Incarna

49 - Tea Ceremony

Day 12: Yunnan Burmese Border

“Oh come now Jing Shen, do you seriously believe I’d leave a safe zone in my own study that was common knowledge to all White Tigress affiliates,” she smiled, incredulous at his disregard for her intelligence. “You were a dead man as soon as you entered the grounds let alone the court yard or my front door!”

He held her gaze but he blinked more than was necessary, good, doubt becomes you my friend. “Come sit, there is tea here you will appreciate,” and Qing shifted a little more in her seat to place a teacup near the chair she had indicated. She shifted back toward him revealing her deep cleavage this time.

“Qing Senlin, you may be, the Baihu, but living here in your fortress palace,” and he made a subtle indication of his surroundings with his left hand as his right moved toward his waistcoat; "is a waste of your true talents.” His inference to her as a high class whore was obvious but she allowed no response to his goading.

“Come sit, you have no need of insult here! We both know exactly what the other is capable of and you are on my territory. I fear nothing about you, nor nothing your carry on your person,” and she made a subtle sign with her left hand. A screen rose up from her desk and an image came up of an x-ray scan of Jing Shen as he had come through the entrance door of the main building below them. It showed all his weaponry, just as she had supposed.

His right hand moved away from his waist coat and he took his first step toward her. “What poison are you using these days,” he asked nonchalantly as he approached the table and pulled out the chair and sat down. “The Aconite is a nice touch but you are most well known for your rapid effect snake and spider venom combinations.”

Qing allowed herself a subtle smile as she poured the tea then placed the pot back into its insulated basket. “Ah, Jade Mountain Oolong, thank you!” and she smiled wryly at the sincerity in his voice. She watched him go through his routine of savouring the aroma over three breaths then sipping the tea and drawing air through his mouth with a soft slurping sound. The air activated many of the tea’s less active flavonoids against the palate enhancing the perception of the teas breadth of flavour.

Some found the slurping annoying, but every tea connoisseur made a statement of their art by the practice. He looked up into her eyes barely pausing at her gown now open all the way to her waist.

“You honour me,” he said in disbelief. He took a deep breath and let out a long slow sigh as if the act could disperse all the ill will between them. He sipped again, this time closing his eyes and letting the aromas transport him to where the tea had originated. He’d spent quite some time in those hills and for all she knew of his diverse and usually nefarious activities, he probably still owned the plantation where this tea was grown.

“This is from my western neighbour’s plantation. It has a distinct piquancy about its top notes that are destroyed if brewed too hot!” Jing Shen made a small bow to her stating she had made the tea perfectly. The act itself disguising his inspection of her cleavage and firmness of her belly.

“So, you have disarmed me Madam Qing, but not finished with me! You know what I want of you, what is it you want of me?” He sipped again, finishing the cup and setting it down. He allowed himself to inspect the cup at last for it was most unique and of a style he had not seen before. Everything he had so far said and done was to assess this one small object because everything in the room and every action taken by Madam Green Forest was as expected. He was pleasantly surprised that she had maintained her physique as well as she had. She was older than Madam White Tigress had been. He barely stopped himself shaking his head as the thought came to him. Fancy her taking the personal name of the very Order she had been expelled from.

The cup was hand made in the style the Japanese called Raku and had claimed as their own. The daoist masters just called them rough cups and used them to uproot a student from the complacency they adopted because they were a daoist master's student. The implacation here, that he was her student, was too obscene for him to contemplate.

He looked at her again and smiled, “this is one you made as an apprentice to your first master!” Qing partly nodded and smiled at his quickness of mind. We are of the same dao, she thought.

“So either you are honouring me with such a precious possession or you tell me that such things are worthless and that everything from the past is irrelevant!”

“Ah Jing Shen, you amaze me, but also disappoint me. It is a gift from new master!” He frowned and she knew she had him now. “It was given to me only a year or so ago when I first met with them.” He looked down at the cup with new eyes and tried to fathom its secrets.

“It is in the old style of a student master rough cup, but is apparently of a new material designed specifically to administer whatever substances it is you need someone to ingest.” Qing met his stare and did not flinch. He was controlling himself. He had not expected this and his inspection of the tea had been to give the poison sensors in his lapels time to alert him.

He sat back in the light wooden frame chair as if it was a robust arm chair and awaited her pronouncement on his fate. “My new master advised me to administer you with another component of the substances Jade Eyes had carried to Baihu. She had been prepared with other components of it previously and Jade Eyes delivered the final component.”

Jing Shen did not move, tell me what you used bitch, he thought as he fought every instinct to exact some form of revenge against her and her schemes that had destroyed his very comfortable existence. He said nothing nor moved an inch because he had no possible chance of attacking her.

“You saw Baihu writhing and screaming with hallucination filled agony!" Qing tilted her head slightly, teasiing him by revealing more of her neck. Madam White Tigress would have died not long after you witnessed that but you had left as soon as you could gain control of your body."

Qing poured more tea for them both, "you though have now been administered not an antidote per se, but an adjunctive, to alter the effect of what you were, so inadvertently exposed to." She made another hand sign and the screen showed video of Baihu writhing on the florr as he dragged himself out. "Mango and Grey Heron had documented all the proceedings and I am content that we have succeeded in destroying your nest of poisoned dragons,” and she leant across the table toward him, "forever!"

“None of this matters Qing, this prattle of yours is only so you can observe the effect of whatever you have administered,” and he over emphasised the last word as he indicated to the teacup. “Who is your new master?” he added matter of factly, though every fibre of his being burned with the need to know who his competition was!

“A fire horse,” and she laughed playfully at the disbelief that took up siege upon his face. “Yes Jing Shen a fire horse." She sat enjoying the play of shock and disbelief that fought with his composure. "They have returned to lead us back to the path of righteous dao and away from all this greed and death!”