Redeeming His Master

Xia Fan knew the road to the gambling house like the back of his hand. After all, whenever his master disappeared, nine times out of ten he had gone to the gambling house; the remaining chance was that he had gone to an Azure Brothel.

Of course, the odds of the latter were lower not because he was less fond of gambling, but because the times he could actually win money were always few.

The gambling house guards were all familiar with Xia Fan as well. Once they learned why he had come, they led him straight to the proprietor's door.

"Oh? His master happens to be here too. Let him in."

Shopkeeper Xiao's voice came through the door.

Having received permission, the guard stepped aside and made a welcoming gesture.

What? Master was here too? Xia Fan's heart tightened slightly. Instead of locking a debtor in a private cell, they had brought him to the proprietor's room... Could they be using violence to force repayment?

He hurriedly pushed open the door and strode inside. "Stop! I brought all the ransom money—"

Halfway through, Xia Fan suddenly fell silent.

The proprietor of the gambling house and his master sat facing each other, with a basin of boiled fish between them. White, milky broth was dotted with red chili peppers, looking utterly delicious. Several empty wine jugs lay nearby, and judging from the pile of fish bones before them, they had clearly already gone three rounds of wine.

What was going on? Why had his indebted master become the gambling house proprietor's honored guest after just one month apart?

Had he not seen it with his own eyes, Xia Fan would never have believed that this rosy-faced, healthy-looking middle-aged man was his bargain-bin master—Zhao Dahai.

"Stop what? Have you drunk too much, brat? What nonsense are you spouting!" His master patted the cool mat by his feet. "Have you eaten dinner? Come over and have a bowl of fish soup first."

"Old Zhao, is this the disciple who declared that we were not to touch you, and that he would definitely return to redeem you in a month? Hehe..." Shopkeeper Xiao smiled as he sized Xia Fan up. "I had only heard people mention you before, but today I finally get to meet you. Gathering thirty taels of silver in one month—most people would have fled far, far away already. Yet you dared to come back. That alone makes your courage commendable. Not bad. Just as expected, heroes emerge from the young!"

"He would have been better off fleeing far away." His master stuffed a bite of fish into his mouth. "Disciple, let me introduce you. This is Shopkeeper Xiao, who runs Chunxiao Street. Most of the establishments we used to frequent were his properties."

In other words, this man did not merely run a gambling house—the Azure Brothels, teahouses, and inns on the street all belonged to him as well?

That only deepened Xia Fan's confusion. Why would such a major boss be hanging around with his master, chatting and laughing so happily?

"Hahaha... It's actually not as complicated as you think." Shopkeeper Xiao seemed to have seen Xia Fan's puzzlement and took the initiative to explain. "Daoist Zhao did indeed owe a gambling debt, but he also did me a great favor. I, Xiao, believe debts must be repaid and kindness must be returned. Once the two are offset, he still has done the Xiao Family a favor."

After a thorough explanation, Xia Fan finally understood what had happened—an Azure Brothel called Hongying Pavilion had opened on neighboring Lianhua Street, creating a rivalry with the Xiao Family's Ruanxiang Pavilion. For a time, it had even crushed the latter so badly it could barely breathe. His master happened to know a set of massage techniques, originally used only to ease fatigue while traveling. But once he suggested teaching those methods to the women of Ruanxiang Pavilion and having them use them on customers, the situation instantly reversed. Now Hongying Pavilion had few customers, while people lined up outside Ruanxiang Pavilion every day. Naturally, its earnings had risen steadily, and compared to the Spring Pavilion's income, that thirty-tael debt was not worth mentioning at all.

After hearing it all, only one thought remained in Xia Fan's mind: This fucking worked too?

"What, did you think I was at the end of my rope, just waiting for you to save me?" Zhao Dahai proudly filled a cup to the brim. "I've roamed the martial world for decades. What great winds and crashing waves have I not seen? How could a little setback possibly trap me!"

"..." Xia Fan could not help twitching the corner of his mouth. He had imagined many scenes of redeeming his master: perhaps the other man would weep bitterly and repent, or perhaps he would grit his teeth and stubbornly cling to his pride. But he had never foreseen this.

So whether he passed the Scholar Examination and became a Sorcery Art practitioner or not had no effect on his master at all.

Wanting him to learn a lesson had truly been wishful thinking on Xia Fan's part.

"Then... you passed the Scholar Examination?" Zhao Dahai suddenly asked.

"Yes." Xia Fan replied weakly, "I had thought Master was suffering terribly, that your disciple could not sleep at night. After obtaining the settlement allowance, I rushed back here day and night, only to find that I had been busy for nothing."

"Pah, as if I don't know what you were thinking. It would have been impressive if you remembered your master even once during that month." His master said indifferently. "Still, since you brought the ransom money, you can be considered dutiful and devoted. It's just that you won't be able to accompany me across the world anymore."

"You make it sound as though you enjoy wandering about." Seeing that Zhao Dahai was no longer putting on an act before Shopkeeper Xiao, Xia Fan could not be bothered to keep acting either. "When you were starving so badly you nearly fainted, didn't you say you would do anything for a meal? Now that I'm a Sorcery Art practitioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs, at least I can make sure you no longer go hungry."

"This, this is then and that was then. Can words spoken in a starving panic be trusted?" The other man glared at him. "Have they decided where you'll be appointed?"

"Not yet. But no matter where I'm sent, finding Master a place to live won't be a problem."

Zhao Dahai pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "No need. From now on, go by yourself."

Xia Fan froze. "What do you mean?"

