Chapter Twelve: Heavy Snow

Page (1/3)

The room was dim, with Gong Baonan snoring like thunder. Jiang Xiaodao crouched at the edge of the kang bed, his eyes fixed intently on the window outside, occasionally wiping his nose. Snow was falling—an intense blizzard driven by the north wind.

Before long, the courtyard was covered in a vast expanse of white. Looking farther out, the world was draped in pure white, a dense curtain of snow hanging like thick fog over the distant mountain peaks.

Jiang Xiaodao remained silent, lost in thought.

After a moment, the door creaked open.

Guan Wei entered carefully, carrying a medicine box with an oil lamp held aloft. He climbed onto the kang and sat beside Jiang Xiaodao.

“Little brother… no, now I should call you big nephew. How’s your hand? Still hurting?”

Jiang Xiaodao didn’t respond.

His hand was still intact. When Jiang Chenghai struck him, he used the back of a knife.

Even so, when the cleaver came down, the metacarpal bones of his left hand fractured cleanly, and the back of his hand was split and bleeding heavily.

Though Jiang Chenghai had reset the bones, the wound had yet to be properly treated.

Seeing Jiang Xiaodao silent, Guan Wei sighed softly.

“Ah, I don’t know if you’re lucky or unlucky. Lucky in that you’re on the wrong ship; unlucky in that for a kid your age, having a patron isn’t easy.”

Jiang Xiaodao still said nothing.

“Xiaodao, don’t blame your father for being ruthless. Swearing allegiance isn’t easy—you have to prove you’re dependable! He hit you with the back of the cleaver; the bones broke neatly. You’re young, so in a couple of months you’ll heal. Let me dress the wound; don’t move your hand.”

Jiang Xiaodao extended his hand. “I don’t hate him. He could have shot me dead, but he spared my life. That’s something.”

Guan Wei paused, then shook his head with a smile. “You’re an interesting kid. No wonder big brother likes you.”

Jiang Xiaodao turned his head away, eyes still fixed on the swirling snow outside.

“What are you looking at? Never seen snow before?”

Jiang Xiaodao raised a hand, pointing to the pigpen in the courtyard. “Do you kill pigs for New Year?”

Guan Wei glanced out the window, dressing the wound as he said, “No. Those two pigs are for business. For New Year, we buy meat to eat.”

“Is there sauerkraut?” Jiang Xiaodao asked. “Will I get to taste some then?”

“That depends on how your father’s business goes.”

“What exactly is he planning?”

“Don’t ask too much. The less you know, the smoother things will go.”

After finishing the bandage, Guan Wei patted Jiang Xiaodao’s head. “Alright, go to sleep.”

He then lifted his leg and kicked Gong Baonan.

“Damn it! You idiot, point over there!”

Page (2/3)

Gong Baonan grunted and shifted a little.

Because the room was small, the three of them had to squeeze into one little space.

After blowing out the lamp, Jiang Xiaodao curled up in bed. Probably because of the pain in his palm, he couldn’t fall asleep, so he nudged Guan Wei with his elbow.

“Uncle Six?”

“What’s up?”

“When you wander the jianghu, do you all have secret codes?”

“Of course. You have to know the lingo to travel far and wide. Without it, you’re stuck.”

“Can you teach me a couple of phrases?”

Guan Wei turned sideways, smiling in the dark. “That’s not something you learn in a few days.”

“Just a couple.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Hmm…” Jiang Xiaodao thought for a moment. “What does ‘shoulder to shoulder’ mean?”

Guan Wei was surprised. “You know that one? ‘Shoulder to shoulder’ means friends, brothers, working together. More or less, that’s the idea.”

“And ‘Buddha Lord’?”

“A thief.”

“What about ‘branch holder’?”

“Guard at the gate.”

Guan Wei felt something was off. “You want me to teach you but you’re testing me?”

Jiang Xiaodao chuckled, “That’s all I’ve heard.”

“Alright, go to sleep.”

“Uncle Six.”

“What now?”

“How do you say ‘to take a dump’?”

“Throw mountains.”

“I want to throw a mountain.”

Guan Wei muttered curses under his breath. “No need to ask me permission for that. Just go yourself. The outhouse is in the backyard.”

At that moment, Gong Baonan on the kang barked, “Shut up already! Who can sleep with all that yakking at midnight?”

…

The next morning.

Page (3/3)

After breakfast, Jiang Chenghai called Jiang Xiaodao over.

“Son, do you remember what I told you last night?”

Jiang Xiaodao nodded. “I remember. Without your orders, I won’t come back here. If anyone asks if I know you, I’ll say no.”

Jiang Chenghai glanced at his son’s hand but didn’t ask more. Instead, he called out to Gong Baonan.

“Old Seven, today you’ll take him back to the city. Let him stay with Old Cui for a while to earn some food.”

Gong Baonan immediately clutched his stomach, grimacing. “Big brother, it snowed hard last night. I caught a cold and have had diarrhea since this morning. Let Guan Wei take him instead.”

Hearing this, Guan Wei cursed, “You’re full of it. You were sleeping on the kang last night like a pig. How come I didn’t know you had diarrhea?”

Jiang Chenghai scolded sharply, “Lazy donkey makes a mess! Old Seven, you’re the only one going!”

Gong Baonan shrugged helplessly and looked at Jiang Xiaodao. “Finished eating? Then hurry up, we have to leave!”

Jiang Xiaodao was confused. “Father, who is Old Cui? I don’t know him.”

Jiang Chenghai didn’t explain, only said, “Don’t worry about it. You’ll know when you meet him. The important thing is to eat well with him. And Old Cui is an old hand in the jianghu. You need to learn a lot from him these days.”

Half understanding, Jiang Xiaodao braced himself and set off with Gong Baonan.

After a night of heavy snow, even the city roads were hard to pass.

The uncle and nephew hunched their necks against the biting cold, making their way to the southern city.

Though Jiang Xiaodao and Gong Baonan had their grudges, they silently walked side by side in an awkward silence.

“Uncle Seven?”

“Hey!” Gong Baonan feigned surprise. “The sun’s rising in the west! You actually called me ‘father’?”

Jiang Xiaodao chuckled, “It was all a misunderstanding before. Aren’t we family now?”

“Who said we’re family? The jianghu is dangerous. Don’t go calling everyone kin, or one day someone will sell you out and you’ll be counting their money!”

Jiang Xiaodao had a deep understanding of the jianghu’s peril—the way Big Gap-Tooth had tricked him that night was still vivid in his mind.

“Thanks for the advice, Uncle Seven. I want to ask you something.”

Gong Baonan glanced at him and sneered, “You want to ask who Old Cui is, right?”

“Yes. I don’t know him. Father only said to learn from him, but I don’t even know what he does. What am I supposed to learn?”

“Ah, what he does is no ordinary business!”

Jiang Xiaodao’s eyes lit up immediately. “Is he a martial artist?”

Gong Baonan shook his head. “A beggar.”