Two Lives

Great Qian, Cang Prefecture, Diannan City.

Between the neatly packed streets and houses, carriages and horses flowed along the broad flagstone roads, pedestrians weaving through like a shuttle amid a clamor of hawkers' cries.

A beggar's clothes were faded white and full of holes, yet scrubbed clean. He looked no more than sixteen or seventeen, so thin that he could barely fill out his clothes. Stopping three feet before a young married couple, he said, "Good fortune to you, sir and madam. May you soon have a precious son and grow old together with white hair!"

The husband was a scholar. Hearing the little beggar call him "sir," he was secretly pleased and found the boy more agreeable to the eye. Besides, the couple had only recently married, and the boy's words were auspicious. Thinking it would do no harm to take the blessing, he took several copper coins from his robes and tossed them into the beggar's chipped bowl.

"Thank you, sir and madam! Thank you, sir and madam!" Zhuang Jin said with a fawning smile, cupping his hands in salute as he thanked them again and again. Watching the couple depart, he thought to himself, Begging is a discipline too!

Do a trade, love a trade. Over the past few months, he had treated begging as a subject worthy of study, and it had indeed paid off.

Take one or two lessons, for instance. When begging, one did not need to be spotless, but at the very least one could not stink so badly that people fled at the sight of him. Yet one could not look too well-off, either. If one's clothes had fewer holes and patches than the passersby's, how could anyone pity him enough to part with their money?

And being a mute gourd would not do either. One had to dare to speak up. But merely saying "Good fortune, master and madam," then dropping to one's knees and kowtowing—competing over who could kowtow louder and harder—was no road to success. One had to learn to read faces and moods. One could not speak in flowery scholarly language to those who clearly could not read a single character; one had to speak plainly. Upon seeing a pregnant woman, one should wish her a big, fat baby boy in her belly...

Zhuang Jin's favorite targets for begging were, first, pregnant women; second, young married couples like these; third...

Just then, he spotted someone. His heart stirred, and he hurried over to the entrance of a gambling den. Bowing deeply to a man, he called out, "This boy greets you, sir! Your face is glowing with health today, sir. This is an omen of a lucky star shining over you and wealth pouring in!"

"Well said! A reward!" The gambler was a crude fellow, yet he yearned for culture. Having just won money, he was in high spirits. At those words, he immediately reached into his clothes, paused slightly, then burst into laughter and tossed something down. It landed in the chipped bowl with a crisp, pleasant jingle.

It was a sliver of silver!

"Silver! That sliver of silver is worth at least several dozen coins!" Not far away, another little beggar, skinny, short, and craning his neck, went red-eyed at the sight.

This little beggar was called Little Ears. The day before yesterday, he had happened to see Zhuang Jin receive reward money several times in a row. Thinking of how people recoiled from his own appearance when he begged, and how it took him ages to scrape together one or two coins, he had secretly followed Zhuang Jin today to steal some tricks. He thought, You little brat! I was wondering why you haven't been squeezing into the vegetable market and rice market with us these past days. So you learned this kind of skill!

Who would have thought? Usually he doesn't utter a peep, but when it comes to begging for money, he's such a smooth talker!

Then excitement welled up within him. I've learned it! I've learned it! With this trick, I'll definitely be able to beg for big money too!

Little Ears' heart burned with anticipation. Seeing that Zhuang Jin was still lingering outside the gambling den, he went to a street on the other side, intending to try out the auspicious phrase "soon have a precious son" first. But when he approached several women in succession, every one of them covered her nose and mouth in disgust and walked around him.

Only after quite a while did a woman take the initiative to approach him. Little Ears' face lit up. He had originally planned to greet her with an auspicious phrase as usual, then kneel and kowtow for money, but remembering what he had just learned by spying, he stopped himself. Taking two steps forward, he put on a fawning smile and called loudly, "Madam, may you soon have a precious son! May you soon have a precious son!"

When Widow Wang saw Little Ears, she thought of her own son, who had lost his father, and felt sorry for him. She had meant to come over and give him two coins. Yet when she reached him, she heard his "blessing" that she might soon have a precious son, and her face immediately turned green.

She was a widow. Where was she supposed to get a son? There was only one possibility: adultery. He was ruining her chastity archway, condemning her to be drowned in a pig cage! Her mouth twisted with rage as she hurled her basket at him, head and face first.

