"Are these people… your friends, Brother Qiu?"
The eyes of the prison guards twitched. They had a feeling this group was not to be trifled with.
Especially the monk in the kasaya.
Other monks wore their kasayas properly, as if to proclaim their status as enlightened masters.
This one, however, wore it half on, half off, exposing the dense chest hair. His muscles were like cast bronze, and his pectoral muscles twitched with every word.
This was clearly a martial monk. If Tang Sanzang on his journey to the West had looked like this, Sun Wukong would probably have been punched out of him with a single blow.
The Taoist priest was also peculiar. His Taoist robe was tattered, and he looked disheveled, somewhat like Ji Gong. He was accompanied by an old, scruffy yellow dog. Most importantly, this Taoist priest and the martial monk seemed to be good friends, squatting by the roadside smoking together and whistling at passing girls.
Absolute hooligans!
Then there was the blind man carrying a guqin. Most of the strings on his guqin were broken, and he probably couldn't play much even if he was busking.
However, compared to the Taoist priest and the martial monk, this blind man seemed much more normal. At least he was just standing there quietly, not squatting by the road smoking.
Suddenly, the blind man kicked the martial monk.
Before the martial monk could react, the blind man sat squarely on his back.
"Damn it!" the martial monk cursed.
He felt as if he were carrying a mountain, pinned down by the blind man.
His muscles bulged, struggling to maintain his squat, and the flagstones beneath his feet began to crack!
The Taoist priest laughed heartily from the side, "Miao Ji, you bald donkey, how does Blind Zou's butt taste?"
As if on cue, Blind Zou placed the guqin on his lap, then pulled a few hairs from his own head, tying them to the instrument to serve as strings.
His aged hands swept across the strings, producing a melody that seemed to come from a thousand years ago.
The others, who had been in disarray, fell silent upon hearing the music.
Everyone's attention turned to Yan Qiu.
"When friends part, we are like traders from Shang and Gong. What night is this, to share this lamp and candle light?"
Blind Zou opened his mouth and began to sing with the guqin.
"How long can youth last? Our temples are already gray. Half of those I sought have become ghosts, my heart cries out with sudden warmth."
His voice was melodious and sorrowful, lamenting the fleeting nature of time and the difficulty of reuniting with old friends.
The others, involuntarily, began to sing along with Blind Zou's guqin and his mournful, melodious tune.
"Who knew that after twenty years, I'd ascend this noble hall again. When we parted, you were unmarried, now children have come of age.
With joy, I greet your father, asking where I came from. Before the questions end, children are sent to bring wine and food.
In the night rain, we cut spring leeks, freshly cooked millet is served. The host says meetings are rare, ten cups are poured in one go.
Ten cups, and still not drunk, I thank you for your enduring friendship. Tomorrow we'll be separated by mountains, our worldly affairs a vast unknown."
As he reached the emotional climax, two streams of tears flowed from beneath Blind Zou's sunglasses.
The Taoist priest couldn't help but lower his head and rub his reddened eyes.
Only the martial monk struggled to support Blind Zou's backside.
After the song, Yan Qiu thought the atmosphere was perfectly set and was about to step forward to greet his brothers and sisters.
To his surprise, Blind Zou wasn't finished. The melody changed, and he began to sing again:
"We were once guests in Jianghan, and met often, returning drunk. After parting like drifting clouds, ten years have flowed like water.
Our laughter and feelings remain as before, though our hair is sparse and streaked with gray. Why do you not return? There are autumn mountains by the Huai River."
This should be enough, right?
Yan Qiu bid farewell to the prison guards and walked towards the crowd, arriving before Blind Zou.
Just as he broke into a smile and opened his arms, Blind Zou suddenly sang again:
"Old friends part in rivers and seas, how many times have mountains and rivers separated us? Meeting you now, I almost mistake it for a dream, we sadly ask each other's years.
A lonely lamp dimly illuminates the rain, wet bamboo floats in the smoky mist. There's also regret for tomorrow's dawn, the parting cup, cherished as it's passed."
Yan Qiu's smile froze on his face, "Um..."
Blind Zou: "Let's drink to the east wind..."
"Enough!"
Yan Qiu interrupted, "Blind Zou, you old bastard, I'm out!"
Blind Zou blinked, adjusted his sunglasses, and sheepishly asked the Taoist priest beside him, "I can't see, and you damn Taoist priest didn't even remind me."
