Chapter 8

In a small courtyard, a few exquisite river stones were piled up to form a small hill. Around the hill, a winding stream was dug, and the swift stream water struck the porcelain bottles deliberately placed at the bends, producing a continuous 'ding ding dong dong' sound, filling the small courtyard with vitality.

At the top of the small hill, a maple tree with red leaves as big as a child's palm was planted. Occasionally, a red leaf would fall, floating down the stream and adding a touch of poetic charm to the courtyard.

On one side of the courtyard were six exquisite bamboo cottages, where the maids and servants lived.

To the north of the courtyard stood a small building shaped like a bamboo shoot. The ground floor had three halls, the second floor was a bedroom, and the smallest top floor, where incense faintly wafted, had a hollow xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument) that could be heard when the wind blew.

Chu Tian closed the courtyard gate behind him and walked to the small building. He climbed the stairs to the second floor and pushed open the bedroom door.

"Red Auntie, it's time to get up and receive guests!" Leaning lazily against the door frame, the pink pom-pom in his hair swayed as Chu Tian chuckled and knocked on the door, calling out to the bed with thick curtains inside.

After a long while, a sweet, honeyed voice, as if filled with countless tiny hooks, slowly seeped into his ears and heart, making his insides tingle: "Chu Tian, Great Head Chu, even the brothels don't have someone as diligent as you."

"Red Auntie, if you say Qinglou is a brothel, aren't you afraid Green Auntie will tear your mouth apart?" Chu Tian smiled brightly, swaying into the room and sitting at the round table in the middle. He picked up a half-empty teapot, washed a teacup, poured himself a cup of cold tea, and sipped it slowly.

Red Auntie giggled, "What's the difference between a zither house and a brothel? Oh, it's just as well you're here, it saves me the trouble!"

The bed curtains moved, and with two 'pa pa' sounds, a palm-sized blood-red book and a one-foot-long jade ruler landed in front of Chu Tian. "Hmm, measure yourself. Another year has passed, have you made any progress?"

The jade ruler was one foot long, with ten long markings, each an inch long, and each inch was divided into ten smaller markings.

Chu Tian raised an eyebrow, smiled, and picked up the jade ruler. He applied a little force, and a point of white light appeared on the ruler, gradually growing longer and approaching the first inch marking.

The bed curtains slightly parted, and a pair of bright, beautiful eyes peered through the gap at the jade ruler in Chu Tian's hand.

After a full cup of tea time, the white light on the jade ruler reached the eight-tenth mark and could not advance any further.

Chu Tian chuckled, looking at the markings on the ruler with self-satisfaction: "Eighty years of cultivation, and I'm just a few days shy of eighteen. Not bad at all!"

Putting down the jade ruler, Chu Tian flipped through the blood-red book. After a dozen pages, he smiled and said, "Red Auntie, look, last year at this time, I only had fifty-five years of cultivation. I gained twenty-five years in one year. I've been quite diligent!"

As he spoke, Chu Tian pulled out a very fine carbon stick from the book's cover and carefully wrote on the page. The book had no names, only a number composed of Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches. Below the number, he wrote, "On a certain year, month, and day, eighty years of cultivation."

The bed curtains moved, and the beautiful eyes disappeared. Red Auntie sighed, "Compared to ordinary people, it's not bad, but that's all. Sigh, who made me end up with you troublemakers?"

The bed curtains moved again, and a palm-sized jade box flew out, landing silently in front of Chu Tian.

Chu Tian put down the book, picked up the jade box, and opened it. Inside were six thumb-sized dark yellow pills, emitting a pungent yet lasting aroma.

"Wow, six Leopard Fetus Pills!" Chu Tian stood up with a smile, bowing lazily to the bed: "Red Auntie, you have a heart. I, Ah Gou, and Ah Que have been squeezing oil from the White Python River for three years, and nine-tenths of the oil has been used on you. You are indeed generous!"

"Get out!" A pillow with a faint fragrance flew out and hit Chu Tian's head hard: "Do you have any shame? How much oil could you have left from that fish stall? These six Leopard Fetus Pills, I had to beg hard for them for you troublemakers."

With a cold snort, Red Auntie said, "Tell those two boys that there aren't many children left from your camp. Don't let them die."

Putting away the six Leopard Fetus Pills, Chu Tian looked solemnly at the bed and said, "Hmm? Red Auntie, have you received news?"

With a light sigh, Red Auntie said, "I was just about to send someone to find you, but you came. It saves me the trouble. Do you remember the Head Zhou you threw into the White Python River?"

"Head Zhou, that old ghost, how could I forget?" Chu Tian touched his cheek and laughed, "Back then, I was young and soft-hearted. I broke Head Zhou's arms, but his vicious wife stabbed me with a dagger. If it weren't for Red Auntie's antidote for the Golden Mouth Viper's venom, I would have been disfigured or dead. What a pity for my handsome face!"

"His son is back!" Red Auntie said calmly, "Zhou Liuyun, Head Zhou's son, went to the capital of the Great Jin twelve years ago to study and became a disciple of the White Egret Academy's cave master. Seven days ago, he returned to Shu Prefecture and became the chief inspector of the Shu Prefecture Academy, the second-in-command under the academy's headmaster."

"Good grief, a scholar as the second-in-command!" Chu Tian frowned.

"Stop being cheeky. He's a proper chief inspector, not some second-in-command," Red Auntie scolded, then said softly, "If he were just a chief inspector, we could break his legs if he causes trouble, and it wouldn't cause much of a stir."

With a heavy sigh, Red Auntie said helplessly, "But he has married into the Ling family. Five days ago, Ling Yinhua, the ninth daughter of the Ling family, became engaged to him. Three days ago, Ling Yue was exceptionally admitted to the Shu Prefecture Academy and became a personal disciple of the academy's headmaster."

"The Ling family is backed by the Chu family, and the Shu Prefecture Academy is the stronghold of Shu Prefecture's literati... spit, spit, the Shu Prefecture Academy is the gathering place of Shu Prefecture's literati." Red Auntie said irritably, "Isn't this trouble knocking on your door?"

Chu Tian frowned, "Head Zhou's son, he's definitely not a good person."

After a moment of thought, Chu Tian stood up with a smile, "Red Auntie, don't worry. I have a way to deal with him. If it doesn't work, I'll ask for your help again."

Smiling, Chu Tian turned and walked away.

Suddenly, the bed curtains moved, and Red Auntie asked lazily, "Do you still have nightmares?"

Chu Tian shivered slightly but continued walking out, "Now they're spring dreams, with you, Red Auntie, and occasionally Green Auntie!"

A cold snort came from behind the bed curtains, and Red Auntie said angrily, "Go outside, I'll help you with your funeral one day!"

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