Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The Southwall Tavern had declined. Everyone used to say ‘One will never turn back until he bumps into the South Wall.’ But now, what they often said was ‘One will turn back as soon as he sees the South Wall.’
There were many reasons for its decline. The tavernkeeper blamed it on the war. He always said to the few drinkers in his tavern, “Fight, fight, fight, it never ends. I don’t even know what they are fighting for, but it really makes us suffer a lot. It’s hard to get good stuff anymore. I’ve just received some wine from the Central Plains. Would you like some? It’s a little more expensive than before, but…”
The ones who still visited the Southwall Tavern were usually regular customers. They had their own opinions on its decline and did not shy away from telling them to the tavernkeeper. “The war has affected many people. Why do you have the worst luck? It’s because you are not Lü Qiying. Tavernkeeper Lü was more capable.”
The conversation inevitably turned to recollection about the good old days and Tavernkeeper Lü had suddenly become a legend in the eyes of the crowd. The new tavernkeeper had taken over the tavern and run it for more than two years now, but he still couldn’t eliminate the influence of his predecessor.
It was an early winter evening, and it was snowing fiercely outside. The tavern business had dropped off over time, so the tavernkeeper had simply sent most of the waiters home, leaving only two men and a cook to serve the seven remaining guests.
A tall elderly man became the eighth drinker who came in, and he went straight to his regular position. After sitting down, he blankly stared at the light on the table and said nothing.
“What would you like to have, sir?” The waiter said dryly. He was still new here and didn’t know the past glory of the tavern. He just felt that although this tavern was big, the customers were all old and shabby like those other street shops.
The old man glanced at the waiter with an unintentionally fierce look. “A jar of the most expensive wine.”
“One… Jar?” The waiter thought he had got it wrong.
The old man bowed his head without a word.
“The most expensive wine is red wine, it costs… Three hundred taels.” The waiter lowered his voice as if he were saying a secret.
The old man produced an ingot of gold from his robes and casually threw it onto the table without a word.
The waiter froze. He had seen gold before, but he could not even start to guess at the value of this ingot of gold.
Glimpsing the shine of gold, the Tavernkeeper rushed over with big strides, pushed aside the inexperienced waiter, and bowed deeply. “Good to see you again, sir! It’s been quite a while. Have you been busy lately? Good wine? No problem. But the red wine of Shule is too ordinary and by no means the best at Southwall Tavern. Actually, I have something from the Central Plains…”
“No, just bring me a jar of wine as long as it is red wine…”
The tavernkeeper secretly cursed and decided that he would fire this waiter after this evening. On the surface, he put on a flattering smile, quietly took the gold on the table, and then asked, “Would you like a few dishes to go with the wine? We have river fish that has just been dug out of the ice. They are really fresh…”
“No, I’d like a pot of tea.”
The tavernkeeper paused. Drinking wine with tea? He had never heard of this before, but he didn’t want to miss earning three hundred taels. So he hurriedly ordered another waiter to bring the wine while looking expectantly at the elderly man, hoping that the other side would order something else so that he could keep the whole ingot of gold.
“You know me?” asked the old man awkwardly.
“Ah? Your Excellency used to be a regular customer here but hasn’t been much around lately…” The Tavernkeeper remembered the face, but did not know who the other side was.
“Go and invite the other two tables of customers here. I’d like to buy everyone a drink.”
The seven drinkers had noticed this rich old man by now. Before the tavernkeeper could open his mouth, everyone had left their wine at the table and came over happily with a dish. They thanked the elderly man first and then asked the waiter to bring their chairs over.
The table wasn’t big. The elderly man sat on one side while the other seven crowded on the other side. But no one cared. They were all eager to taste the red wine which was worth three hundred taels of silver a jar.
The wine was served. Everyone filled up the bowl in front of them, politely toasted the elderly man, and then eagerly gulped it down.
“It’s said that red wine should be served with luminous wine glasses. I remember that there were a few here. Why don’t you take them out?” Asked a white-haired old drinker.
Embarrassed, the tavernkeeper replied, “The luminous wine glasses are too fragile and were all broken.”
“You sold them off to pay your debt?”
Upon hearing this, the tavernkeeper became even more embarrassed. “It’s still wine in the end. What’s the difference between using a bowl or a wine glass? Can the wine glass affect the taste of the wine inside it?”
The white-haired drinker pointed at the tavernkeeper and said, “You are the reason why the Southwall Tavern has gone from flourishing to decaying. Tavernkeeper Lü would never say such nonsense.”
The tavernkeeper retreated shamefacedly, complaining inwardly that these paupers were really picky.
Before he had finished his bowl of wine, the white-haired drinker noticed the anomaly first. “Why don’t you drink, sir? It’s your gold.”
The tall elderly man served himself a cup of tea and said, “I quit drinking.”
“Oh.” The seven people grunted but no one asked anymore. This was southern Jade City where they usually did not even ask for the host’s name.
“When I came in, I heard you all talking about the Dragon King. Please go on, I’d like to hear about it.” There was a natural sense of command in the tall elderly man’s tone as if the seven people on the other side were his students.
“It’s just random chitchat. We ramble about whatever comes to mind. There’s no point in continuing talking about it.” The white-haired man appeared very cautious. He was reluctant to give up the good wine, but also unwilling to talk because he knew that one was bound to let their tongue slip if one talked too much.
But the tall elderly man did not think so. He turned to a short fat drinker and said, “You said that the Dragon King was too stupid. I’d like to hear a wise man’s idea.”
The short fat drinker looked at his companions and emptied his bowl of wine in one sitting. Then he filled it again up himself. Feeling that he had enough, he said, “You are teacher Zhang Ji from the castle, aren’t you?”
