Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 64

That young man was Ji Jing, Xiong’er’s childhood friend.

He was very warm toward Xiong’er. He reached out and gave him a quick hug. “I didn’t think you’d actually come.” After he’d sent that letter, Xiong’er hesitated for ages and never wrote back. He’d assumed Xiong’er wasn’t coming at all.

After catching up with Xiong’er, Ji Jing said to Xiongda, “Brother Xiongda, I didn’t think you’d be able to come too. That’s great.”

Xiongda was reserved by nature and only nodded at him.

Only then did Ji Jing look at Huo Fenghua. Two lanterns hung at the restaurant entrance, and in the dim yellow light he couldn’t make out Huo Fenghua clearly, only that he looked slender. So he asked Xiong’er, “And this gentleman is?”

Before Xiong’er could speak, Huo Fenghua smiled and said, “My surname’s Su. My given name’s Qiang. My nickname is Wuhetan Qiang. You can call me Brother Qiang.”

When Ji Jing heard “Wuhetan Qiang,” he instinctively glanced at Huo Fenghua’s head. Then he heard “Brother Qiang,” and he gave a soft laugh without replying. He turned to Xiong’er and said, “You’ve had a hard journey. Come in and sit. I’ll have the kitchen send up a table of food and wine.”

They followed Ji Jing into the restaurant. Xiong’er looked around and saw that the main hall was tall, bright, lavish, and splendid. He couldn’t help saying to Ji Jing, “Looks like you’ve really been doing well for yourself here in Wuhetan.”

Ji Jing smiled without saying anything and led them upstairs into a private room. After he shut the door, he finally said, “Thanks to Master Hu thinking well of me, he let me manage a few restaurants here in Wuhetan. When I wrote to you a couple years ago, it was because I wanted you to come help me.”

Ji Jing was trusted by Hu Dong in Wuhetan, but people here were vicious. On the surface they called you brother, but behind your back they waited for the right moment to stab you. Back then, holding things up alone had felt difficult, so he’d wanted Xiong’er to come help. After all, they’d grown up together. That was the kind of person you could truly trust.

The group sat down around a round table.

People brought dishes and wine in one after another. Once all the irrelevant servants had filed out, Ji Jing personally filled cups for Xiongda, Xiong’er, and Huo Fenghua. “Now that you’re here, you’ll follow me and work hard in Wuhetan,” he said, brimming with confidence. Then he raised his cup. “Once you’ve rested up today, in a couple of days, when there’s time, I’ll introduce you to Master Hu.”

Xiong’er didn’t respond. He only glanced at Huo Fenghua.

All the way in, Ji Jing hadn’t paid Huo Fenghua much attention. Now, seeing Xiong’er ignore him and look to Huo Fenghua instead, Ji Jing felt a flash of displeasure and couldn’t help sizing him up again. Under the bright lamplight, he saw that even though Huo Fenghua’s face was smeared with grime, his features were extremely refined, and his eyes were unmistakably bright.

Huo Fenghua smiled. “We don’t want to work under Master Hu. We want to open a gambling house.”

Ji Jing froze and set down his cup. “A gambling house?”

Huo Fenghua nodded.

Ji Jing laughed, with a hint of mockery. “Little brother, do you know who controls the gambling houses in Wuhetan?”

Huo Fenghua propped his cheek on one hand, looking like he was all ears.

So Ji Jing continued, “Every gambling house in Wuhetan is under Third Master Luo’s people. If you want to open one, first you need Third Master Luo’s approval. You pay him tribute every month, and you also have to let his people lend money in your establishment.” He paused, then went on. “Wuhetan isn’t that big. Sure, there are plenty of drunks and degenerate gamblers, but it still can’t accommodate more gambling houses.”

Hearing that, Xiong’er looked toward Huo Fenghua.

Huo Fenghua said, “So what you’re saying is, if I want to open a gambling house, I have to drive that Third Master Luo out of Wuhetan.”

Ji Jing had expected him to say they’d go rely on Third Master Luo. He hadn’t expected Huo Fenghua to open his mouth and talk about driving Third Master Luo out. Ji Jing couldn’t help letting out a snort of laughter. “You think Third Master Luo could run wild in Wuhetan for this long without having skills? Beside him there’s a subordinate with terrifying martial arts. People call him the Bald Scholar…”

Bang! Huo Fenghua suddenly slammed the table and barked, “Insolence! He dares call himself ‘Bald’!”

Ji Jing wasn’t angry. He only found him exaggerated and ridiculous. “He’s truly bald.”

Huo Fenghua raised a hand and touched his own head. “So you mean I’m a fake bald guy?”

Xiong’er jabbed him with an elbow. “Enough, stop it. You are a fake bald guy. Why do you care about pointless crap like this?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the group heard a loud commotion outside the door, sounding like it was coming from the restaurant’s ground-floor hall.

Since Ji Jing managed the place, he naturally had to go take a look. He opened the door, saw a passing waiter, and asked, “What’s going on downstairs?”

The waiter said, “It seems like Third Master Luo’s people are collecting gambling debts. They made a scene here.”

Huo Fenghua heard that from inside and immediately stood up to watch. The group went to the second-floor railing and looked down into the hall.

Xiong’er asked Ji Jing, “You don’t need to do anything?”

Ji Jing replied, “Let’s watch first. This is common as dirt in Wuhetan. If it doesn’t disturb the other guests eating, we don’t have to interfere. Third Master Luo’s people know the limits when they collect debts.”

Down in the hall, about four fierce-looking men surrounded a middle-aged man. They had an IOU spread open in their hands and shouted, “Pay up!”

The middle-aged man hunched over, begging desperately. “Give me two more days, please. I’m begging Third Master.”

One of the debt collectors grabbed his collar and hauled him up. “Third Master said tomorrow’s the last deadline. If you can’t pay, then you’ll obediently send your son over to settle the debt!”

The middle-aged man’s eyes went wide, his face going ghastly white. He grabbed at the man’s hand. “I, I have a daughter, fourteen this year. I’ll send her to settle it. Please, let Third Master spare my son, okay?”

The collector flung him off in disgust. “Enough talk. Let’s go!” With that, the group left the restaurant.

The middle-aged man collapsed limply to the floor. Soon the restaurant staff dragged him up and threw him out.

Huo Fenghua frowned hard. “He’s shameless. Not only does he gamble like that, he even wants to trade his fourteen-year-old daughter to save his son.”

Ji Jing said, “That’s because you don’t know. If he sends his daughter to Third Master Luo, he might live. If it’s the son, there’s a good chance he goes and never comes back.”

Huo Fenghua looked startled.

Ji Jing felt this wasn’t a good place to talk, so he waved them back inside. After he shut the door, he said, “That Bald Scholar under Third Master Luo has been refining ‘medicine men’ lately.”

“Medicine men?” Xiong’er asked curiously. “What’s that?”

Ji Jing said, “I can’t really explain it clearly either. We’re not that connected with Master Luo’s side. But the talk is that the Bald Scholar is using living people to test drugs, trying to refine a living corpse that has bronze skin and iron bones, formidable martial arts, and is under his control. Third Master Luo has been grabbing people for him to test on. Who knows how many bodies have already been carried out from the back courtyard of the Luo residence.”

“That vicious?” Xiong’er’s heart jolted.

Ji Jing lowered his voice. “There’s no law here. If you walk out at night and someone cuts you down with one knife, you’re dead, and that’s that. So you should find a backer as soon as possible. With a backer, before someone lays a hand on you, they’ll weigh it first and see whether they can afford to.”

Between the lines, he was trying to persuade Xiongda and Xiong’er to follow him and work under Hu Dong.

Huo Fenghua was thinking about something else and didn’t notice what he was saying. He suddenly said, “I want to make a trip to Third Master Luo’s residence.”

