Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 356 Whoring for free
The orange-red flames flickered and rose, the smoke and dust swirling into the moonlight, eventually drifting towards the gloomy sky with the winter north wind.

The old man, wrapped in a shiny sheepskin coat, looked like he had been freezing, but now, completely disregarding the smoky environment, he was desperately trying to get closer to the campfire.

Zhou You leaned against the side, staring blankly at the crackling flames.

The pieces of meat that had been roasted earlier had long been thrown aside, but the bag of cheap liquor was left behind. The old man didn't care about the dirt; he seemed to cherish it and sipped it little by little.

After a long pause, Zhou You finally spoke first.

"Old man"

The old man simply waved his hand.

"There's no need to be so formal. My surname is Li, you can just call me Old Li."

Zhou You hesitated for a few seconds, but still continued speaking.

"Hey Li, can I ask you something?"

"What's the matter?"

"Excuse me, what dynasty are we in now, and where are we located?"

It would have been better if I hadn't asked. The moment I did, Old Man Li looked at me like I was crazy.

"Are you kidding me? You don't even know what dynasty it is? Seriously, which backwater did you crawl out of here?"

Zhou You smiled wryly—this was expected—but he had prepared his explanation beforehand.

"Well, how should I put it? I think I might have been hit on the head before. I'm really confused right now, and I can't think of anything except my own name."

Old Man Li looked at Zhou You's miserable appearance and then at his head covered in blood, and couldn't help but believe it to some extent. He then sighed.

"Those guys are really ruthless. Anyway, I'll tell you about it."

"We are currently near the mouth of the Chuan River, not far from Fenghe County. As for the current dynasty..."

"Of course, it's our Great Qing Dynasty."

Zhou You was taken aback.

This was the first time in all his scriptwriting experience that he had heard of a dynasty that actually existed in reality.

"Which Qing Dynasty?"

Old Li responded with a forceful eye roll.

"Is there another Qing Dynasty in this world? Of course, it's the Qing Dynasty of the Aisin Gioro clan."

"Then may I ask, who is the current emperor?"

"The reigning emperor? What emperor? The Empress Dowager has been in power for over forty years. Since the death of the last emperor, no one has sat on the dragon throne; it has always been the Empress Dowager who has ruled in his stead."

"And who is the Empress Dowager?"

"Who else could it be but the Empress Dowager?"

Old Li continued to explain, but Zhou You still looked completely bewildered—he was even somewhat confused.

What the hell did this black book do to me? Is this still the Qing Dynasty?

If what the old man said is true, then the Tongzhi Emperor of this era died suddenly of illness not long after ascending the throne. After Cixi launched the Xinyou Coup, she not only eliminated the eight regents but also buried her own people along with them. Then she left the throne vacant, unified the court, and has been in power ever since.
No, what's all this about?
Zhou You felt his view of history had been greatly impacted, but when he scratched his head, wanting to ask for more details, the old man rolled his eyes and said...

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? I'm not some high-ranking official, how could I possibly know more?"

And so the atmosphere fell silent once again.

There was no sound from the surroundings except for the burning campfire and the sound of Old Man Li pouring wine.

After an unknown amount of time, the other party suddenly spoke again.

"Hey kid, do you have any plans to go anywhere in the future?"

Zhou You shook his head.

"I only remember my name right now, nothing else. As for where to go... where can I go in this state? I'll see if I can recover from my injuries, and then I'll go to the county town to find a job."

Upon hearing this, Old Man Li seemed somewhat hesitant, but after looking Zhou You up and down a few times and frowning in thought for a while, he slowly spoke.

"Well, I happen to need someone to lend a hand. Since you have nowhere else to go, why don't you come with me?"

Zhou You thought about his main quest, his dilapidated body, and then looked at that old face, and finally sighed.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, sir."

These were just ordinary words, but the next moment, a sly smile of triumph suddenly appeared on Old Man Li's face.
-
The seventh day of the tenth lunar month is the beginning of winter.

It snowed last night, but not a lot. Most of the snowflakes melted as soon as they hit the ground, so there's not much of a snow-covered landscape now. Instead, the ground has become incredibly muddy.

