"Where did you see this golden awl before, Brother Zhou?"
It was still afternoon, yet hot wine and hot dishes had suddenly appeared in the Hall of Righteous Gathering. Boss Lou, the Mount Mang leader whom Zhang Xing had earlier considered likely to be the key to the outcome of this Golden Awl Stratagem... and who indeed was... finally could not contain himself.
"I've never actually seen one before." Boss Zhou chuckled, as rough and hearty as ever. "But once I reached Orthodox Meridian Great Perfection, I could no longer rein in my restless nature and began traveling north and south. In Huainan, I met a friend I'd trust with my life, and I did hear some stories about this from him..."
"That does fit." Boss Lou rubbed his fair, plump face, still looking somewhat uneasy. "But anyone who knows its origins must be a real figure of standing in Jianghuai..."
"A friend I, Zhou Yi, would trust with my life is naturally someone of real standing." Boss Zhou gave a teasing smile. "As far as I know, only three or four of these golden awls have ever been given out, at the very most. Including this one, that makes only four or five... Each recipient is a first-rate figure, a great hero. Brother Zhang said Eldest Zuo on the Huai River gave it to him, and I consider that a perfectly sound, fitting explanation of its origins. Besides, nothing he said or did earlier gave us any fault to find. All that was missing was this explanation, which is why I agreed to vouch for him."
"That was what I thought as well." Now Boss Lou could only nod.
Even so, after two cups of wine, Boss Lou looked toward another man-none other than Boss Han, who had earlier