The Overlord of Puluo

Tan Fucheng hired more than a dozen rickshaws to take everyone to Wildgoose Sand Studio.

He did not say another word along the way, and the support hooks traveling with him did not dare speak either. In front of these rickshaw drivers, Tan Fucheng and the others suddenly felt embarrassed by how crude and uncultured they were.

Li Banfeng was rather curious about this. What was there to be embarrassed about? Tan Fucheng had always been a carefree man, so why had he suddenly started looking down on himself today? Lu Chunying and Lu Yuanxin, on the other hand, did not seem affected at all.

”Haihhh...” Li Banfeng heard someone sigh again.

The rickshaw driver lowered the shafts and said to Tan Fucheng, ”What we call a destination is nothing more than a brief pause along the road. When that pause comes to an end, we must all set out once more. The cycle of life is but a passing view along the journey. Only the footsteps that carry us onward remain eternal.”

Tan Fucheng bowed deeply, then warned his men, ”From now on, don’t tell anyone I used to be a rickshaw driver. I really don’t deserve to call myself a rickshaw driver.”

Wildgoose Sand Studio was a large study with more than ten thousand books, but it also served as an inn. Many scholars came there to read, and some became so absorbed in their books that they simply stayed the night.

Xiao Yeci had chosen the place herself. She had wanted to visit Wildgoose Sand Studio for a long time, and when she saw row after row of bookshelves filling the study, her breathing quickened.

Lu Chunying looked at her. ”Mom, your face is red, and you are sweating.”

”I like it here, eh!”

”Mom, maybe we should sort out our rooms first. Big Bro Tan looks like he’s forgotten how to talk.”

Tan Fucheng stood at the front desk of the study, his face covered in anxious sweat. Xiao Yeci stepped forward and said very politely, ”We would like ten rooms.”

Behind the desk stood a young woman with the standard Puluo Province schoolgirl bob, the short hairstyle worn by female students. She wore a blue-green changshan that looked rather like a qipao, though it was much looser and did not show off the waist. It was a style of female student uniform found only in Puluo Province.

The young woman looked at Xiao Yeci and asked in a low, solemn voice, ”People are merely travelers passing through time. Why are you so determined to stay here?”

Xiao Yeci answered with complete sincerity. ”The books here have deeply captivated me. I came with a sincere heart to study, and I would like to stay here for a while.”

The young woman nodded. ”The study has upper-grade rooms, middle-grade rooms, and lower-grade rooms. Which kind would you like?”

No one had revealed their true identities on this trip to the Ink Fragrance Shop, but they were all people of some standing. Their accommodations could not be too shabby.

Xiao Yeci said, ”We will take the upper-grade rooms.”

The young woman asked, ”Do you choose the upper-grade rooms because you seek comfort and pleasure?”

Right! I came here to study. How can I be so particular about where we stayed? Xiao Yeci thought. Ashamed of herself, she quickly changed her answer. ”Then we will take the middle-grade rooms.”

The young woman frowned. ”And are you choosing the middle-grade rooms merely to pretend to be ordinary?”

Xiao Yeci hesitated. ”Are you telling me to choose the lower-grade rooms? Wouldn’t that be a little too shabby?”

The young woman’s frown deepened. ”Are you truly so vain? If all you wanted was comfort and prestige, the outside world is prosperous enough. Why come all the way to the Ink Fragrance Shop? Why stay in this study at all?”

Xiao Yeci lowered her head, looking thoroughly ashamed. ”I was presumptuous...”

”It isn’t a matter of being presumptuous. Your desire to study simply isn’t pure enough.”

Xiao Yeci felt even more ashamed and nodded repeatedly. ”Then we will take the lower-grade rooms.”

The young woman looked at her with disappointment. ”And now you choose the lower-grade rooms. Is that because you are stingy with money, or because you intend to humiliate the study?”

”I... I don’t!” Even Xiao Yeci no longer knew what she was supposed to say.

”Haihh.” Li Banfeng heard another sigh.

Xiao Yeci stammered, unable to get a proper answer out. Lu Yuanxin glanced at Lu Chunying. He was ready to use a less conventional method.

Lu Chunying gave a small nod. Lu Yuanxin walked up to the counter. ”Ten upper-grade rooms. Have someone come take our luggage.”

The young woman looked at him. ”Are you choosing the upper-grade rooms for pleasure or for vanity?”

Lu Yuanxin tapped the counter once and a round object appeared on the tabletop.

At first, the young woman thought it was an egg. A moment later, the ”egg” suddenly unfolded, revealing countless tiny legs. It was not an egg at all. It was a thousand-legged bug curled tightly into a ball.

The young woman cried out and stumbled back two steps. ”Is this an insult to learning or an insult to scholars?”

”A WARNING. I want ten upper-grade rooms,” Lu Yuanxin said and tapped the counter again. Immediately, the thousand-legged bug crawled onto the young woman’s face.

