Whispers Across Tables

Qin Ping was a servant in the Qin estate, but whenever he had to travel far, he always took a carriage. It had been a long time since he'd walked this much.

It was really wearing him down!

Qin Ping felt a dull swelling in his heels, and a stabbing pain like needles piercing his feet. Not to mention his throat, which was already hoarse and raw from all the talking he'd done.

But when he saw that his new master was still brimming with energy, poking his head into a porcelain shop, looking this way and that, he could only grit his teeth and force himself to follow along.

After all, if the master didn't complain of fatigue, how could a servant dare to?

“I’m feeling a bit hungry. How about we find a place for an early meal?”

Just as Qin Ping caught up to Han Li, he heard Han Li turn around and say these perfectly straightforward words. Qin Ping’s spirits lifted immediately, and he enthusiastically agreed, even eagerly suggesting a small restaurant not far away, praising its signature dishes to the heavens.

Han Li found it a little amusing, but kept a face that said, “you decide.” He let Qin Ping, who couldn’t wait to lead him, guide him into the modest two-story building.

The first floor was for ordinary customers having simple meals; the second floor was where those with some status and position dined.

Qin Ping certainly wouldn’t let Han Li eat on the first floor, even though the young master seemed a bit interested.

The second floor wasn’t crowded; only three or four tables were occupied.

At one table, three men and two women were even drinking together, a sight that was rather striking in its unconventionality.

When Han Li stepped onto the floor, he naturally glanced at that table. That one look made him pause in surprise. These five men and women were all Qi Condensation cultivators of the tenth layer or above in their basic techniques. That was out of the ordinary.

“Could they be from the Six Demonic Sects?” Han Li thought first.

Immediately, he restrained the spiritual Qi around his body, using a technique only Foundation Establishment cultivators could learn: the “Qi Attraction Art,” which withdrew his spiritual Qi into his body. To low-level cultivators far weaker than himself, Han Li now appeared no different from an ordinary mortal.

“Young master, please sit here!”

Qin Ping, enduring the pain in his feet, led Han Li to a table by the window. He even dutifully wiped the wooden chair with his sleeve before smiling broadly and inviting Han Li to sit.

Han Li put on an embarrassed expression and quickly asked Qin Ping to sit down as well.

This time, Qin Ping didn’t stand on ceremony. After a few perfunctory refusals, he obediently sat.

His feet really hurt, and he couldn’t be bothered with the distinctions of rank. Fortunately, this young master Han, new to the capital, didn’t stand on ceremony at all.

As soon as they were seated, the waiter bustled over and asked humbly:

“What would the two gentlemen like? Our restaurant has several signature dishes that are quite famous.”

“Bring us a full table of fine wine and food, and one of each of your signature dishes. Use the best ingredients. My master is a young master of the Qin estate!” Qin Ping, knowing Han Li probably wouldn’t be good at ordering, took the liberty of ordering for him. As soon as he mentioned the Qin estate, he immediately perked up, becoming quite spirited.

The Qin estate’s reputation proved very effective. The waiter, upon hearing this, immediately nodded and bowed, even more fawning than before, and hurried off to call for the food and wine.

Han Li wasn’t interested in watching his servant put on airs. Instead, he focused all his attention on the group of cultivators at the nearby table.

What puzzled him was that he felt a vague sense of familiarity with one of the men, a blue-clothed man in his thirties, as if he’d seen him somewhere before.

But when he thought about it carefully, he couldn’t place him at all. He definitely wasn’t a very close acquaintance.

The men in the group, including the blue-clothed man Han Li felt he recognized, were all drinking in gloomy silence, their faces full of worry. The two women, who had some charm about them, stared blankly at the table full of food, not even touching their chopsticks, as if they had no appetite at all.

From the looks of it, they seemed to have run into some serious trouble. They certainly didn’t seem like demonic cultivators who had infiltrated Yue Country.

The blue-clothed man was the youngest among them, aside from a woman in her twenties.

“Young master, the food is here. Please, start,” Qin Ping’s respectful voice came to Han Li’s ear.

The waiter had deftly finished setting the table, which was now covered with dishes.

