Xun Wind listed a host of benefits to joining [Eight Trigrams], while Kun Earth and He Piaojian sat on a sofa to the side, whispering to each other.
"When did we get all these benefits?"
"No idea. I've never heard of them." He Piaojian looked equally puzzled.
Material benefits clearly couldn't sway Fan Daoyi. Xun Wind slumped helplessly onto the sofa, grabbed a cup of water and took a huge gulp. Finally, he slammed the cup down on the table and shouted, "We have the authority to strike first and report afterward!"
Fan Daoyi's mood finally shifted, subtly. His brows lifted slightly as he weighed that authority.
"Could you tell me more?"
Xun Wind was about to speak when Kun Earth set down her teacup and calmly cut in. "For example, you could use that authority to resolve little problems that displease you. Only after dealing with them would you need to worry about finding sufficient justification."
"Wouldn't that be a little too arbitrary?" Fan Daoyi shook his head with a smile.
"Is that so? You seem quite interested to me. That way, you wouldn't have to go to so much trouble taking the long way around to deal with the roots behind other people, would you?" A hint of deeper meaning threaded through Kun Earth's words.
"I don't understand." Fan Daoyi bent down, picked up the tea Kun Earth had brewed for him, and took a small sip. "I still think it's best to have sufficient grounds before pronouncing someone guilty. Abusing law enforcement authority could very well lead to consequences unfavorable to oneself."
The two quietly tested each other. A brief silence fell over the room, and the air seemed to congeal.
Kun Earth smiled. "Yes. Take Little Jianjian, for example. He likes to fabricate sufficient grounds before he acts, so no one can get a handle on him either."
Fan Daoyi narrowed his eyes slightly and pressed her. "Then, even if the grounds were fabricated, would you still help?"
"Killing with a borrowed knife is perfectly normal." Kun Earth's lips curled upward, and a trace of cunning flashed in her eyes. "Of course, that also comes from trusting our colleagues."
As Fan Daoyi and Kun Earth talked, their cups touched, and their gazes met.
This time, it was Xun Wind and He Piaojian's turn to huddle together and mutter.
Xun Wind, who often acted on Intuition, was completely baffled by what he'd heard. He asked He Piaojian, "My Intuition tells me they're hinting at something, but how come I didn't understand a word?"
"Come closer. I'll tell you in secret." He Piaojian lowered his voice, looking utterly mysterious.
Xun Wind leaned in, holding his breath as he waited for the answer. The next second, he heard He Piaojian say, "I don't know either."
"Hey, fuck you..." Halfway through the curse, he suddenly heard a crucial exchange from Fan Daoyi's side and forcibly swallowed the words on his lips.
"Do you think I should join [Eight Trigrams]?"
That was Fan Daoyi's question back to Kun Earth.
"Quick, choose yes!" Xun Wind dashed right up to Kun Earth, seized her by both shoulders, and shook her. "Hurry, hurry! If you knew what I saw, you'd do the same."
"Don't doubt me. Throw away those twisty, roundabout brains of yours. This is Intuition, Intuition—"
Kun Earth covered the mouth of her teacup with one finger. Despite Xun Wind shaking her, not a single drop spilled.
Her eyes remained narrowed as she rested one hand on Xun Wind's shoulder. "We've worked together for a long time, so naturally I don't doubt any of your decisions. I've trusted your Intuition ever since you first asked me to help at the hospital, so could you stop shaking me now?"
Only then did Xun Wind stop. He looked at Kun Earth with eyes full of anticipation, while Fan Daoyi quietly waited for her answer.
Kun Earth pondered for a moment before speaking slowly. "Joining [Eight Trigrams] has both advantages and disadvantages. But since Xun Wind insists so strongly, I naturally choose him. Ultimately, though, the decision is yours."
It was a very fair answer, and Kun Earth had tossed the troublesome matter right back to him.
"In that case, I have a few questions too." Fan Daoyi had originally intended to join the authorities anyway, so he was in no rush to reject an olive branch when someone offered one. "You belong to [Eight Trigrams]. Going by the eight trigrams, haven't all the positions already been filled?"
He recalled the codenames he had heard and seen along the way. There was no place for him among those eight trigrams.
"Or can you tell from your Intuition alone that my joining [Eight Trigrams] would be a good thing?"
He rose with the aid of his bamboo staff and walked slowly toward Xun Wind. Kun Earth calmly took another sip of tea, watching Fan Daoyi's next move out of the corner of her eye.
Fan Daoyi continued his questions. "Use your Intuition to answer a more immediate question. For example, am I about to kill you?"
His hand touched Xun Wind's shoulder, and their figures vanished before Kun Earth and He Piaojian.
Kun Earth heard his words and sprang up from the sofa, her expression anxious.
He Piaojian, however, spoke at an unhurried pace. "Big Sister Kun Earth, you still don't trust Xun Wind's Intuition enough."
"If there were any real danger, Xun Wind would have run long ago, and he'd have nipped the danger in the bud beforehand. Why would he be urging Fan Daoyi to join?"
A towering spire rose into the clouds. Fan Daoyi and Xun Wind stood at its very top as fierce winds howled past them, whipping their clothes and hair.
Looking down, they could dimly make out a pointed tip, like a sharp sword.
"I'll push you off from here, and the spike will pierce your chest. Your corpse will hang high in the air, drying in the wind day and night, undiscovered." Fan Daoyi painted a vivid picture of Xun Wind's death for him.
There was no fear in Xun Wind's eyes. Still cheerful, he answered the question Fan Daoyi had asked earlier.
"The number of positions in [Eight Trigrams] isn't a problem. As long as you want to join, reporting it and adding a new position would be as easy as turning over a hand. As for what your joining means for our future, all I know is that if you choose another organization, it will be a tremendous loss to us."
When Fan Daoyi heard that, a trace of loneliness and disappointment appeared in his eyes. He slowly reached toward Xun Wind's back and gave him a gentle push.
The place where they stood atop the tower was narrow, and Xun Wind couldn't keep his footing under Fan Daoyi's push. He lost his balance and fell straight down, drawing closer and closer to the sharp spike.
Facing imminent death, Xun Wind spread his arms and laughed. "My Intuition tells me I won't die!"
The wind howled in Xun Wind's ears as he plummeted, yet there was not a trace of fear on his face. He firmly believed in his Intuition.
Sure enough, just as the spike was about to pierce Xun Wind's chest, Fan Daoyi flashed to his side, grabbed his arm, and brought him back to the [Eight Trigrams] organization.
Slightly tired from the trip, Fan Daoyi sat back down on the sofa and even joked with Xun Wind. "All right, your trust didn't hand me a perfectly legitimate reason."
Fan Daoyi made up his mind. Although the members of [Eight Trigrams] were all a little sick in the head, they trusted Xun Wind's ability unconditionally.
And because of what his Intuition had shown him, Xun Wind trusted Fan Daoyi completely without using his brain. With that one-to-one match, they would trust Fan Daoyi because they trusted Xun Wind, and his suspicions gradually dissipated.
With the authority to strike first and report afterward, he could simply tell them whenever he had troublesome matters to deal with and didn't want to act personally. What an easy, delightful arrangement—far better than those subordinates who were always giving him trouble.
"I agree." As his opening shot at dispelling their suspicions, Fan Daoyi decided to give them a word of advice, putting himself in a bind first. "But I should remind you not to rely too heavily on the abilities you've acquired. In the end, they aren't your own."