To be more specific, it was like a huge, stagnant mud pit.

Today happened to be the county market day, so even with the rumors of demons and ghosts causing trouble, many local residents still came to visit – after all, being eaten by demons and ghosts was a low-probability event, while running out of food was the more pressing issue – which brought a bit of liveliness to the small county town.

Zhou You stood in the center of the market, looking at the crowd around him with a somewhat dazed expression.

In his memory, the late Qing Dynasty was considered a relatively modern era. Although it couldn't compare to the Western powers overall, it still received a considerable amount of industrial goods through dumping. But now...
As far as the eye can see, there is only filth and barrenness.

Most people are poorly clothed. Even though it is now the beginning of winter, few people can afford to wear padded jackets. Most people wear two single layers of clothing with a linen robe over them. As for so-called industrial products, they are nowhere to be found. The most high-end items that can be seen in the chaotic market are just a few bolts of hand-stamped floral fabric.

He originally wanted to ask Old Man Li what was going on, but to his surprise, the other party only retorted with one sentence.

"The current Empress Dowager dislikes all these foreign things, considering them all strange and frivolous crafts that corrupt the ways of our ancestors. Therefore, except for a few designated merchants, everything else is prohibited from entering and from production. You might see a little bit of these in big cities, but in this small county town..."

Zhou You really wanted to ask: "Isn't the Empress Dowager afraid of the foreign powers' guns and cannons?" But considering his current state of 'amnesia' and his current identity, he ultimately kept quiet.

—Yes, that's right, he is now nominally this old man Li's apprentice.

The "Nameless Register," which could disguise any form of identification, was now sealed inside the ring. As an unregistered person without any travel permits or anything, he had no choice but to find himself an identity if he wanted to travel smoothly.

To be honest, this is actually a win-win situation. First, it allows one to get closer to the main character. Second, since one is now unfamiliar with the place and has never experienced such a completely corrupted world, it's always a good idea to use a false identity to disguise oneself.

But.
Right in front of him, his cheap servant was standing with his hands behind his back, humming an off-key tune as if nothing had happened. He casually strolled over to a vegetable stall, looked around as if nothing had happened, but didn't buy anything. Finally, when the stall owner was about to get angry and kick him out, he sheepishly left with a forced smile.

However, Zhou You, with his sharp eyes, noticed that before leaving, he seemed to casually steal something from the stall under the cover of the wool coat.

"."

Seeing his master return triumphantly with the stolen goods, Zhou You opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he could only let out a sigh.

Old Li, however, was not ashamed at all. He took a radish from his greasy sleeve and stuffed it into Zhou You's hand.

"Come on, kid, try this. The radishes from around this county are famous for their sweetness; they're perfect for having with drinks. It's just that the price has skyrocketed in recent years, and it's almost too expensive for us now."

No, you didn't buy it either, did you?
Zhou You stared at the stolen item for a while, then reluctantly took it and bit into it.

"Click."

I must say, the taste is indeed quite good.

Zhou You said this while biting into the radish.

"Master, you've been taking me around for four or five days now, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Old Li, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned.

"Don't worry, we just barely escaped death and finally made it to the county town. Shouldn't we take a good rest for a couple of days? Come on, let your master treat you to a nice meal."

Having said that, without giving Zhou You any further feedback, the old man Li directly pulled him towards the county.

After leaving the filthy, sewage-filled market, the air felt much fresher. Old Li searched around for a while and found a nicely decorated restaurant that was empty. He then tried to lead Zhou You inside. However, he had barely taken a step when Zhou You grabbed him.

"Master, where are you planning to go?"

"Look at what you're saying, what time is it? Of course we should go eat."

"But Master, the problem is we don't have any money at all."

In fact, this was still the best-case scenario. The two of them were refugees fleeing disaster. The bandits were utterly destitute. They searched the entire camp but couldn't find many copper coins. For the past few days, they had been eating cornbread mixed with wild vegetables and cold water—and in the last few days, they hadn't even had cornbread to eat.

However, Old Man Li only had one sentence.

"Don't panic, watch me."

