gaze swept around the small courtyard without drawing attention.

The rammed earth courtyard walls were pitted and uneven from wind and rain erosion. In the corners were piled some messy farm tools and firewood. In the corner of the yard, there was an old well with a pulley, and next to it, a few patches of drooping, mundane vegetable seedlings.

Compared to the carved beams, painted buildings, and Spirit Plant-filled cultivation families she was accustomed to seeing, this place was so simple it was nearly shabby.

It was just like a mundane village farmer’s home.

A trace of imperceptible surprise flashed in her heart, which immediately turned into a hint of understanding.

Sure enough, those with shocking talent and brilliance are not necessarily born in piles of brocade. Her face, however, showed no trace of disdain, only the calm elegance unique to female cultivators from noble families.

Fairy Yun Momo didn’t have so many thoughts. She opened her pair of round, crystal-clear big eyes, her little head curiously looking left and right, full of curiosity about this small courtyard.

When her gaze landed on the grey Yao Beast in Lin Jingxia’s arms that was vigilantly poking out its little head and emitting a ’wuru’ low growl, her eyes instantly lit up amazingly:

”Ah! What kind of Spirit Beast is this? So cute!”

She couldn’t help but step closer, wanting to reach out and touch it, but was afraid of scaring the little guy.

Lin Jingxia shyly hid Little Ash deeper into her arms and whispered:

”It... it’s called Little Ash, it was picked up by brother...”

Leading the two honored guests into the slightly dim main room, Lin Jingyu brought over the only few wooden stools in the house and invited them to sit.

Having experienced that heart-stopping, life-and-death ordeal side-by-side during the day, sitting together again, there seemed to be an invisible bond between them. The atmosphere was actually much more relaxed and natural than when they first met, with much less polite restraint.

”Sister Yue, Momo, please sit for a moment.” Lin Jingyu stood up, took out that exquisite mutton-fat white jade tea canister from the Storage Pouch, weighed it in his palm, and a sincere smile appeared on his face.

”I will go get some water now and use the ’mist hidden jade sprout’ you gifted me to offer Buddha with borrowed flowers and brew a proper pot of tea. This tea has a pure and exquisite taste, filled with Spiritual Qi, and is a rare delicacy. Today, it is just right to invite the two of you to taste it.”

Qin Yue elegantly rubbed the edge of the slightly rough pottery cup in her hand with her fingertips. Hearing this, the corners of her lips curled slightly, and a hint of gentle laughter rippled in her eyes:

”Oh? Then I shall wait and see, to see if your tea-brewing skills are as gifted as your Alchemy.”

She knew clearly in her heart that given the Lin Family’s situation, there were really limited things they could take out to entertain them.

This little rascal using the top-grade Spirit Tea she gave him to treat them was both a helpless move and also revealed a bit of cleverness and a stubbornness not to be rude. She saw this intention clearly and found it interesting.

Lin Jingyu left the door with light footsteps and returned after only a few dozen breaths, holding a thick-walled jade pot slightly larger than a fist. The pot felt icy to the touch, with biting cold air, and a layer of fine water droplets constantly condensed and rolled off the jade surface.

At the mouth of the pot, wisps of milky white cold air steamed up and lingered without dissipating. One could tell at a glance that the water inside was by no means ordinary well water.

He said no more, silently taking out a few reasonably clean white porcelain cups, and rummaged from the corner of his Storage Pouch a small bronze tea stove that looked quite old and covered with fine Spirit patterns on the surface. This was something he had bought for fifteen Spirit Stones.

His movements were as smooth as flowing water as he began to operate. He used Spiritual Qi to ignite the stove fire, warmed the cups, and with his jade-like fingers, he carefully placed a few curled pieces of mist hidden jade sprout, which exuded a clear, grassy, and woody scent, into the pot, then poured in the cold-overflowing pool water. He closed the pot lid lightly and gently lit the charcoal fire below.

Before long, an indescribable, elegant, and secluded fragrance drifted out like smoke and mist from the gaps in the pot lid, initially light and elegant, then gradually becoming rich.

Like the first ray of sunlight in early spring piercing through the thin mist in the mountains, it carried a clear vitality and spiritual charm, instantly filling the entire slightly cramped living room, washing away the original dusty scent, and making one’s spirit feel invigorated.

”Please.” Lin Jingyu picked up the jade pot, his wrist turning lightly, and the emerald green, clear tea soup, like melted high-quality jade, poured steadily into the cup with steaming heat, neither too much nor too little, exactly seven-tenths full. The tea soup was alluring in color, and Spiritual Qi rippled slightly in the cup, as if containing a small, hidden Spirit Spring.

Fairy Yun Momo had the most lively and active personality and could no longer hold back. She grabbed the cup closest to her first, first leaning near the cup mouth like a curious little kitten, her delicate nose slightly wrinkled, and took a deep breath. The clear, sweet, and refreshing tea fragrance that penetrated directly into her Divine Soul made her comfortably squint her eyes, letting out a sigh of satisfaction.

Only then did she carefully pout her little lips, gently blew on the heat, and then took a small sip. The warm tea soup slid into her throat, and a warm current of clear, sweet, and vigorous Spiritual Qi instantly spread through her limbs and bones. Her eyes ”swished” and lit up like stars.