Ruixuan Town.
When Qian Chao and the other five came to Ruixuan Town this time, it was just past noon. He had been thinking about going to Yimingguan to see if the mysterious teahouse owner was at home, so as soon as he arrived in Ruixuan Town, he met a few people The companions said hello, agreed on a place to meet in the evening, and then hurried to Yiming Pavilion.
"Brother Qian, why are you so anxious?" Yanxuan asked curiously. Not only Yanxuan, but also Li Jian could also detect the enthusiasm hidden in Qian Chao's heart.
Tang Ping knew the reason, but she had sworn in front of Tang Bonian not to tell anyone about this matter, so she looked at Qian Chao's hurried back and said:
"The teahouse owner gave him three paintings in a row, which benefited the boy a lot. He probably wanted to meet the teahouse owner for a while. Forget it, let him go, let's go to the town for a walk. "
"Let's go!" Lu Pingchuan said happily, "Let's go to Songfeng Tower for a meal in the evening."
Having been to Ruixuan Town several times, Qian Chao was already very familiar with the roads in this town. After crossing the streets and crossing the alleys, his eyes suddenly lit up when he came out of the narrow alleys. In front of him was Yi. Mingguan.
The door of this small restaurant, which only sold tea but not tea, was open. Qian Chao saw the old shopkeeper sitting inside at a glance and walked in.
"Haha, little brother is finally here. Just as it happens, my boss is right behind. In order to wait for little brother, my boss has not gone out these days. Come with me, he also wants to see you."
As soon as Qian Chao walked in, the old shopkeeper immediately stood up and greeted him with a smile. He naturally knew what Qian Chao was here for today, so he led Qian Chao in through a small door at the back without Qian Chao opening his mouth. The backyard of this teahouse.
Behind the teahouse are three houses on one side and two sides. Together with the small teahouse, a small courtyard is formed. The ground of the courtyard is paved with blue stones. There are several houses under the window of the side room on one side. There is a flowerpot with flowers blooming in full bloom. Opposite to it, in the side room on the other side, there is a small pond with water lilies. The lotus flowers are in bud, and a few small fish are leisurely swinging their fins and tails under the lotus leaves. .
In the middle of the yard is a chess table carved from a piece of warm white jade. There is a fat old man who is concentrating on holding the chess piece in one hand and staring at the book in the other hand. It looks like It's playing chess.
"My boss."
The old shopkeeper called out respectfully.
"Um"
The fat old man raised his head.
"Haha, this is the little brother Qian that my boss has been waiting for. He came to visit today..."
"Oh...haha, okay, come on, look at the tea. Make a pot of the tea I usually use to treat this little brother."
"Yes" the old shopkeeper responded and went to make tea. Only Qian Chao and the old man were left here.
Just when the old man raised his eyes, Qian Chao met his eyes. Based on intuition, Qian Chao seemed to notice a flash of brilliance in the old man's eyes. Originally, Qian Chao was holding a visit to his senior Gao. The visitor with a human mentality was prepared to look up at the top of the mountain, but just the moment of this pair of eyes made Qian Chao's heart waver, and the seemingly absent brilliance in the old man's eyes suddenly disappeared. Qian Chao had the same feeling. His methods, from talismans to formations, were many and complex, but all of them were fine when he looked at the old man. Only one thing almost appeared on its own...
That's Qian Chao's trick!
The moment he looked into the old man's eyes, Qian Chao's Blue Eyes Technique was somehow provoked, causing his spiritual energy to circulate on its own, his eyes trembling, and he almost used it on his own with his eyes flashing with blue light.
This has never happened before!
Moreover, Qian Chao also felt that the reason why he was able to suppress the imminent Blue Eyes Technique in the end was not at all due to himself, but because the old man's temptation was only briefly stopped and Qian Chao was not embarrassed in the end.
What kind of cultivation level did this teahouse owner have? Qian Chao couldn't help but feel a sudden shock in his heart!
"Old senior, junior Qian Chao, I've been waiting for you for a long time, and I'm here unexpectedly. Please forgive me for being presumptuous."
Qian Chao respectfully saluted the old man, but he was thinking about the cultivation level of the teahouse owner. In the sect, there is no need to talk about the brothers who built the foundation. It is common to see that even the seniors who formed the pills he has seen many times. There are few, and they have had close contact with, for example, Tang Ping's sixth grandfather Tang Bonian. Qian Chao can naturally feel the invisible pressure coming from Tang Bonian in front of him, but he has never felt like this before. It feels like this old man gave Qian Chao a feeling. Apart from that look in his eyes, it seems that his cultivation level is extremely low.
