The Ballad of Youth: Inheriting Daoji, Li Hanyi, the Escapee from Marriage

"Alas! Time flies, everything has vanished like smoke! Don't be too sad, you lot. Boss Xiao, shouldn't you continue your journey?"

Li Xiuyuan's words after stretching were agreed upon by Lei Wujie and Xiao Se.

Since Tang Lian and Sikong Changfeng seemed to have other things to do, after another farewell, Li Xiuyuan, Xiao Se, and Lei Wujie rented a carriage in a nearby town and set off to continue their journey!

Target: Snowmoon City!

…………

Chapter 65 Arriving in Snowmoon City, you even want to pawn my boots?

"The wind of Xiaguan, the flowers of Shangguan, the snow of Cangshan, and the moon over Erhai Lake—these are the four wonders of our Snow Moon City: wind, flowers, snow, and moon!"

"What you all may not know is that, besides these four wonders, Snow Moon City has another wonder, which you can see right away..."

"Ascending to Heaven Pavilion!"

Upon entering Snow Moon City, one can see the magnificent city gates and a wide, bright central avenue within the city.

The place is bustling with people and vehicles, yet it doesn't feel crowded, but it's incredibly lively!

As one of the four major cities in the martial arts world, it is home not only to people with high martial arts skills, but also to many people who do not know martial arts and make a living here.

Storytelling was one of the few forms of entertainment in ancient society, besides tea drinking in teahouses, wine drinking in taverns, and brothels.

An elderly man with white hair and beard, holding a folding fan, stood on the stage and began to explain his writing on the blackboard. A large crowd listened with great interest, occasionally tipping him a coin to encourage him to continue his explanation.

Normally, Lei Wujie would have joined in to listen to the storytelling performance.

But now, of the three of them, probably only Li Xiuyuan remained unfazed.

The other two, Lei Wujie and Xiao Se, both felt dizzy and disoriented.

If it weren't for the fact that vomiting in the street has a negative impact and could even result in a fine, the two of them would have already vomited all over the place!

"Ugh! Ugh... Cough cough! I... I mean, Daoji, can't you be a little gentler?"

“We’re in a hurry to get to Snowmoon City, but the way you did it… I swear, I never want to try it again!”

Lei Wujie, leaning against a pillar, finally calmed the churning in his stomach and spoke with a slightly pale face.

"Hmph, I think this crazy monk did it on purpose! And you, Lei Wujie! If you hadn't gone in the wrong direction twice..."

"If you hadn't been hungry and frantically searching for a place to rest, would we have been short of money to rent horses?"

"If we had the money to rent horses, would we still need to be dragged by this mad monk, running 150 miles in three hours?"

Xiao Se's expression was also unpleasant. Recalling the two troublemakers beside him, he became angrier and angrier, and slapped Lei Wujie on the stomach.

"Ugh! Ouch, what are you doing, Xiao Se! Let me tell you, if I throw up now and have to pay for it, it's your responsibility!"

Lei Wujie's words made Xiao Se hesitate to take action.

He could only point the finger at Li Xiuyuan, but little did he know that the other party had already prepared his excuse, and before he could even open his mouth, he was choked up.

"Hey! Who said that I, a monk, am of high cultivation and should help you run away? Was it you, Boss Xiao?"

"And who is it that doesn't listen to my advice, monk?"

"You said that as long as we get to Snowmoon City quickly, and Lei Wujie pays back the money, we can eat well, and nothing else matters? You're the one, Boss Xiao?"

Upon hearing Li Xiuyuan's words, Xiao Se's expression darkened again, but he had no way to refute them.

All he could do was give a resentful snort and change the subject.

"Speaking of Lei Wujie, didn't you say you'd pay me back once we got to Snow Moon City?"

"Moreover, you've taken the wrong turn twice along the way, and Daoji was right just now, it was us, no..."

"To be precise, it's because of you that I've suffered so much. Don't you think you owe me something?"

"I won't even factor in the extra amount you received, so it comes to a total of 1,500 taels!"

"This is to make up for the months that Snowfall Manor has been closed, plus the money I was wronged about earlier!"

Xiao Se crossed his arms, and his casual remark made Lei Wujie's eyes widen like saucers.

If he remembered correctly, the other party had mentioned on the way that his Snowfall Manor wasn't even worth a thousand taels of silver.

Even if I was wronged just now...

But who are you? Why do you need so much money to suffer a little injustice?

Lei Wujie wanted to accuse the unscrupulous merchant in front of him of his desolate state, but then he remembered that the other party was his creditor!

In this era, there's no such thing as being in a position of power just because you owe money. So, during the period before he pays off his debts, he's suddenly being treated as inferior to the other party!

"You... Xiao Se, can you please stop being so unlucky? I'm about to break into the Heavenly Pavilion, and you don't even wish me well."

"All you ever think about is money, money, money! You're really obsessed with money!"

Lei Wujie chose to stall, after all... he really had no money on him! Secondly, even if he came to Snow Moon City, he might not have any money!

