Bai Li’s Dream – Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Sleep Talking

“You damn cheat!”

Along with this sentence, the originally noisy hall became even more boisterous.

Shangguan Yue focused his gaze and saw Li Shilang kicking over a chair.

It was common for gamblers to lose their minds, argue, and fight when they were on a losing streak. However, such chaos wouldn’t erupt on his pleasure boat. Those who could come to the pleasure boat were either rich or noble. Before causing trouble, both sides had to weigh each other’s status. Moreover, the pleasure boat employed dozens of guards, and there were many examples proving that causing trouble on his boat would lead to no good end.

Shangguan Yue glanced at the person opposite Li Shilang and didn’t walk over, choosing to observe from the side of a pillar.

Li Shilang pointed at the man opposite him and cursed, “Bastard! You dare to swindle my money? Do you know who I am?”

A helpful onlooker beside him shouted, “This is Shilang from General Li’s Residence!”

The man was wearing a Taoist robe and had an ordinary appearance. However, upon hearing these words, he remained seated in the chair opposite Li Shilang, unmoving, and merely sneered, “Even if the descendants of the Taiyuan Wang Clan have fallen on hard times, we wouldn’t stoop to swindling money from General Li’s Residence.”

Descendants of the Taiyuan Wang Clan? They were far from falling on hard times. General Li was a newly risen power, while the Taiyuan Wang Clan was an aristocratic family with intricate connections. Even the Emperor had to show them some deference.

The helpful onlooker immediately shrank back.

Li Shilang glared fiercely and spat, “It’s you lot who are the most skilled at cheating and deceiving!” With these harsh words, he turned to leave.

“Hold on.” The Young Master Wang wouldn’t let him go and shouted, “Besides what you’ve lost, you still owe me money.”

Li Shilang’s face contorted, and he pushed the beautiful woman who was timidly following behind him, “This woman will cover it.”

The beautiful woman’s eyes were red, but she didn’t dare make a sound.

Young Master Wang scoffed, “I have no interest in women.” Then he smiled and sized Li Shilang up, “If Shilang were to offer himself as collateral, I might consider it.”

Li Shilang turned around, cursed, kicked the beautiful woman away, and grabbed a servant, “Go home and get the money.”

The servant’s face was pale, and he said in a small voice, “Young Master, the money is gone.”

What did he mean the money was gone? Li Shilang frowned, “Didn’t you pawn the shops I told you to?”

The servant whispered, “We did.” Then, with a bitter face, “But you lost it all tonight.”

Li Shilang didn’t think much of losing the savings from a shop in one night. He just angrily kicked the servant away.

“Wang, I’ll write you an IOU.” He said.

Young Master Wang sneered and looked at him sideways, “Li Shilang, is this your first time here? Don’t you know the rules of the pleasure boat?”

The rule on the pleasure boat was that everything was settled with gold, silver, or valuables. There were no IOUs or promises to pay later; accounts were settled on the spot.

This was to avoid subsequent troubles. After all, those who boarded the pleasure boat were either rich or noble. If they had disputes on land after disembarking, it would inevitably involve their families, which would be a small matter with many complications.

Li Shilang obviously knew this, but he was temporarily out of options.

“It’s all because of that damn woman’s bad luck.” He cursed, “Ever since I brought her back to the capital, everything has gone wrong.”

His luck hadn’t been this bad before.

“I’m out of money now.” Li Shilang said angrily, “What, do you really want me to offer myself as collateral?”

Young Master Wang pinched his nose and looked at him, “If there’s really no other way, I can only suffer a little.”

These words made everyone in the hall burst into laughter. Gamblers were already driven mad, capable of anything, and the hall was filled with a cacophony of noise, “Go downstairs, get the best private room!” “Why go downstairs? Do it right here!”

Li Shilang’s curses were mixed in with the noise.

Shangguan Yue watched this scene and couldn’t help but smile. It was actually quite boring. He couldn’t help but yawn again, feeling his eyelids getting heavy.

He couldn’t fall asleep now; he still had to control the situation. A beautiful maid carrying refreshments passed by.

Shangguan Yue couldn’t help but reach out, “Give me a cup of tea.”

The beautiful maid handed him the tea, and Shangguan Yue drank it all in one gulp. The drowsiness seemed to fade, and he felt refreshed. Looking again at the brightly lit hall, Li Shilang had become enraged and kicked one of the noisy onlookers ━

“What kind of trash are you, daring to make fun of me!”

The person who was kicked wouldn’t take it lying down and cursed, “If you have no money, why act like a big shot here! You rabbit!”

Li Shilang was wary of the Taiyuan Wang Clan’s status but didn’t fear this person. With bloodshot eyes, he was about to vent all his anger on him, and it looked like a fight was about to break out.

“Shilang, calm down.” Shangguan Yue said loudly, still holding the teacup in his hand, “You can’t give Young Master Wang an IOU, but I can lend you the money. Just write me an IOU.”

Hearing this, Li Shilang breathed a sigh of relief. He spat at the noisy person, kicked him away, stood up straight, and nodded to Shangguan Yue, “Xiaolang understands my character best.”

Young Master Wang, however, seemed either disappointed that Li Shilang didn’t offer himself as collateral or disappointed that he didn’t get to see a fight. He shook his head and said, “Xiaolang, this isn’t in accordance with the rules.”

