The proprietress of Yunji's dog meat shop was a pleasing sight to behold, though Fang Jie still didn't know her name. He'd seen this seemingly gentle yet fiery woman slap Su Tugou to the ground with the bottom of a pot more than once, involuntarily reminding him of a popular Chinese animated series from his past life.
But today, the usually bold proprietress was acting strangely; her tone towards Fang Jie was unusually gentle, as if she were a completely different person. As she brought over the dog meat stew, Fang Jie touched her hand. Surprisingly, instead of cursing, she smiled charmingly and gracefully turned away.
That smile sent chills down Fang Jie's spine. He immediately assumed a defensive stance, but instead of the abacus the proprietress threw at him, she threw it.
Fang Jie had been hit by the abacus by the proprietress more than once, though he always caught it easily.
In the kitchen behind Yunji Restaurant, the proprietress peeked through a crack in the curtain at Fang Jie, who was eating with great gusto. She frowned slightly and muttered, "That's a good kid."
Su Tugou, who was chopping meat with a huge cleaver, paused, shook his head, and said, "It's none of my business." Hadn't he meddled enough in other people's business in his first half of life? Doing our business honestly is better than anything else. Fan Gucheng may be small, remote, and so cold that your urine freezes, but at least it's a safe and secure place, isn't it?
"Your urine freezes because you didn't use enough strength," the proprietress scoffed.
After a moment of silence, Su Tugou hesitated before saying, "We won't charge for the drinks today; consider it fair of us."
The proprietress cursed, but Su Tugou didn't hear what she said.
He shook his head and continued chopping meat. The proprietress turned and took a jar of pear blossom wine, aged for ten years, from the cupboard. She wiped the dust off with her blue floral apron and turned to leave. Su Tugou grabbed her arm, his face showing displeasure: "This wine isn't for him."
The proprietress looked at Su Tugou, surprisingly not shaking off his arm: "This wine has been aged for ten years. You said you'd keep it until he comes. Even with your love of wine, you've managed to resist taking a sip. I know how much this wine means to you."
She paused, her tone tinged with sadness: "More important than a dying man?"
Su Tugou's expression visibly stiffened, and he slowly released her hand: "I wonder if he'll come… Never mind, we'll just store another jar. Maybe another ten years won't be enough to see him again."
The proprietress smiled, her charm instantly radiating.
She tiptoed and kissed Su Tugou on the cheek, then turned and left the kitchen. Su Tugou rubbed the spot where he'd been kissed and grinned foolishly. He raised the cleaver high, as if he had inexhaustible strength.
Outside, he heard Fang Jie and the proprietress joking around. Su Tugou listened intently and sighed, "He's a good kid after all… what a pity."
"Ten-year aged?"
Fang Jie's voice trembled slightly outside the curtain: "Don't try to just grab any old wine and call it ten-year aged, then swindle all the money I owe you for it… Don't try that, seduction won't work on me!"
"What? You're not taking money? Why didn't you say so earlier!"
"Oh my… this wine is really good, so thick you can pull it into threads. Really aged for ten years? Don't tell me it's just thickened with cornstarch!"
Su Tugou then heard a scream. He knew his wife, Du Hongxian, was definitely throwing another tantrum. Thinking about their life together over the past ten years, Su Tugou couldn't help but sigh.
He put down the cleaver, squatted down, and lit his pipe. He wasn't sure if he was heartbroken over the wasted wine or if he was reminded of something memorable.
...
Eating dog meat stew alone was indeed a bit boring. Fang Jie was a sociable person, but he was also somewhat relieved that he had come alone today; otherwise, how could he have possibly devoured this pot of ten-year-old pear blossom wine all by himself? Thinking of Fu Baobao and Li Gandang's faces, he pulled the wine pot closer to him.
So stingy.
The potency of the ten-year-old pear blossom wine was not to be underestimated. Fang Jie, whose alcohol tolerance wasn't particularly high, was already slightly drunk after two cups. Feeling his body gradually warming up, he simply took off his fur robe and placed it on a chair to the side. The effects of the wine weren't obvious at first, but after a few minutes, they began to take hold in his head.
Gradually, his head grew heavier and heavier.
Just as he hesitated whether he could have another cup, the robe on the chair was taken away. A person sat down in that chair and quietly watched him.
Blinded by alcohol, Fang Jie turned around and glanced at the man sitting next to him, thinking it was an acquaintance, only to find he didn't recognize him.
But in an instant, Fang Jie sat bolt upright.
His eyes widened as he stared at the person beside him, his face filled with disbelief: "How could it be you?"
The man wore a faded blue robe.
Fang Jie hadn't heard the door open, so he had no idea when the man had entered. Looking at that clean yet somewhat weathered face, he felt the same awkwardness he had felt when first meeting his girlfriend's parents in a past life. He instinctively took a step back in his chair, trying to stand up.
"Want me a drink?"
The man in the blue robe smiled and pointed to the pear blossom wine in front of Fang Jie. "I smelled this wine when I passed by outside and couldn't resist coming in to see what kind of person was drinking such fine wine. I remember drinking this wine once ten years ago; it's not as old as this pot you're drinking, but it's still excellent."
"You're a drunkard."
Fang Jie was startled by his own words. He really didn't mean it that way. But for some reason, he felt so uneasy, so nervous, so afraid, so at a loss in front of this man. He hadn't been this flustered even when he was caught stealing watermelons. Even when he was caught peeping at Widow Sun bathing, he hadn't been this flustered.
The man in the blue robe paused slightly upon hearing this, then burst into laughter.
"It's been many years since anyone called me a drunkard. Back in Chang'an, though, I was often called that."
