101 Successor of the Divine Talisman Master (2/2)

In the courtyard with a cluster of bamboo located in the east, Dewdrop was staring in a daze at the twinkling stars reflected on the water inside the basin. Her crystal-like tears flowed down her smooth cheeks, plopping into the basin with a soft sound.

Behind the bead curtain in the room on the top floor of the House of Red Sleeves, Mistress Jian stared at the portrait beside her bed. Her smooth forehead was knitted into a frown as she looked at the young scholar riding a donkey in the portrait, his raised eyebrows, his cheerful and even arrogant laughter. She slowly shed tears, mumbling her complaint. ”Ke Haoran, you jerk. Back then, I made chicken soup and waited for you to come back each day, yet you wouldn't. Are you happy now? You can't drink any even if you want to. I don't even know if… you're doing well in the other world.”

She suddenly frowned and tightened her grip on the handkerchief in her hand. She took quick steps to reach the handrail and looked at the courtyard downstairs. She knew about Dewdrop's guest, yet seemed to feel no fear at all. Instead, she was annoyed and angrily scolded, ”What an insolent old man! Why did you come to my brothel to evoke my memories of that scoundrel?”

Walking under the shadow of the bamboo in her courtyard, Dewdrop made her way back into the room after washing up and putting on a light layer of makeup. When she saw how her guest was shaking his head at the table, her body stiffened. She stepped ahead to take a look and asked with a frown, ”Mister, I kept thinking that I caught the smell of chicken soup. Why is that?”

”It's not the smell of chicken soup. It's the taste of home.”

Yan Se shook his head and pointed at the 29 scribbled characters on the accounting paper. ”When the person wrote this note, he desperately wanted to return home and drink the bowl of chicken soup. That doesn't mean the soup is tasty. I'm curious about Sangsang. For him to act this way, I wonder if she's his ferocious wife or strict mother?

”That's… Isn't that written by Ning Que?” Dewdrop's delicate face was filled with confusion. ”He didn't seem like he wanted to go home then. Sangsang isn't his wife either. It's his little handmaiden.”

”Little handmaid? Then that makes this even more illogical.”

Yan Se shook his head again, ignoring this. He had remained a bachelor all his life because he had seen too many ferocious wives in the Tang Empire, especially in Chang'an. He preferred the brothels and the company of different women. Thus he couldn't understand the writer's longing for a little handmaiden and a bowl of chicken soup.

The next morning, that tall and thin Taoist left in a horse carriage without inquiring what Ning Que, the one who scribbled the 29 messy characters, was like. After a short while, Dewdrop appeared mid-yawn and rubbed her sleepy eyes. The feelings last night had all escaped her mind. She accepted the warm cup of tea from her maidservant and sipped on it. She subconsciously glanced at the table, only to find Ning Que's ragged memo had somehow disappeared. The messy script that her guest had copied last night on the rosewood table with wine had dried and vanished.

She shook her head with a smile. When she put down her cup, she accidentally knocked her green jade bracelet on the rosewood table. She heard a light noise and saw the flutter of a layer of red and fine powder on the table.

Dewdrop was stunned and widened her eyes curiously. She hesitated for a moment before pulling out her handkerchief to softly wipe away the powder. Unexpectedly, she found a line of scribbled words under the red powder. They seemed shallow but was actually deeply carved into the wood, unable to be wiped away at all.

”Sangsang, your master is drunk today and won't be home to sleep. Remember to drink the chicken soup left in the pot.”

Dewdrop's eyes were wide as she stared at the words. She vaguely came to a realization. She didn't know her guest was a legendary Divine Talisman Talisman nor could she predict what achievements Ning Que might make in the future. But she was clear this Taoist wasn't an ordinary person and wished sincerely that Ning Que had a good prospect. Most importantly, she was instinctively sensitive to opportunities after meeting all kinds of people in her life in brothels after a long time. Thus, she immediately ordered her maidservant to carefully put the table away and take good care of it for future use.

On the other side, Yan Se boarded a worn horse carriage after leaving the brothel. Not long after, he came across a young Taoist with a yellow paper umbrella under his arm. The young Taoist greeted him with great respect, saying, ”Uncle, I've found the information you wanted. The person is named Ning Que and he has escorted the princess all the way... Lyu Qingchen has confirmed that he has no potential at all. The Academy had also tested him a while back, but he failed even in the course of magic skills.”

Yan Se sighed. Never mind this person's relationship with the princess, it was a problem that his acupoints were all blocked. Could he ask the West-Hill Divine Palace to gather the powers of the Great Divine Priests and forcibly break his acupoints by imposing Grand Spiritism on him? It wasn't easy to find a successor of the fine Martial Arts of Talisman. He had finally found one last night yet it was someone born deficient. What a pity.

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