In this way, the Yuan Stone became like a chicken bone to him. Zu An thought for a moment and nudged the guy next to him: "Young man, do you want to buy Yuan Stones?"
Vesso's eyes lit up: "How many do you have?"
"Seven, I guess," Zu'an replied, thinking that if he sold them for ten taels of gold each, plus the silver he had left, he could easily cover the thousand taels of gambling debt.
Of course, he was reluctant to actually use his own money to pay off that dead man's debt, but given how serious the mysterious woman in the pavilion had described the contract last time, it was better to be prepared.
Thinking of the mysterious woman in the pavilion, Zu An wondered if he would ever have the chance to see her again. He wondered if he should find an opportunity to go to the pavilion again.
"How much do you plan to sell it for?" Vesso asked.
Zuan put his arm around his shoulder and said, "You just said that this thing is usually not sold, it's priceless and there's no market for it. I won't cheat you, we're brothers. It's 11 taels of gold per piece, take them all. I'll even round it down for you, so it'll be 75 taels of gold in total!"
Vesso blinked: "Don't try to fool me, I'm not very educated. If we round it down, shouldn't it be 70 taels of gold?"
Zuan snorted: "Then why don't I just say 10 taels per stone? 75 taels is the lowest I can go, that's a friendly price." He then handed over the small bag of spirit stones: "Here, here are the spirit stones, give me the money."
Vesso replied, "Look, I don't have that much money."
Zuan frowned: "How many do you have?"
Vesso rummaged through his pockets, then looked at him with an innocent expression: "Fifty-four taels of silver in total."
Zuan was shocked: "If you can't afford it, why are you asking such a stupid question?"
"Can't I just ask for fun?" Vesso asked matter-of-factly.
Zuan, his face dark, stopped talking and immediately slammed him onto the table and gave him a good beating.
"You just said we were brothers?"
"Can't I just lie to you?!"
...
The next lesson was a war and military lesson given by a sergeant from the city:
"To achieve complete victory without fighting, to have one's army unscathed, to be at odds with the supernatural—how subtle! How subtle! To help others in their suffering, to support each other in times of compassion, to assist each other in times of evil, to gravitate towards each other in times of good—therefore one can win without armor and weapons, attack without traps, and defend without trenches… When a bird of prey is about to strike, it flies low and folds its wings; when a fierce beast is about to pounce, it lowers its ears and crouches; when a sage is about to act, he will surely appear foolish…"
Zu Quan listened to the cryptic text the whole time, feeling as if a mosquito was buzzing around his ear. He felt like he couldn't take it anymore. He had finally managed to travel through time, only to end up back in school, and now he was learning all sorts of nonsensical courses.
He felt that he was wasting his life like this. He had wasted enough time in his previous life, so why should he waste it like this in this one?
He was originally going to get up and leave, but then he thought that this teacher not only had the cultivation level of the third rank, but was also an official of the imperial court, so he decided it was better to keep a low profile.
Well, it's not too late to skip class after this one is over.
Despite his constant prayers, the class didn't seem to go by quickly; instead, it felt incredibly long. When the get out of class finally ended, he felt like he was going crazy.
"I can't take it anymore, I have to leave." Zuan walked out with a dark face.
"Going to the cafeteria for lunch? Come along, it's on me." At this moment, Wei Su caught up from behind with a fawning smile, clearly the beating he had just received had been effective.
Zuan then realized that it was already noon. He thought that he would need to eat and spend his own money if he went out, so he decided to eat first before leaving.
"By the way, you're so well-informed about school news, do you know anyone named Wei Hongde?" Zu An thought of Old Man Mi's instructions. If he skipped school today and still didn't get anything, that guy probably wouldn't let him off so easily.
"Yes, he's my brother. You know him?" Veso looked at him with curiosity.
"Your brother?" Zu'an looked suspicious. What a coincidence! "Why don't your names sound alike?"
“Who says brothers have to have similar names?” Weisuo pouted. “I think my brother’s name is so rustic, it’s nowhere near as grand as mine. Weisuo, Weisuo, it means you can explore high and low, and you can search the world. It’s way more sophisticated, isn’t it?”
Zu An suppressed a laugh: "Yes, yes, yes, your style is much more sophisticated. Is your brother also at school?"
“Yes, he’s more talented than me; he’s in the third-year class.” Vesso’s eyes were filled with envy as he spoke.
"What does your family do?" Zu'an asked curiously, unable to understand why Old Man Mi would let him get close to Wei Hongde.
“My old man used to work in the Imperial Household Department, but in recent years he was transferred to Mingyue City to retire. He can’t compare to your Chu family,” Wei Suo replied.
Shaofu?
Zu An seemed to be deep in thought. The Shaofu was one of the Nine Ministers, and this department was in charge of the emperor's inner treasury. A large part of the people in it were trusted eunuchs, and others were also trusted by the emperor. What exactly did this old man Mi want to do by asking me to get close to their family?
Just then, a discordant voice suddenly rang out: "Boss Ye, that's the guy who stole our spirit stones."
Upon seeing this, Weisuo darted aside like a rabbit, acting as if he wasn't familiar with Zaun.
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