Chapter Thirty-Five: Crimson Beauty and Fragrant Tea

The elegantly dressed woman nodded slightly in greeting and said, “You have come to our sect’s headquarters several times in recent days, causing trouble and injuring more than ten people. Even though those stewards were sycophants, they did not deserve death. You, being from the Heavenly Mountain Sect, are considered upright and honorable; your methods are rather too ruthless.” Li Zhongjun replied, “Did you invite me here today to accuse me of wrongdoing?” The woman answered, “To say I am here to accuse you would be presumptuous. Fortunately, you did not harm any of my Miao disciples, otherwise…” Li Zhongjun asked, “Otherwise what?” The woman’s gaze sharpened, “Otherwise, today we would have no choice but to fight to the bitter end.” The atmosphere within the carriage grew tense and foreboding.

Just then, the silver pot began to simmer, its steam rising. Lan Wutong smiled and said, “The water is boiling! Please, sir, taste the Peacock Display tea we brought from Miao territory.” Her hands moved swiftly; she scooped the tea leaves from the silver tube with a wooden spoon and placed them into three jade cups, then poured hot water from the silver pot into each. Instantly, a refreshing fragrance filled the air.

The tea leaves, originally curled into a tight ball, gradually unfurled in the hot water, perfectly resembling a peacock spreading its tail in display. Lan Wutong held the tea with both hands and offered it to Li Zhongjun. He knew the Miao were adept at using poison and hesitated to accept it. Sensing his concern, Lan Wutong set the cup down and took a small silver token from a sandalwood box beside the silver tube, dropping it into the jade cup. The token had a tiny hook at its end, perfectly catching the rim, with half submerged in the tea, half exposed. The elegantly dressed woman complained, “If he suspects us of poisoning, let him refuse. Why be so accommodating?” Lan Wutong laughed, “Miss, you don’t understand. The Han people deeply misunderstand us, thinking we always use poison. Putting a silver token in the tea reassures them. If we don't let them taste our tea, they’ll believe Miao territory is a wild place, incapable of proper hospitality.” Seeing the silver token unchanged, Li Zhongjun felt that refusing would show petty suspicion and invite ridicule. Lan Wutong again offered the tea, and Li Zhongjun took it, drinking it in one gulp. The flavor was initially delicate but soon revealed a rich, lingering taste. Though raised in the imperial household, accustomed to the finest teas, he had never encountered such flavor. He couldn’t help but praise, “Excellent tea, truly rare in this world!” The elegantly dressed woman’s expression softened at his compliment. Lan Wutong was delighted, “Even in the Central Plains, this tea is worth a fortune and hard to find. Do you know how difficult it is to obtain?” Li Zhongjun enjoyed tea but knew little of its origin, so he asked, “Isn’t tea simply picked from the tea tree? What’s so difficult?” Lan Wutong laughed, “Sir, you have noble bearing and surely come from a distinguished background; you can hardly imagine the hardships of tea pickers. There are countless tea trees and varieties, but this particular tea leaf grows on a single tree in the world. In Miao territory, there’s a place called Snake Valley, teeming with venomous snakes. At the lowest point of the valley, a tea tree grows, its roots nourished by the poisonous saliva dripping from the snakes’ mouths and by their shed skins accumulating beneath it. Tea trees thrive in shade and abhor dryness; this one grows in the valley floor, untouched by sun or moon, but a nearby pond reflects sunlight and moonlight onto the tree. The tree, fed by snake venom and shed skins, absorbing the essence of sun and moon, is no ordinary plant. Tea pickers must coat their bodies with snake medicine before harvesting, for any spot left uncovered would invite a thousand snake bites. Every harvest is perilous, and only a few ounces can be gathered each time; harvesting more would cause the tree to wither.” Li Zhongjun sighed, “I only knew tea as a delicious drink, unaware of the dangers in harvesting it. Now I hesitate to drink it further.” Lan Wutong replied, “If you don’t drink, you waste the tea pickers’ efforts and my lady’s goodwill. Please, sir, have another cup.” She poured more tea from the silver pot. This time, Li Zhongjun sipped slowly, savoring the taste. He praised, “This tea is untouched by worldly flavor, as if it were of celestial origin.” Lan Wutong giggled behind her hand, “Sir, you know the hardship of picking tea but not the difficulty in processing it. Even the best teas from the Central Plains are, to us Miao folk, fit only for cattle and horses. However you prepare them, we find four unpleasant tastes impossible to mask.” Li Zhongjun asked, “What are these four tastes?” Lan Wutong replied, “They are the taste of earth, iron, smoke, and human scent.”

“How so? I do not understand. Please enlighten me.”

“Tea is usually processed in ceramic or metal vessels. If ceramics are used, the leaves take on an earthy taste; with metal, an iron taste. These flavors penetrate during processing and can never be removed.”

