Chapter 94: Chapter 86: The Prime Choice for Livable Living

"Ah..."

After sharpening the peculiar sword, Du Chengfeng remained lost in thought for a long while.

Speaking of Ruan Shantao, Du Chengfeng’s impression of the old man was primarily one of strength—unbelievable strength. If he had any faults, it would be that the old man’s mouth was too loose, he was very old-fashioned, and loved to lecture. He could go on for half an hour over a single mistake. It was only after sharpening this peculiar sword that Du Chengfeng realized that this old windbag of a lecturer indeed had a legendary past.

"Sigh..."

Thinking of this, Du Chengfeng sighed and eventually hung the well-sharpened peculiar sword back on the wall.

Indeed, this Rectangular Sword was the best weapon in the Yanzhou armory—calling it a Divine Weapon wasn’t an exaggeration. But since Old Ruan Shantao gave up this sword for the peace of a state, he felt it inappropriate just to take it away.

Although, from his own experience in Yanzhou, the nights were anything but peaceful, the city managed to maintain normal order during the day.

Being so close to the Ji Bei border, yet not witnessing street brawls, was a testament to the effectiveness of Old Ruan’s teachings—although Ruan Shantao clearly understood that in such a rugged borderland, expecting complete harmony and benevolence among people was somewhat idealistic. But evidently, the old man had done all he could.

Earlier, Du Chengfeng was puzzled as to why there was such a significant difference in public customs between Yanzhou and Jizhou when the distance wasn’t that great.

The root of it all lay right here.

"You’ve done well, so stay here."

With a respectful gesture toward the weapon on the wall, Du Chengfeng got up and left.

Previously, he had felt that Yanzhou City was full of trouble, as if he were sitting on a powder keg ready to explode at any moment, with the decaying weapons in the armory, the city monster troubles, or his own encounters with the night killers. Any single issue was enough to trouble Yanzhou, more so with a pile of such troubles stacked together.

But now, he realized that these situations that had startled him were, at the end of it all, merely trifles.

As long as the Rectangular Sword hung there, the armory wouldn’t run into problems. As long as Old Ruan watched over Ziyang Mountain, Yanzhou wouldn’t fall into chaos. Although there were certainly some minor issues, Yanzhou was surprisingly not that bad overall?

Moreover, compared to the barren Ji Bei, Yanzhou was rich in resources and abundant with fertile lands.

Truly an ideal place to live.

"It’s decided!"

At that moment, Du Chengfeng resolved to settle permanently in Yanzhou.

Thinking about it, life in Yanzhou wasn’t bad: he had a stable job, a house allocated to him, and courses for further education. As for the job, it was just about changing the wine in the armory’s tanks for weapons, and the courses were taught by current luminaries like Ruan Shantao, who had once served as a government minister.

Although Du Chengfeng thought the classes were probably just basic literacy, no one could say it wasn’t a lesson.

"In the future, I can have the folks from Yangjia Fortress come to the mountain to learn too."

Yes, that seemed feasible. At least many of the young kids had reached the age to learn to read, and given the limited education level at Yangjia Fortress, producing a few more like Yang Sanlang was the best it could do. Better to send them to Old Ruan; at least he could bring them up like decent people.

Indeed, given Old Ruan’s reputation, many adults would likely be willing to make an effort to learn to read and start their education.

As for Old Ruan, after sharpening the Rectangular Sword, Du Chengfeng realized the man was open to teaching anyone willing to learn. This was the best news for the folks from Yangjia Fortress. After all, compared to Yunzhou’s literacy rate, the cultural level at the Ji Bei border was dreadful.

"How can one not know how to read?"

Du Chengfeng shook his head repeatedly. As a man of peace, he couldn’t tolerate this.

In Du Chengfeng’s view, any normal person should, at the very least, know the most basic daily words and be able to form sentences and perform basic arithmetic. If one couldn’t manage that, only knowing how to wield a knife, what was the difference from a monkey?

With this thought, Du Chengfeng rode out of the city, partly to inform the villagers they didn’t have to run away anymore, and also to invite Carpenter Li over for a long-overdue drink to celebrate his new home.

Upon hearing Du Chengfeng’s suggestion, the villagers naturally voiced their full support.

"We always knew you were someone destined for great things!"

Praise from the villagers flowed incessantly, even making Du Chengfeng’s face turn red with embarrassment. But understandably so, for the villagers of Yangjia Fortress, having their children receive education from a minister, even if retired, was a significant deal.

If the children were to attend school, the parents wouldn’t leave either. After some discussion, they decided to buy property and settle in Yanzhou. As for the location and finances, those were matters for Old Yang, Yang Xuan.

