flstandardbreds Chapter 180 The Semifinal Comeback
Chapter 180 The Semifinal Comeback
A comeback in the semifinals
The new leaves of the phoenix tree glowed with an eerie golden-red hue in the morning light. Su Yunlan used a silver needle to puncture the congealed Gu blood on the back of the leaves.
As the ink-like liquid fell into the hidden compartment of the tea box, the jade cicada inlaid with the character "Wu" suddenly emitted a clear and melodious sound, and half of a tattered tea classic slowly emerged from inside the tea mortar.
"The Three-Boiling Method of Nanzhao Gu Tea." Xiao Yuhan lightly touched the seam of the scripture with the tip of his sword, and the corpses of Gu worms arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper turned to dust in the sword energy. "Back then, the Grandmaster broke the deadlock using your improved Nine-Turn Cycle Brewing Technique."
Three clapper sounds came from the market's drum tower, and Su Yunlan put the improved ice-crack pattern teacup into her spatial storage.
Ice crystals suddenly seeped from the hidden compartment of the tea box, condensing into the shape of watermarks from the chessboard that had melted the night before. The right eye, which was missing from the portraits of past leaders, was now clearly visible, revealing her specially made bamboo tea whisk.
"Semi-final Round 3 – Yunjian Inn vs. Wu's Tea House!"
As the gong rang out, the silver bracelet on Master Wu's wrist emitted five sonic waves.
The snow bud tea cake that Su Yunlan had just laid out suddenly developed gray spots, and the spring water in the enamel jar formed spiderweb-like icicles.
Exclamations erupted from the audience—this was clearly the "Throat-Locking Cold" forbidden technique, a lost art of the Nanzhao Kingdom.
"Could you please warm the teapot for me, Brother Sun?" Su Yunlan tossed the tea cake into the air without changing his expression, and suddenly pulled out a piece of silk embroidered with honeysuckle patterns from his sleeve.
The moment the silk cloth was unfurled, the Kunlun snow water prepared in the space poured down, wrapping the tea cake and swirling in the air in an emerald vortex.
Tea Master Wu's expression changed drastically; the Ice Toad Gu she had hidden behind the judges' table suddenly exploded and she died.
Judge Zhao wiped away the poisoned blood splattered on his official robe. The low score wooden plaque that was supposed to be given to Su Yunlan was torn to pieces by the roots of the phoenix tree that had somehow climbed up.
"Please use my Phoenix Three Nods." Xiao Yuhan's voice came from within the sword energy, and the jade pendant at Su Yunlan's waist suddenly became hot.
The twisted and deformed iron kettle on the tea table instantly straightened its body, and the water jet from the spout condensed into the shape of a phoenix spreading its wings in mid-air, startling the referee who was about to blow the whistle so much that he bit his own brass whistle.
When the lid of the purple clay teapot was tapped lightly on the body of the pot for the third time, the tea soup brewed by Master Wu had already turned an eerie purplish-red.
She dipped the silver bracelet into the teapot, and the five poisonous creatures relief began to move on the surface of the tea. "Manager Su, are you still not going to admit defeat?"
My Five Poisons Refreshing Tea can neutralize the potent poison of the Phoenix Wood.
Su Yunlan's tea whisk suddenly traced the Big Dipper's path in the celadon cup. The remnants of the Gu worms, crushed by sword energy the previous night, gathered from all directions, condensing into a dazzling star map amidst the tea foam. "Coincidentally," he said, "this Seven Luminaries Soothing Drink of mine is specifically for counteracting the witchcraft of Nanzhao."
The moment the two aromas collided, the crackled teaware on the judges' panel suddenly began to hum.
Just as Judge Zhao was about to raise the zero-score card, the tea vapor sent it flying, smashing precisely into Tea Master Wu's poisoned teacup.
The moment the deep purple tea touched the ground, a swarm of phoenix tree seedlings suddenly sprouted from the cracks in the bluestone slabs, their leaves turning over to reveal the antidote formula on their undersides.
"This aroma..." The eldest judge trembled as he picked up Su Yunlan's teacup. Suddenly, the star map within the cup projected into the air, transforming into an illusion of the unfinished game of chess between the first Grandmaster and the witch. "Thirty-three Heavens Beyond the Heavens... This is clearly the Star Luo Tea Array passed down directly from the Grandmaster!"
As the last tea leaf settled in the illusion, the silver bracelet on Wu's wrist suddenly shattered.
The Five Poisons relief materialized and fell to the ground, perfectly merging with the star map formed from Su Yunlan's tea soup.
