Romantic Tales, Worldly Repute

Chapter 8: Romantic Tales, Worldly Repute

Yet strangely enough, despite such a terrifying sight, whether it was the burly men carrying the coffin, the mourning descendants dressed in hemp and white, or the endless stream of passersby, none of them seemed to notice it at all.

Yu Chen also confirmed the suspicion he had harbored all along.

—Only he could see the ghosts drawn forth by the Scripture of Deliverance. No one else could perceive them.

Having understood this, he said nothing, carrying the rice and meat as he headed up Qingfeng Mausoleum.

At the same time, the schoolteacher's ghost followed close behind, step for step.

After returning to the earthen hut and tightly shutting the doors and windows, Yu Chen finally took the Scripture of Deliverance from his inner realm and unfurled it.

At once, smoke-gray words emerged at the head of the scroll.

[Ordinary Wish, Ninth Grade]

[Worldly Repute]

[Time Limit: Twelve Hours]

[Reward upon Completion]

Then the schoolteacher's ghost turned into a streak of light and was drawn into the banks of the Yellow Springs River, still murmuring without pause.

"Worldly repute?"

At that moment, Yu Chen already had a guess. Most likely, this schoolteacher—whom outsiders regarded as a man of great virtue and prestige—had some shameful secret hidden away, one enough to ruin his reputation. Even after death, he could not let it go; it had become an obsession and drawn the attention of the Scripture of Deliverance.

At the same time, the schoolteacher's life flashed before Yu Chen's eyes like a revolving lantern.

When Yu Chen truly understood the secret this schoolteacher had been hiding, he could not help but laugh and cry at once.

As it turned out, according to the scenes from that revolving lantern—

The schoolteacher's surname was Zhao. Since childhood, he had loved reading, whether miscellaneous works or orthodox classics, and could never put them down.

After growing up, Zhao Xiansheng had taken the imperial examinations, served as a clerk in the yamen, and finally left the office fifteen years ago to enter the public school as a teacher.

He taught there for fifteen years.

Those scenes flashed past Yu Chen like scattered fragments. Though not every detail was crystal clear, they gave him a general understanding of Zhao Xiansheng's life.

What came next, however, was the main event.

Fifteen years ago, after Zhao Xiansheng left the yamen and entered the public school, he married and had children.

To outsiders, Zhao Xiansheng had ample wealth, a beautiful wife, and respectable work. He ought to have been the envy of all.

But every household had its own scripture too bitter to recite.

The bitter scripture in Zhao Xiansheng's household was his wife.

It turned out that when Madam Zhao gave birth, the delivery had injured that part of her body. From then on, whenever they did the deeds of Mount Wu, she would suffer unbearable pain.

Zhao Xiansheng and his wife were deeply devoted to one another. Unable to bear seeing her suffer so, for the next ten-odd years, the couple treated each other with courtesy in bed and never crossed the thunder pool even one step.

Yet though he sympathized with his wife, his nature as a man tormented Zhao Xiansheng beyond endurance.

Moreover, he was a man of lofty character who cherished his own purity. No matter what, he refused to visit places of wind and moon to pluck flowers and seek willows.

As time passed, Zhao Xiansheng became enamored with those fragrant and lurid storybooks and illustrated scrolls, using them to ease himself.

No one but him knew of these things.

Even Madam Zhao knew nothing.

Zhao Xiansheng had secretly decided that when his end drew near, he would burn all those lurid storybooks, letting the secret be buried with him and sleep forever in the earth.

But the heavens had storms without warning; who could predict matters of life and death?

One night after reading, Zhao Xiansheng caught a chill and fell into a deep sleep. Once asleep, he never woke again.

Yet even as he died, Zhao Xiansheng still worried over the improper storybooks and illustrated scrolls hidden in the secret compartment of his study.

He feared that Madam Zhao and the children would discover them and come to despise him, their worthy husband and loving father.

He feared even more that a servant cleaning up might find them, and word would spread from there, ruining the spotless reputation he had built all his life.

After all, if word got out that a highly respected teacher at the public school secretly read those shameless, lurid storybooks, who would not laugh?

With that single thought, he could not close his eyes even in death!

Thus came this obsession-like final wish.

After watching the entire revolving lantern, Yu Chen wore an odd expression.

Only after a long while did he slap his forehead!

—Wasn't this just asking someone to delete his browsing history?

Perhaps because he retained the memories and understanding of his previous life, Yu Chen did not think Zhao Xiansheng had done anything wrong by reading such things.

Food and sex were human nature.

Even sages could not abstain from such things, so how could a mere public-school teacher manage it?

