Chapter 15: Story

Dark embrasures, like eagles’ nests, were set every few meters into the thick, sturdy walls.

In front of the wall was a trench, and behind it, a watchtower. The silhouettes of men patrolling with long rifles could be faintly seen on top.

’Is Second Uncle... preparing for war?’

Fu Juemin narrowed his eyes, muttering to himself.

The arrival of the group had long since alerted those inside the earthen fort. Qian Fei and Ma Dakui quickly ran forward and shouted a few words in a local dialect to the men in the watchtower. A moment later, the fort’s main gate slowly swung inward.

"Young Master Fu, please get back in the car."

Qian Fei gestured for Fu Juemin to get back in the car while the two of them remounted their bicycles.

The car slowly drove into the fort. The moment it passed through the gate, Fu Juemin, sitting inside, had the strange feeling that he’d just entered a bandit stronghold.

The inside of the fort was enormous. The car drove slowly for a full five minutes before finally stopping in an open area.

Fu Juemin got out of the car to find only Ma Dakui standing there. Qian Fei had already run off to inform Fu Guoping.

He wasn’t in a hurry. He stood by the car, waiting and taking in his surroundings.

To his left was a shooting range, where a dozen or so burly, bare-chested men were practicing their marksmanship.

Fu Juemin even saw a heavy, dark, cylindrical machine gun mounted on a tripod, with a belt of gleaming brass bullets underneath.

The more Fu Juemin saw, the more speechless he became. ’If I didn’t know any better, I’d think I’d stumbled into a bandit’s den.’

’I really can’t figure it out. Why would the Luan River County Government let Fu Guoping build all this right under their noses? Aren’t they afraid he’ll just raise his banner and rebel one day?’

’The Luan River Police Station barely has a few foreign rifles, but Second Uncle’s place is practically a small armory...’

Just as he was thinking this, Fu Juemin saw a group of people emerge from a three-story, Western-style building in the distance, walking quickly toward him.

The man in the lead was built like a bear, with a full, bushy beard. Who else could it be but his Second Uncle, Fu Guoping?

"Second Uncle."

Fu Juemin walked up and greeted Fu Guoping politely.

"What are you doing here, kid?"

Fu Guoping came up and threw an arm around Fu Juemin’s shoulders. A flicker of something unreadable passed through his eyes, but his face was mostly full of pleasant surprise.

"Your dad told me you’ve been practicing martial arts lately. You’ve definitely gotten sturdier."

Fu Guoping clapped Fu Juemin on the chest and laughed. "Come on, let’s go. Accompany your old uncle for a drink at Furui Tower. I haven’t been back in a while anyway."

"Second Uncle."

Fu Juemin shook his head. "I came all this way. You can’t just send me right back, can you?

Besides..."

He turned and gave the driver a look, and the man, understanding at once, immediately pulled several food containers out of the car.

"Roast goose from Furui Tower, leg of lamb, braised pork knuckle..."

Fu Juemin ticked off the contents of each food container. "They’re all your favorites. I ordered them from Furui Tower this morning. If you want to drink, Second Uncle, we can drink here. It’ll save us a trip back."

Fu Guoping clearly hadn’t expected this move from Fu Juemin. He stared at the stack of food containers, slightly stunned.

After a moment, his gaze calmed, and a smile slowly spread across his face.

"Alright, then. I’ll have someone make the arrangements right now."

With that, he pulled Fu Juemin along, turned, and shouted to the men behind him, "Go get the liquor!"

’Yup, that makes him look even more like a bandit chief. The only thing missing is a hearty "My lads!"’

...

Fifteen minutes later, in a surprisingly elegant room, a table was laden with food and wine. Only Fu Juemin and Fu Guoping were present.

"Here, try this liquor."

Fu Guoping lifted a wine jug that was half a meter tall, poured Fu Juemin a heaping bowlful, and urged him with a grin to drink up.

The previous owner of this body had been a teetotaler. Fu Juemin himself could drink a little in his past life, but one sip of this stuff was enough. It was a fiery liquid that seared his throat; he had no idea of the proof, but he definitely couldn’t handle it.

"I think I’ll just stick to the food, Second Uncle."

Fu Juemin pushed the big bowl of liquor aside, admitting defeat with a sigh.

Fu Guoping roared with laughter. "You’re on your uncle’s turf today, so don’t even think about weaseling out of it.

How can a man of the Fu Family not know how to drink? Don’t mind your father—he might be a teetotaler who drinks tea even at business meetings, but if it came down to a real drinking contest, his tolerance is even better than mine..."

Fu Juemin shook his head, picking up a piece of food with his chopsticks. He put it in his mouth and said slowly, "Second Uncle, I’m only just realizing today what a massive operation you’re running here at the Civil Affairs Bureau."

There was a note of awe in Fu Juemin’s voice, but Fu Guoping just waved a hand dismissively. "Can’t be helped. The Fu Family has vast assets. If we don’t make a big show of force, how are we supposed to fend off all those ruthless vultures out there?"