As long as a monk has a certain level of cultivation, he will always have spiritual energy fluctuations leaking out inadvertently. This is also the basis for monks to judge the other person's level of cultivation when they meet. But in front of this old man, Qian Chao has no idea what the other person is like. Even if Qian Chao's senses are much worse than Li Jian's cultivation, the two of them are now face to face at such a close distance. If they can no longer sense it, is it possible that this old man is not a monk but just an ordinary old man?
That's impossible!
At least the old shopkeeper who was making tea was a monk. I had never heard of any monks serving ordinary people.
And the look in his eyes at the beginning was enough to prove that this old man should have advanced cultivation.
From this, Qian Chao judged that the old man's cultivation should be at least pill-forming. The reason why he couldn't sense the spiritual energy fluctuations coming from the other person's body was probably because the old man did it deliberately.
"Well, Qian Chao, okay, sit down quickly. My surname is Zhuang, and the word is Qi. Zhuang Qi is. Well, my bad friends all call me Lao Zhuang. Brother Qian can also call me Lao Zhuang if you don't mind. Down below."
"How dare you, if senior doesn't mind, then junior can call senior Mr. Zhuang, okay?"
"Haha, a name is just a title after all. Brother Qian is too reserved. Don't always refer to seniors as seniors. It's so awkward..."
Mr. Zhuang is a very casual person, but Qian Chao always has a sense of awe in front of him.
Take a closer look at Mr. Zhuang, who is not only slightly fat, but also has a kind face. He has a lot of age spots on his saggy face. His forehead is wrinkled, his eye bags are slightly droopy, his hair, beard and eyebrows are full of wrinkles. Her gray-white, apparently sparse hair was tied into a small bun and pinned casually with a wooden hairpin. He was wearing an ordinary and old gray robe. The book in his hand was obviously a chess book. He didn't know how many times it had been read. It was obvious at a glance that the pages were limp, but the chess piece in his hand was black and crystal clear. Bright, I don’t know what it is made of, it must be extraordinary.
Qian Chao looked at Mr. Zhuang and thought about how to ask for advice. He had a lot of questions to ask, but he never knew how to ask.
Mr. Zhuang was also looking at Qian Chao. He seemed to be particularly satisfied with Qian Chao's pair of eyes that were as black as dots of ink and as clear as a piercing eye. He stared at Qian Chao for a while and chatted a few words, nothing more than his background. The first type of polite talk is mainly Mr. Zhuang asking and Qian Chao answering. During this period, Qian Chao wanted to bring up the topic several times to the three paintings he got from the Yiming Pavilion. After all, he had benefited a lot from those three paintings. Not long ago, he borrowed Qingluan to kill blind mosquitoes. The teleportation circle and the star map they found in Blind Man's Cave, as well as Qian Chao's various methods of dealing with the great tide in Hanquan Valley, were all attributed to Mr. Zhuang's paintings, not to mention Qian Chao. The various insights about runes and formations that he gained from those three paintings are extremely valuable. From this, we can see that Mr. Zhuang in front of him is a master of runes. Now he hurriedly came to see Mr. Zhuang. , just eager to learn more from him.
However, Qian Chao was anxious, but Mr. Zhuang was not anxious at all. Whenever Qian Chao asked about the three paintings in front of him, he would smile and take the topic away, seemingly turning a deaf ear to Qian Chao's questions. Just chatting about random things.
This made Qian Chao secretly anxious.
Then the old shopkeeper came up to serve tea. Well, Qian Chao is indeed a tea lover, and he is willing to spend spiritual stones on spiritual tea. Therefore, the spiritual tea he drinks is all of the highest quality, but today this tea is served. Qian Chao was shocked. The tea soup in the cup was clear and fragrant. The tea was so wonderful that he had only seen it in his life. He only felt that the steam rising from the hot tea in the cup washed away his mind. He sniffed it gently. After one sip, you feel as if you are washing your menstruation and severing your marrow. After one sip, you will feel that the wine is boring.
"It's really good tea, it's really wonderful!" Qian Chao praised in surprise.
"Haha, little brother, if you like it, I will give you a pack before I leave."
"Mr. Zhuang used the spiritual tea for himself, and the boy deserves it."
"You little brother, why can't you let go? Well, that's fine, can you play chess?" Mr. Zhuang frowned slightly and looked at Qian Chao, tapping the chess table in front of him with his finger and asked.
"Oh, I know a little bit..." Qian Chao is naturally proficient in the art of chess, but in front of Mr. Zhuang, Qian Chao still can't let go.
"Well, in order to wait for you, I pushed forward several invitations from chess friends. My hands are itchy. Since I have waited for you, why not let me try your chess skills. It's okay. Let's talk about a few games. How about ah?"
