"I thought the streets would be quieter now with the end of the Awakening Ceremony, but it seems they're not," Hei Tu thought as he walked through the bustling streets of the clan.
He could see various restaurants around him, filled with lively groups of young people chatting animatedly, families enjoying happy dinners, and couples on romantic dates. There were also numerous shops, selling clothing and furniture among other things, with customers constantly going in and out. This led him to deduce that the clan's economy was relatively developed and quite prosperous.
What intrigued him most, however, were the things he had never seen in his own world. Due to the rush to get to the Awakening Ceremony, he hadn't looked these closely before. There were shops with signs saying things like "Refining Materials," "Gu Feeding," "Gu for Sale," and "Refiner's Workshop," among others.
And if that wasn't enough the, small, puppet-like wooden dolls moving autonomously, which had been a rare sight in the morning, were now everywhere on the street. They carried items that seemed too heavy for their size, going back and forth, or followed people like pets.
If he had to describe them in one word, it would be "cute."
"Well, here i am again…" He brushed off these thoughts as he found himself on the same street where he had met Zi Heng and Fei Sha earlier that day.
The reason he stopped here again was because this was where he had arranged to meet Zi Heng before heading together to Long Dong's bar.
Since he had no idea where Long Dong's bar was, but the original Hei Tu did, so he couldn't ask Zi Heng for directions. He also wasn't willing to waste time asking random people around the clan, hoping someone would know.
Besides, if he did that, he risked asking someone who was an acquaintance of the original Hei Tu, since he still didn't have full recollection of all the people he knew in the clan. He didn't want to risk his memories failing him at the wrong time, as the consequences could be significant.
"Ah, at least you're not late this time!" Zi Heng's voice sounded from his left.
Hearing this, he turned to see the slender young man and spoke with a slightly irritated voice, "I told you I was only late because I overslept earlier."
"Well, well, whatever you say…" Zi Heng replied, shaking his head lightly with a mock-disappointed look. "And anyway, why are we meeting here instead of going straight to Long Dong's bar? Are we waiting for someone else?"
For his friend's curiosity, he simply nodded and gave the answer he had prepared earlier.
"I just wanted to avoid arriving at Long Dong's bar and finding you already passed out drunk. Then I'd have to drag you back home," he said with a teasing tone.
"That only happened a few times…" Zi Heng replied, sighing helplessly.
Hei Tu nodded in playful agreement, satisfied that his friend bought the story.
And how did he know that Zi Heng had to be helped home after drinking too much in the past? Simple—he guessed!
In fact, it was an easy guess after seeing Zi Heng's hangover on the day of the Awakening Ceremony, and his immediate eagerness to drink again to celebrate. With his own experience, he found it hard to believe the original Hei Tu, as a close friend, hadn't had to help a drunken Zi Heng home before.
And even if, by some great improbability, the original Hei Tu had never done so, he could still play it off as a joke about his friend being a notorious drunkard.
Not waiting much longer, they set off together towards Long Dong's bar, talking animatedly as they walked. Zi Heng, apparently a talkative sort, went through various topics, mostly about the kind of wine he wanted to drink and his thoughts on the clan's academy. Meanwhile, Hei Tu pretended to know where the bar was, merely following Zi Heng's lead.
During this conversation, what piqued his interest most were a few brief comments from Zi Heng about the Gu worm he planned to choose, likely the Bamboo Shoot Gu, which Hei Tu hadn't seen mentioned in Ren Zu's legends.
According to Zi Heng, it was the clan's main Gu, so he simply nodded and said he would probably choose the same since he didn't know the names of any other Gu besides those in Ren Zu's Legends, and wasn't sure if those even existed in real life.
Before long, they arrived at a medium-sized street, less crowded, likely because it was more in the clan's suburbs than the central area. Here, he finally saw a bar.
The bar wasn't very large, but it looked quite organized. Built from brown bamboo with yellow details, it had tables and chairs outside that looked as if they had been carved directly from high-quality wood trunks. A few people sat there, either drinking alone or chatting in groups of three at most. An old man who was chatting away waved to them.
"Ah, you bastards! I heard you both succeeded in your Aperture awakenings!" The old man, wearing a scruffy black outfit, with a long, unkempt beard that didn't match his completely bald head, spoke with a grin. "It's a shame; I'd make much more money if you came here to drown your sorrows after failing, hahaha!"
"What are you talking about, Dong you old fool? This is why you lose so many customers!" Zi Heng immediately retorted with a grin. "Besides, what kind of logic is that? Wouldn't it make more sense for us to spend money celebrating rather than drowning our sorrows?!"
The two approached the bar, stepping into the open-air seating area, which allowed Hei Tu to get a closer look at who he assumed was Long Dong. To his surprise, the old man didn't reek of alcohol as he expected, but he did notice something he hadn't from a distance: the old man's face looked slightly swollen in several spots, as if he were recovering from various injuries.
"You young people really don't understand business…" Long Dong said in a know-it-all tone. "You know that serious-faced, irritable friend of yours?"
"Fei Sha?" Zi Heng asked, a little uncertain.
"That's the one! Well, he never used to come to my bar, and he wouldn't come here to celebrate, either. But when he fails, he comes here and spends five primeval stones on drinks! And he's not the only one! Today has been a big day for business!"
Long Dong finished his words with a simple grin, which made Hei Tu, who had been listening silently, sigh inwardly. He realized he already knew all he needed to about the old man's personality.
