A Humble Tea Stall

Shi Xiaofei inhaled the cold air and attempted to calm himself. After dying from falling off a mountain, he reincarnated into a Demon Sovereign! Twists like that don't even exist in Chinese novels!

Shouldn't he be reborn as a trash without talent, and then suddenly be hit by thunder that gives him the memories of a grandpa?! Why was he the grandpa in this case?!

Looking at the moon(s), frustration started to cloud his face as he realized that he couldn't go back to earth anymore. Despite not liking it one bit back there, he truly enjoyed modern life. He had a great life, a successful career yet it all ended when he visited that fucking mountain!

A single tear fell from his eye as the realization finally hit him. Reincarnation sounds great at a glance, but what would you do if you were thrown into a world that you knew nothing about?

Furthermore, he had regrets left unsolved on earth — how's he supposed to forget about them? Surely, there's a way out of this?!

From what he'd heard, he and his underling, Stormwind, could easily open rifts to other worlds. If it was easy, then returning to his world was also easy!

Seeing the frighteningly still Shi Xiaofei, Stormwind's heart shook as he felt fear rise from his heart. He felt like a log lodged itself in his throat, yet he asked out of loyalty, "My lord, is there anything…bothering you? "

"It's nothing, Stormwind. I'm only wondering about fate; especially mine, " Shi Xiaofei shook his head and banged his fist on the wall. Unfortunately, his strength was too much and the wall couldn't handle it. The broken wall fell to the ground, but he didn't show any reaction.

Shi Xiaofei felt his breath run out, but his reaction to the wall falling was just a slight whimper.

"Fate? You have already transcended fate, my lord. The shackles of fate cannot bind you, an eternal, " Stormwind shook his head, unable to understand his lord's reasoning.

"You won't understand, Storm. " Shi Xiaofei quickly backtracked before the conversation would dip into something he couldn't explain.

"Can you answer a question? Is there a world named 'Earth' in these realms? "

When Stormwind shook his head, Shi Xiaofei's heart broke as he gave up trying. However, due to shaking his head, he managed to notice the tear that dropped from Shi Xiaofei's eyes.

"My lord, it's shameful for me and disgraceful as a retainer, but I'm thrilled to be one of the first ones to see you show emotions! " Stormwind's deep voice cackled as he bowed to him, this time however, reverence coursed through his body.

"Huh? "

"Yes, my lord! You rarely show emotions, so I was surprised when you showed a facial expression! It's my life's honor, that I was able to see serve you! Ashnu-valah, all hail the Demon Sovereign! "

Unfortunately, he wasn't in his senses to enjoy the reverence showered upon him.

He felt a strange sensation in his heart as he coughed and spat out blood. Immediately, his legs began to shake as he collapsed to the dirty, garbage filled ground.

"My lord, your injuries! I knew we should've left for the Dead Nether! Your situation will worsen if we stay here! " Stormwind instantly appeared beside Shi Xiaofei and held him by his arms.

Abnormally, the time it took for Stormwind to dash toward him was less than the blink of an eye; yet in Shi Xiaofei's eyes, his movement speed was lackluster. Deep within his soul, he felt as if there were hundreds of flaws he could exploit in his movement.

Even though Stormwind was rash and wanted to take his lord to safety, he wasn't disloyal. Thus he waited for him to say anything before he acted.

A massive surge of pain assaulted Shi Xiaofei's chest, but he tried to control it by straightening his back. In his entire life, he'd never felt pain so horrendous! Even falling from a mountain wasn't this painful!

"S-Stormwind, don't do anything. Let me…ah…recover a bit first, " he trembled and closed his eyes, only to feel shocked with what he saw!

A bloody mountain covered with black mist appeared in his mind. The instant he saw it, the mist started to roll around the mountain. A few moments later, the mountain turned invisible as the mist completely covered it up. Another few moments later, a surge of vibrant qi flooded his body.

The bloody mountain disappeared in his mind, along with his pain. He opened his eyes and noticed that Stormwind's red eyes were staring at him.

"Your wish is my command, " he silently stepped back.

That was odd.

Shi Xiaofei noticed that even though he spent minutes concentrating on the bloody mountain, only a second passed in the real world.

The blood leaking from his mouth dried as Shi Xiaofei chuckled and stood up. He felt better than before, but didn't really understand what the mountain was. Vigorous spiritual qi started to flood his body, while a faint dark aura started to gush out from his body.

Looking at Stormwind's shocked eyes, Shi Xiaofei victoriously smirked, "Did you really think something happened to me? You're too young, Stormwind; you don't even know how many trump cards I have. " Like an expert, he began to spout bullshit even though deep within, he was afraid.

"Ashnu-valah, this ignorant retainer dares not doubt sovereign! " Stormwind bowed in reverence.

"After this, where do we go, my lord? "

Shi Xiaofei licked his dry lips and began to walk back into the market, "Let's travel for a bit, hm? It really isn't that exciting back at Dead Nether… "

The word 'dead' and 'nether' told him something very inauspicious was waiting for him there. So he decide to try as hard as he could to not go here.

