Eternal Life: Talent Grows with Age-Chapter 33: On the Matter of Mr. Wang’s Affair

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: On the Matter of Mr. Wang’s Affair

In front of the city gate, Lu Chang’sheng jogged along, replaying that arrow in his mind, his heart pounding wildly.

If his archery hadn’t reached Great Success, who knows if he’d have hit that beggar’s head with a single shot? If that had happened, things would be very different now.

Thinking of this made him a bit spooked but also excited, and it showed on his face as nothing but the slight upward curve of his lips.

Honestly, I’m quite a remarkable person!

He suddenly stopped.

Li Nangua stood where she was, barely half a step away, her big eyes staring fixedly at him.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

Lu Chang’sheng’s heart skipped a beat.

Maybe they were standing too close—when he spoke, Li Nangua was hit with a rush of warm breath, completely different from the blazing city heat. Instantly, two red clouds blossomed on her pretty cheeks.

Lu Chang’sheng didn’t think too hard about it, figuring she was just flushed from carrying two bags and running a bit.

"Here, give me one. Look at you, your face is all red!"

Li Nangua blushed even deeper, like a perfectly ripe apple, ducked her head, and quietly ran toward the city gate, forgetting whatever she’d wanted to ask.

Seeing this, Lu Chang’sheng could only follow after her.

Just then, a galloping sound came from behind—the thundering hooves of several strong horses instantly pulled everyone’s attention.

"Black Mountain Army!"

"It’s the Black Mountain Army!"

Low exclamations rose up as the horses stormed in like lightning, trailing dust, and people quickly made way.

Great horses!

Impressive armor!

What a show of force!

Lu Chang’sheng hurried to catch up with Li Nangua, pulling her aside in advance, his eyes flashing with a hint of envy at all the whispers around them.

Annoyance was part of it too, because if they hadn’t dodged in time, they might’ve gotten swept up in the rush—but mostly, it was envy.

"Bottom line is, I’m just a regular guy!"

Regular folks have their seven emotions and six desires, wanting power and glamour, feeling what everyone feels and doing what seems normal.

The difference is, he was a little more careful and had firmer lines he wouldn’t cross than most people in this world.

"Hey, little master, nice archery—interested in a job?" Just then, one of the horses broke off from the squad that’d just entered the city, stopping right in front of Lu Chang’sheng.

"May I ask, sir, what kind of job?" said Lu Chang’sheng respectfully.

He didn’t mind someone throwing him a lifeline.

After all, as long as you live in this world, you can’t avoid dealing with people.

"Our young lord is from the Xun Mansion, and he needs an Archery Master for the estate. If you take the job, you’ll get fifty copper coins a month—not that the money’s the main point. More importantly, you just might get to learn Martial Arts!"

Seeing Lu Chang’sheng pause in thought, the armored man chuckled, his horse stomping impatiently. Then he squeezed his legs and wheeled the horse around, heading off into the city after the rest of the slowed-down squad.

"Well?"

The young man leading the squad tossed out the question offhand.

"Hesitated. Probably weighing the pros and cons," the armored man replied.

The young man snorted. "Ah, youth! Give it a few years and he’ll realize what he missed out on!"

He didn’t say much more. Everyone gets their own choices—but not every time will he bother to give a chance to those below.

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Watching the horses tear off, Lu Chang’sheng blanked out a little.

"What a fool—wasted all those archery skills for nothing!"

"I think that kid’s the little master from the Traveler’s Inn, right? Why’d he space out right now? The Xun Mansion’s a real big deal; you can’t usually get in that place!"

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The crowd didn’t gossip for long—the girl with the youth spun around and shot them a glare.

They snapped out of their jealous haze, remembering the boy’s cool head-turning shot just now. Who’d dare mouth off now? They quickly found other things to talk about and walked away.

To the city’s upper crust, hiring an Archery Master was nothing special, but to ordinary folks, it meant don’t mess with him lightly.

"Chang’sheng!" Li Nangua called out.

"Don’t worry! I’m not that fragile!" He was thinking mostly of what that armored guy said about ’Martial Arts.’

"Hopefully, no more trouble pops up!"

