Becoming an immortal from a canal worker

Early in the morning.

Chen Ping practiced standing meditation in the courtyard, his internal energy and blood slowly flowing along his meridians. After breaking through the Refining Body stage, the condensed energy and blood began to cleanse his liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Each flow brought a faint stinging pain, but there was no longer any danger to his life. It was completely different from the feeling of dancing on the line between life and death when he was refining blood.

He stopped and wiped the sweat from his brow.

My stomach was empty, and it made a gurgling sound.

There was a commotion in the kitchen. Old Liu came out carrying something and put it on the stone table: a bowl of fish and a bowl of rice, almost twice the usual amount.

Old Liu pointed to the bowl of rice and said, "Eat up. A martial artist at the Refining Realm will have a much larger appetite, so this portion will need to be increased in the future."

Chen Ping sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and ate without saying a word.

The fish was stewed until tender and had a hint of ginger flavor. The rice was fresh and fragrant.

After he finished his first bowl, Old Liu had already served the second bowl and pushed it towards him.

Halfway through the meal, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

Chen Ping went to open the door.

Two people stood outside the door, Huang Ya and Yang Sen. Huang Ya's hands were empty, while Yang Sen was carrying a small wooden box behind him. When Chen Ping opened the door, Huang Ya spoke first, raising his hands in a fist and palm salute: "Manager Chen."

Chen Ping spoke up: "Manager Huang."

Yellow Teeth waved his hand, a smile on his face: "Don't mention it, you're in charge with me now, just call me Yellow Teeth."

He turned to the side and gestured towards Yang Sen with his lips.

Yang Sen laughed heartily, carried the wooden box forward, opened it, and inside were neatly stacked one hundred taels of silver, gleaming in the morning light. Yang Sen patted the lid of the box and nodded to Chen Ping.

Yellow Teeth said, "This is my congratulatory gift, please accept it."

Chen Ping glanced at the box of silver, then looked up and said, "Come in, gentlemen, and have a drink with me."

The three sat around the stone table in the courtyard. Old Liu brought out the wine, poured himself a bowl, and sat down to the side. He didn't say a word, but just drank slowly.

Huang Ya and Yang Sen chatted back and forth, talking about gang gossip and interesting stories from the docks, occasionally making a joke about Chen Ping. Their laughter echoed in the courtyard.

After chatting for a while, Huang Ya put down his bowl, stood up, and said he had something to do. Yang Sen also stood up, and the two said goodbye and went out. When they reached the alley entrance, Yang Sen turned around, gave Chen Ping a thumbs up, and then turned and left.

The courtyard fell silent.

Old Liu put the wine bowl on the table without saying a word.

Chen Ping finished the rest of his meal and was about to get up to clear the table when someone knocked on the courtyard gate three times, at a leisurely pace.

Hu Qian pushed open the door and came in, a folding fan tucked under his arm. He first bowed to Chen Ping and said with a smile, "Manager Chen, I'm late, please forgive me."

Chen Ping asked him to sit down, and Liu Laoguo poured him a bowl of wine. Hu Qian took it, held it, and looked at Jing Ye on the shelf next to him. After a moment, he slowly said, "It was the right decision to have this knife with you."

Chen Ping didn't reply, but picked up the bowl and took a sip.

Hu Qian withdrew his gaze, clapped his folding fan twice in his palm, and smiled as he glanced at Chen Ping: "I know you're going to Tianyan Prefecture in the future. If you manage to establish yourself there, could this old man come and take a look?"

Chen Ping raised his head and said earnestly, "Definitely."

Hu Qian paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, downed the wine in his bowl in one gulp, stood up, unfolded his folding fan, waved it lightly twice, and said, "Alright, I'll remember that."

When the sun was high in the sky, Chen Ping and Liu Laoguo went out and hired a carriage to go to Shanyang City.

The wheels rolled over the official road, and the autumn wind slipped in through the gaps in the carriage curtains; it was cool and carried the scent of withered grass.

