Scholarly Ways

Tan Fucheng hired more than a dozen rickshaws to carry everyone to Yanshazhai. Along the way, he did not utter another word, nor did the accompanying guards dare to speak. Before these rickshaw pullers, Tan Fucheng and his men felt deeply ashamed of their own vulgarity. Li Banfeng found it rather curious: what was there to feel ashamed about? Tan Fucheng had always been such an easygoing, untethered man. Why had he suddenly started despising himself today? Lu Chunying and Lu Yuanxin seemed unaffected. "Sigh." Li Banfeng heard another sigh. The rickshaw puller lowered the shafts and said to Tan Fucheng, "The so-called destination is merely a fleeting pause on a journey. Once that pause ends, people must set off on new journeys after all. The cycle of life is but a scene along the way; only the footsteps upon the road remain eternal." Tan Fucheng gave a deep bow and instructed his subordinates, "Never mention again that I used to pull rickshaws. I truly am unworthy." Yanshazhai was a study house with a collection of over ten thousand books, while also functioning as an inn. Many scholars came here to read, and unable to put their books down, they simply took up lodging in the study. Xiao Yeci had chosen this place. She had long yearned for Yanshazhai. Looking at the tier upon tier of bookshelves inside the book pavilion, her breathing grew rapid. "Mom, your face is red, and you're sweating." "Mama loves it here!" "Mom, we should probably arrange the lodging first. Brother Tan seems to have forgotten how to speak over there." Tan Fucheng stood by the front desk, sweating profusely from anxiety. Xiao Yeci walked forward and said politely, "We would like ten rooms." Behind the front desk stood a young woman sporting a bob cut typical of Puluo Province—a short hairstyle unique to female students. She wore a teal-blue robe, similar in style to a qipao, but looser, not accentuating the waist—the student attire unique to female students in Puluo Province. The woman looked at Xiao Yeci and asked in a low, deep voice, "Human beings are merely passersby in the river of time. Why must you stay here?" Xiao Yeci replied candidly, "The books here deeply captivate me. I have come with a devout heart to seek knowledge and wish to stay here for a while." The young woman nodded. "The study house has upper rooms, middle rooms, and lower rooms. Which kind do you choose?" Having come to Moxiangdian this time, none of them had disclosed their identities. Yet they were all people of status, so their accommodations could not be too poor. Xiao Yeci said, "We'll take upper rooms." The woman asked, "Do you choose upper rooms out of greed for comfort and pleasure?" That was true! She had come to seek learning; how could she be picky about accommodations? Xiao Yeci felt deeply ashamed and quickly amended, "Then we'll take middle rooms." The woman frowned. "Did you switch to middle rooms just to feign mediocrity?" Xiao Yeci felt troubled. "Are you telling me to choose lower rooms? Wouldn't lower rooms be rather subpar?" The woman's brows knitted even tighter. "Are you so vain and covetous of empty glory? If it is merely for pleasure and vanity, the world outside is so prosperous—why did you come to Moxiangdian? Why must you stay in a study house?" Xiao Yeci hung her head, looking utterly abashed. "It was presumptuous of me..." "It is not presumption. Your intent in seeking knowledge is simply unpure." Xiao Yeci felt even more ashamed and nodded repeatedly. "Then lower rooms will be fine." The woman looked at Xiao Yeci in disappointment. "Choosing lower rooms—is it out of stinginess with money, or is it an insult to this study house?" "I... I meant no such thing!" By now, even Xiao Yeci was at a total loss for words. "Sigh." Li Banfeng heard another sigh. As Xiao Yeci stammered, unable to speak, Lu Yuanxin glanced at Lu Chunying. He was prepared to employ some unorthodox methods. Lu Chunying gave a nod. Lu Yuanxin walked up to the counter and said to the woman, "Give us ten upper rooms. Have your people come take our luggage." The woman looked at Lu Yuanxin. "Do you choose upper rooms for pleasure, or for vanity?" Lu Yuanxin tapped the counter once, and a spherical object appeared on the wood. At first, the woman thought it was an egg. After a moment, the "egg" suddenly uncurled, revealing densely packed legs. It was no egg at all; it was a coiled millipede. The millipede unfurled its body and crawled slowly across the counter. The woman gasped, stepping back two paces. "Is this a desecration of knowledge, or an insult to scholars?" "This is my warning to you. I want ten upper rooms." Lu Yuanxin tapped the table once more, and the millipede crawled right onto the woman's face. The woman swiftly checked them in. Once everyone had settled into their rooms, Xiao Yeci still felt a bit disheartened: "Nannan, is Mama's intent truly unpure?" "Mama, you're