No Wages

Qin Yudie said happily and gratefully, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Xu. I've gained so much from it."

Playing those two games of chess with Xu Yan had helped her more than two years of cultivation. Her understanding of the Great Dao was now completely different from before.

Xu Yan said, "There's no need to thank me, Miss Qin."

It was his first time seeing someone lose so badly at chess and still be so happy. Could cultivators have some special inclination toward masochism?

"Senior Xu, I'll take my leave now," Qin Yudie said.

She needed time to digest the insights into the Great Dao she'd gained from their game. Otherwise, she would keep playing chess with Xu Yan.

Xu Yan breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been worried Qin Yudie would want to continue playing. He couldn't wait for her to leave, and smiled brightly as he said, "All right. Take care."

Seeing Xu Yan's radiant smile, Qin Yudie was deeply moved. She hadn't expected Senior Xu to be so happy to guide her. She absolutely couldn't let him down.

Reluctantly, she said, "Senior Xu, I'll come visit you again next time."

With that, she left, her heart full of gratitude.

Xu Yan was speechless for a moment, then sighed. "That girl's really terrible at chess. It's a real test of how to lose gracefully and keep up appearances."

He'd thought cultivators would be good at chess. Instead, figuring out how to lose with poise and elegance had become his biggest challenge.

After Qin Yudie left, Xu Yan sold two little wooden puppets and made a decent profit.

Then he swept the area outside his shop. As soon as he finished, he saw a young boy running over.

The boy looked about fifteen or sixteen. It was Jiang Li.

Jiang Li looked apprehensive as he said, "Divine Doctor Xu, thank you for helping my mother and me yesterday."

His mother had woken up the day before. Afterward, he'd used the money Xu Yan gave him to buy a chicken and some nourishing food to stew for her. She'd been feeling much better after eating it.

Xu Yan could tell from Jiang Li's expression that he wanted something. "Go ahead. What did you come to see me about?"

He wondered whether Jiang Li had come to ask him for money. Fifty copper coins wasn't much; if he spent recklessly, he could use it all up in an instant.

But Jiang Li had said payday was two days away, so Xu Yan had deliberately given him only fifty copper coins. He wanted Jiang Li to keep striving on his own once he'd made it through those two days.

Jiang Li stammered, "My mother found out that you helped us, Divine Doctor Xu. She told me to come work for you and repay you."

He also wanted to work for Xu Yan. Xu Yan was famous in Tianren City, and was outstanding both at calligraphy and painting and at medicine.

Xu Yan refused. "Go on home. I don't need anyone to work for me. You'd be better off continuing to work and earn money."

His little shop barely had anything to do. There was no need to hire someone just to work there.

Jiang Li said quietly, "I can sweep the shop for you, Divine Doctor Xu. I just saw you sweeping."

He really wanted to do something for Xu Yan. His mother had told him that spending time with someone like Xu Yan would help him grow.

Xu Yan asked, "What about your job? How will you support your family if you don't work?"

If Jiang Li wanted to work for him because he was looking for an easy way to earn money, Xu Yan would be very disappointed.

But Jiang Li didn't disappoint him.

Jiang Li raised his head and looked at Xu Yan, gathering his courage. "I'll keep doing my regular work and use my free time to sweep for you, Divine Doctor Xu."

He couldn't give up his job at the teahouse. That was his source of income, and his mother couldn't support their family on her own.

Xu Yan neither accepted nor refused outright. "Do as you like. Just make sure you manage your time well."

He saw the determination in the boy's eyes and couldn't bring himself to refuse. Besides, sweeping wouldn't interfere with much.

"Okay!"

Jiang Li took this as Xu Yan's tacit approval. He answered excitedly, then happily ran off.

He still had to work at the teahouse. Afterward, he'd come back and sweep for Xu Yan.

Standing beneath the cherry tree outside his shop, Xu Yan was struck by inspiration. He turned and went inside, then painted a picture.

It showed a young boy kneeling before someone in a dilapidated little house, gratitude and determination shining on his face.

The person the boy knelt before was a young man.

The young man wore white robes as pure as snow and carried himself with effortless grace, but his face was somewhat indistinct.

Xu Yan had painted the scene from the day before, when Jiang Li had knelt before him in his home and thanked him.

He'd put a great deal of care into the painting, and it had turned out beautifully. The only imperfection was that the young man's face was blurry.

Yet that created an imperfect beauty of its own, along with a hint of mystery surrounding the young man's face.

At sunset, Jiang Li arrived.

He'd come to sweep, so Xu Yan gave him a broom and let him do it himself.

As Jiang Li swept the shop's front room, he took in the dazzling array of calligraphy and paintings and was deeply moved. He admired Xu Yan even more.

So he began sweeping with extraordinary care, taking even more care than Xu Yan did himself.

The Dao charm emanating from the calligraphy and paintings in the shop quietly seeped into his body, transforming his constitution.

Over the next few days, Qin Yudie came to play chess with Xu Yan during the day, and Jiang Li came to sweep the shop at dusk.

Xu Yan's shop wasn't quite so quiet anymore.

On the seventh day Jiang Li had been coming to sweep Xu Yan's shop, a tall man secretly followed him there.

Seeing Jiang Li sweeping for Xu Yan, the man strode out into the open and jeered, "Jiang Li, I was wondering where you rushed off to after work every day lately to make a fortune. Turns out you've been coming here to sweep someone's shop."

Jiang Li was sweeping at the entrance. He looked at the man who'd just appeared and said, "Xiao Sheng, what's it to you?"

The man was another errand boy at the teahouse. He often bullied Jiang Li, using his large build to intimidate him.

Jiang Li had always swallowed his anger at the teahouse, but he didn't want to put up with it here.

He was a man, too. He had to stand tall in front of Xu Yan. Taking abuse without a word wasn't something a real man would do.

Xiao Sheng hadn't expected the usual punching bag to have the guts to speak to him like that. He flew into a rage. "Jiang Li, did you take the wrong medicine? How dare you talk to me like that!"

He'd never let Jiang Li stand up to him. He had to keep Jiang Li afraid of him so Jiang Li would obediently pay him protection money.

"What's going on?"

Hearing the commotion outside, Xu Yan came out and asked what was happening.

He'd been painting, preparing to make a picture called "The Cat That Couldn't Catch a Mouse," when he heard the noise outside the shop and came to see.

Xiao Sheng looked Xu Yan up and down and gave him a sleazy grin. "How much are you paying Jiang Li? Give the money to me instead. I can do a better job than him."

As long as there was money to be made, he was willing to work. Nobody turned down money, and he was more than happy to take Jiang Li's job.

Xu Yan looked at Xiao Sheng and said calmly, "I'm not paying Jiang Li any wages. Please leave."