Chapter 6: Scheming Against Each Other

"Boy, did you really write this poem yourself?" Old Master Tang asked in a casual, offhand tone, though his eyes betrayed undisguised anticipation.

"Heh heh, but of course." Tang Yan smiled.

"Oh ho, look at you getting smug — tell me the truth!" Old Master Tang was not about to go easy on him, grabbing Tang Yan's ear and pressing for an answer.

Tang Yan felt a wave of grievance wash over him. What was wrong with this world — couldn't a man tell the truth anymore?

"Easy, easy — alright, alright, I'll talk! A while back I ran into a penniless scholar. He'd written this ci-poem and it wasn't half bad, so I bought it off him.

He told your grandson that if you could write a fine hand and then present this poem, you could easily win the hearts of well-bred young ladies. Your grandson's heart itched at the thought, so not only did I commit the poem to memory, I also practiced my calligraphy…" Tang Yan, his ear throbbing from Old Master Tang's grip, hastily cobbled together an excuse to brush the matter aside.

The excuse was plausible enough. Old Master Tang finally let go.

Tang Yan rubbed his reddened ear and said with a pained expression, "Grandfather, I've also resolved this crisis for you — couldn't you reward your grandson with a few tens of thousands of taels of silver to spend?"

The matter of the City Lord's Manor coming to demand an explanation had been smoothly settled today, and Old Master Tang was in a fine mood. But the moment he heard Tang Yan's words, his face darkened instantly. "What do you need so much silver for? Planning to go out and carouse again? I'm warning you — if you dare go out and squander the family's wealth again, I'll break your legs!"

Tang Yan was quietly frantic. If you won't give me money, how am I supposed to buy a pill cauldron? And without a pill cauldron, how am I supposed to refine medicine?

"Grandfather, rest assured — I absolutely will not go carousing. It's just that your grandson has recently had a change of heart. I know I was good-for-nothing before. Since my cultivation is no good, I'd like to abandon the martial path and go into business instead. I just need a little silver to get my feet wet." Tang Yan said this with a perfectly straight face.

Old Master Tang's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this. Though he still didn't truly believe Tang Yan would go into business as he claimed, the sentiment behind those words was rather heartwarming, wasn't it?

"Then go to the accounts room and draw two… hundred taels of silver. Once you show some results, I may consider giving you more. But the moment I find out you've spent that money on carousing, I'll cut off all your pocket money too!" Old Master Tang issued his warning and turned to leave.

Tang Yan's heart sank like a stone upon hearing this… Grandfather, I'm your own flesh and blood…

The tearless and aggrieved First Young Master Tang was not, however, a pessimistic person.

Within about one hour, Tang Yan gathered every valuable item in his room, tucked the silver into his chest, opened his folding fan with a flourish, and headed out with Little Cui.

Since there wasn't much money to be had, he'd go out for a stroll, buy some low-grade medicinal herbs, and at least put together an ordinary restorative tonic.

On the main street, Tang Yan walked with a swaggering gait, his folding fan snapping open with an air of affected elegance, his gaze roguish and carefree. The graceful bearing he had shown while composing the poem earlier had vanished without a trace.

Little Cui tilted her head and watched her young master, puzzled. How could he look so different from the way he had in the main hall? Could it really be as the ancients said — that mountains and rivers are easier to change than a man's true nature?

The First Young Master Tang surveyed the street scene with great interest. Vendors' calls, idle chatter, and the sounds of labor mingled together in a lively chorus. Along the roadside, wine shops, tailor shops, farm tool stores, weapon shops, and blacksmith forges all exuded an ancient charm.

Back on Earth, markets like this had still been fairly common in the last century, but as society progressed, they had gradually been replaced by supermarkets, shopping malls, and even online stores.

"Well, well — isn't this the great First Young Master Tang? How come you're wandering the streets instead of heading to the Red Flower House? I heard your grandfather cut off your pocket money. Don't tell me you can't even afford the older ladies at the Red Flower House anymore?" A sarcastic, sing-song voice drifted over.