Old Liu leaned against the car wall with his eyes closed, it was unclear whether he was asleep or thinking about something. Chen Ping sat opposite him, his hands on his knees, watching the fields outside the car window recede into the distance.

About an hour later, they arrived at Shanyang City.

Before even entering the city gate, we could hear the commotion inside.

The sounds of horses' hooves, voices, and shouts mingled together and poured out of the city gate, more than twice as dense as usual. Even the official road outside the city gate had many more vendors on both sides, selling food, incense, candles, and all sorts of sundries, setting up their stalls by the roadside and shouting to attract passersby.

As the carriage entered the city, Chen Ping lifted the curtain and looked out.

South Street was bustling with people.

Normally, this street is just as bustling as usual at noon, but today it was completely different. All the shops on both sides of the street were open, and the shopkeepers stood at their doors, chatting casually with passersby, but their eyes kept scanning the street.

The vendors squeezed their stalls under the eaves, selling candied hawthorns, hot tea, and fried snacks. The smell of oil and sugar mingled together, filling the street.

There are all sorts of people among the pedestrians.

The scholar in the long gown walked hurriedly, his brows furrowed, muttering to himself. He suddenly stopped, paused for a moment in a daze, and then continued walking.

Ordinary people, supporting the elderly and carrying children, with adults holding children and children looking around in confusion, are being pushed forward by adults who hold their heads down.

Groups of idle men leaned against the wall, cracking sunflower seeds, chatting and laughing, but their eyes kept drifting in the same direction.

"The results of the provincial examinations were released today, but it's not time yet," the coachman said from outside. "If we wait another hour, the whole city of Shanyang will be in an uproar."

The carriage got stuck in the crowd for a while and could no longer move, so Chen Ping and Liu Laoguo got off and walked.

The teahouse on the street was full of people, and the owner moved between the tables, serving tea and water without stopping.

At the table by the window, a middle-aged man held a teacup, his eyes fixed on the street. The tea in the cup had gone cold, but he hadn't taken a sip. The woman next to him nudged him with her elbow, and he snapped out of his reverie, grunted, and lowered his head again.

In the corner, a few old men huddled together, whispering amongst themselves. Occasionally, they would glance up at the street, chuckle, and then look down again.

Chen Ping walked forward with the crowd, the voices of people around him reaching his ears.

"I heard this year's exam was difficult; those who could pass in previous years might not be able to this year."

"My son has taken the exam three times already. If he still fails this time, he should just come back and honestly farm. What good is being a scholar if you have knowledge in your mind? You still have to eat."

"What do you know? Getting a degree in the imperial examination isn't something you can do casually. It takes a miracle for someone to come up with one. Do you think it's like your family selling tofu, something you can do whenever you want?"

The two people started arguing, and the onlookers joined in, their laughter echoing through the street.

Further ahead, in front of the high wall where the list was posted, a thick crowd had already gathered, but the red paper had not yet been posted. Several yamen runners blocked the way, pushing the people who were squeezing forward back in waves. The crowd buzzed, tiptoeing to look around, only to be pushed back again, like the ebb and flow of the tide.

A man in a blue robe stood by the wall, his hands tucked into his sleeves, motionless, his eyes fixed on the empty wall, his lips pressed together until they were white.

An old woman next to him tugged at his sleeve and whispered something. He lowered his head and responded, his eyes never leaving the wall.

Not far away, a young man squatted against the wall, clutching a piece of paper in his hand, his head down. The edges of the paper were wrinkled from sweat, and it was unclear how long he had been squatting there.

The whole street was full of people like this: some were stomping their feet, some were rubbing their hands, and some were muttering something with their eyes closed.

There was an indescribable tension in the air, like a taut string about to snap.

Liu Laoguo walked beside Chen Ping, looked around, put his hands behind his back, slowed his pace, and didn't say anything.

