White tea legend

Chapter 265: Trading with the Fox Demon

Outside the post station, the night rain fell quietly, shrouding this resting place beside the mountain path in a hazy shroud.

In the lobby of the post station, the flickering firelight illuminated the figure of a monk. He was wearing a gray-brown monk's robe, sitting cross-legged on a cushion, gently turning a string of Buddhist beads in his hands, with a pot of freshly brewed fragrant tea in front of him, savoring the fragrance of the tea alone.

Zhou Lang asked the servants to park the carriage, and he put on his cloak and walked into the post station. He was attracted by the monk drinking tea and walked over involuntarily. The monk raised his head, his eyes were as peaceful as a deep pool, smiled slightly, and motioned Zhou Lang to sit down.

"Donor, we are in this together through thick and thin. Why don't you come and have a cup of hot tea?" The monk's voice was gentle and magnetic, and seemed to be able to penetrate the noise in people's hearts.

Zhou Lang took off his wet cloak and sat opposite the monk. The warmth of the fire gradually dispelled the coldness in his body. He took the teacup handed to him by the monk and took a deep breath. The fragrance of the tea permeated his heart.

"This tea is picked by me personally, grown and made by me. I wonder if it suits your taste?"

Zhou Lang tasted the tea carefully and found it sweet and mellow with a long aftertaste. He couldn't help but exclaimed: "Good tea! Made by the master himself, it is indeed extraordinary."

The two began a conversation about Zen and tea. When Zhou Lang asked about the tea ceremony, the monk started by talking about the growth, picking, and production of tea, and then talked about how to brew and taste tea. Every detail revealed his respect for life and nature.

Zhou Lang listened with great interest. He found that this monk not only had a deep understanding of tea, but also revealed a profound understanding of Zen philosophy in his conversation. He couldn't help but ask: "Master, what is the connection between tea ceremony and Zen?"

The monk smiled and said slowly: "The tea ceremony is the way of Zen, and both emphasize the word 'quiet'. You need a quiet mind to brew tea, and you also need a quiet mind to taste tea. Only when you have a quiet mind can you feel the true taste of tea; only when you have a quiet mind can you understand the true meaning of life."

Zhou Lang suddenly realized what was going on. He felt as if his mind was washed by a spring of water. His distracting thoughts gradually disappeared and his mind became clear. He began to ask the monk more questions about Zen, and their conversation became more in-depth.

Time passed inadvertently, and the sound of rain outside seemed to become more harmonious. Zhou Lang felt that he had gained many valuable insights in this brief exchange, and he felt a sense of respect for the monk.

"Master, I have benefited a lot from today's meeting. If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely come to visit you again. Please leave your name, Master."

"My Buddhist name is Jiaoran."

Zhou Lang's heart skipped a beat.

Jiaoran, this name is familiar.

It is not surprising that Zhou Lang was familiar with Jiaoran's name. First of all, Jiaoran was a famous poet monk in the Li Dynasty. His works were widely circulated among literati and were known as the "crown of poet monks."

It is not surprising that Zhou Lang knew Jiaoran since he came from a scholarly family.

What's more, Zhou Lang had heard his master Lu Yu mention Jiaoran, saying that the two were friends.

I don’t know if the Jiaoran that the master mentioned is the monk in front of me.

"Master, may I ask if you know Lu Yu, the tea master from Changxi?"

"We are friends."

Zhou Lang was delighted: "Master, Lu Yu is my master. I came to Beijing this time to look for my master. My master left Changxi for Chang'an some time ago and there has been no news from him. I am really worried about him..."

"Amitabha, benefactor, I am coming from Chang'an."

"Then, Master, have you met my master?"

Jiao Ran sighed, "Donor, even if you go to Chang'an, you may not be able to save Lu Yu."

"What happened to my master?"

……

The glazed tiles of the palace sparkled golden in the sunset, but the imperial concubine's boudoir was filled with a strange smell that made people look at her with awe. The imperial doctors were helpless, the palace maids were whispering, but only Lu Yu, with an unchanged expression, put the special tea leaves into the incense burner.

Lu Yu's fingers were delicate and powerful. He gently stirred the flames in the incense burner, causing it to burn slowly and release a fresh tea fragrance. The tea leaves slowly curled up under the baking charcoal, exuding a light and elegant fragrance, which formed a sharp contrast with the peculiar smell in the imperial concubine's room.

The imperial concubine was lying on the couch, her face pale, her eyes revealing a hint of expectation. Lu Yu sat in front of the couch and whispered to the imperial concubine: "My queen, please rest assured. The fragrance of this tea can dispel the evil spirits in your body and restore your body to a fresh state."