Fu Guoping tore a piece off the leg of lamb and sighed. "It’s a shame your old uncle could only snag the post of Director of the Civil Affairs Bureau. Otherwise, this whole setup would need to be even grander..."

Fu Juemin knew that despite his uncle’s coarse exterior, he was incredibly shrewd. Beating around the bush would get him nowhere, so he decided to ask directly, "Second Uncle, what exactly is going on at the docks?"

The hand Fu Guoping was using to hold the lamb paused. He frowned. "You went to the docks again?"

"I was bored a few days ago and heard they were holding some kind of water shrine ritual at the docks, so I went to watch the commotion from a distance," Fu Juemin replied.

Fu Guoping thought for a moment, then put down the leg of lamb. "Lingjun," he said slowly, "about the docks... no matter what anyone tells you, don’t you believe it."

"Second Uncle, I only trust what I see with my own eyes."

Fu Juemin looked into Fu Guoping’s eyes and said calmly, "So, Second Uncle, is it true that a Water Demon is causing trouble at the docks?"

Fu Guoping continued to eat and drink slowly, saying nothing.

Fu Juemin didn’t press him. The room fell utterly silent.

After what seemed like a long time, Fu Guoping finally raised his bowl, took a large gulp of liquor, and then spoke slowly. "Lingjun, my boy, how about I tell you a story?"

"I’m listening, Second Uncle."

Fu Juemin blinked.

"It was back when you had just turned one month old..."

Fu Guoping tore off strips of lamb, eating as he spoke. "Back then, your father and I had just arrived in Luan River. We were living just outside the county seat.

One day, a fortune-teller came by, took one look at you, and said you absolutely wouldn’t live past the age of nineteen."

Fu Juemin’s heart skipped a beat. ’Could he have been that accurate?’

’The previous owner of this body died at exactly nineteen.’

Outwardly, however, he remained perfectly calm and asked, "And then?"

"And then I blew my top. I grabbed a knife, ready to chop off one of the fortune-teller’s hands."

Fu Guoping continued, "The fortune-teller saw how furious I was and got scared. He turned and bolted.

I chased him. I don’t know for how long, but we ended up in some nameless patch of wild forest.

I cornered the fortune-teller under an old locust tree. I was just planning to scare him a bit, teach him not to go around spouting nonsense from that big mouth of his.

But guess what happened?"

Fu Guoping looked at Fu Juemin.

"What?"

Fu Guoping narrowed his eyes, his voice low. "Before I could even bring down the knife to scare him, the fortune-teller collapsed with a THUD.

Then, an old, white-furred weasel with a missing leg crawled out of his chest and started kowtowing to me frantically.

When it finished, it dug up a large chest from under the tree, and inside, it was filled to the brim with silver coins and jewels.

That’s the money your father used to open his first shop and slowly build his business into what it is today..."

"Huh?!"

Fu Juemin was dumbfounded. "Are you serious?"

He stared blankly at Fu Guoping, only to see a cunning glint flash in his uncle’s eyes. Fu Guoping then slapped the table and roared with laughter. "You silly kid, of course it’s fake.

Where would you find so many supernatural things in this world? You think this is some storyteller’s yarn?"

Fu Juemin was left completely speechless.

’I really underestimated this uncle of mine. Even when I had him cornered, he could still just casually spin a yarn to get out of it.’

"Come on, come on, have another drink with your uncle."

With the story finished, the topic Fu Juemin had raised was completely brushed aside. Fu Guoping returned to his boisterous self, loudly urging his nephew to drink.

Fu Juemin reluctantly raised his bowl, but before he could even take a sip...

BANG!

The door to the room was forcefully thrown open from the outside, and a dark-skinned, bald-headed man barged straight in.

"Second Master! It’s bad!

There’s another Demon attack in Taohuang Village!

A giant snake, over a hundred feet long, is eating everyone it sees! The nearby villages are nearly empty! The matter was reported to the County Yamen, and the county magistrate sent an urgent telegram demanding we handle it at once...

Son of a bitch, we haven’t even dealt with the Water Demon at the docks, and now this Snake Monster shows up..."

The bald man burst in and rattled off his report, speaking nonstop for some time before he finally noticed the strange atmosphere in the room.

A pair of eyes, practically spitting fire, were glaring at him.

The bald man finally realized he might have misspoken. He stammered a few times before Fu Guoping’s furious roar of "Get out!" sent him scurrying out, head tucked into his shoulders.

Meanwhile, Fu Juemin’s face was a picture of indescribable oddity.

He said nothing, just kept staring at Fu Guoping.

He watched as Fu Guoping’s face turned from pale to red, then from red to black... Finally, his uncle slammed his bowl down on the table, pointed at the door, and cursed, "That damn bastard... only knows how to ruin things!"

After he finished cursing, he turned back to Fu Juemin with a sheepish expression. He seemed to struggle with his words for a long moment before finally squeezing one sentence out.

"Fine. It’s not like I can hide it from you anyway... Come with me."