Chapter 202

223 Blue Ice Rain, a figure within the rain

What Du Bingyan could think of, Jiang Sishui naturally thought of as well.

His gaze swept over the surroundings without a flicker, then lingered briefly on the signboard behind him reading "River Water Clear Tea."

"Right, tea. Proprietress, bring us a pot of your finest."

Saying so, he pulled Du Bingyan along and found a table to sit down at.

The proprietress acknowledged and briskly brewed a fresh pot of tea to bring over.

Jiang Sishui began chatting idly: "How should we address you, proprietress?"

The proprietress smiled warmly and said, "My surname is Zhou. The two of you may call me Zhou Zhiruo."

Jiang Sishui nodded: "Zhou Zhiruo has been running this tea shed for quite some years now, hasn't she?"

Zhou Zhiruo finished pouring the tea, glanced up at Jiang Sishui, and said with an accommodating smile, "I have no other skills, so I can only do a little small-time business. No matter how hard life gets, one still has to keep going."

Hearing her speak evasively and dodge the question, Jiang Sishui gave a faint smile and verbally agreed.

He tested the tea's warmth for Du Bingyan and handed it over.

As if unable to keep his mouth idle, he asked curiously, "Are you the only one running this tea shed?"

Zhou Zhiruo shook her head: "Originally it was just me alone, but later I hired an assistant..."

At this point, Zhou Zhiruo's chest rose and fell in agitation, and she said angrily, "That wretched boy! He agreed to work for me to pay off his debt, yet he disappears for days on end. Who knows where he's gone off to fool around again!"

No sooner had she finished speaking than a voice drifted down from overhead: "Ah, the feeling of being missed is just wonderful."

Zhou Zhiruo froze for a moment, then quickly walked out of the tea shed.

Standing on tiptoe to peer up at the thatched roof, she put her hands on her hips and cursed, "Miss you, my foot! Stinky brat, get down here! If you wreck my roof, are you going to fix it?"

A snicker came from the rooftop, and a youth leaped down steadily.

The youth wore a coarse blue-and-grey cloth outfit and a brimless duck-bill cap tilted to one side. His features were handsome and dashing, with a touch of baby fat still on his cheeks.

He looked about the same age as Jiang Xiaoyu, with a roguish air about him, like an ignorant little street thug.

But Jiang Sishui knew that in the brief moment of his leaping descent, the youth's gaze had swept over both him and Du Bingyan twice.

Eyes watching in all directions, ears listening on all sides.

Not only were his martial arts considerable, but his vigilance was extremely high.

The moment the youth landed, Zhou Zhiruo grabbed him by the ear: "Speak! Where have you gone off to fool around again?"

"Ouch! Ouch! Zhou Zhiruo, let go! I'm back, aren't I?" the youth cried out exaggeratedly.

"So young and already picking up bad habits, nothing but making trouble everywhere. You'll come to grief sooner or later, mark my words!" Zhou Zhiruo gave his ear another Light not heavy twist before letting him go.

The youth said with an apologetic smile, "Ah, just you wait and see! The wages I owe you, I'll definitely pay them back."

Zhou Zhiruo neither agreed nor disagreed, gave him an exasperated look, and said, "There are customers here. Go attend to them, now."

"Aye, right away."

The youth agreed repeatedly, trotted over to Jiang Sishui and Du Bingyan, and said, "My name's Xiaowu, I'm the helper at this place. If you need anything, just say the word."

Jiang Sishui smiled and said, "You're quite skilled, little brother."

Xiaowu looked a bit embarrassed and said, "I just practiced blindly on my own, picked up some half-baked martial arts."

Jiang Sishui nodded and said nothing.

Seeing that the tea was ready and the two had no other requests, Xiaowu picked up a rag and began wiping the tables and chairs.

Zhou Zhiruo, meanwhile, huddled behind the counter, busy with who-knows-what.

Suddenly—

A pattering sound arose, and rain began to fall from the sky without the slightest warning.

Du Bingyan instinctively looked outside the shop.

In just one glance, her beautiful eyes flew wide open, and her flawless, exquisite face was filled with astonishment.

"Big Brother Jiang, this rain... this rain..."

