72 The Academy (1/2)
Chapter 72: The Academy
Translator: TransnEditor: Transn
It was unknown how many streets of property, such as Lin 47th Street, that Spring Breeze Pavilion Old Chao owned or how esteemed the officers that he liaised with were. And as such, for a man of such stature to leave Chang'an City, the people that he would bid farewell to certainly would not be the normal shop owners on Lin 47th Street. Yet before he departed today, he specifically made a trip down to Lin 47th Street to say goodbye to those owners. Perhaps in the eyes of the nobles from the Empire, they would probably have thought that this middle-aged man was attempting to give a clear warning by using the street that sparked off the Spring Breeze Pavilion incident, which was: ”Don't any one of you dare to stir trouble after I leave”.
But Ning Que knew that that was not his true purpose for coming to Lin 47th Street—He had come here to bid goodbye to Ning Que, someone who had fought hand in hand with him against their enemies in the spring rain and had sat side by side with him to enjoy noodles with fried eggs. Since Ning Que wanted to hide his identity and now that he was also a secret guard in the palace, that middle-aged man then thought of patiently saying goodbye to all of the shop owners to prevent anyone in Chang'an City from taking note of his existence.
Thinking about that, even someone as cold as Ning Que could not help but feel a warm and cozy sensation in his heart. Staring at the middle-aged man in the turquoise robe smiling in the middle of the crowd and approaching in his direction, Ning Que felt a little bit uneasy.
When Chao Xiaoshu reached the entrance of the Old Brush Pen Shop, he looked and gently smiled at the lad and little handmaiden who were in the shop. He then greeted them with a bow with his hands folded in front and said, ”Boss Ning, nice to meet you.”
Ning Que saw the great number of people that stood at his door and the curious commoners who had crowded around to view the scene. He smiled embarrassingly as he followed Chao Xiaoshu in greeting with a bow with his hands folded in front and replied, ”Nice to meet you, Second Brother Chao.”
Those three words ”Second Brother Chao” were first heard from the Deputy Commander, Xu Chongshan. He thought that this way of addressing him was appropriate since it not only showed his respect, but also drew their relationship closer. Instead, this caused Chao Xiaoshu to be taken aback. Slowly, a suppressed smile was revealed on Chao Xiaoshu's face as the group of threatening-looking men that stood behind him nodded their heads and stared at Ning Que with a friendly, teasing look. Everyone in Chang'an City addressed Chao Xiaoshu as Spring Breeze Pavilion Old Chao, and the brothers in the Fish-dragon Gang would address him as Gang Leader or Big Brother. But, only a few would address him as Second Brother Chao, hence, Ning Que had unknowingly let the cat out of the bag.
”I'll be leaving Chang'an very soon, so I brought along a few of my gang brothers to visit the shop owners along the street. Should Boss Ning have any issues in the future, do feel free to look for them. Of course, I believe as long as Boss Ning puts in the effort to run his business, the business will definitely prosper and it'll be successful. Do not forget to help my gang brothers out when that time comes.”
Chao Xiaoshu gently smiled and looked at him as he pointed his right finger at the handful of fierce-looking men behind him. He added, ”I believe you've seen Qi IV before. The others are Chang III, Liu V, Fei VI, and Chen VII. They are the brothers that I trust the most.”
”As long you put in the effort, your business will definitely prosper.” Chao Xiaoshu had mentioned those similar words at other shops as well. However, to Ning Que, there were other hidden meanings within them. Ning Que understood, and so did the group of men that stood at the entrance of the Old Brush Pen Shop. Chang III and Liu V glanced at each other and saw the others' look of surprise. They then took a step forward and silently bowed toward Ning Que.
All of them knew what had happened that night in the spring rain and, even though they had never met him, they already liked Ning Que. At the same time, they knew that Chao Xiaoshu had high regards for this lad. What they did not know was that Chao Xiaoshu regarded him so highly, to the extent that they could feel their big brother secretly trusting his important tasks to him.
Chang Siwei looked at Ning Que and said in a friendly manner, ”Boss Ning, should we face any issues in the future, it is unavoidable that we may need disturb you.”
After the conversation in the palace last night, Ning Que finally understood that these men were secret guards who had been arranged by His Majesty and placed among the commoners before. Since their identities were already out, they would most probably be called and reinstated with official positions in the palace soon. Of course, he naturally could not reject their requests, but he somewhat felt that something was off from their words.
Indifferent Chang III, Cruel Qi IV, Domineering Liu V, Ferocious Fei VI, Cunning Chen VII—these were the remarks given by the Chang'an commoners to the five Fish-dragon Gang generals. Due to the warm and friendly look from Chang Siwei, Ning Que somewhat could not think of him as indifferent and had not known that Chang Siwei actually had a plan deep in his heart to hang onto him for some time.
Since they wished to keep this relationship a secret, Chao Xiaoshu and the others could not stay too long in the Old Brush Pen Shop or they would attract too much attention. After they exchanged a few casual words, Chao Xiaoshu grinned at Ning Que and said three words:
”Time to go.”
It was another drizzling day. The drizzle was so light and gentle that the passengers did not even bother putting their bamboo rain hats on. Ning Que silently stood in the alley alongside Lin 47th Street as he saw the group gradually disappear from his sight. Looking at the back of the ever-elegant middle-aged man in the turquoise robe, he felt a sense of regret in his heart.
”One needs time to prove themselves worthy of being another's brother. To be your brother just because you want it, isn't that foolish for me? I was thinking that perhaps after a few years, and if our friendship is still strong, that I wouldn't mind being your brother. Yet, now that you decided to just leave abruptly, you're still making me look like a fool.”
Ning Que shook his head and let out a sigh. He turned around as he held onto Sangsang's hand and walked into the alley. A few peach blossom stalks had grown out from the cracks on the wall. No one knew when the spring rain had cut away their roots as they fell and scattered onto the cement ground.
Similar flowers were found scattered all around the cement ground near the city gate. Inside one of the wine shops, Chao Xiaoshu and his brothers, whom he shared life and death with, were all celebrating with the peach blossom wine that was sold in Chang'an City. They drank their fill before saying their goodbyes.
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