Chen Kuang had quoted an outrageous price, not expecting Lian Mi to actually give it to him.
This was textbook "ask sky-high to settle for earth-low."
He fully expected to haggle, maybe once, maybe several times, and if Lian Mi ended up offering a single tael of silver, that would already be considered a win.
Worst-case scenario, she'd offer the five copper coins she mentioned earlier.
But unexpectedly, Lian Mi didn't even attempt to haggle and handed him a full tael of gold.
Chen Kuang stared at the few solid gold leaves in his hand and fell silent for a moment.
These gold leaves were finely crafted, likely circulated only among the highest echelon of wealthy merchants and aristocrats. Their value likely even exceeded that of standard gold.
According to the current official exchange rates in Liang, one tael of gold was equivalent to roughly twenty taels of silver.
One tael of silver, in this era, could buy about ten kilo of rice.
Back when the Chen family sold Chen Kuang, they only got a single kilo of rice in return...
These small gold leaves could be traded for the lives of hundreds.
And this was minted currency from the Yang Kingdom. Compared to Liang's, it was worth at least a third more.
Not because of any political reason but simply because the Liang Kingdom's mint workers would cut corners, mixing brass into their coins to pass them off as gold.
These workers would then bribe local officials to turn a blind eye, letting these debased coins enter the market under official endorsement for personal profit.
In contrast, the Yang Kingdom's regulation was stricter, their coinage purer, more trustworthy, and naturally more valuable.
The rot in Liang's institutions could be seen even in these minor details.
To give away a tael of gold so casually to a stranger...
It seemed her "flower courtesan lady" really had failed in teaching her...
That's what Chen Kuang thought to himself, but he still pocketed the gold leaves.
He was going to be living as a mortal for a while, and without money, nothing could be done.
Since the flower courtesan failed to teach her properly, he'd take over on society's behalf and give this little maid a taste of the real world, so she'd understand things weren't as simple as they seemed and wouldn't be fooled so easily again.
Sigh. What a good person he was..
Chen Kuang solemnly said, "Naturally. I definitely won't tell anyone... Besides, what good would it do me to talk?"
Lian Mi put away her little pouch and gave a huff.
"As long as you know. If my lady finds out, she'll take all the money back, and then you won't even have a place to cry."
She lifted her skirt and, with a light flip, climbed in through the window, elbowing the prop bar on her way, letting the window drop shut.
So practiced?
Chen Kuang raised an eyebrow.
Lian Mi caught his look, clapped the dust off her hands, and proudly explained, "I always have to be ready to serve my lady, especially in the mornings for makeup and dressing. If I sleep late, I just climb in through the window to save time."
Chen Kuang glanced at the sky outside and asked, puzzled, "Not today?"
Lian Mi gave him a baffled look. "It's a rest day."
Chen Kuang: "..."
Damn. He'd forgotten that even in this world, ordinary folks had "rest days."
Basically, holidays. But in most cases, only officials and certain respectable professions got them. Common laborers still worked every day; otherwise they wouldn't make enough to eat, much less rest.
Every country had its own rest and bathing system, liang rested every five days; Yang, every seven.
Since escaping from the Heavenly Prison, it had been nearly a month of running for his life. Chen Kuang barely had time to sleep, let alone remember such details.
He rubbed his temples. "I was being dumb."
He just didn't expect... that even flower courtesans got days off.
Lian Mi generously waved it off. "You were in the water too long. Of course your brain's gone soggy. Just don't forget the story you owe me."
"My lady has today off, and I've got nothing to do. If you're not planning to leave, you can tell me stories all morning. Hurry up."
"...." Chen Kuang had a feeling she was insulting him in a roundabout way.
What a grudge-holding little girl...
Chen Kuang cleared his throat. "Of course I haven't forgotten. Let me tell you, back in the day, I was born to a military family. We were quite well off. Later, I became a drillmaster in the Imperial Guard..."
He spoke slowly and smoothly, painting a long, twist-filled tale.
Of course, it wasn't actually his story. It was a mix of Water Margin and Journey to the West, from the snowy temple of the mountain god, all the way to worshipping Patriarch Bodhi at the Slanting Moon Three-Star Cave.
He picked only the most exciting parts and the most intense conflicts to narrate.
The villains, Gao Qiu, the Jade Emperor, and others, were all replaced with the sanctimonious Martial Saint Mu Zhao.
Lian Mi listened, utterly entranced. When it got exciting, she clapped and exclaimed. When it got absurd, she laughed until she bent over. Even her earlier heartache over the gold was forgotten.
If she'd heard such a tale told by a street storyteller, she'd have emptied her wallet in tips.
