Nightwatcher

# 29. Cijiu, Hasn't Your Elder Brother Treated You Well?

He glanced at his cousin, who was still maintaining a poker face.

"Ningyan is thankful to the two seniors for appreciating me, but I'm practicing Martial Arts. Although I've studied the classics a little in my childhood, I don't have much knowledge about them now." Xu Qi'an didn't dare comply without figuring out the context.

"It's okay, study and research are done over one's entire life. It's never too late." Li Mubai stroked his goatee with a smile.

*He really appreciates me this much...* Xu Qi'an was astonished.

He thought for a while before he had an idea. He looked at his cousin again, and said smilingly, "That's right, There's no limit to knowledge, I also have a talent for studying. With the help of two seniors, I'll surely surpass Cijiu even if I am a latecomer."

When Xu Cijiu heard that, He let out a 'huh' and said proudly, "My teacher and Mr. Mubai are interested in your poems, like ‘A Send-off for Yang Gong to Qingzhou, in Mianyang Pavilion’".

Immediately after, Erlang's face stiffened and he lowered his head slightly, without daring to look at his teacher and Li Mubai.

*A Send-off for Yang Gong to Qingzhou, in Mianyang Pavilion... So it's like this...* Xu Qi'an's plan targeted Xu Erlang's arrogance and poisonous tongue. So he knew it was true when he heard his words.

After pondering over the matter, He understood the intentions of the two great scholars.

This was indeed a shortcut to getting into the history books. You could refer to Wang Lun and know that he just fawned over Li Bai, and he easily became famous through the ages, and his name has been passed on to this day.

It could be concluded that fawning was a technical job.

Ancient Fawners: fawning on friends and going down in history.

Modern Fawners/Simps: Fawning/Simping on a woman and returning empty.

The trend of worshipping the past and belittling the present was deserved.

The path to officialdom from Cloud Deer Academy was extremely difficult. It's hard to go down in history without being a high-ranking official. In this situation, The role of Xu Qi'an poems became more prominent.

*The old fellows are quite bad...* Xu Qi'an's mouth twitched, a little dissatisfied thar he wasn't accosted due to his handsomeness and character.

But due to his poems.

The two Great Scholars had rough and thick skin, and their smiles remained unchanged.

Xu Qi'an pondered for some time, “My thanks for the two teachers’ appreciation. Ningyan is dedicated to learning, and to refuse would be impolite. I recently had an inspiration and wrote a few good poems. After this matter is over, I'll go to Cloud Deer Academy to visit the two teachers.”

*Two teachers... Xu Cijiu's cousin is much more thoughtful than him...* Li Mubai heaved a sigh of relief, and a smile appeared on his face.

If he tried to rob a disciple from Zhang Shen, The other party had a relationship with Xu Cijiu, So he didn't have many chances of getting him as a disciple.

What Xu Qi'an said was beautiful.

"Since the case is like this, The two of us will wait for you in Yunlu Academy." After Zhang Shen finished speaking, he took a deep look at Xu Cijiu.

"Cijiu, Self Cultivation involves cultivating one's character. You've been Awakened for a year, but you haven't been able to break through to Self Cultivation... mm, go home and copy the sage's quotations 300 times, and give it to me in ten days."

It was like Xu Cijiu was struck by thunder.

"This old man can walk 30 zhang in a single step." Zhang Shen turned around, took a step forward, and disappeared immediately.

Li Mubai deliberately showed off his skills by drawing a circle around his body with his toes, glancing at Xu Qi'an, and said with a deep voice, "Within three inches of this old man, It's not this place, It's the city gate."

After saying that, his figure suddenly disappeared.

Xu Qi'an's eyes widened!

"Cijiu, what realm are these two Great Scholars in?"

As Xu Xinnian was still in despair due to having to write the sage's quotation 300 times, Xu Ershu said, "According to Nian'er, It's the fifth level of Confucianism, Virtuous."

He enthusiastically shared the scene he saw outside the city with his nephew.

*As long as I brag big enough, there isn't anything impossible in the world?* Xu Qi'an was shocked again.

Xu Xinnian let out a turbid breath, looking regretfully at Xu Qi'an, whose trick harmed him, and said in a bad mood," Virtuous can manipulate people's behaviours and use words to manipulate others."

"The core ability of this realm is to have a preliminary grasp of the true meaning of the ability to make laws follow words, and tamper with the laws of some objects to a certain extent. Therefore, It's also called One Word Disrupting the Law."

"Of course, the methods of the two Great Scholars couldn't be achieved by ordinary Virtuous."

The two martial artists were fascinated by what they heard, and Second Uncle Xu remarked regretfully, “Every system has its brand of magic but we martial artists can only be brave and fierce.”

*So they're called vulgar...* The proud Confucian Scholar Xu Xinnian considered that the two vulgar people were both higher than him in seniority and had a good reason to be vulgar, so he didn't say this.

Then, He found his cousin looking at him with burning eyes.

"Erlang..."

"Ugh?"

"Big Brother has treated you well."

"Big Brother, please ask your conscience before saying this."

"Brother, I've something to ask."

"...Speak."