Tang Yan turned his head and saw that the speaker was Third Young Master of the Liu Clan, Liu Yuan.

Liu Yuan and Tang Yan were much alike — both counted among Yun City's scoundrels. However, Liu Yuan's lot in life was considerably better. The Liu Clan had many members; among the younger generation of direct-line males alone there were six or seven, and quite a few of them were capable and promising. So even though Liu Yuan was a scoundrel, the Liu Clan did not agonize over having no worthy successors.

"What, are you here to give me money to spend?"

Liu Yuan, scoundrel though he was, was no fool. The Liu Clan had long harbored ambitions to swallow up the Tang Clan — that was no secret among Yun City's great families. If he could teach Tang Yan a lesson, he would surely be rewarded by his family when he returned.

But the family had also made it explicitly clear to the Liu Clan's younger generation: never provoke Tang Yan on your own initiative, for when Old Master Tang flew into a rage, he bit. If you wanted to teach Tang Yan a lesson, you had to let Tang Yan make the first move.

"Give you money? Dream on! I always thought the First Young Master Tang had only had his cultivation core shattered — turns out his brain went with it." The vicious words drew a flash of fury even in Little Cui's eyes.

"What the fuck, who are you calling brain-damaged? Believe me, I'll beat you senseless!" Tang Yan glared and barked.

"You want to beat me?" Liu Yuan's heart leapt with delight and he laughed. "First Young Master Tang, I'm not looking down on you — even if I spotted you one arm and one leg, I could still beat you like a dog."

Tang Yan's eyes went bloodshot, his breathing quickened, and he pointed at Liu Yuan, furious. "Fuck you, you're only at the fourth grade of the Primary Realm — what are you so smug about? You think you're so tough? How about we make a bet: if I can knock you flat, you owe me ten thousand taels of silver. If you knock me flat, I'll hand over the two hundred taels I'm carrying. Do you dare?"

Liu Yuan's heart sang. On the martial path, each grade is a mountain unto itself. Though he himself idled away his days, he genuinely held the strength of the fourth grade of the Primary Realm. This fellow's cultivation core had been shattered, and after years of debauchery, he probably couldn't even handle an ordinary person.

"Ten thousand taels of silver — I don't have that. I only have two thousand taels. And if I win, I only get two hundred taels? That's not fair!" Liu Yuan's eyes darted about and he grinned. "How about this: if you win, I'll give you all two thousand taels. If you lose, you kneel on the ground and kowtow to me three times. What do you say?"

That son-of-a-bitch Liu Clan trash — just wait till I flatten you! Suppressing the burning urge to pummel him on the spot, Tang Yan jumped up and said, "Damn it, so my head isn't even worth a thousand taels each? Fine — if I lose, I'll do it your way. But if I win, you only have to kowtow once."

Liu Yuan was overjoyed inside. Sure enough, this was the brainless and arrogant First Young Master Tang — a genuine idiot through and through. Once you kneel down, what difference does it make whether you kowtow once or a hundred times?

Today, if he truly made Tang Yan kneel, he would have earned a great merit. After that, the family would be even less inclined to rein in his scoundrel ways.

His mind made up, Liu Yuan said, "Very well then — I'll give the First Young Master Tang some face. If you lose, you kneel and kowtow to me once."

"Young Master! Let's go back!" Little Cui tugged at Tang Yan's sleeve, her voice on the verge of tears.

"Stand aside! Watch me beat him until his own parents don't recognize him!" Tang Yan shook his sleeve free.

"Young Master, Liu Yuan is deliberately provoking you — he wants you to take the bait so he can humiliate our Tang Clan. Please don't fall for his trick!" Little Cui's voice grew ever more urgent.

Liu Yuan took in Little Cui's reaction with a careful eye. It seemed that Tang Yan's cultivation core being shattered was now an ironclad fact. But if this hothead was actually talked out of it by Little Cui, wouldn't all his scheming have been for nothing?

"Are we doing this or not? Give me a straight answer." Liu Yuan pressed.

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Edited by Fat Goose