Soon, it was nighttime.
A feast of Eastern and Western food had begun in the Orchid Hall of the Peace Mansion.
Pizza and beef steaks from Italy, red wine and foie gras from France with roasted duck and mutton from China. These were a few of the delicacies served at the feast.
Arthur lit up two sticks of white candles and placed them on the dining table with the Knights Hospitaller’s signet embedded on the bottom. The candlelight flickered gently, faint smoke rose as it lit up the surroundings and gave off the pleasant smell of agave.
Xia Lei sat at one side of the table while Arthur was seated on the opposite side. The Grey sisters were seated to his left and the Russo sisters to his right. All in all, they were a sight for sore eyes.
Giovanna and Stella Grey had changed from their leather suits to a dress from the middle ages, their waists were cinched tightly with a corset that squeezed their full bosoms. Though they were old-fas.h.i.+oned, it brought out a different sense of appeal. The dress gave them a s.e.xy but cla.s.sical look. It felt as if they had travelled through time to meet you for a risky rendezvous in the bushes.
Rosa and Theresa Russo’s outfits were completely different. They both wore a white low-cut and off-shoulder gown that exposed their bareback. There wasn’t much fabric concealing their body, leaving very little to the imagination.
Though Xia Lei was fully aware of what his five guests were about to do, he kept his smile and remained his composure, just like a jaded English n.o.bleman.
“I hope you’ll enjoy tonight’s dinner. Let us raise a gla.s.s to our first meeting.” Xia Lei smiled as he held up his cup. “I have a good feeling that no matter what the outcome of our deal will be, we’ll become great friends.”
The five Knight Hospitaller members only gave a slight nod in response. They then clasped their hands together and began to say grace. “Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ, our Lord… Amen.”
Xia Lei couldn’t help but feel awkward, opting to take a small sip from his cup. It was expensive wine from Château Lafite-Rothschild, it would be a waste to not drink it.
Finished with their prayer, Arthur said, “Mister Xia, thank you so much for being such a great host. If you could kindly take a step back on the deal, our stay here would be more ideal. I’m sure our mighty G.o.d will reward you graciously.
Xia Lei smiled. “We all have our own set of goals. We eat to fill our stomachs. We work to earn income and support our family and we pray for the redemption of our souls. I’m doing this to… Hehe, maybe we should talk about something else.”
After all, they weren’t here to discuss business.
“Mister Xia, what do you believe in?” Giovanna directed a question to Xia Lei.
The other three ladies soon had their attention on Xia Lei, seemingly interested to know more about his life and faith.
“Everyone has their own set of beliefs. Some pray for money, some pray for power and some pray to all sorts of different G.o.ds. But for me, yeah, I’m animistic,” he answered.
“Animistic?” Giovanna thought for a moment. She continued, “You’re not native American yet you share the same faith, how weird.”
The other three scorned. In this world, people discriminated against each other based on ethnic backgrounds, the rich discriminated against the poor and the religious ones discriminated against those with no faith. To them, Xia Lei had no faith and his soul was long corrupted. He had h.e.l.l to turn to in death.
Xia Lei paid no mind to their responses and opinions, he calmly said, “Nature birthed us and supported us. I think it deserves my utmost respect. I know that you think that I’m not a man of faith, but this is truly my belief. My belief is nature. I really don’t find it necessary for a religion to discriminate against another religion. The Catholics had fought the Islamic world for centuries in the name of your G.o.d, but there is still yet an outcome.”
“Hehehe…” Arthur raised his gla.s.s with a grin. “It seems like you know much about our history, Mister Xia. How about we leave this aside and enjoy the night? Cheers.”
“Cheers,” Xia Lei touched his gla.s.s to Arthur’s.
“Mister Xia, why are you so adamant on having us fight the FA organization? I’m really curious about it,” asked Arthur. He stared intently into Xia Lei’s eyes as if he intended to penetrate his soul.
Xia Lei replied, “Mister Arthur since you asked me a question, let me first ask one. I will answer one question, and so will you.”
“What would you like to know?”
“I brought a piece of metal out from the maze. It’s silver in colour and its the most ideal aviation material that I’ve seen so far. In my opinion, its value should be emphasized in the aviation industry but you said that it was your sacred relic instead. Why is that so? Is there a story behind it?”
“Mister Xia, that’s a tough question.”