"In the future, When Erlang arrives at the realm of virtue, I need a promise from you."

"...Say it."

“Erlang should say: where’s big brother’s little bird? Oh, his big eagle is wrapped around his waist.”

"You're depraved!" Xu Erlang walked away with a flick of his sleeves.

Xu Pingzhi fell into deep thought after hearing his nephew's words.

...

Xu Qi'an left for the Sitianjian while Xu Pingzhi and his son went to the Changle County Office, since Xu Ershu had asked his sister to stay in the side hall of the Changle County Office before leaving.

It was his first time to come to Stargazing Tower, the tallest building in the capital. Xu Qi'an clicked his tongue and looked at it with great interest.

"Have you ever come to the Stargazing Tower before?" Song Qing asked.

"It's my first time here."

"But you don't seem surprised to see the tower." Song Qing saw the word 'ordinary' in Xu Qi'an's eyes.

But anyone who had seen the tower for the first time had always felt that it was a majestic miracle.

Its foundation was twice the height of a normal house, its pillars were several times thicker than the Panlong Pillars in the Imperial Palace, and its bricks were taller than a person.

The manpower, material and financial resources invested into it was a third of the annual tax revenue of the Great Feng.

What the Sitianjian was most proud of was that the height of the Observatory Tower was unparalleled in the world, and it was difficult for anyone in the world to build a building taller than it.

The alchemists in Sitianjian and the Ministry of Industry jointly designed and built the tower, and it took 12 years to make this unique wonder.

*It's because I'm used to seeing high-rise buildings...* Xu Qi'an smiled and said "My second uncle often said that I had a calm attitude since I was young, and I couldn't change my face even if a mountain collapsed in front of me. That may be my talent."

Song Qing's eyes lit up, and he said with excitement, "Only people with such calmness are worthy of scheming with me."

Xu Qi'an looked at the other person's dark circles and felt that he might have said something wrong.

On the second floor of the Stargazing Tower, he saw Chu Caiwei, who he had met once before. She was wearing a goose-yellow skirt and was sitting at a table with a variety of food arranged on it.

*Steamed lamb, steamed bear's paw, steamed deer tail, roasted duck, roasted chicken, roasted goose...* Xu Qi'an's mind drifted to this meme.[^1]

"Why are you in trouble again?" Chu Caiwei glanced at the little policeman who she had met once and said hello vaguely with her puffed-up cheeks.

"You weren't in the Observation Tower earlier?" Song Qing had already told him about the events beforehand.

"I went to the Eldest Princess's Palace to get some snacks."

Xu Qi'an happened to be quite hungry, so he sat down at the table comfortably, and reached for the chicken legs.

Bang...

Chu Caiwei slapped his pig foot away with her small hands, her big almond eyes were full of vigilance. "Haven't you eaten?"

"Yeah"

"Brother Song, take him back and send him here after he has eaten."

*... I seem to have seen Xu Lingyin's evolved form!* Xu Qi’an’s mouthful of compliments stuck in his mouth; he did not know whether to say them or not.

"Why did you fight with the one surnamed Zhou?" Chu Caiwei suddenly asked while eating.

"I took my sister shopping, and the one surnamed Zhou fell in love with her beauty."

"Is your sister pretty?"

"Not comparable to you."

"Then she must be like an immortal, not like any mortal beauty."

Xu Qi'an looked up at her, her beautiful oval face glowed with a healthy and warm colour in the sunlight shining through the air holes in the wall.

Her eyes were big and round, clear like the stars. Xu Qi'an had rarely seen such anime-like eyes.

*Her appearance would be a match made in heaven in my previous life…*

"The tax case is over, Do you know who lost your second uncle's tax money?" Chu Caiwei sucked her finger.

Xu Qi'an shook his head, "I'm just a small bailiff."

Chu Caiwei raised her eyes to look, and then lowered her head to take a bite of the fried roast duck with crispy skin. "The one who changed the tax money is *Qianhu*[^2] Lu Yuzhi of the Imperial Guard, and Zheng Xin, the hall master in the Ministry of Households."

"So?" Xu Qi'an raised his eyebrows.

"I heard that Zhou Xianping, the Deputy Minister of the Household, is their backer."

"! ! !"

*Fuck...* Xu Qi'an couldn't help but want to swear.

It seemed that a current passed his mind, and he understood many things in an instant.

*So, after hearing my name, the one surnamed Zhou was determined to put me to death, because I cracked the silver tax case and ruined his father's business."*

*He wanted to take revenge.*

*No, maybe what happened today was something he had planned for a long time... Minister Zhou's mansion was in the inner city and quite far away, How did the one surnamed Zhou happen to wander near the Xu Mansion.*

*Unless he was wandering around the Xu mansion on purpose... The one surnamed Zhou investigated me, How couldn't he know Lingyue's appearance... Molesting a respectable woman was acting, the real purpose was to force me to make a mistake and use that excuse to kill me.*

A cold snake seemed to crawl behind Xu Qi'an, and a chill rose in his heart.

---

[^1]: … don’t ask which meme it is

[^2]: Rank, originating in the military, lit. “thousand households”