Chapter 15. Tavern
"Master, how are you so sure that once a person wears a disguise, it has to be uglier than how they normally are?" Gu Xiang asked.
Wen Kexing drawled, "No matter how ugly or beautiful people look, the features they were born with have a harmonious quality to them. Once tweakings are made, it"s impossible to not slip and make a mistake; and if you make yourself to be more beautiful, there will be more eyes on you, thus exposing those mistakes even more easily, understand?"
The three of them were walking on the main road that was full of people in the middle of noon. Zhou Zishu maintained his energy well by staying mute during the other two"s conversation and ignoring Wen Kexing"s occasional secret looks thrown his way; but at those words, he couldn"t help his surprise. This man sure knows a lot, he glanced at Wen Kexing and thought.
Being the center of attention gave a boost to Wen Kexing" ego as he continued to ramble on. "The art of disguise is vast with varying methods. Some paint over their face - this method requires fastidiousness as the smallest inconsistency will out them. Some craft a human skin-like mask; this one is way more effective and harder to detect if the disguiser is good at his job." He spared a quick look at Zhou Zishu at that.
Gu Xiang immediately applied what she had been taught by feeling Zhou Zishu"s face with her fingers. Her hands were soft, and around her sleeves was a refreshing fragrant that could only belong to a young maiden. Zhou Zishu made no attempt to dodge; instead he only laughed and let her do what she wanted. No one knew who was taking advantage of who at this point.
He asked softly and patiently after a while, "Have you found anything?"
Gu Xiang"s expression was full of doubt, she looked back to Wen Kexing skeptically, "Master, I still feel like it"s real…"
Wen Kexing replied, "Of course he won"t wear a human skin mask, that thing leaves no room for the skin under to breathe. He would have to remove it after a certain amount of time, which is why I"m sticking to him, to see if he will do it."
There was idolization on Gu Xiang"s face. "So you wasted this much time fooling around just because you want an answer to that."
Wen Kexing pointed at Zhou Zishu, "If he is a beauty, I"m definitely not wasting anything."
After mulling things over, Zhou Zishu decided he could stay silent no longer. "Since when was I fooling around with you?"
Wen Kexing answered unhurriedly, "Not now, but you definitely will in the future."
Then he also reached out to touch Zhou Zishu"s face. "That time when I touched the skin on your shoulder, the feeling was different…"
Zhou Zishu batted his hand away as he stepped back. Wen Kexing raised his brows in discontent, pointing at Gu Xiang, "How can she touch you but I can"t?"
Zhou Zishu casually fixed his torn sleeves. "If you can look like her, I"m willing to strip off everything so you can touch however much you like."
Gu Xiang once thought Zhou Zishu was a poor beggar who was too unfortunate to have run into her Master and even sympathized with him; but after that reply she realized they were just birds of a same d.a.m.n feather, no wonder they flocked together.
She could only hope now that they had each other to mess around and fight their energy away with, they would cause less disasters for the world.
Wen Kexing turned to judge Gu Xiang with an unreadable face. Then his voice dropped, "Ah-Xiang, you can get lost now."
There was a "Huh?" from Gu Xiang as she blinked innocently. "You want me to be off to where?"
Wen Kexing crossed his arms, really wishing to see her no more. "This world is endless; except for Dong Ting, you can scram to wherever."
Gu Xiang, after a good while of standing there foolishly, blurted out, "Are you jealous with me, Master?"
Wen Kexing glanced at her. Gu Xiang immediately understood and slapped herself, "d.a.m.n you, you stupid mouth, you stupid running mouth, how about…"
"Ah-Xiang."
Gu Xiang walked away immediately with an "Aish", continuing to ramble along the way. "Alright, alright, I"ll scram. Don"t worry Master, I"ll leave to the farthest place I can; a three-legged frog1 may be hard to find but not a two-legged man! Never in my life would I dare to steal your men, Master, please, you two just be my guest, carry on with what you"re doing…"
She quickly disappeared from view, still prattling on.
