Then No One Drinks

"Zhou Sheng?"

After a brief moment of contemplation, Chen Zhuo recalled the youth who had appeared at the gate of Old Yan's courtyard last night.

His strongest impression of this person was that his appearance was quite remarkable, only slightly inferior to his own.

He was handsome, yet his face was always covered in a layer of frost, a real deadpan expression.

"Something you need?"

Chen Zhuo tilted his head slightly to look at Zhou Sheng, his gaze then sweeping over the two yamen runners behind him.

The other party's indifferent expression immediately made it clear to him that these two were in league with Zhou Sheng.

"The time hasn't come yet, the Blood-Strengthening Soup cannot be distributed. This is the rule; are you unaware of that?"

Zhou Sheng parted his thin lips slightly, his voice crisp but carrying a hint of effeminacy.

Chen Zhuo said with a mocking smile, "I'm on official business and won't make it back by noon. Could you do me a favor?"

Zhou Sheng said coldly, "The rules were set by Instructor Huang Yuan'er himself. If you want a favor, go tell him yourself, but right now, you won't be drinking a single drop."

Huang Yuan'er?

At the mention of that name, Chen Zhuo inexplicably recalled the claw that had wanted to wander over his body, and a wave of nausea rose within him.

Before he could even speak, Zhou Sheng's voice rang out again.

"I advise you to go back where you came from. It would be best if you never came to the Drill Ground again. Based on the choice you made last night, your future path is already set."

Zhou Sheng looked at Chen Zhuo with cold eyes, "Last night, you made Lord Wang very unhappy."

Chen Zhuo did not speak. After studying Zhou Sheng carefully for a moment, he tilted his head, let his gaze fall upon the other's backside, and a meaningful smile appeared on his face.

"No matter."

Chen Zhuo waved his hand with a smile, "With you and Huang Yuan'er serving Lord Wang, he is happy day and night. I imagine he won't care about such a brief moment of displeasure."

"Little sister, serve Lord Wang well. I have high hopes for you."

With that, not waiting for Zhou Sheng to react, Chen Zhuo patted him on the shoulder and sidestepped past him toward the Blood-Strengthening Soup.

Little sister?

Zhou Sheng was stunned.

Although his affair with Lord Wang was a fact, how could such a thing be brought out into the open?

Wouldn't this damage Lord Wang's reputation?

He didn't care about himself, but Lord Wang could not be desecrated in the slightest!

"Stop!"

Zhou Sheng shouted.

Chen Zhuo acted as if he hadn't heard, raising his hand to pick up the ladle used to serve the soup.

However, Zhou Sheng's hand was faster, snatching the ladle away first.

"There's none for you!"

Zhou Sheng took the ladle and snapped it hard, breaking the long-handled spoon in two before throwing it directly onto the ground.

After doing this, Zhou Sheng looked at him with an arrogant expression.

The meaning was clear: the ladle is gone, what will you use to drink?

Having lived two lives, Chen Zhuo suddenly found the posturing Zhou Sheng to be quite tiresome.

He didn't want to bicker with a child, but the other party was like a piece of dog-skin plaster—once it stuck, it wouldn't come off.

He had no choice but to use his trump card!

"You forced my hand."

Chen Zhuo suddenly pressed his hand onto the saber at his waist.

The atmosphere instantly grew tense.

"You dare to draw a weapon in the yamen?"

The two yamen runners shouted loudly.

Under the wary gazes of Zhou Sheng and the two runners, Chen Zhuo did not draw his blade. Instead, his throat bobbed, and he let out a long, guttural sound.

"Hrr-ptui!"

A glob of spit, under the shocked gazes of the three, landed steadily into the bucket.

Zhou Sheng, in particular, had his eyes bulging like copper bells, as if he were seeing such a thing for the first time in his life.

How could there be someone in this world so...

Shameless!

"If you won't let me drink, then nobody drinks."

Chen Zhuo ignored the three stunned men and turned to leave.

Before leaving, however, he added one more thing.

"The soup hasn't gone bad; I just added a few ingredients. If you don't want to drink it, please take the trouble to carry it to the kitchen and tell Master Yan that I've bought it."

