Yavi rode a war horse quickly through the slowly rising fence gate, and the iron hoofs made a crisp sound on the stone road.
Katz's wife, daughter, mother, sister, and others had already descended from the city wall to the vestibule, waiting for Yavi's return. Yavi entered the vestibule and reined his horse hard. The horse suddenly stood up, and the last rays of the setting sun poured down like molten gold, coating Yavi's figure with a bloody halo.
The front hooves of the war horse fell heavily, the stone ground trembled, and dust flew up. Yavi turned over and dismounted, his movements simple and neat, as if the scene just now was just an ordinary riding skill. He threw the prisoner on the ground casually, and the officer let out a muffled grunt, and the gorgeous armor collided with the ground, making a harsh metal scraping sound.
Seeing Yavi turn over and dismount, Maya could no longer hold back, lifted up her skirt and stepped forward quickly. There were tears in the corners of her wrinkled eyes, and her trembling hands couldn't wait to touch her child.
Yavi turned his head and saw his mother staggering towards him. He raised his left hand and hit himself with Signs, causing the blood that had condensed in the gaps in the armor to fly away to prevent it from contaminating his mother.
When the last ray of blood mist was blown away by the evening breeze, she hugged Yavi tightly. Maya's trembling hands caressed Yavi's face. Then she quickly checked the armor on his body and carefully checked Yavi's body. She breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Yavi was not injured.
Yavi lowered his head slightly and cooperated with his mother's inspection, with a faint smile on his lips, "I'm fine, I'm really fine."
Just as Maya was carefully examining the injuries on Yavi's body, Katz and Herbert's eyes fell on the prisoner who was thrown to the ground at the same time. The soldier roughly pulled the prisoner's hair, forcing the blood-stained face to lift up.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone on that chiseled face, and Katz's pupils suddenly shrank. "Frankie Sweet..." He whispered the name, with disbelief in his voice. Herbert immediately took two steps forward after hearing the words, and his sharp eyes glanced back and forth on the prisoner's face.
When it was confirmed that the embarrassed prisoner in front of them was indeed the famous general Kingdom of Poviss, the two of them turned to look at each other in unison. The corners of Katz's mouth raised slightly, while Herbert raised his eyebrows, and a tacit smile flashed in their eyes.
"It seems that tonight's celebration banquet will be more lively." Katz said softly, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the hilt of the sword. Herbert nodded, his eyes fell back on Frankie, and said thoughtfully, "Poviss is going to feel really bad this time."
Katz's eyes flashed, and he waved his hand and said, "Come here! Invite this 'distinguished guest' to the dungeon to entertain him - remember, he must be held in solitary confinement and double the number of guards!" He turned to Herbert and winked, "When we have had enough wine and food, we can slowly reminisce about old times."
When the soldiers set up the limp Frankie, Katz was already laughing and walking towards Yavi. His rough and strong palms slapped the young soldier's shoulder armor hard, making a dull impact. "Good boy!" His sonorous voice echoed in the vestibule, "You caught a big fish today! Do you know who this is?"
Yavi shook his head and raised his eyebrows slightly. Katz smiled even more boldly when he saw this, and his beard trembled. "No hurry, no hurry! I will give you a good talk at the celebration banquet!" He put his arms around Yavi's shoulders and walked towards the inner court of the fortress, "I won't come home until I'm drunk tonight!"
Following Katz's order, the entire Tuck Fortress immediately became busy. Servants trotted to prepare for the banquet, and smoke billowed from the kitchen chimney. Everyone passed through the granite arch and climbed up the spiral staircase. Everyone entered the fortress and then went to wash up. After changing clothes, everyone finally came to the living room on the third floor of the fortress. When Yavi arrived, the female relatives of the two families were already sitting together drinking tea and chatting. Yavi's sister and Katz's daughter gathered together to chat and laugh in a low voice, and from time to time there was laughter like silver bells.
Seeing Yavi standing at the door, Maya immediately put down the teacup in her hand and waved to him. "Yavi, come here quickly." Her gentle voice contained unconcealable pride, and she moved to the side to make a place for her son on the soft wool cushion.
After Yavi took his seat, Maya gracefully raised his hand and signaled. "This is Lord Katz's wife, Louise Clark." Mrs. Louis nodded slightly, looking at her with kindness in her dark brown eyes. The pearl hair ornaments on her temples glowed with a warm luster under the candlelight. "I have admired you for a long time, young warrior." Her voice was as mellow and warm as the black tea she brewed with her own hands.
