Fatty Wang had spent the past two days following Gu Cheng around collecting treasures.
He had already become Gu Cheng's devoted follower.
He noticed the change in Gu Cheng immediately and asked with a keen nose for opportunity, "Young Master Gu, have you found something else?!"
Gu Cheng's horizons had broadened by now, and he could keep his emotions in check.
He no longer lit up at the sight of a divine treasure.
He smiled. "Let's go inside first."
Hu Bayi went up and knocked on the door.
A girl wearing a sheepskin coat opened the door, her cheeks flushed red from the cold.
She saw Hu Bayi standing in the doorway.
At first, she frowned warily.
Then her expression quickly softened, and a delighted smile spread across her face. "Brother Bayi?!"
Hu Bayi studied her for a long moment before asking hesitantly, "Are you... Yingzi?"
The girl nodded happily. "It's me."
Hu Bayi burst into hearty laughter. "It really is you? It's been seven or eight years, and you've grown so tall! You're a young lady now, aren't you?"
The girl blushed and lowered her head shyly.
Suddenly, she looked up again. "Brother Bayi, when did you get back?"
Hu Bayi said, "I've been back for two days, staying in the village. I was wondering why I hadn't seen you. When did you move up into the mountains? The old village chief's getting muddled. He only said a hunter lived up here, not that it was your family. I was wondering who it could be."
The girl said, "We moved up here not long after you left."
"The old hunter died. A bear killed him, so the village had my dad take his place. Since moving up here, we haven't gone down much. The old village chief probably forgot about it."
Hu Bayi nodded.
The old village chief was getting on in years. His hearing was failing, and his hands and feet weren't what they used to be. He really was getting a little muddled.
Talking with the old village chief over the past two days had nearly worn Hu Bayi out.
"Oh, right. Let me introduce you."
Hu Bayi stepped aside to reveal Fatty Wang and Gu Cheng behind him.
"This is Wang Kaixuan, my buddy since childhood. Just call him Brother Fatty."
The girl looked him over and greeted him. "Brother Fatty."
"This is Gu Cheng, another good friend I met recently. You can call him Brother Gu."
The girl looked Gu Cheng over as well.
Then she suddenly said, "With that soft, delicate skin of yours, you might not even be older than me. Why should I call you brother?"
Gu Cheng was taken aback.
Hu Bayi quickly stepped forward. "Yingzi, don't talk nonsense. He may be handsome, but he really is older than you. Uh, actually, Young Master Gu, I don't know how old you are either."
Gu Cheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Twenty-three."
Hu Bayi immediately spread his hands toward the girl. "See? He's already twenty-three."
Only then did the girl reluctantly call him "Brother Gu."
Hu Bayi then introduced the girl. "Her name is Yingzi. I took her as my little sister back then. Who would've thought she'd grow up so much in the blink of an eye?"
Fatty Wang teased him. "Old Hu, I'd never have guessed a rough-looking guy like you could have such a pretty, fresh-faced little sister."
Hu Bayi laughed and cursed. "Get lost!"
They joked around for a while.
Hu Bayi asked, "Yingzi, where's your dad?"
Yingzi said, "My dad's still out in the mountains. He probably won't be back until tomorrow."
"I've been out in the mountains with him these past two days too. Otherwise, I'd definitely have gone down to see you."
"Brother Bayi, what do you need my dad for?"
Hu Bayi said, "Oh, we want to explore the mountains, so we're looking for a guide."
Yingzi immediately volunteered. "A guide? I can do that."
Fatty Wang grinned. "Yingzi, can you really handle it? The place we're going is pretty dangerous. We might even have to spend the night in the mountains. Don't get scared and start crying, little girl."
Yingzi gave him a defiant look, turned toward the wall, and took down a longbow.
Then she nocked an arrow and drew the bow.
She aimed at Fatty Wang.
Every hair on Fatty Wang's body stood on end.
"Holy crap!"
He instinctively ducked and rolled.
When he lifted his head from the ground, looking rather bedraggled, he realized Yingzi hadn't fired the arrow at all.
She had only been trying to scare him.
Gu Cheng and Hu Bayi both roared with laughter.
Fatty Wang climbed to his feet, covered in dust, and chuckled awkwardly. "Yingzi, you shouldn't fool around like that."
Yingzi gave a proud little huff.
After discussing it, the three men finally agreed to take Yingzi along as their guide.
Just before they set off.
Gu Cheng pointed at the axe and asked, "Yingzi, that axe has a pretty unusual shape. It looks more like a weapon than an axe for chopping wood."
Yingzi glanced at it and said, "I don't know either. My dad found it in the mountains. The handle had rotted, so he made a new one and fitted it on. It's pretty sharp and works great for chopping wood."
Gu Cheng said with feigned casualness, "I think using it to chop wood is a waste. Brother Fatty happens to need a suitable weapon. How about giving it to him to defend himself?"
"Sure. It's just an axe, isn't it?!"
Yingzi was very generous.
Gu Cheng said to Fatty Wang, "Brother Fatty, Yingzi's giving you such a fine weapon. You'd better thank her properly."
Fatty Wang looked reluctant. "What do I know about using an axe? A gun would be more like it. Besides, this weapon doesn't suit my style. I'm not in the Axe Gang."
Gu Cheng snorted. "Brother Fatty, you really don't know yourself, do you? With your build and your bearing, you're practically Cheng Yaojin in the flesh. If you don't use an axe, what are you going to do, wave a sword around?"
Then he leaned closer and whispered, "This axe is a genuine divine weapon. It's worth a fortune."
Fatty Wang's eyes instantly lit up.
"Ah, fine, fine. Since you put it that way, it'd be rude to keep refusing."
"An axe it is, then."