“Clang!”
“Come on, drink!”
“I’ll drink you under the table this time!”
“Don’t leave a fish in your cup and we’ll call it a success, hahaha!”
The aroma of spilled wine spread through the spacious courtyard as voices rose and fell in a boisterous clamor.
Some reveled in the intoxication of alcohol, others savored the enjoyment of the delicious meal.
At this moment, Li Zhengping, seated at the head of the table, quietly observed the scene before him.
A corner of his mouth lifted. He picked up his wine cup and tilted his head back, drinking it all in one gulp.
“Mmm… Ha! Now this is life!” Li Zhengping wiped his mouth heartily, then shifted his gaze to Zhao Yi’an’s seat. “Don’t you think so, Xiao Zhao?”
“Joy in a man’s heart makes his spirits bright!”
“Hahaha!”
As he spoke, Li Zhengping couldn’t help but pat the young man’s back.
“Gang Leader…” the youth said with a wry smile.
He held his cup and took small, cautious sips, occasionally furrowing his brow slightly. ‘Ugh… I guess after not drinking with Master for so long, this stuff just doesn’t taste good anymore.’ ‘…Is it really the wine’s fault?’
Suddenly, thinking of that girl who always loved to smile, Zhao Yi’an’s breathing calmed a little. His mood had settled now—no longer so emotional.
And every time he remembered how he’d lost his temper at himself before, he couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed.
‘Forget it, I’ll deal with that later…’ ‘Right now, the important thing is to enjoy a good meal with everyone.’
Zhao Yi’an shook his head, tossing those troublesome thoughts behind him. He looked up, swept his gaze over the crowd happily eating and drinking, and couldn’t help but smile.
“Yeah… this is the feeling that really puts me at ease…”
“Yo! What are you thinking about with such a beautiful smile?”
“Gang Leader!”
Pushing aside Li Zhengping’s hand that had landed on his head, the youth protested.
Zhao Yi’an twisted his head around and saw Li Zhengping—who had somehow come up behind him holding a wine jug, face stubbly, and beaming.
The young man gave a helpless smile, turned back, and took a small sip of his wine, saying calmly:
“Gang Leader, you’ve been gone so long—why not have more of the food at home?”
“Pfft, that’s nothing. After being out for so long, I’ve long since gotten used to eating anything.”
Li Zhengping waved his hand, casually pulled over a vacant stool from nearby, and sat down.
“Besides, on the road—” Just as he said that, he turned his head again to greet other disciples: “Hey, bottoms up, bottoms up!”
After clinking cups with others, he finally remembered there was still a young fellow waiting for him. Embarrassed, Li Zhengping grinned at Zhao Yi’an.
“Ah haha… where was I just now?”
“Ha… I was just asking why you didn’t go eat more instead of coming to chat with me.”
The young man let out a long, helpless sigh and replied.
“Oh, right, right!” Li Zhengping slapped his thigh with an air of sudden realization. “What, is it a bad thing that I came to see you?”
He hooked his arm around Zhao Yi’an’s and leaned close to the youth’s ear, his tone tinged with teasing:
“I heard you’ve been pretty lucky in love lately, huh? Not gonna tell me about it?”
“Don’t forget, I’m the one who brought you back. You don’t intend to let your elder have a look at the girl you’ve caught?”
Catching the stench of alcohol on Li Zhengping’s breath, Zhao Yi’an quickly pulled away and held his breath.
Pinching his nose, he said with a look of disgust:
“Gang Leader, you’re getting as gossipy as everyone else.
“Why don’t you worry about when you’re going to find a wife?
“All you do is listen to Ma Sao’s rumors…”
Seeing the youth’s attitude, Li Zhengping pursed his lips, shifted his gaze to the others, and continued drinking.
“Ah… the young people nowadays talk so boringly.”
He stroked his stubble, said nothing more, and just stared ahead quietly as if lost in thought.