Besides, whenever the urge came over him, Zhao Xiansheng held a storybook in one hand and his spear in the other, amusing himself without involving anyone else.

Wasn't that more self-disciplined than those lecherous old goats whose desires drove them to pluck flowers and seek willows?

Wasn't it more open and aboveboard than Blade-Faced Big Strong, whose lust had gone to his head and led him to harm lives?

Thus, in Yu Chen's eyes, these matters did not harm his impression of Zhao Xiansheng in the slightest. Instead, they gave the venerable old gentleman a touch more human warmth.

Of course, thinking of Old Mister Zhao's age, Yu Chen could not help but sigh... age had not diminished his vigor!

But upon further thought, this feudal world truly did seem unable to accept such things.

—See how absurd it was?

They could accept young dandies lingering among the flowers and even praise it as a fine tale.

Yet they could not accept a teacher secretly reading storybooks that made one's cheeks flush and heart race.

"Tsk. Whether for the rewards of the Scripture of Deliverance or to repay the kindness you once showed me, I'll help you with this."

Yu Chen sighed, waved a hand to put away the Scripture of Deliverance, and lay down on the bed.

He planned to rest during the day, then deal with those lurid storybooks that night.

Night fell, and the bright moon hung high.

More than half of Weishui City had gone to sleep. Only the taverns and pleasure houses remained ablaze with light.

Yu Chen climbed out of bed, changed into black clothes, picked up two paper figures, and headed down the mountain.

On the streets and alleys of Skybridge, there had been no wind or snow on this long-awaited moonlit night.

How could the wealthy households and their dandy sons possibly let such fine weather pass them by?

On the Weishui River, flower boats lay moored as melodies drifted through the air, zithers and se playing in harmony, painting a scene of lingering splendor.

Dressed in black and wearing a felt hat, Yu Chen arrived at the street outside Zhao Xiansheng's home in Skybridge. Finding a hidden corner, he blew a breath at the paper figures.

In an instant, the paper figures came alive. Their feet floated lightly over the snow as they silently climbed into the Zhao Household estate.

—Though Yu Chen had yet to enter the Dao and had no Qi to wield, meaning he could not grant the Paper Effigies and Paper Horses Art divine power—

Paper figures were light to begin with. With the slightest borrowed force, scaling a high wall was no difficult task.

It was already the second watch.

Though the Skybridge district was brightly lit, the Zhao Household had always enforced strict discipline. Both the mistress and the children had long since gone to sleep.

Following the route from Zhao Xiansheng's memories, the paper figure made its way to the study as if familiar with it, opened the hidden compartment, and took out a wooden box.

—Inside were those lurid storybooks.

Without another word, Yu Chen had the paper figure grab the storybooks and prepare to leave.

But he had not expected someone to suddenly push the door open!

It was a servant, bleary-eyed as he tied his waistband.

He had likely risen in the middle of the night to relieve himself, heard movement in the study, and instinctively come to investigate.

At that very moment, the paper figure was carrying the wooden box containing the storybooks. It absolutely could not let the servant catch it.

Otherwise, if the servant noticed something strange and saw those lurid storybooks, would that not speed up Zhao Xiansheng's social death?

Just then, the servant became a little more alert. Borrowing the moonlight, he saw a shadowy figure in the study and immediately grew wary, crying softly,

"Who's there!"

Hearing this, Yu Chen did not panic. He had long prepared for it.

—The paper figure bore the appearance of Old Mister Zhao himself!

Thus, the paper figure turned its head, allowing the lantern in the servant's hand to illuminate its face. Lowering its voice, it said, "It's me. I can't sleep, so I came to fetch a book to read."

Hearing that familiar voice, the still-groggy servant finally relaxed. "So it's Master. The weather has been cold lately; please take care not to catch a chill."

With that, he carried the lantern and swayed off to continue relieving himself.

Yu Chen seized the chance to control the paper figure, lift the wooden box, and leave quickly.

When the servant reached the latrine, loosened his waistband, and felt the cold wind blow against him, he suddenly shuddered violently!

Master?

Hadn't Master died already?

His whole body trembling, he no longer dared to urinate. He threw down the lantern and hurriedly burrowed back beneath his blankets, shaking like a leaf!

The next day, he hurried to report it to Madam Zhao.

Later, the supernatural tale spread from the Zhao Household estate, becoming known to more and more townsfolk.

Everyone said that even after Old Mister Zhao returned from death, he remained obsessed with books. He truly deserved to be called a renowned master of learning!

By a twist of fate, Old Mister Zhao's reputation became even greater and more resounding.

Later still, after the county magistrate heard of it, he personally went to Bright Moon Mausoleum and offered Old Mister Zhao a stick of incense.

(End of Chapter)