Having obtained Zhu Er's consent, Xiang Yang prepared weapons to deal with Qian Fu. Meanwhile, Sun Tao remained in the tavern, sitting upright at the table and drinking cup after cup, his eyes vacant as he pondered.
"Could what he said be true? Could Senior Brother really be the mastermind behind the Kidnapping Case? If not, would Constable Xiang speak with such certainty?
"Also, he said County Magistrate Li Zhizhi knew about it too—that it was a secret known only to the three of us. Clearly, he wasn't afraid of me looking into it."
Wine poured into his sorrowful gut did not drown his grief; it only piled sorrow upon sorrow. Sun Tao did not dare believe Xiang Yang's claims, yet he was actively seeking evidence to prove them true. He truly was a contradictory man.
"Senior Brother has indeed become far more mysterious in recent years. He disappears for stretches of time now and then—what could he be doing? Could it be connected to the Kidnapping Case?
"And Jia Kui—he wasn't even close to being my match a year ago. Yet he has a closer relationship with Senior Brother. Not only did he win his favor and become the martial arts hall's second instructor, his martial arts have also advanced by leaps and bounds. It must be connected to the kidnapping business too."
The further Sun Tao thought, the more certain he became that Xiang Yang was telling the truth. Details he had never noticed before now seemed full of flaws and holes—facts enough to prove that Qian Fu and Jia Kui were hiding unspeakable secrets.
Bang! Sun Tao slammed the wine cup in his hand onto the table. The force shattered it outright, splashing wine across the floor. Shards cut his right hand, drawing faint streaks of blood.