Volume 1: Jiangpu Merchant Son-in-law Chapter 58: Lonely Girl Comes North

  In the depths of winter, near noon, a group of tattered beggars appeared outside the North City Gate of Jiangpu County.

  The term "beggar" is one of the oldest in the modern world. Since human society was divided into classes, beggars have emerged accordingly.

  This profession is the most helpless choice for the poor, wandering around without a place to rely on, being deceived by humans and dogs alike, with no guarantee of three meals a day, clothes that barely cover the body, and only knowing the bitterness and hardship oneself.

  This group of beggars, consisting of both men and women, young and old, each held a bamboo stick as tall as half a person, with a broken bowl or even a piece of tile at the end. They wore tattered clothes like rotten rags, and in this bitterly cold winter season, they shivered with fear, hobbling along until they reached the city gate. This group of beggars clearly hesitated for a moment, wanting to enter the city but fearing to do so.

  They are a group of people who have been tormented by hardships and have become self-abased, they have become accustomed to the contemptuous gaze of others, accustomed to being scolded, driven away and ridiculed, in order to survive, they abandoned all unnecessary dignity, just for a half-full meal.

  A frail and small girl walks with difficulty among a crowd of beggars.

  She was like all beggars, with a dull and empty expression, as if she were a walking corpse, moving forward in a high and low manner with the crowd.

  She was about eleven or twelve years old, wearing a tattered and colorless single garment that was too small for her. Her pants were made of coarse cloth and were too short, exposing half of her thin legs, which resembled dry firewood. She was barefoot in the cold winter, and her feet had already developed several shocking frostbites. Her hair was dirty, disheveled, and dry, covering her face, only revealing a small, pale, and emaciated complexion. Her limbs seemed to be increasingly frail and weak due to malnutrition.

  The little girl blended in with the beggars, no different from the other beggars, ordinary to the point of being almost unnoticed.

  But she was very different from other beggars.

  The difference lies in her eyes hidden behind her messy hair.

  Those were serious eyes, lively and full of vitality, constantly scanning around to observe everything related to survival.

  Those are a pair of unyielding eyes, stubborn and full of defiance, even in the face of desperation, they still want to fight against fate, grasping any opportunity to survive.

  Those were even more ferocious eyes, crazy and full of violence, like a starving little she-wolf, for a small piece of food, she could rush up and tear apart all competitors.

  It's hard to imagine that in the eyes of an eleven or twelve year old girl, such complex and varied expressions would emerge.

  The beggars hesitated briefly at the city gate, but finally decided to enter the city. In the face of survival problems, all dignity and fear seem so insignificant.

  The little girl blended into the crowd, taking small steps as she followed them into the city. Her expression seemed somewhat tired, her dirty and delicate face revealing a mix of disgust and longing for survival, two contradictory emotions alternating on her youthful face.

  Beggars limped into the gate of Jiangpu County, and the guards at the gate glanced at them with disgust before quickly shifting their gaze elsewhere.

  It's been nearly thirty years since the founding of the Great Ming, and either due to natural disasters or man-made calamities, there are just too many vagrants like this with no land and no home. There are so many that they hardly arouse any interest in the guards, who can't even be bothered to interrogate them.

  The Hongwu Emperor divided the people of the world into military households, civilian households, and craftsmen households, among others. Each household had a registered account at the government office, with strict control. However, beggars wandering around everywhere were unavoidable in any dynasty.

  As soon as the beggars entered the city, they tacitly dispersed and each thought of ways to find food. This was an unwritten rule among the group of beggars, dispersing would increase their chances of getting alms from the citizens.

  The little girl leaned on a short bamboo stick and silently walked alone towards the south city.

  After walking for a short while, she found a corner of an alleyway and sat down at the foot of the wall. In order to conserve her remaining physical strength, unnecessary movement was absolutely to be avoided. So she just sat there at the foot of the wall, motionless like a wooden carving.

  A chill wind howled by, and the little girl suddenly shivered violently, her hands unconsciously rubbing her numb arms. Her bright eyes gazed up at the dull grey sky, a deep resentment burning in their depths.

  The inclement weather has always been the archenemy of beggars who have no fixed abode for their food and clothing. How unfair is the way of heaven, granting the wealthy and powerful fine clothes and delicious food, while the poor are left to suffer from hunger and cold!

