Thousand Autumns

“Hmm, what place do you think my shizun has brought him to?” Yu Shengyan asked, time-saturated, he leaned against the veranda, currently he had a stalk of grass in his hand, playing with the deer, he was a little surprised, as shizun was not one to cherish small children or animals, how did he suddenly get a pet deer here?

The head manager smiled: “If you’re curious, why don’t you follow them and find out.”

Yu Shengyan shook his head rapidly: “I am definitely not doing something that speeds up my death, it’s only that the day after tomorrow will be the fight, and it looks as if shizun is not concerned in the least, truly a case of the emperor doesn’t worry, but the eunuchs worry to death. You’ve been at shizun’s side before I became a disciple, you must understand shizun’s thought process better than me?”

The head manager bowed slightly: “I am unfit for Er-langjun’s praise, master’s thought process is unfathomable as the sea, not something I can decipher, but in master’s dealings, he usually walks one step and predicts three steps, this time the fight with Hulugu, is probably the same, master has auspicious fortune in all things, surely he will emerge unscathed.”

Yu Shengyan couldn’t help smiling, this head manager held shizun in the highest esteem, from his words one could see that in his eyes, there was not a single fault to be found on shizun.

“Tell me honestly, the county’s open betting pool, did you put in a wager?”

The head manager opened his eyes wide, then coughed quietly, mumbled: “A small sum.”

Yu Shengyan pressed further: “How much is a little?”

The old head manager: “Around twenty liang.”

Yu Shengyan: “That little? You just said shizun is bound to win!”

The head manager laughed: “A small bet for fun, does it have to be everything I own? If you’re bored, you should go wander around town, there’s now countless jianghu people gathered there, an opportune time to cross paths.”

Yu Shengyan: “With the fight looming, I won’t be going around causing trouble.”

He really wanted to follow Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao into town to see the action, but back then he had stupidly slighted shizun, so now he could only be an honest turtle withdrawn to the residence, distractedly chatting with the old head manager. 

The head manger seeing that he was in low spirits, moved to a different topic: “Then as you see it, the place master and Shen-daozhang have gone, why don’t we bet on it?”

Yu Shengyan: “What will we bet?”

The head manager smiled: “That set of Han dynasty jade flask and jade cups I received last time, hasn’t Er-langjun had his eye on it for a long time, how about that as the prize?”

Yu Shengyan had recovered a bit, sat up abruptly: “Then I’ll use that set of glass weiqi that shixiong gifted me. When they get back though, I’m not brave enough to go up and ask them, how will we know?”

Head manager: “That’s easy, Shen-daozhang is easy to talk to, we’ll ask Shen-daozhang when he gets back.”

Yu Shengyan: “They will definitely eat a meal while they’re out, that can’t be counted, shizun bringing Shen-daozhang out, it can’t be solely to have a meal.”

The head manager nodded: “Then I’ll guess, they’ve perhaps gone to visit a friend, right now Funing County is a myriad of masters, even Ruyan-gongzhu is here, master has probably brought Shen-daozhang to meet an old friend.”

Yu Shengyan laughed haha: “Zhang-shu, you’re going to lose your prized possession to me!”

Head manager, smiling: “Er-langjun hasn’t even made your guess yet, how do you I’ve lost?”

Yu Shengyan: “By shizun’s character, why would he pay someone else a visit, as for Ruyan Kehui they’ve already crossed paths, shizun will likely not seek him out again, the day after tomorrow is the fight with Hulugu, right now he should be conserving his energy.”

The head manager, confused: “Then you mean?”

Yu Shengyan: “Life’s four joys, eat, drink, sex, gambling, I’ll guess, if they’re not at the gambling house, then the brothel.”

Head manager: …

He’d never heard that the four joys of life were these four.

Head manager: “Master has all sorts of beauties waiting to throw themselves at him, this residence also has beautiful entertainers, why would he need to bring Shen-daozhang to that kind of place?”

Yu Shengyan: “This is where you don’t understand, Shen-daozhang hasn’t made the connection, from a young age such a pure cultivator, like a piece of wood, in this world the place that will most likely teach understanding is a pleasure house, he doesn’t need to personally experience it, just by looking, he’ll make the connection, shizun has to bring Shen-daozhang to experience the difference between the male and female body, then he has a comparison, only then will he understand life’s higher pleasures!”

Head manager: “What comparison?”

Yu Shengyan: “The difference between shizun and a woman…”

He stopped speaking, thought: that was a close-one, I’d nearly said what shouldn’t be said out loud, the scene I’d witnessed earlier, I’d better forget it as soon as possible.

Mumbling, moving on: “In summary, if not the gambling house then the brothel, when they return, if Shen-daozhang is in a faint flush, averted gaze, that’s the expression after going to a pleasure house.”

Head manager: “…” You speak as if you’re an expert on this.

Yu Shengyan saw his strange expression: “Are you going to bet or not, are you not willing to part with that jade set, do you regret it already?”

