Settling the Matter

The night was deep, but Zhu Jiaduan was still awake. When he was away from home, he was in the habit of lighting a lamp in his room after dark; whenever the lamp burned out on its own, he would nap for a while, and then, when the fifth watch sounded and the roosters crowed, he'd get right back up. For a martial artist of his level, occasionally using breath regulation to make up for lost sleep was acceptable—though only occasionally... no matter how great a master you were, if you never slept at all, you'd eventually drop dead. But tonight, clearly, he wasn't going to get any sleep for the time being. Because before the lamp in his room had even gone out, there was already movement around his room... It all happened so fast—shouts, muffled grunts, the clash of fists and palms, the sound of blades drawn from their scabbards... nearly all of it erupted at the same instant from every direction, and just as nearly all of it ended at the same instant. From start to finish, the whole thing took less than ten seconds. Then came a knock at Zhu Jiaduan's door. Knock—knock— Just two knocks, but in the stillness of the night they struck the ear sharply. Zhu Jiaduan did not respond to the knocking; he didn't even breathe loudly. He had masked his presence, gripped his sword hilt, and stood in the center of the room, every nerve taut, on guard against a surprise attack that might come from any direction. "Agency Head Zhu, there's no need to be nervous..." Seeing that he wouldn't answer, the person outside spoke up on his own. "Your disciples have only fainted for now; no one's dead... at least not yet." Naturally, Zhu Jiaduan wouldn't be naive enough to believe such words right away, but since the other party had said as much, he couldn't keep playing dumb: "Who are you?" After asking those three words, he seemed to feel he hadn't phrased it quite right, so he added, "You people... who are you?" "We... are just errand runners..." the person outside replied. "By our master's order, we'd like to invite Agency Head Zhu to Qiliu Youran for a chat." "Then who is your master?" Zhu Jiaduan asked again. "That... we underlings really can't say," the person outside said. "You can ask him to his face." "Hmph..." Zhu Jiaduan gave a cold snort. "Your master puts on quite an air." He paused. "Won't even give a name, and expects me to just go with you... isn't that a bit of a slight to this Zhu?" At that moment, the fellow outside really wanted to reply, "Yes, but that's not the point," but in the end he held it in. After a few seconds, the person outside spoke again: "Our master knows that Agency Head Zhu is busy with many affairs, so he instructed us... while inviting you over, to first 'look after' your Guangxing Escort Agency brothers on your behalf, so as to spare you any worries on that front. He hopes that, in view of our master's 'consideration' for you, Agency Head Zhu might do us the honor of coming along." That was the real point of his words. The words sounded polite enough, but the actual content was a threat, with the terms all laid out for you—if you refused the offered respect, then just weigh for yourself what would become of those escort guards and disciples of yours... And going a step further, even if you, Agency Head Zhu, cared nothing for the lives of your underlings, were you truly certain you could break through our encirclement yourself? Zhu Jiaduan might have a bad temper and an impatient nature, but he was absolutely not the type to stake his life over a moment's pride; put more bluntly, he was like most people of the jianghu—he bullied the weak and feared the strong. When his own strength had the upper hand, he'd puff out his chest and swagger about, and merely talking a little sense into someone would make him feel as though he'd done something grand; but when he found himself at a disadvantage, his backbone softened, and his tone shrank... he'd take any step down that was offered, grant face wherever it was demanded, and let it go at that. At this point, Zhu Jiaduan considered the situation for a moment, then curled his lip and answered, "If that's how it is, then this Zhu has no choice but to come along with you..." ………… About half an hour later, at Qiliu Youran. It was the same room, and Zhu Jiaduan had already been "invited" into Master Shu's presence. Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai were there too—of course, at that moment the two of them were quite relaxed, and had only to sit off to one side and watch the show. "You may call me 'Master Shu.'" No sooner had the other man sat down than Master Shu introduced himself this way. "Judging by your looks, this Zhu is a few years your senior—calling you 'Master' hardly seems right, does it?" Zhu Jiaduan was still putting on airs and hadn't entirely let down his guard. "Right or not..." Master Shu wore the manner of one who didn't take the other man seriously at all, "...you'll call me that anyway." "Hm?" Zhu Jiaduan glared at Master Shu. "Aren't you being a bit arrogant?" "That's arrogance?" Master Shu shot back with a laugh. "Heh... then if I told you that by rights, you ought to be kneeling when you speak to me, what would you say to that?" At these words, Zhu Jiaduan's expression changed. As the saying goes, ruler and subject, father and son: the son kneels to the father, the commoner kneels to the official, the subject kneels to the