The Foolish Boy

At noon.

On a quiet road with few travelers, a faint rustling suddenly came from the roadside grass, sending up a wisp of dust.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Then, amid the rising dust, a person appeared out of thin air.

He was an old man with striking features, dressed in a gray cloth robe.

His beard and hair were completely white. He looked well past seventy, with a tall, gaunt frame and a travel pack on his back.

Strangely, beneath the pack he carried was a sword.

After appearing, the old man raised his head and gazed around in bewilderment, as if searching for something.

But when he spotted a village in the distance to the south, delight first lit his face. Then he sighed softly. "Forty years have passed since we parted. I wonder if my elder brother is still alive."

He furrowed his brow and began counting on his fingers. A moment later, his expression cleared and his face brightened. "Alive, alive! Good, good!"

As he spoke, he swept his sleeves over himself to brush away the dust, straightened up, and tidied his clothes before setting off toward the village compound.

Though he was an old man well past seventy, his pace was hardly slower than that of a young, strapping fellow.

As he walked, he saw a strip of red cloth tied around a tree trunk every so often, fluttering in the wind.

People were also converging from all directions on some place within the village.

"Could it be that someone in Song Family Village is celebrating a wedding today?" the old man murmured.

Before long, he reached the gate of what looked like the wealthiest household in the village.

The compound's entrance was decked out in red decorations, and firecrackers crackled at the gate. Guests kept arriving, while dozens of banquet tables filled the courtyard beyond. The place was bustling with activity.

At the gate, a middle-aged man who looked like a steward welcomed the arriving guests with a beaming smile and clasped hands.

"Whose wedding is being celebrated at your home today?" the old man asked the middle-aged man when he reached the entrance.

The man gave him a glance and smiled. "Our third young master is getting married today, sir. Are you a guest as well?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the sword on the old man's back.

"Your third young master?"

The old man paused, then smiled. "I'm not a guest. Sorry for the trouble, but would you inform your master that his old friend Jiang Ziya has come to pay him a visit?"

"An old friend? Then please wait here, sir."

The man quickly turned and went inside. Before long, he came back out, this time accompanied by another old man, also well past seventy, who looked anxious.

The old man wore fine red robes and was somewhat plumper than Jiang Ziya. Before he had even stepped outside, he kept asking, "Steward Lu, where is my sworn brother?"

"Elder brother, your younger brother is here."

Jiang Ziya stepped forward, bent at the waist in greeting, and smiled. "We haven't seen each other in so many years. Have you been well, elder brother?"

The old man who had just come out was none other than Song Yiren, Jiang Ziya's sworn elder brother from his younger days.

"Very well, very well! Your elder brother has been doing just fine!"

Song Yiren helped Jiang Ziya up and smiled. "And how have you been, brother?"

"I've been doing all right," Ziya replied with a smile.

Song Yiren reached out and lifted a strand of Jiang Ziya's white hair to inspect it. Then he pointed at Jiang Ziya and burst out laughing. "Brother, we haven't seen each other in years, and you've grown old!"

Jiang Ziya smiled faintly. "Elder brother, haven't you grown old too?"

They stopped laughing and looked at each other. Then they pointed at one another and burst into laughter again.

In the main hall.

Song Yiren and Jiang Ziya entered arm in arm and took their seats. Then Song Yiren went to the doorway and called to two men in the courtyard. "Eldest and second, hurry over and pay your respects to your Uncle Jiang!"

One was a middle-aged man in his forties, the other a young man in his twenties.

The two exchanged a glance at Song Yiren's call, then entered the hall. After Song Yiren introduced Jiang Ziya, they hurriedly bowed.

"Your nephews Song Shan and Song Ze pay their respects to Uncle Jiang."

Jiang Ziya raised a hand and smiled. "Good, good. You two nephews, please get up. There's no need to be so formal."

The two stood up.

Song Yiren said, "Remember this: your Uncle Jiang is my sworn brother. From now on, you must treat him just as you treat me. Understand?"

Song Shan and Song Ze exchanged a glance, a flicker of something strange in their eyes. Then they answered in unison, "We understand, Father."

Song Yiren waved them off. "Good. Now go out and attend to the guests."

The two turned and withdrew.

Song Yiren sat down and sighed. "Brother, we parted more than forty years ago. Now we're both old. I thought we'd never see each other again in this life, so seeing you today is truly a blessing."

