Chapter 206 2/3

Who knows if this Taoist will encounter trouble and abandon this child?

As Li Qingzhi carried the child forward, after a few steps, the Taoist caught up and said, “Sir, my little apprentice is quite mischievous, but he’s still learning… Please give him back to me.”

Lu Mingshan also wanted to snatch the child back.

But this scholar in front of him was inexplicably powerful. Just now, when he grabbed Lu’s wrist, Lu realized one thing very clearly: he couldn’t beat this person.

Luckily, this scholar didn’t seem intent on harming them, so he could only plead pitifully.

“Master, please don’t mind me, just run!” pleaded the little apprentice in Li Qingzhi’s grip.

It was winter, and he was wearing several layers, so being lifted up by Li Qingzhi didn’t bother him much. He was more concerned about his master being taken away by the authorities.

“Sir, this little apprentice of mine is really useless, and he’s even ugly and sickly…” Children weren’t worth much these days. Lu Mingshan could easily find another apprentice, but this one had been with him for five or six years, and he had developed some attachment.

Actually, Lu Mingshan treated his little apprentice like a son and couldn’t bear to watch Li Qingzhi take him away.

Li Qingzhi stopped and looked at Lu Mingshan. “You seem to value this little apprentice, but by taking him around to cheat people and making him help you, have you considered his future?”

Lu Mingshan was taken aback. “As long as he stays alive, it’s fine.”

“This child is quite clever. If you send him to school, he might become a scholar in the future.”

Lu Mingshan had never thought about this before. He usually… spent money when he had it and saved when he didn’t. He could easily swindle people for money and just as easily spend it all.

They lived extravagantly one day and barely ate the next.

He had considered the consequences of his actions and their future, but he thought, what was the point? He might get killed while swindling one day, or he might fall ill and die. Why worry about all that?

Even this little apprentice… If he hadn’t tricked him out, the child might have been beaten to death by his family. He saved the child’s life!

Lu Mingshan felt a surge of anger. “Sir, people like us are already rotten to the core. We’re different from people like you.”

Li Qingzhi sighed. “I mean you no harm, Master Taoist.”

He wanted to employ this person’s help, but it didn’t seem quite right to ask for assistance this way. If he told this person not to continue deceiving people, he might not appreciate it. Deception wasn’t good, but this child had an emotional attachment to the Taoist and probably wanted to stay with him. Plus, making a living by telling fortunes wasn’t that bad. If this Taoist set up somewhere and helped people with astrology, he could lead a decent life, which would be good for the child too. Being outside, they might encounter robbers unexpectedly.

Knowing he couldn’t help all the poor people in Daqi, Li Qingzhi gave the child a silver tael. “Consider this payment for the jade pendant.”

This person had said Li Damao might encounter a ‘road misfortune,’ which displeased him a bit, but he did take the jade pendant, so he couldn’t refuse payment.

After saying this, Li Qingzhi left.

Once Li Qingzhi was gone, Lu Mingshan’s little apprentice, named Lu Wang, handed over the silver tael he received to Lu Mingshan. “Master, I hit you just now, are you okay?”

Master Lu Wangshi didn’t have much strength, and although Lu Mingshan was hit, it didn’t hurt much. He just felt a bit disgusted at being hit with filth. “I’m fine.”

“Master, this scholar is really strange.”

“He is indeed. Let’s go to the city to inquire about him!” Lu Mingshan said.

Master Lu Wangshi was puzzled. “Master, aren’t we going to flee?”

“He doesn’t want to do anything to us, there’s no need to run away.” Lu Mingshan said. When Li Qingzhi returned to the inn, he saw Madam Qian’s two maids drinking porridge.

They were very seasick, so after getting off the boat they went to lie down in the inn for a while. Only then were they able to eat, but they only wanted some soup.

As for Zhang Zao and the two cooks, they returned to the boat after buying things.

Someone needs to be watching on the boat. They have been getting along well with the crew recently and are planning to make some delicious food for them.

When Li Qingzhi returned to the room, he saw Jin Xiaoye washing the faces and feet of Li Damao and Li Ermao.

“I won’t give them a bath. It’s winter now. We can just give them a good bath after we get to the capital.” Jin Xiaoye said.

“Yes, that’s fine.” Li Qingzhi said.

After washing the two children and putting them to sleep on the small beds in the room, Li Qingzhi and Jin Xiaoye simply washed their bodies.

These days there are many people who don’t take a shower in the winter, so it’s okay to endure not taking a shower during the journey.

When the two of them went to sleep, the two children had already fallen asleep, so Li Qingzhi told them about how he chased the Taoist priest after eating the noodles.

After listening to this, Jin Xiaoye was not too angry: “Actually, I have thought that he might be a liar, but I would rather believe it than not.” It would be so bad if Li Damao really encountered that “road evil” and had an accident!

“Yeah, he speaks very nicely.” Li Qingzhi said.

The two talked for a while and then went to sleep, and got up early the next day.

When Li Qingzhi and the others packed up and prepared to return to the boat, Zhang had already brought the two cooks to buy fresh pork.

According to Li Qingzhi’s request, they bought a lot.

Li Qingzhi took them on board. As soon as they arrived at the dock, they met the energetic Du Yongning.

Next to Du Yongning was the Taoist priest that Li Qingzhi had chased last night.

When Du Yongning saw Li Qingzhi, he said, “Brother Li, I met Taoist Master Lu last night. He is truly a great Taoist master!”

Lu Mingshan smiled and nodded at Li Qingzhi, looking like a master.

Li Qingzhi: “…”

When Lu Mingshan saw Li Qingzhi’s expression, his mood suddenly improved.

After he returned to the county town with Master Lu Wang yesterday, he asked the people from the Shen family fleet about Li Qingzhi.

Coincidentally, he met Wu Baichuan’s crew members who took turns to get off the boat and stroll around.

These crew members were all from Chongcheng County, and the common people of Chongcheng County liked to brag about Li Qingzhi, so they told Lu Mingshan a lot about Li Qingzhi.

For example, Li Qingzhi was the god of literature who came down to earth, and Li Qingzhi built a school in Chongcheng County.

After hearing this, Lu Mingshan felt something in his heart.

Just then he found out that another scholar who came to Beijing with the fleet went to a bathhouse… He was waiting outside the bathhouse, and when Du Yongning came out, he met Du Yongning and had a great chat with him.

Finally, Du Yongning invited him to go to Beijing together.

Lu Mingshan had cheated many people before, but most of the time he was at the bottom of the society and did not dare to cheat the rich and powerful.

If you really do that, you might lose your life if you’re not careful!