Now, only a portion of it was spent, it was still a bargain, really.
Of course, since the story was so fantastical, she didn't even catch the plot holes.
The Yang Kingdom revered literature, but it leaned toward highbrow forms, poetry, refined essays, flowery diction to show off talent.
Not only would regular people not understand them, sometimes even literate folks couldn't read all the characters.
These scholars prided themselves on elegance, so they wouldn't stoop to writing stories for commoners. Even if they did, it would be convoluted and end with some lofty moral, leaving readers bored stiff.
So, ordinary people naturally listened to stories written for ordinary people.
Though this was a world where gods and ghosts were real, that very fact meant people were reluctant to write about them, because no one knew whether putting a certain name in ink might offend some powerful cultivator.
And the price wouldn't be a copyright fine, it would be their life.
What Chen Kuang was telling, supernatural stories, told masterfully, was nearly unheard of.
But he didn't plan to finish it all at once. He wanted to draw it out slowly.
When he thought it had gone on long enough, he said, "And if you want to know what happens next..."
Lian Mi immediately handed over another gold leaf and looked at him expectantly. "Here."
Chen Kuang: "..."
Just how many stories have you listened to?! How are you this practiced!?
But Chen Kuang was not a man swayed by money.
He slapped her hand away with a pa! and said seriously, "According to Jianghu custom, the story ends here, if you want to know what happens next, wait for the next installment."
Lian Mi puffed her cheeks. "I've never heard of this Jianghu custom..."
Chen Kuang said confidently, "It's mine."
Lian Mi asked curiously, "What's your name, then? Which colonnade or theater do you work in? How come I've never heard of you?"
Market and entertainment districts, were places where people came to hear songs and stories. Storytellers usually worked there.
The more skilled ones would partner with teahouses or restaurants instead of jostling with acrobats for a spot.
By now, she no longer thought he was some noble runaway. She figured he was a professional storyteller who'd had an accident and fallen into the river.
Chen Kuang shook his head, amused. "I'm no storyteller."
"With that smooth mouth of yours, how could you not be?"
Lian Mi didn't believe him, but then she looked at his face and hesitated. "Then what do you actually do?"
Suddenly, a clear and gentle woman's voice came from behind her.
"I'm quite curious myself, just who are you?"
"Ah!" Lian Mi jumped, quickly turned around, and cried out, "My lady! Why are you here?!"
Chen Kuang looked up and saw a slender, beautiful woman in pale green robes.
Her long black hair was casually coiled into a drooping crow-bun, adorned with green jade and crimson rouge.
Though her attire was loose and unkempt, her clean, elegant features gave her a cold allure rather than vulgarity.
She wore a pale green outer robe over a white cross-collared inner garment. Beneath it, the upper edge of a peacock-blue dudou could be faintly seen.
Two thin neck straps, apparently weighted below, left a faint red mark on her slender, snowy-white neck.
This woman could only be Lian Mi's "lady", the famed flower courtesan of Zangfeng Prefecture:
Liu Qingcheng.
She stepped gracefully into the room, and only then did Chen Kuang notice she was holding a long-haired cat.
The cat was quite peculiar. All four legs were shorter than usual, but its face was charming and adorable.
Liu Qingcheng gave Lian Mi a half-scolding look.
"You, I had to come personally, or I fear you'd let him swindle you out of both yourself and your money."
Lian Mi hurriedly shook her head. "I gave it willingly! Not a swindle! He tells great stories, and I paid because I wanted to!"
Liu Qingcheng was half-exasperated, half-amused. "So you're saying you'd get sold and then help him count the money?"
Lian Mi opened her mouth, looking confused. "But I haven't been sold... I'm still in my own room."
Liu Qingcheng sighed, turned to Chen Kuang, and said:
"Sir, may I ask again, who exactly are you? If you can't answer, I'll have to report this to the authorities."
When a provincial flower courtesan talks about "reporting to the authorities," it definitely doesn't just mean reporting to the authorities.
It might even alarm cultivators...
Chen Kuang shrugged. "I was just about to explain."
He stood up and clasped his hands in a polite bow.
"My name is Chen Ruogu. I am a musician. I have long admired Lady Liu's talent and elegance, and hoped to find work at Xuni Pavilion. That is why I resorted to this roundabout Method, approaching via falling into the river. It was not done with ill intent."
After all, "Chen Kuang" had already "died" publicly, in full view of all, and by the hand of the Martial Saint.
No matter what, no one would believe he could come back to life anytime soon.
As long as he didn't draw too much attention to himself, even keeping his real name might have been fine.
