Free Web NovelChapter 12: Chapter 11: Childhood Friends (2)
Beyond the Hundred Guards lay the South Outer City’s Seventy-Two Districts.
As for the area north of the Market, the Inner City—with its high walls, deep moats, and heavy guard—had always been an unattainable mirage to Chen Cheng. He had never set foot inside.
Lunan District, Zhaofu Building.
It was a two-story wooden building with a black lacquered plaque and a bright wine banner hanging by the entrance. Beneath the banner, an attendant was enthusiastically beckoning customers.
Seeing Chen Cheng approach in his sweat-soaked old clothes, the attendant assumed he was a beggar. He scowled, his lips curling in disgust, and was just about to shoo him away.
"I’m looking for Zhou Long."
Chen Cheng stated Xiaolong’s name before the attendant could speak.
The attendant’s face immediately broke into a smile.
"Oh! So you’re a friend of Lord Zhou! Please, come in, come in! Lord Zhou and the others arrived some time ago. They’re all waiting for you in a private room upstairs!"
He stepped aside to lead the way, guiding Chen Cheng up a creaking wooden staircase to a private room on the second floor overlooking the street.
He gently pushed the door open.
Four people were already seated inside.
Xiaolong sat on the right. He had changed into a clean, gray cloth shirt, and his arm was wrapped in blood-stained bandages, but his complexion looked fine.
Seated in the host’s seat and to the left were two other acquaintances: Liang Guang and Cao Bado.
They were all friends who had rolled around in the mud together as children, but now their statuses were different. Things were no longer the same as when they were young.
"Brother Cheng."
Hu Niu, sitting to Xiaolong’s right, gently shifted a vacant chair next to her.
Chen Cheng walked over, sat down, and greeted everyone one by one.
After some simple pleasantries, Xiaolong called for the waiter to bring the food.
Soon, three meat dishes and four vegetable dishes covered the small round table. The food wasn’t exquisite, but the portions were generous, with thick, fatty slices of meat. Accompanied by a pot of warm sake, it was a respectable feast.
"Xiaolong, what’s this meal for, anyway? Why did you have to call both me and Bado over?"
Liang Guang was the first to pick up his chopsticks, his gaze sweeping over Chen Cheng, intentionally or not.
"We’re all brothers here, so I’ll be straight with you..."
Xiaolong grinned and said frankly.
"Brother Cheng lost his job at the merchant house. I was originally planning to ask you and Bado to help pull some strings for him."
"But when I got home last night, Hu Niu told me that Brother Cheng has already joined the Dragon Mountain Lower Courtyard. So, I don’t need to trouble you two anymore..."
As Xiaolong spoke, he personally poured wine for Liang Guang and Cao Bado. Seeing Chen Cheng wave his hand, he didn’t pour any for him.
"I’d already ordered this meal two days ago, so I just decided not to cancel. Let’s just treat it as a get-together. Come on, let’s have a drink first!"
"Cheers."
The three of them clinked their cups together, the rims held at heights corresponding to their seating arrangement.
Once the wine was down, the three of them became much more talkative.
Liang Guang’s conversation was filled with talk of the rules and prestige of the Patrol Guard Bureau. Whenever he mentioned a superior, his tone immediately became deferential.
Cao Bado, on the other hand, constantly brought up his ten years of hard study and his title as a Scholar, his words brimming with anticipation for next year’s State Literary Selection.
Xiaolong chimed in with both of them, giving them plenty of face. They, in turn, were reasonably polite to Xiaolong. After all, he was a Martial Artist in the Qinghe Gang who had refined his Blood Qi, giving him a different status.
But toward Chen Cheng, while they weren’t impolite, their distance was palpable.
"Brother Cheng, you’re not having a drink?"
Hu Niu asked softly. When she saw Chen Cheng shake his head, the corners of her mouth lifted in a barely perceptible smile.
"Then have some more food."
"Alright."
And Chen Cheng truly didn’t stand on ceremony.
He ate heartily while listening for useful information in the others’ conversation.
For instance, the winter tax might increase, and there might be military conscription next year. However, if one passed the literary selections to gain an official position, they could get partial tax exemptions, and their relatives would be exempt from military service three times.
After three rounds of drinks.
Somehow, the conversation circled back to Chen Cheng.
"So, Cheng is at a Martial Arts Hall now. That’s good too."
Liang Guang sipped his wine, his tone like he was commenting on something that had nothing to do with him.
