Longevity from Liao Zhai

Chapter 21 Fan Shiyi Niang

"Hey, Zhou Ping is here. Come and eat the dumplings that Auntie just made."

Chen Li was chatting with the old men and women on the street. The moment she saw Zhou Ping, she hurriedly got up and went back to the house to get out the freshly cooked dumplings.

In this world, being able to eat good white flour steamed buns is considered good, and families that can make dumplings are considered well off.

Zhou Ping didn't say anything polite and just picked it up and started eating.

"Hey, eat slowly, there's no rush. There's more after you finish."

"It's really hard for you to live alone. When you are hungry in the future, you can come to my house to find something to eat."

Mrs. Chen Li looked at Zhou Ping's own dumplings with genuine joy in her eyes.

Zhou Ping nodded while eating.

"Mrs. Chen, tell me quickly, what happened to the third lady after she was kidnapped."

"That's right, that's right, tell me now."

The uncles and aunts don’t have much fun in their daily lives, and Chen Li’s is their way to get a glimpse of the upper class society.

"The third lady was kidnapped on the road, and the lame uncle from the escort agency was blocked by a robber."

"My son Erdan took the lead, and Zhou Ping and Daoba followed up the mountain."

"Hey, Zhou Ping is right here, if you don't believe me you can ask him!"

At this time, it had been seven days since Zhou Ping and Uncle Bo returned to Qinghe County.

The rest of the dart team also came back.

Scar's injury was not serious. After a few days of recuperation, he went on a escort mission with Chen Erdan.

Zhou Ping did not escort the convoy.

The trip to Qinghe County made Zhou Ping realize that there were ten-grade enemies everywhere and there were many dangers. He needed to improve his strength.

Of course, Zhou Ping decided to wait for a year for the herbs in Yaowang Mountain to grow, and then continue to complete short-distance missions.

Zhou Ping ate dumplings while watching Chen Li chatting.

After finishing the dumplings, Zhou Ping prepared to leave. During the trip to Qinghe County, Zhou Ping made a small fortune, enough for him to go to brothels and listen to music every night.

The black-clothed man killed by Zhou Ping had a tattered breastplate, a short sword, and more than 170 taels of silver on him.

The breastplate is worthless.
But that dagger can cut through iron like mud, it is a treasure.

After much deliberation, Zhou Ping sold the dagger to the escort agency.

Human beings are not guilty, but they are guilty of carrying a jade.

With this dagger in hand, there is no telling what kind of disaster may come.

The dagger was sold for three hundred taels.

Seeing Uncle Lame's joy, Zhou Ping guessed that the dagger was worth at least six or seven hundred taels.

But it is safer to sell the dagger to the escort agency, no one will know that Zhou Ping sold it for so much silver. Uncle Bo is still very tight-lipped.

The more than 170 taels of silver on the man in black naturally belonged to Zhou Ping.

Zhou Ping now has more than four hundred taels of silver.

With more than four hundred taels of silver, Zhou Ping could just lie down and relax.

"Zhou Ping, what are you going to do after dinner?"

When Chen Li saw Zhou Ping finished his meal, she ignored the fact that her audience was still eagerly waiting for her to tell a story, and instead took care of Zhou Ping first.

"Go to the brothel and turn over the dumpling skins."

"what?"

"Oh, I said it wrong, I said it wrong, let's go to the brothel and listen to music."

Zhou Ping smiled awkwardly.

"My son Erdan is a good-for-nothing. You have to take good care of him."

There was a hint of flattery in Chen Li's tone. How could she not understand her own son's weight?

Chen Li knew that Zhou Ping carried Scar down from the mountain and never left him at the critical moment.

"Auntie, Erdan has already received initiation at Jinhua Temple. He can sense spiritual energy. Erdan is a master. I will have to rely on him to take care of me in the future."

Zhou Ping glanced at the elderly men and women present.

"Hey, Erdan can also feel the spiritual energy."

"Hey, this old lady Chen is quite good at hiding things."

The old men and women looked at Chen Li in an even more different way.

Chen Li straightened her back, her face flushed. Since her husband passed away, Chen Li had worked hard to raise four children, and finally she had achieved her current situation.

"Hey, Zhou Ping, what are you talking about?"

"Zhou Ping, you are a talker."

Chen Li couldn't stop smiling.

Some words are more convincing when spoken by others than when spoken by yourself.

The world in this world is not like the previous life. There is a lack of entertainment, but the level of music listened to in brothels is far higher than in the previous life.

The girls here are all virgins with superb dancing skills.

These days, Zhou Ping has been practicing martial arts except for eating, sleeping and so on.

But there will always be a time when you feel tired after practicing, and people should always combine work and rest.

Zhou Ping had no family background, so he was happy and free.

As for Xiaobai, he did not follow Zhou Ping.

Xiaobai doesn't like the environment in the brothel.

When Xiaobai has nothing to do, he likes to go to the He family to visit the third wife Liu Ruyan, and he always brings back some delicious food for Zhou Ping.

