Chapter 211 2/3

Fan Weiyan felt utterly humiliated at the time.

However, he believed that those lurking in the shadows who dared to target him in inns would not dare do anything at a plum blossom viewing party attended by many scholars.

Fan Weiyan had no unexpected incidents on his way and was in a good mood. But upon seeing Li Qingzhi happily conversing with others, his mood soured.

Why was Li Qingzhi everywhere?

After arriving in the capital, Fan Weiyan stayed at inns and changed inns a few times due to his bad luck. Consequently, more people knew Fan Weiyan than Li Qingzhi.

Seeing Fan Weiyan, despite fearing they might catch his bad luck, some went to greet him.

Noticing Fan Weiyan’s attention on Li Qingzhi, one remarked, “That’s Li Zixiao from Jiang’an Province, this year’s top scorer from Jiang’an.”

Another added, “So he’s Li Zixiao! I’ve read his articles in the ‘Jiang’an Anthology.’”

“His writing is truly excellent!”

Li Qingzhi’s achievement as the top scorer in Jiang’an Province indicated his genuine scholarly talent.

People around Fan Weiyan spoke highly of Li Qingzhi, making Fan Weiyan, already annoyed from recent troubles, lose his temper. “This person has poor words!” he exclaimed.

Everyone was taken aback. As competitors, scholars did not always get along well, but publicly accusing someone of poor words was a serious accusation.

“Why do you say that, Brother Fan?” someone asked.

Fan Weiyan responded, “The day I arrived in the capital, I wanted to stay at an inn, but he occupied four rooms alone and refused to share one with me! Later, I was falsely accused, and he just watched without saying a word!”

The others were shocked—Li Qingzhi did such things? He didn’t seem the type.

A scholar named Jiao Yunwei turned to Li Qingzhi and asked, “Brother Li, did you occupy four rooms and refuse to share one with Brother Fan?” Some people just loved seeing others’ misfortune.

Li Qingzhi had heard everything Fan Weiyan said but remained unfazed because he was far enough away that it seemed impossible for him to hear.

When asked directly, he looked puzzled, “I occupied four rooms? I only stayed in one. Don’t slander me, Brother Fan.”

“Didn’t you take the last four rooms in the inn?” Fan Weiyan sneered.

Li Qingzhi explained, “Brother Fan, when I arrived, I brought my wife, two children, my father, my wife’s godmother, and my four students. I couldn’t take just one room. Since there were four rooms left, I took them. Everything works on a first-come, first-served basis. We had already taken the rooms, so asking us to vacate one was unreasonable.”

Fan Weiyan’s words had made some wonder if Li Qingzhi had indeed hogged four rooms, but now, hearing his explanation, it made sense.

Li Qingzhi continued, “Everyone knows that after arriving in the capital, I rented a house because my family is large and staying at an inn is too costly.”

His explanation was logical, and people’s perceptions of Fan Weiyan began to change.

Jiao Yunwei then said, “Brother Li, Brother Fan also said you watched the commotion when he was falsely accused!”

Fan Weiyan glared at Jiao Yunwei, then turned to Li Qingzhi, “When I was falsely accused at the dock, your wife watched and did nothing to help!”

He had accused Li Qingzhi of watching without helping, but it had been Li Qingzhi’s wife present at the time.

“Brother Fan, we had only met once before. My wife didn’t know you, nor did she know you were being falsely accused. Moreover, you had friends with you; how could you expect my wife, a woman, to intervene?” Li Qingzhi said, looking helpless.

Others also looked at Fan Weiyan strangely.

Especially those who had initially spoken with Fan Weiyan now wanted to distance themselves.

In both incidents, Li Qingzhi seemed blameless, yet Fan Weiyan had labeled him as having poor words.

Such a person wasn’t worth befriending.

Seeing the change in people’s attitudes towards him, Fan Weiyan became even more frustrated.

Jiao Yunwei spoke again, “Brother Fan, misleading us and accusing Brother Li of poor words is excessive. I, Jiao Yunwei, sever my ties with you!”

Jiao Yunwei’s righteous declaration further angered Fan Weiyan, while Li Qingzhi noticed Jiao Yunwei’s schadenfreude.

Li Qingzhi, uninterested in dealing with these people, was about to find his new friends when suddenly a dog darted out and bit Fan Weiyan’s left leg.

Li Qingzhi thought, “Here we go again,” noting Fan Weiyan’s persistent bad luck.

Clearly, someone had trained this dog with Fan Weiyan’s scent or placed something specific on him, as the dog, after biting Fan Weiyan, looked eager for a reward.

Fan Weiyan screamed and struggled, scaring the dog, which then ran away.

Fan Weiyan shouted, “Catch that dog!”

But who among the scholars dared to catch a dog that bites?

“Brother Fan, are you alright?”

“Brother Fan, where is your attendant? Have him take you to the clinic.”

“Brother Fan…”

The scholars wished Fan Weiyan would leave quickly to avoid his bad luck.

Fan Weiyan, fuming, glared at everyone around him.

Then a voice spoke, “Blessed by the Immortal Lord, everyone be cautious. This person is filled with resentment; getting too close might bring misfortune.”

Everyone turned to see a white-haired, youthful-looking Taoist with a kind face.

The Taoist’s words seemed directed at those near Fan Weiyan.

Resentment? Misfortune?

In those days, people were somewhat superstitious. Hearing the Taoist, the scholars instinctively moved away from Fan Weiyan.

“You’re talking nonsense!” Fan Weiyan shouted.

Though bitten, the dog wasn’t large, and he only had a few bleeding wounds.

The Taoist, Lu Mingshan, continued, “I never speak without reason. You carry a vengeful spirit on your shoulder, bringing you bad luck.”

Lu Mingshan, appearing calm but internally panicked, hadn’t expected Li Qingzhi to be there.

Previously, after being caught swindling, Li Qingzhi had warned him not to deceive people again. Now, he was lying in front of Li Qingzhi.