Social Engagements

Two days flew by in a hurry. That morning, a light rain began to fall.

Liu Yuanzhou stood beneath the eaves, watching the endless drizzle as he pondered his worries.

First was his martial arts. He had been in the city for five or six days, yet his stance training had barely improved. Though his Plum Blossom Fist had progressed greatly through two actual fights, he still felt somewhat anxious.

Now the rain had forced his stance training to stop. This was the city, after all, his granduncle's home, unlike the village, where he could find an abandoned Cave Dwelling to practice in even on rainy days.

Second, he suddenly missed home—his parents, his older brother and sister-in-law, as well as Liu Chuang and Zhang He. He wondered whether Fatty Wang's case had implicated them.

"You're up so early." Liu Jiali came out from the rear courtyard and stood beside him, looking at the rain outside.

"I'm used to getting up early at home. Once the time comes, I can't sleep anymore," Liu Yuanzhou answered.

"I heard you had a fight with that boy from the Gao family?" Liu Jiali suddenly asked. The Gao family boy naturally meant Gao Fei.

"Uh, yes. Something happened that day, and we fought. I didn't cause you any trouble, did I, Uncle?" Liu Yuanzhou asked nervously.

"Hehe, it was only children fighting." Liu Jiali laughed.

Liu Yuanzhou secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had truly been worried about bringing trouble upon his granduncle.

"It's nothing, I was only asking. But if you run into that boy again, keep your eyes open. That Gao boy doesn't have a big heart," Liu Jiali reminded him.

Liu Yuanzhou nodded to show that he understood.

"Oh, right. I'm treating a few friends from the academy to dinner tonight. You should come too. It'll be good for you to get to know more people," Liu Jiali added.

"Alright. Where is it, and when do we go?" Liu Yuanzhou agreed at once, understanding that his granduncle was helping him broaden his connections.

"Gathering of Immortals Pavilion on East Main Street, around dinnertime," Liu Jiali said.

Adverse Wind Escort Agency, training ground.

Gao Fei stood on the steps, watching seven or eight bare-chested youths practice their fists in the rain below. From time to time, he barked out a reprimand.

Xiao Peng hurried through the moon gate and approached Gao Fei, whispering, "Brother, I found him."

The two walked over to a stone bench. Gao Fei sat down and picked up the teapot on the stone table, taking several mouthfuls of water.

"On the fifth day of the month, Old Master Liu brought a young man in from the countryside. His name is Liu Yuanzhou, and he's the son of Steward Liu's cousin. The person you wanted investigated is this Liu Yuanzhou," Xiao Peng reported quietly as he stood to one side.

Gao Fei gave a faint grunt, his expression unchanged.

"Also, I heard he's a newcomer entering the academy this year as well," Xiao Peng added.

Gao Fei's gaze sharpened, and he slightly furrowed his brow. He set down the teapot and fell silent in thought.

"One more thing," Xiao Peng said. "Young Master Long's follower, Xiao Shi, came by just now. He said Young Master Long reserved a private room at Gathering of Immortals Pavilion and wants you to come drink tonight no matter what."

"Mm, got it. Go get busy," Gao Fei said with a nod.

After watching Xiao Peng leave, Gao Fei's face darkened. He sneered inwardly. Just a country bumpkin. So what if he's entered the academy? Let's see how I teach you a lesson next time.

Liu Yuanzhou had no idea someone was thinking about him.

Since it was raining, he went nowhere. He merely stayed in his room reading, or played a few rounds of chess with Third Master.

After noon, the rain finally stopped. Once they had finished lunch, he accompanied Third Master out the gate and took a walk through the alley for a while.

Seeing that it was nearly the tenth part of the Rooster hour, Liu Yuanzhou informed Third Master and headed out toward Gathering of Immortals Pavilion.

Before leaving, he deliberately washed up, took off his short jacket, changed into a new dark-blue outfit, and pulled out a pair of new cloth shoes from his bundle to put on.

Stepping through the muddy streets, Liu Yuanzhou crossed the threshold of Gathering of Immortals Pavilion.

Seeing the specks of mud covering his shoes and trouser cuffs, Liu Yuanzhou somewhat regretted saving those few copper coins instead of taking a mule cart. Now both his clothes and shoes were dirty.

It was already dinnertime. Groups of two and three entered and left the restaurant. He walked into the first-floor hall and saw that only one or two of the seven or eight tables remained empty, while several waiters rushed back and forth.

