Chapter 26: The Hongmen Banquet

  Seeing his ancestral grave being dug up, Master Zhou thought to himself: This thing must be the doing of that kid Leng Jiangbo, because he's not only bold but also capable of doing anything. If I don't have a talk with him, it won't do. Of course, since we didn't catch him in the act, you can't simply say it was his doing. Let's just intimidate him first and see what happens. So, he wrote a letter and sent someone to deliver it to Leng Jiangbo's Jiangyue Manor, inviting him to meet at the tavern next to Xiaolizhuang tomorrow afternoon.

  Leng Jiangbo's heart skipped a beat as he read the letter, wondering if his senior brother had discovered something. He had been doing many things against him recently, so why was he being summoned? Was it safe to go? If he didn't go, it would seem like he had a guilty conscience; but if he went and it wasn't in his favor, what then... The young man thought for a long time, unable to make up his mind.

  He then found the second master of the house, Xiong Erpao, to discuss. Xiong Erpao saw him sweating profusely, thought for a moment, and walked forward to comfort him: "Big brother, don't be afraid, maybe Zhou Shiming invited you to have some tea, there won't be anything else. Let me say, it's not dangerous." Actually, Xiong Erpao had his own little thoughts, but he didn't want Leng Jiangbo to notice.

  "The three words 'he drank tea' were dragged out by Xiong Erpao's mouth, making Leng Jiangbo wonder if there was another layer of hidden meaning! 'Younger brother, do you think it's a banquet set up for me by Zhou Shiming?'"

  "What's the Red Gate Banquet? Isn't it just drinking tea? Who cares if it's a red gate banquet or a white gate banquet. Big brother, go ahead and I'll bring some brothers to support you outside. I reckon Zhou Shiming - your senior fellow disciple can't do anything to you either, how about that?" Xiong Erpao guaranteed.

  Leng Jiangbo still looked as pale as a cicada in winter, and said worriedly: "We are not their match!" He then muttered to himself: "Has he grasped the handle we're holding?"

  Xiong Erpao seemed to have noticed his inner worries, and whispered in his ear: "Big brother, when you get there later, be smart..."

  "Huh?" Leng Jiangbo looked at Xiong Erpao in surprise and asked uneasily "Do you really think there's no problem?"

  "I reckon there won't be any danger to life, maybe Big Brother is just scaring himself." After a moment of thought, Xiong Er said confidently: "I'll lead the brothers in waiting outside the door. If something special happens, we'll come and get you. Besides, it's not like we're at the Zhou family village, what's there to be afraid of? And if that old man asks about digging up the ancestral grave, just deny it till death."

  "Or I'll just go try it." Leng Jiangbo said with a quivering heart.

  "I think you're even more suspicious if you don't go," said Xiong Erpao.

  "Alright, I'll be there on time as promised."

  The next afternoon, Leng Jiangbo arranged the reception personnel and brought a few followers to the tavern beside Xiao Li Zhuang village as scheduled. He carefully observed the surrounding situation and saw that there were no ambush soldiers, only a few house servants around the tavern, which made him feel much more at ease. As soon as he appeared, Liang Guan, the steward of the Zhou family, came forward to greet him: "Second Master, my master is waiting for you upstairs! Please follow me." He looked at Leng Jiangbo's followers and stopped in his tracks, "Don't you think it's not good for so many people to go up together?"

  Leng Jiangbo thought for a moment and said to several of his subordinates: "You four follow me up, the others wait outside!"

  Leng Jiangbo followed Liang Guan's family to the upstairs, where Zhou Shiming was already sitting by the Eight Immortals table in a guest room waiting for him. He hastily went forward and paid his respects, "Big brother, how have you been? It's been several days since we last met, I've missed you to death."

  Zhou Shiming didn't make a sound, his expression was stern, he pointed to the seat beside him and said: "Sit down."

  Leng Jiangbo sat in the chair. Liang Guanjia hurriedly served tea, Leng Jiangbo politely took over the teacup and gently placed it on the table, stealing a glance at Zhou Shiming, seeing Zhou Shiming's serious face, his heart "thumped thumped thumped" even more violently.

  "Big brother, you've called little brother over this time. What instructions do you have?" Leng Jiangbo saw that Zhou Shiming wasn't speaking up, so he lightly cleared his throat and took the initiative to ask.

  "You've been very busy lately?" Zhou Shiming's expression on his face remained stern.

  "Busy?" Leng Jiangbo was a bit bewildered, his words also somewhat incoherent, "It's a bit busy, a bit busy..."

  "Busy digging other people's graves?" Zhou Shiming sneered.

  "See what big brother said, little brother has long since turned over a new leaf..."

  "Oh, really? Reforming and turning over a new leaf... I think it's getting worse instead."

  "Brother, I'm running my leather goods store in a proper and honest manner, they can prove it." He said, pointing to the several followers beside him, "You guys say, right?"

  "Yes." Several subordinates nodded and said in unison.

  "Haha...... It seems you still won't tell the truth. Not only have you dug up other people's graves, but now you've also dug your own grave."

  "Big brother, what do you mean by this? How did you confuse me..."

