Guanshan Muyu

chapter 38

The location of Tongchang teahouse was secluded, tucked away in a hollow on the shady side of Yun Mountain. The road was rough and the carriage ride was extremely bumpy.

Qi Yan looked different today. His whole body exuded an aura of gentleness; he did not even ask Xia Xun, who had obviously just arrived in Qingzhou, where he had learned that there was such a remote teahouse deep in the mountains.

It was getting late and the few customers in the teahouse were leaving one by one.

Once the waiter guided them to a private room, they became the only guests here.

The view from the room was excellent, with the windows opening to the bamboo forest and a lake behind the house.

The lake was quite large, and at first glance it did not seem artificial, but naturally formed.

Qi Yan couldn’t help but admire the scenery.

“Setting up a teahouse here, it really can be called taking advantage of the best view.”

Xia Xun was not in the mood to enjoy the view, and even if there was the most beautiful scenery in the world in front of him, he would not care to see it.

Without a word, he drank tea cup after cup.

He was too nervous.

Qi Yan was so perceptive that Xia Xun knew it was enough for him to say one wrong word and Qi Yan would notice.

He knew that he needed to act as he always did.

But he couldn’t.

He wasn’t sure just what kind of commotion Fumeng Tancha would have to cause to create chaos and take him away.

He chided himself that he should have known better and asked more questions in the first place, instead of waiting here anxiously like a headless fly.

Qi Yan circled around the private room and ordered both Qi Hui and Zhi Gui to retire.

Before she left, Zhi Gui gave Xia Xun a deep glance, and Xia Xun knew that she would take the opportunity to leave.

Qi Yan, unaware of this, sat down opposite Xia Xun.

He didn’t stop him when he saw that Xia Xun was drinking tea like a cow chewing peonies, but propped his chin on his hand and stared at him steadily.

Xia Xun drank all the tea in the pot and finally relented to put the cup on the table, his fingers rubbing the rim of the cup unconsciously. He couldn’t even say what kind of tea he had been drinking.

Naturally, Qi Yan’s eyes followed the movements of Xia Xun’s hand.

After looking for a while, Qi Yan suddenly said: “After all these years, your hand still hasn’t recovered.”

Xia Xun was startled and his fingers unconsciously curled.

Qi Yan reached his hand and gently flattened his palm, using his thumb to stroke Xia Xun’s fingers.

Xia Xun’s left hand was horribly scarred and his fingers were much thinner than those of his right hand.

These were the results left over from that burn back then.

Xia Xun tried to withdraw his hand, but Qi Yan clenched it tightly. Leaning down, he pressed his cheek against Xia Xun’s hand.

Xia Xun’s eyelashes flickered and he actually did not resist.

Qi Yan maintained his leaning position and asked in a low voice: “Didn’t you ask me before how Xia Xing died? Today, I can tell you the whole story.”