Chapter 10

Volume One: Mountain Ghost Rumor, Chapter Ten: Repaying Kindness

Nongsui Lane is in the southwest of Youju Town, next to Zhecao Alley, and walking south from Zhecao Alley leads to Xiao Hua Xiang.

The woman dragged the fighting Liang You and Wang Lvshui couple past Zhecao Alley, while Yang Yun walked out of the alley with one hand holding a book of sages, chanting to himself.

Seeing Yang Yun, who looked like a silly goose, the woman glared at him hatefully.

"Ma Lan Jie, why are you glaring at me?" Yang Yun wore a long cloth robe that had been washed so many times its original color was no longer visible.

Ma Lan said angrily: "It's all your fault!"

Yang Yun pondered with his head down, then suddenly realized, hurriedly bowing repeatedly, and apologized: "It's all my fault for reading the sages' books too loudly last night, disturbing the neighbors' good dreams. If Brother Liang and Madam Liang are arguing because of my night reading, I am willing to go to your door to apologize."

"No need!"

Ma Lan angrily pulled the Liang couple into Xiao Hua Xiang.

Wang Lvshui's shouting resounded through the streets and alleys: "You dog of a man, count it up, how many years have I been married to you? How have you treated me? Every day you are lazy and idle, not doing your proper work. Other people's husbands have earned money and renovated their houses, and you? Not only do you not earn money, how do you have the face to ask me for money?

After coaxing money out of my hands with sweet talk, you turn around and go to that vixen to eat wontons. Is the food I cook not delicious? Can't I feed a white-eyed wolf like you?

You dog of a man! I'll beat you to death!"

Ma Lan tried to mediate: "Lvshui, keep your voice down, let the neighbors hear and laugh at you!"

"I won't! Let everyone hear how that vixen who sells wontons hooks other people's husbands, ptooey!"

Yang Yun didn't look away from the book of sages in his hand, murmuring to himself: "Do not listen to what is improper, do not look at what is improper..."

"Yang Dage."

Zhao Chan stood in front of Nongsui Lane.

Yang Yun looked up and smiled: "Oh? Little Brother Zhao!"

As he spoke, he bowed to Zhao Chan.

The youth returned the salute and ran to Yang Yun: "Can I ask Yang Dage to teach me how to practice calligraphy? I will pay."

"Practicing calligraphy is good!" Yang Yun's eyes lit up. "Money, this worldly possession, is like dirt to you and me; no need to mention money! When you have time, Little Brother, come to my house, and I will explain the key points of calligraphy to you. Afterward, you can copy the calligraphy of famous masters extensively."

"Is Yang Dage free tonight?"

"Yes, yes..." Yang Yun nodded happily, "I will wait for you at home, Little Brother."

"Thank you, Yang Dage."

Yang Yun bowed and said goodbye.

Helplessly, Zhao Chan returned the salute again.

Yang Dage was good at everything, except for being particularly persistent about etiquette.

An outsider stood by the street, peeking as Zhao Chan opened the lock and walked into the courtyard.

"The third house in Nongsui Lane."

Wu He, a thug hired by that group of merchants, had found him and bought Zhao Chan's life for ten taels of silver.

"Beating a youth to death can earn ten taels of silver, heh, this money is really easy to earn."

Before earning the money, he had to scout the location, lock onto the target, and choose to sneak into Zhao Chan's house in the early morning for a quick, accurate, and fatal strike.

Since he had accepted the mission, he had to complete it with quality and quantity.

He was a Lower-grade Body Tempering Realm practitioner.

For someone with very low natural talent like him, if he wanted to progress in realm, he could only buy expensive tonics to refine his physique.

Now, the money in his hands had long been squandered. Ten taels of silver would make his life much easier, and he could even squeeze out six taels to buy that ten-year Dragon Whisker Grass from the Youju Town pharmacy to continue his difficult trek toward the Middle-grade Body Tempering Realm.

He whispered: "I want to progress too much."

"Your Excellency is acting sneakily, are you planning to do something bad?"

The outsider was startled: "Where did you pop out from?"

Yang Yun said righteously: "I observed that your eyes were fierce, staring at Nongsui Lane with ill intent..."

"I'm asking how you got over here!" The outsider was frightened and couldn't help but shout.

"Oh, I walked over."

"You're sick in the head!" the outsider cursed.

Yang Yun advised: "The Master said, 'The benevolent love others, and those who are polite respect others. Those who love others are always loved by others; those who respect others are always respected by others.'"

The outsider stared blankly at Yang Yun: "You, I, I f***ing... you f***ing..."

"Please mind your language, Your Excellency!"

"F***ing pockmarked head! Sick in the head!" The outsider had already secretly followed Zhao Chan and knew his address, so he turned and left, ignoring the pedantic Yang Yun. "Bad luck, in a godforsaken place like Youju Town, I actually ran into a sour scholar."

And Yang Yun shook his head and sighed, lamenting the decline of social morals.

He walked to the wonton stall, took two wen from his pocket, and said to Zhang Cui Cui: "A bowl of chive-filled wontons, extra soup."

