The postmaster told everyone that Hongzhu Town had no curfew and that there was a market on the west side of town. Although small, it had everything, with a wide variety of goods available. Knowing that Chen Ping An and his party were going to purchase supplies for their travels, the postmaster, Cheng Sheng, volunteered to be their guide, saying that it would save them a lot of trouble, at least ensuring that the merchants wouldn’t overcharge them. Chen Ping An looked at A Liang, who had been to Hongzhu Town before. The man in the bamboo hat nodded, saying that he was only familiar with the scenery on both sides of the river and had never been to the market.

The postmaster looked at A Liang, and the two old men exchanged a knowing smile.

Near Shuishui Bay, nearly a hundred large and small painted boats would sail out of the bay every night, entering Hongzhu Town along the river. After circling around, they would return to Shuishui Bay. During this time, men would constantly board those boats, seeking both drinks and laughter.

In Hongzhu Town, the boat women of Shuishui Bay and other courtesans, although all of low status under the Dali Dynasty, the former had always been directly managed by the capital’s Jiaofang Division. Even the magistrate, as a local official, was not qualified to change the status of the boat women from low to free. Therefore, there had always been rumors in Hongzhu Town that the ancestors of the five surnames in Shuishui Bay were once members of the royal family and meritorious clans of the Divine Water Dynasty.

With the local “snake,” Postmaster Cheng Sheng, leading the way, Chen Ping An and the others went to the market on the west side of town. The further west they went, the more crowded the streets became. Knowing that from Hongzhu Town, they could travel south by boat for more than two hundred miles, with towns and post stations along the way for supplies, Chen Ping An gave up some of his initial ideas. He didn’t buy too much rice, cured meat, and other food, but at a pharmacy, he added many ointments and medicinal materials to deal with minor illnesses and injuries like colds, heatstroke, and falls. When it came time to spend money, Chen Ping An realized that, like his hometown, an entire silver tael was a rare item. So, he converted the two taels of snowflake silver into the Dali Dynasty’s common copper coins, Tianhua Yuangbao. Because he had the best quality silver, the premium alone was as high as two hundred copper coins, which made him very grateful to the Xiu Xiu girl at the blacksmith shop.

Because Postmaster Cheng Sheng was there, everything went smoothly. In small counties and towns, one should not underestimate the clerks, especially Cheng Sheng, who often dealt with wealthy merchants and traveling officials all year round. In the eyes of the townspeople, he was a powerful figure with connections to everyone. Therefore, every shop they entered greeted Postmaster Cheng with great enthusiasm, wishing they could worship him like a Bodhisattva.

Along the way, Li Huai was very restrained, almost hiding behind A Liang, peeking out. A Liang teased him for being timid and only brave at home. Li Huai just opened his mouth to start a shouting match with A Liang for three hundred rounds, but when he saw curious gazes from all around, Li Huai immediately drooped his head and followed A Liang like he was sick, making A Liang laugh endlessly, often slapping Li Huai on the head. The child was angry but dared not speak, feeling very aggrieved.

Lin Shouyi still maintained his indifferent demeanor, as if it was none of his business. It was estimated that even if the young man was walking on the imperial road in the capital, he would still be like this.

Only Li Baoping, carrying her green bamboo box, strutted around like a crab, with her head held high and chest out, wishing she could grab someone on the side of the road and tell them that her little book box was made by her Little Martial Uncle.

The market consisted of two north-south streets. After visiting Guanshan Street, Chen Ping An and the others had to pass through an alley to reach the next street, Guanshui Street. As they passed a bookstore in the alley that had little business, Postmaster Cheng Sheng, who was leading the way, continued forward, but Chen Ping An stopped. After greeting the postmaster, he smiled at Li Baoping and the other two, saying, “Each of you can buy a book. No matter how expensive, as long as we can afford it.”

The store was small, with a storefront less than two zhang wide. After entering, there were two rows of tall bookshelves on the left and right. At the innermost part of the store, a young man in a black robe was sitting on a small bamboo chair, with his legs crossed, resting with his eyes closed, holding a folded fan in his hand, gently tapping his palm, humming a tune.