The Taoist priest beside him was grinning so wide his mouth looked like it was going to split.
It turned out Blind Zou kept singing because he couldn't see that Yan Qiu had already come out.
The martial monk, Miao Ji, struggling beneath him, roared, "Damn it, Yan Qiu is already out, why aren't you moving your butt?"
Blind Zou slowly stood up.
Miao Ji the martial monk was furious. As soon as he got up, he swung his fist to hit Blind Zou.
But Blind Zou directly hid behind the Taoist priest, shouting, "Heaven forbid! A Shaolin martial monk is assaulting a disabled person in the street!!"
Everyone was stunned.
Was this the legendary Qin Ghost, Old Ghost Zou, who killed without blinking?
He was too shameless!
Miao Ji the martial monk managed to restrain his anger and didn't assault Blind Zou in the street, but he did leave a stern warning:
"Wear two extra pairs of pants to sleep tonight, or when you wake up tomorrow morning, you'll find your butt stuffed with chrysanthemums."
Yan Qiu looked at these three lively characters with a helpless smile.
They hadn't seen each other for over a decade, but their style hadn't diminished; if anything, it had improved.
A middle-aged noblewoman, dressed in magnificent clothes, wearing an English aristocratic hat and white gloves, made a standard fist-and-palm gesture towards Yan Qiu and said in a firm voice, "Congratulations, Big Brother, on your release!"
"Congratulations, Brother Yan, on your release!" the others echoed happily.
Yan Qiu scanned the crowd with a faint smile on his face.
"Brothers and sisters, thank you all for waiting these past ten years. I am overjoyed to be reunited today, but there is still one matter that needs attending to."
The Taoist priest asked curiously, "What could be more important than taking a bath? I booked a place three months ago. Let's brothers go and have a Dragon-Tiger bath first, and find some girls for massages..."
Miao Ji the martial monk clasped his hands together and said piously, "Amitabha, what the Taoist dog says is reasonable."
Blind Zou asked, "Do disabled people get discounts?"
The middle-aged noblewoman rolled her eyes at the three of them.
Yan Qiu smiled, "Today is my son's wedding day."
"Nani???" the Taoist dog exclaimed in surprise.
Everyone exclaimed, "Brother Yan, you can't treat us like this! Such a big event as your nephew's wedding, and you didn't even notify us beforehand!"
"Yes, at least we could have prepared some red envelopes and gifts. Otherwise, how can we have face as elders?"
"Speaking of which, we haven't seen Shou Yi for a long time. Brother Yan told us not to bother him, and then we were separated for over a decade. He probably doesn't remember us uncles and aunts anymore, does he?"
Amidst their surprise, there was also a touch of emotion, just as Blind Zou had sung earlier, "When we parted, you were unmarried, now children have come of age."
Yan Qiu waved his hand, signaling everyone to quiet down, and then slowly said,
"I'm ashamed to say, this matter is a bit complicated. My unworthy son had his wife abducted, and today is his wedding. However, my son will definitely go to snatch her back, and once he gets his wife back, they'll get married on the spot. That's why I said today is that brat's wedding day."
The Taoist dog couldn't help but shout, "How dare someone be so blind as to snatch our nephew's wife? Today, I've truly opened my eyes—cut open my rear end!"
Miao Ji the martial monk sneered, "These people are like tigers fighting with their pants down—reckless and shameless!"
Blind Zou chuckled, "Then can we tolerate this? Let's go, everyone, let's go help Shou Yi snatch his bride. In the territory of those bastards, we'll wipe their butts with gauze—show them what we're made of!"
The beautiful noblewoman beside them said helplessly, "Where did you three learn such vulgar allegories?"
The three of them chuckled naughtily. Their words were crude, but their reasoning was sound. If their nephew was being bullied, they, as elders, naturally had to step in.
The others felt the same.
So many years had passed, but their brotherhood remained unchanged. Yan Qiu saw this and felt a warmth in his heart.
He said, "Then let's head to Flying Phoenix Mountain now. Once things are resolved, I'll have a good drink with all of you!"
"Good!"
Everyone was filled with righteous indignation, as if they were about to summon flying swords and depart for Flying Phoenix Mountain at any moment.
Then the Taoist dog pulled out a coin and asked, "Which bus route goes to Flying Phoenix Mountain?"
Everyone: "..."
The beautiful noblewoman sighed and said, "I'll call my convoy to pick us up."
The Taoist dog sheepishly put the coin back into his pocket.