The Republic of China: From Storyteller to God

"Mr. Chen? You mean Chen Xiangwan?"

Liu Che knew immediately that Chen Xiangwan had come to see him.

Seeing that it wasn't too late, he decided to go out again and go to Chen Xiangwan's house.

The broker took him there once, and he remembered the location.

Arriving at Chen Xiangwan's house, Liu Che knocked on the door.

Shortly after, Chen Xiangwan opened the door.

Upon seeing that it was Liu Che, he greeted him with a cupped-hand salute: "Brother Liu, you're back. Please come in."

He looked much better than the day before yesterday, and seemed much more energetic.

"Brother Chen, you came to the inn looking for me? What's the matter?"

As Liu Che spoke, he led him into the house.

Upon entering, Liu Che discovered that all of his personal belongings had been put away and the house had been cleaned thoroughly.

"Please have a seat."

Chen Xiangwan invited Liu Che to sit down, and then solemnly took out the house deed and placed it in front of Liu Che.

"Brother Liu."

He said seriously, "You helped me out of a predicament the other day, and you paid me more than five hundred silver dollars."

I don't have anything of value. The only thing that's worth something is this house.

"Take the house first, and I'll pay you back the rest of the money slowly."

"Brother Chen, what are you saying?"

Liu Che pushed the property deed back: "Didn't we agree? You let me see [My Destiny's Tale], and this debt is settled."

"No, that won't do."

Chen Xiangwan shook her head and said seriously, "You saved my life, and I would gladly give my life to repay you."

What's more, you offended the Shahe Gang in order to save me.

Besides, I only showed you "My Favorite Storybook" once.

You are exceptionally talented; even without reading my "My Favorite Storybook," you will have the opportunity to learn it on your own in the future.

However, it is truly difficult to repay your kindness in this way.

I've wronged too many people in my life, and I really don't want to owe my friends any more.

If you consider me a friend, please don't refuse.

This guy is really stubborn.

Liu Che shook his head helplessly before smiling and saying, "If you consider me a friend, then don't give me this house, otherwise you'll be harming me."

Chen Xiangwan was taken aback by his words: "Brother Liu, what makes you say that?"

Liu Che glanced at him and immediately made no attempt to hide anything: "To tell you the truth, I have a murder case against me, and the imperial court has issued a warrant for my arrest."

Even if you give me the house, I can't transfer the ownership.

"Is this really true?"

Chen Xiangwan was taken aback, but quickly accepted it.

Judging from Liu Che's skills and his attitude towards the Shahe Gang, it's clear that he's no ordinary person.

After a moment's thought, Chen Xiangwan took back the property deed: "If that's the case, then I haven't considered things carefully."

Liu Che chuckled and comforted him, "We agreed on a rental, so let's stick to the lease. At worst, you can let me stay for a few years, and I'll consider it repayment for the favor, how about that?"

Chen Xiangwan thought for a moment and smiled, "Then it's settled. You can move in tonight! I've already made room for you."

As he spoke, he got up and went into the inner room, where he took out a packed package.

"I've already moved all my things out. There are new bedding inside, so you can just move in."

Seeing that he had taken out a package, Liu Che quickly advised, "Even if I move in, you don't have to move out, do you?"

"I only need a small bed to sleep on, a side room will suffice."

"What kind of logic is this, putting you in a side room?"

Chen Xiangwan smiled: "Brother Liu, you don't need to overthink it. Actually, I've already planned to leave Guangzhou."

"Oh?"

Liu Che raised an eyebrow: "Where are you going?"

With a soft sigh, Chen Xiangwan sat down and lamented, "That day, when the Shahe Gang forced me to tell that story of Qin Qiong selling his horse, I suddenly realized that after more than ten years of storytelling, I've only just begun to understand how to tell stories properly."

My master was right. I was too incompetent, and it was a stretch for me to graduate back then.

I now realize that I still have so much to learn.

Looking up at the house, his eyes were complicated: "Back then, I went out to work hard for Chunmiao, and by some twist of fate, I learned to tell stories."

I missed Chunmiao because of my storytelling, and in the end, we were separated by death.

After returning here, I made a living by telling stories in order to take care of Chunmiao's orphaned son, but this caused the child to turn against his biological father and his character to deteriorate.

Over the years, I haven't been able to do anything well.

Looking back now, it was a real failure!

Listening to his lament, Liu Che did not choose to comfort him this time, but said seriously: "You seem to be calm and honest, but in reality you are indecisive, always looking back and forth, and always swayed by others."

The current situation is ultimately their own fault.

These words were quite harsh, but Chen Xiangwan was not angry. Instead, she stood up with emotion and bowed solemnly to Liu Che.

"I've lived a muddled life, and I don't have a single close friend."

"To have a friend like Brother Liu who speaks so frankly and points out my mistakes today, I can say I have no regrets in this life."

Seeing this, Liu Che got up and helped him back to his seat before smiling and saying, "Brother Chen has wasted half his life, and now that he has suddenly come to his senses, it is a joyous occasion."

Chen Xiangwan sighed deeply, "Unfortunately, I realized it too late, far too late..."

After a long while, he took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

"So, I've made up my mind."

He looked at Liu Che, and the frown between his brows dissipated considerably: "I plan to leave Guangzhou Prefecture and head north to find my master. I want to learn storytelling from him properly."

In this lifetime, I must accomplish at least one thing.

If I could, I would like to tell good stories and become a true storyteller.

Looking into his determined eyes, Liu Che didn't want to discourage him.

In his previous life, Liu Che had never heard of a top-notch storyteller named Chen Xiangwan.

Given Chen Xiangwan's talent, it's highly unlikely she'll achieve anything significant in the storytelling profession.

However, Liu Che still encouraged him, saying, "I believe you can do it."

"Thank you for your kind words."

Chen Xiangwan smiled brightly.

"Oh, right."

He suddenly remembered something: "That day when we had a conflict with the Shahe Gang, Zhao Tianhu seemed to hold a grudge against Miaoxiang Tea House as well."

I told the teahouse owner I was leaving, and he asked around to find a storyteller to take my place, but no one dared to come.

I was worried that the Shahe Gang might cause trouble for Miao Xiangming in the future, so I spoke with Huang Feihong and asked him to help out more these days.

But it's just a supplementary service; without the storyteller in charge, the teahouse wouldn't be able to operate.

Now that you've entered the field, I wonder if you'd be willing to tell stories at Miaoxiangming?

"no problem."

Even if Chen Xiangwan hadn't mentioned it, Liu Che still wanted to find a teahouse and a job as a storyteller.

To advance in rank, a storyteller needs a large amount of the power of the seven emotions.

The more listeners there are, the more emotional power the storyteller can gain.

Storytelling teahouses are naturally the most suitable places to cultivate the power of the seven emotions.

Others might be afraid to go to Miaoxiang Tea House for fear of offending the Shahe Gang, but he wasn't.

"That's wonderful!"

Chen Xiangwan was overjoyed: "I'll talk to Boss Wei tomorrow. You've really helped him a lot."