“So how is the Peacock Display tea processed? Is there a special method?”

“Not so much a special method, but the vessel is rare.”

“Oh? Please explain.”

“It is processed in a jade cauldron, and the older the cauldron, the more extraordinary the tea.”

“Ah!” Li Zhongjun drew a sharp breath. Ancient jade cauldrons are worth a king’s ransom; even the imperial nobility of Chang’an keep theirs locked away and rarely show them. Lan Wutong, it seemed, used such a cauldron for tea, which would surely make the jade collectors of Chang’an curse her for wasting treasures. “And what about the taste of smoke? Is it not caused by fire?”

Lan Wutong replied, “Certainly not. Whatever wood is used for fuel, there will always be smoke. The scholars of the Central Plains pride themselves on elegance, claiming tea must be processed with walnut wood, and even more absurdly, with phoenix tree wood. How infuriating! Phoenix wood is only fit for making zithers, not for tea processing.” Her name was Lan Wutong, and the mention of burning phoenix wood made her instantly indignant. “In Miao territory we have hot springs that steam fiercely. Tea processors place the leaves in the jade cauldron and set it over the hot spring, with not a trace of fire or smoke—so the tea carries no smoky flavor.”

“As for the human scent, I am not sure if I should say…” Lan Wutong chuckled, her eyes darting toward Li Zhongjun, the elegantly dressed woman smiling as well.

Li Zhongjun asked, perplexed, “Why hesitate? Please speak freely.”

Lan Wutong said, “Since you don’t mind, I’ll tell you. The human scent refers to the odor of the body. Men always carry a certain impurity; tea leaves must never be touched by men’s hands. Not just the leaves, even the jade cauldron must not be handled by men, nor by married women. Only virgins may touch it, or else the scent mingles with the tea.”

“Ah!” Li Zhongjun exclaimed in surprise. “Such strict requirements! Then my presence here is most inappropriate; my human scent would taint this fine tea and offend the ladies. I must take my leave.” He began to rise.

Lan Wutong hurriedly pleaded, “Sir, please don’t go! You are no ordinary man, but more like a celestial being. My words do not apply to you, especially since this Peacock Display tea was prepared especially for you. If you leave, you liken yourself to the common crowd. Moreover, Miao custom requires distinguished guests to drink three cups, lest we fail in courtesy.” She quickly poured another cup.

Li Zhongjun slowly finished the tea. “Such fine tea, but I suspect you did not invite me here merely to drink.”

The elegantly dressed woman said, “You are here for a great matter.”

Li Zhongjun replied, “Speak plainly.”

She said, “You come from an upright sect. Why did you cause trouble at our headquarters? Our sect has no grievance against yours.”

Li Zhongjun answered, “If there is no grievance, why did your sect’s White Snake and Ghost Sword abduct my junior sister?”

The woman replied, “I heard Lan Wutong mention this recently and was puzzled myself. It seems White Snake and Ghost Sword acted on their own and not on behalf of our Divine Crane Sect. The two left headquarters six months ago and have not returned. Your junior is not in our temple; you need not search further. Still, they are enforcers of our sect, and to have abducted a member of Heavenly Mountain is not something we can ignore. I am willing to secretly assist you in rescuing your junior. What do you say?”

Li Zhongjun thought to himself that the dying words of the sect members were true; these guardians were indeed at odds, and the Miao were secretly undermining their own. He said, “I am grateful for your kindness, but how might I repay you?”

The woman smiled, “No need for thanks. I help you in hope that we may rely on each other. I have a difficult matter and hope you will aid me.”

Li Zhongjun mused that it was hard to tell good from evil among these people, and their ways were quite different from those of Central Plains martial artists. He wondered what task she might propose. His mind was troubled, but at last he resolved: whatever happens, he must first rescue Zilan. He said gravely, “If you can help rescue my junior Zilan, I will not refuse anything you ask.”

Seeing his face tense and uncertain, the woman herself felt uneasy, but his promise brought her joy. She said, “Then you agree. I wish you to help me find someone.”

Li Zhongjun said, “Divine Crane Sect has many eyes and ears; who could possibly need my help?”

She replied, “This person is deeply connected to your Heavenly Mountain Sect. Twenty years ago, his last appearance was in the Qian-Guang region. He was captured after being poisoned by Miao venom and then vanished. We later found the person who cast the poison, but he claimed to be hired by Heavenly Mountain and knew nothing else. So we believe that if this person is alive, only someone from Heavenly Mountain would know his whereabouts.”

Li Zhongjun asked, “Why not go directly to Heavenly Mountain and ask the sect leader?”

The woman sighed, “This person is deeply tied to Heavenly Mountain, even considered a fellow disciple, but is also their mortal enemy. If we ask directly, we would get nothing. If he is alive, our asking might bring him harm.”