In the most primitive of ages, the creatures that ruled the night and those that ruled the day were not one and the same — but ever since humanity came to dominate the world, neither night nor day would see that dominion surrendered back to the wild.

And among humanity, there existed a shared understanding: the evils wrought by night far outpace those committed in daylight.

From this, some drew the further conclusion that the night belongs to wickedness.

But when wickedness no longer needs the cover of night — when it is committed openly, in broad daylight, under a clear and open sky — that is when a society has gone wrong.

Gang Gang sat in a restaurant not far from the carriage depot, eating dinner. He had decided that tonight he would treat himself — because on this particular job, there was no telling whether he would live or die.

The men inside the depot were hardened outlaws. In Chen Dawei’s words, it was a dragon’s pool and a tiger’s den. Gang Gang knew his own abilities, but he also knew there was always a higher heaven and a stronger person beyond the horizon.

For now, Gang Gang was not thinking about any of that. All he wanted was one extravagant meal, so he had ordered two flasks of wine, three dishes, and four plain steamed buns.

Restaurants still able to operate and keep food on the table these days — their proprietors were no ordinary figures. Jizhou City had been rationing grain for a long time now; ordinary households were limited to one catty of grain per day, at prices that were outrageous.

A plate of diced spicy chicken. A plate of oil-braised greens. One entire pork knuckle, skin tender, meat falling off the bone.

He had never had this many dishes by himself before. He had never dared to be this extravagant. This was the sort of thing that only happened in dreams — and so he was a little flustered with excitement.

He looked at the three plates, the two flasks of wine set out before him, and felt a nearly irresistible urge to belt out a song.

He didn’t understand why that urge was there. But it was getting harder and harder to hold back. If he couldn’t sing, at least he could let out one long breath — not a sigh, but something more like relief, and contentment.

Just then, he noticed someone drifting up the stairs to the second floor, selecting a seat by the window. There was something strange about this person — he walked very lightly, and with each step his expression shifted slightly, as though he were suppressing pain.

The man was young. He sat down and ordered three dishes: a bowl of red-braised pork, a plate of slippery stir-fried pork slices, and a bowl of water-boiled pork.

Three meat dishes. Gang Gang privately concluded that this man must come from a wealthy household — Gang Gang had gritted his teeth and ordered three dishes himself, with one of them being a vegetable. This person, on the other hand, had ordered three meat dishes, all of them hearty, rice-friendly fare.

“Waiter — bring me a basin of rice.”

The young man called out to the serving boy. Gang Gang blinked. A *basin* of rice?

The waiter appeared to recognize the young man, smiling broadly as he asked, “Master Li, how come you’re eating alone today?”

The person who had ordered three dishes and a basin of rice was, of course, Li Chi.

Li Chi glanced furtively out toward the street, then made a hushing gesture. He dropped his voice. “I got a bit injured, and the people at home told me to keep my diet plain and light. I’ve already eaten three meals of plain congee and pickled vegetables. I can’t take it anymore.”

The serving boy burst out laughing and nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep watch for you. If anyone from the depot comes out, I’ll warn you in advance.”

Li Chi gave him a thumbs-up. “Exactly — I slipped out without telling anyone. If they find out I came here to eat, they’ll scold me within an inch of my life.”

He looked at the boy and said, “Be quick about it. I’m in a hurry — I have to sneak back, and the house is full of tigers. Very fierce ones.”

The serving boy laughed and acknowledged him at a run, heading downstairs.

Gang Gang was now more interested than before. The waiter had called this young man a man of the carriage depot and addressed him as Master Li — which led Gang Gang to think: could it really be this much of a coincidence? Was the person sitting before him the irredeemable villain that Gonghu Yingying had described?

This great villain was… a little different from what he’d imagined.

So Gang Gang decided to test the waters. He smiled toward Li Chi and said, “Brother — you’re eating alone too?”

Li Chi looked at him. He thought this swarthy-faced, boyish young man seemed like a straightforward and honest sort — his face said as much.

“Yes. Eating alone.”

Gang Gang said, “Me too. Eating alone gets a bit lonely.”

Li Chi said, “I’m not lonely. I’m eating on the sly. When you’re sneaking a secret meal, there’s no such thing as lonely.”

Gang Gang thought: for the most irredeemable of villains, you certainly make it hard to work with what you’ve given me.

But he smiled anyway and said, “Still, eating alone is a bit dull. A little stifling, honestly. Look — I’ve got three dishes, and you just ordered three dishes as well. If we shared a table, between the two of us we’d have six.”

Li Chi shook his head. “Trust me — if we shared a table, *I* would have six dishes. Not the two of us.”

Gang Gang was struck dumb again.

But he wasn’t ready to give up. After reorganizing his thoughts, he said, “There are only the two of us in this whole restaurant. Chatting is fine either way.”

Li Chi said, “Friend, you eat yours and I’ll eat mine. Let’s not share a table — but we can talk like this. I’m saying this for your own good.”

Gang Gang saw no way to press further, so he nodded. He deliberately changed seats to the opposite side of his original position, so that he and Li Chi were now face to face across the gap between tables.

“I overheard the waiter say — you’re from the carriage depot next door?”

Gang Gang asked.

Li Chi nodded, then glanced over at Gang Gang’s table. Gang Gang had been blocking the view before, so Li Chi couldn’t see. Now he could, and he couldn’t help but say: “Eat up while it’s hot. Once the knuckle goes cold it’ll turn greasy. And that oil-braised greens — looks like a vegetable dish but it’s cooked in lard, so that needs to be eaten hot as well.”

