The night wind blew through the quiet courtyard, bringing with it the lively sounds of people not far away.
In the courtyard near the stables, inside a large wooden cage, two figures—one fat, one thin—huddled together, whispering.
“Big Brother… how much longer do we have to wait? I’m, I’m hungry…”
“Eat, eat, eat! That’s all you know!”
Niu Xingwang stuck out his foot and kicked Niu Xingfa in the back. Though the thick layer of fat effectively absorbed the damage, the impact was still solid.
“Ow!” Niu Xingfa’s body twisted from the kick, and he cried out in a low voice.
“Big Brother, aren’t you hungry? I didn’t say anything wrong…”
“Then I’m not as worthless as you.”
Niu Xingwang curled his lip disdainfully at his younger brother’s aggrieved expression and lowered his voice. He carefully shuffled over to his brother’s side, scanning the surroundings.
After confirming no one else was paying attention, he used Niu Xingfa’s broad frame as cover and jerked his head toward his own pocket, signaling.
“You idiot, who told you to eat all the hidden dry rations on the road? Lucky for you I still have a bit. Fish it out yourself and tide yourself over. Once you’re done, shut up, got it?!”
“Ooh!” Hearing that his big brother still had extra rations on him, Niu Xingfa’s eyes lit up.
He clumsily crawled over to Niu Xingwang’s side without a word and reached into his pocket.
“Can’t you be quieter, dammit!” Niu Xingwang cursed under his breath.
After a moment, Niu Xingfa pulled out an oil-paper package from his brother’s pocket. Opening it, he found half a flattened pancake, rock hard, with crumbs stuck to the edges.
“Water.”
“That—that’s all?” Niu Xingfa’s face fell.
“You’re lucky to have anything to eat, and you’re still picky?”
Niu Xingwang snatched the pancake, broke it in half, and shoved the larger piece into his brother’s hand, while gnawing on the smaller half with a crunch.
Niu Xingfa didn’t stand on ceremony either, wolfing it down so fast he choked and rolled his eyes.
“Eat slowly, no one’s fighting you for it.” Niu Xingwang shot him a disgusted look.
The two brothers finished the half pancake cleanly under the cover of night.
Niu Xingfa licked his fingers, still unsatisfied, but didn’t dare say anything. He listened to the sounds of drinking and horseplay from outside the yard and couldn’t help swallowing saliva.
Then, Niu Xingfa turned his head to look at his big brother, who was resting with his eyes closed.
“…Big Brother, I’m, I’m still hungry…”
“Tough it out.”
Finally having placated his gluttonous little brother, Niu Xingwang withdrew his gaze.
His gaze swept around, but besides the pitch-black darkness, all he could see were prisoners with dull eyes.
These people were either slumped over or curled up. Their numb expressions seemed to tell a story of despair.
‘…How pathetic.’
‘Indeed, ordinary people are just ordinary people. They can only live a mundane life and then die.’
He tugged at the chains binding him and couldn’t help but shake his head with a sneer inwardly.
In the distance, beyond the courtyard wall, came a burst of laughter, and someone was singing at the top of their lungs.
But in this small yard, only a faint light illuminated things.
They seemed to be in a different world from the laughter and joy outside the cage.
“Bang! Bang!” The sound of pounding rang out, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.
“Hey! You country bumpkins outside! How dare you abandon me, your young master, to go eat and drink on your own! Do you know who my father is? Get over here right now and bring me tea and water to apologize!”
The young man’s curses continued, but no one paid him any attention. The only response he got was the noise outside the yard.
“Damn it!” The young man slammed his wooden cangue against the cage, then sat on the ground, staring angrily outside.
“Goddammit, these country bumpkins…”
“Just let me tough it out for another half year. After the next Mingtang grand ceremony, if I don’t cut you lot into pieces, my surname isn’t Qin!”
Getting excited, the young man surnamed Qin gave the cage a vicious kick. Unfortunately, the kick made him, already off-balance, fall over.
Niu Xingfa and Niu Xingwang exchanged glances. Both couldn’t help but look at each other, and from each other’s eyes, they reached a consensus—this guy must have a screw loose.
Just then, footsteps came from the yard entrance. A young man walked in steadily, carrying two stacked red lacquered food boxes in both hands. The boxes were quite large, stacked together almost covering half his face.
Zhao Yi’an set the food boxes on the ground, straightened up, and let out a long breath.
“Food’s here! Line up, one by one.” He swung his arms and said flatly.
Hearing that someone had finally brought food, the cage immediately stirred.
The young man surnamed Qin’s eyes also lit up, his earlier dejection vanishing as he scrambled to the railing and reached out.
“What’s the holdup! Hurry up and bring it over to me! I’m starving!”
Zhao Yi’an glanced at him, unhurriedly opened the lid of the food box, and the aroma of food immediately wafted out.
“What’s the rush? It’s not like you’ll go without.” As he spoke, he took out bowls of food from the box and passed them through the railing.
The prisoners swarmed forward, pushing and shoving, the sounds of bowls and chopsticks clashing and snatching mixing together.
Relying on his sturdy build, Niu Xingfa squeezed to the front, snatched two steamed buns, shoved one to his big brother, and bit into the other himself.
The young man refused to be outdone, squeezing out of the crowd with a full bowl of vegetables, still cursing:
“Food cooked by country bumpkins, just so-so…”
Unfortunately, his voracious eating completely betrayed him.
Zhao Yi’an crouched to the side, watching these prisoners scrambling for food, and suddenly felt a bit dazed.
‘This scene… I feel like I’ve been through this before…’
He remembered the days when he was sold from hand to hand as a child.
Every time he arrived at a new place, mealtime was like this—a crowd fighting desperately for a bit of food. And because he was young, he often couldn’t compete with the others and had to go hungry.
“Hey!” Suddenly, a shout pulled Zhao Yi’an back to reality.
The young man, holding an empty bowl, leaned against the railing, looking at him with slanted eyes and a provoking tone.
“What are you looking at? Haven’t you seen the young master eat?”
Zhao Yi’an didn’t respond. He stood up, brushed the dust off his knees, and bent over to gather the empty food boxes.
‘Well, I’ll leave these taken dishes for the senior brothers to clean up tomorrow…’ he thought to himself, completely ignoring the young man’s provocation.
But the young man surnamed Qin didn’t see it that way.
“Why don’t you say something? Cat got your tongue?” The young man pressed further, a sarcastic smile at the corner of his mouth.
“Do you think we prisoners are pitiful? Let me tell you, I’m not like these mud-footed bumpkins. In a few days, I can come and go as I please.”
Zhao Yi’an paused in his movements and looked up at him.
The young man’s action made the youth think he had intimidated him, and he grew even more excited.
“You know? My father is a big shot in Lin’an. Once the next Mingtang grand ceremony is over, I’ll be free.”
“And when that time comes, you country bumpkins could kneel and beg me, and I wouldn’t even bother to look at you.”
His tone carried a hint of smugness, as if what he said was about to happen any second.
Zhao Yi’an said nothing. He stacked the food boxes, lifted them, and turned to leave.
“Hey! I’m not done yet!” The young man shouted, gripping the railing.
But the young man didn’t turn his head, walking steadily toward the yard entrance.
“Tch, boring.”
The young man curled his lip, pulled his hand back, and sat down on the ground with a thud.
He glanced around listlessly, his gaze landing on the two who hadn’t said a word and were only focused on gnawing their buns—exactly Niu Xingfa and Niu Xingwang.
The young man paused, then a smile curled at the corner of his mouth, looking like he had found a new toy.
“Hey! You two…”