enjoyebooks #123 - The red door is always the red door, and you are always the wooden door
#123 - The red door is always the red door, and you are always the wooden door
Chapter 123: The mansions of the wealthy will always be mansions, and you will always be commoners.
Fortunately, there was honey prepared by Zhang Chen in the cave. Zhang Chen no longer needed it, so he took it out directly to feed the bumblebees, attracting them. Tens of thousands of bumblebees surrounded the honey pot, feasting.
“Screech~”
The falcon, upon seeing Zhang Chen, suddenly emitted a distressed cry. It flapped its wings but couldn't take flight, collapsing directly to the ground, weakly sprawling at Zhang Chen's feet.
Zhang Chen quickly extracted water vapor, dissolving the honey and infusing it into the falcon's body, replenishing some energy to prevent it from starving to death.
Then, he activated his Beast Mastery skill, discovering a nest of snakes underground. Zhang Chen directly manipulated the snakes to crawl out and fed them to the falcon.
Because of the water source, there were still some rats, rabbits, and snakes alive underground.
The falcon approached and devoured the snakes as if eating spicy strips, swallowing them clean in a few bites, directly into its stomach.
After comforting the falcon and the bumblebees, Zhang Chen once again transformed into a bat and disappeared into the sky, flying towards his village.
His house and the neighboring thatched cottage had already been reduced to ruins, with nothing to see, but he still惦记着that page of golden scripture, though he still had no gains.
At this time, the village was in a deathly silence. The people had already begun to flee, and the village was deserted, with only three or five houses with smoke rising from their chimneys.
“Huh~” Zhang Chen looked towards the village chief's house and saw figures still moving inside. The feng shui master was sitting in the courtyard, holding a compass, seemingly calculating something.
The village chief was no longer as respectful and humble as before, kicking the feng shui master: “Old man, you've been eating and drinking here for a month. Have you found the water source yet? If you can't find the water source, don't blame us for not being reasonable.”
The feng shui master was now disheveled, his face bruised and swollen, clearly having suffered a lot.
After being kicked to the ground, he didn't dare to resist, only pleading helplessly: “Don't worry, please give me a little more time! Just a little more time!”
Zhang Chen only glanced at him and ignored him. He transformed into a bat and landed under the eaves of Wang Wu's house, only to find Wang Wu's house full of dust, the door wide open, and it had been uninhabited for a long time.
“Uncle Wang hasn't returned for some days. Could it be that he was implicated because of my influence?” The thirty-six bats that Zhang Chen had transformed into landed in the corners of the house and courtyard. He saw that the firewood, rice, oil, and salt in the house were all gone, and the whole house was tattered as if it had been ransacked.
After scanning the house, a hint of worry arose in Zhang Chen's heart. The next moment, he transformed into a vampire bat and came to his stepmother's house, only to find that there were no people there either, and it had obviously been deserted for a long time.
“Could it be that the Big Boss has taken action? It must be!”
The thirty-six vampire bats gathered in the house. Zhang Chen revealed his presence in the house, looking at the dusty and ransacked house, a hint of contemplation in his eyes.
According to the Big Boss's methods, it wouldn't be difficult to find out the relationship between himself and Wang Wu. He would be happy to do it to gain a favor from me.
Having made a guess in his heart, Zhang Chen was relieved. He didn't go looking, and then summoned the fox spirit: “Where is your page of scripture?”
He was still惦记着the remnant scroll of the Scripture of Western Ascension. His Light of Righteous Divinity was comprehended from the remnant scroll of the Scripture of Western Ascension. Previously, he had allowed the scripture to be in the hands of the fox spirit because he was wary of the fox spirit's methods. Now that he controlled the fox spirit's life and death, he would naturally take back the remnant scroll of the Scripture of Western Ascension.
“Last time you went to visit Mr. Wu Liu, wanting to learn to read, didn't you learn from Zhang Qingyan that Mr. Wu Liu had gone on a trip? Actually, Zhang Xiaohua got the scripture and went to consult Mr. Wu Liu. Mr. Wu Liu recognized the scripture's extraordinary nature, so he took the scripture out.” The fox spirit Nannan said.
Hearing the fox spirit Nannan's words, Zhang Chen was stunned: “Who is Zhang Qingyan?”
“In the Pingbian Prince's Mansion, Zhang Xiaohua's substitute, that is, the woman who bought your swan meat.” The fox spirit said.
Zhang Chen frowned upon hearing this. He didn't expect that after going around in circles, he would have to deal with Mr. Wu Liu again.
He had two goals for this trip back. The first goal was to see if Mr. Wu Liu had returned. Now there was another goal, which was to see if there was a chance to steal back the golden page.