Gang Gang thought: *why is this man so fixated on food?*

He found no good topic to continue with, so he simply made a sound of acknowledgment and started eating and drinking — one cup of wine, then two spoonfuls of rice, then a few bites of food. He looked for all the world like a man eating with great relish.

Li Chi watched him eat and felt a sense of warmth. This was how a person ought to eat. Some people ate in order to drink, forgetting that the purpose of eating was to fill one’s stomach in the first place.

Before long, Li Chi’s own food arrived. Three plates arranged neatly, and a basin of rice set before him.

Li Chi turned to the serving boy: “Bring me a larger ladle.”

The boy gave Li Chi an *I understand* look and came back quickly with a wooden ladle — the big kind, like a soup spoon.

Gang Gang had been startled enough by the basin of rice — he had assumed that by *basin* Li Chi meant something merely larger than a bowl, like a soup tureen. He had not imagined that Li Chi’s basin would be something approximately the size of a washbasin.

A nearly level basin of white rice, steaming.

Li Chi leaned down and drew in the fragrance of the fresh cooked rice, then exhaled in deep contentment.

Then he took all three dishes and poured them directly onto the rice — in three separate sections, neatly divided — which together created something resembling a three-color rice bowl. A rather generously portioned rice bowl, naturally.

Then Li Chi picked up the wooden ladle and began to eat. Gang Gang watched. His eyes grew wider and wider. His mouth fell open without him noticing — and with a wet smack, what he’d been chewing dropped out of his mouth and onto the table.

Li Chi ate like a tempest sweeping the landscape clean.

The wooden ladle rose and fell, mixing rice with the various dishes, delivering one enormous bite after another. The sight of him eating with such full-bodied, unabashed appetite made even a bystander feel suddenly famished.

Before long, Li Chi had worked through nearly half the basin. He looked up, saw the expression of pure astonishment on Gang Gang’s face, and gave a somewhat embarrassed smile.

Gang Gang pressed his lips together — as if he were the one eating — then looked down at his own four buns, and thought of how he’d been afraid the waiter would laugh at his appetite when he’d ordered. Now, watching Li Chi, he thought: *what am I, compared to this?*

Watching Li Chi eat made him feel hungrier himself, so he bent over his own food. The man over there was bent over his, and so was he — two people, neither saying a word, as though in competition.

Gang Gang finished his four buns and three dishes, including one entire pork knuckle. By the time he looked up, Li Chi had already finished his entire basin of rice.

Gang Gang raised his head and found Li Chi leaning back in his chair, very gently patting his own stomach — looking thoroughly, blissfully satisfied.

Gang Gang sighed and clasped his fists. “Many thanks for the favor of *not* sharing a table.”

Li Chi chuckled. “I’m sorry, friend. To be honest, I ate a little less than usual today. Next time we eat together, I’ll treat you.”

Gang Gang suddenly thought of a plan, and rose to his feet. “Master Li — may I ask a favor of you?”

Li Chi had already started to rise and was about to leave. He stopped at this, turned back, and looked at Gang Gang. “What is it?”

Gang Gang upended his coin pouch over the table. A single copper coin rolled out.

Li Chi understood at once, and nodded. “Consider this meal on me. Just walk out — I’ll have a word with the proprietor.”

Gang Gang shook his head. “I’ve already settled this meal’s bill — this is what’s left. I was thinking: after this meal, that’s it. I’ll leave Jizhou City first thing tomorrow morning and take my chances. I can’t get by in this city — no money, no connections, no idea how I’ll live from one day to the next. I’ve got some strength in my arms. If your depot still has openings, would you take me on? I don’t need wages — just board and keep.”

Li Chi looked at the clean-swept table in front of Gang Gang, sighed, and said, “Room and board and nothing else — that’s a pretty good offer on the surface. But the fact that you’re the one making it gives me pause.”

Gang Gang’s expression turned awkward.

Li Chi burst out laughing. “I’m joking with you. Besides brute strength, what else can you do?”

Gang Gang thought for a moment. “I know some martial arts.”

“Martial arts…”

Li Chi considered this, then nodded. “Come back with me. We can talk more at the depot.”

Gang Gang hurriedly said, “Don’t put yourself out on my account — I’m only…”

Li Chi said, “I’m not putting myself out. What I mean is, this isn’t the place to be talking about hardship and desperation. We’re both men — everyone has their dignity. Whatever needs to be said, we’ll say it back at the depot.”

Gang Gang felt a jolt inside.

“Let’s go,” said Li Chi.

He turned and headed downstairs. Gang Gang could see that Li Chi’s gait was slightly off — he must have been genuinely badly injured. For a moment Gang Gang considered striking him down then and there — if he could take Li Chi, wouldn’t an exchange be easily arranged?

But for reasons he couldn’t entirely account for, he held back in the end. Instead, he moved over and took Li Chi by the arm.

“You’re injured?”

Li Chi made a sound of assent, smiled, and said, “As long as it’s not my mouth that’s injured, I’ll be fine. Just don’t let it interfere with eating.”

Gang Gang tilted his head and looked at Li Chi sideways. A strange unease was growing heavier in his chest — but he was also clear-headed enough to know that villains who couldn’t perform a convincing act were not competent villains.

Just like what his master used to say about those men of the Sparrow Sect back in the day — they recited the sect’s rules morning and night, yet committed every imaginable harm without a second thought. And every single one of them still wore the look of the upright and virtuous, draping themselves in the phrase *”even thieves have principles”* as a fig leaf for their shame.

He did not readily believe what Gonghu Yingying and her companions had told him. He did not readily believe what Li Chi appeared to be right now.

In the most primitive world, some creatures changed color to protect themselves — but not every creature was capable of changing color.

People were different. Every single person, from the moment they were born, already knew how to change color.

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