Xingtie: My silly online friend is actually a raccoon!

The next morning, as dawn broke, the streets and alleys of Chang'an were just beginning to awaken.

Spark, like a wind-up rabbit, burst into Lu Ze and Xing's room.

One of them kicked Lu Ze and Xing out of bed: "Get up, get up, get up! Time to get to work!"

Xing rubbed her eyes, her hair a mess like a bird's nest: "...What time is it now?"

"Six o'clock in the morning! The sun's already high in the sky!"

"The sun hasn't risen yet..."

"I said I'd sunbathe, and I'll sunbathe!"

Lu Ze yawned as he walked to the door of Xing's room, where he was pulled out of the inn by Huo Hua.

He had assumed that Spark would head straight for Five Elements Mountain, but to his surprise, she plunged into the busiest street in Chang'an and then entered a teahouse.

"Waiter! A pot of Biluochun tea, please!" Sparkle picked a window seat with practiced ease and called out to the waiter.

Lu Ze and Xing exchanged a glance and followed him inside.

After finishing the pot of tea, Spark stood up and asked Lu Ze to pay the bill: "Let's go, next place."

The second teahouse. The third. The fourth.

At each house, Huohua would order a pot of tea, eat a plate of melon seeds, and listen intently to the storyteller on stage, as if she really enjoyed it.

More than two hours later, the three of them came out of the sixth teahouse.

Xing leaned against the wall, clutching her stomach, and managed to let out a weak burp.

"Hiccup~ Spark, you took me and Luze to five or six teahouses this morning, hiccup~"

Another long, drawn-out burp.

"You're not kidding us, are you?" Lu Ze didn't burp, but his face looked a little bitter.

He had never drunk so much tea in two hours in his entire life.

He now feels like he can hear water sloshing around in his stomach when he walks.

Spark turned around, blinked her wine-red eyes, and looked completely innocent.

"Hey little gray hair, what's the rush? Let's find a quiet place, and I'll explain everything to you carefully."

Xing looked at her warily: "It's not going to be the teahouse again, is it?"

"No," Spark denied firmly.

Half an hour later, Xing and Lu Ze stood by the lake on the outskirts of the city, looking at the shimmering water and the row of small wooden boats moored on the shore, and fell into silence.

Xing turned to Huohua with a blank expression: "This is the quiet place you were talking about?"

"Exactly!" Spark opened her arms wide, took a deep breath of the humid air, and exclaimed, "The center of the lake, surrounded by water, with no eavesdropping walls—perfect for a secret conversation!"

Before she finished speaking, the boatmen on the shore had already gathered around.

These boatmen, who had been soliciting customers on this lake for years, had a keen eye. As soon as they saw that Lu Ze and his companions were neatly dressed and had an extraordinary air about them, they swarmed over and eagerly tried to sell their boats.

"Sir! Take a ride on my boat! My boat has been freshly painted and is spotless!"

"Don't listen to his nonsense, sir! His boat had a hole yesterday! Take my boat, it'll be safe!"

"I've been rowing this lake for twenty years; I could row with my eyes closed! Please, gentlemen, do me the honor..."

Lu Ze's head was throbbing from the noise, and he was too lazy to choose carefully. He just pointed to the most honest-looking old boatman in the crowd.

"How about your boat? How much?"

The old boatman beamed, "Not expensive at all! A boat tour around the lake for twenty coins!"

Lu Ze nodded and was about to call Xing and Huohua to board the ship when a clear male voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Brother, sir, please wait a moment!"

Lu Ze turned around. A young man in a brocade robe, holding a folding fan, was walking towards him with a smile, followed by two servants.

The young master had a handsome face and was dressed in fine clothes, clearly indicating that he came from a wealthy family.

He walked up to Lu Ze, bowed respectfully, and smiled broadly.

"Brother, are you planning to take a boat trip on the lake? I'm thinking the same thing. Would you mind joining me for a while? I'll cover the boat fare. I just want to have company along the way, chat, and relieve some boredom."

He addressed him as "brother," but as he gently waved his folding fan, his gaze involuntarily drifted towards Xing and Huohua.

Lu Ze looked him up and down.

He first stepped aside to let Xing and Huohua board the boat, then turned around, cupped his hands in greeting to the young master, and smiled.

"Sorry, they are mine."