After attending half a day of classes from Mu Rong Yin, Atobe naturally understood a lot more about Thousand Dawn Spire. Thousand Dawn Spire and Octagonal Spire relied on their own special set of kung fu techniques and had started to gain a place for themselves in the martial world over the past few decades. Even though their forces had already surpassed, Shao Lin, Ren Wu, and Xiao Yao, they ultimately lacked the history and depth. They felt more like nouveau riche. The standard of their disciples was uneven; some were honorable members, but there were also people like Wang Ao. The attitude other members of the martial world had toward them could be seen from the way Lu San acted around them. There was no admiration, but there was at least respect. After all, they were not bad guys and had great strength.
Then, would the second in command of Thousand Dawn Spire resort to something like poisoning? Of course not… With Gong Sun Li’s personality, if he wanted to poison someone, he would not pick this time and place and would not draw the inn waiter into his plan. In the morning, Thousand Dawn Spire had gotten into an altercation with Broken Sword Chahitsu, and that had happened very publicly. If Gong Sun Li poisoned someone that day, the revenge would be too obvious. It was clear that the suspicion would fall on the people from Thousand Dawn Spire. Therefore… even if Si Yanran and Gong Sun Li wanted to kill them, they did not dare do so. They had to pray that nothing happened to the few from Broken Sword Chahitsu because, if anything happened to them, they would have to shoulder the blame.
This proved that Feng Bujue’s earlier plan was a good one. If he had revealed the truth behind Wang Ao’s death openly that morning, saying that it was Si Yanran who killed the man and Gong Sun Li was there to help her, the odds of people believing him were at eighty percent. The martial world was a realistic place. A non-person from an unknown school, without iron proof, was better not getting into an argument with the wife and second in command at Thousand Dawn Spire. If he had argued, they would have had the public’s support, and if he had fought them, then that was what they wanted. Therefore, Feng Bujue had twisted the truth and turned the argument around. He had made use of the other party’s guilt and caused them to back down. Instead, the real culprit had to support their claim, and as a result… Si Yanran and Gong Sun Li did not dare confront the people from Broken Sword Chahitsu. Instead, their movement was limited, afraid that their secret might be exposed.
Now, the situation was different. If Feng Bujue revealed the truth behind Wang Ao’s death, he might not be distrusted by everyone. Therefore, Gong Sun Li asked people to send over the food and wine. Other than to endear himself and to probe, there was no other intention. He could not help the food being common. After all, high class ingredients would not reach a place like Chang Lin Inn. It was already pretty decent that they could find meat to cook with. But the inn had good wine. Because unlike fresh food, wine did not have an expiration date. As long as there was a good cellar, wine could be kept for decades. The owner obviously knew that most of his clientele would be members of the martial world. These people only liked one thing. The food could be less than desirable, but there had to be good wine. Therefore, the inn was well stocked with alcohol, both the good and bad kinds.
Gong Sun Li had dug deep into his pockets to purchase this wine, called Ill Will Defuser, to gift it to Feng Bujue to try to put the past behind them. Just from the name alone, one could tell that this was good wine. In fact, it was the best of the best. The shade was clear like spring, and the smell was like the dew of a flower. Why was it called Ill Will Defuser? With this wine, all the ill will between the parties could be defused. This was akin to the legendary wine that was supposed to have brain-washing qualities, Zui Sheng Meng Si. If Monk Tang had known about this, he would be deeply regretful. Going ten thousand miles to ask for a mantra of Buddhism might not be better than learning how to make wine.
Okay, that was just a joke. As good as wine was, deep hatred could not be defused just like that. The type of ill will that could be defused would be the type like ’you have borrowed two silvers from me last year, but you hadn’t returned me’, or ’you accidentally kicked me this morning’. This kind of ill will could probably be resolved by giving the offended party the money that would be spent on the wine directly.
Regardless, Atobe studied the food before him, and since he had already confirmed that it was poisoned, he naturally did not touch it. As a player, he did not need to drink or eat, and these were not beauties, so he could hold himself back quite easily. Therefore, he placed the stuff aside and ignored it. ’Kicking himself in the ass’ was naturally impossible because since he would not take a bite, so there was no way to tell whether the food was poisoned or not.
Time slowly passed. It had been one hour since the waiter had sent the meal over. The sky had started to darken, and then the knocking came again.
Atobe-sama stood up. As he walked to the door, he asked, “Who is it?”
