"Easy." The man smiled and wagged a finger at him. "You really are something special. Tell you what, let me ask you a question."
"How much do you know about gods?"
Gods?
Honestly, I don't know much about gods, but I know plenty about nutjobs.
Li Jie was increasingly certain that this man was either mentally unstable or a drunk. In his experience, the most important thing when dealing with offenders like these was to keep them calm with talk, then catch them off guard and subdue them.
This was Florida, after all. Whether someone looked tough or not, you never knew what kind of stunt they might pull.
"Gods? I know a few. Laozi, Buddha, the Jade Emperor, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Marshal Tianpeng..."
"Wait, wait." The man raised a hand to stop him. "What I meant was, how much do you know about the Greek Gods?"
"Greek...?"
Li Jie actually gave it some serious thought. "I know Athena, Poseidon, Hades, Hypnos, Thanatos, Shaka..."
"...What the hell is Shaka?" The man was confused again.
"No, my mistake. Shaka is just the one closest to being a god..."
"Not those tedious works of fiction!"
The man finally caught on. "I'm talking about the gods you worship and place your faith in!"
He swirled his wineglass. "For example, when you drink fine wine, shouldn't you thank the god who granted you such a worry-dispelling nectar?"
"God?" Li Jie swirled his own glass. "This fucking glass cost me seven dollars, plus fifty cents in tax. Are you saying a god took my money?"
The man fell silent. A dangerous glint flashed in his eyes, and his expression slowly chilled. "A god granted you mercy, and you failed to appreciate it. When you become a pig wallowing in the mud, remember