Chen Ping’an only managed to inquire about the old site of the City God Temple. No one had ever heard of the inn Cui Chan spoke of. This prefecture city was a large city in the northern part of the Yellow Court Kingdom. To reach the old City God site, one had to traverse almost half the city. By the time the group followed the directions of the last passerby, it was nearly dusk. They found only a high vermilion wall. After spending a long time, they finally managed to find an inconspicuous alleyway, barely wide enough for two carriages to pass through.

The deeper they went, the more they felt a sense of a hidden world. From time to time, faint wisps of mist emanated from the gaps in the bluestone pavement beneath their feet, drifting into the high walls on both sides, gathering leisurely like clear springs slowly flowing down the wall, with the faint sound of flowing water.

The young Cui Chan, seeing Chen Ping’an and the others looking suspicious, explained, “This alley is one of the inn’s signature features, called the ‘Moving Clouds and Flowing Water Alley.’ Next, after entering the main gate of the residence, you should immediately see a ‘Bright Moon Spirit Screen’. Because there is a spirit of unknown origin dwelling in the screen, its form is uncertain, generally corresponding to the phases of the moon, with waxing, waning, fullness, and emptiness all displayed on the screen. However, the truly valuable spirit screen is one where the sun and moon unite. If it were to also include constellations, I’m afraid even Zong-character headed immortal abodes would disregard their dignity and fight madly for it.”

At the end of the alley was a large gate, carved with two tall, painted door gods, taller than sturdy men, imposing and majestic, with burly figures, both clad in golden armor. One rode a tiger and held a sword, while the other rode a dragon and brandished a saber. The two door gods glared fiercely at the alley, and because they were carved in relief rather than being mere paper images like in ordinary households, they gave off a strong sense of oppressive power, as if they were about to leap out.

Li Huai secretly swallowed his saliva, feeling that camping on a mountain top was more comfortable and carefree.

The gate slowly opened, and a beautiful woman with peach blossom eyes swayed her waist as she stepped over the threshold, gracefully walking out. Behind her were two beautiful young women with double buns, each wearing a green-sheathed longsword at their waist. They did not follow the woman towards the group of guests but stood at the gate.

The beautiful woman performed a graceful Wanfu salute, “This humble one is Liu Jiahui, Jia of ‘auspicious,’ Hui of ‘flowers and plants’. My name is truly not fit for refined ears. Esteemed guests, you may simply call me Jiahui. May I ask if you are here to lodge at our Autumn Reed Inn? Did you make a reservation beforehand?”

As the woman spoke, her gaze was fixed on the eye-catching young man in white.

However, the handsome young man remained unmoved, behaving very rudely. The beautiful woman and the handsome young man looked at each other, and although the former felt a little displeased inside, the smile on her face remained unchanged.

The two maids at the gate showed obvious anger.

Within the prefecture city, who dared to be so disrespectful to their Mistress? Even the Prefecture Governor, who held the authority of a regional official, would treat the Mistress with courtesy and politely call her “Madam Liu” or “Second Head” when he met her during excursions or while burning incense. If he had something to ask for, needing the Autumn Reed Inn to help him make connections, he would even respectfully address her as Immortal Master Liu to her face.

The beautiful woman’s peripheral vision quickly glanced at the cold-faced Lin Shouyi, and not noticing anything unusual, she continued to gaze intently at the young man in white, softly asking, “Esteemed young master, do you find something unsatisfactory with this humble one or the Autumn Reed Inn? Did you find it disappointing and unworthy of its reputation upon arrival?”

The young Cui Chan was a little impatient and pointed at the straw-sandaled boy beside him, “You’re praying to the wrong Bodhisattva. The one in charge of the money is this one.”

The woman was surprised and quickly gave Chen Ping’an a separate Wanfu salute, as an apology. Before the woman could speak, Chen Ping’an looked at the gate, withdrew his gaze, took a deep breath, and made up his mind, “There are quite a few of us, are there enough rooms?”

