Chapter 4
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It had rained the day before, so the road was muddy. A peddler hurried by with a load on his shoulder and paper pinwheels spun in the breeze. Nearby, a group of forest warriors, known for their rough ways, squatted by the roadside, biting on wheat stalks with sinister grins or silently observing the people entering the town. Their behavior was only slightly restrained when patrol soldiers passed by.
Once inside the city, the scene was bustling with activity. The chatter from the teahouses filled the air, and waiters carrying teapots loudly called out to attract customers. Those with a moment of leisure stopped to sit down for a while. On either side of the street, steam rose from baskets at small food stalls, filling the air with the enticing aroma of meat pies. A chubby boy in silk clothes, tugging on the hand of his steward, stood there with longing eyes, demanding to buy one.
Occasionally, piercing screams echoed from the street ahead. In the distance, a crowd had gathered, surrounding what seemed to be a quarrel among some rogue martial artists, which had escalated into a fight. The clanging of weapons filled the air, causing a stir. Nearby stalls were overturned in the chaos, leaving soup, pots, and bowls scattered everywhere in disarray.
Someone shouted: “The soldiers are coming!”
The crowd scattered like startled birds and beasts, fleeing in all directions.
Lu Liangsheng stood at a distance, watching for a moment before his father, Lu Laoshi, pulled him away. “Don’t look, and don’t learn from them. It’s dangerous.”
Shortly after, the father and son entered a shop adorned with paper fans. The scent of ink greeted them as they stepped over the threshold. Lu Liangsheng stepped into the threshold and took a deep breath. At the counter, the shopkeeper, hearing footsteps, put down his ledger and looked up. “You two feel free to browse.”
Inside, wooden shelves lined the walls, neatly stacked with bundles of both white and yellow hemp paper. There were also blank booklets arranged in piles, ready for customers to choose from.
“Shopkeeper, we’d like to pick out a brush,” Lu Laoshi said after scanning the room. He spoke hesitantly: “Something affordable, it doesn’t matter if it’s small. Please recommend one for us.”
The shopkeeper eyed their attire but did not show any condescension, after all, even a small sale was still a sale.
Nodding towards the father and son, he turned to the brush rack behind him, which was filled with various brushes not yet dipped in ink. “Don’t worry, sir, we merchants value honesty. Even the cheaper brushes we sell aren’t shoddy goods.”
Various sizes of brushes were hanging above, ranging from brushes for writing in regular script to small script, from long tips to short tips, arranged from large to small, and also categorized by the different materials used for the brush heads
“Boar bristles are the cheapest, but they tend to split after prolonged use… Rabbit, goat, and wolf hair are the best options, with rabbit hair being the most affordable of the three. How about this one, sir?”
“What’s the price?”
“Ten coins.” The shopkeeper took down the rabbit-hair brush, showing them the price with a hand gesture.
He placed it on the counter for Lu Liangsheng to inspect. The brush handle was made of bamboo, giving off a fresh, green jade-like appearance. Lu Laoshi calculated the money in his pocket, looked at his son, and, gritting his teeth, was ready to make the purchase.
“Hey! Something’s happening!”
Suddenly, there was a commotion outside, followed by a burst of footsteps and the sound of trumpets and gongs, drowning out Lu Laoshi’s words. Curious, father and son went to the doorway. The crowd in the street had parted, moving to the sides of the road, looking towards the far end of the street. A dragon and lion dance procession was making its way over. Several people on stilts, dressed in comical outfits, waved long sleeves as they danced and sang, passing through amidst the clanging of cymbals.
The street atmosphere became incredibly lively. Lu Laoshi, not used to seeing such spectacles, couldn’t help but ask an elderly vegetable vendor by the roadside: “Elder, what’s the occasion in the city?”
“You’re from out of town, right? This is the birthday of Mr. Chen, a prominent landlord in Fushui County. He invited a theater troupe to perform.”