Everyone looked at him.

Huo Fenghua rubbed his chin. “Go meet that Bald Scholar.”

Xiongda hurriedly raised both hands and signed at Huo Fenghua. They’d been together long enough that Huo Fenghua could roughly understand. He nodded and said, “I know I might not be his match. I’m not going to clash with him head-on. I’m just going to test the waters. Don’t worry.”

Xiong’er frowned. “You have no idea what it’s like in there. If you charge in recklessly and can’t get out, then what?”

Huo Fenghua smiled. “Then it comes down to each person’s skills.”

Xiongda signed that he wanted to go with him.

Huo Fenghua shook his head. “You stay here. I’ll go alone. Otherwise if I have to run for my life, I’ll still be thinking about you.”

At the hour of Yin*, Huo Fenghua brought Xiongda and Xiong’er to the narrow alley behind the Luo residence, following the direction Ji Jing had pointed out.

*Between 3-5 AM.

Even in Wuhetan, most people were asleep by then. Only now and then did a drunk stagger past on the street. There were also people lying along the roadside, dark shapes you couldn’t see clearly. You couldn’t tell whether they were drunks passed out or already corpses.

Huo Fenghua wore black. He tightened his cuffs and pant legs, had Xiongda and Xiong’er wait outside, then climbed the wall in alone.

Inside Third Master Luo’s residence, everything was dark and quiet. Everyone seemed to be asleep. Only pairs of servants patrolled with lanterns. As they walked they chatted casually, never imagining someone had slipped in during the night.

At first, Huo Fenghua had only wanted to open a gambling house and satisfy his own wish. He hadn’t figured out how to deal with Third Master Luo. But after hearing Ji Jing talk about how brutal and vicious Third Master Luo and the Bald Scholar were, he started thinking he might as well rid the world of them.

Unfortunately, the Luo residence was large, and he didn’t know which room belonged to Third Master Luo. He couldn’t just barge around blindly.

The spot he climbed in was the back courtyard, not far from the rear gate. Just then, he heard heavy footsteps approaching. He immediately hid behind a fake rockery. Through the gap, he saw two people come out of a side door, dragging an enormous cloth sack along the ground. The sack looked extremely heavy, and it made a dull sound as it scraped.

They dragged it to the back gate and opened it, then lifted the sack together and carried it out of the residence.

Huo Fenghua paused, remembering what Ji Jing had said. He thought, Could that sack be a corpse? A chill ran through him. He looked toward the side door they’d come from. The back-courtyard patrol had already moved farther away, so he silently ran over.

Through that side door was another big courtyard. A room in that courtyard still had lamplight glowing inside.

Huo Fenghua perched in a large tree in the courtyard and watched the window, holding his breath and listening carefully. He didn’t detect any movement, only the shallow breathing of several people, none of whom sounded like skilled fighters.

So he moved closer. He wet the window paper and gently poked a hole to peer inside. The room was empty except for several tall iron cages. Four of them held people, and three were empty.

The people in the cages were sprawled on the ground asleep. At a glance they were all young men. Huo Fenghua’s gaze swept over them, then landed on the face of one man near the door, and his whole body jolted.

That ragged, disheveled-haired man leaning against the iron bars with his eyes shut was Wen Heyi.

Why was Martial Uncle Wen here? Huo Fenghua’s mind went completely blank.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 63

Wuhetan was a long way from Yujing, but Huo Fenghua and the others weren’t in a hurry. They didn’t set off until Xiongda’s injuries had mostly healed.

Over these days, Huo Fenghua threw all the silver he had on hand at the clinic, buying a bunch of tonics and supplements. Every day he had Xiong’er brew them for Xiongda to take. In the end, he’d “nourished” Xiongda until the man looked so healthy that his complexion was rosy, and every night he tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

By the time they finally left, Huo Fenghua hardly had any silver left on him. So as they traveled, he and Xiong’er drifted through all kinds of gambling houses and street tables. The two of them always stopped while they were ahead. Sometimes they lost, sometimes they won, but in general they’d quit after winning ten or so taels, then move on and switch to another place.

On this journey, aside from gambling to earn travel money, Huo Fenghua spent the rest of the time grinding hard at martial arts.

Xiongda’s skills were pretty decent. He wasn’t some great master, but dealing with run-of-the-mill riffraff was no problem. Huo Fenghua had Xiongda spar with him. The moves Huo Fenghua knew were mostly the basic forms he’d practiced back when he followed Wen Heyi to Zhuyue City for that marriage competition. As he kept pondering and refining them, he gradually fused them with the powerful inner energy in his body. At the same time, he learned to control that inner energy when striking, so he wouldn’t casually injure people severely.

After sparring, Xiongda signed something quickly with both hands. Huo Fenghua looked at Xiong’er in a daze. Xiong’er said, “My brother says if you fight with people more, your moves will naturally get smoother and more familiar.”

Huo Fenghua nodded, and another idea took shape.

The next time they went to a gambling house, he stopped holding back. After he won several hundred taels and couldn’t even carry it all, he had Xiongda and Xiong’er find a chest and a handcart, then the two of them hauled the chest out.

They hadn’t gone far before someone blocked their way. Huo Fenghua told Xiong’er to go exchange the silver for notes at a money shop, while he and Xiongda stayed behind to deal with the men, using it as a practice opportunity.

When they were lucky, it was just ordinary thugs, and Huo Fenghua handled them easily. But twice they were unlucky. Among the gambling house enforcers there were one or two who were truly formidable. Huo Fenghua couldn’t take them head-on and could only dodge and weave, nearly getting separated from Xiongda and Xiong’er. They didn’t reunite until the next day at the city gate.

Still, after traveling like this, Huo Fenghua’s martial arts really did leap forward. Leaving aside fancy techniques, he could now wield his inner energy smoothly, and in a straight contest of inner power, ordinary people simply couldn’t match him.

They traveled in fits and starts, dawdling on the road for almost two months. Once they crossed the last stretch of desert, they’d reach Wuhetan.

That day, they followed a merchant caravan across the desert. At the desert’s edge, green trees and plants had already appeared ahead. The caravan leader parted with them. The caravan would continue northeast, while they would head northwest, cross the Wu River, and reach Wuhetan.

After splitting from the caravan, the three of them walked a bit farther, then rested under a few low trees. There was greenery here now, but the trees were short and sparse-leaved, and the ground was mottled yellow and green. It still looked desolate.

All along the way, Huo Fenghua had kept a cloth over half his face to block the sand. Now he flopped down and pulled it up to cover his whole face as he said, “No wonder Donglin doesn’t want to reclaim Wuhetan. This dump is dead as dirt. Even if you took it, what’s the point?”

Xiong’er said, “On the Donglin side it’s like this. It’s better closer to Xichou, but there’s still the Wu River between, so getting in and out is inconvenient. You have to use a ferry.”

Huo Fenghua suddenly sat up. “Come on. One more push. We’ve got to get into the city before dark.”

Xiong’er sat on the ground watching him for a moment, then beckoned. “Come here.”

Huo Fenghua, puzzled, moved closer. “What?”

Xiong’er grabbed a handful of dirt and sand and smeared it on Huo Fenghua’s face.

The soil here was still dry. The grit scraped Huo Fenghua’s skin painfully. He jerked back and covered his face. “Are you jealous of my looks and trying to ruin my face?”

Xiong’er clapped his hands. “Pah. You’re too fine-skinned. I’m worried you’ll get targeted before you even make it into the city.”

Huo Fenghua didn’t wipe the dirt off. He only sighed. “This era really has one thing wrong. Why do men keep thinking about men? Aren’t women better? Soft and sweet.”

Xiong’er stood up and stretched. “Spend a few more years out here. After enough sun and wind, you’ll get rough.”

Huo Fenghua thought about it, then silently pulled the cloth back over his face.

