"Welcome, dear visitor! Welcome to our famous Shuangxi Tea House!"

A wind bell chimed when a man dressed in soiled white robe stepped inside the inner hall of Shuangxi Tea House, a well-known chalou* in Shuangxi Prefecture. Instead of just serving a cup of tea, this tea house also provided with other kind of entertainment, like music, traditional dances, and storytelling that keep the audience sitting for hours while spending their golds in that place.

As the man who wore a veiled straw hat walked inside the hall with a silent and elegant gesture, the subtle wind followed him in a gentle manner, making the thin and transparent curtain on the side window fluttered in the breeze, as if offering him a polite greeting.

At the same time, the wind that blew through the window brought a chill to other visitors inside and made them shiver from cold air in the late of autumn. One of them, tsked in irritation and closed the window beside him. He then turned into the platform in the middle of this tea house, where an old man with a thin white beard sat there holding a folded paper fan, who just finished telling a story.

"Tell us something better, Old Man. You didn't get paid to tell such a trash tale, did you?"

The old man cleared his throat and sipped the cup in front of him, before answering back in calm and unbothered manner. "Hmm, something better?"

He then nodded several times in slow manner while closing his eyelids and rubbing his own beard, made him looked like he was in a deep thought.

All the attention are now focused to the old storyteller. The veiled man, or else called as Yu Hanjin, went to one of the low table and sat on the cotton cushion wrapped in linen. He placed his bamboo backpack beside him, creating a soft and hollow thud on the floor.

"Waiter," he raised his right arm to the air and called out the waiter. One of them noticed his hand movement and approached him with a wide smile.

"Yes, yes, coming. What do you want to eat or drink, Young Master?"

Yu Hanjin spelled out his order in a stable and clear voice. "One Longjing tea, please. And, one portion of Osmanthus cake."

The humble waiter repeated Hanjin's order. "Fine, fine. One Longjing tea and one portion of Osmanthus cake. Please wait here, Young Master, I'll prepare the dish quick enough."

"Yes, thank you."

As the waiter returned to the kitchen preparing for his order, Yu Hanjin chose to listen the old man again.

The old man's voice, soft and soothing, like a gentle stream flowing through a peaceful forest, carried the weight of countless tales as he began to speak.

"Seven years ago," he started, his greyish eyes glinting in the dim candle light, "the Qilin Dynasty reached its golden age. Ah, yes, the 11th emperor, a mighty ruler, united the nine prefectures and ruled as the sole emperor. Having said that, during his reign, all people—whether noble or common—lived in a time of great prosperity, their days filled with peace and plenty."

He paused a moment, letting the listeners savor the sweetness of that golden age before his tone darkened. Yu Hanjin, getting drawn to his tale, sat still on his place, waiting for the next sentence. It was something in that old man's voice, or in his eyes, that made other people could not escape after he opened his mouth and began to speak.

"But nothing lasts forever, eh?" he continued, sighing. "You see, that golden age only lasted less than a year, when a great calamity was born. Deep within the shadows of Heiyu Prefecture, in a dark forest where all kind of cursed things gather, something terrible, dangerous, and vicious appeared. It was not a monster, ghost, or demon—no, this creature was different. It ruled over them, stood above them, and within a month, all the dangerous creatures of that forest bent their knee to him. He was no ordinary being, later, he became known as the Emperor of Great Calamity."

The old man paused to let the name sink in, his sunken eyes sweeping the room to ensure everyone was hanging on his every word. Hearing the forbidden name that have become a huge terror in Qilin's people lives, made the silence grew so loud that one's breath could easily be heard.

"Young Master, your order." Yu Hanjin almost jumped off his cushion when the waiter suddenly appeared before him, holding a tray filled with his order. The unexpected interruption also draw other's attention to Yu Hanjin's table, making him feel uncomfortable under the sudden spotlight. 

"Laoban*, I want to order a big steak and bottle of fruit wine!"

Yu Hanjin almost flee from that place when a sudden sharp thud followed with a booming voice echoed through the main hall. 

"Who's that?"

"Don't know. Must be some brat."

A soft murmur came from the other tables with their direction focused toward the youth that came inside with a loud step and confident look. The young man took a seat right beside Yu Hanjin's table, calling over the waiter on Yu Hanjin's table with a loud, clear voice.

"Waiter, come here."

Yu Hanjin tried not to involve with that young man, because somehow, he had a bad feeling about him. It was best to keep distance and acted like a total stranger. He shifted his seat a little, created more distance between them.

