Prequel: The Rat's Gift of Immortality - Autumn in My Heart 1
Upon arriving in Kaifeng, Tianquan felt his eyesight was failing him – how could he see so many people wearing green clothes on the street?
He first met Xiao Jiu at the gambling den in Ghost Market. He had heard that the place was a melting pot of all sorts of people, and that many wealthy merchants, gentry, or even government officials would come here to conduct shady deals.
When Tianquan arrived, the betting was in its final round.
A young man, covering the dice cup, squinted slightly, his gaze towards the wealthy gentleman opposite him carrying a hint of provocation. Resting his chin on his hand, he casually said, "Sir, best two out of three. A bet is a bet. Are you truly sure?"
Tianquan was pushed to the front and had the clearest view. Although the wealthy man sat upright, his restless little movements—such as constantly rubbing his hands—showed his fear. On the other hand, the man opposite him was leisurely opening the dice cup, and his relaxed and composed manner made Tianquan curious: Where did he get the confidence that he would definitely win this bet?
"Open! Open! Open!"
Amidst the lively shouts of the onlookers, the dice cup was slowly opened.
In front of the young man were three small, exquisite dice, with the numbers six, six, and five respectively.
In front of the rich man were three dice, with the numbers three, six, and four respectively.
Seventeen against thirteen, the younger man wins.
"What a pity." The nonchalant young man stood up and pushed a stack of land deeds over. "A bet's a bet, sir."
Tianquan was marveling at how high the stakes were at this gambling den when he suddenly heard a furious roar, like a sharp sword piercing straight into the young man's forehead, "He's cheating!"
ha?
Tianquan doubted the truth of this statement, after all, he had been watching the man closely the whole time and hadn't seen him do anything.
"Tsk." Hearing this, the man sighed as if in distress, slowly rolled up the land deed, and then slowly tore it to shreds. "This isn't fun anymore, is it? Why did you have to make it so clear..."
As he spoke, his hand movements became faster and faster until he tore the transfer agreement into pieces, scattering it along with a packet of powder he pulled out from somewhere.
"Oh no, don't let him get away!"
The scene was chaotic and disorderly. Before Tianquan could even figure out what was going on, someone grabbed his wrist and pulled him out amidst the commotion.
"Hey buddy, what are you doing—"
"Brother Ren! If you don't run now, are you waiting to get hacked to pieces?"
Tianquan followed this man around the ghost market in a daze, bumping into countless people along the way. While apologizing in his heart, he took out copper coins from his money bag and scattered them behind him as a token of sympathy for those he bumped into.
After running for an unknown amount of time, the shouts from behind gradually subsided, and the man finally released his grip on Tianquan's hand, leaning against the rock behind him to catch his breath.
"Ugh, I'm exhausted. These people can run so fast... Who are you?" The man turned around and saw Tianquan, and he was stunned, his face blank for a moment.
no?
Tianquan was so angry he almost laughed. "You grabbed me and ran away without even knowing who I was?"
"I grabbed you... ah, I grabbed the wrong person." The man suddenly realized his mistake and slapped his forehead in frustration. Just when Tianquan thought he would go back to find the person he was supposed to grab, he gave up and sat down on the ground, waving his hand, "Never mind, never mind, a grown man like you won't get lost. Just consider it a training experience."
Tianquan: "Who are you talking about?"
"My junior brother."
Tianquan: "..." Your junior brother is really suffering because he has a senior brother like you.
but……
Recalling what had just happened, a group of people rushed up shouting and yelling. Tianquan squatted down and asked curiously, "Did you really cheat in the betting game just now?"
"Hmm?" The man, who was brushing the dust off the hem of his robe, suddenly looked up and grinned, revealing a pair of tiger teeth. "What do you think?" His fingertips magically produced three dice and handed them to Tianquan. "Don't you think they're heavier than ordinary dice?"
Tianquan held them in his hands and weighed them; they were indeed quite heavy.
But Tianquan still couldn't understand, "How could something so well-hidden be discovered? Even if it was discovered, you could have denied it. Why did they directly expose your cheating?"
"Those idiots obviously wouldn't notice; I had my junior brother shout it. Although winning would force that pregnant woman to sign the transfer agreement, she's cunning, stubborn, and it would take a while to get her to agree. But admitting it voluntarily is different. If I admit it, they'll be angry, and I can create chaos. Once chaos erupts, my junior brother can use that opportunity to steal the land deed from her. Then we can easily alter it using other methods, and the deed will be ours. She won't be able to get it back. It's much more efficient than forcing her to sign!"
He winked playfully, "Hero, isn't my method good?"