ruler... that is propriety. Master Shu was certainly not Zhu Jiaduan's father, so the implication of his words was that he was either a court official or imperial kin. "You..." Zhu Jiaduan began hesitantly, as if wanting to ask something. "Better not ask." But Master Shu cut him off before he could get it out. "All right..." Zhu Jiaduan gave a slight nod and stepped back again. "Might I ask, Master Shu... for what purpose have you invited this Zhu here today?" Master Shu glanced toward Sun and Huang and went on, "With those two here, what do you suppose it's about?" Zhu Jiaduan looked at the Twin Xies as well, then said, "Could it be... that Master Shu wishes to speak with me about the death of my disciple, Zheng Mukai?" "Precisely," Master Shu replied. "Fine." Zhu Jiaduan leaned back in his chair. "This Zhu is all ears." Master Shu didn't beat around the bush either. He began at once: "It's simple enough. Three days ago... that Zheng Mukai used lightness skill to vault the wall and slip through the window into my Qiliu Youran, intending to force himself on our top courtesan. So I had a few of my men cut him down." "What?" Hearing this, Zhu Jiaduan grew agitated at once. "It was you?" But then he thought better of it and looked doubtful. "Is this true?" "What would I have to gain by lying to you?" Master Shu said. Zhu Jiaduan's mind wasn't quick either, and this was a question he couldn't work out for a while: "Then... why was my disciple's body found in the back alley of the East-City Inn? And those two escort hands of mine..." "Isn't that obvious?" Master Shu cut him off in a somewhat languid tone. "I didn't want to be traced over such a trivial matter, so I had Zheng Mukai's body tossed near the inn where Young Hero Huang and his companions—who'd had a falling-out with him that day—were staying, and disguised the cause of death along the way. I figured I'd let them deal with the lawsuit for me. And since I worried that those two escort hands knew Zheng Mukai had come to my Qiliu Youran before he died, I finished the job... and had them silenced too." As Zhu Jiaduan listened, it seemed there was nothing wrong with the account. And in fact there truly wasn't—because everything Master Shu was saying now had been Shui Sheng's genuine thoughts at that time and place; it was only that now he was taking the blame for it. "Then why do you admit it now?" Zhu Jiaduan thought for a moment and asked again. "Because they've already come knocking on my door." Master Shu gestured with his fingers toward Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai. "I didn't want the bother... but I've been bothered all the same. I couldn't very well kill these two, could I? Of course... killing them is an option too, but once I'd killed them, that would prove they weren't the culprits either, and then you'd surely keep on investigating. And when that time came... wouldn't I just have to wipe out your entire Guangxing Escort Agency while I was at it?" He paused, shrugged, and went on, "In the end... this whole affair was your disciple Zheng Mukai's own fault to begin with. Things being what they are, I might as well just bring you all here and lay it out plainly." The more casually he spoke of things like "wiping out your escort agency," the more credible he actually seemed. But Zhu Jiaduan wasn't about to swallow it all so easily, and still questioned some details: "That doesn't add up..." His gaze sharpened, and he pressed aggressively, "You say all of this was done by your men—do you mean to tell me any random one of your underlings knows the Five Thunders Piercing Heart Fist?" "Ha!" Master Shu laughed. When he finished that laugh, he raised his voice and called toward the door, "You, the one waiting outside—come in." As soon as the words left his mouth, Shui Sheng pushed the door open and came in. Obviously, even before Master Shu had sent men to "invite" Zhu Jiaduan, he had already arranged for Shui Sheng to wait outside this room at his summons. Now he had deliberately not used Shui Sheng's name, but instead called him "the one waiting outside"—first, because he didn't want Zhu Jiaduan to know Shui Sheng's name, and second... because he wanted the man to think he'd just casually called in some random brothel drudge who happened to be waiting at the door. "Master, your orders." Shui Sheng came in with his head lowered and answered in a servile tone. Master Shu didn't even glance at him and said straight out, "Agency Head Zhu would like to see the Five Thunders Piercing Heart Fist. Use thirty percent of your power and trade a few blows with him." "Yes." Receiving the order, Shui Sheng said nothing more; he channeled his strength and sent a fist straight at Zhu Jiaduan. Because he'd heard Master Shu's words, Zhu Jiaduan wasn't unprepared; sitting in his chair, he quietly channeled his internal strength and raised his palm to meet it. Bang— The next instant, fist and palm collided, and the very air in the room seemed to freeze for a moment. Having thrown that punch, Shui Sheng withdrew his strength and stepped back to stand beside Master Shu. Zhu Jiaduan had remained seated without moving, but a trickle of cold sweat had already run down his temple. Only now did Zhu Jiaduan take a careful look at this "brothel drudge" before him, but no matter how he looked, Shui Sheng seemed to be the most ordinary of brothel waiters—from his features to the look