The cold wall of the foyer seemed to have been warmed slightly by the heat from Su Wanqing's back, but the bone-deep chill had nothing to do with the physical temperature. With a casual wave of his hand, Ling Ye sent an indescribably warm current precisely into the center of her brows, like the winter sun instantly melting a frozen river.
"Mm..."
Su Wanqing could not help letting out a long, trembling sigh. It was not pain, but the height of comfort.
The sharp pain in her mind from the overwhelming shock, the dizziness, and the lingering terror of her soul being torn apart were gently soothed and erased by an invisible, warm hand. A vast yet gentle force flowed through her body. It did not strike violently, but carried an almost maternal tolerance as it guided and organized everything within her.
She could even clearly "feel" something invisible and untouchable yet undeniably present within her—a kind of "qi," or perhaps life energy. Under the guidance of that warm current, it changed from the chaotic state caused by the earlier shock into something docile and smooth, like a stream that had been cleared, flowing steadily and nourishing every part of her body.
An unprecedented clarity filled her mind. Her body felt so light that she seemed about to float away, and every cell was cheering with vitality and vigor.
The discomfort brought by the damp cold had long since vanished, replaced by an indescribably comfortable warmth, as though she were soaking in the finest hot spring. She instinctively raised a hand to cover her forehead, which still retained a trace of warmth, her eyes filled with pure, incredulous shock. What... what kind of divine technique was this?!
Ling Ye, however, looked as though he had merely brushed away an annoying fly. After finishing, his gaze returned to the half-open door and the torrential rain outside. His brows drew together slightly, as though he were seriously considering whether to go inside and wait for the rain to stop or simply squat beneath the eaves somewhere for convenience.
"Come in."
A voice rang out, clearly carrying a distinct weakness yet remarkably lucid. Its owner seemed to have only just regained control of her vocal cords, and a trace of hoarseness remained in it, as though she had narrowly escaped death.
Ling Ye turned around.
At some point, Su Wanqing had used the wall to force herself upright. Her face was still somewhat pale, but most of the fear and bewilderment in her eyes had faded, replaced by an extremely complicated emotion.
There was lingering fright, confusion so thick it could not be dispelled, and, more than anything else, a kind of exhaustion born after being crushed beneath an enormous unknown power—an exhaustion that seemed to say she might as well give up resisting. Alongside it was an irresistible yearning for that warm tea fragrance and strange current of heat.
She avoided Ling Ye's gaze and let her unfocused eyes fall on the puddle of water dripping from his body onto the floor. Pressing her lips together, she spoke with unnatural stiffness. "...Take your shoes off outside."
After saying that, she seemed to have exhausted all her strength. Without looking at Ling Ye again, she turned away and walked toward the warm, brightly lit living room, one hand against the wall and her steps unsteady. Rather than an invitation, her manner was more like... resignation.
Ling Ye raised a brow. He was not particularly surprised by the homeowner's sudden "reasonableness." He looked down at his soaked straw sandals, caked with mud. He had worn them for billions of years in the Primordial World; they were sturdier and more durable than any treasure, though they did not exactly fit modern aesthetics.
He did not dwell on it. He casually kicked off the worn straw sandals and stepped barefoot onto the cold, smooth marble floor of the foyer.
Water still dripped from the hem of his damp hemp robe, leaving clear wet footprints on the expensive tiles. He paid them no mind, carrying the shabby cloth bag as he followed Su Wanqing into the luxurious, spacious living room as naturally as if he were entering his own backyard.
Warm-colored lights, an expensive leather sofa, and a blurred mountain landscape beyond the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows in the torrential rain filled the room. A faint scent of incense lingered in the air, but it was overbearingly neutralized and dispelled by the faint Primordial Aura that had settled over Ling Ye for billions of years, along with wisps of the strange scent leaking from his cloth bag.
Su Wanqing had already thrown herself into a single-seater sofa. She curled up with both arms around her knees like a cat trying to hide after being startled.
She lowered her head, her long black hair spilling down to cover most of her face. Her shoulders were still trembling slightly, clearly showing that she had yet to recover from what had happened.
Ling Ye swept his gaze around the living room before finally fixing it on the enormous, mirror-bright marble coffee table. He walked over and naturally placed the shabby cloth bag in the center of the table—a spot usually reserved for priceless works of art or limited-edition magazines.
