"Waiter, two servings of salt - boiled pig tongues!" Several men with butcher knives hanging from their waists walked in through the door.
Su Xiaoliu put down the ledger in her hand, stood up, and walked to greet them.
"We don't have salt - boiled pig tongues. How about pastries?"
The bearded man in the lead turned to look at Su Xiaoliu, frowned, and said gruffly, "No? Then just serve tea."
Su Xiaoliu nodded, turned around, and motioned for Situ Qianyue to make tea.
While Situ Qianyue went to make tea, Su Xiaoliu turned back and led the men to an empty table and let them sit down.
One of the men with a sly look stared at Su Xiaoliu's face for a while, then suddenly gave a sneaky smile and said, "Miss, you're so delicate. Why are you doing such rough work here? Why don't you come with us? We'll make sure you live in comfort."
Su Xiaoliu glanced at him. Knowing that such people were not to be provoked, she didn't say a word.
"Answer my question!" The bearded man looked at Su Xiaoliu and suddenly shouted.
Su Xiaoliu was taken aback and asked in confusion, "What?"
"Come with us. We'll provide you with food, drink, and clothes." The bearded man looked up at her and said.
He was actually serious?
Su Xiaoliu looked up and gave a perfunctory smile, saying, "I'm fine like this. Thank you for your kindness."
The other men couldn't help but chuckle softly.
The bearded man's face turned a bit ugly. He stared at Su Xiaoliu, then suddenly drew his knife and hacked at the table.
With a loud "bang", the teahouse fell silent instantly, and everyone looked in their direction.
Su Xiaoliu was startled and looked up in a daze.
The bearded man glared at her viciously and said, "You've got a lot of nerve to reject the request of our Guanshan Stronghold!"
There came a rustling sound of whispers below.
"Guanshan Stronghold?" Everyone looked at each other, knowing exactly what it was.
People in the martial arts world had different personalities. Some were chivalrous, while others were cunning. The Guanshan Stronghold was a well - known barbaric stronghold. They had to have everything go their way, no different from bandits. The only difference was that they valued brotherhood more than anyone else.
The bearded man scanned the surroundings, and immediately everyone fell silent.
Su Xiaoliu stared blankly at the damaged table. The anger she had been suppressing for a long time finally burst out.
She slapped the table hard and shouted, "Who do you think you are? Guanshan Stronghold? I could say I'm from Bimen Stronghold! Why should I agree to your unreasonable requests? I run this teahouse here to provide convenience for you. Don't think that what I do comes without any effort. You have your rules in the martial arts world, and I have my bottom line of tolerance. I'm not someone who has never lived in comfort. Who cares about your offer!"
In the past, when she was in the Su family, she had everything she wanted and didn't have to endure this kind of hardship by running a teahouse.
Hearing the commotion, Situ Qianyue walked over. After seeing the mess in front of him, a hint of anger flashed in his eyes.
"If you're not customers, please leave." Situ Qianyue looked at the standing men from the Guanshan Stronghold and said with a faint smile.
The bearded man tilted his head, and his bones made a "click" sound. He said viciously, "Who are you, this good - for - nothing?"
Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand, the other customers quickly dropped their copper coins and left in a hurry.
"Boss, don't waste your breath on him. Beat him to death!" The sly - looking man beside him said from behind.
Good - for - nothing?
Situ Qianyue curled his lips into an enigmatic smile, and instantly a chill ran down the spines of the men.
Su Xiaoliu, who had already calmed down a bit, saw Situ Qianyue's smile and had a vague premonition of something bad. She quickly pulled Situ Qianyue aside and said to the men, "Just go. You don't need to pay for the damage." She knew that Situ Qianyue was highly skilled in martial arts. If things continued like this, they might cause trouble.
However, the men from the Guanshan Stronghold not only didn't listen to Su Xiaoliu but became even more aggressive.
"Wherever we go in the Guanshan Stronghold, we're customers." The bearded man pulled out the big knife stuck in the table and was about to slash at Situ Qianyue as he spoke.
Su Xiaoliu was so scared that she tried to pull Situ Qianyue away. But unexpectedly, Situ Qianyue stretched out his right hand, gently caught the blade, and held it.
Situ Qianyue's red lips curved into a smile. With a slight movement of his hand, he pulled out the knife.
The men from the Guanshan Stronghold were dumbfounded, their eyes wide open.
The bearded man was caught off - guard and stood there stunned on the spot.
Suddenly, a familiar blue figure walked in through the door. Those beautiful eyes scanned the empty old temple, ignored the others, and landed on Su Xiaoliu, who was standing there with wide - open eyes. Then, a charming smile curled up on his lips.
"Why are there so few people today?"
A young boy holding a sword followed behind him, and then an unsmiling old man came up.
Su Xiaoliu came back to her senses and turned to look. It was the handsome blue - clothed man from yesterday, walking towards them with a charming smile.
"You... you..." The bearded man from the Guanshan Stronghold stared at Situ Qianyue, who was still smiling, and couldn't say a word.
The handsome blue - clothed man took a closer look at the situation, found it interesting, sat down at a table, and said, "Beauty, bring me a pot of tea without bugs."
The young boy holding the sword climbed onto a stool beside him, hugged the sword in his arms, and sat there obediently. The old man wiped the table and then sat down too. He didn't seem nervous at all in this situation full of sword - glinting danger.
Situ Qianyue dropped the knife in his hand, smiled slightly, and turned around to make tea.
The men from the Guanshan Stronghold, who were still standing there in a daze, came to their senses and quickly looked at the bearded man.
