The Han River is so vast that it cannot be swum across.
The river flows on and on, its course impossible to fathom.
—From the Book of Songs, Zhou Nan, Han Guang
Volume Two, Chapter One of Guan Ju
Author's Note: This chapter is about A-Gui's childhood and introduces several "important" characters.
P.S. This chapter has a lot of content too—
The story takes place when Yu Zigui came of age.
Four sleazy figures crept stealthily and finally met in front of the wooden gate.
"Eighth Brother?"
"Tenth Brother?"
And the ninth brother, who was expressing his indignation with his eyes.
"Seventh Senior Brother, you said this evening that you would take me to Jingfu Restaurant for roast goose tomorrow." Looking at Rong Ye, who couldn't help but show off even while running away, Luo Chuan, who ranked tenth, couldn't stop twitching.
He felt guilty while packing his valuables, but it turns out his senior brother was deliberately deceiving him!
With a smile so elegant it was almost fake, Rong Qi waved his fan and said, "Little Ten, you have very little experience in the martial world. You should just stay home and behave yourself."
Luo Shi almost vomited a basin of blood.
"mean."
Although Ninth Senior Brother is taciturn, whenever he speaks, his words are always insightful and to the point.
"Stop arguing, just chop him up first!"
"Calm down, Eighth Senior Brother! Although Seventh Senior Brother's actions were shameless... no... it was a bit disregard for brotherhood. As the saying goes, no one can escape when you're in the same boat. It can also be described as laying down the butcher's knife and becoming a Buddha on the spot. In short, to sum it up..."
With a single, powerful slap, the world fell silent.
Stepping over the "corpse" on the ground, Xun Ba grabbed Rong Qi by the collar.
"Hey Rong, I've been fed up with you for a long time."
Looking at his chest, which was wrinkled like pickled vegetables, Rong Qi's perfect smile shattered.
“My… Cantonese embroidered shirt.”
"Stop babbling! If you're a man, fight it out!"
"A masterpiece by Yunniang, the best embroiderer in Huguang."
"Seventh Brother Rong, how dare you ignore me!"
"It's wrinkled."
Qin Qiong fighting Guan Yu was a completely different generation of people.
Wei Jiu turned around expressionlessly and opened the wooden gate. There stood a thin young man with a harmless smile.
Where are you going so late at night?
"The outhouse." The ice-cold face remained unchanged.
There are chamber pots in the yard.
"I need to take a larger one, or I'll wake Master up from the smell."
Wen Shan's gaze then swept over Rong Qi and Xun Ba, who were struggling together.
"Together, together." The two, unusually in sync, pointed at Wei Jiu and said in unison.
"Oh? It's rare to see junior brothers being so friendly, even going to the toilet together."
"That's right! That's right!" The two put their arms around each other's shoulders, completely forgetting their old and new grudges.
"In that case, I'll go along with you, brother."
His smile vanished instantly.
"Sixth Senior Brother—" Looking at that sickly scholar's face, Xun Ba's already wicked expression became even more ferocious. "Are you really not going to give your brothers a way out?"
"A way out?"
He's just pretending again. Don't let his gentle appearance fool you; he's actually the most—
"insidious."
Lao Jiu is indeed a man of few words.
Smoothing the wrinkles on his chest, Rong Qi stepped forward and said, "Senior brother, how about we make a deal?"
"discuss?"
"If you're willing to show mercy, senior brother, I'm happy to offer you the silver notes." He then took out a stack of banknotes from his sleeve.
"Let the three of you go?" Fu Xian said slowly, ignoring his tenth brother who hadn't even gotten up yet.