The teahouse is full of empty tables and chairs but no one drinks tea, as Qiao Mu said before, because it is a rainy weather, not only makes the temperature cool, but also makes the people in the market unable to work outside in the rain, can only be idle at home, naturally can no longer run to his father's Songyang teahouse to rub tea and water, although on weekdays, the old shopkeeper never charges any tea money for them to come here to drink tea, but everyone has lived a lot of years in this world, so as not to make such a shameless and skinless greedy and cheap thing.

Seeing his father, who was dozing off at the moment, Qiao Mu, who had not been away from home for a long time, couldn't cry or laugh, but he actually felt a trace of sourness inexplicably in his heart. After he glanced at Xu Yan and Gu Xueqing behind him with a little embarrassment, he shouted softly helplessly, "Dad, I'm back." ”

It's just that the old shopkeeper who fell into a light sleep, heard someone shouting, and naturally immediately woke up from the daze, and then saw that it was his son, and hurriedly stood up after being happy, but at the same time, he didn't forget to secretly wipe the looming ha at the corner of his mouth, and then he smiled and said in surprise: "Ah, it's my son who is back!"

Qiao Mu looked helplessly at his honest and gentle, but already a little old father, still with the temperament of his youth, and could only sigh faintly in his heart, but more of it was the joy and warmth after a long absence.

Qiao Mu nodded and replied, "Well, I'm back." Without waiting for the old shopkeeper to speak, he hurriedly turned around and introduced to his father: "These two are the disciples of the same sect who went down the mountain with me this time, this is the personal disciple of the sect master, and it is also my junior brother Xu Yan, and this is Senior Sister Gu Xue Qinggu from my sect's Chunzi faction. ”

After seeing the appearance, Xu Yan, who already recognized the other party, smiled and said politely: "Uncle Qiao, we meet again." ”

Hearing Xu Yan's words, whether it was Qiao Mu or Gu Xueqing, who was standing aside and hadn't had time to say hello, their faces were stunned, listening to his tone, they seemed to be old acquaintances?

It was Lao Qiao, who sent tea to Zhao Bailian every year, who immediately laughed and said: "If it's really you, little brother of the Xu family, Mr. Zhao told me before that it won't be long before you will go down the mountain, I thought it should have taken a while, but I didn't expect it to be a lot earlier." ”

The confused Qiao Mu wanted to see them looking very happy, so he immediately scratched his head and asked his father suspiciously: "Dad, what is going on at first glance? You have confused me, you and the little junior brother have known each other for a long time?"

When Lao Qiao heard his son's question, he first invited Xu Yan and Gu Xueqing to sit down, and then went to get the precious tea leaves on the counter shelf, and explained with a smile: "Your sect master Mr. Zhao likes to drink tea, and your father and I have to send him tea every year, so I have several relationships with the little brother of the Xu family." ”

When Qiao Mu heard this, he immediately said in surprise: "I know that the sect master likes to drink tea, but Dad, the grade of those wild green in the mountains is too bad, how can you be embarrassed to take it to his old man to drink, you are too ......."

When Xu Yan heard this, he already understood, Qiao Mu didn't know anything about the tea ceremony, and he was worse than him, even if he interrupted the latter's words, so as not to hurt his father's heart without covering his mouth, he said with a smile: "Senior Brother Qiao can't say that, the silver monkey planted by Uncle Qiao is the best in tea, and in this Lingzhou, it is already one of the best teas, even compared with the spring rain tea in Wuyang Town, it is not far behind, and even in the entire Wuzhou Continent, it is estimated that it can steadily rank in the top five of the top ten famous teas." ”

Xu Yan didn't know much about the tea ceremony, so there was no doubt that this remark was applied to what his master Zhao Bailian had said to him, but this was enough shock for Qiao Mu.

After Qiao Mu heard this, he couldn't help but gasp, and then looked at Xu Yan with some suspicion and said, "Little junior brother, shouldn't you deliberately say these words to deceive me in order to win my father's favor?"

