Repaying Kindness? Freeloading!

"Gui Mei moves toward Wu Wang, Wu Wang moves toward Tong Ren, Tong Ren moves toward Da You. Jia turns to Bing, Bing turns to Geng, Geng turns to Gui..." When Chen Luo hurried to the guest room with Xiao Huan, he saw the ragged youth they had rescued leaning half-upright against the bed, muttering the same words over and over...

"Young Master, look, he's been like this for a full hour. I can't understand what he's reciting. Could that vile monk have placed some curse on him?" Xiao Huan looked towards Chen Luo.

Chen Luo listened intently for a moment, puzzled. Why does this sound so familiar? He listened a while longer, and when he heard, "Three additions make five, five additions make nine," realization dawned on him.

Wasn't this the general formula Feng Qingyang recited when teaching Linghu Chong the Nine Swords of Dugu in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer?

Sure enough, Chen Luo spotted several sheets of paper covered in writing beside the youth's hand. Peering closer, he saw they were the manuscript pages of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer that he had written.

"What happened here?" Chen Luo pointed at the manuscript and asked Xiao Huan.

"Young Master, didn't you always have me organize and bind your articles after you finished writing them, then take them to your teacher for guidance? When I went to tidy the study, I saw the new piece you'd written and brought it out without thinking."

"Then he only took one look and couldn't stop. Once he finished reading it all, he became like this..."

After saying that, Xiao Huan stared at Chen Luo in surprise. "Could it be that you put a curse on him, Young Master?"

Chen Luo raised a hand and flicked her on the forehead. "Nonsense. Is your Young Master that sort of person?"

Xiao Huan nodded. "Young Master doesn't have that ability!"

Chen Luo was considering selling this maid off. Keeping her at home would infuriate him to death.

"Don't take the articles from my study out again." Chen Luo casually instructed her, then walked toward the youth. Anyone who read Old Master Jin's stories would be unable to put them down, much less in this cultural wasteland of a world. The Nine Swords of Dugu had probably hit this kid a little too hard.

"Yue Buqun is here!" Chen Luo shouted at him. As expected, the youth's expression changed, and he emerged from his thoughts about the Nine Swords of Dugu. Only then did he clearly see Chen Luo standing before him.

The youth rolled off the bed and kowtowed. "Greetings, benefactor..." Chen Luo tried to help him up, only to discover that the youth was astonishingly heavy. He could not lift him at all.

Are the people in this world all physically this strong? He was clearly at death's door just a few hours ago. Chen Luo silently thought, then glanced at Xiao Huan standing to the side.

No, this world still has cutesy little weaklings.

"Get up first, then talk." Chen Luo exerted some strength with his hand. The youth sensed it as well and hurriedly rose to his feet, his expression respectful.

"How do you feel? Don't eat or drink too much these next two days, or you'll ruin your stomach." After giving the reminder, Chen Luo asked, "What's your name? Where is your home?"

The youth hurriedly replied, "In response to my benefactor, my name is Ji Zhong. My home is in the Northern Border. This time, I was traveling to Willow Academy in Central Capital to study."

Chen Luo was slightly surprised. Central Capital was also known as Wansheng Capital, the capital of Great Xuan. Since it lay at the center of the world, it was called Central Capital. As for Willow Academy, Chen Luo's inherited memories had mentioned it as well. It was one of the Eight Great Academies of Central Capital—the equivalent of Tsinghua or Peking University in his previous life.

"You're a Confucianism scholar? What realm are you at?"

"I am indeed a disciple of Confucianism. At present, I am at the Third Level of Confucian Scholar, the Poem Creation Realm."

Poem Creation Realm!

Chen Luo asked in confusion, "Then how did a monk manage to trap you over a hundred taels of silver?"

Ji Zhong blushed slightly. "Making silver is too difficult."

Chen Luo was speechless. "Then how did you travel all the way here from the Northern Border?"

"Along the way, the local authorities all had wanted notices. I caught people and collected the rewards... But after entering the Central Plains, public security was too good..."