Shangguan Yue smiled, “No worries, no worries…”

As he spoke, perhaps it was the lingering tea fragrance from the teacup, a faint aroma wafted around his nose. It smelled so good. There were many types of incense on the pleasure boat, but this was the first time he had smelled the aroma of tea. Had they changed the tea?

Lost in thought, his vision blurred slightly, and he heard himself continue,

“How about this, Shilang, you jump from the pleasure boat into the river once, and that will satisfy the rules for both of us.”

✿✿✿

Those who caused trouble, refused to pay their debts, or otherwise violated the rules were to be thrown off the pleasure boat.

Upon hearing this, Li Shilang laughed loudly, “Alright!”

He was an excellent swimmer, and jumping from the pleasure boat into the river was nothing to him.

Young Master Wang curled his lip. He didn’t actually care about the rules; he just didn’t want to question Shangguan Yue further.

They were here to have fun, after all, and couldn’t be too pushy. Although Shangguan Yue was a nobody, he had the princess and her husband backing him. The princess hadn’t divorced her husband even though he had taken a mistress, which showed how much she cared for him.

He just raised an eyebrow and said, “Take off your clothes and jump.”

Li Shilang spat at him, “I don’t need your reminder!”

But then he thought that this Wang, who was known for his fondness for men, wasn’t being kind by worrying about his clothes getting wet; he was harboring ill intentions and coveting his body.

He glared fiercely at Young Master Wang and ripped off his outer robe. The surroundings erupted in noise again, mixed with thunderous applause.

Shangguan Yue was jolted awake, his drowsiness completely gone, his senses sharp. He saw Li Shilang, stripped to the waist, wearing only brocade trousers, walking towards the door, surrounded by a crowd. His servants, unable to dissuade him, also took off their shirts and followed.

“What is this…” Shangguan Yue murmured.

A gambler beside him heard and, seeing Shangguan Yue frowning, quickly asked, “What’s wrong? Xiaolang, are you feeling reluctant?” Then he said righteously, “The rules are the rules, and you shouldn’t break them yourself!”

As they were talking, Li Shilang had already pushed open the door and walked out. At this time, the sky was faintly brightening; the night was about to end.

Shangguan Yue couldn’t help but take a few quick steps forward. Li Shilang had already shouted, “Let you all see my skills—”

With a loud shout, he jumped down. His four servants followed closely behind. The crowd in the hall also surged out, crowding outside, leaning on the railing and shouting excitedly, drowning out the splash of the men entering the water.

Shangguan Yue grabbed the railing and looked down. Li Shilang had already surfaced in the river. He was swimming and waving his fist, shouting, “Wang, do you dare to jump down too? I’ll gamble with you again.”

As dawn approached, mist rose from the river, just like in his dream. Shangguan Yue felt his heart tighten inexplicably, and he gripped the railing tightly. He suddenly felt unsure whether this was a dream or reality.

“Shilang, the river water is cold, come up quickly.” He shouted loudly.

Li Shilang heard and laughed loudly, “I’m not afraid of that.” After saying that, he swam again, deliberately shaking and swaying his body, splashing water everywhere. The servants who had gathered around had to dodge.

“Come down, everyone, come down! The scenery in the river—”

Li Shilang laughed and shouted, but suddenly his voice stopped. His hands flailed, and he sank into the river, as if something had pulled him down. In the blink of an eye, the water was over his head, and his flailing hands disappeared.

The people leaning on the railing were startled and gasped. The four servants in the river also panicked. Before they could reach out to grab him, Li Shilang suddenly emerged from the water again, spitting out water and laughing loudly.

There was a chorus of curses from the railing, mixed with people throwing teacups and round fans down. It was a chaotic scene.

Li Shilang’s laughter grew even louder.

Shangguan Yue, however, didn’t smile at all. He frowned. The mist on the river was getting thicker, and he felt he could barely see Li Shilang in the water.

The next moment, Li Shilang sank again, and laughter and curses echoed from the pleasure boat.

Shangguan Yue didn’t join in the laughter and curses. Instead, he couldn’t hear the surrounding noise; he could only hear his own heartbeat, once, twice, three times, four times…

Dawn broke, and the mist seemed to dissipate instantly, but Li Shilang didn’t resurface.

“Oh no!” Shangguan Yue slapped the railing and shouted, “Someone—”

✿✿✿

✿✿✿

“Young Madam, Young Madam.”

There was a call in her ear, and her shoulder was gently shaken. Zhuang Li’s heavy eyelids slowly opened, and she saw the faint morning light outside the lifted bed curtains.

Chun Yue was kneeling by the bed.

“Young Madam, what’s wrong?” She asked worriedly, “Did you have a nightmare?”

Fortunately, she hadn’t slept soundly either. Not only did she not wake up late, but she also heard the commotion in Young Madam’s room. She hurriedly put on her clothes and came to check. Although Young Madam was sleeping with her eyes closed, her breathing was rapid, and there were beads of sweat on her forehead.

It seemed like she had a nightmare.

She hurriedly called Young Madam and shook her a few times before waking her up.

Zhuang Li’s eyes gradually focused, and she looked at the dim morning light, humming in response, “I slept… rather restlessly.”