"Say whatever you want. Ah Xiu said. In the corner of the bar, Pierce was stuffing coins into a jukebox. Drinkward took a sip into his palm and reached out to Ah Xiu. Ah Xiu shrugged his shoulders and spat into his palm. The two held hands together. Drinkward stepped up, and Asho shook it back. After a few seconds, Ah Xiu's hand began to hurt. Drinkward shook it for a moment, then let go of his hand.

"Good, good," he said, "very good." Another damn stinking mead is the final contract, and we're done. ”

"I'd also ask for another glass of peach liqueur and cola. Pierce staggered back from the jukebox and interjected.

The jukebox began playing "A Thousand Years Later" by the band "Fei'er". It's fucking weird to be able to find this kind of rock tune in the jukebox. It's kind of incredible. But then again, it was so weird this night, and it was getting weirder and weirder.

Ah Xiu picked up the coin he used to play coin tricks from the table, and his fingers happily felt the edges of the pattern of the real coin. He pinched the coin with his right index finger and thumb, and then placed it in the palm of his left hand with a gentle and fluid motion, but the coin was still caught between his right fingers. He quickly clenched his left hand into a fist and grasped the non-existent coin. He picked up another coin from his right index finger and thumb and pretended to shove it into his clenched left hand, but let the coin that had been hidden between his right fingers fall into the palm of his right hand. The clanging of the two coins makes one mistakenly think that both coins are in his left hand, but they are actually obediently in his right hand.

"Coin tricks?" Pierce asked, raising his beard and stubble face. "Hey, if you're going to play a coin trick, watch me show my hand. ”

He took an empty glass from the table, and with a stretch of his hand, he pulled out a gleaming golden coin from the air. He tossed the coin into the glass, grabbed another coin from the air, and threw it into the cup. The two gold coins collided and jingled. He took out a gold coin from the flame of the candle on the wall, took a gold coin from his beard, and took a gold coin from Ashu's empty left hand, and threw it into the cup one by one. He put his hand on the cup and blew hard, and more gold coins fell from his hand into the cup. He poured the wet gold coins from his cup into his pocket, then opened his pocket—and as expected, the gold coins were gone!

"See?" he said, "that's a coin trick." ”

Ah Xiu kept his head sideways, watching intently. "Tell me how you changed. ”

"Anyway, it came out. Pierce said mysteriously, with a look of great secret, "Pretty, stylish." That's how I got it. He laughed silently, his body swaying back and forth, his teeth sparsely grinning.

"Yes," said Ashu, "it is indeed beautiful. You've got to teach me. I've read all the magic tricks in David Copperfield's Dream Magic. You must have hidden the coins in the hand in which you were holding the cup, let them fall as you played the trick, and then used your right hand to turn the coins away. ”

"It sounds like this set is busy," Pierce said, "and it's easier to get them straight out of the air." ”

Drinkward spoke suddenly, "This is your honey, Asho. I still drink my whiskey, and give it to this Irishman who loves to eat white food......"

"I want a bottle of beer, dark beer. Pierce said, "Eat white food?" He held up the rest of his drink and toasted to Asho. "May the storm depart soon, so that we may be healthy and safe from harm. With that, he drank dry wine and put down his glass.

"A good toast," said Drinkward, "but unfortunately it won't come true." ”

Another glass of honey wine was placed in front of Ashur.

"Do you have to drink it?"

"I'm afraid so. This is the ritual of the contract, and it is only effective to drink three cups in a row. ”

"Damn it. Ah Xiu said, pouring two large sips of honey wine. The smell of honey ceviche fills the mouth and lingers for a long time.

"Okay, now you're mine. Mr. Drinkward said.

"So," said Pierce, "do you want to know how that trick came about?"

"Of course. Ashu said, "You hid the coin in your sleeve, right?"

