Farewell at Huizi Market

Deng Xiaoxian was twenty-seven years old. He had a long face, thin eyebrows, very thin lips, and sallow skin. A lock of long hair fell over his left eye. He often wore a collarless, left-lapelled grey robe over a white gown.

Zheng Qing still remembered the first time he saw Deng Xiaoxian, in the early autumn five years ago.

Old Master Deng, grabbing him by that lock of hair on his forehead, dragged him to his Huichun Hall. His roar echoed throughout the entire street:

"You're all foam and no beer!"

"Who do you think you are? What can you do? Do you know the fifteen uses of Subhuti Seed? You can't even memorize the medicinal properties, yet you dare to prescribe medicine like everyone else! And you're boldly venturing into new worlds!!"

"If you get yourself killed adventuring, it's my bad luck! The Old Deng family is doomed to have no heirs! What if you get the others in the hunting party into trouble? Who will they complain to?"

"You think getting registered as a Wizard means you can do anything! What a joke! Do you think those great demons out there are made of paper?"

Zheng Qing, crouching at the doorway, watched the usually kind-faced old doctor turn red with rage, tears streaming down his face.

Pan Luer, however, hung his head and knelt before the ancestral shrine in the main hall of Huichun Hall, not uttering a word.

From then on, the proprietor of Huichun Hall became this young man with the lock of hair over his forehead.

The merchants of Huizi Market strictly adhered to national regulations. They would normally lower their shutters at nine in the morning and close precisely at five in the afternoon. Only Pan Luer disdained this, lazily opening his shop only when the sun was high and half-closing his doors by two or three in the afternoon.

After Old Master Deng handed over the shop's keys to Pan Luer, he went off to wander somewhere, not returning for three to five years at a time. The shop had no hired help; the proprietor had to handle dispensing medicine and treating patients himself. Pan Luer would usually brew decoctions and refine pills and powders. If a customer occasionally came, he would either say the proprietor was out or fob them off with some prescriptions, never truly dedicating himself to the shop.

He was solely focused on memorizing texts.

Old Master Deng had said that if Pan Luer wanted to leave, he had to be able to proficiently dispense the three hundred family-inherited prescriptions, fifty types of powders, and also be able to recite from memory tens of thousands of prescriptions from the books "Golden Chest for World Salvation," "Holding the Bottle," and "Daoist Master Cold Plum Speaks."

To leave Huichun Hall as soon as possible, the young proprietor, Pan Luer, began to memorize texts with all his might.

Zheng Qing picked one character from each of the three book titles he memorized, creating a playful name, "Golden·Bottle·Plum," and would tease him with it every time he saw him studying.

Pan Luer would often puff out his nostrils, blowing his lock of hair to make it flutter, feigning anger.

After placing three brown paper packages on the counter of Huichun Hall, Zheng Qing hurried out to ask Pan Luer for advice on attending university, inquiring if he had any good suggestions.

"What kind of advice do you want?" Deng Xiaoxian put down the book in his hand and sat up straight.

Zheng Qing was speechless.

"I know over two hundred hidden passages between the four colleges; I also know the secret campsites left by our predecessors in the Silent Forest; and I know which courses will be easier to get credits in for the second half of the semester."

"But I can't tell you."

"Before every student leaves school, they sign a 'Silent Contract' with the school, pledging to keep everything about the school confidential. This contract was drafted by the joint meeting of First University professors and notarized by the Wizard Council. Its effect is quite astonishing."

Seeing Zheng Qing's disappointed expression, the young proprietor Pan Luer rolled up his "Golden Plum Bottle" and lectured, "First University is a sacred place. It can help you grow and mature quickly. The joy of life is hidden behind growth. It's like playing a game; if you cheat your way through levels, what fun is there in that?"

"I only have one piece of advice for you: make more friends and participate in more social activities," Deng Xiaoxian said, holding up two fingers as his final summary.

"That's two pieces of advice," Zheng Qing corrected him.

A customer came to the door of Huichun Hall to pick up medicine. Pan Luer glanced at Zheng Qing, blew his lock of hair over his forehead again, and led the customer into the shop.

Zheng Qing let out a sigh of relief, feeling inexplicably lighter in his heart.

Huizi Market was a very small market.

It was so small that it still used the primitive method of bartering for transactions.

There were only about twenty shops in the entire market. The streets were old, and the shops were very simple. Many shop signs simply had the shop's name written on them, without any fancy magical effects.

This created a sense of disappointment for Zheng Qing, who had been accustomed to the dazzling magical displays of Four Seasons Market.

He felt it was his duty to help his hometown elders change this backward appearance.

"Little Qingzi, have you run out of talismans? How are your preparations for university?" Grandma Cai from Hundred Herbs Hall called out to Zheng Qing with a smile.

Hundred Herbs Hall was a shop in Huizi Market specializing in talismans, cinnabar, brushes, ink, and other supplies. For a time, Grandma Cai had allowed Zheng Qing to exchange his used talismans for brand-new blank ones, for which Zheng Qing was very grateful.

"I still have some talismans from last time. But since I'm going to university, I probably won't be back for a while, so I plan to take more," Zheng Qing replied respectfully.

After returning from Four Seasons Market some time ago, Zheng Qing had gone straight to Huizi Market to ask the old neighbors about First University. Unexpectedly, most of the shop owners in the market had not attended university; they had only heard that the university was good. They knew no more than Zheng Qing about other things. The only one who had attended university, the young proprietor Pan Luer, had disappeared somewhere during those days, not even opening his shop.

It was truly disheartening.

However, the shop owners in the market were all elderly and had more life experience. In a few words, they gave Zheng Qing many good suggestions.

For example, Grandma Cai asked Zheng Qing to leave a letter detailing his situation, and she could help forward it to Mr. Wu. Or, Boss Huang from "Classic of Rites" suggested that Zheng Qing bring some jade pendants and jade charms as excellent small gifts for classmates. Dr. Li from Herbal Residence strongly urged Zheng Qing to bring a few doses of medicinal soup.

"Preparation is key. You always have to be a bit careful with the soups and liquids from outside, or if you get injured. The school doctor won't always be by your side. Bringing a few common doses and stuffing them in your bag will always give you some peace of mind."

At the time, Zheng Qing gratefully accepted these gifts. After returning home, the more he thought about it, the more embarrassed he felt. After racking his brain for a few days, he finally came up with a good idea.

He planned to help the old shops in Huizi Market install modern, more dazzling signs, like those in Four Seasons Market, which looked very high-end.

So, he came to the market today intending to do some preparatory work first.

"Little Qingzi, did you forget something?"

"Did you remember about Boss Huang's granddaughter? You're late, that little girl was sent to the mountains by Boss Huang!"

"You have so many ideas after going to university. Are you planning to buy out all our shops with all this measuring?"

The market was not large to begin with, and Zheng Qing's measuring quickly attracted the attention and teasing of other shop owners.

He awkwardly bowed in all directions, begging for forgiveness. After measuring the facades of these shops, he fled in disarray.

Next time he returned, he would definitely show these old fogies the brilliance of modern magic.

Zheng Qing thought fiercely in his heart.