An unprecedented sense of crisis hung over the Dragon Tooth Guard.
Seeing Deputy Steward Zhou and Deputy Steward Qi both hemming and hawing, Shangguan Yi waved his hand. "Never mind, don't say anything for now. Since this has happened, there must be a reason behind it. All we can do is address the root of the problem and swallow our pride to find out what's going on."
"Exactly. Even if it kills us, we should at least die knowing why."
"There's no other way."
Shangguan Yi nodded. "Elder Fei and I are on decent terms. I'll pay him a personal visit. Old Qi, you go see Elder Ning. Remember — don't be overly obsequious, but don't act arrogant either. At the very least, we need to find out the reason. If it's our fault, we'll own up to it. If it's not, then there's no need to grovel. Understood?"
With that, Shangguan Yi turned his gaze to Deputy Steward Zhou. "Old Zhou, Shi Xiaoyao has a peculiar temper, so you'll need to be the bigger man and put up with it."
Zhou Gui nodded. "I'm not young anymore — I'm not going to stoop to his level. If it's our Dragon Tooth Guard's fault, we'll bear the responsibility. But if they're trying to gang up and push us around, well, the Dragon Tooth Guard is no soft persimmon for them to squeeze!"
"Good. Time is of the essence — let's split up and head out!" Shangguan Yi ordered.
…
Qi Tiannan had been standing at the gate of Elder Ning's courtyard for nearly half an hour before he finally heard footsteps from inside. "Deputy Steward Qi, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Our Elder was just taking a beauty nap, and none of us dared to disturb her. She's awake now and heard that you've been waiting outside for almost half an hour. She felt terribly sorry and gave us subordinates a proper scolding. Please, come in, come in."
Although Qiao Baishi still hadn't fulfilled Elder Ning's wish, she had already begun treating him as her most capable aide.
Qi Tiannan glanced at Qiao Baishi. Though he thought the man looked unfamiliar — someone he'd never seen before — he didn't have time to dwell on that now.
"Elder Ning, your people were out of line keeping you waiting so long," Qi Tiannan said with a smile.
Elder Ning was perfectly courteous, though her voice still carried the lazy drawl of someone freshly woken. "Not at all. When Elder Ning is enjoying her beauty rest, even Old Qi wouldn't have the heart to disturb her. Ruining someone's dream is a terrible thing indeed."
"Hee hee, Deputy Steward Qi is always so considerate." Elder Ning fanned herself delicately with her silk fan and smiled as she spoke.
"Elder Ning, Old Qi never visits without a reason. May I be so bold as to ask — have I somehow offended the Qianlan Southern Palace?"
"Offended? Whatever gave you that idea?" Elder Ning opened her innocent eyes wide. "Deputy Steward Qi and I have been on good terms for years. Your conduct has always been a shining example for me."
"This…" Qi Tiannan was getting frustrated. "But that batch of goods — we really need it urgently. And that outstanding debt — we need to settle it by tomorrow. It's truly…"
Elder Ning shook her head. "I'm afraid that's one matter I can't help with."
Seeing her expression change so abruptly, Qi Tiannan realized he must have somehow angered this woman.
"Elder Ning, you know what kind of person Old Qi is. Give me a straight answer — have I offended you in some way? If so, Old Qi is willing to come and apologize personally, back bare and carrying thorns if necessary. Even if the deal falls through, the friendship remains. Old Qi has always admired Elder Ning greatly."
"You really want a straight answer?" Elder Ning asked coolly.
"Please, give me a straight answer."
"Deputy Steward Qi, you were right just now — even if a deal falls through, the friendship should remain. But I've noticed that your Dragon Tooth Guard doesn't seem to care much about friendship. I have a friend who was robbed on the street, fought back, and accidentally killed the attacker. Your Dragon Tooth Guard threw him into the Black Prison Area without even asking what happened. I wrote a note to request his release, but not only did someone tear up my note right in front of me, they humiliated me thoroughly — saying the Dragon Tooth Guard's business is none of a mere Qianlan Southern Palace elder's concern."
Elder Ning's anger grew with every word. "So let me ask you — is this how the Dragon Tooth Guard handles cases? Someone acts in self-defense, and you turn it into a murder case and throw them in the Black Prison Area. Fine. Since I can't reason with you and begging doesn't work either — no problem. I'll stay out of this. But don't come to me for help either. At worst, we can each go our separate ways from now on!"
"What?" Qi Tiannan's composure cracked, and his eyes went wide. "Something like that really happened?"
Qiao Baishi added fuel to the fire from the side. "Would our Elder fabricate such a thing for no reason? That fellow surnamed Lü not only tore up our Elder's note but openly insulted her. Deputy Steward Qi — if one of our Qianlan Southern Palace disciples were that insolent, would you be comfortable with that?"
"Surnamed Lü? Lü Wuji?" Qi Tiannan suddenly recalled someone, and things began to click into place. Lü Wuji was a lawless troublemaker. If this had happened with someone else, Qi Tiannan might have had some doubts. But with Lü Wuji, he believed it almost immediately.
Lü Wuji had been relying on the fact that his uncle was one of the Dragon Tooth Guard's deputy stewards, and he was notorious within the Guard for his bullying and reckless behavior.
"I don't know what his name is — only that the Dragon Tooth Guard calls him Commander Lü. His name really is Lü Wuji? As the name suggests — unbridled and unchecked." Qiao Baishi's words dripped with sarcasm.
Qi Tiannan was finding it hard to sit still. If what they said was true, then the Dragon Tooth Guard had been gravely out of line.
By any reasonable standard, killing someone in self-defense shouldn't carry any criminal punishment.
Turning a case of self-defense into a murder charge and throwing the person into the Black Prison Area was itself a terrible mistake.