Chapter 157: Brothers Reunited

That burly man was none other than Erhu! Luo Gan was overcome with a myriad of emotions. His closest comrade and brother from the old days had returned, and he had traveled thousands of miles all the way to Chang'an.

Luo Gan: "Erhu? How did you get here?"

As he spoke, Luo Gan suddenly remembered Erhu saying when they parted that unless something happened in Anping County, he would never leave.

Luo Gan: "Could it be... something happened at home?"

Erhu: "Let's not talk about that right now! Please, save Uncle De!"

Inside the apothecary, the physician hurried back and forth, having diagnosed Uncle De's condition. Lying on the sickbed, Uncle De was weak with pale lips and drooping eyelids, breathing only in faint gasps.

Luo Gan and the others stayed by Uncle De's side. Having not seen him for so long, he appeared even more aged than before, and Luo Gan never expected that meeting him again would evoke such profound sorrow.

Luo Gan: "So, you came to Chang'an to escape the disaster?"

Erhu: "This time... I almost lost my life. I got caught up in Wang Gemao's schemes. I don't know how it happened, but now the village is gone, and we can't go back to Anping County..."

Liu Buwen's face was ashen, his state no better than Uncle De's on the bed.

Liu Buwen: "I truly never expected Physician Du to meet with such a fate."

Xiao Zhi: "Changes in the realm are like the turning of the tides; no one can ever predict what might happen."

Yanshan: "That Physician Du was a truly good official."

Yanshan was clearly trying to comfort Liu Buwen. After all, Liu Chengyu and Physician Du were old friends, and to Liu Buwen, who had watched him grow up from childhood, Physician Du was like family—better than kin. At this moment, Liu Buwen's mind was racing with how he should break this news to his father. In the scholar's imagination, he could vividly picture elderly Liu Chengyu hearing the news and fainting away to the ground in shock...

Xiao Zhi: "It's just such a pity for an old man. Everyone was living in peace, but they just had to go building public granaries, sigh."

Everyone in their hearts knew that building public granaries was the ultimate solution to the Guanzhong drought, but Physician Du was, after all, a benefactor to them—especially to Luo Gan and Xiao Zhi, as Han Chong and Bamboo Zhang had both received Physician Du's grace.

Luo Gan: "What about Han Chong and Bamboo Zhang? Where are they now?"

Erhu shook his head, indicating he had no idea.

Erhu: "As for Han Chong, I later heard he eloped with a woman from a brothel, abandoning even his post. I can't understand why a sensible courier would lose his mind and do something like that."

Xiao Zhi: "I know my elder brother; he cares deeply about his face. He probably felt that if he stayed long-term with a brothel woman, neither of them could hold their heads high, so he went to find a place to start over."

Despite saying this, Xiao Zhi was still anxious inside. After all, Han Chong was the only true elder brother he had in a real sense. His relationship with Bamboo Zhang was quite distant, and while Luo Gan was his mentor and called a brother, their association was fundamentally forged out of mutual interests.

Yanshan: "And Bamboo Zhang? That fellow has truly marvelous craftsmanship. Is he still working at the Tiger-Crouching Pavilion?"

Erhu shook his head again, looking like an outsider.

Erhu: "I feel like Bamboo Zhang is even more unheard of. I haven't caught wind of him for a long time. They said the Tiger-Crouching Pavilion was going to enter some culinary competition just before the trouble started with Wang Gemao and Zhang Jifeng. After that, he was never seen again, and everyone from the Tiger-Crouching Pavilion vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed here at all."

Luo Gan paced back and forth, deeply preoccupied.

Luo Gan: "I never imagined that in just the short time we've been away, tiny Anping County would undergo such earth-shattering changes. I thought that although Wang Gemao was no good, once at his wit's end he would at least settle down. I truly underestimated them..."

Inside the room, Liu Buwen had quietly slipped away. Hearing news he could barely bear, he probably needed some time to properly digest it.

Yanshan: "The Zhang family was a prominent clan and used to live quite comfortably. Their power grew entirely through the brute strength of local bullies, but in the end, they were wiped out for that very reason. To cover the sky with one hand, acting so arrogant and despotic, only to get entangled in a struggle for power."

Xiao Zhi: "All crows under heaven are black!"

Erhu: "I have nowhere left to go now. The village was burned to the ground, and I dragged Uncle De out of the prison at the risk of my life. With absolutely no other way out, I came to Chang'an to find you."

The troubled expression on Erhu's face left a deep impression on Luo Gan. After all, although Erhu was somewhat simple-minded, he was meticulous and earnest in his work without any malicious intentions, and humbling himself to others was the hardest thing for him. Knowing this, Luo Gan didn't press the matter further and patted Erhu on the shoulder.

Luo Gan: "I'm afraid jumping out of one fire pit is only leading you straight into another."

A look of confusion appeared on Erhu's face, and glancing at Uncle De, he grew even more uneasy.

Luo Gan: "Struggles for power are truly everywhere. In Anping County, it was between the local bullies and the magistrate, but here in Chang'an, what we face are ruffians and street tyrants."

Erhu: "Street tyrants?"

Clearly, this description wasn't immediately understood. In Luo Gan's mind, that fighting game naturally came to mind, and this title described Lord Dragon, Huang Changjun, and now Sima Ge better than anything else.

Yunniang brought a group of people over, sweating profusely. Her servants carried several wine jars and, without a word, smashed the jars right onto the floor of the All-Purpose House.

Xiao Zhi and Erhu's first reaction was to step in front of Luo Gan, assuming these were intruders looking for trouble deliberately. Yanshan's first reaction, however, was to stand on Yunniang's side, spreading his arms defensively.

Yanshan: "Let's talk things over nicely! Everyone, let's talk nicely! Don't make such a fuss!"

None of them understood why Yunniang had marched over so aggressively with all these people, and the two sides stood at a hair-trigger standoff.

Yunniang: "Back then, we followed instructions and supported Sima Ge and the others in their uprising, and now? Look at what it's come to!"

The wine jars were completely empty, and the servants glared hostilely at the people inside the All-Purpose House.

Yunniang: "Sima Ge actually confiscated our swords, taking away even Ganjiang and Moye, claiming that everyone must share and that no single individual should be allowed to stand out as unequal! What kind of nonsense is that? Such twisted logic! By what right should our ancestral secret recipes suddenly become public knowledge for everyone to know? Weren't those developed through our own bitter labor and sweat?"

Luo Gan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Sima Ge's current actions truly opened his eyes to what it meant to spin straw into gold for others—all the blame fell squarely on him, while Sima Ge reaped all the benefits.

Erhu: "A-Luo, if you're in a tight spot, why don't we just..."

Erhu clenched his fist and brandished it threateningly in front of Luo Gan. Luo Gan had a strong urge to laugh; it seemed Erhu wanted to settle the grievances he suffered in Anping County right here in Chang'an.