Chapter 191 - 118: Not a Simple Identity

"I’ve been talking with the person in charge at the Daoist Temple for the past two days, and we’ve finalized everything for me to move in."

"Oh..."

Lin Yue nodded. She didn’t think much of it.

It wasn’t a bad thing for them to live closer. It would make coordinating for work much more convenient.

But...

’What about the case? The hearing is tomorrow. Is he really not going to do any more prep today?’

After all...

Sun Li couldn’t get any information from the court, since it had already closed for the day.

But she could get it from Yang Chunping!

The information from either source was essentially the same. The moment Yang Chunping let anything slip, Sun Li would know the direction the case was headed. At the very least, she would be able to prepare some basic countermeasures.

’So shouldn’t Xu De be doing more to prepare for that?’

But to her surprise...

Xu De seemed to have no such worries. He quickly walked back to his rented room, number 404.

A moment later, he emerged with several pre-packed suitcases and bags.

SHUNK.

"Let’s go. I don’t have much luggage."

Xu De locked the door. As he and Lin Yue, laden with bags of all sizes, made their way down the stairs...

...he suddenly stopped.

Xu De turned back, taking one last, long look at the dark, cramped, and dreary apartment he had lived in. Dozens of old, faded ads for various services were still plastered on its red iron door.

From this moment on...

...he was making a clean break with the past.

Xu De turned around.

He picked up his luggage and walked away without another moment of hesitation.

...

...

「Six in the evening.」

In front of White Cloud Temple, Lusen City.

Xu De walked into White Cloud Temple, carrying his various bags.

The White Cloud Temple grounds were vast. Although it didn’t attract many worshippers, it was far from being one of those small Daoist temples with just a main hall and a couple of side rooms.

The temple’s interior was more like a simplified, miniature tourist attraction.

Just inside the gate...

...Xu De saw him.

In a stone pavilion in the courtyard, Master Guanxin sat at a table, silently sipping tea. He looked to be nearly seventy, and he exuded an air of inexplicable tranquility and composure.

Beside Master Guanxin sat another man, who looked to be about fifty years old.

"Master, good to see you. I’m here to move in."

Xu De offered a casual greeting, then bustled into the temple with his luggage.

Lin Yue was helping too, carrying some of his things.

Master Guanxin said nothing, merely lowering his head to continue sipping his tea.

However...

"Hmm?"

The middle-aged man of about fifty, sitting on the stone bench next to Master Guanxin...

...watched the two young people bustling about, moving their things. He frowned slightly, his gaze fixed on them, especially on Lin Yue, who was scurrying back and forth without any sign of fatigue.

"Hmm?" he murmured inquisitively.

Lin Yue, who was in the middle of moving things...

...looked up and glanced at the man in the stone pavilion. For some reason, she suddenly felt a pang of guilt, but she forced herself to stay composed and kept working.

Before long...

...under the watchful eyes of the two composed men in the stone pavilion, the two energetic young people finished their task.

After a while, Xu De and Lin Yue returned to the entrance, parked the car, and the move was finally complete.

"Whew..."

Xu De stood at the entrance, wiping the sweat from his forehead and panting.

Moving was tiring. Not in terms of physical exertion, but a kind of mental exhaustion and lethargy that made you feel flushed and hot.

"Lawyer Xu, why don’t you come have a cup of tea to refresh yourself?"

In the stone pavilion...

...Master Guanxin smiled at Xu De, raising his cup in invitation.

"Coming."

Xu De didn’t stand on ceremony. He strode over in just a few quick steps.

Now, only Master Guanxin was in the pavilion; the other middle-aged man had disappeared somewhere.

Xu De plopped down on the stone bench next to him.

Master Guanxin poured him a cup of tea. Xu De grabbed it without a shred of ceremony and chugged it down in one go.

He smacked his lips. The warm liquid slid down his throat, and a pleasant warmth spread out from his stomach.

It was as if even the chill of the January wind had been chased away.

"Mm, that’s good tea," Xu De said with a nod.

"Good tea or not, you can’t just gulp it down like that!"

Lin Yue poked her head in from outside. Seeing that the middle-aged man was gone, she finally dared to walk in confidently. She came up beside Xu De, saw the dregs in his cup, and shook her head.

