Majestic Great Qin, like the rising sun.
The vast territory of the Great Qin Empire was divided into seventy-two counties, each county known as one of Eight Hundred States. Broad official roads connected the whole world, allowing for unimpeded travel. At intervals of one county, there were stations for travelers to rest. Villagers with keen minds had set up tea shops along the official roads, selling cooling teas to alleviate the heat and earning a substantial amount of silver taels.
It was just the start of autumn, and though there was a hint of coolness, the fierceness of the late summer heat still lingered. At midday near a tea shop near the county city of Wangxian County, the place was nearly full. Traveling merchants, either engaged in lively discussions or sipping tea from large bowls, talked of curious events. The tea shop owner's child, clutching a small plate of glutinous rice balls, listened to their tales. One bearded foreigner wiped his mouth and exclaimed with emotion, "Life is truly peaceful nowadays. Our Wangxian County hasn't seen any major trouble for many years..." Another merchant responded, "Indeed, with Master Liu from Liuxu Villa keeping watch. Remember He Yiyuan from the past? The man who committed all sorts of evil deeds was also captured, wasn't he?"
The young waiter, engrossed in the stories, suddenly received a knock on the head from the owner and was scolded quietly, "You little rascal, instead of serving the customers properly, you're here lazing around, earning my silver taels for nothing!"
Upon hearing this, the waiter rolled his eyes inwardly but didn't dare to retort openly. Reluctantly, he moved into the harsh sunlight, cursing under his breath, "In such scorching sun, who would be on the road anyway? Can't stand to see anyone taking a break, what a nuisance!" Just then, the owner's child suddenly yelled, "Here they come, here they come, big horses, big horses are coming!"
The waiter, startled, turned his head quickly and indeed saw a cloud of dust in the distance on the official road, as someone appeared to ride a tall horse at speed, thinking, "Such a person must be a wealthy guest... I might earn some silver." With a smile on his face, he quickened his pace and was about to call out, while the other merchants, curious that someone would travel under such a fierce sun, also turned to look. But as the dust cloud drew closer, it revealed not the expected figure on a tall horse but a handsome young man.
Dressed in a short blue tunic and carrying a bundle, he approached with large strides, dust swirling under his feet, his presence as mighty as a galloping war general, bold and magnificent, commanding an extraordinary aura. The sixteen or seventeen-year-old waiter, facing him directly, felt his heart tremble as if confronting a charging, enraged wild beast. His legs weakened, and he fell straight onto his buttocks. Before he fully hit the ground, he felt someone grabbing his wrist, pulling him up. Still in shock, he saw the young man in blue before him asking gently, "Are you alright, brother? Did the fierce sun get to you?"
"No, no, I'm fine..."
The waiter shivered slightly, his legs still a bit weak, but his face quickly resumed a smile, saying, "This young master, it's still a long way to the county city, and the weather is hot and dry. Why not come in for some cooling tea to refresh yourself?"
The young man hesitated, then touched his stomach and smiled, "That would be kind of you, brother. Please just a pot of your cheapest cooling tea."
"The cheapest..."
The waiter paused briefly, then noticing that the young man's clothes were just ordinary fabric, much like his own, felt a growing sense of closeness. The almost imperceptible fear also dissipated a lot, and he replied with a smile, "Alright, a pot of Jishan Spring. Young master, find yourself a spot to sit."
"Thank you."
The waiter went back to the tea shop, fetched a copper pot of cooling tea, but when he turned around, he saw the young man had not taken a seat at a table but had instead chosen a spot in the shade on a piece of bluestone. Curious, he asked, "Young master, there's still room at the table, why not sit there? Could it be that you're shy?"
The young man smiled and pointed at his clothes, saying, "I've been running here all the way and have worked up quite a sweat. I'm afraid sitting too close might make others uncomfortable. Could you please bring the tea over here? How much is the pot?"
"...For your kindness, five large Tongbao."
The waiter replied, watching as the young man took out a small cloth pouch from his chest, carefully counted out five copper coins, and, receiving the copper coins, he lightly placed the cooling tea beside him and returned to the shop. Meanwhile, the young man took out two fist-sized pieces of dry food from the blue cloth bundle, eating joyously with his cooling tea.
While the table he bypassed offered various types of desserts and premium scented teas, he had only a pot of tea with leaves and some tough dry food by his side, yet he sat undisturbed and without a trace of inferiority or shyness. The merchants, initially curious about his dramatic entrance, sneaked glances at him, and he responded with a calm smile. Though in simple garb, he carried himself with a demeanor no less dignified than anyone else.