As soon as he heard the word ‘castle’, the tavernkeeper standing nearby felt his legs go weak and he nearly knelt onto the ground. He pressed the gold into his robes, as it felt particularly hard now.
“Hmm. I’m indeed Zhang Ji.”
“Are you still teaching at the castle?”
“I haven’t taught for a long time. I’ve already left the castle.”
The tavernkeeper regained his strength in his legs and the seven drinkers at the table all smiled reassuringly. The short fat man let out a sigh of relief and said, “Well, we can have a little chat then. Isn’t the Dragon King stupid? He has tens of thousands of Norland horsemen under his command. It’s a glory that the Western Regions has never held since ancient times. Seizing Jade City and breaking into the… the top of the mountain is as easy as lifting a finger for him, but he gave it all up. What is this all about? I’m sure that as long as the Norland Calvary enters the pass, at least 90% of the people of Jade City, if not all of them, would surrender immediately.”
“He who does not think of the future is certain to have immediate worries.” An idle talk after a few drinks was more delicious than the tastiest dishes. The cautious white-haired man couldn’t help but join in the discussion. “I think that the Dragon King is a wise man. What’s the reason for the prosperity of Jade City? It’s not that the people here are hard-working, nor its excellent geographical location; the reason is its balance. Jade City is under the control of three countries: the Central Plains, the Norland, and the Shule Kingdom. That means that it’s unowned. That’s why it can gather all the wondrous people and items in the world. If the Dragon King used the Norland Calvary to take over Jade City, it means that Jade City would only bend to one master from now on and its communication with the Central Plains would come to an end.”
The pocketmarked drinker sitting next to him pounded the table and said, “Right. Although the Norland is falling apart, it won’t be long before it becomes strong again. Using the Norland Calvary to conquer Jade City would be like using a wolf to herd the sheep. It would be too hard to drive them away even if the Dragon King wants to in the future.”
In the face of a two-way ‘attack,’ the short fat man wasn’t discouraged at all. “You are right, but both of you forgot about one thing. Does the Dragon King really care about the prosperity of Jade City? He wants revenge, and he won’t care if he has to destroy Jade City or not.”
“The Dragon King wants revenge but the fact that he is refusing the help of the Norland Calvary means that he still cares about Jade City. How can that be the reason behind your thought that he’s stupid?”
“It’s not that the Dragon King cares about Jade City. He’s just too proud. He thinks that he can defeat You-know-who on the mountain with the Dragon Army alone.”
“What’s your point? Is the Dragon King too stupid or too arrogant?”
…
The two groups were red-faced as they argued heatedly, but they did not stop drinking. Zhang Ji was still drinking tea cup after cup, as if he were listening to the conversation attentively or dwelling on his thoughts.
“Excuse me, sir. It makes us a bit uncomfortable that you neither drink nor speak.” The white-haired man said after pausing for a moment.
“Yes, yes. I heard that Your Excellency taught the Dragon King before. What do you think of him?” The white fat man was at a disadvantage and was eager to rally some support.
Zhang Ji let out a long breath and put down his teacup before saying, “The Dragon King was merely a servant at the castle. What right did he have for me to teach him?”
Zhang Ji talked big. The crowd found that the wine in the jar was not finished yet so they just curled their lips without commenting.
“The Dragon King is not stupid. He’s very clever. Heh, he has actually escaped from death by not leading the Norland Calvary to attack Thousand Horsemen Pass.” Zhang Ji explained as he continued.
“What do you mean?” The white-haired drinker voiced everyone’s doubts.
“The Unique King has offered Thousand Horsemen Pass to the Central Plains. The Dragon King would actually be declaring war on the Central Plains as long as he makes a move.”
“The Central Plains Army is still far from here. The castle may have turned to ashes when they arrive, right?”
“So what? The castle can’t move, but the people in it can. As long as the Unique King avoids the Dragon Army for half a year, he will then be able to wipe it with the help of the Central Plains Army. Then, when the Norland Army returns, everything will be back to normal except for the fact that the Unique King will be a real king and the Dragon King will disappear as if he had never existed.”
Zhang Ji was becoming more and more arrogant in the eyes of the crowd. The short fat man hummed, “The King Lord will retreat? Mr. Zhang is thinking too simply. Although Your Excellency taught in the castle before, I’m afraid that you have not seen the King Lord that many times, have you?”
Zhang Ji refused to argue with him. He had said what he wanted to and there was no need to explain his relationship with the Unique King to an outsider.
The tavernkeeper, who had been listening nearby, suddenly interrupted. “What Mr. Zhang said actually makes sense. You must have heard that the castle has reduced the number of killers and hasn’t taken in any new killer disciples for a long while. Isn’t that a sign that the Unique King wants to keep a low profile?”
“Didn’t those killers who were dismissed join the Heavenly Mountain Sect?” the short fat drinker said in a disdainful tone. “And now, the Heavenly Mountain Sect is merely the castle under a new name. Look at how arrogant they are…”
“Is Your Excellency dissatisfied with the Heavenly Mountain Sect?” A voice at the door said.
A middle-aged saberman slowly walked over. Behind him, two indifferent young sabermen guarded at the door, looking around warily.
“Du… Du…” The short fat drinker fell from his chair out of fright while all the other drinkers all bowed their heads, pretending not to know him.
“Du Jian greets Mr. Zhang.”
The Sect Leader of the Heavenly Mountain Sect, who was in the limelight in recent months, had actually bowed humbly to a teacher who had left the castle.
The other six drinkers together with the tavernkeeper all squatted on the ground consciously, secretly cursing themselves for being greedy.
“From now on, this place will be the headquarters of the Heavenly Mountain Sect.” Zhang Ji’s tone was as cold as ever. As he looked at the trembling tavernkeeper, he continued expounding. “You’ve accepted the deposit, so name your total price now.”
