Chapter 108:
Sophistry

 

YAN WUSHI CONTINUED TEASING Shen Qiao, and his attitude changed day by day. Shen Qiao couldn’t say that he was completely unaware, but truly, from the bottom of his heart, he didn’t feel that he had any beauty or charm to speak of.

For a man to live righteously in this world, the most important thing was his character. As for looks, women adorned themselves for their admirers, and handsome men like Zou Ji or Song Yu also valued their appearances. However, Shen Qiao was a priest, so he’d never placed any importance on such things; hence, he didn’t understand what Yan Wushi liked about him.

Due to these doubts, he interpreted Yan Wushi’s attitude as a passing whim. After all, there had already been a precedent to this. If he left himself unguarded, he might end up being sold off again. Shen Qiao knew that he wasn’t Yan Wushi’s match when it came to scheming, and because of this, deep down inside, he was always afraid. A shred of suspicion remained constant within his heart, so he wouldn’t dare believe Yan Wushi so easily.

In the end, Yan Wushi had brought this misfortune upon himself.

Back then, Shen Qiao had already regarded him as a friend. The heavens and earth could testify that his heart had been pure as ice, but Yan Wushi had sneered at him, then discarded him like a worn-out shoe. While speaking and smiling gently to him, he’d been in secret contact with Sang Jingxing. In the blink of an eye, he’d presented Shen Qiao to him, then thrown Shen Qiao’s sincere heart to the ground and stomped it into powder. Now he wished to salvage it, but a broken mirror was difficult to repair, and spilled water impossible to recover. Perhaps he should have been considered fortunate that it was Shen Qiao he liked, for if anyone else had gone through what he had, even if they didn’t undergo a drastic change in personality, they’d surely spend all day plotting revenge on Yan Wushi. At the very least, they wouldn’t show Yan Wushi the slightest hint of trust or goodwill.

But Shen Qiao was an exception. This man treated people with utmost sincerity: if someone showed him kindness, he would absolutely repay it ten or even twelve-fold.

Outside the royal capital of Tuyuhun, Yan Wushi had developed multiple personalities due to his severe injuries. And due to the Chen Gong incident, Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao had gone deep underground in Ruoqiang, which had resulted in various entanglements. Later, when Hehuan Sect caught wind of the news and came to kill them, Yan Wushi had decisively chosen to use himself as bait and lure away their most dangerous enemy, Sang Jingxing. This had given Shen Qiao the room to escape. Though Shen Qiao knew very well that the cunning Yan Wushi wouldn’t have gone in unprepared, he’d seen the other man’s resolve as he left. He couldn’t help being shaken by this.

Even when Yan Wushi later recalled this move, he was very proud of it.

With his heart now set on Shen Qiao, he wanted even more to explore this person’s words and actions until he knew them inside out and grasped them entirely.

If anyone else had to put up with Yan Wushi’s teasing and mocking, and his many frivolous remarks, they would have been pondering how to best escape from him—that is, if they didn’t just fly into a rage. However, Shen Qiao was different.

To Shen Qiao, Yan Wushi had just saved him on Qingcheng Mountain, so this kindness was one reason. Then there was Puliuru Jian’s letter begging for help. If Shen Qiao hadn’t known, it’d be one thing, but now that he did know about it, he had to make the trip, so he and Yan Wushi shared the same destination anyway. This was the second reason.

These two reasons together were much more important than “I don’t want to get tangled up by this man’s words and actions,” so Shen Qiao would first put aside his personal feelings and prioritize what was truly important.

This level of seriousness and rigor could make one look old-fashioned, or even hypocritical. However, when it came to Shen Qiao, many people would feel that this was just the way things were and that there was nothing contradictory about his character.

Back when this person had been the Xuandu Mountain Sect Leader, his reputation hadn’t been prominent. When others mentioned him, they would add at most one more sentence: “Qi Fengge’s favorite disciple.” Nothing else. Yet now that he wandered the jianghu, his identity as Shen Qiao was foremost in people’s minds.

Yan Wushi took so much pride in spending most of his life free from the influence of others, that he lived carefree and unrestrained and did as he pleased. Never could he have imagined that, ultimately, this person would put an end to all of that.

He’d always believed that human nature was evil, that true goodness didn’t exist. That even if it did exist, it’d only look like weakness when he saw it.

