The abrupt shift in Zhang Jianyuan's eyes didn't escape Sun Lang. His thoughts seen through, the head incense-master grew a little flustered, calculating how he ought to answer in a moment.
"First, before you answer, I'd like you to understand one thing — don't lie." Sun Lang said earnestly. "You see, we went to all this trouble, even offending you lot today, just to hear the truth. If you lie, I'll be put in a very awkward spot... and if I'm in an awkward spot, I won't be able to make things pleasant for you, brother. Truly."
He fished another small iron can from his pocket, a motion that made Zhang Jianyuan's heart lurch — barring surprises, the Xiuchun Hall head incense-master would, from today on, develop a degree of psychological trauma toward cylindrical objects. Sun Lang waggled the little can before him. "This thing, you see, is canned herring. That's right — a traditional food of a certain barbarian nation..."
He set the little can on the ground and produced another small cylinder, dangling it before Zhang Jianyuan. "And this is a medicinal tonic, a Grand Cosmic Galaxy Prized Elixir I brewed from such marvelous substances as snake-tongue grass, pine-knight black sand, and screaming red mangrove leaf. Not only is it drinkable, it has many other super-awesome functions besides... it aids digestion, cleanses the gut, and after a sip, perhaps you'll grasp the true meaning of the universe."
"And then I had a creative idea: if these two unidentified substances were combined into one, what beautiful sparks might they strike off?" So saying, Sun Lang produced, from who-knows-where, a length of soft rubber tubing. "This thing, as you can see, is a hollow rubber tube, very elastic, that lets liquid pass through and guides its flow, so I can pour any liquid into whatever... mm, cavity I please."
His expression was most kindly. He thought a moment, then added, "Be it the nasal cavity, the oral cavity, the intestinal cavity — or even poured into the old urethra, it would surely be excellent..."
Zhang Jianyuan's lips were trembling a little.
"Sorry to frighten you, how rude of me — but please do believe this is already a very gentle measure. I have to ensure our conversation proceeds in friendliness and candor, and I must also do my utmost to guarantee your personal safety and life come to no harm — that's the ground rule she and I agreed on." Sun Lang cocked his head slightly, glancing sidelong at the Zhang Yinluo behind him, then secretly shot Zhang Jianyuan an it's-not-my-choice look.
Wh... what does that mean? You mean if I fall into this woman's hands I'd be far worse off? Yeesh — thinking of aphrodisiacs and wolfhounds and such, it's true... And what's a "ground rule"? An agreement? You mean this fellow knows this woman's cruel nature well, so to spare more people from harm he goes against his own heart to do these cruel things, and even made a pact with the woman that she mustn't harm anyone's life?
And so, between Sun Lang's mild exterior and earnest words and his righteous bearing, and his shameless trick of ceaselessly, subtly slinging mud at a certain constable, Zhang Jianyuan's by-now habitual thinking had been led all the way to the abyss. With that goal achieved, the errant launched his attack-the-heart tactics anew. "Now, please, tell us about Qin Yu... You must be her superior, right? Are you on good terms? Then let us explain why we've come... believe it or not, we came to save her. She slipped up last night and was taken by the Six Gates' eagle-claws, but was then snatched away en route..."
Heedless of the cold gaze of the Six Gates' eagle-claw behind him, Sun Lang said gently, "But from your reaction, the ones who took Qin Yu weren't your people, were they?"
Zhang Jianyuan still wavered. He gazed at Sun Lang and said hesitantly, "Save her?"
"Yes, we came to save her." Sun Lang said gravely. "I won't hide it from you — the reason she was snatched is also a responsibility we can't shirk, and so we must bring her back no matter what. She may have broken the law, but that's no reason for others to carry her off at will, mete out private punishment, even harm her as they please..."
Hey... hey hey hey! If I remember right, your earlier attitude was "it's her own fate, none of my damn business," wasn't it? You didn't even want to get involved at the start!
Zhang Yinluo sucked in a cold breath. She truly couldn't believe anyone in the world could be shameless to this degree.
Zhang Jianyuan, meanwhile, gave a bitter laugh. "She's a... thief. None of us are in honest trades. In this line, it'd be no surprise to die the very next moment — why wade into this muddy water..."
"If she's a thief, I'll still save her." Sun Lang smiled lightly. "In this world, some things, in the end, need someone to do them. Perhaps the her of before truly was an unscrupulous thief who scorned justice and chivalry — but I think the her of now is perhaps shut in some dark room, weeping and struggling amid base and contemptible leers. Never in her life has she longed for another's help as she does now, never so hoped that justice and light exist in this world. If that is what she hopes for, then I am willing to reach out my hand, pull her back into the light, and give her a chance to start over..."
His words were calm and sincere, yet they held a power that made one involuntarily believe — as if in those eyes, weathered by countless hardships yet still pure, there truly shone a light called hope... Zhang Jianyuan's gaze went hazy, a flicker of remembrance in it. Perhaps he too recalled the hot-blooded youth of his own riding days in the jianghu — but punishing evil and exalting good, repaying kindness and grudge with a free heart, drawing clean lines between the two, was not the true face of this jianghu, this age. It was in truth a pool of black, dead water: glittering, clear, and lovely on the surface, but fall in and you'd find yourself surrounded by despairing darkness on every side.
He smiled bitterly. "Your sort... won't live long."
Sun Lang smiled. "Good men die young, bad men live a thousand years, is that it? I'm rather curious — I'd like to give it a try."
