"Oh, if it isn't my third brother?" Chen Xiaofei looked at Niu San with a playful grin.
Niu San was stunned. "You... didn't you say you were in your room reading the Spring and Autumn Annals? What are you doing here?"
Recognizing an old acquaintance, Chen Xiaofei felt reassured and told the madam to leave.
"Close the door behind you."
Chen Xiaofei lay back down, resting his head on a pair of jade-like legs belonging to a woman named Yiyi. "Ah, Yiyi, I truly can't see your face at all."
"You're terribly wicked, Young Master, still teasing this humble concubine." A blush never left Yiyi's face.
An untimely voice piped up, "Brother Fēi, aren't you afraid the Qin Pavilion will come after your head when you're being this reckless?"
Chen Xiaofei sat up from the beauty's embrace, whether intentionally or not brushing against the pair of jade rabbits on her chest, which drew a soft, coy complaint from her. Chen Xiaofei smiled, apologized, and placed a finger over the woman's lips to signal her to be quiet.
"Do you know who Yiyi is?" Chen Xiaofei shot back with a question.
"Who is she?" Niu San asked, looking thoroughly puzzled. He walked over to Chen Xiaofei, found an empty seat, and sat down right by the window overlooking the dimming lanterns along the Qinhuai River.
"The courtesan of the Qin Pavilion."
Chen Xiaofei leaned back against Yiyi's chest, resting his head there with practiced ease, refusing to slip down.
Niu San had just picked up a flagon of wine when he heard this. His hand jerked, spilling wine all over himself because he couldn't keep his grip steady.
"What?" Niu San thought he must have misheard.
"She's from the Qin Pavilion," Chen Xiaofei repeated, tapping Yiyi on the chin with his finger.
"Wait, didn't you say you had a fight with the Qin Pavilion back then? That you fought all the way to the bed?" Niu San couldn't process this; it was nothing like what he had imagined.
"We fought our way to love, didn't we? What else? Right?"
Yiyi's fingers brushed softly across Chen Xiaofei's face. "This humble concubine has never laid eyes on a man quite so fierce."
"You're done for. You were acting all high and mighty during the day, I'm going back to—"
"Yiyi, go downstairs and fetch a bottle of Yangzhou Drunk. Let my third brother and I properly catch up against the backdrop of this fine scenery."
Chen Xiaofei sent Yiyi downstairs, cutting Niu San off mid-sentence.
This Yangzhou Drunk was a renowned wine of Yangzhou City, the finest brew along the entire Qinhuai River, praised by countless scholars and poets.
A single sip of Yangzhou Drunk, and you sleep drunkenly on a beauty's lap.
After a long while, the woman finally returned carrying a jar of wine. This Chaifeng Tower had twelve floors in total, and fine pearls of sweat had already broken out on her delicate face.
"Hard work, my beauty."
Chen Xiaofei took the Yangzhou Drunk and used his other hand to gently wipe the sweat from Yiyi's face.
Even the top courtesan lowered her gaze when treated like this in front of outsiders.
Only then did Yiyi notice that the floor was in a bit of a mess, with several tables and stools knocked over.
"What happened?" Yiyi asked, bewildered.
Niu San rubbed his nose. "Nothing, I'm just drinking with my Brother Fēi until we're both dead drunk."
Yiyi looked over and noticed that Niu San's nose was bright red.
"Don't stare. Young fellows have a lot of internal heat; getting a little nosebleed is completely normal." Chen Xiaofei smiled as he righted the table, set out three glazed cups, and poured the fragrant, mellow wine.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
The three of them raised their cups together and drank deeply.
"Look, is that person staring right at us?" Yiyi put down her glazed cup, nodded toward a spot on the Qinhuai River downstairs, and refilled their empty cups.
"Is he?"
Chen Xiaofei looked down suspiciously and spotted a well-dressed young man right where Yiyi had pointed.
