A fine rain drifted over Hongze Lake like gauze.
On the terrace of the lakeside cabin, Yang Ge sat cross-legged at a tea table, leisurely boiling water and brewing tea. His loose beige linen clothes and old-fashioned black cloth shoes suited the crudely made log table, its bark not even fully stripped, the black iron teapot, and the little clay stove, lending everything a simple, settled sense of returning to simplicity.
The clear amber liquor of Dianhong Tea flowed through coarse porcelain vessels, its curling steam giving off a faint honeyed fragrance...
A mouthful of scalding tea went down, and two contented "Ah"s rang out together.
Yang Ge set down his cup and looked at the flashy young man reclining opposite him on a huanghuali chaise longue, delight mingling with resignation in his eyes. "Yang Eldest barely left before you arrived. Did you two plan this?"
The chaise longue beneath the flashy young man, fashioned from fine huanghuali with exquisite workmanship, looked utterly out of place in this rough lakeside cabin built from materials gathered nearby...
Just as his moon-white satin robe with its subtle woven patterns looked utterly out of place in this little farmhouse.
The flashy young man pillowed his head on his hands, crossed his legs, and comfortably bobbed his foot. "Nothing else to do..."
Yang Ge said, "You only just cultivated true qi. Have you stabilized your cultivation? Your Chain Wharf is beset by dangers. Have you dealt with them? Uncle Li's health is declining like a river rushing downstream. Have you sought out any renowned physicians?"
The flashy young man rolled over with his back to him. "Stop scolding me, stop scolding me. I'll leave tomorrow! Tomorrow, all right?"
Yang Ge let out a long breath and smiled. "That's more like it... You don't need