Life is Like a Play

"Little Ye, the honored guests are still dining. You've come rather too early. If the honored guests were to see the swill bucket..."

Yang Xiao walked forward with his hands clasped behind his back, his face full of earnest concern.

"Brother Yang, I only became a menial worker a few days ago. I don't understand these rules. Thank you for reminding me. I... I'll go back to the rear courtyard of the kitchen right away."

The young man Ye Feng's expression changed drastically. Carrying the empty swill bucket, he hurriedly turned to leave, only for Yang Xiao to stop him.

"That won't do, that won't do!"

"It's noon now. If the old guests leave, new guests may inevitably arrive. If you go back to the kitchen now, the round trip will take far too long."

"If the timing goes wrong and the new guests happen to see the moment you're dumping the swill, then..."

Yang Xiao trailed off, wanting to speak yet stopping himself.

"Then... then what should I do? Please teach me, Brother Yang. Teach me."

Ye Feng was, in the end, a poor youth from the outer city, with little knowledge or experience. After being frightened by Yang Xiao like this, he immediately lost his head completely, so anxious he could hardly stand still.

"This matter isn't difficult."

Yang Xiao pointed at the doorman's room to the side. "Little Ye, from now on, put the swill bucket there and go pass the time at the martial hall yourself. Once the old guests leave, I'll come downstairs and notify you."

The martial hall was located on the top floor of Ding Pavilion. There were instructors demonstrating martial arts inside, and occasionally people would go onstage to spar. It was extremely lively.

"Brother Yang, this... how can that be!"

Ye Feng hurriedly shook his head. "Only waiters can enter the doorman's room. That's your resting place in Vermilion Bird Tower. Putting a swill bucket there would be terribly inappropriate, terribly inappropriate."

"Little Ye, I regard you as a good brother and don't look down on you just because you're a menial worker. Why do you look down on yourself so much?"

Patting Ye Feng on the shoulder, Yang Xiao said impatiently, "No need for more words. This matter is settled."

With that, Yang Xiao took out three taels of broken silver and stuffed them into Ye Feng's hand without hesitation, lowering his voice. "Little Ye, your big brother here has poor aptitude and bones, so I can't practice martial arts. But you're different."

"Although you come from a poor family, your aptitude and bones are quite good. Big brother has high hopes for you. When you've got nothing to do, go to the martial hall more often, watch and learn. Maybe in the future, big brother will have to rely on you to cover me!"

"Brother Yang!" Ye Feng's eyes immediately reddened, his heart filled with indescribable emotion.

Yang Xiao had laid everything out so clearly, speaking to this extent; no matter how foolish Ye Feng was, he could no longer refuse Yang Xiao's kindness.

Gratefully handing the swill bucket to Yang Xiao, Ye Feng walked to an empty corner, then could not help clenching his fist. "Don't worry, Brother Yang. I'll definitely practice martial arts properly and never disappoint you!"

In truth, Yang Xiao had no idea what Ye Feng's aptitude and bones were actually like. He had simply found an excuse to send Ye Feng away.

And Vermilion Bird Tower was honored as the number-one tower under heaven. Every private room was equipped with its own doorman's room, used for the waiters to rest briefly so they could answer the door and obey orders at any time.

When Yang Xiao carried the swill bucket into the doorman's room beside Private Room Ding Five Two Seven...

Inside the doorman's room, the two waiters who had originally been playing dice immediately frowned.

These two were responsible for serving dishes and attending to distinguished guests, and they usually stayed in the neighboring private room. Normally their eyes were higher than the crown of their heads, and they looked down on Yang Xiao, who was merely a door attendant, from the bottom of their hearts.

But today, the brocade-clad young master had driven away all the waiters and forbidden anyone from approaching. Naturally, the two of them were bored and could only stay in the doorman's room.

Yang Xiao paid no mind to their disdain. He casually placed the swill bucket in a corner, took the initiative to walk forward, and smiled with extreme enthusiasm. "Brother Zhang, Brother Zhao, how about... I join in too?"

The King of Hell was easy to meet; troublesome were the little ghosts!

Yang Xiao knew very well that if he wanted to lie low in Vermilion Bird Tower and develop quietly, building good relationships with his colleagues was absolutely necessary.

As for whether Zhang Long and Zhao Hu looked down on him in their hearts?

Was that important?

"Little Yang, you know how to play dice?"

Zhang Long and Zhao Hu exchanged a glance, and Zhang Long said with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

"A little, but I don't understand it too well. I'll have to ask you two elder brothers to give me plenty of guidance."

