Chapter 24
The tavern was especially lively that day. The logging camp's order called for a huge quantity, and some skilled loggers had made a tidy sum. Naturally, they had to come unwind at the community's only "entertainment venue."
Luo Liuzi gulped down a mouthful of weak liquor and lamented, "If I'd known, I wouldn't have traded axes with Qiu Shuyu. I was only halfway through using it, and it was gone. This is... such torture!"
Tian Man was tired of listening. "Enough, stop going on about it. You couldn't buy one even if you wanted to, so why keep bringing it up?"
Luo Liuzi let out a long sigh.
Liu Mu was in an excellent mood and began his usual mockery again. "The dumber you are, the worse your luck. That idiot Qiu Shuyu finally picked up an axe, only to use it once herself."
He was mocking Qiu Shuyu, but it only made Luo Liuzi feel worse. He jabbed back, "Then doesn't that make you even unluckier? You never even used it once."
Liu Mu snorted. "Like I care about using it. Besides, I wasn't the one who found it."
Luo Liuzi said, "You don't know how it felt, how easy it was to use... I guarantee anyone who's used it would sing its praises."
Liu Mu said, "An ignorant bumpkin."
Luo Liuzi exploded. "Sure, you're the knowledgeable one, you're no bumpkin. If you're so amazing, why don't you go live in the city?"
That hit a sore spot for Liu Mu. "You fucking..."
Tian Man waved a hand. "Enough, enough. It's a good day. What are you arguing for?"
Luo Liuzi snorted and ignored Liu Mu.
Liu Mu shut up too. He didn't want to offend Tian Man. He was still counting on joining his crew tomorrow to make another tidy sum.
Tian Man set down his bottle and stood. "I'm stepping out for a bit. You two keep drinking."
Luo Liuzi asked, "Going to take Xiao Yu her axe?"
Tian Man said, "Yeah. I figure she should be back by now."
Luo Liuzi stood too. "I'll come with you."
Tian Man eyed him. "What are you coming for? She doesn't have a second stone axe."
Luo Liuzi said, "That's not it. I was partly responsible for that little axe cracking too. Ahem... I should at least apologize."
Tian Man turned to Liu Mu. "Coming?"
Three of them had been drinking together, and leaving Liu Mu there alone wouldn't be very nice, so he asked.
Liu Mu sneered. "No."
Luo Liuzi deliberately said, "If we find out where to get those little axes, you'll miss out."
Liu Mu said, "I don't care about that lousy axe. Even if Qiu Shuyu really has a second,
third, or fourth one, I won't buy one!"
Luo Liuzi silently mouthed, "Dumbass."
Liu Mu shot to his feet. "Luo Liu!"
Tian Man grabbed Luo Liuzi. "Come on, let's go."
Luo Liuzi quit while he was ahead and followed Tian Man out of the tavern.
They had barely stepped outside when they saw Shang Dayuan charge into the tavern with his group of dark-skinned, sturdy sons-in-law.
Seeing them, Luo Liuzi whispered, "What's going on with the Shang family now? Did that brat Shang Bao get into trouble again?"
Tian Man gave him a look. "Listen less, talk less, live longer."
Luo Liuzi pursed his lips and asked no more.
Song Xiaozhu soon finished preparing the simple meals. The two chatted as they ate the smooth, warm food with its lingering sweetness.
Song Xiaozhu asked Qiu Shuyu carefully about Tian Man, Luo Liuzi, and Liu Mu.
Qiu Shuyu knew what she wanted to do and answered with particular care.
In truth, Qiu Shuyu hadn't had much contact with them either. Still, Tian Man had quite a reputation among the loggers, and Luo Liuzi, who always followed him, was decent enough too... Only Liu Mu... was terribly jealous, foul-mouthed, and of very poor character.
Song Xiaozhu soon matched all three names to their faces.
She nodded, now having a sense of things.
Qiu Shuyu remembered something else. "Oh, right. Tian Man said he'd give me an iron axe as compensation, and I didn't refuse..." She added resentfully, "He's got so much brute strength. If that little axe hadn't been in his hands, it could've chopped down another two trees!"
Song Xiaozhu's eyes lit up. "Tian Man's coming tonight?"
Qiu Shuyu said, "Pretty much. His shack is over by the main road, but they probably went to the tavern. I reckon they should be coming soon."
Song Xiaozhu drank the rest of her simple meal in one gulp and stood. "Then I'll get ready."
Qiu Shuyu swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue.
She knew what Song Xiaozhu wanted to do, but she still couldn't help worrying.
Still, just as Song Xiaozhu had said, she couldn't keep hiding forever. If she wanted to do things, she had to face the risks.
Fine...
She would protect her.
Tian Man, Luo Liuzi, Liu Mu...
Even all three together were no big deal.
If this Garbage Mountain truly left them no way to survive, she could fight her way out with her.
There would still be time to go into hiding then.
On that point, the two of them had reached the same conclusion.
Song Xiaozhu was also thinking that, at worst, they could simply run away.
She wouldn't hold Qiu Shuyu back. She still had a piece of "honey candy" that could boost her speed, making their escape twice as effective with half the effort.
Tian Man and Luo Liuzi spotted Qiu Shuyu from a distance, but only greeted her once they drew near. "Is Master Bai back?"
They had seen Qiu Shuyu outside Bai Jing's shack.
Qiu Shuyu shook her head. "Not yet. Xiaozhu is Master Bai's apprentice. She lives here."
Tian Man and Luo Liuzi froze at first. Only after a while did they realize Song Xiaozhu was that consumptive girl. So Master Bai had brought her back.
They paid no mind at all to Qiu Shuyu calling her an apprentice.
Master Bai was kindhearted and brought people back from time to time.
Sometimes they were apprentices, sometimes child brides. It all depended on the old man's mood.
Tian Man raised the iron axe in his hand and offered its wooden handle to Qiu Shuyu. "Brand-new, already sharpened. It's quite..."
Before he could finish, Qiu Shuyu moved aside a little, revealing the inside of the shack.
Sharp-eyed Luo Liuzi let out a shriek. "My precious little axes!"
Holy crap, one, two, three...
There were four whole little stone axes!!
Chapter 24