  The cold wind blew into the alley, and the little girl seemed to be unable to bear the biting chill. She sat for a while before getting up reluctantly, using her last bit of strength to support her frail body, slowly continuing on her way. Ignoring the strange glances from people on the street, she walked with her small face tense, one hand holding a bamboo stick and the other hesitantly stretched out in front of her, begging for food as she went. But unlike other beggars, she didn't speak eloquently or try to win people over; instead, she bit her lower lip tightly, saying nothing, her small head slightly raised. Even in such desperate circumstances, she still stubbornly held onto a shred of dignity, the only thing that yielded being the small hand stretched out for alms.

  Such a proud beggar naturally had no harvest.

  It wasn't until noon that this stubborn little girl still didn't give in. She still held up her small head, her expression revealing a stubborn determination not to yield to reality, and walked along the bluestone street for a while. Not far away, a magnificent and elegant wine building appeared before her eyes, with three floors high, golden signboards dazzling, inscribed with three big characters: "Drunken Immortal Building".

  The little girl's originally dull eyes suddenly lit up, and a spark of excitement appeared in her gaze.

  Inside Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

  Xiao Fan lazily leaned against the counter, drooping his eyelids, and chatted with Tai Xu in a disjointed manner.

  There were not many guests in the Drunken Immortal Building today, the weather was too cold, so cold that people hid at home and did not want to go out, so the Drunken Immortal Building was naturally quieter than usual.

  Tai Xū felt very relieved, as there were not many ominous signs today. He was happy to have a quiet day, anyway. Xiao Fan had been taking good care of him every day, feeding him well and making sure he was comfortable. What could be more blissful for a centenarian than this?

  "Xiao Lao Di, I heard that you refused Chen Si Liu's proposal? Is this true?" Tai Xiao's old and pale face revealed a sly smile, with a somewhat unbecoming air of senility.

  Xiao Fan sighed and said with a bitter smile, "No wonder the Taoist sect regards the Eight Trigrams as their totem, it turns out there's a reason for it... at 130 years old, still so calculating..."

  Tai Xū laughed with a face full of wrinkles: "Xiao Lǎo Dì, your choice is wise, haha! I've said it before, entering the merchant register is self-destruction. Xiao Lǎo Dì has boundless prospects, how can he become an in-law to a merchant family? If you really became a merchant by birth, you won't even be able to become an official in the future..."

  Xiao Fan said seriously: "Dao Zhang, you misunderstood me. The reason I refused to marry is not because of the Chen family's status, but... I really can't develop feelings for Miss Chen. If I truly liked her, it wouldn't matter if she was from a merchant family or even a beggar, I would still marry her..."

  "You refused Chen Si Liu's proposal because you didn't have feelings for Miss Chen?" Tai Xū looked puzzled.

  Xiao Fan nodded.

  Tai Xū smiled slyly and said, "Alright, no matter what the reason is, as long as you reject him, it's all good. Rejecting Chen Si Liu is clearing the way for your future success..."

  Xiao Fan sighed and said, "Dao Zhang, we've always gotten along well. Please don't make me feel like we're not on the same wavelength, okay? You're a monk, how can you be more worldly than those secular people?"

  Tai Xū laughed and said with a deep smile: "What is worldly? What is self-interest? The Tao values nature, and the things of the world cannot be forced. Being infatuated with wealth and nobility is also a kind of attachment. But you deliberately humble yourself and want to become a merchant's son-in-law, isn't that also a form of attachment? Xiao Lǎo Dì, I see your destiny, it is one of extreme wealth and nobility. You should follow the natural order, don't go against heaven...

  Xiao Fan pointed to the table in the main hall and said, "Dao Zhang, there are many people over there who haven't enjoyed our Drunken Immortal Pavilion's free fortune-telling scam yet. You go and scam them to death! We're so familiar with each other now, you don't need to come and scam me again..."

  Tai Xugu was so angry that he stamped his foot: "When have I ever deceived you? Every word I've told you is true!"

  Xiao Fan gave him a sideways glance and snorted: "When I first met you, you scared me, saying I had a bad omen..."

  Tai Yu said coldly, "That time you were cheated by me for a meal, spending fifty cents, after eating I secretly scolded you as a fool and a big spendthrift, you spent money without getting any benefit, destined to lose money and offend petty people, what kind of omen is that?"

  Xiao Fan's eyes widened in shock: "I didn't know, Daozhang, you're actually this kind of person... I really am destined to be bullied by petty people..."

  "Cough cough, I was just giving an example..."

  "Then you also lied to me saying you knew kung fu..."

  Tai Yu was furious: "I really know kung fu! How many times have I said this, why don't you ever believe me?"

  Xiao Fan snorted: "You're just a bit faster than me, and you call that skill?"