After speaking, the little beggar raised his head slightly and looked on in eager expectation. Delighted, he wondered how much she would reward him now that she was pleased. He never expected a basket to come smashing into him. Crying out in pain, he leapt up with a squeak like a startled rat.

Zhuang Jin had no idea that Little Ears had imitated another so clumsily that he had made a mess of things. He continued wandering the streets and alleys in search of kindhearted people. By evening, after calculating the day's earnings and estimating his total wealth, he thought, One tael of silver. At last, I've saved enough.

At that moment, he suddenly saw a man in official yamen robes passing by in the distance. Without showing any reaction, he silently crouched down, lowered his head, and pushed his bowl forward a little. In a deliberately muffled voice, he said, "Kind master passing by, please show some kindness!"

That is the previous owner's eldest uncle. Zhuang Jin cast the man a sidelong glance, watching him leave with the crowd as he thought to himself.

Zhuang Jin was not of this world. According to the previous owner's memories, several months ago, the Shen Family and the Medicine King Gang had clashed within the city. Great chaos had erupted that night, and the previous owner's father had died in it. His eldest uncle and younger uncle had set their sights on the family property and intended to sell off the previous owner and his mother. The previous owner's mother was a meticulous woman. After discovering their intentions, she played along with them while secretly arranging for the previous owner to escape. To preserve her chastity, she herself threw herself into a well...

Before the previous owner escaped, his mother had disguised him, changing his clothes and using Grease and Glue mixed with mud to make moles on his face. This kept him from being found by his eldest and younger uncles. Later, the little silver he had taken with him was spent, and he froze and starved to death. Only then had Zhuang Jin arrived.

The previous owner's name and appearance are both identical to mine from my past life. Was Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly? Or was the butterfly dreaming of Zhuang Zhou?

Zhuang Jin could not make sense of it. He shook his head slightly and stopped dwelling on it, turning his thoughts back to the previous owner. Generally speaking, with Father dead but the previous owner still here as a sixteen-year-old son, his eldest and younger uncles should not have been so shameless... There was another reason. The eldest and younger uncles shared the same mother, while Father was born to another concubine Grandfather had taken later in life. Grandfather had given Father a share of wealth and set him up separately, which had always left the eldest and younger uncles bitter. That was why this happened after Father's death.

Perhaps there was another reason as well. The chaos several months ago was a calamity, but perhaps it was also an opportunity. After all, when many people died, many positions naturally opened up. The previous owner's eldest uncle worked at the yamen, while his younger uncle was in the Medicine King Gang. If they wanted to rise, they naturally had to grease palms, and greasing palms required real gold and silver. That was why they had fixed their eyes on the previous owner's family.

In any case, whatever the reason, I accept this karma from the previous owner. In truth, he had no choice. If Zhuang Jin did not accept this karma, would his eldest and younger uncles spare him? He was not that naive.

The previous owner's eldest uncle and younger uncle—one a yamen clerk, the other an ordinary member of the Medicine King Gang—were merely ants a little larger than ordinary people in the eyes of those with real power. But to a beggar, they weighed as heavily as mountains. Therefore, even for my own protection, I must take part in the Shen Family's third recruitment of Martial Students tomorrow!

In the previous owner's memories, the Shen Family had dominated Diannan City for over a century. The Medicine King Gang was only a recently risen challenger. So long as he passed the Shen Family's Martial Student examination, became a true martial artist, and entered the Shen Family, the previous owner's eldest and younger uncles would no longer be anything to fear.

"A martial artist..." Longing rose in Zhuang Jin's heart. While begging on the streets, he had once seen a martial artist strike. With one light, drifting palm, he had sent another person flying more than a dozen feet. Zhuang Jin knew that this world truly possessed transcendent power. "Better to rely on yourself than on father or mother. Only power that belongs to oneself is the true road to the heavens!"

Thinking thus, he carried a Dog-Beating Stick in hand. Passing a stall, he slowed and looked over its flatbreads, steamed buns, White Flour Buns, corn buns, and other fare. In the end, he bought two White Flour Buns, then hurried toward the place where he was staying. As he passed through a secluded street alley, he suddenly sensed something and stopped.

Ahead of him, a group of people blocked the road.