Chapter 237: Flaw

Wei Yutian's expression was deep and somber as he said, "The Filthy Blood Sect and the Taiyi Sect have been locked in a struggle for many years, so our strategy has basically gone underground. We all have secular identities, focusing on lurking and developing in the shadows. In two months, three branches have been swept in succession; I fear there might be some hidden danger."

Luan Jingfu said, "I heard that a traitor emerged from the Hall. It seems they were even a confidant of the Hall Master..."

"Is that so?" A flicker of fear flashed in Wei Yutian's eyes. The Hall had information on all their branches; if things went poorly, they might be the next ones to be swept.

"Enough!" Luan Jingfu waved his hand and laughed, "I came here to drink, not to chat with you about sect affairs."

As Luan Jingfu spoke, he used his hand to pry open the wine seal on the jar before him. He looked at Wei Yutian and said, "Where are the bowls?"

Wei Yutian smiled, then suddenly flipped his hand and pinched a small bell between his fingers. He sat in the pavilion and shook it gently.

The crisp sound of the bell echoed through the quiet twilight courtyard...

Before long, a beautiful maid dressed in a verdant water-colored dress walked over from behind the Rockery.

This woman was named Suti, one of Wei Yutian's personal maids.

Suti's figure was slightly plump, she wore her hair in a single coiled bun, and a goose-quill saber was tied at her waist.

Wei Yutian's three personal maids all possessed no weak martial arts, far surpassing the ordinary guards of typical wealthy households.

Suti approached, performed a squatting salute, and stood silently, waiting for Wei Yutian's instructions.

Wei Yutian had his back to Suti. The Back Courtyard was desolate, and he often listened to the footsteps of his three maids, so he had long since been able to identify people by the sound of their footsteps.

"Go get two wine bowls, and cut some side dishes to go with the wine," Wei Yutian's voice was cold.

"Yes."

Suti performed another squatting salute before stepping back and retreating.

Luan Jingfu sat in the pavilion, watching Suti's plump, swaying waist, and a wave of heat suddenly rose in his lower abdomen.

Wei Yutian's three personal maids were each stunningly beautiful. Every time he saw them, he was stirred to the point of being unable to restrain himself; if not for the rule that a friend's wife should not be trifled with, he would have long since forced himself upon them.

Not long after, Suti returned carrying a food box.

She placed two jade bowls with rings on the Stone Table, then took several plates of food from the box and set them in the center of the Stone Table.

A plate of beef, a plate of pig tongue, a plate of sugared garlic, and a plate of almonds—all were side dishes that Wei Yutian usually enjoyed with his wine.

After Suti set these down, she carried the empty food box and turned to leave.

Luan Jingfu lifted the wine jar with one hand and filled both jade bowls.

The green-glowing wine rippled in the jade bowls, and the fragrance of the wine drifted over with the evening breeze.

Wei Yutian could no longer resist and poured a bowl of wine down his throat. It was mellow and rich. Wei Yutian smacked his lips and praised, "Good wine!"

Luan Jingfu looked at Wei Yutian and laughed, "This jar of aged brew was not easy to come by; even an immortal could probably drink it..."

"Then I must play the part of an immortal today..."

The two spoke and laughed, one bowl after another, drinking heartily in the pavilion.

They drank from twilight to dusk, from dusk to the appearance of a crescent moon, which poked its head out from the corner of the eaves...

Wei Yutian felt more and more cheerful as he drank, but Luan Jingfu's expression grew increasingly ugly.

Since ancient times, borrowing wine to drown sorrows only makes them deeper; this is true for poets, and even more so for brutes.

Wei Yutian stared at Luan Jingfu's gloomy face and said, "Old brother, what is it? Something on your mind? If there's anything bothering you, tell me about it; perhaps I can help you work it out..."

"What's bothering me?" Luan Jingfu waved his hand, let out a wine-filled burp, and said, "I've lived for more than half a lifetime; what storms haven't I seen?"

