The four companions continued on their journey, but with even greater caution. Whenever they stopped—whether to make camp for the night or just to take a brief rest—Wang Suo would meticulously set dozens of traps, leaving nothing to chance. In the past, Li Zhuo would have teased him mercilessly for being as timid as a mouse, but now he actively helped Wang Suo bury the traps, which took a considerable load off Wang Suo's mind. Zheng Shude, meanwhile, invariably sought out a tall nearby tree to climb and keep watch.
Li Qiu quickly built a fire, then cleared away all the brush within a ten-foot radius of the camp. He also chopped off the lower branches of the surrounding trees up to the height of a man to prevent the foliage from obstructing their line of sight. Although he could sense his surroundings, taking these precautions could never hurt and would always prove useful to some degree.
Struggling forward as if facing a formidable enemy, the four traveled slowly for four days. They covered only fifty miles each day, falling short of their anticipated sixty miles. Even so, if they maintained their current pace, they would reach Wanjia Town by tomorrow afternoon at the latest.
The stone hanging heavily in their hearts finally dropped. Once tonight passed, they would reach their destination tomorrow.
Once in Wanjia Town, they would no longer have to worry about being tracked by beasts or sleeping out in the wild. They could dine at restaurants, secretly enjoy a bit of wine, find an inn, take a thoroughly refreshing bath, and sink into a deep, comfortable sleep. They could visit a teahouse and listen to storytellers recount ancient legends, ghosts, spirits, immortals, and demons.
They could sell all their harvested pelts and game first, then purchase whatever supplies they desired. Li Zhuo wanted to buy a Jiangnan folding fan, the kind painted with an ink wash landscape and infused with a subtle fragrance. He imagined gently waving it—the posture, the scent, as dashing as one could possibly be. He also wanted to buy some rouge and face powder to bring back for Xiaocui in the village.
Wang Suo wanted to purchase some large iron-forged animal traps, sturdy enough to snap a black bear's leg, allowing him to catch larger and more abundant prey.
Zheng Shude wanted to have the town blacksmith forge him a better saber. If he had enough money, he would commission a hundred-refined blade—solid and heavy in the hand, capable of severing a leopard's head with a single blow.
Aside from selling wolf pelts and buying medicine, Li Qiu planned to visit his maternal grandfather's family on his father's behalf. Although the two families had grown apart over the past few years and his grandfather's family never showed him much warmth, they had once helped his family out. A kindness as small as a drop of water should be repaid with a surging spring—this was a principle Li Qiu understood well. Therefore, no matter what, he had to make the trip. Aside from that, he would keep none of the remaining money for himself; he would hand it all over to his parents so they could consider buying a few acres of farmland. Though his father could no longer hunt in the mountains, he could grow crops, ensuring the family would never want for food or clothing.
Each of the four youths had his own thoughts and plans, quietly calculating their shopping lists for tomorrow.
Consequently, their steps grew lighter.
By now, the river had gradually grown wider and calmer. Li Qiu noticed that although it was a minor stream, it had broadened significantly, reaching thirty or forty feet across at its widest point and about ten feet even at its narrowest. Perhaps because they had reached the lower reaches, the current flowed sluggishly, lacking the rushing roar of the upper stream, and fish were much more abundant. Li Qiu scooped up a handful of water and drank—it was sweet and refreshing.
As day faded into dusk, another tense day came to an end. Figuring they should rest early and hit the road at dawn to reach Wanjia Town sooner, Li Qiu broached the idea to the others. Knowing they would arrive in town tomorrow and didn't need to rush today, the other three readily agreed to make camp.
They found a shallow beach about ten feet from the narrowest mouth of the river and set up camp there. As usual, everyone set about their assigned tasks.
Just as Li Zhuo finished helping Wang Suo bury the traps and stoked five large campfires for Li Qiu, he shouted toward a tall tree ten feet away, "Fourth, get down! Time to eat!" Zheng Shude answered with a sharp whistle, slid down the trunk, and the four of them proceeded to cook and eat.
