Chapter 104: Drinking (2.3)

Chapter 104: Drinking

Luo Hongli was truly shameless. His scolding left every soldier under his command looking ashamed. Indeed, if there was blame to be assigned, it was because their skills were inferior!

Luo Hongli was at a loss. Long Fei’s background was formidable—someone he dared not provoke. Even if he wanted to act, he couldn’t defeat him. Was he really going to organize a whole regiment equipped with heavy weapons to fight against Tieniu and Gouzi? Although Luo Hongli hadn’t seen Tieniu’s skills firsthand, he knew his own soldiers well enough. To be tormented so thoroughly by Tieniu spoke volumes about Tieniu’s prowess. From this alone, Long Fei’s strength was indeed extraordinary. Luo Hongli couldn’t fathom where Long Fei had found such twisted comrades. Everyone knew how sturdy the iron gate was, yet Tieniu dismantled it by hand as if it were a toy.

“Twisted, absolutely twisted!” Luo Hongli slammed the office door shut and cursed again after downing a bottle of wine.

Long Fei drove himself, with Gouzi holding a laptop next to him, while Tieniu occupied the entire back seat. The car’s superior performance truly shone on the mountain roads, with excellent shock absorption; the three barely felt any bumps along the way.

On the road, Long Fei called Liu Ruoyi, explaining that he might miss the upcoming military training because he had an important matter to attend to. Liu Ruoyi was obedient and didn’t press him for details. Long Fei liked women like that—knowing when to ask and when to remain silent.

The three rarely gathered together again. Long Fei didn’t actually take them out for beef noodles but instead brought Tieniu and Gouzi to the place he rented. Parking downstairs, he glanced at the building where he lived—the lights were on, and his heart warmed. This was the feeling of home, a cozy, comforting feeling.

He opened the door directly. Yang Danni, seeing Tieniu and Gouzi behind Long Fei, was momentarily surprised but quickly resumed her elegant smile. She invited them inside and busied herself making tea. Then she said, “Long Fei, why didn’t you tell me you’d have guests? I had no time to prepare!”

Thinking about how close she had come to wearing transparent sleepwear, Yang Danni was glad she hadn’t been impulsive. Of course, that sleepwear was a special gift from Long Fei, and she had wanted to wear it just for him—and him alone.

“Sis-in-law, hello!” Gouzi’s words were sweet. “You look so beautiful!”

“Sis-in-law, hello!” Tieniu smiled shyly but then turned to scold Gouzi, “Gouzi, no matter how pretty, she’s still sis-in-law!”

“That’s right, that’s right!” Gouzi rolled his eyes. Why was this big, slow ox so sensitive? He was just paying a sincere compliment, just flattering sis-in-law. What was he so worked up about?

Yang Danni didn’t blush like a little girl but nodded warmly. She didn’t correct their improper address either, taking it as a rightful title with a smile. “Have you eaten yet?”

“Oh, do we have any dishes? I’ll cook a few myself and then drink properly with these two brothers. Tonight, anyone who doesn’t get drunk absolutely isn’t allowed to sleep!” Long Fei laughed heartily, introducing, “This is Tieniu, this is Gouzi. They’re my brothers, the best brothers I have!”

The term “brother” couldn’t be explained in a few words. At this moment, Long Fei’s use of the word implied more than just camaraderie; it carried the weight of life and death ties. Even if Long Fei distrusted the entire world and even himself, he trusted Tieniu and Gouzi absolutely. If they needed anything, Long Fei would get it for them without hesitation, no matter the cost.

After Yang Danni’s affirmative response, Long Fei turned to Tieniu and Gouzi. “I’ll cook now. Half an hour. No matter what you do, buy me some wine—and only loose-bottled roasted wine, the kind we used to drink. Got it?!”

Though it was already 11 p.m., the mention of roasted wine excited Tieniu and Gouzi, who eagerly agreed. Tieniu smiled simply, while Gouzi said, “Don’t worry, Fei. I’ll dig under the ground if I have to. Anything available in Tianhai, I’ll get it for you!”

Long Fei cooked with more care than usual, and Yang Danni helped nearby, joking, “Long Fei, your relationship with these two brothers must be special, huh?”

“We starved together,” Long Fei said quietly, pausing with his knife as memories of years past surfaced. A group of homeless children, stealing chickens and doing all sorts of mischief to get food. Whatever they caught, after feeding the phoenix, was divided equally among the three. Often, Long Fei and Gouzi would give half of their share to Tieniu, who had an enormous appetite since childhood.

“You have a deep bond. It’s clear to see,” Yang Danni sighed. “Nowadays, brothers like you are getting rarer.”

“There’s no betrayal between us,” Long Fei said simply.

“They’re quite interesting-looking,” Yang Danni added.

Long Fei smiled faintly. Interesting? If words like that reached insiders’ ears, they would break out in a cold sweat. In the assassin world, the most famous duo—also known as mercenaries—numbered nearly twenty worldwide. The “Black and White Double Kill” team of Tieniu and Gouzi definitely ranked in the top five. Tieniu’s destructive power and Gouzi’s tracking skills were first-class, making them among the toughest opponents in the assassin community.

After half an hour, Long Fei prepared only four simple dishes, but Yang Danni knew these were his most carefully crafted dishes.

Sure enough, Tieniu and Gouzi lived up to expectations. When they opened the door, Gouzi came in empty-handed while Tieniu carried a large bucket—holding at least a hundred pounds of wine. Gouzi smiled, “Fei, today was amazing. After checking ten or so hotels, I finally found this wine. I could tell by the smell it’s similar to what we used to drink!”

Knowing it must have been hard to get, maybe even requiring special methods, Long Fei said no more. He invited them to sit. The three had similar drinking capacities due to their shared childhood training—true masters of alcohol. But tonight, among brothers, they didn’t use internal strength to counter the effects, so this wine was enough to get all three drunk. Forget about being able to drink endlessly or drinking less with a soulmate—those were nonsense. If you didn’t get drunk, you were just a drunken shrimp!

Though they hadn’t seen each other for years, they didn’t talk much while drinking—just occasionally reminiscing about childhood before focusing on drinking, drinking, and drinking. They drank nearly half the bucket before reaching a mild drunkenness.

Tieniu still smiled simply, while Gouzi talked more, suddenly serious: “Fei, where’s Sister Phoenix?”

“She?!” Long Fei had never forgotten Phoenix, especially when drinking with his brothers, which inevitably brought up childhood memories. Phoenix was part of those stories—part of the four of them.

Long Fei’s heart ached again, and after a moment, he said, “Come on, drink!”

Tieniu glared at Gouzi and quickly raised his bowl, “Drink, drink!”

After Long Fei sent Yang Danni to the bedroom, she couldn’t sleep. Every time she heard the clinking of the men’s cups, she felt a surge of tears. The three men didn’t say much, but the genuine brotherhood was so strong that she could feel it clearly through the door.

Eventually, all three men were drunk. Drunk, they sang—their favorite childhood rogue tunes.

As they sang, they switched songs. This time, Yang Danni recognized it: “Brothers.”

Finally, Yang Danni cried, tears flowing like rain, blending with the song outside.