Imperial henchmen? My divine skills are all hacked versions.

Hearing these treasonous words, Old Sun was taken aback and rolled his eyes at him.

"What are you thinking... Lord Mo's ancestors ran a money exchange in Jiangnan, a century-old business that made them incredibly wealthy. He didn't become the head of the Inspection Department for the salary; it was purely out of interest. What's with all this talk about greed..."

Xu Xian was stunned for several breaths, his eyes gleaming with golden light.

"That leg is so big, thick, and hard!"

...

When Xu Xian stepped out of the side room, he felt so full of energy that it was about to overflow.

He stood in the yard for a moment, then threw two punches into the air, the air whistling as he punched.

He swept around the yard and saw the old locust tree by the gate. This locust tree had been growing for who knows how many years. Its trunk was so thick that one person could not wrap their arms around it, and its branches and leaves blocked out the sky.

A strange impulse surged into his heart; he wanted to test just how strong he was now, to do something like uprooting the giant locust tree like Xu Baihu!

He stepped forward, hugged the tree trunk with both hands, took a deep breath, and exerted force by lowering his waist.

The locust tree swayed twice, and the two bluestone slabs at its roots were crushed by his footsteps, and the thick roots were forcibly pulled halfway out of the ground.

He loosened his grip, looked at his palm, and grinned. After opening his Ren meridian, his strength was at least twice as strong as before.

  

The old doorman leaned against the door frame, slowly exhaling a smoke ring.

"Those were planted by Si Zheng himself twenty years ago. How much are you planning to compensate us for?"

Xu Xian's smile froze on his face as he mechanically turned to look at the old gatekeeper.

"Grandpa, is it too late for me to replant it now? I'll bury the roots back and water it..."

The old doorman chuckled softly and exhaled another smoke ring.

"Get lost. If you plant it, it will die. I was watching when Si Zheng planted this tree twenty years ago. He dug the hole for a whole afternoon and then brought soil from the mountains outside the city to fill it in."

"This tree has deep roots and lush foliage. Even though you pulled out a section of it, it didn't damage the main root. I'll just put the soil back on it later."

Xu Xian breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, sir! I'll treat you to drinks tomorrow, the aged wine from Taibai Tower, I guarantee it'll be better than your coarse tea."

He dusted off his hands, turned and walked briskly towards the training ground.

...

The lanterns of Taibai Tower shone brightly red in the night.

As Xu Xian, Yang Xu, and Lu Jinggang stepped through the gate, they heard a commotion coming from the stairwell.

A young woman dressed in a light purple jacket was being dragged down the stairs by her madam, who was pulling her along while cursing.

"Good heavens! You sold twenty shops yesterday and didn't collect a single tael of silver! If everyone acted like you, I'd be starving! Drag you to the back and beat me!"

Xu Xian's eyelids twitched. "Goodness, this is getting really exciting."

Lu Jing, who was standing next to him, almost couldn't hold back and turned his head to cough.

Yang Xu glanced around and suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"Tsk...why are there so many people today? Last time I came, the lobby was half empty, but today it's almost full. Look at those tables over there, they're all unfamiliar faces, and they're all wearing scholar's robes."

The madam had just handed the girl over to two burly women in the backyard when she turned her head and caught sight of the person standing at the door. Her eyes immediately lit up.

She swayed her hips and hurried towards us, beaming with joy.

"Oh, my Lord Xu! It's been so long! You're a rare guest... Ever since you left last time, I've been longing for your return every day, I've missed you so much! I heard you were promoted to centurion? Congratulations! If you ask me, you should have been promoted long ago. Centurion is nothing, even chiliarch would have been fine!"

Xu raised his hand to stop the madam who was about to pounce on him. "Hey, let's talk this out. Don't get physical. We're not acquainted... Go find Commander Lu."

The madam was taken aback and turned to look at Lu Jing. Their eyes met, and memories of that night flooded back at the same time. A suspicious blush rose on Lu Jing's fair face. The madam half-covered her face with her fan, turned her head away, and spat.

She quickly put the fan down, chuckled, and walked inside to greet Xu Xian, "A private room, perhaps..."

"The lobby is nice and lively."

"You don't know, Lord Xu, ever since you left last time, I've been thinking about it for many days. I always felt that your method was interesting, so I recommended that 'business k game' to some of our old customers."

The madam led the way, leaning closer and lowering her voice, quite pleased with herself.

