Wuxia: Drinking with Spring Breeze

```

The sun had not yet set in the west.

Yang Ge had already set foot on the path back to the city along the river.

Under the sunlight, the wide river, reflecting jade-like splendor, dazzled Yang Ge to the point he could hardly keep his eyes open.

Gazing at the meandering river that stretched beyond sight, he couldn't help but sigh, "It truly resembles a mountain road!"

What was it like to travel through time?

Yang Ge felt it was somewhat like going bankrupt...

No!

It was more like a gambler on the brink of ruin... from a billionaire to a gambler who lost his family and wealth overnight!

In another world.

He had parents who loved him, a sister, and a brother.

He had a girlfriend of six years, with a steady relationship, on the verge of walking down the aisle with him.

He had an apartment in the provincial capital city, hard-earned through years of "received" and "OK" replies after leaving his hometown.

There were also a bunch of interesting and righteous friends, as well as a six-figure savings account...

But in this world, he had nothing but himself.

No family, no friends, no property.

Even his past experiences had been reset to zero by time and space...

As lonely as a solitary wild goose in a vast sea of people, it was just like this.

.....

Yang Ge hurried along and finally made it back to the Yuelai Inn just as the city gates were about to close.

As soon as he stepped into the main hall, Yang Ge sensed that the atmosphere inside the inn was somewhat oppressive.

He scanned the hall and immediately noticed that the seventeen or eighteen guests scattered around were all strong and muscular, each of them carrying a weapon.

Yang Ge's heart grew cold. Although he had become accustomed to seeing martial artists entering the inn with swords and blades these days,

so many martial artists flooding in all at once was obviously not normal.

He maintained a normal expression as he withdrew his gaze, secretly sizing up these guests with the corners of his eyes.

Soon, his suspended heart slowly descended... Official tail knives, they were government people.

"Shopkeeper, I'm back."

While continuing to observe these guests holding official knives but not wearing official clothes, he casually greeted the innkeeper Liu who was standing behind the counter, "Where could the inn use a hand?"

Shopkeeper Liu was pretending to write something on a ledger, but the observant Yang Ge noticed there wasn't a single word on it.

"There's a need for someone to chop forage at the stables; off you go!"

Shopkeeper Liu responded with a smile as usual, but his old face showed an unmistakeable trace of suppressed worry.

Yang Ge wanted to communicate further with the old man using his eyes, but Shopkeeper Liu had already lowered his head again to "write" the Wordless Heavenly Scripture. Yang Ge had no choice but to answer and quickly head towards the backyard.

No sooner had he passed through the yard gate than Yang Ge saw Wang Dali with half of his face swollen like a steamed bun, standing at the kitchen door, trembling like a sieve.

As he saw Yang Ge enter, Wang Dali's eyes held a frantic joy as if he had seen a savior, but as he opened his mouth to say something, he swallowed his words and simply jerked his chin toward the stables, indicating for him to hurry over there.

Yang Ge saw the expensive dish Wang Dali was holding on the tray, and pointed upstairs to the private dining rooms on the second floor.

Wang Dali nodded dejectedly.

Yang Ge hesitated for two seconds, but then he went over to him.

"Innkeeper, where's the food? Bring it up quickly!"

A deep, nasal, and angry roar suddenly filled the inn at just the right moment... much like the roar of a wild beast deep in the mountains.

The already trembling Wang Dali's knees buckled, and if Yang Ge hadn't quickly caught the tray with agile hands, he would have spilled all the food.

"All right!"

Yang Ge helplessly took over the tray, "I'll do it."

The fellow wasn't originally this cowardly, but just yesterday he had been sent flying on the spot with a heavy slap...

"Young man..."

Wang Dali let go of the tray and, feeling both relieved and guilty, stammered in a low voice, "The one upstairs is said to be a notorious bandit from Hebei Road, who kills people as easily as chopping vegetables!"

Yang Ge looked back towards the main hall without a word and reassured him softly, "It's all right, I'm going!"

Having said that, he turned around with the tray and began to walk back to the main hall, climbing the stairs under the watchful eye of Liu, the innkeeper, who was filled with concern.

At this moment in mealtime, the second floor would usually be packed with guests, buzzing with conversation.

But today's second floor was silent as death, with only the echo of Yang Ge's footsteps.

Upon reaching the second floor, Yang Ge saw a burly figure like a bull standing erect, sitting alone in the center of the upper floor.

The man was wrapped in a tiger skin cloak, with a square face and bushy sideburns. At the moment, he was squinting, embracing his belly while leaning back in a chair, with a black-sheathed broadsword standing tall beside him...

A man and his sword, together they exuded an imposing and untamable aura!

"Esteemed guest, your dishes have arrived."

```

Yang Ge only glanced once before withdrawing his gaze, with slumped shoulders and a stiffened back, he approached with a beaming smile, holding a tray steady in front of him.

The bearded swordsman with the monstrous whiskers briefly raised his eyes to look at him, then indifferently snorted an "Mm" through his nose.