The cheers erupting from the audience startled the copper bells on the eaves, and amidst the falling phoenix tree leaves, the faint silhouettes of past champions appeared, nodding in greeting to Su Yunlan.
Su Yunlan picked up the silver needle covered in tea dust, and a jade bead suddenly rolled out from the star map fragment that the needle tip had pierced.
The Gu blood sealed inside the bead is resonating with the petri dish marked with laboratory symbols in her space.
Suddenly, the jade cicada in the hidden compartment of the tea box flapped its wings, absorbing all the remaining witchcraft energy into the inscription on its wings.
In the shadows on the west side of the platform, Xiao Yuhan's sword tassel moved erratically without wind.
He gazed at the lingering sword aura of the Big Dipper on the tea table, his fingertips gently caressing the phoenix tree leaf he had chopped down the night before—the challenge written in Gu blood on the back of the leaf was now turning into specks of golden light that seeped into the callus on his palm.
The cheers billowed around Su Yunlan's moon-white dress as she looked towards the northwest corner through the surging crowd.
Xiao Yuhan's arm, hidden beneath his dark black arrow sleeve, traced a clean arc in the air. The jade pendant of the Big Dipper adorning the sword tassel jingled softly, clearing a glimmer of clarity for her amidst the clamor of the crowd.
Suddenly, the blue bricks under the tea table vibrated three short and two long vibrations, the secret signal she had agreed upon with Xiao Yuhan the night before.
Su Yunlan lowered her eyes while tidying the tea whisk and saw a half-peony leaf embedded in the brick crack, shimmering with gold—this was the good news delivered by Xiao Yuhan with his sword energy.
"Yunjian Inn is currently in first place!" The referee's announcement stirred up an even louder uproar.
Tea Master Wu staggered as he steadied himself against the overturned tea tray. Suddenly, dark red blood seeped from the newly replaced black jade bracelet on his wrist. As the jade cicada in Su Yunlan's space emitted a warning buzz, it quickly retracted into the snake-patterned groove on the inside of the bracelet.
Judge Zhao dusted off his official robe and stood up, revealing half of a celadon medicine bottle in the fish-shaped pouch at his waist as he moved.
The Kunlun snow water in Su Yunlan's space suddenly boiled, and the totem of "Nanzhao Gu King Palace" on the bottle was reflected deep in her consciousness.
She pretended to tidy her hair and re-inserted the two silver hairpins that had been treated with antidote.
"Please move to the top-tier tea room, Master." As the servant brought over the gilded tray, Su Yunlan's embroidered shoe tip touched the remaining Gu blood on the ground.
The black blood that should have solidified suddenly began to snake and slither. The tattered pages of the "Classic of Tea" in her space automatically turned to the chapter on "fighting poison with poison," and a star map carved by Xiao Yuhan with sword energy appeared on the edge of the page.
The moment the carved door of the tea room shut out the noise, the ice silk hidden in Su Yunlan's sleeve suddenly taut.
Xiao Yuhan's sword energy was transmitting a special frequency through the silk thread; it was a secret language they had created when studying the "Poison Scripture".
The silk threads trembled in the light spots cast by the window lattice, spelling out the warning: "3:45 PM, Southeast Xun position."
As dusk streamed down the glazed tiles, Su Yunlan's hand, which was checking the equipment for the finals in the spatial dimension, suddenly stopped.
The jade cicada inlaid with the character "Wu" was frantically flapping its wings in the medicine cabinet, scratching the four characters "borrowing a corpse to revive the soul" from the ancient Nanzhao language onto the white jade plate.
She suddenly pushed open the carved window facing the street and saw Wu the tea master's carriage turn into the dark alley. Through the gap in the curtain, she could see the peacock pattern patch on Judge Zhao's official robe.
The wisps of smoke rising from the incense burner in the tea room suddenly twisted into a skull shape, and Su Yunlan used her hand to plunge the tea needle into the ashes.
The poisonous larvae, pricked by the needle, were still struggling when the phoenix tree outside the window suddenly moved without wind, its leaves surging like blood-red waves—this was a warning from Xiao Yuhan's sword aura, unleashed from three hundred paces away.
Su Yunlan stroked the jade pendant at her waist, feeling the lingering warmth of Xiao Yuhan seep into her fingertips through the warm jade.
As dusk fell, the hoarse sound of the night watchman's clapper rang out, startling the night owl crouching on the eaves. The bird's scarlet eyes reflected the silver threads slowly hanging from the beams of the tea room—the very soul-chasing Gu hidden in the black jade bracelet that Master Wu had worn during the day.