The night was deep when a hunchbacked figure, dripping wet, surfaced from the lake, looking exactly like the legendary "Underwear Bandit." But, brace yourselves for disappointment, folks; this was none other than our protagonist—Young Master Liu.

Having just survived near-death countless times, Young Master Liu suddenly grasped the preciousness of life. He clenched his fists and roared, "Damn it! Even someone like me can’t die. Heaven really has opened its eyes!"

Immediately, without stopping to rest, Young Master Liu scrambled away from the lakeside, not forgetting to stomp on some water weeds out of sheer spite. As he walked, suddenly, his stomach staged a full-scale rebellion.

"Crap, that back-and-forth brawl with that brat really drained me. Forget it, forget it. I need to find something to fill this pit first," Young Master Liu mumbled, patting his belly as he talked to himself.

After a quarter of an hour of earnest effort, Young Master Liu finally caught a rabbit—a stroke of sheer, lucky fortune. Why so? Because this rabbit had a limp...

"Heh heh! You little punk, where do you think you’re running now!" Young Master Liu dangled the rabbit by its leg, using an affected, effeminate accent from the capital, completely delighted with himself. But then again, Young Master Liu felt no shame whatsoever. If this rabbit hadn't been lame, would he have ever caught it? Bullying the road obstacle bunny!

He picked a suitable spot, started a fire, and with the small knife he carried, Young Master Liu gleefully skinned the poor, unlucky little bunny before roasting it to perfection.

When the rabbit was about seventy or eighty percent cooked, Young Master Liu thought he saw two faint figures moving in the distance, swaying back and forth, moving at a decent clip. Suspicion immediately pricked him: "Huh? Who would be out in this desolate wilderness? Could it be ghosts again?"

The thought sent the hairs on the back of Young Master Liu’s neck straight up. Cold sweat poured down in thick drops! The sensation was like being yanked from a warm, cozy bed and instantly tossed into icy seawater—a chill that pierced right down to the marrow...

Staring at the two figures approaching, Young Master Liu was frozen in place, dumbfounded, like a wooden statue. After a good while, he finally snapped back to reality and tried to console himself: "Always overthinking things. What are the odds? This isn't some novel! (Old Jiu chuckled.) Maybe they’re just mountain villagers!"

Mentioning mountain folk instantly energized Young Master Liu as if an electric current had shot through him. With a sudden whoosh, he sprang to his feet and strode quickly toward the two approaching figures, not even bothering to set down the roasting rabbit in his hand. Why the sudden change of heart? Young Master Liu had his own little plan: he was completely lost, and if they truly were villagers, that would be a blessing. If they were those other kinds of people, well, fortune or disaster—if it’s meant to be, you can’t hide! To hell with it! He was going all in!

Young Master Liu practically took two steps for every one of theirs, reaching the two men in no time. He plastered on a grin, looking like a scruffy stray dog, and asked them cheerfully, "Good evening, big brothers! Say, are you two familiar with this area?"

The two men being questioned froze, exchanging confused glances. One, who was quite fair-skinned, asked, "You... you can see us?"

"Huh? See you? Why wouldn't I be able to see you?" Young Master Liu was utterly bewildered by the question.

"Oh, nothing. I mean... it’s so dark out here, how did you spot us?" The fair man’s momentary surprise vanished as he tried to cover his tracks vaguely.

Young Master Liu, bless his thick skull and blunt nature, should have realized based on normal human logic that these two were suspicious. But instead of doubting them, Young Master Liu cheerfully explained, "Haha, I’ve got a fire going over there, roasting a wild rabbit! Say, do you two want some? It’s just about done!" As he spoke, Young Master Liu held up the roasted rabbit and took a deep, appreciative sniff.

"Roasted meat? What’s that? Is it edible?" Standing next to the fair man was a dark-skinned middle-aged man, forming a stark contrast. He pointed inquisitively at the cooked rabbit in Young Master Liu's hand.

