Xia Fan was very familiar with the road leading to the casino. Whenever his master disappeared, he would almost always find him in the casino. If not, then he was in the brothel.
Master was more often found in the casino not because he was a gambler. Rather, it was simply because he always lost too much money…
The casino guards recognized Xia Fan. After a few simple questions about his intentions, they brought him straight to the boss’s room.
“Oh? His master happens to be here too, let him in.”
The boss could be heard behind the door.
The guard immediately stepped aside and gestured for Xia Fan to enter.
What? Master is also here? Xia Fan’s heart sank. Instead of locking Master up, they brought him here? What are they doing? Beating him up for not paying the debt?
He hurriedly pushed open the door. “Stop! I have all the money…”
But he paused halfway as if he had choked on his words.
The casino boss and his master sat face to face across a table, on which sat a large bowl of boiled fish. The chopped slices of chili floated on the milky white soup. How delicious it looked! Several empty wine jugs were lying beside the bowl of fish. It seemed that they had already had a few rounds of wine.
What’s going on? It’s just been a month and Master has turned from a debtor to an honorable guest?
If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Xia Fan would never have believed that this middle-aged uncle with an excellent complexion was his own master: Zhao Dahai.
“Stop? Stop what? Ar-r-re you drunk? B-b-blabbering nonsense?” Master patted the bamboo mat beside his thigh as he said, “Have you had dinner? Come! Have some fish soup first.”
“Old man Zhao, is this your disciple? The boy who said that he would be back in a month with thirty taels of silver and told us not to hurt you?” The boss said with a smile as he eyed Xia Fan. “Most people who claim that they will gather thirty taels of silver in one month will actually take the opportunity to run away. But look, he’s back! What a remarkable young lad!”
“I wish he’d run away.” Master chewed on the fish as he continued, “Xia Fan, let me introduce you to… the owner of the Spring Night Street, Mr. Xiao! Almost all the stores we usually patronize are owned by him!”
Almost all? Not only the casino but the teahouses, inns, and brothels too?
It only confused Xia Fan even more. Why will a big boss hang out with Master? And they are having fun?
“Hahahaha… it’s actually not as complicated as you think.” Mr. Xiao saw his bewilderment and immediately took the initiative to explain. “Master Zhao did once owe a big sum, but he also did me a huge favor. I have my principles, so I will pay back all the favors. I’d say, I actually still owe your master some favors even after canceling his debt!”
After some detailed explanation, Xia Fan finally figured out what was going on. A new brothel opened on Lotus Street, which was on the other side of the blocks, named Red Cherry Pavilion. It was a formidable competitor for Mr. Xiao’s Soothing Fragrance Pavilion and had affected the latter’s business. Master happened to know a set of massage techniques, originally only used to relieve fatigue after a long journey. He proposed to teach these techniques to the ladies of Soothing Fragrance Pavilion. The customers really loved it, and they won all of their business back. Now, no one visited Red Cherry Pavilion anymore, while endless queues formed outside Soothing Fragrance Pavilion. Thirty taels of silver were nothing compared to the rising revenue.
After hearing the story, Xia Fan was like… what the f*ck???
“What… Do you really think I have no other way out and need to wait for your rescue?” Zhao Dahai gulped down a cup of wine with satisfaction. “I have gone through a lot of things. This is just a piece of cake! You can’t even call it a setback.”
“…” Xia Fan’s mouth twitched. He imagined many other ways it would have unfolded: Master crying and promising that he wouldn’t do it again, or just remaining silent, trying to save his face… But this??
It felt as if his master didn’t care at all whether he had passed the exam or not.
Teaching his master a lesson was just his fantasy…
“So… you passed the exam?” Zhao Dahai suddenly asked.
“Yes.” Xia Fan replied softly, “I couldn’t even sleep, thinking that you were suffering. So, I immediately rushed back after obtaining the settlement allowance. Now it looks like I’m just extra.”
“Stop bluffing me. Do I not know you well enough? You won’t even think about me once in a month!” Master said nonchalantly, “Well, I still appreciate your efforts, but sadly, you can’t travel around with me anymore.”
“You make it sound like you’re enjoying your aimless travels…” Seeing that Master wasn’t hiding anything from Mr. Xiao, Xia Fan also gave up pretending. “Remember that time when you almost fainted from starvation? What did you say? You would do anything for a proper meal. Now that I’m officially a mystic of the Privy Council, I can at least guarantee your meals.”
“Erm… That’s a special occasion! I wasn’t in the right state of mind because of hunger!” Master gave him a stare. “So, where are you posted to?”
“I don’t know yet. But no matter where I go, I can still find you a place to stay.”
Zhao Dahai pondered for a moment and then shook his head. “Never mind. You should go alone.”
Xia Fan was stunned. “Why?”
“I’m too used to being on my own. I don’t want to live in the same place for too long. Besides, here, I can eat and drink well, and the girls in Soothing Fragrance Pavillion want me to go over every day. This place is so nice…”
“I can testify that your master is telling the truth,” Mr. Xiao laughingly said.