the purest of all. Don't lower yourself to that person's level!" By noon, after everyone had eaten, Xiao Yeci took Lu Chunying to read in the study house, while Li Banfeng went out for a stroll on his own. Moxiangdian had a kind of quiet, unboisterous prosperity, quite unlike Lüshui City. The streets were not wide, and shops stood cheek by jowl, yet not a single shopkeeper stood outside hawking wares. If one wanted to buy something, one had to first understand the shop sign, then understand the quality of the goods, and only then negotiate the price with the shopkeeper. Even bargaining involved no quarreling or clamor; it was all maneuvering draped in poetic elegance. "This fountain pen ought to have a fitting master. The moment you see my calligraphy, you should understand this truth: its master is me." "I believe you share a past-life affinity with this pen. But if you are still hesitating and agonizing over twenty yuan, I fear your affinity in this life ends here." And that was considered direct. There were shops whose signs Li Banfeng could not even decipher. For instance, "Footwear Atelier" might tempt someone to go in for a foot wash, but it was actually a shop selling socks. Or "Blossom Breeze Pavilion"—someone might think to go in and take a puff, but it actually sold toothbrushes and toothpaste; after brushing, even one's breath carried the fragrance of flowers. Then there was "Lu Family Bookshop." It looked like an ordinary bookshop, but in reality, it also sold old newspapers. Strange. How was there a Lu Family Bookshop in Moxiangdian as well? Did it share the same name, or had it opened a branch? Li Banfeng pushed open the door and stepped inside. The shop was small, but its decor and layout were identical to the two bookshops in Lüshui City and Yaowanggou. Boss Lu came forward to greet him. "Boss Li, long time no see!" Even the boss was the same. Li Banfeng smiled. "Boss Lu, you opened another new shop?" Boss Lu shook his head. "This isn't a new shop. Moxiangdian is my hometown, and this is my family's old establishment. It happens to be the New Year, so I came back to look in on it. Boss Li, did you come here to buy newspapers again?" Li Banfeng shook his head. "Not newspapers this time. I'd like to look at some books." "This way, please!" As a regular customer, Li Banfeng could naturally browse as he pleased. Boss Lu specially brought over a chair and poured him a cup of tea. "Boss Li, what kind of books are you looking for?" "Local books." Boss Lu pulled a dozen or so volumes from the shelves and laid them on the table. Li Banfeng flipped through them one by one and took an interest in a set titled The Wisdom-Karmic Scholar. It was a biography in two volumes, chronicling the anecdotes and deeds of a genius scholar whose karmic destiny was tied to wisdom. This "Wisdom-Karmic Scholar" was born in Moxiangdian. Looking through other books, Li Banfeng found that this scholar frequently appeared in the local literature of Moxiangdian. Here, he was undoubtedly considered a legendary figure. The man was exceedingly brilliant, able to divine someone's intentions in just a few words, or spot their weaknesses with a few probing remarks. Not only was he exceptionally talented, but he was also skilled in both letters and martial arts, carrying a judge's brush that could write characters or serve as a deadly weapon. Li Banfeng bought the first volume, dog-eared a page in the second volume, and left it in the shop. When checking out at the door, Boss Lu saw that Li Banfeng was only buying the first volume, and hastily told the clerk to bring the second. "Boss Li, how can you only read half a book? I'll give you the second volume as a gift." Li Banfeng stopped the clerk. "No need to be polite. I'm not leaving it behind because it's expensive; carrying it around is just too cumbersome. Once I finish the first volume, I'll come back for the second." Boss Lu said, "Forgive me for prying, Boss Li, but out of all these local books, why did you settle on The Wisdom-Karmic Scholar?" Li Banfeng replied, "Because this book captures the local character. I just arrived in Moxiangdian, and I'm really not used to this place yet." Boss Lu laughed. "Boss Li, forget about you not being used to it—even though I was born in Moxiangdian, traveling outside for business and returning only once every six months or a year makes me feel out of place as well. Did you run into some trouble?" "I did run into something." Li Banfeng recounted the incident at Yanshazhai. "Boss Lu, did that woman at the study house actually want to do business or not? Why did she make things so difficult for her guests?" Boss Lu said, "Of course she wants to do business. If you all chose upper rooms, she could earn more money, so she was certainly delighted. But however delighted she was, she couldn't show it, or people would think she reeked of money and lacked the