Chapter 37: A Night of Chaos

At the Qingshan Eatery, Ruibao was drinking until he could barely stand.

He drank, vomited, and drank again. After scrambling up from the floor, he stood on a stool and hollered incessantly, "Where is Jiang Luan? Running off already? How boring, what a coward! Hahahaha!"

Zuo Lang, who did not touch a drop of alcohol, spent the evening drinking only tea and remained perfectly steady. He pulled helplessly at Ruibao, trying to get his master—who was making such a shameful spectacle of himself—to quiet down. Unfortunately, someone in a drunken frenzy possessed an unreasonable amount of strength, and with Ruibao’s martial arts skills, Zuo Lang was sent flying several times.

"I have already sent men to escort Young Master Jiang back," Jiang Hao said, standing up from the table. His face was slightly flushed from drink, yet he remained refined and courteous. He suggested to Zuo Lang, "There is still a guest room available at the Qingshan Eatery. Why don't you two stay the night and rest?"

Because Ruibao kept his forehead covered and possessed a boisterous personality, Jiang Hao did not realize he was a Ge, assuming it was fine for two young men to squeeze into a room together. But while Jiang Hao was unaware of Ruibao’s status as a Ge, Zuo Lang was perfectly clear on it.

Zuo Lang immediately declined politely, "There is no need, thank you for your kindness, Young Master Jiang. I will just carry him back."

"Very well."

Jiang Hao instructed the staff to assist. It took a group of people scrambling to finally pin the thrashing Ruibao onto Zuo Lang’s back. After bidding farewell to the proprietor of the Qingshan Eatery and the others, Zuo Lang carried Ruibao into the night.

The staff at the Qingshan Eatery began clearing the chaotic tables. Jiang Hao sat by the table, sobering up while fanning himself and picking at peanuts.

"What a bunch of drunken maniacs," the chef of the Qingshan Eatery emerged, sitting down at the table with dissatisfaction. "And you, young master, you went to such lengths to entertain them!"

"On a happy day, why not entertain?" Jiang Hao smiled.

"You're still happy!" The chef couldn't fathom it. "Today, 'That Food Shop' really stole the spotlight. When that Wang Yi came to stir up trouble, I thought we could really suppress their arrogance, but instead, it only spread their fame far and wide!"

"Spreading their fame is a good thing," Jiang Hao waved his fan. "The more famous they are, the more people will show up tomorrow, and the larger the net they will have to cast."

The chef was stunned and hesitated. "You mean..."

"There was only one carriage sent to take Jiang Luan back tonight," Jiang Hao smiled slightly. "Guess what the rest of the carriages were for?"

"..." The chef was silent for a moment. "I am dull-witted."

"You are not dull, you just lack a bit of calculation," Jiang Hao said. "To catch a big fish, you cannot be stingy with the bait. You must cast the line long enough and have the patience to wait. However, as a chef, you don't need to worry about such things."

The chef felt ashamed. "Since you have already planned it, I was presumptuous."

Jiang Hao smiled and waved his fan. "Tomorrow, invite my uncle, City Lord Jiang. I want to host him at 'That Food Shop' to watch a good show."

***

Meanwhile, Zuo Lang was carrying Ruibao on the road home. He was slight of build, and carrying the half-grown Ruibao made him stumble. To make matters worse, Ruibao was still making a scene, insisting on competing with Jiang Luan in a drinking contest to see who would throw up first.

Eventually, Ruibao grew tired and let his head droop onto Zuo Lang’s shoulder, whispering, "Master, I don't want to practice anymore. I'm so tired..."

Zuo Lang was silent for a moment before quietly responding, "You don't want to practice martial arts?"

"I am just a Ge, after all. Who told me to be born a Ge?" Ruibao mumbled. "I can't reach that position; I'm just so tired, Master..."

"..." Zuo Lang stopped in his tracks, realizing something.

Ruibao was slumped over, his head hanging off Zuo Lang’s shoulder, drooling in his sleep. Zuo Lang turned his head to quietly study Ruibao’s face... When he first met Ruibao, he felt the boy looked somewhat familiar. Now, upon closer inspection, Zuo Lang realized that Ruibao’s expressive eyebrows looked very much like someone else.

Someone he saw every day, someone he wished he could tear to pieces.

***

"Young man, hand the child over to me." An old man’s voice spoke.

Zuo Lang was deep in thought, and he hadn't noticed when someone had appeared beside him. The man had silver hair and wore a white cloak, looking at him with a kind expression.

"Master Qiu?"

Zuo Lang instinctively stepped back upon seeing Qiu Jietu, then suddenly remembered something and bowed slightly. "Greetings, Grandmaster."

"Heh, so Ruibao took you as his apprentice?" Qiu Jietu asked with curiosity, his expression unreadable.

"Yes," Zuo Lang said, supporting Ruibao with one hand while pulling a coiled dragon jade pendant from his collar with the other. "Master even gave this to me."

Qiu Jietu stared at the pendant hanging around Zuo Lang’s neck for a moment. He had polished this pendant himself before giving it to Ruibao. Qiu Jietu sighed and shook his head with a smile.

