Have Another Cup of Tea (2)
As the situation took a strange turn, Cheolno fidgeted restlessly.
"Young master, let me at least go in and serve the tea..."
"No need."
Hanbin cut him off curtly.
Cheolno tried to rush into the room, unwilling to give up, but was blocked by this young master's guards and couldn't get through.
Paeng Kyungbin, the second young master seated across the table, stared at Hanbin without a word.
A quiet pressure poured toward Hanbin from Paeng Kyungbin.
It flowed in gently, like the Milky Way in the night sky!
Receiving that pressure, Hanbin gauged Paeng Kyungbin's realm.
His judgment: still first-rate, for now.
Just as he remembered.
Hanbin spoke first.
"Brother, allow me to pour you a cup of tea."
"......"
Paeng Kyungbin nodded silently.
Hanbin poured the tea he had prepared in advance.
Glug, glug.
"Purification tea, is it? They say this year's poor harvest drove the price so high you couldn't buy it even with gold. How did you manage to obtain it?"
"I acquired it for you, brother."
Hanbin tilted the teapot further.
The tea flowed like a stream from the spout, nearly filling the cup, when Hanbin moved to stop.
At that moment, Paeng Kyungbin shouted.
"More!"
It meant pour more tea, but his voice was sharp as a blade.
As Hanbin tilted the teapot again, Paeng Kyungbin yelled once more.
"More!"
An overbearing tone.
Without protest, Hanbin kept tilting the teapot.
The water threatened to overflow more and more, but Paeng Kyungbin kept urging him on with nods of his chin.
Glug, glug.
The strange thing was that the water rose like a peak above the rim of the cup without spilling over.
He was containing the overflowing tea with his inner power.
His inner power was first-rate, but this technique was near peak mastery.
Hanbin narrowed his eyes.
Clearly trying to overwhelm him with pressure.
Paeng Kyungbin was flaunting his power by trapping the overflowing water in the cup with his inner power.
So far, everything was as Hanbin had expected.
Paeng Kyungbin was the type who infinitely overestimated his own strength and loved testing others' inner power.
Threatening with raw force like this was just as he remembered.
Then Paeng Kyungbin urged again.
"More!"
As Paeng Kyungbin smirked and lifted the cup, Hanbin poured even more.
Hanbin quickly stopped.
The tea water had run out.
Paeng Kyungbin grinned wickedly at Hanbin, mocking his flustered expression as he set down the teapot.
Now was the time, it seemed. He lifted the cup and spoke.
"I hear you used dirty tricks to take down the third brother? And tormented my servant too?"
His gaze shot toward Hanbin like it would cleave him in two.
Hanbin replied calmly.
"It wasn't an underhanded tactic, but yes, I did take him down. And the servant was dealt with according to our family's laws. Servants have their own hierarchy, after all."
"Then you understand hierarchy between brothers too?"
"Isn't it determined by strength?"
"Strength... Do you know your place in our family?"
"What do you mean?"
Hanbin tilted his head as if puzzled.
Paeng Kyungbin said sternly.
"Your existence is like the water overflowing this cup. Without us holding it back, you'd spill out like this."
Paeng Kyungbin loosened the inner power enveloping the cup.
In that instant, as much water as the released power trickled toward Hanbin's side.
Hanbin feigned a panicked look and said,
"It's overflowing, brother. That's expensive stuff."
Ignoring Hanbin's pretended distress, Paeng Kyungbin continued.
"Yes, once spilled, water can never be gathered back. What do you think happens to spilled water?"
"......"
"It dries up slowly. This inner power is the Paeng family wall—and we brothers. Without us, you'd be water slowly drying up."
"Me?"
As Hanbin widened his eyes, Paeng Kyungbin narrowed his sharply.
"Yes. Who else is here but you? Among the direct line of Paengga, who else fears blood so much they took up the blade instead of the sword?!"
"......"
Hanbin silently met Paeng Kyungbin's gaze.
In his past life, that blazing glare had overwhelmed him.
But not today.
Hanbin barely suppressed a hollow laugh.
At that moment, Paeng Kyungbin pointed to the floor, as if declaring judgment time.
It seemed he intended to make Hanbin do to his own subordinates and servant what Hanbin had done to his.
At the same time, Hanbin asked,
"What does that mean?"
"Kneel."
"If you wish..."
"Now!"
"One question first, brother."
"Ask."
"May I ask why you see me as a thorn in your side?"
"Because you're a disgrace to our family."
"Useless, you mean? There's a saying: even a blank sheet of paper is useful when held together."
"Pair it with the incompetent, and it tears."
Paeng Kyungbin glared with eyes sharp as a blade.
"So I'm a useless lump, then?"
"Yes."
As Paeng Kyungbin nodded without changing expression, Hanbin pulled something from beside the table.
At the unexpected action, Paeng Kyungbin tilted his head.
"What's that?"
"An incense burner and chicken ribs. Chicken ribs have no meat on them, just like me."
Hanbin crushed a chicken rib with his hand and dropped it into the small incense burner.
As Paeng Kyungbin tilted his head again, Hanbin casually took a leaf from beside the table and added it.
Paeng Kyungbin asked once more.
"And what's that?"
"Licorice root. From the apothecary. In a way, it's the opposite of chicken ribs."
"Hmph. What exactly are you trying to do?"
"The emperors of the Warring States era enjoyed tea while burning special incense. It enhances the tea's flavor and aroma."