"Hey, do you know? Miss Mingyue is no longer in the Jiaofangsi."

"What? My goddess was married to some boy?"

"That's right, who in Qinghe County has the ability to marry Miss Mingyue?"

"Ms. Mingyue didn't get married, but was poached by the Imperial Music Bureau in the capital."

"Yes, Miss Mingyue is a Confucian rank tenth rank, which is really unfair to her in Qinghe County."

"It's not about the Tenth Rank."

"what is that?"

Several scholars in the brothel were talking about the courtesan Mingyue.

"It's all because of that song, Moonlight Before My Bed!"

"Yes, I have heard that too. This poem is simple and easy to learn. Even a child can recite it."

"This poem became popular because of Miss Mingyue!"

"Some high-ranking officials in the capital also knew about this poem, and they also wanted to see her beauty."

"They want to see if Miss Mingyue is as white as described in the poem!"

"The moon shines brightly before my bed, I wonder if it is frost on the ground." This poem gives people the feeling that the moon is as white as frost.

"Ms. Mingyue is naturally extremely white."

"How do you know Miss Mingyue is white? You have never seen her naked."

"This poem has become famous because of Miss Mingyue! Damn it, this opportunity should have been mine."

The scholar hated himself. Why wasn't this opportunity mine?

Zhou Ping was stunned when he heard what the scholars said. He had originally wanted to find an opportunity to discuss Confucian cultivation with Teacher Mingyue, but he didn't expect that she would be promoted to the head office.

Zhou Ping sighed.

"If I had to say what I regret most, it would be rejecting the teacher's kindness when we were together that night."

Great Wei, Kyoto.

Shanyang Academy.

The human race has four saints who created four paths of cultivation for the human race.

Taoist Saint, Martial Saint, Buddhist Saint, Confucian Saint.

The Confucian sage taught his books at Shanyang Academy.

Dynasties may change, but the academy will always be the same academy.

Shanyang Academy is a place that scholars all over the world yearn for.

At this time, in the small courtyard on the highest hill of the academy.

The small courtyard is very simple but clean.

There are two paintings in the middle of the room.

A vertical painting depicts a well-mannered middle-aged man.

There is also a horizontal painting, which shows the vast mountains and rivers.

A middle-aged scholar in white burned incense and prayed in front of the two paintings.

Behind the scholar was a young man who looked about 70% similar to him and was extremely handsome.

"Eleventh Lady, come and burn incense for the Confucian Saint."

The middle-aged scholar said.

The people behind didn't move.

"Eleventh Lady." "Eleventh Lady?"

"Eleventh Lady!"

The middle-aged scholar shouted for a long time, but the young man behind him remained unmoved.

"Eleven, come and burn incense for the Confucian Saint."

The middle-aged scholar said helplessly.

"Okay, Dad."

The boy shrugged, looking nonchalant.

The middle-aged scholar was the first contemporary Confucian, the first-class Confucian Fan Zhongfu.

The young girl is his daughter, Fan Shiyi.

Fan Shiyi was a Confucian scholar of the fourth rank at a young age. She was extremely talented and was a top scholar.

But Fan Shiyi has a quirk. She doesn't like men who act like women, so she has been dressing like a man since she was a child.

Fan Shiyi was a frequent visitor to the Jiaofangsi.

He has the ability to pick up girls, but he is just a girl.

When Fan Shiyi was in his teens, he took the imperial examination as a man and was almost chosen as the top scorer by the emperor. Fortunately, Fan Zhongfu intervened at the critical moment.

Fan Shiyi is a top scholar and the uncrowned king.

"Eleven, have you gone to the Jiaofangsi to meet Miss Mingyue?"

Fan Zhongfu asked.

"I've seen it before."

"How about it?"

"The moonlight shines brightly in front of the bed, I thought it was frost on the ground. I stripped off half of her clothes, but they were not as white as I imagined."

"Who asked you that? I was talking about the person who wrote this poem."

Fan Zhongfu was almost mad at his daughter. He asked Fan Shiyi to go to the Jiaofang Division to find out who wrote the poem.

Fan Zhongfu felt that the person who could write Quiet Night Thoughts was a talented person, so he wanted Fan Shiyi to ask this person about his character.

As long as this person has good character, Fan Zhongfu wants the person who wrote this poem to study in the academy.

"Oh, you mean the person who writes poetry."

"I asked, the one who wrote the poem was a small escort, not a scholar. This poem was probably written by the small escort out of some unintentional inspiration."

Fan Shiyi paused, then chuckled. Being able to write a poem like "The moon shines brightly before my bed" to Miss Mingyue was also a great achievement.

"Go to Qianzhou County to meet this young escort. If he is interested in Confucianism, you can bring him to the academy."

Fan Zhongfu said.

"This poem doesn't have much literary talent. The person who wrote it probably hasn't read much. He just got some sudden inspiration. Is it necessary for him to come to the academy?"

Fan Shiyi said lazily.

