Chapter 273: The Host and the Guest

The wooden bowl is drained of bitter wine, deer fat is smeared on hands as bones are lightly picked.

I tear at the lamb leg and call for more fire, he feasts on insect soup, spirits high.

Barbarian songs, Han lad's joy, laughter and dancing, sleeves in disarray.

Truths shared heart to heart, righteousness in the chest, heavy as a mountain!

"Brother, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but your drinking is not up to par! You've only had a little and you're already switching to mountain berry juice? In our barbarian tribe, this mountain berry juice is for women!"

The Young Chieftain immediately shouted something in the barbarian language, and an attendant immediately stepped forward to take away the jar containing the mountain berry juice.

(The character 'Man' is the self-designation of the southern tribes, originally meaning "people," transliterated into Han as 'Luan', which is the original bronze script for 'Man'; it was written with an insect radical only in seal script, as 'Man'. The *Records of the Customs of Linhai* says: "The mountain barbarians call themselves Milin." Milin is the ancient pronunciation of the character 'Min' (i. e., the cut pronunciation). 'Min' and 'Man' belong to the 'Ming' initial in ancient pronunciation (the same in middle pronunciation), and the rhyme categories 'Yuan' and 'Wen' are interchangeable; it is a shift of one sound, and the meaning is the same. As the *Records of the Grand Historian* commentary on the *House of Wu Taibo* says: "Man means Min." Although the Central Plains culture gradually added derogatory meanings to characters like 'Man' and 'Min', it did not affect the self-designation of the barbarian tribes, nor was it considered rude for others to call them 'Man'.)

Seeing the "mountain berry juice" about to be taken away, Wang Yang frowned: "Why take it away? I still want to drink it!"

"If you are a man, drink what a man drinks!"

The Young Chieftain's tongue was thick, spraying wine fumes as he grabbed Wang Yang's bowl to add more wine.

"Leave it, leave it!"

Wang Yang was half-drunk, a flush of spring color on his face, his tipsy eyes rippling with starlight, his fingers tapping repeatedly.

The Young Chieftain slammed the bowl down with a "thud," glared, and shouted angrily: "What's this! Looking down on your barbarian brother?"

Wang Yang's eyes flickered, the tipsy smile on his lips freezing. He looked at the Young Chieftain in shock:

"We Han people make friends without ever looking at how long we've known each other; we look at whether our spirits are compatible, whether we are heart-to-heart! Although you and I are brothers who have just met, we are like old friends at first sight, confiding in each other! So, in this life, we drink and sing, sitting and drinking at the same table, sharing our hearts to this extent! Now, brother, you say this, and it really makes one's heart cold..."

Wang Yang's throat rolled, his voice dropping, his fingers tapping on his chest, his eyes filled with heartache and gloom.

The Young Chieftain couldn't take it; a flash of panic crossed his rugged face, and he immediately said:

"I spoke wrongly, I will punish myself with a bowl."

After saying this, he grabbed the wine bowl and drained it in one gulp.

"But brother, you also have to accompany me for a few more bowls. You've entered my tent; how can you not accompany me to drink to your heart's content?"

The Young Chieftain's rough, large hand gripped Wang Yang's shoulder, refusing to let go, grinning foolishly.

Wang Yang smiled:

"It's not that I don't want to accompany you to drink to your heart's content, brother, but there are really three reasons why I can't."

"Come on, come on! You're coming up with three reasons! Tell me, let me hear them! If one of them doesn't make sense, you'll have to drink!"

The Young Chieftain shook his large head, his voice roaring so loudly that Wang Yang's ears buzzed.

"Alright! In that case, I'll say them one by one. If one makes sense, the Young Chieftain will drink a bowl—"

Just as the Young Chieftain was about to refuse, Wang Yang said: "If one of my reasons doesn't make sense, then I'll drink three bowls in a row!"

The Young Chieftain slapped the wooden table, shaking the oily, shining lamb bones so they jumped with a clatter:

"You said it! No backing out!"

The corners of the Young Chieftain's mouth almost reached his ears, revealing two rows of teeth, looking just like a mountain leopard biting its prey.

Wang Yang held up a finger:

"This first reason is that your wine and food don't suit my taste—don't be in such a hurry, listen to me. This lamb chop, lamb leg, bamboo tube rice, and stone-grilled venison are not bad. To be honest, brother, I haven't eaten well these past few days, and I've been craving a roasted lamb leg. You've satisfied my craving, and I'll remember your kindness. But this snake-taro soup, mixed bamboo rat, and these big white worms... honestly, brother, I really can't handle them."

