Transmigrated into a Grandpa, Embracing the Laid-Back Life

Chapter 92: Lantai Secret Garden

Autumn deepened, and the old elm in the courtyard of the Wen'an Inn had already turned mostly golden.

Nearly two months had quietly passed since Su Ming and Xu Qing arrived at Yunshuo Prefectural City.

Xu Qing had returned.

He carried with him a smell mixed of old book pages and fresh ink.

"Brother Su, I'm back." His voice was a little hoarse, but his face could not hide his excitement.

He placed a scroll filled with dense writing on the table, poured himself a cup of cold tea, and drank it down in one gulp.

"Whew... this prefectural city really is a place where tigers hide among dragons."

Su Ming put down the book in his hand and looked up at him.

"Tell me about it."

"The 'Hanmo Study' in the east of the city, its owner is a retired official, the most well informed," Xu Qing's eyes sparkled in the lamplight, "he said the chief examiner for this provincial exam is Minister Wang, who retired and returned to his hometown. This man favors the Slender Gold calligraphy style, and in essays he prefers works with stern vigor.""'Juwen Pavilion' in the south gathers scholars from various places. I heard the son of the Li family from Jinzhou Prefecture calls himself a 'little poetry sage', and words flow from his mouth like verse. There's also Zhang Sanlang from Heyang Prefecture, who writes in the official academy prose style with uncanny skill, and it's said he has already gained Minister Wang's favor."

"Then there's the west side of the city..." Xu Qing poured out, categorizing the intelligence he had gathered during this time, recounting it smoothly. From the examiner's tastes, to the backgrounds of popular candidates, to which stationery shop had the best wolf-hair brushes, to which inn had the most examinees — nothing was left unmentioned.

Within Yunshuo's complex web of information, he had stirred up ripples of his own.

Su Ming listened quietly; his strong mental power let him easily remember every detail and rapidly construct a relationship map in his mind.

"Master, Xu brother is a genius," Su Ming thought inwardly.

"Not a genius, a talent," Lin Yu lazily corrected, "a genius breaks rules, a talent uses rules to their advantage."

"By the way," Xu Qing seemed to remember something and took out a small slip of paper from his chest, "there's an interesting tidbit."

"That Minister Wang has an uncle, another retired high official. He dislikes calligraphy and painting, and is not fond of song or dance. His only hobby is collecting strange, oddly shaped stones. I heard his estate's back garden is full of 'curious stones' gathered from everywhere, and he's even given it a name — the Hundred Stones Garden."

Su Ming's fingers tightened slightly around his teacup.

Curious stones.

"For ordinary people that’s an amusement. For us, it's a clue," Lin Yu's voice carried a trace of amusement, "a family with great power who can gather things from everywhere — the odds they slipped one or two spirit stones among those curios are far higher than you finding one on a riverbank."

"However," Lin Yu shifted tone, "don't get ideas. That place, even if there are no cultivators there, is not somewhere you can snoop into right now. Just make a note of it."

"Disciple understands." Su Ming suppressed the ripples in his heart and kept his face calm as still water.

"Brother Su, the literary gathering at Tingyu Pavilion will be held in three days. It's not small this time; supposedly most of the respected young talents in the prefectural city will attend," Xu Qing handed Su Ming an invitation, "Liu, the owner of Hanmo Study, highly recommends it and says it's a rare opportunity."

Su Ming took the invitation, his fingertips brushing the smooth paper. The accumulation of two months' information might find some verification at this gathering.

"Let's go together," Su Ming smiled, "just to see the world."

Three days later, Tingyu Pavilion.

This was not an ordinary tavern but a small building built on the heart of a lake, with upturned eaves and ornate beams, quite elegant.

One had to take a little boat to reach it.

When Su Ming and Xu Qing arrived, many people had already gathered inside.

Most were young scholars around twenty years old, each wearing well-tailored silk shirts, scholar's square headbands, jade pendants and scent pouches at their waists, grouped in threes and fives, chatting and laughing.

The air carried faint incense and the smell of ink.

Xu Qing wore a blue homespun long shirt washed nearly white; Su Ming was dressed in ordinary cotton robes. As soon as the two stepped into the pavilion, they were like two drops of clear water falling into boiling oil, instantly drawing many gazes.

paid those looks no mind; their attention was

Concealment Art reduced Su Ming's presence to a minimum; he was like an unnoticed apprentice bookboy beside

feng shui here is quite good," Lin Yu's voice sounded in Su Ming's head, "built by the water, plenty of moisture. Though there isn't much spiritual energy, living here long can nourish the mortal body

noble in a deep-blue brocade robe

complexion fair, but his eyes

his father is the prefectural court's deputy magistrate," Xu

moment, Wei Zi'ang was speaking

Lantai Secret Garden in the capital. My cousin entered the Hanlin Academy last year and had the honor of seeing their catalog — it was vast as

just contain court records from prior dynasties, but countless rare volumes and unique editions. There are even..." Wei Zi'ang paused for effect, savoring the expectant looks

lowered his voice and spoke with a boastful air of

Supernatural Things' is stored there! It records mountain spirits, ghosts, strange gods and other oddities. Of course, such banned books are only

Ming's heart suddenly

Investigations of

in his mind like

from the depths of his

to seize Wei Zi'ang at

Yu's voice was like a bucket of ice water dumped over his head, instantly dousing the flames in his heart, "Disciple, restrain your spirit! Look at you, your heartbeat's all over the place! Your spiritual energy almost

immediately tightened his mind, forcing himself to look away from

Qing, "The tea and snacks

soft, just enough for a few nearby people to hear, his tone matter-of-fact, as if he

Ming's intention and nodded in agreement, "Mm, that's

of these two humble scholars, but saw them discussing food instead. He felt as

and took a gentle sip; the warm

Lantai Secret Garden.

committed the

became a more concrete and firmer target on his path

gathering continued

a seven-character regulated verse on autumn with proper tonal balance and distant imagery, drawing a few measured praises and managing

grinding ink for Xu Qing as he composed, acting as the most dutiful

one paid him any

...

not go elsewhere; he spent

the secluded alleys, observing the people and affairs around

he strolled slowly along the

the old locust trees by the wall, casting mottled shadows on the

Suddenly his steps stalled.

spirit sense detected

was faint, cold, and entirely different from the chaotic atmosphere around it. It was neither the burning vigor of a martial cultivator nor the muddled presence of an ordinary person. Instead it resembled a tamed, exceedingly small stream, carrying a

Ming's heart

perception with

away, a young scholar in a faded blue long shirt was hugging several rolled

older than Su Ming, thin in frame, his complexion a little pale, with a lingering melancholy written between his

if absorbed in his own world, indifferent

faint cold pulse had come from an inconspicuous black jade pendant hanging at

but on it were carved runes Su Ming could not read, runes whose energy flow he

was a

perhaps only an auxiliary tool for calming and

Ming's breathing abruptly grew

ever seen in reality someone who might

wanted to step forward

"Stop!"

exploded in Su Ming's

Charging up to ask, 'Fellow Daoist, where did

Yu's voice seethed with

dare approach him? What if he has a Golden Core ancestor behind him? What if he's a demon cultivator who slaughters without

ifs" snapped Su Ming fully

fine cold sweat

had indeed been