Chapter 88: I Can Only Help You This Much Part Three

“Drawing circles and playing with ants,” Fang Jie replied.

Xiang Qingniu asked, “Who is the big ant?”

After a moment of pause, Fang Jie pointed at himself and asked, “Me?”

“Congratulations, you aren’t foolishly dumb,” Xiang Qingniu snorted and said, “Do you really think that you can leave the Capital without anyone knowing? BS! Do you see the stick in my hand? The Royal Guard, the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice… All these agencies have this stick, and they can easily turn you into a meat paste.”

“The reason why this stick is drawing circles and hasn’t crushed you is that someone influential spoke for you. The fact that the stick hasn’t landed on you doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t in the future.”

Fang Jie frowned and asked, “The only thing that can prevent the stick from landing on me is the hand that is holding the stick.”

Xiang Qingniu clapped his hands and laughed, “I knew you are smart! Then, guess who temporarily stopped this hand from killing you?”

“Could it be you?” Fang Jie asked in surprise.

Xiang Qingniu inhaled and raised his chest that even girls would be jealous of before speaking with pride, “Of course! Let’s go.”

“Where?” Fang Jie asked.

Xiang Qingniu smiled and said proudly, “There is a tea shop not far away. Although the shop only sells the cheapest tea, its business is great as the people who finally get close to Chang’an must be thirsty. It sells thousands of bowls of tea. Even if a bowl of tea is one cash coin, that is a lot of money. Of course, the key thing is that there is a stick waiting for you. It is very tough. You better walk fast if you don’t want to be poked.”

“Why should I go?” Fang Jie asked while rolling his eyes.

“Because you can’t run,” Xiang Qingniu said as he walked first, “You can try if you want.”

…

There were a few simple wooden sheds built on the side of the road, and there were about a dozen clean tables and dozens of chairs. This simple tea shop served thousands of customers a day, and a big pot of water was boiling now.

Fang Jie told Mu Xiaoyao, Chen Qingshan, and Da Quan to stay where they were, and he followed Xiang Qingniu to this place.

From afar, Fang Jie noticed that he should pay attention to several people in here. Four men in fancy clothes were sitting at a table to the right. Although they had bowls of tea before them, the bowls weren’t touched.

At the table in the middle, there was only one person. It was hard to tell the age of this man; if Fang Jie were to guess, he would say that this man was about 30 years ago. However, this man also appeared to be 50 years old. Although he had no wrinkles on his face, the vicissitude in his eyes could only be obtained after experiencing many big events and life-and-death moments.

At the table to the left, there was also a man.

This man was in white, and he looked like a handsome young master. He was drinking tea with his head lowered, looking like an unworldly white lotus, but Fang Jie felt like this man was staring at him.

Silk net surrounded a place deepest into the shed, and it was where the owner of the tea shop rested.

Fang Jie could see a person sitting straight inside the net.

“Go there,” Xiang Qingniu said as he pointed at the man sitting in the middle, “Your life is in his hands. I can only help you this much; he is willing to listen to you, but who knows if he will accept your explanation.”

After saying that, Xiang Qingniu turned around and was about to leave.

Fang Jie asked him, “Where are you going?”

Xiang Qingniu replied without turning his head, “First, I need to take a number two. Second, I will try to recall how to chant the blessing incarnation in the Words of the Patriarch of Daoism. Lastly, I will buy the cheapest willow wood thin coffin for you just in case. I can only help you this much.”