Drunken Immortal Restaurant

The Drunken Immortal Restaurant's business was three times better than usual.

When Li Jinshui and Monkey entered, the first-floor hall was already packed with people, all in military uniforms. They were drinking, playing drinking games, and boasting, making it seem like the roof was about to blow off.

The waiter darted through the crowd, sweating profusely, but his smile was brighter than ever.

"Two officers, please come upstairs!" The waiter, with sharp eyes, spotted the token on Li Jinshui's waist and immediately greeted them solicitously, "We have private rooms upstairs!"

"No need for a private room." Li Jinshui glanced at the hall. "Down here is fine."

He saw some acquaintances.

At a large table by the window, Qin Lie, Zhao Tieniu, and Zhou Tai were gathered, drinking. The table was laden with dishes, and two wine jars were already empty.

Qin Lie was the first to see him, jumping up and shouting, "Sergeant Li—no, Sergeant Li is the right title now! Come here, come here!"

Li Jinshui walked over with Monkey. Qin Lie pushed him into a seat, and Zhao Tieniu had already poured him a full bowl of wine.

"You're something else, kid!" Qin Lie slapped his shoulder with enough force to dislocate a person's bones. "Personal Guard Battalion! The most elite unit in North-Rejecting City! Don't forget about us when you make it big!"

Li Jinshui raised his wine bowl and clinked it against Qin Lie's. "I won't."

Monkey chuckled beside them, poured himself a bowl, and downed it in one gulp.

"And who is this?" Zhou Tai looked at Monkey.

"My brother, Monkey." Li Jinshui said. "He just came out of the Death Squad Camp and is following me now."

Qin Lie's eyes lit up, and he also toasted Monkey with a bowl. "Everyone from the Death Squad Camp is a hero! Come, drink!"

After a few bowls of wine, the atmosphere became lively.

Zhao Tieniu, his face flushed red, slung an arm around Monkey's shoulder and boasted, "Let me tell you, your sergeant—no, your Sergeant Li, he's not human! That night, he killed three Inner Strength Realm experts by himself! Three! I saw it with my own eyes!"

Monkey listened, his eyes shining, and looked at Li Jinshui with even greater admiration.

Li Jinshui didn't say anything, just picked at his food.

The meal lasted for two hours.

When they emerged from the Drunken Immortal Restaurant, it was already pitch black outside. Monkey was staggering from drinking and was being supported by Zhao Tieniu.

Qin Lie sidled up to Li Jinshui and asked in a low voice, "Gentle Haven, wanna go?"

Li Jinshui glanced at him, then at Monkey.

"Let's go."

The Gentle Haven looked the same as always, red lanterns hanging high, and several heavily made-up women standing at the entrance. Seeing their group, they immediately smiled and welcomed them.

"Master Qin! Haven't seen you in a while!"

"This officer looks new, is this your first time here?"

Li Jinshui was pulled inside by a girl in a green dress. This time, he didn't refuse.

They went up to the third floor and entered a private room. The wine and dishes were served, and the girls sat around them.

Li Jinshui leaned back on the soft couch, the girl in the green dress beside him, pouring him wine and offering him food.

He took a sip of wine, a bite of food, and occasionally spoke a few words to her. The rest of the time, he just watched the lively scene in the room.

Qin Lie was playing drinking games again, Zhao Tieniu was boasting with two girls in his arms, and Zhou Tai was leaning by the window with his wine cup, lost in thought.

Monkey had been plied with several drinks by a girl, his face as red as a monkey's backside, but he was still grinning foolishly.

Li Jinshui watched them, a slow smile spreading across his lips.

This feeling was wonderful.

No need to think about killing, no need to think about fighting, no need to think about all those rotten matters.

Just drinking, eating meat, and looking at girls.

He raised his wine cup and drained it.

"You have a good capacity for drink, officer." The girl in the green dress smiled and refilled his cup.

Li Jinshui turned to look at her. Her face appeared soft in the candlelight, her eyes curved, and her smile was beautiful.

"What's your name?"

