Chapter 21: Oath of the Peach Garden

  When the first ray of spring sunshine lazily rose from the eastern horizon, Li Guoting and Zhao Erhu supported Ma Fei, who had been running for a whole night. They finally got rid of the pursuit of those people in Yangcun Town. The three men were hungry, tired and exhausted, and they arrived at a small town called Xinyi in a neighboring county.

  In the morning, XinYi town just woke up from sleep, and a thin mist rose from the ground again. The damp fog with a strong smell of rotting soil gathered over XinYi town from all directions, and soon a long white belt of fog formed in the air above XinYi town. From a distance, the white belt undulated and surrounded XinYi town at its waist.

  Li Guoting and Zhao Erhu, Ma Fei did not dare to enter the town rashly. They first came to a mound of straw beside the town, where three people leaned against the straw heap that emitted a rice fragrance, like a scattered frame, tilting east and west.

  "I'm starving to death. It's urgent. Oh no. My mother... Who can find some food for us?" Zhao Erhu's head was buried in the warm straw heap, his legs were stretched out and one hand was slapping the straw beside him as he shouted.

  Ma Fei leaned his head against the haystack, with the collar of his padded jacket emitting hot air, and moved the arm wrapped in a bandage to his chest. His two eyes gazed at the sky shrouded in thin fog, saying: "Alas, when I escaped from my hometown, I also brought a lot of money. Unexpectedly, on the way, I encountered enemies chasing and killing me, and one of the money bags was lost..."

  Ma Fei hadn't finished speaking when Zhao Erhu, who was beside him, suddenly crawled out from the haystack with a rustling sound. His two wolf-like eyes stared intently at Ma Fei's thin face and hastily asked: "I'm telling you, brother, I recognized you at first glance, you don't look like us, you must be some young master from a rich family, right? You lost a wallet, didn't you? There was a lot of money in it, wasn't there?"

  Ma Fei smiled wryly, glanced at Zhao Erhu, and said: "That wallet had a lot of money in it. What a pity, I don't know which bastard picked it up. They got a good deal."

  "Not less money? How much is not less?" Zhao Erhu asked.

  "About over one hundred taels."

  "My goodness, over a hundred big bucks, enough for us to spend in a year." Zhao Erhu spat out his tongue.

  "Hey, brother, you didn't just bring that one bag of silver coins, did you? Don't be stingy if you have some on you. Take it out and let's go to the town up ahead and have a big feast. We risked our lives to save you, don't be shy about it. If I don't get something to eat soon, I'll really starve to death." Zhao Erhu reached out his hand to search Ma Fei's body.

  "Brother, I had some money on me, but now it's been taken away by those village guards from Yang Village. Now, just like you, I've become a defeated rooster, with nothing left." Ma Fei said with a bitter smile as he glanced at Zhao Erhu.

  Zhao Erhu let out a deflated sigh and pulled his head back from Ma Fei's body, reopening his legs in an eight-character shape, lying on the haystack with his face up to the sky, shouting that he was hungry.

  Li Guoting sat on the straw heap beside Zhao Erhu, he was also starving. Can't starve anymore, have to find something to eat no matter what. But where to find food? The three of them had no money. Go steal? It's broad daylight, can't steal. Go rob? Ma Fei's arm was still injured, it's hard to even run. Indeed, a clever woman cannot cook without rice.

  Just as Li Guoting was also worried about this meal, Zhao Erhu turned his face over and stared at Li Guoting, not speaking for a while.

  Li Guoting felt strange and asked: "Ertuizi, what am I doing? Can't you let me go steal?"

  "What's wrong, big brother? Who told you to go steal? You're going to get caught, it's better if I went instead." Zhao Erhu said.

  "What were you staring at me for?" Li Guoting asked again.

  "I've thought of a way, but it's something only Big Brother can accomplish." Zhao Erhu looked at Li Guoting and said.

  "What's going on?" Li Guoting asked in doubt.

  "Big brother, look at your cotton-padded jacket and the pants on your legs, they're all tattered. You're even more shabby than a beggar. Why don't you just make an effort this one time, go to town and ask for some food from our brothers, first let our bellies not be hungry before saying anything else." Zhao Erhu said.

  Li Guoting's face sank after hearing this, and he said to Zhao Erhu: "You little brat looks down on me, what's wrong with wearing tattered clothes? You don't have more money than me."

  "Hey, big brother, don't be angry, I didn't mean it that way, don't misunderstand. What I meant is, if you go beg for food, people won't suspect anything. If I were to go beg for food, they would think I'm a thief again. Ma Fei went, and he's like a beggar. If we can't even get any food, who knows, maybe we'll be caught again."

  Li Guoting took a look at Zhao Erhu and Ma Fei beside him, then looked at his own tattered clothes, feeling that what Zhao Erhu said made sense. He said to Zhao Erhu and Ma Fei: "Alright, you two stay here, I'll go into town to get some food." With that, he stood up from the haystack.

  Li Guoting left Zhao Erhu and Ma Fei, and went alone to the town ahead to beg for food.

  When Li Guoting arrived at the town, the thick fog had gradually dispersed. The sun reappeared from the mist with a brilliant smile.