Jiang Ziya felt warmth in his heart. "After we parted, I went to seek out enlightened masters in the immortal mountains and cultivate, hoping to transcend the mortal world."

He sighed wistfully. "Alas, my immortal fate was too shallow, and I couldn't attain the Immortal Path. After coming down from the mountain, I felt lost, with no friends or family. Then I thought of you, elder brother, and came to visit."

"You've come at just the right time!"

Song Yiren clapped his hands and laughed heartily. "My youngest son's wedding is a happy occasion in itself, and now that we've reunited, there's another cause for celebration. Two joys at once—I couldn't be happier."

After a pause, he added with a smile, "From now on, you can settle here in Song Family Village and make yourself at home."

The two were chatting happily in the hall, which had been set up as the wedding hall, when the wedding procession returned amid the sound of music and drums.

A sixteen- or seventeen-year-old boy in red robes strode into the compound, beaming with a vigorous spirit as people laughed and crowded around him.

Behind him, a matchmaker in red helped a woman in wedding robes, her head covered by a red veil, walk slowly into the hall. There, Steward Lu acted as the master of ceremonies and called out the wedding rites.

"The ceremony is complete! The wedding party is dismissed. Escort the bride to the bridal chamber!"

At Steward Lu's loud announcement, the groom led the bride out of the wedding hall by a length of red silk and toward the bridal chamber at the rear.

As Steward Lu watched the newlyweds leave, a hint of envy flashed in his smiling eyes. But a moment later, he gave an almost imperceptible sigh.

"Meat! Baby wants meat..."

A voice suddenly came from outside. At the sound, Steward Lu's expression changed, and he hurried out of the hall. There he saw a boy of about fifteen or sixteen.

The boy had delicate features, but his face wore a foolish grin, and his right index finger was in his mouth.

He shouted that he wanted meat, saliva glistening at the corners of his mouth and on his chin. A young maid was trying to pull him away, but she couldn't budge him.

"Hahaha, the fool's come out!"

Seeing the boy, the guests whispered among themselves and burst into laughter.

Song Shan, the eldest son of the Song family, saw what was happening and immediately darkened his expression. He shouted at the maid, "Xiao Xiang, what are you doing? Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on him today?"

The maid was tugging at the foolish boy and looked close to tears. "Eldest Master, look! Xiao Chuan... he's so strong, and he insists on coming this way. I can't pull him back!"

She was telling the truth. Though the boy was foolish, he was still stronger than a girl.

The foolish boy stared at the meat dishes on a banquet table, his eyes practically glowing. He edged toward them step by step, dragging the little girl who clung to his arm along with him.

"Steward Lu!"

Song Shan's face darkened, and his eyes blazed. "Hurry up and take this fool away! Are you deliberately making a laughingstock of the Song family?"

Steward Lu's expression fell. He lowered his head and answered again and again, "Yes... yes!"

Even without Song Shan's order, he had already hurried over to the foolish boy in the courtyard and grabbed his other arm. "Xiao Chuan, be good. Come back now, and I'll give you meat later."

"No... no... Baby wants meat."

But the boy stubbornly refused to go. He struggled with all his might, and when the maid couldn't hold on, he swung his arm and knocked her to the ground.

The steward was frantic and furious. Seeing that the boy simply wouldn't calm down, he looked around.

When he saw the guests watching and enjoying the spectacle, he could no longer hold back. He raised his hand and slapped the boy hard across the face.

Smack!

The blow sent the foolish boy reeling, almost knocking him to the ground.

The half of his face that had been struck swelled up at once. The red skin showed the clear marks of the palm and fingers.

It was easy to see just how hard the steward had hit him.

"Go back!"

Steward Lu gritted his teeth and glared at the boy, his eyes blazing with anxiety. He practically roared those two words.

"Waaah!"

The foolish boy stared blankly for a moment, then sat on the ground and began bawling. He rolled around, refusing to leave.

The boy's tantrum left Steward Lu so overwhelmed that he had no idea what to do.

The guests pointed at the boy sprawled on the ground, whispering and laughing as they watched the commotion unfold, eager to see how this farce would end.

"What's going on?"

A voice came from the hall. Song Yiren and Jiang Ziya had heard the commotion and come outside.

Steward Lu stamped his feet in desperation, but there was nothing he could do about the boy.

At the sound of the voice, Lu Liang walked over to Song Yiren and said with a guilty expression, "Master, Xiao Chuan... sigh, he's run out again and caused trouble."