"I'm used to being free. I don't want to settle in one place for long. Besides, living with you would be worse than living here. Food, drink, entertainment—there's nothing lacking. The girls at Ruanxiang Pavilion can't wait for me to visit every day. It's as comfortable as can be..."

"I can testify that your master is telling the truth." Shopkeeper Xiao said with a chuckle.

"You... mean it?" Xia Fan frowned.

"I mean it. Absolutely!"

"Since that's the case, I won't say any more." He shook his head helplessly. "But once the Appointment Decree arrives, I'll tell you where I'm going. If one day Master regrets it or cannot afford to eat, you can still come find me anytime. Then this disciple will take his leave."

"Go on, go on." Zhao Dahai waved him away.

Xia Fan could only cup his hands and leave the room.

After he had gone, Shopkeeper Xiao looked at Zhao Dahai and sighed. "This is the first time I've seen a master and disciple like you two. Not to mention setting an example for others or being steady as a mountain—even if others are not like that, they would at least put on a bit of a show... Even sworn brothers in the martial world have to burn three sticks of incense."

"What use is a pretended bond between master and disciple?" Zhao Dahai said disdainfully. "I've seen plenty who were close fellow disciples one day, only to stab each other in the back over paltry gains the next. The more one puts on appearances, the easier it becomes to numb oneself. Better not to have it from the start. You should know that principle better than anyone."

"Hahaha... That does make sense." After filling both their cups, Shopkeeper Xiao said, "Still, your disciple has passed the Scholar Examination and become a Sorcery Art practitioner. From now on, he's a proper court official. No matter how you put it, that's a great joyous occasion. In any other family, they would be beating gongs and drums, draped in red and decked in finery. Why do I feel as though you don't care much? Could it be... you think your disciple is lying?"

"Not at all. From the moment he said he wanted to take the Scholar Examination, I knew this day would come sooner or later." Zhao Dahai's voice suddenly grew heavier. "To be honest, I never really wanted him to take this road... to become a Sorcery Art practitioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs."

"What is bad about bringing glory to one's ancestors? Others do not even have the qualifications to walk this road."

"He's different... That brat makes me a little afraid."

"Afraid?" Shopkeeper Xiao laughed in disbelief. "Old Zhao, you've had too much to drink."

"Too much? It's still early! You haven't spent a long time with him, so it's normal that you don't know. I raised him for over ten years, so naturally I know the boy inside out." Zhao Dahai swept a large hand through the air, as though he wanted to pour it all out, but halfway through he began to hesitate. "The more I taught him, the more I could feel the gap between us. You don't understand that feeling. It was like, like—" He considered it for a long while, yet still could not describe it.

"I understand. The student surpasses the master, blue surpasses indigo. He's become a Sorcery Art practitioner, while you're still 'Daoist Zhao'..."

"It has nothing to do with that!" Zhao Dahai cut him off. "I became a wandering cultivator because I could not stand the rules of the Bureau of Military Affairs. I have seen plenty of people who called themselves geniuses, but that brat is different from all of them."

"How is he different?"

This time, Zhao Dahai remained silent even longer. "Have you ever seen someone born knowing?"

He really has drunk too much. Shopkeeper Xiao smiled. "You mean to say your disciple is one?"

"I don't know." He lifted his cup and drained it in one gulp. "But if such people exist, he should be close enough. He was only three when I found him. At that age, being able to sense qi was already rare. Most children of great clans begin learning Qi Awakening at four or five. Yet he could draw Talismans at five, and at six he cast a complete art. In two years, he mastered things others needed five or six years to learn. Even among the great clans, that would count as first-rate speed."

"And when he spoke of Qi Guidance, he said it felt as if he saw stars filling the sky. What kind of ghost was that? Shouldn't one see nothing at all, only vaguely sense something like an extra layer of thin gauze around one's body? Yet he truly guided qi into his body, so I could only pretend that was how it was supposed to be."

"That... does sound a little exaggerated."

"If that were all, it would be one thing. He found some discarded account book from somewhere and wrote and drew on its back every day. Later, I accidentally discovered that some of the things he recorded had been written down far earlier than when he explained them aloud." Zhao Dahai spoke faster and faster. "That meant he was deliberately slowing himself down, so he would not appear to learn too quickly—would an ordinary person do such a thing? From then on, I kept an extra watchful eye on him and found more and more issues with the boy. His abnormal obsession with Sorcery Arts, his extreme self-control while cultivating, and the neat, orderly way he handled everything—this could no longer be summed up with mere talent."

"Wouldn't high talent make him even more suited to the Bureau of Military Affairs?" Shopkeeper Xiao truly did not understand.

"Do you think a place like the Bureau of Military Affairs lets one sail smoothly with talent alone? With my disciple's temperament, either he'll break inside it, or else... he'll become part of the Bureau of Military Affairs." He let out a long sigh. "If it's the latter, the higher his talent, the greater the harm he'll cause..."

The Bureau of Military Affairs... causing great harm? At most, those Sorcery Art practitioners were a little arrogant and overbearing. But then again, which official with even a little power in his hands was not like that?

Shopkeeper Xiao found the topic growing more and more absurd, so he simply gave up asking. "Fine, I don't really understand the ways of Sorcery Art practitioners. Since you did not want him to join the Bureau of Military Affairs, why did you not stop him from taking the Scholar Examination?"

"That is the contradiction in the human heart." Zhao Dahai gave a bitter smile. "My talent is ordinary, and the limit of my life stops here. Yet the more ordinary one is, the more one wants to see just how high those with true talent can rise. The things I can teach him can be counted on one hand. The only place where he can develop to his fullest is the Bureau of Military Affairs."