656 Three Goblets of Wine For Worldly Affairs, A Pot of Tea For Lifetime Achievements (2/2)
”A pot of tea is all the time it takes for you to understand everything about him from me,” he said, lifting his head to look at Yun Yang.
Wu Ying chuckled and poured a cup of tea on the ground, muttering softly, ”Brother, this is your achievement.”
Yun Yang was overwhelmed by an indescribable sense of absurdity. It was his first time hearing such an interpretation of the saying. In spite of this, it had to be said that the sophistry seemed… to make sense. After all, sophistry would need an argument to become rational.
”Bi Zhongliu and I were childhood friends. Not only do we know each other since we were children, we're sworn brothers. We studied together in our youth and learned from the same martial master. He's older than me, so I called him elder brother. Even thoughwe looked out for each other throughout the years, in truth, he has helped me more.”
”That year, he was resolute to serve the country, to show the world what he had. He entered the capital for the examination, intending to emerge as Tiannan's elite. Before he left, I, failing the test, held a farewell for him. He said that… if he could receive the attention of a brilliant superior, he would soar among the clouds; the world would be his, he would toil to unite the empires.”
”He had done it, with his renowned reputation in the civil aspect. Once he entered the capital city, he was recognized by a high ranking official who married his daughter to him. He had even achieved the top rank in his scholar's division. His fame then was unparalleled.”
”However, it was when his life, his career as an official gained momentum, right when he was about to shine, he was framed, without any foretelling sign. He was accused of conspiring against the state.”
”What caught him off guard was that the one who framed him was actually his newlywed wife. His starting career had been ruined, and his mistress initially… Sigh, I won't mention this. After I knew what befell him, I had to do something, of course. I killed every single person in the family of his in-laws and another high-ranking official who was involved in the case. Then, I slipped into the prison and extricated him.”
”He was deep in the mire then, because of the incident, his entire existence only dependent on his one love. Blinded, his mind was full of only his wife, yet when I killed the people, his wife was already seven months pregnant…”
Wu Ying recounted the story slowly while he made tea, ”We were brothers. No matter how anguished he was, he would have believed me. Unfortunately, his biological younger brother was in the picture as well, pointing his finger at me, claiming that I was the culprit behind his case. He told him that I wasn't content with his wife. I was so furious then, so, so furious, that I left.”
”After that, I unintentionally got to know that his younger brother was involved in framing him as well. Fueled with rage, I went to kill him in the night. Right as his head fell from the slash of my blade, Bi Zhongliu, somehow, appeared by the door.”
”No matter how I tried to explain it, it was useless. We had no interaction from then on,” Wu Ying sighed softly.
Yun Yang sighed as well, listening to his story.
It was no small thing to kill someone's pregnant wife and his biological younger brother right before his eyes. Even after that, it was only the severance of any form of interaction, but they did not become enemies. The grudge and the kinship between them were indeed indescribable.
Wu Ying's narration of the past was incredibly simple, retelling it in a nonchalant and unaffected tone, without any pauses. However, Yun Yang could paint the picture in his head – of how terrifying and nerve-wracking it had been.
With Sir Bi's mental capacity, what sort of plan must he have had to survive and flourish now, despite being framed back in the day? Thinking back to Wu Ying's impeccable corresponding skill, what sort of plot must it have been for him to kill a person which had been witnessed by Sir Bi, the one who should be the furthest away from seeing the murder?
The entire matter was filled with absurdities – the unfolding events were, even more, terrifying the more thought was given to it.
Yun Yang had heard of the case back then as well; he had even studied the dossier. However, many documents were already missing, given the amount of time that had passed. The case was reduced to an unsolvable mystery that could no longer be untangled.
Wu Ying was obviously a player in this case; he could even have been a litigant, but he had only mentioned it in passing earlier, without explaining himself further. Yun Yang could discern that he was reluctant to mention the case. It was just that this event was unavoidable since he was to narrate Bi Zhongliu's life.
”Actually, I know that Bi Zhongliu knew about everything that transpired. He just didn't want to face the truth, especially after I killed those people.”
”Perhaps, by not facing it, he felt that it was a way of standing up to it.”
”The both of us… he didn't really want to break ties with me. Even though we didn't interact, it didn't mean that we were strangers. All these years, he's been following me closely. I did the same as well. If we were to break all ties, why did we continue to follow up on each other?”
Translator Note:
1Bi Zhongliu (毕中流bì zhōng liú): Sir Bi's name with Bi as the family name and Zhongliu as the first name. Understanding it on a word-by-word level, it means to stop the tidal wave; in the story, it is his name but it is also used as a homophone to highlight his ability to stop the disaster.