Chapter 225: The Scholar

Shao Sansheng sighed inwardly. The Eldest Young Master was treating this as though he faced a mortal enemy. It seemed his wariness of that man truly ran deep. Even inside the Provincial Provincial Inspector's Residence dungeon, protected by experts on every side, he still felt no sense of security. Still, it was understandable. No opponent he had ever faced had made him suffer a loss this great.

"Eldest Young Master, rest assured. The moment this happened, I contacted Young Mistress Su immediately. Once she heard something had happened to you, I'm sure she'll come as quickly as she can." Shao Sansheng offered another word of reassurance, then gestured toward the food. "Eldest Young Master, you need a full stomach if you want strength."

Hearing that Su Zhao had already been notified, Shao Pingbo relaxed slightly. He picked up his chopsticks and began eating at an unhurried pace. The handprints Shao Dengyun had left across both his cheeks, however, were still glaringly visible. For killing his stepmother and two younger brothers, two slaps could hardly have counted as punishment at all... Under the night sky, two drunk men staggered along with their arms around each other's shoulders.

Partway down the road, one of them braced himself against a wall. The other swayed beside him, belched, and asked, "Brother Li, what's wrong? Drunk?"

The man leaning against the wall bowed his head and waved. "Been holding it too long. Need to relieve myself. You go on ahead. I know the place. I'll catch up."

"Hahaha! Then hurry up." Slurring drunkenly, the other man turned and staggered away.

Only after the man had gone some distance did the other drunk, hidden around the corner while relieving himself, slowly straighten. He tied his waistband, stepped out, and looked toward the swaying figure in the distance. His eyes were already perfectly clear. Not a trace of drunkenness remained. It was Lu Shengzhong in disguise.

He turned and strode quickly away, disappearing into the darkness. Taking a shortcut, he reached the area near the place he had already reconnoitered, concealed himself in the crown of a tree, and watched from above.

Before long, the earlier drunk came staggering over. He stopped outside a small courtyard, pounded on the door with his fist, and called, "Brother Tan! Brother Tan..."

The courtyard door soon opened. A clean-featured man dressed like a scholar appeared, still holding a book in his hand. He had clearly been reading.

Seeing the drunk outside, he said in surprise, "Brother Tang, how did you get this drunk?"

"Met a new friend. I'll introduce you when he gets here." The drunk chuckled and stepped straight across the threshold without waiting to be invited.

"Brother Tang..." The scholar looked helpless. Showing up at his house this drunk left him at something of a loss.

He stepped outside and looked around. Seeing no sign of the supposed friend who was to be introduced, he shook his head, went back inside, and closed the door.

From the moment the knocking began, Lu Shengzhong had been carefully scanning the surroundings from his elevated position, watching for anyone secretly stationed around the scholar. Why was he paying such close attention to this man?

When Wu Tiannan had been discussing poetry and painting with Tao Yan'er, he had once mentioned something in order to show that he was not unfamiliar with poetry. Shao Pingbo's younger sister, Shao Liuer, had once organized a poetry society, and Wu Tiannan himself had been a member.

In passing, he had also mentioned that Shao Pingbo's sister had been rather close to a man in the poetry society named Tan Yaoxian.

But the instant he said it, he clammed up. No matter how he was questioned afterward, he refused to say anything more.

Lu Shengzhong had once worked as an "assassin." He had even tried to find a way to assassinate Niu Youdao. The fact that Niu Youdao had later taken notice of him was proof enough that he had been a highly capable assassin.

A capable assassin was naturally sensitive to implications hidden in a careless remark. Lu Shengzhong immediately realized there was more behind Wu Tiannan's words.

At the time, however, completing the primary task Niu Youdao had given him came first. It would have been unwise to create needless complications and alert the snake by striking the grass, so he had not pressed the matter concerning Shao Liuer. He had merely added the name Tan Yaoxian beside Shao Liuer on the relationship chart he had drawn up around Shao Pingbo.

Now that he had returned and received another assignment, he studied that chart again, searching for someone he could use as an entry point. It was difficult.

His attention therefore returned to Tan Yaoxian. He decided to investigate the man first and see whether any weakness could be found.