This sight reminded Tianquan of a puppy waiting for its owner to come home and receive praise for its good work guarding the house, its tail wagging like a propeller behind it, just to get a word of praise from its owner.
However, the puppy wasn't that cunning; the person in front of it was probably more like a kind...mouse?
Tianquan found his own analogy hilarious, and burst out laughing, causing the man to pause in surprise. "Hero, what are you laughing at? Is it good or bad?"
"Alright, alright." Tianquan clenched his fist and coughed lightly twice. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard a voice approaching from afar, "Senior Brother—!!!"
In the distance, a boy, half a head shorter than them, dressed in the same clothes as the man, had a sleeping mouse perched on his head and was waving in their direction while holding a stack of papers.
"So, did you get it?"
The junior brother nodded vigorously twice and handed the land deed to the man. "Senior brother's method is indeed efficient! ...But senior brother, didn't we agree to escape together in the chaos? Why didn't you wait for me and come out first? And," the junior brother pointed to Tianquan next to his senior brother, "who is this chivalrous hero?"
"Ahem!" The man cleared his throat, pretending to be quite serious. "I'm training you to be adaptable so you'll know what to do in this situation in the future, instead of just relying on your senior brother. And you should also learn a lesson from this—only you are truly reliable, and you shouldn't believe everything others say."
Tianquan was truly impressed; this person's ability to lie was something he could never cultivate in eight lifetimes. Unfortunately, his junior brother was also a bit dim-witted, believing these words without hesitation, and his respect for his senior brother grew even stronger—"Senior brother is doing this all for my sake! Senior brother is doing this for my own good!"
The two brothers were like a lotus root and a potato; the former was incredibly cunning, while the latter was only slightly cunning because his senior brother had so many tricks up his sleeve that he had given them to him.
I don’t know if this is just their sect’s style, but Tianquan and the other two started talking freely while they were still here. However, most of it was about trivial matters, nothing serious, and they didn’t reveal any sect secrets.
As he was leaving, his junior brother looked at Tianquan with pity in his eyes, "Hero, don't you have any friends?"
Tianquan: "??" Goodness, how did we suddenly veer to this topic?
Junior brother: "If you don't have any friends, come hang out with my senior brother! He's a really nice guy, and he's got so many skills! Everyone likes him! Oh, right, his name is Jiu Liu, but everyone who knows him calls him Xiao Jiu. Hey, why don't you hang out with my senior brother too?"
"What are you saying, brat?" The junior brother received a slap on the back of the head from his senior brother. Tianquan thought to himself: Little guy, you were almost sold out by your senior brother.
"No, no. Senior brother, let me show you my Chestnut Cloud Journey when we get back. I think I've already mastered half of your skills."
"Take care of your rats first. If you ask me to feed them again, I'll confiscate them and won't give them back to you." After threatening his junior brother with this bold statement, Jiuliu waved goodbye to Tianquan with a grin, "Hero, there's always tomorrow. See you next time."
"Okay, see you next time." Tianquan had to admit that he felt very comfortable and happy with these two fellow disciples, so "see you next time" was not just a polite remark to him, and he secretly looked forward to the opportunity to meet them again.
＊
The second time I encountered the "Nine Schools" was at the Imperial Academy in Kaifeng. At that time, two students were causing a disturbance, disrupting the class. The teacher couldn't control them, so he called in members of the Tianquan Sect to keep watch. With their large broadswords laid out and the men standing there, tall and imposing, who would dare to cause trouble?
Listening to the teacher's chanting voice and the students' repeated chanting, Tianquan's eyelids grew heavier and heavier. This whole thing—organizing classroom discipline—had made him sleepy.
He went outside for some fresh air, and the fresh air filled his lungs, instantly making him feel much more awake.
Thank goodness.
Just as I was about to return to the classroom, I heard very faint voices coming from the roof.
Did some students sneak out?
Tianquan looked up at the sound and saw a familiar figure lying on the roof, looking longingly at the drowsy students below, repeating something like "zhi hu" or "zhe ye" with them.
He was listening so intently that he didn't even notice Tianquan coming right up to him.
"Hey!" Tianquan deliberately lowered his voice and called out in his ear.
"!" Jiu Liu shuddered in fright, turning his head to see the culprit looking at him with a carefree smile. Tian Quan was indeed handsome, and the anger that Jiu Liu had felt from being frightened vanished instantly.
Tianquan: "What are you doing here?"
"Listen to audiobooks."
What's the point of listening to audiobooks?
"Let's study."
"Are you going to take the imperial examination?"