After saying that, the guy pulled up his pants, wiped his messy face, and then walked into the store with his head held high and chest puffed out, looking quite the part.

"Sir, may I ask what's wrong?"

The waiter inside was about to greet them warmly when he suddenly saw this thing, and his face immediately darkened.

"Go away, you beggar, go over there! We don't have money to give to beggars!"

Old Man Li didn't pay any attention. He just saw the guy lift up his robe, pick up the pocket at his waist, and shake it.

There was a clattering sound, indicating that there were quite a few large coins inside.

"Do you see what this is?"

"I saw it."

"We, master and apprentice, have ended up like this because of some misfortune. Don't look down on us with your dog eyes. Hurry up and clear out a table!"

Seeing the waiter bowing and scraping as he wiped the table, Zhou You's eyebrows twitched.

Doesn't he know his own master well? There are only a few copper coins in that pocket, and most of them are pebbles picked up from the ground. They look impressive when shaken, but they'll be exposed as soon as the pocket is opened.

After the waiter finished tidying up, Old Man Li sat down on the bench, crossed his legs, and called out.

"Waiter, please make a pot of tea for my son and me!"

A moment later, when the tea was served, the waiter bowed and spoke again.

"Gentlemen, would you like to order some dishes?"

Old Li slammed the money bag on the table and then said.

"No rush, let me ask you, do you have any appetizers at home?"

"The chef does have a few signature pastries."

Old Li simply curled his lip.

"My stomach is bloated, so I can't eat anything too hard."

"Then I'll bring you some soups."

"If you have a weak spleen, you can't drink soup."

Faced with this kind of customer, the waiter had no choice but to sigh.

"Sir, what would you like to eat?"

"Well, it's like those pickled vegetables. If you have any, bring me a few plates."

"But that's usually served with porridge."

Old Man Li said, puffing out his beard and glaring.

"Stop talking so much nonsense! Can't we eat the freebies? Just bring them out already!"

Seeing the waiter reluctantly go to get the pickled vegetables, Old Man Li smiled at Zhou You again.

"Kid, you see? If Master said he could treat you to a meal, he definitely could. What's wrong with you?"

Zhou You covered his face and said in a muffled voice.

"Don't talk to me. I don't want to be mistaken for someone you know."

Now he understood that this guy's so-called treat was just an attempt to get something for free!
However, the poor waiter remained completely oblivious. After serving each of them a plate of pickled dumplings, he stood by, waiting expectantly for the two guests to order.

However, Old Man Li seemed completely oblivious. He first pretended to pick up a piece of food with his chopsticks, tasted it, then took a sip of tea, and then addressed the waiter.

"I said, I want to ask you about something."

"Please speak, sir."

"Have you suffered some great calamity, or attracted some evil spirit, that requires offerings?"

Upon hearing this, the waiter was taken aback.

"Sir, where did you hear that?"

Old Li's chopsticks didn't stop, and the plate of pickled vegetables was disappearing at a visible speed, yet he could still speak very clearly.

"Don't worry about where I heard it from, just tell me if it's true or not."

The waiter sighed again, but this time it was exceptionally sincere.

"That's true. The Liu family in town was named a few days ago, and now they don't know what to do."

"And where does Master Liu live?"

"Zhendong is not far from here."

After saying just a few words, Old Man Li finished his plate, wiped his mouth, and pulled Zhou You to leave.

Only then did the waiter realize something was wrong.

"No, gentlemen, you need to pay the bill!"

To everyone's surprise, Old Man Li spoke with an air of righteous indignation.

What bill?

"The bill for the vegetables."

Old Man Li made a solemn vow.

"Then let me ask you, does tea cost money?"

".don't want."

Do you charge for the pickled vegetables?

"No, not either."

So Old Man Li shrugged.

"Since you don't want anything, why should I pay?"

Xiao Er was stunned for a moment. He felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. By the time he realized that he had been taken advantage of, the two men had already disappeared.

In the end, he could only stomp his foot and curse, resigning himself to his bad luck.

"Damn freeloaders—what kind of people are these?!"

(End of this chapter)