It was a cold, wet, and very early morning when the chirping birds woke Gu Xu up.
At first, he didn't know where he was. His neck hurt, his back hurt, and his legs felt stiff.
He blinked slowly and saw the small clay stove in front of him, the faint orange glow of dying embers still pulsing softly in the ash.
Then he remembered everything that had happened last night, the ceremony, the poisoning, the humiliation, and the beating from Maki.
He must have fallen asleep at some point last evening while sitting there beside the stove.
Gu Xu rubbed his eyes and shivered. The morning air was cold and damp, but not freezing. He looked at the embers carefully. They were still warm, and when he held his hand near them, he could feel a faint heat.
"The fire didn't go out long ago," he murmured.
That explained why he didn't wake up sick. If the fire had died in the middle of the night, the chill would have crept into his bones.
He had fallen asleep without his blanket, and without even lying on his bed properly, but the fire had protected him.
He stared at the embers for a while, then suddenly remembered Maki's words.
"Use your brain, or your body will suffer."
Gu Xu looked down at his arms, at the bruises and cuts from the beating. They looked bad. Very bad. Worse than they actually felt though. Maki's plan had worked.
Slowly, an idea formed in his head.
He reached toward the stove, picked up some cold ashes, and looked at them in his palm. Then he hesitated for a moment.
"…If I'm going to get beaten anyway when Chief Lei Xu comes…" he thought to himself, "I might as well look more pitiful."
He smeared some ash on his arm and around the bruises, making them look darker and dirtier.
Then he rubbed some on his cheek and forehead.
He even tore a small part of his sleeve to make his clothes look worse.
When he finished, he looked down at himself and nodded slightly.
He looked miserable and downtrodden.
"Good."
He slowly stood up, wincing a little, and stepped out of his room.
The main room was quiet and the chairs were empty.
Even the empty gourds were gone.
Gu Xu blinked.
"Father?" he called quietly.
No answer.
He walked to the door and looked outside.
The early morning light was grey and wet. The ground was damp, and the air smelled like rain.
Then he nodded slowly.
He knew where his father had gone.
"To buy beer…" he muttered.
And if he went to the brewers this early in the morning, he would definitely hear all the gossip from last night.
Gu Xu's stomach tightened.
"That means… he knows everything already."
He stood quietly in the doorway for a while, then went back inside and started tidying the table a little. His movements were slow because his body still hurt.
After some time, he heard footsteps outside.
Heavy footsteps. Like as if a giant was making its way to the door.
Then the door burst open.
Gui Xu walked in with a few gourds in one hand and three large fish tied together on the other end of the string slung over his back.
His hair was messy, his eyes slightly red, but he was not completely drunk yet. He looked like a man in a very good mood.
Gu Xu froze where he stood.
Gui Xu stopped in the doorway and looked at him from head to toe.
He looked at the ash on his face.
The torn sleeve.
The bruises.
The cuts and limping posture.
Gui Xu stared at him for a few seconds.
Then suddenly—
He burst out laughing.
Loud, hysterical laughter filled the small cottage.
"Hahahahaha! Look at you!! Look at you!"
Gu Xu felt uneasy immediately. This was not the reaction he expected. He had braced himself for anger. For shouting. For a beating.
But not laughter.
Gui Xu laughed so hard he had to put the gourds down on the table.
"Stupid little shit!" he said between laughs. "You thought you were better than me because you were going to marry Yu Yunshang!"
He laughed again, slapping the table.
"Ohohoho! Now look at you! Your pathetic 'engagement' is broken! AhahahahahHAH!"
Gu Xu's face slowly turned red, but he didn't say anything.
"You see?" Gui Xu continued, pointing at him. "I was right, and you were wrong! Next time, listen with the utmost respect and filial piety to the head of this Xu household, Gui Xu! He knows the way!"
"You're a disrespectful brat which is why this happened to you!"
Then, as if he had completely forgotten about the matter, Gui Xu started humming a cheerful tune as he walked further into the cottage.
He sang in a loud, off-key voice while swaying his shoulders:
"A strong man drinks and eats the meat,
While fools go hunting in the heat!
Smart men sit and smart men eat,
While fools come home with tired feet!
Hah! Hah! Drink and eat, drink and eat,
That is how a man lives sweet!"
He laughed at his own song, clearly very pleased with himself, and continued humming it as he moved around the cottage like he was a very clever man who had figured out life.
Gu Xu watched him quietly.
His father really believed what he was singing.
That he was smarter than everyone else.
And that he really believed that he had figured out life.
Before he could move, Gui Xu suddenly pushed his head roughly to the side, poking it away.
