Wen Chaosheng held a piece of tile that A Shui had found, still showing traces of being washed by melted snow. He poured some wine into the tile and drank it in one gulp. His cold chest and abdomen felt as if they had been ripped open by a sharp blade. He let out a low breath and reproached A Shui:
"You, with your amazing martial arts, you can get two jars of wine, but you can't get two bowls?"
A Shui leaned forward, lightly drawing a circle with her finger in front of her, and said mysteriously:
"Do you know whose wine this is?"
Wen Chaosheng shook his head.
"I don't know."
In the past three years, he had entered the county town only a handful of times. The only thing he knew a little about was County Magistrate Liu Jinshi's county yamen.
A Shui held the tile, tilted her head back, took a sip of wine, and smacked her lips, saying:
"This wine belongs to Seventh Master."
Wen Chaosheng poured her some wine and asked:
"Who is Seventh Master?"
A Shui replied:
"He's the local boss on the west side of the county town. He has a goatee, a hooked nose, and a few Martial Artists under him who are quite skilled."
"These guys often bully the common people, always claiming to be from the Jianghu, but they are all incredibly stingy. I asked them for some wine, and not one of them would give any."
"Infuriating!"
"So I smashed his hall, broke his weapons, and pulled his goatee!"
A faint scent of wine wafted from her lips, and there was a wildness in her words and actions that ordinary women lacked.
"Satisfying!" Wen Chaosheng praised.
A Shui took another gulp of wine and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Later, I grabbed him by the collar and asked him if he wanted his life or the wine. He said he wanted his life."
"That old guy was afraid he couldn't take one of my punches, so he also gave me a horse and a carriage. I loaded up the wine and came back."
Upon hearing this, Wen Chaosheng's hand, which was holding the wine, paused.
"You just said he gave you a carriage?"
A Shui nodded:
"Yes."
Wen Chaosheng said in surprise:
"When I arrived, I didn't see a carriage!"
A Shui uncovered the wooden lid on a broken pot nearby. The aroma of meat, mixed with the unique gamey smell of horse meat, wafted out with the boiling water.
"I boiled one leg first. The rest is buried in the snow behind the temple, to be taken as needed."
Wen Chaosheng stared at the horse meat in the pot, his mouth twitching.
In Ku Hai County, horses were not cheap. A well-trained draft horse would start at two taels of silver.
It could be said that the edible value of a horse was far less than its actual value.
This woman, A Shui... actually slaughtered it just like that.
"Then, what about the carriage?" he asked again.
A Shui casually pointed to the newly added firewood next to the temple.
"Dismantled."
"The carriage boiled the horse meat, original flavor."
Wen Chaosheng: "..."
A Shui used two dry branches as chopsticks, picked up a piece of horse meat, blew on it twice, then put it into her mouth and chewed slowly.
"Those wine bowls had been drunk from by the people in the hall. I found them dirty, so I didn't take them."
"If you ask me... in such cold weather, it's good enough to have wine and meat. Don't be so greedy."
As she spoke, she stared at Wen Chaosheng's strange expression and added:
"Hey, with that look in your eyes, are you perhaps thinking that horse could have been sold for silver?"
Wen Chaosheng felt as if her words had enlightened him a little, but he hadn't fully understood yet.
A Shui raised the wine to him:
"Drink."
Wen Chaosheng clinked his tile with hers and took another large gulp, which made him cough violently. His chest and abdomen warmed considerably, and fine beads of sweat even appeared on his forehead.
"Good wine," he said in a hoarse voice.
A Shui put down the tile holding the wine and continued to scoop up meat to eat.
"You don't understand the rules of these local bosses. The horse was Seventh Master's horse, branded on it, so others couldn't just touch it. Touching the horse meant touching Seventh Master's wealth."
"If I sold it to other horse dealers, Seventh Master would send his men to snatch the horse back as soon as I walked away."
"Selling the horse would only harm someone."
Wen Chaosheng was somewhat confused:
"Are there still bandits in the county town?"
A Shui corrected him:
"Not bandits, but official bandits."
"Liu Jinshi, wearing his official uniform, doesn't dare to openly violate the laws of Qi, but there are always some dirty jobs that need to be done."
After listening, Wen Chaosheng was thoughtful. He looked up at her:
"You're not from Ku Hai County, so how do you know all this so clearly?"
A Shui scoffed, swallowing the horse meat in one bite.
"The Jianghu is the same everywhere."
Wen Chaosheng stared at A Shui, his gaze clear as water.
"No, that's not right."
"A Shui, you've met Liu Jinshi, haven't you?"
A Shui's eating motion paused briefly. It was this momentary pause that indirectly confirmed Wen Chaosheng's words.
She looked up, scrutinizing Wen Chaosheng with a sharp gaze, and tsk-tsked:
"Wen Chaosheng..."
"I used to not believe in fate, but after meeting you, I've started to believe a little."
Wen Chaosheng didn't understand:
"What do you mean?"
A Shui actually put a piece of horse meat into his wine bowl and said:
"Someone as smart as you, if not for the workings of fate, would never have ended up in your current state."
Wen Chaosheng took several more gulps of the strong liquor, and his vision blurred. He seemed to have no complaints about his own miserable situation, instead asking A Shui:
"Still the same question as yesterday, have you found your parents?"
A Shui pursed her lips. The fragrance of osmanthus wine lingered on her lips, but the scent of wine transformed into a chilling Killing Intent:
"They died."
"Five years ago, Ku Hai County experienced a flood. They were swept away by the flood, and their bodies have not been found to this day."
Wen Chaosheng felt the Killing Intent in A Shui's eyes and asked:
"What, is there something hidden?"
"Was it not a natural disaster, but a man-made one?"
A Shui opened her mouth, her lips trembling slightly, but she couldn't speak. Finally, she took a gulp of wine and said:
"Whether it was a natural disaster or a man-made one, it can no longer be investigated."
"What I want to know is, why have I been receiving letters from my parents for the past five years, even though they died five years ago, and they keep saying... they are doing well."
Those last four words were practically squeezed out from between her teeth.
Wen Chaosheng stared at her without speaking, and after a long while, he poured wine into her tile.
A Shui finished drinking and then said:
"Liu Jinshi said to give him some time, and he would give me an explanation... On the third day of this month, I will go with you to see him."
Wen Chaosheng hesitated for a moment and said:
"Aren't you afraid he'll lie to you?"
A Shui's gaze shifted slightly, landing on Wen Chaosheng, and she said, word by word:
"He wouldn't dare."