But out of caution, Chen Kuang opted to use this somewhat familiar pseudonym.
Lian Mi widened her eyes in disbelief.
This guy... doesn't even bother drafting his lies in advance?!
He clearly hadn't even known where this place was earlier, and only learned the name "Xuni Pavilion" from her. And now he's suddenly claiming he came here on purpose to find work?
That he fell into the river just to get close?
Lian Mi wanted to speak up and question him.
But when Chen Kuang glanced at her sideways, she kept her mouth shut.
She still wanted to hear the rest of the story... And besides, this guy acted silly and dazed, but really didn't seem like a bad person.
If he were truly a villain, would he really have wasted all that effort just to tell her such a long story?
Liu Qingcheng took all of this in silently. Though she found it a bit ridiculous, she also couldn't help but feel a little curious.
Just what kind of story had this man told, that could so completely enrapture her little maid?
She had only arrived just now, and caught only the end of the tale. It did seem interesting... but she hadn't heard enough to understand why Lian Mi was so taken.
Liu Qingcheng was silent for a while. She gently stroked the cat in her arms.
"I already have plenty of musicians here," she said.
Chen Kuang smiled. "That's because you haven't met a good one yet. Would Lady Liu not care to hear me first?"
This man... was arrogant beyond belief.
Xuni Pavilion was practically a mandatory stop for any reputable scholar visiting Zangfeng Prefecture.
Its musicians were the height of refinement.
Among them were even former court musicians retired from the imperial palace. Unless someone was truly famous, they wouldn't dare look down on these people.
And yet he dared claim none of them were any good?
Utter arrogance.
Liu Qingcheng chuckled softly. She had been about to reject him outright when she suddenly felt someone tug her sleeve. Turning, she saw her little maid looking up at her with a pitiful gaze.
...
Chen Kuang's unorthodox method of applying for a job did not win the approval of HR.
Liu Qingcheng didn't even allow him to perform a single piece, instead, she accepted him as a general errand boy.
He was assigned a room in the servants' quarters. Although narrow and simple, it was still a private room, not the communal sleeping space.
Naturally, it was quite far from Lian Mi's room as a personal maidservant.
Maybe it was to prevent him from further misleading the little maid.
Chen Kuang also learned that Xuni Pavilion was quite different from the brothels he had imagined.
For instance, the entire establishment catered to only one courtesan,Liu Qingcheng. There were no other girls. Everything revolved around her.
Even among the literati, most couldn't even catch a glimpse of Liu Qingcheng's face. At most, they could play a game of tea-and-poetry downstairs, and if they impressed enough, they might be allowed to share a cup of tea with her, separated by a curtain.
So far, it was said that only one Tower Ascension Realm cultivator had ever sat face-to-face with Liu Qingcheng.
As for anyone who had been accepted into her bed chamber, such a person had yet to appear.
Which made sense. A precious commodity must be carefully hyped up and marketed to achieve maximum value.
"Now that I think about it, not only did I get to see Liu Qingcheng's face today, I saw her just after she woke up... That's gotta be a win, right?"
Chen Kuang laughed to himself, sat cross-legged on the bed after tidying up the blanket, and exhaled slowly.
A new line had long since refreshed in his status panel during his river drift:
[You narrowly escaped death under a Martial Saint's hand with only Tower Ascension Realm cultivation. You have gained the passive ability: 'Root of Life and Death'.]
[Each time you save a life or take one, you accumulate one unit of karmic power.]
"Karmic power..."
Chen Kuang narrowed his eyes.
He had only ever heard one person mention this term.
Huo Hengxuan had once told him that the Buddhist heir "Lionheart" once tried to amass karmic power through a path of secular trials, to cross the Sea of Bitterness and attain sainthood.
"In other words... karmic power may be the key to becoming a Saint!"
Chen Kuang's heart burned with excitement.
What he feared most was that, someday, his cultivation speed would stagnate.
Cultivation could rise, but what about mental state? Or other prerequisites?
If future breakthroughs required a matching state of mind or special conditions, then even "Destruction and Rebirth" would be useless.
All the cultivation in the world couldn't support a hollow shell.
But now, with this passive, it meant that when the day came for him to pursue sainthood, there might be one less hurdle in the way.
That would be a concern for the future...
What Chen Kuang cared about more right now was the cultivation technique from the merman bloodline, and the two Divine Abilities it came with.
The cultivation method was called:
"Illustrated Canon of the Dragon's Harmonious Offspring".
And the two Divine Abilities were:
"Parting the River into Land" as well as, "Pearl-Wielding Serpent Transformation"