Zhou Zishu watched this squabble between master and maid with interest, thinking back to the "except for Dong Ting" part, which seemed to carry a deeper meaning.
Once Gu Xiang left, Wen Kexing"s entire demeanor changed. He coughed pretentiously, extending his hand. "Can this one have the honor of having a meal with you, Brother Zhou?"
Even if I refuse, this person will tail me around anyway, Zhou Zishu thought, and if I agree he will pay for my food. He accepted the request quite cheerfully.
Wen Kexing led the way with the brightest face. Zhou Zishu did an internal introspection; back when he was a half-ghost flitting about the palace, wearing robes and doing murderous business in a mysterious place full of apricot blossoms, he might be brutal, but at least there was a grace to him as a cover.
Since when had he become unabashedly shameless?
He looked at Wen Kexing"s back and thought, a man is known by the company he keeps indeed.
They were starving when they reached the tavern, so all the dishes were consumed with silent efficiency; as if they were afraid they would miss a bite. Their chopsticks b.u.mped occasionally and small fights ensued over chicken and pork.
One food admirer and one free meal enthusiast turned the table into a full-blown battle with heavy murderous atmosphere.
After winning one plate to himself, Wen Kexing smiled at Zhou Zishu while waiting for the next dish, "I"ve met my match, no wonder why this meal has become so much more delicious."
Zhou Zishu looked at him scornfully. What are you, a chicken? Why all this fighting?
At that moment, there was a commotion on the lower floor. A waiter taunted loudly, "Hey, Young Master, you sure dress and behave well, why do you want to dine and dash? And the prepayment letter nonsense too, you must have heard too many stories. Which court scholar are you then? Are you a Principle Graduate2 and if so, which examination did you ace in? And the calligraphy…"
The crowd around them laughed. Wen Kexing stuck his head out to look at the scene under them, rubbing his chin while whispering, "A beauty…"
Zhou Zishu followed his gaze. Downstairs was a fl.u.s.tered young man wearing dark blue clothes, a xiao3 by his hip. His clothes didn"t stand out at first glance, but when one took a closer look, the materials were incredibly exquisite. The jade xiao was also finely crafted; even if he wasn"t an expert, he knew it must have cost a fortune. Zhou Zishu felt a sense of familiarity in the way he dressed and laughed quietly.
Wen Kexing asked, "What are you laughing at?"
"He tries to dress inconspicuously but ends up doing a terrible job of it. He reminds me of someone I knew."
While they were talking, the ignorant young man surrounded by the crowd looked up, his eyes glossing over them. Zhou Zishu shook his head; he surely must be of the most distinguished n.o.bility. Someone well-versed in dissipated behaviors would never have that doe-eyed look to him. "Brother Wen, your chance for merit gathering has come."
Wen Kexing—initially watching his companion"s expression—was startled at that, hand rummaging in his chest pocket. "Yeah, you have a point, it"s a must to aid a beauty in need… Hm?"
He stopped dead in his track, face strange, "Brother Wen."
"Huh?"
"I was thinking, how about you do it instead?" Wen Kexing smiled awkwardly, "I myself have done a lot in my lifetime, there"s no need to steal your moment…"
Zhou Zishu beamed at him.
After a few seconds, Wen Kexing sighed, shoulders sagging. "Back when we were on the street, I helped a dashing man when he tripped and fell, he even smiled at me too… Hah, how could I ever know that a person with such charm turned out to be a thief?"
Zhou Zishu raised his brows, deciding that he should be even more shameless; he would not be beaten by this person. His mind made up, he conveniently tugged at Wen Kexing"s sleeves to wipe his hand on them, then took out a silver ingot from his chest and threw it downstairs without any strength. It hit the increasingly offensive waiter on the head; the man was going to yell at whoever did that but his anger vanished once he picked up the object and realized it was shiny silver.
He heard Zhou Zishu"s lazy drawl, "Put him on my tab."
Naturally, the waiter shut up, his head lowered with words of affirmation. The young man in blue clothes immediately looked at Zhou Zishu gratefully and went upstairs to thank the other in person.
