Scripture of Days Past

Seventeenth year of the Yong’an Era, April.

The stock market continued to thrive, and it seemed as if the stock price would never stop rising. The shareholders of the Azure Sun Trade Association had invested almost all their money, and even wealthy investors from other provinces had entered the market. In fact, even the northern wolf fiends, the Immortal Dao, and the Imperial Heavenly Dao were itching to invest.

However, Chu Qiguang didn’t buy into the hype at all. Instead, he was preparing to sell.

At around noon that day, Qiao Zhi approached him and revealed, ”Yi Siman wants to buy shares, but he can’t get his hands on any. He’s asking if I can help him.”

Chu Qiguang’s eyes immediately lit up. ”That’s perfect! We can offload our shares to him! Arrange a time and place for us to meet.”

Qiao Zhi sighed inwardly, feeling very sorry for Yi Siman.

A thought suddenly occurred to Chu Qiguang, and he asked, ”Oh, by the way, has your Infertility Kick taken effect on him yet?”

”I’m pretty sure it has,” Qiao Zhi replied with a nod.

***

That night, Yi Siman sat on a large rock atop a small hill outside Azure Sun County Town, silently gazing up at the moon. It had been over a year since he had last met Omniscient, and he was very much looking forward to their reunion.

He had a habit of keeping journals, and just as he had done during his travels, he had kept a daily record of his transformation over the past year. His goal was to look back at his past self and gain new insights into himself.

Under the moonlight, he opened his journal and began reviewing the entries. The journal’s first page contained words of wisdom Omniscient had given him.

”Even if you’ve let go of your fixation on your saber, what about your fixation on other things? If you ask me, not only do you need to relinquish your saber, but you must also let go of your other fixations.”

***

Sixteenth year of the Yong’an Era, April 3rd.

Master Omniscient is right. I’ve decided to start letting go of my fixation on women tomorrow. To bid farewell to my past self, I’m going to visit a brothel in Azure Sun County for one final night of indulgence.

April 4th.

This is the first day since I’ve pledged to change myself, and I feel more relaxed and focused. I also have more time to cultivate and meditate now.

April 5th.

I failed...

April 6th.

I failed again...

April 7th.

Maybe Master Omniscient wasn’t right after all?

April 8th.

I’ve run out of money. Human brothels are far too expensive. I’m going to try practicing abstinence again.

***

Yi Siman couldn’t help but shake his head in dismay as he read through the first few months of journal entries, during which abstinence had proved to be a real struggle.

July.

It’s been twelve days since I last touched a woman. I feel more focused and energetic. I have more time on my hands and more money as well.

September.

I have turned my back on women to focus exclusively on my martial arts.

October.

I have become a new man.

November.

My heart and thoughts feel as pure as a blooming lotus flower.

Seventeenth year of the Yong’an Era, January.

What is the difference between men and women?

***

At that moment, Yi Siman heard a faint sound in the night. He immediately put away his journal and turned to see a tall, imposing figure approaching under the moonlight. It was none other than the masked Omniscient.

”Master Omniscient!” Yi Siman greeted as he cupped his fist in a respectful salute.

Chu Qiguang was slightly taken aback at the sight of the seven tentacles extending from Yi Siman’s shadow.

He managed to gain two tentacles in just a year? Even I would’ve needed a month or two to make this kind of progress. As expected of one of the brightest prodigies among the northern wolf fiends.

”I can see that you’ve made significant progress over the past year,” Chu Qiguang remarked with a nod of approval.

”It was all thanks to your guidance, Senior,” Yi Siman replied gratefully. ”I’ve been able to let go of my fixations and step onto the right path.”

”I heard you’re interested in buying shares?” Chu Qiguang asked.

”That’s right,” Yi Siman confirmed. ”The Azure Sun Trade Association’s stock price is rising rapidly, and I’ve been trying to get into the market, but there aren’t any shares available for me to buy. Can you help me, Senior?”

”I do have a few subordinates who hold a decent number of shares.”

Yi Siman’s eyes instantly lit up. ”Would you be able to sell me some of those shares, Senior?”

”How much money are you willing to invest?”

”Two hundred thousand taels of silver,” Yi Siman replied with a slightly bashful expression.

At the moment, shares in the Azure Sun Trade Association were among the hottest commodities around, so it felt like he was asking for too much. At the same time, he couldn’t bring himself to pass up such a golden opportunity.

Chu Qiguang pretended to mull over Yi Siman’s request for a moment before saying, ”I suppose I can afford to spare you that much.”

Yi Siman was ecstatic.

”Thank you, Senior!”

”There’s no need to thank me,” Chu Qiguang replied. ”It seems to me that you’ve let go of one fixation, only to replace it with another. Right now, you’re allowing these external affairs to sway your emotions, but once you’ve truly let go of all fixations, you’ll come to realize that everything is but a dream.”

A thoughtful look appeared on Yi Siman’s face as he hung on Chu Qiguang’s every word.

***

Even after securing two hundred thousand taels of silver from Yi Siman, Chu Qiguang still wasn’t satisfied.

Selling all my shares directly through the market would attract too much attention, so I’ll have to find more buyers I can deal with privately.

With that in mind, Chu Qiguang turned his gaze toward Luo Binghong, and a sense of foreboding immediately welled up in her heart. However, Chu Qiguang didn’t say anything to her.

Instead, he beckoned Wang Cailiang over with a smile and asked, ”How many shares do we have right now, and how much profit would we make if we sold all of them?”

”We started buying when the stock price was one tael and nine qian, and we continued buying as the stock price rose. In total, we invested four hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver for one hundred and eight thousand shares. If we can sell them all at the current price, we’ll get a million taels of silver, which means we’d make a profit of five hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver.”

By the end, Wang Cailiang’s voice was trembling with excitement.

Luo Binghong had been by Chu Qiguang’s side this entire time, so she knew that he had to have made a lot of money, but she was still astonished to hear the actual figures.

Is it really that easy to make money from stocks? I can’t believe he’s made this much in less than a month!

This revelation stunned her even more than the power that Chu Qiguang had displayed when subduing her, and she was once again itching to enter the stock market.

Chu Qiguang could see that she was hooked, so he moved in for the kill.

”Do you want to buy some shares?” he asked.