Wen Kexing was way more interested in the other man than this currently-being-hanged Ghost, so when the former left, he immediately followed. But his steps halted, as the man who was just standing here a few minutes ago had vanished without a trace. Wen Kexing scanned through the big crowd.
Zhou Zishu was like a drop of water in a big ocean; the moment one lost sight of him, his existence would be impossible to be detected. Wen Kexing felt a sense of bewilderment, his eyes narrowed. He scanned the crowd again in concentration, unable to accept defeat; but the other man had really just up and disappeared in front of him like that.
In his heart blossomed an unspeakable feeling that was somewhat akin to how people felt when something slipped away from their grasp, and for some unknown reasons mixed with a little anger.
Even if Wen Kexing successfully cracked the mystery that was his identity and inner thoughts, that man could just disappear anytime he wanted.
He — the one who managed to escape the labyrinth that was Tian Chuang’s — was the most slippery eel one could find on Earth.
Leaving Wen Kexing behind, Zhou Zishu visited a counting house.
In the Dong Ting area, or perhaps the entirety of Jiangnan, there was a famously modest counting house called the “Ping An House”. It was a fairly successful business but never draw too much attention to itself or planned on expanding to other regions. It seemed like the owner had no big ambitions and was contented to operate in this prosperous land.
After looking up at the house’s signboard, Zhou Zishu went inside. A voice rang out, “Welcome! Do you want to exchange banknotes or…”
Zhou Zishu went past the assistant to reach the shopkeeper himself. He spoke softly with a faint smile. “I want to ask Sir Song for a favor, could you contact your supervisor for me?”
The shopkeeper startled, lifting his head to examine Zhou Zishu. After a good while, he spoke cautiously. “And you are?”
Zhou Zishu lowered his voice even further. “I’m an old acquaintance of your “Lord Seventh”, last name Zhou.”
The man’s expressions changed immediately upon hearing “Lord Seventh” from him and became more serious. He took a few steps forward and guided him to sit down himself. He stood beside him and said in a respectful tone while telling the assistant to serve him tea. “Of course, of course, I shall contact Sir Song immediately. Although I’m not sure if he is still in Dong Ting right now… Is it alright for you to wait for a few days?”
Zhou Zishu nodded. “No need to hurry, and you should sit down too.”
He asked the shopkeeper in a very gracious way, but the man kept frantically waving his hands as denial. He asked, “Sir Zhou, about your business with my superior, do you want to speak to him directly or do you want me to do something for you beforehand?”
After some thoughts, Zhou Zishu replied, “There’s nothing else that I can think of, but have you ever heard about a thing called the Lapis Armor?”
That took the man by surprise. “This… I did know a bit. Are you talking about the Lapis Armor that is made of the five broken pieces of lapis lazuli?”
Zhou Zishu nodded. “Yes.”
The shopkeeper fell into deep thought. After a while, he took out a piece of paper and wrote “Lapis Armor” on it. “I’m afraid my knowledge of it will not be sufficient. I hope you don’t mind waiting for another few days, as I think I do have some ways to dig up more information.”
Zhou Zishu examined the man. He looked like he could be anything from thirty to forty, clever face, spoke slowly and carefully with definite consideration in each word; that fox clearly taught his folks well. Once he had no idea how much power and influence his old friend had after he left the capital, but after seeing this, he was certain it would not merely be contained in these simple counting houses.
A cup of tea later, he left. Who could have ever thought that the former leader of Tian Chuang now had to rely on others for intel, or to ask for that person’s help just to protect the life of that Zhang Chengling brat — though, it was also worth noting that Zhou Zishu had no idea why he was helping him when they were just strangers. How did the kid’s life concern him anyway?
A fool’s errand, that was what.
But throughout a person’s life there was bound to be incidents like this, where you couldn’t help but insert yourself in other people’s business. Is this ultimately my fate? Zhou Zishu thought. How else could he have come across the kid in this vast land of Jiangnan?
He walked leisurely along the main road, sunbathing since there was nothing else for him to do. He only visited a tavern after having feasted his eyes on the scenic view of Dong Ting with satisfaction and when the sun was starting to go down. He ordered a pot of wine and some dishes, thinking about how today was really good to him. It was as if he never had such a good day like this in his entire life – before today he was either miserable himself or spent time planning on how to make others’ life miserable.
There was a young lady playing a zither nearby; the beauty complimented the music all too well. Everyone cheered for her after the song ended, and Zhou Zishu—enjoying both beauty and song very much—put a silver ingot on the plate. The girl was initially dumbstruck, then she smiled, bowed at him and said her gratitude in a soft voice. That lifted Zhou Zishu’s mood incredibly.
All of a sudden, there was someone sitting in the seat opposite him. They said matter-of-factly, “I’m here so that you can treat me wine.”
Zhou Zishu tensed up—his debt collector was finally here.
Ye Baiyi was not at all gracious about this. To him, he was already lowering his standards to stand these vulgar indulgence like food and wine, so it was natural for the other person to greet him with trepidation. Ignoring Zhou Zishu, he began ordering hoards after hoards of food himself, then spoke calmly, “Please have anything you like, don’t be reserved.”