Wang Yang frowned, pointing to the few dishes on the table, looking as if he were suffering even though he hadn't eaten them.

The Young Chieftain immediately disagreed: "They are all delicacies! If you don't know they are delicacies, who can you blame!"

Wang Yang said solemnly:

"Brother, you're wrong there. Delicacies are like beauties—they come in all forms, and everyone has their own preferences; you can't force them. You see these insect pupae as delicacies, but I see them as facing a formidable enemy; you drink this hundred-herb wine with gusto, but I taste it like swallowing knives and fire. Now you are the host and I am the guest; since you are entertaining me, you should follow my taste. If the wine and food don't suit my taste, how can you expect me to enjoy myself?"

The Young Chieftain was speechless for a moment, then after a while, he came out with:

"Don't you Han people have a saying called 'the host is convenient, the guest follows'?"

"I am following! I didn't ask you to take away all the dishes I don't like, did I? At most, I'm just putting them aside; that counts as following, right? However, since the guest is following the host's convenience, the host should also treat the guest well! The way of hospitality should be like the spring breeze brushing the willow, following its trend without going against it; like flowing water reflecting the moon, following its emotion without taking it away. Although you are full of good intentions, brother, you don't observe the guest's likes and dislikes, just like forcing a mountain eagle to eat millet or forcing a tiger or leopard to be vegetarian. It's really lacking in thoughtfulness. You tell me, should you drink this bowl of wine or not?"

The Young Chieftain didn't speak for a long time, then asked after a while:

"Who did you learn this eloquence from?"

"It's mainly because I'm reasonable. If you're reasonable, you can go anywhere in the world; what does that have to do with eloquence? Hurry up and drink!"

The Young Chieftain drank the wine, annoyed. Wang Yang immediately said:

"Come, fill it up for your Young Chieftain."

The Young Chieftain straightened up, his voice like muffled thunder:

"You haven't said the second reason! Why must it be me drinking?"

"You really have to drink this second bowl. I've been thinking about telling you about the treasure, so I've been holding back, not daring to drink too much, just afraid of delaying your important business. 'Those who know me say I am worried; those who do not know me ask what I am seeking.' I am worried about the future of your Wenyang tribe, and you don't appreciate my good intentions, but instead try every possible way to force me to drink. That's a bit unrighteous—"

The Young Chieftain's eyes widened, his face flushed red, and he shouted anxiously:

"I am wronged to death! In my tribe, a guest drinking until they fall over is family! I toast you, this is treating you with my heart! How can you call it forcing you to drink? As for the treasure, brother, you don't need to worry too much. Before, I ordered people to send wine and food to your men, and they reported back to me that your group didn't bring any large items at all. I thought the treasure was just words to comfort me.

But you are my brother, and I know you are thinking of us barbarians, so you made up the treasure to comfort me. I don't blame you, brother! I've already decided: since there is no silk, I will fight the Han court to the death! Don't worry, brother, I will send you out of the camp tomorrow morning, then behead Liu Cheng, burn my camp, and retreat into the deep mountains! Although the Han court is huge, my tribe is the descendant of the Dog God. When a dog fights a man, even if it dies, it will surely bite off a piece of his flesh!"

The Young Chieftain's palms were clenched tight, his eyes ready to split, his face flushed with a resolute battle intent, looking like he was about to fight to the death.

Wang Yang's gaze was indifferent as he looked at the Young Chieftain:

"So you want to ya tutu cha again?"

The Young Chieftain seemed to have had a switch flipped; he stood up abruptly, his muscles tensed like a fully drawn bow, a low roar like a beast rolling from his throat:

"Ya tutu cha!!!"

The guards at the tent entrance responded like they had been injected with chicken blood: "Ya tutu cha!!!" They roared so loudly that the spear tips trembled and dust fell from the tent roof!

This time Wang Yang didn't shout along. He watched quietly as the Young Chieftain and the others immersed themselves in their fighting spirit of facing death without fear. The firelight danced on their ferocious faces, as if they were a group of fierce gods walking out of ancient murals.

The air in the tent trembled from the roar, and the flames in the lamps flickered unsteadily. Wang Yang's expression remained normal, he just stretched out his finger and rubbed his ear.

After the Young Chieftain finished his ya tutu cha and sat back down, Wang Yang spoke: "This is the third reason why I can't drink to my heart's content."

The veins on the Young Chieftain's forehead jumped like earthworms, his silver earrings still shaking with his panting. He asked, gasping for air: "What reason?"