The young shop owner had a handsome, delicate, and outstanding face, without the vulgarity of the previous shopkeepers.

The girl, Zhu Lu, was stunned when she first saw him, probably because she didn’t expect to encounter such a refined and dashing figure in the market of Hongzhu Town.

The Land God of Qidun Mountain, after breaking free from his restraints and regaining his divine status, transformed from a short, white-robed old man into a handsome young nobleman. But in the girl’s heart, Wei Bo was still more of a sloppy and unbearable image. But the young man in front of her gave a very distinct first impression.

Even Zhu He was full of suspicion, wondering if this person was a scion of a once-wealthy family who had fallen on hard times? He was no less impressive than their two young masters.

The young man didn’t open his eyes, lazily saying, “The books in the store are all non-negotiable. Whether you make a profit or a loss depends entirely on the discerning eyes of the guests.”

Postmaster Cheng Sheng whispered to Zhu He, “This store is quite famous in our Hongzhu Town. Most scholars passing through like to visit it once. However, this shop owner has a strange temper. All the books he sells are priced far higher than the market price. And if anyone dares to bargain, he will chase them out on the spot. He is aloof and doesn’t understand practical matters. Once, an old official from the Ministry of Revenue, who was traveling incognito, stayed at my Pillow Post. That old man took a fancy to a rare book priced at three hundred taels of silver, but he bargained for fifty taels of silver and was kicked out of the store, without any respect at all. The old official was so angry that he didn’t calm down even after returning to the post station and almost had the county government seal up this store. I guess he felt that it would be bad for his reputation if it spread out, so he let the store escape this disaster.”

Zhu He understood in his heart that this was mostly a pedantic scholar who didn’t understand the world, the kind that his Second Young Master liked to ridicule, calling them people who “talk about morality in peacetime, but sacrifice themselves to the emperor in times of crisis.” The Second Young Master also smiled and said that in less than two hundred years, their Dali would be like this too.

Therefore, Zhu He had always had a poor impression of scholars from outside.

The road through Hongzhu Town was one of the three main post roads from the southern border of Dali to the capital. Wealthy merchants and officials, if they were going north to the major cities of Dali, including the capital, mostly chose this road. This was because the other two post roads, although wider, were almost always overcrowded at every post station along the way. Without sufficient official credentials, not to mention staying overnight, they couldn’t even get through the gate. Every year, many officials and wealthy merchants who didn’t know this would lose face because of it.

Scholars from the south who were going to the capital to take the imperial examinations, because they didn’t yet have official status, mostly liked to choose this road. They often traveled in groups of two or three, which allowed them to take care of each other and enjoy the beautiful scenery along the way, as well as explore and visit immortals together.

And officials who had been demoted to the south, depressed and unsuccessful, liked to write poems on the walls of post stations and inns, and also liked to take this road south. Over time, the walls of the Pillow Post in Hongzhu Town were covered with poems of complaint from literati and poets.

Li Baoping, with her head held high, began to look for books, glancing here and there, looking everywhere, all according to her mood. Occasionally, she would take out a book, flip through a few pages, and put it back if she wasn’t interested. In the end, the little girl found a book of landscape travel notes, priced at three hundred copper coins. She felt a little sorry to spend so much, but she really liked it, so she turned to look at her Little Martial Uncle. Chen Ping An smiled and nodded.

Lin Shouyi’s gaze slowly swept over the bookshelves, orderly, from right to left, from top to bottom. Every time he took out a book to read, he always started from the title page. In the end, the young man took a fancy to a feng shui book that wasn’t signed by the author, priced at four hundred copper coins. Lin Shouyi looked at Chen Ping An, who still nodded.

