Notes on Longevity

Chapter 17 A Ten-Tael Bet: A Night Tour of Fuyang City

Yang Youan was also surprised to hear this. "This is the residence of Zhang Ze'an that Brother Li mentioned?"

“That’s right.” Li Chengru stood up, turned his back to Yang Youan and looked at the lake: “Back then, in the palace examination, he and I should have been the second and third place winners, but unfortunately, we disagreed on an essay and argued for a long time. In the end, His Majesty allowed us to retake the exam. However, I was young and impetuous at the time and said that I would give up the title of second and third place winner and take the exam again the following year.”

Yang Youan frowned. "The imperial examination is a matter of utmost importance for scholars. How could His Majesty allow you to act so recklessly? If you accidentally anger His Majesty, you could be beheaded."

Li Chengru turned to look at Yang Youan and smiled, "Yes, when we finally realized what had happened, we felt a chill run down our spines and were terrified. But His Majesty agreed."

"This..." Yang Youan was speechless for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

"What then?"

"Later, His Majesty stripped us of our second and third place in the imperial examinations and replaced us with two other people." Li Chengru said, then sat down again. "To this day, neither he nor I understand why His Majesty agreed to our request. We don't know what His Majesty's purpose was in doing this."

"Forget about that. Actually, I came to ask you if you want to continue this bet. Since Zhang Ze'an and I were able to enter the palace examination, we certainly didn't study for nothing. Besides, I was just joking at the time, but seeing how serious you were, I was afraid you actually took it to heart."

Li Chengru looked at Yang Youan with a smile, and scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.

Yang Youan stared at Li Chengru in disbelief. Although he had only known Li Chengru for a short time, he had never seen Li Chengru like this before.

"A gentleman's word is as good as his bond. I have always been honest and trustworthy. Now that I have accepted the bet, even if I know I am destined to lose, I will continue."

Yang Youan spoke with unwavering conviction and firm tone.

“Alright, I’ll say it again: if you win, I’ll pay your room fee; if you lose, it’ll be ten taels of silver. But it looks like you might not be able to keep your ten taels of silver,” Li Chengru laughed.

“That’s not necessarily true.” Yang You’an said seriously. He stood up and gripped the bamboo tube tightly in his hand. “The palace examination is different from the metropolitan examination. The fact that you two can both enter the palace examination means that your reading skills are naturally not bad. Moreover, the fact that His Majesty agrees to your absurd behavior means that His Majesty recognizes your talents. So, Brother Li may not necessarily be the worst candidate in this metropolitan examination.”

“But I lost to him last time too.” Li Chengru was a little embarrassed to interrupt Yang Youan as he spoke so righteously, and only spoke after he finished speaking.

Yang Youan was visibly flustered upon hearing this, but he managed to regain his composure and continued, "Then... then Brother Li might not necessarily lose this time. As long as... as long as Brother Li takes advantage of the remaining two weeks to focus on his studies, it's not impossible for him to get first place."

"it is good!"

As soon as Yang Youan finished speaking, Li Chengru, looking greatly encouraged, slapped the stone table and stood up, saying, "Since Young Master Yang says so, then I will take first place."

"Well, Brother Li, if you win the ten taels of silver, could you spare some time? I really can't afford that much right now."

Yang Youan said this, but he was also unsure of himself. He could only say some things in advance so that he would have room to maneuver later.

"No problem. You can give it to me after you pass the imperial examination, get an official position, and receive rewards."

Yang Youan was relieved when Li Chengru agreed, since he really didn't have that much money right now.

And so, after finalizing the bet, the two of them chatted about the imperial examinations, poetry, calligraphy and painting in the pavilion in the backyard until night fell.

Seeing that it was getting late, Li Chengru led Yang Youan out of the backyard and to his room.

As he passed through the lobby, Li Chengru asked the waiter to prepare some food and send it over.

The waiter always seemed to be the same, bowing and scraping, always responding with a smile.

After dinner, the two stood by the window, looking at the already dark sky. But Fuyang City was brightly lit, with lanterns of various colors illuminating the streets. Li Chengru looked at the crowd below and said to Yang Youan, "Remember when I took you out for a stroll tonight?"

Yang Youan replied, "I remember."

"Come on, it's your first time in Beijing, I'll show you around."

With that, Li Chengru turned and walked outside, with Yang Youan following closely behind him.

At night, Fuyang City is bustling with people. The streets are brightly lit, with colorful lanterns adorning the entire street, and the high-hanging lanterns illuminating the street as if it were daytime.

Yang Youan and Li Chengru walked down the street, looking around. What attracted them most was a large crowd gathered around a relatively open space, where firelight was everywhere.

There were three men, wearing black straw hats and dressed in black. One of them held an iron rod with flames burning at both ends; the other also held an iron rod, but his rod had square iron frames at both ends.

Standing behind the two was a shirtless man holding an arm-sized, iron-spoon-like object in one hand and a wooden hammer in the other.

The iron frame had a small gap, inside which were many things that were glowing with fire.

Li Chengru excitedly led Yang Youan through the crowded throng to the front. There, a man held an iron rod with two blazing flames at both ends horizontally in one hand, and slammed the rod down hard with the other. His body spun with the rod, and two bright, huge rings of fire appeared out of thin air. The man kept dancing, and Yang Youan saw him disappear into the dazzling firelight.

Seeing this, another man also held the iron rod horizontally and shook it up and down. The iron frame was immediately engulfed in flames, along with countless sparks.

He then twirled the fire stick twice, and sparks instantly filled the air, engulfing the man. Seeing this, Yang Youan's heart tightened, fearing something might happen to them, but then he saw the two men slowly emerge from the sparks, fire sticks in hand.

Immediately, the last person used an iron spoon to scoop up a spoonful of molten iron-like substance from the iron bucket next to him; it was extremely hot.

He raised the hand holding the iron ladle, then swung the wooden hammer violently. With a muffled thud, the molten iron in the ladle burst forth, spewing into the sky and finally turning into a rain of fire that scattered across the earth.

Immediately, the onlookers clapped and cheered.

Well, Yang Youan looked at people's reactions with a puzzled expression, frowning as he pondered something.

After seeing the man swinging the iron spoon stop, Li Chengru pulled Yang Youan out of the crowd and said to him with a big smile, "How about it, isn't it nice!"

But when he finished speaking, he noticed that Yang Youan looked distressed and quickly asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"What were they doing just now?" Yang Youan asked Li Chengru, puzzled.

He was very worried, worried that the two men would get hurt, or even lose their lives. But just as the two men were wielding the iron rods, he saw Li Chengru staring at them with a smile on his face. He didn't know why, nor did he know what they were doing.

"You haven't seen him before?" Li Chengru asked, looking Yang Youan up and down.

"No," Yang Youan quickly shook his head and explained.

"That's true. Such performances are rare. They can only be seen in or near the capital, in some relatively affluent areas. It's normal that you haven't seen them."

Li Chengru thought about it and agreed, so he continued walking forward.

Yang Youan followed behind him and continued, "I really don't understand, and I've never seen it before. Please enlighten me, Brother Li."

(End of this chapter)