Half a day later, they reached the Wu River. They followed the upstream bank westward. Before long they saw the boundary marker between Donglin and Xichou. Less than half an hour later, they spotted a ferry at the riverside.

The ferryman was a burly man. He sized the three of them up and said, “Crossing? Three people, one tael.”

Huo Fenghua froze, about to suggest they just rob him, when Xiong’er had already produced a tael and handed it over. “Much obliged.”

The ferryman took it and let out a snort of laughter. “Get on.”

They were the only passengers. Huo Fenghua and Xiong’er didn’t look like much, but Xiongda inevitably drew attention. As the ferryman rowed them across, he asked Xiongda, “Where are you three from?”

Xiongda, of course, couldn’t answer.

Xiong’er said, “Donglin.”

“And what are you doing here?” the ferryman asked again.

This time Huo Fenghua spoke. “Visiting relatives.”

The ferryman nodded and said nothing more.

But when they’d crossed and the three of them stood to disembark, the ferryman suddenly pressed his oar down on the pack beside Xiong’er and said, “You can go. This stays.”

Xiong’er had just taken silver out of that pack, and he’d paid without hesitation. The ferryman decided they must have more.

Xiongda’s face darkened as he stared at him.

The ferryman squatted at the bow with a shameless grin, not afraid at all.

Huo Fenghua asked calmly, “Since when is that a rule?”

“It’s the rule here,” the ferryman replied.

Huo Fenghua shook his head. “Every place has its rules. If you rob people the moment you see them, your business won’t last. You’re just bullying a few outsiders like us.”

The ferryman laughed. “So what if I bully you?”

Huo Fenghua stepped closer. “I told you we’re here to visit relatives. Do you know who our relatives are?”

The ferryman’s eyes flickered and he hesitated. “Who?”

“Hu Dong. Ever heard the name?” Huo Fenghua said, and at the same time lifted one leg and kicked him square in the chest.

Hu Dong was a name Xiong’er’s friend had mentioned in his letter: Boss Hu, who monopolized the restaurant trade in Wuhetan, one of the city’s powerful figures. They didn’t actually know Hu Dong, and Hu Dong didn’t know them either. Huo Fenghua was just bluffing to make the ferryman wary.

The ferryman reacted quickly. Seeing the kick coming, he grabbed Huo Fenghua’s foot with both hands and tried to twist and throw him. But to his shock, he couldn’t budge Huo Fenghua at all. He stared up at Huo Fenghua’s slender frame in disbelief.

Huo Fenghua had poured inner energy into his legs. How could this man possibly shake him? Seeing the ferryman’s surprise, Huo Fenghua straightened his long leg and drove the kick into the man’s chest, sending him off the boat and into the Wu River.

The ferryman bobbed back up, his head breaking the surface.

Huo Fenghua flipped up his robe hem and half-crouched at the bow, smiling. “Wuhetan’s business isn’t yours alone. Don’t see a bit of silver and become blind. There are plenty of people you can’t afford to offend.” Then he stood and had Xiongda and Xiong’er grab their packs and follow him off the boat.

The ferryman didn’t swim ashore. He shouted from the water, “What are you to Hu Dong?”

A wind carrying the fishy stink of river water swept over the surface. Huo Fenghua’s robes fluttered as he strode forward with full swagger, not even turning his head. “I’m his uncle.” He didn’t know how old Hu Dong was, but he refused to take the loss no matter what.

Once they were a good distance from the riverbank, Xiong’er said quietly, “Stop talking nonsense. If that Boss Hu comes after you, it’ll be trouble.”

“He won’t,” Huo Fenghua said. “If you were him, and you’d offended Hu Dong’s uncle, you’d quietly cover it up. You wouldn’t go around telling people, would you?”

Xiong’er thought to himself that it really wasn’t that simple.

Wuhetan had no city walls. Though it was already dark when they entered, the whole place blazed with light. It was a city without night. As they walked the streets, the air was thick with all sorts of smells: women’s powder and rouge, the fragrance of wine from taverns, and even a faint metallic stink of blood drifting from some dark alley.

Following the instructions from the letters Xiong’er’s childhood friend, Ji Jing, had written, they found a fairly large tavern and asked the shopkeeper whether he knew Ji Jing and could pass along a message.

The shopkeeper was flicking an abacus. He looked up at them.

Xiong’er produced a palm-sized token-like object and showed it to him. After one glance, the shopkeeper beckoned over a runner and told him to take them to find Ji Jing.

There weren’t many pedestrians on the street. The runner led them around the dark alleys, through two brightly lit streets, and to the front of a restaurant. He went up and murmured a couple words to the attendant at the door, then left.

Huo Fenghua and the others waited a bit, then saw a tall, well-built young man come out of the restaurant and walk toward them.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 62

That night, both Xiongda and Xiong’er went to sleep. Xiong’er reluctantly agreed to let Huo Fenghua stay for one night. He made a bed for him on the floor by the stove, where even after lying down, Huo Fenghua could still feel the warmth from the embers.

Huo Fenghua lay on a torn old mattress. He folded his clothes into a pillow, laced his hands behind his head, and stared up at the hole in the roof.

He heard Xiong’er tossing and turning on the bed as if he couldn’t fall asleep. Xiongda didn’t move at all, but there was no snoring either.

After a while, Xiong’er got up and went outside to pee.

Huo Fenghua quietly followed him out. When Xiong’er was halfway through, Huo Fenghua slapped him on the back from behind, nearly startling the pee back up inside him.

“What are you doing!” Xiong’er snapped as he yanked his pants into place.

Huo Fenghua said, “I can’t sleep, and I keep thinking about what you said about Wuhetan. How do you know that place so well?”

Xiong’er finished tying his pants and walked to the middle of the yard. “A friend of mine went there two years ago. He wrote me a letter, told me to bring my brother to help him. My brother and I discussed it for a long time, and in the end we still didn’t go.”

Huo Fenghua asked curiously, “How did you discuss it? He can’t even talk.”

Xiong’er shot him a vicious glare.

Huo Fenghua hurriedly waved his hands. “Joking, joking. I mean, your friend, is he impressive? Doing well over there?”

Xiong’er said, “In his letter he said every restaurant and inn in Wuhetan, even a tea stall, is under one Boss Hu. Even if you set up a little stand selling food, you still have to pay tribute to Boss Hu. Back then he worked under that Boss Hu.”

Huo Fenghua stroked his chin thoughtfully. “A monopoly, huh?”

Xiong’er yawned and squatted down. “Wuhetan’s location is special, and it’s hard to transport supplies. Someone monopolized the river shipping. If you want to trade goods with the outside, you have to go through river transport. So in the city there are a few powerful figures who are basically in cahoots. Ordinary people can’t afford to offend them. And Donglin and Xichou are at war, so they don’t have the strength to take it back.”

Huo Fenghua asked, “What about Beiyi?”

Xiong’er said, “Beiyi is plagued with internal strife. They’re even less capable of dealing with it. Anyway, the more chaotic it is outside, the more stable Wuhetan becomes. Once things outside stabilize, they start worrying outsiders will covet it, and then the inside gets chaotic.”

Hearing that, Huo Fenghua suddenly asked, “If Feng Tianzong conquered all of Xichou, would he lead troops to attack Wuhetan?”

“Feng Tianzong?” Xiong’er hadn’t expected him to bring up that name. He looked up at him. “Do you know there’s a gambling pool about Feng Tianzong out there?”

Huo Fenghua froze. “Betting on what?”

Xiong’er said, “Whether the current emperor will let General Feng live to the day he conquers all of Xichou.”

Huo Fenghua went still.

Xiong’er laughed and shook his head. “When the cunning rabbit’s dead, the hunting dog gets cooked. But it’s all just rumors among people in the martial world. Don’t go saying it out loud. If the authorities hear you, they’ll drag you off and cut your head.”

