Chapter 481 - 291: Chess Dao Perfection
Chapter 481: Chapter 291: Chess Dao Perfection
Chen Yi actually quite liked overcast, rainy weather.
Especially in autumn.
A cool breeze carried a chilly rain that gently brushed against his cheeks, leaving a refreshing sensation far more comfortable than the sweltering heat of a sunny day.
But sometimes, he didn’t like the rain.
The hem of his long silk robe was low, and if he wasn’t careful, it would get splashed with muddy water.
Specks of mud would cover his shoes and legs.
Unlike neat embroidery, they were scattered chaotically, as jumbled as Xiao Wuge’s Golden Carp.
Some large, some small.
Because of this, Chen Yi would walk very carefully.
Even on the relatively flat grounds of the Marquis’s Mansion, he walked at an unhurried pace, taking each step with steady deliberation.
Fortunately, while the Xiao Family’s courtyard was large, it was nowhere near the extravagant opulence of "a new tower every five steps, a new pavilion every ten, with winding corridors and eaves pecking at the sky."
A short while later,
Chen Yi passed through the central courtyard and arrived behind the spirit screen in the front courtyard.
Wang Lixing and Liu Si’er weren’t around. Only two vaguely familiar Armored Warriors stood guard.
Outside the gatehouse not far away, a hunched-over old man was sweeping fallen leaves from the ground, his head lowered.
"Mr. Qingzhou."
The Armored Warriors greeted him. Chen Yi smiled and nodded. When he caught sight of the Iron Banner Officer of the White Tiger Guard—the stooped old man—out of the corner of his eye, he called out a greeting as well.
"Uncle Gui."
As usual, Uncle Gui just gave him a cold glance before lowering his head and continuing his work.
Chen Yi didn’t mind. He opened his umbrella, walked out of the Marquis’s Mansion, and headed for the East Market.
The two Armored Warriors watched him go, their voices filled with emotion.
"When the second young master-in-law first arrived at the mansion, who could have imagined he’d achieve what he has today?"
"Yeah, back then, forget the Second Miss—which of us brothers didn’t want to beat him to death?"
"The one who wanted to beat him up the most was that kid, Yan Hong. Haha, but he won’t get the chance anymore."
"The second young master-in-law is now the world-renowned Mr. Qingzhou. A single page of his calligraphy is worth more than Yan Hong’s life three times over."
"I hear that many visitors to Guiyun Academy now are there just to buy the young master-in-law’s calligraphy. They say a single character is worth a hundred gold."
"Especially the original manuscript of *Song of the Water Melody: Mid-Autumn*. It’s priceless! Too bad the young master-in-law lost it..."
Uncle Gui overheard their conversation. He put away his broom and other tools, then slowly followed them out of the Marquis’s Mansion.
The drizzle was endless and the pedestrians hurried along, their forms quickly swallowing his figure.
In contrast, Chen Yi, walking down South Street, stood out like a crane among chickens.
His figure was already tall and slender.
After taking up the practice of Martial Arts, his body had become even more robust.
It was just that he usually wore loose, flowing robes, and the concealing effect of the Black Tortoise Concealment Technique made him appear somewhat frail and scholarly.
Walking among the passersby, he always seemed the most transcendent of them all.
He attracted the sideways glances of many women.
"That young master looks very unfamiliar. I wonder which family he belongs to?"
"Sister Chun’er, is he unfamiliar? I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before."
"Oh?"
"It seems... it seems..."
Before the woman in the goose-yellow cotton dress could remember, a few scholars nearby spoke up.
"That’s Mr. Qingzhou. He isn’t just some family’s young master."
"Mr. Qingzhou? Ah, so he’s Mr. Qingzhou!"
"The Mr. Qingzhou of ’May we live long and share the moon’s beauty, though a thousand miles may part us’?"
"If that’s him, then isn’t he... isn’t he... General Jinghong’s husband?"
The unmarried young women revealed looks of disappointment, but they didn’t say anything catty.
Aside from Chen Yi’s rather unseemly status as a live-in son-in-law, they also simply didn’t dare compare themselves to Xiao Jinghong.
Setting aside whether they could compete in terms of family background or appearance, the mere fact that Xiao Jinghong commanded the Dingyuan Army through her mastery of Martial Arts was enough to crush them completely.
Chen Yi heard these discussions but remained calm, ignoring the pointing and whispering around him.
As his fame spread, it wasn’t just at the Xiao Family estate or Guiyun Academy; many people in Shu State City now recognized him.
Occasionally, when he walked down the street, people would even come forward to greet him formally.
Fortunately, most of them were scholars who only expressed their admiration. Otherwise, Chen Yi feared he wouldn’t dare to go out so easily.
Walking at a leisurely pace, it took him about half an hour to reach the East Market.
He remembered that the last time he’d come here was because of Immortal Bai.
When he met that legendary figure, he hadn’t felt excited. Instead, a thought had come to him: ’Keep a respectful distance.’
Besides his apprehension about Immortal Bai’s prophecy, there were also those eyes of his, which seemed to see through everything.
Even with the Black Tortoise Concealment Technique, which at the time could fool Xiao Jinghong and the others, Chen Yi feared he had nowhere to hide from Immortal Bai’s gaze.
Musing on this, Chen Yi glanced at the bustling Xinglin Hall, then walked straight to Jishi Medicine Hall.
Compared to the clamor last time, there were clearly fewer people outside the Medicine Hall now.
There were only two patients who had come to fill prescriptions.
Even the usual Jianghu artisans who came here to chat were nowhere to be seen.
Liu Quan was clacking away on an abacus. When he saw Chen Yi enter, he quickly stood up to greet him.
"Shopkeeper, you’re here."
Chen Yi grunted in acknowledgment, surveyed the inside of the Medicine Hall, and casually asked, "Has business been affected?"
Liu Quan’s face soured as he poured out his grievances. "Shopkeeper, you can see for yourself."
"Now that Xinglin Hall has a Medical Saint Hand in residence, their diagnoses are nearly flawless. Add to that their low prices for medicinal herbs, and who would still come to our place?"
"If it weren’t for the herbal teas we sell, I’m afraid our expenses would have exceeded our income this month."
Chen Yi hummed in response, offering a few words of comfort with a smile, then called Ma Liangcai to join him as they headed inside.
Ma Liangcai bowed deeply. "Shopkeeper."
Chen Yi sized him up with a glance. "Sit and talk."
"Yes."
Ma Liangcai had changed quite a bit during this time.
Before, his grasp of the Medical Dao was poor, and he mostly relied on a few remedies he’d picked up from who-knows-where to put on a show.