Seeing this, Zhao Yi’an didn’t disturb him. He returned to his seat and, like Leader Li, watched the lively scene before him.
Perhaps because they usually held back, everyone seemed more animated than usual tonight.
They slung arms over each other’s shoulders, drinking and laughing.
They huddled together, gambling a little for fun.
They had known each other from humble beginnings, united as one.
Emboldened by the wine, the people vented their daily worries, even arguing noisily.
But after the revelry, everything would return to normal.
“… Hey, Yi An.”
After a long silence, Li Zhengping spoke first, but this time he didn’t use the name “Xiao Zhao.”
“Hmm?” Hearing the gang leader call him, Zhao Yi’an turned his head in confusion.
“What do you think of this place?”
Li Zhengping didn’t look at the youth—he simply uttered this random remark in a flat tone.
“Which place? Our horse gang?”
Hearing such an out-of-the-blue topic, Zhao Yi’an was taken aback and didn’t react in time.
“No, no.” Li Zhengping waved his hand. “I’m talking about our country, our… Great Song.”
His tone was calm, as if he were just chatting about everyday things.
“Our Great Song? Are you drunk again, Gang Leader?” Zhao Yi’an turned around, looking at Li Zhengping with concern. “Gang Leader, you should drink less. See, you’re talking nonsense again…”
Just as Zhao Yi’an tried to grab the wine jug from the gang leader’s hand, Li Zhengping pulled it away, and he grabbed empty air.
Ignoring Zhao Yi’an, Li Zhengping, under the youth’s worried gaze, directly tilted his head back and downed the remaining wine in one gulp. Thump!
The empty jug hit the table, but in all the noise, no one paid any attention.
“Burp!” Li Zhengping propped himself up with his elbows to keep from falling.
He shook his head and looked at the frowning Zhao Yi’an, saying drunkenly:
“… Don’t you think our Great Song is rotten?”
Zhao Yi’an was startled and quickly reached out to cover Li Zhengping’s mouth, lowering his voice: “Gang Leader! You can’t say things like that!”
He nervously glanced around. Fortunately, the courtyard was rowdy with the sounds of finger-guessing games and clinking cups—no one noticed.
Li Zhengping pulled his hand away and let out a burp.
“Wh-what are you afraid of? It’s not like I’m going to report you… I’m just asking—what do you think?”
“I don’t know!” Zhao Yi’an said through gritted teeth, keeping his voice low. “All I know is that you’re so drunk you’re starting to talk nonsense!
“Alright, alright, let me take you back to sleep it off. Come on!”
The young man didn’t take the topic seriously. For him, after drifting from place to place, he had finally settled down in a big family like the horse gang.
Daily, he learned to read from the old man in the accounts room and handled chores in the stable. Just being well-fed and happy was enough.
What country? What imperial court? Those were too far away for him.
“Have you never thought about why those officials get to enjoy the fruits of others’ labor while we common folks have to work ourselves to the bone?” Li Zhengping looked at him with a tilted head.
“Have you never wondered why you never hear of any of those rich kids being severely punished?”
Zhao Yi’an fell silent. He didn’t know how to answer the gang leader’s questions.
“Gang Leader, you’ve had too much to drink.” He lowered his eyes, let out a long sigh, and took the empty jug from Li Zhengping’s hand. “I’ll go make you a cup of tea.
“I still have to deliver food to the prisoners in a bit…”
Before he could finish, when Zhao Yi’an looked up again, Li Zhengping—without the support of the wine jug—had already slumped onto the table and fallen asleep.
The snores coming from him proved that the big man before the youth was truly asleep.
“… Whatever.”
Not knowing what else to say, Zhao Yi’an just helplessly shook his head, poured a cup of tea for the gang leader, and left it by his side.
He turned and headed toward the kitchen, but couldn’t help looking back at the snoring gang leader.
It took him a while to snap out of it.
The young man lifted his foot again.