“Where did you get that golden book?” Zhang Chen asked the fox spirit.
“Of course, it was dug out of a large tomb.” The fox spirit said: “This scripture was accidentally picked up by my fox clan's ancestors in an earthquake crack when they discovered the True Dragon Tomb. It was found by me a few days ago, but it is a useless abandoned scripture.”
Zhang Chen couldn't help but feel secretly proud in his heart: Thanks to your abandoned scripture, otherwise I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to turn over and be the master.
However, it feels really good to have a fox spirit to enslave.
Zhang Chen glanced at the fox spirit, directly transforming her into a rune and putting her away. Then, he transformed into a bat and flapped his wings, appearing at the thatched shed built by Mr. Wu Liu in the past.
The outside of the thatched shed was still the same as before, except that the wild grass in the mountains was withered and yellow, there were no changes.
A dozen strong men with sabers at their waists stood guard in the mountains. Zhang Chen's figure flashed in the forest, and his figure appeared behind a large tree.
Using his divine power, he summoned the fox spirit: “Go and see if Mr. Wu Liu is at home.”
The fox spirit went away, and in a short while, she returned: “Consider yourself lucky, that Mr. Wu Liu has actually returned. It is expected that he must have heard of the changes in the Pingbian Prince's Mansion, so he had to rush back.”
“Prepare some gifts for me, and prepare a few sets of clothes for me. I want to visit that Mr. Wu Liu.” Zhang Chen said.
Fox spirit Nannan looked at Zhang Chen resentfully: “You are now treating me as your lackey, running errands for you. I have become your errand girl.”
Although she said so, fox spirit Nannan still went away. In less than half an hour, she brought silk and satin clothes, and a box full of silver, and placed them in front of Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen stretched out his arms and propped them open. The fox spirit dressed Zhang Chen with a reluctant face. She, fox spirit Nannan, was in a position above ten thousand people below in the fox clan. She was such a proud person, but now she has fallen to this point. It is really a decline in morality.
The clothes were not very fitting, a little bit too big. Zhang Chen looked up and down, and immediately felt that he was full of wealth, like a rich son. He was very satisfied in his heart. The fox spirit looked Zhang Chen up and down, and couldn't help but frown. Zhang Chen noticed the fox spirit frowning and asked: “Is there anything wrong?”
“I don't know why, but seeing you wearing this silk and satin, I always feel that it is unbearably vulgar.” The fox spirit said.
Zhang Chen smiled upon hearing this, but didn't take it seriously: "What is there to pay attention to when becoming a disciple?"
"I'm not human, how would I know your human rules?" Fox Fairy Nannan said.
Zhang Chen felt she made sense, so he happily carried the food box towards Mister Wu Liu's thatched cottage.
"Stop, who are you?" Just as Zhang Chen reached the mountainside, a guard noticed Zhang Chen's presence and quickly stepped forward to reprimand him, blocking Zhang Chen's path. However, seeing Zhang Chen's silk and satin attire, which exuded wealth, he didn't dare to be disrespectful.
"I want to see Mister Wu Liu," Zhang Chen said calmly.
The guard hesitated slightly upon hearing this. At that moment, the door opened, and a girl in white slowly walked out of the house. As soon as the girl appeared, the entire mountain seemed to lose its color.
It was Zhang Qingyan, the girl who had bought Zhang Chen's swan meat last time.
The girl was stunned when she saw Zhang Chen, and then, seeing his silk and satin clothes, her eyes were filled with surprise: "It seems you've made a fortune since I last saw you."
"Greetings, Miss," Zhang Chen greeted with a bow.
The girl waved for the guards to retreat, came to Zhang Chen's side, and then, looking at Zhang Chen's attire, sighed softly: "This is not a place for you to come!"
"I want to see Mister Wu Liu," Zhang Chen said sincerely.
Zhang Qingyan frowned upon hearing this, recalling Zhang Chen's purpose for coming here last time. Now, she already understood the young man's thoughts.
"I advise you to go back, you will definitely return disappointed!" Zhang Qingyan advised.
"Now that I'm here, I have to try," Zhang Chen said earnestly. "I hope you can show some kindness and give me a chance to meet the master."
"What's the reason?" Zhang Qingyan asked.
"In this life, changing one's fate depends on trying again and again, seizing every possible opportunity. And meeting Mister Wu Liu is an opportunity for me," Zhang Chen said.
Zhang Qingyan sighed softly upon hearing this: "Seeing how sincere you are, I can put in a good word for you, so you have a chance to meet the master."
