You’ve Got Mail: A Cautionary Tale - Chapter 22

Chapter 22 — Who Exactly Was That Person?

He did not know whether it was because he knew Guan Shanjin was about to leave, but Wu Xingzi too started treasuring their times spent together.

He took the initiative to stretch his tongue out, licking across Guan Shanjin’s lips. It was then caught and sucked upon. Only when he was short of breath did he start struggling before it was released.

“Why are you so obedient today?” Guan Shanjin raised his brow. Adviser Wu lowered his head shyly and did not speak.

Guan Shanjin had no intentions of forcing an answer out of him. Drinking a flask of wine, he was clearly in a good mood and asked the server to serve the dishes. He called Wu Xingzi to eat, while he sat by the window, drinking. Next to him was a weiqi set, which he was playing with, in a happy and contented manner.

Soon, the entire table of dishes were wiped clean. Wu Xingzi patted his tummy in satisfaction, as he sipped his tea. He seemed very interested in Guan Shanjin’s game and dragged a chair over to watch.

“Do you know how to play weiqi?” Guan Shanjin was playing both sides, and the black and white pieces were all over the board. However, the white pieces seemed to have the advantage, hiding their capabilities and biding their time. Without any hints, the white pieces engulfed the black pieces.

“Isn’t it boring to play weiqi by yourself?” The white pieces would know what the black pieces were going to do, and the same went for the black pieces. Wouldn’t the victory have already been decided?

Guan Shanjin smiled and explained, “This has the same logic as arranging the formation of your army. During a war, you cannot only create your own formation, but you’ll have to understand the enemy’s formation as well. That’s what it means by mapping out a strategy now, and being successful in the future. Leading an army into battle is not to compare who has better martial arts, but who is more astute, who is more vicious, who can react faster, and who is luckier.”

“Who is luckier?” Wu Xingzi tilted his head, looking blank. He could understand what Guan Shanjin said at the beginning, but as for luck, that was a little unreliable. This was something that was out of the control of humans, and they could only pray to the heavens.

He had thought that Guan Shanjin did not believe in such mystical things.

He did not realise that he had said that aloud. Guan Shanjin laughed cheerfully, “Why would I not believe in them? Going onto the battlefield is risky business, once we’re there, we never think about coming back. In this world, there’s no such thing as a perfect strategy and formation, and no one is perfect. There is bound to be a weakness for people to breach. When I’m speculating what they’re thinking, won’t they be doing the same to me? After seeing so much of life and death, I’ve learnt that many victories and losses do not depend on how detailed a strategy is, but who has the greater luck. This is very hard to put into words, but most of us do hold it in awe.”

“Oh, it’s like this.” Wu Xingzi nodded, not fully comprehending it. He watched as the white pieces finally demolished the black pieces, while Guan Shanjin looked even more gentle and relaxed than any other time. In his eyes, there was a faint amusement, and also an unlimited charm.

“This game is that battle where I conquered the southern barbarians. The southern barbarian king was captured live by me and delivered to the capital. Our calvary stampeded into the king’s throne, and the eldest son of the king had no choice but to surrender. I also conveniently helped him deal with a few of his disobedient brothers.” All the way to the south of the board, only a small pile of black pieces were left. They too had been scattered, looking pitiful and lonesome.

“Do you miss the days of killing your enemies on the battlefield?” Wu Xingzi vaguely felt that his words were not quite right, but what he first noticed was the sentiment and pride in Guan Shanjin’s eyes. Southern Xinjiang had been calm for five years, and under the defense of the South Garrison General, it was likely that Southern Xinjiang would be unable to stir any major trouble in the next twenty or thirty years. Other than the occasional suppressing of bandits, the soldiers who had been used to war would definitely feel a little at a loss for what to do.

“Why would I? The situation on the battlefield is treacherous, and one careless mistake can result in dying in a foreign place. The price civilians have to pay is even greater, so who would like war?” Guan Shanjin sighed as he separated the black and white pieces. “Want to have a game with me?”

