Strange Luck in Gambling

Song Daren led the Junior Sister and the new disciple toward the bamboo forest behind the mountain, explaining the sect's rules and precepts as they walked.

By dinnertime, the sky had already darkened.

The disciples gathered in the dining hall, where the Sixth Senior Brother, Du Bishu, who was in charge of meals, served dish after dish. Most were vegetarian, with little meat; even the few meat dishes had been prepared for the new disciple with Tian Buyi's tacit approval. The disciples took their seats in order along the right side of the long table. Song Daren sat at the head, while Zhang Xiaofan sat respectfully at the very end. At the head of the table and opposite it sat one large chair and three smaller ones; the three were clearly meant for Tian Buyi's family, while the extra one was likely for the youngest disciple they had yet to meet.

Du Bishu looked quite young, with a thin, pointed face and large, triangular eyes that darted around craftily, giving him a clever appearance. After sitting down, he looked at Zhang Xiaofan and smiled. "Junior Brother, I am your Sixth Senior Brother, Du Bishu."

"Sixth Senior Brother!" Zhang Xiaofan called out respectfully.

Du Bishu nodded with a smile and pointed toward the dining hall entrance. "Junior Brother, Master, Mistress, and our Junior Sister will be coming through that door in a moment. Shall we make a bet?"

Zhang Xiaofan was taken aback, and the others at the table turned to look, their faces filled with amusement.

Sitting above Du Bishu, the Fifth Senior Brother, Lu Daxin, laughed. "Sixth Brother, is your gambling itch acting up again?"

Beside him, the lean and sharp-featured He Dazhi chuckled. "He hasn't won in so long, is he trying to swindle a child now?"

"Even if he is swindling a child, I've never seen him win against a Junior Brother!" the Second Senior Brother, Wu Dayi, said with a laugh.

"Go, go, go!" Du Bishu waved his hands repeatedly, ignoring them. With a beaming smile, he said to Zhang Xiaofan, "Junior Brother, guess which one of the three—Master, Mistress, or Junior Sister—will step through that door first? You're new, so I'll let you guess first. Don't say your senior brothers are bullying you."

Sitting further away, the Second Senior Brother, Wu Dayi, called out loudly, "Junior Brother, since it's a bet, you should ask him what happens if you lose and what happens if you win!"

Du Bishu snorted. "Are you afraid I'll welch on the bet? I, Du Bishu, am famous throughout the world for my integrity in gambling. Seventh Junior Brother, if you guess correctly, I'll chop bamboo for you for ten days. If you lose, you wash the dishes for me for ten days. How about that?"

Everyone burst into laughter, and Song Daren scolded him with a smile, "Good for nothing."

Seeing the kind smiles and friendly attitudes of his senior brothers, who didn't treat him like an outsider at all, Zhang Xiaofan felt a surge of warmth. "Alright."

Du Bishu slapped his thigh, his entire demeanor suddenly vibrant. "Junior Brother, tell me, who do you think will come in first: Master, Mistress, or Junior Sister?"

All eyes turned to Zhang Xiaofan. He pondered for a moment; in the Azure Cloud Sect, respect for one's master was paramount, so he assumed Master Tian Buyi would enter first. "I guess Master will be the first to enter," he said.

The group roared with laughter. He Dazhi looked up, thoughtful. "Could it be that Master is entering first today?!"

Du Bishu was overjoyed, chuckling, "Junior Brother, let me tell you, actually, every time the family comes in, it's always Junior Sister who rushes in first. Haha, you'll be washing dishes for me later."

Zhang Xiaofan rubbed his head, unable to help but laugh along. He nodded and said, "Yes, Sixth Senior Brother."

Zheng Dali, the short and sturdy Third Senior Brother, laughed. "Sixth Brother, have you no shame?"

Du Bishu rolled his eyes. "Third Senior Brother, what are you saying? I didn't force him. Everyone bets willingly, right, Junior Brother?"

Zhang Xiaofan nodded.

Suddenly, Song Daren said, "Master is here."

The group straightened their expressions and stood up, facing the door to welcome their master. A moment later, Tian Buyi's short, stout figure appeared in the doorway—and behind him, there was no one!