“Mister Arthur, your question was not a simple one either.”
Giovanna left her seat to refill Xia Lei’s gla.s.s with the decanter. Taking advantage of the proximity, she came closer to his ear and whispered gently, “Mister Xia, I can tell you the answer if you wish but we’ll save that for another place and another time.”
Xia Lei glanced at her nonchalantly.
Xia Lei’s gla.s.s was now half full. Giovanna then returned to her seat, not forgetting to brush her bosom against his shoulder in the process. The abrupt softness had Xia Lei in a slight daze.
“Mister Xia, are you sure you don’t want them to stay with you?” said Arthur, he continued, “From a man’s perspective, your decision isn’t rational at all.”
Xia Lei replied, “I thought I’ve made it very clear that I won’t be exchanging the metal for your women. You may get your sacred relic once you’ve fulfiled my request.”
‘You’re really determined, huh? Alright, I’ll let you know after our meeting. Right now, let’s focus our effort onto enjoying the feast. It would be a shame to let something like this go to waste,” said Arthur as he took a sip from his gla.s.s.
The feast continued in silence, Xia Lei didn’t bring anything else to the table. The Russo sisters and Grey sisters were giving each other looks discreetly, sometimes watching him from the corner of their eye. He knew their plans but feigned ignorance.
The candle flame shone brighter as time pa.s.sed. The guest hall was filled with the sweet and earthy scent of agave, but the fragrance was abnormal.
Slowly, Xia Lei felt weird. He started to feel hot and had found it difficult to concentrate. He was slipping in and out of consciousness. He started to unb.u.t.ton his s.h.i.+rt, but to no avail. Droplets of sweats began to form on his forehead, then his eyes were in and out of focus.
“Mister Xia, why do you need your help to take down the FA organization?” Arthur has been keeping a watchful eye on his response, choosing to ask the question as soon as Xia Lei was lightly swaying in his seat.
“I’m… so sleepy…” said Xia Lei, he had no strength to keep his head up.
Arthur gave a look to Giovanna.
Giovanna quickly came over to Xia Lei’s side, seating herself onto his lap with her arms around his neck. “Darling, why are you so desperate to defeat the FA organization?”
“I…” Xia Lei was in a daze.
Arthur gave another look.
Soon, the other three ladies left their seats to Xia Lei’s side, he was now encircled by four ladies.
This felt as if it was a blossom-filled war field. Arthur was the general while the sisters were his frontline soldiers. Unbeknownst to them, Xia Lei’s strong immune system had already been activated. He had long sobered up from the effects of the candles but he had to feign his vulnerability to play along with their tactics.
“I… I… got a very… very…”
“What did you get?” Rosa’s sweet and appealing voice rang in his ear.
“A very valuable intel.”
“What intel?” Giovanna started to move her hips, stimulating Xia Lei further while she pressed her behind against his groin. He was starting to feel a little conflicted.
But the show must go on. “There’s a… a type of metal… that G.o.d left on this world. But it’s not the only one. The FA organization’s head… headquarters has a sword made out of it. They have the Angel’s… Sword…”
The jaws of the Knight Hospitaller members dropped.
“That’s… why the FA organization… had my people… killed. They’re after me. I… I want to destroy them… I want to retrieve the sword…” Xia Lei revealed his ‘secret’.
The Russo and Grey sisters looked to Arthur, awaiting further instructions. What Xia Lei had said was a shocking development to the matter.
Arthur’s eye gleamed with excitement. “Take him to his room, you know what to do next. This is important news! I need to call Sir Angelo immediately!”
The four ladies helped Xia Lei up, supporting him out of the Orchid Hall.
“I’m not… drunk, I… can still d-drink…” drawled Xia Lei on their way out.
“We can drink more back in the room,” giggled Giovanna.
Theresa grabbed a handful of Xia Lei’s a.s.s cheek. “You’re really setting up yourself for h.e.l.l.”
Still at the table, Arthur’s call had reached Angelo. “Sir Angelo, I just received very important information, the FA organization…”
Xia Lei’s lips curled up into a faint smirk.
Desire had always been a demon. The Knight Hospitaller had been after this piece of metal for centuries. Just a small block of it was enough to drive them mental. If there really was this ‘Angel’s Sword’ made out of their G.o.d’s metal, how could they find it in themselves to say no?