The woman smiled sweetly, “Yes, of course, there are enough. Although the triennial Water God Temple sacrificial ceremony of this prefecture is coming soon, and various immortal masters are here to support the Prefecture Governor, the Autumn Reed Inn is doing quite well in business. However, with your esteemed guests gracing us with your presence, our humble dwelling is truly honored. Even if this humble one were to vacate my own small courtyard and temporarily move to another inn, I would never dare to disappoint you.”

In the end, Chen Ping’an requested a courtyard named Clear Dew, located closest to the old well of the old City God Temple, considered the premier courtyard of the Autumn Reed Inn. The reason it was vacant until now was that its price was too high, not calculated per person, but simply two thousand taels of silver per day. Among those who stayed at the Autumn Reed Inn, there were many who had obtained the identity of Qi Refiners, but in cultivation, if one was not good at budgeting and gathering bit by bit like a swallow building its nest, without a family or backer with a strong foundation, or without one’s own means of making money day and night, one would be extremely short of money, completely different from the image of immortal masters as rich as nations in the eyes of ordinary people.

The old well of the Autumn Reed Inn was indeed a spring eye where spiritual energy flowed, but for Qi Refiners, paying two thousand taels of silver a day for it was definitely an unprofitable deal. Therefore, this courtyard was more often used by wealthy local tycoons to entertain officials and heroes of the pugilistic world with lavish spending.

Madam Liu personally led this group of out-of-town guests through the corridors, finally arriving at a secluded courtyard. In the corner of the courtyard grew a large clump of banana trees, and there was a stone water tank half a man’s height, containing a group of colorful carp. On the surface of the water, there were water lilies, with small tips just emerging.

Madam Liu smiled and pointed to a bronze bell on a stone table, saying, “If you need anything, you only need to gently shake the bronze bell, and nimble maids will come to the courtyard. Also, at the back door of this courtyard, going north thirty steps after pushing open the bamboo door, you can see a pavilion called the ‘Halting Step Pavilion,’ with three futons placed inside. Immortal Masters can breathe and absorb spiritual energy in the pavilion. The well area is not open to the public, I hope you understand.”

Chen Ping’an nodded, “We understand, we will not cross the Halting Step Pavilion and venture to the old well without permission.”

Madam Liu narrowed her naturally amorous peach blossom eyes, smiling sincerely, and said softly, “Treating others as you would like to be treated is Buddhist heart.”

Li Baoping asked curiously, “Madam Liu, shouldn’t there be a spirit screen erected at your main gate?”

Madam Liu sighed, unwilling to delve into the details, glossing over it vaguely, “A small incident happened earlier, and the spirit screen lost its lunar phenomena, so we simply removed it.”

Four rooms were arranged: Li Baoping and Xie Xie in one, Li Huai and Chen Ping’an, Cui Chan and Yu Lu, and the last room was left alone for Lin Shouyi, who was already a Qi Refiner.
After entering this place, Lin Shiyi truly felt refreshed and invigorated. That mystical sensation was akin to trudging through muddy roads during a heavy rain, each step requiring effort to pull his feet free. Now, after the rain had stopped, the roads were dry, and he had changed into clean clothes. Naturally, walking along the path felt pleasant and effortless, as if his entire being had undergone a metamorphosis.

Lin Shiyi was somewhat puzzled. Within the bustling city, there was such a blessed land that benefited cultivation?

However, along the way, they hadn’t encountered any other guests. According to Madam Liu, the Qiulu Inn’s business wasn’t bad, which was vastly different from the noisy and bustling town inns they had occasionally stayed at before.

After Madam Liu left, Chen Pingan first placed the bamboo basket inside the room. From the basket, he took out a box made of ebony wood, inside which were four simple jade hairpins arranged side by side. Two of the hairpins were made of suet jade, warm and delicate, and there were also jade hairpins made of green jade and black jade. Including the box, they cost Chen Pingan a hundred taels of silver.

