When Xing Yan hurried into the room and gently lifted the veil from Xueyi's head, the woman he found was nothing like her usual quiet, delicate self. Beneath the room's red candlelight, her snow-pale cheeks were dyed with springtime crimson, flushed like a tide of rosy clouds. The graceful young woman was now helplessly bashful. Though she had already heard her hall master enter and approach, when he actually reached out and lifted the red silk covering her face, she startled as though taken by surprise. Her heart pounded wildly. Instinctively, she wanted to draw back, only to discover that her body no longer obeyed her.
In the corner, a hexagonal bronze brazier sent up pale wisps of incense. They spread and curled, filling the red silk curtains with a fragrance neither quite musk nor orchid, its delicate strands drifting into the young man's nose. For a moment, whether because of the jade-like beauty before him or the intoxicating incense, Xing Yan's heart suddenly stirred. Hot blood mingled with wine in his veins, brewing and steaming until it rushed to his head and left his mouth parched. Thirsty, he picked up a teacup from the table and raised it to his lips.
Yet after barely taking a sip, the Four Seas Hall Master, whose senses had been growing muddled, suddenly paused. "Hm?"
He glanced into the white porcelain cup and saw that the tea was a deep green. A sniff sent an intoxicating fragrance straight into his head. Gazing at the emerald liquid, Xing Yan silently savored the mouthful he had just taken. After another moment's thought, he reached a decision and praised it loudly in the candlelight:
"Excellent tea! What a fragrance!"
With that, he tipped back his head and drained the cup.
After he finished the green tea,