A faint fragrance wafted from the burner, and Paeng Kyungbin asked,
"Are you trying to bribe me now?"
Chill seeped into his voice.
He hadn't withdrawn the inner power around the teacup in his hand.
Low inner power, but impressive sensitivity.
As expected of the son of the second wife, heir apparent.
"Not a bribe, but a brother's respect for his brother who loves tea."
Finishing his words, Hanbin ground various leaves and ingredients in a mortar, then lit them.
The fragrance thickened instantly.
A clear scent perfectly matching the purification tea.
Hanbin waved his hand lightly to spread it faster.
"How's the fragrance, brother?"
"Good. But it changes nothing about our view of you."
As Paeng Kyungbin finished speaking, Hanbin picked up another teapot from the side.
The odd thing was Hanbin's faint smile.
Hanbin spoke more courteously than ever.
"Shall I pour you another cup of tea?"
"......"
This time, Paeng Kyungbin couldn't respond.
He didn't grasp Hanbin's intent.
Hanbin's demeanor felt utterly foreign. Hanbin continued.
"I'm curious about the capacity of brother's vessel."
With that, Hanbin began pouring into Paeng Kyungbin's other teacup.
Glug, glug.
As the sound of tea pouring filled the air, a new tea aroma spread everywhere.
A deep furrow formed between Paeng Kyungbin's brows.
Hanbin continued quietly.
"Oh, I changed the tea. This is peach blossom tea, brewed with peach nectar. I guarantee the taste."
"Mm."
A small groan escaped Paeng Kyungbin's lips.
He had a constitution that caused severe side effects if peaches were near.
In other words, peaches were poison to him.
Paeng Kyungbin's hand began to tremble slightly.
But Hanbin's hand didn't stop.
He tilted the teapot further.
As if ready to dump it on Paeng Kyungbin's head if needed.
Paeng Kyungbin shouted.
"You bastard, what do you think you're doing to me?!"
"Pretend this peach blossom tea in the pot is me. I'm just seeing how much of it brother can hold."
Hanbin kept tilting the teapot, observing Paeng Kyungbin.
A translucent blue energy rose from Paeng Kyungbin's hand.
Hanbin murmured lowly.
"Peak?"
"Only now do you realize?"
Paeng Kyungbin smirked, gripping the teacup as he stood.
Peak realm, indeed. But newly ascended, it seemed.
"Hiding it? Even from your brothers?"
"Hiding thirty percent of your strength is the same inside or out, isn't it?"
"As expected of second brother."
This was sincere.
Hanbin set down the teapot and cupped his fists deeply in salute.
At Hanbin's seeming submission, Paeng Kyungbin smiled faintly.
But only for a moment. He furrowed his brow and exhaled thinly.
"Hoo."
Seeing this, Hanbin grinned.
The ingredients Hanbin added to the burner were common.
But burned in precise ratios, they promoted steady blood circulation and qi flow.
A drug mainly used as an aphrodisiac.
A trick the Ghost Sword Squad often used in his past life.
It sounded like a great secret at first, but the issue was: after raising your inner power, inhaling it made sustaining the power difficult due to the prolonged effect.
Not poison, so no evidence left—a perfect ploy.
Hanbin said in a low voice.
"Sometimes even chicken ribs have their uses, and there are times they're scarier than tigers, brother."
"Hoo."
Paeng Kyungbin breathed heavily again.
"Can't withdraw your inner power?"
"Hoo."
Paeng Kyungbin answered with sighs.
Peak realm was harder to control than ordinary first-rate.
Moving clumsily now could cause qi reversal.
His keen senses had detected it sooner than most.
Hanbin rested his chin on his hand, watching Paeng Kyungbin.
Blue energy coiled around the teacup in strands.
A true feat no street performer could mimic, but Hanbin watched quietly.
What he was really observing was Paeng Kyungbin's mind.
Trembling eyes.
Constantly channeling inner power.
Paeng Kyungbin feared qi deviation.
To sum up: he wouldn't deviate here.
Acting rashly would cause internal injuries, requiring half a month of recovery.
But if someone else channeled inner power into him?
It could induce deviation.
A perfect crime.
Neither spoke. Paeng Kyungbin's hand just trembled as he stayed silent.
Half a shichen passed in this standoff.
After watching a while, Hanbin stretched and pulled out a book.
Then sat comfortably across from Paeng Kyungbin and read.
Oddly, he positioned it so Paeng Kyungbin could see the contents.
Hanbin said,
"I brought a book in case brother got bored."
"......"
Paeng Kyungbin couldn't even sigh now. Sweat beaded on his forehead.
But as Hanbin turned the pages, Paeng Kyungbin's expression twisted.
What Hanbin showed were erotic scenes filling a spring picture album.
Aphrodisiac incense plus spring pictures.
With inner power raised to the max.
A perfect combination.
Paeng Kyungbin began losing his composure.
Crazy bastard. Lowly wretch. Son of a bitch!
The curses didn't escape.
All his focus was on controlling his energy.
Now the blue energy around the cup started shaking.
It rippled as if about to explode.
That was when Hanbin extinguished the burner and opened the window.
The incense's effect lasted just long enough for another cup of tea.
Hanbin smiled and whispered to Paeng Kyungbin.
"Hitting my subordinates was truly crossing the line, brother. One last thing."
"......"
"I still fear blood. Other people's blood, that is."
"......"
"Let's settle for a few hits for now."
Hanbin cupped his fists politely, then began flicking Paeng Kyungbin's forehead.