“Quick, quick, quick, we overslept today, morning classes have already started.”
“We’re not kids anymore, we’ve learned what we need. No point coming to the academy every day to check in.”
“Still, it’s good to leave a positive impression on the teacher.”
“True, and reading through the classics every morning is a good way to refresh our knowledge.”
“Exactly.”
“By the way, Brother Wang, I’m usually late, but you’re always diligent. Why are you late today?”
“Embarrassing, embarrassing, I indulged too much last night and got up late.”
“Tch, Brother Wang, don’t jest. Isn’t your wife visiting her hometown? And you didn’t go to Chunfeng Tower yesterday.”
“Not my wife. The night before last, I was heading home from Chunfeng Tower and met a young lady at my doorstep. She came to Tonglin County to visit relatives, but they’d moved away. With no money, she’s staying at my place for now.”
“Oh?”
“Heh heh.”
“Brother, what a stroke of luck! A delicate hand with a brush, a refined mouth playing the flute?”
“Too kind, too kind!”
As they spoke, the two passed by Lu Zheng, hurrying into the county academy.
The night before last, at night, a young lady…
Lu Zheng paused, glancing at the scholar in the moon-white robe, sensing an aura of misfortune, dark clouds gathering above his brow.
But…
Lu Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. If it had targeted someone else, didn’t that mean he was safe?
Daoist Mingzhang had said a corpse ghost, after harming someone, needed time to refine and wouldn’t linger in one place.
*Snap!*
Lu Zheng snapped his fingers. A substitute had appeared, and he felt unburdened.
Then he quickly left the area.
When someone’s down on their luck, it’s best to steer clear to avoid catching their bad fortune.
…
Lu Zheng wandered aimlessly along Qingshi Street, looking around, pondering where to start his ventures in the Great Jing Dynasty.
Cultivation was a must, but he also needed to live here, not squander his resources or end up begging like that old vagrant.
Glass crafts and fine weapons were highly profitable but couldn’t be sold too often.
That would attract unwanted attention.
Even if he became a skilled cultivator, he couldn’t afford to be so reckless.
He needed a business, unremarkable but sustainable, with steady income.
As a respectable person with assets, Lu Zheng could more easily sell modern crafts.
If asked, he’d say he bought them cheap and sold at a markup. Don’t like it? Go buy your own.
Moreover, even cultivators like Daoist Mingzhang, who ran temples and performed rituals, needed money.
So, Lu Zheng observed the shops, walking and thinking…
First, he ruled out salt and iron. As the backbone of state power and daily necessities, salt, iron, and at least half the grain were monopolised by the Great Jing court.
This alone showed the dynasty was far from its end, still in its prime.
Lu Zheng had considered selling cloth.
Cloth and silk were lucrative, mostly produced by small workshops. If he sourced from the modern world, he could dominate the cloth trade in Tonglin County, even Yizhou.
But modern cloth quality far surpassed Great Jing’s. Without needing to source or dye, his goods would spread quickly, drawing scrutiny.
If questioned, no amount of excuses would suffice.
So, Lu Zheng settled on two businesses.
Selling medicine and sugar.
First, medicine. While important, it wasn’t as critical as food or clothing. Prices were high, but demand was low.
Modern large-scale medicinal herb farms kept costs low. Lu Zheng could buy common, affordable herbs from the modern world and sell them in Great Jing.
He’d also buy Great Jing’s local herbs, blending them to avoid reliance on one source and quietly mix in his stock—perfect.
Next, sugar. Though part of daily life, it wasn’t essential, more a luxury.
Great Jing grew sugarcane and had sugar-making methods. Prices weren’t steep: one tael of malt sugar cost ten wen, crystal sugar fifty wen. Even pricier snacks were affordable for commoners with some effort.
But to Lu Zheng, that was expensive.
Open a sugar workshop, mix in modern crystal and white sugar at five yuan a jin.
Perfect again!
Once his Great Jing ventures took off, he could access more resources, gain more wealth, and feed it back to the modern world.
He’d also influence more people, harvesting more fortune light.
A virtuous cycle!
Now, the businesses were decided, but the only issue was money.
After pawning the glass lion, Lu Zheng had just over a hundred guan left—not enough to buy a workshop and a street-front shop.
Rubbing his chin, Lu Zheng pondered ways to make money, feeling his current trajectory was off. Wasn’t this supposed to be a xianxia story?
…
“Lady Li, this flower suits you perfectly. Buy it to place in your room, add some fragrance.”
“Really? Thank you, Young Master.”
A clear, familiar voice snapped Lu Zheng back to reality.
Glancing left, he saw he’d reached a flower shop’s entrance, where a man and woman were talking—the Wang scholar from that morning.
And that painted skin!
“What’s going on? This is too much of a coincidence!”
Lu Zheng never imagined he’d run into them on the street.
He promptly turned, pretending not to notice, and walked away.
“It’s nearly noon. Let’s eat at Liu’s Diner.”
“As you wish, Young Master.”
The next moment, the peace talisman in Lu Zheng’s pocket grew faintly warm, a slight stench lingering at his nose.
“What’s this? Didn’t it target Scholar Wang? Why is it showing malice toward me?” Lu Zheng’s mind raced. “Is it resentment for ignoring it the other day, or has it set its sights on me?”
The talisman grew hotter. Lu Zheng turned a corner, vanishing from the corpse ghost’s view, and the talisman slowly cooled.
He pulled it out to check—the scorched, curled area had grown larger.
His alertness at its peak, taking a deep breath, Lu Zheng lost the mood to wander. He headed home and crossed back to the modern world.
At the neighbourhood entrance, he grabbed a quick yellow braised chicken rice, then took a taxi to Wanren Ancient Sword Hall to pick up the sharpened Xiuchun blade.
After some thought, he stopped by a security equipment store, buying a riot shield, a net gun, and a gas mask.
Useful or not, better to be prepared.
