Yangping Gate was the furthest gate away from the Imperial Palace.

Zhou Aimin parted ways with Jing Wen after talking for some more time. After his figure could no longer be seen, Jing Wen turned and ‘looked’ at the top floor of the most well-known restaurant in this part of Lin’an. A hint of displeasure could be seen between his brows as he headed towards a private room.

The third floor was entirely filled with high status guests and was exceptionally quiet due to the excellent insulation and overall educated nature of the guests. Sound could only be heard from one room.

Jing Wen raised the curtain and entered that room. Seeing a man hurriedly wolf down the food before him, Jing Wen said with a half-bow, “Greeting, Officer Mo.”

It was naturally the sole son of the Mo couple from Hedong, the cruel punishment officer Mo Xi.

Mo Xi continued reaching for a piece of bear paw as he said, “Greetings, Marquis Jing.”

After finishing the meal, he placed down his chopsticks at last and left the table. Then, without any words, he turned and left the restaurants, walking down the city gate.

Jing Wen followed Mo Xi, maintaining a distance between the two. The two followed the fluttering snow and walked into a well-decorated manor. The merchant quarters of the city was somewhat unfamiliar for Jing Wen, though he knew some details. He was rather curious as to which merchant had purchased the famously expensive Lu’an (六安) estate that occupied an entire ward.

Lin’an was separated into 99 wards, with the smallest ward enclosing 72 acres of land. Even although Lu’an estate occupied one of the more modest wards, the price of land in Lin’an was outrageously expensive. A single house in Lin’an was equivalent to a small estate in the countryside.

The decoration of the manor itself was no less extravagant, but neither Mo Xi nor Jing Wen took any time to appreciate it. Mo Xi had seen more spectacular buildings throughout his life, while Jing Wen could not perceive the structure for obvious reasons. As they reached the gate, Mo Xi took out a slip of paper and passed it to the guard.

The guard respectfully received the document from Mo Xi, before making way for the two to enter. The guards glanced at the two with a hint of curiosity as they passed, their curiosity driven by the possible relationship between the blind youth and the infamous Mo Xi.

Mo Xi and Jing Wen did not, or pretended not to have noticed these glances. Instead, they walked further into the depths of the manor, before approaching a large jinsi nanmu (金丝楠木 - gold silked nanmu) table. At the table sat a middle-aged man with a leisurely bearing. His hair was spilled over his shoulders, and his indigo robe was tied together very casually, revealing a part of his chest. There was a sword sheath around his waist that lacked any engravings.

His appearance appeared very contradictory to his status as the owner of Lu’an manor, but rich merchants with such interests were not rare.

The middle-aged man motioned Jing Wen to sit, before sliding him a cup of dahongpao. The cup was an ordinary porcelain cup that one can buy on the streets for a few pieces of silver. For it to be the container for a tea that cost several thousand silvers a tael was rather peculiar.

Jing Wen tapped his fingers twice on the table to express his thanks before savouring the tea.

The middle-aged man picked up his own cup of tea and gently blew on the water’s surface. After the tea was cooled, the man rinsed his mouth with the tea water, spitting it into a small bowl soon afterwards.

Jing Wen ‘looked’ at the man for some time, but did not speak, continuing to drink the dahongpao that was dark like blood.

After a long silence, the man suddenly placed down his teacup and looked at Jing Wen. He said with a smile, “You’re different from your father. He would not have come into this building, nor would he have so patiently waited for me to speak.”

Jing Wen inwardly frowned. The phrase he had heard the most throughout his life had been ‘you’re just like your father’ or ‘you’re different from your father’. These words seemed to be spoken out of familiarity, but Jing Wen had known it was to convey their authority over him as someone of the same generation as his father.

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However, Jing Wen was not foolish enough to argue with the middle-aged man.

Jing Wen ‘looked’ at his teacup and said, “Greetings, senior.”

“Hello junior.”

“Senior, I have a name.”

“Is the tea good?”

The middle-aged man scattered the course of their conservation, just like the steam emitted from the tea dissipating under the faint winter wind. It was quite clear that the man was used to commanding others, and did not those subordinate to him to raise any questions.

“It’s good.”

“I can send you some.”

“No need.”

The middle-aged man said with a smile, “Tea has to be appreciated with three senses. Taste, smell and sight.

Jing Wen finished the remaining dahongpao in one gulp. Then, he looked at the now-empty cup in his hand and said, “I don’t need eyes to shoot an arrow anymore.”

The middle-aged man lamentably answered, “Indeed. One must get accustomed to all things.”

