42: The helpless scholar met Qin Mo again

Cui Xiang Tower.

"To wine, to song! How long is life? Wen Yuan's poem truly captures the essence of wine, marvelous! Absolutely marvelous!"

"Brother Ning, why such false praise? It was merely a spontaneous expression."

Qin Chuan drained his cup, responding casually.

Coming to this pleasure quarter to listen to music was indeed not his intention, but he simply couldn't refuse.

Although Ying Zhou was called Ying Province by the locals, in terms of area, it was merely a single prefecture, falling within the scope of Yu Province.

Just before the autumn examinations, these Xiucai like them still needed to travel to Qiao City, the capital of Yu Province, for the imperial examination.

Before leaving, appropriate networking was essential.

Qin Chuan originally did not want to come to Cui Xiang Tower, but he couldn't withstand his mother Zheng's nagging, so he could only come to socialize.

— The camaraderie of fellow provincials was the most widespread form of assistance.

After arriving, it was as he expected, exceedingly boring.

These so-called talented elites of Yingchuan were merely sycophants.

Now, relying on his widespread reputation, Chen Chuan's standing with these people was no longer on the same level.

The flattery he heard became increasingly tiresome.

Seeing that dusk was approaching, Qin Chuan found a random excuse and excused himself to leave.

By the Yinghe River, a clear breeze and a waning moon.

Qin Chuan, alone, pondered the goal of this reincarnation.

The second stage of the Sage Teacher was necessary.

Although the specific detailed requirements had not yet appeared, if there were no surprises, it should involve fame and the level of Haoran Righteousness.

In terms of fame, Chen Chuan was now considered 'rising in renown,' and even if it were a bit more exaggerated, it would just be a matter of a few poems.

The key lay in the level of Haoran Righteousness.

Although the improvement of this could rely on the endorsement of official titles, in the final analysis, it was still about studying one's own scholarship.

Qin Chuan was still completely confused about this.

Even his current Level 2 Haoran Righteousness was merely a synthesis of knowledge from several lifetimes.

To go further, he needed to take another step on his existing path.

So, what was his own path?

Qin Chuan recalled the class gap between the common gentry and Families of Prominence, the rampant bandits in You Province, and even thought of the actions of his first reincarnation, 'Zhang San.'

Although he still hadn't found it, he felt—it was close!

Leaving the Yinghe River, this place was still some distance from the city, and Qin Chuan was slowly heading back home.

Halfway there, he suddenly thought of something.

This place seemed to be not far from his maid's home.

Should he go and take a look?

As the master, it was proper to care about the family situation of his servants, wasn't it?

— Alright, he was just purely curious.

Qin Chuan's mind was not problematic. From the brief summaries of his past lives and Qing Mo's usual behavior.

He also had some guesses about the origin of this maid.

A fox?

Then he should definitely go and see!

Xiaoyou Village, within Shou County, Ying Zhou.

When Qin Chuan arrived here, he initially thought he had come to the wrong place.

Ten houses, ten empty, like a ghost village.

Surprisingly, these houses were all very tidy, showing signs of being regularly cleaned.

Following an open door, Qin Chuan could even see a full rice jar inside.

But... where had everyone gone?

With this question, Qin Chuan came to the east end of the village, where there was a dilapidated temple.

Qin Chuan originally just glanced casually, but unexpectedly, there was movement inside.

"Humans at birth, are inherently good. Their natures are similar, their habits diverge... Ugh, children are the most annoying. Hmph, it's an insult to scholarship, an insult to scholarship..."

"Hm?"

Listening to the somewhat familiar tone in his ears, an image of a person appeared in Qin Chuan's mind.

Walking forward, as soon as he stepped into the temple, he indeed saw that figure in coarse linen clothes.

"Senior Brother Liu?"

After calling out, the person showed no reaction.

Qin Chuan could only take two steps forward and gently patted his shoulder.

"Liu Yu Shixiong? What are you doing here?"

Hearing this, Liu Yu seemed to wake up.

"Hm? Ah! Oh, Young... it's Wen Yuan..."

Seeing Qin Chuan's figure, Liu Yu was also greatly surprised.

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and said urgently.

"Wen Yuan, this place is not good. Leave quickly, and don't look back!"

With that, he reached out and pushed Qin Chuan outwards.

With one push, Qin Chuan remained motionless.

— What a joke. Although Chen Chuan's physique couldn't compare to Wang Xuan's, he still understood basic force application techniques. How could he be pushed by this frail scholar?

Qin Chuan looked up at Liu Yu's crooked hair bun and disheveled clothes, frowning as he asked:

"What happened?"

Liu Yu was helpless. Seeing Qin Chuan's expression, indicating he wouldn't leave until he understood what had happened, he knew he couldn't hide it.

He could only glance at the outside of the temple with lingering fear, and then said:

"What I'm about to tell you, Wen Yuan, you must not be afraid..."

Qin Chuan: ...

"I am a Xiucai, I won't be afraid. You'd better tell me quickly."

Liu Yu looked at him strangely, as if wondering if a Xiucai wouldn't be afraid.

However, the situation was urgent, and to persuade Qin Chuan to leave, he quickly said with a look of horror:

"Wen Yuan, have you heard of the anomalies in this world, those non-human anomalies, but with intelligence remaining?"

"Hm, I've heard of them. Continue..."

At this point, Qin Chuan really wanted to ask him if he had been kidnapped by mermaids, but considering the low probability.

Compared to that, another guess was more reliable, for example...

"Monsters! I'm restrained by monsters, forced to stay in this dilapidated temple every day and not allowed to leave. Every time I try to escape, I'm caught and brought back, and not only that, they also..."

Hearing this, a flash of inspiration struck Qin Chuan's mind: "Wait, what monsters?"

Just then, a voice suddenly came from outside the door—

"Di Zi Gui, saint's admonition (early edition), first filial piety and brotherhood, next what was it, big sister, I forgot!"

"Chirp chirp~ Bookworm, quickly tell me what comes next!"

"Don't be rude, you must call him teacher! Hurry in and bow."

Qin Chuan: ?

He heard the last sharp cry, and it sounded increasingly familiar.

Soon, two fiery red shadows darted in from outside the temple.

Looking down, he saw two foxes run in front of Liu Yu, standing on their hind legs, respectfully performing the disciple's bow.

Suddenly, one of the little foxes turned its head and saw Qin Chuan on the side, immediately shouting loudly.

"Big sister! Big sister, there's another person here! Is he the new teacher you found for me? He's better looking than this teacher, I want him to teach me!"

"What?!"

The person outside the temple was greatly alarmed, and a ghostly figure suddenly approached.

Seeing this, Liu Yu disregarded everything else and roared: "Don't harm him! Otherwise, even if I..."

Unfortunately, the next scene directly made Liu Yu doubt his perception of reality.

"Young... Young... Young..."

Qing Mo stood still, her eyes darting around, seemingly ready to find a hole to crawl into.

Qin Chuan looked at her with a half-smile: "Oh? Who is this? Why does she look so much like my little maid who disappeared a few months ago?"

"Young Master, I..."

Facing this situation, Qing Mo was also dumbfounded.

Qin Chuan found a nearby step to sit on, pulled over a little fox who didn't know what was happening, and started petting it.

Then he said with an air of composure: "Hm, I'm listening. You can take your time making it up."

Qing Mo: "Um, that... Young Master, you go ahead. Grandma called me home for dinner!"

"Trying to run? Draw a circle and stay within it!"