When Zhou Zishu walked into the bank once more, it wasn't only the shopkeeper who came out to welcome him.
Upon hearing of his arrival, a plump, fortunate-looking man strode out to welcome him. This man had thin brows, thin eyes, and a fleshy nose, his face like a fluffy white bun that had just been taken out of the steamer; it was a pleasing, affable face. Bowing slightly, the shopkeeper very respectfully followed two steps behind this man.
Once he saw Zhou Zishu, he first froze for a moment, before asking, probing, "Are you...Lord Zhou?"
Zhou Zishu smiled, saying, "Why, does Pingan no longer recognise me?"
This man who had come out to welcome him was Boss Song of the "Pingan Bank", Song Pingan. Rumour had it that this man was originally the housekeeper of the Nanning Manor, who came out into the world to start a trading business with some of his savings after his master had passed. Not even a few years had passed, and his business was thriving.
His ventures were everywhere across the country; he never stopped shuttling from one place to another, and no one knew where he would be. Many traders knew that this Boss Song was shrewd at business, but was a rare sort who was righteous and not cunning. Gradually, with great testimonies and ambition to spare, the Song business prospered.
Extremely excited, he ordered the shopkeeper to close up shop, dismissed the assistants, cleaned the place, and invited Zhou Zishu to sit, saying, "This servant was originally near Yangzhou, but I hurried over once I heard the news. Have my subordinates ever given my lord unsatisfactory service? My master has been missing you for a good few years!"
Right after, Pingan lowered his voice. "Many thanks to Lord Zhou, for concealing the news about my master leaving the capital all those years ago, so we can have these few years of peace."
Zhou Zishu took a sip of tea, smiling. "It's no trouble at all, is Seventh Lord faring well?"
Yet he was thinking, trouble only stops when your master dies; if he scrams earlier, everyone can live peacefully.
Pingan smiled. "He's very good, very good, thank you, my lord, for keeping him in your thoughts. This servant sent a letter once he had received the news, and only just received the master's reply yesterday. He says that he's coming this way with the shaman, and can probably arrive in about ten to fourteen days…"
Hearing this, Zhou Zishu's calm face spasmed once. He thought, the pugilist world of the Central Plains was in enough chaos, and this troublemaker still wanted to add to it--truly a year of bad fortune it was, accumulating all sorts of natural disasters and human catastrophes. Yet, he was still courteous in speech as he said, "How could I possibly trouble Seventh Lord and the shaman?"
Pingan said, "It's nothing, my master has been extremely free with nothing to do after taking up permanent residence at the Southern border, and this is a perfect chance for him to get some exercise. Master has said that he still promised my lord all those years ago to find him a beautiful, slender-waisted Nanjiang lady to be his wife."
Zhou Zishu broke out in a sweat, and said hastily, "I kid, I was just kidding…"
Yet, he inexplicably recalled the previous day in the abandoned courtyard, and the serious manner in which Wen Kexing had said, "I want to live out the rest of my life with you". It felt like the chair underneath his ass had grown nails, making him uncomfortable and feel odd all over.
Pingan exchanged a few niceties with him, before moving onto the topic proper, saying, "This servant has ordered his subordinates to be on the lookout for news about the Lapis Armour my lord has come to ask about. They've found some things these past few days--does my lord know that a man called Shen Zhen appeared at Dongting with a Shaolin reverend yesterday, and brought a piece of Lapis Armour with him?"
Zhou Zishu was stunned. "Shen Zhen, the head of the Shen clan in Shuzhong?"
Pingan nodded. "Yes. This person has stayed away from worldly affairs for a long time, to appear so suddenly now, he must have heard of the Zhang family tragedy, and could wait no longer."
Zhou Zishu's mind whirled instantaneously, and he reacted immediately, saying, "Oh yes, back then, the Lu clan of Taixing didn't have an heir and only had those useless little disciples, who were all handed over to Taishan Sect Leader Hua Fangling. Counting the Zhang family in...could it be that the legendary five pieces of the Lapis Armour is indeed in the hands of the five major clans in the past?"
Pingan said, "Master Zhou can truly infer ten things from one single piece of news. Once Shen Zhen showed up, Gao Cheng also acknowledged the presence of a piece of Lapis Armour at the Gao Family Manor, and finally revealed the story behind this object. Have you heard of the 'Yin Yang Manual', 'Fengshan Sword Technique', and the 'Six Harmonies Cultivation Mantra'?"
