Deng Xiaoxian was twenty-seven that year. He had a long face, fine brows, thin lips, and a sallow complexion. A lock of long hair hung over his forehead, covering his left eye. He often wore a collarless gray robe fastening to the left, with a white outer robe over it.
Zheng Qing still remembered the first time he saw Deng Xiaoxian, in the early autumn five years ago.
Old Shopkeeper Deng had grabbed him by the lock of hair over his forehead and dragged him into his own Huichun Hall, his roar echoing down the entire street:
"Half-baked and full of yourself!"
"Who do you think you are? What can you do? Do you know the fifteen uses of Pleiades Inner Gold? You can't even memorize all the medicinal properties, yet you dare imitate others and write prescriptions! And you swaggered off to venture into the New World!!"
"If you go off on your own and get yourself killed, that's my bad luck! The Deng family deserves to die out! But what if you drag the others in the hunting party down with you? Who will they seek justice from then?"
"You think passing the Registered Wizard exam means you can turn the world upside down? What a joke! Do you think those great demons outside are made of paper?"
Zheng Qing had sprawled at the doorway, watching the usually kind old physician turn red with rage, tears streaming down his aged face.
Pan Lü'er, meanwhile, had hung his head and knelt wordlessly before the shrine in Huichun Hall's main hall.
From then on, Huichun Hall's shopkeeper became this young man with the lock of hair over his forehead.
The merchants of Huizi Market strictly followed national regulations. On ordinary days, they opened their shutters at nine in the morning and closed punctually at five in the afternoon. Only Pan Lü'er scoffed at such rules. He lazily opened when the sun was already high, and by two or three in the afternoon, his door was half shut.
After Old Shopkeeper Deng handed the shop keys to Pan Lü'er, he vanished to wander the world, often not returning for three or five years at a time. The shop employed no assistants; dispensing medicine and seeing patients all had to be handled by the shopkeeper himself. Pan Lü'er occasionally brewed prescriptions and refined pills and powders. When customers came, he either said the shopkeeper was out or fobbed them off with those formulas. He had never put his heart into the shop.
He cared only about memorizing books.
Old Shopkeeper Deng had once said that if Pan Lü'er wanted to leave, he had to be able to skillfully prepare the family's three hundred medicinal prescriptions and fifty pills and powders. He also had to recite from memory the tens of thousands of prescriptions in Golden Chest for World Salvation, Holding the Bottle, and Daoist Master Cold Plum's Sayings.
To leave Huichun Hall as soon as possible, Young Shopkeeper Deng began memorizing books like his life depended on it.
Zheng Qing picked one character from each of the three titles Deng Xiaoxian studied and gave him the punning nickname "The Plum in the Golden Vase." Whenever he saw him memorizing, he used the nickname to tease him.
Pan Lü'er would usually blow through his nostrils, sending that lock of hair floating up, and put on an angry expression.
After placing three kraft-paper parcels on Huichun Hall's counter, Zheng Qing hurried outside to ask Pan Lü'er for advice about attending school and whether he had any recommendations.
"What advice do you want to hear?" Deng Xiaoxian put down the book in his hand and sat up straight.
Zheng Qing was speechless.
"I know more than two hundred hidden passages between the four academies. I also know the secret campsites left behind by seniors in the Silent Forest. And I know which courses you should choose next semester to earn credits more easily."
"But I can't tell you."
"Before every student leaves the school, they sign a Silent Contract with it, swearing secrecy about everything there. This contract was drafted by the Professor Joint Conference of First University and notarized by the Wizard Council. Its effects are quite extraordinary."
Seeing Zheng Qing's disappointed expression, Young Shopkeeper Deng rolled up The Plum in the Golden Vase in his hand and lectured him. "First University is a sacred place. It can help you grow and mature quickly. The joy of life lies hidden behind growth. It's like playing a game—if you use cheats to breeze through every level, what fun is left?"
"I have only one piece of advice for you: make more friends and take part in more social activities." Deng Xiaoxian raised two fingers and gave his final summary.
"That's two pieces," Zheng Qing corrected him.
A customer came to Huichun Hall to collect medicine. Pan Lü'er shot Zheng Qing a sidelong glance, blew up the lock of hair over his forehead again, and led the customer into the shop.
Zheng Qing let out a long breath. For some reason, he felt much more at ease.
Huizi Market was a very small marketplace.
So small that it still used the primitive method of barter.
There were only around twenty shops in the entire market. The streets were old, and the shops were all plain. Many shop signs simply displayed the store's name, without any flashy magical effects added to them.
After being dazzled by the extravagant magic of Four Seasons Market, Zheng Qing felt a certain sense of disappointment.
He felt it was his duty to help the people of his hometown change this backward state of affairs.
"Little Qing, have you used up the rune paper from last time? How is your preparation for university going?" Granny Cai of Hundred Herbs Hall called to Zheng Qing with a smile.
Hundred Herbs Hall was a shop in Huizi Market specializing in rune paper, cinnabar, brushes, ink, and other supplies. For a time, Granny Cai had allowed Zheng Qing to exchange completed Rune Copybooks for brand-new blank copies, and Zheng Qing had been deeply grateful for it.
"I still have some rune paper left from last time. But since I'm going away to school, I probably won't be back for a while, so I planned to take more." Zheng Qing answered respectfully.
After returning from Four Seasons Market some time ago, Zheng Qing had gone straight to Huizi Market to ask these old neighbors about First University. To his surprise, most of the shopkeepers had never attended university. They had merely heard that it was a good school. They knew no more than Zheng Qing did about anything else. The only person who had attended, Young Shopkeeper Deng, had vanished somewhere those days and had not even opened his shop.
It was truly discouraging.
Still, the market's shopkeepers were all elderly and had seen more of the world. In just a few words, they gave Zheng Qing many useful suggestions.
For instance, Granny Cai told Zheng Qing to leave a letter explaining the situation, and she could help pass it to Mr. Wu. Old Boss Huang of Classic of Rites suggested that Zheng Qing bring some jade plaques and pendants, which would make excellent little gifts for his classmates. Doctor Li of Herbal Residence strongly urged Zheng Qing to bring several packets of medicinal decoctions.
"Preparation prevents failure. You always need to be careful about eating and drinking outside, and if you suffer a bruise or sprain, the school doctor won't be following behind you at every moment. Bring a few common remedies and tuck them into your bag. It'll put your mind at ease."
Zheng Qing had gratefully accepted these gifts at the time. After returning home and thinking it over, he felt increasingly embarrassed. After racking his brains for several days, he finally came up with a good idea.
He planned to install modern, more dazzling signs for the old shops of Huizi Market. Like the shops in Four Seasons Market—they looked so grand and upscale.
That was why he had come to the market today. He intended to make some preparations first.
"Little Qing, did you forget something?"
"Did you suddenly remember Old Boss Huang's granddaughter? You're too late—the little girl was sent up the mountain by Old Boss Huang!"
"University has certainly given you plenty of ideas. Measuring everything like this, are you planning to buy up all us old fellows' shops?"
The market was already small, and Zheng Qing's measuring soon drew the other shopkeepers over to watch and tease him.
He awkwardly clasped his hands in all directions and begged for mercy. After measuring the storefronts, he fled in disarray.
Next time I come back, I'll make these old fossils see just how splendid modern magic can be.
Zheng Qing thought fiercely to himself.
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