Chapter 45: There Must Be a Pattern!

In a secret chamber in the Residence of Yun, Yun Yang alone stood facing a bound Li Changqiu.

Lao Mei and Fang Mofei both remained outside.

"Lao Mei, the young master is really mysterious." Fang Mofei spoke in puzzlement, "It's extremely uncanny. I was under the impression that the Residence of Yun contained only a young master and his butler. However, ever since I've arrived here, why do I feel that there is a lot more to it than meets the eye? I just can't put my finger on it!"

Lao Mei chuckled and gave him a sidelong glance as he said, "Can't put a finger on it, can you? Join the club! I, Lao Mei, have been in this courtyard for over three years and I still can't figure anything out up until now! You have just arrived, and you think you can make sense of it?"

He smirked in derision. Fang Mofei was genuinely shocked as he stared wide-eyed, "With your abilities and three whole years to work with, you can't have it figured out?"

Lao Mei pursed his lips, feeling somewhat embarrassed and spoke harshly as that embarrassment turned into anger, "Why are you so curious? Let's not talk about me. How about yourself? With your intelligence, forget three years, you won't get to the bottom of our young master even if you stay here for three lifetimes!"

Fang Mofei glared at him. My injuries have yet to recover, your father is not talking to you!

He had an absolute firecracker in his hands!

...

"Young man, stop wasting your effort." Li Changqiu's eyes were glinting. "I know nothing about this inheritance that you speak of."

"You will hand it over." Yun Yang leaned forward with a smile. Without warning, he raised his fists and began to pummel the arrogant man. "Are you handing it over or not? Are you handing it over or not? Are you handing it over or not?"

Bam bam bam...

Li Changqiu gritted his teeth and took the beating without a sound, his heart more relieved than ever. You want the heritance? It would then be in your best interest to keep me alive!

It was only when a flow of refined force suddenly sealed his meridians and dantian off that he finally felt a glimmer of fear.

It was the first time in his life he had come across such pure and refined energy!

If he possessed such godly skills, why would he still want the heritance of the School of Dastardly Poison?

As his thoughts careened wildly, a lightning-quick punch came forth.

Ooo...

Ka-cha...

Four of his upper front teeth shattered as blood poured copiously out of his mouth.

"A warrior can be killed but never humiliated!" Li Changqiu looked at Yun Yang with resentment and said, "Humiliating the strong like this... Young man, do you still have the slightest dignity left in you?"

He was missing a few teeth, so his speech came out sounding rather strange.

"The strong?" Yun Yang stopped his blows and smiled lightly. Taking out a white towel to wipe away the traces of blood on his fist, he spoke slowly, "Li Changqiu, remember your status. You're a prisoner here."

Li Changqiu, too, spoke sternly, "I'll remember you!"

Yun Yang smiled softly. "Right now, your meridians are under my restraint, you won't be able to break your meridians, including your heart meridians. I've sealed off your dantian so it's also impossible to self-destruct your dantian; your movements are restrained as well so you can't injure or hang yourself. I've also knocked your teeth out so you can't bite your tongue to commit suicide."

He spoke slowly, Li Changqiu still felt chilled as he listened to him. "What... what do you mean?"

"Nothing, I just don't want you to die yet." Yun Yang then grinned, showing his teeth. "Because you will soon wish you were dead."

Li Changqiu smiled in a grimace as he spoke almost inaudibly, "Even if I die, don't you dare think that you'll get your hands on the inheritance of the School of Dastardly Poison!"

Yun Yang face held an odd expression. "You still think I've captured you for that so-called School of Dastardly Poison's inheritance?"

Li Changqiu raised his head immediately, "Wasn't that your reason for bringing me here?"

"No."

Yun Yang's expression turned icy, the corners of his lips forcefully pulled into a cold cruel smile. "I only wish to ask you a few questions."

Li Changqiu instinctively felt something was amiss, "What do you wish to know?"

"Which month's which day are you?" Yun Yang asked word by word.

Goosebumps erupted all over Li Changqiu.

...

"Which month's which day are you?" They were just six ordinary words.

Yet the significance it brought when they were strung together, especially the significance it held upon landing on Li Changqiu's ears was like a lightning striking from the highest sky right into the deepest corner of his heart.

Right at this moment, he even felt dizzy and faint.

How many years had it been since someone had dug his deepest pit right in front of himself - this was the most confidential of his secrets!

Li Changqiu regained his composure and said, "I don't know what you mean."

Yun Yang smiled coolly and began to recite, "Li Changqiu, nicknamed Blacksmith Li. Stayed as a recluse in Tiantang City for thirteen years. He has always been diligent; the weapons forged are all of the finest quality as well. People even claimed that as long as Blacksmith Li kept on working, he might break through one day and achieve a master's standard in the field of weapon forging."