After gobbling down his meal, a pile of dry food as large as a football along with a pot of cooling tea, Wang Anfeng half-closed his eyes, letting the Inner Qi inside him flow slowly to recover—he had learned Qinggong, but the Vigorous Step Technique was only meant to enhance physical recovery and stamina. You still had to run earnestly as the Inner Qi boiled, but the body remained flesh and bones, inevitably feeling sore. Just then, a voice suddenly resonated near his ear:
"Young brother, what impressive Inner Strength."
The tone was seasoned, revealing at once that Wang Anfeng possessed Inner Strength, something only a mysterious master like Li Bo could achieve. Startled, he opened his eyes wide, ready to call out to the senior, but then he hesitated. Before him stood not one of those imposing grandmasters like Li Bo from the tales, but a delicate-looking young man with youthful features and a piercing, lively gaze, about his own age. Stunned for a moment, he asked,
"This young brother is..."
"What do you mean 'young brother'? I should be older than you, you should call me 'older brother' just like you did earlier," the youth laughed, clasped his hands in front of his chest and imitated the Jianghu greeting with a fist salute, and directly said, "I smelled a scent on you, young brother…"
Wang Anfeng was slightly startled, his face immediately turning a bit red as he stood up and said apologetically,
"Sorry, my brother, I have been rushing all the way and unavoidably have some body odor, please bear with me a little…"
"Stinky? No no no, it's fragrant, very fragrant."
The youth was momentarily stunned, then he burst into laughter and shook his head, pointing at Wang Anfeng's waist. Following the youth's gesture, Wang Anfeng looked and saw the cast iron liquor flask at his waist, black in color with dense decorations on it. The youth next to him chuckled again and said, "Look, this liquor is fragrant and robust. I smelled it from a great distance. I've loved wine since my childhood. I wonder if you, young brother, could part with it? Money is not an issue."
With that, he casually took out a silver ingot. Given the size, it was more than enough not only to buy a small pot of wine but to purchase all the merchandise carried by the business owners outside the tea shop. The tea shop owner looked on enviously and muttered a few words, while the clerk sighed internally, "Only able to drink poor tea costing five large coins, I didn't expect such good fortune… Why am I always so unlucky?"
Everyone was marveling at the young man's good fortune, but Wang Anfeng didn't even glance at the silver, simply shaking his head, "Sorry, my brother, if the wine was mine I'd give it to you with no issue, but it's entrusted to me to deliver to someone else's home, so I'm afraid it's not possible…"
The dark-robed youth was slightly taken aback, then smiled, "Is it too little? I have some silver notes here, just say the word and I can give them to you. This amount of money could buy you a lot of fine wines to deliver, and surely no one would blink at that."
Wang Anfeng still shook his head, and the youth burst into laughter saying,
"Could it be that you've developed a hatred for the wealthy, unable to stand seeing money?"
"A silver ingot of this size, of course, I'd want it."
Wang Anfeng restrained his smile, looking seriously at the youth,
"Although my family is poor, my father taught me 'A gentleman's promise, worth more than gold'."
"So you consider yourself a gentleman?"
"Far from being a gentleman, but I do not wish to break my promise."
The youth was slightly startled, then he burst out laughing, clasped his hands in a deep bow and said, "I was unaware before, please forgive my presumptions." After speaking, he casually tossed the covetous silver ingot beside the road, meeting Wang Anfeng's stunned gaze, he firmly said,
"Money for food, clothing, and living is inherently neutral, but just now I imposed lowly expectations on the belly of a high-minded man because I had this money. Such an item, I'd rather not keep."
After saying this, he looked up at the still scorching sky, shook his head and sighed teasingly,
"I've rested enough already, staying here any longer, surrounded by fine wine yet unable to drink it, is truly suffering. I must take my leave…"
Wang Anfeng was slightly startled, feeling somewhat embarrassed inside, he stood up and clasped his fists saying,
"This… I'm very sorry, I am called Wang Anfeng, how should I address you, brother?"
The dark-robed youth looked at him, chuckled a bit, and said, "You and I will surely meet again someday. I'll tell you my name then." With that, he whistled sharply. A small blue horse neighed and charged over. The youth clapped his hand on the horse's back, leapt into the air, twisted his waist to clasp his fists, and said, "The mountains remain unchanged, the stream flows forever; young brother Wang, we shall meet again."
"Yah!"