Huo Fenghua reached out and patted Xiong’er’s shoulder, then squatted down beside him, his expression heavy.

Xiong’er looked at him. “What? You admire General Feng too?”

Huo Fenghua frowned. “Why ‘too’?”

Xiong’er said, “The war’s dragged on for years, so the excitement’s faded now. But a couple years ago, when Feng Tianzong led the great army sweeping across the Xichou battlefield, the whole court and countryside were fired up. Even kids in the alleys were chanting nursery rhymes praising Feng Tianzong’s brilliance and martial might, saying he was heaven-sent, a reincarnated immortal. My brother got swept up too and wanted to enlist. Later they turned him away because he was mute. At first I thought, Feng Tianzong really is amazing; every household, even children praising him. Then I thought, wait, something’s off. Those rhymes have tidy meter and catchy endings. No kid, and no backwoods brute, could’ve made them up. All that ‘reincarnated immortal’ and ‘divine soldier from heaven’ stuff—whoever wrote those rhymes was probably trying to get him killed, not worship him. How is that admiration?”

Huo Fenghua’s lashes trembled slightly as he looked at the silver moonlight spilled over the ground. He wondered whether Feng Tianzong understood all of this in his own heart.

Seeing Huo Fenghua fall silent, Xiong’er quieted too. After a while he said faintly, “None of that is our business anyway.”

Huo Fenghua nodded. “Then let’s think about what is our business.”

Xiong’er looked at him.

Huo Fenghua said seriously, “I want to go to Wuhetan. I want to make money.”

Xiong’er was silent for a moment. “You’ve got skills. If you want to make money, you can do it anywhere. Why do you have to go to a place like Wuhetan, full of every kind of person?”

Huo Fenghua said, “Didn’t you say it yourself? In places like this, officials and merchants collude. For commoners like us to make a little money, we can only do illegal deals, sneak around our whole lives, never to see the light.”

Xiong’er snorted. “And if you go to Wuhetan, won’t you be doing illegal deals too?”

“That’s different,” Huo Fenghua said. “Does Wuhetan even have laws you can follow? No. Everything’s done openly in broad daylight. Then once you establish a new order, you make new laws, and make everyone follow your laws. Isn’t that good?” As he spoke, gave Xiong’er a flirtatious wink.

Xiong’er saw it and turned his head away in disgust. “We don’t have silver, and we don’t have that kind of ability. You think all the people going to Wuhetan are idiots? What you want to do, who knows how many people have tried before.”

Huo Fenghua said, “Who says we don’t have silver?” As he spoke, he pulled out a jade pendant from his chest and waved it in front of Xiong’er’s eyes.

Xiong’er froze. “A top-grade cat’s-eye green jade?” He reached out to grab it.

Huo Fenghua moved fast. There was no way he’d let Xiong’er get it. He only let him glimpse it in his hand. “Well? Worth a lot, right?”

Xiong’er stared at it for a long time, unable to stop himself from admiring it. “That really is fine jade. Where’d you get it? If you meet the right buyer, you could sell it for a huge price.”

“But I won’t sell it,” Huo Fenghua said, and tucked it back into his robe.

Xiong’er asked, “Family heirloom?”

Huo Fenghua shook his head. “A gift from the person I love. No amount of silver could make me sell it.”

Xiong’er sighed regretfully. “If you won’t sell it, then to you and me it’s worth nothing. Why show it to me?”

Huo Fenghua said, “I’m just telling you we’re not as penniless and powerless as you think. We’re young. If we already dare do sneaky things like stealing and cheating, why can’t we go to Wuhetan and make a run at it?”

Xiong’er buried his face in his arms and didn’t speak.

Huo Fenghua put a hand on his shoulder. “Look at this broken house of yours. Even if we go to Wuhetan and don’t make a name for ourselves, if you and your brother come back, I guarantee nothing in this place will be missing. Believe me?”

Xiong’er muttered, “My pots and pans are still decent, at least.”

Huo Fenghua laughed and tugged him closer. “Then come take a look. The world’s huge. If I get rich alone, it’ll be lonely. I’ve got to find a couple buddies to share it with. Come on.”

After a while, Xiong’er said, “If you can persuade my brother, I’ll go.”

Huo Fenghua grinned. “That’s easy.”

The next morning at daybreak, Huo Fenghua was still sprawled on the floor, lazy and unwilling to get up. He heard Xiong’er pacing around the room. Soon he heard him say softly to Xiongda, “Big brother, I’m going out to buy some food.”

Then Xiong’er left the house, gently closing the door behind him.

Huo Fenghua flipped up in one motion, went to Xiongda’s bedside, and crouched down. He rested his forearms on the bed edge, face-to-face with Xiongda, and said, “Big brother, little brother won’t introduce me, so I’ll introduce myself. My name’s Su Qiang, nickname Guangtou Qiang. You can call me Brother Qiang.”

Xiongda stared at him, looking blank.

Huo Fenghua lifted a hand for a handshake.

Xiongda didn’t understand what he meant. He watched that hand for a long time, then finally reached out and took it.

Huo Fenghua gave it a shake, let go, and said with a smile, “I talked with your little brother all night. We decided to go out and try our luck, do a bit of business, make some money so you two can marry wives. But he’s worried you won’t want to go, so he told me to ask you what you really think while he’s not here.”

Xiongda frowned. After a while, he lifted his hands and gestured in front of Huo Fenghua.

Huo Fenghua didn’t understand a thing, but he patiently watched the whole gesture sequence and then nodded. “Big brother, you make a lot of sense. So are we going or not? If you want to go, nod. If you don’t, shake your head. Okay?”

Xiongda lay there quietly for a long time, then nodded.

Huo Fenghua’s mood soared. He reached out and patted Xiongda’s chest, then remembered he was injured and quickly rubbed it instead, saying, “Good stuff, big brother! You’ve got a future!”

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 61

Huo Fenghua and Xiong’er sat side by side on the stone steps outside the clinic.

Huo Fenghua asked him, a little puzzled, “Since you’ve got such an amazing gift, how did you end up running a little roadside gambling table?”

Xiong’er glanced at him. “What else am I supposed to do?”

Huo Fenghua froze for a moment. He couldn’t think of much use for that ability besides playing fantan. He asked, “Why not open a big gambling house?”

Xiong’er spread his hands. “Where am I going to get the money to open a big gambling house? Just getting official permission costs silver, and I don’t have the money to grease palms up and down. How am I supposed to open one?”

Huo Fenghua frowned. “Opening a gambling house is that much trouble?”

“What did you think?” Xiong’er said. “How can a poor person open one?!”

Huo Fenghua thought quietly for a moment, then said, “Your brother’s fighting skills are pretty good too. By rights, the two of you shouldn’t be this poor.”

Xiong’er’s voice dropped. “My big brother is mute. A lot of places won’t hire him.”

“Mute?” Huo Fenghua was startled at first, then it clicked. “No wonder he didn’t say a word and just started swinging. So he can’t talk.”

Xiong’er said bitterly, “My brother’s talented at martial arts, and he can endure hardship. But he never got a good break, and he can’t speak, so he got buried here.”

Huo Fenghua grinned and patted his own chest. “I’m your good break.”

Xiong’er sized him up. “You? You look soft and weak. I really didn’t expect you to be that fierce.”

Huo Fenghua chuckled twice. “Never judge a person by their looks. Haven’t you heard that?”

Xiong’er asked, “What did you say your name was just now? Gaungtou Qiang?”

At the word “bald,” Huo Fenghua reflexively reached up to touch his hair. He nodded. “Yeah. I’m Guangtou Qiang.”

Xiong’er looked baffled. “But you’re not bald at all. Why are you called Gaungtou Qiang?”

