"Do you want to go back?" Nangong Xier suddenly asked.
Su Baiyi was stunned for a moment: "It's a bit early, right?"
"We are broke, aren't we?" Nangong Xier gave a bitter smile, "Why would we go shopping if we have no money..."
"Who said we have no money?" Su Baiyi weighed the purse in his hand, "There is still one, two, three... eight copper coins!"
"What can you do with eight copper coins? You can't even buy a box of rouge..." Nangong Xier said helplessly.
"How much can you get with eight copper coins? It depends on whether there is such a place in Demon City." Su Baiyi put the purse in his arms and continued to walk forward, "If I guess correctly, there must be such a place on such a long street." Nangong Xier smiled and could only follow.
The two walked for a while and turned a corner. Suddenly, they heard a noisy sound, as if someone was clapping and cheering. Su Baiyi's eyes lit up: "This must be the place." After saying that, he immediately took Nangong Xier's hand and ran forward. They saw a teahouse appeared in front of them. The teahouse was full of people. A storyteller was holding a rubbing ruler in his hand. It seemed that he had just finished a long story and took a break. He picked up the tea bowl beside him and took a big sip.
Su Baiyi took Nangong Xier into the teahouse, and a waiter immediately came up to greet them: "Two guests, please come in."
"Is there any room left?" Su Baiyi asked.
The waiter nodded and said, "Since you two distinguished guests are here, of course there are seats available. Please take a seat on the second floor!"
"Elegant... elegant seat, is it expensive?" Su Baiyi's tone immediately weakened.
"Three taels of silver." The waiter said with a smile.
"Just sit in the lobby. Eight copper coins." Su Baiyi put the purse in his arms into the waiter's hand.
"Eight copper coins are only enough for a pot of tea and a plate of melon seeds. You can't eat the cakes in Demon City." The waiter looked embarrassed.
Su Baiyi patted the waiter on the shoulder and said, "Whoever comes to the teahouse to eat cakes, hurry up and arrange a seat for them. If not, I will leave."
"Okay, two distinguished guests, here's a pot of tea and a plate of melon seeds! Please come in!" the waiter turned around and shouted.
"Hey, hey, hey, please come in. Why do you have to tell me what I ordered? It's so disrespectful." Su Baiyi helplessly led Nangong Xier in amidst the contemptuous gazes of the crowd and sat down in a corner.
"Su Baiyi, is this the interesting part?" Nangong Xier asked with a smile.
"Bang!" The storyteller slammed the ruler in his hand heavily on the table, which frightened Nangong Xier so much that she trembled all over. However, Su Baiyi looked excited: "It's started, it's started."
“Last time we talked about how Xie Kanhua, the son of the Xie family, rushed up the Weilong Mountain alone with a sword to save his brother Helian Xiyue. But the Weilong Mountain is not so easy to cross. There are dozens of heroes guarding the mountain, including nine generals, ten deities, and eighteen kings of hell. But Xie Kanhua is like a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers…” The storyteller waved his long sleeves and told the story of Xie Kanhua.
"This part, this part, tells the story of how Xie Kanhua and Su Han met in order to save Helian Xiyue." Su Baiyi said excitedly while cracking melon seeds on the table, "I especially like to listen to this part."
Nangong Xier looked at Su Baiyi with interest: "Do you like to come to the teahouse to listen to books?"
"Yes, the teahouse in Fenglin Town is much cheaper than here. One copper coin for a pot of tea. Sometimes I don't even want to order melon seeds, and I just sit there for an entire afternoon." Su Baiyi smiled and took a sip of tea, "Then I buy some vegetables and go back to cook for Master. If I spend four copper coins on the vegetables, I tell Master that I spent five, and he won't notice."
"What stories are told in the teahouse?" asked Nangong Xier.
"There are all kinds of them, but most of them are about some anecdotes in the underworld, half true and half false, but very enjoyable to listen to." Su Baiyi said with a smile.
Nangong Xier took a sip of tea, held her neck with her hand and listened quietly. Soon she was immersed in the story, sometimes showing a worried look, and sometimes smiling with everyone. When the storyteller finished his story and sat down to drink water again, Nangong Xier and the other guests applauded and cheered. She said happily, "It's so interesting."
"This is not interesting enough." Su Baiyi said proudly, "The most interesting one is the story of the great hero Li Buwei who fought against the twelve elders of the Demon Sect alone to save the world a hundred years ago. I was so fascinated by it that day that my master finally found me in the teahouse..."
"Then what?" Nangong Xier asked curiously.
"Then he sat down and listened with me. We listened until the teahouse closed and then went home. On the way back, my master suddenly asked me, Su Baiyi, do you want to be a hero?" Su Baiyi took a sip of tea.
"Yeah. So you want to be a hero?" Nangong Xier asked.
"I said, I want to be my own hero first and protect myself, then be a hero to those around me and protect all those I cherish, and finally be a hero to the world and protect the people like Li Buwei." Su Baiyi laughed, "I was young at that time, and now I think it's too difficult to just protect myself."
"You can do it. I have a feeling that you can become a hero to the world." Nangong Xier said with a smile, "After all, you are now the de facto head of the Su family."
Su Baiyi scratched his head: "Senior sister, I still feel that this matter is a little unreal, including the fact that Su Dianmo is my mother. There was a time when I thought it was important to find out who my biological parents were, but now that I really know, I don’t feel much. Maybe they are just a symbol in my heart. After all, I have never seen them. My adoptive parents, my master, and you, senior sister, are... Um, senior sister? Senior sister?"
Nangong Xier had fallen asleep quietly on the table without her knowing.
"She must have stayed with you all night last night. Now she really can't hold on any longer." A familiar voice suddenly sounded behind them.
Su Baiyi was not surprised at all, as if he had already noticed this person's arrival. He took a sip of tea and smiled with some ill intentions: "Old Zhao, I have a request..."
Zhao Xiaqiu said helplessly: "You have changed my name from Taoist Zhao to Old Zhao... To be honest, Old Zhao is a bit unpleasant to hear."
"Because we are getting more familiar with each other. Doesn't Old Zhao seem to be much closer than Taoist Zhao?" Su Baiyi shrugged.
"Tell me, what is your request? If you want me to take you away from the Demon City, I can't do it." Zhao Xia Qiu asked.
"Are you well-off? Can you lend me some money..." Su Baiyi looked at Nangong Xier who was sleeping there, "I want to buy a box of rouge."