Since that incident in Nanhai, Guangzhou has been quiet. There were no problems with merchants, traders, or business owners. Everything has been silent, and such silence was unnerving. Even when the gangs are at peace with the merchants, there have always been ones with a toe out of line, but now no one did so much as sneeze. The city's underbelly was pregnant with trouble, and amidst all this, our troublemaker Gumei was sitting quietly in his parent's clinic, which was quite unlike himself. He didn't try to diagnose the patients like he used to; he didn't mix the herbs or prescribe medicine. His former duties fell on Xiao Yong, the person he brought from Rulai Pavilion, while he just sat in the corner doing the accounts.
Many young masters came to find trouble with him, but they weren't granted an audience. This had many people speculating on what must have happened to the little troublemaker. Did he run into some bigger trouble? Some people wondered aloud.
"Yes," other people replied, "with a face like that, he must have stolen some guy's wife's affection. No wonder he dares not step out of his house."
Only Jian Nanfeng knew the reason why Gunei refused to leave the house. At least he thought he knew. He has also been stopped at the door, but he understood why that happened. How could he have forgotten all about Gumei because he made a new friend? He should have been more considerate, but Li Xin was such an interesting lad!
Every time Gumei stepped into the clinic and saw those sick faces, it reminded him of Fei Zhi foaming, eyes turned inwards in the grasp of death. He couldn't go near them, so he buried himself in books, books on anything unrelated to medicine. The distraction didn't last long though; the memory always came back in bizarre moments.
He stepped outside for some fresh air in about a month, and his feet took him to the City Lord Mansion. When he came, he was surprised but figured since he was already there, he might as well go in. What welcomed him was the sound of laughter coming from the front hall. The city lord mansion was probably welcoming some esteemed guests. He bypassed the front hall and found his way to the rear garden, where Nanfeng usually did his training. The servant girls liked to watch, and Nanfeng didn't mind it either. He had lost count of how many times he had beaten the poor boy in that very garden to force him into taking his martial arts lessons seriously.
As Gumei drew closer to the rear garden, he noticed there was someone else training with Nanfeng. When the teacher or city lord was absent, Nanfeng usually trained alone; after all, he, Gumei, had no interest in martial arts.
Gumei could hear the servant girls cooing with delight as a sword struck against a sword. The person training with Nanfeng had a slender build and skin that hasn't seen much sunlight. It looked as soft and milky as a baby's skin, but the way he handled the sword suggested that he was trained by a seasoned professional, maybe even a soldier. Their swords danced against each other like in a relationship fraught with tension. Gumei felt like he was intruding and subconsciously took a step back. That was when Nanfeng noticed him and paused the fight. The stranger also stopped and looked back, and the face Gumei saw made him want to punch him and Nanfeng together.
Gumei turned back and left quickly, despite Nanfeng's attempts to keep him. He returned home to throw himself into those books of his, but there was an unexpected guest waiting for him at home.
…
Nanfeng's guilt ate at himself as he saw Gumei's face change from the usual mischievous grin to cold indifference as the latter saw Li Xin. These two had never met each other before, and he was sure of it, but why did Gumei hate Li Xin so much?
As for Li Xin, he was undisturbed by Gumei's undisguised hostility. It was of no consequence to him; it was Nanfeng that was important to him. He had finally been invited to Guangzhou, only to spend his precious time sparring with Nanfeng EVERY SINGLE DAY!
Li Xin had expected Jian Nanfeng to introduce him to some noblemen or even introduce him to the city lord as a friend, but he was clearly expecting too much. Was Nanfeng's circle limited to that Gumei? This didn't correspond to the rumors at all!
At this point, Li Xin was sure Lord Qing Jun knew he was in Nanhai; he needed to hurry in creating a shield for himself.