CHAPTER 72: 62, EYES LIGHT UP AT THE SIGHT OF MONEY

Xuanyuan’s eyes gleamed.

However, before he could praise him, he saw the Giant Spearman’s wrist flip, and the crescent blade of the bronze spear sliced into Chen Ji’s abdomen.

In the hands of the Giant Spearman, the bronze spear was like a living creature. Although it was a cumbersome weapon, it became extremely tricky to handle.

When Chen Ji returned to the top of Qingshan, Xuanyuan sternly said, "Just now you dodged very well, but why didn’t you anticipate that your opponent might have other tricks? Fighting is like playing chess; you need to think ten moves ahead. With the same strength, whoever can predict the enemy’s moves will win!"

Chen Ji nodded seriously, "Understood, let’s go again!"

He fought from morning to noon, and from noon to evening, never winning but growing more serious and more excited with each battle.

He had lost count of how many times he had died; the more he died, the rougher and more direct his fighting style became.

Like a steel billet sent into a furnace for reshaping and repeatedly hammered to remove impurities.

Chen Ji suddenly realized that this kind of skill, forged without any set routine and not performed for anyone’s viewing, was closer to the essence of killing.

Xuanyuan watched Chen Ji fight time and again, seemingly tireless—the youth lacked that innate combat instinct but possessed the same fighting spirit.

Obsession.

Delusion.

"Now you’re finally starting to resemble him."

...

...

In the evening, Chen Ji opened his eyes in the small courtyard of Taiping Medical Hall, Xuanyuan having told him to rest for half an hour.

He slowly exhaled as if returning from hell to the bustling human world.

This time, his battle with the Giant Spearman lasted thirty minutes and was inconclusive. When he woke up, he was extremely exhausted.

Chen Ji looked up and saw the Princely Heir, She Dengke, Liang Gou’er, and Liu Quxing pushing pai gow tiles at the dining table, with Princess Bai Li and Liang Mao’er standing nearby watching.

Liu Quxing had a pile of Copper Coins in front of him, along with a silver peanut that he had won from the Princely Heir.

Princess Bai Li looked at Chen Ji and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, you’re awake! Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?"

Chen Ji smiled, "Why aren’t you playing with them, Princess?"

Bai Li shook her head, "I don’t gamble, and my father forbids it."

"Ah? Isn’t the Princely Heir gambling?"

Bai Li smiled, "It’s okay, I’ll just report him later."

Chen Ji, "...such deep sibling love."

He felt a bout of hunger, but before he could say anything, he heard some Jianghu figures outside shouting, "Princely Heir, Princely Heir, it’s time to go to Baiyi Lane!"

The Princely Heir’s eyes lit up, "Today is Liu Xingshou from Qinhuai River in Jinling’s day to visit Luocheng City. They say that Liu Xingshou excels in poetry, calligraphy, zither, and chess, and is as beautiful as a celestial being. We must go see!"

Liang Gou’er clapped his hands in excitement; he hadn’t had a drink for several days, and the alcohol bug in his belly was getting restless.

However, Princess Bai Li doused their enthusiasm, "Chen Ji is still injured. If everyone leaves, who will look after him? Brother, you keep saying you want to be his friend. Is this how you treat a friend?"

The Princely Heir scratched his head, conflicted.

Liu Su was the top courtesan on the Qinhuai River in Jinling and today came to Luocheng City for the grand opening of an embroidery building in Baiyi Lane. How could they miss it?

Liang Gou’er whispered, "Princely Heir, why don’t we go, and just leave Mao’er and the Princess at the Medical Hall for tonight?"

Princely Heir was still conflicted, "The money is with Bai Li."

Liang Gou’er, "..."

Chen Ji, "..."

Indeed, Bai Li was the real financial backer, which is why the Princely Heir always took her wherever he went.

The courtyard quieted down, and no one seemed in the mood for Pai Gow anymore.

For a moment, everyone reconsidered their plans, while Chen Ji only focused on gathering his energy to continue fighting in the battlefield.

Then, Liang Gou’er suggested, "Princely Heir, why don’t we just take Chen Ji with us to look after him?!"

Chen Ji, "...I have injuries, I can’t go."

Princely Heir looked at Liang Gou’er, "Right, he has injuries on his chest and legs, we can’t even carry him on our backs."

Liang Gou’er, unfazed and desperate for a drink, immediately slapped his chest, "I and Mao’er can carry his bamboo chair. After we drink, we will carry him back!"

Chen Ji, "..."

"You’re really a genius. As long as you can drink, you can do anything."

The next moment, Liang Gou’er called out to Liang Mao’er and lifted the bamboo chair to head outside, as if carrying a bamboo sedan chair.

Chen Ji sat up on the shaky bamboo chair, "Eh? I don’t want to go!"

Liang Gou’er was unbothered, "Now you don’t have a choice. Just come with us! If you want to sleep, you can just lie down on the bamboo chair. Don’t worry, you won’t fall off! That’s Baiyi Lane, that’s Liu Xingshou. Aren’t you a man, uninterested in this sort of thing?"