Watching his retreating figure, the frost already covering Zhou Sheng's pretty face seemed to thicken, becoming even more impossible to melt.

"He really is an interesting fellow. No wonder Lord Wang took a fancy to him at first sight."

Huang Yuan'er appeared abruptly in front of Zhou Sheng, gently stroking his forehead. "Look at you, it truly makes one's heart ache. Don't worry, he won't be able to anger you for much longer."

"That was impulsive."

Leaving the yamen, Chen Zhuo walked along the bustling street, suddenly feeling a pang of regret in his heart.

It wasn't that he regretted his actions, exactly.

It was just that the barrel of Blood-Strengthening Soup, standing as tall as a man and filled to the brim, must have contained at least four or five hundred bowls.

At ten coins a bowl, how much money did that add up to?

Even if he worked in the kitchen for ten years, he wouldn't be able to pay it back.

"I finally started earning a monthly wage, and now I'm back to working for free."

Chen Zhuo gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Unknowingly, he had already covered nearly half the distance.

The aromas wafting from the inns and restaurants along the way stirred his appetite.

Alas, his pockets were empty, so he could only take out the three steamed buns he had brought from the kitchen to stave off his hunger.

A short while later.

With the three buns consumed, Chen Zhuo had already traveled from the inner city to the outer city.

Following the locations on the notice boards, he began posting the portraits of Qiu Laojiu one by one.

There were thirty-three in total, and it would keep him busy for quite a while.

However, he should be able to finish before sunset.

Chen Zhuo's only thought was to finish early so he could return to his martial arts practice.

The efficacy of the Blood Vitality Pill was slipping away with every passing moment.

And that was all money down the drain.

As the portraits were posted, small groups of people gradually gathered under each notice.

This made the already narrow road even more congested.

"Gee-haw! Gee-haw!"

A donkey cart tried to pass through but was blocked by the crowd.

The old man driving the donkey simply climbed down and joined the throng.

"The Long River Gang? A bunch of thugs. I remember it was indeed surnamed Qiu a few years ago, but this year it suddenly changed to Huang. I wonder what happened to Qiu Laojiu, to lose his own family business."

"In this world, isn't it whoever has the biggest fist who is in the right? If his strength is inferior, who can the guy surnamed Qiu blame for not being able to hold onto his own business?"

"That must be the reason. Qiu Laojiu is resentful but doesn't dare to take revenge, so he can only vent his anger on innocent commoners. What an incompetent beast! If I see him, I'll be the first to report him to the yamen!"

"Fifty taels of silver—I'm just afraid you'll have the life to earn it, but not the life to spend it."

Chen Zhuo didn't pay much attention to the chatter of the commoners behind him.

After all, not every bystander could be like Chaoyang.

However, he still listened carefully to the voices of the crowd, hearing some useful information in the process.

"The Long River Gang is surnamed Huang now? Huang as in Huang Yuan'er?"

For some reason, whenever "Huang" was mentioned, Chen Zhuo thought of the baby-faced instructor.

Regardless of whether it was him or not, he needed to be vigilant.

He seemed to smell a hint of danger in the wind of the outer city.

Being too far from the yamen left him feeling insecure.

Only by staying in the yamen could he properly develop his strength.

Thinking of this, Chen Zhuo's movements became much more nimble.

Working quickly, he managed to finish posting all the portraits before sunset.

Not daring to delay, he hurried back the moment he was done.

However, as luck would have it, just as Chen Zhuo reached the entrance of a gambling den, a figure suddenly lunged toward him.

Chen Zhuo had been practicing martial arts for dozens of days and had already begun to internalize the discipline; coupled with his prior vigilance, he reacted swiftly, tilting his body to narrowly dodge the collision.

The person fell face-first onto the ground, and upon getting up, began to unleash a torrent of abuse at the gambling den.

"You snobbish curs! I've spent at least a hundred taels of silver here, and just because my pockets are empty today, you won't even let me step through the door?"

"Pah!"

Chen Zhuo had been caught in the crossfire of this senseless trouble, but he had no desire to meddle in other people's business.

He had intended to simply walk away, but the man's voice sounded strangely familiar.

Chen Zhuo paused, fixed his gaze on the man's face, and a layer of frost instantly settled between his brows.