Chapter 4 (1/2)

An Zheng and Du ShouShou were going together along the South Mountain street, when they heard some noises. An Zheng looked and found that it was two wicked dogs that were pus.h.i.+ng a dirty alley kitten into a corner. This kitten was just a few months old. It cringed in one spot and shook. It might have been broken by the wicked dogs within a meanwhile.

Du ShouShou pulled An Zheng back and said,

– ”Let’s go! Those wicked dogs cannot find their meals, so they use such alley kittens to fill their stomach. It’s not too strange.”

An Zheng suddenly sighed,

– ”How similar the life is in this scene, the weak are always disadvantaged. That kitten seems to have no mother, it is quite pitiful. Why don’t I make it my friend? Whatever, I am alone, too.”

He moved toward the wicked dogs, and they stared at him and roared. An Zheng just glanced at them, and the dogs became quiet. They did not even dare to move but p.i.s.sed themselves uncontrollably. (i)

An Zheng approached the shaking kitten, held it in his arm, and petted it, but the kitten still had not calmed down yet. This kitten looked too dirty. Its fur was stuck with something very dirty. An Zheng took it while he cleaned its fur. When he looked at the kitten carefully, he realized that it was the most beautiful kitten he had ever seen.

Its fur was as white as snow, but the fur of its four legs was blazing red. Its eyes were also very strange. They looked like they were being surrounded by stars.

An Zheng held the kitten, he walked while petting it, and the kitten was gradually getting relaxed. It looked at An Zheng with its beautiful eyes, full of gratefulness. It seemed to be good-natured.

Du ShouShou was walking while curiously evaluating An Zheng. An Zheng looked around and observed of what was happening in South Mountain town. It seemed that he had to live here for short time. At least when he recovered his level, he could be able to leave. He found that Du ShouShou had been curiously looking at him, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

– ”Are you admiring me?”

Du ShouShou scratched his head,

– ”An Zheng… are you really An Zheng?”

An Zheng moved forwards and held Du ShouShou’s shoulder, walking while saying and laughing,

– ”Do you want me to remind you of the time when you had asked me to take a furtive look at Xiao QiDao’s mother when she was taking a shower?”

Xiao QiDao’s mother was a widow. Theoretically, a woman who took her child to live in the Illusory Perennial Domicile must have been very strenuous, but in fact, no one in the South Mountain town dared to tease her. Even the Great Nine Bandits must have acted ceremoniously when they saw Xiao QiDao’s mother. It was said that Xiao QiDao’s mother was a pract.i.tioner who had moved here to seclude herself.

Whatever, a pract.i.tioner was too strange for them. They only knew that Xiao QiDao’s was extremely beautiful. No one in this South Mountain Town could have been more beautiful than her, from hip to f.a.n.n.y. Moreover, she even had a graceful face, and she was completely different from the other women who had already had children. Xiao QiDao was fourteen years old, and he was still innocent. His face was like that of a doll's.

Hearing An Zheng’s remembrance, Du ShouShou smiled,

– ”You are not allowed to tell anybody. If Ye Aunty knows that I used to see her f.a.n.n.y, she will certainly skin me. Who didn't know that in this South Mountain Town, that Ye Aunty was not a kind of person for teasing?”

Ye Aunty was the name that the people in the South Mountain Town had called Xiao QiDao’s mother. It seemed that she was quite old. In fact, Ye Aunty was not over 25. Ye Aunty had opened a small tavern at the end of the South Mountain Town. Because she was beautiful and generous, her followers were not too bad. Just about everyone knew that the quality of the wine in this tavern was not that good. Most of people that came there to drink only came to see Ye Aunty, not many cared about the quality of the wine.

An Zheng looked at the silver in his hand,

– ”This little money may be enough for us to come to the place of Ye Aunty to enjoy a delicious meal. Now let’s think about what to eat, or later on we will be confused.”