Everyone stared in stunned silence. Du Bishu couldn't help but blurt out, "Master, where are Mistress and Junior Sister?"

Tian Buyi swept his gaze over them and said indifferently, "Your mistress took your Junior Sister to Small Bamboo Peak." In truth, he had sent Su Ru to Small Bamboo Peak to bring back the youngest disciple.

The group cast strange looks at the Sixth Senior Brother.

After dinner, Song Daren took Zhang Xiaofan's hand. "Junior Brother, I'll take you to your room."

The two walked out of the dining hall. The sky had turned completely dark, and a full moon was slowly rising.

After walking for a while, they returned to the corridor where the disciples lived. Song Daren led him to the last room on the right. "Junior Brother, the room you woke up in during the day is mine. The other junior brothers live in the rooms along the right side in order. As for the seven rooms on the left, except for the first one, they are all unoccupied." He paused, looking at Zhang Xiaofan. "Are you afraid to live alone?"

Zhang Xiaofan shook his head.

Song Daren smiled. "That's the spirit. How can a real man be afraid of being alone! Come, let's go in."

With that, he led Zhang Xiaofan inside.

"Do you think he'll be like the Junior Brother who ran to knock on Master's door in the middle of the night?" After cleaning up the dishes, the Sixth Senior Brother stood with the others, watching the Eldest Senior Brother lead the Seventh Junior Brother into the last room.

"You think everyone is like that Junior Brother?"

"Exactly! Our Junior Brother cannot be judged by ordinary standards."

"To put it bluntly, he's a little monster."

"Nothing that happens to him would surprise me!" The group chatted and laughed.

"You guys..." The Sixth Senior Brother, hearing their back-and-forth, said uncertainly, "Are you speaking ill of our Junior Brother?"

"How could we!" the other four looked at the Sixth Senior Brother and said in unison.

"We can't even spoil him enough!" the Fifth Senior Brother quickly added.

The next day, Zhang Xiaofan was awakened by a commotion and laughter. He put on his clothes, rubbed his eyes, and opened the door. He saw all his senior brothers gathered together, looking toward the first room on the left, laughing happily.

"Good morning, Senior Brothers!" Zhang Xiaofan walked over and said politely.

"Xiaofan! You were woken up, weren't you!" the Second Senior Brother, Wu Dayi, said with a smile.

"What happened?" Zhang Xiaofan asked curiously.

"Oh! The youngest junior brother is back. Junior Sister is waking him up right now."

"When did the youngest junior brother get back?"

"Just now! Senior Sister Wen Min from Small Bamboo Peak just returned with Mistress and the others."

"Senior Sister Wen Min?" Zhang Xiaofan was puzzled; he hadn't seen any other strangers, and he hadn't even seen the Eldest Senior Brother.

At Zhang Xiaofan's question, the fellow disciples all broke into strange, knowing grins.

"Senior Sister Wen Min has someone specially keeping her company," Sixth Senior Brother said with a strange chuckle, instantly snapping Xiaofan awake and driving away every trace of sleepiness.

"Woof! Woof!" At the sound, a yellow dog half as tall as a person slowly walked out of that room. Then Tian Linger appeared, struggling a little as she dragged a quilt over the threshold.

"Senior Brothers! Come help!" Tian Linger called out loudly when she saw the several senior brothers gathered together over there.

The fellow disciples walked over. "I say, Junior Sister, isn't this a bit too harsh?" Only after they drew closer did they discover that on the quilt being dragged along, their little junior brother was curled up on top of it, sleeping sweetly.

"This little fatty slept all night yesterday, and on the way back this morning, he was still sleeping in my mother's arms the whole time. He still hasn't woken up even now!" Tian Linger accused Luo Yunji of his "crimes."

"Could little junior brother be too tired?" Fourth Senior Brother He Dazhi guessed.

"How tired could he be? At Small Bamboo Peak, all he did was eat and sleep! I never thought the senior sisters would make so many delicious things. Even I only got to eat that much good food because of him. When I went there before, I never saw the senior sisters specially make anything for me!" Tian Linger sounded a little aggrieved.