Outside the inn, the north wind cut bitterly, and heavy snow swirled through the air.
Inside, the layabouts gathered in little groups, sipping wine, swishing mutton in hot pots, and passionately holding forth on the affairs of the world.
"Has nobody noticed something off about the way the Five Poisons Divine Sect is fighting this war?"
"What's off about it?"
"Think about it. With the strength the Five Poisons Divine Sect has shown, fighting on four fronts and still sitting steady as an old hound, they could have founded their sect and made their name ages ago if they'd concentrated on either the White Lotus Cult or the Bright Cult. Instead, they're not only battering White Lotus to the south and yanking Bright Cult's whiskers to the east, they've even dragged the Complete Truth Order in the northwest into the water... what exactly are they after?"
"By your reasoning, if the Five Poisons Cult only hammered the Bright Cult or only tore into the White Lotus Cult, would the other side just stand there with folded arms? What sort of people are the Peacock Holy Mother and the Great Sun Buddha? They're titans of their age! Even a hair plucked from their heads would be hollow with cunning. We can see something as simple as 'when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold.' Could they fail to understand it? And Complete Truth and Shaolin lead the orthodox martial world. Would they sit back and watch the Five Poisons Cult grow powerful in the south, then march north to fight them to the death? Brother, it's all calculation!"
"That's true, but if the Five Poisons Divine Sect really wanted to befriend the distant and attack the near, surely there'd still be room to ease things along? Anything would be safer