“I’m not good at weiqi.” Wu Xingzi blushed slightly. He had played a few years of weiqi with his father when he was a child. However, at that time he was young, and he only played for fun. After that, he was alone. Even though it was not considered busy in the magistrate’s office, he had lost any pleasure in playing it.

“It doesn’t matter, we can just play it for fun.” He pushed the white pieces to Wu Xingzi. “I’ll give you 25 pieces then.”

“Thank you, thank you.” Adviser Wu rubbed at the tip of his nose and did not stand on courtesy. He did understand what was going on in the previous game, and Guan Shanjin’s skills were not something he could compare with. This was really just simply playing a game with the General.

After arranging the pieces properly, the game was considered to have started.

However, in less than fifteen minutes, Wu Xingzi had pretty much been annihilated by Guan Shanjin. It looked like he had no chance to recover at all, lingering on and holding out till his very last breath. It happened to be Wu Xingzi’s turn, and he randomly put a piece down, as if he was not looking at the board at all.

This was not the first time he had done this. It should be said that after placing the twenty-five pieces down, Wu Xingzi was playing with this sort of relaxed, carefree attitude. Not only did he not speculate about Guan Shanjin’s strategy, he was not even bothered by how Guan Shanjin placed his pieces. This was no longer going with the flow. He was completely detached from the game and was not the least bit concerned about the results of the game.

“Why did you make this move?” Guan Shanjin weighed the piece in his hand. His fair fingers contrasted with the shining black pieces made of agate, extremely eye-catching.

Unfortunately, the beauty had his brows knitted. His expression could not be described as being unhappy, but he seemed to be deep in thought.

“There’s not really a reason. I’m just not good at weiqi. Since there’s a space for me to put my piece here, I just put it down.” Wu Xingzi rubbed his nose, blushing as he looked down.

In the past, his father had said that his nature was unsuitable for weiqi. Ignoring his innate talent, his character was too indifferent, and he did not hunger for victory. A person like this playing weiqi, winning or losing would not matter to them and naturally, they often just pleased people instead.

“Is that so?” Guan Shanjin tossed the piece in his hand back into the box. “It’s impossible for you to win now. I’ll beat you in seven steps, so we should just stop here.” Clearly sighing a breath of relief, Wu Xingzi happily packed up the weiqi set. Compared to playing the game, he was more interested in the material used to make the set. Reluctant to put them down, he touched them a few more times before packing them all up.

“Can you drink?” When Adviser Wu had his hands empty, Guan Shanjin pulled him into his arms and they both admired the scenery outside the window.

Despite the bleak winter, the far away mountains were still a dark, lush green.

“I only have a small drink occasionally,” Wu Xingzi licked his lips, sounding a little regretful.

“I’m here today. If you want to drink, just drink. Carrying a drunkard back home isn’t any trouble for me.” Laughing gently, Guan Shanjin pressed a cup into Wu Xingzi’s hand, filling it up with Kongsang liquor. “This is vintage, you won’t be able to drink it even if you have money. The owner of Restaurant of Songs is a great friend of Su Yang, and so he spared me one and a half litres of this liquor. There’s no more even if you want it.”

The fragrance of the liquor filled their noses, and the sweet-sourish note of the mulberry could be distinguished. Wu Xingzi recalled the taste that he had licked from Beauty Guan’s lips just now and naturally hungered for it. He quickly drank a large mouthful, tasting it carefully with the tip of his tongue.

As expected, the flavour was rich and mellow. Compared to the common Kongsang liquor available in the restaurant, there was an additional smooth silkiness to it. The refreshing spiciness as it entered the throat was like a pebble rolling in a river, without any sharp edges yet there was not a loss in intensity at all.

“Very tasty.” In less than three mouthfuls, the cup was empty. Wu Xingzi smacked his lips, his face reddening. His gentle eyes seemed as though they had just been washed clean, extremely bright.