And yet Shen Qiao was an exception. Yan Wushi, who’d never compromised himself for anyone, was willing to concede a little for Shen Qiao’s sake.

Yan Wushi had never believed in the people the world thought were good, and he considered them beneath his contempt. And if Yan Wushi found someone he thought was good, and the people of the world thought so as well, he naturally had to snatch this person for himself first. Whether through extortion or by silently nurturing the relationship, he must first gather that person into his arms, then carefully tune them until the other party was finally won over.

All in all, so far, progress had been fairly smooth.

Even Yan Wushi couldn’t help but feel quite satisfied with himself. His venerable self had been in the jianghu for decades. Even if he didn’t use his status or martial prowess to oppress others, there were countless men and women who’d cling to him of their own volition. This was the first time in his life that he’d had to put so much effort into someone. If he couldn’t capture this person, then he’d have wasted the rest of his life. In that case, he might as well bash his head open and die.

So, when Shen Qiao proposed his three rules of “treat each other with courtesy,” “never disregard etiquette,” and “no frivolous behavior allowed,” Yan Wushi naturally agreed. His easy agreement made Shen Qiao somewhat suspicious, but since he had already agreed, if he continued to pester him over it, Shen Qiao would come off as the unreasonable one.

The next morning, the two of them set off on their journey. Whenever they happened to pass by a town at night, they would rest there. It was common for people of the jianghu to brave the wind and dew, but if they had a choice, anyone would much rather have a warm and comfortable place to stay. Unless there was really no other option, even martial experts would prefer to stay at an inn. Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao were no exception.

They traveled at a brisk pace, and in just two days they arrived in Xining Town, not far from Chang’an.

With Chang’an in sight, they could finally slow their pace somewhat. They’d be able to enter the city tomorrow.

“Though Puliuru Jian’s situation is critical, it’s not so urgent that we can’t pause for a moment,” said Yan Wushi. “It’s already evening, so let’s rest here for now.”

Shen Qiao knew that Yan Wushi had always attached great importance to his appearance. Every time he showed up somewhere, his figure had to be dignified and majestic; there was no telling how much time he spent preparing himself. Of course, the Huanyue Sect Leader would refuse to enter the city travel-worn and caked in dust, so Shen Qiao agreed.

They chose a fairly large inn, and the two of them walked inside. Shen Qiao was afraid that Yan Wushi would again say something about sleeping together, so when the innkeeper asked, “Two separate rooms?” he quickly stepped in front of Yan Wushi and replied, “Yes.”

Yan Wushi didn’t refute him, but simply smiled happily and let him take the lead.

The innkeeper couldn’t help but smile and say, “The two gentlemen here are brothers, correct? You’re very close.”

“We’re not brothers,” said Yan Wushi.

“Ah,” said the innkeeper as he hesitated a little. “Then…father and son?”

Yan Wushi didn’t say anything, only smiled suggestively at him. Then he glanced at Shen Qiao, before smiling again at the innkeeper.

The shopkeeper had seen all types of people before, and dawning realization soon surfaced on his face.

“It can’t be helped,” Yan Wushi said. “He’s been difficult the past few days, and we haven’t been getting along.”

The innkeeper was incredibly adaptable. “They all say, with ten years of virtue, you’ll share the same ship of destiny, with a hundred years of virtue you’ll…you know.12 As the two of you are dragons and phoenixes among men, your friendship is likely extraordinary as well. Since you already have this shared destiny, you should make some concessions to each other. You know what they say: amiability is the key to prosperity!”

Shen Qiao was silent. What do you mean, “you know?” Say it clearly!

But the innkeeper had chosen to follow Yan Wushi’s lead in being vague. Shen Qiao couldn’t go and deliberately correct him. The denial would just make him look even more guilty.

The innkeeper booked a room for them, but Yan Wushi requested another private room and ordered some food and wine to go with it.

There were four dining tables in the private room, all arranged on one side. The other side was for performances as guests could call for some singing and dancing to entertain them during dinner. There was no one dancing at the moment, though, making the room seem a bit empty.

Shen Qiao sat down at the table by the door, but Yan Wushi didn’t sit down at the next table over. Instead, he sat down at the table closest to the corner, leaving two tables in between them.

“Why do this, Sect Leader Yan?” Shen Qiao didn’t understand.