“You don’t know,” Huo Fenghua said. “Before I turned seven, I didn’t grow any hair. And my name has the character Qiang in it, so my family called me Gaungtou Qiang. Then when I hit seven, my hair suddenly grew in, and later it even grew really well, but the nickname stuck.”

Xiong’er asked, confused, “There’s an illness where you don’t grow hair before seven?”

“Yep.” Huo Fenghua nodded seriously. “What weird illnesses don’t exist in this world? People just don’t see them often.”

Xiong’er asked, “Then you’ve got to have a surname, right?”

Huo Fenghua looked at him and let out a small laugh. “My surname’s Su. My original name was Su Qiang. Gaungtou Qiang is my nickname. You can call me Brother Qiang.”

“Brother Qiang?” Xiong’er looked skeptical. “How old are you?”

Huo Fenghua didn’t answer. He only asked, “How old are you?”

“Nineteen,” Xiong’er said.

“And your brother?” Huo Fenghua asked.

“My brother’s twenty-three,” Xiong’er replied.

Huo Fenghua nodded once. “Call me Brother Qiang. I’m twenty-four.”

Xiong’er couldn’t believe it. “Seriously? You don’t look twenty-four at all. At most you look eighteen or nineteen.”

Huo Fenghua patted his knee. “What did I just tell you? Never judge a person by their looks. I’d just said it and you already forgot. Being skeptical of people is a good thing, but refusing to believe anything you think is impossible, that’s being stubborn and self-righteous. Not good. Really not good.”

Xiong’er listened, a little stunned.

Later, the clinic was about to close. They wouldn’t let Xiongda stay overnight and told them to find a cart and take him home.

Huo Fenghua stood and tugged at the pack on his back. “No need for a cart. I’ll carry him back.”

Xiong’er had already seen Huo Fenghua carrying Xiongda all the way to the clinic, but he still asked worriedly, “Can you?”

Huo Fenghua said, “Of course. Trust Brother Qiang.”

He went to the bed, lifted Xiongda in a cradle carry, and had Xiong’er lead the way. The two of them left the clinic together.

The town was laid out in a neat square and wasn’t large. By evening, every household had closed their doors. Only the glow of oil lamps leaked from the windows.

Xiongda and Xiong’er lived in a broken-down house at the edge of town.

Halfway there, the moment Huo Fenghua was carrying Xiongda down the street, Xiongda suddenly woke up. He was still injured and could only jerk his head up in shock, not understanding what was happening, and lacking the strength to leap out of Huo Fenghua’s arms.

“Your brother’s awake,” Huo Fenghua called to Xiong’er ahead.

Xiong’er immediately turned back, leaned in close, and asked, “Brother? Are you okay?”

Xiongda tried to lift a hand to gesture, but the movement tugged at his ribs and sent a spike of pain through him. Cold sweat broke out on his pale face.

Huo Fenghua lowered his eyes to look at him. “Don’t move. We’ll talk when we get back.”

Xiong’er said too, “Brother, hang on. We’re almost home.”

He turned into a small alley, and they reached the brothers’ house.

Huo Fenghua laid Xiongda on the wooden bed inside, tugged over a ragged quilt to cover him, then couldn’t help lifting a hand to fan away the dust and looking around. “How does anyone live here?”

Xiong’er didn’t answer. He just squatted by the stove in one corner and started a fire, planning to boil hot water for his brother.

The whole house was a single room. One corner was the kitchen stove, and along the wall on the other side were two broken wooden beds. Huo Fenghua didn’t even know where he could sit.

Xiongda lay on the bed, eyes open, watching him.

Huo Fenghua told him, “Don’t stare at me, big brother. Your little brother cheated at gambling first. I only exposed him. And you were the one who hit me first. I just fought back.”

Xiongda coughed twice.

Xiong’er said while tending the fire, “Don’t say that stuff to my brother.”

Huo Fenghua circled the room once, then went over to Xiong’er and found a little stool to sit on. “You two clearly have skills. How did you end up like this?”

Xiong’er silently kept feeding the fire, the flames painting both their faces red.

Huo Fenghua said, “Don’t you want to get rich, kid?”

Xiong’er looked at him. “You don’t look like some wealthy bigshot either.”

When Huo Fenghua left the General’s Manor, he’d been dressed in plain cotton clothes and carried plain belongings so it would be easier to travel alone. Besides his face, nothing about him looked “rich.”

Of course, the fact that he could casually pull out that much broken silver meant he wasn’t poor either. But Xiong’er had only just met him. He wasn’t going to be persuaded by a couple words.

Huo Fenghua rested his forearms on his knees. “That’s why we make money together.”

Xiong’er asked, “How? Let’s hear it.”

Huo Fenghua didn’t answer right away. He stared at the fire and began thinking. If opening a gambling house required official permission like Xiong’er said, then it really would take a lot of silver to grease palms. The relationships would be tangled, and with his own shadowy status, maybe he shouldn’t head east after all.

Xiong’er didn’t urge him. He went outside, drew water from the well, and poured it into a pot to boil.

Huo Fenghua suddenly thought of Zhuyue City and Fengming Town. Zhuyue City was practically its own country. Fengming Town was on the eastern border of Donglin. It technically had an official government, but in name only. The real power there belonged to the old demon Zixi and his Yuzhen Sect. Now that Huo Fenghua had Zixi’s whole reservoir of power, he ought to find a place like Fengming Town—somewhere strength was what mattered.

With that thought, Huo Fenghua lifted his head to look for Xiong’er and found that Xiong’er was already sitting by the bed, feeding his brother water. Huo Fenghua hurried over and sat too, helping Xiong’er support Xiongda’s head as he asked, “Do you know anywhere the authorities can’t control, where everything depends on strength?”

The brothers both looked at him at the same time.

Xiong’er held the bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other. He fell silent, glanced at Xiongda, then said to Huo Fenghua, “I know a place like that, but even if we go, we won’t be able to survive there. It’s a mess of all kinds of people. If you’re not careful, you can’t even keep your life. Better not to go.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Huo Fenghua said. “Just tell me, does a place like that exist?”

Xiong’er scooped up water and carefully brought it to Xiongda’s lips. After he swallowed, Xiong’er said, “At the junction of Donglin’s northwest, Xichou, and Beiyi, there’s a city built on a riverbank. It’s called Wuhetan.”

As he listened, Huo Fenghua used his sleeve to wipe the water from the corner of Xiongda’s mouth.

Xiong’er fed Xiongda another spoonful of hot water. “Wuhetan used to belong to Beiyi. More than twenty years ago, Beiyi lost a war to Xichou and ceded the land. Recently, Xichou was destroyed by Donglin. The Xichou officials in Wuhetan were dragged out of the government offices and killed by the locals. Donglin and Beiyi both still haven’t sent troops to reclaim it, so Wuhetan has become a true no-man’s-land. Whoever has the ability rules there.”

Huo Fenghua listened quietly and asked, “Is it prosperous?”

Xiong’er nodded. After he finished feeding Xiongda, he poured hot water into a wooden basin, dipped a cloth in it, and began wiping his brother down as he spoke. “Even though Wuhetan was ceded to Xichou over twenty years ago, it’s separated from Xichou by the Wu River. Xichou stationed troops on the other bank, not inside Wuhetan itself. It was lawless from the start, with all kinds of people mixed together. Lots of fugitives who’d killed people in the Central Plains went there to hide. Later, when Donglin attacked Xichou, even more people fled to Wuhetan. Now it’s truly flourishing. Every street has taverns and brothels, and gambling houses everywhere. But there are no rules. People kill in the street. If you kill someone, you won’t get beheaded. It’s chaos.”

Huo Fenghua asked, “Have you heard of Zhuyue City?”

“Of course,” Xiong’er said. “Why?”

