Leaving the armory, dusk was falling. I checked my phone for famous delicacies in Benxi. There weren't many, the most renowned being lamb soup. However, Yao Yao wasn't keen on offal, so I decided to head directly to Huaxi Mu. We would check into the hotel first and eat there, as the online reviews for their buffet were quite good.
Benxi wasn't a large city. Huaxi Mu Hotel was about twenty kilometers from the urban area, and it took half an hour to drive there. Since the peak tourist season had passed, there weren't many cars parked in front of the hotel.
Yao Yao tried her new ID card, and it worked perfectly. After checking in, we headed to the buffet restaurant. There were surprisingly few people, even though it was dinnertime. In the vast restaurant, there were only three groups of people. Besides Yao Yao and me, the other two groups were families on outings, with elders and children. I observed this because I was worried about a repeat of the He Lao Liu incident. This was a public area, not a private establishment, and it would be bad if a conflict erupted and innocent bystanders were harmed.
After dinner, as we passed the hot spring area, I asked Yao Yao if there were hot springs four hundred years ago. Yao Yao said yes, but very rarely. Wells couldn't yield hot spring water. It was almost always discovered by accident when mining iron ore. However, that water was only used for boiling eggs or similar purposes; hot spring baths were not practical, as the water would be cold by the time it was transported to its destination.
"But I've bathed in them, and it was very comfortable," Yao Yao said with a smile.
"Then let's try again. How does it compare to four hundred years ago?" I bought two swimsuits, changed, and entered the hot spring area. There were many pools, each with its own gimmick. However, after Yao Yao tried them, she felt they were far from the purity of ancient times, thinking they were just ordinary mountain spring water that had been heated.
I checked local information. Benxi did indeed have geothermal resources, but they were hundreds or even thousands of meters below the surface. Modern drilling technology could extract this hot water, but by the time it reached the hot spring hotel, it was mostly cool and required reheating.
Whether it was true or not, I soaked for a while listlessly. Back in the hotel, when I showered, the water there actually felt silkier and softer.
After showering, it was past seven o'clock. Teacher Xie sent me a message, asking where we were.
With Yao Yao accompanying me, I didn't need to hide anything. I told her directly that we were at the Huaxi Mu Hotel.
Teacher Xie said she would contact the seller immediately to see if the transaction could be moved up, saving us time.
Not long after, Teacher Xie replied, saying the seller was also arriving soon. So, at seven-thirty, we would meet in the Orchid Hall on the first floor of Huaxi Mu. The seller was hosting a banquet.
Damn, if I had known we were being treated to a meal, I wouldn't have eaten the buffet.
We lingered in the room for a while. At seven-thirty, Yao Yao and I went down to the first floor and arrived at the banquet hall on time.
Inside sat a refreshing old man with white hair and a youthful complexion, dressed in white, exuding an immortal aura. What surprised me, however, was the attendant standing beside him – it was the young lady who had guided us in the exhibition hall that afternoon.
"Oh, it's you two!" the young lady also recognized Yao Yao and me.
"Oh, you know each other?" the old man asked.
"It's them. They ordered that Zi Wu Yuan Yang Yue at our weapon shop this afternoon."
"Our weapon shop?" Could this old man be from the Golden Spear Sect... or at least a high-ranking official?
"So that's it," the old man smiled, stood up, and shook our hands. "I am Jin Weidong, of the Golden Spear Sect."
Generally, when someone only states their affiliation and not their specific position, it implies they are the head of that organization, not just a high-ranking official, but the sect leader.
"Your junior, Wu Chengfeng," I used my real name. I couldn't hide it, as Teacher Xie knew it.
"Jin Shan."
"Greetings, senior."
"We're even of the same clan," Old Master Jin said with a smile to Yao Yao.
The young lady also introduced herself as Jin Xiaomei, Old Master Jin's granddaughter.
After exchanging pleasantries, we sat down. The conversation didn't begin immediately, as the waiters were still serving dishes. Old Master Jin, in his conversation, talked to me about antiques and curios. Fortunately, I had done some research before meeting He Lao Liu, so while I couldn't claim to be eloquent, I sounded at least like someone with half a clue. Yao Yao also knew quite a bit about these things. After all, as a princess of the imperial family, she had seen all sorts of treasures. However, she had a weakness: when the topic turned to items from the Ming and Qing dynasties, she would drink tea and fall silent. She hadn't seen Qing Dynasty antiques, and for her, Ming Dynasty items weren't considered "antiques."
Because the era was too recent, not old enough...