The bag landed on the marble with a soft thud. Su Wanqing's curled-up body gave an almost imperceptible shudder, as though she had heard some terrifying omen.
As if he had not noticed her reaction, Ling Ye leisurely opened the cloth bag and took out the drab, cracked, dark Purple Clay Teapot once more. This time, he directly lifted the lid.
An even richer, more mellow tea fragrance, seemingly containing the principles of the birth and destruction of the stars, instantly filled the luxurious living room like a tangible warm mist. Compared with before in the foyer, the scent was more restrained yet penetrated deeper into the soul, carrying a strange power that soothed all agitation.
Su Wanqing took a deep, uncontrollable breath almost greedily. The warm current flowed into her lungs again, relaxing her taut nerves another degree. Unable to resist, she secretly looked through the gaps in her disheveled hair toward the man beside the coffee table.
Ling Ye held the Purple Clay Teapot in one hand and scanned the living room, seemingly searching for something. His gaze passed over the expensive bone-china tea set and the costly red wine in the temperature-controlled decanter before finally landing on the island counter in the open kitchen.
There, someone had placed a large enamel mug given away as part of a supermarket promotion, emblazoned with an exaggerated cartoon design.
Ling Ye's brows seemed to relax for an instant. Barefoot, he walked over with a series of soft slaps, clearly intent on his destination, and picked up the enamel mug decorated with a wide-grinning yellow duck. Then he went to the kitchen sink.
Splash—
He turned on the faucet, letting clear tap water pour into the enamel mug. He casually swished it around, poured the water out, and repeated the process. His movements were as practiced as if he did this every day.
Su Wanqing stared, dumbfounded. What... what was he trying to do? Was he going to brew that "old tea" of his—the kind that could bring the dead back to life—in that cheap duck mug?!
Ling Ye returned with the washed enamel mug and placed it on the coffee table. Then, under Su Wanqing's blank stare, he lifted the ancient, mysterious Purple Clay Teapot radiating Primordial Aura, aimed it at the cheap cartoon duck mug, and slightly tilted his wrist.
Splash—
A clear, translucent tea liquor, colored like the purest amber yet faintly swirling with chaotic starlight, poured from the spout and steadily filled the enamel mug!
The instant the tea liquor entered the enamel mug—
"Vmmm—!"
The entire living room seemed to tremble ever so slightly. It was not a physical vibration, but an invisible hum emitted by space itself. Along with the pouring tea, a vast vitality and rhythm of the Great Dao beyond anything seen before suddenly erupted!
In the corner of the living room, a Pothos that had originally been drooping and listless turned glossy green at a visible speed, shooting out new tendrils wildly.
Outside the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, every flower, plant, and tree in the rain-soaked courtyard seemed to have been put on a hundredfold fast-forward setting. Their branches and leaves swayed and stretched wildly, becoming even greener and more vibrant. Even the muffled sound of rain passing through the thick glass seemed to take on a strange rhythm that washed the soul clean.
"Er..." Su Wanqing's throat tightened again at the sight. She instinctively shrank deeper into the sofa.
Ling Ye merely watched calmly as the amber tea filled the cheap cartoon enamel mug. He set down the Purple Clay Teapot, then, under Su Wanqing's even more vacant stare, naturally extended two fingers into the scalding tea and casually stirred it.
As though it were not spirit tea containing the vitality of chaos, but merely a mug of freshly boiled... dishwater.
After stirring twice, he lifted the enamel mug to his lips, blew on it, and then—
"Slurp..."
A clear, satisfied sound of drinking tea rang out in the silent living room.
Su Wanqing: "..."
Her worldview had been repeatedly crushed and rebuilt tonight, only to be crushed again. Now, as she watched the man in the strange hemp robe and bare feet drinking "old tea"—tea capable of triggering celestial phenomena—from a promotional enamel mug, her mind completely crashed.
What kind of immortal was this?! Was he some top-tier patient who had escaped from a psychiatric hospital?!
Meanwhile, amid the torrential rain on the winding road up Yunqi Mountain, three unmarked black off-road vehicles sped silently toward the mountainside villa district. Like ghosts, they had shut off all their headlights and relied solely on advanced night-vision systems to tear through the curtain of rain. Inside the vehicles, the atmosphere was as heavy as iron.
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