The bearded man stared with wide eyes, then suddenly shook his head, glanced at Situ Qianyue, picked up the knife on the ground, and walked out of the door. The other men all followed behind him without looking back.
The handsome blue - clothed man lowered his eyes, then suddenly shook his head with a smile.
Su Xiaoliu looked at the damaged table with a pained expression, walked over, and picked up the broken porcelain pieces on the ground one by one.
Suddenly, as if she remembered something, she looked up at the handsome blue - clothed man sitting at the table and asked, "Did you also go gambling yesterday?"
The handsome blue - clothed man nodded, leaned forward, supported his chin with his hand, and said confidently, "Anyway, I didn't bet on the Heavenly Gift Sword. I bet on the Golden Jade Tree."
Su Xiaoliu glanced at him and thought to herself that since he was from the Heavenly Gift Sect, he naturally knew that the Heavenly Gift Sword wouldn't appear at the Pingshan Assembly.
"By the way, what's your name?" The handsome blue - clothed man suddenly looked down at Su Xiaoliu and asked.
Su Xiaoliu, who was still picking up the porcelain pieces with her head down, replied, "Su Xiaoliu."
"My name is Jiang Li." The handsome blue - clothed man leaned back and gave a charming smile.
Su Xiaoliu didn't say a word. A shadow fell, and Situ Qianyue squatted down to help her pick up the porcelain pieces.
"My lady, let me do it."
Su Xiaoliu nodded, stood up, and walked aside.
"Xiaoliu, do you want to go to the Pingshan Assembly with me for some fun?" Jiang Li looked at Su Xiaoliu and said with a smile.
Su Xiaoliu replied without even turning her head, "I'm not going."
Jiang Li continued, "I know who the number - one beauty in the martial arts world this time is. He's extremely handsome. It would be a pity not to see him."
Su Xiaoliu scoffed and said, "Good looks can't be eaten. As long as a person looks okay, that's enough."
Jiang Li laughed and said, "Who said it was a woman? I'm talking about a man."
Su Xiaoliu turned around and asked, "How handsome is he?"
Jiang Li couldn't help but laugh when he heard her question.
There was a soft "ping" sound, like the sound of a porcelain piece falling.
Su Xiaoliu turned her head and saw that Situ Qianyue, who was squatting beside her, had blood continuously dripping from his fingertips.
Su Xiaoliu's face changed. She quickly ran over, grabbed his finger, and frowned, saying, "How did you cut yourself!"
Situ Qianyue looked up at her, with a smile on his lips. He seemed not to feel the pain and said, "My lady, don't look at other men."
Su Xiaoliu didn't understand what he meant for a moment. She was completely focused on his cut finger. She quickly covered the bleeding finger with her sleeve, but the sleeve was soon soaked with the red bloodstain. The dark - red blood spread like a blooming flower, looking a bit startling.
Su Xiaoliu quickly let go of his finger and put it into her mouth.
Immediately, the sweet and greasy taste of blood spread in her mouth.
Situ Qianyue stared at her lowered long eyelashes with his beautiful black eyes, and suddenly curved his lips.
Jiang Li looked away, with a smile still in his eyes.
After a while, when she no longer felt the taste of blood, Su Xiaoliu let go of his finger, wiped her mouth with her sleeve, and stood up.
"A big knife like that didn't hurt you, but how could a small porcelain piece cut you?" Su Xiaoliu said crossly.
Situ Qianyue looked up at her and smiled, "Because my heart is on you."
Su Xiaoliu was taken aback for a moment, and her face suddenly blushed. She looked away.
"You should hurry up and pick up the pieces. I'll go wipe the tables." With that, she lowered her head and walked around him to other places.
Jiang Li turned his head and glanced at Situ Qianyue, then couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Situ Qianyue raised his eyes and glanced at him, but ignored him.
The bright moonlight shone into the room through the window.
"Mr. Qiongxue, there are still seven days until the Pingshan Assembly. The alliance leader said that you can go there now." A handsome young man in white clothes and a tall hat walked over and said to the figure standing by the window looking out.
The man was wearing a gorgeous purple robe that dragged on the ground. His eyes were quietly looking at the water lilies in the pond. On his almost transparent - looking beautiful face, his flesh - colored lips were slightly pursed. His black hair was casually scattered, making him look like an otherworldly immortal who might disappear at any moment.
His long eyelashes fluttered slightly. Gu Rongxue turned around, looked at the handsome young man, and asked, "Wentong, do you believe that everything is predestined by heaven?"
The handsome young man called Wentong was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and said, "Mr. Qiongxue, everything can be said to be predestined, but every step is our own choice."
Gu Rongxue raised his eyes but didn't say a word.
"Mr. Qiongxue, you've been named the number - one beauty in the martial arts world this time. Do you want me to tell the people in the cloth shop to make you a set of clothes?" Wentong looked up and asked.
Gu Rongxue said indifferently, "It's just an empty title. There's no need to care about it."
Wentong lowered his head and said, "Yes."
Gu Rongxue walked to the bedside and sat down. The gorgeous purple robe made his extremely beautiful face look even more transparent.
"I'll go see the alliance leader tomorrow. I'm tired. You should also go to rest early." He lowered his eyes, leaned against the headboard, and closed his eyes.
Wentong clasped his hands in his sleeves, lowered his head, and said, "Yes." Then he retreated and closed the door.
Gu Rongxue slowly opened his eyes and looked at the bright moon outside the window. A hint of sadness appeared on his extremely beautiful face.