“The moment I saw your face, I wanted to touch it, but since I promised to treat you with courtesy, it’s better if I stay away. Otherwise, you’ll see me as a dishonest scoundrel again.”

Yan Wushi’s words not only sounded innocent, they dripped with righteousness. Those who didn’t know better would have thought that Shen Qiao was the one being indecent toward him.

Shen Qiao was a bit speechless, and after a moment he recalled what had happened just now. “You intentionally misled the innkeeper by saying those things. How is this treating each other with courtesy?”

Yan Wushi acted even more innocent. “Where was I being misleading? I only said two lines the entire time, and you heard them clearly too. We aren’t brothers. Is there anything wrong with this sentence? Unless A-Qiao actually wants to be my brother? And the second sentence is even more faultless, is it not? What is there to argue about? The shopkeeper had indecent thoughts, so he came to an indecent conclusion. You can’t blame me for that.”

Shen Qiao already possessed a profound understanding of Yan Wushi’s knack for verbal debates. Hearing this, he only felt a sense of helplessness.

Yan Wushi smiled. “I have done everything you requested. Why are you still unsatisfied?” After a pause, he spoke softly again: “A-Qiao, there aren’t many people who can receive my venerable regard in this lifetime, and there are even fewer people for whom I’d make concessions. You are the only one.”

Within the softness was a hint of steel—underneath the gentle words lay an unyielding stubbornness. It was truly enough to leave a person at the end of their rope.

Shen Qiao frowned. “I would rather not be that special.”

That’s not up to you. Yan Wushi smiled but did not answer.

Shen Qiao thought for a moment and solemnly said, “Sect Leader Yan’s intentions are unpredictable, truly difficult to fathom. And I know even less how my exceedingly ordinary qualifications managed to attract Sect Leader Yan’s attention. Since we’re being candid today, can I please ask Lord Yan to speak honestly on this matter?”

“A-Qiao, you have many good qualities. So many that I wouldn’t be able to list them all even if I spoke for three days and three nights.” He’d begun with a joke. Seeing Shen Qiao speechless, he smiled and said, “Just in your softheartedness alone, no one in this world can compare to you.”

“I don’t know when being softhearted became a good quality,” said Shen Qiao glumly. “I only remember that Sect Leader Yan has always detested those who are kind and softhearted.”

Yan Wushi gave an easy smile. “Why else would they say, ‘In your lover’s eyes, you become Xi Shi?’”13

All right, so basically, Shen Qiao had been tricked again. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get a straight answer out of Yan Wushi.

He was even more certain now that the other man was just acting on a whim, which meant there were only two paths ahead for Shen Qiao. The first was to wait for Yan Wushi’s interest to subside so that he’d stop pestering him. Then his ears would finally know peace. Alternatively, he could wait until he could surpass Yan Wushi in martial arts, then pummel him flat. That way Yan Wushi wouldn’t dare to pester him anymore.

The wine and food were served, and both of them fell silent and began to eat.

Halfway through the meal, Yan Wushi took a sip of wine and smiled. “If you like someone, must you say a reason? It’s like when you hate someone to the point that their face fills you with disgust, but you can’t say why. Isn’t that the same thing? Just because I enjoy teasing you doesn’t mean you can treat my sincerity as fake. My heart won’t be able to take it.”

At first, those words sounded rather earnest, but it was just more twisted logic. Why is it so difficult to have a proper conversation with this person? Shen Qiao thought to himself.

The words he wanted to say turned in his stomach a few times, and just as he was about to say them, he heard a slight sound coming from Yan Wushi’s table. He couldn’t help but raise his head, just in time to see Yan Wushi’s head drop low as he coughed up blood.

Shen Qiao’s face contorted in horror. All else flew from his mind as he hurriedly leapt up to support him. “What’s wrong? Was the wine poisoned?!”

As Shen Qiao hadn’t touched the jug of wine, he immediately thought that the wine was the issue.

And because this reminded him of his own experience with Joyful Reunion, his complexion looked even worse than Yan Wushi’s.

But then, Yan Wushi suddenly smiled and pulled him into his arms. “Your panic reveals your concern. A-Qiao, your words truly don’t match your heart!”

Shen Qiao stared at him. “You…you weren’t poisoned?”

Yan Wushi wiped the bloodstain from the corner of his lips and said, “I accidentally bit my lip while chewing. I might have been too agitated.”

Agitated to the point of vomiting blood?

To hell with your lies!