Leo was dumbfounded.
He reached out and gave Li Xunhuan a gentle push. Li Xunhuan swayed slightly, and a moment later, a snore rumbled from his throat.
What is happening?
Leo wanted to cry but had no tears.
The key story character he had worked so hard to connect with had been knocked out by his own hand.
Weren't heroes supposed to be able to drink anyone under the table?
We didn't even finish one bottle! How are you down already?
Where are your inner martial powers?
Expel the alcohol!
You're passed out drunk, so what am I supposed to do?
Brother, you're the protagonist!
Without you, who's going to move the plot forward?
Roxie foolishly followed his lead and pushed Li Xunhuan as well. "What do we do now?"
She might be a bit clueless, but she knew that in the world of Xiao Li Feidao, Li Xunhuan was a far more reliable figure than Alba Li.
"What do you mean, 'what do we do'?" Leo glanced back at her. "This is your chance to deepen your relationship with him! While he's drunk, you take care of business, and we can go home right away."
Leo's eyes were full of encouragement.
Roxie's face flushed to the roots of her neck. She gritted her teeth. "Alba Li, you're shameless! What do you take me for? A broodmare? … Don't you know? A child conceived when the man is drunk has an eighty percent chance of birth defects."
"…"
Leo was speechless. Women are so dramatic. The goal was always this, does the process really matter?
Besides, do defects even matter?
Weren't we going to terminate it when we get back anyway?
Such a hypocrite!
Heh!
If I had the right drugs, I would have already…
"Alba Li, I can… do that with him… but he has to have quit drinking for at least half a month," Roxie said in a low voice. "I want a healthy baby…"
"Roxanne Tang, don't push it. You're deliberately increasing the mission's difficulty. I have grounds to refuse," Leo said, his eyes wide.
"I don't care," Roxie retorted. "Otherwise, I won't cooperate!"
"…" Leo frowned.
"Young Master, what's wrong?"
With a furious roar, Tie Chuanjia, his beard and hair bristling like a mad lion, roughly shoved aside tables and chairs and charged towards Leo. "Kid, you poisoned the wine!"
"He's just drunk!" Leo shouted immediately.
He didn't want the connection he'd worked so hard to build to be severed by Tie Chuanjia's recklessness.
Tie Chuanjia froze and looked at Li Xunhuan.
Sure enough, Li Xunhuan's flushed face, even breathing, and the occasional mumbled "Shiyin" proved he was simply passed out.
"Oh, he's drunk! Good, good!"
Tie Chuanjia's old face reddened, and he gave Leo a crisp bow. "Young hero, my apologies. I misunderstood. This old Tie apologizes to you!"
"No need for apologies," Leo said with an awkward smile. "Old Tie, do you have anything to sober him up? Shouldn't we wake Uncle Li? It's freezing out here, it would be bad if something happened."
"The Young Master hasn't had a good night's sleep in ten years," Tie Chuanjia said wistfully, looking at Li Xunhuan. "Don't wake him. Let him sleep peacefully. He carries too many burdens."
But the plot needs him!
Leo forced a laugh. "But it's dangerous here!"
Zhuge Lei's face twitched. Shameless! Aren't YOU the biggest danger here?
"With me here, the Young Master will be fine." Tie Chuanjia pulled over a stool and stood guard in front of Li Xunhuan.
"…"
A vein throbbed on Leo's forehead, but there was nothing he could do. What a blockhead!
Nearby, Roxie stood with her arms crossed, smirking. She was still angry with Leo.
The thick cotton curtain at the door was lifted.
The hideously ugly Jade-Blooded Twin Snakes made their entrance.
Outside the door, Ah Fei's figure flickered and vanished.
The plot to seize the Golden Silk Armor had officially begun.
"You are Swift Wind Sword, Zhuge Lei?" The White Snake, who had burst into the tavern, confronted Zhuge Lei directly.
"May I ask your esteemed names? Forgive my poor eyesight…" Zhuge Lei was sweating profusely. He glanced nervously at Leo, who had settled into spectator mode, and saw that he had no intention of intervening. He cursed his bad luck.
"You're not worthy of the name Swift Wind Sword. Leave behind what you brought from beyond the pass, and we'll spare your life," the Black Snake said.
Zhao the Second chimed in, "You two must be mistaken. We delivered our goods beyond the pass. The carts are empty…"
Squelch!
The Black Snake's sword flashed, making an example.
Zhao the Second hit the floor.
Seeing the spray of blood and Zhao the Second's headless corpse, Leo's face turned pale. A wave of nausea churned in his throat, and he instinctively tightened his grip on the Green Lotus Sword.
"Ah!" Roxie let out a piercing scream and promptly fainted.
The Black Snake, the White Snake, Zhuge Lei, and everyone else in the tavern were drawn by the scream.
Tie Chuanjia, standing like an iron tower in front of them, frowned slightly, his muscles tensing instinctively.
Shit!
A vein pulsed in Leo's temple. The discomfort from witnessing a murder instantly vanished.
Damn woman! Damn client!
Desperately trying to steal the spotlight!
Leo scanned the crowd and forced an awkward smile. "It's nothing, you can all carry on!"
The flow of the plot had been broken.
