Listening-to-Rain Sword

As he watched the down-and-out scholar close up his family's old house,

Zhou Muzhi pondered for a moment.

He asked the two servants still waiting respectfully, "Do you know this man?"

Hearing the Fourth Young Master's question, the guards at the gate took turns answering.

"He's a notorious book-mad eccentric. He was known as a child prodigy from an early age. He passed the provincial examination and became a novice scholar, then passed the county examination and became a licentiate. But his luck seemed to end there. He sat the prefectural examination for ten years running without earning a degree once."

"Yes! He's also very stubborn. He devotes himself entirely to his studies and won't accept help from others. He says accepting it now would sully the sage's words later."

Zhou Muzhi asked, "What words?"

One replied, "Through stillness, cultivate the self; through frugality, nurture virtue. Without detachment, one cannot clarify one's aspirations; without tranquility, one cannot reach far."

Zhou Muzhi glanced at the old house.

This fellow, who looked utterly ordinary, even humble enough to escape notice, was a man of virtue.

Without saying anything more, he returned to the carriage, which set off again.

By the time he returned to the Zhou Residence, the Deduction Points he could absorb from the short sword in his hand had begun to dwindle. Only after a long while would another tiny bit emerge.

His Deduction Points reached three.

The room was brightly lit. Zhou Muzhi sat in a chair, looking at the short sword in his hand with wonder in his eyes.

He had discovered something else unusual about this sword.

Touching ordinary metal did not cause any change in the panel, but this sword had actually brought up text, which now floated on the panel.

He looked closely.

[General's Sword]

[Current deduction paths]

[1. Vast Sea Sword (Effect: introductory weapon of an ancient sect · tempered a thousand times) Deduction Points required: 1]

[2. Listening-to-Rain Sword (Effect: a sentimental swordsman's sword of vengeance against his beloved · tides) Deduction Points required: 2]

Zhou Muzhi looked for a moment, then chose the second option.

Soon, a beam of light emerged from the short sword in his hand, gradually spreading over the blade. Finally, beneath a haze of indistinct azure light, the entire sword changed completely.

The most obvious change was its weight in his hand. It was more than three times as heavy as before.

It was a standard three-foot blade, with an indigo scabbard patterned with waterlike ripples, a circular guard, and natural, intricate markings on its black hilt.

Shing!

He drew the blade halfway, and a clear note rang out.

Looking at the blade again, he saw the same shimmering silver wave patterns.

The edges on both sides were extremely thin.

As he drew more of the blade out, the lingering notes continued to join together.

At last, Zhou Muzhi stood and drew the blade completely.

A suffocating sensation like moisture in the rain enveloped the entire room.

"A fine sword!"

The youth's clear voice delivered his appraisal.

He sheathed the longsword, and the suffocating sensation vanished as the blade returned to its scabbard.

Holding the sword in his left hand, Zhou Muzhi could still sense a faint trace of Deduction Points. This meant that no matter how an item changed through deduction, whatever could be absorbed from it could still be absorbed.

Clack!

He set Listening Rain on the table.

Zhou Muzhi took two precious sticks of incense from his person.

The two sticks were roughly the same shape and size, though the first was considerably thinner than the second.

The moment he took them out, a faint, cloyingly sweet fragrance spread.

After placing both unfinished sticks on the table, Zhou Muzhi sat back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.

To ensure that nothing went wrong tonight, he did not intend to sleep.

At last, the candlelight silently went out, dawn arrived, and crows called.

The sounds of servants bustling about arose around the room.

Zhou Muzhi opened his resting eyes and looked toward the window at his side. Daylight had come. He rose as well and carefully tucked the incense back onto his person.

He called for Xiaozi several times.

Xiaozi immediately helped him wash. After wiping his face clean, he took Listening Rain in one hand and walked outside.

Outside, he descended the steps, passed through the long corridor, and headed toward his second brother's residence.

A short while later, the brothers met in a small pavilion.

Breakfast had been laid out on the pavilion's table for them.

They were only halfway through eating, and Zhou Muzhi had yet to begin chatting, when hurried footsteps approached from outside the pavilion.

A moment later, someone entered.

It was the old steward, Uncle Chen. The longtime household servant had lost control of his expression and looked thoroughly flustered. Upon approaching and seeing Zhou Muzhi and Zhou Buren, he first greeted them, then urgently addressed Zhou Buren.

"Second Young Master, all three markets have shut down. Many people are causing trouble. The workers have been threatened into staying away from work, and the outside merchants have been driven off by a mob. Some have even had their arms broken and are being treated at the clinic.

"It's chaos, complete chaos!"

Zhou Buren continued picking up food, his expression unruffled, as though he did not care about any of this-or rather, as though he had long been prepared.

Seeing that his employer remained silent, Uncle Chen had to observe propriety, however anxious he was. He could not speak on his master's behalf.

Only after drinking the last mouthful of porridge in his bowl did Zhou Buren respond.

"There's no need to rush. Count those who aren't coming to work as being on leave. As for the injured outside merchants, tell them that we of the Zhou Family are suspending business for now."

"Well..." Uncle Chen did not know what to do, but the man was his employer, and his word was final. "All right, I'll make the arrangements."

As Uncle Chen turned, Zhou Muzhi spoke, his voice stirring slightly. "Be careful, Uncle Chen. You know about the situation with the Qian Family. I'm waiting for you to retire to the countryside."

Moved, Uncle Chen turned back and bowed to Zhou Muzhi.

"Don't worry, Fourth Young Master. I understand."

"Mm."

With that, Uncle Chen left to carry out his employer's instructions.

Fortunately, the Zhou Family still had some standing in the area. Things had not reached the point where they could not even find someone to deliver a message.

Inside the pavilion, Zhou Buren finally showed a worried expression. He sighed and said, "Fourth Brother, our ancestral business has come to this in my hands. I truly deserve to die."

The instructions he had just given were what he and Zhou Muzhi had agreed upon.

They would first avoid the Qian Family's sharp edge. Once he had dealt with the vengeful spirits afflicting him and advanced his divine art another step, he could fight his way straight to Qian Zhen.

He wanted to see whether the man really had three heads and six arms, and a body of adamant.

For now, though, it was time to attend to proper business.

"Set your mind at ease, Second Brother. I'll be off."

Zhou Buren nodded. "Fourth Brother, put your safety first."

"Of course."

With that, the two parted ways.

Zhou Muzhi quietly left through the rear courtyard.

When he appeared again, he had already reached the alley where he had discovered the many street children last time.

This place was a natural haven, very difficult to find without someone to lead the way.

Thus, the Third Master had immediately made it his most important refuge for preserving his life, staying here whenever he had nothing to do.

Inside the only repaired tile-roofed house, the white-haired Third Master sat in a reclining chair. As he watched the children, all washed clean, a smile involuntarily appeared on his aged face.

Children were simple, easy to teach, and all the more able to bring him peace of mind.

"We're all mud-legged peasants. Staying alive isn't easy. Who knows how much longer these old bones of mine will last?"

No sooner had he said this than a cute child, scrubbed clean and dressed in new clothes, ran over, laughter in the childish voice.

"May Grandpa Third live to a hundred!"

"Ha ha!" The Third Master laughed at that.

Just then, Zhou Muzhi's voice reached him as well. "Third Master, this really is quite a nice life."