Niu Youdao had said this was the moment when Shao Pingbo was weakest, but Beizhou City was still right under Shao Pingbo's nose. Lu Shengzhong had no choice but to be careful.

Especially after learning that Shao Pingbo had escaped disaster through such an unimaginably vicious method, he finally understood the full weight of Niu Youdao's warning. Shao Pingbo truly was dangerous. That made him more cautious still.

After locating Tan Yaoxian, Lu Shengzhong had already reconnoitered the area around his home. He learned that Tan Yaoxian lived alone, but even then he did not dare approach him directly.

On the surface, Tan Yaoxian was merely an ordinary man, a scholar who had once made his living teaching. Yet an ordinary scholar had somehow been on good terms with the Inspector's daughter. Without knowing the circumstances, Lu Shengzhong could not afford to lower his guard.

So rather than touching the core of the matter immediately, he first worked around the safer edges. After quietly investigating the man's circle, he found one of Tan Yaoxian's friends and arranged an opportunity to meet him. He drank with the man until the other was thoroughly drunk, then used that drunken state to coax him into visiting Tan Yaoxian that night.

Having the man visit Tan Yaoxian was not the true purpose. Lu Shengzhong wanted to use the opportunity to observe whether Tan Yaoxian really was an ordinary man, whether there were hidden sentries nearby, and especially whether any cultivators were protecting him.

Niu Youdao might have said that Shao Pingbo was weak at present, and the drunk might have insisted that Tan Yaoxian was only an ordinary person, but Lu Shengzhong maintained the highest caution all the same.

He watched for quite some time. Only after confirming there was nothing unusual did he finally relax. He slid down from the tree, slipped away through the shadows along the base of the wall, and vanished. When he returned, he appeared openly in the alley, carrying a parcel of wine and dishes.

He had told the drunk earlier that he would follow shortly. The long delay caused by his surveillance needed an explanation, and buying food and wine supplied one. He went to the Tan residence and knocked.

Before long, the clean-featured Tan Yaoxian opened the door. Seeing a stranger outside, he looked suspicious. "You are...?"

Lu Shengzhong smiled. "Are you Brother Tan? My name is Li Ji. Brother Tang asked me to come. He said he wanted to introduce us."

"Ah..." Tan Yaoxian paused. He had assumed Brother Tang's earlier remark was merely drunken nonsense and had not expected someone to actually appear.

His manners as a scholar were impeccable. He quickly cupped his hands in greeting. "So you're Brother Li." Then he opened the door fully and invited him inside.

He did not suspect anything was wrong. There was nothing in his house worth a criminal's attention anyway. After Lu Shengzhong entered, Tan Yaoxian closed the door and warmly led him toward the main hall. Lu Shengzhong observed both the man himself and the courtyard around them.

Once inside the hall, he saw almost no unnecessary furnishings. Some of what little there was looked old and worn, but everything was neat and clean. This was clearly a household of genteel poverty. Its master might be poor, but he had not let poverty diminish his standards.

"Hm? Didn't Brother Tang arrive before me? Where is he?" Seeing no one in the hall, Lu Shengzhong asked.

Tan Yaoxian smiled wryly. "The moment Brother Tang arrived, he sat down and started snoring. I had no choice but to help him to the guest room."

Lu Shengzhong exclaimed in surprise and said he should go take a look. Tan Yaoxian could only lead him out of the hall to a simple guest room. Inside, a man lay snoring on the bed beneath an old, thin quilt patched in several places.

Lu Shengzhong stepped forward and examined him. "Brother Tang... Brother Tang..." As he pushed and called to him, he quietly sealed an acupoint, making it difficult for the man to wake.

"He said he was bringing me here to meet a friend, then sleeps like the dead himself. Outrageous!" Standing beside the bed and seeing that the man could not be roused, Lu Shengzhong shook his head with a sigh.

"He drank too much." Tan Yaoxian smiled and gestured for Lu Shengzhong to return to the hall.

Back inside, Lu Shengzhong exchanged a few polite words, opened the wine and food he had brought, and set them out. Tan Yaoxian immediately fetched bowls, plates, and chopsticks from the house. Before long, the two were seated together, drinking and introducing themselves.