Zhang Cui Cui's eyes were like silk, deliberately teasing him: "Did Yang Dage hear?"

"I study hard behind closed doors, only going out when it's time to eat, and haven't heard anything." Yang Yun sat down with his book of sages, shaking his head.

He was multitasking, listening to Zhang Cui Cui while silently reciting the sages' teachings.

Zhang Cui Cui stood, and from her angle, she saw a pockmark on Yang Yun's head: "They say you broke into a widow's door at night."

"Heh, nonsense." He scoffed, not getting angry in the slightest.

"Some people also say you want to marry that widow."

"Fabrication! In my heart, there is only the profound meaning of the sages."

Yang Yun came to the wonton stall on time every day to eat a bowl of chive-filled wontons, and she had already prepared it for him.

She served the wontons.

Zhang Cui Cui sat nearby, her gaze burning, watching him hold the book in one hand and scoop the wontons into his mouth with the other, reciting scriptures in a low voice from time to time.

"Yang Dage..."

"Hmm?"

"Tell you a secret."

"Do not listen to what is improper."

"It's about Yang Dage."

The chive-filled wontons his mother made had a unique and wonderful taste. After his mother passed away, Yang Yun thought he would never be able to eat them again. He hadn't expected that the chive-filled wontons made by Miss Zhang would taste exactly the same as the ones his mother made.

That was why he ate a bowl every day; in this way, he imagined his mother was still by his side.

"It has to do with me?"

"Yes."

Yang Yun put down the book of sages, stood up, and bowed earnestly: "Please tell me, Miss Zhang, I would be most grateful."

Zhang Cui Cui also smiled and stood up, mimicking him, and returned the salute: "Yang Dage, sit down quickly, chive-filled wontons won't taste good if they get cold."

"Okay, okay."

She said: "Actually... actually I am not a widow, I... I have never been married."

"Ah? Why did you claim to be a widowed woman when you came to Youju Town, Miss Zhang?" Yang Yun asked in surprise.

Zhang Cui Cui blushed, her eyes sticky, as if they could spin silk: "To repay a benefactor."

"Repay a benefactor?"

"My benefactor gave me a bowl of rice when I was about to starve to death."

"This person is truly kind!" Yang Yun praised.

"Yes, he is indeed a good person, a good person in the true sense." Zhang Cui Cui said: "He is currently studying hard, looking forward to passing the imperial examination next year and winning the top prize."

"The same as me!" Yang Yun said happily, "I am also studying the sages' books hard, hoping to have my name inscribed on the Wild Goose Pagoda in next year's imperial examination!"

He said: "Miss Zhang, where is this person? I sincerely want to make friends with him and discuss learning together; it would surely be beneficial."

Zhang Cui Cui shook her head: "Yang Dage, the soup is cold, let me add another spoonful for you."

"I'm sorry to trouble you, Miss."

He dropped the door latch.

Zhao Chan watched the two sisters sitting and standing in his courtyard, a look of surprise flashing across his face.

The girl in green, Bai Youjun, saw him return and, like the owner of the house, walked up affectionately and took his arm: "Young gentleman, are you tired after being busy all morning? I brought you some food."

Zhao Chan pulled his arm away, retreated to the gate, and gripped the peach branch tucked at his waist tightly with his right hand.

Bai Youjun didn't care about his coldness; she happily placed the food she had bought on the table in the room and called out coquettishly: "Young gentleman, time to eat!"

Elder sister said that a woman chasing a man is like a layer of gauze; she was too nervous last night, it was really unnecessary.

Zhao Chan, a lonely youth, as long as one treats him well, he will soon fall into a gentle trap.

Bai Youjun kept her elder sister's teachings in mind, bought wine and meat from the Qianji shop, and was going to follow her elder sister's guidance to win over Zhao Chan.

"Young gentleman, come over quickly!" she beckoned and shouted.

Her voice was crisp and playful.

Zhao Chan's gaze had been on Bai Yuqing the whole time. He didn't question why they had broken into his house, but instead said: "How do you want me to act as bait?"

Bai Yuqing sat on a wooden stool, looking up at the sparrows chirping and jumping on the branches. It was a paulownia tree, growing in his neighbor's house, three or four zhang tall. She said casually: "Haven't decided yet. But you told the Demon Slaying Division about my and Qing's whereabouts, and the Demon Slayer named Wang Huan is searching the whole town for us."

She withdrew her gaze and let it fall on Zhao Chan's chest: "You have a book tucked in your bosom?"

"Yes."

"Let me see."

Zhao Chan became even more guarded.

Bai Yuqing stood up, deliberately slowing her pace to make him feel pressure. "If I really wanted to kill you, you would die without a sound. Don't even think about having the Demon Slaying Division avenge you; they won't even know it was me who killed you."

"Young gentleman, don't be afraid! Elder sister is just scaring you!" Bai Youjun shouted.

He had no way to judge if Bai Yuqing was scaring him, so he took out "Forest of Literature," took the initiative to meet Bai Yuqing, and handed it to her.

