The waiter brought four pots of wine over without delay. It was a lot smaller than the initial ten, but the current batch looked a lot more appealing.
Shen Lian started reciting the passage without the man in green asking:
"Late spring in March, the grass was long and sheep were happy.
In this freezing weather, who will feed the wolves?
Humans have tender affection for the sheep, but could the same be said about the lone wolf?
It is an unpredictable world, it is a tough world!"
Shen Lian spoke slowly, but the man in green was drinking at a quick pace.
When he said "Late spring in March, the grass was long and sheep were happy." the man in green emptied the first pot of wine.
When he was done with the next sentence, "In this freezing weather, who will feed the wolves?" the man in green was done with the second pot of wine.
Shen Lian picked up his pace when he was on the third sentence, "Humans have tender affection for the sheep, but could the same be said about the lone wolf?" but he did not manage to finish his sentence before the man in green was done with the third pot of wine.
Shen Lian could have gone even faster when he was uttering the last sentence, "It is an unpredictable world, it is a tough world!". However, he slowed down and spoke slowly, word by word.
The man in green mirrored his pace and gulped his wine mouthful by mouthful.
When Shen Lian was done, the man in green had finished all four pots of great wine.
The four pots of wine would add up to at least hundreds of cups, if not thousands. The taste was pure and smooth, and the strength was strong. Even a habitual drinker with a high tolerance would have been drunk by now.
The man in green, however, remained as alert as before. His eyes were bright and clear, just like the stars in the night sky.
"Fine young man, you bought me a meal and did not judge me by appearance. Though I admire your heroic spirit, I'm not appreciative of your kind gesture at all. I'm sorry to say that no one in this State of Qing is fit to buy me a meal," the man in green spoke.
Shen Lian remained silent, and he waited for the man in green to continue. "This man is really full of himself, if he is not amazingly skilled, there is no way that he could have stayed alive up till now," he thought.
"What you said about "Humans have tender affection for the sheep, but could the same be said about the lone wolf?" was right up my alley, but I'm still not appreciative of your gesture," the man in green continued.
"You got to thank me for slowing down during the last sentence so that you didn't have to gulp down the wine hurriedly," Shen Lian smiled and replied.
"Indeed. Even though I have indulged myself in killing the innocent and committing heinous crimes, my biggest flaw would still be my arrogance. This great wine was strong. If I were to rush the last pot, I would have messed up the balance in my body. If would have been fine if this was just any other day, but I have to deal with some petty beings today. I'm about to engage in a battle with my newfound servant, and I mustn't be careless about this."
"What would happen if I were to speak of the last two sentences at a quick pace?" Shen Lian spoke unhurriedly.
"Then I would've forced the pot of wine down my throat with my Qigong. Though the moment I'm done, your head will be mine."
He spoke with certainty and contempt. Glancing at the two bodyguards from the House of Shen occasionally - clearly not taking them seriously.
"If you so much as touch a single hair of his, we will make sure that you can't walk out of here!" The two bodyguards slammed the table and shouted.
The two bodyguards could not hold back. It was their responsibility to protect Shen Lian. If Old Master Shen were to find out that they did not react when someone insulted Shen Lian, he would think that they were utterly useless.
They were determined to show the man in green some colors - even if it meant going against Shen Lian's will.
The duo went ahead and threw some loud and empty punches.
A martial art expert would tell you that no amount of gold can buy the sound of a punch.
The sounds made by empty punches were not from the motion of the wind but from the vibration of the bone. The incredible speed and strength in such a punch signified the level of attainment of its owner; it was also hard to neutralize such a punch.
Shen Lian was not well-versed in the martial arts, but this would not handicap his observation skills.
The two muscular and strong bodyguards were in their fighting stance, a stance that could be akin to the position taken by an archer right before shooting an arrow.
The two bodyguards each took a punch at the man in green; one at the ribs, and one at the shoulder.
The punches were thrown almost simultaneously.
They must have been each other's sparring partner, which explained their impeccable coordination and timing.
The man in green snickered and caught both of their punches with minimal effort. He brought the fist that was aiming at his shoulder down. A loud snap was heard.
The sound was from the collision of both of their fists, both of which were broken and shattered.
The man in green then pushed lightly at the bodyguards; that had sent them flying across the hall, shattering countless tables and chairs in the process. The frightened patrons in the hall did not dare to make a sound.
The two bodyguards were dead.
Shen Lian twitched his eyelids. Despite his attainment in terms of concentration, the sudden outburst of violence had caught him off guard and shook him deeply.
As if nothing had happened, the man in green took another bite at his food with his chopsticks. He did not care about the death of the two bodyguards; to him, they were just a pair of annoying houseflies.
The manager and the waiter were hugging each other and they shivered out of fear.
Shen Lian stared at the man in green without saying anything.
"When the master is put to shame, the servant should die. They died for a good cause. What more with a family as rich as yours, you can rest assured that their family would receive a huge sum as compensation. Don't get too hung up on it." The man in green put down his chopsticks and countered.
"This is human lives that we are talking about, how am I supposed to just get over it? I cherish the human lives that you so carelessly dismissed. It doesn't matter if it's our own life; we all get only one chance at this."
"So what do reckon that I should do now?"
"You owe me a favor right?"
"Yes."
"It's time for payback," Shen Lian's brief reply was certain and stern.
The man in green gave Shen Lian a fierce look. He looked like he was about to cut Shen Lian in pieces.
Shen Lian was fearless; he was calm and at peace, his spirit was stable as usual.
He did not have to do this, but he did it regardless.
He rejected Old Master Shen's lucrative offer just to not be a tool.
He would speak up for two insignificant bodyguards, just to feel like a human again and not some cold hard stones.
The man in green recalled a conversation he had with his late master, whom he had killed. "There is a group of people in the world who don't have great powers or great reasoning abilities; instead they have an immensely strong psyche power. These are the people who create miracles."
He asked his late master if he was one of them.
His master said he was not, and that he would not be able to create miracles and he would never find the Changsheng door.
Shen Lian was very calm. It was not mere pretense - he was calm on a spiritual level.
The man in green knew that he was a lot stronger than Shen Lian. Killing Shen Lian would be as easy as killing an ant.
However, he could not ignore the calmness in Shen Lian's eyes. He wondered what Shen Lian was relying on. Was he merely relying on his intangible psyche?
The man in green was right about something. It was as he said, "even though he has indulged himself in killing the innocent and committing heinous crimes, his biggest flaw would still be his arrogance."
That was why he hit himself in the chest without saying further. Fresh blood was dripping out from the corner out his mouth, but he did not wipe it off. "With this, I have returned the favor that I have owed you," he countered.