Chapter 24

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Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly held the letter containing the secret that his mother had given him.

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

Zhao Chen finally escaped a disaster. The old Taoist, being kind-hearted, saw Zhao Chen's sincere repentance and gave up the idea of taking him to see those people.

In fact, he just wanted to use those people to shock Zhao Chen. The sight of the young boy had startled him; at such a young age, he looked utterly hopeless, without any goal in life. This was all due to idleness, thinking about all sorts of nonsense, and even thinking himself to death!

The more the old Taoist thought about it, the angrier he became. He stood on the road and began to scold loudly.

Zhao Chen kept his head down, showing a respectful and obedient attitude, enduring the old Taoist's loud reprimands. He also deeply regretted his earlier thoughts, wondering why he had been thinking about such nonsense! He was only fifteen this year! There were so many meaningful things waiting for him to do!

After being scolded by the old Taoist, he finally opened up. Watching the old Taoist walk away alone, his back looked somewhat lonely.

Although Zhao Chen didn't see the people on the other side, he could guess who they were. Those who had crawled out of a pile of corpses, how many of them could be normal? Recalling the old Taoist's calm expression when he smelled the stench of Liu Cheng's corpse, he must have gotten used to it by now!

The construction of the Ge Wu Academy's buildings was finally completed, a few days earlier than Zhao Chen had expected. This was entirely reasonable, as the young nobles had personally rolled up their sleeves and joined in, and the household guards had no reason to slack off. If not for the city gates being locked at night, the construction would have been completed even earlier.

Rows of small bungalows were neatly arranged in the Ge Wu Academy's courtyard, with a style completely different from the current Tang Dynasty. The spacious and bright windows and doors could be closed when it was cold and opened for ventilation when it was hot.

The exterior walls were freshly painted with white lime, and the bright windows and doors made everything look refreshing.

The young nobles' mouths were almost split to their ears. Although the houses all looked the same, they could sense something different about them, feeling that their own houses were a bit better than others.

This was the result of their labor! For the first time in their lives, these rascals experienced the fruits of their own labor. Although most of the credit should go to the household guards, their contribution couldn't be ignored.

Since they were sharing the fruits of their labor, Zhao Chen decided to cook several large tables of dishes himself. Sweet and sour ribs, braised lion's head, braised pork knuckle, stewed mutton, and more. The table was full of dishes, but there wasn't a drop of alcohol.

Li Yuanjing, that drunkard, saw the table piled high with dishes but found no alcohol, and immediately started shouting.

It was understandable that they couldn't drink alcohol normally, but since today was a celebration, how could there be no alcohol?

Zhao Chen, gnawing on a pig's trotter, looked at the agitated Li Yuanjing and nodded toward the old Taoist in the courtyard, meaning that if he wanted alcohol, he should ask the old Taoist.

Li Yuanjing glanced back at the old Taoist's figure in the courtyard and immediately deflated like a punctured balloon, quickly deflating. He then picked up a pig's trotter and bit into it fiercely, as if he had a grudge against it.

Seeing Li Yuanjing, who had been shouting loudly just a moment ago, suddenly fall silent, Zhao Chen felt a surge of joy. It was at Liu Cheng's house that he discovered the young nobles' respect for the old Taoist, which led him to lure the old Taoist to the Ge Wu Academy.

The old Taoist's reputation was not exaggerated. In the previous dynasty, Emperor Yang had repeatedly tried to invite the old Taoist to the palace, but was refused. In the current dynasty, Li Yuan had also tried several times, but was also refused.

To be able to refuse invitations from the top bosses of two dynasties, in the entire Tang Dynasty, there was probably only the old Taoist!

But now, the old Taoist was a member of the Ge Wu Academy, and Zhao Chen felt a sense of pride when he thought about it. Look, a person whom two dynasties' top bosses couldn't invite, had been lured by him, an unknown young man!

Li Er's nose must have been about to explode with anger. The old Taoist could have directly joined the Ge Wu Academy, but Zhao Chen insisted on taking a roundabout way, asking the old Taoist to go to the Ministry of Personnel for an official appointment. With the official appointment, he would truly be a member of the Ge Wu Academy.

The old Taoist, being a man of virtue, calmly walked into the Ministry of Personnel, extended his hand, and said, "I, the poor Taoist, want to join the Ge Wu Academy. Give me an official appointment!" The officials at the Ministry of Personnel, without hesitation, went to the Gannu Palace and returned with the official appointment for the old Taoist.

Now that the old Taoist had joined the Ge Wu Academy, the construction of the buildings was also completed. The canteen, dormitories, and bathrooms were all built. The dormitories were constructed according to a twenty-square-meter standard, with only one bed, one wardrobe, and one desk, making them clean and tidy.

Only Wang Xiaotong was missing! It had been several days, why hadn't the old man come to the Ge Wu Academy? Could he have found a way to solve the problem? It was unlikely! That was a quadratic equation. If Wang Xiaotong had solved it, he would be too extraordinary!