The head manager replied immediately: “You have my word, no reason to go back on it, I’m making this wager!”

Yu Shengyan threw his stalk of grass at the small deer’s head, stood up and laughed: “Then I’ll wait to claim my prize, when the time comes don’t be too hurt!”

His mood had improved drastically, walking a few steps, he turned around and motioned to the small deer: “Come here, I’ll bring you to eat barbecue meat.”

Then he asked the head manager: “Did shizun give it a name?”

Head manager: “…a name was given.”

Yu Shengyan: “What is it?”

Head manager: “…A-Qiao.”

Yu Shengyan paused: “Which character Qiao?”

The head manager held back a laugh: “It’s the one you’re thinking of.”

The two of them looked at each other, staring, Yu Shengyan suddenly burst out: “Can I retract my guess on them going to the brothel?”

The head manager, laughing: “You’re going to go back on your word?”

Yu Shengyan, exasperated: “Fine, fine.”

He motioned to the small deer again: “Shen-daozhang, want to eat barbecue meat?”

Head manager: “…”

The small deer returned an innocent look.

Shen Qiao was not eating barbecue meat, and was not at a brothel, he was currently by the lake.

This lake was not far from the residence, they were seated in the pavilion, Yan Wushi had his staff brine the fresh caught fish and shrimp into drunken fish and drunken shrimp, then had it served, plus a pot of wine from a good vintage year, to the observer it was truly beyond even the life of a celestial.

Yan Wushi had always known how to enjoy himself and relax, although he was no stranger to a life wilding it out with no fixed address, when he didn’t have to shortchange himself, he definitely did not hold back.

“Where did you find all these staff on short notice?” Shen Qiao was a bit alarmed.

“There’s a yiguan close by, previously there wasn’t much business, I bought it, sent over some staff from the residence, we do some food and drink business with travellers coming here to fish, they can stay overnight at the yiguan too, no need to rush back into town.”

Shen Qiao smiled: “Only you would do such a thing.”

Yan Wushi: “This location is close to the marvellous scenery of Banbu Peak and Yinghui Peak, naturally it draws the literati and the artists, its not a completely forgotten place.”

Shen Qiao heard his meaning, this yiguan’s main purpose was for finding out news and transmitting communications, after all it was beside an official transit corridor, many travellers would stay the night at the yiguan, as for the talented cooks and maidservants, they were at the express service of Yan-zongzhu, whether or not the business did well was not important.

The dishes before them had mostly been cooked with wine, fragrant and rich, intoxicating.

Shen Qiao was not someone who abstained entirely from alcohol, but seeing the full cup of wine poured before him, was a little conflicted: “My alcohol tolerance is not very high.”

This wine was the kind you could tell in one glance that got people drunk very quickly.

Yan Wushi filled his own cup to the brim, then drained it: “I’m about to meet my death, and you’re not even willing to drink a cup of wine.”

Shen Qiao: “…”

Knowing that he was saying this on purpose, Shen Qiao still raised his cup, drank it in two sips, it burned down his throat, he felt his entire body burning, starting with his stomach.

“This is shaojiu?” He wondered.

Yan Wushi shook his head: “Not quite, it’s got some additional chilli and pepper, so it has more bite, with seafood’s colder nature, this counterbalances it.”

The maidservant was peeling a drunken shrimp, placed the plump flesh in the plate in front of Shen Qiao.

Shen Qiao put it in his mouth, the sweet freshness of the river combined with the fragrant wine was endlessly flavourful, he set his chopsticks down, seeing the maidservant about to place more on his plate, waved his hand: “I’m afraid I’ll get drunk if I eat more, no more.”

Yan Wushi shook his head: “After this meal, who knows after Banbu Peak if the person seated across from you is still me, and you still think moving your chopsticks is too much, truly you wound me.”

Shen Qiao: “…Stop using this event as an excuse, Hulugu is powerful, but you’re also someone with no brakes, how could you die so easily!”

Yan Wushi sent the maidservants away, poured him another cup, blandly: “Variables are constant, I may be arrogant, but I can’t proclaim a certain victory, this fight, Hulugu will want to demonstrate to the world that by defeating me he has long surpassed Qi Fengge, and well as flaunting the might of the Tujue. If he’s in a position to kill me but doesn’t, that runs contrary to his reputation, if I can kill Hulugu but don’t follow through, that also runs contrary to my character.”

Shen Qiao quietly sighed, unable to deny him, ultimately gave up refusing the wine.

Yan Wushi harboured no good intentions, he hadn’t had a chance to get Shen Qiao drunk, now was an opportune time to enjoy this beauty’s drunken countenance, so finding his weakness, poured him cup after cup, Shen Qiao hadn’t been kidding when he said his alcohol tolerance was poor, after three cups, his cheeks were faintly flushed, his gaze not as sharp as his usual.

This scene, was a rare occurrence, the next time he wanted to get Shen Qiao drunk it would not be so easy, he should’ve gotten someone to paint him. Yan Wushi thinking this, reached out a hand to touch the other’s face, it was very hot.