Regarding Qiao Mu's suspicion, Xu Yan really couldn't cry or laugh, thinking about how could there be such a cheating son in this world, but in the end he nodded and replied in a serious tone: "I didn't say this, but from my master's mouth, you also know that his old man has always been very serious about the tea ceremony, and he will never joke easily." ”

Old Joe, who had already made tea and heard their conversation at this moment, walked to their table, sat down from the last bench with a smile on his face, and then began to pour a cup of tea for each of them, while saying to his son helplessly: "Are you such a son, your father doesn't want to be faceless?"

As soon as these words came out, Xu Yan and Gu Xueqing who were present couldn't help laughing, they were really a bunch of living treasure-level father and son.

Xu Yan had drunk Lao Qiao's silver monkey before, but now when he smelled the fragrance of tea in the cup, he was not polite, so he directly raised his glass and took a sip, without waiting for him to speak, Lao Qiao, who was sitting on the side, immediately asked, "How does my tea taste, little brother of the Xu family?"

Xu Yan knew that the other party was testing him, so he smiled and said truthfully: "Compared to the tea that I drank before the Qingming Festival, this tea may be slightly inferior in terms of fragrance, but it is only the slightest, if I guess correctly, the tea that Uncle Qiao is brewing now should be the tea before the rain, not the tea before the Ming Dynasty." ”

When Lao Qiao heard that Xu Yan saw the mystery of the blood path for a while, he immediately shook his head with a wry smile, and said: "It is really worthy of being the apprentice taught by Mr. Zhao, just take a sip of tea to know the difference, your mouth is really too mouthful, but although you are right that my pot of tea is Ming Qian tea, there is one thing you ignore." ”

Xu Yan drank the tea in the cup in one gulp, and asked curiously by the way: "Oh, I don't know which point I ignored, and I asked Uncle Qiao to tell me bluntly." ”

When Lao Qiao heard him ask, he didn't pretend to be pretending, and replied with a smile: "That's the tea leaves of my pot of tea, not from this year's new tea, but from last year's old tea." ”

When Xu Yan heard that this was the reason, he could only shake his head helplessly, this was indeed not a place where he could taste it.

After three cups of tea, the tea began to fade, Qiao Mu drank the tea in the cup, but his face was depressed, for him, the matter of drinking tea was purely to quench his thirst, and besides, what else could he say? Therefore, in the end, he didn't feel that the silver monkey tea produced by his father was any different from the ordinary wild greens sold in the market.

Lao Qiao, who was sitting alone and was about to change for a new pot of tea, suddenly asked Xu Yan before getting up: "I don't know if the little brother of the Xu family is coming down the mountain this time, is he coming to Songyang Town to purchase supplies, or does he have other tasks?"

Since the middle-aged man in front of him can talk with his master very happily, then Xu Yan will naturally not hide from him, his intentions after going down the mountain this time, and even if he doesn't say it, Qiao Mu will inevitably tell the other party sooner or later, so Xu Yan replied bluntly: "No, I went down the mountain with all my brothers and sisters this time to go to Zhongzhou to participate in the grand event held by the dynasty, just passing through Songyang Town, and when the rain is a little lighter, we have to leave and continue north." ”

When Lao Qiao heard this answer, he immediately raised his eyebrows, and then glanced at himself before asking, "That Qiao Mu ......?"

Xu Yan saw that he didn't finish his words, but he already understood in his heart and explained with a smile: "Senior Brother Qiao is also one of the disciples who participated in the grand event this time, but he will live at home for a period of time first, if Old Uncle Qiao has any questions, or wants to know specific matters, you can ask Senior Brother Qiao directly." ”

Qiao Mu saw that his father looked at him with a hint of distrust, and immediately said with a displeased face: "Dad, you don't look down on people, but I am the sect master, his old man, personally named the person who can go to Zhongzhou to participate in the grand event." ”

Old Qiao didn't dwell too much with Qiao Mu on this issue, just nodded with complicated eyes, and then went to make a new pot of tea and came back.

