Chapter 402: 376 Drinking Tea

"Look at that... that Xiancheng far away above the clouds, that little thing, and shining beside it is the sun~~"

"Sunlight, casting rays, the rays shine on sixteen directions, sixteen directions, in which direction? East, west, south, north, all have light... golden brilliance shines on green tiles, rolling pearls inlay the jade bed, splashing jade springs hang upside down in the void, pattering fairy dew falls on gauze windows..."

The old blind man in the room played and sang as he sat, having already been playing and singing for half an hour.

Tang Zhao sat to the side drinking tea and listening, feeling that although he hadn't drunk much tea, he was already full.

No help for it... these lyrics are just too watery!

This was the first time Tang Zhao had listened to a complete String Song from beginning to end; he felt the melody was not bad, even melodic and graceful, but the lyrics were repetitive, watery filler, containing very little information, singing about a single scene for ages, grinding out various adjectives in four-six-eight-syllable patterns. There were also many phrases that sounded familiar, likely copied from some other act.

Tang Zhao had listened to storytelling in book houses before and felt the storytellers were already quite capable of padding, spending an entire afternoon on details without providing plot, but who would have thought that playing music was even worse, often with inexplicable, unreasonable sentences popping out just to fit the four-six-eight-syllable rhythm; truly, for the sake of rhyme, they would say anything.

If he were here alone, he would have finished his tea and left. But his purpose in staying was to accompany the old blind man, to keep him from being harmed. Therefore, Tang Zhao pretended to listen with great interest; after all, the person opposite was already a bit agitated, and if he also showed signs of impatience, the other party might double his fury and flip the table.

Seeing the person beside him looking increasingly impatient, Tang Zhao finally said, "Old sir, you have been singing for so long, stop and have a cup of tea; moisten your throat before singing more."

That person turned his head abruptly and glared at Tang Zhao.

Tang Zhao did not turn his head, only saying unhurriedly, "Sharpening the knife does not delay the wood-chopping; the old sir is of advanced age and his energy is failing, so it is good to rest a while."

That person said coldly, "The energy is failing because the lyrics are too long; if those nonsense words were deleted, it would have been finished long ago. Old man, you have wasted several hours of my time..."

Tang Zhao said directly, "You may have misunderstood. These String Songs are all like this. The old sir learned them this way back then, and he sings them this way too. Especially since this is an obscure piece he does not perform often, he is not familiar with the lyrics; he can remember them if he sings from the beginning, but if he starts from the middle, he might not be able to recall them. In this situation, asking him to edit them is truly difficult for him. This is the same principle as memorizing a book; as long as you have memorized a book, you should know this truth. It is better to listen quietly, and you will finish listening in a day. Does Your Excellency have other urgent matters?"

The young man's face darkened slightly, and he said, "Whether I have memorized a book or not, what has that to do with you? Who are you teaching?"

Tang Zhao suddenly felt a bit too lazy to respond to him again.

Before, he felt this person had an extraordinary background, being either rich or noble, but now it seemed he was likely just average. If his background were good enough, he should have the most basic cultivation—those who are not Sword Guests must maintain respect for Sword Guests.

Don't say that someone with a high enough background who is used to seeing Sword Guests can be dismissive. Could any background be higher than Wang Fei's? Wang Fei is also very polite to Sword Guests like Yun Xiyan, who have a friendship and are just entering the path. Especially when one-on-one, for an ordinary person to offend a Sword Guest is to seek death, and there is nowhere to seek justice after dying.

Given this young man's attitude, if it weren't for Tang Zhao being an outlier, he would already be dead.

Of course, Tang Zhao felt it was more likely that he hadn't recognized him as a Sword Guest, thinking he was a peer holding a Dharma Artifact or Art Tool; after all, because his Sword Image was special and could create illusions at any time, Tang Zhao did not appear to be carrying a sword.

If that were truly the case, it would show his level was even lower—not only lacking cultivation but also lacking discernment.

Tang Zhao lightly flicked his hand, and the teacup flew steadily toward the old blind man, supported by his Internal Energy; the speed was leisurely, as if suspended by a thread, and it made a faint "chi-chi" sound of wind as it reached the old blind man.

The old blind man had sharp ears and naturally caught it upon hearing the wind; the teacup stopped steadily, not spilling a single drop of water. He could not see and assumed it was Tang Zhao handing it to him by hand, so he hurriedly stood up to thank him and took the opportunity to drink the tea to moisten his throat.

Although the person to the side was facing him sideways, he saw it clearly, and his pupils shrank; he recognized that this move of Tang Zhao's was not Gang Qi, but the application of Internal Energy. If it were Gang Qi, which has its own energy and acts almost like a solid to provide support, completing this move would be one thing, but Internal Energy is soft and fragile, and even releasing it externally is not easy; to be able to do this showed his mastery of Internal Energy had reached a state of perfection.

If the other party did not know Gang Qi, this move alone showed he was a top-tier Knight-Errant; besides, could the other party not know Gang Qi?

The young man thought again of the light flame Tang Zhao used to turn the charcoal to nothing just now, and the more he thought, the more unfathomable he felt, and for a moment, everyone fell silent.

Tang Zhao handed the teacup out again and said, "Really not drinking any tea? You have seen it; I have no malice toward you. Even if I did, it would not be in this tea and water."

This counted as Tang Zhao holding his temper and showing goodwill once more; the other party said in a muffled voice, "No need, I never eat or drink outside."

Tang Zhao took back the teacup and placed it on the tea stove with a "dang" sound, saying, "You, do you never look at people when you speak?"

