Chapter Ninety-Two: Hidden Motives

“What's wrong? Is the wine no good?” Huilan asked softly.

“No, no, it’s not that the wine is bad. My tongue is just clumsy, so I couldn’t properly taste the mellow fragrance of such fine wine,” Guangqi said with a wry smile. He took another sip. “Looks like I’ll have to come here more often for a drink.”

Ye Dong smiled. “You’re always welcome. You’re a refined, intelligent man, unlike the three from the Iron Lord’s side, nothing but brutish louts.”

Seeing that Ye Dong seemed to hold a poor opinion of the three men, Guangqi thought to himself, “This He Wentian is arrogant and clearly dislikes my senior brothers. Yet he is courteous to me. What is he really after?”

He pushed aside his speculations and said tentatively, “This wine is rather like Senior Brother Wei and the others: fierce and powerful, going straight to the depths of one’s innards.”

Then, setting down his cup, he lifted the teacup from the low table. “And I am more like this tea: gentle and plain, slowly soaking into body and spirit. Wine has the excellence of wine, and tea has the wonder of tea. Brother Tian, it seems you’ll need to savor things slowly.”

Ye Dong had not expected Guangqi to turn so literary. He smiled faintly, set down his wine cup, and took the tea Guangqi offered him. “Too much wine harms the body. Tea is better.”

He drained the cup in one gulp. “Guangqi, you’re such a clever man. Don’t you think so?”

Guangqi smiled faintly and quietly stored Ye Dong’s words in his heart. “This He Wentian seems mad on the surface, but he’s not confused at all inside. He truly knows how to speak to each person in their own language, and even with demons, he can talk like a demon. Could Huilan already have been brainwashed by him?”

Taking a sip of tea, Guangqi smiled and said, “Brother Tian flatters me. I’m merely a scholar who knows a few characters at best. At most I can be called an educated man; hardly a clever one.”

“An educated man is good. Humble and polite, much better than your three ill-mannered senior brothers.”

Ye Dong poured Guangqi a cup of tea and laughed. “As you said, life is like this fine tea. It always needs a bit of green leaf to give it flavor and make it enjoyable. Without the green leaf, even the best water is still just plain water, with no interest and no taste at all.”

Guangqi nodded and smiled. “Brother Tian’s words leave me a little confused.”

“Haha!” Ye Dong lightly pointed at him through the air a few times. “An educated man is always good at pretending to be confused.”

Smiling, he asked, “Then do you think water is more important, or tea leaves?”

Guangqi set down his cup and smiled. “I think water is more important.”

Ye Dong nodded. “Exactly. Water is much more important.” He lifted the bottle beside him. “Look at this wine. Without green leaves it is still wine, but without water it is nothing at all.”

Hearing this, Guangqi fell into thought. “So He Wentian’s ambition is this great? It truly matches my master’s idea of founding a sect from the ground up. Does he mean to become the source itself? How outrageously bold!”

He then smiled and replied, “With water, even without green leaves, one can still make all kinds of other drinks. Water’s power to dissolve all things is not something green leaves possess.”

Ye Dong gave a crooked smile and fixed Guangqi with his eyes. “If right now you were given a chance to become the water, would you do it or not?”

“Oh?” Guangqi froze, then gave a bitter smile. “The upstream still has its source, and there are branches along the way. How could the downstream dare act rashly?”

“If the source itself is willing to yield to the downstream, then that’s another matter. Those three branches won’t simply stand by and watch.”

Ye Dong chuckled and went on, “If you had the help of a digger, blocking those three branches would not be any great difficulty. It would only take some time. It’s always wise to prepare in advance. If those branches grow larger, then the water flow downstream will be in grave danger.”

“Truly a man who hides his depth well!” Guangqi was startled inwardly. “This He Wentian sees things too clearly. With only two meetings, he can already guess that the three of them treat me politely in public but secretly wish to eliminate me. He really does have sharp insight. With the position he has today, he probably didn’t seize it through brute force alone!”

After a moment of silence, Guangqi said lightly, “My skills are still too shallow. I would not dare entertain such thoughts.” He paused, then changed the subject. “I wonder whether Miss Huilan prefers tea or wine?”

Seeing Guangqi take the initiative to steer the conversation away from Ye Dong’s earlier topic, Huilan looked at Ye Dong with tender eyes and smiled flirtatiously. “Whatever Brother Tian likes to drink is what I like to drink.”

“Haha!” Ye Dong laughed aloud. He drew Huilan into his arms, filled the teacup, and handed it to her. “You really do have a sweet tongue!”

Guangqi could only smile wryly inside and continue to think it over. “If Huilan is loyal, then the more He Wentian likes her, the more evidence she can get. But if she has truly changed because of him, then if the two of them, cop and bandit together, with He Wentian’s wealth and power, he really could reach the peak of life.”

These two possibilities kept turning over in Guangqi’s mind. Huilan before him was shy and charming, and it was indeed difficult to compare her with the dignified and cold Huilan he had known in the past, because the change between the two was simply too great.

“Could it be that she is going to any lengths to get close to He Wentian in order to extract information from him and avenge those undercover agents? Or is it possible that He Wentian is also undercover, and the two of them are just acting for my sake?”

“Oh dear, why do you keep spacing out? Is the liquor getting to your head?” Huilan poured Guangqi a cup of tea and said apologetically, “If you’re not drinking wine, then have tea instead.”

Guangqi looked into Huilan’s alluring eyes. When their gazes met, there was an inexplicable trace of familiarity.