The person outside was silent for two seconds before replying, “I am Gong Sun Li.”
“Si Yanran.” After Gong Sun Li said that, another female voice followed, but the displeasure was clear in her tone. The temporary silence was because the two exchanged a look outside the door after they heard the response from Atobe. Atobe did not open the door immediately but asked, “The sky is already dark. Do you mind if I ask why you are here?”
“Erm… young brother, do you mind letting us in first?” Gong Sun Li replied.
Atobe gave it some thought. Considering that he would be unable to stop them if they wanted to barge in, he decided to see how things went. He opened the door and looked at the two, trying to stay as calm as he could. He walked to the side and said, “Do come in.”
As they stepped into the room, Gong Sun Li and Si Yanran’s expressions shifted slightly. First, they saw the untouched meal on the table, and secondly, after they looked around the room, they realized that only Atobe was there. News travelled fast in the inn. The news that the few from Broken Sword Chahitsu had left the inn had naturally reached Si Yanran and Gong Sun Li’s ears, but they did not expect the other four to remain outside until so late and leave only the young man behind.
Gong Sun Li quickly put on a friendly face and said, “I failed to catch your name…”
“Jin Fugui[1],” Atobe grumbled with annoyance. Since he had already given his name once, he would have to keep on using it. The two who heard the answer did not give too big of a reaction.
“Haha… So, it’s Young Master Jin.” Gong Sun Li’s eyes wandered around the room again, afraid that there were people hiding somewhere. “I wonder if Master Feng and the other three…”
“They are out,” Atobe replied directly.
“Oh, that’s unfortunate…” Gong Sun Lin said as if to himself. Then his voice dropped a whisper, “By the way, Young Master Jin, about last night…’
“I… listen to Master Feng’s orders.” Atobe cut him off again. “What he said this morning is what I stand by. I don’t know anything else.”
His reply was correct and experienced. What he meant was… There’s no need for you to kill me. I don’t have any intention of leaking your secret.
But Gong Sun Li was a naturally suspicious person, and Si Yanran’s guilt was from her affair, so they were not going to relax so easily. Si Yanran cut in. “Young Master Jin, why haven’t you touched the meal that we had the waiter send over? Are you afraid… that we have poisoned it?”
Atobe was stumped by this question. That was exactly what he was afraid of. But at that moment, a brilliant solution struck him. He turned his nose up and replied, “This kind of lowly meal is beneath me. The wine… is a good wine. But since you have stated explicitly that the meal was meant for Master Feng, how could I touch it before his return?”
Si Yanran heard the answer and turned to Gong Sun Li. The latter nodded, giving his approval. From Gong Sun Li’s perspective, the Jin fella’s answer was rational and reasonable. From his fair skin and clean looks, it was clear that he came from a rich background. Even though he was currently wearing a rough cotton shirt, the rich man’s presence could not be hidden. He could tell that the wine was a good one without tasting it, and since his name was Fugui, there was an eighty percent chance that this was the young son of some rich merchant. But he could not tell why someone like that would join a small unknown school like Broken Sword Chahitsu.
Si Yanran did not think as much as Gong Sun Li. She would not go deep to analyze a person’s background. But her female instinct told her that Atobe’s disdain was sincere. After all, she would not have eaten that food herself. And even though what Atobe said about not daring to eat Master Feng’s food was a lie, it was a convincing one.
The impression Feng Bujue left on the others could be summed up in this common sentence from Detective Di Renjie—’This is a scary person.’ All the antagonists in the series had used that line at different times to describe Di Renjie or Li Yuanfang’s ability. Of course, the protagonists would also occasionally use this to describe the opposing boss-level characters.
The term ’scary’ in the series was equal to three things: one, incredibly intelligent; two, a great fighter; three, a mad person. Each of them would fit the description, but what if there was a person who could fit all three? The line might turn into something like ’I’m so powerful that I scare myself.’
“Hahaha…” Gong Sun Li issued a laugh that was as fake as could be. “This is my fault, when I relayed the message to the waiter. I only knew Master Feng by name, so forgive my offense.
“This wine is a mere representation of my kind intention. Everyone from your school is a hero. Of course, I don’t mean it for Master Feng alone. If you wish, Young Master Jin, I can have the waiter send over another flask.”
He picked up the flask and poured three cups. “Come, Young Master Jin, we’re all members of the martial world. The two of us shall drink in your honor.”
[1] His name means rich and fanciful.