His stomach was comfortably warm, and the warmth travelled with his blood and diffused throughout his body. In no time, he felt as though he was tucked under a thick blanket, and it was so cosy that it made him chortle.

“Another cup?” Guan Shanjin filled Wu Xingzi’s cup to the brim again. The adviser smiled foolishly without any rejection. Sipping at his cup, he emptied it again.

In this manner, three cups were emptied into his stomach. Adviser Wu was now drunk and in a daze. Rubbing his red face into Guan Shanjin’s chest, he mumbled about feeling warm.

Taking the cup back, Guan Shanjin poured himself a cup. As he patted the discontented person in his arms, he looked out at the mountains as he finished his cup.

Although the Kongsang liquor was dry, tart and sweet, its aftereffect was very strong. If not for Guan Shanjin’s formidable inner force, as well as his innate ability of not getting drunk easily, it would not be possible for him to still remain clear headed after finishing a flask and a half by himself.

Wu Xingzi fussed about for a while, and finally obediently nuzzled into Guan Shanjin’s neck. Intoxicatedly, he sniffed at the man’s scent, murmuring, “I like your scent… I like your scent…”

“If you like it, I’ll get someone to prepare a box for you.” His sensitive neck was itchy from Wu Xingzi’s ministrations, but Guan Shanjin allowed him to continue.

“No need no need, don’t give me anything. I… I’m very well…” This gentle promise made Wu Xingzi tremble. His silly smile faded away, and he hunched over dejectedly.

“What happened?” Suspicion welled in Guan Shanjin’s heart. Looking down, he scraped at the fleshy tip of Wu Xingzi’s nose. Out of nowhere, he found Wu Xingzi’s ordinary face, that was now drunk and red, adorable.

Guan Shanjin was not especially bothered when this thought flashed through his mind. As long as Wu Xingzi carried the shadow of Mr Lu, was it not natural that he would think that he was adorable?

“Don’t give me anything… You don’t have to do so…” Wu Xingzi scrunched his nose, his face earnest with traces of blankness. He seemed to be worried and reiterated again, “Don’t give me anything, you mustn’t give me anything.”

“Why? Don’t you like the smell of this incense?” Tightening his arms around him, Guan Shanjin was really curious, and he could not stop himself from asking. “Tell me the reason, and I’ll decide whether I’ll give it to you.”

“Tell you the reason?” Perplexed, Wu Xingzi blinked. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Guan Shanjin’s neck, pulling that beautiful face closer to himself and stared at him in concentration.

As he stared and stared, Wu Xingzi smiled bashfully.

“What’s wrong?”

“You’re really good looking…” Wu Xingzi sighed emotionally. Pouting his plump lips, he laid a kiss on those petal-like lips and could not stop smiling foolishly.

“Do you like me?” Guan Shanjin put the cup down. Snaking one arm around Wu Xingzi’s slender waist, he pinched his chin with his other hand, feeling exulted.

Wu Xingzi giggled. Looking at him for a moment, his eyes lowered feebly, but he did not answer his question.

This was very different from how he usually was like. Normally, Wu Xingzi was shy and timid. He had an inferiority complex, was frank and not artful, looking as though he had no troubles. Even when the villagers were talking about him behind his back, he did not even get angry. He did not let anything affect him, and all he thought about was The Pengornisseur. Not even Guan Shanjin was able to make him become a little selfish.

Now, he looked dispirited, avoiding Guan Shanjin’s gaze. He no longer seemed drunk, but carried a trace of desolation and sadness. His entire person was somewhat stiff, and with his head bowed, he did not say a word.

His intuition told him that this had something to do with Wu Xingzi’s nonchalant attitude. General Guan could not resist lifting Wu Xingzi’s face up with his fingers, coaxing him gently, “Why did you suddenly turn sad? Tell me about it?”