Zhou Zishu gave him an odd look, How are you seeing any ounce of reservation in me?
He was starting to suspect that this person was here to deliberately trick him. The amount of food he just ordered could very well feed two pigs and not two humans.
Seeing that he wanted to order no more, Ye Baiyi suddenly realized, “Oh, right, you’re injured so you don’t have an appetite for all this. But my advice is that you should eat as much as you can, seeing that you don’t have much time left.”
The odd look in Zhou Zishu’s eyes intensified. If this man wasn’t Monk Gu’s disciple, he could have made a great career out of being other people’s punching bag.
At that moment, another figure walked up to the table ostentatiously and pulled a chair next to them, completely uninvited. He examined Ye Baiyi without showing any emotions. “Ah-Xu, I was just wondering why you disappeared without a goodbye, but it seems like you’re… occupied with another man?”
Just like that, Zhou Zishu’s good mood caused by the young lady’s smile died out; internally he began to debate whether he should stand up and leave with a “Please help yourself, it’s time for me to go”. Wen Kexing turned his head, seemingly gritting the words through his teeth. “Who is he?”
“He’s…” He was about to say that the man was an acquaintance he met by chance, but mysteriously, words failed him and he felt strange. Unsure why an explanation was necessary, his strange expressions faded.
Ye Baiyi, in contrast, nodded at Wen Kexing’s direction as he replied in an easygoing manner. “My name is Ye Baiyi.”
Wen Kexing gave him a false smile and turned away, about to say something but was cut off by Ye Baiyi. “I know you, you were the one who set fire to the Zhang child’s room that day.” He said without a care.
Zhou Zishu’s hand with his cup of wine froze in mid-air, and Wen Kexing’s smiling expressions vanished. He stared at Ye Baiyi as if staring at a dead thing, with bone-chilling murderous intent circling around him.
Zhou Zishu shivered and furrowed his brows.
The waiter who brought them food right at that moment was scared shitless by his vicious aura and almost dropped the plates. In split seconds he saw a blur, and the dishes that he almost dropped were now completely safe in the hands of the gentleman in white.
Even Zhou Zishu’s vision could not make out his movements clearly.
Was Ye Baiyi really that strong? If he was Monk Gu’s disciple, then what would this say about his infamous Master…
Cold sweat broke out on Zhou Zishu’s back as he found out that whatever information Tian Chuang had gathered about the incredibly mysterious Monk Gu might not be correct after all.
Wen Kexing’s pupils contracted; even though he showed no fear on his face, he also withdrew his bloodlust. He examined the white-clothed young man—this person was only… twenty-six? No, it was possible that this youthful skin was only a disguise of his true age, he could be around thirty perhaps? No, doesn’t sound plausible, either…
He carried on himself the same feeling that his name gave: Emptiness. When he sat there unmoved, he looked like a fake human, preventing others from both reading the change in his emotions and using their own sentiments to influence him. He was sitting right next to them, but seemed like he was existing in another world.
Ye Baiyi paid no mind to how strong of a reaction he had drawn from both of them and buried himself under all the food. With each new plate, Zhou Zishu and Wen kexing’s expressions continue to twist—
This disciple of Monk Gu had an endless stomach!
He stuffed food into his mouth at lightning’s speed, and even though his movements weren’t boorish, the sight could be described as “a hurricane just went past the table”. He devoured food like he hadn’t had anything in his belly for eight lifetimes, his chopsticks flying around incessantly, leaving nothing for others. Zhou Zishu who didn’t have an appetite in the first place, and Wen Kexing who didn’t even come here for food, were entranced by this enthusiasm and motivated to taste some themselves, to see what kind of delicacy this tavern was serving.
Only when there was an awful mess of plates left on the table like the aftermath of a war did Ye Baiyi put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth in satisfaction. His lips curved and there seemed to be a proper smile on his face. He said to Zhou Zishu, “Thank you for treating me.”
With nothing else to be said, he stood up and left.
Zhou Zishu had a sudden thought about how incredible Monk Gu was for being able to raise such an individual.
Wen Kexing abruptly spoke up. “What he just said… I didn’t want to…”
He stopped, a little spaced out. He was unsure why he was saying this, and his chest seemed to tighten. After quickly glancing at Zhou Zishu, looking down and smiling in self-mockery, he returned to his usual self. “That’s Monk Gu’s disciple? I see that he’s more like a locust dressed in white.”
Zhou Zishu lifted his wine pot and poured himself the last drops. He didn’t mention the fire.
He knew without doubt that if Wen Kexing ever wanted to kill Zhang Chengling, that would be as easy to him as crushing an ant; there was no need to create a whole commotion with the fire and choose the moment one was absent to execute it. It was not a case of malice, but rather a warning.
The problem was: How did Ye Baiyi know about this?
Although, there was a whole other matter he was reminded of… Zhou Zishu searched his chest pocket, expressions changing comically. He looked up. “About this… do you bring enough silver?”
Wen Kexing stared back at him.
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