Zhou Zishu frowned slightly and nodded. "I've only heard little about the Yin Yang Manual; I'm not certain of whether it truly exists or not, but it is said to be a sacred relic of the Healers' Valley, able to revive the dead and grow flesh from white bone, claimed to heal any ailment--Fengshan Sword Technique was created by Rong Xuan, the peerless expert who turned to the demonic path thirty years ago. The lower scroll is a sword technique instruction, while the theory inscribed in the upper scroll was what he had inferred and adapted from the Six Harmonies Cultivation Mantra. Passed down since ancient times, the 'Six Harmonies Cultivation Mantra' has many parts missing. It's obscure and complex, difficult to understand, and one can very easily undergo qi deviation when practicing it. Regardless, its power is unparalleled, with not one competitor in this world that can surpass it...does Gao Chong mean that the secret of the Lapis Armour is the two classic manuals that Rong Xuan had left behind?"
Pingan nodded. "Indeed. According to Hero Gao, Rong Xuan experienced a qi deviation due to the grief of losing his wife, but it was due to his improper technique that his demonic nature burgeoned afterwards. After Rong Xuan died, the few of them found the Lapis Armour, and saw that the two great marvellous techniques and the Healers' Valley 'Yin Yang Manual' were contained in it. But any gongfu practitioner could not possibly withstand the life-ruining temptation of either. They felt that this object was too dangerous, and so smashed the Lapis Armour into pieces, and agreed that each of the five clans would keep a fragment, to prevent these demonic techniques from reappearing on the jianghu."
Zhou Zishu frowned upon hearing this. Half a beat later, he slowly nodded, and said, "That's what Gao Chong said as well…"
Pingan said with an apologetic expression, "This servant's abilities are truly limited."
Zhou Zishu shook his head, smiling, and said, "Not even Tian Chuang and Four Seasons Manor can know all the details of the true happenings of the tragedy thirty years ago, much less you, a businessman. You've already been a great help--although, speaking of which, if the five major clans each holds a fragment of the Lapis Armour, where is the Zhao clan's? Did Zhao Jing give an explanation for this?"
Pingan nodded. "The head of the Zhao clan claimed that the Zhao clan's Lapis Armour had been stolen, and its current whereabouts unknown. Once this news was declared, the crowd almost rioted; the Huashan Sect Leader seemed to have concrete evidence and claimed that Zhao Jing usurped the Zhang family's Lapis Armour. The man that this servant sent there yesterday said that the Huashan Sect Leader and Hero Zhao nearly came to blows."
Zhou Zishu thought of the piece of Lapis Armour that he had seen in the underground cave that day. It was most likely the missing piece the Zhao clan had lost, and the thief was undoubtedly either one of the two who had died that night, Yu Tianjie or Mu Yunge. Unfortunately, like a mantis stalking the cicada unaware of the oriole behind it, a little ghost from the Ghost Valley had taken advantage, and afterwards, the piece of Lapis Armour had ended up in Wen Kexing's hands by happenstance. Then it had been stolen by Fang Buzhi, but now Fang Buzhi was dead, suspected to have died by the hand of the Delighted Mourning Ghost...
Zhou Zishu felt uncomfortable, like a rock had been placed on his heart, bile surging. He thought, could this matter be any more complex?
Troubled, he bade Pingan farewell, and returned to look for Zhang Chengling. Zhou Zishu did not completely trust what Gao Chong had said--in the past, he had to handle massive amounts of information, and those presented to the Emperor had to be the absolute truth ridden of falsehoods. To examine a piece of information, he usually had to verify in detail the causes and consequences of it, until there were entirely no faults in the information, before he dared present it. This was why he was used to doubting anything that he heard while semi-believing it, ready to override any previous information that he knew at any moment.
Entering the tavern, he raised his head and immediately glimpsed Wen Kexing and Zhang Chengling with Cao Weining and Gu Xiang, and wondered how these four people had managed to convene with one another. Soon afterwards, he noticed that Zhang Chengling and Wen Kexing were occupying a corner of the table each with exceptionally grave expressions. Unclear on why so, he walked upstairs, about to greet them, right as he heard Cao Weining air his opinions.
