23: Youzhou, Su Jun's magical jade pendant

Traveling the world was a necessary choice.

Wang Xuan's three life goals destined him to be unable to quietly study and raise his reputation in one place like Chen Chuan.

Furthermore, Qin Chuan was extremely curious about the Da Zhou World.

When he was Chen Chuan, his entire focus was on completing his life goals so he would have the ability to solve the crisis in the Main World.

His current mindset was vastly different.

As the world chosen for his previous reincarnation opportunities, he decided to accomplish his life goals while—

Opening his eyes and taking a good look at this world!

The northern Taiyin is therefore named Youming, or Youzhou.

In ancient times, this area included places like Yuyang and Shanggu.

In Qin Chuan's vague and uncertain memories, if development continued as expected, this place would likely be successively named Zhuo Commandery, Fanyang, Shuntian Prefecture, and Beiping.

Of course, it's not the same world, so one cannot generalize.

If it can't be explained, then it's a parallel dimension!

When Qin Chuan, dressed in a faded white Daoist robe, arrived here, he attracted no attention, even with the bintie sword on his back.

—Traveling martial artists and merchants were a common sight.

Just as Qin Chuan stood at the city gate, sighing and preparing to recite a poem, he heard an urging voice from behind him.

"Hey, you impoverished little Daoist, don't block the path; everyone behind you is waiting."

Qin Chuan could only give up—he was 'Wang Xuan' now and didn't need to recite poems and couplets like 'Chen Chuan'.

Even if he did, it would be useless except for gaining some fleeting fame.

"Off I go, off I go! First, I need to find a place to stay!"

In front of a tavern, Qin Chuan sniffed the aroma of the food inside, shrugging his nose.

He hypnotized himself, saying, "I'm not hungry, I'm not hungry at all."

—Inside the Daoist temple, let alone silver, there wasn't even a single copper coin!

Heaven help him, in his previous life's reincarnation, he was a Young Master of a Family of Prominence who had food brought to his mouth, but in this life, he had to worry about food and drink.

Qin Chuan felt that he was having too much difficulty.

After booking an Inn with the little money he had, it was impossible to even think about eating anything good.

The most infuriating thing was that the tavern's waiter was still arrogantly hawking:

"Distinguished guests, our establishment has just received du kang wine from Ying Zhou! This wine is only found in the heavens; how many times can one taste it in the mortal world? A fine wine praised by an exiled immortal, and it only costs two taels of silver!"

Qin Chuan: ...Damn it!

He now only regretted why this world didn't have anonymous bank accounts; even money houses would do!

If he had deposited some money when he was Chen Chuan, he wouldn't have fallen to this state now.

At this moment, Qin Chuan suddenly heard a surprised greeting in his ear:

"Huh? Master! You're here!"

Qin Chuan turned his head and saw the young girl who had eaten peaches at the Daoist temple earlier.

—Mainly, he saw the large meat bun she was holding!

"Grumble~" Qin Chuan's stomach unseasonably rumbled.

The girl tilted her head and peered at him: "Huh? Where did that sound come from?"

Qin Chuan's old face flushed, but then he deeply understood the principle: as long as I'm not embarrassed, the one who's embarrassed is someone else.

He straightened his face and declared, "This is my cultivation technique; the internal energy flows through my meridians, like thunder from the heavens."

"Oh!"

The girl nodded quickly, looking like she understood nothing but was greatly shaken.

Then, she seemed to remember something.

"Master! You must be a legendary hidden master! Take me as your disciple!"

With that, she 'thumped' down and gave Qin Chuan a grand bow.

Qin Chuan: ???

He had only thought the girl was a little off before, but now it was confirmed.

There was definitely something wrong with her brain!

Looking at the things she held in her hands, Qin Chuan's mouth twitched.

"Let's not talk about whether I'm a reclusive master, but is your disciple-acceptance gift just this meat bun?"

"Huh? Is that not okay?" The girl scratched her head.

Then, she seemed to remember something: "Oh, right. My father wanted me to study, so the tuition fee was ten strips of dried meat and five dou of spirit rice. But the teacher always said I was stupid, and I hate studying! Girls can't gain official positions anyway, so how can studying be as interesting as traveling the martial world!"

At this point, her voice paused, and then she continued, "Master, are you displeased that the tuition is not enough? Wait, I'll go buy some right away."

Seeing the girl about to rush off again, Qin Chuan called out to her with a headache.

"Stop, stop, stop. What is all this about?" As he said this, he suddenly noticed a blind spot:

"Wait, you couldn't even afford a peach, so where did you get the money to buy things?"

"Ah?" The girl didn't expect him to ask this, thought for a moment, and then giggled foolishly.

"Reporting to Master, I recently discovered something strange, and it's this—"

Saying this, she took out the jade pendant Qin Chuan had seen before and, in a rather surprised tone, narrated what had happened to her.

"That day, I was so hungry, and I remembered Master saying this jade pendant was very valuable, so I pawned it. That night, I ate ten big buns and a whole roasted chicken. Wow, I never realized these things tasted so good when I was home before..."

Qin Chuan: Expressionless.

He wanted to see how far this person could deviate from the topic.

A moment later, when a vein was already throbbing on his forehead, the girl finally finished narrating her three meals.

...The next day, I slept until noon! Hey, Master, guess what?"

Qin Chuan said in a flat tone, "The jade pendant came back?"

"Yes, yes! Master, how did you know? When I woke up, the jade pendant I lost yesterday appeared by my pillow. It's truly amazing!"

Qin Chuan was too exhausted to retort; wasn't it obvious!

However, this also reminded him of two possibilities—

First, this jade pendant was a magical item similar to the Qingfeng Sword, capable of moving on its own and returning to its owner.

As for the other possibility, it was...

"You ran away from home; do your family know?" Qin Chuan asked abruptly.

"Hmph, they should know by now. I left them a letter and ran away. They actually wanted to marry me off to a bookworm, even if he's some exiled immortal, so what? Huh? Master, how did you know I ran away from home?"

Indeed.

As if thinking of something, Qin Chuan unconsciously glanced around, and finding nothing, he simply said,

"That's because I can calculate and predict."

The girl's expression clearly showed she believed him, and she excitedly said, "Wow! So amazing! Can you teach me?"

Qin Chuan sighed, "That depends on your performance."

"Huh? So, Master, did you agree to take me as a disciple?"

Qin Chuan: ...

My goodness! How did he accidentally get trapped!

However, since it was already like this... Qin Chuan snatched the meat bun and bit into it fiercely.

—So fragrant!

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something: "Oh, you, what was your name again?"

"Su Jun! Master, you can call me by my nickname, Jun'er."

At the same time, two streets away, a middle-aged man with a goatee covered his face with his hand, looking like he couldn't bear to watch.

"When will Jun'er have enough fun? I hope this kid is sensible! Otherwise, hmph!"

—Evidently, he overestimated Qin Chuan's integrity.