Yang Xiao put on the appearance of someone not too bright, simple and honest.

The two exchanged another glance, and both their eyes lit up.

"Sure, Little Yang. Come, come, come. Today, your brother here will teach you how to play Big or Small properly."

The coldness on Zhang Long's face vanished, and he immediately became all warmth.

"Aren't you just treating me like a fat sheep, hoping to earn some broken silver? Do you really think I'm stupid?"

Yang Xiao sneered inwardly, while on the surface he pretended not to know, smiling as he stepped forward to play dice.

In his previous life, Yang Xiao had been an expert card player to begin with.

Now, with the help of Nine Cicada Auditory Arts, Yang Xiao could tell the points with a single listen. Victory and defeat were at his whim; it was as easy as playing around.

After Yang Xiao deliberately lost more than ten rounds in a row, Zhang Long and Zhao Hu could not help growing excited.

In just a short half hour, the two of them were already calling Yang Xiao brother and chatting with him in full swing.

During this time, Yang Xiao seized the chance to mention that Ye Feng was a distant relative of his, and that in the future the swill buckets would be stored here temporarily, with care taken to deal with the smell.

Zhang Long and Zhao Hu hesitated for a moment, but still nodded, tacitly agreeing to the matter.

After all, Ye Feng's two swill buckets were always washed clean before being brought over, and they were covered with lids in advance. In truth, there was not much smell at all.

Ring-ring-ring!

The copper bell hanging on the wall to one side suddenly rang out, crisp and clear.

"It's an honored guest summoning us. Have us wait in the private room and stand by for orders!"

"Move, quickly!"

Zhang Long and Zhao Hu tossed aside the dice, hurried out of the attendants' room, pushed open the door, and entered the private room beside it.

Yang Xiao pressed his ear to the wall. His ear trembled like a winter cicada, and sure enough, just as he had expected, he clearly heard the movement inside the private room.

Unfortunately, the brocade-robed young master and Song Que had already ended their conversation. They were drinking wine while chatting idly, and everything they talked about was mere polite pleasantry.

"If no one is in the attendants' room in the future, cultivating and eavesdropping here wouldn't be half bad."

Yang Xiao thought to himself.

Through his earlier casual chat with Zhang Long and Zhao Hu, Ye Feng had already understood that Uncle Liu's daily patrol times were fixed, and he would not conduct surprise inspections.

As long as they paid attention at those few specific times, at all other times, the doorboys and the other waiters could all slack off in the attendants' room.

In truth, Uncle Liu knew about this as well, but it was an unspoken rule of Vermilion Bird Tower. As long as they did not go too far, Uncle Liu would not bother with it.

"Mm, they finally came out."

Very soon, Yang Xiao's ears twitched slightly. He quickly got up and walked out of the attendants' room, standing quietly in the corridor opposite the private room to wait.

Sure enough!

Before long, Song Que and the brocade-robed young master walked out side by side, chatting and laughing as they went. Behind them followed a black-robed old man with the face of a dead fish.

"Take care, young masters."

Yang Xiao bent in salute with a face full of enthusiasm, his tone fawning.

At this, the brocade-robed young master showed no reaction at all, while Song Que frowned slightly, swept a glance over Yang Xiao's face, and a flash of disgust vanished in his eyes.

Yang Xiao was baffled by this, unable to understand why Song Que disliked him.

Could it be because Fairy Bai had rewarded him with silver?

Or because yesterday, Song Que had worried that walls had ears and wanted to kill Yang Xiao to remove future trouble, only to be stopped by Fairy Bai?

"Could it be that, just like Wang Yulang, the reason Song Que hates me is because of this face of mine?"

Having faintly grasped the truth, Yang Xiao immediately fell silent.

"Hey, kid, don't stare at little sister Xiao Zhao anymore. Someone like you isn't worthy of her!"

A beautiful passing dancer suddenly stopped, glared coldly at Yang Xiao, and left with her head held high.

"..."

Yang Xiao was stunned when he heard this. Only then did he realize that in the first-floor hall stood an extremely beautiful young girl with an extraordinary air.

This was the first time Yang Xiao had seriously sized up Xiao Zhao.

If he had not looked, it would have been fine.

But with that one look, Yang Xiao immediately swallowed, and a chill rose in his heart.

At this moment, above Xiao Zhao's head...

A dazzling white radiance had appeared.

The brilliance of that white light was shockingly—fully three inches!