knife

Chapter 111 The Young Master Prefers Men
Gu Xiaoman pulled Fang Xiaomao into the house, then peeked out the window furtively, glancing left and right before closing the window, leaving Fang Xiaomao stunned.

"Senior Brother, what are you doing?"

Gu Xiaoman chuckled, pulled a can of liquor from his pocket, and waved it at Fang Xiaomao.

Fang Xiaomao's eyes lit up immediately.

"The human world? Where did you get that?"

"It was given to me by my master!" Gu Xiaoman said. "I've been hiding it for a long time and couldn't bear to drink it. Now that this important matter is settled, let's have a good drink together."

"Not called 'Girl'?" Fang Xiaomao stood up.

"Are you sure?" Gu Xiaoman asked back.

Fang Xiaomao sat down again: "Now that the girl is here, we two brothers can't drink to our hearts' content. This little bit of wine isn't even enough for her to drink all by herself. What's with this little girl drinking wine? I'll get her some good grape juice later! Senior Brother, you'll have to give her a good talking to later."

Gu Xiaoman laughed: "As the second senior brother, you should also take the lead and not let our junior sister become an alcoholic."

"Absolutely right!" The two laughed heartily at each other.

Gu Xiaoman took out several oil paper packets from the cabinet, opened them, and spread them on the table. There were actually seven or eight kinds of snacks to go with the drinks. Fang Xiaomao had already prepared the cups, broke the clay seal of the "Human World" (a type of ancient Chinese wine), and filled the cups for the two of them.

Without prior arrangement, both of them brought their noses to the rim of the cup, took a deep breath, lifted their heads, and closed their eyes.

After a long while, the two finally opened their eyes.

"Good wine!"

I picked up the cup and carefully took a sip.

In this mortal world, even Li Dachui can't drink it whenever he wants, let alone them.

"Master still thinks highly of you, my senior brother. I've never been able to get any mortal world items from Master!" Fang Xiaomao's words were laced with bitterness.

"How could you say that!" Gu Xiaoman tore off a chicken leg and pointed at Fang Xiaomao: "You follow the young master around, eating and drinking well every day, while I'm out there suffering from the wind and snow all year round. Master is just pitying me!"

“That’s true!” Fang Xiaomao nodded.

As the eldest brother, Gu Xiaoman has always taken on the hardest and most tiring work since childhood. Over the years, he has been working silently for Li Dachui, and many times he has really risked his life.

Therefore, Fang Xiaomao was convinced that she received some preferential treatment from Zhou Zhi and Li Dachui.

"From now on, we'll be working under Xiao Changche, and it won't be as easy as before!" Fang Xiaomao gnawed on a lamb's hoof. He didn't like eating meat much, but he liked gnawing on the tendons inside. Gu Xiaoman often teased him, saying that he was someone who had never suffered any hardship.

Who in their right mind doesn't eat meat and chew on tendons?

Fang Xiaomao spent most of her time with Li Dachui, who was a person who never skimped on food and never wanted to let anyone go hungry. With someone like Li Dachui around, how could Fang Xiaomao ever lack food?

Unlike Gu Xiaoman, who leads a group of brothers outside and shares joys and sorrows with them, developing a style of eating voraciously when there is food and enduring hardship when there is none.

“Xiao Changche is extremely strict in disciplining his troops!” Gu Xiaoman said, “We will probably have to go through a considerable period of adjustment. Although our troops are considered to have good discipline, they are still far inferior to Xiao Changche’s men!”

"You noticed that too?" Fang Xiaomao said, "I've been observing Xiao Changche's army these past few days, and I have to admit, their discipline is unmatched. No wonder they've made such a name for themselves with just three thousand cavalry. Senior Brother, you have quite a few lawless men under your command. Give them a heads-up beforehand, lest they run into Xiao Changche's blade. Speaking of which, times like this are perfect for killing to establish authority. They're all your good brothers who have followed you for a long time. It would be a huge loss if they were used as fodder by Xiao Changche to slaughter!"
"Shouldn't we at least consider this a little bit? Even if we don't care about our brothers' feelings, shouldn't we at least consider the young master's feelings?" Gu Xiaoman said.

Unlike Gu Xiaoman, Fang Xiaomao had more dealings with Xiao Changche and knew more about that extremely ruthless general. Hearing Gu Xiaoman's words, Fang Xiaomao shook his head repeatedly: "If you really fall into his hands, let me tell you, no amount of pleading will work."

"Now that you mention it, I feel more at ease." Gu Xiaoman pondered for a moment and said, "There will always be an adjustment period when the two sides merge. I need to go find Xiao Changche and talk to him about this later."

"Why don't you let the young master speak?"

“Some things are easier to discuss directly,” Gu Xiaoman said. “If we go first, we’ll have room to maneuver, and the young master can smooth things over in the end. Anyway, if he embarrasses us, it’s not a big deal. But if he turns the young master down, it will inevitably affect our cooperation. Our young master is also a proud and arrogant person.”

"Senior Brother is indeed very thoughtful!" Fang Xiaomao nodded repeatedly.

