Qin Luo picked up his wine glass and replied with a smile, "By my master's standards, you probably don't have a chance."

"well!"

"Looks like I'm destined to be an employee!"

Wang Guiyi picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

After a few rounds of drinks, Old Zhao, his face flushed, suddenly spoke up, "When I was young, I also practiced martial arts. I could knock down a bull with one punch. Back in the day..."

"here we go!"

Xiao Tao and Dou Dou shook their heads with smiles.

Xuanqing looked at Old Zhao with great interest.

Wang Guiyi laughed heartily, "Old Zhao, your alcohol tolerance is really too low. Last time you were talking about a tiger."

"You don't believe me, do you? I'll show you a thing or two." Old Zhao got up drunkenly, staggered to the stairwell, and began to practice his fist techniques. His drunken fist routine seemed to lack any rules, but Qin Luo could see the continuous intent within it.

Qin Luo often practices boxing in his spare time and has a certain understanding of boxing techniques. Seeing Old Zhao's drunken boxing, he realized that the old man in front of him had real skills.

Xiao Tao shook her head and chuckled, "Master Dao, Old Zhao is like this when he's drunk. Wang Guiyi, you should take Old Zhao to rest first."

Okay.

Wang Guiyi hugged Old Zhao, who was practicing drunken boxing, and said, "Old Zhao, stop hitting me. You can't kill an ox, but you'll kill me. Go to sleep now, we have to get up and work tomorrow."

"Ha ha!"

Xuan Qing couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm very full!"

Qin Luo put down his chopsticks.

He ate more than usual at this meal.

Xiao Tao said softly, "Master Dao, I'll go upstairs to prepare your rooms. You can rest downstairs for now."

"Thank you for your help."

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all."

Xiao Tao walked upstairs with light steps.

After eating and drinking his fill, Xuanqing continued reading the Surangama Sutra, reading it very attentively.

Qin Luo and Hua Ying arrived at the bookshelf.

Hua Ying took out a book and said softly, "The Chronicles of Beauties from Various Countries. There are actually storybooks here."

"Have you seen it?"

"No, I'm reading 'Heroes of the Warring States'."

DouDou was tidying up the table. "Master Dao, the things you left behind are too profound for ordinary people to understand, so we bought some popular storybooks."

"What everyone likes is good."

Qin Luo found a Confucian classic. He sat by the candlelight and flipped through it, murmuring softly, "Things have their roots and branches, affairs have their beginnings and ends. Knowing what comes first and what comes last is to be close to the Way."

Upon hearing this, Xuanqing seemed to ponder, "Brother, which came first, the dragon or the dragon egg?"

"have no idea."

Qin Luo shook his head.

Xuanqing's eyes were full of anticipation, "If I can solve this problem, can I get closer to the Dao?"

"It should be possible."

Qin Luo smiled and nodded.

Xuanqing continued reading the Buddhist scriptures in his hands.

Xiao Die approached Qin Luo and bowed respectfully. "Master Dao, I've prepared hot water for you. If you wish to take a bath, I'll carry it to your room."

"I can do it myself."

Qin Luo hadn't taken a bath in a long time. Although he was clean, he still wanted to take a bath.

Xiao Die said respectfully, "Master Dao, I'll go get you some water, and I can also give you a back rub."

Qin Luo couldn't help but chuckle. "Pouring water is fine, but you should ask her about scrubbing my back. As long as she agrees, it's fine."

Xiaodie looked at the silent Huaying and felt as if the sky was about to fall. She hurriedly said, "I'll go get some water!"

In the room, Qin Luo sat in a wooden tub filled with warm water, soaking in the bath, looking completely at ease.

A knock came at the door.

Qin Luo knew it was Hua Ying, and he joked with a smile, "Are you here to scrub my back?"

With a creak, the door was pushed open, and Hua Ying said coldly, "Dream on, who wants to scrub your back?"

Hua Ying placed a clean set of clothes next to the wooden tub, then picked up Qin Luo's discarded clothes, turned and left the room. Qin Luo said softly, "Thank you."

Xiao Tao saw Hua Ying washing clothes downstairs and said, "Sister A Zi, we can handle this kind of thing."

Hua Ying said gently, "It's alright. When I was at Longhu Temple, I often washed his clothes."

"Sister Azi is so kind to Daoist Master."

"He's good to me too."

...

After taking a bath, Qin Luo stood by the window, looking at the fish lanterns on the river in the distance. His mind gradually became peaceful, and returning to Qinghe Tower gave him a sense of homecoming.

"So sleepy!"

Qin Luo yawned and walked to the bedside.

After Caixia left, Doudou was in charge of turning off the lights. She saw that Xuanqing was still downstairs reading Buddhist scriptures, so she left one light on.

...

The next day, early morning.

DouDou got up early and bought fresh fish and shrimp outside the city. When she got back, she cooked a pot of delicious fish and shrimp porridge.

Xuan Qing ate with relish, while Wang Guiyi squatted by the roadside drinking porridge. "This porridge is so fragrant. Life couldn't be more comfortable. Daoist Master, you'd better not leave."

Qin Luo sipped his fish porridge and shook his head. "We could stay here and play for a couple more days."

Old Zhao carried the free tea bucket to the outside of Qinghe Tower. Wang Guiyi rubbed his shoulder and said, "Old Zhao, your drunken boxing last night hit my shoulder, and it still hurts."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I might have had too much to drink, and I didn't know my own strength," Old Zhao apologized repeatedly.

Wang Guiyi looked pained. "Old Zhao, I might have to take a day off today!"

Xiao Tao threw the rag at Wang Guiyi, her pretty face serious as she said, "All you ever think about is being lazy. Hurry up and eat, then go wipe the signboard!"

Wang Guiyi looked at Qin Luo and said, "Master Dao, look at her, she's too fierce. There's no one in the entire Jiangling City who isn't afraid of her."

Xiao Tao was at a loss for words.

Qin Luo smiled slightly, "It's good that she's a little fierce. It's not easy for her to manage Qinghe Tower."

"Master Dao is still the best."

Xiao Tao couldn't stop smiling.

After finishing his porridge, Wang Guiyi took a rag to a high place to wipe the signboard. The three characters "Qinghe Lou" were unique in style and shone with golden light under the morning sun.

As the sun rises, Qinghe Tower becomes lively. Scholars read books here, elderly people play chess in their spare time, and young men and women go on blind dates here.

Xuanqing held the Surangama Sutra, while Huaying read a novel without a title. Qin Luo smiled and said, "The scenery near the Qingdi Temple is quite nice. I'll take you to see it."

"OK."