Book 13: Chapter 55
Yan Jiangnan rubbed his eyes and exhaled, seemingly just regaining awareness of where he was. As soon as he realised what was going on, he expressed, “I had no idea. We really do lose track of time when we’re having fun… Brother Wu… Brother Wu, it’s time for us to get moving.”
“What are you calling him for? Hahaha, wasn’t he the one who insisted on competing?”
“Hahaha, let him sleep. Tell Zero I let him sleep; tell him… I told him to wait. We’ll fight Lu Bu after our three hundred drinks!”
“Lu Bu?” The lackeys were visible puzzled.
Ouyang Xiucai draped his arm over Yan Jiangnan’s shoulder. “You know who this is? This is my third brother, Yide!” He then pointed to Wu Ping and said, “You know who that is? My big brother, Xuande.” Next, he pointed to himself and asked, “You know who I am?”
“Uh… Guan Erye?”
“Wrong!” Ouyang Xiucai hit the table. “Hahaha, I’m your father! Hahaha!” Then, he sprawled back onto the table to resume sleeping.
The lackeys: What the actual hell?
“Spoken like a drunkard.”
Yan Jiangnan remorsefully conveyed, “As you can see, the two of them are out of it. Brother Wu drank the most, so he is most likely completely incapacitated. How about you report back for now and let Mr. Zero know that the three of us will definitely be there later.”
“W-well… Could at least two of you come with us? Otherwise, it will be difficult for us.”
Smiling, Yan Jiangnan replied, “We three will most probably be penalised for drinking and slacking during this trying time. I can’t dishonourably betray my brothers to save myself, can I? Together we ride. Together we die.”
Although it sounded reasonable, the leader smelt foul play. Ouyang Xiucai and Lang Qing were the two most valued combatants among the mercenaries. Not only was Jiang Chen respectful to them, but even Zero didn’t boss them around. Ouyang Xiucai was easily two notches above Yan Jiangnan, so how was Yan Jiangnan functioning properly, while Ouyang Xiucai was having trouble staying awake? One conceivable explanation was that someone had tampered with the drinks. Since the leader couldn’t voice his suspicion brazenly, he sneaked close to Ouyang Xiucai to gently pat him on the back and query, “Excuse me, Hero Ouyang, are you all right?”
“Who’s that?”
“If that is not you, who are you?”
“Your father! Hahaha!”
Needless to say, the lackey was quite mad.
“Young Master Ouyang isn’t the best at holding his liquor,” jibed Yan Jiangnan. “He’ll come to soon enough given his internal energy. You don’t need to worry.”
“Understood…”
“As for Brother Wu, I’ll wake him for you. I’ll bring them along once they’ve woken up. Hey, Brother Wu, wake up. It’s time to get moving.”
“No, no, there is still some time.”
Judging from the nonsense Ouyang Xuicai just spouted, even if he did meet up with the rest, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t offend Zero with some other nonsense and instigate a fight. Wu Ping couldn’t even respond, not to mention he dared to stab Elder Lianhua. If he were to open his mouth, there was a chance he’d spout even more ridiculous things. Accordingly, the leader made up his mind and commanded, “You guys prepare a soup to help them relieve themselves. Take care of them, but make sure they wake up in time,” then departed.
The leader had served enough temperamental and odd people from Fiends’ Genesis to know how to deal with such situations. Since the three couldn’t attend yet, he deemed his priority to be to report back to Zero.
Zero didn’t look surprised when he saw his lackey return alone. Instead, he just indifferently asked, “They’re not coming?”
“The three of them were drinking last night and are having trouble…”
“Having trouble? Did they really drink?” From what Zero knew, the three weren’t alcoholics. Yan Jiangnan and Wu Ping weren’t in any condition to be partying given their injuries. Ouyang Xiucai’s training would make it nigh impossible for him to be inebriated.
“They started drinking from last night. This one personally saw people constantly delivering wine to their room and carrying wine jugs out. They most likely did overdo it.”
“Did you hear what they talked about?”
The lackey immediately realised Zero didn’t trust the trio, especially Wu Ping and Yan Jiangnan. After all, those two were the ones who claimed there was an intruder, so they had a reason to refuse joining the dungeon inspection.
“This one overheard them mention Tang Clan. Hero Wu also incessantly complained about being wrongly accused.”
Abreast of the trio’s recent encounters and Elder Lianhua’s connection to Ouyang Xiucai’s revenge, Zero couldn’t imagine them partying. If anything, it sounded as though they were drowning their sorrows in alcohol. Still, Zero coldly questioned, “How much longer until the time I stated?”
“There are still fifteen minutes.”
“Go tell them that they don’t need to show up if they don’t show up in less than fifteen minutes. I’ll personally skin them and throw them out.”
Although Ouyang Xiucai had recovered somewhat after a bowl of soup to alleviate the symptoms of excessive alcohol consumption, he wasn’t exactly functioning at full capacity yet.
Concerned, Yan Jiangnan complained, “Mr. Zero is being too cold, no? What are we going to do in the dungeon besides inspecting it? Demanding we be present is just showing that he doesn’t trust us.”
The team leader responded, “Young Master Yan, why must you make things hard for us?”
“How am I making things hard for you? Mr. Zero just doesn’t trust us. We’ll be on our way now. I’ll lug them over if I have to.
Fifteen minutes later, the elites were gathered at the dungeon’s entrance. By the time Zero opened the door, the water had receded enough for them to enter.
Zero swept her gaze over the gathered elites and commented, “Those three really have no respect for me, huh?”
Ning Zhuoru pointed out, “Kuanggu Sheng and Tiangou are absent, too.”
Zero glared at Ning Zhuoru out of the corner of her eyes.
“Shut up.” Gu Xianxian pulled his wife over and, stifling his voice, chided, “Those two are members of Fiends’ Genesis. They wouldn’t attack themselves, so they don’t need to be here.”
A light lit up in Ning Zhuoru’s head. “Oh, so those three are under suspicion…”
What sound grounds did Wu Ping and Yan Jiangnan have for their absence besides avoiding the ramifications of their betrayal? Traitors were a problem, but nothing for Zero to fear. Her true concern was that them telling fibs meant something bad had occurred in the prison.
“Pass on my order: the three of them ar-”
“Wait!” In the direction of the hall’s exterior, Ouyang Xiucai and Yan Jiangnan were visible. Yan Jiangnan voiced, “We were only running late a bit. Mr. Zero, you need not be so impatient.”
Ouyang Xiucai, having broken out of his drunken stupor somewhat, politely smiled. “We just had a bit too much to drink.”
Zero felt relived only transiently because there were only two people. “… Three of you drank together, so where’s the third person? Where is Wu Ping?”
Glossary
Yide, Xuande and Guan Erye – Assuming you don’t already know, they are Zhang Fei, Liu Bei and Guan Yu, respectively.