Tang Jinnian dusted off his pants and stood up. Glancing at the onlookers around them, he glared at Ye Beizhi and said, "Let's go. We’ll talk somewhere else."
Ye Beizhi nodded and turned around, noticing Chi Nanwei running to catch up.
Chi Nanwei jogged over, slightly out of breath.
She then noticed Tang Jinnian and Rao Shuang standing nearby, froze for a moment, and tugged on Ye Beizhi’s sleeve.
"Uh... your friends?"
Ye Beizhi glanced at Tang Jinnian and hesitated before nodding. "Yes."
As soon as Tang Jinnian saw Chi Nanwei hiding behind Ye Beizhi, a teasing smile curled at his lips.
"Well, well... Mute Ye, you’ve done pretty well for yourself. A few days apart, and you’ve already charmed a lady?"
A cold gleam flashed as Ye Beizhi's Tang blade shot out of its scabbard, slashing toward Tang Jinnian's throat. Three inches away, it was stopped dead by Tang Jinnian’s right hand, his two fingers pinching the blade firmly.
Tang Jinnian’s golden glove gleamed faintly under the sunlight. He tilted his head and said, "Can’t you just talk like a normal person? Why is it always the blade?"
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Rao Shuang swallowed nervously and stepped in to mediate the situation. "There are too many eyes here. Whatever you need to do, take it somewhere else."
Tang Jinnian smirked faintly at Ye Beizhi. After a moment of hesitation, Ye Beizhi slowly sheathed his blade.
Tang Jinnian let out a cold chuckle.
Ye Beizhi blinked, and briskly said. "Lead the way."
Rao Shuang grabbed Tang Jinnian and navigated the city with Ye Beizhi and Chi Nanwei following behind. After passing through a few streets, the four entered another inn.
Heading upstairs, Rao Shuang knocked on a door. After a moment, the door opened, and a little girl peeked out. She looked up at Tang Jinnian and Rao Shuang, then tilted her head to glance at Ye Beizhi and Chi Nanwei who were standing behind them.
"Who are they?" the little girl asked.
Tang Jinnian ignored her and tried to step inside, but the girl immediately stomped on his foot, leaving a tiny footprint on his shoe.
"Hey, you little brat!" Tang Jinnian exclaimed indignantly, pulling his foot back.
"Who are they?" the girl asked persistently.
Tang Jinnian waved impatiently and said, "None of your business. Go fetch your so-called father. Someone he knows is here."
"He’s not my dad," the girl muttered, pouting.
"Fine! I’m done arguing with you. Just go get him, will you?" Tang Jinnian snapped in exasperation.
Rao Shuang tugged on Tang Jinnian’s sleeve and knelt down to face the girl with a smile.
"Xue Niang, be a good girl. We really need to talk. Can we come in?"
Xue Niang hesitated reluctantly before stepping aside to open the door.
Rao Shuang gave Tang Jinnian a triumphant glance as she entered first. Tang Jinnian followed, glaring at Xue Niang on his way in. The girl rolled her eyes at him, then ignored him completely.
Ye Beizhi glanced at Chi Nanwei and gently pulled her along as they entered the room.
Passing through the main hall and into the inner room, they saw someone standing in front of a bed with their broad back to them. Another person lay on the bed, obscured by the large figure standing there.
From the doorway, they could hear the person mumbling to themselves, "Drink some wine, just a bit of wine, and you’ll be fine. Wine cures all ailments. Even at the gates of hell, the scent of wine can guide you back..."
Tang Jinnian sat down on a chair nearby and scoffed, "If wine could cure illnesses, why would we need doctors? If you keep tormenting him while he’s unconscious... don’t be surprised if you end up finishing him off instead of saving him."
Rao Shuang chimed in, "Stop feeding him wine. We’ve already gotten him medicine."
Ye Beizhi thought the first voice sounded familiar, while Chi Nanwei still felt clueless. She tugged on Ye Beizhi’s sleeve and whispered, "Who is he?"
Before the words had settled, the person by the bed turned around. "You just don’t understand the power of wine, tsk tsk, wine is—"
The words stopped abruptly. The man froze when his eyes met Ye Beizhi's.
Ye Beizhi also stood there, stunned.
"I-I-I... you-you-you..." Xue Qiming stammered, pointing at Ye Beizhi, before finally blurting out, "You didn't die?!"
Ye Beizhi nodded blankly. "Yeah... I didn't die."
"Goddammit... you’re not here to take revenge on me, are you?" Xue Qiming retreated two steps, hiding behind Tang Jinnian while rambling, "Let me tell you! There’s no way I could’ve known you’d blow things up that much. That was your choice, don’t pin it on me."
Ye Beizhi thought for a moment, as if recalling something, then nodded. "Yeah."
Xue Qiming licked his dry lips.
"Seems you’re still reasonable. I only asked you to kill one person... How was I supposed to know you’d wipe out the entire branch?"
At this point, Ye Beizhi fell silent for a moment before replying, "Didn’t kill him. Couldn’t find the target."
Xue Qiming, realizing he was referring to the one who issued the mission on Xue Niang's parents, and waved dismissively.
"Forget it. I’ll hunt him down myself next time... Your work’s too unreliable... I’m not trusting you again."
As he finished speaking, Xue Qiming noticed the woman standing behind Ye Beizhi and asked curiously, "Hey, who’s the girl? Why’s she just standing there? Did she get scared silly?"
Before he could say more, Chi Nanwei threw herself in front of the bed and sorrowfully cried out, "Big Brother Dingwu!"
"Eh?" Xue Qiming quirked an eyebrow.
Ye Beizhi’s eyes gleamed sharply as he immediately turned to the bed. The man lying there had a full beard, a square face, and a bulbous nose... who else could it be but Fang Dingwu?
Seeing the scene, Xue Qiming quickly understood. He spread his hands toward Tang Jinnian. "Well, well, turns out they all know each other."
Tang Jinnian’s eyes twinkled mischievously as he whispered to Xue Qiming, "Do you want to know who the girl is to Mute Ye?"
Xue Qiming’s eyes lit up with curiosity as he leaned in, whispering eagerly, "Who is she? His girl? Spill the details!"
"Heh..." Tang Jinnian grinned. "I’ll tell you, but you’ve gotta let me play with your gourd."
"Bah!" Xue Qiming spat in Tang Jinnian’s face. "Go play with yourself!"
Ye Beizhi patted Chi Nanwei’s shoulder and turned to ask the group, "What happened to him?"
Tang Jinnian sulked and turned his head away, so Rao Shuang answered instead.
"We found him in the desert. He fainted from a combinatino of starvation, dehydration, and exhaustion. It’s nothing serious... he’ll wake up eventually."
Chi Nanwei composed herself and stood up, bowing to the group. "I must sincerely thank all of you on behalf of Big Brother Dingwu."
Xue Qiming chuckled, Tang Jinnian gave Chi Nanwei a once-over, and Xue Niang peeked in through the door to watch the scene unfold. Only Rao Shuang stepped forward to help Chi Nanwei up, as she said, "Sister, there's no need for formalities. We’re all family here."
At that moment, Tang Jinnian suddenly asked, "By the way, Mute Ye, what brings you to this godforsaken place?"
Ye Beizhi paused for a moment, and stared at Tang Jinnian so intently that it made him uncomfortable. Finally, Ye Beizhi said quietly, "You."