Admission

"It's only spirit tea. Please enjoy as much as you like, Punishment Officer Lu Ming."

Su Bai calmly took the principal seat at the tea table, lifted the silver pot, and deftly refilled both their cups.

"I, Lu Jiu, may not be fabulously wealthy, but I can still manage this much hospitality."

Thanks to the booming business at Number Nine Pill Shop over the past month, Su Bai's purse had indeed grown considerably heavier.

Spirit tea costing a thousand spirit stones a portion was no longer beyond his means. He could afford to serve it to everyday guests or drink it himself to settle his mind.

Calculated carefully, a portion of tea leaves could last several months, so the daily expense was hardly extravagant.

Lu Ming chuckled at that and stood on no ceremony. He lifted the freshly filled cup to his nose, inhaled deeply, and wore an intoxicated expression.

Then he tipped his head back and drained it in one gulp. His movements were crisp and decisive, utterly unlike the way ordinary scholars savored tea, and instead carried something of a forthright wanderer's bearing.

"Excellent tea! Thank you for your hospitality, Alchemist Lu Jiu."

Lu Ming set down his cup. His casual smile faded somewhat, and his gaze grew direct. "Since I've drunk your fine tea and accepted this favor, I won't beat around the bush. Let's open the skylight and speak plainly."

He leaned forward slightly, enunciating every word. "I came here for one thing only: the killing outside Star Tower last night. Tao Jian is dead, slain by an Azure Fish Hall assassin's sword in full view of everyone."

"This matter is neither particularly big nor particularly small."

"The people on Alchemy Street, especially the three Golden Core Stage Alchemy Grandmasters presiding here, need an 'explanation.' They