I served as Li Bai's page.

The rich young master stood by, heartbroken and stamping his feet, wishing he could fight in his place. He tried to go on stage several times, but the host stopped him each time.

The chickens' fight didn't last long; the fat chicken was pecked until it lay motionless on the ground. Our chicken, after finishing its fight, continued pecking at its food.

The rich young man suddenly lunged at our chicken, which leaped in front of me. I grabbed the money, hugged the chicken tightly, and shouted, "Host, does this cockfighting arena have any rules?"

The host and Li Bai stood before the wealthy young man. The host said, "Of course there are rules. Once a life-or-death agreement is signed, there is no going back. This young man's chicken wins this round." As he spoke, he took Li Bai's hand and raised it above his head.

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, the wealthy young master stepped down from the cockfighting platform and glared fiercely at Li Bai.

The next cockfighting battles were between two pairs of roosters to determine a winner, and then the winner would compete for the championship. Our rooster was the undisputed champion, but since none of the matches were life-or-death battles, no one wanted to lose their good fighting rooster.

After the cockfight ended, Li Bai and I carried the chicken coop out of the cockfighting arena. There were many people waiting for us at the door, all wanting to buy our chickens.

I said to Li Bai, "Young master, while the chickens are still famous, why don't you sell them? You might be able to get a good price."

"I won't sell it. I'll play with it for a few more days and see how many consecutive championships it can win," Li Bai said.

"I hope that young master who lost his chicken won't cause us any trouble. We absolutely can't go to that cockfighting ring tomorrow."

"Do you think I'm afraid of him? Reason prevails everywhere, while unreasonableness makes it impossible to move an inch."

"Young master, we are unfamiliar with Chang'an, so it's best to be careful."

Li Bai and I returned to the inn carrying the chicken coop. The waiter excitedly came up to us and asked, "How did it go? Did I see that right? Did you win the championship?"

I said, "Brother Er, you have a good eye; you won the championship today."

"What a pity, this chicken would have made a fortune if it had been sent to the Chang Le Casino," the waiter said.

"Brother, we're not gambling, we're just playing for a few days, don't talk nonsense," Li Bai said.

For the next few days, Li Bai would take the chicken out in the morning and return in the evening, always with a smile on his face, completely satisfied. For the first two days, I went out with him, but I lacked patience and wasn't interested in cockfighting, so I didn't want to go.

"Yuehua, my chickens have won seven championships, and many people in the cockfighting arena want to buy them. But I haven't sold any," Li Bai said to me.

"Young master, let's sell it tomorrow. You've had enough fun for a week, that's enough for you to chat about. Let's get down to business," I said.

"Let me think about it."

The next day, after Li Bai took the chicken out, I had nothing to do, so I went to Zhuque Street and saw people riding in oxcarts and donkey carts. I thought it was quite interesting, so I stopped an oxcart carrying vegetables on Zhuque Street and rode towards the imperial city. The oxcart had not gone far when I saw a group of military police running into the alley in front of our inn.

"Oh no, Uncle, I don't want to go to the capital. I want to get off the carriage."

The old man driving the cart stopped, and I jumped down and ran towards the alley where the military police had run off to. The cockfighting arena was in that alley.

When I arrived at the entrance of the cockfighting arena, the military police were already there, and a large crowd of onlookers had gathered around. I pushed through the crowd and saw Li Bai standing there, his face and hands covered in wounds. The cockcage was overturned on the ground, and the fighting cock was dead. Two young men dressed in brocade were squatting on the ground, clutching their stomachs.

"Young Master, what happened to you? Did someone bully you?"

I stepped forward, took Li Bai's hand, and examined his injuries.

"It's alright. These guys were just bullying me, trying to steal my fighting cock in broad daylight. I'm really grateful to this gentleman for bringing reinforcements from the Qingxiantai in time; otherwise, I would have suffered a great loss."

"Are you hurt anywhere?" I asked anxiously.

"No, please thank this gentleman."

I bowed to a young man next to Li Bai and said, "Thank you for saving my young master. May I ask your name? My young master will surely repay you handsomely in the future."

"No need for a generous reward, it was just a small favor. My name is Lu Diao. I am currently residing in Chang'an," Lu Diao said.

Li Bai said, "We are also sojourners in Chang'an, and we can be considered like-minded."

The military police leader said to Li Bai, "According to our investigation of the scene, both you and the other party were injured. Your loss is the death of your fighting cock. Do you want to come with us to the yamen to reason with them, or do you want to resolve this now?"

Li Bai said, "As long as they compensate me for my chicken, I won't pursue the rest."

The military police captain found the other party, who said he was willing to pay compensation and handed over two stacks of silver notes to the captain.

The captain walked up to Li Bai and said, "The other party is willing to pay compensation; that's all."

Li Bai looked at the silver note and said, "No, you have to compensate me for my chicken."

I snatched the silver notes from the captain's hand, walked up to him, and said, "It's too little, not enough."

The other party then took out a stack of silver notes and handed them to me.

"That's more like it. I'll let you off this time."

I approached the captain, took out a few silver notes, placed them in his hand, and said:

"Brothers, you've worked hard. Take these drinks and go. You can take these guys back with you."

The captain took the money and led the group toward the Qingxiantai.

I said to the onlookers, "Everyone, disperse. Anyone who wants chicken can have it."

As soon as I finished speaking, the person standing next to the dead chicken immediately took it away. By the time Li Bai realized what was happening and looked for the chicken, the person was already gone.

Li Bai gave Lu Diao a wry smile and said:

"This trip to Chang'an was truly a joke, Brother Lu, please forgive my blunder."

Lu Diao said, "I haven't yet asked your name, brother. I came to Chang'an hoping for a better future, but things rarely go as planned."

Li Bai said, "Just as Brother Lu said, there is a great gap between ideals and reality. My surname is Li, my given name is Bai, my courtesy name is Taibai, and I am from Qinglian in Western Shu."

Upon hearing this, Lu Diao immediately bowed to Li Bai and said, "So it's Li Taibai! I was truly blind to your greatness. I've long heard of your illustrious name; your poems and songs are renowned throughout the land. My apologies for my overconfidence."

"Brother Lu, you flatter me. It seems we are destined to meet. Let's go have a drink." Li Bai pulled Lu Diao along and walked towards the restaurant next to the cockfighting arena.

I followed them into the restaurant and said to the waiter, "Gentlemen, I'd like a window seat."

"Please follow me." The waiter led us to a window seat on the second floor. A maid brought us wine.

Both Li Bai and Lu Diao were lovers of wine. After a few cups, they laid out the ups and downs of their official careers. They sympathized with and flattered each other, drinking for an hour straight.

"Brother Lu, all good things must come to an end. I hope that when we meet again, our dreams will have been realized," Li Bai said, raising his wine cup to Lu Diao.

"Brother Taibai, it is the honor of my life to know you. I wish you a smooth career and continuous promotion." Lu Diao raised his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp.

"Thank you for your kind words, Brother Lu. Let's stop drinking here for today. We'll drink to our hearts' content another time we meet."

Li Bai and Lu Diao stood up. I went to the counter to pay the bill and then returned to the inn with Li Bai.