16 Li You Ran

"The Third Young Master Jun is very straightforward," Meng Haizou praised Jun Mo Xie. "Your heroism goes beyond the Heavens… as is expected from the Third Young Master of the Jun family. You’re just like your grandfather… just the way he was in his heroic days." His tone was dripping with sarcasm. However, the original Jun Mo Xie wouldn’t have been able to understand it.

Meng Haizou looked at Tang Yuan and said, "We were playing a game of dice with Young Master Tang. But, he wasn’t able to continue the game. How about resuming the game of dice? Is the Third Young Master Jun game for it?" Tang Yuan’s face became red as he heard these words. However, he didn’t say anything.

"A game of dice?" Jun Xie exclaimed, "Why would I fear a game of dice?" He thought, [They’re trying to provoke me again. The original Jun Mo Xie would’ve easily fallen for something like this if he had heard these words!]

"I’m up for it…" Dugu Xiao Yi spoke-up in an excited tone. A confused expression appeared on Meng Haizou’s face as he heard her voice.

"Hurry up! Serve tea to the guests," Li Feng ordered hurriedly.

Several cups of tea immediately arrived, and were placed in front of the guests. Tang Yuan gulped down the contents of his cup in one go. He then wiped his mouth and said, "Third Young Master Jun, your brother is counting on you. You must help me in venting out my anger."

Jun Xie laughed in an overwhelming manner, and reached for his cup of tea. Meanwhile, he looked at the faces present at the table.

He became suspicious as he noticed the delighted faces of Li Feng and Meng Haizou. He brought the cup of tea close to his nose. He then sniffed it, and slammed it on the table. "Is this the quality of tea that you serve to your customers? It’s very disappointing."

A sniff of the tea was enough for Jun Xie to detect the presence of a drug in it. The aroma of the tea was similar to that of opium. A person’s state of mind would be hugely affected once they had consumed this drug. However, they drug may not have an adverse effect on one’s body. Jun Xie noticed that the color of Meng Haizou’s robe was extremely bright, and it was embroidered in a disorderly fashion. Moreover, a strange smell was emanating out of it. Jun Xie understood that Meng Haizou’s clothing — coupled with his scent and the drug — could lead a person to lose his or her mind.

There seemed to be a problem with Meng Haizou’s clothing and the tea. They all seemed to be connected. It was clear that there was an extremely skilled pharmacist behind these men.

Jun Xie now understood the reason behind Tang Yuan’s extreme steps. He understood why Tang Yuan had pawned his wife.

Jun Xie looked at Dugu Xiao Yi’s tea cup and realized that it hadn’t been contaminated with drugs. Jun Xie understood that Li Feng and Meng Haizou didn’t wish to provoke the Dugu family.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up! Bring another cup of tea for the Third Young Master Jun," Li Feng shouted as he saw Jun Xie discard his cup of tea.

"Don’t bother! I’m here to gamble… not to drink tea. I don’t need to come here to enjoy a cup of tea. So, there’s no need to replace it." Jun Xie then raised his head and gulped down the entire cup in one go.

"Now… hurry up… and start playing. I’m getting impatient."

Li Feng and Meng Haizou’s faces brightened-up. "As you say, Third Young Master Jun." Then, they ordered a servant to lead their way. They soon entered into a vast empty hall. The only furniture inside that huge hall was a stone table and a dozen of chairs. Jun Xie and the others hadn’t come across a single person on their way to this hall. It seemed that Li Feng had cancelled the entirety of his business activities in order to deal with Jun Mo Xie.

Jun Xie had sneezed on his way to this place, and had sprayed all his saliva on Tang Yuan’s clothes. Tang Yuan had shouted, and quickly wiped the saliva from his clothes.

Then, Jun Xie had rubbed his nose and had spat out some more saliva with a ‘pei’ sound. "It’s strange. Why am I feeling so dizzy? I’m also feeling like sneezing a lot." Li Feng and Meng Haizou looked at each other and smiled. [The medicine has started to show its effects… hahahaha…]

*** ***

The Grand Preceptor’s residence….

The Grand Preceptor Li Shang was leaning on a couch; his eyes were half closed. He was listening to a melodious song of a singer from behind the curtain. He smiled and asked, "Why did you leave this job in the hands of such incapable wastrels? We’ll miss out on a grand opportunity in case they make any mistake. That useless fellow – Jun Mo Xie is good for nothing. But, we can’t afford to provoke his grandfather – Jun Zhan Tian. It’ll become a problem for us if he finds out about it."