“Tell you about it?” Wu Xingzi blinked his eyes slowly, staring straight at Guan Shanjin. A moment later, he opened his mouth, “Haven’t you left already?”

“You really want me to leave this much?” His face could not help but darken. Guan Shanjin recalled his conversation with Adviser Wu from a few days ago. This old fellow only wished that he would quickly leave so that he could go to collect The Pengornisseur, and he still thought he did not know about it? He had purposely assigned Hei’er to follow him, and it was also to give Rancui a warning.

He still had yet to get sick of him, and nobody should even think about touching him.

“No… I don’t want you to leave.” Wu Xingzi blinked, and a tear suddenly rolled down his face. Guan Shanjin was a little angry at first, but now his heart ached, and he hugged and patted Wu Xingzi to console him.

Other than on the bed, Wu Xingzi had never cried before, and he did not look like someone who would easily cry. Guan Shanjin had asked Li Jian, the Qingcheng County’s magistrate, many things about Adviser Wu, and it could be said that he had a pretty thorough understanding of this old fellow. Adviser Wu was friendly yet detached. He seemed very caring towards everyone, but he also never let anything affect him. Twenty odd years had gone by with him living alone, and his life was calm and ordinary. A few years ago, he had even decided on a gravesite and had been happy for quite a number of days.

“If you don’t want me to leave, then I won’t.” Guan Shanjin had not expected that these tears would make his heart ache so much. Even more so, he had not thought that Wu Xingzi would speak so coolly, and yet he would feel such a loss internally. It made him feel extremely tender towards him, and he kissed him softly as he coaxed, “I’m not in a hurry to return to Bastion City. It’s enough to have Man Yue there. It’s no trouble for me to accompany you for a few more months, don’t cry anymore.”

“No you can’t… No you can’t…” Wu Xingzi obediently sprawled in his embrace, his tears still flowing non-stop. Guan Shanjin’s chest was soon soaked, and the warm tears seemed to contain a blistering flame, burning his skin painfully.

“Yes I can, I’m the one who decides everything in Bastion City. You don’t have to worry.” A gentle kiss landed on top of Wu Xingzi’s head. Guan Shanjin felt a little panicked, he tried his best to make a promise, but still could not stop those tears.

Then he heard Adviser Wu sob softly as he mumbled, “You have to rush to the capital for your examination, I can’t delay you… I’ll wait for you, I’ll wait for your return. Whether it’s a year or two, or even ten years, I’ll be waiting, you will definitely return with honours!”

Rush to the capital for my examination?

When these words entered Guan Shanjin’s ears, his brows creased, and he was filled with bitterness.

So, the person Wu Xingzi was missing as he cried, it was not him?

Who exactly was this person? He knew very well that ever since his parents passed away when he was sixteen, there had been no one else by Wu Xingzi’s side. He had once liked that beancurd lad Ansheng, but once he knew that Ansheng and Constable Zhang were life partners, he no longer thought about him. It seemed as though he had immediately forgot about this matter.

So it turned out that Wu Xingzi was not nonchalant, but that he already had someone in his heart?

Who exactly was this person?!

General Guan was angry and upset. Pressing his hand against his chest, he almost vomited blood.

However, Adviser Wu, drunk and disoriented as he was, choked pitifully as he sold himself out, “I, I know that your biggest desire is to bring honour to your family name. Zaizong-xiong, you’re talented and knowledgeable, this little Goose City cannot trap you, this big Peng¹. You should go to the capital and become the top scholar!”

Zaizong-xiong? This name sounds very familiar…

Guan Shanjin did not interrupt Wu Xingzi’s chattering. In his head, he searched for the identity of this person as he pieced together the story from Wu Xingzi’s lips.

“You don’t have to worry about your travelling expenses. I have some silver ingots on hand, and there’s only me in my family. You can take them first.” Wu Xingzi lifted his head, his face full of sincerity.