Chen Ji helplessly spoken, "I still have injuries on me!"

The Princely Heir followed beside the bamboo chair and said, "I heard that it’s not easy to meet Liu Xingshou; you need to present some poetry, and only if Liu Xingshou is impressed will he let someone in... Have you written any new poetry in the past few days? I will buy them!"

Chen Ji quieted down; currently, he still had ninety-four taels of silver hidden in the crevice under the bed, which could at most buy three pieces of ginseng and light six stoves.

But if he wanted to kill Si Cao, it would hardly be enough.

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, "I’ve coincidentally got a few lines that might be useful."

Princess Bai Li’s eyes lit up, "Let’s go. To Baiyi Lane!"

When everyone arrived at the door, there were already numerous Jianghu folk waiting, each with long swords and knives at their waists.

Upon seeing Liang Gou’er and Liang Mao’er carrying Chen Ji, they all showed surprise and whispered among themselves, "Who is so prestigious that he makes both Liang Gou’er and Liang Mao’er carry the sedan together?"

Chen Ji hurriedly laughed awkwardly, "It has nothing to do with me. It’s because I don’t want to go due to a leg injury, but Brother Gou’er insisted on taking me to Baiyi Lane to broaden my horizons. It wasn’t my idea to have them carry the chair."

The crowd then relaxed...

Along the way, more than a dozen people were noisy and laughing, the Princely Heir not behaving like a noble at all, but more like a reveler from Jianghu who drinks heavily and eats heartily.

Chen Ji sat in the bamboo chair, occasionally receiving glances from passersby. Since he wasn’t thick-skinned, he simply closed his eyes and once again immersed himself in the battlefield, returning to the midst of the struggle.

He felt he was about to reach some sort of threshold, even the Giant Spearman was not unbeatable.

...

...

In front of the ’Embroidery Building’ in Baiyi Lane, baskets of flowers lined up for hundreds of meters, even encroaching upon the entrances of neighboring homes.

On the spacious second-floor balcony of the Embroidery Building, each wooden railing was draped with red silk, looking exceptionally festive.

The owner of the Embroidery Building, Zhang Chang, was an unknown figure. However, there were rumors that he was once a servant from the Xu Family’s second branch in Shanghai, which forced everyone to regard him a bit more highly.

The Xu Family, the family of Cabinet Minister Xu Gong.

Respectable families don’t get involved with the businesses of Baiyi Lane, Hongyi Lane, or the Qinhuai River because of the bad reputation, but privately, they all have their own fronts. Everyone knew who was behind Zhang Chang, and they kept it an unspoken understanding.

Thus, from the moment the Embroidery Building opened, not only did Liu Mingxian from the Liu Family come to show support, many other noble families sent their sons with learned friends to gather there. Some came to see Liu Xingshou; others came to support the Xu Family business. Everyone had their own motives.

At the entrance of the Embroidery Building, two young ladies dressed in undyed soft skirts and draped with white mink stood adorably in the cool autumn breeze, smiling to the incoming guests, "Gentlemen, young masters, our Embroidery Building warmly welcomes guests tonight. There are many elegant seats available on the first floor, spacious and bright. However, if you gentlemen wish to meet our lady upstairs, you must present an impressive poem. If our lady takes a liking to it, one poem can bring three people along. There’s a desk and writing materials right in front here, please."

A young scholar immediately picked up a brush at the desk and quickly wrote down a poem to hand to the two young ladies.

One of the ladies took the Xuan paper and ran upstairs. In just a moment, she returned, coyly smiling, "Young master, our Liu Xingshou says your poem won’t do."

Liu Xingshou certainly didn’t give any face, bluntly stating it was unacceptable without the slightest hint of euphemism.

The young scholar, utterly embarrassed, flushed red and ducked into the crowd.

After this trial, those who didn’t have genuine substance were immediately disheartened.

Outside, Liang Gou’er and other Jianghu folk were noticeably puzzled, whispering among themselves, unsure of how to enter the Embroidery Building.

Some suggested breaking in, others suggested forcing their way in; none were serious.

At this moment, the Princely Heir started to back out, whispering, "Princess Bai Li, we only have half a poem. Will it work?"

Princess Bai Li thought for a moment, "If she recognizes its worth, this half line could be worth a hundred poems from others. Definitely, it will work."

Liang Gou’er leaned in and said, "But one poem can only bring three people, and we have twelve here."

After speaking, the Princely Heir and Princess Bai Li both looked towards Chen Ji, who was sleeping in the bamboo chair...

"Chen Ji, do you have any other poems?"

"Chen Ji?"

"Chen Ji, wake up."

No matter how the Princely Heir called, Chen Ji didn’t wake up.

The Princely Heir was nearly frantic, completely at a loss. Without the poem, how could they get in?

At that moment, Princess Bai Li pondered for a moment, then pulled out a golden melon seed from her small purse and stuffed it into Chen Ji’s palm.

Chen Ji opened his eyes, "I have one."