Tea Cup Cultivation

The crisp sound of ceramic cups clinking echoed as the landlady opened the tray, revealing a set of white porcelain tea utensils adorned with delicate blue patterns.

Zed slowly took out the cups one by one, sprinkled some tea leaves into a fist-sized pot, and rinsed the cups with hot water.

The wasted water seeped down the inner walls of the tray, filling the air around the table with the aroma of tea.

"Do you still have anything left to learn?"

Lucy held the warm cup that Zed handed over, giggling.

Zed repeated the same steps twice, placing two more cups of fragrant tea on the table. After a yawn, he answered:

"Actually, it's my first time brewing tea on my own. A friend from the East showed me this before."

He lifted the cup, sniffed the smoothing fragrance, and blew away the tender green tea leaves floating on the surface. The transparent hot tea created a tiny whirlpool as Zed took a sip, but soon he put the cup down.

"Wow, why does it smell so good? I don't remember it being this smell before."

"What should it smell like before?"

Lucy also took a sip, and the mist rising from the cup obscured her beautiful eyes.

Zed gave her a slight smile. Said:

"I'm not sure, but it should have been just the smell of tea. But now, it smells perfect... wait."

He turned his body towards the counter and asked the girl attending it.

"Is this a real Eastern tea?"

The girl simply nodded her head.

"Yes, it's something brought by your people from DR."

Meanwhile, another man entered the inn.

It was Demon.

Zed cautiously picked up his mask and put it on. Even though they were in DR's territory, he still needed to maintain the secrecy of his identity. So far, he hadn't held a meeting at the winery. Perhaps when Adrian returned, he would need to keep wearing the mask all the time.

'Hmm, it seems everyone in the city is more cautious than those outside...'

Zed pondered while straightening his body.

The demon greeted the landlady at the entrance and walked straight to the opposite side of Zed, with Lucy obediently moving to Zed's side.

"Good Morning, Seven," the demon said in awe, wasting no time on small talk. He directly opened his briefcase, revealing various documents and evil sexual photographs.

"First, I would like to thank you for providing the information on the spores. I was extremely useful. The location indeed held some unexpected dangers, and it saved us from bad casualties. And... this is what you asked for."

Zed nodded and poured him some tea, not forgetting Lucy, who kept showing him an empty cup beside.

"Ah... is it just the two of us today?"

"Yes, why? Is something wrong?"

The demon was visibly startled by Zed's unusual behavior, but as he looked at the teacups that kept being raised and emptied faster than his own, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

Is that a spore? Or some new ritual developed by DR? Or a cultivation method?

Tea cup cultivation?

The demon pondered, staring at the tea in his cup, drinking it all in one breath, and asking for another cup.

While doing so, he didn't forget the purpose of his visit. He cleared his throat and began explaining, word by word.

"Seven, first, I must tell you that everything in this box can be summarized in one sentence... Wait! Sorry I got the wrong box. Anyway, the Shadow Thief has been identified. He is the man we saw at the meeting, do you remember the one wearing a fox mask? You may not be familiar with him, but he is the boss of the underworld in Luzmell Camden. His influence spans the entire land and anyway, back to the topic, just yesterday, he just spoke out he has the Shadow Thief. All the victims of the Awaken can go to him to check."

The demon paused, slowly rotating the teacup with his fingers, and then he added:

"This guy is so clever. I even think he was working with the person who proposed the mission just during last meeting. I am pretty sure they not only attended the meeting at the winery, but they have eyes and ears all over the city. They are here to monitor everyone's progress on the Shadow Thief! It must be like that!"

As the demon continued to speak, his emotion grew, as if Sherlock Holmes himself had possessed him. He gestured wildly, accidentally knocking over the teacup.

Hot tea splashed onto the table, and Zed furrowed his brow.

"Calm down, calm down... There are no monkeys chasing after you."

As Zed said, he raising a hand. He signaled to the bewildered landlady for another pot of hot tea. After a brief sum of what happened previously, he added:

"You've done well. What do you want as a reward?"

"A reward?"

The tone behind the demon's mask noticeably changed.

"Is it from Dawnrain, or...?"

"It's a personal reward," Zed replied quickly.

He took another sip of tea, then poured the remaining tea stains from the bottom of the cup onto the tray, showing the empty cup to the demon.

"All our connection are personal. If you don't want it, that is, that's fine."

Upon hearing this, the demon became even more excited that he almost stood up.

"I want it, I want it!" he exclaimed.

Then, sensing the landlady's increasingly curious gaze, Zed took out the printed book about cultivation and handed it to the demon.

"You can take a look at this book and find a factory to make copies, but don't use it for profit."

The demon looked puzzled as he took the book with both hands. He moved the teacup a little further away before carefully opening it.

He didn't even finish reading the first page before quickly closing it.

Then, in a more respectful tone, mixed with a hint of trembling, the demon said:

"Sir Seven... thank you for sharing this. We will follow the words in the prologue. This knowledge is incredibly precious, and we don't know how to thank you..."

Zed raised a hand to interrupt him once again, and then casually said:

"It's ok. I'll tell you what to do when we catch up. All you need to do is attend the meetings when I ask you and finish some simple tasks."

The demon stood up, almost ready to bow in front of the young man, but Zed stopped him.

"No need. You may leave."

The demon didn't say anything and turned to leave.

"Why did you give them the book? Do you really think the Shadow Thief is that fox?"

Lucy, who had observed the young man's actions, asked curiously, propping her chin on her hand.

"The book... I just want that book to appear in front of the right people. As for the Shadow Thief... no, I don't think it's that fox."

Lucy's eyes curved with admiration as she revealed her canines in a smile and continued to inquire, "Why not?"

Zed shrugged his shoulders and replied nonchalantly.

"Because the fox still alive.

"I don't think the city would let someone who claims to be the Shadow Thief act so boldly. You know, in that case, they haven't even removed the police tape at the entrance, and more people are still lining up to report being victims. Either that fox has some sinister plans and is hiding himself very well, or, he has simply made some deals with some bad boss in city... I guess in the near future, the city might pretend to issue a warrant for him, and then secretly help the fox dispose of his enemies. That's also why Demon think he is clever...In fact, he is clever."

Lucy's admiration for Zed grew even stronger, and she leaned in closer, look him intensively, almost whispering in his ear.

"How did you know?"

Zed turned his face towards Lucy then just brushed her nose, smiling as he said:

"A brute without a queen always roars louder. It can scare off newbies but can't fool an old hunter."

After another yawn, he scratched his head and removed his mask.

"This should be enough to protect me till B1. Hopefully, this friend of the demon will be just as capable," Zed mused.

Zed didn't tell Lucy that when the demon accidentally knocked over the teacup, he had secretly used the Refresh setting on revenge target.

This time, unlike with the fox, the red aura surrounding the demon in his field of vision became almost tangible. It even displayed solid expressions and emotions. It was difficult for him to put into words, but it seemed that the individual fighting prowess of the demon was slightly stronger than that of the fox.

"If rate it using the Spore system, it would probably be around...B2?" Zed thought.

He finished his hot tea, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

"It seems there's still a lot more to explore in my vampire abilities..."