Central Starskiff Haven, [Sleepless Earl] Teahouse
Adrian sat leisurely here, savoring the delightful morning tea time.
"Yawn~ Dear guest, you got up way too early." Mengming rubbed her eyes, looking like she wasn't fully awake yet.
"Early to bed and early to rise makes one healthy... The boss lady should understand this principle better than I do." Adrian blew on the steaming tea. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away—even the healers from the Cauldron Division say so."
"Uh... why'd you suddenly bring up wellness like that?"
But then, thinking about how Adrian's age was still a mystery, she decided not to dwell on it.
Adrian smiled. The moment the tea touched his tongue, a crisp fragrance suddenly swept over his taste buds, as if fresh green mountains of spring were unfurling before his eyes.
"This tea..."
Maybe it was all the milk tea he'd been drinking lately, but now this authentic Xianzhou brew felt a bit unfamiliar.
Mengming's eyes lit up. "Ah! You noticed, dear guest? I took Tingyun sister's suggestion earlier and refined the varieties of Scale Abyss Spring, Shade Mountain Green, and Morning Dew Buds to create a new tea blend."
"It's refreshingly sweet and lingering on the palate. I named it after sister, calling it [Yunquench Melody]."
"Sigh~ I never thought Tingyun sister would go through such a ordeal... No, wait, that sounds so weird!"
Mengming shook her head. Tingyun was perfectly fine now... A few days ago, she'd heard Mr. Xiyan explain the ins and outs of the Luofu crisis.
An Annihilation Lord had actually schemed to dismantle the Luofu from within, even targeting Miss Tingyun and temporarily impersonating her for a while.
Just thinking about how the Tingyun who had visited the [Sleepless Earl] before was the Annihilation Lord in disguise made Mengming feel a chill down her spine.
Fortunately, the Astral Express and the Church of Eternity had stepped in to quell the crisis—truly cause for celebration.
As for Tingyun, she was swamped with work from the [Thunderforge] Merchant Guild and hadn't had time to try Mengming's new brew.
Since she couldn't enjoy the treat, Mengming had invited Adrian to sample it instead. To her surprise, the moment he heard there was a free tea-tasting session, he showed up bright and early.
Mr. Xiyan hadn't even come for his storytelling yet, and Adrian had beaten him to it—getting up at the crack of dawn.
"Wait, dear guest, you don't get up this early every day, do you?!" Mengming suddenly realized.
Seeing Adrian nod, Mengming understood why she'd rarely seen him open his shop.
So that's it—you only pick those ungodly hours to open, no wonder the foot traffic is so low. Perfectly missing the golden business hours, opting for times when hardly anyone drops by. Having even one customer in those slots is already pretty good.
"Financial freedom is nice..."
"Ahem~ Hearing that from the little boss lady's mouth feels strangely wonderful."
"Enough about that—how does this tea taste to you?" Mengming cut to the chase.
"Mm~ It's like clouds and mist wrapping around the tongue, a fresh sensation like fledglings sipping sweet dew. Such a fine product... and you won't take a single Trailblaze Token or Credit Point from me? If this little boss lady's teahouse doesn't catch fire, it's against the natural order!"
Adrian raised his teacup high, treating this cup of [Yunquench Melody] like a treasure. Just as he was about to continue his praise...
"My Faunus red-haired sheep—didn't you go and catch them all for me?!"
A sudden burst of quarreling voices harshly shattered the surrounding tranquility. His hand paused, the teacup on its way to his lips frozen mid-air, the clear tea rippling a few times.
"Ah! They're at it now!"
Adrian hurried to the scene upon hearing the commotion, only to spot a familiar figure there.
"Whoa... March wasn't kidding; I really ran into a big shot." Stelle approached Adrian. She'd just been thinking of grabbing some breakfast, only to stumble upon this dramatic scene.
They exchanged a glance before boldly standing right next to the arguing pair, starting to munch on the gossip up close.
"Don't keep harassing me here, or I'll report you to the Ten-Lords Commission for slander." The fox-eared shop owner crossed his arms, clearly displeased with the purple-clad woman causing trouble.
"What?! If you didn't catch my Faunus red-haired sheep, then why has your shop suddenly got so many lamb dishes on the menu lately?"
"It's the season for drifting sheep to be rounded up! I've stocked up on plenty of top-quality drifting sheep, so of course, I've added more lamb dishes."
"Besides, there are tons of places on the Luofu serving lamb—why are you singling me out?" The shop owner was baffled. How could there be customers deliberately picking fights?
He'd gotten up at dawn to tidy the place, and the first guest of the day was like this—talk about rotten luck.
"Their lamb doesn't taste as good as yours, so how can I believe you're just using ordinary drifting sheep meat!"
"A place like our [Ultimate Flavor Pavilion] with its refined cuisine would never catch some shady wild sheep to serve."
"It's not 'shady wild sheep'—it's Faunus red-haired sheep!" The woman insisted emphatically.
"I don't care what kind of Fa-whatever sheep it is; it's got nothing to do with me. Stop causing a scene... Hey, you two—had enough of a show yet?" The shop owner's gaze shifted to Stelle and Adrian.
"Yep, we're good."
The shop owner was caught off guard by the blunt honesty, standing there stunned for a few seconds before cursing under his breath and storming off.
"Ai~ My poor Faunus red-haired sheep. They hadn't even been out of that cruel pen for a few days, barely had a taste of carefree days, and now... Sigh~ O merciful and salvific Lord of Abundance, please don't revoke my merits for this."
Seeing the unfamiliar woman suddenly start praying, Stelle thought she was another [Drug Lord's Secret Teachings] operative lurking in the Star Rail Sea. She whipped out her bat in mimicry form.
"Whoa whoa whoa— what are you doing? Are you that guy's hired thug?!" The stranger was clearly startled.
"It's hard to imagine hearing someone utter the words 'Lord of Abundance' on the Xianzhou."
"Shh shh shh! Can you keep it down? Even though it's just us around here, I'm just an honest outlander guest staying in these parts—I have zero ties to the [Drug Lord's Secret Teachings]."
She hurriedly explained herself, or else that gray-haired one was gonna bash her with the bat!
"Hello, I'm Bena. In my spare time, I release little lives into the wild with a few outlander friends." Bena tried to salvage her image, politely introducing herself.
"Let me tell you, I'm nothing like those creeps who fly the [Abundance] banner to murder and rob. Quite the opposite—me and my friends are putting the benevolent side of the [Abundance] Path into practice with real actions!"
In a corner out of Bena's sight, Adrian and Stelle both quietly started recording on their phones.
"So why were you hassling that shop owner?"
"Because the Faunus red-haired sheep I released went missing! Those little red-furred lambs are on the brink of extinction back home. I shelled out a fortune to buy a whole bunch and released them into the Scale Abyss Realm..."
"Where?"
Stelle listened, her fingertip unconsciously rubbing her earlobe. After a pause, her gaze slowly refocused, turning toward the woman.
"Scale Abyss Realm... You were trying to send that flock of Fa-whatever sheep back to the ocean's embrace?"
The memory of that soap bar sinking into the water was still fresh—the Galactic Baseballer's legendary life had nearly ended that very day!
"It's Faunus red-haired sheep!"