"It's not in my sleeve at all. Pierce said. He giggled triumphantly, jumping and jumping as if he were a lanky, bearded, smug humanoid volcano. "It's the easiest trick in the world. If you beat me, I'll tell you. ”

Ah Xiu shook his head. "I abstain. ”

"Hey, there's a fun thing here. Pierce suddenly yelled at the bar, "Old fellow Drinkward got him a bodyguard for himself, but that guy was a coward and didn't even dare raise his fist." ”

"I'm not going to fight you. Ah Xiu said firmly.

Pierce swayed, sweating profusely, fiddling restlessly with the brim of his baseball cap. He conjured a gold coin from the air and placed it on the table. "Don't doubt it, it's real gold. "It doesn't matter if you win or lose – you're going to lose – as long as you fight me, the gold is yours." A big guy like you, who would have thought you were a fucking coward?"

"He's already said he won't fight you. "Go away, Pierce, take your beer and walk away, let's be quiet for a while." ”

Pierce took a step closer and leaned over to Drinkward, "You call me a white eater, don't you, you damned old monster? The anger made his face a dark red.

Drinkward reached out to block him and said calmly, "You're so stupid, Pierce. Look where you are saying these things. ”

Pierce glared at him, then said in a low, drunken tone, "You hired a coward." What will he do if I hurt you?

Drinkward turned to Asho, "I've had enough. He commanded, "Settle him." ”

Ah Xiu stood up and stared up at Pierce's face. He was curious to know how tall this man really was. "You're bothering us," he said, "you're drunk, and I think you should go home." ”

A smile slowly welled up on Pierce's face. "Look at the punch!" he suddenly swung his fist at Ah Xiu. Ah Xiu leaned back. The opponent's fist landed under his right eye, and countless gold stars suddenly appeared in front of Ah Xiu's eyes, and at the same time he felt a sharp pain.

And just like that, the brawl began.

Pierce's punches were unmoved, undisciplined, and devoid of anything but a frenzy for the fight itself, and his big fists that came with ferocity often missed.

Ashu remained defensive, carefully avoiding Pierce's punches. He noticed that the crowd had gathered and the tables had been moved to make room for them. Ah Xiu also noticed that Drinkward's gaze followed him all the time, with Drinkward's characteristic toothy smile on his face. It is clear that this is a test. But what exactly is the test?

While in prison, Ah Xiu knew that there were two types of fighting: the "Don't Provoke Me" type of fighting, which was usually slow and designed to make as much impression as possible of the unprovoked one, and the private fighting, which was the "real" one: fast, hard, and brutal, often ending the fight in a matter of seconds.

"Hey, Pierce," Ashu cried out breathlessly, "why are we fighting?"

"For the pleasure of the battle itself. Now he doesn't look drunk anymore, Pierce said, "for the thrill of fighting that damn evil." Don't you feel the pleasure of flowing in your blood, the vitality that flows as quickly as the sap of spring?" his lips were bleeding, and so were Ashu's knuckles.

"How the hell did you conjure up the gold coin?" Ashu asked. He swayed backwards, and the fist that should have hit him in the face missed, hitting him in the shoulder.

"I've already told you how it changed. Pierce snorted, "The one who doesn't listen to the truth—oh, good punches—is the blindest of all blind men." ”

Ah Xiu threw a punch that sent his opponent backwards into the table, and empty bottles and ashtrays tumbled to the ground. Ah Xiu can completely end up with this opponent.

Ashu glanced at Drinkward, who nodded in agreement. Ashu looked down at Pierce. "That's it?" he asked. Pierce hesitated for a moment, then nodded. Ah Xiu let him go and took a few steps back. Pierce gasped, suddenly struggling, and stood up.

"It's not over yet," he growled, "unless I say it's over!" he grinned, and the whole person lunged up and pounced on Ah Xiu. His foot touched a piece of ice, his foot slipped, and the smug grin that grinned suddenly turned into a wide-mouthed, panicked expression. He fell backwards with a "boom" and slammed the back of his head against the bar floor.