"My humble name is Wan Niang."

Li Jinshui nodded and took another drink.

As the night deepened, the group settled in at the Gentle Haven.

Li Jinshui lay beside Wan Niang, listening to the sounds of laughter from the next room, and gazing at the ceiling.

Wan Niang curled up in his arms, her breathing even, sleeping soundly.

He reached out and gently stroked her face.

Her skin was smooth, her features soft.

He remembered himself three months ago, curled up in that broken carriage.

Back then, he thought it would be good enough just to survive.

Now—

He smiled and closed his eyes.

Gentle Haven.

The night was deep.

Qin Lie's snoring rolled through the thin wall from next door. Wan Niang was in a deep sleep, her breathing steady.

Li Jinshui opened his eyes, sat up gently, put on his clothes, and slipped out.

After turning two corners, he retrieved the bundle he had hidden under the old locust tree during the day—a night-traveling suit, incense, a short blade, and an antidote. He changed quickly and tucked an antidote under his tongue.

The rear side gate of the Li family courtyard was in disrepair; it swung open with a single push.

Li Jinshui crept into the courtyard, lit the incense, and first blew it into the main room—the patriarch's bedroom.

A wisp of blue smoke seeped silently through the door crack, like an invisible snake.

Then, one by one, he moved to the East Wing—Second Uncle's family.

Then the West Wing—Third Uncle's family.

Finally, the Rear Chamber—the living quarters of Madam Wang and Li Jinbao.

Wisps of blue smoke drilled silently into every room.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the entire courtyard was deathly silent.

Inside the Rear Chamber, Madam Wang and Li Jinbao were fast asleep.

Li Jinshui shoved the antidote into the mouths of Madam Wang, Li Jinbao, and Second Aunt next door, leaving the others to remain in their deep slumber.

Madam Wang woke up first.

She opened her eyes in a daze, propped herself up, and rubbed her eyes.

The moonlight was bright, casting the room in a mix of light and shadow. She saw Li Jinbao still lying on the couch, seemingly not yet awake.

"Awake?"

The voice was very light, very flat, as if asking her what she had eaten for dinner.

Madam Wang's entire body stiffened.

She turned her head slowly, inch by inch.

In the shadows where the moonlight could not reach, a person stood.

In the moonlight, she saw a man in black standing three paces away, his eyes as cold as blades.

She opened her mouth to scream—a hand like an iron pincer clamped onto her throat.

"Don't scream," Li Jinshui's voice came from behind the black mask. "If you scream, I will kill you first, then your son."

Madam Wang's scream stuck in her throat; her eyes widened until they felt like they would split, and tears gushed out instantly.

She collapsed to the floor, trembling like chaff, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.

Li Jinshui released his grip and walked toward Li Jinbao.

Li Jinbao had just woken up. The moment he saw those eyes, his pupils shrank violently, and he opened his mouth to shout—Li Jinshui smashed a fist into his temple, stuffed a rag into his mouth, tied his wrists with a rope, and pulled it into a dead knot.

Li Jinbao was hoisted up, the rope thrown over an iron hook on the window frame, leaving him dangling in mid-air.

He hung like a piece of meat on a rack, his feet two feet off the ground, his crotch already soaked, the stench of urine filling the air.

Madam Wang lunged forward like a madwoman, grabbing Li Jinshui's leg. "Don't kill my son! If you want silver, I'll give it to you! I'll give you anything you want!"

Li Jinshui kicked her away. "What I want, you cannot afford."

He drew the short blade from his waist, took a candle from a lantern, lit it, balanced it on the tip of the blade, and held it over Li Jinbao's head.

With the rag stuffed in his mouth, Li Jinbao let out a muffled, miserable wail, his face smeared with tears and snot. "No—don't—Jinshui—brother—I was wrong—!"

The flame touched his hair and flared up instantly. Amidst the sizzling sound and the stench of burning, Li Jinbao's screams changed pitch, like a beast with its throat being crushed.

The flames burned atop his head; his hair curled, his skin blistered, and grease dripped down with a faint hissing sound.