Yang Ge's heart relaxed slightly as he swiftly began to lay out the dishes.

Only after Yang Ge had finished setting the dishes did the bearded swordsman sit up, grab the chopsticks, and start to eat voraciously, "Pour the wine!"

"Yes!"

Yang Ge answered with a smile plastered on his face, vigorously wiping his hands on his waist before grabbing the ten-pound wine jar from the table, carefully breaking the clay seal, holding the jar with one hand and filling the wine bowl with the other.

As the bearded swordsman ate his fill, a corner of his eye inadvertently swept across Yang Ge's right arm, grasping the wine jar as solid as forged iron, and his gaze slightly faltered.

"Snap!"

Yang Ge felt a sudden pain in his wrist, his hand subconsciously clenching around the wine jar.

Looking down, he saw a pair of chopsticks tightly gripping his wrist.

He turned to the bearded swordsman, uncertain, with an apologetic smile, "Sir, has this humble one failed to serve you well in some way?"

The bearded swordsman eyed him sideways, a dangerous light swirling in his pupils, "Boy, whose family are you from?"

Yang Ge responded cautiously with confusion, "Return to your question, sir, I belong to the Yuelai Inn..."

"Ha!"

The bearded swordsman let out a cold laugh.

The next second, the chopsticks clattered down, and with a swift movement too quick to cover one's ears, a large hand resembling a fan snatched Yang Ge's wrist.

"Eh?"

The bearded swordsman's eyes widened in surprise.

Before Yang Ge could react, the bearded swordsman had already reached out with his other hand, grabbed Yang Ge's left wrist, and his hands moved up his arms, creating a blur of afterimages as he kneaded his way up.

Eventually standing up, he stretched his hands across the square table, gripping Yang Ge's arm sockets.

Yang Ge, full of question marks, looked at the brute before him, not understanding what this aggressive behavior was all about.

Unexpectedly, the bearded swordsman's eyes were even wider, as if astonished, 'A physique as flawless as jade, meridians fully open, a rare martial arts prodigy indeed!'

In an instant.

Countless thoughts flooded the bearded swordsman's mind, and as his gaze towards Yang Ge grew increasingly fierce, the hands clasping his arms inadvertently began to exert more pressure.

Yang Ge saw the ferocity in his eyes and felt the pain in his shoulders, but the slight panic and fear in his heart strangely began to subside.

"Sir, the dishes are getting cold!"

He lowered his eyelids and said softly with a light laugh.

The bearded swordsman paused, then, as if awakening from a dream, slowly released Yang Ge's arms.

He stared at Yang Ge intently for a good half-minute, then with a thud settled back into his chair, lifted the wine bowl to down it in one gulp, and burst into a debauched laugh, "Boy, remember to burn more incense at the City God Temple!"

A deep and vigorous laugh shook the eaves into a tremble.

Yang Ge refilled his wine, asking obediently, "Sir, what do you mean by that?"

The bearded swordsman lowered his head to drink, "It's thanks to the City God's blessing that I wanted to be a good man when I met you; if it had been before, I would've dug your liver out to accompany my drink!"

Yang Ge thought for a moment, then also said with a smile, "Then I should thank you, sir!"

"Oh?"

The bearded swordsman glanced at him with a smile not quite a smile, "Thanking me for sparing your life?"

Yang Ge picked up the wine jar, filled his bowl again, and said earnestly, "It's for thinking of being a good man, sir!"

The bearded swordsman was taken aback, then laughed heartily again, "Well said, well said... you deserve a reward, a hefty reward!"

Although he was laughing, there was a tint of sadness in his laugh.

He grabbed the bundle tied to his sabre, fished out a thick stack of thread-bound books, and without looking, he grabbed one and hurled it at Yang Ge.

Yang Ge caught the book on reflex, and just as he was about to return it to the bearded swordsman, he heard the man bellow, "Bloody hell, if I ever see you again, I'll eat you alive!"

Yang Ge, holding the book, hesitated for a few seconds but ultimately dared not disturb this wild beast that had just emerged from the forest.

...

"Shopkeeper, this is the reward given by the guest upstairs; what do you think..."

Yang Ge approached Shopkeeper Liu with the book given by the bearded swordsman.

"Get it away from me!"

Before he could finish speaking, Shopkeeper Liu acted as if he'd seen a ghost, retreating while pushing the book back into Yang Ge's arms, "Us Lius have been the sole inheritors for three generations; young man, please don't harm us. Quickly put away this cursed treasure!"

Yang Ge: ...

He helplessly turned his head, hands cradling the book as he looked towards the seated officials in the hall, "Respected officials..."

Seeing him, the officials all averted their faces, looking at the sky if they could, or the ground... anything but the object in Yang Ge's hands.

One of them even held his wine cup, pretending to examine the ceiling and muttering to himself, "Not everyone dares to take something that belongs to 'Disaster Star' Jiang Kui!"

At the sound of his words, another wave of schadenfreude laughter came from the second floor.