between his brows, not particularly sharp in any way. But the force of that punch just now, its sheer power... that had been entirely real. Zhu Jiaduan couldn't tell whether the other man had truly used only thirty percent of his strength, but in any case he himself had used more than eighty percent, and only then—with his palm already numb—had he just barely managed to dissolve the incoming force completely; otherwise, the meridians in his arm might well have been damaged. "All right, you may go." Before Zhu Jiaduan had even recovered, Master Shu had already waved his hand and dismissed Shui Sheng in a very casual tone. Shui Sheng gave a word of assent and withdrew from the room, pulling the door shut behind him. After he had gone out, Master Shu looked at Zhu Jiaduan with a rather smug expression and asked, "Agency Head Zhu, do you have any other questions?" Zhu Jiaduan thought to himself: "This fellow is flexing his power at me... Earlier, at the inn, in the blink of an eye his men subdued all my disciples. Now he casually calls in one brothel drudge, and the man can use the Five Thunders Piercing Heart Fist... Add to that the talk of propriety he just made... Just how great is the power behind this man?" At this thought, Zhu Jiaduan had in fact already lost his nerve. Because he had a powerful sense that he might be sitting before a man he simply could not afford to offend; at a single word from the other party, never mind his own life... his entire Guangxing Escort Agency, including the families of the escort guards, would likely struggle to escape disaster. "There are none..." Helpless, Zhu Jiaduan could only give that answer. "Mm." Master Shu gave a thoughtful sound and continued, "Good, then. Since the matter has been laid out clearly, I'll now propose a way to settle it." He paused, then went on, "Although in this affair, most of it was brought on by Chief Escort Zheng himself, my handling of it... did have its improper aspects too. So tomorrow, I'll prepare a 'humble gift' and have it sent to the inn where you're staying, as a death benefit for the families of Chief Escort Zheng and those two escort guards. If you find it too little, you may come talk to me again... And from now on, you, Agency Head Zhu, shall be my 'friend.' If you ever have anything difficult to handle, you may come to me..." Having said this much, he fixed his eyes on Zhu Jiaduan: "This arrangement... does it satisfy you, Agency Head Zhu?" "Satisfied... satisfied..." Zhu Jiaduan had already submitted to Master Shu's bullying might; since the man was still granting him face, he took it, not daring to refuse. "Good." Master Shu nodded. "Then we'll leave it here for today. Agency Head Zhu... you may return. Young Hero Sun, Young Hero Huang, and I still have some other matters to discuss, so I won't see you out." Hearing this, Zhu Jiaduan raised his eyes to look at the two, Sun and Huang, his gaze somewhat complicated—hard to say whether it was sympathy or guilt. From Zhu Jiaduan's perspective, it seemed he had dragged these two young men into the muck, entangling them with a figure like Master Shu; but old Zhu could barely look after himself now, and had no time to spare for them. "All right... all right. This Zhu takes his leave; everyone, no need to see me off." As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Jiaduan headed for the door, walking briskly, practically flying. So much for the Tongbi Divine Sword? Before true "power," he was just a small sect leader. To be honest, if Lei Buwei hadn't already retired from the jianghu years ago and weren't far away at the ends of the earth, he wouldn't even have dared act so tough with Lei Buji before. After this fellow's footsteps had faded into the distance, Master Shu invited Sun and Huang back to the table. He personally poured two cups of wine for them and said leisurely, "This business of mine... did I handle it properly?" "Properly!" Sun Yixie raised his cup in reply. "Deftly done!" Huang Donglai raised his cup as well. "Then about the matter of the 'notebook'... do the two of you have any further difficulties?" Master Shu confirmed once more. "None!" Sun Yixie said. "Solid as can be!" Huang Donglai too gave his word, thumping his chest. "Good!" Master Shu raised his voice again. "A toast to you both!" "Please!" "Please!" Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai drank this cup to the full with him. So then—Gu Qiying's notebook, handed over to a man like Master Shu... was that really all right? Of course it wasn't—which was why Sun and Huang had never intended to hand it over from the very start. The notebook had been a "false condition" to begin with; they'd used it to make Master Shu first take care of the things they wanted done, and then... there was no "then," because Master Shu had to die before dawn tomorrow. Having spent so long in a room with Huang Donglai, and eating and drinking on and off the whole time—if I told you Master Shu hadn't been poisoned, you wouldn't believe it either. And once Master Shu was dead, there'd naturally be no need to hand over the notebook; rescuing Chu Xue and Shui Sheng would then be as easy as turning one's hand over, and they could even wipe out the whole of Qiliu Youran if they pleased. Still, as the saying goes, you have Zhang Liang's clever plan, I have my ladder over the wall. This Master Shu, too, was not so easy to scheme against...