"I didn't do anything. I won't charge you." Xu Yan first put the boy's mind at ease, then took fifty copper coins from his pocket and set them on the edge of the bed. "It's not much, but take it and buy something good to cook for your mother."
It wasn't that he was softhearted. He simply couldn't bring himself to be hardhearted toward a boy who wanted to take good care of his mother.
The boy paused, then refused. "How can I accept this? Divine Doctor Xu, I'm already so grateful that you're not charging me. How could I take your money too?"
He had nothing to give Xu Yan in return, so he didn't want to take his money. His mother had taught him from a young age that no matter how poor a person was, he should earn his living with his own hands.
"Are you a man or not? Your mother needs you to look after her, and you're still hung up on things like this?" Xu Yan sounded a little impatient. When he finished speaking, he walked straight out of the house.
As a complete stranger, he had already done more than enough. What happened next was up to the boy.
Thump!
Xu Yan had just reached the doorway when he heard a sound behind him. He turned around and saw the boy kneeling before him.
"What are you doing? I already told you that a man shouldn't kneel so easily. Get up."
The boy gazed at Xu Yan with a resolute look and said earnestly, "Divine Doctor Xu, I, Jiang Li, will remember your great kindness. If you ever need anything from me, just say the word!"
He, Jiang Li, would never forget the kindness he'd received today!
"I only gave you fifty copper coins. There's no need for this." Xu Yan was slightly moved as he spoke.
Then he stepped out of the shabby little house.
Jiang Li watched Xu Yan's back until it disappeared from sight. Only then did he get up and walk to the bed. Looking at his mother lying there, he said softly, "Mother, I met a Noble today. I'll make sure to repay him."
After speaking, he carefully put away the copper coins and went to buy food.
After leaving Jiang Li, Xu Yan walked along the street. He didn't head straight back to his little shop; instead, he made for the market.
All kinds of vendors sold their wares in the market. People could find everything they needed for daily life there.
"Master Xu, would you like to buy a chicken?"
"Divine Doctor Xu, thank you so much for last time. These are wild crabs. Take a few—you don't need to pay."
"..."
Lin Yansheng had a fine reputation around here, and many people knew him. Some even offered him things outright, though he turned them down most of the time.
He walked all the way to the market's farthest corner, where an old man was selling a tortoise.
Xu Yan stopped in front of him and said with a smile, "Old sir, you still haven't sold your green-haired tortoise?"
The old man was a strange one. He wasn't a local of Tianren City; he had arrived a month ago.
Since coming to Tianren City, he had shown up every day to sell tortoises at the market's farthest corner.
A palm-sized green-haired tortoise sat in a small transparent tank, with a few stones arranged inside for decoration.
At that moment, the tortoise was lying on one of the stones, basking in the sun. When Xu Yan spoke, it seemed to open its eyes and glance at him before closing them again.
The old man was lying in a chair with his eyes closed, resting. At Xu Yan's words, he opened his eyes and looked at him. "You come by every few days, but you never buy anything. Otherwise, why would I need to come here every day?"
He sold only this green-haired tortoise. Xu Yan had already come by seven or eight times, and each time he merely chatted with the old man for a few moments.
At first, the old man had ignored Xu Yan. But after he kept coming back, the old man had started answering him.
Xu Yan replied with a smile, "Old sir, you're asking ten thousand copper coins for that one green-haired tortoise. I couldn't afford it even if I sold everything I own."
The first time he saw the tortoise, he had found it rather interesting and asked the old man how much it cost.
The old man had promptly named a price of ten thousand copper coins. After that, Xu Yan had stopped bringing up buying the tortoise. Whenever he came by, he just looked at it and chatted with the old man.
The old man said indifferently, "Only the short-sighted think it's expensive."
Even after a whole month without anyone willing to buy his tortoise, he had never considered lowering the price.
Xu Yan knew the old man had a strong personality and didn't take offense. He smiled and said, "Old sir, by your reasoning, everyone in Tianren City is short-sighted."
Ten thousand copper coins was already a fortune to most ordinary people. Even merchants rolling in money wouldn't part with that much to buy a single green-haired tortoise.
The old man wasn't afraid of offending anyone. He said leisurely, "That's how it is. Not just Tianren City—everywhere I've been is full of short-sighted people."
Whenever he stayed somewhere for a while, he moved on to another place to sell his green-haired tortoise. But he still hadn't met anyone willing to buy it, so the people in all those places were short-sighted too.
"Old sir, that's a rather sweeping statement," Xu Yan said with a smile, disagreeing.
Then he looked at the green-haired tortoise basking in the tank. "That tortoise seems to love sunbathing. Every time I come here, I see it soaking up the sun."
He felt that there was something different about the tortoise, but he couldn't say what. After all, he was just an ordinary man, and there was only so much he could see.
The old man didn't answer Xu Yan. He closed his eyes again and basked in the sun alongside the green-haired tortoise.
He didn't like talking to people in the first place. If Xu Yan hadn't kept coming over and striking up conversations, he wouldn't have paid him any attention.
Xu Yan watched the green-haired tortoise for a while, then said, "Old sir, I'll come again tomorrow. I'll bring you a painting then."
He turned and left, heading out of the market. He had only come to see the green-haired tortoise and chat with the old man for a while.
After Xu Yan left, both the old man and the green-haired tortoise opened their eyes. They watched him walk away, then closed their eyes again.
The next day, Xu Yan came back.
This time, he brought a painting and went straight to the far end of the market.
The old man and the green-haired tortoise were in the same place as before. Xu Yan unfolded the painting in front of him and said with a smile, "Old sir, this painting is for you."
"I don't want a painting. Things like this are worthless to me; I can't use them as money." The old man spoke slowly before opening his eyes.
Then a look of astonishment appeared in his eyes.
The old man cast off his earlier air of lazy indifference and said, a little excitedly, "Did you really paint this yourself?"
In the painting, an old man lay in a chair with his eyes closed, resting. On the ground, a green-haired tortoise basked in the sun inside a tank.
Xu Yan had painted the old man and the green-haired tortoise.
He came by so often that he had already memorized every detail of the old man and the tortoise. So, when he went home yesterday, he painted this picture.
This painting could almost be called the pinnacle of his work. He had rendered every fine detail with great precision, capturing a peaceful and serene beauty.
Even a complete layman could tell that this painting was a peerless masterpiece.