Try — try your head, you bastard! You really are curious, aren't you?! You've already prepared to live a few thousand, a few ten-thousand years, haven't you, you world's-number-one shameless, sanctimonious villain!
Those were my goddamn lines just now, you bastard! Those are words I said, you bastard! Why is it that when I say them I get mocked and shot down and criticized every which way, while you, you shameless creature, recite my words with fake sincerity and move someone to this?! You vile, shameless, loathsome, hypocritical bastard! If I hadn't long since seen what kind of bastard you are, I'd have been moved too the first time I heard you say such a thing, you hypocrite!
Mercifully, Zhang Yinluo grasped the larger picture. Though on the very edge of exploding, she deeply restrained her inner fury and didn't flip the table and curse outright. But her ever-darkening expression, like black clouds bearing down on a city wall, was, fittingly enough, read by Zhang Jianyuan as this savage woman's patience has been ground to its limit. After a moment's war of heaven and man, the head incense-master said slowly, "You're right... Qin Yu, she may really be in trouble."
"May be?" Sun Lang arched a brow. "How so?"
"We had an agreement: before dawn each day, whether on a job or otherwise inconvenienced, she had to find a way to send me word she was safe... Before this she kept it daily, through wind and rain — even when inconvenienced she'd have someone carry a letter or leave a mark. Only today, I waited a long while and there was no word at all." Zhang Jianyuan sighed. "She really is in trouble... 'Greed' — that one word truly is the great taboo of this trade."
Sun Lang mused, "Did she take a job she shouldn't have?"
"Just so..." The head incense-master shook his head, a flicker of regret in his eyes. "I should have stopped her... I urged her many times, but she's always had a mind of her own and chafed at the hall's authority. Perhaps I indulged her too much. About a month ago, a mysterious patron came to our door, naming Qin Yu specifically to do a job. The terms were peculiar — they even had Qin Yu sign a confidentiality pact, forbidding her to reveal any detail of the task to anyone. I found it very strange and meant to refuse, but Qin Yu was won over: she said the price was good and the work easy, yet she wouldn't breathe a word of it... These past days she lived very freely, scattering money like dirt. But one day, drunk, she suddenly told me she might have gotten into trouble, that she could no longer extract herself, and thanked me for my care and kindness over the years — and said that if anything happened to her, I should remember to burn a stick of incense for her at the festivals..."
The errant said, "You surely investigated in secret. Any result?"
"The other side was very wary; I learned nothing... Qin Yu is one of the most skilled in our hall. Her stealth isn't top-tier, but almost no one could ever successfully tail her — and that patron was even more mysterious. Worried for Qin Yu's safety, I once sent people to investigate quietly. Not only was it futile, they were warned off with a show of force. It was precisely that which made me start fearing for her." Zhang Jianyuan sighed again. "Today I still clung to a sliver of luck — only once you came and spoke did I confirm it utterly. Qin Yu really is in trouble... Who but someone with true designs on her would dare snatch a prisoner from the Six Gates?"
"I think I understand..." Sun Lang nodded. "Which is to say, perhaps she unwittingly stumbled onto the employer's secret, or got caught up in some scheme of the employer's, so the employer wants to silence her — or the employer's enemies and rivals carried her off to interrogate her? Just those two possibilities, right..."
"That's my thinking too. A pity I couldn't trace a single piece of information on them." Zhang Jianyuan said dejectedly. "There's always a slip-up in this trade; every year some figure of the underworld retires in disgrace or perishes body and soul. But... haah, I won't even get the chance to gather her bones, because I'm not even fit to stand before the ones who harmed her — I simply can't find them..."
He lifted his head and gazed at Sun Lang. "If everything you've said is true, if you truly mean to save Qin Yu, then I advise you — best give it up. You..."
"We won't give up, because I made a promise to someone." Sun Lang smiled. "I promised her: alive, we'll have her in person; dead, we'll have her corpse. However great the monster barring my way, I'll fight at her side. So long as she won't retreat, neither will I... A promise made to another must be kept. I will find Qin Yu — believe me."
Zhang Jianyuan's eyes even showed signs of reddening.
Zhang Yinluo hadn't the strength left even to snark — dressing up an extortion deal steeped in evil, coldness, mercenary calculation, and shamelessness in such grand and dignified terms, this guy really was... beyond saving.
Zhang Jianyuan was silent a moment, then suddenly laughed freely. "Enough, enough. Since you, strangers both, would brave death for her, what more is there for me to say... I'll go arrange my affairs, hand over my duties, and count me in on this—"
"No need, friend, you have more important things to do." Sun Lang laid a hand on the shoulder of Zhang Jianyuan not fouled by herring juice and said warmly, "You can't get involved, because they're surely keeping an eye on you. If you take part, not only will your life be forfeit, even those around you will be dragged in... Leave this matter to us for now. I ask only one thing of you: please provide us with any helpful news and leads you can... Oh, right — did Qin Yu have any secret dwelling? Perhaps useful clues could be found there..."
"Yes, yes — Qin Yu has a secret residence, known only to her and me, used when we made contact... haah, I don't even know whether I ought to go search it." Zhang Jianyuan said with a sigh. "Since you insist... then I'll tell you the location. Master Sun, I never thought there was still a man of such loyal, generous spirit in this world, willing to brave grave danger himself rather than let me be dragged in..."
Zhang Yinluo watched coldly from the side, the corner of her mouth twitching faintly — no, no, no, I think he probably just finds you very much in the way...