The White Snake looked at the formidable Tie Chuanjia, then asked Leo, "Kid, do you want to meddle in this?"
Are you an idiot?
You're looking at Tie Chuanjia, why are you asking me?
And which of your eyes saw me wanting to meddle?
Leo was speechless. He raised his wine cup. "I just want to drink in peace."
"You know what's good for you," the White Snake sneered in approval. Their goal was the Golden Silk Armor; they didn't want any extra trouble either.
With Leo watching from the sidelines, Zhuge Lei's face filled with despair. He glanced at Leo, then gritted his teeth and pulled a yellow cloth bundle from his robes. "You two have sharp eyes indeed. We did bring something back from beyond the pass. However, you're a step too late. A moment ago, this package became the property of that young hero over there!"
With that, he threw it forcefully.
The yellow bundle cut an arc through the air and landed precisely in front of Leo.
Son of a…
Leo was stunned for a moment.
Passing the buck?
So this is the Jianghu!
Even if you don't look for trouble, trouble will find you!
In the original plot, Zhuge Lei was supposed to propose a gamble with the Twin Snakes—slicing shrimp balls—to save his own life. But now, the plot had completely collapsed.
Complaining was one thing, but Leo also understood that with the chain reaction he had set off, the story was unlikely to get back on track.
Inside the yellow bundle was the Golden Silk Armor.
It was a crucial item in the early stages of Xiao Li Feidao, a piece of protective gear no less impressive than Huang Rong's Soft Hedgehog Armor. It was central to the entire Plum Blossom Bandit storyline. Originally, the Golden Silk Armor was supposed to end up with Ah Fei.
During the struggle for it, nearly every participant had met their end.
Previously, Leo had tried to steer the plot back to its original course and hadn't planned on touching the Golden Silk Armor.
But now, with the plot in shambles and the armor sitting right in front of him, he'd be a fool to push it away.
The Golden Silk Armor was a life-saving artifact!
Especially for a half-baked practitioner like him who only knew one useless skill. With the armor, he'd essentially have an extra life.
Besides, as a proud Dreamweaver, it would be far too cowardly to refuse the armor when it was handed to him on a silver platter.
The plot?
To hell with the plot!
If there's no plot, I'll make my own.
Leo was not an inflexible man. He reached out and grabbed the bundle containing the armor. "That's right. Zhuge Lei did indeed give the Golden Silk Armor to me."
Tie Chuanjia's brow furrowed slightly as he glanced back at Leo.
He fell for it!
Zhuge Lei was ecstatic, a flash of mockery in his eyes. Young people are so inexperienced. The Jianghu isn't a place you can survive just by being good at fighting!
Neither he nor the Twin Snakes had revealed what was in the bundle, yet the boy had blurted it out.
Young people are greedy and don't understand the dangers of the Jianghu.
Zhuge Lei could already imagine the bloody path that lay ahead for the boy. It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to defend against an arrow in the dark. Even with his demonic arts, how many nails could he hammer?
But this suited Zhuge Lei's plans perfectly.
The humiliation Leo had brought upon him was immense. He'd be thrilled to see Leo ground to dust.
And if the Twin Snakes died at the boy's hands, all the better.
In the end, he, Zhuge Lei, would still be the final winner.
In the Jianghu, it doesn't matter what methods you use. Surviving is what counts.
"Kid, don't be clever. Since you know what's in the bundle, you must have heard of us, the Jade-Blooded Twin Snakes. Toss the bundle over, and we'll spare your life," the White Snake threatened, his face grim.
From the beginning, his attention had been on Tie Chuanjia.
A drunkard, a fainted weak woman, and a pretty boy with no strength to even truss a chicken.
Among this group, the biggest threat had to be the iron-tower-like brute.
Leo looked up at the Twin Snakes and pondered for a moment. "Kill the ever-so-clever Zhuge Lei…"
Before he could finish, the Black Snake whipped his sword around, the blade slicing cleanly through the throat of Zhuge Lei, who was backing towards the door.
At that moment, Zhuge Lei was only about a meter from the door, on the verge of escape.
As the Black Snake's swift sword pierced his throat, his face was a mask of terror and disbelief.
The Black Snake retracted his sword.
A jet of blood shot from Zhuge Lei's throat.
Life drained rapidly from him. He pressed his hands to the wound, but it was useless. Fresh blood gushed from between his fingers. He glared at Leo, his eyes filled with resentment and hatred.
Watching Zhuge Lei struggle, refusing to take his last breath, Leo shook his head.
The Jianghu…
In this cruel world, life is so fragile.
I must be careful. Extremely careful.
After that philosophical reflection, Leo looked at the Twin Snakes and calmly finished his sentence: "… and I still won't give you the Golden Silk Armor."
His voice was soft, but it carried clearly to everyone in the tavern.
Tie Chuanjia's eyebrow twitched involuntarily, and he sighed inwardly.
Zhuge Lei looked as if he had heard the greatest joke in the world. He pointed a finger at the Twin Snakes, trying to laugh but unable to. Blood gushed back into his throat, making a strange gurgling sound.
A large mouthful of blood erupted from his mouth. He fell backward, his face frozen in a strange expression of what looked like relief or release.
"Kid, you're looking for death!"
Having been tricked, the Twin Snakes glared at Leo, shouting in unison.