Yunnan, Lijiang Ancient Town, Scatter-Gather-at-Will Bar, back door.
The music from the front area was faint. Yi Wansan nervously watched for anyone coming while urgently pressing the two men before him: “Hurry up, come on, hurry up!”
The two men looked like typical petty thieves. One was opening a box on the ground, wearing earrings as large as bracelets. The other, with a patch of white-dyed hair, was bent over rummaging through the box. Then he straightened up, holding a bottle of foreign liquor in each hand. The foreign text on the bottles wasn’t even in common English—high-end: “One hundred and twenty for two bottles!”
“Damn it!” Yi Wansan protested, “Why the price increase? Wasn’t it one hundred before?”
White Hair looked at him with contempt: “What’s wrong with one hundred and twenty? Once it enters the bar, the listed price is over a thousand. Those guys who come to pick up girls, can they even taste the difference? These bottles look so classy, and that costs money, understand? Plus, you’re buying retail, not wholesale!”
The bottles indeed looked high-end, with upgraded packaging. Yi Wansan sought reassurance: “You haven’t changed the ingredients, right? It’s not that industrial alcohol that kills people.”
White Hair felt insulted: “How could we do something so unethical? Even our fakes have a conscience!”
It was now around nine in the evening, just when the bar was starting to get lively. Yi Wansan had coaxed Zhang Shu into temporarily covering for him at the bar counter and couldn’t delay any longer. After paying, he stuffed the two bottles inside his jacket, one tucked under his armpit, then hurried them away: “Go, go, go, quickly.”
Big Earrings grumbled as he picked up the box: “Burning bridges after crossing the river.”
White Hair chimed in: “Exactly, putting on pants and not recognizing people anymore.”
On any other day, Yi Wansan would have kicked both of them in the backside, but there was no time now. He jogged through the dim corridor at the back, making sure Zhang Shu could hear him: “Coming, coming!”
A few steps later, the space suddenly brightened. Overhead, shifting lights swirled, and atop the bar counter, wine glasses of various sizes were displayed upside down. The ceiling lights refracted through them, creating a dazzling spectacle.
Scatter-Gather-at-Will was a regular bar until eleven at night, then switched to a quiet bar. Not large in scale, but here, what they sold was atmosphere.
Zhang Shu stood awkwardly behind the bar counter, like a traditional Beijing opera actor who had wandered onto a ballet stage with dancing swans—completely out of place. As soon as he saw Yi Wansan, he cursed: “You little rascal, did you go all the way to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain to take a piss?”
Yi Wansan smiled apologetically: “Had a stomachache, Uncle, you have to understand… Besides, I’m back now, aren’t I?”
He ducked down and slipped into the bar through the counter shelf. Zhang Shu cursed at him a couple more times before leaving.
Yi Wansan exhaled in relief, then pretended to be organizing the bar while secretly replacing the genuine products on the shelf with the counterfeit bottles from under his arm.
Everything went smoothly. Around ten o’clock, Yi Wansan hooked up with a female student who was traveling. With his silver tongue, he made her giggle continuously like a broody hen. Then he played his trump card, taking down that bottle of foreign liquor priced at sixty yuan and, quite lavishly, poured her half a glass.
The naive girl was amazed: “This is so expensive!”
Yi Wansan curved his lips into a smile. Under the lights, a beauty always looked best. He was already good-looking, and with the lighting effect, he was irresistible.
Moreover, he was swirling an expensive drink in a wine glass.
Yi Wansan handed the glass to the girl: “Fine wine should be offered to a beauty.”
After eleven, with fewer customers, the place transitioned to a quiet bar atmosphere. The girl, tipsy from the fake alcohol, was filled with tender emotions. Half-resisting, half-willing, she followed Yi Wansan to the staircase at the back. In her daze, she found herself in his arms. Before she knew it, he was kissing her, with one hand inappropriately reaching under her clothes.
Light footsteps came from the bottom of the stairs, probably a customer heading to the restroom at the back. The girl was initially a bit embarrassed, but then thought, in modern society, kissing was nothing unusual—passersby should have the common sense to look away.
But this person deliberately didn’t.
“Husband!”
The voice wasn’t loud. Yi Wansan trembled first; the girl realized what was happening a moment later. She looked at Yi Wansan in disbelief, then at the person at the bottom of the stairs.
It was a girl about twenty-three or twenty-four, with a slender figure, quite beautiful, with long hair. She wore a rather loose silver-gray half-buttoned shirt over a white camisole, exposing the fitted lower part of the camisole at the waistline. Around her neck hung a pendant with feathers mixed with leather circles and silver rings. Below, she wore tight black jeans and brown leather ankle boots. She leaned against the bottom handrail with an ambiguous smile.
The tipsy girl stared at Yi Wansan, her voice trembling: “Husband?”
The newcomer smiled: “What’s the situation here? Wasn’t kneeling on the washboard last time enough? But there’s progress—last time you paid for a prostitute, this time… at least it’s free.”
The tipsy girl’s face alternated between red and white. She wasn’t experienced in such matters—at most, she was simply naive, dreaming that a casual encounter could equal true love. She never expected to fall into a cesspit right from the start. Feeling utterly humiliated, she slapped Yi Wansan hard across the face and ran down the stairs with audible sobs.
