Chapter Fourteen: Real Wine, Fake Wine

Lu Zhou had no time to ask before a dazzling light flashed before his eyes.

It was Angel's sword, its tip aimed straight at him.

The hand gripping the hilt was steady—so steady that not even the slightest tremor touched the tip.

Lu Zhou met Angel’s gaze with perfect composure. If Angel truly meant to kill him, he would not simply point a sword at him; so Lu Zhou was certain this blade would not fall.

Angel held the sword in one hand and spoke to Lu Zhou, his voice slow, “Why have you returned?”

Though it was a question, there was not the faintest note of inquiry in his tone. It was as if Lu Zhou’s absence should have been an unalterable fact.

Lu Zhou smiled faintly. “Was I not supposed to return?”

Angel only shook his head.

Lu Zhou continued, “The demon incident was a ruse—a diversion by the Embroidered Guards. Some of their men tried to kill me, but I was saved by this young lady.”

The wariness in Angel’s eyes lessened somewhat, though his grip on the sword did not loosen. He said, “Four Nascent Void cultivators—she could not have saved you.”

Young lady?

Lu Zhou finally understood the woman’s identity: Chao Lu had only one daughter.

He smiled again. “I am a coward by nature, so I always carry plenty of little trinkets for self-defense. When I left Lingyun Pavilion, my master gave me several bottles of Bone-Scorching, Heart-Eating Powder, which I made into pellets and kept on me... Besides, you’re mistaken on one point. It wasn’t four Nascent Void cultivators—one of them was in the Tribulation Crossing realm.”

Angel was taken aback. He glanced at Chao Lu, and only when Chao Lu gave a slight nod did he lower his sword.

“I’ve heard of Wu Muzi’s Bone-Scorching, Heart-Eating Powder,” Chao Lu said lazily, “It’s rumored to be lethal to anyone below the Celestial Immortal stage. But poisons only work if the difference in cultivation isn’t too great. If it is, the lower cultivator dies even faster. Jiner, is what he said true?”

Chao Jiner nodded. “If not for Captain Lu’s Bone-Scorching, Heart-Eating Powder, I might never have seen you again, Father. Even when I broke through to the Tribulation Crossing realm at the last moment, I was still no match for that Daoist boy. Captain Lu saved my life—I haven’t even thanked him yet.”

Chao Lu’s brows knit slightly. Chao Jiner was always sparing with her words. This brief speech was more than she usually said in a day.

Yet, on hearing she had reached the Tribulation Crossing realm, he instantly broke into a broad smile. “Excellent—not for nothing are you my daughter.”

Whether Chao Jiner was speaking in Lu Zhou’s defense didn’t matter now.

Li Zhilan was at a loss, unsettled by the corpses strewn about the courtyard—a scene grim and chilling.

A cold wind swept through, and she shivered involuntarily.

Chao Lu asked, “And who is this young lady?”

Lu Zhou replied, “She is Li Murong’s daughter, a disciple of Clear Creek Academy, and, by that reckoning, my junior apprentice.”

“Li Murong’s daughter?”

Chao Lu exhaled a long breath. “What a pity...”

A pity?

Lu Zhou was taken aback, not understanding what Chao Lu truly meant.

But Chao Lu wasted no more words on Li Zhilan.

He turned, picked up a cup of wine from the table, and handed it to Shen Changbai at his side. “I know you drink. Have a cup.”

Shen Changbai retreated half a step, unwilling to take it yet unable to refuse.

Chao Lu smiled. “If anyone offers me a drink, I never turn it down.”

Shen Changbai had no choice but to accept the cup. Yet, when the wine reached his lips, he found himself unable to swallow. His gaze flitted over Lu Zhou and Li Zhilan; a chill swept through Lu Zhou’s heart.

That look—he knew it all too well.

At last, he understood what had eluded him.

He also realized the meaning behind Chao Lu’s earlier words: what a pity.

Shen Changbai was an impostor, but not one of Chao Lu’s men.