While searching for Qiulu Inn, they passed by a jade shop. Chen Pingan originally only intended to take a casual look, broaden his knowledge, and open his eyes, but he immediately fell in love with them. The four hairpins lay quietly in the open wooden box, amiable and endearing, evoking joy.

When Chen Pingan heard the shop owner quote the staggering price, he resolved not to think too much about it. However, Cui Chan repeatedly hinted that he must buy the box of jade hairpins. Finally, he simply threatened that if Chen Pingan didn’t make a move, he, Cui Dongshan, would buy them. Chen Pingan gritted his teeth and negotiated with that fellow, agreeing that the cost would be recorded on his tab, just like the lodging fee.

Thus, Chen Pingan owed the white-clothed youth his first debt: one hundred taels of silver, not a small sum.

The shopkeeper gifted Chen Pingan a small carving knife specifically for jade artisans and explained the different hardness and characteristics of the three types of jade. Chen Pingan silently memorized every word.

On the Embroidery River ferry, the green jade hairpin that Mr. Qi had given Chen Pingan had disappeared. He had told Li Baoping at the time that if he had the opportunity in the future, he would buy a hairpin and engrave those eight characters on it.

Now, it had simply gone from one hairpin to four.

Li Huai placed the small book chest against the corner of the wall and then fell backward onto the bed, his face filled with delight. “This is truly a place for immortals to live! My parents and sister don’t have this kind of fortune.”

The child remembered something and quickly got up. He squatted in the corner, opened the book chest, and rummaged around. He simply moved all the objects, including the painted wooden dolls and clay figures, out and placed them at his feet. Li Huai stuck his head into the empty book chest and then suddenly turned his head to look at Chen Pingan’s back, feeling wronged. “Cui Dongshan really isn’t a good person. That silver *ding* is gone! Chen Pingan, what do we do? Can I go ask for it back?”

Chen Pingan placed the wooden box and carving knife on the table and then began to space out, looking serious.

Hearing Li Huai’s complaint, Chen Pingan turned his head and smiled. “The *chongyin* is yours now. If it’s really with him, of course, you can ask for it back.”

Li Huai hurriedly ran out of the room. “I’m going to settle the score with Cui Dongshan.”

Chen Pingan reminded him, “Remember to speak nicely to him.”

Chen Pingan went to close the door and sat back down at the table, using two fingers to pick up the narrow and exquisite jade carving knife, silently feeling its weight.

What should he engrave on his own hairpin? It was simple: the eight small characters that had been engraved on the lost hairpin: “言念君子，溫其如玉 (yán niàn jūnzǐ, wēn qí rú yù): Thinking of the gentleman, his warmth is like jade.”

But the other three jade hairpins, he planned to give to Li Baoping, Lin Shiyi, and Li Huaiyin as farewell gifts when they eventually went to the Great Sui Academy.

Baoping. Shiyi. Huaiyin.

In the end, Chen Pingan, scratching his head hard, could only think of these three names. Although they weren’t elegant at all, they would guarantee that nothing would go wrong.

Lin Shiyi suddenly pushed the door open, standing outside, filled with anger. “Chen Pingan, have you lost your mind?! Two thousand taels of silver just to stay here for one night?!”

Chen Pingan turned his head blankly, looking at the unfamiliar youth.

Beside Lin Shiyi, a white-clothed youth with his hands in his sleeves and a smug smile appeared.

Lin Shiyi trembled with anger, pointing his finger at Chen Pingan. “Two thousand taels of silver! Chen Pingan, are you the son of the prefect or some even more remarkable member of the royal family?”

Chen Pingan frowned, gently put down the carving knife, stood up, and was about to speak when Lin Shiyi had already turned around and strode away.

Li Huai tiptoed into the room, holding the silver *ding* in his hand. The child didn’t dare to get involved in this muddy water. He sat on the edge of the bed, his face pale.