Luan Jingfu paused, then sighed and said, "I just took some money from the Escort Agency, and it seems the Helmsman caught me."

Wei Yutian's eyebrows jumped. The news of the Yuanshun Escort Agency auditing their accounts a few days ago had spread throughout the city; even the Chief Accountant had been replaced.

He had heard rumors, but he hadn't expected it to involve Luan Jingfu.

Wei Yutian said, "As far as I know, you are the Chief Leader at the Yuanshun Escort Agency. The salary the Helmsman pays you every month is not small, is it?"

"The pay isn't small, but my expenses are high..." Luan Jingfu sighed dejectedly.

Wei Yutian pondered for a moment before saying, "Brother Luan, although we have a friendship that goes through heart and life, in this matter, I must stand on the Helmsman's side. You haven't run a business, so you don't know, but I have managed two gambling dens."

"It's nothing to take a little money for yourself. But if you want to keep your tracks clean, you have to tamper with the accounts. Once you start, the people under you will follow suit, and slowly, the entire atmosphere of the Escort Agency will be ruined."

Luan Jingfu and Wei Yutian had a good relationship. Wei Yutian saying this was actually an attempt to persuade him to return the money he had taken to Ruan Fengshan and not to look for trouble with Ruan Fengshan.

But before he could finish, Luan Jingfu's expression had already changed, and he said with hidden anger, "We live lives where we gamble with our lives. Besides, I am selling my life for him in both the Filthy Blood Sect and the Escort Agency. Why can't I take some money?"

"I am just a brute of the jianghu, unlike you two who have industries and are wealthy landowners."

As Luan Jingfu spoke, he weighed the empty wine bowl in front of him and said, "Just this jade wine bowl, how much silver does one cost? We are all brothers selling our lives; you eat meat at the front, can't I drink some soup at the back?"

As Luan Jingfu spoke, emboldened by the alcohol, he felt more and more aggrieved...

Wei Yutian had good intentions, but he hadn't expected to almost provoke Luan Jingfu into turning against him. He immediately swallowed the rest of his words.

Wei Yutian could already see that Luan Jingfu simply didn't understand, but this was a flaw in his character that couldn't be turned around in a few words.

Wei Yutian laughed awkwardly, "Brother is just afraid you'll make things too tense with the Helmsman. Alright! Let's not talk about this. Come! Let's drink!"

Wei Yutian picked up the wine jar and poured a bowl for each of them.

After a few bowls of wine, Luan Jingfu's hidden anger finally dissipated a little.

Before long, the wine jar hit the bottom. The Stone Table was a mess of cups and plates. Wei Yutian laughed drunkenly, "The last bit; this is a blessing of wine, it's all yours."

Wei Yutian filled Luan Jingfu's jade bowl and placed the empty wine jar on the ground beside the Stone Table.

Luan Jingfu chuckled, "The last bowl, let's share it."

As Luan Jingfu spoke, he poured half of the wine from his bowl into Wei Yutian's bowl.

Wei Yutian pointed at Luan Jingfu and laughed, "I see you can't drink anymore and are trying to dodge the wine."

"Don't take kindness for a donkey's lungs. Who's dodging wine? This little bit of cat's piss isn't even enough for me to rinse my mouth!" Luan Jingfu shouted.

The two poured the last half-bowl of wine down their throats.

Luan Jingfu let out a breath of turbid air and suddenly smiled. Perhaps venting his anger in front of Wei Yutian had released the gloom in his heart. Having drunk until it went to his head, he seemed happy now.

Luan Jingfu suddenly rubbed his face as if scrubbing off dust, looked at Wei Yutian, and said, "Hey... do you still have any goods at your manor?"

Wei Yutian laughed with feigned anger, "I knew it, you wouldn't drink this wine for nothing. Sure enough... the wind is blowing tight right now, and the goods are getting harder and harder to get. The two I have in storage were originally planned for me to invite you over on New Year's Eve so we could enjoy them together."

(End of chapter)