As time went by, the fragrance of tea gradually filled the whole room, and the unpleasant smell dissipated unconsciously. The imperial concubine showed a long-lost smile on her face, her body felt much more relaxed, and her spirits became refreshed.

However, even though the imperial concubine's health had improved, she was unwilling to let Lu Yu leave.

……

The night scene of the imperial palace was like a deep painting, with the moonlight shining on the quiet palace walls, casting mottled shadows. The imperial concubine's boudoir was a different scene, with bright lights, but an unusually strange atmosphere. Lu Yu stood by the window, his eyes piercing through the window lattice, staring at the moonlight outside, but his heart was surging.

In recent days, the imperial concubine's behavior has become increasingly strange. Her eyes are sometimes sharp as a knife, and sometimes charming as silk, making people unpredictable. Lu Yu noticed that every night, the imperial concubine would emit a faint fragrance, and at the same time, the unpleasant odor would reappear.

That night, Lu Yu pretended to leave, but then quietly returned and hid in the dark to observe. He saw a shocking scene: An Xiaoshan quietly entered the imperial concubine's boudoir, and the relationship between the two did not seem to be an ordinary relationship between a monarch and his subject, and a mother and son. What made Lu Yu even more suspicious was that he vaguely saw the shadow of a fox flashing behind the imperial concubine.

Lu Yu was shocked. Could it be that the imperial concubine was really possessed by a vixen? He decided to get to the bottom of it.

The next day, Lu Yu took the opportunity to deliver tea to secretly observe the Imperial Concubine's words and deeds. He found that the Imperial Concubine was indeed different. There was a bit of cunning in her smile and a bit of sharpness in her words. Lu Yu was more convinced that the Imperial Concubine must have a secret unknown to others.

At night, Lu Yu took the opportunity of the saint asking him to treat the imperial concubine and came to the imperial concubine again, pretending to ask her for medicine. The vixen appeared from the imperial concubine's body, and her eyes were full of an indescribable weirdness. She said to Lu Yu: "I know what you are looking for, maybe we can make a deal." Lu Yu's heart tightened.

It's a new day. The imperial palace is shrouded in a layer of mist in the early morning. The sunlight shines through the mist and shines on the magnificent palace, making it look a little hazy and mysterious.

An Xiaoshan proposed to the saint to bring Lu Yu back to Turkic, hoping to use Lu Yu's tea art to grow white tea in the barbarian land in exchange for greater benefits. However, Lu Yu resolutely rejected the proposal. He told the saint that tea has spirituality, and each type of tea is closely related to the land where it grows. Changxi white tea is inseparable from the fertile land and suitable climate.

Lu Yu's attitude angered the sage, who could not understand Lu Yu's obsession with tea, and could not accept Lu Yu's refusal. The sage ordered Lu Yu to be imprisoned as a punishment. Lu Yu was imprisoned in a remote hut in the cold palace. It was silent all around, with only the occasional footsteps of the guards patrolling to break the silence.

Just when Lu Yu felt desperate, the vixen appeared in front of him again. With a cunning light in her eyes, she said to Lu Yu: "I know the whereabouts of your wife Bai Cha. As long as you agree to my conditions, I will tell you."

Lu Yu was shocked. Bai Cha's disappearance had always been a pain in his heart. He stared at the vixen, trying to read the truth from her eyes. The vixen seemed to see through his thoughts, smiled slightly, and said, "I need you to help me collect ninety-nine different kinds of tea. In exchange for this, I will tell you where Bai Cha is."

Lu Yu struggled in his heart. He knew that it was not easy to make a deal with a monster, but his longing for Bai Cha made it almost impossible for him to refuse the proposal. Finally, he took a deep breath, nodded, and agreed to the fox spirit's conditions. The fox spirit smiled cunningly, turned into a puff of green smoke and disappeared into the air, leaving Lu Yu alone in the dim cell, with mixed emotions in his heart.

Lu Yu's days of imprisonment seemed endless, but within the four walls of the cold palace, his mind was free to fly in the world of tea. He used this time to think about how to collect ninety-nine kinds of tea, and at the same time, he prayed silently in his heart, hoping that Baicha would be safe.

The fox spirit occasionally appeared in the form of the imperial concubine, bringing Lu Yu some news from the outside world or providing some clues for collecting tea. In these exchanges, Lu Yu gradually learned the story behind the fox spirit. She was originally a fox spirit that had practiced for thousands of years in the demon world. It was a coincidence that she possessed the imperial concubine.

There was a great war between the demon world and the monster world, and the demon world suffered a great blow, so the fox demon had to go back to serve the king.

"Your wife Bai Cha is currently in our demon world."

"really?"

"Why would I lie to you? I still need your tea."

Lu Yu didn't understand why the fox demon asked him to pick 99 kinds of tea, but in order to see white tea, he had no choice but to do as she said.