The waiter, did not seem unfazed, quickly approaching the young man with a wide smile. "Yes, yes, Young Master. What can I get for you?"

The young man stated his order without any hesitation. "Mmm, I want your best dish. Do you have any kind of meat dish? I want it two portions, then give me your finest fruit wine."

"Fruit wine? But, we don't have that here. Would you prefer our signature tea?"

"Fine, just bring me that." He replied in a fast manner.

"Alright. I'll prepare it now. Please wait a moment, Young Master."

The interruption was so abrupt and happened in short time for he did not even realize that he had cut off the old man's tale, making it awkward for the old man to continue from where he left. 

The old man letting out a soft cough. "Ekhem–now, now, this evil Emperor," he began, lowering his voice, hoping that he was still being listened, "was not content to rule the dark forest alone. He wanted his name to be feared across the land. So, he summoned countless ghosts, demons, soul eaters, jiangshi, all being of dark creatures from the depths of hell itself. He unleashed these disasters upon the land of Qilin, turning our once-prosperous home into a place of terror, where human souls were devoured, and corpses walked again as the undead."

There were murmurs of unease among the listeners, and the old man let them simmer before continuing. Yu Hanjin, who was also among the listeners, just sat in his couch while munching his Osmanthus cake in silence. He did not even bother turning aside to see what the young man doing right now. It was not his concern from the beginning.

"But," the old man said, his tone lifting slightly from dark and hopeless into a burning hope, "the people of Qilin are not so easily broken. We are indomitable. While the Emperor of Great Calamity had his dark army, we had our own heroes—brave warriors who loved this land, martial artists with their powerful cultivation, and all kinds of folk who refused to let their lives be stolen by the darkness."

This sentences capture the audience like some charms as almost all of them now looking at the old man with full of determination, the glimmer of hope filled their gaze.

"For seven years, this land was soaked in blood, two-thirds of our beloved Qilin Continent overtaken by those foul creatures, turning it into a dead land, unfit for the living. But then, just as suddenly as he had appeared out of the blue, the Emperor of Great Calamity vanished. One day, he was simply … gone. No one knew where he went or why he disappeared, but the war ended, leaving the people of Qilin to rebuild and recover from the long, dark years."

He took a deep breath.

"Yet, the question remains," he said, voice dropping to a whisper. "Where did the Emperor of Great Calamity go? Why did he vanish without a trace? And the most unsettling question of all—what if he returns one day, with a vengeance, to finish what he started?"

The old man leaned back, sipping his tea as the room buzzed with nervous energy, his tale leaving a lingering chill in the air.

Yu Hanjin, seated at his couch, sipped his cup until it was empty and felt his stomach full now. Once he done eating, the same waiter returned with an order for the table beside him.

"Your order, Young Master."

"That fast? Well, it's look delicious. Thanks!"

Without Hanjin realizing, he had turned his gaze to the side and peeked that young man.

The young man, who was first looking at his food with starving gaze, sensed someone watching him from the side and looked back in fast movement. He found a strange man, with his face covered in a veiled straw bamboo hat, seated next to his table. 

Yu Hanjin immediately shifted his gaze to the other side, cursing himself for being so careless in the outside. He thought to himself that he needed to leave that place and headed towards his original destination soon enough.

The young man raised one of his eyebrows, puzzled with the white-robed man strange behaviour. However, his hunger won out, and he brushed aside the odd thing about the man beside him. He gobbled up the food in front of him as if he had not eating for days. 

Yu Hanjin just could not believe what he had just witnessed. Hanjin's first impression toward that young man was, he's sure a big eater.

"W-what a freaking bullshit!"

On the spur of the moment, the same visitor who asked the old man to tell another story was now standing, holding a bottle of wine that came out of the blue, since this tea house did not sell liquor. It could be seen that he was drunk from his red cheeks.

"You spit out nonsense—hiccup! Fuck that Emperor of Great-Ass-Or-Something. If I meet him, I'll smack his fucking ass and make him suck my foot, pfffft!" sputtered the drunkard man with a degrading tone. He even spun around as if to tell all the visitors inside the tea house of his braveness.

Nonetheless, the others' responses are cold and indifferent, as if this happens on a daily basis. Yu Hanjin also did not want to get swept into trouble. He quietly picked up his money pocket to pay for the food. While the man beside Hanjin did not give a single damn attention and was still finishing munching his food.