Li Jinshui added some lamp oil, and the fire instantly spread over his entire body.

Madam Wang tried desperately to throw herself at him, but Li Jinshui pinned her to the ground with one hand, her face pressed against the blue bricks, unable to move.

She screamed, cursed, and begged, her voice growing increasingly hoarse.

Two cups of tea later, Li Jinbao fainted from the pain.

His entire body was a charred, bloody mess.

Li Jinshui extinguished the fire and hauled Madam Wang up. "Did you see clearly? Your son, I have taken him away."

Madam Wang's eyes no longer moved; she had been scared out of her wits.

At that moment, the door was pushed open.

It was Second Aunt.

She lived next door, and after the antidote took effect, she climbed up in a daze, hearing movement from this side, and walked over draped in her clothes.

The door was not shut tight; she pushed it open and looked in—

Moonlight shone in, illuminating the masked man in black, the short blade at his waist, and the face of Li Jinbao, who was tied up on the couch.

Second Aunt let out a scream.

That scream only made it halfway out before Li Jinshui was already in front of her, slapping her across the face.

It wasn't heavy, but it was precise—just enough to cut off her voice, making her head buzz and stars dance before her eyes.

He grabbed her hair and dragged her into the room, like dragging a sack of grain.

The door closed behind them, shutting out the moonlight, leaving only two women and one bound man in the room.

"Second Aunt." Li Jinshui crouched down and called to her.

Second Aunt's eyes were filled with terror—she remembered the time she had poured porridge on the ground to feed the dogs rather than give him a single bowl.

Li Jinshui grabbed her left hand, pressed it to the floor, and brought the blade down.

Clean and swift.

The entire left hand was severed.

Second Aunt's eyes widened abruptly, the sound of the cloth in her mouth muffled by the blood choking her throat.

Excruciating pain exploded from her bone marrow; her body arched, held down by Li Jinshui like a fish pinned to the shore, twitching violently.

Blood sprayed onto the blue bricks and splattered onto Li Jinshui's black clothes.

He did not stop. He grabbed her right hand, and another blade fell.

Both hands were on the floor.

Second Aunt could no longer scream; she opened her mouth, emitting a hissing sound of air, her pupils dilating as she drifted into semi-consciousness.

Li Jinshui hoisted her up and dragged her into Second Uncle's room in the East Wing.

Second Uncle was still asleep, a trace of a smile hanging at the corner of his mouth.

Li Jinshui placed Second Aunt beside Second Uncle and pulled the quilt over her severed stumps—letting the blood flow slower, letting her suffer and die slowly inside the bedding.

He returned to the Rear Chamber.

Madam Wang lay collapsed on the floor, trembling all over.

Li Jinbao hung from the crossbeam, motionless, the charred pit on his head still oozing yellow fluid.

Li Jinshui grabbed Madam Wang's hand and struck with the blade.

The left hand landed on the blue bricks with a dull thud.

Madam Wang did not scream—her mouth opened to its widest, but the sound stuck in her throat, turning into a thin, infant-like wail.

Blood sprayed onto her own face, and her teeth began to chatter, the clack-clack-clack growing increasingly rapid.

The second strike.

The right hand hit the floor.

Madam Wang's body arched like a shrimp, her severed arms tucked into her chest, trying to press against the wounds.

She let out a faint moan, mixed with a gurgling sound of blood foam.

Li Jinshui dragged her back to her original sleeping mat and covered her with the quilt.

Then he untied the hanging Li Jinbao and carried him into the main room of the clan leader, Li Houde.

Li Houde was sleeping in bed, his snoring steady.

Li Jinshui hung Li Jinbao from the crossbeam in front of the bed, leaving him suspended half a foot off the ground, his charred face directly opposite the clan leader's face.

Then he retrieved Li Jinbao's two hands from the Rear Chamber—he had finished the job earlier—and placed them neatly beside the clan leader's pillow.

After finishing all this, Li Jinshui wiped the short blade clean, took off his night-traveling clothes, and walked out through the corner gate.

The moon had shifted west.

