Chapter 26

I woke up with a splitting headache, groggily opening my eyes to a dim surroundings, unsure of the time. After fumbling around for a while, I finally felt the cold, hard object—it was the bell given to me by my mother to summon someone.

This gave me some reassurance. I vaguely remembered returning to the hall, and then the group led by Luo Kedi rushed over, and I somehow ended up drunk yesterday.

A rustling sound approached, accompanied by a distinctive scent of soap pods, which instantly made me feel a bit more at ease. Since there were no proper cleaning supplies on the mountain, we used the pods of the soap pod tree, which were dried and stored. When bathing, we ground them into a powder and mixed them with water for cleaning.

I had improved this product by adding sulfur, which repels fleas, drives away insects, and has anti-inflammatory properties. I had been using it frequently on a certain test subject, and to do so, I had shaved all her body hair.

In the darkness, someone brought a cup of water to my lips, gently lifting the back of my head to feed me a sip, which made me frown. This was clearly a homemade functional drink I had concocted using brown sugar, salt, and a small amount of liquor, similar to a sports drink from the future, designed to replenish sweat and energy after intense exercise or labor. Of course, the taste was terrible.

Unable to resist, I touched the person's body. Although they stiffened for a moment, the hard, bony feel of their body reassured me completely.

"Is it you, Sanmei?"

There was no answer, but the breathing continued beside me, and the person continued their actions.

"Hmm..."

After a few sips of the salt-sugar water, the intense taste finally dulled the dizziness and heaviness from the hangover, and I remembered more details. After bidding farewell to Jiang An, I returned to the banquet hall, only to find someone looking for me. The enthusiastic young man, Luo Kedi, almost dragged me to their table, insisting on introducing me to others, who were part of the Luo brothers' circle of allies.

Initially, the wine was tasteless, but it soon turned into a fiery, burning sensation, and then into a mix of various wines and aged liquors. Unintentionally, I drank a variety of these, which caused a cocktail-like chemical reaction in my body, leading to a rampage.

Then, I blacked out, with only fleeting memories of a chaotic crowd, where I was addressing a group of burly soldiers with passionate speeches.

Pulling back the curtain, the glaring afternoon sunlight made me momentarily disoriented. Stretching and yawning, I turned my head to find that Sanmei had disappeared again.

At that moment, the sound of a bell hanging by the curtain caught my attention, and a figure poked in. It was A Guda, bringing in washing utensils: a wooden basin filled with warm water, a ceramic cup on a tray, and my homemade boar bristle toothbrush and a small spoon of gypsum and salt powder.

"What day is it today?"

I thought for a moment and then changed my question.

"How long have I been lying here?"

"Master has been asleep for two days after getting drunk," A Guda answered in his still imperfect Chinese.

"You were brought back by someone from Luo Dutou's group."

"Did they say anything?"

"To be honest, I was more worried about accidentally revealing something from the future while drunk, which could have unforeseen consequences."

"They only mentioned that you drank a lot and needed to be taken care of," A Guda nodded and then shook his head.

"They also sent some things, saying they would come to visit when you wake up."

"I didn't dare to open them, and I await your instructions."

A Guda's matter-of-fact response reassured me. Since Luo Kedi had personally brought me back, the problem wasn't too serious. Otherwise, I would be in a secret prison awaiting interrogation or in someone's private residence, being forcibly recruited.

However, I still had a faint worry about the suspicions and speculations from the Luo brothers. In these chaotic times, when everyone is struggling for survival, the future is uncertain, and not everyone has the insight and analytical skills to see through such situations.

By evening, I saw Luo Kedi, holding a bottle of wine and a paper-wrapped package, with a strange smile on his face.

"Old Xia, you still have the talent for composing poetry and couplets."

"It's already spread all over the mountain."

He then couldn't stop himself and explained in detail. His elder brother had intended to use the banquet to transfer me to the rear army, but an unexpected incident forced them to delay. This incident, it turned out, was my own doing.