The other party was slightly startled, and Tang Zhao said, "Your Excellency never looks at people when speaking. You don't even face people directly; you are either turning your back or showing your profile, always giving me only a small part of your head. So much so that it is difficult for me to see your features completely. At first, I thought your eyes were not very good and you couldn't see people. If this old sir didn't look at people when speaking, it would be normal, but why do you never show your face? You must know that this posture is very rude. Who taught you this?"

The young man was about to turn, and Tang Zhao barked, "You stay put!"

Only a "ge" sound was heard; the person had not reacted at all before the ribbon binding his hair was quietly severed, and half his hair fell down.

He widened his eyes, not even knowing what had cut the hair ribbon; he had not felt any Internal Energy or Gang Qi, and he had already walked a circle at the gates of hell.

How could his eyes keep up with the speed of light?

Tang Zhao's self-restraint was considered quite good; if it had been slightly off just now, what would have fallen would not have been half his hair, but half his head. Anyone who knew even a little bit of sense would not provoke him.

He splashed the other cup of tea on the ground and said, "No matter how arrogant your nature is, I believe you are not hiding your head and showing your tail specifically to despise me. You must know that I can kill you at any time."

The man retreated two steps, nearing the door as if intending to flee, but Tang Zhao seemed unaware and said, "So I guess, this is an instinct, right? You don't want to breathe face-to-face with people, and you never sit down in any room you enter, nor do you touch anything; the old sir's house is so cramped, yet you would rather stand, and stand without leaning against the wall. You reject all kinds of contact so much; are you a severe germaphobe? Or are you afraid of people poisoning you?"

The man did not make a sound, and Tang Zhao said, "I think it is the latter. Why do you feel you might be poisoned at any time? Are you being hunted and in imminent danger? I don't think so; you are not very nervous, but the habit of avoiding poisoning is already carved into your bones. You wouldn't happen to be from the Five Poisons Society, would you?"

You must know that Jiao Feng had warned him: when arriving at Jingzhe Villa, do not eat anything, do not touch anything, and do not even casually speak face-to-face with people. These were golden words, and Tang Zhao naturally listened to the advice, but it was difficult for him to pay attention every time; he had to keep his spirit up every moment, how could he be like this person, where habit becomes nature?

This must be the reaction of someone who grew up in a nest of poison. And in this surrounding area, the most likely to have this reaction is the Five Poisons Society.

The man's breathing became increasingly rapid, and Tang Zhao said, "Or rather, are you from Jingzhe Villa?"

Tang Zhao's guess was also based on the Black Spider Villa; the Black Spider Villa was one of the top major powers in the Five Poisons Society, and the Black Widow was also young and promising, already a Manor Master and one of the candidates for the next Jingzhe Villa Master in her early thirties. But even she did not have a Dharma Artifact.

For some Knight-Errants, there was still hope of obtaining an Art Tool, and Loose Practitioners often had some stock, but a Dharma Artifact was on another level; it was something even a family with a deep foundation could treat as a family heirloom. The Black Spider Villa could not find even one, but this young man was even younger than the Black Widow, his martial arts might not be as good as hers, yet he could easily use a Dharma Artifact.

And... thunder.

The Sword Technique of that Dharma Artifact was thunder.

Jingzhe.

The original meaning of Jingzhe is the fine spring thunder that startles the insects in the soil.

Because the Five Poisons Society had a poisonous reputation, Tang Zhao instinctively thought the Jingzhe Sword must be an insect king if it could command insects, but thinking carefully, it might be using the might of thunder to force the insects to submit.

This Dharma Artifact might be the Jingzhe Sword's Dharma Artifact.

Then, the identity was easy to guess.

"Could Your Excellency be the young master of Jingzhe Villa?"

The man tensed up, and finally said in a low voice, "Your Excellency is brilliant. I am Meng Huazhou."

Tang Zhao nodded and said, "Long heard of you, long heard of you."

This was not entirely polite; he had indeed heard the name Meng Huazhou, right there in the data manual Jiao Feng gave him, he had known it for... a day, perhaps.

It was also Jiao Feng's fault that the images in that data were all so abstract, making it truly difficult for Tang Zhao to recognize people by face, which was why he needed to deduce this person's identity through clues.

However, it was quite wonderful that the person he was about to deal with suddenly appeared before his eyes.

It was just unclear what changes would occur in that Gu fight if this Young Master Meng were to have an accident here?

Tang Zhao was only thinking about it; there was no need to create extra trouble. It was not that if Young Master Meng died, the Gu fight would be canceled; on the contrary, it would move toward an unpredictable, drastic change. Tang Zhao owed the Black Widow a promise anyway, so it was best to follow the process.

He did not intend to kill Young Master Meng, but he would not let Meng Huazhou see that.

That Meng Huazhou said, "Your Excellency could clearly have killed me without asking for my identity, yet you chose to state it; are you trying to threaten me with my family? Do you want to know the clues to the Cloud Sword? If I tell you, will you spare my family?"

Tang Zhao let out a breath and said, "Have you completely forgotten what I said to you?"

Meng Huazhou was somewhat flustered and said, "What..."

Tang Zhao said, "I told you just now to stay put, so you stay put. You don't want to look at people's faces, but can you not even listen to human speech? Also, why would you think I still need some nonsense Cloud Sword?"

Meng Huazhou gave a slight jolt, then immediately realized, saying, "You... you are... so you really are..."

Tang Zhao sighed. This was a true lack of experience, or perhaps Sword Guests were truly rare in the pugilistic world, so he hadn't thought in that direction. He felt like he had wasted half a day accompanying a fool, and said, "Anyway, I have already spent half the night listening to music with you. Although it was to avoid disturbing the old gentleman, one should still see things through to the end. The old gentleman shouldn't have suffered this fright for nothing either. No matter what happens today, you sit down, drink your tea, and listen to this piece of music to the end for me."