Chapter 523: Old Ox (Thanks to the silver alliance leader 005!)

Chapter 523: The Old Ox (With gratitude to Silver Alliance Leader 005!)

Hearing the deep skepticism in Scholar Lyu’s voice, Gouwa spoke up with absolute confidence: "You shouldn't even ask that, that's a whole string of cash! If they actually find him, a beggar could use that money to turn his fortunes around, so those wretches will definitely search for Senior Brother Li with everything they've got!"

"Besides, within this capital city, these beggars know the place better than anyone, it's much faster than us searching blindly on our own."

After talking for a bit, he immediately tacked on another sentence, "Yang Xiaohai used to be a beggar, he's the one who told me this method. According to him, plenty of people use this trick to find folk."

"So after all that, this wasn't even your own idea." A look of utter disdain spread across Scholar Lyu's face.

"If I'm using it, then it's my method."

As the two conversed, they began their walk back, a trace of bewilderment appearing on Scholar Lyu's face. "It's been so long, I don't even know if Master is in the capital, but come to think of it, what happens after we find him? Have you thought about what we'll do?"

"After we find him?" Gouwa rubbed his chin, pondering for a moment. "If nothing's wrong with him, then of course that's for the best, we'll all rejoice and head back to Niuxin Village together."

"If his sickness has truly flared up again, then we'll just bind him with the chains we brought along and cart him back, waiting until he clears up on his own."

"If he's run into some other kind of trouble, well, Xiaoman already instructed us to send word back to Niuxin Village at the very first moment, and they'll come over to help."

"In the worst case, if he's dead, then we'll bring him back and bury him on Niuxin Mountain with a grand and spectacular funeral, the shroud bought from that coffin shop back then couldn't be refunded anyway, I've still got it kept away."

"How could my Master possibly die! He cannot die!" Scholar Lyu answered with absolute finality.

"Ai, isn't this just speaking of the worst case, I don't want him dead either, ai, wait, Scholar, isn't that your family's theatrical troupe up ahead?"

Gouwa's words caused Scholar Lyu to look down the distant street, where he discovered it was indeed his own kin.

As they drew closer, Gouwa noticed that his father's complexion was dreadful, clouds of worry hanging thick over him, and three carriages stood halted by the roadside, as if they knew not which way to turn.

"What's wrong with the old man?" Scholar Lyu asked his elder brother, Juren Lyu.

Juren Lyu, whose expression was equally grim, let out a deep sigh. "Father just learned from a storyteller that within this Great Liang Kingdom, theater performers are forbidden from studying to take the imperial examinations for top scholar; here, the descendants of opera singers can only ever be opera singers, generation after generation."

"What exams for top scholar! I'm truly losing my mind, are you blind? You have divine powers and you don't learn them, yet you want to study that rubbish." Scholar Lyu's temper flared instantly.

"You little scoundrel whose feathers haven't even grown in, what do you know!" For a rare moment, Zhuangyuan Lyu grew red-faced and thick-necked, shouting angrily at Scholar Lyu as he aggressively waved three fingers right before his eyes. "Our old Lyu family has three males in total! Three eggs cannot be put into one basket! Do you understand or not?!"

"You, Scholar, want to learn divine powers, and I won't stop you! But no matter how formidable the powers you learn are, it's still a treacherous path! Look at how powerful the young Daoist master is, yet how many times has he walked through the gates of hell! Can you ever be more powerful than him?"

"Since you've taken this path, the other members of the Lyu family cannot take it! Juren taking over the Lyu Troupe to perform big opera is a stable path! Tongsheng studying for the top scholar exams in the future is the way out for our old Lyu family! That way, if one path is blocked, the other paths can still be walked!"

A torrent of words spilled out like poured beans, leaving Scholar Lyu freezing on the spot; Zhuangyuan Lyu had never spoken such words to him in the past, he had only ever commanded him what to do and what not to do, never offering a single explanation.

