615: Reminsicing at the Tea Shop

Reminsicing at the Tea Shop

She was young, about twelve or thirteen years old. Wearing the green robes of the Eternal Blade Sect, the girl had quite a fearless look on her face, her hair was tied into a neat bun as well.

Ming Yue watched it all unfold as a sword-wielding girl stepped out of the shop, pointing her weapon at them. 

And the ones she had beaten up quickly got up and ran but not before they spouted some threats. 

"Wait till our boss hears of this! Your family is gone!"

They shouted while running off and the girl only looked angrier. 

"Fine! Tell him! Bring him here so that I can beat him up too!" she shouted at them, waving her sword at them. 

It was then that she noticed Ming Yue's group, revealing a look of embarrassment. 

"Oh... oh, I'm so sorry for that display! Would you like to come in for some tea?" 

Putting away her sword, the girl turned polite as she made a path for them to walk in. Ming Yue just looked at her. The young woman took a moment to see how much she had grown in the past few years. 

"Rou'er, is that you?" she asked. 

The girl looked at her in surprise, answering the question. 

"Yes, that's my name... Do I know you?" 

There was a bit of confusion but her eyes went from Ming Yue to Xiao Yin, finding the Star Owl even more familiar. 

"Rou'er? Is there someone else out there?" 

Another woman's voice echoed from the store before she walked out to check on her daughter. As she did, she saw Ming Yue and stopped in a heartbeat. 

"Ming Yue?" 

Her voice came out very softly as she looked at her. 

"Aunt Cui, it's been quite some time." 

The young woman smiled as she went to greet Cui Fen. Despite several years passing by, Cui Fen was still as beautiful and vibrant as before. Of course, now that she was together with Elder Fei, she seemed healthy and happy. 

"Huh? Big sister? But I thought that you had passed away, that... that was what everyone said." 

Rou'er had a stunned look on her face, recognizing the young woman. 

Ming Yue shook her head.

"I survived but I was in no shape to move around. I needed time to rest and recover", she explained. 

"You should come inside first! I'm sure that Fei Yun will be overjoyed to see you. Come on, there must be a lot to talk about."

Cui Fen moved quickly, grabbing Ming Yue by the hand and dragging her in. 

The inside of the tea shop was just as the manager of the brothel had described it. It was a quaint little place with just a few tables to dine in. There were some simple decorations including a few charms for good luck and a fresh vase of flowers on the counter. More importantly, the shop was filled with a faint scent of tea. It was earthy and sweet, just smelling it was calming. 

Behind the counter were several pots for brewing tea and the back wall was nothing but shelves carrying jars of tea leaves. Each one seemed to be a different kind and there were at least a hundred of them. 

Hearing the shuffling of feet, someone else came out from the back of the shop, wiping the water from his hands. It was a man dressed in simple clothes, even growing a small stubble on his face. His hair was cut short and despite his casual nature, his body was well built from training and practice. 

"Do we have another gu-"

He paused as he saw Ming Yue standing there along with the others. 

"Ming Yue?"

The young woman nodded. 

"Elder Fei, it's good to see that you're healthy", she lowered her head and cupped her fists to greet him. 

"But the news... they said that you..."

Elder Fei was certainly the most shocked out of the three of them but Cui Fen moved things along. 

"Let's go brew some fresh tea for her, and close the shop too! There must be a lot to talk about", she said. 

"Right, right, Give me a moment, I think some lavender mint tea would be good."

Elder Fei went off to make it whilst the Cui Fen and Rou'er seated Ming Yue's group down. Both mother and daughter gave a barrage of questions that were answered in quick succession. 

"What happened? How are you? Why did you come back?" 

When Elder Fei returned with that pot of tea, he brought along a few plates and dishes to eat. 

"Hopefully you're hungry, it's just about time for lunch too."

There was nothing exquisite or fancy about it. It was a simple homecooked meal where everyone grabbed a bowl of rice and began to eat together. The questions did stop coming but at this point, Ming Yue was able to ask a few as well. 

"This tea shop is great", she commented. 

"It is", Elder Fei looked around with a satisfied face, "Although I can no longer cultivate, this sort of life has been blissful, especially with these two around."

Cui Fen chuckled at his words. 

"When we married, we started this shop together and managed to pay off my debts. We sold tea to businesses and even made a few deals with the brothel. We could've grown bigger but we have enough to live a quiet life", she said. 

"Really, that's great to hear. What about Rou'er, how is she doing at the Eternal Blade Sect?"

Ming Yue asked and Rou'er answered herself. 

"There's still a long way to go! I'm might be in the Human Realm but I'm almost there to the Earth Realm! I even became an inner disciple!" she said proudly. 

"Heh, she's being humble, Rou'er made it to that position all on her own, I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes a core disciple soon", Elder Fei added.

He looked at her with pride while saying so. 

"Ah, father, stop it! I'm nowhere near Ming Yue's level, I still need to work harder", she replied. 

"Right, right, though looking at her, I think you have a very long way to go." 

Elder Fei chuckled a little bit before moving on. 

"Still, when I heard the news from the other elders at the sect, I couldn't believe it. Finding out that you had died when we have yet to repay you for your help, it was disheartening. But Cui Fen didn't believe it, she believed that you were still alive", he said to her. 

"How could I believe such news?! There was no body! You had to be alive!", Cui Fen blurted out. 

Although she seemed well put together before, there was a trace of worry in her eyes. The news must've been devastating to her. Her gaze softened up when she looked at Ming Yue. 

"And here you are, alive and well."

She sniffled, trying to stop the tears from forming. 

"Really, I wouldn't know what I'd do if you were really dead."

Her voice cracked as she said those words. Elder Fei placed a hand on her shoulder, comforting her.  0

"You were right, dear. She's not dead."

Cui Fen wiped away the tears, smiling as she did so. 

"Yes... and I'm so glad."

Ming Yue smiled at those words before glancing at the three beasts. Seeing her look, Xiao Yin and the others moved towards Cui Fen, comforting her as they nuzzled against her.

"When I fully recovered, I wanted to come back to visit everyone but... a lot has changed. The brothel was still there and I met the manager. She told me about the Three Fiends", Ming Yue said to them. 

Cui Fen gasped. 

"Don't tell me... are you going after them?" she asked her. 

The young woman nodded and doubled down even.

"This is just the beginning, I'm going after Redmist Sanctuary."

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