Du Bingyan hurriedly called out to Jiang Sishui, blinking hard at the same time to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

Without her needing to say so, the other three had also noticed.

"What the hell is this?"

The rag slipped from Xiaowu's hand onto the table. He walked to the edge of the eaves, stared blankly for a while, and murmured, "In my whole life, I've never seen rain so eerie and yet so beautiful."

Saying so, he stretched one hand outward.

A drop of rain fell into his palm, a sparkling, glowing blue.

What was falling outside was unmistakably a blue rain.

The blue rain pattered on, and looking out, the entire world seemed to have turned blue.

Seeing such an eerie sight, Du Bingyan grew worried: "Big Brother Jiang, is this rain?"

Jiang Sishui gripped her hand: "It's rain. Don't worry, I'm here. Nothing will happen."

Seeing him so calm, Du Bingyan set her mind at ease.

Xiaowu noticed Zhou Zhiruo's strange expression and asked, "Zhou Zhiruo, do you know what this is?"

Zhou Zhiruo was silent for a moment, then said softly, "Ice rain."

"What?"

"This is ice rain."

Xiaowu still hadn't heard clearly. He quickly walked over to her and asked again, "What rain?"

Zhou Zhiruo gazed ahead, her eyes unfocused, looking utterly distracted.

"Xiaowu, I'm leaving this shop to you. I'm going."

Having said that, without waiting for Xiaowu's reply, she turned to leave.

Xiao Wu was stunned and hurriedly shouted, "Hey, don't go! Explain yourself clearly, I—"

His words cut off abruptly, for Zhou Zhiruo had suddenly changed her mind and turned back.

Zhou Zhiruo said solemnly, "Xiao Wu, go to the storeroom in the back. Inside the wooden cabinet against the wall, there's a red copper tea canister. Bring it to me."

Xiao Wu was about to ask more, but Zhou Zhiruo grew anxious and urged, "Go! Hurry up!"

"Alright, alright, going right now!"

Hearing her tone rise, Xiao Wu didn't dare blabber and quickly turned and left.

Du Bingyan saw Zhou Zhiruo's nervous look and couldn't help but feel nervous too: "Brother Jiang, is everything really alright?"

Jiang Sishui didn't explain. He got up and sat together with Du Bingyan, letting her lean against him, and smiled: "Not afraid anymore like this, right?"

Du Bingyan's flowing eyes shimmered with a trace of shyness, and she gently nodded.

Zhou Zhiruo watched the two with their backs to her showing affection, and felt utterly speechless.

But at this moment she had no time to mind such things. Watching the blue rain outside grow heavier and heavier, her eyes were filled with unease.

At last, Xiao Wu returned carrying a gourd-shaped red copper tea canister.

Zhou Zhiruo snatched it, opened the lid, hurriedly fished out two handfuls of tea leaves from inside, and poured in the already prepared boiling water.

Then she solemnly warned: "Let me tell you, in a moment you're not allowed to talk nonsense, or I'll pull out your tongue!"

Seeing her stern expression, Xiao Wu didn't bicker back and repeatedly agreed.

Suddenly, within the blue rain world, a flash of dazzling light streaked past.

In the hazy blur, three figures approached the tea shed.

224 — Divine Means, Summoning Wind and Rain

The sudden change naturally drew everyone's attention.

They saw three figures, one in front and two behind, one woman and two men, strolling unhurriedly through the curtain of rain.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but with the appearance of the three mysterious figures, the blue rain seemed to grow heavier still, nearly becoming a downpour.

Their steps were not hurried, yet in the blink of an eye they had reached the entrance of the tea shed.

Flash!

Almost exactly the same as the Flower Fairy's "Phantom Immortal Traces"!

At this point, even a fool would know the arrivals were no small matter.

All three mysterious figures wore blue clothes and blue robes.

Of the two men, one was older and one younger. The younger looked about forty, with a black band tied around his forehead; the elder had white hair, white brows, and a white beard, with a serene countenance.

The woman in front — though the weather was clearly not cold — had a thick snow cloak wrapped beneath her blue robe.

She kept her head lowered, her entire face hidden under the attached hood of her blue robe, so only the lower half of her face could be seen.

The atmosphere in the tea shed fell silent, with only the patter of rain.