"That tea cake was a special gift to the Master from some important people in the provincial government."

"You can’t just chug it like that! A single gulp is only good for warming you up!"

There were many subtleties to drinking tea.

For tea connoisseurs, tea was the ’Dao’—the Way. Just as bamboo could be a metaphor for a person’s character, so could tea. One could use it to clarify the ’path’ they wished to walk.

But clearly...

...almost nothing could faze Master Guanxin. He just chuckled.

"Ah, Yue."

"Tea is just water, and water is just tea. If it can quench your thirst and warm you up, it’s a good cup of tea."

"All that talk of flavor profiles and ambiance is just something imposed by others, a personal interpretation. In the end, it’s just leaves steeped in water. For Xu to quench his thirst like this isn’t a waste of the tea at all."

Upon hearing this...

...Lin Yue said nothing more, simply taking a delicate sip of her own.

As the fragrant steam of the tea filled her senses, she couldn’t help but relax.

She wasn’t a professional tea taster, but the cake this tea was brewed from...

...was probably priceless.

’Someone from the provincial government actually gave this to the master of a Daoist Temple... and from the sounds of it, he only accepted it reluctantly.’

As she was lost in thought...

...Lin Yue suddenly snapped back to reality.

"Oh, right. It’s almost seven, isn’t it? We still haven’t eaten. After dinner, it’ll probably be time for bed."

"Are you really not going to prepare any contingency plans!?"

Lin Yue stared at Xu De, her eyes filled with astonished suspicion.

It was common knowledge.

The closer one gets to a court hearing, the greater the psychological pressure on the client.

Yang Chunping might have already confessed everything to Sun Li.

Sun Li might not be able to fight the overall outcome, but... she could certainly fight over the details!

For instance, the division of assets. Would it be a clean break with nothing, or a 90-10 split? Or maybe 80-20, with Wang Yu getting eighty percent?

Sun Li could absolutely fight for a better deal on these points!

"There’s no need for contingency plans. A person like Yang Chunping won’t talk."

Xu De seemed unconcerned.

He took another sip of tea. This time, he savored it, and sure enough, he could taste the rich aroma. He shot a surprised glance at Master Guanxin.

’Someone gave him something like this?’

’This old man... his background must be more impressive than it seems.’

But he didn’t dwell on it.

"You’re that confident!?" Lin Yue exclaimed.

Lin Yue was astonished.

Master Guanxin, listening from the side, looked a little confused but didn’t interject, content to just watch.

Noticing his expression, Lin Yue quickly explained to him.

"Great-Granduncle, it’s like this. We took on a divorce case a couple of days ago..."

After her explanation...

...Master Guanxin understood what she was so worried about.

He turned his gaze to Xu De as well.

Lin Yue asked again,

"You’re that certain!?"

Xu De collected himself and gave a calm nod.

"Yes."

"Why?" Lin Yue asked, surprised.

"Because of a peculiar psychological factor present in some people."

Xu De thought for a moment before explaining.

’Psychological factor?’

Lin Yue was skeptical. Master Guanxin also watched Xu De silently, waiting for a reply.

After another moment of thought, Xu De elaborated.

"Lawyer Lin, as a woman, you’ve probably thought about this issue."

"Yang Chunping is a woman, so let’s use something common among women as an example."

"For example..."

...clothing sizes," Xu De said.

’What kind of psychological issue is there with clothing sizes?’

"If you’re a man, you might not notice it. You wear a 2XL or 3XL, and you can generally buy that standard size in any store."

"But it’s different for women."

"The sizing difference from one store to the next can be huge."

"An XL from one brand might actually be bigger than a 2XL from another."

"This leads to confusion when women are shopping for clothes, making it nearly impossible to consistently find something that fits their body."

"But that raises a question."

"Retailers are in the business of making money. Don’t you think they know that inconsistent sizing leads to returns and refunds?"

"They do. But the reason this practice persists is due to a core factor called..."

Suddenly,

Xu De spoke, uttering two words.

"Size shame."

The words hung in the air.

In the stone pavilion...

...Lin Yue frowned slightly, and Master Guanxin continued to watch Xu De, his expression unchanged.