Du ShouShou scratched his chin,

– ”How do we pretend that we have not stepped into that tavern for the first time? And we also don’t have that much money as well.”

An Zheng looked at his clothes, and then he looked at Du ShouShou’s, unwillingly said,

– ”You have just thought too much… I have an idea. After we arrive in there, what we see the other people eat, we will order.”

Du ShouShou showed a thumb's up,

– ”Having beaten by them made you more intelligent! (ii) However, recently, I had been shaken for real. In this South Mountain Town, I have only you as my friend. If you die, I will be lonely. (iii)”

An Zheng felt warm inside, and slapped Du ShouShou’s shoulders,

– ”Fear not! It will not be so easy for me to die. From now on, we will become true brothers. It will take the two of us to tango. We will be good brothers forever.”

Du ShouShou shook his head strongly, said “Uhm”, and then continued,

– ”Why does these words from you do not sound very natural?”

An Zheng laughed out loud,

– ”What in the world made you to think twice of this? We are not students any longer, and you just need to know it.”

The two talked non-stop and laughed on the way to the end of the South Mountain Town. At the corner was the tavern of Ye Aunty. The tavern had no name, and there was only a flag embroidered with the word “Ji?” [1]. Du ShouShou was literate, but he could not realize what was special about the word. He only felt that the word was totally strong. It was not like a word but a portrait of a traveling Yul Hyul [2] bringing with him a wine gourd all the time.

– ”Good word!”

Arriving at the tavern, when An Zheng saw the word “Ji?”, he couldn’t help but praise. An Zheng, since yesterday certainly could not realize anything, but the An Zheng from today was different. Inside the word was a strong spirit, and it seemed to be able to fly out from the flag.

Du ShouShou did not believe that An Zheng could realize that the word was good or bad,

– ”You can only see the tart, pal.”

An Zheng said seriously,

– ”The tart cannot be seen, it can only be smelled (iv).”

Du ShouShou was surprised for a while, and then he laughed. He realized that An Zheng was thoughtful then. He was no longer subservient, he did not respect anyone neither. In Du ShouShou’s thoughts, the An Zheng in the past was a scornful balloon in which anyone could kick about.

An Zheng opened the curtains and went into the tavern. It was the first time that Du ShouShou had come into a tavern, so he was a little hasty. Usually, he would have gone first, with An Zheng following in a subservient manner. Today, however, was totally different.

After they came inside, An Zheng looked at all the dimensions of the tavern. It had not been lunch time yet, so there were not many customers in the tavern. There were only three big tables with people. It was not unexpected. All of the eyes were turned to Ye Aunty over there. Today Ye Aunty wore a long violet s.h.i.+rt. Although it was not too voluptuous, it still showed the beauty of its owner.

Specially the big b.o.o.bs, they were really the spotlights in the customers eyes.

Ye Aunty heard someone coming. They were two teenagers. At first she was surprised, but later she knitted her brows and said,

– ”Welcome two dài shés [3], this place does not sell candies, but wine only.”

Her eyes were attracted by the kitten in An Zheng’s chest, and she couldn’t help praising,

– ”How beautiful the kitten is! It’s totally different from the other common creatures.”

The sound of the kitten attracted her more than An Zheng and Du ShouShou did.

Usually in the school, Du ShouShou was very brave, but once he saw Ye Aunty, his heart shook, and he unconsciously hid behind An Zheng’s back. An Zheng had no special reaction, he seemed to be calm at first, but his eyes in losing control looked over at Ye Aunty’s b.o.o.bs.

Ye Aunty was too familiar with many men who had intended her beauty, but it was the first time she had seen a child who also had such desires. The fat child behind obviously had intentions but no courage, but the skinny child in front of him was not a child, and he was more likely to be an adult with much experience. Therefore, Ye Aunty worried a bit. She used to think that An Zheng was a child eager for feminine beauty, and his eyes were not honest. However, when she looked at An Zheng more clearly, she realized that he had no evil intentions.

A child? Why does he have the eyes like that?