"Blacksmith Li's reputation has grown much greater in these recent years; people feel proud to own weapons personally forged by Blacksmith Li."

"As a spy, or perhaps an informant, you've reached the peak of perfection at this stage."

"However, Blacksmith Li is ill-tempered and is always in a bad mood. Once this occurs, he will close his business and disappear."

"And when this honest, ill-tempered, rustic, and wrinkly Blacksmith Li disappears, a graceful and near perfect Li Changqiu, Great Sir Li, will appear at Cirrus House."

"Great Sir Li is affluent, spending money like a flowing stream. Each time he visits the Cirrus House, he would expend at least several hundred silver taels."

"This Great Sir Li will then vanish; no one knows where he comes from, nor where he's going to. But at the same time, Blacksmith Li will reappear and regain his calm mood. He'll carry on casting iron earnestly and forging swords while striving for perfection.:

"If Blacksmith Li hadn't exposed himself, or perhaps if he could always control his discontentment and not allow anyone to catch him unawares, nobody would ever connect the graceful Great Sir Li with the honest good-natured Blacksmith Li. After all, from the surface, they look like they are both from different worlds."

Yun Yang spoke slowly, his eyes staring icily at Li Changqiu's.

Li Changqiu smiled. "I completely do not understand what you are saying."

Yun Yang paid him no mind as he continued speaking slowly, "If you hadn't taken the initiative to warn Marshal Qiu Jianhan, perhaps no one would have discovered you for the rest of your life. It is unfortunate that you still did so."

"I believe your superior will be surprised if he knew of this. How could Blacksmith Li, who has always been reliable, do something so ridiculous on his own accord? After all, even though no one could catch you and you could break yourself free any time, it still didn't make sense for you to do this."

Li Changqiu smirked, "Neither does the fact that you've captured me."

Yun Yang smiled lightly. "I was curious why would you do such a thing. It was just now that I've finally figured out the reason.."

Li Changqiu could not help but ask, "Why?"

"All these are only for... four words." Yun Yang smiled. "These four words are, roaming martial arts world."

"Roaming martial arts world..." Li Changqiu repeated the words slowly.

"You are an expert after all. Your skills have reached a height no ordinary person could. You must be a significant figure in the martial arts world before coming to Tiantang City as well.."

"You had your status, your reputation, your vanity, your pride. All these belonged to you alone. However, when you came to Tiantang City to be a blacksmith, you lost all these. You lost yourself."

"You had nothing, from then on you were only a blacksmith; your hidden identity is only a single day." Yun Yang continued, "But the martial arts world is everywhere."

"While working at your forge, you would have come into contact with a lot of those in the martial arts world."

"When you heard about the changes in the martial arts world, when you heard of countless names, both familiar and unfamiliar, you heard that they are all doing well now - even those you know are far more inferior compared to you, On the other hand, you have sufficient ability but you can't display any of it. You couldn't make a name for of yourself."

"You look at these upcoming talents and potentials, you look at the newcomers surpassing the elders. Yet your name was being slowly forgotten by all."

"Therefore, you have not resigned yourself to such a fate; you felt betrayed and you refused to accept this. What was it about these louts? If I were still there, would they still be as arrogant? So your temper rises, you get irritable, your mood sours."

"You closed your doors; you were not willing to be this blacksmith anymore."

Li Changqiu chuckled as he denied these observations in a low voice, "Ridiculous."

Yun Yang was unaffected as he said, "Although you were unwilling to become a blacksmith and unwilling to be forgotten, you still understood that it was your main goal to lie low and be regarded as a real blacksmith."

"So you didn't go far, only as far as the Cirrus House; you didn't fight and kill in the martial arts world. You temporarily numb yourself in the Cirrus House, calm yourself down and suppress this agitation; then you'll go back and continue to be a blacksmith."

"However, such habits form a very vicious cycle. Your temper will only get worse; the same goes for your mood."

"This is especially when you've done something significant but are unable to say it out loud, your mood sours even more. So throughout this year, your blacksmith shop has its door opened lesser and lesser as the days of you visiting the Cirrus House increases."

Li Changqiu's face was pale. He did not say anything but stared right at Yun Yang.

"People like you have their hearts paralyzed with fear and anxiety. When something you cannot handle happens, you will do what you think should be done without a care for this world - like threatening Marshal Qiu."

"Because you sympathize with your kind, the capture of Wu Wenyuan set your bells ringing; you were afraid that you will end up with the same fate because after all, you and Wu Wenyuan are cut from the same cloth. So you didn't hold back."

"But it's exactly because you didn't hold back that I have you here with me now!"

Yun Yang squinted his eyes as he looked at Li Changqiu who seemed to be in a trance and said lightly, "Whatever it is - be it good or bad, as long as it happens, as long as someone did it, then there must be a reason and a pattern behind it!"