"Although the words in this poem are simple, they are catchy and even a child can memorize them quickly. It is truly a great talent."

"You can't write this poem, you wrote ..."

Before Fan Zhongfu could finish his words, he was interrupted by Fan Shiyi.

"Okay, okay, I'll go. Is it okay for me to go?"

Fan Shiyi waved his hand and left the hut.

Fan Zhongfu was not angry, but continued talking to himself.

"Eleventh Lady, the poems you write are full of romance and elegance."

"This poem, Quiet Night Thoughts, is simple in every word, yet full of profound meaning. All your poems put together are not as good as this one."

"This trip can be considered as a training for you. It allows you to see the sufferings of this world. Perhaps it will change you."

"Well, it would be great if you could change your weird habits during this trip."

"Saint, please bless my daughter to bring a man back."

……

"The peach leaves are pointed, and the willow leaves cover the sky."

After listening to the music in the brothel, Zhou Ping bought two pots of wine on the street and went to the escort agency.

These days, Zhou Ping would go to Uncle Bo for advice every night.

Ever since Uncle Lame came back from Qingyuan County, Zhou Ping felt that he had changed a little and seemed to talk more.

Zhou Ping practiced martial arts during the day, and came to ask Uncle Lame for advice at night when he was done with the escort agency.

In addition to giving Zhou Ping advice, Uncle Bo would also talk about his own experiences when he was young.

These experiences were also eye-opening for Zhou Ping.

Ghosts, zombies, demons that can transform into human form, mermaids with human bodies and fish tails, demon cults...

Zhou Ping had never heard of these things.

Uncle Bo also asked Zhou Ping if he was willing to take a long distance trip, and Zhou Ping’s answer was “no”.

Zhou Ping said that his strength was weak and needed to be improved.

It only takes one year for medicinal herbs to grow on Yaowang Mountain.

Zhou Ping could afford a year, after all, he was half immortal and already a rich man.

There are a lot of people in the escort agency during the day.

Some of the escorts came to accept missions, some came back from missions, and some came to the escort agency without any missions to exchange martial arts.

There were no people in the escort agency at night, only a few escorts and Uncle Lame who guarded the yard.

As soon as Zhou Ping entered the escort agency, he heard the sound of fighting.

"Is there an enemy?"

Zhou Ping's face changed, he released his spiritual energy and began to sense the situation within ten feet.

The escort agency is very famous in several nearby counties, and because there are hundreds of escorts, few people will cause trouble for the escort agency.

Since he dared to cause trouble for the escort agency, it means that he is quite powerful, at least a tenth-grade one like Uncle Lame!

"What a good man, I have something to say."

Before Zhou Ping's perception range expanded, he heard Uncle Lame's voice.

Uncle Lame usually gives people an air of arrogance that says "no one can beat him".

However, the fact that he surrendered to the female ghost at that time made Uncle Lame's arrogant personality collapse in Zhou Ping's heart.

"It's one of those two robbers!"

Zhou Ping's perception range expanded, just in time to see the situation in the yard.

A man in black is confronting Uncle Lame.

Although the man in black was wrapped in black clothes, Zhou Ping still recognized him as one of the two robbers who kidnapped the third wife.

The man in black had several cuts on his body, two of which were bleeding.

Uncle Lame wasn't having a good time either. His face was covered in dirt and his body was bleeding from many places.

"Good man, let's talk it over. If you have any difficulties, I will lend you a hundred or eighty taels of silver."

Uncle Lame said while panting.

Zhou Ping: If you can beat them, fight them. If you can’t, just give in. I’ve learned my lesson.

"Give me that dagger!"

The man in black said coldly.

"Dagger? Oh oh...dagger."

Uncle Bo suddenly realized what was going on, and reluctantly took out the dagger he had bought from Zhou Ping from his waist. This dagger was of excellent quality, worth at least seven or eight hundred taels of silver, and he had originally intended to give it to Yan Yi.

But now the powerful enemy is at the doorstep, there is nothing we can do but give in.

Uncle Lame hates that he is not young.

When I was young, I didn’t even know how to write the word “follow your heart”.

When Uncle Lame was young, he was like a sharp sword. He would kill gods and Buddhas when he met them. He was extremely murderous, even more murderous than the young man in front of him.

“The waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves ahead.”

Uncle Lame threw the dagger to the man in black dejectedly.

The man in black didn't want to get entangled with Uncle Lame.

Both of them are of the tenth rank, but the young and strong are more powerful.

After all, Uncle Lame is old and has few opportunities to take action, unlike the man in black who always lives on the edge of a knife.

But the man in black did not dare to underestimate the enemy. If Uncle Lame fought to the death, he would also be injured.

The man in black is aiming for the dagger, which is a sharp weapon for close combat and is very useful for assassination.

Since Uncle Lame knew what was good for him, the man in black stopped making things difficult for him.

"Snapped."

"boom."

There was the sound of a dagger falling into the hand, followed by a sound of explosion.

(End of this chapter)