Capítulo 24: Chapter 21: The Late Night Restaurant
Late at night, it was almost 9 p.m.
In Yang City, there was still a tavern that remained open.
Inside the tavern, three mourners who were dressed in hemp clothes and wearing mourning bands were devouring delicious dishes voraciously. These three mourners were part of the group led by the Deputy Gang Leader of the Iron Saber Association, who were mourning for Mrs. Li and Third Young Master Li.
While they were eating, the Second Elder suddenly said, "Deputy Gang Leader, there was a meeting this morning in our association. It's okay that we didn't attend, right?" His voice was full of unease; he was naturally a timid person whose greatest wish in life was to pass on his position as the Second Elder. He usually wavered between the Gang Leader and the Deputy Gang Leader.
Deputy Gang Leader Li Dian wiped the grease from his hands and said leisurely, "I said, if I, the leader, am not scared, what are you scared of? The sudden, serious illnesses and deaths of the lady and the young master are major events. We, who serve the Li family, should personally mourn their passing. The association's meeting is a minor matter, not worth mentioning." He spoke with a shake of the head, as if he were a scholar who had studied poetry for years.
'Are you really going to mourn? Wearing hemp, crying more miserably than the eldest and second young masters who lost their dear mother. When your own mother died, you didn't even cry that hard, did you?' the Second Elder thought bitterly. But then he remembered that he had wailed louder than Li Dian, and he felt somewhat embarrassed.
"Moreover," Li Dian's voice suddenly grew more animated, "with such a big incident happening, and Li Xin still thinking about the meeting, showing no concern for the family affairs, what kind of gang leader is he? I heard his old mother also fell ill suddenly last night and died. In my opinion, it must be some contagious disease caught from that despicable maid, which she then transmitted to the lady and the young master. Now, let's see what good end awaits this illegitimate son sired by the maid. Perhaps it's about time to remove the 'deputy' from my title as Deputy Gang Leader."
In his words, there was nothing but disdain for Gang Leader Li Xin and a firm conviction of securing the position for himself.
With such a scandal in the Li family—cannibalizing mother leading to her disfigurement and suicide—Li Pingsheng was naturally concerned with suppressing this scandal. The maids and house servants present at the time were all warned not to leak any information, and even Li Xin, who had left early, was specifically cautioned by a house servant.
"Brilliant, the gang leader is truly brilliant. After learning the news, he did not sleep all night and summoned the two of us today to rush to the Li household and start arranging the funeral to spare the patriarch and the two young masters from both the pain of losing loved ones and the trouble of managing these trivial matters. The patriarch was deeply moved by the gang leader's pale face, busily managing everything. The succession as the head of the Iron Saber Association is just around the corner," the Great Elder also chimed in with enthusiastic flattery.
"Hahaha…" Hearing this, Li Dian laughed heartily, pride evident in his laughter. Seeing the Great Elder take the lead in flattering the soon-to-be new gang leader, the Second Elder, out of jealousy and unwilling to fall behind, also vigorously praised Li Dian.
Amidst the robust flattery from the two, Li Dian's laughter was incessant, as if he could already see himself ascending to the throne of the gang leader, with Li Xin, that shameful little bastard, kneeling before him.
"Hahahahaha…" An even louder laugh echoed, full of vigor and completely drowning out Li Dian's laughter, interspersed with sounds of fists pounding on the table, as if the laugher could not control himself and was forcefully hitting the table.
Li Dian's moment of pride was interrupted, and he turned his head around in annoyance, searching for the person disrupting his mood.
It was nearing midnight, and ordinary guests had long returned home, while the pleasure-seeking young masters were unlikely to come to the tavern for fun. Li Dian looked around; there was not a single person sitting nearby. The laughter continued, and following the sound, Li Dian saw a figure dressed as a waiter, leaning over the counter where the tavern manager usually stood, unable to straighten up from laughter.
"Little bastard asking for death," muttered the Second Elder, feeling that he had previously lost some face. He lifted his foot, intending to rush over and teach the inn's waiter a lesson for disturbing the future Gang Leader's mood, hoping to redeem his earlier performance.
"Wait a minute…" Li Dian held back the eager Second Elder. Although a bit arrogant, he was no fool; otherwise, he would not have been sent by Li Pingsheng to the Iron Saber Association to restrain Li Xin, the current Gang Leader. Ordinary waiters lacked many things, but they certainly had keen eyesight. The three of them often paraded in the streets, throwing their weight around, and were more recognizable to the common folk than the people from families like the Li and Zhang Families. This waiter dared to interrupt him, so he must have had something to rely on.
Seeing Li Dian act this way, the Great Elder and Second Elder also restrained their intention to teach a lesson and became alert.
"Who exactly are you, and what is your purpose?" Li Dian asked carefully and cautiously.
The waiter's laughter gradually ceased. He lifted his head, revealing from beneath his slightly dirty cap the delicate face of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy—it was Qing Yu.
Qing Yu looked at the three men on high alert and felt that he was about to burst into laughter again. These three weren't mindlessly aggressive like minor characters should be; instead, they were surprisingly sensible, almost to the point of rivaling himself.
"It's nothing serious, just something funny. Seeing a few clowns who have already stepped one foot into the Ghost Gate without realizing it, still so pleased with themselves. What's even funnier is that they stepped into the Ghost Gate of their own accord," Qing Yu said with a laugh.
"What do you mean? I am Li Dian, Deputy Gang Leader of the Iron Saber Association, and also from the Li Family of the Four Great Families of Yang City. You should think thrice before acting against me," Li Dian advised, sensing ill intent from the other party and quickly tried to leverage his connections.
"Not the Gang Leader, huh…" Li Dian's old face flushed a bit.
"Do you know that your actions today have already raised Li Pingsheng's eyebrows, and trouble is imminent?"
Seeing the three men confused, Qing Yu continued, "Third Young Master Li, Li Qiuyan, was struck with a strange poison yesterday afternoon. He went mad, like a corpse demon, biting human flesh, and even bit a piece off his mother's face, disfiguring her. Last night, Li Qiuyan died, and his mother, unable to bear the shock, hung herself. Such a scandal is something Li Pingsheng is desperate to cover up, yet you three are flamboyantly unveiling what's already been covered. A great disaster is looming, yet you're unaware."
Li Dian was sweating profusely, and his sleep-deprived face turned even paler, devoid of any color. A trembling large hand clutched his shoulder, and turning around, he saw the similarly devastated Great Elder and Second Elder, their eyes filled with despair.
Li Dian forced a wry smile, realizing they really were courting death.
No, that's not right, Li Dian suddenly brightened up and laughed loudly, "Almost got scared by you. Even I, who am well-informed within the family, am unaware of such disgraceful matters of the Li family. I don't believe that you, an outsider, could know more than I do.
Unless… you are the one who poisoned and plotted against the Third Young Master."
"Being an outsider doesn't necessarily mean I'm less informed than those in the Li family. However, you are indeed right, the person who drugged Li Qiuyan was indeed me," Qing Yu said with a smile, his eyes reflecting the increasingly larger shadows.
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