Lu Zhou had always assumed “Shen Changbai” was under Chao Lu’s command, destined for the Southern Zhou. The scythe murders, his disruption of the Embroidered Guards’ schemes, and also Chao Lu’s plans—Lu Zhou had always felt as if he was moving along a preordained path.

If “Shen Changbai” was with the Tea Bureau, everything made sense.

The Tea Bureau’s people would naturally refuse to go to the Southern Zhou, so they used Lu Zhou to disrupt the plans between the Southern Zhou and the Northern Kingdom. But to avoid exposing themselves, Gao Zhuang had shared precious little with Lu Zhou—explaining why Gao Zhuang knew the Embroidered Guards had no recent rescue plans.

Lu Zhou glanced at Li Zhilan and sighed inwardly.

With just that look, he guessed who Shen Changbai really was.

He looked once more at “Shen Changbai.” The man lifted the cup, gritted his teeth, and swallowed the wine.

Chao Lu sighed and muttered, “If you drink too quickly, you lose the flavor. And if you happen upon counterfeit wine, you might just be fooled.”

He poured another cup.

“In all my years, aside from cultivation, my greatest pleasure has been drinking. Never has a fake wine escaped my tongue—though some counterfeits are nearly indistinguishable. But imitations are still imitations; you can always taste the difference.”

With that, he tilted his head back and drank.

He continued, “I’ve just passed on all my hard-won experience with wine to you. How will you thank me?”

Shen Changbai: “...”

Chao Lu said, “You need do nothing else. Just tell me: Are there any Tea Bureau agents here?”

Shen Changbai’s hand trembled.

Lu Zhou sighed inwardly. From the moment Chao Lu spoke of genuine and fake wine, he had known that Li Murong’s secret was out.

Shen Changbai drew a long breath. “What Tea Bureau?”

Chao Lu said, “You don’t know?”

Shen Changbai forced a smile. “Commander, I truly don’t know.”

Chao Lu shook his head, sighing. “I always thought that, in our line of work, men would be forthright at a time like this. But you... you’re a real disappointment.”

Shen Changbai: “...”

Chao Lu’s expression suddenly turned cold. “Do you really think I can’t tell genuine wine from fake?”

Shen Changbai froze, barely perceptibly edging backward. “Real or fake, it’s all wine, isn’t it, Commander Chao? Why trouble yourself over it?”

Chao Lu said, “True wine intoxicates the heart; false wine takes lives...”

His gaze was icy as he turned to Lu Zhou. “Captain Lu, this Shen Changbai is a fake. He’s with the Northern Zhou Tea Bureau. Since you have Bone-Scorching, Heart-Eating Powder, now’s the perfect time to use it.”

Lu Zhou sighed. “I’ve run out.”

“Run out?” Chao Lu laughed. “Then use this sword!”

He tossed Angel’s sword to Lu Zhou.

The sword’s gleam was blinding—and deadly.

Lu Zhou forced a laugh. “Commander, I’ve been squeamish about killing since childhood. Even slaughtering a chicken makes me tremble. When it comes to people, I can only manage poison and such underhanded tricks. Asking me to kill with a sword—this is truly difficult for me.”

Chao Lu did not take offense. Instead, he chuckled. “If you knew who this Shen Changbai really was, I doubt you’d tremble. When your cultivation was destroyed and you fled to the Northern Kingdom, did you not hate?”

Lu Zhou’s eyes flickered. “I did.”

Chao Lu stared into his eyes. “Very well. If you had a chance to wipe away your shame and kill Li Murong with your own hands, would you dare?”

Lu Zhou’s eye twitched. He could feel Li Zhilan’s breath quicken beside him.

Chao Jiner glanced back at Lu Zhou, worry in her eyes.

“I would,” Lu Zhou replied calmly.

Li Zhilan’s disappointment was instant and deep. She had hoped Lu Zhou would answer differently—she had believed him better than his reputation. Yet, though she knew in her heart this would be his answer, it still left her cold.

Chao Lu smiled. “Then the man before you, this Shen Changbai, is—”

Li Murong.