Couplet

Li Yao's face immediately darkened.

What was this, little brother? Was his skin itching for a beating? Just as he was about to look for a handy stick, Zhou Li shamelessly started buttering him up. "I think Brother Cao's words are very mea—" Before Zhou Li could finish, he saw Qi Qi looking at him expressionlessly.

The rest of his words were forcibly swallowed back down.

That was close!

Good thing he had noticed Qi Qi's look, or it definitely would not have been just a warning glance!

Zhou Li felt a secret thrill at having survived a disaster.

Li Yao asked curiously, "What do you think of what Cao Rui said?"

Zhou Li said, "No, no, you heard wrong."

You fucking tried to set me up! Zhou Li glared at Li Yao. Li Yao smiled, raised his glass, and urged everyone to drink.

As for the tavern's name...

He should think of one himself.

By the time evening fell, everyone was slightly tipsy and went their separate ways. As they were leaving, Zhou Li, who had drunk a little too much, grabbed Cao Rui's arm and acted like they were sworn brothers. "Come on, Brother Cao, let's add each other on WeChat. I just love being friends with rich people."

Qi Qi clenched her fists at the sight...

Another wonderful day was nearly over.

Zhou Li watched everyone leave, then returned upstairs to the tavern. He had sectioned off part of the space as his living quarters and laboratory, strictly forbidding anyone else from entering.

The things from his studio apartment had not been moved over yet, so the place seemed rather empty.

Still, the daily necessities were all there.

So Li Yao had been sleeping at the tavern lately.

Studying alchemy, analyzing and constructing Spell Circuits, then falling asleep through meditation... Every day was arranged in perfect order. Li Yao thought this life was wonderful—peaceful and interesting, with a few close friends and long, harmonious days.

Mm, it was nice.

The next day, Li Yao got up early for a run. When he reached a nearby park, he practiced the Qi Refining Technique somewhere secluded.

On his way back, he ran into an old man.

The old man stopped him to ask for directions. "Young man, how do I get to Midnight Bar?"

Hm? Li Yao immediately became alert.

The old man wore a well-tailored suit. His silver-gray hair was groomed immaculately, and he carried a cane in one hand. He looked quite imposing, a refined old gentleman.

Li Yao honestly pointed out the way. The old man nodded in thanks and left.

The whole exchange was utterly ordinary,

as though he truly was just an ordinary old man who had casually stopped someone to ask for directions.

Li Yao shook his head. Maybe he was overthinking it.

Li Yao wandered around outside, treating it as a way to relax. As for the tavern's name... he truly had no idea what to call it.

He was terrible at naming things.

When he had written novels before, coming up with names had always given him a headache. Later, he had simply tweaked the names of people around him and used those.

But he could not do that with this tavern's name, could he? Just slightly changing the name of someone else's tavern and using it would be so tacky! His head hurt! Li Yao walked and thought, hoping his scattered thoughts could save him...

When he wandered into a bookstore, he suddenly got an idea.

He went inside and casually picked up a book. Its title was "Dragon and God"... What the hell was that? Forget it,

it was not important.

What mattered was that he could use the power of fate to find a name for the tavern here! "The first phrase I see when I randomly open a page... will be the tavern's name!" Thinking that, Li Yao opened the book in his hand. The first thing that caught his eye was a large, bold phrase on the page: Lost Lamb.

Damn, this was actually about Hong Xiuquan's life.

He looked at the book again...

Its title was "Dragon and God."

So this was Chinese dragons and God? Was this insane? Lost Lamb... calling the tavern Lost Lamb did not quite feel right. Lost was good, though. That was a phrase too.

And it came first! So...

The tavern would be called Lost Tavern.

Mm...

That actually sounded pretty good.

Li Yao was delighted. He found a nearby breakfast shop and bought two extra large steamed buns! Schoolwork had not been too heavy lately, and the university had also begun arranging internships and such. There were some shady dealings involved in that too. Some advisors would place their students with certain companies or human resources agencies, receiving commissions after arranging them there... College students needed experience anyway, so their wages would not be very high.

Getting a worker at a low cost,

many companies were willing to do that.

Of course, it was not always like that.

Southeast University rarely had such issues. It was mostly the diploma mills that loved doing this sort of thing. The internships arranged by Southeast University were usually at companies run by alumni, and they genuinely helped develop students' abilities. After the internship ended, the materials submitted by the company also counted toward academic credits.

Li Yao no longer needed an internship or anything like that.

And he was also working with Li Shishi.

So he had already asked Li Shishi to have the university place him in her company. This counted as the company reserving talent from the school in advance.

Some famous companies did indeed do this at prestigious universities.

With Li Shishi vouching for him, Li Yao would be free for a long time to come.

This feeling was wonderful.

—Financial freedom, personal freedom, and the ability to do whatever he wanted.

On his way back, Li Yao passed a woodcarving shop.

Thinking of his tavern's antique decor, he felt it really did lack a couplet. He wondered if he could buy one to take back. He browsed the shop, where all kinds of wood carvings were displayed on shelves. Some were overly showy, while others blended seamlessly into the grain and shape of the wood itself. With just a few carved strokes, they became vivid in both form and spirit, lifelike and animated.

The owner was clearly an expert as well. The prices of the carvings varied according to their level of craftsmanship.

Li Yao made a round of the shop but did not find any couplets, so he asked the owner, "Do you have any carved wooden couplets?"

The owner said, "Those do not sell much. I'll go look through the storeroom for you."

Li Yao said, "Sorry for the trouble."

Before long, the owner poked his head out from the back. "Sir, why don't you come in and take a look yourself? There really are still some in stock."

Li Yao said, "Sure."

He followed the owner into the storeroom behind the shop. There were stacks of lumber and carving tools inside, while many carvings sat on shelves beneath oilcloth covers. The owner pulled out several wooden couplets from some unknown corner. "They're all here!"

Li Yao glanced over them: Restrain oneself and yield to others; it does not make me weak. Hold fast to the Way; let others rage as they please.

This was the couplet of Zhennan Wing Chun Martial Arts Hall.

Li Yao looked at another one: Officialdom makes Cangzhou seem ever farther away; growing old, I vainly grieve that I have yet to don the Buddha's robes.

These were excerpts from two poems. The first line came from Du Fu's "Drinking at Qujiang," while the second came from Du Fu's "Seeing Kong Chao Off..." Forget it, it was not important. Writing it all out would just be padding.

Li Yao looked over several more couplets, but none caught his fancy.

"Hm?" Li Yao pointed at a wooden plaque covered by oilcloth and asked, "Is that a couplet too?"

"Yes, but that couplet is too old and has been eaten away by insects. Do you want to take a look?" As he spoke, the owner lifted the oilcloth. The couplet read: The sea of suffering has no shore,

but I can ferry you across.

First update. I'm not slacking off today, so please reward me~~~