A fight between martial artists had broken out at the docks. Afraid of getting embroiled in trouble, the merchants, travelers, and martial artists left one after another once the fighting ended, leaving the seaside town unusually quiet.
The moon climbed above the branches. Inside a lamb hot pot restaurant in town, only one table was occupied, but the atmosphere there was lively.
Ye Jingtang sat with three young women, several plates of freshly sliced lamb before them, along with bowls of scallions and garlic, wine jugs, cups, and other things. He was playing dice and drinking with Yunli.
Qingzhi came from a distinguished family and had been strictly brought up since childhood. She neither knew how to play dice nor drank much. She merely held Niao Niao and watched curiously, occasionally picking up her chopsticks to fish out some cooked lamb. Under Niao Niao's yearning gaze, she placed it in Ye Jingtang's bowl, provoking a cry:
"Cheep cheep?!"
Xue Baijin certainly had no interest in playing games. Too troubled even to have an appetite for the fragrant lamb, she sat alone across from them, pouring and drinking by herself.
Although her expression appeared perfectly calm, Ye Jingtang and Yunli had only finished two jars between them, while three empty jars already stood at her feet.
After a jar of strong liquor, Zhe Yunli was already rather tipsy, but she still noticed that her master had said nothing for ages and was merely drowning her sorrows. Perhaps hoping to liven things up, she secretly rubbed her foot against her master's calf while shaking the dice, just as she had back in Yun'an.
But her master was her master, nothing like her mistress, who dared not speak up when teased. The moment she brushed against her, something bore down on her foot