"What? Are all of you afraid of that fucking monster? Have those seven years made all of your brains rot? Why are you not answering? Why? Why—"

"Stop. You're going too far now."

All of a sudden, another person stood up and talked back to the drunkard man. Judging from his appearance and the long jade sword on his hand, he was indeed a cultivator. Yu Hanjin, having wandered outside for many years, could easily recognize from what sect that cultivator just looking from his garments and headpiece.

Soft azure blue robe with a swirling cloud pattern, and the hem of the robe featured a subtle gradient from deep azure to lighter blue. His headpiece was a circlet blue ribbon. He must be from Qingfeng Sect.

"What?" The drunkard man was too drunk to comprehend the situation he was in right now.

The cultivator, who was just a few years younger than Yu Hanjin, opened his mouth again and blurted out. "Do mind your words. While the Emperor of Great Calamity may have vanished without a trace, we cannot predict when he might return. We have endured a rough seven years, and the last thing we need is you running your mouth and making us suffer all over again."

"W-What?" The drunkard, who seemed to have regained some of his senses, felt embarrassed by the cultivator's words just now. He did not want to be seen as a coward, so he puffed out his chest and glared at the cultivator with anger. "Y-you! You must have done it on purpose to belittle me like this! You want to fight, huh? Come on! Let's fight now!"

"Huh... he must be really drunk. How could he win against a cultivator? Tsk, I have lost my appetite. Come on, let's leave this place."

"Yup, it's just getting boring."

"Waiter, here's the money!"

The other visitors felt that the drunkard was just blabbing without proof since there was no way he could win against a cultivator who had trained for years. Most of them started to leave the tea house, including the old storyteller who had run off much earlier. Feeling so embarrassed, the drunkard then picked up the wine bottle he had snuck in and held it tight.

"I told you, I'm not and never will be afraid of you! To me, all cultivators are just a bundle of trash!"

"Sigh, please come to your senses. You're rambling too much."

While both man are engaged in heated discussion, Yu Hanjin, on the other side, put a tael on the table and quick picked up his bamboo backpack. Just like other people, he needed to leave that place before it got worsen. There was a cultivator here, and it was from Qingfeng Sect, so it would going to be fine.

"You asked for this!" All of a sudden, the ceramic wine bottle in the drunkard's hand was thrown at the cultivator, but he easily dodged aside. The ceramic bottle missed its target, whizzing past and slamming into the table with a heavy thud. The impact sent plates and utensils clattering before everything tumbled to the floor. A loud crash followed as dishes shattered, and food splattered across the ground, creating a chaotic mess.

The table's owner had almost finished his last bite when the steak in his hand also flew past and fell to the ground. He was stunned for a while. Aside from him, the drunkard and the cultivator also looked at him in silence. 

Yu Hanjin saw all this from the side, judging that the situation would soon become even more chaotic.

He. Needs. To. Go. Right. Now!

A loud slam fell onto the table when the young man stood up with a pissed look. "What the—how can you be so inconsiderate? Do you know how much I paid for this food? Do you know how hard I had to suffer defeating those undead just to get this food? You want to pick a fight with me, huh?"

The cultivator, feeling somewhat remorseful, wanted to reassure the young man. "Young lad, I apologize for the chaos. I will compensate for that—"

"Yeah! Let's fight! You think I'm afraid of a brat like you, huh? Come on, come here and let me beat your ass off!" said the drunkard while took some steps back. He was indeed did not think will fighting two person in a row. 

"Fine! Let's fight!"

The young man had lost his temper and went forward to smack the drunkard's face when he suddenly bumped into something—no, into someone. The loud thud came from below his legs, and he was stopped for a moment. 

Another subtle wind blew, like a prompt stunt, lifting the veil on the bamboo straw hat and revealing what was inside. Yu Hanjin, who wanted to flee from the chaotic mess, did not expect that he would bump into the young man's side and fall instead. 

He looked up to see what was going to happen when his gaze met another pair of brown honey eyes that looked at him with a blank, indescribable expression. 

Yu Hanjin furrowed his brow in annoyance. 

… what the fuck?

—

Notes:

Chalou (茶楼) means "tea house" in English. It's a place where people in Chinese-speaking areas go to drink tea, chat with friends, and sometimes eat light snacks.

Laoban (老板) means "boss" or "owner." It combines "lao" (老), meaning "old" or "experienced," with "ban" (板), symbolizing authority. The term is used to address or refer to a person in charge of a business, whether it's a large company or a small shop.