These past few days, even the caretaker rarely came by. Everyone was avoiding suspicion, guided by a tacit understanding.
Yet on this day, he strolled over after all. Looking at the vegetable patch, he remarked, "It's recovered quite well, but you won't be able to deliver any to the dining hall anymore."
Evidently, things couldn't blow over so easily.
Wu Youren knew his real purpose. Bringing out two jars of liquor, he said, "This month's share."
The caretaker was somewhat surprised. "You haven't even left. Where did you get this?"
Right after, though, he filled in the blanks himself. "Try to avoid sneaking off in the middle of the night. Never mind the patrols—what if someone is lying in wait for you?"
Wu Youren didn't explain, only saying, "I can't keep myself cooped up in here forever, can I?"
"Weren't you the same back in Hostage Manor?" The caretaker shook his head dismissively. "I hear conditions there are even worse than here."
That was... painfully blunt.
That night, someone actually crept over in secret. It was Liu Jingming. "Got any honey?"
"Only three jars," Wu Youren said. "It's not convenient for me to move around right now."
"Safety comes first, of course," Liu Jingming said smoothly.
Immediately after, he sighed. "What a pity. I could have sold thirty jars."
"Oh?" Wu Youren raised a brow. "Since when has Red Pine had such strong purchasing power?"
"I locked down a big customer recently," Liu Jingming whispered conspiratorially. "They'll take as much as we have."
"Seriously?" Wu Youren was baffled. Did they not worry about diabetes?
He knew sugar stimulated dopamine secretion, but the issue was: "They don't think honey is too expensive?"
"They're from Hongxiuzhao," Liu Jingming said with a lewd grin. "Money is no object."
Hongxiuzhao was another society in the martial academy, with both male and female members.
Most of the female martial artists in it offered temporary romantic services, while the rest handled business negotiations or ensured smooth payments.
Great Liang did not prohibit such businesses. Given how expensive martial arts training was, the existence of this kind of society was completely normal.
For most male martial artists, female martial artists not only held a higher social status, but were also much hardier, so business naturally flourished.
Still, Wu Youren was somewhat surprised. "You actually patronize them?"
"I don't have a girlfriend," Liu Jingming rolled his eyes. "You think everyone's like you?"
"I haven't done anything," Wu Youren shook his head and sighed. "You work so hard to make a little money, and you blow it on this?"
"I spent eight suffocating years cooped up in the Jin Garden!" Liu Jingming said, a bit aggrieved. "Besides, in our line, there's no guarantee we'll see tomorrow. If I don't have some fun, wouldn't I be getting ripped off by life?"
Though his way of life differed from Wu Youren's, the sense of impending crisis hanging overhead threatened every hostage impartially.
*What you should watch out for is people catering to your vices!* Wu Youren parted his lips, but in the end felt his interference was unnecessary.
Since ancient times, people said one could advise against gambling, but never against whoring. If Liu Jingming had lived as a hostage for so long without even understanding basic caution, he would truly be hopelessly stupid.
"Don't worry, I'm not as stupid as you think," Liu Jingming remarked. "I pay money, and I'm not picky about looks or figure!"
So he didn't care even if they were ugly... Wu Youren nodded. "Good. Just don't talk about romance—you can't afford it!"
"That makes sense, but why does it sound so grating?" Liu Jingming bared his teeth. "So only handsome bastards like you are worthy of talking about love?"
Cynthia's passionate infatuation was no secret among the Jin students, nor within Liang circles.
"I'm not worthy either," Wu Youren said offhandedly.
He wouldn't even mind if the female martial artist heard him; up until now, he had never indicated that he accepted her feelings!
"So you're just playing with her heart?" Liu Jingming certainly dared to speak his mind.
The next moment, however, his expression turned serious as he whispered conspiratorially, "Do you know why they're buying in bulk?"
"Because money is no object to them?" Wu Youren's focus wasn't on that at all. "I told you last time what would happen if we offload huge quantities!"
Without a doubt, it would draw suppression from competitors and greed from onlookers!
Yet Liu Jingming grinned cheekily. "I heard it's very likely to make a person become... tighter!"
*Holy crap!* Wu Youren slapped his forehead. How could he have forgotten that?
Alum wasn't just useful for making counterfeit honey; it had many applications. For instance... it was an astringent with pronounced effects!
So it actually made total sense for the people of Hongxiuzhao to purchase it regardless of cost.
What Wu Youren wondered was how on earth those people had discovered this application.
Truly, the world was full of wonders; there was nothing people couldn't do, only things one failed to imagine.
Still, wouldn't this attract too much attention?
He shook his head in feigned bewilderment. "I really didn't know honey had such an effect. Have you ever heard of it?"
"When would I ever have had the chance to touch honey?" Liu Jingming replied sourly. "Don't you know the kind of life we lived?"
It wasn't that there were no luxuries in the Jin Garden, but they certainly never trickled down to the son of a baron's live-in son-in-law!
Wu Youren pondered for a moment, then asked curiously, "Is other honey the same?"
