# 247
Chapter 247 – Tea Time
Rumble…
A low thunder rolled across the otherwise clear sky. Sunlight dimmed at a speed the naked eye could follow, as though an invisible hand had slapped a lid over the heavens.
In moments, Chaos clouds poured from nowhere, smothering the city. Lightning writhed; the streets sank into gloom and pressure.
Looking up, one could still see golden daylight spilling past the edges of the black canopy beyond Cangnan City—yet not a single beam crossed the border, as if this place had been severed from the world… light included.
A vicious curse.
The wind rose.
Lin Qiye’s coat flapped. He frowned at the carriage in front of him, then nodded.
“I’m Lin Qiye.” He paused. “May I ask… are you the sage among the five Human Apex, revered as… Master Chen?”
Hongying had mentioned a Human Apex recently arrived in Cangnan driving a carriage; the scene before him fit perfectly.
“Just call me Master Chen. ‘Human Apex’ sounds awful—whoever coined it has no taste.” The old man sounded annoyed. “Get in. I have words for you.”
The page driving the carriage stood, opened the rear door, and waited respectfully.
Lin Qiye hesitated, then walked over.
Up close, the vehicle differed from those in period dramas—far from ornate. Plain planks, simple carvings.
Yet the grain of the wood flowed together, pulling the whole into one seamless unit; a glance left one slightly dazed.
He stepped inside—and blinked in surprise.
The interior was far larger than the outside suggested. Rather than a cabin, it was a scholar’s study: ancient scrolls and bamboo slips lined the walls; a low rosewood tea-set waited on a petite table; sandalwood scented the air.
In the center sat a white-haired old man, legs folded.
“Sit.” Master Chen glanced up, unhurriedly brewing tea.
Lin Qiye took the opposite seat. Through the side windows, the gloomy bridge outside had vanished, replaced by a Chinese garden alive with birds and blossoms.
He started. “Master Chen, where… are we?”
“On the bridge, yet not on the bridge.” Master Chen poured a cup and offered it with a smile.
“My Forbidden Ruins swaps the scenery of my heart for the scenery outside. Spatially we haven’t moved; in another sense we’ve shifted into my Mindscape.”
The remark was abstruse; Lin Qiye only half grasped it. Master Chen didn’t elaborate. Instead he called outside:
“Drive.”
The page bowed, shut the door, and the auras of sage and youth vanished as though erased.
The carriage glided off like a ghost, passing through buildings, walls, and streets untouched.
Inside, Lin Qiye watched the leisurely tea-drinker and finally asked, “Master Chen, why seek me?”
The old man set his cup down. “The divine aura the other day—that was you. The Flame-Vein Earth Dragon—also you.”
Lin Qiye’s heart lurched; his face stayed blank. “I’m not sure I follow.”
“Play dumb if you like; facts remain facts. Instructor Hong’s false testimony, rain washing your blade—dragon blood still leaves traces. Others may be fooled, not I.”
Lin Qiye replied calmly, “At most that proves I wounded the dragon, not that I summoned a god.”
Master Chen studied him, shook his head. “Lin Qiye, you’re no ordinary boy. We’ve known longer… than even you have.”
Lin Qiye frowned, puzzled.
“Your caution is good. Yet confession or denial matters nothing to me—I simply don’t care.” He sipped. “I came only to see you and share some tea.”
Lin Qiye: …
“What, you dislike drinking with an old man?” The sage’s eyes narrowed.
“Of course not—an honor.” Lin Qiye lifted the cup, tasted, and managed, “Excellent tea.”
He’d grown up on boiled water; free samples at tea shops were his only prior experience. What did he know of茶道?
But when Master Chen insisted, one drank.
The old man beamed, pulled out twelve more packets, and lined them up. “Come, come—plenty of fine leaves. Today we taste them all.”
Lin Qiye: …
——
Cangnan outskirts.
Loki strolled to a hilltop overlooking the modern city. Every road in was barricaded; troops swarmed.
Their firepower could stop even a bird.
Loki smirked. “Such paltry force thinks to bar me?”
He took one step, then hesitated, eyes glinting cunningly.
“Still don’t know where the Shiva’s Grudge is… other pieces are en route. No need to risk it—just flush the scroll out.”
He waved behind him. Jagged void cracks split the air; hulking humanoid beasts emerged.
“Descend into chaos…”