She hurriedly arranged the rooms, and everyone went to settle in. Xiao Yeci, however, looked a little dejected and asked, ”Nan’nan, eh! Do you think my desire to study really isn’t pure, eh?”

”Mommy, eh! You are the purest of all. Don’t take what that woman said to heart, eh!”

By noon, everyone had finished eating. Xiao Yeci took Lu Chunying to read in the study, while Li Banfeng went out for a walk on his own.

The Ink Fragrance Shop was prosperous in a quiet, restrained way, nothing like the lively bustle of Greenwater City. The streets were narrow, with shops packed closely together on both sides, yet not a single shopkeeper stood outside calling for customers.

If you wanted to buy something, you first had to understand the shop sign, then know how to judge the quality of the goods. Only after that could you start discussing the price with the owner.

The bargaining was quiet. There was no shouting, no arguing, and no haggling at the top of one’s lungs. Every bit of haggling was done in poetic, elegant language.

”This fountain pen deserves a proper owner. The moment you see my handwriting, you should understand that. And that owner is me.”

”I believe you and this fountain pen were destined for each other in a past life. But if you are still hesitating over twenty yuan, then I am afraid your fate together in this life ends here.”

This shop was at least fairly straightforward with what it sold. Some of the others had signs so baffling that even Li Banfeng could not tell what they actually sold.

Take the Foot Dressing House, for example. Some people went in expecting to get their feet washed, only to discover that it sold socks.

Take the Blow Blossom Pavilion as another example. Some people went in thinking they could get something blown, but the shop actually sold toothbrushes and toothpaste. After brushing their teeth, their breath even smelled like flowers.

Then there was the Ru Family Bookhouse. It looked like an ordinary bookstore, but it also sold old newspapers.

Weird. Why is there a Ru Family Bookhouse in Ink Fragrance Shop too? Did this just happen to share the same name, or is this another branch? Li Banfeng thought. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. The shop was small, but its decor and layout were exactly the same as all the other Ru Family Bookhouses in Greenwater City and Medicine King Gully.

Shopkeeper Ru came over to greet him, ”Trader Li, it has been a long time!”

The Shopkeeper here was the same too.

Li Banfeng smiled. ”Shopkeeper Ru, have you opened another new shop?”

Shopkeeper Ru shook his head. ”This one isn’t new. Ink Fragrance Shop is my hometown, and this is my family’s old shop. Since it’s the New Year, I came back to have a look around. Trader Li, are you here to buy newspapers again?”

Li Banfeng shook his head. ”Not this time. I want to look at some books.”

”Right this way!”

Li Banfeng was a regular, so he was free to browse as he pleased. Shopkeeper Ru even brought over a chair for him and poured him a cup of tea.

”What kind of books are you looking for, Trader Li?”

”Books from around here.”

Shopkeeper Ru pulled more than a dozen books from the shelves and set them on the table. Li Banfeng went through them one by one until a two-volume set called The Wisdom-Bound Scholar caught his attention.

It was a biography recounting the life and anecdotes of a brilliant scholar who had formed a karmic bond with wisdom.

The Wisdom-Bound Scholar was born in Ink Fragrance Shop. As Li Banfeng skimmed through the other books, he noticed that the Wisdom-Bound Scholar appeared frequently throughout the town’s local literature. He was clearly something of a legendary figure in Ink Fragrance Shop.

The man had been extraordinarily intelligent. A few words were enough for him to discern someone’s intentions, and after probing them with only a handful of questions, he could usually spot their weaknesses. His talents were not limited to literature either. He was skilled in both scholarly and martial pursuits and carried a Judge’s Brush that could be used for writing as well as fighting.

Li Banfeng bought the first volume, then folded down the corner of a page in the second before leaving it behind at the bookhouse.

When he reached the counter, Shopkeeper Ru noticed that he was only buying the first volume and quickly told a clerk to fetch the second. ”Trader Li, how can you stop halfway through a book? Take the second volume too. It’s on me.”

Li Banfeng stopped the clerk. ”There’s no need. It’s not because I find it too expensive. Carrying both around would be inconvenient. Once I finish the first volume, I will come back for the second.”

Shopkeeper Ru hesitated before asking, ”If you don’t mind me asking, Trader Li, out of all these local books, why did you choose The Wisdom-Bound Scholar?”

”Because this one gives me a feel for the local culture. I just arrived at Ink Fragrance Shop, and I am still not quite used to this place.”

Shopkeeper Ru laughed. ”Trader Li, don’t think it’s just you. I was born in Ink Fragrance Shop, but after spending most of the year away doing business and only coming back every six months or so, I sometimes find it hard to get used to this place again. Something must have happened to you.”

”As a matter of fact, something did,” Li Banfeng said and proceeded to tell Boss Ru what had happened at Wildgoose Sand Studio. ”Shopkeeper Ru, does that woman at the study actually want to do business or not? Why does she make things so difficult for her guests?”