"I'm not sure that I like that idea…being here reminds me of the time when I was a mere slave to my fate. But your wish is my command, my lord! " Stormwind slapped his breastplate and marched behind Shi Xiaofei.

Once he was back into the bustling market, Shi Xiaofei felt a bit more safe; the warm orbs floating above and inside each shop shone light onto his face and uplifted his mood. He exhaled and inhaled, and looked around for that girl.

Immediately, his sight went to a rustic tea stall behind a restaurant. There, he saw that girl, who was surrounded by two men and a small crowd. The owner of the stall, who was preparing tea earlier, ran out and mixed with the crowd around his stall with apprehension on his face.

Even from far away, Shi Xiaofei could hear their voices, "Junior sister Lin, don't make us do this. Show us at least a little bit of face, " due to his formidable hearing.

A blue robed man came closer to the girl and said with an arrogant tone, "Yeah, junior sister Lin! Our Fei clan's young master did so much for you, yet you decline to accompany him? "

After a few moments of silence, the lass replied to their accusations in a soft tone, "Tell Fei Chen I don't want to see him anymore…I-I'm not his servant that fulfills his every wish! "

Regardless of how soft her tone was, her beautiful face's expression was firm. However, she didn't even get the time to blink before the two started to get rowdy.

"Interesting, it's like I'm watching two roosters perform a mating ritual! " Stormwind's brutal sarcasm ripped through the air as he watched the two men start to yell.

His voice wasn't that quiet, in fact, his voice was very loud. The people in the outer part of the crowd immediately turned around with schadenfreude written on their faces. They stayed quiet however due to Stormwind's impressive and towering figure.

"What's wrong with our young master, Sister Lin? Is it because he accepted another wife, is that it? Tch, do you think a future clan leader will have any face left if he marries only one woman? " The mocking voice of the youth startled the girl, who had no fitting reply.

"I don't care. Don't you d-dare harass me again, I've already lost a lot of time bickering with you two… "

Just as she was thinking about running out of the crowd, a two-meter tall figure covered with armor burst through the crowd, behind him was a flawless youth in silver armor.

"Miss Lin, you were supposed to wait for us. " A single sentence uttered coolly from Shi Xiaofei's mouth chilled the girl's heart. His voice had an unknown suppression inside that silenced even the rowdy crowd.

Shi Xiaofei didn't want to waste his breath, so he instead stared at the beauty.

Seeing him stare at her, Lin stuttered and quickly bowed.

On the other hand, the crowd felt their brains burst as they tried to figure out why the city lord's daughter bowed before an unknown man. Some of them even whispered amongst each other, "Has she gone mad? She rejected the Fei Clan's young master, but now is bowing to some kid? What's happening to the world, man? "

"I don't know, but something weird must've happened. Some days ago I saw that tall guy enter the city mansion! "

The two guys who were threatening Lin earlier looked at Shi Xiaofei in shock. After all, what kind of background is domineering enough to make her bow to him?

"Junior sister Lin, who is he? And why is he interfering in our matters? Hey mister, get lost!"

However, one of the men didn't care and instead threatened Shi Xiaofei with a strong glare. He thought that any knowledgeable person wouldn't dare offend them.

"Sister Lin, I never thought you'd stoop so low; bowing before someone, even if he's the young master of some other clan, is akin to throwing your purity away! "

Shi Xiaofei pitifully looked at the foul-mouthed blue-robed man. His other companion had turned pale long ago, but he didn't stop talking.

Maybe this is what they meant by 'frog stuck at the bottom of a well'…

Immediately, a bone-crunching sound began to reverberate throughout the market as Stormwind started to grind his teeth together. This time, he didn't wait for any orders — he opened his palms and pointed at the two men, and they immediately exploded into mists of blood.

When Stormwind aimed his finger, Shi Xiaofei felt a massive wave, equal to the volume of a sea, of burning spiritual invade the men's bodies. The qi was so powerful that even the bones turned into fine powder.

"I-impossible, a cultivator is here?! What's he doing here?! " The crowd was shell-shocked at the sight of blood; especially the ones who had weak minds, who collapsed into the arms of the bystanders! Most of them had seen humans die, but never in ways this violent!

"Sshh, run, run, don't talk. Esteemed cultivator is that silver armored youth's follower, what if he takes offense at us staring and pointing?! "

A red eyed man ran away from the crowd, and soon, majority of the crowd followed him and fled. Only a small percentage of brave, and reckless people were left who were staring at Shi Xiaofei in amazement.

Miss Lin's eyes went blank from fear, but as expected of someone from the city lord's family, she quickly recovered. Furthermore, those men dying made her look at Shi Xiaofei with relief in her eyes.

