Cloudstone City had never seen anything like the 'Heavenly Brew Festival'. The West Gate, usually the quietest part of town, was now packed with carriages made of jade, flying swords hovering in line for parking, and enough high-level cultivators to start a world war.
Li Jian stood behind the counter, wearing a simple apron that Mei Lin had embroidered with a tiny teapot. He looked like a man who was ready to quit life.
"Mei Lin, status report," Li Jian muttered.
The spy-turned-waitress checked her notepad. "Sir, we have seventeen Sect Elders in line, four Rogue Immortals, and a very confused dragon-turtle in the courtyard. Also, the Nine-Tailed Fox has started a gambling ring in the VIP corner. We're out of napkins."
"Just use the Imperial silk banners the Governor sent as a gift," Li Jian sighed. "They're soft enough."
Mei Lin's hand trembled. Using Imperial banners as napkins? If the Capital hears about this, it's treason. But if I don't do it, the Ice Goddess will freeze me. Decisions, decisions.
Suddenly, the front door was kicked open. Not a polite jingle, but a loud, arrogant bang.
A group of disciples in pristine azure robes marched in. At their head was a tall, handsome young man with a sneer that looked like it had been carved onto his face.
Li Jian froze. He recognized those robes.
"Well, well, well," the leader laughed, his voice booming through the shop. "I heard a rumor that a 'Hidden Expert' was living in the West Gate. I didn't believe it was you, Li Jian. The trash who couldn't even refine a single breath of Qi!"
The shop went deathly silent.
Ling Yue stopped pouring tea. Huo Fenghuang lowered her tray. Master Lu gripped his mop like a battle-axe. Even the Nine-Tailed Fox stopped its gambling game and looked up with a devious glint in its eyes.
"Wang Chao," Li Jian said, his voice flat. This was the guy who had beaten him half to death back at the Azure Peak Sect. "You're blocking the sunlight. Either order tea or get out."
Wang Chao walked up to the counter, laughing as he looked at the silver tree growing through the ceiling. "What is this? Some kind of high-level illusion? You always were good at trickery, Li Jian. Who did you trick into building this for you? And these girls..."
He turned his gaze to Ling Yue and Huo Fenghuang, his eyes filled with lust. "You're too beautiful to be serving a failure. Why don't you come with me to the Azure Peak Sect? I can give you real cultivation resources, not this... leaf water."
Li Jian didn't move. He didn't have to.
Ling Yue's aura dropped to absolute zero. The floor of the shop began to crack as ice spread across the wood. "You dare speak to the Senior like that?"
Huo Fenghuang's hair erupted into actual flames. "You want to take us away? I'll turn your sect into a charcoal pit before you finish that sentence!"
Wang Chao's smile faltered. He was only at the 'Foundation Establishment' stage. He couldn't see the true level of the two women, but the sheer pressure in the air was starting to crush his bones.
"Wait, wait!" Li Jian shouted, jumping over the counter. "Don't kill him! He hasn't paid for the door he kicked!"
Li Jian turned to Wang Chao, who was now trembling, his face pale with fear. "Wang Chao, listen. You're stressed. You're arrogant. It's a bad combination for your heart. Here, have a cup of 'Soul-Crushing Truth Tea'."
Li Jian quickly brewed a cup. It was dark, murky, and smelled like old books and regret. He shoved it into Wang Chao's hand. "Drink. It's on the house. For old times' sake."
Wang Chao, his pride still fighting his common sense, gulped it down.
The effect was instantaneous. Wang Chao didn't turn into a balloon. He didn't float. Instead, he fell to his knees and began to scream—not in pain, but in honesty.
"I... I WEAR LIFTS IN MY SHOES!" Wang Chao cried out, tears streaming down his face. "I stole my brother's spirit stones to pay for this robe! I'm actually terrified of ghosts! And... and I think Li Jian's tea is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted! I'M A TERRIBLE PERSON!"
His fellow disciples backed away in horror. Wang Chao was currently spilling every secret he had ever kept, from his secret crush on the Sect Leader's daughter to the fact that he hadn't washed his socks in a week.
"Take him away," Li Jian said to the other Azure Peak disciples, who were looking at him as if he were a God of Chaos. "And tell your Sect Leader that Li Jian is busy. I'm not coming back. I have floors to mop and a fox to feed."
As the Azure Peak disciples dragged their screaming, confessing leader out the door, the rest of the customers began to clap.
"Senior is so merciful!" an old cultivator shouted. "He healed that boy's soul by making him honest!"
Li Jian slumped back into his chair.
"I just wanted to embarrass him so he'd leave," Li Jian whispered to Mei Lin. "Why does everyone think I'm doing a sermon?"
Mei Lin smiled, hiding her secret report behind her back. Report #10: Target Li Jian has defeated a Sect Genius with honesty and a chipped cup. Suggestion for the Emperor: Send a peace offering. Also, send more sugar. We're really out.