Chapter 1 Listening to Murong Ying's Lesson

After listening to Murong Ying's lecture for so long, Atobe naturally learned a lot about Wanxia Tower.

Like Wanxia Tower and Bafang Tower, these sects that rose rapidly within a few decades relying on certain unique skills, although their strength had surpassed the Shaolin, Renwu, and Xiaoyao sects, they ultimately lacked foundation, giving people the feeling of being nouveau riche. The disciples in the sect were also of mixed quality. Although there were chivalrous people, there was no shortage of scoundrels like Wang Ao.

Other martial artists' attitudes toward them could be seen from Lu Shan's words and deeds... It couldn't be said to be respect, but there was still respect, after all, they were not an evil sect, and their strength was indeed strong.

So, would the second-in-command of Wanxia Tower do such a thing as poisoning?

Of course not... With Gongsun Li's shrewdness, if he really wanted to poison someone, he wouldn't choose this time or this place, and he wouldn't let a waiter become a part of it.

Wanxia Tower had just formed a feud with Broken Sword Teahouse during the day, and the whole thing happened in full view of everyone. If Gongsun Li immediately poisoned and killed people that night, wouldn't the revenge come too quickly? Other martial artists would suspect the people of Wanxia Tower even if they thought about it with their butts.

So... even if Gongsun Li and Shi Yanran wanted to kill them so badly they went blind, they wouldn't dare to act. They still had to pray to the heavens and the earth, praying that nothing would happen to the people from Broken Sword Teahouse. If any of these five people mysteriously disappeared or died, they might have to take the blame.

From this, it could be seen that Feng Bujue's previous strategy was a good move. If he had told the truth about Wang Ao's death in the lobby of the inn in the morning, accusing Shi Yanran of murder and Gongsun Li of helping to frame him, the result would probably be that no one would believe him...

The martial world was a very realistic place. A nameless person from a nameless sect should not debate with people of the level of the Wanxia Tower's Madam Louzhu and Second-in-Command without solid evidence. If they came with words, they would just argue unreasonably; if they came with force, it would be exactly what the other party wanted.

Therefore, Feng Bujue simply fabricated facts, turned the tables, and used the other party's guilty conscience to make them not only dare not refute but also have to prove their own claims.

And the follow-up effect of this move was... Shi Yanran and Gongsun Li not only didn't dare to attack the people of his Broken Sword Teahouse but were also controlled by them, afraid that these people would reveal the secret.

As the saying went, times were different. At this moment, the situation was different again. If Feng Bujue told others the truth about Wang Ao's death now, it might not be a situation where everyone would disbelieve him.

Therefore, the wine and dishes sent by Gongsun Li's men had no other meaning besides flattery and probing.

The few side dishes were unremarkable, and there was no way around it. After all, it was impossible for a place like the Cangling Inn to import large amounts of delicacies from outside the town every day. It was already good enough here to be able to keep the food supply going and have some meat.

However, the inn still had good wine. Because as long as there was a wine cellar, not to mention a month or two, even if the goods were stocked for ten or eight years, there would be no problem.

The innkeeper obviously also knew that the people who would be staying after the opening would definitely be martial artists. These guys... just liked this. They could eat worse, but they couldn't have less wine. Therefore, the inn had a complete stock of wine, both good and bad, expensive and cheap.

This time, Gongsun Li had spent a lot of money to buy this small bottle of "Mǐn Ēnchóu" and give it to Feng Bujue.

Just from the name, you could tell that this was not ordinary good wine, but a top-quality brew, with an expensive price. It could truly be said that its color was more tender than cool syrup, and its fragrance was like sweet dew meeting spring.

What was "Mǐn Ēnchóu" (Dissolving Enmity)? It meant that after drinking a cup, the grievances between people could be resolved. This was simply comparable to the legendary brainwashing alcoholic beverage "Zuì Shēng Mèng Sǐ" (Living in Drunken Dreams and Dying in Sober Reality). If Tang Sanzang knew in the afterlife, he would definitely regret it. What was the use of traveling thousands of miles to obtain Mahayana Buddhism? Wouldn't it be better to directly learn how to brew wine?

Okay, that was a joke. No matter how good the wine was, it definitely couldn't resolve deep hatred. At most, it could resolve some minor conflicts, such as "You borrowed a few taels of silver from me a few years ago and haven't paid it back," or "You stepped on my foot this morning."

Anyway, I personally think that for this level of conflict, directly giving the money spent on buying the wine to the other party could also resolve it...

Getting back to the topic, young master Atobe looked at the wine and dishes in front of him and had already determined that there were poisonous substances, so he would not eat them at all.

As a player, he didn't need to eat or drink, and the wine and dishes weren't beauties, so he had no reason to lose control. Therefore, he just put the things there and didn't touch them.

"Eating shit on the spot" or something was obviously impossible because if he didn't eat a single bite, he couldn't prove that the table of wine and dishes was poisonous or not...

Time slowly passed. About an hour had passed since the waiter brought the wine and dishes, and the sky outside had completely darkened. At this time, the sound of knocking on the door rang again.