This pot of tea is obviously no longer the Songyang Silver Monkey he planted himself, so when Lao Qiao tested Xu Yan again, the latter directly gave up his random speculation because he had never tasted it, however, when Lao Qiao smiled and was about to explain the ins and outs of this pot of tea, Gu Xueqing, who had always been sitting on the side, had not spoken much, but after a little hesitation, he asked with some confidence: "Uncle Qiao's pot of tea, but Wuyang Spring Rain?"

An answer that really can't be true, after being said by Gu Xueqing, Lao Qiao couldn't help laughing and said: "Okay, you little girl, I didn't expect it to look inconspicuous, but you can directly say the correct answer, tell me, how did you guess it?"

After Gu Xueqing heard this, her face turned crimson and replied: "Because I am from Wuyang Town, when I was a child, my family drank this tea, but the fragrance is not as strong as the tea in Uncle Qiao's hand." ”

Lao Qiao learned that this was the answer, so he nodded and replied: "So that's the case, then it's not surprising that you can drink it." ”

Sitting on the side and hearing that the name of the tea in the cup was Xu Yan after the spring rain in Wuyang, after seeing them finish speaking, he couldn't help but shake his head and said: "Old Uncle Qiao is so thoughtful, you can't believe what I said to Senior Brother Qiao before, and deliberately test me with this tea!"

When Lao Qiao, who was exposed to the old bottom, heard it, he laughed.

And while the three of them were talking, Xu Yan, who had already drunk three cups of tea in the second pot of tea Chunyu, finally had to take a look at the sky outside the carved window, but because it was rainy weather, even if it was close to Shen Shi in time, the sky above his head had become a little gloomy and gloomy.

Seeing him like this, Lao Qiao, who was sitting on the side pouring tea, said with a smile: "If the little brother of the Xu family and Gu Xiaonizi are not in a hurry, they might as well stay at Uncle Qiao's house for the night, and then continue to go north tomorrow." ”

After Xu Yan heard this, he was about to refuse the other party's kindness, but unexpectedly Lao Qiao said to him again: "Brother Xu, don't be in a hurry to refuse, Uncle Qiao has been growing tea for so many years, and he has no other skills, but the ability to look at the weather is one of the best in the whole town, don't look at the rain now, it is not very rainy, but as long as it is at night, it will rain heavily, and after leaving Songyang Town, you will not be able to find a place to stay in a short time, and it is really a little unsafe to walk at night." ”

When Xu Yan heard the other party's original proposal, he thought that it was just an invitation from the other party out of kindness, and he didn't want to bother more, but after the other party's words came out again, for some reason, he felt that the words in the other party's mouth seemed to contain some extraneous meaning.

So, Xu Yan immediately looked at Lao Qiao, and after Lao Qiao looked at him, he gave him a meaningful look, but this look was only a flash, and then Lao Qiao said with a smile: "Brother Xu doesn't have to think that there is anything troublesome about this, this whole teahouse is my family's house, and there are many guest rooms on it, as long as you let Qiao Mu clean up a little and add some bedding, you can move in." ”

Xu Yan got the other party's confirmation, so he turned his head to look at Gu Xueqing, and asked the latter with a smile, "Senior Sister Gu, what do you think?"

Gu Xueqing was naturally not in a hurry for a while, so she replied: "I'm not in a hurry, anyway, this place is still far away from my house, and it won't be bad for half a day." ”

Xu Yan got this reply, and then turned his head to Lao Qiao with a smile and replied: "Uncle Qiao is so enthusiastic, if we refuse again, it will be a bit hypocritical, then we will bother Uncle Qiao to entertain him." ”

When Lao Qiao heard these words, he smiled heartily and said: "No trouble, no trouble, before going down the mountain, your master entrusted me with it, saying that when you pass through Songyang Town, I will help you appease one or two." Without waiting for Xu Yan to speak again, Lao Qiao turned his head to Qiao Mu and said, "Son, since the little brother of the Xu family and Gu Xiaonizi have decided to stay at home, then you can go to the west of the city to buy some food and come back, it just so happens that we will have a small gathering in the evening." ”

When Qiao Mu heard this, he immediately smiled and replied, "Okay", and went to the drawer at the counter to get some money, wanting to go to the west of the city to buy vegetables.