He caught a waiter and asked for a damp cloth. The waiter brought one over shortly afterward. As Liu Yuanzhou wiped the mud stains from his clothes, he asked about the private room his granduncle had reserved.

The waiter did not know and told him to ask the manager.

After returning the cloth to the waiter and thanking him, Liu Yuanzhou walked over to the counter.

Behind the counter, a man in his forties was looking down at something. Liu Yuanzhou asked, "Manager, do you know which private room the people from the Tai Xuan Sect Yan Province Branch are in?"

The man raised his head and looked Liu Yuanzhou over before replying politely, "Quite a few people from Yan Province Academy come here to eat. Who are you looking for?"

Only then did Liu Yuanzhou realize there was something wrong with his question. He hurriedly said, "I'm looking for Liu Jiali. I'm his nephew."

"Oh, so you're Steward Liu's junior. Wait a moment, I'll have someone take you upstairs." The manager called over a waiter and instructed him to lead Liu Yuanzhou to the private room.

Following the waiter, Liu Yuanzhou went up to the second floor and arrived at the innermost private room. The waiter pushed the door open and said, "Please enter, sir."

Liu Yuanzhou thanked him and walked inside.

Two people in the room were already speaking with their heads lowered. When they saw someone enter, they stopped talking and looked toward the door.

One was an old man around fifty years old, with a grizzled beard hanging straight down to his chest. He was first taken aback, then suddenly understood. Rising to his feet, he smiled and said, "Hehe, little brother, you must be Liu Yuanzhou."

Liu Yuanzhou hurried forward and bowed. "That's me. How should I address you, Elder?"

The old man smiled. "My surname is Guan. You may call me Steward Guan or Old Guan, either is fine. Hehe."

At that moment, the man beside Steward Guan also stood, walked over to Liu Yuanzhou, and pulled him by the arm to sit beside him. Laughing, he said, "Haha, come sit. I'm Niu Baoyuan, and right now I run errands under Old Guan."

Niu Baoyuan was big and burly, with a face full of pimples. He looked remarkably like Liu Yuanzhou's friend Liu Chuang from the village, and Liu Yuanzhou could not help but feel close to him.

The three sat down. Niu Baoyuan poured Liu Yuanzhou tea, then refilled Steward Guan's cup as well.

"When will my uncle and the others arrive?" Liu Yuanzhou asked.

"There's an urgent matter at the academy. They're holding a meeting to deal with it, so Steward Liu had Little Niu and me come over first to make preparations," Steward Guan answered.

Since the main guests had not arrived yet, the three drank tea and chatted idly.

Liu Yuanzhou learned that Steward Guan's name was Guan Zhong. He was the steward in charge of the storerooms of the Miscellaneous Affairs House. Liu Jiali was his direct superior, while Niu Baoyuan worked under Steward Guan.

Without realizing it, it had reached the Dog hour, yet Liu Jiali and the others were still nowhere to be seen. They had nearly finished their third pot of tea, so Steward Guan stood and said, "Why aren't they here yet? I'll go downstairs and take a look. You two sit tight."

Liu Yuanzhou and Niu Baoyuan had already become rather familiar, so he quietly asked, "Brother Niu, I heard that after entering the academy, they teach martial arts. Is that true?"

"Of course it is," Niu Baoyuan said.

"Then you must have learned them too. Your skills must be impressive. When you have time, show your brother a few of your special moves." Liu Yuanzhou's face was full of excitement.

Niu Baoyuan gave a bitter smile. "Ah, don't make fun of your brother." Seeing Liu Yuanzhou's astonished look, he explained, "How can martial arts be so easily mastered? When I first received the cultivation method, I was excited beyond belief and trained hard every day. But after one or two years, I hadn't accomplished a damn thing, so I slowly gave up. Now I only practice stances and fists once in a while."

Liu Yuanzhou deeply understood the feeling. If not for Miss Qin, he would still be painstakingly practicing his stance, worrying over how to Enter Samadhi. He did not know how long he could have endured.

Liu Yuanzhou said regretfully, "It's a pity to give up."

Niu Baoyuan rolled his eyes at Liu Yuanzhou. Looks like he doesn't take what I said seriously. Maybe he's laughing at me in his heart. Hehe, once you start training, you'll understand. We'll see how you laugh at me then.

At that moment, voices sounded outside the door. Then the door was pushed open, and several people entered while chatting and laughing.

Liu Yuanzhou stood and turned around. He saw Liu Jiali and an old man walking in front, followed by four or five others. The main guests have finally arrived.