The two paid the city entry fee and headed straight for a brokerage to find a broker and rent a place.

This time, they’d be staying at least a month—renting a room at an inn didn’t make sense.

Better to rent a regular house. Not as comfortable, but way cheaper.

"Been spending a lot lately, and I’ve got less than two taels of silver left!"

He’d earned about six taels from the Archery Practice Ground recently, but studying cost money too—hiring teachers, buying books, eating—all big expenses, and that’s not even counting pocket change.

The brokerage worked fast, especially after Lu Chang’sheng slipped the broker 20 copper coins as a tip.

It took less than half a day before they found a temporarily vacant home for the pair.

Inside the Prefecture City, every inch of land was precious. Any plot worth using was already taken—and even the worthless ones had owners.

Finding a vacant house was rare luck.

If not for that tip, the broker said it might’ve taken a whole day or two to find something.

Otherwise, they’d have had to stay at an inn, which would have burned through their money fast—even the cheapest rooms were 30 copper coins a night.

The house wasn’t in great shape, but for two kids from the countryside, that was nothing.

A little cleaning and it’d be fine.

Except, Lu Chang’sheng still couldn’t help Li Nangua clean up.

"Your main job now is studying for the exams, don’t steal my chores!" The girl bristled up like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on when he tried to help, leaving Lu Chang’sheng kind of embarrassed.

After a two-second standoff, he had no choice but to grab a book and start reading.

Lu Chang’sheng could get into study mode in no time, and seeing him crack open his books, the girl—normally fast at cleaning—instinctively slowed down.

Soon, all you could hear in the room was pages turning.

After a while, the boy by the window stretched—break time—so the girl finally couldn’t help but ask, "Chang’sheng, do you really think Mr. Zhao and them will be okay? Should I go back and check tomorrow?"

She was still worried deep down.

The boy at the window shook his head, smiling, "They’re fine! As long as I’m in Prefecture City, the Three Red Gang won’t dare touch them!"

"Why?" The girl flopped down by the window, holding her chin in one hand; her bright eyes settled on the boy. For some reason, whenever he was around, she didn’t want to think for herself.

Because he’s her brain!

The boy didn’t think long before explaining, "It’s because I’m the knife in everyone’s hand!"

"A knife?" the girl asked, surprised.

"Right!" The boy was about to explain further when he remembered something and switched topics. "You remember when Mr. Wang and Mr. Zhang fought?"

Li Nangua nodded quickly.

It was the biggest thing she remembered happening in the village.

At first, Mr. Zhang suspected Wang Heihou’s dad had cheated with his wife. So he showed up wanting a showdown with Mr. Wang.

Mr. Wang wasn’t home, so Mr. Zhang just cursed out Mrs. Wang to her face. Turns out, Mrs. Wang was a master of smack talk—she trashed Old Zhang so hard his head was spinning.

Fuming, he started a fight right then and there.

By coincidence, Old Wang came back just then, saw Old Zhang hitting his wife, and couldn’t stand it—he launched himself right into the brawl.

From then on, the two were at it constantly, throwing down all over the village every few days.

The rest of the villagers worried endlessly about it.

"They fought, what, seven or eight times a month—you know how it ended?" Lu Chang’sheng smiled.

Li Nangua shook her head—she was little, and a girl, so she’d never dared get close to that mess.

"Mr. Wang bought a knife from the outside! Shiny and sharp!"

"A good knife cost hundreds of copper coins! Mr. Zhang’s folks weren’t well-off, couldn’t buy one! But Zhang wasn’t too scared—he had a club!"

"Then one day, Mr. Wang used his knife to kill a wild wolf from the mountain. And after that, the two of them never fought again!"

"So——" Li Nangua’s mouth dropped open.

"Yep! Now I just need to kill——" Lu Chang’sheng replied by instinct.

The knife just lets your enemies see the weapon in your hand!

And makes them wary!

Killing the wolf shows them what you can do!

He figured Li Nangua was clever enough to get his point, but—

"So... did Mr. Wang really cheat with Mrs. Zhang?"

Watching the bright-eyed girl leaning in at the window, Lu Chang’sheng’s smile froze right on his face.

That question——

I want to know too!

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