It was still early after dinner. As they watched the fiery sunset blaze across the horizon and reflect on the water until the sky and river seemed to merge into one, a poetic mood struck Li Qiu, and he casually recited, "The autumn waters share a hue with the receding sky; the falling mists and lone wild ducks fly together..."
"Urp!" Li Zhuo let out a long, thunderous burp, utterly shattering the rare, serene poetry of the moment. Oblivious to having ruined the mood, he walked over to the riverbank, lifted his robes, and began to piss with a loud gush.
Who knew how much water Li Zhuo had actually drunk? His stream seemed endless, stirring up ripple after ripple that spread outward in overlapping rings, completely ruining the beautiful vista where sky and river met, and startling the fish in the river into fleeing far away.
Feeling thoroughly relieved by the urination, Li Zhuo gave a sudden full-body shudder, let out a comfortable sigh, and sauntered back while singing, "Get drunk today on the wine we have today..."
Singing was bad enough; Li Qiu and the others already thought pissing had nothing to do with reciting poetry, but hearing Li Zhuo—who hadn't even been drinking—belting out "Get drunk today on the wine we have today" made them feel utterly nauseous.
Even a small sika deer drinking on the opposite bank was startled by the singing and bolted away in panic, vanishing into the woods.
Seeing this, Li Zhuo laughed and cursed, "Little beast, you sure run fast! If it weren't for this dozens-of-feet-wide river blocking my way, I'd catch you alive and roast you."
Wang Suo, already thoroughly nauseated by Li Zhuo, laughed and said, "Second Brother, just a few days ago you were mocking us for being afraid of giant beasts. Judging by this, aren't you the one who's scared?"
Hearing this, Li Zhuo immediately refused to let the matter drop. He hurriedly straightened his clothes and snapped, "How am I afraid of giant beasts? You'd better explain yourself, or I won't let you off lightly! That day, Mount Tai could have collapsed on my head and my expression wouldn't have changed; I orchestrated strategies from afar and secured victory a thousand miles—uh, no, seventy paces away..." He started boasting again, completely banishing the memory of Li Qiu's strategy to the back of his mind, acting as though he wouldn't stop until Wang Suo worshipped him unconditionally.
Wang Suo quickly interrupted him. "Oh, Good Second Brother, aren't you just afraid of giant beasts? Otherwise, why pick on a little deer? Seeing the river in the way and knowing there's no danger, you're just barking tough words to satisfy your cravings... Or did you want to skin and debone that little deer too?"
With that, he exchanged a glance with Li Qiu and Zheng Shude. The two of them understood instantly, recalling the hilarious incident from a few days ago when Li Zhuo had a bird drop dung right on his head and threw a tantrum vowing to "skin and debone" it. They burst into loud laughter.
By now, Li Zhuo's face had turned the color of a pig's liver. That incident had become his sore spot, completely off-limits. Filled with intense hatred toward Wang Suo for bringing it up, he gritted his teeth and said, "Third, you're asking for a beating!" With that, he swept his wooden pole through the water with a heavy thwack, splashing Wang Suo from head to toe.
Soaked from head to foot, Wang Suo looked utterly wretched, like a drowned chicken. Deciding to give as good as he got, he launched himself forward with a leap and a bound, tackled Li Zhuo, and with a loud splash, the two of them tumbled into the river, where they continued to brawl furiously.
Seeing this, Li Qiu and Zheng Shude hurried over to break up the fight, finally dragging the two out of the water. Both of them were dripping wet. Wang Suo was wrapped in green river weeds, looking like a colorful beggar, while Li Zhuo had a crab perched on his head and a small fish clamped between his teeth, its tail still twitching back and forth.
Catch sight of each other's ridiculous appearances, Wang Suo and Li Zhuo could no longer hold back and burst into gales of laughter.
At that exact moment, the sika deer that Li Zhuo had frightened away suddenly burst out from the woods, crying out frantically as it ran toward the riverbank where Li Qiu and the others stood. Reaching the water's edge, it threw itself into the river with a mighty plunge...
Stunned, Li Qiu and the three others thought in unison: *Could it be that this little deer actually wants Li Zhuo (me) to 'skin and debone' it?!*