He seemed to recall something, a charming smile curving his lips. "But that old fellow called me a drunkard because I was the only one in Chang'an who shared his wine. I wonder if, after ten years, his good wine is still hidden behind the *Tao Te Ching* on the second shelf."
Fang Jie didn't understand this at all.
"You're stingy."
The man in the blue robe glanced at the wine jug, then couldn't resist reaching for it himself. Without using a cup, he downed most of it in one gulp.
Just then, Su Tu Gou and the proprietress, Du Hongxian, rushed out of the kitchen, their faces trembling with extreme excitement. Su Tu Gou's pipe fell to the ground with a clatter, sending sparks flying, while Du Hongxian's dishcloth fell to the ground, covering the sparks.
Su Tugou, his face covered in a beard, wanted to move forward but hesitated, finally squatting on the ground and wailing like a wronged child.
Du Hongxian, meanwhile, slapped Su Tugou on the back of the head, saying, "Don't cry, don't cry," while she herself was sobbing uncontrollably.
The man in the blue robe smiled at them both, a smile as gentle as a spring breeze melting ice and snow. Fang Jie was involuntarily stunned; he had never seen anyone's smile so bright, so pure and clear. A smile was simply a smile, without any other meaning.
"I could tell it was you two from the smell of alcohol; I couldn't just stay out," he said.
He waved his hand to stop Su Tu Gou and Du Hongxian from saying anything, pointing to Fang Jie and saying, "I'll say a few words to him first. I can't just take advantage of him for nothing after drinking half a pot of pear blossom wine. You two sit down and wait for me a moment; I need your help with something later."
Su Tu Gou and Du Hongxian nodded vigorously, immediately sitting down on chairs nearby, their hands on their knees like two attentive schoolchildren.
"But… that wine was stored for you for ten years."
Du Hongxian suddenly remembered, looking at the half-drunk Fang Jie, and said, "He's the one who got the advantage."
"You've already given him the wine, so it's his. I'm lucky enough to have drunk it; naturally, I'm the one who got the advantage."
The man in the blue robe smiled gently and said, "Since you've received a favor, you should return the favor."
Su Tu Gou and Du Hongxian were dumbfounded, thinking, how could this young man have such incredible luck? In the entire Sui Dynasty, even in the entire world, who could so easily obtain a favor from him? "This guy's luck is f*ck*ng amazing!"
Du Hongxian couldn't help but laugh and curse, looking at the somewhat bewildered young man with a relieved expression in her eyes.
"What's going on?"
Fang Jie asked hesitantly, then slumped to the side: "Heartless proprietress, this isn't wine at all... it's clearly a sleeping potion."
With a thud, the young man fell to the ground, fast asleep.
It wasn't a sleeping potion, but it wasn't pure wine either.
How could a mere mortal like him withstand a pear blossom wine made with three rare and precious herbs?
The man in the blue robe bent down to help Fang Jie up, slowly lifting Fang Jie's clothes. Looking at Fang Jie's six-pack abs, he remained silent for a moment before slowly shaking his head.
"I don't know if saving you was right or wrong... oh well, it's fate, I suppose."
...
Fang Jie's home.
Study.
Curled up in the blankets behind the bookshelf, the disheveled and dejected Big Dog suddenly sat up, looking at the red-dressed woman staring blankly at the rafters, and asked, "Today is his fifteenth birthday."
The red-dressed woman, Mu Xiaoyao, trembled almost imperceptibly, then nodded solemnly. "Yes... time flies so fast, fifteen years have passed in the blink of an eye. I was only twelve when I left there, and now I'm old and faded."
Big Dog ignored her sentimentality, instead picking up the sword box beside him and tossing it onto the rafters. "Fifteen years ago today, Master told me something in the study. I know you're curious about what Master told me, just as I'm curious about what Master told you. This sword box contains what Master told me, and since I'm going to tell him today when he gets back, I might as well show it to you first."
Mu Xiaoyao didn't look at it, but tossed the sword box back.
She tugged at her clothes, revealing a large expanse of fair and delicate skin. She took a brocade pouch from her bosom and shook it in her hand. "This is what my master instructed me to do."
The big dog looked at the sword case in his hand, then at the brocade pouch in Mu Xiaoyao's hand.
"It's not fair to him," he said.
Mu Xiaoyao was startled, sitting up straight and staring at the big dog. "You opened the sword case without permission?"
The big dog glared at Mu Xiaoyao. "I don't believe you didn't see the brocade pouch!"
"Tell him, then take him back?" Mu Xiaoyao asked.
"To hell with it!"
The big dog suddenly threw the sword case into the stove, his body trembling violently. Mu Xiaoyao could see he was afraid. And she was afraid too, very afraid.
"You and I will die," she said.
"So be it!"
The big dog said, trembling. "Fifteen years, I can't bear it anymore!"
"Me too!"
Mu Xiaoyao smiled and threw the brocade pouch into the stove as well. "Let him live a simple, peaceful life. What if he can't cultivate? Being an ordinary person is fine."
"He'll get into the Martial Arts Academy someday and become a civil official," said Da Quan.
"If he's lucky, he'll stay at the Martial Arts Academy and do odd jobs," said Mu Xiaoyao.
"In three to five years, he might be transferred to the imperial court, to the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Revenue, or some other government office," said Da Quan.
"In a few more years, with his intelligence, he'll definitely rise to a high position," said Mu Xiaoyao.
"Why does he have to cultivate? Ten years later, he'll still be a superior person."
Meanwhile, the pitiful man they were talking about was fast asleep on Du Hongxian's bed in the back room of Yunji Dog Meat Shop, completely unaware of the great danger he had just experienced.