Zhou Zishu pointed at the table that was now empty of food and said to Wen Kexing, "Saving him is on me, this meal is on you. Write that down, you owe me three silver liangs4 now."
Wen Kexing spoke in a small voice, "Can I use my body to pay back the debt?"
Zhou Zishu smiled, unruffled. "Sorry, my taste is not that refined yet."
The young man had reached where they were sitting. Both hid away their sneaky smiles and displayed the most heroic demeanor possible. The young man bowed deeply, "My name is Cao Weining, please receive this gesture as my token of deepest grat.i.tude for your help."
Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu both spoke at the same time, "It"s nothing, Young Master Cao, there"s no need to be so formal."
They glanced at each other meaningfully afterwards, basking in the peculiarity of the situation.
Zhou Zishu coughed and looked away first. "Please sit, Young Master Cao. My name is Zhou Xu, and this one is…"
"Wen Kexing." The other smiled and nodded. He sat quietly and a bit distantly from them, his behaviors the perfect image of a gentleman.
After thanking them, Cao Weining sat down without a doubt. He was a closed-door disciple5 from Qing Feng Sword Sect and this was his first time experiencing life in jianghu. He got separated from his Uncle-Master and unknowingly ran into a thief, which was why he was in this embarra.s.sing situation. He was well and truly clueless about what to do until Zhou Zishu"s rescue; consequently, he deemed this person to be such a righteous individual, even his sickly face didn"t seem that grotesque at all to him.
Taking advantage of situations was Zhou Zishu"s strongest point; his skills worked on everyone except for Wen Kexing. Only a few sentences into the conversation and Cao Weining already felt like they were the closest of comrades as he started telling the other everything possible. "My Uncle-Master and I are attending the gathering in Dong Ting, but a few days ago something awful happened back at the Zhao"s Holdings. My Uncle and Sir Zhao knew each other way back, so he told me to go to Dong Ting first to apologize to Sir Gao Chong for being late…"
"Dong Ting"s gathering?" Zhou Zishu was surprised.
"Yes." Cao Weining explained, "Has Brother Zhou heard about the Zhang family tragedy? Not only that, I heard a few days ago the Patriarch of Tai Shan died mysteriously in his own room along with all of his disciples in one single night, in a fashion not unlike the Zhangs. The lucky Zhang Young Master who survived is now with the Zhaos and under Sir Zhao"s protection; he confirmed that the Ghosts of Qingzhu Ridge were behind this. This gathering at Dong Ting is summoned by Sir Gao using his Shan He Command, aiming to gather all the heroes in the world to extinguish the Ghost Valley."
On instinct, Zhou Zishu glanced at Wen Kexing—only to find the man highly invested in the conversation. He even asked, "Is this real?"
"Absolutely." Cao Weining replied. "Uncle and I are under my Master"s order to attend."
Sure enough, this youngling was someone experiencing real life for the first time; he answered questions he wasn"t even asked.
Wen Kexing said, "Isn"t gathering merits your goal, Brother Zhou? How about accompanying this young friend; battling evils is surely one of the biggest virtues out there."
Zhou Zishu took a sip of wine with his eyes downcast, unsure about Wen Kexing"s calculations. Cao Weining clapped his hands, "Indeed it is, that was very well-said of you, Brother Wen. I think you two are very righteous and honorable and that we can be great friends, so why don"t you come with me to Dong Ting?"
Hah, this foolish kid.
Wen Kexing smiled, "That"d be our honor."
Footnotes.
1 A popular symbol for prosperity and wealth.
2 状元 (zhuàngyuan) is the t.i.tle for the person who scored first place during the examination to become court officials.
3 An end-blown flute.
4 An unit of currency, one liang equals 50 grams.
5 The most highly-regarded disciple under a Master.
Translator"s Notes. To everyone requesting/wanting to translate this to other languages: Go ahead, there"s no need to ask! As long as you leave a credit somewhere, it"ll be enough for me (and I still highly recommend that you translate from the original source instead of from my translation.)
Someone also asked me to make a character list; I promise I"ll get to it as soon as I can!