He had always believed that Zhuangyuan Lyu despised him from the bottom of his heart and was utterly opposed to his learning those arts, never imagining that in his father's heart, his own endeavor was considered a way out for the Lyu family, even if it was a treacherous one.

For a moment, a complex mixture of emotions welled up within Scholar Lyu's heart.

"Hmm? Where did this theatrical troupe spring from? Coming to wild out on my, Golden Leopard's, territory?"

Several hoodlums with slouching postures slinked forward, casting their eyes askance at them. "Have you paid your respects? If not, hurry up and make it good."

"Scram for your lives!" Scholar Lyu lifted his sword hilt, and the copper coins within his robes flew up one after another, condensing into a sword.

Just as Gouwa expected the opposing crowd to scatter in terror, who would have thought those hoodlums would instead burst into loud laughter.

The leader of the hoodlums strutted pompously right up to Scholar Lyu, his face brimming with arrogance.

"I've seen plenty of country bumpkins like you, truly thinking that learning a bit of something makes you lord of the earth?"

"Do you know where this is? The foot of the Emperor's throne! The Directorate of Astronomy is just a few streets away; even if you're a dragon you must coil for me, even if you're a tiger you must lie down for me, my buddy is the gatekeeper for the Directorate of Astronomy! If you have the guts, try moving a finger! Believe it or not, I'll call my buddy to throw every last one of you into the great dungeon!"

Upon hearing the words "Directorate of Astronomy", Gouwa's expression changed abruptly, for Senior Brother Li had explained the nature of this particular government office to him in the past.

He immediately and subconsciously clutched his chest, inside of which lay the Ruyi talisman Senior Brother Li had given him, which absolutely could not be discovered by the Directorate of Astronomy.

Terrified, Gouwa hastily drew close to Scholar Lyu's side, whispering his counsel. "Don't act rashly! They're just a few street-loafing hoodlums, it's not worth it, truly not worth it!"

Scholar Lyu remained rooted to the spot, his face shifting between light and shadow, his hand-held sword neither striking down nor sheathing.

"What? Still want to keep your granddaddy waiting? Chop chop!!"

Just at this moment, Zhuangyuan Lyu stepped forward with a sycophantic smile, holding some bits of broken silver in his hand and mouthing auspicious words to dismiss these hoodlums.

Scholar Lyu gripped his copper coin sword tightly, striking it heavily and viciously against the ground, "Let's go! This place of the capital treats people with too much tyranny!"

He had labored so hard to learn divine powers for so long, yet in this capital city, he was actually bullied by a few street punks, it was truly too suffocating.

"Go? Where can we go?" The heavily wrinkled Zhuangyuan Lyu pulled out his tobacco pipe, puffing away with smacking lips.

"Where can't we go? If all else fails, we go back home! In our hometown, opera performers can take the top scholar exams! Buying a theater house is cheaper than here too!"

"It's gone... long gone..." Zhuangyuan Lyu let out a deep sigh. "It's a good thing we ran fast, the emperor of our old country was dragged out and beheaded, I heard even Four Qi has fallen to ruin."

"Fallen... fallen to ruin?" Scholar Lyu spoke this utterly foreign phrase with a face full of shock.

Although he didn't care in the slightest about which country he belonged to, he was still struck with profound shock upon learning that the place where he had stayed for over a decade suddenly could never be returned to. "Then we can never go back for the rest of our lives?"

"Within ten years, I'm afraid it's hopeless to think about it, I heard Latter Shu is also in utter chaos, this god-forsaken world, who knows when peace will ever settle down." Zhuangyuan Lyu took his finished tobacco pipe, tapped it against the web of his thumb, and then slotted it sideways back into the nape of his neck.

"Little one, let's go, let's find an inn to rest our bones, this place is frightfully expensive, I don't know if we can even find a common bunkhouse."

Having endured so many trials, Zhuangyuan Lyu nevertheless bore it silently like an old yellow ox, pulling the iron plow upon his frame as he continued to trudge forward.

Many thanks for the reward from Silver Alliance Leader 005!!!

(End of Chapter)

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