Chronicles of the Building of Pines and Cranes (II)

Ning Que sneered at his words, and as a disciple of the Second floor of the Academy and enjoying equal popularity with Chen Pipi, he was becoming more and more determined that he was a genius.

Because he was tall, the old man had been sitting in the chair with increasing discomfort, but he finally found a comfortable position after several changes in posture. Half-leaning on the back of the chair, he held his lower jaw and looked at Ning Que and asked, "Kill someone when you're unhappy? Have you killed someone before?"

Ning Que put the empty urn made from spring clay beside his feet and replied, "I won't tell you how many people I've killed because it is against the law of the Tang Empire, but you can just think about it."

The old man shook his urn, which was already empty, and then muttered a few words, asking the manager downstairs to bring another two urns. Then he stared at Ning Que and asked, "Why do you want to kill people?"