As for Carpenter Li, he accompanied Du Chengfeng back to the city, and the two cooked a few dishes to enjoy with their drinks, getting thoroughly drunk in the process.

Even Du Chengfeng himself drank to oblivion.

It had been so long, very long; since arriving in this world, it was the first time he had truly relaxed his tense nerves.

So much so that when the sun was high in the sky, their table for two had become one for three, which was perfectly reasonable.

"Where did you pop out from?"

Du Chengfeng kicked the drunken Liu Bolun on the floor, his face dark with irritation.

"This is my house, isn’t it? Where did you sneak in from? Get out."

"Hey! You can’t talk like that. Before you came, this was my house."

Half-drunken and a bit dazed, Liu Bolun opened his eyes only to find Du Chengfeng clenching his fist. He quickly retracted his neck and stood up.

"No, what I mean to say is, you drank all my homemade wine; how could you not invite me?"

"Why should I invite you? To get you back to the office to work?"

Glancing at the leftover wine in the cup, Du Chengfeng eventually refrained from punching Liu Bolun in the face.

Having someone mysteriously enter the house was unnerving enough, especially since he had just been utterly inebriated. If it hadn’t been Liu Bolun but some assailant instead, both he and Carpenter Li could’ve been decapitated. It’s ironic to think he used alcohol to bribe the sparrowhawk before; who would’ve imagined he would also let his guard down? 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Drink less, know more; it’s better to drink less, or big trouble may arise.

"But how did you dare to sneak back in? Do you know that no one’s been doing the work since you resigned and handed in your official seal? If the authorities catch you, how will you leave Yanzhou City?"

"Well, I just came over to bum some drink... Oh right, I do have something important."

Halfway through his words, Liu Bolun slapped his forehead.

"The head of the mountain is afraid you’ll run away, so he asked me to remind you to attend the lectures in the mountains, or else it won’t be me coming next time."

"Ah, this..."

Du Chengfeng was speechless for a while.

He never imagined that even with a proper job, he’d have a day where he felt like a student, being caught by the teacher.

"Alright, I’ll head over now."

After washing up and changing clothes to get rid of the smell of alcohol, Du Chengfeng mounted his horse and hurried to Ziyang Mountain.

Outside the mountain gate, the two young gatekeepers were still in charge, but this time Du Chengfeng was experienced.

Before reaching the gate, Du Chengfeng had already tucked away his seal and money pouch, dismounted, and remembered the words Liu Bolun taught him when the two gatekeepers reached out for money. He simply spread his hands wide.

"I’m a student, no money."

"...Hmm?"

The two gatekeepers glanced at each other, and surprisingly let him pass.

So it seemed these two gatekeepers were just like that old Ruan, targeting only the rich.

"Oh, right."

Suddenly remembering something, Du Chengfeng, who had just entered the gate, turned back.

"I’m a student, no money, and I haven’t had breakfast yet."

"Well, at this hour, there probably isn’t much food left in the cafeteria."

One of the gatekeepers thought for a moment, then pulled out a bag of buns from his coat and handed over two.

"Take these to tide you over, we’ll talk about the rest in the evening."

"Thank you, gentlemen."

Accepting the two buns, Du Chengfeng couldn’t help but silently praise.

So Liu Bolun did come through once in a while, and this tactic actually got him a meal.

But just as Du Chengfeng was biting into a bun, someone else approached the two gatekeepers.

"I’m also a student, and I have no money."

"Haha."

Looking at the middle-aged man in loose robes outside the gate, the gatekeepers just scoffed.

"At your age, still a student? Do you take us for blind?"

"This... fine, I’m actually here for an exchange."

Seeing he couldn’t fool the gatekeepers, the middle-aged man had no choice but to obediently take out his money pouch.

Then he approached Du Chengfeng.

"I’m indeed not a student, but I haven’t eaten breakfast either. May I have one of your buns?"

"Haha."

Exchanging looks with the gatekeepers, Du Chengfeng laughed too.

"I really am a student."

"I know you’re a student... Alright, I won’t take your bun for nothing."

The middle-aged man was startled for a moment, then shook his head with a smile.

"If you’re willing to share a bun with me, I’ll tell you a secret."

"A secret?"

Du Chengfeng wasn’t interested in continuing the conversation; he most disliked such cryptic nonsense.

But just as he was about to lead his horse away, the middle-aged man pointed to the saddlebag on the horse’s back.

"You have a weapon in that bag, don’t you? And it’s dead, right?"

The middle-aged man smiled warmly.

"The secret I tell you will bring that weapon back to life."