Wang Xiaotong didn't come, but a man named Li Chunfeng did. He wore a purple Taoist robe, a seven-star cap, and held a duster, walking calmly into the Ge Wu Academy and smiling at Zhao Chen, saying, "Amitabha, I heard that the tea here is unique in the world. I specially came to ask for a cup. Will you grant me one?"

Seeing Li Chunfeng, Zhao Chen's heart immediately went on high alert, even more nervous than when he first met Li Er. This man was a famous figure in later generations! A book of predictions, the "Tui Bei Tu," made him one of the top ten prophets in China. Saying that he could predict five hundred years into the past and five hundred years into the future was not an exaggeration.

Zhao Chen knew his background all too well. If his identity was exposed, he might as well run away as far as possible. If he fell into Li Er's hands, it would be a miracle if he wasn't dismembered!

Internally, he was extremely nervous, but on the surface, he acted as if nothing was wrong. He brewed a new cup of tea for Li Chunfeng, slowly sat down next to the old Taoist, and listened to Li Chunfeng chatting with the old Taoist.

He didn't hear what they were saying, only paying attention to Li Chunfeng's expression. If anything seemed off, he would have to eliminate Li Chunfeng first, before the old Taoist could do anything!

Unfortunately, until Li Chunfeng left calmly, Zhao Chen didn't find an opportunity to use his crossbow, leaving him with a sense of regret.

"Why are you so afraid of him?" After Li Chunfeng left, the old Taoist looked at Zhao Chen with a strange expression, clearly puzzled.

"Which eye did you see me being afraid of him?" Zhao Chen stretched his neck, arguing, though he was clearly guilty but unwilling to admit it.

"The poor Taoist saw your hand always hidden under your robe. It must be a crossbow, right?" The old Taoist, seeing Zhao Chen's unwillingness to admit it, didn't press further and continued to study the prescription he had been working on.

Zhao Chen, hearing this, was stunned and looked down to see his hand indeed hidden under his robe, tightly gripping the crossbow.

It was over. If the old Taoist had noticed, Li Chunfeng must have noticed too!

He sat dejectedly next to the old Taoist, and after a long time, said with a melancholy expression, "Master, that man is from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau! He can predict five hundred years into the past and five hundred years into the future!"

"Do you believe it? I don't!" The old Taoist, without looking up, said with a dismissive expression, mimicking Zhao Chen's tone.

Zhao Chen wanted to shout at the old Taoist that Li Chunfeng was the one who created the "Tui Bei Tu," a man of great wisdom! But seeing the old Taoist focused on his prescription, he sighed and silently stood up and left.

When he returned to his room, he saw Qin Haidao and Liu Huer writing at the table. Liu Huer looked like he was ready to fight, gritting his teeth and glaring.

Qin Haidao, on the other hand, looked relaxed and carefree. After writing a piece, he would glance at Liu Huer and sneer, thinking the fool couldn't even write half a piece in the same time.

Zhao Chen didn't have the heart to pay attention to the two boys' competition. Li Chunfeng's sudden visit had left him in a terrible mood. He lay on the bed, frowning, and thought about why Li Chunfeng would visit the Ge Wu Academy for no reason.

It couldn't just be for a cup of tea. But why? He couldn't figure it out, no matter how hard he tried.

His head ached from thinking, and he fell asleep without realizing it. In a daze, he felt a hand touch his forehead, then quickly run away. A while later, he heard steady footsteps enter the room and touch his forehead again.

After that, he knew nothing.

When he woke up again, the room was quiet, and Qin Haidao and Liu Huer were nowhere to be seen. His head was heavy, and his lips were painfully sore. He stuck out his tongue and found it covered in bright blisters, a clear sign of internal heat.

Thirsty, he got out of bed to get a drink of water. His gaze fell on the wooden buckets under the windowsill, where black soil had sprouted tiny green shoots.

Yellow sprouts pushed through the soil, their tender bodies bent under the weight of a small clod of earth, but they continued to grow stubbornly.

These sprouts belonged to potatoes, and the buckets also contained corn and high-yield wheat. It was almost the first year of the Zhenguan era, and the Tang Dynasty would soon receive tributes from all regions. Zhao Chen's tribute would be these high-yield crops from the future.

Years of war had left China in ruins, with the people suffering. These crops, more than a tribute to Li Er, were a gift to the people of the Tang Dynasty.

Only by presenting them to Li Er, the top boss, could they spread throughout the Tang Dynasty. Otherwise, it would take a long time to promote them widely.

As he leaned over the bucket, carefully observing the yellow sprouts that had just emerged, the door opened, and Old Qin, dressed in casual clothes, entered, looking sternly at Zhao Chen.

"Awake?"

"Awake!"

"Since you're awake, go home. You've been gone for so long, and you haven't even gone home!"

Zhao Chen, hearing this, was momentarily stunned. Realizing what Old Qin meant, he opened his mouth and burst into tears.