"And this lovely girl," Maya continued to introduce, his tone unconsciously brisk, "Is the second daughter of Lord Katz's family, Lucy Clark." The girl sitting next to her mother was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with long pale golden hair braided into delicate braids. When she heard her name, she raised her head, her emerald green eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Lucy was about to speak when he suddenly realized something. He hurriedly put down the biscuits in his hands and saluted in a panic, with a faint blush on his cheeks. This cute reaction made Maya smile in his eyes.
"This is my son, Yavi." Maya turned to the two of them and introduced, his tone full of pride. Yavi bowed slightly, his movements were crisp but not rude. When he raised his head, he noticed that Lucy was secretly looking at him. The moment their eyes met, the girl hurriedly looked away, pretending to be interested in the pattern on the tea cup.
Mrs. Louis keenly captured this detail, and a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. She elegantly picked up the teapot. "Yavi, would you like a cup of tea? This is the jasmine tea I brought from the south. It is very suitable for relaxing."
Yavi took the gilt-rimmed bone china teacup with both hands, and the movement of his fingertips lightly holding the bottom of the cup showed good education. He first smelled the tea, and the fragrance of jasmine contained a hint of honey, which made his eyebrows relax slightly. After taking a brief sip, the amber tea soup flowed on the tip of his tongue, and he couldn't help but nod in admiration.
"This is the spring-picked jasmine silver needle produced by Jade Valley in the south," Yavi's voice was gentle and determined, "Single buds are selected before the winter snow, and they are picked through the process of seven scentings and seven liftings. The tea soup is clear, the fragrance of flowers is infused into the water, and the aftertaste is sweet with a hint of longan honey." He said, gently turning the tea cup, "Looking at the even green leaves at the bottom, it shows that the heat for frying is just right."
Mrs. Louis's eyes suddenly lit up. She put down the teapot and leaned forward unconsciously. "I didn't expect you to be so proficient in tea ceremony! Then can you tell which aroma this is?"
"Judging from the penetration of the floral fragrance," Yavi smiled slightly, "It should be the finished product after the fifth scenting. The floral fragrance of the first three scents floats on the surface, and the aroma of this cup has been integrated into the tea bones, but it retains the agility of the flowers, which is the best state."
"Exactly!" Mrs. Louis clapped his hands and chuckled, and the pearl earrings on his temples swayed slightly, "I specially asked the tea farmers to keep it in this semi-finished state. It seems that I met an expert today!"
The more the two chatted, the more speculative they became. They talked about the scenting process, the differences in sunshine in different mountain farms, and the climate impact of this year's spring tea. Professional terms were exchanged smoothly between them, Maya and Lucy looked at each other, completely speechless. Lucy secretly tugged on the sleeve of mother Maya, and whispered, "Mother has never been so happy chatting with someone over tea..."
Maya looked at her son's eloquent face in profile, and a trace of surprise flashed in her eyes. She had never thought that her son, who was invincible on the battlefield, knew so much about the elegant tea ceremony.
Just as Yavi and Mrs. Louis were discussing the best time to pick spring tea this year, a burst of heroic laughter suddenly came from outside the heavy oak door. The laughter was so strong and powerful that it shook the door frame slightly, followed by Katz's iconic loud voice:
"Hahaha! Where is my good Yavi? It's not okay to let our great hero hide here and take some time off!"
Before he finished speaking, the door of the living room was pushed open with a bang. Katz strode in. He changed out of his heavy armor and wore a dark brown noble casual dress, with a leather belt tied loosely around his waist. His beard, which had just been bathed, was still wet with moisture and shimmered under the candlelight.
"Madam! Why are you hiding our battlefield heroes here to drink tea?" Katz opened his eyes in an exaggerated manner, walked toward the crowd with open arms, and his boots made a dull sound on the floor.
Following closely behind were Herbert and Jace who had also washed up. Herbert put on a dark green tunic, and his newly trimmed short beard made him look much younger; while Jace was wearing a simple gray gown, and his wet red hair was still dripping with water. He had obviously just dried it in a hurry and arrived.
Lucy stood up immediately upon seeing this, her skirt swaying slightly. "Father, you have made the floor dirty..." She protested in a low voice, but Katz just laughed and ruffled her daughter's hair.
"My little Lucy, today is a big day!" Katz turned to Yavi, his eyes flashing with excitement, "What are a few more footprints on the floor? When the celebration party starts, I will bring chaos to the entire fortress!"
Katz strode to the coffee table, picked up Louise's tea cup and poured himself a cup of tea. After drinking it in one gulp, he smacked his lips. "This tea is too weak, why not have some ale to enjoy yourself!" Mrs. Louis shook his head helplessly.