He was speaking in a soft tone. However, his words were dripping with admonition. He seemed to be assured and confident about the person sitting in front of him.

A white-robed handsome young man sat before him. He had a tall stature with red lips, white teeth and delicate features. He sat still like a mountain; without any hurried movements. His whole persona was exuding a noble elegance. He smiled as he heard the question, and replied, "This grandchild feels a lot of admiration for grandfather. You’re always very careful about every little detail. But, Jun Mo Xie is just a debauchee. We would be giving him too much importance if we send capable people to deal with him. We’re very well aware of his character. So, it doesn’t matter if we fail now. We’ll get more opportunities in the future. We don’t need to give it much thought. Moreover, it’ll look unusual for capable people to acquaint themselves with a useless person like Jun Mo Xie. This would expose our plan… and we would end-up losing this opportunity.

"It’s true that Jun Mo Xie is a debauchee. But, he holds himself in very high esteem. Our plan would’ve backfired if we had sent capable people – with numerous resources at their disposal – to deal with him."

His words revealed a trace of irony. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Li Feng and Li Zhen are useless fellows. But, their standard is similar to Jun Mo Xie’s. The phrase – everyone has their own advantages – proves to be true in this situation. It’s only wise to use debauchees in order to deal with a debauchee; that too a useless debauchee like Jun Mo Xie. We may even get a pleasant surprise with the two of them dealing with him. Even a stupid person like Jun Mo Xie wouldn’t have fallen for our plan if we had sent our core members to deal with him. Besides this… hahaha…"He laughed. He didn’t need to say anything else. It was clear what he meant, [No one uses meat in order to slaughter a chicken…]

An expert should only be expected to deal with an expert; a good blade should be used for something which is worthy of it. An expert would feel insulted if he was sent to deal with a useless and defenseless person.

If a performer was to sing ‘White Snow in Early Spring’ in front of a butcher, then not only the performer would feel perplexed… even the butcher would start feeling drowsy.

Li Shang looked at his eldest grandson – Li You Ran with admiration. "Well said…" He seemed satisfied with his explanation. Li You Ran was the best prospect in the young generation in Li family. He was perfect in terms of gestures, speech, expressions, and leadership-style. Moreover, he was extremely resourceful. He was also a genius in the Xuan Qi cultivation, and had reached the Gold level at the young age of twenty-five. His speed of cultivation was the highest in the Tian Xiang kingdom.

However, his most valuable asset was his calm and steady mind. He was neither cocky nor hot-headed. He believed in maintaining an extremely low-key style. Moreover, he was great at devising ingenious strategies. He was capable of devising strategies that enabled him to win a deal while sitting at a distance of thousands of kilometers; even though he was very young. Even Li Shang wouldn’t have been able to match his abilities at his age. Li Shang was extremely proud of his eldest grandson. He knew that it was important for Li You Ran to take the lead in the family in order to make the Li family soar to newer heights.

Li You Ran never underestimated anyone. This was probably the best trait of his personality. He analyzed each and every aspect of a plan while implementing it. He analyzed every single aspect of a person while dealing with him or her. He always maintained an indifferent attitude; even while dealing with a person like Jun Mo Xie. He never – at any point of time – showed even a little ridicule while discussing about him.

Such a person was born to be a leader; irrespective of where he was placed.

"This strategy sounds good. But, we shouldn’t take any chances. We should remove the possibility of any ‘what if’ that may arise. It’ll be the best situation… if we succeed in our first attempt." Both of them believed that Jun Mo Xie couldn’t escape their trap. After all, it was Li You Ran’s brilliant plan which had gone through Tang Yuan. In fact, they’d know that something wasn’t right if Jun Mo Xie somehow escaped this trap. But, they would enter the second phase of their planning if Jun Mo Xie fell for that plan. After that, Jun Mo Xie would never be able to escape. Jun Zhan Tian may have refused to serve them at this moment. But, he’d certainly break down because of his useless grandson. And, their purpose would be served in that case since Jun Zhan Tian wouldn’t pose any threat to them.

"What if?!" Li You Ran frowned as he reconsidered every little detail of his plan. He shook his head and said, "I don’t think there are any other possibilities. Don’t forget that I’ve included Meng Haizou in my plan. I know that he isn’t a big talent… but he’s enough to deal with someone like Jun Mo Xie. Jun Mo Xie can’t escape my trap this time."

"What will happen if he manages to escape your trap?" Li Shang asked in a joking tone.

"What if he manages to escape?" Li You Ran seemed lost in thoughts. He then started to laugh. After that, he looked at the door and said, "If he manages to escape… then he’s not Jun Mo Xie."