Jing Wen ‘looked’ toward the middle-aged man. “Senior, what you said doesn’t make sense considering the purpose of my visit.”

“Who said one could only swim with the current? Isn’t building a dam also adaptation?”

“Fish cannot become beavers, and can humans cannot become either,” said Jing Wen with goodwill. He then said, “Senior, can we please drop this manner of speech? We are not sages probing each other.”

“What a good attitude you have. Taking this way is really too tiring,” the middle-aged man smiled back and replied, “Move a bit closer. I don’t want to raise my voice when speaking to others.”

“Senior, why can’t you move?”

The man smiled again and moved to a seat closer to Jing Wen without hesitation, leaving the half-drunk teacup at his original spot. Then, he looked at Jing Wen’s youthful features and said, “I don’t like Hua Quanfu’s elixir.”

Jing Wen played down the teacup, showing his intention to continue listening.

“Compared to the trouble of my earlier life, I’m very content with how I’m living now. His Majesty won’t bother me, and those annoying officials won’t chastise me. But when news of Hua Quanfu arrived, a dozen petitions were found at my door asking me to take action or join a faction. If I followed the advice of any of those petitions, I would be tied to that faction for the rest of my life, and bugged by those idiots endlessly until I reach my grave!”

“Why not act at all?”

“I’m still sentimental towards Lin’an after working to protect it all these years. Since I still have some power, I have some responsibility. Trying to destroy the so-called ‘elixir of immortality’ is something I want to do.”

The snowfall became heavier, landing on the tea water in the teacup before dissolving. A few landed on the man, but he did not seem to care too much as he continued to talk about his situation without concealing anything. He smiled benevolently at Jing Wen and continued to speak. “I naturally won’t force anyone into anything. However, things would become easier if a kind of person joined.”

Jing Wen could not see, but felt an intimacy towards the sword at the man’s waist. He could roughly guess the man’s identity. Then, he asked, “What kind of person?”

“A person precise, methodical and capable of killing without batting an eyelid. They must also be prepared to lose their life.”

“It seems senior is quite specific.”

Jing Wen played with the teacup and asked, “Why me?”

The middle-aged man glanced at Jing Wen’s. He said, “A cultivator specialised in archery is rare, and although you became the captain of an Imperial Guard division through nepotism, your capabilities really aren’t too bad.”

After a pregnant pause, Jing Wen frowned and said, “What exactly do you intend to do?”

The man seemed to appreciate how straightforward Jing Wen was. As he stroke his beard, he said, “I’m the freest person in Lin’an; even that carefree Consort Li cannot compare with me. If I managed to succeed, I will disappear from Lin’an afterwards, and you can also go wherever you want.”

“Since senior is unattached to the world, why not just assassinate Hua Quanfu now?”

“No one knows who Hua Quanfu is at the moment. Anymore could bring forth a corpse, saying ‘I killed Hua Quanfu and destroyed the elixir of immortality’, but who would believe him? Only when a great majority of Lin’an is convinced of his identity will people accept that the elixir of immortality is destroyed and give up their plans.”

“Since you have already planned out everything, why should I be involved in this matter? As long as I don’t act and allow you to take all the risks, I can leave Lin’an without any trouble, while suffering none of the risks of dying.”

The man was quiet for a long moment, before saying, “Well… how about I kill someone for you?”

The piece of cloth fluttered as Jing Wen said directly, “Make sure Hua Quanfu is dead and everyone related to him is dead.”

The man laughed and said, “That’s far more than one person. But since we’re attacking them anyway, I accept.”

Jing Wen did not anticipate the man would accept so easily. He said, “I will kill at least half that would have survived otherwise.”

Beneath the snow, at the jinsi nanmu table, the scenario of the two ‘negotiating’ seemed extremely bizarre, especially when the ‘customer’ was directly inconveniencing himself.

“I don’t like to leave ties anyway,” said the man benevolently, “If you can’t kill that much, I will do it for you.”

After saying that, the man extended his hand, smiling as he said, “Although I want someone prepared to die, I would demand anything as stupid as absolute loyalty. As long as things remain professional, we can cooperate.”

Jing Wen shook his hand and said, “I am surnamed Jing. Named Wen, as in literary.”

“My surname is Tai (太 - Great), and my name is Chuntao (春桃 - Spring Peach).”

Before Jing Wen could speak, Tai Chuntao said, “People used to Tai (Great) Officer… but I always dislike the distance it creates. You can call me senior Tai.”

Jing Wen’s suspicion towards the man’s identity was confirmed. In his mind, he silently thought, “Who would have expected the previous head of the palace guards to have such a feminine name as Chuntao?”