After entering the store, Li Huai finally lost the noise and hustle of the street, immediately returning to his mischievous nature, almost like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins. He was the youngest and shortest, and he insisted on sitting on A Liang’s shoulders to choose books. A Liang agreed, but warned that if Li Huai didn’t choose a book, he would leave him alone on the street when they left the store. As a result, Li Huai gritted his teeth and picked a brand new book from the highest shelf, priced at nine taels and two qian. When he saw the price, Li Huai was so frightened that he secretly tried to throw the book back, but in his panic, the book wasn’t successfully put back on the shelf, but instead fell to the ground.

The young shopkeeper, who was gently tapping his fan, opened his eyes and looked at the book that had fallen to the ground, saying unhappily, “Once it’s bought, it’s sold. A brand new edition of ‘Broken Water Cliff,’ nine taels and two qian.”

Li Huai didn’t dare to talk back to strangers at all, so he could only wear a mournful face, cautiously looking at Chen Ping An, who asked, “Will you read it if you buy it?”

Li Huai nodded vigorously.

Chen Ping An smiled and nodded, saying, “Then let’s buy it.”

A Liang asked, “Chen Ping An, aren’t you going to buy a book for yourself?”

Chen Ping An, who was taking out money, quickly shook his head, saying, “I haven’t even learned all the characters yet, what would I buy a book for?”

Zhu He turned to ask his daughter, “Is there any book you want?”

Zhu Lu stood at the door without moving the entire time, glancing sideways at the bookshelves, shaking her head.

The young shop owner, who was preparing to collect the money, stood up, with a black sandalwood hairpin holding up his hair, holding a fan with snow-white ribs, his gaze sweeping over the little girl in the red cotton jacket and the aloof young man, finally looking at the child who was timidly holding “Broken Water Cliff,” with a playful smile.

A Liang grinned.

Leaving the bookstore and heading towards Guanshui Street, Zhu He’s mind moved, and he turned to look back, discovering that the young man with the remarkable appearance was leaning against the doorpost, watching them leave. When he saw Zhu He, the man even smiled and nodded in greeting.

Zhu He turned his head, frowned, and after leaving the alley, quickly walked to the side of the man in the bamboo hat, “Senior A Liang, is there something strange about the owner of that bookstore?”

A Liang adjusted his bamboo hat and said something truly strange, “Compared to this guy, the real trouble is still behind us, but it has nothing to do with you.”

The turbulent current of the Chongdan River has many hidden reefs and dangers, with spectacular scenery known throughout the court. One section of the river has many large and small stone pillars protruding from the water, known as “bamboo shoots after rain.” Only a small boat can shuttle through the gaps in the stone forest, and large ships cannot pass. Even boatmen who grew up by the river and are familiar with the water don’t dare to easily take a boat out, unless they are admiring literati who hire them for a large sum of money. So, there is a saying of “white paper boat, iron boatman.” Every year, boatmen and outsiders lose their lives on this stone forest waterway of the Chongdan River.

But tonight, in the twilight of the Chongdan River, there are many tourists.

The surging river water hits the protruding stone pillars. A bare-chested man sits on top of a stone pillar, gently throwing an empty wine jug into the river. Beside him are three unopened wine jugs.

In the distance, a red light gets closer and closer. It turns out to be a hunched old man carrying a large red lantern, using the stone pillars as stepping stones, skimming across the water.

Suddenly, a majestic figure descends from the sky, stepping on top of a stone pillar. The solid rock under his feet can’t bear the weight and instantly turns into powder. He just stands in the river water like that.

In the river water, a woman of average appearance walks upstream, leisurely. Three feet above her head, a fist-sized, snow-white pearl floats, emitting a bright light, illuminating the river bottom as bright as day.

The woman says lazily and boredly, “I’ve walked over a hundred miles of waterway and haven’t found half a treasure. Who told me there was something special under the Chongdan River?”

The drinking man sitting on top of the stone pillar glances at the bottom of the water and says indifferently, “The Lord is already in Hongzhu Town.”

The old man shakes the bright red lantern, his voice hoarse with a smile, “The Lord is actually coming in person? Then what do we four need to do? Just sit on the sidelines and watch the show?”

The man takes a sip of wine and says in a deep voice, “I hope so.”