The chief, to please the visitors from the Hai Fan, had a rare moment of literary appreciation, issuing a poetry challenge on the theme of chrysanthemums. Everyone at the banquet tried, but none were satisfactory.

I, being drunk, had a heated conversation with a group of soldiers and, unfortunately, recited Huang Chao's famous poem "After Failing the Imperial Exam, I Wrote This on Chrysanthemums."

There's nothing more disastrous than reciting a rebellious poem in front of a group of rebels and their representatives. Even more disastrous was that I passed out immediately after reciting it.

Fortunately, someone reacted faster and announced that the poem was actually dedicated to the chief, Lu Tianjun.

This put me in a delicate situation, but life must go on. My goals and preparations, though delayed and affected, remained unchanged.

The stream beside the warehouse was starting to freeze, and I tried to use the collected clean snow to rub my body to build resistance, of course, with sufficient food and nutrition.

Occasionally, touching the still somewhat defined lines of my abdomen, I felt a sense of self-satisfaction.

Even as the snow gradually increased, limiting most activities on the mountain, my life didn't change much. It seemed that the promise and friendship from Luo Piaoqi at the banquet were just a minor episode.

The pile of items in the corner of the room reminded me that my status and treatment had changed. The silk and gold and silver objects were said to be rewards from the chief, and the representatives from the Hai Fan also contributed some items as additional gifts.

Some were sent by the Luo brothers as a form of gratitude or profit-sharing. After the ship owner, Kang, who had killed someone in the market, fled, he left behind a large amount of cargo, which was seized by Luo Kedi and his men. After selling the goods, they received a substantial sum of money.

After paying off the authorities, I, now considered one of their own, also received a share.

Since that night, I had become a well-known figure on Liangshan. Despite the rapid accumulation of firewood and grain, the expected troubles and disturbances had not yet arrived, which made me feel somewhat uneasy.

During this period, on a clear day, I continued to tell stories and legends to Luo Kedi and his men, shifting from "The Heroes of the Water Margin" to a contemporary version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

Being a well-known and repeatedly studied topic from the future, I could easily recount the highlights and anecdotes, improvising with ease.

Of course, I couldn't resist slipping in some private knowledge under the guise of military strategy and tactics, which many found interesting and wanted me to explain further.

In return, I received not only financial and material compensation but also ample human resources.

The title "Master Xia" soon evolved into "Mr. Xia." Using the pretext of making sand tables and drawing simple diagrams, I could legitimately request more resources.

For example, with the tools and manpower they provided, I used knowledge from the cold weapons era to train my young follower, A Guda, in combat, weapon handling, hunting, and survival skills.

This was also a practical application of human engineering, to see how much human potential could be unlocked with proper nutrition and scientific training. Although individual strength might be insignificant in the grand scheme of things, it could still influence and change the immediate environment and specific individuals.

With the arrival of Sanmei, A Guda could gradually be freed from daily chores and shaped according to my expectations. He was very diligent and cherished every opportunity I gave him.

Seeing him always bruised and exhausted but still full of fighting spirit, I sometimes felt like I was raising a Bear Grylls.

On the other hand, I had a new daily task: training the emaciated new recruit, Sanmei. Although she was still not very efficient, at least I didn't have to worry about the long-term effects of malnutrition and hunger, which had caused her to bump into things and knock things over.

I also had to patiently correct her peculiar habits, such as squatting in the dark, avoiding attention, and hiding in my shadow. She walked silently like a cat, often appearing and disappearing in the storeroom, causing sudden frights. I even considered renaming her A Kalin.

In contrast, when doing household chores or organizing items, she was clumsy and noisy, as if she were being robbed. This often led to my unique form of punishment and education.

However, when I was teaching A Guda or explaining various anecdotes to Luo Kedi, she would become unusually quiet. It seemed I had acquired a strange companion.

One day, Luo Kedi, who had been absent for most of the winter, suddenly appeared before me.

"Youd, be grateful to me."

Seeing his smug face, I couldn't help but feel angry.