Lin Taiping was, without a doubt, a man who could drink.

  Yet anyone seeing him for the first time would never believe it.

  Guo Dalu certainly didn′t when he first id eyes on him.

  Lin Taiping was delicate, frail, and strikingly beautiful. If people said Yan Qi looked a little like a girl, then Lin Taiping looked exactly like a girl in disguise.

  His mouth was small—so small that even calling it a “cherry-like mouth” wouldn′t be an exaggeration.

  When Guo Dalu first saw him, his lips were tightly shut, pale with a bluish tinge, and it would take great effort to pry his teeth open just to pour wine down his throat.

  He was half-frozen to death and so starved that he was barely clinging to life.

  Guo Dalu had never imagined there could be someone colder and hungrier than himself. He let out a bitter ugh. “Where did you pick this guy up?”

  Yan Qi replied, “On the road.”

  Guo Dalu sighed. “First, you brought back a cat from the road. Then you brought back a dog. And now you′ve actually picked up a person. At this rate, are you pnning to bring back a goril next time?”

  Wang Dong ughed. “Hopefully, it′s a female goril—then she′d make a perfect match for you.”

  Guo Dalu wasn′t offended at all. Grinning, he said, “That′d be fine. But if it′s a female monkey instead, that′d be trouble—wouldn′t I have to call her ‘Wang Dasao’?”

  (T/N: 大嫂; Dàsǎo, means Sister-in-w.)

  Guo Dalu was a tall man—at least a head taller than Wang Dong. It was something he took great pride in. If anyone ever teased him about it, he wouldn′t get angry; in fact, he′d be quite pleased.

  To him, this was what being a true man was all about.

  Meanwhile, Yan Qi had already found a chipped bowl, scooped up half a bowl of wine, and forcibly pried open Lin Taiping′s mouth to pour it in.

  By the time he had finished the second bowl, some color had gradually returned to his pale face, though his eyes were still closed. He slowly swallowed the remaining half of the wine in his mouth and said, "This is thirty-year-old Zhuye Qing."

  (T/N: 竹叶青; zhú yè qīng, lit. means Bamboo Leaf Green wine)

  That was Lin Taiping′s first sentence.

  Wang Dong ughed, and so did Guo Dalu. Just with that one sentence, they had already accepted Lin Taiping as a friend.

  Guo Dalu ughed and said, "I didn′t expect this friend to be quite the expert in drinking."

  Lin Taiping slowly opened his eyes. When he saw the broken bowl in Yan Qi′s hand, he immediately furrowed his brow and excimed, "You drink wine from this kind of bowl?"

  His tone was as if he had seen someone eating with their nose or using their feet to hold chopsticks.

  Guo Dalu replied, "What else would we use to drink if not this bowl?"

  Lin Taiping said, "When drinking Zhuye Qing, you should use a jade cup, not this kind of bowl. Drinking from this is a waste of good wine."

  Guo Dalu ughed, "I think you should make do with it. As long as you close your eyes, there′s no difference between a broken bowl and a jade cup."

  Lin Taiping thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense, but I′d still prefer to drink from a jar." The wine jar was right in front of him, and he actually picked it up and tilted his head back to drink straight from it.

  Guo Dalu just watched, his eyes going wide.

  He kept watching until half the jar was gone, and Lin Taiping finally wiped his mouth and said, "Good wine. What′s the dish to go with it?"

  Guo Dalu asked, "Dish?"

  Lin Taiping said, "Don′t you drink wine with food?"

  Guo Dalu ughed, "You don′t get it. Real drinkers don′t need food when they drink."

  Lin Taiping thought for a moment again and said, "That makes sense."

  He then tilted his head back once more and finished the remaining half of the jar of wine.

  A jar of wine that had been buried for over a decade had already condensed, leaving only half a jar. But its potency was stronger than that of two ordinary jars combined.

  Yet Lin Taiping remained unfazed and asked, “Do you have any more of this kind of wine?”

  Guo Dalu could only smile bitterly. “Sorry to disappoint you, but this jar of wine isn′t just today’s meal for the three of us—it′s our entire fortune.”

  Lin Taiping was momentarily stunned. “So you guys just drink all the time and never eat?”

  Guo Dalu replied, “Hardly ever.”

  Lin Taiping sighed. “You really are a bunch of drunks. Drinking on an empty stomach is terrible for your health. You should at least eat something now and then.”

  He stretched zily, gnced around, and asked, “You all sleep on this bed?”

  Wang Dong nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

  Lin Taiping frowned. “Does this thing even count as a bed?”

  Wang Dong said, “At least it′s better than sleeping on the street.”

  Lin Taiping thought for a moment, then chuckled. “Fair enough. You guys actually make a lot of sense. Seems like I could be friends with you after all.”

  Wang Dong grinned. “Many thanks, many thanks! We are honored.”

  Lin Taiping then said, “But right now, I need to sleep. I don′t like being disturbed when I′m sleeping, so you′d best go out for a walk.”

  With a yawn, he y down on the bed, turned over, and—just like that—fell asleep instantly.

  Guo Dalu looked at Wang Dong and gave a wry smile. “Looks like he not only drinks better than you but sleeps just as well too.”

  Yan Qi stared at the now-empty wine jar, dazed for a long time before murmuring, “Did I bring back a man... or a horse?”

  Guo Dalu sighed. “Even a horse couldn′t drink that much.”

  Yan Qi asked, “Why didn′t you stop him from drinking so much?”

  Guo Dalu said, "Even if I'm poor, at least I'm not a miser."

  Wang Dong suddenly said, "I find this person very interesting."

  Yan Qi asked, "Interesting?"

  Wang Dong said, "You saved your own life, drank up all of our food for the day, and occupied the only bed in this room. But not only did he not say a word of thanks, he even nitpicked and acted like it was a great favor for us to be his friends." He smiled and added, "A person like this, where can you find another one?"

  So Lin Taiping stayed.

  So, when people in the Jianghu mention "Fugui Mountain Vil," it doesn′t just mean a house near a cemetery, with chimneys that never smoke and sometimes even no lights.

  When you mention Fugui Mountain Vil, people in the Jianghu know you’re talking about a very peculiar group—a house with four people and the warmth, joy, and brotherhood they shared, along with the great and mysterious friendship among them.

  There was a strange understanding among these friends: they never asked about each other’s pasts, nor did they ever talk about their own pasts.

  But that night, the night Yan Qi brought Lin Taiping back, Guo Dalu broke this rule.