"What? No way! You two are so poor you’ve never even had roasted meat? Are you monks or priests? Hey! This day is full of strange encounters," Young Master Liu gasped, his mouth opening wide like a donkey’s, almost big enough to fit an ox testicle inside.

The Black and White pair exchanged another look, tentatively asking, "Is roasted meat... tasty?"

"Nonsense! Of course it’s tasty! Come on, coming across me today is your good fortune and luck! You probably stepped in dog crap eight hundred times in your last life to deserve meeting this great Master of yours! Come over here, this meal is on me! Eat till you burst!" Young Master Liu chattered endlessly, holding the rabbit in one hand and dragging the Black and White pair toward the fire with the other, acting overly friendly.

Then, he sliced off two rabbit legs and presented one to each of the "vegetarians."

"Eat! It’s delicious!" Young Master Liu urged them with exaggerated facial expressions. He looked like some sleazy uncle who had just lured a little girl back to his house. Ah, I admit, I was being wicked...

The Black and White pair looked at each other again, but neither took a bite, just secretly swallowing hard, staring blankly at the rabbit legs in their hands. In the haze of the campfire, they could only see fat dripping from the leg, sizzling into the flames, mingling with the fragrance of pine kindling. Even before tasting it, they could anticipate the superb flavor.

"Damn it! What are you waiting for? Eat! If you don't eat it, I will!" Seeing they weren't moving, Young Master Liu got impatient. He snatched the leg from the dark man’s hand and began wolfing it down.

His posture, his eating manners, his entire demeanor—wow! I've seen slovenly people, but never this filthy! Young Master Liu looked like a starving ghost reborn, as if he hadn't eaten in three lifetimes. He didn't just gnaw the meat clean; he even chewed up the bones. Truly, you can’t judge a "pig" by its appearance! Shame, shame.

Watching Young Master Liu devour his food, the fair man couldn't resist taking a bite of meat and chewing it slowly.

"Damn! That’s really good! So savory!" The fair man’s dull eyes suddenly lit up. He gave a thumbs-up while swallowing the roasted meat, praising it, and then eagerly tore off another piece, tossing it into his mouth to savor it slowly.

As the saying goes, once the first step is taken, the rest will follow. Seeing how delicious the fair man found it, the dark man finally couldn't hold back. Ignoring the heat, he quickly tore a large, fatty hind leg off the whole roasted rabbit and brought it to his mouth, just about to bite down, when Young Master Liu chuckled, "Brother, this rabbit leg is greasy, but it's a foreleg. The taste is far inferior to the hind leg." The dark man smiled, "You kid has a good conscience." He switched to a foreleg and started eating.

"Whoa! This really isn’t bad!" The dark man raised an eyebrow. "Much better than the taste of those candles and yellow paper."

Before he could finish speaking, the fair man jabbed him in the ribs, and a sound as faint as a gnat’s whisper reached the dark man’s ears: "Don't slip up."

The dark man’s heart clenched, and he immediately stopped talking, only mumbling accolades like, "Good, good..."

"Since it’s so good, why don’t you eat more?" The fair man smiled, rubbing his greasy chin, and shot the dark man a meaningful look.

"Eat, everyone eat, eat!" The dark man understood perfectly and chuckled awkwardly.

Immediately, without any prompting from Young Master Liu, the Black and White pair stopped being polite. They tore off meat and stuffed it into their mouths. For a while, the sound of the three of them smacking their lips could be heard for hundreds of miles around.

"Haha, delicious, right? I told you so! Anything made by a genius cook like me is a delicacy of the world! Know that? That’s why I say you guys struck gold today!" During the feast, Young Master Liu couldn't help but brag again, occasionally waving his big, meaty paws around, looking smugly satisfied.

"Mhm, mhm! Exactly! Not wrong at all." The Black and White pair nodded in agreement with Young Master Liu's nonsense while constantly cramming meat into their mouths. Judging by their eating habits, they probably weren't much better than Young Master Liu—like people who hadn't eaten in lifetimes.

"Right, what are your honored names? Why are you two out strolling so late? Aren't you afraid of running into ghosts?" Young Master Liu asked after tossing away a rib he had licked impeccably clean.