Guess what? Those guests went back and told everyone, and word spread like wildfire. Countless dignitaries have come seeking business here, and now Taibai Tower's business is the best in the capital! I've even made a little money myself.”

Xu raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? Then this meal is on you."

"It's on me, it's on me! Sir, you can just eat, drink, and have fun without spending a single tael of silver! You are a distinguished guest of Taibai Tower, and even if you order every dish on the menu today, I won't even bat an eye."

The madam chuckled and led them to a square table by the window. She personally poured them tea and then swayed her hips as she went to the kitchen to order food and drinks.

After sitting down, Xu Xian glanced around at the heads of the people in the lobby.

"There are indeed many more customers. Last time we came, the seats weren't even half full, but today they're not only full, but quite a few are standing. Where did all these people come from? What major event has happened in the capital recently?"

Lu Jing chuckled as he held his teacup.

"The Confucian Academy is about to open, taking turns hosting it in Kangguo and Jingguo. This year it's Jingguo's turn, and all the academies in the country will select their best disciples to come to the capital to discuss the Dao..."

"Zhengxin Academy, Bailu Academy, Yuelu Academy, Songyang Academy, and some little-known academies have also come. These people are here to participate in the book fair, and they have been arriving one after another in the past few days."

"Inns in Kyoto are now fully booked. It is said that some students who arrive late have to pitch tents outside the city. These scholars discuss philosophy in the academy during the day and come to Taibai Tower for entertainment at night. That's the kind of atmosphere scholars love."

"I almost forgot about that..."

Xu Xian suddenly realized, "When we returned from Qingzhou, Dean Zhou said that he would have Master Meng lead a team to the capital to participate in the book fair. We'll visit the Kyoto Academy another day."

Just then, a servant brought up wine and dishes—the same one who had praised Yang Xu for being "clean" last time.

He placed a pot of warmed Shaoxing wine on the table, glanced up and saw Yang Xu, his lips twitched, wisely said nothing, put down the wine and dishes and ran away in a flash.

On the platform in the center of the hall, a courtesan was playing the pipa and singing.

She wore a plain white dress, her black hair was casually tied up with a silver hairpin, and her eyebrows and eyes were so exquisite that they looked as if they had been painted stroke by stroke by a painter.

The noise from the audience quieted down almost instantly when she spoke.

Lu Jing, holding a wine glass, watched the performance from the stands and couldn't help but sigh.

"Seeing is believing. I heard that this is a beauty from the Northern Region named Su Qingqing. She has only been here for five days. She is a courtesan who sells her art but not her body. The business at Taibai Tower has been good these days, and half of the customers are here because of her."

After holding his wine glass and glancing at the stage for a moment, Xu Xian smiled slightly.

"When you enter a brothel, you're bound to sell yourself; they just want to raise the price. As the saying goes—'When poor, one watches toil; when rich, one enters the path to nourish one's roots.' That's all there is to it!"

puff!

Yang Xu was drinking when he heard this and spat it out, coughing so hard he slammed his fist on the table.

Lu Jing paused for a moment, then put down his teacup and gave a thumbs up.

"Old Xu, that's the essence! I admire your mouth; you can talk about visiting brothels like you're doing academic research."

Yang Xu wiped the wine stains from his chin with his sleeve, slapped his thigh, and laughed and cursed.

"Tsk... I can't believe you came up with that. Your two sentences are much funnier than those classical Chinese phrases. When are you going to start teaching classes? I'll be the first to sign up."

After Su Shunqing finished singing on stage, he bowed slightly.

"good!"

Yang Xu, still feeling enthusiastic, took the lead in clapping, his voice so loud that the entire hall could hear him, and shouted "Bravo!"

Su Qingqing nodded slightly to him, then left the stage with her pipa in her arms.

Four scholars sat at the next table; judging from their attire, they were Confucian disciples.

One of the young scholars in a blue robe glanced at Yang Xu and sneered.

"These uncouth warriors, Taibai Tower is becoming increasingly indiscriminate in its clientele these days..."

Yang Xu's ears twitched, and he turned to look. He glared at Lu Jing, who kicked him under the table. Yang Xu took a deep breath and removed his hand from the hilt of his sword.

At that moment, another scholar at the same table, dressed in a gray robe, suddenly opened his eyes wide and stared at Xu Xian. Then, he abruptly stood up, took a few steps to Xu Xian's table, straightened his clothes, and bowed respectfully.

"Young Master!"