He's here to become an apprentice, not to collect a debt! It's good enough if he doesn't lose money; where would he get the money?

Even if they could "borrow" some money from their families through the Leimen disciples' encampment in Snowmoon City.

But 1,500 taels of silver is no small sum, so how could we just take it?

"Me, obsessed with money? Lei Wujie, you don't actually have any money at all, do you?"

"It's only right to pay back debts. We've known each other for several months now, haven't we?"

"I've always listened to you and was willing to wait for you to reach our destination, but you said I'm obsessed with money?"

Xiao Se glanced at Lei Wujie, and what he said was extremely close to the truth.

However, just as Lei Wujie's eyes were darting around, unable to think of any excuse to get out of this, Li Xiuyuan, who was standing to the side, perhaps to help the little blockhead out of the predicament, or perhaps because he was really craving something, made a sound.

"I'm so hungry, so tired, and I really want to drink!"

"Mr. Xiao, could we go up to the ninth floor first to have some meat and drinks, and then we can talk about other things?" (M.23sk.com)

"Do you even know what it means to run over a hundred miles in three hours? And that's while dragging both of you along!"

Upon hearing Li Xiuyuan's words, Xiao Se felt a twitch in the corner of his eye.

He was about to say that he had no money left, but Li Xiuyuan ignored him and pushed him into a restaurant.

"Hey, you crazy monk, this restaurant isn't cheap in my memory. And let me tell you, I really don't have any money on me right now!"

"The money I have on me, even if I go to a street vendor, is only enough to buy three bowls of plain noodles and a pot of braised pork."

"In a restaurant like this, they don't even offer a bowl of plain noodles per person... Hey! Crazy monk, are you even listening to me?"

Upon entering the restaurant, Xiao Se was pressed to sit down by Li Xiuyuan. With a furrowed brow, he earnestly explained his current economic situation to the other party.

But as he was talking, Li Xiuyuan was actually ordering food right next to him!

Pork belly, peach blossom wine, and all sorts of other delicacies—you can't get them for less than a dozen cartloads of silver!

What is he trying to do? Is he trying to sell the three of them here?

"Oh dear! Don't worry, we may not have money, but we have things!"

"I saw it a long time ago. Your boots must be worth a lot of money, right? Don't worry, in a big city like Snowmoon City."

"Pawnshops generally have a good eye, and although they will try to lower the price, they won't do it too drastically!"

"They may run away, but they can't hide. They won't give up such a popular place like Snowmoon City for such a small profit!"

"By then, let alone the cost of this meal, we could easily stay here for half a month!"

Li Xiuyuan's words left Xiao Se completely dumbfounded!

Listen to this, is this even human language?

Although the person who offered to pawn his clothes was Wuxin, they did indeed pawn the clothes!

And now, someone is even going so far as to steal shoes. This is a monk... no, is this something a human being could say?

"Sorry, I refuse. See you again someday."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Se remained expressionless, stood up, and prepared to run away. However, lacking martial arts skills, he was easily pushed back by Li Xiuyuan.

"What do you want to do? I'm telling you, there are so many people here, do you really think you can force your way in..."

Xiao Se was interrupted by Li Xiuyuan before he could finish speaking.

"Alright, alright! I was just joking, monk, you actually took it seriously?"

"Don't worry, I've done some calculations, and I've confirmed that someone's treating us to today's meal!"

As soon as Li Xiuyuan finished speaking, about a third of an incense stick's time had passed, a tall, young Taoist priest wearing a crown and a light purple Taoist robe (TV series version) slowly walked over, accompanied by a murmur from not far away.

"Master, from what you just said, are you also an expert in mathematics?"

"I wonder if we could find some time to exchange some pointers on the art of calculation?"

…………

Chapter 66 Holy crap! What's the development of figuring out that Li Hanyi had stabbed him?

"Oh, it's like this. My name is Li Fansong, and the one behind me is my junior apprentice, Feixuan."

"We are disciples of Wangcheng Mountain (from the TV series, otherwise we are afraid of copyright issues)."

"Now, we are going down the mountain to travel as instructed by our master."

"And since it's a journey, naturally one should see this magnificent landscape and meet some extraordinary people!"

"Just now, I heard this master say that he calculated things with his fingers, so I became a little curious."

"Because we from Wangcheng Mountain also specialize in divination, so... hehe, we discussed it and decided to come and get to know each other."

"If possible, let's have a friendly spar. Win or lose, it'll be good experience, won't it?"

Li Fansong's optimistic tone made him easy to like, and it was precisely because of this attitude that he wasn't seen as a troublemaker when he sought out others for sparring during his travels, thus avoiding being beaten up. (WWW.23sk.net)

"The Purple Star Observation and the Dao Eye Seeking the Dragon—these two people are indeed disciples of Wangcheng Mountain."

"It is said that Wangcheng Mountain is proficient in calculus, and even the Imperial Advisor of the Imperial Observatory once said so."

"If he observes the stars and explores the future, then he is broad-minded."