“Are you… serious?” Xia Fan frowned.
“Yes, absolutely serious!”
“In that case, I won’t insist.” Xia Fan shook his head helplessly. “But after the posting order comes down, I will tell you. Just in case you regret it one day, you can always come and find me. Alright. Bye, master.”
“Go.” Zhao Dahai waved his hand.
Xia Fan cupped his hands together respectfully and left the room.
After he had left, Mr. Xiao looked at Zhao Dahai, sighed, and said, “This is the first time I’ve seen a master and disciple like the two of you. As a mentor, you should at least put up a respectable front and set a good example for your mentee. Even other relationships… like those of sworn brotherhood, also follow certain customs. But the two of you…”
“What’s the point of pretending to be in a stereotypical relationship like that?” Zhao Dahai snorted. “One day, you can be confidants, but the next, you start back-stabbing just for trivial things. I have seen too much of that. When you pretend to be someone, you lose yourself, and soon you will be in an uncomfortable and frustrating state. Why bother? Just be yourself from the start! I’m sure you’re familiar with this.”
“Hahahaha… that makes sense.” Mr. Xiao filled their cups with wine and said, “But your disciple passed the exam and is now a government official. Shouldn’t that be something worth celebrating? It would have been a huge occasion normally. But you don’t seem to care… or do you suspect that your disciple is lying?”
“No, he isn’t. The moment he proposed going to the exam, I already knew he would pass.” Zhao Dahai suddenly lowered his voice. “To be honest, I don’t really want him to take this path… to become a Privy Council mystic.”
“What’s wrong with that? He’ll bring honor to your name too. So many want to pursue this but can’t even make it!”
“He’s different… This boy… he’s a bit frightening.”
“Frightening?” Mr. Xiao couldn’t help but laugh. “Old man Zhao, are you drunk?”
“Drunk? You’re kidding me! You don’t know him well, so it’s okay. But I spent ten years bringing him up. I know almost everything about him.” Zhao Dahai waved his big hand vigorously in excitement. It was as if he wanted to reveal some huge secret. But then, he suddenly began beating around the bush again. “The more I teach him, the more I can feel the gap between us. You don’t understand that feeling, it’s like, it’s like—”
“I understand, he surpassed you. He’s now a mystic, but you’re still just a Daoist…”
“Nothing to do with that!” Zhao Dahai interrupted. “I know myself. I can never imagine being disciplined by the Privy Council. That’s why I just want to be a Daoist. I can do whatever I want. But that’s not the point. I’ve seen many that claimed to be geniuses, but that kid is different from all of them.”
“Different in what way?”
Zhao Dahai paused for even longer. “Have you ever seen someone who is born fully self-aware?”
He’s definitely drunk. Mr. Xiao smiled. “So, your disciple is one of them?”
“I don’t know.” He picked up his glass and drank it all. “But if there’s anyone like that, he should be close. I adopted that kid when he was only three years old. You know it’s rare to be able to sense Qi at that age; most disciples in the world start learning to sense Qi at the age of four or five. But he was able to draw talismans at the age of five, cast a complete spell at the age of six, and master in two years what others can only learn in five to six years. You put him in one of those established families, and he will still be considered talented.
“And when he tries to draw Qi, he claims that he will see a sky full of stars. What the hell is that? Shouldn’t you be able to see nothing except a faint feeling that there’s a layer of silk around you? But he did successfully bring Qi into his body. So, I could only pretend like it’s normal to see a sky full of stars.”
“That… seems a bit exaggerated.”
“That’s not all. He somehow got himself an old ledger, and then he began writing and drawing stuff on the back every day. One day I happened to discover that he had conceived a lot of ideas much earlier than he had told me.” Zhao Hai said faster and faster, “It’s as if he had deliberately slowed down so as not to look like he’s learning too fast. Why would someone in his right mind do such a thing? Since then I’ve paid extra attention to him. Then, I also found more unusual things with this kid. Odd obsession with the spells, extreme self-control when practicing, and being too well organized. You can’t attribute that to being just gifted.”
“Then, isn’t he even more suitable for the Privy Council?” Mr. Xiao really couldn’t understand.
“The Privy Council is not a place where you can do well just because of talent. With my disciple’s nature, either he will just rot there or… he will become part of the Privy Council.” He sighed gravely. “If it’s the latter, the more talented, the more dangerous he will be…”
The Privy Council… dangerous? Those mystics are just too arrogant, they can’t possibly pose any danger to society. But then again, isn’t it the same for all government officials?
Mr. Xiao felt that the conversation was getting too absurd, so he stopped asking more questions. “Fine, I don’t know much about mystics. But, if you’re so concerned, why did you not stop him when he proposed to go?”
“This is the contradictory part of human nature.” Zhao Dahai laughed helplessly. “I have no talent. I’ve already reached my ceiling. But the more ordinary I am, the more I want to see what kind of heights people with real talents can reach. There are only that many things I can teach. The only place where he can be properly nurtured is the Privy Council.”