"Who is it?" Young master Atobe stood up again, walking towards the door while asking.

The person outside the door was slightly silent for two seconds after hearing this, and then replied, "This one is Gongsun Li."

"Shi Yanran," After Gongsun Li finished speaking, a woman's voice came, but Shi Yanran's tone sounded a little unkind.

The brief silence just now was because the two of them had exchanged glances outside the door after hearing young master Atobe's response.

Atobe didn't open the door immediately but asked, "It's already dark, I wonder what brings the two of you here...?"

Gongsun Li replied, "Uh... this little brother, can you let us in first and then talk?"

Atobe thought for a while, he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to stop the other party if they wanted to force their way in, so he had no choice but to play it by ear. He opened the door, glanced at the faces of the two, tried his best to look calm, stepped aside, and said, "Please come in, you two."

As soon as they stepped into the room, the expressions on Gongsun Li and Shi Yanran's faces changed several times. First, they saw the wine and dishes on the table, untouched; second, after looking around the room, they realized that there was only Atobe alone in the room at this moment.

News in the inn spread quickly. Gongsun Li and Shi Yanran, who were interested, had naturally inquired about the departure of the other members of Broken Sword Teahouse from the inn during the day, but they didn't expect that even at night, the other four had not returned, leaving only this kid in front of them here.

"May I ask this young hero... your esteemed name." Gongsun Li quickly put on a friendly face, clasped his fists and cupped his hands.

"Jin Fugui," Atobe replied very unhappily. Since he had already given this name in this script, he could only use it to the end.

The two people opposite him didn't react much after hearing this.

Gongsun Li then said, "Hehe... so it's young hero Jin." His eyes swept around the room again, as if worried that someone was hiding somewhere, "I wonder, where are Headman Feng and the other three...?"

"Out on business," Atobe replied directly.

"Oh, I see..." Gongsun Li said thoughtfully, his face slightly gloomy, "By the way, young hero Jin, about last night's matter..."

"I... will follow Headman's arrangements in everything," Atobe interrupted him again, "Whatever he said this morning is what it is, I don't know anything else." He used these words to respond, which was also very clever. The implication was... you two don't need to kill me to silence me, I have no intention of leaking any secrets.

But Gongsun Li was naturally suspicious, and Shi Yanran's motive for murder was an affair, so how could the two of them relax so easily?

Shi Yanran interjected at this time, "Young hero Jin, why haven't you touched the wine and dishes we sent the waiter to deliver? Could it be... are you afraid that we will poison you?"

Atobe was really stumped by the question. He was afraid of this, but in this second, he had a flash of inspiration, put on a noble appearance, and replied coldly, "These side dishes are really not to my liking." He glanced at the wine bottle on the table, "The wine... is indeed good wine. But... since you two have already said that this wine is a gift for the Headman, how dare I drink it recklessly before he returns."

Shi Yanran looked at Gongsun Li after hearing this, and the latter nodded slightly, indicating that this statement was credible.

In Gongsun Li's view, the young man Jin's answer was reasonable. Looking at his delicate skin and tender flesh, he looked like a young master. Although he was now wearing ordinary coarse cloth clothes, temperament was something that couldn't be faked. He could say that it was good wine without taking a single sip, and his name was "Fugui" (Rich and Noble), so it was very likely... that this kid was the young master of some rich merchant family. It was just unknown why someone like him would join a sect like Broken Sword Teahouse.

As for Shi Yanran's thoughts, she didn't have as many as Gongsun Li, and she wouldn't go into deeply speculating about the other party's origins. It was just a woman's intuition that told her that Atobe's sentence "not to my liking" was definitely sincere. Not to mention that he didn't like it, even Shi Yanran didn't like the few side dishes on the table.

As for the latter half of Atobe's sentence... "I wouldn't dare to touch anything that was sent to the Headman before he returns," although it was a lie, it was very convincing.

The impression that Feng Bujue left on people could be described with a line that often appeared in *Detective Dee*--"This is a terrifying person."

Almost all the villains that had appeared in the show had used this line, unanimously and tirelessly, to describe the abilities of Dee Renjie or Li Yuanfang. Of course, the positive characters would also occasionally use this sentence to describe the other party's Boss-level figures.

I personally think that the word "terrifying" in the show can basically be equated with three things: first, extremely high intelligence; second, extremely high martial strength; and third, insane. Anyway, as long as you had one of these, you were likely to be described in this way. If you had all three, how would you describe it...? I think I can change it to this line: "I'm so strong that even I'm afraid of myself."

"Hahaha..." Gongsun Li laughed loudly, as fake as it could be, "Please forgive Gongsun Li for not considering things thoroughly. When I asked the waiter to pass the message, because I only knew Headman Feng's name, I didn't elaborate." As he spoke, he came to the table, "This wine is just a small token of my appreciation. All the members of your sect are heroes, how can there be a reason to give it to only one person? If young hero Jin you like it, I'll ask the waiter to send another jar over." He picked up the small bottle and began to pour wine into three cups, "Come, come, young hero Jin. In the martial world, let's dissolve our enmity with a cup of wine. The two of us toast to you."