"I checked, and it's not," Liu Jingming looked at him thoughtfully. "This stuff of yours... is quite interesting."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Wu Youren chuckled upon hearing this, appearing thoroughly delighted.
Then the smile gradually froze on his face. "Wait... could this be bad? Is someone setting a trap for us?"
"You really didn't know?" Liu Jingming looked at him suspiciously, as if searching his face for answers.
After pausing for seven or eight seconds, he smiled again. "I told that client that I added a secret formula, 'Spring Delight.' Get it?"
Wu Youren was speechless. *You're a damn genius, aren't you!*
However, what drew more of his attention was: "That client?"
"Yeah, just one person." Liu Jingming gave a wink and a slight nod. "He doesn't want others discovering the business opportunity either. You know how it is."
Yet Wu Youren still wore a preoccupied look. "Could it be a scheme targeting us Jin hostages?"
"You really didn't tamper with it?" Suspicion still lingered in Liu Jingming's eyes.
In the end, though, he exhaled a long breath and dropped the interrogation. "A scheme... what kind of scheme could it be? With secret medicines like that, isn't having some side effects totally normal? As long as it doesn't kill anyone, who cares!"
What Wu Youren had been worried about was someone discovering he was peddling fakes. Such a matter... could be trivial or catastrophic.
More crucially, huge profits were involved. If exposed, it could easily spiral out of control.
Hearing Liu Jingming's explanation, Wu Youren realized that the matter could actually be viewed from this angle.
Yet thinking about it, he couldn't help feeling amused. Counterfeit honey could be explained away like this, fake liquor could be explained away like that...
Was food safety really this unimportant in this world?
*I really seem to have the potential to become a villain!* Wu Youren zoned out for a moment.
"You don't need to worry," Liu Jingming consoled him upon seeing his distracted look. "It's no big deal. Even if future batches of honey don't have this effect, that's completely normal too... Nothing under the sun stays constant forever, does it?"
Selling honey alone was already very lucrative; it was just that now there was an extra gimmick, and someone was buying without limits.
"Ah, I'm just timid," Wu Youren chuckled, then couldn't resist complaining. "What a bizarre mess this is!"
"If you're timid, there isn't a bold man alive," Liu Jingming rolled his eyes. The guy had even smeared bodily poison in his pit traps!
Still, what he cared more about was: "Now that I've shared the benefits, the price won't..."
"You discovered it, so it has nothing to do with me," Wu Youren waved a hand, answering nonchalantly. "You didn't have to tell me at all!"
"I had to tell you!" Liu Jingming said solemnly. "If the two of us don't stick together, I won't have anyone left to trust!"
Wu Youren didn't react to those words. "In any case, we must control the supply volume."
"Of course," Liu Jingming nodded crisply. "To be honest... I'm scared too!"
Previously, he had constantly complained about having too little stock, but the moment he realized the immense added value, he had immediately grasped the danger.
Wu Youren was noncommittal. The guy was only afraid because he had just left the Jin Garden; in the future, that fear might fade.
People changed, especially in the face of massive profits; holding on to one's initial restraint was truly difficult.
However, he had no interest in thinking that far ahead. There was no telling how long the honey could be sold anyway.
At least for now, the other party was acting reasonably, and that was enough.
"How much you sell is your business. In the end, you'll still have to rent my weapon."
"Not necessarily," Liu Jingming chuckled. "If I save up enough money, I might buy one of my own... There are plenty of second-hand weapons around right now."
There seemed to be a hint of probing behind his words.
"That would be for the best," Wu Youren replied without hesitation. "There's no telling when I'll be sent on a mission."
Hearing this, Liu Jingming hesitated before asking, "Youren, you already have a perfect-grade mission under your belt. Are you really going to keep risking your life for the people of Liang?"
Ordinary Jin folk might not hold deep hatred toward Liang, but the hostages who had been trapped for eight years... went without saying.
"I have no interest in infighting among the human race," Wu Youren gave his standard answer. "What's the point of our own kind slaughtering each other?"
Liu Jingming snorted disdainfully. "With how vicious your traps are... do you even believe that yourself?"
Wu Youren didn't want to dwell on the topic. "How is Shi Linyuan doing lately?"
After all, he could never let go of the culprit suspected of framing his predecessor, and he believed the other party felt the same.
"No idea. He took a short mission a while ago and has already come back," Liu Jingming answered offhandedly. "He loves scheming too much. I don't contact him either—don't even have his comm-watch number!"
Wu Youren was just about to speak when his brow suddenly furrowed. From outside the door came the faint twang of a bowstring.
Immediately after, a muffled cry drifted in: "Ugh!"
Liu Jingming shot to his feet. "What's—"
"Don't go out," Wu Youren whispered. Reaching out, he picked up the long saber beside him.
After about ten-odd seconds, he let out a soft grunt. "They ran... Let's go take a look."
Only one person had come this time, accidentally tripping a mechanism. Of the three arrows released by the single string, only one had hit.
No blood was visible on the ground, but if the arrow hadn't been pulled out, it was normal for there to be no immediate bleeding.
"Dammit, took another of my arrows."
Chapter 91