When Xu Yan saw this scene, he immediately stood up, and said with a smile: "Senior Brother Qiao, I'll go with you, I've heard you say that the things in Songyang Town are really interesting before, but I haven't heard enough about it, you can tell me about it on the way." ”

Qiao Mu was also quite happy to see that Xu Yan was interested in those market stories, and replied with a smile: "It's rare that the little junior brother is interested in these, so let's go together." ”

Seeing that Xu Yan was going out with Qiao Mu, Gu Xueqing's face was a little complicated, and she wondered if she should go with her, but when she was still immersed in her own thoughts, Xu Yan said to her: "Senior Sister Gu has also been on the road for most of the day, why don't you take a rest in the teahouse first, and we will come back soon." ”

Gu Xueqing saw that Xu Yan asked her to rest, so she didn't refuse, so she hummed softly.

......

"Third brother, why did you come back so late, those disciples of the Lotus Sect had already arrived in the city. ”

It was the man who was working in the farmland outside the town in a robe, but at this moment he had changed his outfit before returning to the inn, and immediately explained: "Back to the words of the two elder brothers, you don't know, these disciples of the Lotus Sect are very cautious, I'm not afraid that I will follow too closely and be discovered by them." ”

"Forget it, it's not important, tell me, why did we only see three disciples of the Lotus Sect, didn't they tell us that there would be ten of them going north this time, and where did the others go?"

Hearing his eldest brother's inquiry, the man in third place replied: "Big brother doesn't know, there are indeed ten people accompanying them on this trip, but a group of people parted ways with these three people in the city outside the town entrance. ”

"What, they're going their separate ways? And how do we know that there are people in the city who we're waiting for? If the guy we're going to kill has already chosen another way, then wouldn't we have come for nothing?"

Hearing that his eldest brother was as anxious as ever, the man sneered and said, "Big brother, don't worry, I dare to conclude that the person we are going to kill this time is among these three people." ”

"Oh, how so?"

Hearing that it was his second brother, who had always been very steady, asking this time, the youngest man in the age replied coldly: " According to the information given to us from there, the people we are going to kill are very young, and I have carefully observed them when I was outside the town, and most of the people who left the first to leave from the fork in the road are in their twenties, and some of them even look close to thirty, and they are not the target of our ambush at all, but among the three people in the city, except for the woman, the remaining two men are very young, and I dare to conclude that one of these two must be the object we are looking for. ”

Hearing his third brother bring such a speech, among the three sworn brothers, the man in the middle of the row first raised his eyebrows, and then nodded again after some contemplation, but before he could speak, he saw two young men walking out directly from the teahouse opposite, and looking at the clothes they were wearing, there was no doubt that they were from the disciples of the Lotus Sect.

"You see, they came out of the teahouse. ”

After hearing this voice, the remaining two immediately looked at the teahouse opposite, and sure enough, they saw two very young men walking in the direction of the west of the city, one of them looked about weak in terms of age, while the other was even more immature, and seemed to be only sixteen or seventeen years old.

"It seems that the person is right, but why didn't the female disciple come out with him?"

"Judging by the direction they are walking, it doesn't seem like they are going to continue out of the city, and if they leave the town, shouldn't they just follow the main road to the north?"

After hearing the words of the third brother, the middle-aged man with a relatively calm temperament stood up and said after a little thought: "It's better like this, the eldest brother and the third brother, you are here for the time being, keeping an eye on the woman's movements, I will follow the two men to see what they are going to do, and by the way, find out their news." ”

......

Two quarters of an hour later.

The middle-aged man returned to the inn from the rain curtain and said directly: "I found out, the slightly older young man turned out to be the only son of the shopkeeper of the Songyang Teahouse, and he was a local here, so the person we want to kill is the younger one." ”