"How could the Qinhuai River be without such men? He must be staring at you, the reigning courtesan," Niu San laughed heartily. "Hey, Courtesan, can you set me up with a few sisters of my own?"
"I belong to the Qin Pavilion, and this is the Chaifeng Tower. If you want a lady, go find one downstairs yourself," Yiyi giggled.
"What? Look at my beauty? I won't allow that."
Chen Xiaofei launched himself backward from the twelfth floor, landing gracefully right in front of the young man below. The sudden move made the young man's hand shake, nearly dropping the tray he was holding.
Yet he quickly bowed. "Greetings, Brother Chen."
Chen Xiaofei's eyes were full of confusion, but since the person before him was so polite, he had no choice but to return the bow politely. "Who the hell are you?"
"I am Gu Chenwan. I witnessed Brother Chen's invincible posture in Wudu, and to meet you up close once more today—truly, you are as jade-like as the wind, a peerless gentleman in a dusty world."
Seeing the young man before him smiling brightly, Chen Xiaofei stroked his chin. "Did you do something behind my back that you're sorry about?"
Gu Chenwan's expression didn't change, but a storm raged within his heart.
*Could it be that he noticed us following them the whole way?* They had originally wanted to find an opportunity to move against Niu San ever since leaving Wudu, but Niu San had stuck to Chen Xiaofei like glue, forcing them to tail the pair and wait for an opening.
Today, he had finally seen Niu San go out alone, only for that stubborn bull to run straight into Chen Xiaofei again.
The Wheel-Turning King offered an awkward laugh. "Brother Chen certainly knows how to joke."
Something was wrong. It was twelve parts wrong out of ten.
"Are you trying to make friends with me?" Chen Xiaofei smiled.
"How could that be? I'm here to be your lackey! Brother Chen's reentry into the Martial World has once again overwhelmed everyone with awe. My respect for you is simply like the endless, rolling waters of a great river, resembling..."
"Aha! So you were eyeing my woman!"
By now, Chen Xiaofei was certain.
*He really did notice!* Gu Chenwan felt a wave of vexation. He had been too careless. There were too many people on the Qinhuai River; he needed to find a way to slip away.
"There are so many beauties and maidens on the Qinhuai River, why did you have to set your sights on mine? Little brother, listen to an older brother's advice: the waters around that woman of mine are far too deep for you to handle. Only I know her roots and foundations, and understand her true depth." Chen Xiaofei urged him earnestly, trying to talk some sense into him.
By this point, Gu Chenwan was completely bewildered. He had no idea what the man in front of him was babbling about, but he had no choice to bite the bullet and play along. "It was presumptuous of me. I lost control when I saw a beauty."
Chen Xiaofei waved his hand impatiently.
"Then do enjoy yourselves, Brother Chen. A night of love is worth a thousand pieces of gold—don't let it go to waste."
Gu Chenwan took the out he was offered, playing a sly little trick on the side.
Seeing that the youth had finally left, Chen Xiaofei made another leap and bounded back upstairs.
"Young Master, wasn't that fellow acting rather abnormal just now?"
Yiyi and Niu San had watched everything from upstairs.
"Not really. He was aiming for you, so he felt a bit guilty when I went down there. I gave him a talking-to that left him deeply ashamed and determined to turn over a new leaf. Hopefully, he'll become an ambitious young man just like me." Chen Xiaofei took a carefree sip of his Yangzhou Drunk.
Niu San gave him a thumbs-up. "Brother Fēi truly is a man whose words match his deeds."
Yiyi rolled her eyes, speechless.
The moment Gu Chenwan and his people had followed Chen Xiaofei's group into Yangzhou City, the Qin Pavilion had already found out and sent a warning tonight. Yet neither of these two idiots had reacted at all.
Watching Chen Xiaofei and Niu San lecherously pointing and commenting on the girls along the Qinhuai River, Yiyi felt a profound wave of regret.
*How on earth did I ever decide to cooperate with such idiots? All brawn and no brain.*