"...What I'm actually most concerned about is the arson in the backyard of a righteous, orthodox clan. Everyone's damaging friendly ties for this Lapis Armour, have they not heard of the tale of Two 'Li's Killing Three Warriors? I only fear that a catastrophe befalls the pugilist world because of this, and until then, it'll be a 'stream of corpses."
Very foolishly and naively, Gu Xiang asked, "Stream of what?"
Cao Weining prattled on patiently, "'By the riverside I exclaimed, the corpses flow like a river.' It describes how the elderly Laozi felt as if his spirit had visited the riverside one night in a dream, and looked down to see the dead flowing downstream with the running water. Extremely melancholic, he was inspired…"
Eyes wide, Gu Xiang exclaimed, "Master, Cao-dage knows so much, he even drops literary references!"
Zhou Zishu immediately understood why Zhang Chengling's and Wen Kexing's expressions were so solemn. Assuming indifference, he turned on his foot, and headed outside.
But he was spotted by the sharp-eyed, loose-lipped Wen Kexing, a person who had to bring others down into the muck with him regardless, who immediately yelled with fervour, "A-Xu, why are you walking out? We've been waiting for you for so long, come over quickly!"
...Zhou Zishu thought, this jinx Valley Master Wen really embodied eight bloody lifetimes' worth of iniquity.
Wen Kexing happily pulled a chair out, told Zhou Zishu to sit down, and personally poured wine for him, eagerly attentive as he said, "Quick, taste this tavern's good wine, the taste is traditional, it's not bad."
Expressionless, Zhou Zishu attempted to use his gaze to convey his evaluation of him. Wen Kexing looked at him for half a beat, then all of a sudden, said in a coy voice, "We're still in public…"
Seeing this, Gu Xiang covered Zhang Chengling's eyes with a hand and said, with a grimace, "Even a dog's eyes will be blinded."
With a red face, Cao Weining stammered, "Miss, Miss, Miss Gu, a-actually, you don't have to envy Zhou-xiong and Wen-xiong's deep love, you're as beautiful as a flower, there must be...must be...someone who secretly admires you…"
Gu Xiang blinked her wide, innocent eyes at him, asking, "Ah? Really? Where?"
Cao Weining stared at her in a daze, half a beat later, he asked in a non-sequitur, "Miss Gu, c-c-can I call you A-Xiang too?"
Zhou Zishu lowered his head to drink his wine in great concentration, reminding himself that it was impolite to have seen or heard anything; it was as agonising as sitting on a carpet of nails, disgusting him until even his tongue was numb. It was the first time in his life where he failed to taste what was in his cup.
But at this moment, a person walked in through the door. Upon laying eyes on this person, the raucous tavern quietened down in an instant--this was a woman, who walked in with her gaze fixed on something in particular. Noticing the waiter carrying plates staring at her, completely floored, she smiled slightly, and the plates in the waiter's hands fell and shattered on the floor.
She was truly too beautiful; in that instant, most of the people who laid eyes on her came to the unanimous decision that she was the most beautiful woman that they had seen in their lives. Even Gu Xiang was agape for a moment, before she tugged at Cao Weining's sleeve, whispering, "Look at her, she isn't a goddess, is she?"
Yet, Cao Weining only glanced once in the direction Gu Xiang was looking in and rescinded his attention, whispering, "This woman's gaze strays and drifts--the books on physiognomy call this an 'intoxicating gaze', she absolutely has no good intentions, and cannot compare with...with…"
His last few words were mumbled very softly, so softly that Gu Xiang, who was staring transfixed at the beauty, did not notice.
But a chuckle escaped Wen Kexing, who mused that Cao Weining was not a quick person himself, and no wonder was so was averse to others whose gazes strayed quickly. Even the one he had set his heart on was Gu Xiang, who was always in a daze.
That beauty swept her gaze around the place once, then came upstairs, heading in their direction. She didn't look at anyone else, her gaze locked solely on Zhou Zishu, as if her pair of amorous eyes had only space for him. She sauntered over to stand beside him, and bent to say with a flowery breath, "Could I ask you to buy me a drink?"
This was Lady Luck fallen from the heavens--anyone would have been disoriented upon impact. But without even waiting for Zhou Zishu to speak, a third-wheeling hand shot out from one side and planted itself between them like a barricade. Wen Kexing stuck his hand into Zhou Zishu's robes, fished his coin pouch out in the blink of an eye, and boldly shoved it into his own robes, then said calmly, "Miss, I'm afraid not."