  It so happened that a family in the town was marrying off their daughter that day, and to dispel the bad luck, they generously gave Li Guoting, who was begging for food, a big bowl of auspicious noodles and two large white buns.

  Li Guoting happily knelt on the ground, and gave three head knocks to someone, saying some congratulatory words in his mouth. He was overjoyed, holding that bowl of noodles, with two big white steamed buns tucked in his arms, and returned to the haystack where Zhao Erhu and Ma Fei were waiting.

  "Brothers, look what I've brought back for you?" Li Guoting said, placing the bowl of noodles in front of them and pulling out two large white buns from his pocket, putting them on the straw pile.

  The noodles were still steaming hot. A spicy and numbing aroma wafted up from the bowl, enticing Zhao Erhu to drool.

  "Big brother, you're really something. That's coming. I'll eat this bowl of noodles, I'm starving to death. You guys can have those two buns." As he spoke, Zhao Erhu didn't hesitate at all and went forward to pick up the bowl of festive noodles, wolfing it down without even looking at it.

  Ma Fei looked at him with a hint of disdain in his eyes.

  "Li Dage, you haven't eaten yet, have you?" Ma Fei asked.

  Li Guoting also looked at Zhao Erhu with some dissatisfaction. He was about to say something to Zhao, but when Ma Fei asked him, he said: "I haven't eaten, let's eat together when we get back."

  After finishing speaking, Li Guoting handed a steamed bun to Ma Fei and ate one himself.

  After finishing this meal, the three of them rested for a while before standing up and heading south from a road next to the town.

  The morning sunlight begins to drive away the chill of dawn, spreading the warmth of spring ahead of time among people.

  Li Guoting and Zhao Erhu, Ma Fei arrived at a large peach forest in the afternoon.

  The peach tree has begun to reveal the buds of flowers. Sparrows and spotted doves, gray chickens, are competing for food under the peach tree. Grasshoppers and green-legged grasshoppers are playing in the grass. Snow-green grass and shepherd's purse are showing their green figures from the rotten dry grass on the roadside. The warm wind is swaying the willow branches growing by a water ditch beside the peach forest, its long branches full of greenery. Like a shy rural girl, with her hair lowered, fluttering in the wind.

  All this made Li Guoting feel a warmth and comfort he had never felt before. Since fleeing his hometown, he had never experienced such feelings.

  "Brother, let's take a rest here." said Li Guoting.

  "Alright, let's take a break, we've walked enough." Zhao Erhu replied.

  "Let's go, I think we can take a break in the peach forest," said Ma Fei.

  Three people walked into this unguarded peach grove and sat down on the ground.

  Ma Fei looked at Li Guoting and then at Zhao Erhu, suddenly thought of something, and said: "Brother Li, what year were you born? Brother Zhao, what year were you born?"

  Li Guoting felt curious and asked: "Brother, why are you asking this?"

  Ma Fei said: "I have an idea, I don't know if you two are interested?"

  "Alright, brother, what's up? Just say it. Zhao Erhu and I are both straightforward men, let's just be direct." Li Guoting said.

  "Alright, that's what I think. We're all runaways from home, and I've got no place to go back to. Do either of you two still have a home to return to?"

  Li Guoting and Zhao Erhu both shook their heads, saying: "Same as you. We also have no home to return to."

  "Alright, since the three of us are all homeless, that makes us a family. I, Ma Fei, was able to escape with my life thanks to your help in sacrificing yourselves for me. I propose that we three take an oath and become sworn brothers, what do you say?" Ma Fei said, his eyes fixed on Li Guoting and Zhao Erhu, waiting for their response.

  "Sworn brothers, great! I agree. Li and I were sworn brothers before, now we have another brother. Good!" Zhao Erhu said with excitement.

  "Alright, I agree too. Anyway, one more brother, one more way to survive. I agree." said Li Guoting.

  "That's good, everyone agrees, let's report our ages. We'll also address each other according to age from now on." Ma Fei proposed.

  Li Guoting thought for a moment and said, "I don't remember what year I was born. My mother only told me that I was born in March. This month, my virtual age will be 18."

  Zhao Erhu said: "Then I'm half a year younger than big brother. Almost eighteen too."

  "It seems that Brother Li is older than me, I am two months younger than Brother Li." Ma Fei said.

  "Alright, that settles it. In terms of age, I'm the big brother now. Ma Fei is the second brother and Zhao Erhu is the third brother. Haha!" Li Guoting laughed happily.

  "That's great!" Ma Fei also clapped his hands and cheered: "Brother Li, Brother Zhao, look, today's weather is so good. The sun has come out too. And look, aren't we in a peach grove? In 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms', isn't there a story about Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei taking an oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden? It just so happens that we are also three people, let's take an oath to become sworn brothers for life and death."

  "Alright, let's become sworn brothers for life and death in this peach garden." Li Guoting and Zhao Erhu agreed.

  The three stood side by side under a sturdy peach tree, kneeling on the ground with their hands clasped together, facing the sky and swearing: "From today on, I, Li Guoting, Ma Fei, and Zhao Erhu, voluntarily become sworn brothers. From now on, we will share difficulties and joys together. We will live and die together, never betraying each other. If we break our oath, may heaven strike us with thunder and deny us a good death."