Chapter 495: Challenging the Market

Wu Mingxiao was stunned, and then startled.

The blood that had been rushed to his head by the hot wine instantly cooled by more than half, and he immediately sat down to start circulating his internal energy to check his internal condition.

After a long while, he opened his eyes in confusion.

"Uh, Miss Zhao, there's no abnormality, right?"

Zhao Ying said coldly.

"If there were an abnormality, it would be too late."

Wu Mingxiao's face turned embarrassed, somewhat angry.

After all, to him, Zhao Ying was just a woman who had just been rescued. Plus, Gao Lei had left a good impression on him earlier, and being rebuked without any evidence was really hard for him to believe.

So he spoke up.

"Miss Zhao, Brother Gao treated us with warm hospitality and even entrusted us with his own troubles; he is so sincere in making friends, yet we are on guard against him in every way, and even treat him with coldness—isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Zhao Ying snorted coldly and remained silent.

So Wu Mingxiao became even angrier, and his voice grew louder.

"Miss Zhao, we—"

"That's enough, Little Wu."

Li Miao beside him waved his hand with a smile.

"Little Zhao is right; don't think too highly of that Gao Lei; it's better to be on guard against others."

Wu Mingxiao still respected Li Miao, so he immediately subsided and sat back down, feeling aggrieved.

Seeing him like this, Li Miao said with a smile.

"You say that Gao Lei is sincere in making friends with us; I don't think that's necessarily true."

"In the Jianghu, if you don't report your background or destination when you meet, it means you don't want to tell. I am the oldest, so he should have been talking to me the whole time, but he insisted on asking you these questions—if that's not looking at you as a young person who's easy to trick, what is it?"

"Besides..."

Li Miao sipped his wine leisurely.

"Next time you run into someone who tells you about their unspeakable troubles the moment you meet, remember this: don't say another word of truth to them."

Wu Mingxiao was puzzled upon hearing this.

"Ah?"

"But Brother Li, doesn't saying these things represent closeness?"

Li Miao sneered.

"Only when the friendship has reached a certain point do these words have meaning; otherwise, they are just nonsense."

"There is a tactic at the wine table called 'exchanging deep words with shallow acquaintance'."

"To put it plainly, it's an exchange. First, you state your own pain to make the other person subconsciously feel they should also make an equal exchange; then, when they try to trick you into saying things that are hard to ask, it's easier to get what they want... Most of those at the wine table who call each other brothers and talk about their troubles in three or five sentences are like this."

Wu Mingxiao suddenly realized.

"Just like revealing a flaw when fighting?"

Li Miao nodded with a smile.

"That's right; the wine table is like a battlefield; that's what it means."

Only then did Wu Mingxiao completely understand. He scratched his head in embarrassment, stood up, and bowed to Zhao Ying.

"Miss Zhao, it was my shallowness; thank you for covering for me earlier, I... I apologize to you."

Zhao Ying sneered.

"Just don't be stupid next time."

Wu Mingxiao was no longer annoyed; he was honest by nature and willing to admit defeat. Knowing Zhao Ying had helped him, he no longer cared about a few cold words and sat back down, looking at Li Miao.

"Brother Li, then... does Gao Lei have malicious intent toward us?"

Li Miao shook his head with a smile.

"We are setting off tomorrow; if they want to make a move, it can only be tonight."

"Eat well, sleep well. Whether there is malicious intent, won't we know tonight?"

After saying that, he stood up and turned back to the main room by himself.

"Sleep when you should sleep at night; I'll watch the excitement."

*Bang*, he closed the door.

————————

The sun set, and the chill rose suddenly.

The days in early spring were short; as soon as it reached the Hour of the Rooster (5-7 PM), it was already completely dark.

A farmstead was not like a city; it emphasized working at sunrise and resting at sunset, so there was no sound of people at this time. The small courtyard where Li Miao lived was also completely quiet, with only the lamp light in the room flickering, casting the shadows of the window lattice onto the ground.

A piece of silence. ===== CHAPTER 496 =====