The fair man, who had been focused on eating the meat, choked when he heard Young Master Liu’s question, spraying out most of the rabbit meat in his mouth.

"Hahahaha, what did you just say? We're afraid of ghosts? Hahahaha, that’s the funniest joke I’ve heard all year!" The fair man laughed so hard he nearly keeled over, spitting spittle all over the ground.

"Heh heh, my surname is Fan, his is Xie. You can call us Seventh Xie and Eighth Fan. And what should we call you, brother?" The dark man next to the fair man, while also chuckling, didn't laugh as wildly and unrestrainedly as the fair man.

Young Master Liu was genuinely puzzled. Was what he said really that hilarious? Oh well, perhaps these guys walk at night often and have developed a tolerance. So, Young Master Liu didn't dwell on his earlier comment and introduced himself: "Oh! So you must be Brother Seventh Xie and Brother Eighth Fan. This little brother’s surname is Liu; you can just call me Young Master!"

"Heh heh, little brother, forgive my presumption, but it's not safe wandering around this late. Why are you roaming about so casually?" Brother Seventh Xie asked Young Master Liu with a gentle smile, appearing very cordial.

"Oh! You wouldn't believe it! I barely escaped death! If I weren't so blessed and lucky, I’d probably be finished today. You might not believe me, but do you know what I encountered today? A fierce ghost! And a minor one at that! Ugh, I must not have checked the almanac before leaving; I’m truly unlucky." Young Master Liu shook his head. "Thank heavens..."

"Oh! So, brother fought with a ghost? Seems like you have some skill, brother." Brother Eighth Fan, who had been busy eating meat on the side, suddenly interjected.

As the saying goes, where there are listeners, there will be speakers! Seeing their interest, Young Master Liu immediately launched into his tale. The place where he had been beaten senseless, crying for his parents and begging for mercy, he spun into a story of him dominating the world, an unparalleled war god descending from the heavens. It just goes to show how thick his skin was; calling him two-faced would be an insult to his character!

Seventh Xie and Eighth Fan listened with interest as Young Master Liu embellished his story, occasionally stuffing more meat into their mouths. Finally, Young Master Liu finished his grand narrative.

Brother Seventh Xie was the first to bow to Young Master Liu: "I never imagined brother was so valiant. I am truly in awe, completely prostrate!"

"Naturally! Absolutely!" Young Master Liu lifted his head, peering out like an old turtle poking its head from its shell, possessing a kingly aura described in novels!

"Indeed, I am also extremely impressed. I never expected to meet such an eminent person in this godforsaken place! Truly admirable, admirable!" Brother Eighth Fan also praised Young Master Liu on the spot.

"Hahahaha, brothers, you flatter me too much. Actually, I’m not that amazing. Just capable of everything under the heavens! Capable of punching the South Mountain Retirement Home and kicking the North Sea Kindergarten! Hehehe, I am truly handsome, dashing, refined, and universally beloved..." (Here, omit ten thousand sickeningly narcissistic adjectives.) Young Master Liu grinned so widely his eyes narrowed to slits, waving his hands repeatedly, occasionally using his meaty paws to cover that giant donkey mouth big enough for an ox testicle. He looked as utterly pretentious as possible...

The three conversed delightfully, each sharing their amusing anecdotes, making the others roar with laughter until their stomachs ached. Since Young Master Liu was fundamentally a petty thief, he managed to root around and discover a bottle of potent shaodaozi liquor near some freshly dug graves, along with three cracked bowls, one for each of them, for a hearty drink. Before they knew it, the roasted rabbit was gone, and dawn was approaching, the murky night sky beginning to clear.

"Oh dear! It’s almost light; we should be heading back now. Right, Old Fan?" Brother Seventh Xie gazed toward the horizon and asked his companion, Brother Fan Wujiu, who was currently convulsing with laughter.

"Heh heh, is that so? It’s nearly daybreak, isn't it? Then let’s be off," Brother Eighth Fan replied, standing up and dusting the dirt off his clothes.