“Yi’an… Yi’an!”
Zhao Yi’an heard someone calling his name through a daze, but his groggy brain wouldn’t follow orders. In his blurred vision, he seemed to see a hand reaching out toward him.
‘Is it Fairy sister…?’
‘Hehe, hehe…’
*Slap! Slap!*
Two crisp sounds of palms hitting skin rang out. A sharp pain on Zhao Yi’an’s face caused him to suddenly snap awake from his drunken dream.
“Ouch! What are you doing so early in the morning!?”
“Early morning? Why don’t you look at how high the sun has risen!”
Zhao Yi’an’s head was still spinning as he woke up. He shook it a few times to clear his mind.
A rugged man stood before him holding a hoe, staring him down with an angry expression.
“You’ve been sleeping in my field all morning! Look, just look! You’ve crushed all my vegetables!”
Zhao Yi’an, who had been confused as to why this farmer was waking him up so aggressively, finally realized that he was no longer in the tavern.
‘How did I end up sleeping in a field?’
‘I only remember drinking and chatting with Lady Yao. As we were talking, I felt a gust of wind, and then I couldn’t remember anything else.’
‘The big brothers in the horse gang can’t even outdrink me. Logically speaking, my tolerance shouldn’t be this low, right?’
*Hiss — *
Zhao Yi’an held his throbbing head, feeling his consciousness remain somewhat blurred.
Seeing Zhao Yi’an’s pained expression, the farmer curled his lip with indifference and said coldly, “Hmph, one look and I can tell you’re another one who got drunk on that ‘specialty wine.'”
“What ‘sweet aftertaste’ or ‘trusted ingredients’… only idiots like you would believe that nonsense.”
Hearing this, Zhao Yi’an finally understood. He had been played by the waiter and his “specialty wine.”
‘Damn low-alcohol wine, look where it’s brought me!’
Thinking about how the waiter had fooled him with that “specialty wine,” Zhao Yi’an couldn’t help but grit his teeth.
‘Wait?’
‘What’s that smell? Why does it stink?’
Zhao Yi’an sniffed the air and felt a foul stench wash over him. He quickly pinched his nose and looked at the farmer.
Before Zhao Yi’an could speak, the farmer sneered, “Stop sniffing. Didn’t you realize you’ve been sleeping right next to my fertilizer?”
“If I hadn’t smelled the alcohol when I got close, I would have thought you were just hungry.”
Hearing this, Zhao Yi’an jumped up and frantically checked his body.
He discovered that the rope he had bought earlier was missing, and his clothes smelled of stale wine and dirt. However, the medicine Doctor Niu had given him was still safely tucked inside his robe.
He let out a sigh of relief. Glancing at the farmer who was still glaring at him, Zhao Yi’an scratched his neck awkwardly and said helplessly, “I’m sorry, brother. I was drunk and didn’t mean it. I really don’t have any money right now, so if you could…”
The farmer didn’t let him finish. He waved his hand dismissively, gesturing for him to leave.
“Fine, fine. I can see you didn’t do it on purpose, so I’ll let it slide this once.”
“Just hurry up and leave. If that stench of alcohol ruins my vegetables, what am I supposed to do?”
Since the farmer put it that way, Zhao Yi’an quickly pressed his palms together and thanked him as he left the field.
“Thank you, brother! I’m Zhao Yi’an from the horse gang. I’ll definitely compensate you if I get the chance!”
With that, Zhao Yi’an ran away without looking back.
Because Zhao Yi’an had slept through the morning, it was now noon. The sun shone fiercely upon the earth, and the sweltering weather caused beads of sweat to form on his forehead.
‘Tsk, looks like it’s already noon.’
‘I actually slept through the whole morning? Drinking really does lead to trouble…’
Zhao Yi’an scratched his neck, stretched his arms, and walked briskly down the street.
The noise of the bustling crowd didn’t give him a headache; instead, it helped clear his mind further.
As he walked, Zhao Yi’an suddenly froze.
‘Oh, no!’
‘I forgot the task Brother Tian assigned me!’
A lot had happened yesterday, and as a result, he had forgotten his most important mission.
‘What should I do?’
Thinking of this, the youth anxiously slapped his own face, feeling momentarily lost because he had neglected someone else’s trust. After a while, Zhao Yi’an finally calmed down to think of a solution.
“Phew! It’s okay. If I go prepare everything now and then run back, there should still be time!!”
Once his mind was made up, Zhao Yi’an hesitated no longer and dashed toward the market.
‘By the way, where is Lady Yao?’
‘Didn’t she drink that “specialty wine” with me?’
‘She should be fine, right?’
‘Hah, why am I worrying about her? She knows martial arts. Clearing the alcohol with her inner power would be a simple matter for her.’
Zhao Yi’an thought as he ran, eventually shaking his head and letting out a soft laugh.
‘Must be nice…’
***
Meanwhile, Liu Yao was fast asleep in an inn.
Yesterday, Liu Yao and Zhao Yi’an had chatted and drank together in the tavern quite happily, and the atmosphere was no longer as awkward as before.
However, as they were drinking, Zhao Yi’an had suddenly stopped talking.
When she put down her cup to look, she saw he had already collapsed onto the floor.
Just as Liu Yao was about to help him up, Zhao Yi’an woke up again, mumbling nonsense about “martial arts secret manuals” and “soaring together as a pair.” Ignoring Liu Yao entirely, he wobbled out of the tavern in a drunken stupor.
The girl didn’t pay much attention to it. She pulled some money out of her pocket to pay for the wine, left the tavern, and found a random inn to stay the night.
Now it was noon, and the sunlight streamed into Liu Yao’s room, illuminating the girl’s youthful face.
Liu Yao pursed her lips and groggily opened her eyes. Still hugging her blanket, a trace of drool connected her face to the pillow.
“Pah, pah!”
Sitting up and rubbing her eyes, Liu Yao was about to swallow when she stuck out her tongue instead.
“A girl’s body is such a hassle; hair gets in my mouth every morning when I wake up!”
Wiping the remaining drool from the corner of her mouth, Liu Yao complained to herself.
The girl stretched her limbs, her slender waist peeking out from her taut clothes, with the faint lines of her abdominal muscles visible through the fabric.
Smacking her lips, Liu Yao felt a bit lightheaded, but it didn’t hinder her thoughts.
‘Oh no! I forgot to ask Zhao Yi’an where the horse gang is!’
‘I was having too much fun drinking last night and completely forgot about it.’
‘Besides, that guy was completely wasted yesterday. He couldn’t even speak clearly…’
Recalling Zhao Yi’an’s adorable, drunken appearance last night, the corners of Liu Yao’s mouth curled upward.
‘What secret manual, what fairy sister… he’s just a kid.’
‘I wonder how that guy is doing. Maybe he’s collapsed in a field somewhere on the way back? He’s so unlucky, after all.’
Thinking of the boy stumbling along the road only to end up sleeping in a field for the night, Liu Yao couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Who could have guessed that at this very moment, both of them were simultaneously reminiscing about the other’s drunken state, as if connected by an invisible thread.
Perhaps this was the earliest and most subtle sign of fate.