At the third quarter of the Chen hour (around 8:45 AM), Xu Qi An mounted his beloved mare, which would never get stuck in traffic, and swiftly arrived at the Astronomical Bureau. Warmly welcomed by the white-robed mages, he found Chu Caiwei listening to Master Song’s teachings.
“Miss Caiwei, I want to buy a house in the inner city. I know the Astronomical Bureau observes feng shui, so I’d like to ask for your help,” Xu Qi An stated his purpose.
Chu Caiwei shifted her gaze from the bottles and jars on the table and lifted her face. At eighteen, her face still looked delicate and rosy.
Both beautiful and tender, with bright, blinking big eyes, her eye whites were as clear as a baby’s, looking extremely pure.
As is well known, children’s eyes are clear, bright, and pure because their eye whites are transparent.
Unlike adults, whose eye whites become cloudy and bloodshot with age.
Chu Caiwei’s eyes were as transparent as a baby’s, large and bright, extremely beautiful.
“I need to study alchemy. I’m not going,” Chu Caiwei puffed her cheeks and turned her face away.
Is she on her period? Her mood doesn’t seem good… Xu Qi An speculated internally, then heard Master Song say, “I’ll ask a junior brother to accompany you.”
What do I need a junior brother for? No way! This kind of thing only makes sense with a junior sister. Who wants to go shopping with a grown man? Xu Qi An shook his head, politely declining Master Song’s offer, and said:
“Why is Miss Caiwei so… frustrated today?”
Chu Caiwei answered seriously with her small face, “I’ve been stuck at the seventh-rank feng shui master level for over a year. I could have advanced to alchemy long ago, but alchemy is too difficult, tiring, and boring…”
Hmm, understandable. Science and engineering are a woman’s nightmare.
Chu Caiwei continued, “Moreover, to advance to a sixth-rank alchemist, one needs to independently complete a brand new alchemical creation and promote it to gain positive feedback from the common people. Only then can one successfully advance.”
Xu Qi An didn’t understand this part: “Gain feedback from the common people?”
“Do you know who created gunpowder?”
“How would I know that?”
“Gunpowder was created by a feng shui master from the Astronomical Bureau three hundred years ago. After promoting gunpowder, he gained recognition from the people and advanced to become an alchemist. Of course, it doesn’t have to be something world-shaking. Master Song advanced to alchemist by creating glass. The key is the feedback from the common people,” Chu Caiwei explained.
So it was you, Song Qing, you bastard, who ruined my money-making plan… Xu Qi An cursed inwardly, then asked puzzled, “Why is the feedback from the common people necessary?”
Chu Caiwei immediately looked at Song Qing, who pondered briefly before saying, “This is considered a secret of the Astronomical Bureau. It’s fine to tell you, but remember not to spread it around.”
Seeing Xu Qi An nod, Song Qing said, “What do you think is the difference between the Astronomical Bureau and other cultivation systems?”
“Serving the country and the people, selfless dedication, especially noble,” Xu Qi An said seriously.
This response made Song Qing and the nearby white-robed mages smile involuntarily.
Young Master Xu is indeed a close friend of the Astronomical Bureau… Song Qing nodded with satisfaction, his tone becoming more enthusiastic: “Yes, you have a very unique and precise perspective, which I greatly admire.
“Among the various systems, the ninth rank is the foundation. The peculiarities of the ninth rank represent the core of that system. The Refining Essence realm for warriors, the Opening Acupoints realm for Confucians, the Novice realm for Buddhists.”
The Refining Essence realm for warriors, the core is the body, the body is the foundation of warriors… The Opening Acupoints realm for Confucians, um, does this mean that those without brains shouldn’t study? In the Novice realm for Buddhists, young novices must observe precepts, receiving precepts is the foundation for monks to comprehend Buddhist teachings… Then what about the ninth-rank Healer realm for mages? Doctors don’t seem to have much to do with mages, right?
Xu Qi An pondered, and Song Qing, seeing he hadn’t grasped it yet, hinted, “The ninth-rank Healer is not essentially about medicine, but about people. The mage system follows the Way of Humanity, so the achievements of sixth-rank alchemists need recognition from the common people, which is why the Astronomical Bureau needs to be affiliated with the imperial court.”
Mages follow the Way of Humanity? It’s probably not the “Way of Humanity” I’m thinking of… No wonder these white-robed mages, despite their pride, do things to “serve the people”; no wonder the Astronomical Bureau Chiefs have always been the guardians of the capital, it turns out they must be affiliated with the imperial court… This reminds me of the Confucians who also needed to be affiliated with the imperial court. The Confucians still don’t have any second-rank experts. From what the Second Prince said, it’s likely because they were cut off from official careers. This is like a seventh-rank feng shui master who can’t advance because they can’t get recognition from the people.
