Chapter 7: Jiang Yi’s request

At dinner, I didn’t see Ji Qing, nor did I see the old man with the red face. I casually asked Zheng Daxia for a few words and learned that they had left in the afternoon before dinner.

As for the reason, he didn’t go into detail, but Zheng Daxia was afraid that I would misunderstand and think it had something to do with me, so he said to me, “I don’t know the detailed reason, but I heard that it was probably because of something at the martial arts school.”

I responded, but I didn’t pay too much attention. At the time, I thought that Ji Qing was just a small cause and effect of my master’s careless words. When the time was right, I would go to his door to apologize, be sincere, and it would be over… it really wasn’t worth keeping in mind.

The atmosphere at dinner was still very lively, because most of the people were leaving the next day. On this night, everyone was also drinking and talking about old times. It turns out that Hucun is a village where these martial arts schools have joined together. Among them, many people have come to protect Hucun.

In the midst of the lively and peaceful atmosphere, I drank too much without realizing it. I always thought I wasn’t a heavy drinker, but after following my master for many years, I watched him drink a glass of wine when he had nothing to do when I was a child, and when I grew up, I accompanied him to drink a glass of wine when I had nothing to do.

Knowing that I had drunk too much meant that I was only half drunk, and fortunately, I was only half drunk, because just as the excitement was at its peak, a clear knock came from outside the door. After someone opened the door, I saw Jiang Yi standing behind it, along with a few people who followed him.

Most people here don’t know Jiang Yi, because they don’t have the contacts to get to know him. However, the older generation, those with some status, must know Jiang Yi, as can be seen from the few who hurriedly went to greet Jiang Yi and the others who stood up to greet him.

Jiang Yi still had that same expression of calmness, and he still responded to others’ greetings with the same tone of the news broadcast. It was extremely difficult for others to see anything from his face or hear anything from his voice.

Lu Shan was sitting next to me. When he saw Jiang Yi, I saw his hand shake a little as he poured the wine into his bowl. Then he gulped down the wine in one gulp, looked at me meaningfully, then stood up and walked towards Jiang Yi. He stood in front of Jiang Yi and bowed.

Jiang Yi looked at Lu Shan, his expression and eyes did not change at all, he just nodded lightly and then walked towards me.

I didn’t feel anything. Maybe the alcohol had made me forget how nervous I was. I lit a cigarette, stood up, waved at Jiang, and shouted, “Oh, the boss is here? I’ve been waiting for you for a long time?”

My tone made Zheng, who had just greeted Jiangyi and sat down, look terrified. After all, he never imagined that I would speak to Jiangyi in such a carefree tone. I smiled bitterly to myself. I had already rushed into the office to talk to Jiangyi about the terms of the deal. Not being so carefree would only arouse Jiangyi’s suspicion.

I’m probably the first person in the entire circle to treat Jiangyi with such an attitude. No, I should be the first among the younger generation! Jenny is a hundred times more arrogant than I am.

As I greeted him, Jiang Yi glanced at me. In fact, he looked the same whether he looked at me or not, but this time I inexplicably felt that his gaze was different. But what kind of emotion it was, he hid it too deeply, I couldn’t understand or guess.

“Chen Chengyi, be careful with the tone of your voice.” Lushan’s voice came into my ears. This kid was pretending this time, but when I thought about what I had discussed with Lushan in the afternoon, I pretended to look at Lushan disdainfully and then sat down obediently.

“It’s fine. The Li family has always been a free-spirited family. If you tell them the rules, they’ll just get annoyed.” Jiang Yi was still watching the news. After I sat down, he said this in a neutral tone. Anyway, I couldn’t tell if it was true or not. Anyway, when he spoke, he sat down next to me.

Lushan, however, dared not sit down and stood behind Jiang Yi in a proper manner.

Once Jiang Yi sat down, many people came to toast him. I thought he wouldn’t accept, but he drank them all without a word. After drinking so many, his face didn’t change at all, still the same as before. After finishing, he said to everyone, “Jiang Yi is grateful for everyone’s enthusiasm, but I still have things to do, so I won’t stay with you.”

Jiang Yi had already given the face he was supposed to give, so who would dare say no? Everyone quickly agreed, and then Jiang Yi whispered to Zheng Daxia, “Would you be so kind as to prepare a quiet room for me?”

How dare Zheng not respond? He quickly gave the order.

Ten minutes later, Lu Shan and I arrived in Jiang Yi’s room, and the entourage was sent to other rooms by Jiang Yi.

