Chapter 13: Morning Glory Seeds

A large table of dishes was served very quickly, but Duan Rong just chatted aimlessly and didn't touch his chopsticks.

Just kidding, this was a trap; neither of them had eaten, so how could he dare to eat? What if they had drugged it?

After Duan Rong declined a few times, seeing that they had almost eaten everything on the table, he suddenly began to eat voraciously, like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds!

That way of eating was simply that of a starving ghost reincarnated!

Only then did Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng react—this was money they had spent!

With such big fish and meat, the two of them usually couldn't bear to eat it either!

The three of them suddenly became like wild dogs fighting for food!

By the time the table of food had been mostly eaten, Zhang Zheng suddenly said, "What's wrong with this boss? Why hasn't that plate of beef tripe been served yet?"

"Go to the kitchen and urge them," Kong Bin said, turning his head, then raised a bowl of wine and offered it to Duan Rong: "Brother Rong, let's have another bowl."

Zhang Zheng stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

In fact, they hadn't ordered beef tripe at all.

Zhang Zheng walked to the kitchen and told the old waiter to add a plate of beef tripe!

The old man's face soured, and he said, "I'm busy, customer. You have to wait in line to add dishes!"

"Can't wait! Fine then, I'll stir-fry it myself! I'll pay you for it!" Zhang Zheng said.

Seeing this, the old man said it was fine, took a piece of beef tripe out of a water basin, threw it on the table, and said, "That's all the beef tripe there is; you can use the chili and scallions as you please!"

Using the hot wok and hot oil, Zhang Zheng stir-fried a dish of spicy stir-fried beef tripe right there in the kitchen. Seeing it was about to be finished, he fished a small packet of black and white mixed powder from his pocket, sprinkled it into the wok, stirred it a few times, and then plated it.

That packet of powder was Morning Glory seeds, which are the seeds of the morning glory flower; in ancient times, this was a commonly used laxative among the common people.

"Ben Cao Zheng Yi" records: "Morning Glory seeds are good at draining damp-heat and clearing the water passages, and also act on the bowels."

Zhang Zheng appeared to have only sprinkled a small packet, but in reality, the dosage was already quite potent.

"Kid, let you eat happily. After this plate, I guarantee you'll be vomiting and having diarrhea. Whatever you eat, you'll vomit it all back out for me!"

Zhang Zheng smiled sinisterly, carried the steaming plate of spicy stir-fried beef tripe, and walked out of the kitchen.

Zhang Zheng placed the plate in the middle of the table and laughed, "That cook is so dawdling; if I hadn't urged him, who knows when it would have come out?"

"Brother Rong, come, try this beef tripe, it's fresh out of the wok. I specifically told the cook to add extra chili; it's very flavorful!" Zhang Zheng said, looking at Duan Rong.

Duan Rong seemed a bit tipsy; he held up a bowl of rice wine and mumbled, "No rush for the food, come, let's finish another bowl."

Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng exchanged a look, raised their wine bowls, and downed them with Duan Rong.

All three had drunk quite a bit, especially Kong Bin, whose eyes were already turning red.

"Come, this beef tripe is getting cold, Brother Rong, come, eat some!" Kong Bin feigned picking up a chopstick of beef tripe, but didn't swallow it, just placed it on the plate in front of him.

When Kong Bin got drunk, his smile was actually somewhat lewd, completely different from his usual straight-faced appearance.

Duan Rong found it somewhat funny.

Duan Rong wasn't actually drunk; his state of slight intoxication was completely faked.

Far from being drunk, he actually felt more energetic the more he drank. It seemed the original body's alcohol tolerance was truly no joke.

Although Duan Rong kept offering drinks, he never dared to use his chopsticks to eat that plate of spicy stir-fried beef tripe.

Just kidding, Zhang Zheng had been in the kitchen for quite a while, and neither of them was eating, just constantly urging him—what if there was a problem?

Later, seeing he couldn't refuse, Duan Rong pretended to pick up a chopstick of tripe, but just as he was about to put it in his mouth, he twisted his wrist, blocked their view, loosened his chopsticks, and the tripe fell under the table, where it was eaten by a mangy big yellow dog.

Duan Rong kept his mouth empty, gnashed his teeth to make a crunching sound, pretended to chew, and said, "This tripe is not bad, crispy! And flavorful enough!"

"Since Brother Rong likes it, then eat a bit more. From now on we are fellow sect members, we must look out for each other." Seeing Duan Rong eat, Kong Bin was in a great mood. He stood up, swayed a bit, and pushed the plate of tripe in front of Duan Rong.