”Of course she wants the business. You chose the best rooms, which meant she could earn more money, so naturally she was happy. Still, she couldn’t let that happiness show. Otherwise, people would think she cared only about money and had none of a scholar’s integrity. When she asked whether you had chosen the best rooms out of vanity, all you had to say was that you did it out of admiration and respect for the study. That would have been the proper response.

”Instead, you said you would switch to the middle-grade rooms. That meant she would earn less, so of course she wasn’t pleased. Then you said you would stay in the cheapest rooms instead. At that point, the business became rather difficult for her.”

Li Banfeng frowned. ”If she wanted to do business properly, why didn’t she just make herself clear from the beginning?”

Shopkeeper Ru shook his head with a smile. ”That’s simply how things are done in Ink Fragrance Shop. If you speak too plainly, people will consider you vulgar.”

It seemed Li Banfeng still had quite a lot to learn about this place. He left with the book, and once the shop was empty of customers, Shopkeeper Ru returned the books to the shelves and was about to take a nap. Just then, a man dressed in a white changshan and a white fedora walked into the shop.

”Sir, are you here to buy books?”

He Jiaqing shook his head. ”I want a few newspapers.”

”I don’t sell current papers.”

”If I came here, I am naturally here to find the old ones.”

Shopkeeper Ru added, ”What I sell isn’t scrap paper either.”

He Jiaqing nodded. ”I know the price.”

After buying several newspapers, He Jiaqing left the bookhouse. It was still early, so he hailed a rickshaw and headed to Freewind Wharf. Jiang Mengting had a special performance there that afternoon.

***

Li Banfeng spent the whole afternoon walking around and soon had a general idea of what Ink Fragrance Shop was like.

It was a fairly large city, with streets running in every direction. The buildings had an old-fashioned charm, the population was large, and all kinds of businesses were doing well. There were plenty of chances to make money here, but as Ma Wu had said, anyone who wanted to do business in this place had to understand the temperament of scholars.

For example, if someone wanted to open a general store, they could call it something elegant like the Exquisite Pavilion of a Hundred Treasures. If they simply called it So-and-So’s General Store, they could forget about getting any customers.

The same was true for a pleasure house. The girls had to be talented and charming, and they needed to know how to set the mood. Things could only progress naturally once the feelings were there. If the ”water” came before the feelings, that would be disrespectful to the scholars.

There was a poetry club up ahead.

Poetry clubs existed elsewhere too. Poets would meet regularly, and over time, they would form a club of their own. There was nothing unusual about that in Puluo Province.

However, the poetry clubs in Ink Fragrance Shop were different. They were actually a type of business, one that specialized in matchmaking.

From the outside, they looked a little like teahouses. The shop provided brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, then arranged for men and women to sit across from each other and get acquainted through poetry.

A blond, blue-eyed man had just finished writing a poem. With perfect diction, he recited it aloud. ”I want to gaze into your eyes. I want to hold your arm. I want to press my cheek against yours. I want to protect your heart. With all my heart, I love you, great Ink Fragrance Shop!”

The young women immediately offered their critiques.

”Such vulgar wording!”

”Far too explicit!”

”Why are you shouting like that?”

”Utterly crude!”

Under a barrage of criticism and eye rolls, Cedric left the poetry club in embarrassment. As soon as he stepped outside, he ran into Li Qi.

Cedric looked surprised. ”What a coincidence. I didn’t expect to run into you here.”

Li Banfeng was just as surprised. ”What are you doing here?”

”I am learning about the culture of Puluo Province. Ink Fragrance Shop represents the peak of Puluo culture. I love this place.”

Li Banfeng looked at him. ”Did you change your tattoo?”

Cedric pulled open his shirt, revealing five big words across his chest. ”Of course.”

”You just changed it like that? Aren’t you worried your founding cultivator might see it?”

Cedric closed his shirt again. ”When he comes, I will change it back.”

Li Banfeng glanced at the poetry club. ”This looks like a matchmaking place. Are you hoping to settle down in Ink Fragrance Shop?”

Cedric sighed. ”I would like to, but the women here doesn’t fancy foreigners.”

As they spoke, a blister swelled on Cedric’s face.

Li Banfeng took half a step back, but Cedric waved a hand to show that he had no ill intentions.

The blister burst, and the green fluid inside turned into a tiny emerald-green figure. A pair of wings sprouted from its back, and it flew over to Li Banfeng’s ear.

Cedric looked at him sincerely as the little figure whispered, ”I have a business proposition I would like to discuss with you.”

Li Banfeng pushed up the brim of his hat with one finger, revealing his eyes and signaling for Cedric to continue.

Cedric controlled the little green figure and spoke slowly. ”Chu Shaoqiang is coming. He wants the territory of Ink Fragrance Shop. My founding cultivator will be here soon as well. He wants Chu Shaoqiang dead. And one of your good friends is coming too. I have some information about him.”

Author’s Note:

PS: Why did Chu Shaoqiang choose Ink Fragrance Shop?

No matter how the world changes, I love my readers.