“Hehe, let’s eat together, then!” Han Li said with a somewhat embarrassed smile, revealing a set of clean, white teeth.

Without being polite, Han Li picked up a bite of food with his chopsticks and began to chew vigorously. In reality, he was quietly releasing his Divine Sense, closely monitoring the movements of the group of cultivators.

Just as Qin Ping, seeing Han Li start, began to eat as well, the oldest of the group, a dark-faced old man, stopped drinking. He casually released an invisible soundproof barrier that enveloped them all before he began to speak:

“Everyone, please eat something. Since our lives are already in someone else’s hands, we, the ‘Mengshan Five Friends,’ can only take things one step at a time. At least we didn’t end up as scattered souls, which is better than the others.”

Although the soundproof barrier was working and the old man’s voice wasn’t loud, every word fell clearly into Han Li’s ears. The soundproofing spell of a Qi Condensation cultivator was, to Han Li’s astonishing Divine Sense, as effective as nothing.

But the old man’s words told Han Li that there was something to hear here; he might be able to secretly learn some secrets.

Perhaps the dark-faced old man’s advice had some effect, for the two women finally ate a few bites in silence.

But the distracted look on their faces suggested that they barely tasted the food.

“Big Brother, do we really have to submit to them from now on? If it comes to it, we could secretly inform the Seven Great Sects. Surely they could deal with these people!” the blue-clothed man said, a fierce look on his face as he gulped down two mouthfuls of strong liquor.

“Sigh, Fourth Brother. It’s not that simple,” the dark-faced old man said, shaking his head gently, his face full of helplessness.

Hearing the old man’s words, the youngest, a woman in white, couldn’t help but press the issue:

“Big Brother, why not? It can’t be that the Seven Sects don’t want to wipe out these villains. You know, at least several hundred of our colleagues from Yue Country have fallen into their hands, one after another.”

As she said this, her face was full of grievance.

Compared to the intense words of the two younger ones, the man and woman, both over forty, just exchanged bitter, silent smiles. It seemed they understood the dark-faced old man’s concerns.

When Han Li heard this, he was a little surprised. He felt he was vaguely grasping at something important.

But his expression remained unchanged as he ate several more bites of the dishes, causing Qin Ping to praise Han Li’s excellent appetite.

Han Li flushed slightly and smiled, seeming to realize his behavior was a bit improper, and slowed down the pace of his eating.

Meanwhile, the dark-faced old man sighed and began to explain things to the blue-clothed man and the woman in white.

“In truth, calling for help from the Seven Sects would be completely useless.”

“First, we all know what state the Seven Sects are in right now. It’s still uncertain if they, having committed all their forces, can even withstand the demonic path’s invasion. How could they possibly spare anyone to help us rogue cultivators? Remember, these villains include Foundation Establishment cultivators. Sending ordinary cultivators against them would be useless. Otherwise, how would the five of us have been captured so quickly?”

“Second, even if the Seven Sects were willing to uphold the sentiment of comrades and send people to wipe them out, don’t forget, these people always wear masks, never showing their true faces. Even the place where they forced us to submit was a random, broken-down temple. We have no way to trace them. Not to mention, they’ve placed a strange restriction on us. If they don’t come to apply the countermeasure on time, we’ll probably die on the spot. And can you be sure the Seven Sects can remove this restriction? Since our opponents dared to let us leave so confidently, it’s clear these restrictions have their unique aspects. They won’t be so easy to break.”

The more the dark-faced old man spoke, the deeper his frown became. Even he was starting to lose heart.

“So, are we really going to help the tyrant oppress the good? To help them set traps for other cultivators?” the woman in white said, her face pale, clearly extremely unwilling.

“Fifth Sister! Like Big Brother said, for now, we can only take things one step at a time. Luckily, we have enough of a grace period. Let’s hope we, the Mengshan Five Friends, can come up with a plan to free ourselves that won’t come at anyone’s expense,” another man, a tall, gaunt figure in his forties, said in an attempt to console her.

But everyone there knew that this was only a fantasy, a self-deception. If they hadn’t been able to come up with a good plan in the past two days, how could they find a way out in a few months?

After these words, the group fell silent again, the worry returning to their hearts.