After thanking the elder, they returned to the store just as the dragon and lion dance procession passed by. But when they were about to buy the brush, the shopkeeper waved his hand: “Apologies, gentlemen. I just remembered that I miscalculated the cost price earlier. I’ll have to add a bit more to the price before I can sell it to you.”
He gestured again.
“It’ll be fifteen coins now!”
“You…!” Lu Laoshi clenched his fists, his face turning red with anger. After stammering for a while, he finally managed to say: “You don’t keep your word. You said ten coins, and now you go back on your word. That’s not honest.”
“That really is the price.” The shopkeeper spread his hands and pointed at the calligraphy brush on the table. “I can’t sell it to you at a loss, right?”
“You’re bullying people. I’m not buying it.”
Lu Laoshi couldn’t come up with a reason and turned his head, walking toward the door. However, Lu Liangsheng still stood in front of the counter without any intention of leaving. He stared at the brush for a while, then suddenly looked up at the shopkeeper with a smile.
“The price has already been agreed upon, so it’s mine now, not yours.” His hand, hanging at his side, formed a spell gesture.
The shopkeeper adjusted his rooster-feather hat and chuckled: “Since I haven’t sold it to you, it doesn’t count. It’s still with me, so it’s mine.”
Smiling, he shook his wide sleeve and reached for the brush. However, his face suddenly changed. He used more force, but the brush didn’t budge at all.
“What’s going on…”
The shopkeeper looked up again at Lu Liangsheng, then grabbed the brush with both hands, pulling hard. His entire body leaned out, and his face turned red with effort.
He turned his head and shouted: “Someone, come here!”
Hearing the commotion, a shop assistant came out from the back room. Seeing the shopkeeper’s struggle, he rushed forward to help. The two grown men, who could easily lift over 200 pounds together, strained with red faces, but the brush didn’t move an inch.
“You…you know demonic spells?”
Lu Liangsheng didn’t answer. He simply took out ten copper coins and placed them on the counter. “It’s mine.”
He effortlessly picked up the brush, waved it in front of the two men, then grabbed a blank notebook and an ink block from a bookshelf.
“How much for these two?”
The shopkeeper wiped the sweat from his face, swallowed hard, and waved his hand. “They’re a gift for you, little brother. You should… just leave quickly.”
“Thank you for your generosity, shopkeeper. But I won’t take advantage of you.”
Lu Liangsheng placed the last of his few copper coins on the counter. After expressing his thanks, he left the store. His father, Lu Laoshi, was still sitting by the street, angry about what just happened.
“People in the city are really unreasonable…”
Seeing his son come out with the brush, ink, and notebook, Lu Laoshi quickly got up. “Did he sell them to you?”
“I reasoned with him, and the shopkeeper, having a good heart, agreed to sell them.”
“That’s at least some sense.”
As they walked away from the street and toward the city gate, they passed a stall, and a voice suddenly called out to them. When they turned around they saw a small white flag with a black border, and sitting below was an old man with a goat-like beard. The old man stroked the tip of his beard and stared at Lu Laoshi with cloudy eyes.
“Hey, sir, don’t you want to buy a talisman to ward off evil spirits?”
“You fortune-teller, what kind of talk is that…” Lu Laoshi grumbled and started to pull his son away. “Why would anyone buy your scam products? Liangsheng, let’s go.”
The fortune-teller chuckled awkwardly, putting away his divination board. Sometimes he would scare passersby with his abrupt manner, hoping that some superstitious people would fall for his tricks. The key was to look at their clothes, those from the villages were often more superstitious. With many people coming to the market from various towns and villages, he had made a few sales today.
As he turned, he suddenly locked eyes with the young man beside the farmer. He shuddered, quickly lowering his head and not daring to look up.
“Such a heavy demonic aura…”
Only after the father and son had walked far away did the old man dare to lift his face. He looked at their departing figures with a hint of confusion.
“…strange, he’s clearly a human being.”
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