If there’s a Way of Humanity, there must be other Ways. Apart from the apparent differences in systems, is there a hidden distinction of “Ways” behind them?
“Any ideas for a brand new alchemical creation?” Xu Qi An asked.
Song Qing glanced at his junior sister and sighed, “She’s not very clever to begin with, and doesn’t like studying. Sigh, it’s going to be difficult.”
The other white-robed mages shook their heads, expressing their lack of confidence in Chu Caiwei’s advancement.
“For someone like Junior Sister Caiwei… we can only rely on luck.”
“Sigh, even the Bureau Chief doesn’t manage this. He probably thinks that as a girl, she doesn’t need to reach too high a level.”
“There’s nothing we can do either.”
The white-robed mages spoke regretfully, sighing.
Chu Caiwei pouted, like a poor student facing the disappointed sighs of elders.
This world doesn’t have chicken bouillon cubes yet. I wonder if creating chicken bouillon cubes would count as completing an alchemical creation. Xu Qi An pondered and said, “I might have an idea about this.”
Swoosh! At once, in the alchemy room, all the white-robed mages looked over, their eyes gleaming.
“Have an idea?” Song Qing’s eyes widened, showing both the ecstasy of potentially learning a new alchemical technique and the relief of a father finally solving a long-standing worry.
“Young Master Xu, do you truly mean this?” The white-robed mages excitedly drew closer, even those busy with alchemical experiments put down their work, looking at Xu Qi An with utmost expectation.
“I need to think it over a bit more. I’ll give you all an answer in a few days,” Xu Qi An said, then turned to Chu Caiwei: “Miss Caiwei, are you free today?”
“She is, she is…” the white-robed mages in the room said in unison.
Song Qing pushed Chu Caiwei to stand up and said earnestly, “Young Master Xu is a benefactor of our Astronomical Bureau. Isn’t he hundreds of times more important than alchemy? Today, you should accompany him around the inner city.”
And so, Chu Caiwei was pushed into the wolf’s den by her senior brothers.
Xu Qi An took Chu Caiwei to a real estate agency, where an old broker enthusiastically greeted them: “Sir, Madam, are you looking to buy or rent?”
It’s an old man, huh? In my previous life, it was always attractive young women in workplace uniforms doing the reception… Xu Qi An complained internally, but smiled on the surface: “Buying.”
The old broker’s smile became even more enthusiastic. The commissions for buying and renting were worlds apart.
“What size are you looking for?”
“A three-courtyard compound, I suppose.”
The old broker’s smile was beyond mere enthusiasm; it was as if he had met a long-lost father, almost moving him to tears of joy.
His excitement was justified. In the inner city, depending on the location, a three-courtyard compound would sell for 5,000 to 10,000 taels of silver, not to mention ordinary small courtyards.
Houses with three courtyards or more were not something ordinary people could afford. The agency hadn’t sold such a high-end mansion this year; this deal would cover their expenses for a year.
“Do you have any particular houses in mind?” the old broker asked humbly.
“Give me a list of houses priced between five and seven thousand taels,” Xu Qi An said, sitting imposingly and taking a sip of what was probably the best quality green tea in the agency.
The taste was average, far inferior to the tea in Wei Yuan’s tea room.
Soon, several lists were presented. Xu Qi An took them and glanced through them, carefully recalling for a moment, then directly eliminated three of them, keeping only one.
“Why do you only want the houses on this list?” Chu Caiwei magically produced a handful of preserved fruits from her deerskin waist pouch.
“Because the houses on the other lists are close to the Courtesans’ Registry,” Xu Qi An said with a raised eyebrow and a smile.
The paper listed the location and area of the houses. More detailed information needed to be looked up separately. Xu Qi An glanced at it and noticed a house with a good location and large area, but priced much lower than other houses. The agency’s code for it was: Yi Twenty-three.
“Old man, why is this house so much cheaper?” Xu Qi An asked casually.
Yi Twenty-three was priced at 5,500 taels of silver, while houses of similar grade were priced above 7,000 taels.
“There’s always a reason for cheapness…” The old broker looked around and lowered his voice:
“That house is haunted, unlivable. Sir, you’d better choose another one.”
Xu Qi An and Chu Caiwei exchanged a glance, thinking, Haunted? As a night watchman, I should indeed go and see what kind of haunting it is.
However, Xu Qi An wasn’t rash. He cautiously asked, “What’s the matter? Old man, tell me more about it.”
Although the capital was the night watchmen’s territory, there were indeed many hidden experts of unknown backgrounds, or perhaps some truly bizarre places. Xu Qi An had heard many strange tales about the capital since he was a child.