Shen Qiao held his forehead, didn’t cause a drunken frenzy, it was just that his reactions were a bit slower, not understanding why the other had reached out a hand suddenly to touch his face, he stared in a daze for a long while, then gradually revealed a pained expression. 

Yan Wushi hadn’t expected his alcohol tolerance to be so low, watching him wobbling about to fall over, had to move over to hold him up: “Do you want to throw up?”

Shen Qiao shook his head, with his hands covering his face, he was silent for a long time.

No matter how powerful Yan Wushi was, he wouldn’t be able to discern exactly what this gesture meant, but he dealt with it very directly, reaching out a hand, he pulled down the other’s hands that had been covering his face.

Yan Wushi was extremely perceptive, he felt the wetness on his fingers immediately.

Then looking at Shen Qiao’s eyes, misty and wet, it was hard to tell if it was the alcohol fumes, or if he was crying.

Yan Wushi finally gave up maintaining his teasing, mirthful expression, his face gradually changed.

He had just wanted to admire the beauty’s drunk countenance, he hadn’t expected the beauty to cry, it was true that Shen Qiao had cried before, and all those times he’d been affected to the core, overwhelmed with sadness.

Shen Qiao’s character was soft-hearted, but inside he was steel, not someone who cried at the drop of a hat. He frowned slightly, as if not expecting this movement from Yan Wushi, but the wetness welling in his eyes was just welling, it had not yet coalesced into a falling tear.

“A-Qiao, you’re grieving for me, you’re afraid that this fight between me and Hulugu, I’ll go and never return, is this the case?” Yan Wushi said softly.

Shen Qiao sighed, the wine was to blame for the emergence of his sadness against his will, otherwise he would have appeared just a bit more sombre than usual.

He propped himself up on his elbow, as if to break free from Yan Wushi’s embrace, but his body on wine was like cotton, for the moment he’d lost a martial artist’s agility, his efforts were a bit futile, he could only stay as is: “It is a bit strange, if it was me facing Hulugu, I would only feel that this day was inevitable, my spirits would be like the high clouds, there would be no room for anything else in my mind, but if a friend were to do the same, I’m only left with worry.”

“Friend.” Yan Wushi played with this word in his mouth, “If it was Li Qingyu and Hulugu having this fight, would you also be this worried?”

Shen Qiao began to consider this earnestly, his brow furrowed tighter and tighter, but he gave no answer after a long duration.

What more of an answer was needed? Yan Wushi smiled, his hand caressed Shen Qiao’s hair: “A-Qiao.”

Shen Qiao rubbed his forehead: “…en?”

Yan Wushi: “A-Qiao.”

He buried his entire face into Shen Qiao’s neck, crushed this name, turned it over a thousand times in his heart.

Shen Qiao seemed to realize the ambiguity of their position, felt that his neck was being scratched by the other’s hair and was very itchy, he couldn’t help but push the other aside, he stood up and wobbled over to the lake, bent over to wash his face in the lakewater, the icy water hitting him, in a short time his senses came back to him.

Yan Wushi walked over to support him: “Let’s go back.”

Shen Qiao nodded, aired his grievance: “I’m never drinking again.”

Yan Wushi laughed at him: “Your own tolerance is poor, so you should practice.”

Shen Qiao had a headache: “Unless someone is having a match with Hulugu again, otherwise no one will be able to get me to drink this parting wine again.”

Yan Wushi laughed and laughed.

Shen Qiao circulated his qi to dispel some of the alcohol, although his head was quite fuzzy, at least now he could walk on his own.

By the time they returned to the residence it was evening, the small deer was munching on grass in the front yard, Shen Qiao’s thoughts were not as clear as usual, his manners were also a bit childish, he actually went up and hugged the deer’s neck, whispered to it: “I’ll change your name for you, ok?”

On the other side Yan Wushi waved: “A-Qiao, come here.”

Without waiting for Shen Qiao to figure out who he was calling for, the small deer had already abandoned Shen Qiao, pranced over to him.

Shen Qiao held back his vexation, leaned on a pillar and rubbed his head, he thought, why was he concerned for this person back there, clearly it was unnecessary.

After that, he didn’t remember when he went to bed, or how he returned to his room, everything was as if in a dream, through a curtain, muddled, like a flower in the mirror or the moon in the water.

When Shen Qiao woke from his long, long sleep, it was as if he had slept past every season, he felt very rested, and refreshed.

After he washed up, he summoned a maidservant to ask for the shichen, the maidservant said: “You’ve slept a full day and night, right now it’s mao shi, on Banbu Peak, master and Hulugu have probably started their fight.”

Shen Qiao was extremely shocked, he couldn’t believe he’d slept for that long, turning his thoughts in his head, he realized it was very likely that Yan Wushi had played him again, while he was drunk he had sealed his sleep acupoint.

But there was no time to say more, he grabbed his shanhetongbei sword, his body a blur, he ran in the direction of Banbu Peak.