"It’s a path, at least. But practicing martial arts isn’t easy, especially at the Dragon Mountain Lower Courtyard. You’re putting your life on the line, and as for your future... that’s up to fate."
Cao Bado picked up the conversation, his smile gentle but distant.
"In any case, strengthening your body is always a good thing. We scholars also value the six arts—rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics—so we appreciate being well-rounded."
"Cheng, if you have the time, you might as well find a tutor to teach you how to read and write. Understanding a bit more about the world will make it... easier to find a living in the future."
"Indeed."
Chen Cheng nodded, not saying much.
Liang Guang had relied on family connections to become a Scribe in the Southern Three Guards’ Patrol Guard Bureau. He held a bit of real power and was well-connected.
Cao Bado’s family had recently come into wealth, allowing him to stop working and study for over ten years. He had already earned the title of Scholar, giving him a ticket to an official career and a bright future.
In their words, there was an unavoidable mix of bureaucratic concern and pedantic scholarly advice.
But in the end, they weren’t intentionally trying to belittle Chen Cheng.
It was just the natural condescension that came from their different social classes and perspectives.
Seeing that Chen Cheng was ’willing’ to listen, the two of them opened the floodgates, their words dripping with superiority.
In their drunken haze, what little sense of propriety they had began to fade.
"Cheng, it’s not that I’m trying to criticize you..."
Liang Guang slapped the table, his breath reeking of alcohol.
"Refining that damn Blood Qi, you really think it’s as simple as grubbing for food in the mud? With your background... you’re being foolish..."
He paused, then continued.
"And you, Xiaolong... is the Qinghe Gang any place for a person to be? Killing and fighting all day, risking your neck..."
"In the end, what do you get? Just the scraps that fall from between the masters’ fingers. They just have to move their lips, and your Gang has to go risk their lives to fight and kill... Sigh..."
"Isn’t that the truth?"
Cao Bado chimed in from the side.
"Xiaolong, listen to a brother’s advice and quit! Find a way to scrape together eighty or a hundred taels of silver, have Brother Guang pull some strings for you at the Patrol Guard Bureau, and get yourself a proper Constable position! You’ll be set for life!"
He paused, then glanced at Chen Cheng, his tone flippant.
"Cheng, you too. That ’indenture contract’ at the Martial Arts Hall is just to scare people! As long as you have the money, Brother Guang can easily get it taken care of for you! Believe it or not!"
"..."
The steam from the food and wine swirled in the halo of the oil lamp. Before the chasm of their new realities, their old friendship seemed fragile and tenuous.
Xiaolong silently poured himself another drink, his heart burning with each searing gulp of the harsh wine.
Hu Niu also lowered her head and stopped eating.
Chen Cheng, however, remained as calm as ever. He continued to eat the rare meat dishes on the table, but his hand gripping the chopsticks had tightened almost imperceptibly.
A long time passed. The wine was gone, and the food was cold.
"Alright, we’ve had enough to eat. Come on, let’s go somewhere else with me. We’ll head to the Dream Pavilion for some fun... HIC..."
Liang Guang’s drunken eyes narrowed, and a knowing smile, the kind men share, spread across his face.
Cao Bado, no longer mentioning any scholarly decorum, slung an arm around his shoulder and leaned in close.
Xiaolong glanced at Hu Niu beside him and was about to refuse, but Liang Guang and Cao Bado grabbed him from both sides. They whispered some suggestive words in his ear about being ’kindred spirits’ and doing things in ’broad daylight’.
A wicked grin gradually spread across Xiaolong’s face, and he allowed himself to be pulled to his feet with a show of token resistance.
Only then did Liang Guang seem to remember Chen Cheng. He turned around and said flippantly.
"Cheng, come with us. I’ll show you a good time... HIC..."
Chen Cheng put down his chopsticks and said calmly.
"No thanks. It’s late, and it’s not safe for Hu Niu to go back alone. I’ll walk her home. You guys have fun."
"Fine, then I’ll leave Hu Niu to you!"
Liang Guang hadn’t really wanted to invite Chen Cheng anyway, so he seized the easy way out.
Hearing this, Xiaolong’s wicked grin faded slightly, and his gaze toward Chen Cheng warmed a little.
Hu Niu also breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She shot a quick glance at Chen Cheng before lowering her head again.
Outside the restaurant.
The three of them—Liang Guang and the others—staggered off arm in arm, laughing and joking as they headed deeper into the Lunan District.
Chen Cheng and Hu Niu, meanwhile, walked side-by-side toward Kuhuai Village.
