A Cup of Wine to Ward Off the Cold. In the Pugilistic World.đđđ đŁđđ«đđĄ.đđđ©
I started fiddling with the knife after Tiangou departed. It wasnât a weapon for close-quarters combat; it was too short and thin for any purpose, actually. The blade was only longer than half a finger, and the sharp section was extremely short. It wouldâve made sense if it was meant to be used as a projectile. The âAges are the Borderâ text carved onto it made me think of the phrase âeternal lifeâ. When I deliberated further, I realised that monarchs considered the four oceans surrounding us to be the borders, but here was a man who used time as a border.
Based on Shang Bieshiâs background, and his accomplishments, if he was willing to mentor a Prince for me once he returned, Iâd be willing to pay him twice his Shifuâs salary!
When I heard Proprietor Shi sneakily approach, I said, âRelax. Relax. Didnât I tell you the money is coming?â
Eyeing the box in front of me, Proprietor Shi asked, âDidnât he bring you money?â
I promptly swept the box into my arms.
âThat box looks like itâs worth quite a bit.â
âMan, sheâs just your wife! Why do you collapse under pressure so easily?!â
âYou want to relieve me from the pressure, then?â
âNo. I can only say that because youâre shouldering it. Just wait a little longer. The money is on the way.â
I turned Proprietor Shiâs head away because he gave me a look of distrust. Subsequently, I looked around for a while, sent a few singles, whistled twice, and by the time he turned back around, his waiter was sitting opposite me. I shooed off the confused proprietor.
He was unmistakably the waiter, but he was now someone elseâs employee. No matter how many times I saw him, I could never get used to him.
âI didnât win, but I did obtain the prize. My debt is cleared now, right?â I slid the box over to him. âWe agreed to clear my debt with this. Donât go back on your word now.â
The waiter just giggled and then gave me an affable smile.
â⊠You donât want it?â
âPlease do not make things hard for this one.â The waiter scratched his head as if I was putting him in a dilemma. âThis one seeks the other two items, not this item that will have every Confucian disciple hunting him down. Everyone knows the worst people to shake off are scholars who want to kill.â
âYouâre willing to write off a debt of one million, yet this isnât what you want? Donât tell me you want those lame study tokens. What do you want them for? All the writers and editors of Black and White Reflection going on some study group camp or something?â
âNo, this oneâs job and Black and White Reflectionâs jobs are separate jobs.â
âBasically, left hand into the right pocket. You shouldâve told me sooner if it was those two tokens you wanted. Itâs your fault for not clarifying it. I went through a lot to get this jade piece. If youâre not going to state your reasons for coveting the two tokens, Iâm not swapping.â
He gave me a coy smile. âYou are so naughty, Duke Ming. You already have them on you; you are just testing this one. Otherwise, you would not offer a celestial-spider-silk-woven box. It is this oneâs honour that you would think so highly of him.â
He got me there. The Nine Dragons Fire Jade wasnât worth a million. If it was, Uncle Jiyi wouldâve already bought it. It, as he said, was genuinely risky to hold on to given its importance to Confucianism. Besides, these pricks were in the business industry.
âI feel like I lose every time I do business with you. Iâm not making the same mistake again. If youâre willing to write off my huge debt for something besides this, youâre after something big. Iâm not going to let you do something Iâd rather you not. Make your decision.â I slammed the items he wanted onto the table. I wasnât concerned he would snatch them from me.
He looked down at the items, looked away and then back multiple times. âYou truly are making it difficult for this one. As a researcher of treasures, this one is interested in all manner of treasures. Why would Daren Academy be an exception. There are things he wants from them, but he cannot say it. How about we do this: in addition to your debts that are calculated as the typical rules, we have to calculate your interest and the delay in payment. Let us write off your interest in exchange for no questions. How about it?â
I shook my head vigorously. âYouâre winning. The head of Confucianism, Huang Yuzao, is my elder, my respected elder.â
âThis one shall repay your debt to Eight Deities, as well.â
âHmph!â I slammed the table. âAnd todayâs drinks.â
âSure.â
Uncle Huang would toil all his life at the current rate. It was time for him to retire and let his students do the heavy lifting. They needed training and experience if they were going to succeed him, right? I wasnât the kind of person to ask for a referral award. Uncle Huang and I were family, after all. Thus, we completed our exchange merrily.
I was free of debt, but donât forget, I still had all the valuables from the underground palace! Yes, selling this jade piece would bring trouble, but there were plenty of rich idiots in the martial world. Why would I say no? Why should I have been the unlucky one?
Pork shoulders, dices, and wine, here I come!
After the waiter went back to being a waiter, someone came with my money â the money I needed to pay plus another five hundred for me to spend. Didnât I tell you the martial worldâs treasury and I were buddies?
Before night fell, Long Cheng, in his disguise, came to see me, a representative for League of Assassins, and even Wawa dropped by to pinch some desserts. Long Cheng filled me in on news in the capital and Hangzhou, as well as the mysterious new organisation called âYizhen Allianceâ. No lie, I felt my hairs stand up whenever I heard the name âYizhen Allianceâ. It had to be the most ridiculous name Iâd ever heard. League of Assassins came to apologise for Vivianiteâs actions. I guess they were used to me being a constable of Liu Shan Men now, but⊠I had to question if I had been standing out too much. Wawa dropped in purely to leech.
Proprietor Shi didnât pester me to leave even when there were no more customers at night. I drank alone until the last customer for the day arrived.
âIs this old one here early?â
âIâd say late.â I finished my drink and then stood up to salute the elder. âTake a seat, Prime Minister.â