Book 5 Chapter 23 – Who Am I?

　　"The four beasts hiding the sky?" Eyegla.s.ses had never heard of something of the sort before.

　　"Yes. The messenger had originally intended to use the Azure Dragon, the Vermilion Bird, the White Tiger, and the Black Tortoise at first, but, you know, it's quite hard to find those divine creatures, so he settled for the Black Snake, the Thunder Eagle, the Black Turtle and Bai Ze. ¹

　　'Well, the elements certainly match…' Eyegla.s.ses pondered. 'A snake for the Azure Dragon, an eagle for the Vermilion Bird, a turtle for the Black Tortoise and Bai Ze for the White Tiger…'

　　"What are the effects of that formation then?" Sai Gao asked.

　　"To protect our city and ensure its fortune, of course," You Fang explained, surprised at the question's even being asked.

　　'The fortune of the city?' Li Yiming exchanged a glance with Eyegla.s.ses. 'Doesn't seem like we're getting the whole picture here…'

　　"What about that golden wok right outside of the Eastern Gate?" Sai Gao pressed on.

　　"Oh, that golden wok? Well… rumor has it that…" You Fang was still savoring the pleasure of being able to tell his "tales", in spite of Eyegla.s.ses' interruption, and Sai Gao's question added fuel to his fiery enthusiasm.

　　As a result, Li Yiming and his friends had to endure another thirty minutes of irrelevant mystic tales and legends.

　　"That wok is a divine instrument, I'm telling you." You Fang finally stopped, content with his speech.

　　"Why do you say so?" Eyegla.s.ses realized that nothing that just came out You Fang's mouth was pertinent.

　　"Well, I don't know. There's nothing on the books about that, but that's what I've heard. When you think about, doesn't it make sense? After all, it takes something to be held to the same level as the four guardians of the city." You Fang picked up his ruler, tapped the table with it, and concluded his lecture.

　　"That's it? Nothing more?" After a solid five minutes of silence, Sai Gao finally could not bear it anymore and tried pus.h.i.+ng You Fang once more.

　　"That's it for the protective formation and the legendary wok. If you want to hear more, I've got…"

　　"Haha, I… I think that we'll pa.s.s for today. Thank you for your lesson, sir, it was truly enlightening. We will make sure to come to you again for any other questions. It's getting late today, unfortunately, and we need to leave." Li Yiming saw that You Fang was about to go for another round of nonsense and jumped on the opportunity to drag Sai Gao and Eyegla.s.ses out of the cla.s.sroom.

　　"So… what was that all about? Anything ring a bell?" Eyegla.s.ses glanced at You Fang and whispered to Li Yiming.

　　"We need to leave." Li Yiming turned his back toward the cla.s.sroom, still slightly traumatized from the experience, and fastened his pace.

　　* * *

　　Liu Meng led Lin Lu back to the house where they had found Han Tianyi. The two climbed up a tree nearby and remained perched on one of the main branches, under the cover of the darkness.

　　"Two pretty girls? They came in while you were taking a bath, hit you and then took your clothes?"

　　Liu Meng and Lin Lu found Han Tianyi in the yard, his hands covering his face and with several other men around him. One of them, who had a goatee, was visibly doubting the story he had just heard.