"This kind of talk is why you end up in arguments," Zi Heng said, frowning with a slightly worried look. "Where did he go?"
"I don't know. I asked him, but he just looked at me and said, 'Are you here to sell wine or interrogate me?' Honestly, I should've slapped him a few times to teach him to respect his elders!" Long Dong said, exaggerating in his usual manner, making Hei Tu wonder if that was just his way of talking or if he was trying to make the situation seem bigger than it was.
Hearing this, Zi Heng began bombarding Long Dong with more questions about Fei Sha, which the old man eagerly answered in his exaggerated tone. But Hei Tu's attention shifted to a young girl with a cute yet ordinary appearance, wearing a modest dress compared to the outfits worn by the girls at the Awakening Ceremony, as she approached their table with a medium-sized wine bottle.
"Hey, Yu'er," Zi Heng greeted the girl with a happy smile.
"Is this honey wine?" he asked Long Dong, who nodded in affirmation. "Then I'll go inside and grab a bottle of white lotus wine. Today's a special day, so I want to celebrate in style!"
With that, Zi Heng quickly rose from the table and went inside to get the wine, acting as if he owned the place—a behavior Hei Tu guessed he had likely developed over years of being a regular customer.
Seeing this, Hei Tu found himself alone at the table with the old man, but he didn't remain silent for long, asking a question that had been on his mind since he arrived in this world.
"Old man Dong, where did you get that black rock you used to pay me?" he asked, trying to sound only mildly interested as if it were nothing important.
Hearing this, Long Dong frowned and looked at him, full of suspicious emphasis. "Why do you want to know? Did you find a Gu inside it?"
"Hahaha, of course not! If I'd found a Gu, I'd already be rubbing it in your old face!" He replied, trying to imitate the casual and offensive tone Long Dong had taken with Zi Heng, which didn't seem to bother him.
"I haven't done anything with it yet, but my little sister saw the stone and thought it was really pretty. Since she's been sick, I thought of giving one like it to her as a 'get well' present," he said as sincerely as he could while lying through his teeth.
"Hei Yan is still sick? Ah, demonic Gu masters really are despicable…" Long Dong sighed in an exaggerated manner that would seem sarcastic if he hadn't been acting this way the whole time.
But for Hei Tu, his focus was elsewhere, paying attention to something other than the old man's exaggerated behavior. 'Demonic Gu master? What does he mean by that? What does it have to do with my sister being sick?'
"Well, the place where I found it is a secret! But I guarantee there are plenty more rocks like it… Of course, I've never seen one as rectangular as that, but I could find one for the small price of two primeval stones!" Long Dong said, raising two of his bony fingers in the air.
Hei Tu simply stared at the old man for a few moments, narrowing his eyes. Even though he had no clear understanding of this world's monetary system or what was considered a high or low price, he had a strong feeling just by looking at the old man's face that he was trying to scam him, taking advantage of his supposed affection for his sister to overcharge him.
"Hey, hey! Don't give me that look like you want to punch me in the face, kid!" Long Dong said, shouting and raising his hands as if surrendering. "This old face of mine can't take more than two beatings a week!"
Noticing that this was likely the reason for Long Dong's swollen face, probably from a fight, Hei Tu asked him what had happened, hoping to use the old man's words to deduce this world's attitude towards fights.
"Well, one of those youths who thinks he's all that because he's a Gu master came here saying one of my fine wines was watered down and undrinkable…" he said with his usual exaggerated tone as if his words were meant to be heard by everyone. "After a few words, I rightly told him he'd be better off drinking animal piss than high-quality wine. At least that would be more his level!"
"So, we decided to settle it with a fair fight in a secluded place… but the bastard showed up with five of his friends!" he exclaimed, as if it were entirely unexpected, drawing the attention of everyone around, who were intrigued by the story he was yelling for all to hear.
"And I'm no coward, so I charged in and fought and fought and fought… In the end, I got beaten up like an old mangy dog… but I was way more of a man than all of them!" he said, leaving Hei Tu speechless, as well as everyone else, who nodded in confused agreement.
Wasn't he supposed to continue the story by saying he beat them all up? Wasn't he supposed to brag about his martial prowess, even if it was an obvious lie? None of the drunkards here would have judged if the story had been good, but such honesty left him speechless as the old man spoke without a trace of shame.
"Hey, do you want to split the bill?" Before he could respond to Long Dong's words, Hei Tu heard Zi Heng, who was carrying a bottle of white wine in his hands.
Realizing this, he remembered he forgot to bring any primeval stones, the currency of this world. "Ahh… hey, Old Dong, put half this wine's price on my tab."
Long Dong had already left his table in an instant and was recounting the same story he had told him to a group of young guys who had just arrived, apparently drawn by the commotion. They seemed outraged at the cowardice of those who had attacked Long Dong in the story, even starting to rally people to seek revenge for Long Dong.
Long Dong, for his part, nodded in agreement at Hei Tu's words before returning to his lively conversation with the youths, who had already started drinking heavily after Yu'er brought various wines for everyone.
"This one costs a primeval stone, so it's pretty pricey, but I swear it's top-quality wine and worth it!" Zi Heng said, filling two glasses for them.
Hei Tu just nodded, but cursed inwardly, now sure that Long Dong had been trying to rip him off by asking for two primeval stones for a old black rectangular rock that anyone could find when a quality wine cost half that price!