"Does not taking the imperial examination mean you can't study?" Jiu Liu tilted his head, a hint of smugness hidden in the corners of his upturned eyes.
Tianquan was afraid that his words would cause a misunderstanding, so he said, "Of course not. It's just that I didn't expect you to be so, uh..." He couldn't think of a way to finish his sentence.
"I didn't expect me to be so eager to learn?" Jiuliu raised an eyebrow and took over the conversation, asking the following question for Tianquan. "It's not that I want to learn, it's just that my junior brothers and sisters can't read, they can't read stories, and they're being held back by their strict senior brothers and sisters to practice their skills, so they're almost crying. They can only ask me, their good senior brother, for help."
But as he spoke, Jiu Liu's face turned bitter, and his shoulders slumped, like a deflated football. "But they forgot that I can't read either! After listening for so many days, I can only recite the text verbatim. Asking me to write it down and then teach it to them... I really can't do it."
His embarrassed look was really funny. Tianquan looked at Jiuliu's colorful expressions and suddenly blurted out without thinking, "I'll teach you."
"You'll teach me?" Jiu Liu asked in surprise, his eyes widening slightly, a glint of delight flashing in his pupils. "Sure. But... will there be tuition?"
He was a little uneasy, after all, he had already given his money to those who had nothing to eat. If Tianquan really wanted tuition fees... Jiu Liu calculated that he would have to weave at least three more pairs of straw sandals every day.
But since they've already taught him to read, it wouldn't be right not to charge him tuition, would it? Even if Tianquan really didn't ask him for tuition, Jiuliu would still feel bad about it.
Tianquan, mimicking Jiuliu's mannerisms, propped his chin up and squatted side-by-side with him on the rooftop in the same posture. "Yes, I want it."
"How much?" Jiu Liu subconsciously swallowed. He hadn't been able to see clearly last time in the dim light of the Ghost Market, but today, looking at Tian Quan's clothes, they really did look quite expensive...
"I haven't decided yet, I'll see." Tianquan's eyes were full of smiles. This wasn't just to appease Jiuliu or to whet his appetite; Tianquan genuinely didn't know how much tuition to charge.
After returning from the Ghost Market, he inquired about the situation at the Nine Streams Sect from his fellow disciples. He learned that the entire sect didn't have much money to squander, so he didn't initially intend to ask for any so-called "tuition fees." He simply considered it as doing a good deed and accumulating some merit.
But then he thought again that even if he didn't want it, Jiuliu probably wouldn't agree.
So Tianquan had no choice but to say that he would think about it first.
＊
One-on-one tutoring sounds easy, but it's not so easy to do in practice.
Tianquan was devastated to discover that Jiuliu had absolutely no foundation whatsoever! Putting aside the fact that his handwriting looked like scribbles, with his absurd pen grip and arrogant strokes, Tianquan felt that it would be good if he could write a single character that was even recognizable to the naked eye.
“…Sigh.” The tall man with the white fur collar rubbed his temples. He couldn’t bear to watch any longer, so he gritted his teeth and took Jiu Liu’s hand to help him write.
"This is how you hold it, your fingers should be placed here... this is how you bend it, don't draw, don't draw, write it down, write it down, don't draw it down." After a stick of incense had burned out, Tianquan's dry palms were sweating, and Jiuliu's hands had been warmed by his touch.
"..." Jiu Liu glanced furtively at the back of his hand, where the warmth of the Heavenly Spring still lingered. He lowered his head, threw down his pen, and covered his ears with both hands.
"?" Tianquan didn't know what kind of temper he was throwing, saying he wouldn't write anymore. He forcefully pried the man's hand off his ear, only to see his red earlobe and flushed face.
Jiu Liu pursed her lips, subconsciously feeling a bit embarrassed and angry after being stared at like that. "What are you looking at? Is it wrong for me to be easily embarrassed?"
"It's not that you..." Tianquan's tone was tinged with a hint of speechlessness, "You're... shy around men too?"
“What’s wrong with men? Men are people too. Intimate contact with men is still intimate contact. I’ve never been like this with anyone before…” Jiu Liu stammered, almost biting his tongue. Looking into Tian Quan’s eyes, his face grew increasingly hot. Finally, in a fit of despair, he squeezed out a vicious sentence from between his lips: “Idiot! Who do you think I learned this from? I shouldn’t have gone to your sect to steal your skills and heard your fellow disciples saying such strange things.”
Jiuliu: My life has been ruined ever since I found out that two men can sleep together!
Tianquan, however, grasped the key point: "You went to our sect to steal our skills?"
"..." Jiuliu ground his back teeth fiercely, tilting his head back and saying, "You misheard me!"
...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com