integrity of a scholar. When she asked if you chose upper rooms out of vanity, all you had to do was respond that it was out of reverence and respect for the study house, and that would have hit the mark. Instead, you switched to middle rooms. The girl was going to earn less, so naturally she wasn't pleased. Then you said you wanted lower rooms, and the deal became even harder to make." Li Banfeng frowned. "If she wanted to do business properly, why didn't she just say so clearly from the start?" Boss Lu shook his head with a smile. "That's the rule here in Moxiangdian. If you speak too bluntly, people look down on you as vulgar." It seemed there was quite a lot to learn here. Li Banfeng left with his book. With no other customers in the shop, Boss Lu returned the books to the shelves and was just preparing to take a nap when he saw a man in a white robe and a white fedora walk in. "Sir, are you looking to buy books?" He Jiaqing shook his head. "I want a few newspapers." "I don't sell new papers here." "Coming to your shop, I naturally want old newspapers." Boss Lu added, "What I sell here isn't scrap paper either." He Jiaqing nodded. "I understand the price." Having bought several newspapers, He Jiaqing left the shop. Seeing that it was still early, he hailed a rickshaw and headed for Xiaoyaowu. Jiang Mengting had a dedicated performance there this afternoon. ... Li Banfeng walked the streets all afternoon, gaining a general understanding of Moxiangdian's layout. This was a city of substantial size, its streets crisscrossing in a distinct layout, lined with antique architecture and teeming with people. All sorts of industries flourished, offering plentiful business opportunities. But just as Ma the Fifth had said, to do business here, one had to grasp the temperament of scholars. For instance, if one wanted to open a general goods store, it could be called "Exquisite Treasure Pavilion," but if it were named "So-and-So's Sundries," it would be guaranteed to have zero business. If one wished to open a pleasure house, the courtesans had to be cultured and attuned to romance. Only when passions ran deep could nature take its course. If passions hadn't arrived yet the waters flowed, that was an insult to scholars. Up ahead was a poetry club. Poetry clubs existed elsewhere as well; poets gathering regularly could form one, which was nothing new in Puluo Province. But the poetry clubs in Moxiangdian were somewhat different: they were a type of commercial establishment, specifically dedicated to matchmaking. Judged purely by their storefronts, poetry clubs resembled teahouses, but the proprietor provided writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, seating men and women across from each other to make acquaintances through poetry. A blond, blue-eyed man had just finished writing a poem and was reciting it with round, ringing enunciation: "I yearn to gaze into your eyes, I yearn to hold your arm, I yearn to press close against your cheek, I yearn to guard your heart. I love you with all my soul, O magnificent Moxiangdian!" The young women present offered their critique: "Vulgar phrasing!" "Brazen language!" "Hysterical bawling!" "Utterly uncouth!" Amidst the ladies' barrage of scathing commentary and eye rolls, Critick slunk dejectedly out of the poetry club, bumping right into Li the Seventh. Critick said in surprise, "What a coincidence! To think I'd run into you here!" Li Banfeng was equally startled. "What are you doing here?" Critick replied, "Learning the culture of Puluo Province. Moxiangdian is the pinnacle of Puluo Province's culture. I love Moxiangdian." Li Banfeng asked, "Did you change your tattoo?" Critick pulled open his lapels, revealing five large characters. "Naturally," he said. "You just changed it so casually? Aren't you afraid your Grandmaster will see it?" Critick buttoned his lapels back up and said, "When he arrives, I'll change it back." Li Banfeng glanced at the poetry club. "This is supposed to be a matchmaking place. Are you trying to start a family in Moxiangdian?" Critick sighed. "I have the inclination, but the girls of Puluo Province don't care for foreigners." As they spoke, a pustule swelled on Critick's face. Li Banfeng took half a step back. Critick waved his hands, signaling he meant no harm. The pustule burst, and the green fluid formed a miniature green homunculus. Sprouting wings, it flew to Li Banfeng's ear and whispered: "I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with you." Critick looked at Li Banfeng with utmost sincerity. Li Banfeng pushed up his hat brim with a finger, revealing his eyes, signaling Critick to go on. Controlling the little green man, Critick said slowly, "Chu Shaoqiang is coming. He wants Moxiangdian's territory. "The Grandmaster is also coming soon. He wants Chu Shaoqiang's life. "And a good friend of yours is coming as well. I have some news about him."