“Her eyes? Her eyes are still the same. She is still the good Huilan. My gift for perceiving hearts could never be wrong.”

The so-called “Heart Eye” was a talent akin to a divine eye, much like Xiaobao Dachun’s Beast Eye or Liang Lingzhi’s Ru Eye. It not only let one see the emotional details hidden within a mortal’s gaze, but also allowed one to understand classical writing that ordinary people could not read. It was exceedingly formidable.

The moment Guangqi’s gaze met hers, Huilan also froze slightly. A little tea spilled from her cup and dampened her clothes.

“I’m sorry,” Huilan said hurriedly, turning her eyes away. “I-I’m going to the restroom.”

Guangqi lowered his head and smiled, feeling an unexpected sense of satisfaction. “If that’s the case, then the only remaining puzzle is He Wentian.”

Ye Dong watched Huilan’s graceful figure, his face full of admiration. “Truly a rare beauty.”

At a moment when Ye Dong was not paying attention, Guangqi quietly turned his Heart Eye toward Ye Dong’s eyes. To his surprise, what he saw there was indeed a deep and genuine admiration.

“So this...” Guangqi thought it over. “He has no trace of falsehood in his feelings for Huilan. He really does like her. But does he know Huilan is a police officer?”

He lowered his voice and chuckled. “Brother Tian, aren’t you afraid your feelings will get in the way of business?”

“Get in the way?” Ye Dong smiled faintly and lit a cigar. “I chose this myself. Even if it did get in the way, I wouldn’t regret it. I’d be willing.”

That answer only left Guangqi more confused. “What does he mean? Does he know Huilan is a police officer? If so, isn’t Huilan walking a tightrope?”

“What is it? What are you thinking about?” Ye Dong’s gaze sharpened as he stared straight into Guangqi’s eyes.

“Heavens, his eyes are so sharp and piercing!” Guangqi was startled and hastily said with a smile, “I was just thinking about how to remind you to be a bit more careful. It seems I was worrying too much.”

“Hm?” Ye Dong gave a crooked smile. “Caution is necessary. In the last two years, I’ve taken care of a few undercover agents who wanted to use me to dig up a huge smuggling case. Some people have plenty of tricks, especially police officers. They’re always hard to guard against, aren’t they?”

“Yes, yes,” Guangqi said with a placating smile. “Brother Tian’s business is large. It’s only normal to draw attention.”

“Hm, being watched is easy enough to handle,” Ye Dong said with a cold laugh. “Throw anyone suspicious to the dogs. Not even the bones remain. Clean and neat. That puts an end to it.”

Guangqi stole a glance at him and saw malice flooding his eyes, dark and hollow as a black pit.

“What a ruthless man,” Guangqi thought as he withdrew his Heart Eye. “I’ve seen that kind of look often enough in my master’s eyes.”

“Brother Tian, your method is indeed brutal. Guangqi admires it.” He poured Ye Dong a cup of tea and pushed it toward him with a smile.

“No need to admire me,” Ye Dong said with a faint smile. Smoke from the cigar drifted slowly from his lips, partly veiling his face. “Your methods are no less ruthless than mine. Don’t think I don’t know that.”

Seeing the cigar smoke obscure his view a little, Guangqi waved his hand lightly through the air to part it and smiled. “Yes, the methods of my three senior brothers are indeed vicious. Very vicious.”

Blood-soaked scenes flashed through his mind, making his heart tremble. “Brother Tian, I hope no leverage ever falls into their hands. They’re not easy to deal with.”

Ye Dong gave a cold laugh. “I’m not afraid of them. The only one I truly fear is your master. That old man has quite the temper too. Hah, haha!”

He laughed several times, and his eyes were full of admiration.

Guangqi used his Heart Eye three times, yet still could not glean anything from Ye Dong’s expression. Though deeply frustrated, he ultimately put the skill away and said with a smile, “With Brother Tian’s manpower and resources, of course there’s no need to fear Senior Brother Wei and the others. As long as you remain respectful toward our master, I believe the old man will also treat you with courtesy.”

“Oh yes, I noticed the grandmaster had a black gourd at his waist. What sort of magic treasure was that?” Mentioning Master Huang, Ye Dong immediately took interest.

“That thing is quite the treasure,” Guangqi said with an envious look, lowering his voice. “An extraordinary item. It’s not something I can speak of lightly, not something I can speak of lightly.”

“Ah, Guangqi, that’s no fun,” Ye Dong said, lifting his chin with a wicked smile. “There’s no one else here, so just ‘accidentally’ let slip a little and broaden my horizons.”

“This...” Guangqi thought with silent amusement. “Do you really take me for a fool? If I leak the master’s information, wouldn’t I be handing you leverage over me? What if you turn around and denounce me behind my back?”

He gave a bitter smile and acted as though reluctantly confiding in him. “That treasure... I’ve only seen him use it once.” He glanced left and right to make sure no one was listening, then leaned in and whispered, “It houses a fiendish ghost!”

“Oh?” Ye Dong was startled. “A fiendish ghost?”

“Yes, and you must never tell anyone. Otherwise I’ll be in trouble.” Guangqi gave a wry smile and lightly patted the back of Ye Dong’s hand.

“Of course, of course!” Ye Dong beamed, though inwardly he was cursing. “This bastard is just spouting nonsense to fool me. I knew long ago that gourd could harm the mind, and now he says there’s a fiendish ghost inside—damn his fiendish ghost.”