The night in North-Rejecting City remained as quiet as ever.

He returned to Gentle Haven, undressed, and lay down.

Wan Niang turned over in her sleep, draping her arm over his waist.

Li Jinshui closed his eyes.

Dawn was approaching.

The third quarter of the Mao hour.

Li Houde woke up first.

He turned over, feeling his mouth dry and his head heavy. Then, he smelled a pungent scent of burning and the stench of blood.

He snapped his eyes open.

Morning light streamed into the room. Hanging before the bed was a dark, charred object – humanoid in shape. Its face was burnt black, lips seared away to reveal gums and teeth, its nose reduced to two black holes.

But he recognized the clothes.

Li Jinbao.

Li Houde opened his mouth, but nothing came out of his throat. His eyes were fixed on the charred face, his pupils contracting sharply.

Then he saw beside the pillow – two hands, painted with rouge, fingers still slightly curled, a silver ring glinting in the morning light.

Second Aunt's hands.

Li Houde's body trembled violently, his teeth chattering, his vocal cords emitting only a faint hiss.

His eyes began to roll back, and with a thud, he tumbled off the bed, falling to the ground and losing consciousness.

His body was still shaking.

Second Uncle Li Houyi was awakened by a dampness.

He reached out and touched – his hand was covered in blood. He abruptly turned his head, seeing his wife lying beside him, the quilt pulled up to her neck.

He lifted the quilt – both arms were severed cleanly about two inches below the shoulders, the stumps crudely stuffed with cloth, the blood having already soaked through the quilt.

Second Uncle let out a long, mournful wail like a cow's bellow.

Third Uncle Li Houli rushed in and, at a glance, saw the scene on the bed. His legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground, his knees hitting the bluestone with a dull thud. His face was as pale as a corpse, his lips trembling, unable to speak.

Then he remembered something and turned to run towards the main house.

He pushed open the door to the main house – Li Houde lay naked on the ground, his face ashen, his body twitching.

Before the bed hung Li Jinbao's charred body, and beside the pillow lay two hands.

Third Uncle stood frozen, his mouth agape, letting out an extremely faint, drawn-out shriek, his eyes rolling upwards, revealing the whites.

He wanted to faint, but he couldn't.

His legs felt nailed to the ground, unable to move an inch.

Screams echoed through the courtyard, like firecrackers being lit, then suddenly silenced – the screamers themselves had their throats choked by fear.

Third Uncle could finally move.

He walked out of the main house, passed by Second Uncle's room, and glanced inside: Second Uncle was holding half of his wife's body, his mouth opening and closing, saying something unknown, tears and snot smeared all over his face.

Third Uncle smiled – the corners of his mouth pulled upwards, his eyes curved downwards, his entire face twisted like a crumpled rag.

After smiling, he bent over and vomited, and after spitting out the sour bile, he sat on the ground, his gaze empty as he looked at the sunlight in the courtyard.

It was spring.

The old locust tree had sprouted new buds, tender and green.

But Third Uncle felt cold.

Cold from the marrow of his bones, his teeth chattering, his whole body trembling.

He remembered Li Jinshui's words: "After I finish this busy period, I'll come back to see you."

He thought it was a threat.

It turned out to be a notification.

He didn't know when the next time would be.

Perhaps tomorrow, perhaps tonight.

Perhaps it would be one morning when he opened his eyes and saw his own hands placed beside his pillow.

Never knowing.

Always waiting.

Always fearing.

In the courtyard, screams, cries, and shouts mingled into a boiling pot of fear.

Gentle Haven.

When Wan Niang woke up, Li Jinshui had already dressed and was sitting by the window drinking tea.

Morning light fell on the side of his face, his expression calm.

"Did the military officer sleep well last night?" Wan Niang asked.

Li Jinshui took a sip of tea, a smile curving the corners of his mouth. "Very well. I slept exceptionally soundly."

Outside the window, the rising sun dyed the rooftops of North-Rejecting City gold.

In the Li Family Compound in the east of the city, the crying had not yet stopped.