Huo Fenghua smiled. “Let’s take Wuhetan and copy Zhuyue City—break away and become independent. We’ll make ourselves emperors. How about it?”

Xiong’er couldn’t help laughing. “Don’t joke.”

Huo Fenghua said, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way, kid.” As he spoke, he saw Xiong’er loosen Xiongda’s robe to wipe him down. Xiongda’s upper body was strong and solid, his chest full. Huo Fenghua couldn’t help reaching out and giving it a squeeze.

Xiong’er immediately slapped his hand away, furious. “What are you doing?”

Huo Fenghua held the back of his slapped hand. “Just touching. What are you mad about?”

Xiong’er snapped, “Y-you—are you Tu’er ye*?!”

*While often related to the rabbit of Chang’e (Moon Goddess), in historical slang terms, it refers to someone who is gay (often derogatorily). He is also sometimes treated as the Rabbit God overseeing homosexuality.

Huo Fenghua froze, then quickly understood what Tu’er ye meant. His heart jumped as he thought, I might actually be… But of course he didn’t admit it aloud. He said, “What are you talking about? I’m feeling his chest to see if it’s solid enough to go with us to Wuhetan and conquer the world.”

Xiong’er reluctantly believed him, though his expression still held suspicion. He pointed at him. “Stay away from my brother!”

Huo Fenghua scooted from the bedside to sit on a small stool nearby.

And on the bed, Xiongda’s dark face was faintly flushing, turning into a deep brown-red.

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 60

Feng Tianzong went to Su Zeyang’s door and knocked softly.

Su Zeyang was inside, but he didn’t respond.

Feng Tianzong sighed inwardly. He didn’t keep knocking. He only said through the door, “Cong Wenhao sent me a secret letter. Something’s changed on the Xichou side. I need to rush back immediately.”

Su Zeyang still didn’t answer. In all the years they’d known each other, this was the first time Su Zeyang had ever treated him with such coldness.

Feng Tianzong continued, “I’ve instructed someone to keep watch over Wang Chu. I’ll also send people to handle the curse at Luofeng Ridge. Don’t get involved anymore. Wait for me a while. Once the war in Xichou is over, I’ll resign my post. Then we—”

He didn’t finish. His fingers rested against the door. In the end, it became only a sigh as he turned and left.

……

Huo Fenghua had been gone from Yujing for ten days now. At first he planned to head east, toward the sea. But as he traveled, stopping and starting, he grew uncertain, no longer sure whether that kind of stable, prosperous, wealthy place was truly where he wanted to go.

Feng Tianzong had prepared plenty of broken silver for him, enough to cover travel expenses for a long time. And along the way, every time he saw a gambling house, he had to duck in and play a few rounds. When he won, he quit while he was ahead. Ten days later, not only had his silver not decreased, it had only grown.

That night, Huo Fenghua stayed at an inn in a small town. The next morning, he was still asleep in his room when he heard a ruckus outside the window. He rolled out of bed and went to look, and saw that in the corner by the inn’s back wall, more than a dozen people were crowded together, apparently gambling.

Huo Fenghua leaned on the window and watched for a while. His hands started itching with the urge. He packed up quickly and hurried downstairs.

The group was gathered in a narrow alley, playing fantan.

As Huo Fenghua approached, the banker lifted his head and glanced at him. The banker was a skinny young man with slightly yellowish hair and sharp, lively eyes.

A dozen or so gamblers were placing bets. Huo Fenghua stood to one side, intending to watch a couple rounds first, but the young man said to him, “If you’re not betting, move along.”

The gamblers all turned to look at him warily.

Huo Fenghua smiled. He pulled out a bit of broken silver from his waist and casually tossed it onto the white paper marked “Four.” On this kind of street table, people were almost all throwing down copper coins. His piece of silver stood out immediately, and the young man looked at him again.

The young man squatting on the ground had his left hand pressed on an upside-down porcelain bowl and a bamboo counting strip pinched in his right hand. He called, “No more bets,” then lifted the bowl to reveal a pile of copper coins. With the bamboo strip, he started shifting the coins from left to right in groups of four.

The coins by his left hand were stacked together, too messy to count at a glance. He kept dividing them until the final group, when there were still four coins left. The surrounding gamblers were already shouting, either celebrating or cursing, when the bamboo strip suddenly flicked. It turned out that the leftmost “coin” was actually two coins stacked together.

The gamblers who’d just been cheering instantly groaned.

The young man used the bamboo strip to rake all the losers’ copper coins toward himself and dumped them into a bag. When he reached the “Four” position, he looked up at Huo Fenghua and smiled. “Sorry about that.”

Huo Fenghua smiled back.

After taking the losers’ money, the young man settled with the winners who’d bet “One.”

Standing aside, Huo Fenghua pulled out another piece of broken silver and tossed it lightly in his hand.

After paying out the winners in copper, the young man spun the bowl in his hand, then casually covered about half the copper coins in one motion. He raised his head. “Place your bets, place your bets.”

Without even looking, Huo Fenghua threw his silver onto “Four” again.

An old man with a white beard beside him couldn’t help saying, “Young man, that’s bold of you.”

Huo Fenghua cupped his hands politely. “You flatter me.”

The young man glanced at the silver, rolled his neck, and shouted, “No more bets!”

The crowd erupted. Huo Fenghua heard someone next to him screaming hoarsely, “Two! Two! Two…”

Unhurried, Huo Fenghua shifted positions and walked to the young man’s left. He watched him start counting the coins, pushing them aside group by group. When only three coins remained, Huo Fenghua grabbed the young man’s hand. “Hold on.”

The young man’s eyes sharpened on him. “What are you doing?”

Huo Fenghua smiled. “You’re cheating.”

The young man jerked his arm up, trying to shove Huo Fenghua away, only to find Huo Fenghua’s grip locked on his forearm so tightly he couldn’t shake him. He flared up. “You bet, you lost. Now you want to renege because you lost silver?”

Huo Fenghua seized his wrist and gave it a downward shake. A copper coin shook out from inside the man’s sleeve.

“This round was clearly going to land on four. You stole one coin so it would land on three. You think nobody would notice?” Huo Fenghua said.

The young man’s face changed instantly.

Huo Fenghua reached down, scooped up his own piece of silver from the table, and shoved the young man forward, knocking him flat across the gambling mat. Seeing the others still staring dumbly, Huo Fenghua said, “He’s cheated you out of so much copper. What are you waiting for? Take it back!”

With that prompt, the gamblers surged forward, grabbing at the young man and fighting to rip away the money bag.

Huo Fenghua tossed his silver in his hand once more and walked out of the narrow alley.

The weather was nice. Huo Fenghua returned to the inn, ate breakfast, and planned to continue on his way. He came out with his pack on his back and saw a tall young man sitting at the inn’s entrance, wearing a shabby straw hat.

Huo Fenghua didn’t pay him much attention. He stepped out the door to keep going when the man suddenly grabbed him by the ankle.

The man was incredibly strong. With one yank, he almost dragged Huo Fenghua off his feet.

Fortunately, Huo Fenghua had internal energy. He forced himself steady, his qi surging outward and jolting the man’s hand away.

The man looked down at his palm, startled, then lifted his head to stare at Huo Fenghua.

Huo Fenghua gave a snort. “Who are you?” He couldn’t place the man’s identity and worried this might be someone sent by Shao Feijie or Pan Yuanjun to capture him.

The man didn’t answer. He rose from the ground, towering over Huo Fenghua by two full heads, even a bit taller than Feng Tianzong.

Huo Fenghua had to tilt his face up. The man had a knife scar on his face, steady eyes, and hard-set features. Huo Fenghua asked, “What do you want with me?”

Still silent, the man reached for the pack on Huo Fenghua’s shoulder.