She stammered as she went near Shi Xiaofei, "E-esteemed lord, I'm sorry — those two men took me here by force. I thought y-you'd be back a few minutes later, B-but… "

Unfortunately, Stormwind wasn't satisfied. An earth-shaking roar ripped through the air as he stomped on the ground.

"Worthless wretch! Your deserve the depths of hell! "

The mortal citizens watching the show turned increasingly scared as they ran away. Only the tea stall's shopkeeper was left behind, but judging by his pale face and soaked clothes, he wasn't in a better state mentally.

Before running away, one thought didn't forget to come across their minds…

How domineering! They didn't have the chance to even talk before they were killed! Is this what it means to be a…cultivator?

Stormwind lifted his two-feet thick arms, upon which a blue flame came gushing out. It came into contact with the bloody mist and boiled it into drops of concentrated blood — which disappeared once it came into contact with his armor.

"Are you done terrorizing the citizens of this city, Stormwind? " Shi Xiaofei smirked and asked, even though he was slightly unnerved from seeing someone being killed.

Shi Xiaofei… wasn't what you would call an ordinary man back at earth. He had seen murders before in real life, but turning into a bloody fog after being killed is slightly horrific.

"I, Commander Stormwind, will never let anyone badmouth the lord! Ashnu-valah, death to the disbelievers! " Stormwind dashed behind Shi Xiaofei and sternly chanted. His red eyes however, kept staring at the unnerved Miss Lin.

Shi Xiaofei redirected his gaze to her, "Miss Lin, I don't think I need to apologize for killing those two, do I? "

A surprising blood thirst awakened in her eyes as she gnashed her teeth, "N-no, not at all, esteemed lord, you shouldn't apologize. Those…fools deserved it!"

"Girl, you should be thankful to my lord! You abandoned your duty, yet lord still intervened in your little feud. If my lord wasn't feeling benevolent today, even your severed head wouldn't be enough to pay as compensation!" Stormwind said with derision.

Every time Lin looked at that armored man, she was reminded of a demon. His every words were laced with malice, which made her feel a suffocating dread. She started to regret that she came to her father's house…

Seeing her look down in fear, Stormwind sneered victoriously. Shi Xiaofei shook his head, "You don't need to compensate for anything, Miss Lin. You just need to fulfill your task of showing me around the city, " and while saying it, didn't forget to show his disappointment.

Acting too grateful or benevolent would in fact, turn him into an eccentric being in Stormwind's eyes. Doing that was just asking for death!

"R-right right, ah. Esteemed cultivator, um, the city we're in right now is named Nightsong. There isn't much to see here as it's a mortal city, but despite its humble origins, its famed due to a tower t—"

Stormwind interrupted with a disdainful scowl, "You're talking about a Tower Of Eternity, yes? What is so special about that filth, that you hu—" Suddenly, he stopped as he realized talking further would blow their cover. He coughed and continued, "Nevermind, you should focus on showing the lord around the city… "

Confused, the girl continued, "Yes, esteemed…armored cultivator is correct; there's a Tower Of Eternity in the city that many cultivator sects come here for. Unfortunately, it isn't open this time of the year, but we can still visit! "

Stormwind sneered once again in his mind. Did she really think he and his lord were ordinary cultivators? Wasn't his display of power enough to make her think they were 'unparalleled'?

Shi Xiaofei on the other hand, felt a lot more better than before. Strangely, he didn't miss earth anymore. His interest in his new body , life and 'home' started to override his need to return home.

Shi Xiaofei didn't have anything to miss anyway. The bustling markets and vibrant people of this realm, along with subjects like qi, cultivation made him feel interested towards it. Furthermore, in this new world, he was free to do anything he wants.

Demon Sovereign, ruler of all demons!

A faint mist started to escape from his body as he entered deep within his thoughts. Unfortunately, he was interrupted when the old owner of the tea stall came to him.

The man fell to Shi Xiaofei's legs in tears and started to beg, "Esteemed cultivator, spare my little stall! I'm just an insignificant mortal, I don't want to take part in these matters! "

"Mortal! How dare you touch lord's legs! You'll pay for this with your life! " Stormwind barked while reaching for his sword.

Shi Xiaofei however, showed his hand to Stormwind and made him stop in his steps. He smiled and said, "Stall owner, stand up. You don't need to worry, I won't do anything to you…"

"Thank you, esteemed cultivator, thank y—"

"However, you have to compensate for this with a cup of tea. "

The stall owner's eyes lit up as he repeatedly nodded his head. After seeing Shi Xiaofei gesture him to go, the man dashed into his small wooden hut and started to prepare tea.

"Esteemed cultivator, tea…here? The city lord's mansion has Spiritual Tea in its reserve, I think we can offer some to esteemed cultivator. " Miss Lin was perturbed. A cultivator wanted to drink tea at a market stall?

Stormwind at this point understood that his lord would do whatever he wanted to do. So he didn't dare to interfere.

But that didn't mean he'd let his lord drink mortal tea!

"My lord, I'll be back in a few minutes! The earth is calling my name! "