Chapter 45: A Cup of Immortal King Milk Tea

“Dad, what are you doing?”

The old man had invented a new way to drink tea. Lin Yaoyao stared blankly at Lin Xuanzhong.

Shen Bai looked at the father and daughter with total confusion. Indeed, like father, like daughter. Each one more astonishing than the other.

Lin Xuanzhong realized he was losing his composure and quickly explained that the tea was too hot.

“Yaoyao, what do you mean by wanting Shen Bai?”

Lin Yaoyao pressed her lips into a smile. The old man had been startled by her words. He must think she’d turned into the original owner’s lovesick fool.

Joy shared is joy doubled. Handsome men should be seen by more people!

“Dad, my shop opens tomorrow. I want to ask Brother Shen to come help.”

Lin Yaoyao had been worried about the shop lacking a top salesperson. With Shen Bai’s good looks, if he stood at the door, he was sure to attract plenty of young women.

“Shen Bai needs to cultivate. When does he have time to join your nonsense?”

Lin Xuanzhong flat-out refused.

A shop didn’t need Shen Bai. The estate had stewards, servants, and maids. Plenty of people could do the work.

“Shen Bai, are you willing?”

Lin Xuanzhong was stubborn, so Lin Yaoyao turned to ask Shen Bai himself.

Shen Bai naturally agreed. With a serious face, he declared he would go through fire and water for her, even die without regret.

Lin Yaoyao laughed awkwardly. Brother Shen, I’m asking you to sell smiles, not sell your life.

“Brother Shen, smile more. If you look like you’re heading for a martyr’s death, the customers at the door will all be scared off.”

She gestured for him to curve his mouth upward and taught him the professional smile, showing eight teeth.

Shen Bai scratched the back of his head, pulled up the corners of his mouth, and froze. His smile was worse than crying.

Lin Xuanzhong watched from the side and got goosebumps. Lin Yaoyao was practically using Shen Bai to scare children.

After a few rounds of training, Lin Yaoyao gave up.

Sigh. Shen Bai was better off not smiling. The future Great Emperor would rather sell his life than his smile.

Cuimingju

Cuimingju was the most famous restaurant in Tiandu City. The ingredients were all rare spiritual treasures, naturally scarce and expensive, and a seat was nearly impossible to reserve.

Rumor had it that the chefs at Cuimingju were all at Foundation Establishment. The owner’s identity was even more mysterious, known to no one.

In a city where aristocratic families stood in rows, Cuimingju’s ability to hold its own showed that the force behind it was no ordinary power.

Murong Tian was waiting in the Number One Room of the Tian block. This spot was quiet amid the bustle, giving a view of the street and the distant lake.

“Milord!”

Yun Yi entered in a flustered state, breathing hard.

Murong Tian’s gaze remained out the window, and he didn’t turn around.

Yun Yi had followed Murong Tian since childhood, yet his temperament could not be more different. Murong Tian concealed his emotions, while Yun Yi was simple, honest, and reckless.

“Milord, look at this.”

Murong Tian slowly turned his head, took the thing from Yun Yi’s hands, and studied it carefully.

On the round bamboo tube were carved the characters “Milk Tea King Immortal.” Murong Tian had read widely since childhood and traveled the nine provinces. He was well informed, but he didn’t understand the meaning.

There was also a painting on it. A masked man, aloof and transcendent, stood sideways at the top of a mountain. A line of small text was attached beside him.

“If none help me reach the clouds, I shall tread through snow to the peak.”

Such bold spirit!

Murong Tian was moved. What kind of heart and ambition could write such a verse?

No, he shook his head and looked again.

The man in the painting looked somewhat familiar. He had the same build, with clothing that was seventy or eighty percent similar, and the mask on his face was exactly like his own.

‘Was the person in the painting him?’ Murong Tian subconsciously touched his mask.

“Yun Yi, where did you get this?”

Yun Yi had been waiting outside the door. Bored, he saw people coming and going in the lobby, each holding a bamboo tube. It was novel.

After asking around, he learned it was from a drink shop newly opened across from Cuimingju. Called Immortal King Milk Tea, it tasted fantastic and could enhance a person’s spiritual power.

Even one cup was hard to get. It was said each person could buy at most two cups a day!

Yun Yi’s curiosity stirred. What exactly was Immortal King Milk Tea? He had never heard of it before.

After waiting in line for a long time, Yun Yi finally bought a cup of Immortal King Milk Tea. It was cool and silky on entry, irresistible.

Yun Yi finished the cup in one breath and then noticed the painting on the bamboo tube. The person in it looked very much like Murong Tian, wearing a mask, the other half of his face hidden. But the outfit was clearly his master’s.

Someone dared to use “Ghost-Faced Yama” as a signboard. They must be so desperate for money they didn’t care about their life!

After making some inquiries, Yun Yi was a bit troubled. How to handle this matter, he could only report to Murong Tian.

“Milord, this Immortal King Milk Tea just opened, but business is booming, sweeping the whole city. Some people line up before dawn to buy it. According to my investigation, the owner of this shop is someone you know…”

Yun Yi trailed off and avoided his gaze. Murong Tian’s heart skipped a beat, and the image of that person smiling and waving at him came to mind.

“Lin Yaoyao?”

Murong Tian’s voice was a bit more cheerful than usual, exceptionally pleasant.

As expected of the young master, he guessed it in one try. Yun Yi nodded repeatedly.

If anyone else had used the young master’s portrait to attract business, Yun Yi would have smashed the shop without a second word.

But now that he found out the owner was Lin Yaoyao, Yun Yi’s thinking had changed completely.

A while ago, the Fifth Miss Lin publicly confessed her feelings for the young master. Now she painted his portrait on her shop sign. It clearly showed how deep her feelings were.

“Young master, Miss Lin said before that she would marry no one but you. Using your portrait on her shop… is she trying to express how much she misses you?”

Murong Tian let out a cold laugh. That little liar was a good actress, even Yun Yi was fooled by her.

“Ah, foolish Yun Yi. That day she didn’t want to be betrothed to the Bai family, so she used me as a shield. I had never dealt with Lin Yaoyao before. We’ve only met a few times in total. How could she be deeply in love with me?”

Yun Yi still didn’t believe it. A young lady, swearing in front of so many people that she would marry no one but the young master, must be deeply in love with him.

“Young master, maybe Miss Lin fell in love with you at first sight. Otherwise, which young lady would risk her reputation to confess publicly?”

‘Love at first sight?’

Murong Tian pointed at his own face. What decent girl would lose her heart to this face?

“Lin Yaoyao either has a problem with her eyes and is blind, or she has ulterior motives and is a liar.”

‘Blind? Liar?’ After Murong Tian’s explanation, Yun Yi suddenly understood.

“Then she must be a liar. Milord, does Miss Lin want to swindle money or your body? If money, we have plenty. If your body…”

Murong Tian shot Yun Yi a sharp glare, and Yun Yi obediently shut up.

No wonder Yun Yi misunderstood. Which girl would act as sneaky as Lin Yaoyao, even bringing a top courtesan to an arena fight?

Murong Tian lowered his head to look at the bamboo tube in his hands and curled the corner of his mouth into a cryptic smile.

On usual days, one look from Murong Tian was enough for Yun Yi to understand. But today Yun Yi couldn’t tell what the young master was thinking.

‘What did that smile mean? Was he happy or angry?’

‘Should the shop be smashed or not?’

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