Bai Yuqing flipped through the book and asked: "You yearn for Confucian learning?"

"I just like useful learning."

"How can you judge whether the learning in the book is useful?"

Bai Yuqing felt Zhao Chan was talking big.

How many scholars have spent their whole lives studying, only to be rote memorizing? A young, ignorant village youth, who hasn't learned much, actually has such a big mouth.

The ignorant are fearless.

Zhao Chan said: "First memorize the learning."

"And then?"

"Go and do it earnestly. If the learning is truly useful, then it will definitely allow me to live better and better."

"What if you follow the guidance of the learning and live worse and worse?"

"Read more books, memorize more learning," Zhao Chan said honestly. "Perhaps I can also summarize some insignificant principles."

Bai Yuqing was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "A stupid method."

"Yes, although the method is stupid, it can let me know which learning is useful and which is not."

"Interesting."

Bai Yuqing returned "Forest of Literature" to him and instantly snatched the peach branch tucked at his waist.

"Huh."

"Elder sister, is the peach branch a Dharma artifact?" Bai Youjun hopped to Bai Yuqing's side, curiously examining the peach branch with new buds.

"Strange, the feeling the peach branch gives me is that it is a Dharma artifact, and yet it isn't."

Bai Youjun asked in surprise: "Could it be a Spirit artifact?"

Bai Yuqing shook her head: "If it were a Spirit artifact, Zhao Chan would have been sucked dry long ago."

The peach branch had accidentally fallen into Bai Yuqing's hands. Zhao Chan first carefully put away "Forest of Literature," then stood in place waiting.

The two sisters were high-and-mighty cultivators, and he was just a mortal.

Given the massive gap, the best choice before him was not to act rashly. If he still wanted to live...

"How did you get the peach branch?"

"Lao Liu gave it to me."

"Who is Lao Liu?" Bai Youjun asked, snatching the question.

Zhao Chan replied: "The master who taught me to collect lacquer."

Bai Yuqing glanced at the room, where there were remains wrapped in red cloth: "Lao Liu is dead?"

"He went to Eren Mountain and never came back."

"You've been to Eren Mountain?" Bai Yuqing asked.

Eren Mountain was filled with miasma and rampant with unintelligent demon beasts. If he had been there, he was truly lucky.

Although there was only a one-character difference between demon beasts and wild beasts, there was a world of difference.

Demon beasts could already absorb spiritual Qi, and if they had the opportunity to open their intelligence in the future, they would embark on the path of cultivation.

While wild beasts only had instinct.

Moreover, demon beasts absorbed spiritual Qi to temper their bodies, which was already incomparable to wild beasts of the same species.

"I went."

Bai Yuqing searched repeatedly several times and found nothing, then returned the peach branch to him: "Since you entered Eren Mountain, you didn't encounter any demon beasts?"

"No."

"The truth?"

"The truth," Zhao Chan said solemnly, tucking the peach branch back into his waist.

Bai Yuqing frowned. She and Qing had already been to Eren Mountain. As far as the eye could see, colorful miasma overflowed in every corner, unintelligent demon beasts gathered in groups in the mountains, and a very small number of demons that had opened their intelligence occupied caves, breathing in and out spiritual Qi.

"You're lying. You didn't go to Eren Mountain; you must have picked up some bones in the wild and lied that they were Lao Liu's," Bai Yuqing said.

Zhao Chan was silent for a long time before slowly saying: "I did lie."

Bai Youjun looked at him with sudden sadness.

She didn't like a young gentleman who lied.

If they became husband and wife in the future, what would happen if he lied to her?

"I don't know if the remains are Lao Liu's. I searched in Eren Mountain for a long time and only found these."

"..."

Bai Yuqing carefully observed his expression.

Calm, like an ancient well without waves, like a lake without ripples or folds.

Facing the interrogation, he remained so composed; Zhao Chan didn't look like a youth, but an old man who had experienced the vicissitudes of life.

Youthful but mature, that was probably how it was.

"Qing, let's go."

"Elder sister, elder sister..."

"Hmm?"

"I, I want to stay."

"Nonsense!"

Bai Yuqing raised an eyebrow, and Bai Youjun instantly followed behind her obediently.

Bai Youjun suddenly became happy because the young gentleman hadn't lied.

Eren Mountain was so big; that he could search the mountains and plains for his master's remains was already commendable.

"Who are they?" Sun He poked his head out from the other side of the courtyard wall.

Zhao Chan looked at him in confusion.

They were neighbors who saw each other every day, and they had long known each other's personalities inside and out.

Sun He seemed like a different person.

Before, if he had been talking to the two sisters in the courtyard, Sun He would definitely have been squatting on the wall picking his butt and watching the fun.

Could it be that he had just returned home? And only just heard the commotion in his own courtyard?

"Don't know."

"Oh," Sun He pulled his head back.

Zhao Chan walked back into the room.

On the table, besides the wine and meat Bai Youjun had bought, there was also the old, tattered book he had prepared to pass off as the real thing.

Sun He still hadn't taken it away.

In fact, he hadn't even mentioned the "Treasure Book" again.