Money is something no man can do without. The same goes for women.

  Money can cause trouble, but women cause even more trouble.

  Besides that, money has another thing in common with women—if it comes easily, it will leave just as quickly.

  Guo Dalu had always considered himself a man of principles. Whatever he did, he had his own set of rules.

  When eating duck, his rule was, “As long as there’s meat, I won’t gnaw on the bones. As long as there′s skin, I won′t eat the meat.”

  Now, the duck's skin had been completely stripped away. A skinned duck looked just like a fifty-year-old woman without clothes—suddenly bloated and ridiculous.

  Yet a duck was like a twenty-year-old woman—the cleaner the skinning, the better it looked.

  Few people would associate a duck with a woman, but Guo Dalu could.

  With wine in his belly and money in his pocket, he could think of women from just about anything.

  Now, the wine was finished, and the jewels had been divided into four shares.

  Guo Dalu blinked and suddenly asked, “So… your pn?”

  Pn? No one had a pn.

  Yan Qi stared at him. “Don’t tell me you have a pn?”

  Guo Dalu kept his eyes fixed on the skinned duck and said, “We’ve all been idle for too long. Today, we should move around a little, or our bones might start to rust.”

  Yan Qi said, “Unlike you, our bones don’t itch just because we’ve got a little money.”

  Guo Dalu sighed, then grinned. “Call me cheap if you want, but I still feel like stretching my legs.”

  Yan Qi asked, “Are you thinking of moving around alone?”

  Guo Dalu said, “Yes.”

  Yan Qi sneered. “I knew it—some people only need friends when they’re broke. The moment they have money, they start pying tricks.”

  Guo Dalu gred at him. “Haven’t you ever gone off on your own?”

  Yan Qi turned his head away. “If you want to leave, then go. No one’s stopping you.”

  Guo Dalu stood up, then sat back down with a grin. “I just want to go off on my own for a day or so. Let′s meet again tomorrow night.”

  No one responded.

  Rubbing his hands, Guo Dalu continued, “Now that Mai Laoguang has been caught, there isn’t even a decent restaurant left around here. But I know a pce in town—Kuiyuan restaurant. Their food and wine are pretty good. Luckily, the county town isn't far. How about we meet there tomorrow? My treat.”

  Still, no one responded.

  Guo Dalu grew anxious and said, “Are you telling me I can’t even have a single day to myself?”

  Wang Dong rolled his eyes and said, “Who said you couldn’t?”

  Guo Dalu asked, “Then are you coming tomorrow or not?”

  Wang Dong replied, “Can’t you just buy the food from Kuiyuan restaurant and bring it back to treat me?”

  Guo Dalu sighed, “Please, can you not be so zy? You should go out and buy yourself some new clothes too. If you keep wearing that outfit any longer, even your body is going to start growing mold.”

  Suddenly, Wang Dong stood up and slowly walked toward the door.

  Guo Dalu asked, “Where are you going?”

  Wang Dong replied, “To Lao Mai’s bed.”

  Guo Dalu frowned. “What for?”

  Wang Dong sighed. “What else would I do in bed? Sleep, of course. Or do you do something else when you go to bed?”

  Guo Dalu burst into ughter—he really was pnning to do something else in bed.

  He stood up and grinned. “Well, you go ahead and sleep here. Since we're heading to town tomorrow, at least you won't have to run back and forth. Walking less is always a good thing.”

  Then, he gnced at Yan Qi and asked, “Are you going with Wang Laoda tomorrow?”

  Lin Taiping nodded, but Yan Qi simply said, “I′m going with you today.”

  Guo Dalu hesitated. “But… I…”

  Yan Qi gred at him. “What? Now that you have money, are you really going to ditch your friends?”

  Guo Dalu sighed as he walked, shaking his head the whole way.

  Yan Qi gnced at him from the corner of his eye. “What’s wrong with you? Feeling unwell?”

  Guo Dalu pulled a miserable face. “I think I ate something bad. My stomach feels a bit off.”

  Yan Qi said coldly, “I don’t think it’s your stomach that’s bothering you.”

  Then, he suddenly smirked. “Actually, I′ve known all along what′s really making you uncomfortable.”

  Guo Dalu asked, “You know?”

  Yan Qi's eyes gleamed. “Anyone with experience knows the saying: ‘Alone for pleasure, together for gambling.’ How could I not know?”

  Guo Dalu froze for a long moment before letting out a helpless chuckle. “So you think I wanted to ditch you guys just to sneak off and find a woman?”

  Yan Qi asked, “Wasn’t that exactly your pn?”

  Guo Dalu fell silent.

  Yan Qi grinned. “Honestly, I followed you because I wanted you to take me along. I know you must have plenty of experience in this area, right?”

  Guo Dalu let out a long tsk and suddenly started coughing.

  Yan Qi said, “A charming and carefree pyboy like you must surely know where to find the best women.”

  He gnced at Guo Dalu from the corner of his eye and continued, “Since we’re friends, you can’t just keep all the good spots to yourself. You have to point me in the right direction.”

  Guo Dalu's face seemed to flush a little. “Of course, of course…”

  Yan Qi asked, “So where do we go now?”