It was obvious that this fair-faced scholar could not hold his liquor. The wine was mild, yet after drinking only a few cups out of courtesy, his face was already red and he repeatedly waved his hand to say he could drink no more. Still, once the wine had warmed his face and the two had become more familiar, his speech grew less restrained.

Lu Shengzhong tested the waters. "I hear Brother Tan has quite a fondness for poetry and was once a member of the poetry society organized by Inspector Shao's daughter?"

Mentioning Shao Liuer changed everything. Tan Yaoxian, who had repeatedly insisted that he could drink no more, suddenly took hold of the wine jar and began pouring for himself. Bowl after bowl, he drank in silence. It did not take long before his eyes grew hazy with intoxication.

Lu Shengzhong's gaze flickered. "Brother Tan, why so quiet?"

Tan Yaoxian belched and waved a hand. "It only brings back heartache. Better not speak of it." Sorrow surfaced on his face as well.

Lu Shengzhong took hold of the wine jar and poured for him instead. "Did I say something I shouldn't have?"

Tan Yaoxian shook his head. "You've misunderstood, Brother Li. The poetry society has already disbanded. There's nothing worth talking about anymore." With that, he tipped back another bowl.

Lu Shengzhong poured for him again. "Why would a perfectly good poetry society suddenly disband? Did the Inspector's daughter lose interest?"

Tan Yaoxian threw back his head and sighed. "It had nothing to do with her. In the end, I was simply useless..."

Once that door opened, the wine muddled his judgment and his tongue began to run ahead of him. Lu Shengzhong listened in growing surprise. He could already hear the implication: this fellow seemed to have developed romantic feelings for Shao Liuer.

Tan Yaoxian plainly did not want to speak of it, but in his drunken state he could no longer keep control of his mouth.

Lu Shengzhong would never let such an opportunity pass. Whenever Tan Yaoxian tried to steer the conversation away, Lu Shengzhong quietly guided it back and deliberately used his words to provoke him. Tan Yaoxian was only an inexperienced scholar. How could he withstand methods like Lu Shengzhong's? Before long, most of what had happened between him and Shao Liuer had been drawn out.

They had first met in the poetry society. When both bent to pick up the same sheet of paper that had fallen to the ground, they bumped into each other. Their eyes met as they looked up, and from that moment each remembered the other deeply. Afterward, at gatherings of the poetry society, they would consciously or unconsciously drift toward one another.

Gradually, Tan Yaoxian fell in love with Shao Liuer. Yet he knew his family background could not compare with hers, so he hid those feelings in his heart and never dared confess them.

Unexpectedly, Shao Liuer proved bolder than he was. On one occasion, she was the first to speak openly, confessing her feelings and asking what he thought. Tan Yaoxian could no longer restrain himself and confessed in return.

Relatively speaking, Tan Yaoxian had considerable freedom, while Shao Liuer's household kept a much tighter rein on her. The two therefore had no way to meet except at gatherings of the poetry society.

Even then, the most daring thing they ever did was shyly hold hands in secret. They never had the opportunity to cross any greater line. Tan Yaoxian was rather rigid about propriety, while Shao Liuer was also afraid of her elder brother, who held great power and could determine a person's life or death with a word.

Later, unable to endure the torment of longing any longer, Tan Yaoxian told Shao Liuer that, however presumptuous it might be, he intended to go to the Shao family and ask for her hand.

Shao Liuer was startled. She knew something of what her elder brother was like. She asked Tan Yaoxian to wait a little longer, saying she would find an opportunity to persuade her family.

But Tan Yaoxian never received word that she had persuaded them. Instead, the poetry society was dissolved. After that, he never saw Shao Liuer again.

According to Shao Liuer, it was because her elder brother Shao Pingbo opposed the relationship. Shao Pingbo apparently already knew about the two of them.

At this point, Lu Shengzhong found something strange. "Brother Tan, didn't you just say you never saw Miss Shao again after that? Then how did you hear this from her? Did you meet again afterward?"

[End of Chapter 225]