The newcomer ignored her, climbing the stairs step by step. Yi Wansan turned pale with nervousness, instinctively retreating up the steps while trying to smile: “Young boss lady, let’s… talk reasonably. When you call me that, I don’t dare… I don’t dare accept it.”
The bar’s owner was a woman in her forties named Huo Zihong. She had adopted a girl, who was standing before them now—Mu Dai. Since the age difference between them wasn’t large, they didn’t use mother-daughter terms. Instead, Mu Dai always called Huo Zihong “Aunt Hong.”
Yi Wansan and Zhang Shu were both bar helpers, though they had been there for different lengths of time. Usually, they called Huo Zihong “boss lady,” and as for Mu Dai, sometimes they called her by name, sometimes “young boss lady.”
Yi Wansan was genuinely afraid of Mu Dai.
The first time he met her was on his third day working at the bar. Mu Dai had returned from traveling, and when Huo Zihong introduced her, Yi Wansan was delighted, immediately dreaming of winning over the beautiful girl and taking over the bar—gaining both love and wealth.
So he quickly took action, always finding excuses to be near Mu Dai, showing concern and sweet-talking her. Mu Dai was polite too, occasionally giving him a gentle smile. Yi Wansan thought he had a chance, and on an afternoon when the warm breeze intoxicated visitors, he made his move.
He had considerable drawing skills and could sketch lifelike portraits with just a few strokes. Considering that girls usually liked artistic guys who could draw or sing, Yi Wansan decided to use his talent as a breakthrough.
Mu Dai indeed showed interest. Yi Wansan seized the opportunity to sit beside her, explaining perspectives and techniques in drawing. As he talked, he moved closer and closer. Seeing that Mu Dai didn’t object, he went further and reached out to cover her hand with his.
This move came from experienced predecessors and had never failed. If she disliked it, he would hold back; if she was interested too, he would take the chance to hold her hand…
But things often take unexpected turns. The next moment, he was screaming like a slaughtered pig.
Mu Dai had grabbed his middle finger and bent it in the opposite direction. Human beings can be surprisingly fragile—a man weighing 140-150 pounds was howling in pain from just a finger joint lock. Only then did he realize this young boss lady was no ordinary person. Mu Dai didn’t let go; instead, she increased the pressure, her face showing that half-smile that would make his scalp tingle whenever he saw it afterward.
At that time, Yi Wansan didn’t think too much, just begged her to let go. As the pain intensified, he started cursing, calling her a “little bitch” and other insults. He reached out with his other hand to slap her, but she caught his wrist and twisted it, bringing tears to his eyes from the pain. When he tried to kick her, she efficiently kicked both his knees, one after the other, making him drop to his knees with a thud.
Later, Huo Zihong heard the commotion and came over. Only then did Mu Dai release him. Poor Yi Wansan was still trembling when walking the next day, his hands shaking so much he couldn’t hold a bowl.
Zhang Shu showed no sympathy, rather taking pleasure in his misfortune: “You deserved it! Our young boss lady is no ordinary person.”
How extraordinary was she? Yi Wansan secretly kept this in mind, starting with her name. Her surname was Mu—perhaps related to the Mu Mansion in Lijiang’s history? It’s known that among all ancient towns in China, only Lijiang Ancient Town had no city walls because the character “Mu” (木) with a wall becomes “Kun” (困), which was taboo for the Mu family.
He shared this thought with Zhang Shu, who spat saliva all over his face: “Give it a rest! The young boss lady wasn’t originally called this. When she was four or five years old, she was taken to a feng shui master for fortune-telling. The master said the young boss lady’s five elements lacked wood, and the boss lady was too lazy to think of a name, so she simply let her take the surname Mu.”
Then how did she know martial arts?
Zhang Shu didn’t answer but extended one hand, bending three fingers and leaving only the thumb and index finger, making the gesture of “eight.”
Yi Wansan racked his brains trying to think of any martial arts master in history related to the number eight: “Is she a descendant of the Eight Arhats?”
“Bullshit! Our young boss lady has been practicing martial arts for eight years.”
In modern society, without aiming for an Olympic martial arts championship, why would a woman who could make a living on her looks quietly study martial arts for eight years instead of learning piano, painting, cooking, or flower arranging? Was it specifically to deal with shameless fellows like himself?
Yi Wansan trembled as he tried to make excuses: “Young boss lady, don’t misunderstand. The girl and I truly had mutual feelings. Meeting in this vast sea of humanity, we couldn’t contain our emotions and just let ourselves go. Young men and women, attraction between opposite sexes… I didn’t do anything bad…”
Mu Dai smiled, her gaze moving down his chest, stopping just below his navel, then her expression darkened as she kicked toward his groin.
This vicious woman! Aiming for such an important area! Yi Wansan yelped, both hands covering his groin, hastily backing away only to trip on the raised step and fall backward onto the stairs.
Mu Dai hadn’t kicked—she had merely lifted her leg as if stretching, then feigned surprise: “Why are you panicking? How did you fall?”
Footsteps came from the top of the stairs, interspersed with light coughing. Yi Wansan’s eyes filled with tears of relief: a savior had arrived.