Chen Luo: ...

Looking at the somewhat youthful face before him, Chen Luo suddenly realized something.

This was just a teenager!

Chen Luo asked, "How old are you this year?"

"Seventeen!"

Chen Luo's heart jolted. Advisor Li at the county office was probably over sixty, yet he was only at the same level as this youth. It seemed he had casually picked up a genius.

With his golden finger at his side, a Great Scholar backing him, and now a genius he had saved—this was absolutely protagonist treatment!

It was just that the one exiled here was his Sister rather than a child bride. One-star review!

Chen Luo looked at Ji Zhong before him, growing more and more pleased. He tried to make his tone a few degrees gentler as he said, "There's no need to rush to Central Capital. Stay at my home and recover properly. The residence is short-handed right now, so if you need anything, tell Xiao Huan."

Yet Ji Zhong respectfully bowed. "Benefactor, you overpraise me. I have no way to repay the grace of saving my life. If you do not find me objectionable, Ji Zhong is willing to serve by your side for a year, to repay the debt of saving my life."

Chen Luo was a little bewildered. What did that mean? I saved your life, and you planned to cling to me for a year? If you didn't go to Willow Academy to further your studies and become a great figure, wouldn't my investment in this genius go to waste?

But on second thought, Chen Luo figured that Ji Zhong was at least in the Poem Creation Realm. Keeping him by his side for a year would let them build some rapport. A year should be enough for him to figure out how to use that seven-colored mist. By then, protecting himself would no longer be a problem.

Thinking this, Chen Luo quickly nodded. "That works too. A year is enough time to nurse your body fully back to health. Why don't we become sworn brothers..."

Before Chen Luo could finish, Ji Zhong hurriedly bowed again. "Ji Zhong would not dare to presume so highly. I am willing to become my benefactor's bookboy, grinding ink and washing brushes for you..."

Chen Luo's expression turned strange. Wasn't that supposed to be work for a delicate, pretty girl?

"It's just..." Ji Zhong opened his mouth again, though this time he seemed hesitant to speak.

"What do you want?" Whether he became a bookboy or not did not matter. He could treat him as a guard. In any case, he did not truly intend to treat a genius like him as a servant. But it seemed Ji Zhong had some other request.

"It's just... the articles my benefactor wrote..." Ji Zhong glanced at the manuscript of The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. "I wonder where the later manuscript pages are? Ji Zhong has become utterly immersed in it, unable to pull himself free..."

Chen Luo looked at Ji Zhong. Ji Zhong actually blushed, lowering his head.

Why are you blushing?! And all that talk about repaying the grace of saving your life—I get it now. You were planning to freeload off my wuxia novels, weren't you?

Chen Luo grumbled inwardly, but his face was full of smiles. "The later pages? There are no later pages..."

Ji Zhong: Huh? There aren't any?

Cai Tongchen's official residence.

With a flourish of his brush, Wei Yan recopied Chen Luo's Brief Biography of Zhong Kui, sealed it in a paper tube, and handed it to Cai Tongchen. "Send it to the Qingniao Division at once using the 'Brocade Letter in the Clouds' method. I want Wenchang Pavilion to see this article today."

Taking the article, Cai Tongchen asked curiously, "Master, why copy it out again? Is Luo'er's calligraphy truly too dreadful to be seen? From what I saw, it may not be the best, but it is more than passable."

Wei Yan shot Cai Tongchen a glare, then carefully folded the copy Chen Luo had transcribed and tucked it into his robes, keeping it close to his body.

"This is the original manuscript. Naturally, this old man must treasure it."

Cai Tongchen stared at Wei Yan in disbelief. After holding it in for quite a while, he said, "This disciple also wrote several articles a few days ago, and I am quite pleased with them. Does Master have any interest in collecting them?"

"Your articles are all things I taught you. Why would I collect that stuff?"

That stuff...

Stuff...

...uff...

Cai Tongchen felt as though his heart had suffered a crushing blow!

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