"good!"
At this point, Qian Chao finally figured it out. He came here today with a purpose in mind. However, after introspection, he realized that he was a little too eager as soon as he entered the small courtyard and always wanted to go straight to the topic. , I can’t wait to ask Mr. Zhuang for all my doubts, and then learn from Mr. Zhuang’s knowledge.
Now he has understood that he and Mr. Zhuang are not related at all, let alone master and apprentice. How could he teach each other all the skills he has learned as soon as they meet? If this happens, you have to get to know Mr. Zhuang well before you can please him, and then you can take the opportunity to ask for advice.
Furthermore, he said that he was a disciple of the Five Spirits, but this Mr. Zhuang did not seem to be a Five Spirits monk. Qian Chao did not know whether what he learned from this Mr. Zhuang was regarded as studying under the outer sect, or whether it violated the Five Spirits. According to the rules of Lingzong, the previously burning heart slowly calmed down.
Speaking of which, this was an experience Qian Chao had never had in his life. When he was at home in his early years, his father did not have to worry about his studies. It was even more ridiculous to say that he invited teachers for him. In terms of knowledge, he only paid attention to a few great scholars in the world. Later, when he entered the Five Spirits Sect, even in terms of cultivation, Qian Chao did not lag behind others. He used his intelligence to the extreme. He also created his own method "Blue Eyes Technique" by chance. It can be said that he has achieved some achievements and reputation in the art of weapon refining, and then with the help of this art, he can vaguely touch the door of rune science.
The only thing Qian Chao lacks now is someone who can push open the heavy door of rune science for him, and Mr. Zhuang in front of him seems to be that person, so Qian Chao seems to be too eager at first.
Having said that, with the above experiences, even if Qian Chao is usually well-educated and restrained from showing it, he still has the pride of a young man in his heart. But today, in front of Mr. Zhuang, he has When I understood, I had to wipe away the arrogance that I had never shown before, even in my heart. In front of such a transparent and unpredictable figure, all pretense and clichés were superfluous. Just get along with your temperament. After thinking about this, Qian Chao simply showed off his innocent attitude and showed his true temperament without any reservation, just like facing his mother at home who was chasing and beating him with a duster!
And since he took off the disguise, both in appearance and in his heart, Mr. Zhuang became even more joyful when he looked at Qian Chao.
When it comes to playing chess, it seems that Qian Chao has never lost before. Even Tang Yatou is not his opponent. Since Mr. Zhuang likes to play chess and is a chess fanatic, then use all your skills to deal with him!
The first game of chess was a test of each other. Both of them appeared to be very cautious when they started to make moves, just like when a master starts to compete, he often first needs to find out the opponent's true and false position.
Qian Chao didn't think about anything at this time. All his thoughts were on the vertical and horizontal chessboard. There were only black and white stones scattered in front of him. Every time he placed a stone, countless chessboards would appear in his mind, and the black and white stones scattered all over him. They appeared one by one before his eyes, and there was always one chessboard with the same moves as Mr. Zhuang's. Then as he continued to make moves, countless new chessboards appeared in his mind out of thin air, all at the back. He didn't know the chessboard situation after how many moves, so he calculated step by step and figured it out bit by bit, making it watertight and stable.
"Hey, you little brother, why do you play chess like an old man?" Mr. Zhuang, who couldn't take advantage, was a little curious, and was even more surprised by Qian Chao's mature chess skills.
"In the first game, I don't know how good Mr. Zhuang's chess skills are, and I don't want to lose, so I have to play more steadily." Qian Chao said with a smile.
"hehe."
Then came the middle game. It was like the armies of both sides were fighting in one place after arranging their troops. It was extremely fierce. The two people's chess pieces were mixed together. There were dragons fighting in the wild. It was a scene of blood and black and yellow. The two of them came and went. The long black and white dragons fight and fight, which is very enjoyable.
Next came the endgame. In the end, the black and white stones almost covered the chessboard. At the last count, Qian Chao actually won with a slight advantage.
Mr. Zhuang stroked his beard and shouted happily:
"It's great! Hey, I've waited for you these days in vain. I didn't expect that your little brother's chess skills are much better than those stinky chess baskets. Okay, okay, eh, little brother, do you dare to play another game?"
"Why don't you dare!"
"Okay, come again!"
In the teahouse, the old shopkeeper sitting on a chair heard the shouts of an old man and a young man in the yard and the clattering of chess pieces. He couldn't help but smile on his face. For some reason, the old shopkeeper still smiled softly. He breathed a sigh of relief, as if relieved.