Chen Pingan glanced at the white-clothed youth and sat back down on the stool.

Cui Chan leaned against the door frame. This culprit didn’t forget to fan the flames. “The taste of having good intentions treated like donkey liver and lungs isn’t pleasant, is it?”

Chen Pingan ignored him.

Cui Chan thought for a moment, walked into the room, sat across from Chen Pingan at the table, supported his chin with one hand, and smiled at Chen Pingan, continuing to add fuel to the fire. “Do you think Lin Shiyi considers your personal purse to be the common property of your team? So this time, you spent money clearly for his cultivation, but Lin Shiyi, with his early maturity and understanding of wealth, still feels that he has lost out after weighing the pros and cons, so he got angry with you? I think that’s possible.”

Chen Pingan’s expression didn’t change much.

Cui Chan said with a grin, “Do you think I’m just a shit stirrer?”

Cui Chan muttered to himself, “Then you’d be wrong to blame me. For example, when I paid that *chongyin* to buy that bundle of junk, if a *chongyin* falls into the hands of a stranger, it will take the opportunity to transform into a grasshopper or dragonfly to return to its master. So you might think I tricked others with spells, right? Wrong, completely wrong. That person is just a gambler who is putting everything on the line. Judging by his fate, he’s an unlucky, short-lived ghost who doesn’t know how to cherish his blessings. If I gave him real silver to gamble, I’d be harming him. He might suffer a violent death in the next few days. Now that he temporarily doesn’t have silver to gamble, the prodigal will have to steal something from home to sell cheaply, which can let him live a few more days.”

Chen Pingan finally spoke. “From the moment you got off the carriage, introduced the City God Temple, and casually mentioned this Qiulu Inn, you were setting me up, weren’t you? But I don’t understand. What’s the point of doing something that harms others without benefiting yourself?”
A white-robed youth, his head tilted slightly, tapped the table with two alternating fingers. “Once, there was someone slightly older than you, who held a seal in his hand, engraved with the four characters ‘天下迎春’ (Tian Xia Ying Chun – Welcoming Spring Under Heaven).”

The white-robed youth fell into thought.

Chen Ping’an asked, “And then?”

The white-robed youth snapped out of his reverie, rubbed the red mole between his eyebrows, and, thinking of the strange weather along the way, became increasingly certain of one thing. It should be as he suspected: that seal Qi Jingchun gave to the young Zhao Yao was of great significance. It was just a pity that his appearance caused the youth to choose self-preservation upon being tested. Whether it was for his own future or the safety of his family, the youth had ultimately offered the seal with both hands. Then, whatever the seal contained would naturally return to Heaven and Earth. No wonder the late spring weather this year was so prolonged.

However, Cui Chan felt that things shouldn’t be so simple.

Regardless of whether Qi Jingchun had any further plans, under the arrangement of the Old Scholar, “this Cui Chan” was already bound to the fate of the Mud Lane youth. Although he was burdened by Chen Ping’an, causing his own future to seem equally bleak, Cui Chan was still unwilling to give up and instead aroused a strong competitive spirit, hoping to lead Chen Ping’an step by step onto his own bright path, rather than being led by this uneducated peasant to that broken road of his to drink the northwest wind.

It was like two people playing tug-of-war, the strength not from the waist, back, and arms, but from the power of the mind and spirit.

The white-robed youth’s mood gradually improved. Competing in willpower and resilience with a guy like this? I, Cui Chan, was once a top cultivator who successfully reached the Twelfth Realm, and a renowned Grandmaster of Go in the Central Earth Divine Continent. Playing chess with a child? It would be difficult to lose, right?

Meanwhile, the straw-sandal-clad youth on the opposite side had completely ignored the white-robed youth.

Because Chen Ping’an had started to pick up the carving knife and jade hairpin, ready to carve the first character.

Welcome to Da Jia Du Shu Yuan (Everyone’s Reading Academy).