Chen Ping didn't linger there and turned to walk towards the Bai family's direction.

The Bai family's house is at the end of South Street, not far away.

Bai Ming greeted the two at the entrance with a cupped hand, his face displaying his usual gentle and considerate demeanor, and led them into the side courtyard.

The side courtyard was small, with an old wooden table, a few chairs, and several stacks of books piled up against the wall, some with curled edges, stacked on top.

Li Wenxiu sat at the table with a book beside her, but she didn't open it; it was just sitting there. Her hands were folded on the table, her eyes glanced out the window for a moment, then looked back, and her fingers unconsciously tapped the tabletop.

Gouwa was sitting opposite him. When Chen Ping came in, his eyes immediately shifted to Liu Laoguo. He strode over and called out, "Master Liu!"

Old Liu glanced at him, grunted, sat down in the chair, picked up the teapot on the table, and poured himself a bowl of tea.

When Li Wenxiu saw Chen Ping enter, she stood up, her eyes flickered slightly, she nodded to him, her lips twitched, but she didn't say anything. She sat down again, her gaze drifting towards the window once more.

Chen Ping found a chair nearby and sat down without saying a word.

Ah San sat on a small stool by the window, his legs dangling so low they couldn't reach the ground, clutching the copper coin in his hand, his eyes glancing towards the door every now and then.

Gouwa sat down next to Liu Laoguo and chattered on and on, talking about the Bai family's relocation in the past few months, about Li Wenxiu's preparation for the exam in the side courtyard, about the nights when Li Wenxiu would study by lamplight until dawn, and about how he would sometimes get up in the middle of the night and see him still sitting there.

As he was talking, he suddenly remembered something, stood up and ran into the inner room. A moment later, he came out with an account book, slammed it on the table, pushed it toward Chen Ping, and puffed out his chest, saying, "Brother Chen, look."

Chen Ping picked up the ledger and flipped through it. The handwriting on the page was neat, the numbers were clearly listed, and every transaction was clearly remembered.

Gouwa looked at him expectantly and said, "Now I can read and write, and I can understand the account books. I can help Brother Chen in the future."

Chen Ping closed the ledger, handed it back, and nodded: "Not bad."

Gouwa grinned, put the account book back in the inner room, and couldn't hide his smugness.

The side courtyard quieted down, with only the wind blowing in from outside the courtyard wall, carrying the faint sounds of people from the street.

Li Wenxiu picked up the teacup, took a sip, put it down, tapped the table twice with her fingers, stood up, took two steps to the window, stood there for a moment, and then sat back down.

No one speaks.

Chen Ping leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling on the stacks of books against the wall. The top one was the most worn out, its spine torn and bound with a thin rope.

Time passed little by little.

The sounds of people on the street gradually grew louder, surging in from afar, buzzing and growing louder, with a few faint sounds of gongs mixed in.

Li Wenxiu suddenly stood up.

He didn't say anything, but strode towards the door, his steps much faster than usual. He left the side courtyard, turned the corner of the corridor, and disappeared at the doorway.

Just as Gouwa was about to speak, Ah San turned around, his eyes sparkling, clutching the copper coin, and whispered, "Sir, you'll win."

Gouwa shut his mouth.

The street erupted in a cacophony of voices, and someone was shouting something in the distance. It was impossible to make out what they were saying, but the energy of the shouts traveled through the walls, making the air in the side courtyard feel even more oppressive.

Old Liu sipped his tea slowly, holding the teacup steadily in his hand.

After a while, footsteps came from the other end of the corridor, approaching slowly but steadily.

The door was pushed open.

Li Wenxiu stood at the door, dressed in a blue robe, her eyes slightly red, but a forced smile appeared on her lips. The smile was a little stiff and bitter, but her eyes were bright.

He glanced around at everyone in the room, his gaze lingering on Chen Ping's face for a moment. His Adam's apple bobbed, and he spoke, his voice a little hoarse:

"I won, fourteenth place."