Ink Blade

Overnight (part 1)

Chu Yan’s smirking face did not just make Mo Ren helpless.

The two people who originally had the appearance of a master and servant, suddenly there was a sense of intimacy between the two of them. Now, those Jianghu men who were paying attention to the roughness here began to burst into laughter.

Those who were on guard also confidently let go off their weapon. Some of them were frivolous and presumptuous, and even whistled, "Yo, grandpa, what kind of powerful person are you supposed to be, it turns out to be just a rabbit master. Tsk, the skin is not bad, but there is one thing…..that sword, why still carry it on the back?" (TL: Rabbit master- male gay)

"Hahahaha." A burst of laughter erupted in the hall, Mo Ren was actually regarded as a pet. No one saw that Palace Master Chu's face sank, and that the murderous intent hidden in his phoenix pupils skyrocketed in vain......

Mo Ren was so shocked that he hurriedly grabbed the sleeve of the palace master, lowered his voice and advised, "Master, Master, don't bother about these vulgar people."

"You shut up." Chu Yan resentfully changed a dish, and stuffed the chopstick.

Seeing that the two men didn't fight back, and were just being intimate and close towards each other, they laughed again. After laughing, they ignored the pair of master and servant, and chatted in twos and threes while drinking, the content was indeed about the Shuijing Tower case.

Chu Yan and Mo Ren ate, listened, and both pondered independently. They also noticed that these people were a mix of good and bad, and most of them were not experts and capable people, but simply came here to take advantage of the opportunity to see the excitement, or had the idea of obtaining some benefits.

To uncover real secrets, one could never point to these kinds of people, but taking advantage of the meal to listen to some gossip, may bring unexpected joy. If it wasn't for this little unexpected joy, Chu Yan would have already raised his hands to strike just now.

Of course, since it was a gossip, it definitely couldn't be fully trusted, nor should it be taken too seriously.

For example, now, the conversation of those guys had changed from the enemy of the murdered elder of Shuijing Tower to guessing that the owner of Shuijing Tower was a graceful and peerless beauty, and after a while it became the senior brother of the Xuyang Sword Sect’s passionate pursuit of the Shuijing Tower owner. Later, when they mentioned that the Xuyang Sword Sect seemed to be involved in this suspicious case, Chu Yan and Mo Ren were already both refreshed, but then these men talked about the Jiuzhong Palace, which had a grievance with the Xuyang Sword Sect, and then…….

Then they talked about the Jiuzhong Palace Master who hadn't shown his face for several years.

"Hey, say, what kind of character do you think that mysterious Palace Master of the Jiuzhong Palace is like? Rumors in Jianghu are really wonderful and mysterious. Could it be that he is really three-headed and six-armed?"

"I heard that the Palace Master of the Jiuzhong Palace is a vicious, cruel and bloodthirsty villain. He is, no offense, simply likes to eat a child's heart and liver..."

In a certain corner, Palace Master Chu, who was holding a cup of wine to his lips, suddenly froze. Mo Ren's face on the opposite side immediately turned cold.

"No, no, brother, I heard that the Palace Master of the Jiuzhong Palace is a feminine devil in human form. A few years ago, in order to practice a set of supreme martial arts, he cut off the thing under himself!"

"Cough, cough..."

Chu Yan put down the wine cup with a bang, his face turned blue, and he seemed to be thumping his chest angrily.

"Bah, what you're saying is not right! I know!" A sturdy short-bearded man patted his chest and stood up, gulping down a large bowl of strong wine, drunk until he’s flushed, and shouted borrowing the strength of the alcohol, "The Palace Master of the Jiuzhong Palace is not a good person! Hiccup... I, I heard that the Palace Master of the Jiuzhong Palace is disrespectful towards the elderly, an obscene and wretched sixty-year-old man...Hiccup, he simply——he simply likes to play with those beautiful and weak innocent young masters...It is said that he raised a stunning person in his palace, hehehe, that is more beautiful than a girl..."

"What?" 

"Ah, really?"

Seeing the surprised expressions on the faces of the people around the tables, they started discussing in an uproar, the short-bearded man drank another big bowl, patted the table and said more vigorously, "Couldn’t be, you don't know? I also heard that the Palace Master of the Jiuzhong Palace is robbing beauties everywhere and hiding them in his backyard for him to enjoy day and night, it is even comparable to the current emperor's harem!"

"Also heard that the Palace Master has not been seen for several years, maybe he was hollowed out by wine and lust, and dare not come out to meet people…”

The short-bearded man was shouting loudly, however he didn't get to finish his sentence when he heard a "swoosh" sound as if breaking wind and a long and thin unknown hidden weapon flashed in front of everyone's eyes, none of the people present was able to stop it!

"Ah!!!" 

There was a muffled sound then followed by a scream.

The right hand of the big man who was slapping the table was actually nailed to the table by the flying sharp weapon! The big man who was beaming with joy just now had a hideous face, and his facial features were twisted together. As his left hand subconsciously went to pull out the "hidden weapon", yet at this moment, he realized that it was not a sharp weapon, but only a bamboo chopstick provided in the inn.

However, it was such a bamboo chopstick, that this big man who always boasted of his extraordinary power, couldn't pull it out. As soon as he applied force, it broke from the middle with a snap.

"Who is it!" The faces of those Jianghu men all changed, they stood up slowly and revealed their weapons, pointing to the corner where the hidden weapon came from, as if they were facing a big enemy. The shopkeeper and the waiter’s legs and feet softened, and they dared not make a sound.

In the corner, the handsome young man in navy blue and the silent and pale attendant in black were still sitting quietly.

The young man raised his graceful neck and took a sip of the wine. But the attendant in black glanced coldly at the crowd, his eyes were as cold as a knife with its edge stained in blood.

With a movement of his pale fingers, the only remaining bamboo chopstick gracefully twirled in a circle between his fingers, and landed heavily on the table with a "clang".

It was Mo Ren who did it.

Chu Yan leisurely sipped from the rim of his wine cup, thinking to himself that Ah Ren really was protecting him. The smug smile on his face couldn't be concealed.

He turned a blind eye to the weapons pointing this way, just leaned over to his guard, blew a breath in Mo Ren's ear maliciously, and whispered, "Alas...Ah Ren, just now, the ones who spoke about this Master, don’t worry about it."

“.......”

Mo Ren was silent.

After teasing his own guard, Chu Yan was finally willing to stand up straight, looked around at the gleaming weapons, let go and put the wine cup on the table, and said with a sneer, "Everyone, sit down. Today is just a small punishment. When walking in the Jianghu in the future, you'll have to learn to use your tongue less and your mind more.”

What he said was extremely wild, all that was present either held their breaths or stared angrily, but Chu Yan didn't care, he stretched out his hand and pulled Mo Ren, saying, "Of course, if anyone refuses to accept my words, then just give it a try." After speaking, he took a step forward, bypassed the shopkeeper and the waiter who were too scared to speak, and went straight upstairs.

"You......!" These Jianghu men were all bloody manly men. Just now, their brother was injured and was treated with such contempt. Several of them couldn't help but want to jump out and fight. But before a person could shout out and step forward, a middle-aged man in linen cloth suddenly took the lead, stood up and shouted, "That's enough, sit down everyone!"

The voice was as majestic as a bell, and a group of brothers who were red-eyed and gritted their teeth were also silenced by him. 

The middle-aged man in linen turned around, cupped his fists on the stairs, and with a flushed face, he said, "This Young Master, our brothers are all rough people from the mountains and fields, just now, it's all unintentional words. If they offended the Young Master somewhere, hoping the Young Master would not blame them!"