The World of Wine and Tea

For anyone who roams the martial world, the only things that pass their lips day after day are wine and tea. From north to south, each has its own flavor. Stopping for a meal or lodging at an inn, the calls of "Waiter, tea!" and "Sir, your wine" ring in one's ears time and again. The sky had barely begun to brighten, and a pale light was already rising in the distance. Zhao An Nian locked the courtyard gate and packed various herbs, valuables, fishing hooks, and silkworm thread. The leopard quietly crouched by his feet, and the boy wrapped both arms around its neck and pressed close to it. Shixia Village was utterly still. A wisp of cooking smoke rose now and then from Aunt Wang's house at the east end of the village, where breakfast was being prepared. He looked back at the mountains and rivers, unchanged since his childhood. Then he turned around. He was fifteen now, and for the first time, he felt like an adult. He took his old yellow horse and set off for the martial world.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.