The fox demon used her magic power to take Lu Yu away from the magnificent but turbulent palace. Their figures were like two wisps of smoke, shuttling under the moonlight and flying across the country.

With the help of the fox demon's magic power, Lu Yu seemed to have gained wings. They soared in the blue sky together, overlooking the mountains and rivers below. Whenever they landed, there was always a tea mountain waiting for their arrival. In these tea mountains, Lu Yu carefully searched and picked various precious and rare teas with his keen five senses and profound knowledge of tea art.

Finally, after flying and landing again and again, all ninety-nine kinds of tea were collected. The fox demon smiled and led Lu Yu through the portal of the demon world, which was a strange and colorful world.

The moment he entered the demon world, Lu Yu was very nervous. He was looking forward to seeing Bai Cha, but he was also worried whether the fox demon was deceiving him.

"Once you heal these injured demons, you can see your wife." said the fox demon.

Without saying a word, Lu Yu boiled ninety-nine kinds of tea into a special medicinal soup. Lu Yu didn't understand why the monsters' injuries had to be treated with tea.

He set up a simple medicine stove in the valley. He put each type of tea into the boiling water in a specific order and proportion, carefully controlling the heat and time. As the medicine soup slowly boiled, a burst of fragrance filled the air, attracting many curious monsters to come and watch.

Lu Yu distributed this special medicinal soup to the injured monsters, and they carefully applied it to their wounds. Soon, a miraculous effect appeared: the redness and swelling of the wounds subsided quickly, the pain was relieved, and some deep wounds even began to heal. The natural power contained in these tea medicinal soups merged with the spiritual energy in the monsters' bodies, stimulating their ability to heal themselves.

More and more demons came to seek medical treatment. Lu Yu always humbly accepted every request for help, patiently prepared medicine for each patient, and treated them as ordinary wounded instead of demons.

Finally, all the wounded in the demon world recovered.

Every day in the demon world, Lu Yu thought about how to find Bai Cha. He came to the fox demon and asked her to fulfill her promise and let him see Bai Cha. Lu Yu was still uneasy, as he was worried that the fox demon's promise was just empty talk and that his eagerness to find his wife was a false hope. However, the fox demon's reaction was beyond his expectations.

The fox demon did not hesitate, but readily agreed to Lu Yu's request and immediately took him out of the demon world. They crossed the rugged mountain road and crossed the dry river. The surrounding environment gradually became worse. The sky was covered by thick dark clouds and the air was filled with the smell of sulfur. Lu Yu realized that their destination was the legendary demon world full of danger and evil.

The fox demon seemed to be familiar with this land. She led Lu Yu through a piece of barren land and finally came to an ancient castle. The high walls of the castle were entangled with thorns, and the surrounding fog made it difficult to see its true face. The fox demon stopped and turned back to Lu Yu and said: "Bai Cha is in this castle, but to see her, you must face the test of the demon world."

"Why is Baicha here?" Lu Yu asked.

"Do you not believe me, or are you afraid?" The fox demon smiled ghostly.

Lu Yu nodded to the fox demon, "Then take me in."

The interior of the castle was dim but spacious, with blue flames lit on both sides of the corridor, illuminating the way forward. Lu Yu followed the fox demon closely, silently chanting Bai Cha's name in his heart, praying that he could meet her smoothly. Their footsteps echoed in the empty corridor, and it seemed that every step was moving towards the abyss of fate.

Lu Yu's heart was beating fast.

As they went deeper into the castle, Lu Yu felt the air around him getting heavier and heavier, as if there was an invisible pressure trying to stop them from moving forward. The fox demon's figure seemed particularly erratic under the blue flames, and it seemed that it would disappear at any time. Lu Yu's heartbeat echoed in his ears, and his palms were slightly sweaty due to nervousness.

Suddenly, an ancient door slowly opened in front of them, and a cold wind blew out from the door, carrying an indescribable strange smell. The fox demon stopped and turned to Lu Yu and said, "Are you ready? What you are about to face may be the biggest test of your life."

Lu Yu took a deep breath and nodded. He followed the fox demon into the door and saw a spacious hall behind it. In the middle of the hall was a huge crystal ball with light flowing inside it. The fox demon pointed at the crystal ball and said, "Bai Cha's soul is imprisoned here. Only by passing the test of the demon world can she be rescued."

Lu Yu stared at the crystal ball, his heart beating so violently that it seemed like it was about to explode.

"No!" Lu Yu suddenly turned around and looked at the fox demon. At this time, the fox demon's body changed drastically. It turned from a fox demon into a fairy in black. Lu Yu was very familiar with that face. It was the appearance of his long-lost wife.

"White tea!" Lu Yu cried out.