The two ate meat and drank wine until only bones remained of the horse leg in the pot and the soup was almost dry. Wen Chaosheng's drunkenness was just right. He told A Shui he wanted to hear her story, but A Shui refused.
"I don't want to talk about it, and don't ask anymore."
Her slender fingertips pressed hard, and the roof tile was crushed into powder.
Under the catalysis of the strong liquor, painful memories surged forth like a tide, overwhelming A Shui. She could only grab the wine jar, tilt her head back, and drink wildly until her snow-white, scarred abdomen bulged. Only then did she stop, throwing the empty wine jar aside.
Crack—
The broken wine jar lay scattered on the ground.
She leaned against the base of the stone statue, one hand on her knee, her desolate gaze passing by Wen Chaosheng and looking out of the temple. The painful flames in her eyes could not be extinguished even by the vast white snowfall.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I made you so uncomfortable."
Facing Wen Chaosheng's apology, A Shui seemed to have lost all strength, remaining motionless, with only the rise and fall of her chest.
Wen Chaosheng saw that her fingers were trembling.
That terrible memory, which A Shui could not bear to look at, was cutting into her soul piece by piece.
Taking a gulp of wine, Wen Chaosheng changed the subject:
"A Shui, can you teach me how to cultivate?"
A Shui heard this and it took her a while to come back to her senses. She stiffly turned her head, a glimmer of light appearing in the center of her eyes, but her words chilled Wen Chaosheng to the bone.
"No."
"What I practice, you cannot practice."
Wen Chaosheng smiled wryly:
"How do you know?"
A Shui stared at Wen Chaosheng for a moment, then her brows suddenly furrowed slightly, and she let out a burp. Then she beckoned him closer with a finger, and Wen Chaosheng sat beside her. A Shui, disregarding the impropriety between men and women, reached out and directly felt Wen Chaosheng's shoulder, chest, waist, crotch, and spine.
Seeing her so unconcerned, Wen Chaosheng felt a little uncomfortable.
After she finished, A Shui said:
"That's right, you can't practice it."
"My kung fu is a common Jianghu routine; you have to start practicing it young. After Fifteen or sixteen, a person's bone structure is basically set, and the bone structure affects the Meridians, which in turn affects the Qihai."
"If you want to cultivate now, you can't practice ordinary martial arts. You can only go the path of the Holy Land, but those places are not easy to enter. If you don't have connections, only those with exceptional talent might be able to enter."
"Otherwise, you might encounter some particularly powerful reclusive masters... You know, that requires fate."
"But according to my observation, you are probably the unluckiest person I've ever seen in my life. For the reclusive master path, I suggest you don't fantasize about it."
Wen Chaosheng looked at her with sorrow and hatred.
"Thank you."
...
Ku Hai County, Liu Residence.
Liu Jinshi, dressed in an official uniform and corpulent, walked quickly through the gardens. The butler bowed and followed behind him, continuously speaking.
Liu Jinshi's face held a hint of excited smile, as if some great good fortune was about to descend.
As he passed the corner of the covered walkway, he even disregarded the snow dirtying his new boots, climbed over a stone stool, and rushed towards the reception hall amidst the butler's repeated cries of 'Magistrate, be careful'.
Upon reaching the door, he suddenly turned and instructed the butler:
"You go back and prepare the food first. Do not come over without my message."
The butler glanced at the reception hall, bowed to Liu Jinshi, and quickly turned to leave.
Upon pushing the door open, a middle-aged man in a red brocade robe was already sitting in the spacious reception hall, head bowed, drinking tea.
Upon seeing this middle-aged man, Liu Jinshi, who was always high and mighty, actually lifted his robes and knelt before him, kowtowing.
"Mr. Lu, my apologies for the inadequate hospitality!"
"Please, don't take offense!"
The middle-aged man in the red brocade robe glanced at Liu Jinshi, smiled, stood up, and personally helped him up.
"Oh, Magistrate, what are you doing?"
"Come, sit."
Liu Jinshi sat on a nearby chair, lightly stroking his palms, and knowingly asked:
"May I ask, Mr. Lu, what brings you here so suddenly today?"
The middle-aged man, with a beaming smile, took out an exquisite small box from his sleeve and placed it in front of him.
"The last matter... the Lord was very satisfied. This is a token of gratitude."
Liu Jinshi looked at the small box pushed in front of him, couldn't help but swallow, and was about to take it, but the middle-aged man's hand holding the box suddenly pulled back a bit. Liu Jinshi's action of receiving the gift paused, and the smile on his face also froze.
"Mr. Lu..."
He was puzzled and spoke tentatively.
The red-robed man leaned in slightly, and whispered with a smile:
"Magistrate Liu, this matter is of great importance. If it gets out, no one can bear it... You, won't speak of it, will you?"
Liu Jinshi's expression instantly turned serious. He raised three fingers and swore:
"I, Liu Jinshi, swear to Heaven, if I dare to reveal even half a word detrimental to the Lord, may I die a terrible death!"
The red-robed man gazed at Liu Jinshi's resolute eyes, which seemed as unmoving as mountains and seas, and only then did a relieved smile appear on his face:
"Good!"
"Then I can rest assured."
He placed the brocade box into Liu Jinshi's hand and said to him:
"Open it and see."
Liu Jinshi caressed the brocade box, having imagined the rare treasures it contained countless times in his mind, smiling from ear to ear. But when he tremblingly opened the brocade box, he found that what was inside... was a bottle of gut-wrenching poison!
This was not the first time he had seen such a small bottle of poison.
All the eagerness, all the greed, at this moment, transformed into utter horror on Liu Jinshi's face!
"Mr. Lu, this, this...!"
The red-robed man put a finger to his lips, lowering his voice and saying:
"This is the Lord's will."
"Magistrate, you have a wife and children, right?"
"People, once they have a family, can't always think only of themselves, don't you agree?"
With that, he gently patted the shoulder of the dumbfounded Liu Jinshi and stood up, walking to the door.
As he pushed the door open and stepped out, he looked back at the pale-faced Liu Jinshi and said with a smile:
"Magistrate Liu... the new Magistrate of Ku Hai County is already on his way and is expected to arrive in two or three days. Please conduct yourself with dignity."