Sitting behind the desk in the room, Jiang Yi’s fingers tapped on the table, looking at me and Lushan without saying a word.

Lushan stood straight, not looking away, while I leaned against the wall, looking at Jiang Yi without any hesitation. However, Jiang Yi’s gaze was calm, and there was an inexplicable pressure. After just a few glances, I inexplicably straightened up and inexplicably dared not be so carefree.

After a minute of silence, Jiang Yi spoke up: “Chen Chengyi, Lushan is reporting to me on his work. Why are you following him around?”

Lushan still looked straight ahead and didn’t say anything, but I said, “I just wanted to see if this stubborn kid would say anything bad about me.”

“Stubborn and unyielding?” Jiang Yi pondered for a moment, then looked at Lushan and suddenly said, “Why was I not informed of the operation at the Lake of a Thousand Ghosts beforehand? Instead, I only received the news from other channels afterwards?”

After saying this, Jiang Yi stood up and looked at Lu Shan and said, “Give me an explanation?”

Lu Shan pretended to hesitate and looked at me, while Jiang Yi said to me, “This is obviously going to be bad for you. Why don’t you go out and wait first?”

Although it was a question, the tone was simply not negotiable. I pretended to be slow and went out, then stood in the hallway outside and lit a cigarette.

I knew what Lushan was going to say because he had discussed it with me before. His plan was not very reliable, and I didn’t think he could fool Jiangyi, so I came up with the idea of letting him put the blame on me first.

After that, I would pretend to have a little bit of affection for Lushan, and Lushan would declare his infinite loyalty to Jiangyi, and we would have a chance to continue.

I don’t know why I arranged the positioning of Lu Shan and me like this, but my intuition tells me that this is the only feasible way.

Time passed by, and I was inexplicably nervous. The few cigarette butts on the ground already explained the problem. Just when I was about to lose patience, Lushan came out, looking very unhappy. But he quietly made a gesture to me, which meant that everything was going well.

“You can go in,” Lushan said to me.

I nodded and walked towards the room. As we passed each other, Lushan’s unusually low voice reached my ears: “It’s strange. He didn’t mention wanting to see Tao Bai, but it’s very likely that he’ll go with you instead.”

I walked past Lu Shan and entered Jiang Yi’s room.

In the room, Jiang Yi was putting on his jacket, and as he buttoned it up, he said to me, “Chengyi, I’ve learned about the general situation of the Lake of a Thousand Demons. Now, will you accompany me to the Lake of a Thousand Demons?”

“Now?” For some reason, when I heard Jiang Yi say this, goosebumps rose all over my body. A sense of danger suddenly exploded in my heart, and my subconscious mind was already screaming frantically, “Don’t go! Don’t go!

But Jiangyi was looking at me at the moment, and his gaze had a meaning that I couldn’t put into words. It reminded me that if I refused, the consequences would be very serious.

This is the first time I have encountered a dangerous situation where I can’t retreat or advance, but I still haven’t forgotten that I promised Luoshan to help him stall for time. Now that Jiangyi hasn’t mentioned Tao Bai, it doesn’t mean that he won’t mention it later.

Cold sweat wet my palms. I pretended to put my hands in my pockets with ease, and said to Jiang Yi with a puzzled and impatient expression: “Now? You called me just to ask me to accompany you to the Lake of a Thousand Ghosts? Who else can do it? It’s so late at night.”

Jiang Yi finally looked away when he saw me speak, and continued to button up his shirt. Then he said, “You’re the one. Why would I need anyone else? What are you afraid of if you’re with me? If you had informed me before you made your move, you wouldn’t have been so embarrassed at the Lake of a Thousand Ghosts.”

His words made no sense, but somehow they positioned our relationship to a certain extent, to the point where it wouldn’t be strange for us to go somewhere together. If I refused, it would be me who seemed strange.

I had no choice but to agree.

Jiang Yi was very decisive. He dressed and took me straight out the door. When we reached the gate, I heard his entourage report that he had already borrowed a boat from Mr. Zheng and his friends. I realized that this was his original plan. Why?

Jiangyi walked ahead, never looking back, and he didn’t finish speaking.

I walked behind him, not knowing what to say, just watching Jiangyi’s tall back, and a dangerous feeling welled up in my heart. I hoped that the kid from Lushan would be smarter and think of a way out for me.

Will I have to completely break with Jiang Yi this time? But why should I? He never offended me from beginning to end, but I inexplicably don’t completely trust him, and I’m on guard against him. How did it come to this?

I don’t understand. In the silence, we have already left the village.