"Get out of the way!" he barked. "Why are you just standing in the middle blocking the way!? Do you even think with your brain!? You lack common sense, tut, tut."
Gu Xu stumbled to the side because of the push and nearly lost his balance.
Gui Xu put the gourds and fish on the table and stretched his back like he had just returned from a pleasant trip.
Gu Xu rubbed his head quietly.
His father's words hurt more than the push.
But at the same time… he felt relieved.
His father was laughing.
That meant he was in a good mood.
And if Gui Xu was in a good mood, he usually didn't beat him.
Gu Xu's eyes moved to the table.
Fish.
Three big fish.
His stomach immediately reacted.
Gui Xu noticed his gaze and snorted.
"Don't just stand there staring like an idiot," he said. "Take two of these fish and make fish stew quickly. We need to tidy the cottage before Chief Lei Xu arrives."
Gu Xu's heart skipped a beat.
"Chief… is coming here?" he asked quietly.
Gui Xu glared at him.
"Of course he's coming! You embarrassed the entire family yesterday! As the head of the family, he has to come and to carry out the family discipline! Use your brain!"
Gu Xu swallowed and nodded quickly.
"Yes, Father."
He went and picked up the three fish carefully.
Gui Xu quickly told him, "I said take two and leave the other one on the table!"
Gu Xu did as he was told and then went to the cooking area.
Behind him, Gui Xu lit another smaller fire.
"I'll roast this one," Gui Xu said, picking up the third fish. "A warrior like me needs extra strength!"
He threw salt over the fish generously, put a wooden skewer through it and then placed it over the fire.
The smell of delicious, crispy fatty fish soon filled the cottage.
It was true—Gui Xu was very muscular. His arms were thick, his back wide, and his hands were rough like tree roots. Even though he drank a lot and rarely worked, he was still stronger than most men in the tribe.
Stronger even than the Chief.
But he rarely joined the big hunts that could bring him status and money.
Whenever people asked why, he would say:
"Hard work is for fools! I am living well without it because I work smart!"
As Gu Xu cleaned the fish and cut it into pieces for stew, he thought quietly:
"If working smart means drinking all day and living in a broken house… then I don't want to be smart like Father."
He put the fish pieces into a pot with water and a few wild herbs he had gathered before.
The stew would be simple, but it would be warm and filling.
Behind him, Gui Xu hummed his stupid song again while turning the fish over the fire, clearly very pleased with himself and the smell of roasting meat.
"A strong man drinks and eats the meat,
While fools go hunting in the heat!
Smart men sit and smart men eat,
While fools come home with tired feet!
Hah! Hah! Drink and eat, drink and eat,
That is how a man lives sweet!"
-
After a while, Gui Xu spoke again.
"You know," he said casually, "people were talking a lot this morning."
Gu Xu's hands paused for a moment, but he didn't turn around.
"They said you ran around like a fool yesterday," Gui Xu continued. "Bumping into people. Falling over. Setting your fiancée on fire. Hahaha!"
He laughed again.
"People were saying that the shaman called you inauspicious. Said you bring bad luck."
Gu Xu's grip tightened on the wooden spoon he was holding.
"But I told them," Gui Xu continued, "I told them, 'Of course he's unlucky! Look at how his father is doing in life! Hahaha!'"
Gui Xu laughed at his own joke for a long time.
Gu Xu stared into the pot of stew, his face reflected faintly in the water.
He didn't laugh and neither did he cry.
He just stirred the pot slowly.
After some time, Gui Xu finished roasting his savoury fish and immediately started eating it greedily by himself, tearing the meat apart to separate it from the bones with his hands. He was very skilled in this.
Grease ran down his fingers which he licked.
"Don't overcook the stew," he said with his mouth full. "And after we eat, clean this place properly. The Chief must not see this place looking like a pig's den!"
Gu Xu nodded quietly.
As he stirred the stew, he remembered another portion of what Maki had said which seemed relevant to his current situation.
"Because you are too weak in strength, wisdom, and status to defend yourself, I am forced to do this."
Gu Xu looked at the boiling water. A forced life. It absolutely sucks. The life of a weak person like Gu Xu, is a life without freedom. Being ruled over by someone like Gui Xu.
He started to envy the strong warriors of his tribe.
Even Jian Xu had some serious skills in spite of his health.
Outside, the sky was still grey and wet.
Inside, the small cottage smelled of fish and smoke.
And elsewhere in the tribe, people were still talking about what had happened last night.
As Gu Xu stood over the pot, listening to his father eat and laugh and drink and hum his foolish song…
He did not feel like crying. He knew now that there was a better way to comfort himself.
Now...
He felt like...thinking.