I became an immortal in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 58 The Whisperer

When I woke up the next day, sunlight streamed through the window and into the room.

Jiang She pushed open the door, and sunlight streamed in, so bright that it made people squint.

Outside, Li Bai and Yuan Danqiu were leisurely performing a Taoist sword dance to refresh their minds. The cat tilted its head back, watching the sword tassels spin in the air.

His head kept shaking.

Jiang She couldn't help but chuckle. He tucked his hands into his sleeves and stood watching for a while.

The little black cat still had the downy fur of a kitten, its round eyes wide open, staring at the swaying sword tassel, shaking its head.

The two were also mischievous, deliberately practicing their movements with wide, sweeping motions. When the cat pounced, they immediately turned to the other side, their sword tassels swaying and never stopping.

The cat missed its target but wasn't annoyed.

Jiang She sat down at the table where he had been drinking the day before and continued reading the "Biographies of Immortals" that he hadn't finished before. He saw Prince Qiao riding a white crane, wielding his whip on a green cliff, feeling refreshed and carefree.

Just like Pang Degong, who went into seclusion on Mount Lumen and never returned.

Some of them were compiled by ancient people, while others are somewhat true.

After Yuan Danqiu finished practicing his swordsmanship and playing with the cat, he saw the cat run off to find its owner, so he put away his longsword, returned it to its box, and looked around.

The question arose: "Has the mountain god left?"

Jiang She didn't look up: "He drank some alcohol yesterday, so he should still be asleep."

Can even mountain gods get drunk?
Yuan Danqiu was even more astonished. Yesterday, he thought the mountain god hadn't drunk much, so how could he be so drunk?

Feeling puzzled, Yuan Danqiu brought up an interesting thing he had discovered that morning.

"When I came out this morning, I saw that broker. I don't know why he looked so hurried."

Yuan Danqiu pulled up a chair and sat down for a chat.

Li Bai, standing nearby, found a teacup and poured himself a cup of well water. Yuan Danqiu nudged Li Bai, gesturing for him to pour himself a cup as well. Holding the teacup, he continued:

"At first I thought he was rushing to the tea pavilion to get the porridge from Qingyuan Temple, but I didn't expect him to run even faster after I called out. I was terrified."

"Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the person was walking with a stoop, and was carrying copper coins in his arms, at least two or three thousand coins."

"Did this turn out to be a big deal?"

The broker takes a 10% cut, which amounts to two or three thousand coins, and then there's a rental fee of twenty or thirty strings of cash. Even in Luoyang, this rental fee is a huge sum, and only officials or the very wealthy can afford it.

As for the poorest scholars in Luoyang.

Most of them would gather with classmates or friends to rent a remote courtyard, occupying only one room, for a monthly fee of no more than six hundred coins.

Li Bai didn't take it to heart.

"Jixianfang is adjacent to many academies, and Jixian Academy itself is located there. It is an official school, and there are always many wealthy children there. It is common for them to rent the place on an annual basis."

What's wrong with doing a business deal?

Although he didn't care much about three, five, thirty, or fifty strings of cash, he knew that it was sometimes a poor person's entire year's harvest, so it was only right to cherish and be careful with it.

Yuan Danqiu recalled the hurried manner of the broker and felt something was amiss.

Last time, when Qiu Nei left their place, he earned four hundred coins and carried a bolt of silk worth five strings of cash. He walked out with his head held high and a beaming smile on his face, unlike this timid one.

The thought swirled in my mind.

It was just a casual guess, and Yuan Danqiu didn't pay much attention to it.

He muttered to himself, "Maybe it's been possessed by an evil spirit."

……

……

Qiu Nei was very pleased with himself. He had just rented out a house the day before yesterday and received a commission of four hundred coins.

Just as he was about to go home, Qiu Nei passed by the gambling den and saw people fighting cocks outside. The roosters had bright red combs and bluish tail feathers; they were truly majestic and beautiful, unlike anything he had ever seen before. As if possessed, he placed a bet of one hundred coins.

He regretted it a little after placing the bet; even if he ate at restaurants and food stalls outside every day, a hundred coins would be enough to last him two days.

Fortunately, the fighting rooster lived up to his expectations and earned him ninety coins.

People nearby were envious, regretting not placing bets themselves, which made Qiu feel even more refreshed. With cheers ringing in his ears, he watched the fighting cock's imposing display and thought he should strike while the iron was hot; such opportunities to make money were rare.

Unexpectedly, the three hundred coins were translated into five hundred and forty coins.

This is much better than running around Luoyang looking after houses in the sweltering heat!
Qiu Nei was very excited and immediately invested all of the four hundred coins, along with the profits he had made.

It was as if fate knew he'd already staked everything; the next round, he'd lose everything. Qiu Nei's eyes instantly turned red.

A total of 730 coins were entered...

The sky suddenly darkened.

Qiu Nei wished he had died once more.

A porter stood nearby, smelling strongly of water; he must have been working hard on a boat, carrying goods for a living. I joined him to watch.

"That guy on the east side is awesome, he's guaranteed to win the next round!"

Qiu Nei's eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the plagued fighting rooster, groping around to find money in his pocket.

Fifteen minutes later, Qiu Nei emptied his pockets and pawned his outer shirt, leaving him only in a half-sleeved undershirt. His body went limp, his lips trembled, and his legs were too weak to stand. He had to hold onto the wall to keep from sliding down.

He wiped the cold sweat from his face with a towel, his expression ashen, and walked out the door as if floating.

He gritted his teeth and said:

"This wretched chicken has ruined my luck!"

After returning home, Qiu Nei didn't mention the incident to his family. He felt unhappy watching his children pretending to ride horses with bamboo clotheslines at the door.

When his wife asked about the clothes, he only said that someone had borrowed them.

Early the next morning, Qiu Nei took two hundred coins from the tenants' rent, intending to return it once he earned it back, so that he could still pay his landlord.

He's going to turn things around!

The plague-stricken porter was also there; if it weren't for him, Qiu Nei wouldn't have thrown in the last fifty or so coins yesterday.

Qiu Nei glanced at it unhappily, but then heard a burst of cheers.

This guy actually made a profit?

After staring at it for a long time, Qiu Nei's expression became increasingly strange. Well, this guy with terrible luck must have had some kind of stroke of luck. He won every gamble he made today, and he almost never lost.

In no time at all, they had earned almost two strings of cash!

After the gambler left the gambling table, Qiu Nei hurriedly followed him, saying he wanted to treat him to a meal.

He ordered a table full of delicious food and wine, and then bowed to ask for advice:
"I saw you yesterday, brother. Why aren't you watching cockfighting outside today? You've gone into the inner gambling table instead. It's like you've been blessed with good luck, winning every time?"

Yunjiao was a strong man, slightly hunched over, with one shoulder slightly higher than the other. He wore a short brown robe and straw sandals.

Qiu Nei used to avoid such common people to prevent his clothes from getting dirty.

Yun Jiao had a big appetite; he drank two jugs of wine and ate four bowls of rice. When the restaurant brought out a dish, he slurped it down in two bites, finishing it off in just a few bites. Qiu Nei's eyelids twitched and his heart ached.

After eating until he was about 80% full, he weighed Qiu Nei in his heels and stared at him for a while.

Pick up the wine bowl.

“If you’re being honest, then I’ll be honest with you too.”

He stomped his feet and drank a large gulp of wine, which dripped down his chest. He then pulled out a wooden doll-like object from his pocket.

Ask Qiu Nei:
Have you ever heard of the God of Whispering?

(End of this chapter)