Huo Fenghua dipped his shoulder, slipped under the man’s arm with nimble movement, then reached back to clamp the man’s wrist, but unexpectedly the man evaded him.

Ever since Huo Fenghua had absorbed a whole reserve of inner energy from Zixi, he’d stayed by Feng Tianzong’s side. This was the first time he’d truly traded blows with someone. He felt a lightness and agility he’d never had before, completely different from that marriage competition back in Zhuyue City.

Very quickly, he started to enjoy it.

The man he was fighting was huge, yet astonishingly quick, clearly skilled. Huo Fenghua found he could read the man’s movements and defuse his attacks. Since he couldn’t catch the man’s wrist, he simply clenched both fists and drove them into the man’s abdomen.

The man tried to rely on sheer toughness and take the punch head-on while reaching to grab Huo Fenghua’s shoulder. He didn’t expect that Huo Fenghua couldn’t fully control his own inner energy yet. Those two punches landed, and the man spat blood and flew backward.

Huo Fenghua couldn’t help exclaiming, “Shit!”

The man crashed onto the street. Huo Fenghua saw a small figure dart out from the side, rushing to the fallen giant and crying out in panic, “Big brother!”

Huo Fenghua recognized him at once: the gambling-table banker from the alley, the one he’d caught cheating.

The big man lay motionless. Huo Fenghua’s heart jumped. He ran over and crouched, pressing a hand to the man’s chest.

The skinny young man tried to shove him away, shouting, “What are you doing?”

Huo Fenghua ignored him. He scooped the unconscious man up in his arms and said to the young man, “What am I doing? Saving his life. Where’s the nearest clinic?”

The young man froze, then reacted and led the way. Huo Fenghua, carrying a man much larger than himself, hurried after him down a side alley.

He didn’t want to leave the General’s Manor only to end up with a manslaughter case on his back. Even less did he want this big guy to die and leave a little brother who’d hunt him down across thousands of miles for revenge.

They finally reached a clinic. Huo Fenghua laid the man on the bed and told the doctor, “Save him. I’ll pay.”

The young man stood to the side, panting, face tight with worry.

The doctor was elderly and moved slowly toward the bed. Huo Fenghua grabbed his arm and pushed him along, then slapped a handful of broken silver onto the counter. “Use whatever medicine you need. Fix him fast. If he lives, it’s on me. If he dies, it’s on you.”

The old doctor went a bit dazed, took the man’s pulse, lifted his eyelids, then hurriedly called apprentices over to help treat him.

The young man glared at Huo Fenghua. “If my brother dies, I won’t let you off.”

Huo Fenghua frowned. “Kid, your brother ambushed me. I didn’t provoke him. You’re being unreasonable. And besides, you were running a cheating gambling stall and got caught. Instead of reflecting and improving your ‘skills,’ you had your brother come rob me. If your brother dies, you could bury yourself with him ten times over and it still wouldn’t be enough.”

After Huo Fenghua finished, the young man’s eyes reddened, and before long tears spilled down.

Huo Fenghua blinked. “Why are you crying? Go ask the doctor what he needs. Bring every last coin your family has to treat your brother.”

At that moment, the old doctor turned back and said, “No need. His injuries aren’t fatal. Don’t worry.”

Only then did Huo Fenghua finally let out a long breath. He braced a hand on the wall and sat down on a chair near it.

The young man stood inside the clinic wanting to help care for his brother, but unable to do anything, looking awkward and helpless.

“Hey, you,” Huo Fenghua pointed at him. “I’ve got a question.”

The young man looked over. “What?”

Huo Fenghua propped his cheek on one hand. “When you were cheating just now, you lifted the bowl and immediately pocketed a coin. How did you know how many coins it would count down to in the end?”

The young man was silent for a moment. “I can tell at a glance.”

Huo Fenghua stared. “At a glance?”

The young man said, “Born with it.”

Huo Fenghua thought for a moment, then stood and walked behind the counter. He beckoned at the young man. “Come here, come here.” He pulled open a drawer and grabbed a handful of cardamom pods.

One apprentice shouted, “What are you doing?”

Huo Fenghua waved him off. “Borrowing them.” He scattered the pods on the counter and asked the young man, “How many?”

The young man looked once. “Twenty-three.”

Huo Fenghua didn’t quite believe it. He counted them one by one and found there really were twenty-three. When he looked up again, his gaze had changed. “Brother, what’s your surname?”

The young man said, “Xiong, I’m the second oldest.”

“Xiong’er¹?” Huo Fenghua couldn’t help laughing. “Then is your older brother called Xiongda¹?”

¹[Er] (二) Refers to second (as in he’s the second oldest brother). [Da] (大) Refers to the eldest (first oldest). 

To his shock, Xiong’er actually nodded.

Huo Fenghua instantly couldn’t laugh anymore. He lifted a hand and rubbed the top of his head. “Well then, what a coincidence. I’m Gaungtou Qiang²!”

Xiong Er stared at his head. “You’re bald²?”

²Clarity: Huo Fenghua is referring to the character in the show Boonie Bears. The two brothers have the same names as the two bears [Xiong] (熊) in the show (Xiongda (Big Bear) and Xiong’er (Second Bear)). Guangtou Qiang is considered the antagonist in the earlier season, often getting into it with the two bears (similar to what happened here). [Guangtou] (光头) also refers to being bald, which is why Xiong’er thought he was saying he is bald. Basically, Huo Fenghua was cracking a joke referencing a modern show that has characters of the same name as these two brothers.

Huo Fenghua didn’t answer. He grabbed Xiong Er’s arm and asked earnestly, “Brother, want to get rich together?”

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 哔哔 (Bi Bi) / Jin Gang Quan

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

Chapter 59

At daybreak, Feng Tianzong came out of Huo Fenghua’s side courtyard and saw Su Zeyang standing outside. Who knew how long he’d been there.

When he saw Feng Tianzong emerge, Su Zeyang asked, “Is he any better?”

Feng Tianzong didn’t dare go closer and kept his distance. “The morning air is cold. You’re dressed too lightly. Go back.”

Su Zeyang asked again, “Is he any better?”

Feng Tianzong said, “He’s better, but Doctor Du says it won’t be that fast. He still has to run a fever and break out. Once he gets through these few days, he’ll be fine.”

Su Zeyang looked toward the tightly shut door inside the courtyard.

Feng Tianzong told him, “It’s just that even if he recovers, he’ll have pockmarks on his face. They’ll never go away.”

Su Zeyang frowned slightly. “Pockmarks? As long as he’s alive, pockmarks are nothing.”

Feng Tianzong gave a faint smile. “I hope he can think as openly as you do.”

Su Zeyang nodded with certainty. “He will.”

Feng Tianzong let out a sigh. “I’m going back to bathe and change. Otherwise I won’t dare walk around the residence. And don’t keep standing guard here. Take care of your own health.”

Su Zeyang answered, “Okay.”

On the second night, Feng Tianzong didn’t go to stay with Huo Fenghua.

At dusk, Doctor Du came by once to take Huo Fenghua’s pulse, then left. In the small side courtyard, it was just Huo Fenghua and Qingqing, quiet and desolate.

Huo Fenghua lay face-down on the bed while Qingqing sat at the bedside, fanning him with a small fan. The poisonous herb Doctor Du gave him truly wasn’t strong. After two days of medicine, the red rash was still there, but it didn’t itch nearly as badly anymore.

As she fanned him, Qingqing asked, “Young Master… have you really still decided to leave?”

Huo Fenghua hummed in response. “Of course I’m leaving.”

“But the General treats you so well now. You don’t have to go. Staying would be good too,” Qingqing couldn’t help saying.

Huo Fenghua tilted his head to glance at her. “Qingqing, that way of thinking is dangerous.”

Qingqing didn’t understand. “What?”