After all, the three of them were quite drunk; Duan Rong then took advantage of when they weren't paying attention to feed all the tripe on the plate in front of him to the big yellow dog at his feet.

Seeing that the plate of tripe in front of Duan Rong was finished, Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng looked at each other and smiled.

After the three were full of food and drink, they chatted aimlessly for another half hour before leaving the restaurant.

Just as they stepped out the door, a cold wind blew, and the alcohol surged up in Duan Rong; he suddenly felt the urge to urinate and said, "You two wait for me, I'm going to relieve myself."

"This kid, is he having trouble?" Zhang Zheng chuckled drunkenly.

Duan Rong walked into the alley next to the restaurant and urinated against the wall. He suddenly saw the mangy big yellow dog from under the table lying in the alley like rotten mud, with a puddle of loose stool beneath it.

Duan Rong was suddenly startled, almost urinating on his own feet. "This damn thing is a laxative!"

It hadn't been long, and the dog was already purging like this.

If he had eaten that whole plate, wouldn't he be purging until his legs went weak? How would he pass the assessment tomorrow?

"Vicious, heartless!"

"You're really drugging your own 'father'!"

Duan Rong suddenly felt a lingering fear; he had truly underestimated these two kids.

If they really wanted to fight him, Duan Rong wouldn't be afraid, but drugging was impossible to guard against, and it was a laxative at that—it wouldn't take his life, so even if he reported it to the Escort Agency, no one would care, not to mention he had no evidence!

In the alley, Duan Rong looked at Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng waiting for him at the alley entrance, then suddenly turned a corner and took a detour from the other end of the alley back to the Escort Agency.

Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng waited in the cold wind at the alley entrance for a long time, but didn't see Duan Rong come out. They shouted a few times, but didn't hear Duan Rong answer.

Zhang Zheng said, "Could it be that it's taken effect?"

"So fast?"

"Of course, it was a big plate! And it's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

After saying this, both of them laughed, and without waiting for Duan Rong, they supported each other and walked back to the Escort Agency.

Both were quite drunk; they returned to the dormitory and fell asleep as soon as they hit their beds.

Naturally, they didn't notice that at the other end of the large communal bed, Duan Rong had long since fallen asleep peacefully.

The next morning, Duan Rong got up early. He walked to the dormitory entrance and found Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng sleeping like dead pigs on the communal bed at the entrance.

Duan Rong smiled and walked out of the dormitory.

At this time, the sky was still dark, with only one large star hanging upside down in the sky.

As soon as Duan Rong stepped out of the dormitory, he was slightly surprised; someone had actually risen earlier than him and had already begun Standing Stake.

This person was Li Chong!

Upon seeing Duan Rong, Li Chong timidly called out "Brother Rong," then, like a mouse, avoided Duan Rong and scurried to a corner to practice Standing Stake.

Duan Rong looked at Li Chong and shook his head slightly; he had seen plenty of people like this in his past life—they bullied the weak and feared the strong, fawning over the powerful while trampling the vulnerable.

On the surface, he was respectful, but in his heart, he actually hated him to the extreme.

A fellow like Li Chong was actually even more dangerous than Kong Bin or Zhang Zheng, because he was crazier.

Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng only dared to use laxatives, but he would likely dare to use arsenic.

"Must be careful."

Duan Rong cautioned himself in his heart.

He simply washed up and went over to the woodshed; he was now accustomed to doing his morning practice there, and since today was the day of the assessment, it was better to go early.

The sky was just beginning to brighten, and the courtyard of the woodshed was still shrouded in twilight when Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng walked in with hurried footsteps.

After all, it was the day of the assessment; it was better to be early than late.

The two had just entered the courtyard when they saw that two people were already standing there waiting.

It was none other than Duan Rong and Li Chong!

The muscles on Kong Bin's face twitched.

He had assumed that Duan Rong must be weak-legged from diarrhea today, but now, Duan Rong was standing there straight and calm.

Kong Bin turned his head to glance at Zhang Zheng behind him and discovered that Zhang Zheng also had a look of surprise on his face.

He believed that Zhang Zheng would never make a mistake in his tasks, so there was only one possibility.

Duan Rong had played along with their scheme and tricked them both!

Kong Bin gnashed his teeth, but in just an instant, he unclenched his tightly gripped fists, let out a long breath, and stood expressionlessly by Duan Rong's side.

Seeing Kong Bin stand over there, Zhang Zheng rolled his eyes, walked over, and stood in the gap between Kong Bin and Li Chong.

Duan Rong saw the change in Kong Bin's expression and thought to himself: For someone so young, this Kong Bin is quite calculating; among the crowd, he can be considered a person of note.

(End of chapter)