"..." Zuo Lang observed Qiu Jietu’s expression and handed the sleeping Ruibao over to him.

Qiu Jietu held the child in his arms and said meaningfully to Zuo Lang, "You are a clever child. When you return to the Qi Manor, remember to find me in the back mountains at the hour of the Tiger every day. Do not mention today’s events to anyone."

"Yes, Grandmaster." Zuo Lang nodded.

Qiu Jietu walked away with Ruibao, leaving Zuo Lang standing alone on the dark, long street. He looked down at the jade pendant on his neck, his clenched fist slowly opening; his palm was slick with sweat.

*Fortunately, I escaped with my life,* Zuo Lang thought.

***

"Master... Master..." On the way home, Ruibao murmured in his sleep, still acting spoiled toward Qiu Jietu. Qiu Jietu sighed, patting the child’s head, truly having no way to deal with him.

They had just left the city gates and were walking along a small path back to Yunjiang City. It was past the hour of the Ox, and suddenly, the sound of carriage wheels rolled through the silent wilderness.

Several men were whispering, "Hurry... faster, deliver it before dawn..."

Qiu Jietu paused, taking his apprentice to hide behind a dark tree, covering the boy’s mouth to keep him quiet. Several carriages came from the end of the dirt road. They looked ordinary, no different from any other carriage. But the men driving them had shifty eyes and appeared fearful and panicked.

As they reached the city gate, they were stopped by the guards. "Who goes there? Driving into the city in the middle of the night?"

"Reporting to the officer," the driver said. "We come from Xunnan to deliver vegetables to 'That Food Shop' in Greenwater Isle."

"What kind of vegetables need to be delivered in the middle of the night?"

The gate guard was diligent; he stepped forward and used his spear to lift the carriage curtain. Sure enough, it was full of fresh vegetables.

"Officer, you don't know, but these vegetables were just picked from the fields, and they must be eaten fresh," the man said, lowering his head. "The employer paid a high price for us to deliver them on time!"

Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't have been an issue. Like Yunjiang City, Greenwater Isle had no curfew, so entering the city was usually not this strict. The problem was that the worker looked overly suspicious. He had "three-white" eyes that darted around constantly, making him look like a troublemaker.

The guard hesitated. "Fine, you may go..."

"Thank you, officer!" Before the guard could finish, the group beamed and prepared to drive through.

"Hold on, where are you going?" A man walked down from the city wall, stopping them short.

The man carried no weapon, only a lantern, scratching his neck as he approached. He wore his military uniform sloppily, his collar unbuttoned, with a thick, blue-stubbled beard on his chin. "I’ve never heard of delivering vegetables in the middle of the night!"

The man was clearly a military rogue—boisterous and unreasonable. The drivers were terrified, trembling like cicadas in winter. "We... we are..."

"Delivering to 'That Food Shop,' right?" the rogue said impatiently. "I heard you from the tower. Park these carriages here; it won't be too late to deliver them tomorrow morning!"

If it had been anyone else, they might have argued, but the soldier’s aura was so murderous that the men on the carriages scrambled down in a panic.

"Yes, yes, we will deliver them first thing tomorrow." The leader smiled obsequiously and led his men away, abandoning the carriages.

A follower hesitated. "But didn't Young Master Jiang say..."

"It's Young Master Jiang," the leader glared at his subordinate, signaling that the soldier had sharp ears and to be careful. "There are still a few hours until dawn; the carriages are there, they won't go missing. It's fine to wait."

His subordinate had no choice but to agree.

After the group left, Qiu Jietu, hiding behind the tree, looked thoughtful as he watched the carriages. He was about to emerge when he heard the sound of more carriages coming through the wilderness. Another group of men arrived at the gate with carriages identical to the previous ones.

The rogue soldier hadn't left yet; he rubbed his eyes, thinking he had encountered something strange. Although the carriages were similar, the drivers were clearly not the same group.

"What are you here for?" The soldier stopped them. "Don't tell me you're here to deliver vegetables too!"

"This officer is very sharp," the leader of the group said. "We come from Xunbei to deliver vegetables to 'That Food Shop'."

"Delivering to 'That Food Shop' as well?" The soldier laughed meaningfully. "That shop has quite a reputation, needing so many carriages of vegetables—one from Xunnan, one from Xunbei."

"Young Master Jiang instructed us to deliver them early," the driver said, neither humble nor pushy. "I hope the officer can make an exception."

"Young Master Jiang of 'That Food Shop,' is it? I’ll remember that," the soldier said. "But you cannot take these carriages in. Look, there are some carriages over there; leave them together and deliver them all tomorrow."

The driver didn't argue. The group obediently parked their carts and left.

Placed together, the carriages—horses and carts alike—were identical, like twins. The soldier watched them and laughed, stroking his chin. "Young Master Jiang's vegetables... interesting."

He chuckled while shaking his head and returned to the tower. The city gate finally quieted down. The guards resumed their duties, and no third batch of vegetable carts arrived.

Qiu Jietu stepped out from behind the tree, carrying the soundly sleeping Ruibao on his back. *It seems there will be quite a spectacle to watch tomorrow,* Qiu Jietu thought.

***

Inside a dark room at the Red Sleeve Pavilion.