Wang Yang smiled slightly:

"Young Chieftain, do you still want to keep acting?"

The Young Chieftain froze, his bloodshot eyes full of confusion, seemingly not understanding what Wang Yang meant at all. He asked uncomprehendingly: "What are you saying?"

Wang Yang stopped talking and just stared at the Young Chieftain calmly.

The Young Chieftain became more and more confused: "Brother, what do you mean?"

"Brother? Brother?"

The Young Chieftain asked several times, but Wang Yang remained silent, finally shaking his head slowly:

"Although my words earlier had some exaggeration, the basic points were all true. More importantly, this treasure is real, and only I can give it to you. To speak boldly, this is an opportunity your tribe has never had before; it hasn't existed before, and it won't exist after. One should not burn fake incense in front of a real person. If the Young Chieftain does not show his true face, then I will not give this treasure. Clever deceit is not as good as clumsy sincerity; I hope the Young Chieftain will think twice."

The tent was extremely quiet for a moment. The Young Chieftain showed a slight hesitation, then let out a long sigh and waved his hand, saying something in the barbarian language. The attendants and guards all exited the tent.

The Young Chieftain's eyes became clearer, the drunkenness and resolution on his face vanished, and his rough appearance faded away. He sat up straight, looked at Wang Yang, and asked uncomprehendingly:

"Dare I ask, Brother Wang, how did you see through me? I asked myself that my words and actions had no flaws, and even my thoughts were extremely realistic. By all rights, it should have been impossible to see through. How did you see it? Could it be that this was also information given to you by the court?"

As he spoke, his Han language was actually more fluent!

"The court gave some information—"

"I don't believe it. Even if the court really had eyes and ears in my camp, they wouldn't know my face."

Just as the Young Chieftain finished speaking, Wang Yang immediately replied:

"Unless the eyes and ears are your father."

"What?!"

The Young Chieftain was shocked, then immediately realized it was impossible.

Wang Yang smiled:

"It seems Zou Ye knows. You aren't guarding against your father. That's good. If Zou Ye were against you, then this treasure wouldn't be easy to get."

The Young Chieftain looked at Wang Yang, feeling he was unfathomable, and took a deep breath: "How on earth did you know?"

"Want to know?"

The Young Chieftain nodded solemnly.

"First drink the two bowls of wine you owe your brother. And then—"

"There's more?"

"Of course." Wang Yang leaned back lazily, his fingers slightly curled, tapping the table: "Call someone to bring back the mountain berry juice, and then—fill it up for me."

The Young Chieftain:...

——————

Note: *Zhuangzi, Free and Easy Wandering* says: "In the south of Chu, there is a Mingling tree, which takes five hundred years as spring and five hundred years as autumn." Mingling was originally the name of a tree, saying this tree takes two thousand years as a year, but I don't know why it is called "Mingling." I think it might be a transliteration of a name for a sacred tree by the ancient tribes of southern Chu. If you use ancient pronunciation to cut the characters, it is a double-initial with the characters 'Man' and 'Min', which is a remnant of the ancient barbarian language. This is a guess, without empirical evidence, pending examination.

In addition, this book is set from the main line to the branch lines, to the characters, to the ending. To prevent leaks, the outlines I handed out were half-true and half-false. I know that everyone is used to a fast reading rhythm and that not many people are used to looking for foreshadowing and waiting for plot echoes, so I'll remind you: if you see something confusing or something you can't figure out in the future, don't be in a hurry; wait for the later chapters, and perhaps it will become clear.

Furthermore, old readers who have read my previous book's afterword know that I write novels for pleasure, and this has never changed. After finishing this one, I will change the way of pleasure to something else; when I get tired of that, I will write the next one. As long as I don't get tired of it, it will repeat. Also, the previous book was updated every other day, and it was still finished normally. I have always felt that it is a very normal thing to spend more time writing a novel. First, you must have the leisure to write, and second, writing too fast is tiring and not easy to maintain quality. In fact, reading is the same. Just like playing Zelda, except for the masters, few people play it day and night until they clear the level. Instead, exploring bit by bit and leveling up bit by bit is very interesting.

In short, although this book also has a greater implication of "concerning humanity," the root of the word "pleasure" will not change. So although the process is full of twists and turns, there will definitely not be a situation where you feel blocked in your heart after reading it. This is an adventure about the Northern and Southern Dynasties. So I also hope that everyone can write, read, and adventure with me comfortably and happily. Of course, it's easy for me to just write, but readers have a lot to consider... Is someone going to say that!! (￣^￣) ===== CHAPTER 274 =====