Ashu pressed his knee against Pierce's chest. "Let me ask you again, is the battle between us over?"

"We can wrap it up. Pierce lifted his head from the floor, "The thrill of battle has left me, like a little boy peeing in the pool on a hot day." He wiped the blood from his mouth, closed his eyes, and snored loudly.

Someone pulled Ah Xiu up from the floor. Drinkward shoved a bottle of beer into his hand.

Beer tastes much better than mead.

Ah Xiu woke up and stretched out in the back seat of the car. The morning sun was harsh, and his head began to ache. He sat up awkwardly and rubbed his eyes.

Drinkward was driving, humming an unnamed tune. There is a cup holder for coffee in a paper cup. They were driving along the country road, and the assistant's seat was empty.

"What a beautiful morning, what do you think?" asked Drinkward without looking back.

"Where's my car?" Ashu asked, "I rented the car." ”

"Pierce drove you back and returned it. It's part of the deal you two make – after the fight. ”

Memories of last night's conversation flooded unpleasantly into my mind. "Do you still have coffee?"

Drinkward's hand reached under the assistant's seat and pulled out an unopened bottle of mineral water. "Here you go, you're getting dehydrated. At this time, water works better than coffee. We'll stop at the next gas station and get you some breakfast. You also need to wash up, you look like you've been caught by a goat. ”

"Scratched by a cat. Ah Xiu corrected him.

"Goats. "Big, long-toothed, stinking goats." ”

Ah Xiu opened the cap of the mineral water bottle and began to drink. Something heavy jingled in his pocket. He reached out and pulled out a coin the size of a half-dollar coin. It's heavy, it's golden.

At the gas station, Ah Xiu buys a cleaning kit that contains a razor, a bag of shaving cream, a comb, and a disposable toothbrush with toothpaste. He walked into the men's bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror.

There was a bruise under one eye, and he tentatively poked it with his finger, and the bruise ached. The lower lip was also congested and swollen.

Ah Xiu washed his face with the hand sanitizer in the bathroom, then lathered his chin and began to shave. He also brushed his teeth and brushed his hair back with a wet. After cleaning, he still looked terrible.

I don't know what Laura would say when she saw him like this. Then he remembered that Laura would never say anything again. He noticed that his face trembled in the mirror, but only for a moment.

He walked out.

"I look terrible. Ah Xiu complained.

"Of course. Drinkward said.

Drinkward walked over to the cashier with a quick food and paid with the gas money. He changed his mind twice, unsure whether to pay the bill by credit card or cash, until the young woman sitting at the cash register chewing gum started to get angry. Ah Xiu watched coldly, watched Drinkward panic, and apologized to her. He suddenly looked very old.

The woman gave him back his cash, put the price of the purchase into the credit card, gave him the receipt, then took the cash he handed over, then returned the cash to him, and took another credit card. Drinkward had a crying expression on his face, completely an old man who had been left helpless by the credit card system of modern society.

They walked out of the warm gas station, their exhaled breath condensing into a white mist in the cold air.

Hit the road again. Brown pasture land swept quickly along the carts. The trees beside the road have lost their leaves, leaving only bare branches. Two black birds stood on the telephone line, staring at them.

"Hey, Drinkward. ”

"What's the matter?"

"I saw it all, you didn't pay for gas. ”

"Oh? really?"

"I saw it. She's been confused by you, do you think she's found out now?"

"She'll never find out. ”

"Who the hell are you, a second-rate liar?"

Drinkward nodded. "Yes," he admitted, "I think I'm a liar, but not just a liar." ”

He spun the wheel and overtook a truck from the right lane. The sky was still overcast and gray.

"It's snowing soon. Ah Xiu said.

"Yes. ”

"Did Pierce really teach me that coin trick?"

"Oh, of course I did. ”

"But I don't remember. ”

"I'll remember it slowly. A lot happened last night. ”

A few small snowflakes blew onto the windshield of the car and quickly melted.