Huo Fenghua said, “Whether I live well or not doesn’t depend on whether a man treats me well. It depends on whether I’m living freely and comfortably. Remember that too, in the future. Don’t be stupid and throw everything away just because a man is nice to you. You still have to stay clear-headed.”

Qingqing half understood, half didn’t. After a while she asked again, “Then will Young Master come back in the future to see me later?”

Huo Fenghua said, “If you get married, I won’t come see you.”

Qingqing pulled the quilt up for him and sighed softly.

Huo Fenghua had been shut up in this little side courtyard for four days, and it made him think of those first days after he’d arrived in this world. The more stifled he felt day after day, the more desperately he wanted to leave quickly.

Several times Qingqing saw Su Zeyang standing outside the courtyard. When she returned to the room, she said to Huo Fenghua, “Young Master Su is outside. Do you have anything you want me to tell him?”

Huo Fenghua had set out a go board on the table and was playing gomoku against himself. He pinched a stone in his fingers for a long time without placing it. Finally, he told Qingqing, “There’s nothing to say. Don’t say anything.”

That night, Feng Tianzong came to Huo Fenghua’s small courtyard with the bundle prepared for his departure.

Huo Fenghua sat at the bedside eating candied fruit until the sweetness made his teeth ache. He asked Feng Tianzong, “Leaving tomorrow night?”

Feng Tianzong nodded. “Tomorrow night.”

Huo Fenghua set the candied fruit aside and stretched. “Finally. If I don’t leave soon, I’m going to rot.”

Feng Tianzong walked to the bed and lifted Huo Fenghua’s chin, tilting his face up. “The rash has already faded. In another couple days it might be completely gone.”

Huo Fenghua looked at him and didn’t speak.

Feng Tianzong’s fingers stroked his cheek. After a moment, he bent down and kissed him.

Huo Fenghua lifted his arms around Feng Tianzong’s neck and leaned back. The two of them fell onto the bed, biting and devouring each other’s lips and tongues with fierce urgency. Only after a while did they quiet down. Feng Tianzong pressed Huo Fenghua’s head into his chest and said, “Tomorrow night I can’t escort you out of the city.”

Huo Fenghua reached for another piece of candied fruit from the dish beside him and popped it into his mouth, the sweetness making him frown. “Okay.”

All day, the General’s Manor was calm, until night fell. Not long after Su Zeyang lay down to sleep, he heard a clamor in the distance outside. Uneasy, he asked Feng Tianzong, “What happened?”

Feng Tianzong hadn’t even had time to answer when hurried footsteps ran into the courtyard. Outside, Liu Yong banged hard on the door, shouting, “Fire! Fire!”

Su Zeyang shot up from Feng Tianzong’s arms, threw on a robe, and went out to open the door. “Where’s the fire?”

Liu Yong was panting. “Young Master Huo’s— his side courtyard. The fire’s too big. No one dares put it out.”

Late at night, the small courtyard where Huo Fenghua lived had caught fire. The first to run out was Qingqing, screaming for people to help. But the servants were terrified of catching smallpox. They only filled buckets and stood far outside the courtyard, forming a distant ring. No matter how Qingqing begged, they didn’t dare come close.

The moment Liu Yong heard, he came at once to notify Su Zeyang and Feng Tianzong.

When the two arrived, the servants were still clustered outside, afraid to go in. Inside the courtyard, the entire house was already engulfed in a raging blaze, flames roaring into the sky.

Su Zeyang saw Qingqing in disarray, wrapped in a robe. He grabbed her shoulders. “Where is Huo Fenghua?”

Qingqing sobbed and pointed into the firelight. “Young Master Huo is still inside. He didn’t come out.”

Su Zeyang’s breathing quickened. He grabbed two buckets of water and rushed into the courtyard, hurling them toward the burning house, but it was a drop in the ocean. Two buckets did nothing.

Feng Tianzong had followed right after him. He stood outside the courtyard, staring at the inferno. After a brief pause, he shouted, “Put it out!”

The servants all looked worried. Many ran outward, saying they were going to fetch more water, but only a handful actually carried buckets in to fight the fire.

Feng Tianzong didn’t scold them. He took up a bucket himself and went into the courtyard to douse the flames. The moment he stepped in, Su Zeyang grabbed the bucket from his hand. “Give it to me.”

“Zeyang?” Feng Tianzong looked startled.

Su Zeyang snatched the bucket, dumped the water over his own head, then flung the bucket aside and moved as if to charge straight into the sea of fire.

Feng Tianzong’s heart lurched. He rushed forward and held him in a tight grip. “You’re not going!”

Su Zeyang hooked Feng Tianzong’s wrist, then shoved him back with his other hand. “Move!”

Feng Tianzong was shoved aside but immediately reached again and caught Su Zeyang by the wrist. Su Zeyang lifted a foot to kick. Feng Tianzong seized his ankle and yanked him close, his voice turning cold. “I won’t let you go in!”

Su Zeyang’s brows tightened. He drove his knee up toward Feng Tianzong’s abdomen. The two traded blows in quick succession; Su Zeyang was determined to get inside, while Feng Tianzong blocked him with everything he had. For a moment neither could break free.

Then came a thunderous crash. A main beam, burned through, collapsed and fell, sending a shower of sparks flying in every direction.

Feng Tianzong dragged Su Zeyang back to dodge. Su Zeyang stared at the blaze, his expression blank. After a moment, he grabbed Feng Tianzong by the lapels and glared at him.

“Zeyang,” Feng Tianzong called his name softly.

In the end, Su Zeyang released him. He turned to take another water bucket and continued fighting the fire.

The fire burned until before dawn, until the far edge of the sky began to pale. Only when the entire house had burned down into a blackened skeleton did the flames gradually die. Feng Tianzong, Su Zeyang, and the household servants kept throwing water without stopping.

Su Zeyang’s white robe was smeared with black soot, yet he still hadn’t fully fallen into despair. As long as he hadn’t seen Huo Fenghua’s body, he wouldn’t believe he’d perished in the fire.

When the last ember finally went out, Feng Tianzong had someone bring a cloak and personally draped it over Su Zeyang’s shoulders.

Lu Xi led people into the ruins to search. Feng Tianzong called Qingqing over and asked, “What exactly happened?”

Qingqing had cried all night and her voice was hoarse. She said, “Last night, Young Master Huo told me that even if he got better, his face would still be scarred. I saw he was in low spirits, so I persuaded him to sleep early. Then in the middle of the night, the fire started all of a sudden. It began in his room. I couldn’t go in. I ran out in a panic to call for help, but…” She couldn’t go on.

Su Zeyang looked down at his palms, rubbed raw and bleeding, and suddenly asked, “The fire started in his room?”

Qingqing wiped her face with her sleeve. “Yesterday I had someone deliver lamp oil and put it in the room. It must’ve been Young Master Huo. He must’ve poured the oil over the bedding and lit it himself.”

At that moment, Lu Xi found a burned corpse in the ruins. He shouted toward the outside, “We found Young Master Huo’s body!”

Feng Tianzong looked toward Su Zeyang.

But Su Zeyang turned and started walking out of the courtyard.

Feng Tianzong grabbed his wrist. “Zeyang?”

Su Zeyang turned to look at him, his expression dark. “That’s not him.”

Feng Tianzong didn’t speak.

Su Zeyang flung his hand away. “He wouldn’t set fire to the house over something like that. Actually, I should’ve realized long ago. But I trusted you too much. You said there would be no secrets between us. No deception.”

Feng Tianzong lowered his gaze and slowly closed his eyes. His long lashes cast dense shadows over his lids. After a moment he opened his eyes and said, “This was his choice too.”

Su Zeyang shook his head, backing away step by step, his eyes cold. “Feng Tianzong, you lied to me. You both lied to me.” With that, he turned and strode away.

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