Zhang Qingyan asked Zhang Chen to wait in the mountains, then turned and walked into the house. After a short while, she beckoned to Zhang Chen, and Zhang Chen hurried forward.
"The master has agreed to see you for my sake. Whether you can seize the opportunity depends on yourself," Zhang Qingyan said.
As she spoke, she made way, and Zhang Chen walked into the house, then couldn't help but be stunned, because there were two people inside the house.
One was older, about fifty years old, with well-maintained skin, obviously accustomed to a life of luxury, and was sitting upright at a desk copying books.
The other looked to be about twenty years old and was wearing the robes of a Huangli Temple disciple, kneeling on the ground with a gloomy expression on his face.
Although it was a thatched cottage, the furnishings inside were not simple. The incense burner in the house emitted purple smoke, obviously not ordinary incense.
In front was a large red and gold python brocade backrest, with a pair of plum-shaped foreign lacquer small tables on both sides. On the left table were the King Wen tripod, chopsticks, and incense box; on the right table was a Ru kiln beauty goblet, with fresh flowers inserted in the goblet, as well as a tea bowl and spittoon.
Underneath, four chairs were arranged in a row facing west, all covered with silver-red scattered flower chair cushions, with four footrests underneath. On both sides of the chairs, there were also a pair of high tables, fully equipped with tea bowls and flower vases.
Not to mention the other precious furnishings in the house, the fact that there were fresh flowers in this dry season was enough to show its extravagance.
There was a bookshelf in the house, filled with densely packed books.
Zhang Chen didn't recognize countless other ornaments in the thatched cottage.
"This is Mister Wu Liu," Zhang Qingyan introduced.
Zhang Chen hurriedly bowed upon hearing this: "Disciple Chen Qingdu greets the master."
"Qingyan said you wanted to see me?" Mister Wu Liu looked at Zhang Chen, his gaze condescending.
"I have long heard of the master's great name and wish to study under your tutelage. Please give me guidance, master."
Then, he quickly opened the box, which contained a full five hundred taels of silver, as well as various jewels and other items.
Mister Wu Liu sized up Zhang Chen, slowly picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then put down the teacup and said: "The world is really changing now, even cats and dogs are coming to learn."
Zhang Chen's expression changed upon hearing this, but he heard Mister Wu Liu say: "Do you think you can come here to study with a little scrap metal? It's simply a fool's dream. A mansion will always be a mansion, a wooden door will always be a wooden door. How can you, the son of a mere merchant, be worthy of meeting me?"
"Go, throw the things out for me, and kick this person out," Mister Wu Liu's voice was full of disdain.
The Huangli Temple disciple kneeling on the ground immediately perked up upon hearing this, quickly stepped forward and kicked Zhang Chen's jewelry box to the ground, then punched and kicked Zhang Chen:
"Boy, don't you look at yourself? Are you worthy of learning to read? Writing is something that only nobles can master, how can you, a mud leg, covet it? Do you really think you can buy knowledge with a little money? You are really ignorant."
The Huangli Temple disciple had obviously practiced martial arts, and his punches and kicks were agile. Zhang Chen took three kicks and was kicked out of the door with a dazed expression. He didn't even know what had happened. Why did Mister Wu Liu suddenly turn hostile?
"Don't hit him! It's my fault! There's no need to blame him," Zhang Qingyan quickly stopped the young man when she saw that he was going to continue chasing Zhang Chen.
Hearing Zhang Qingyan's words, the disciple stopped, then mocked Zhang Chen: "Boy, a pheasant cannot fly up to a branch to become a phoenix. Knowledge will never be something that you mud legs can obtain. You'd better give up on this idea."
After speaking, he turned and walked into the house.
Zhang Qingyan slowly came to Zhang Chen's side and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "I said, this is not a place for you to come. But if I didn't let you try, you would never give up, and you would blame me in the future, thinking that I was secretly sabotaging you and blocking your path to study and progress."
Zhang Chen was stunned upon hearing this, but he heard Zhang Qingyan say: "Don't you know the unspoken rules of the powerful? Knowledge can only be spread among the nobles and will never be spread to ordinary wealthy households or commoners. Ordinary wealthy households may be able to become rich through their own brains, but it is absolutely impossible to cross classes. The son of a scholar-official will always be a scholar-official, and the son of a farmer will always be a farmer. Reading and writing are the rights of scholar-officials. You have been presumptuous this time."
Hearing Zhang Qingyan's words, Zhang Chen was completely stunned. He knew that it was difficult to acquire knowledge, but he never expected it to be so difficult.
No wonder there isn't even a private school to be seen in this world!