"Pure suit! Golden Hook, Fishing, Concealed Kong, Self-Draw-all three of you pay!"
Yang Ge slapped a One Bamboo tile onto the mahjong table in excitement, his face glowing as he laughed. "Sixty coppers each. Pay up, pay up!"
Xiao Baoqi and the others at his table cursed sourly at the sight. "Did you forget to wash your hands after going to the privy?"
"Little Yellow must've left him a massive pile this morning!"
"We haven't even finished one round, and you've already made six maximum-scoring hands... This is downright uncanny!"
Yang Ge clapped his hands. "Enough chatter. Pay up, pay up..."
At the inn's entrance, Zhao Hong dawdled with a broom while stealing glances at the jubilant Yang Ge. He spoke quietly to Zhao Cha, who sat cracking melon seeds behind the counter. "Big Sister, is he this idle every day?"
Zhao Cha cracked another seed and smiled lightly. "It's better that he's idle. If he weren't, something serious might be about to happen..."
Zhao Hong hurriedly replied, "No, no, I meant... doesn't he practice? Don't martial artists swear by 'a song never leaves the lips, a fist never leaves the hand; train through winter's coldest days and summer's hottest'? Does he only practice after going home?"
Zhao Cha glanced at him, then suddenly smiled. "What, hoping to steal his techniques?"
Zhao Hong said, "That's not what I meant..."
Zhao Cha said, "Give up on that idea. I heard Daoist Li say that once your martial arts reach Second Brother's level, you no longer need to shut yourself away and train hard every day. Sitting or lying down, every word and every action-all of it is cultivation!"
Zhao Hong: ...
While the siblings conversed in low voices, several distinguished-looking martial artists arrived outside the inn, leading horses and wearing weapons.