After Wang Qiu'er and Tang Yuehua left, Lin Qian and Tang San made awkward conversation for a while longer.
Since one of them had studied at Moonlight Pavilion-and had even graduated with honors-while the other was currently studying there, both were well practiced in conjuring something out of nothing and finding things to say when there was nothing to talk about. What began as mere pleasantries eventually felt like a match between worthy chess opponents, each appreciating the other's talent.
Of course, a novice was ultimately no match for an old hand, and Lin Qian still came out slightly ahead.
To build a closer relationship, Tang San eagerly suggested going out for a meal. Awkward conversation was already the limit; a meal would be even harder to bear. So Lin Qian interrupted his casting and found a teahouse where they could catch up-or kill time.
Declining the afternoon tea set, Lin Qian only let Tang San order two cups of fragrant tea. The sooner they finished talking, the sooner he could leave.
"Captain, what have you been doing all these years?"
There had been too many eyes and ears at Moonlight Pavilion earlier. Out of the caution he had developed as an assassin in his previous life, Tang San had waited until no one else was around. Now he eagerly began, without even taking a sip of tea.
Lin Qian was quite obliging, making up a tale of "Li Si's Flight from Disaster" on the spot, with enough twists and turns to fill a book. He described in detail how, after fleeing Spirit City, he had been hunted down, fallen off a cliff, obtained a secret martial arts manual, and emerged utterly transformed.
Since he was making it all up anyway, he naturally made it as flashy as possible, borrowing