"Hm?"
As Li Hao ate the steamed buns, he suddenly found the flavor familiar, as though he had tasted it somewhere before.
Looking up, he found the old man at the tea stall vaguely familiar. Then he remembered: this was the tea stall owner he had met on the road when he went to slay demons in Qizhou.
"It's you?"
Li Hao looked at him in surprise.
"Hm?"
The Tea Stall Elder looked at Li Hao in confusion.
Li Hao studied him, sensing his aura, only to discover that he was an ordinary man.
"Sir, did you used to run a stall near the Qizhou border?" Li Hao asked.
The Tea Stall Elder looked at Li Hao in surprise. "You know me?"
"I stopped by before. You even taught me how to make steamed buns," Li Hao said.
Hearing Li Hao say this, the Tea Stall Elder seemed to remember as well, and realization dawned on him.
"So it's you! What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing. Why did you come here? Hadn't you been running your stall in Qizhou for years?"
"Some young heroes drinking tea told me business was good here. They were all heading this way, so I thought I'd ask them to bring this old fellow along, and here I am."
The Tea Stall Elder smiled. "And wouldn't you know it, business really is much better here. Look."
As he spoke, several youths in fine embroidered robes rode over from beyond Dragon Gate Road. Seeing the tea stall, they swung down from their horses.
"Old man, a bowl of tea!"
"That's rude. You should call him sir."
"Heh, you worry too much about these things. We're men of the martial world now. Calling him old man makes us sound