  "Foolish? I think you're really foolish. You not only dig up other people's graves, but also stretch your evil hands towards your own master's grave."

  "Big brother, what are you talking about?" Leng Jiangbo tried his best to cover up his nervous and uneasy heart, pretending to be confused.

  "Don't you know? My father's grave was dug up before and after, don't you know?"

  Leng Jiangbo deliberately feigned a look of surprise and said, "Is this really the case? Who has eaten leopard gall to dare bully us like this? What a despicable thing! If I find out, I'll have him torn into eight pieces...". He lowered his voice again and asked, "When our predecessor passed away, there weren't many burial goods, nor were they very valuable. Why are the thieves so daring? Could it be that Shifu has offended someone?"

  "Offended someone? Haha... I think I haven't really offended anyone. Even if I did, should I dig up other people's ancestral graves?"

  "It's also, it's also, but after all, people like Shixiong who are so noble and upright are not many. The petty people in the world are numerous."

  "Judging from the way it was done, it looks like an inside job. I don't know who would do such a thing to deceive and destroy their own family, but I'm going to get to the bottom of this."

  "Yes, we must investigate thoroughly... " Leng Jiangbo hurriedly agreed, but he also wanted to take the initiative to attack and probe for information, so he said: "Is it that there's something good in Master's grave that caught the thief's attention?"

  "Good stuff? When my father passed away, our family wasn't very wealthy either, and there weren't any decent burial goods, let alone any secrets to speak of. Even if there were secrets, could my father have taken them with him? I think this digging up of the ancestral tomb is a case of 'the wine is not what's on the mind'. Looks like you're also very interested."

  "I don't dare, I don't dare..." Leng Jiangbo's sweat was dripping down.

  "There's something else, I think you're more aware of it, our mansion has been plagued by thieves lately, and just a few days ago, two thieves were killed in the garden of our mansion?"

  "Two people died in your mansion? How would I know that?" Cold River Wave defended himself.

  "It seems you still don't want to tell the truth." Zhou Shiming's tone suddenly turned stern, his gaze piercing Cold Jiangbo, "Tell me, was it you who sent him?"

  Several house slaves holding knives and swords suddenly drew their blades and crossed them at Leng Jiangbo's neck...

  Leng Jiangbo was taken aback, his face filled with fear, dread and panic. Despite his usual pretentious demeanor, when faced with death, he was more afraid than anyone else. Perhaps he was too scared to react, as he still held onto the teacup in his hand, unable to put it down, with the tea water still lingering in his mouth...

  His several subordinates were so frightened that they retreated backward, and even forgot to pull out the knives on their bodies...

  Leng Jiangbo looked at his subordinates' cowardly appearance, and was so angry that his heart almost jumped out. He glanced at the reinforcements outside with the corner of his eye...

  "You can forget about your men coming to rescue you, with those two moves of yours, I'm not even sure. Don't believe me? Go back and take a look, the men you had hiding in ambush have already run away without a trace. Quickly tell me what good deeds you've done!" Zhou Shiming said coldly.

  Leng Jiangbo collapsed onto the chair like a deflated balloon, completely helpless. But his rational mind told him: he absolutely couldn't tell the truth, or else he'd be dead for sure; if he held on and refused to speak, there might still be a glimmer of hope for survival...

  "Big brother, put down your knife first, put it down. Let's talk things over properly..."

  "I asked you, is it you who dug up Master's grave?"

  "No, no way..."

  "I'll ask you again, were the two people who died in the Zhou household your subordinates?" Zhou Shiming asked sternly.

  "I... really... don't know..."

  "It seems you're still stubborn!" Zhou Shiming said, giving a signal to his underling. The underling moved the knife closer to Leng Jiangbo's neck by several inches and shouted: "Speak!"

  The cold river waves gurgle and splash, wanting to speak, yet dare not speak, hesitating...

  "You think I have no basis, right? Today I'll tell you the evidence. I've already investigated the identities of those two people, and they have the mark of your Jiangyue Mountain Villa on their bodies. Do you still want to deny it?"

  "It's like this, big...big brother, they had already defected from Jiangyue Manor, as for what they did afterwards, I don't know..." Leng Jiangbo recited the prepared response, intending to continue denying.

  "It seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin. I had already sent someone to investigate, and they were by your side until their death. Do I need to go get a witness for you?" Zhou Shi was clearly prepared for this move.

  He had no choice but to admit that he was the one who sent him, and he knocked his head on the ground with all his might, begging Zhou Shiming for mercy.

  Zhou Shiming waved his hand to his subordinates, and the knife that was placed on Leng Jiangbo's neck was withdrawn. Leng Jiangbo felt like he had come back from the brink of death, and only then did he slowly let out a sigh of relief.

  "Out of respect for our past master-brother relationship, I don't want to make things difficult for you. Whether you admit it or not, I'm very clear about it in my heart. However, I still want to advise you that if you don't change your ways from now on, you won't need me to take care of you - there are plenty of people who want you dead. Don't believe me? Just wait and see!" Zhou Shiming said, leading his men out of the small wine shop.

  Leng Jiangbo fell to the ground and fainted...