Chapter 237: Tea and Blood

After the maidservant from the residence brought a pot of tea and slowly departed, Gongsun Yang gently latched the door. He poured a cup of tea; the pale green tea in the white porcelain cup glowed enchantingly. He picked up the teacup but then set it down.

Suffering from a painful foot condition, he endured the stinging pain to take off his shoes and socks. He was already past forty, yet had not found his footing. Gongsun Yang looked out the window and sighed. Enduring the stinging pain, he removed his boots and socks, falling into a reverie.

In his youth, wherever King Xu's cavalry rode, not a blade of grass grew. They attacked the Imperial City of Western Shu with the force of thunder. The news of his father's death in battle arrived, and his grandfather composed a death poem before nobly sacrificing himself for the nation. It is said that in the current dynasty's chronicles of loyal officials, Western Shu is second only to Western Chu, and the number of death poems is the highest among the Eight Kingdoms. Although the former emperor of Western Shu was mediocre in talent and incapable of governing, it was precisely during the reign of this incompetent ruler and in this small state that, as a youth, when he was taken away by a loyal servant, he passed through Qingyun Street in the capital of Western Shu, where officials congregated. The street was filled with the wails of families after their officials went to their deaths. Most of the fugitives were young boys and girls like him, not yet of age. Very few able-bodied young men had shed their official robes to blend in with the refugees. Who could imagine that those men who stayed home, drank poisoned wine, hanged themselves, or slit their throats with swords, might have been on the imperial court just the day before, fiercely denouncing the emperor's incompetence? Or perhaps they had only suffered the humiliation of a caning by the court a month ago?

The Gongsun clan of Western Shu was skilled in using successive arrows.

Gongsun Yang reached out and caressed the buffalo horn bow on the table, which had already been restrung. Tears streamed down his face, and his lips trembled.

A knock sounded at the door. Gongsun Yang quickly wiped away his tears, composed himself, and said, "Just a moment." He put on his shoes and socks, then limped to open the door. Seeing it was Young Master Xu, the latter said with a self-deprecating laugh, "Miss Liu was chasing me with a sword, so I had no choice but to flee here to Senior Gongsun to escape trouble."

Gongsun Yang chuckled softly, "Coincidentally, I have a pot of good tea here. It's better to share joy than to enjoy it alone."

Xu Fengnian closed the door behind him and walked to the table, sitting down. He unceremoniously poured himself a cup and drank it in one gulp. Gongsun Yang shifted the buffalo horn bow, took the delicate porcelain cup between two fingers, and slowly sipped the now-cold tea. As Xu Fengnian reached out to pour more tea, he paused and asked, "There's something I'm not sure if I should say or not."

Gongsun Yang's heart sank, but his expression remained unchanged as he said, "Young Master Xu, please speak freely."

Xu Fengnian finished pouring the tea, and with a finger tracing the slender rim of the cup, he said calmly, "I've inquired among the local people of Yanhuiguan. There's only one old, established bowyer's shop in the city. The old man surnamed Zhang is aloof; he won't do business with you if you can't draw the two-stone bow at his entrance. 'Bow-master Zhang' – I'd say his surname is probably fake. This shop is easy to find and inquire about. With Senior Gongsun's arm strength, you shouldn't have been stopped at the door. Then, I inadvertently learned from Miss Liu that Senior Gongsun only arrived at the city gate a full hour later. Given your feelings for the Fish Dragon Gang, you wouldn't intentionally leave Miss Liu and three Fish Dragon Gang members stranded in a dangerous place like Yanhuiguan. So I wondered, did you not bring much money, and spent more than half an hour there haggling? But then, on second thought, that seemed unlikely. With your experience in the *jianghu*, and as a master of successive arrows, you would naturally know the market price of bowstrings. So I asked myself, are Senior Gongsun and that old man Zhang old acquaintances, and your catching up delayed you? But I'm very curious: how good a relationship does it have to be to make the future leader of the Fish Dragon Gang wait at the city gate for nearly half an hour? Senior Gongsun, would you care to enlighten me?"

Gongsun Yang hesitated for a moment. Xu Fengnian smiled slightly and said, "Senior, no need to rush. Take your time to think. I'm just here to drink tea and chat; I can wait."

Gongsun Yang put down his teacup and slowly asked, "Did the Supervisor of Military Armaments and Young Master Xu conspire together to set a trap for the Fish Dragon Gang?"

Xu Fengnian sneered, "Gongsun Yang, you are you, and the Fish Dragon Gang is the Fish Dragon Gang. At a time like this, are you still trying to confuse the issue? There's no doubt that the Fish Dragon Gang's foundation is clean. Liu Nirong, and even Xiao Qiang, were kept in the dark by you. This entire transaction was largely orchestrated by you. What I want to know now is what intelligence you handed over to that old man Zhang. Was it Beiliang's military defense maps? Or the Beiliang army's network of contacts? I suspect it was both, which is why you stayed in the bowyer's shop for so long. What kind of grand promise did Beimang give you? Was it the future restoration of Western Shu? Or the complete annihilation of Beiliang's cavalry? Or support for the Gongsun clan of Western Shu to rise again?"

Gongsun Yang's expression was complex. He said, "Since we've reached this point, and Young Master Xu still dares to come alone for this meeting, I presume, and I'm likely not mistaken, that Young Master Xu has hidden depths and at least a second-rank cultivation. Gongsun Yang merely wants to know how much gold, and how grand an official position, Young Master Xu can gain by taking this head on my shoulders, along with a bowyer's shop in Yanhuiguan."

Xu Fengnian glanced at Gongsun Yang's hands resting on the table and chuckled, "I can kill even Xiao Qiang, so killing a Gongsun Yang who has fallen back to third-rank isn't difficult. And how far apart are you and I? Even if you grab your buffalo horn bow and quiver, and manage to create enough distance for successive shots, do you really think you can escape Wei Mansion? Would Wei Feng allow Beimang to discover that a scion of Beiliang's military family had arrived in the city? At that point, never mind what happens between me and Wei Feng; the Fish Dragon Gang would be the first to suffer a tragic complete annihilation. Of the three virtues: loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness—leaving out filial piety—loyalty and righteousness seem to be optional for you, Gongsun Yang."