Faraway Wanderers Novel (English Translation)

Baiyi

“I’m afraid my knowledge of it will not be sufficient. I hope you don’t mind waiting for another few days, as I think I do have some ways to dig up more information.”

Zhou Zi Shu examined the man. He looked like he could be anything from thirty to forty, clever face, spoke slowly and carefully with definite consideration in each word; that fox clearly taught his folks well. Once he had no idea how much power and influence his old friend had after he left the capital, but after seeing this, he was certain it would not merely be contained in these simple counting houses.

A cup of tea later, he left. Who could have ever thought that the former leader of Tian Chuang now had to rely on others for intel, or to ask for that person’s help just to protect the life of that Zhang Chengling brat — though, it was also worth noting that Zhou Zi Shu had no idea why he was helping him when they were just strangers. How did the kid’s life concern him anyway?

A fool’s errand, that was what.

But throughout a person’s life there was bound to be incidents like this, where you couldn’t help but insert yourself in other people’s business. Is this ultimately my fate? Zhou Zi Shu thought. How else could he have come across the kid in this vast land of Jiangnan?

He walked leisurely along the main road, sunbathing since there was nothing else for him to do. He only visited a tavern after having feasted his eyes on the scenic view of Dong Ting with satisfaction and when the sun was starting to go down. He ordered a pot of wine and some dishes, thinking about how today was really good to him. It was as if he never had such a good day like this in his entire life – before today he was either miserable himself or spent time planning on how to make others’ life miserable.

There was a young lady playing a zither nearby; the beauty complimented the music all too well. Everyone cheered for her after the song ended, and Zhou Zi Shu —enjoying both beauty and song very much—put a silver ingot on the plate. The girl was initially dumbstruck, then she smiled, bowed at him and said her gratitude in a soft voice. That lifted Zhou Zi Shu’s mood incredibly.

All of a sudden, there was someone sitting in the seat opposite him. They said matter-of-factly, “I’m here so that you can treat me wine.”

Zhou Zi Shu tensed up—his debt collector was finally here.

Ye Baiyi was not at all gracious about this. To him, he was already lowering his standards to stand these vulgar indulgence like food and wine, so it was natural for the other person to greet him with trepidation. Ignoring Zhou Zi Shu, he began ordering hoards after hoards of food himself, then spoke calmly, “Please have anything you like, don’t be reserved.”

Zhou Zi Shu gave him an odd look,一 How are you seeing any ounce of reservation in me?一

He was starting to suspect that this person was here to deliberately trick him. The amount of food he just ordered could very well feed two pigs and not two humans.

Seeing that he wanted to order no more, Ye Baiyi suddenly realized, “Oh, right, you’re injured so you don’t have an appetite for all this. But my advice is that you should eat as much as you can, seeing that you don’t have much time left.”

The odd look in Zhou Zi Shu’s eyes intensified. 一If this man wasn’t Monk Gu’s disciple, he could have made a great career out of being other people’s punching bag.一

At that moment, another figure walked up to the table ostentatiously and pulled a chair next to them, completely uninvited. He examined Ye Baiyi without showing any emotions. “Ah-Xu, I was just wondering why you disappeared without a goodbye, but it seems like you’re… occupied with another man?”