Chapter 5 Traveling Notes

I glanced at the old man, who was looking at Poker-Face very suspiciously.

It was the look of someone searching for a face in their memories. Poker-Face’s actions just now may have sparked some distant memory in the old man’s mind, but his face was too far away to be recognized.

The old man’s voice was lost in the loud sound of the gun going off, so Poker-Face didn’t stop or look back at the old man at all. Instead, he kept riding his horse forward.

I followed after him, taking a second to look at the old man when I passed by. He was very old—really old, in fact—and his eyes were full of distress, confusion, and anxiety.

He knew this young man, but he was too old to remember. No one would understand his mood at this time, except maybe me because I had noticed.

Poker-Face and I joined Fatty and practiced a few times. It was exciting and fun, but also very dangerous. When Jiang Bai saw Poker-Face’s technique, he had a surprised expression on his face and said that it was a shooting technique only used by the most skilled masters. It certainly wasn’t something used for competitions.

As it turned out, Poker-Face’s shooting technique was the kind that was actually used during war, because his movements included a step where the lead ball would have normally been loaded into the gun—of course, it was just for show since we didn’t have any actual lead balls on us.

I looked at him and thought to myself, dude, were you a soldier?

After about an hour of practicing, I was already feeling exhausted. My back wasn’t in the best shape on a good day, but now it felt as sore as if someone had given me two injections of hyaluronic acid—Fatty’s usual joke.⁽¹⁾

When we were leaving, I asked Jiang Bai what Wuke Jiabo meant. “It means the king of guns,” he explained to me. “It refers to someone who can shoot those kinds of guns consecutively. In times of war, the most powerful soldier was called Wuke Jiabo.” Then he looked at me and pointed to the old man, “Did you hear him say that?”

When I nodded, Jiang Bai said, “That old man always gets excited whenever he sees a good shot. Don’t worry too much about it. He’s a bit senile now.”

I nodded, feeling slightly relieved.

It would be really sad if Poker-Face met an old friend at such a time.

When we passed by the old man, I looked at him and saw that he was staring at Poker-Face. In the sunlight, the old man’s deep-lined face almost looked like an artistic photo that could win an award.

At dinner that evening, I had already forgiven Fatty for acting on his own. After all, his arrangement made me think that my friends were going to gather here—although I didn’t know who he had invited, it helped ensure that I wouldn’t get too wrapped up in my emotions while being here.

I had to be in a completely different frame of mind as we brought Poker-Face along to look at all the sights together. After all, I couldn’t be crying bitter tears everywhere we went.

“I’m just worried that you’re old and your eyesight has gotten worse, but I can find you some activities for young people.”

“I never thought that I was old,” I said to Fatty. “If anything, you’re the one who keeps talking about your younger days and saying things like ‘when I was young’.”

Fatty was the one who made me realize the truth of the matter—it was fucking awesome to flaunt your old age and seniority in front of everyone. In fact, it was totally worth it to start doing it now.

The dinner was hosted by the executive of the largest meat processing company in the area, a Tibetan businessman who was also the sponsor of this competition. It was very clear that he was the richest man here, but as it turned out, he was also Xilaimian’s supplier.

Here’s a piece of information I suddenly remembered— Xilaimian had a yak jerky snack, which sold very well, especially in the online shop that had been opened in the village. And this guy’s face was the trademark image that appeared on the snack packaging.

That thing actually sold really well, and since Fatty knew him, he must’ve been in charge of purchasing it.

“Wait, I thought we were going on a fun trip. Are we actually here to do business?” I asked, surprised. “Are we Party A or Party B?”⁽²⁾

“Party A.” Fatty poured me a cup of butter tea. “All our partners are here.”

“Do you have any other conspiracies to throw at me? Don’t scare me anymore,” I said to him.

“There’s one more,” Fatty admitted. “You’ll see at dinner. I wouldn’t say it’ll shock you but it’ll definitely surprise you.”

<Chapter 4><Table of Contents><Chapter 6>

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TN Notes:

(1) Hyaluronic acid can cause redness and soreness when injected into the joint.

(2) Party A in a contract is usually the one making the offer/putting forward their goals and requirements. Party B is usually the one who accepts Party A’s terms and tries to guarantee a way for Party A to achieve their goals. During the implementation of the contract, the main task of Party B is to find ways to complete the terms stipulated in the contract, and the main responsibility of Party A is to supervise the other party to achieve the established goals.

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Pic added 12/3/2022 (fan translation courtesy of me).