Chapter 314: The Mysterious Old Man

The tavern ultimately closed down under the secret suppression of that physician.

Su Fan did not mind; he simply took the few of them, left Xianyang City, and temporarily settled in a village by the Wei River near Xianyang City.

This village in Bai Family Township was a village of Lao Qin, with over a hundred households, most of whom were elderly and children.

There were almost no young adults.

This was very Lao Qin, because the young adults of the Lao Qin were either performing corvée labor or had died in battle.

It could be said that the rise of the Great Qin over these past few hundred years was inseparable from these Lao Qin who followed one after another.

Su Fan brought the half-grown children and settled into this Bai Family Township.

There was no melodramatic hostility; on the contrary, they were quite welcome. After all, Su Fan was an adult, and those few who were still children in Su Fan's eyes were already fourteen or fifteen, which was considered nearly adult in the eyes of the Lao Qin.

These people were quite welcome, as the Lao Qin lacked young adults.

Most importantly, Su Fan was a person with learning.

Now that the world was unified, the common people at the bottom, though not very knowledgeable, were also clear that without wars to fight, the possibility of obtaining titles through military merit had greatly diminished.

The common people at the bottom also knew that if they could learn some knowledge or skills, then their children would have a way out when they grew up.

Just as Su Fan and the others had been settled in Bai Family Township for over a month, on this day, a group of Imperial Guards in Iron Armor came to this poor village by the Wei River.

They escorted an old man as he slowly walked into the village.

"You are Su Shaoyu?"

The old man walked toward Su Fan with a dragon-like and tiger-like gait.

Seeing this old man, Su Fan's Divine Soul shook.

"What a formidable physique!"

"What immense Xuesha Qi! How many people must have been killed to produce this Xuesha Qi that has almost condensed into substance?"

From this old man's body, Su Fan sensed that aura of Xuesha, which was even more terrifying than those demonic cultivators in the Main World.

Under the touch of his Divine Soul, it was as if he were trapped deep in a blood-colored space, surrounded by the aura of slaughter.

"This old man is not simple."

Su Fan hurriedly restrained his mind, then cupped his hands in a salute and said: "Greetings, General. I am indeed Su Shaoyu."

"May I ask what business the General has with me?"

"The young man is quite polite."

"Is the book *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* written by you?"

"Indeed, it was written by this youngster. It is a clumsy work, just to make people smile; it is hardly worthy of the grand hall."

"The young man is too modest. Not to mention the writing style, the overt and covert schemes and tricks in this book are actually worth a look."

The old man nodded secretly at Su Fan's self-deprecation; he was not the type of person who was arrogant and conceited.

As for his knowledge and ability, to be able to write the book *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, he must certainly have some learning; otherwise, the military strategy and tactics within it could not have been written by just anyone.

It was just that in the old man's eyes, these military strategies were mostly just armchair strategy, merely something novel that made his eyes light up.

If Su Fan knew the other party's thoughts, he would also give a thumbs up. Who wrote *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*?

Luo Guanzhong. Who is this person?

Everyone knows Luo Guanzhong was a novelist, but in reality, he was also a staff advisor.

He was once a staff advisor for Zhang Shicheng, who vied for power with the Ming Taizu.

In the early days, he assisted Zhang Shicheng in his campaigns, making many contributions, so he did have strategy.

But he was definitely not a master of military strategy; at most, he knew some military theory—it was just armchair strategy.

"The General is too kind. Armchair strategy is nothing but a minor path in the General's eyes."

Su Fan continued to be humble. Not knowing the old man's background, Su Fan could only bow and be humble like this.

The feeling this old man gave Su Fan was simply too dangerous, not even inferior to the feeling at Little Sage Manor.

It was evident that this old man was definitely a big shot.

"Young man, excessive modesty is hypocrisy."

"However, that *Investiture of the Gods* is more of a flight of fancy."

"Even if Yin Shou was unbearable, he was not as foolish and wicked as you described in your book. On the contrary, in his early days, he was an out-and-out enlightened monarch."

Speaking of this, the old man's expression rarely revealed a touch of seriousness.

"This youngster has shallow knowledge and wrote it recklessly."

Su Fan feigned panic.

"In the future, when writing novels and stories, you should learn more about history, otherwise, you will be laughed at. However, since this book is a fantasy of gods and demons, it doesn't matter much."

"What were your thoughts on the Heavenly Court? Why did you write about this Heavenly Court?"

The old man suddenly changed the subject and asked calmly.

The old man's question left Su Fan somewhat stunned. What kind of question was this? Was it not allowed to write about the Heavenly Court?

Su Fan looked at the old man blankly and explained: "General, please understand. The term 'Heavenly Court' is something I borrowed because I remembered that Wu Wang called himself the Son of Heaven, the son of Heaven, so I borrowed the Heavenly Court and the Lord of the Heavenly Dao to cite it..."

Su Fan did not know how to explain it. *Investiture of the Gods* was written by later generations, and by that time, there were already many mythological figures.

But the Great Qin currently did not have many mythological figures; the largest was just the Taiyi pantheon.

"So that's how it is."

The old man nodded and did not delve further, but instead asked: "Then, young man, why did you suddenly close the tavern, making me run here in vain?"

"The General has also been to my tavern?"

Su Fan was still somewhat stunned.

"Indeed. I heard an old friend mention going there once. The dishes there were good, somewhat novel, and the taste was also quite good."

The old man nodded.

"What? What is the situation now?"

Hearing this, Su Fan hesitated for a moment.

"Heh! Is it some powerful noble who wants to take possession?" The old man saw this, understood something instantly, and a look of disdain appeared on his face.

"Can a young man not endure a grievance? Do you know that in our Great Qin, the status of merchants has always been like this?"

The old man asked indifferently.

"General, you jest. How could this youngster not understand? Originally, this youngster intended that as long as that person could block others, then even offering sixty percent of the profits would be nothing."

"It is just that that person not only wants this youngster's restaurant, but also wants this youngster himself."

"Although this youngster is merely a commoner, it is impossible for me to bow and scrape just because of a word from the other party."

Speaking to this point, Su Fan straightened his posture.

"Heh!"

Hearing this, the old man laughed inexplicably and remained silent, but his laughter seemed to carry a certain inexplicable meaning.

"A young man having a backbone is good, but in this world, the weak are prey to the strong. Without powerful strength, then before that, even bowing your head is acceptable. Wait until your strength is powerful, then take revenge."

The old man said meaningfully.

"What the General says is true; this youngster was shallow."

Hearing this, Su Fan did not refute it. The other party's words were indeed correct, but wanting to make him bow his head also depended on who it was. If it were Ying Zheng or those old monsters, Su Fan would not mind.

But a mere insignificant Gentleman of the Household, Su Fan truly did not take him seriously.