As they were talking, footsteps suddenly came from outside. The two of them froze, because the footsteps were too familiar. Who else could it be but Xia Zhi?
"Senior Brother!" Xia Zhi's voice called out from outside.

The two people inside exchanged a glance, picked up their glasses, drank them down in one gulp, and then immediately refilled both glasses. Just as they finished doing this, the door was pushed open, and Xia Zhi appeared before them.

Clutching her fur hat, her face flushed, and even her eyelashes were covered in frost, Xia Zhi had been single-mindedly focused on military affairs ever since Gu Xiaoman had teased her, much to the dismay of her three thousand heavy infantrymen.

In the words of some veterans, they would rather go to the battlefield to fight than be led to drills by Xia Zhi every day.

Xia Zhi's gaze swept over the dishes on the table, then fell on the bottle of "Human World" on the table, and then slowly swept over the faces of Fang Xiaomao and Gu Xiaoman.

"I said I couldn't find you anywhere, and it turns out you two abandoned me and are eating alone here!" Xia Zhi threw her fur hat on the table and glared at the two of them. "Third Sister, no, I went to look for you, but you weren't here!" Fang Xiaomao quickly explained.

Gu Xiaoman snorted, "Third brother, I'm not trying to criticize you, but what did I tell you last time? You've already forgotten it?"

"I didn't forget!"

"What did I say?"

"Be an indispensable person, someone no one can replace!"

"anything else?"

"Any more?"

"Do you only listen to half of what I say? I also said that when you're doing something, you should be decisive and efficient, no less than a man, but when you're not doing anything, you should also have the demeanor of a lady. You should be able to fight on the battlefield and also be able to entertain guests in the hall. When you're ruthless, you can kill generals and seize flags, but when you're gentle, you should be as tender as water. Does that mean that when the young master has guests in the future, you'll also make a grand entrance like this?"

"Senior Brother, did you say that?" Xia Zhi tilted her head and frowned as she recalled.

Fang Xiaomao thought to herself that her senior brother definitely hadn't said that; he had just made it up. But she kept adding insult to injury: "Third sister, your senior brother is giving you advice with good intentions, but you forget it as soon as you turn your back. When you go to see the young master later, will it be appropriate for you to reek of alcohol? Don't you pay attention to the books the young master usually reads? From those books, you can glean what kind of women the young master likes."

Xia Zhi blinked for a long time before nodding.

Since both the eldest and second eldest brothers said so, it must be that I didn't hear the second half clearly at the time.

It needs to be changed!

"Oh, then you guys drink, I won't drink!" She obediently sat down, and although she reached out to grab a fried quail, she pulled her hand back as soon as it touched it.

Gu Xiaoman and Fang Xiaomao exchanged a smug look, sat down again, picked up their wine glasses, clinked them together lightly, and gulped them down in one go.

"Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother!" Xia Zhi glanced at the two of them, wanting to say something, but hesitated, as if it was difficult to speak.

"What's wrong?" Gu Xiaoman glanced at her. "Is there something you can't tell us?"

"It's related to the young master!" Xia Zhi looked troubled.

"Then I must tell you, what is it?" Fang Xiaomao asked.

"I think there's something wrong with the young master!" Xia Zhi mustered her courage.

“What problem could the young master have? Apart from his legs being a little unsteady right now, it’s just a minor injury, and he’ll be fine in a few days!” Gu Xiaoman said.

"That's not what I meant!" Xia Zhi said. "Now I know why you don't like me!"

"Huh?" Gu Xiaoman and Fang Xiaomao exchanged a glance. "Why?"

“Young Master not only dislikes me, but he also dislikes Zhang Qingyun. Last time in Helan Plain, Young Master told me that he didn’t like Zhang Qingyun at all.”

"I don't understand what you mean. It's normal that the young master doesn't like Zhang Qingyun. They've only met a few times and spent a few days together!"

"Senior Brother, what I mean is, Young Master doesn't like women at all!" Xia Zhi exclaimed anxiously, jumping to her feet. "He... he likes men!"

"Bullshit!" Gu Xiaoman and Fang Xiaomao cursed at the same time. Gu Xiaoman even flicked Xia Zhi's finger hard.

"I'm not making this up, Young Master... he likes effeminate men like Xiao Changche!" Xia Zhi retorted defiantly. "Didn't any of you notice?"

"What did we find?" Gu Xiaoman and Fang Xiaomao asked, somewhat puzzled.

"The way you looked at Xiao Changche, young master!" Xia Zhi pouted.

"What kind of look was that? How come we didn't notice?"

"You two grown men, of course you didn't notice!" Xia Zhi shouted, "But I saw it! The way you looked at Xiao Changche was very strange, and Xiao Changche looked at you strangely too!"

"If the young master hears this, ah, the young master might not do anything to you, but if Xiao Changche finds out, he'll tear your mouth apart!" Fang Xiaomao said, "Girl, it's fine to say this here, but you mustn't say it outside!"

"So it wasn't my fault after all. It's just that the young master doesn't like women at all!" Xia Zhi slumped down and said, "Senior Brother, I have no hope. No matter what I do, I can't change the fact that I'm a woman."

Gu Xiaoman and Fang Xiaomao blinked at each other, their eyes filled with confusion.

(End of this chapter)