92 A New Interpretation (2/2)

After a while, the boy came back and looked embarrassed. ”That man owes a lot to the tavern. He's come here to drink for several days in a row and only ordered the best drinks. Your money isn't enough to pay for his bills.”

”Well then, put it on my tab.”

”Whose tab?”

”Tie Hanfeng.”

Xu Xiaoyi reluctantly walked to the counter again and came back even faster than the last time. The manager of the tavern followed him to tell the killer apprentice, ”We never kept a tab for Tie Hanfeng's spendings here.”

”You can start keeping a tab for him as of today.”

Gu Shenwei learned an important thing from his mentor, which was one should always act boldly and steadfastly to achieve his goal in South City. Since once he winced or appeared hesitant, he would be trampled on by others.

The manager looked the teenager up and down and asked, ”Are you his apprentice?”

”Yes, I am.”

”What if your mentor refuses to pay for your tab?”

”I'll pay with heads.”

Gu Shenwei pressed one hand on the table and replied calmly like a seasoned killer. During his first visit to South City, a young man had told him that heads, namely his killing service, could also be used as currency in the city.

Seeing the teenager make an empty show of strength, the manager was displeased and looked quite grim. For a moment, Gu Shenwei thought he was going to flare-up. Nevertheless, after a while, the manager said, ”142 taels of silver. Put it on Tie Hanfeng's account.”

Xu Xiaoyi was so impressed. He sat in a chair on the killer apprentice's left side and looked at him with shining eyes. ”Wow, that was really awesome. You're so... By the way, what's your name?”

They had known each other for a long time, but the teenager had never mentioned his name and Xu Xiaoyi had never asked about it until now.

”Yang Huan.” Gu Shenwei told the boy his fake name. Now that he was sent by the fort to carry out a task, he did not have to use his slave name anymore.

”Can I call you Brother Huan? Is it alright? You're probably only one or two years older than me. Tut, tut...”

Xu Xiaoyi kept shaking his head. It was very difficult for him to believe that the fierce killer apprentice was that young.

Gu Shenwei did not pay much attention to the boy. He still fixed his eyes on Zhang Ji. Soon, Mister Zhang invited the teenager to join him.

”I've taught many students in the fort, but only you, a slave boy, know how to show respect for a teacher.”

Beyond Gu Shenwei's expectations, Zhang Ji still remembered the slave boy who had once disturbed his class. They both worked in the Archives Library in recent days, but they had never spoken to each other.

”It's just a small courtesy. Please kindly accept it, Mister Zhang.”

”Someone is willing to pay for my tab. I've no reason to refuse such kindness. Take a seat. If you've anything to say, say it. Don't beat about the bush. However, I need to remind you first that I won't pay you back the money. As for the thing you're going to ask, I can't promise that I'll help you.”

”It's alright. I may need your advice for some other things in the future,” Gu Shenwei said smilingly.

Gu Shenwei recited all the contents of the document except the names to Zhang Ji in a low voice, and then he asked, ”Mister Zhang, did you notice anything unusual in this document?”

Zhang Ji picked up his cup and shook it gently and slowly. ”I can't help you with that. I'm too old and never want to get involved in the things of the fort too much.”

”Thank you then, Mister Zhang.”

Gu Shenwei did not ask any other questions. He had already gotten the answer from Zhang Ji's attitude. Besides, given the complicated relationships between the people in the fort, Gu Shenwei was not sure whether Zhang Ji was reliable.

He returned to his seat, closed his ears to Xu Xiaoyi's nagging and immersed in thought. Evidently, Mister Zhang had spotted something unusual in the document, which confirmed his suspicion that this mission might be a plot against him.

Gradually, the tavern got more and more noisy and crowded. Some guests sat near him and began to chat. They all talked in a roundabout way like Tie Hanfeng and Zhong Heng.

Hearing their conversations, Gu Shenwei suddenly realized that Mister Guo might have also put such word games in the document. To know what he really meant, he needed to crack the riddles and read between the lines.

Gu Shenwei asked Xu Xiaoyi to get him a brush and a piece of paper. He wrote the document down and read it carefully from beginning to end. Now he understood why this document made him feel so uneasy.

In this carefully worded document, the masterminds expressed implications that this plan might not succeed and that this failure might be a good thing for the overproud apprentices.

Gu Shenwei tore the paper into pieces and walked toward the gate of the tavern. When he walked past Zhang Ji's table, he said, ”Thank you, Mister Zhang.”

”If you want to thank me, stay far away from me.”

Not wanting to be spotted by some spies hiding in the crowd, Zhang Ji replied coldly. He did not even lift up his eyes to look at Slave Huan.

Gu Shenwei did not stop near Mister Zhang's table either. He kept walking toward the gate when many guests swarmed into the tavern. Xu Xiaoyi swallowed the food in his mouth, took a swig of a drink and hurriedly caught up with him.

At the gate, the tall fat guy gave the killer apprentice a new weapon before he asked. It was a sword again and was even shorter and lighter than the previous one. It looked like a children's toy.

The fat guy smiled mockingly at the teenager, but Gu Shenwei just received it peacefully and smiled back at him while saying, ”You could've done better.”

It was getting dark and the snow was still quite deep. They crunched all the way to the courtyard of the Ten-Dragon Gang. This time, Gu Shenwei did not need to pay the enrollment fee, but he was asked to pay for the drinks. Since Gu Shenwei had no money now, Xu Xiaoyi took out 10 taels of silver to pay and repeatedly reminded the killer apprentice that he just borrowed this money to him.

Gu Shenwei held the short sword, with his eyes fixed on a rowdy man in the crowd. He was planning to provoke the man into a fight.