  Tai Xū went crazy, he forcefully pulled his hair, his old face twisted with rage, his red face stomped and shouted: "You stinky brat, you don't believe that Dao Ye has kung fu skills? Dao Ye will show you now!"

  Saying that, Tai Yu suddenly stomped his foot and disappeared in a flash before Xiao Fan's eyes.

  Xiao Fan's eyes widened as he looked around, and saw that on the high beam of the Drunken Immortal Building's great hall, two zhang above, Tai Xu was stroking his beard with a pleased expression, revealing a profound and mysterious, Zhuangzi-butterfly-like dreamy smile.

  "Wow!"

  The diners in the hall were suddenly stunned, and after a brief silence, the crowd burst into applause, with warm applause and reverence on everyone's face.

  Tai Xū hāhā yī xiào, páo xiù yī zhǎn, xiàng zhǐ fēi xiáng de dà niǎo yì bān, yǐ wú bǐ liáo yì fēi yě de zī shì, màn man fēi huí guì tái qián.

  The applause from the diners continued unabated, it seems that the martial arts masters of this era have a very high reputation among the people.

  Tai Xuzi flew back in front of Xiao Fan, becoming even more pleased with himself amidst the applause from the diners. He stroked his whiskers, raised his head high, and hummed a sound through his nostrils, saying: "Now do you believe I didn't deceive you? How's my Lightness Skill?"

  Xiao Fan stared at him with a blank expression, speechless and motionless, as if he had lost his mind.

  At this moment, he was shocked beyond words. This is the real lightness skill! It turns out that the martial arts of his previous life weren't written in vain, and indeed there exists such a magical skill as qigong in this world. A two-zhang high beam, with a whoosh, he jumped up onto it, completely disregarding gravity, and as long as he was happy, he could fly however he wanted...

  This old man is too mysterious! Is he still human?

  Xiao Fan stared at Tai Xu in a daze, his mouth agape. For the first time, he realized that Tai Xu was actually an honest person. All the words he had spoken to him before were true, and it was himself who didn't believe him. He felt truly sorry for misunderstanding San Qing Dao Jun...

  "Hey! Hey! Are you stupid?" Tai Yu didn't get the praise he had expected, and with a very unhappy expression, he pushed Xiao Fan away.

  Xiao Fan's eyes suddenly lit up, and two red hearts popped out of his eyes, staring crazily at Tai Xu, stuttering: "Y-you... you really know kung fu? Lightness skill?"

  Tai Xū nodded proudly: "What do you think? Didn't you see everything just now?"

  Xiao Fang suddenly darted out from behind the counter and quickly felt all over Tai Xu's body with her hands, making Tai Xu's scalp feel numb.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Let me see if you have any tricks up your sleeve... You know, there are too many swindlers these days..."

  "I've never deceived you! Why don't you believe me?"

  Xiao Fan stopped after a while and said with a face full of reverence: "I believe it, I really believe it!"

  "So you say, are you willing to learn kung fu from me? I can teach you qing gong..."

  Xiao Fan thought for a moment and carefully pointed to the beam, saying: "Dao Zhang, I didn't see it clearly just now. Can you use slow motion to fly again?"

  Tai Xū smiled and said: "What's so difficult about this? Even if I fail a hundred times, it doesn't matter."

  As soon as the words fell, a swish sound was heard, and Tai Xuzi flew up to the beam again. Then with a wave of his sleeve, he flew down once more.

  "Fly again... how about flying once more?" Xiao Fan was so excited that his eyes sparkled with stars.

  Whoosh! It flew up again.

  "Too awesome!" Xiao Fang looked up at Tai Xu on the beam of the house, a heartfelt compliment.

  Xiao Fan immediately picked up a teacup from the counter and shouted: "Dao Chang, try the high-difficulty one, look at the hidden weapon!"

  The teacup flew like a shooting star, dashing towards Tai Xu with a loud crash.

  His triumphant expression suddenly froze, transforming into a face of utter terror: "Ah——no!"

  "Bang!"

  The teacup hit Tai Xū squarely on the beam of the house, and he let out a pained cry. He flapped his arms wildly in mid-air like a fat duck that had been shot with a bird gun, before plummeting straight down like a lump of iron.

  Bang!

  Tai Xū's old face fell downwards, heavily crashing onto the ground, stirring up a cloud of sorrowful and elegant dust, his posture as if he had been in a car accident.

  Xiao Fang's expression changed slightly, and then she cried out in a loud voice: "Dao Zhang! What's wrong with you? Are you okay?"

  The guests in the hall were also stunned for a moment, and then they all settled their bills and left, scattering like birds and beasts.