Yan Shouyi left.
Huang Hai returned to the construction site dejectedly.
Zhang Guodong pulled Huang Hai aside and asked, "Master Huang, that Master Yan is so young yet so capable. You are also from the Xuanmen, do you know his background?"
Huang Hai glanced at Zhang Guodong and said gravely, "I dare say you wouldn't dare to listen."
This air of superiority was deeply ingrained in Huang Hai. At this moment, he displayed none of the deferential demeanor he had shown towards Yan Shouyi earlier.
Seeing Huang Hai's secretive stance, Zhang Guodong's curiosity grew even more.
Although he respected Huang Hai, Huang Hai had made a mistake before. Furthermore, having witnessed the even more formidable Yan Shouyi, Zhang Guodong pondered that instead of trying to curry favor with Huang Hai, it would be better to win over Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi seemed quite honest, appearing to be around the same age as his daughter who had just started university. If he could arrange a match…
Zhang Guodong was quite confident in his daughter, who was studying at an art school. Yan Shouyi looked like a simpleton, someone who would easily fall for it.
Huang Hai, being a shrewd individual, immediately discerned Zhang Guodong's thoughts.
He said earnestly, "Mr. Zhang, I'm not saying this to protect my livelihood from young Yan. It's because I feel indebted to you, so I'm giving you a word of caution—a remarkable person like young Yan, without a strong family background, truly cannot handle him as a son-in-law."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Zhang Guodong asked, confused.
"Have you heard of Lu Ban, Mr. Zhang?"
"Of course, he's an archer. His ultimate ability is good, but he lacks mobility skills, and his physique is too fragile."
"..."
Huang Hai exclaimed angrily, "Not the Lu Ban in the game, but the true master craftsman who existed in our history!"
Lu Ban was from the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period. He was born into a family of craftsmen for generations and participated in many civil engineering and construction projects with his family from a young age. As he grew up, he traveled to various states and created countless tools and mechanisms. Saws, chalk lines, and the carpenter's square still used by carpenters today, as well as ancient siege ladders and grappling hooks used in warfare, were all invented by Lu Ban.
Lu Ban is honored as the progenitor of civil engineering and carpentry, a true master craftsman.
However, what is truly mystical are the extraordinary skills attributed to Lu Ban in unofficial historical accounts!
Legend has it that Lu Ban traveled extensively, learning numerous skills from the common people, and eventually compiled the "Lu Ban Book," which consisted of three volumes: upper, middle, and lower. The upper volume contained ordinary knowledge of civil engineering and construction. The middle volume recorded peculiar contents such as feng shui, talismans, medicine, and physiognomy.
As for the most mysterious lower volume, no one knows what it contains except for the true inheritors of Lu Ban's lineage.
The inheritors of Lu Ban's legacy were often passed down through a single line, from father to son, never to daughters. After enduring the ravages of time, Lu Ban's inheritors had long since disappeared. The miraculous skills of Lu Ban were likely lost long ago. Today, if a carpenter can inherit even one or two of Lu Ban's extraordinary skills, they can be called a "craftsman" or "master."
Huang Hai's explanation allowed Zhang Guodong to grasp the general idea: "You mean, young Yan is an inheritor of Lu Ban?"
"He hasn't admitted it, but based on my deduction, he is absolutely an inheritor of Lu Ban!" Huang Hai stated with great certainty. "No one else could wield the 'Taishan Stone Daredevil' with such power!"
Zhang Guodong did not understand or know much about matters within the Xuanmen. He only cared why he couldn't take Yan Shouyi as his son-in-law.
Huang Hai further explained, "Lu Ban, after all, was a carpenter. In the past, carpentry was considered a low-status profession that was often bullied. Therefore, to avoid being bullied, Lu Ban's inheritors added many malicious and evil techniques in the middle volume of the 'Lu Ban Book' during later revisions! This led to the legend that due to the wickedness of the Lu Ban Book, the Lu Ban Sect became one of the forbidden teachings among folk religions, resulting in every Lu Ban inheritor being a solitary star. Anyone who studied it was bound to face retribution, which is the so-called 'five deficiencies and three lacks'."
"These 'five deficiencies and three lacks' refer to a destiny. The 'five deficiencies' refer to 'widowed, widowed, orphaned, solitary, disabled,' and the 'three lacks' are simply 'wealth, life, and power.' No matter which of these young Yan chooses, it's something ordinary families cannot afford. Looking at young Yan, he must be lacking in wealth among these three. If you, Mr. Zhang, take him as your son-in-law, your family fortune will be depleted by him in no time."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Guodong changed his mind.
Although Yan Shouyi was capable, it wasn't worth Zhang Guodong sacrificing his own wealth and prosperity.
It was more practical to find someone to help Yan Shouyi locate the fortune teller named Chen Dawei and make him indebted to him.
"I never thought I'd have the chance to see a living inheritor of Lu Ban in my lifetime. If I told my elder martial brothers about this, I doubt they would believe it," Huang Hai muttered to himself, full of emotion.
...
...
Rongcheng, the capital of Jianzhou Province, is named after the banyan trees that fill the city.
At six in the morning, under a large banyan tree on the roadside, a breakfast stall was bustling with activity. Yan Shouyi was among them.
He ate two steaming Malagao and drank a large bowl of sweet soy milk before contentedly entering a small roadside inn.
After helping Zhang Guodong and Huang Hai with the matter by the riverbank yesterday, Yan Shouyi walked into the city alone. He didn't find a place to stay until dawn.
Don't ask him why he didn't take a taxi; it was because he was poor.
The small inn he stayed in was also very cheap, costing only thirty yuan for a night.
The eighty yuan Wu Yuchun gave Yan Shouyi was only enough for him to spend for two days. If he couldn't find Chen Dawei after two days, he might have to sleep on the streets.
If all else failed, Yan Shouyi had another option.
That was his second purpose for coming to Rongcheng: finding a wife.
When Yan Shouyi was young, his father was imprisoned for a crime, and he lived with his grandfather. He traveled across the country with his grandfather for many years, and all his skills were taught by his grandfather.
The year after his father's imprisonment, Yan Shouyi came to Rongcheng with his grandfather. At a house with two ginkgo trees in the yard, his grandfather arranged a marriage for him. The other party promised that once the children of both families grew up, Yan Shouyi could propose and marry their daughter.
A month ago, on his deathbed, his grandfather specifically reminded Yan Shouyi of this matter, urging him to settle this marriage upon arriving in Rongcheng. However, Yan Shouyi hadn't taken it too seriously. Modern society emphasized free love, and parental decrees and arranged marriages were no longer relevant. Moreover, so many years had passed, it was unlikely the other party would agree.
However, Yan Shouyi hadn't expected to actually marry this way from the beginning. If he still couldn't find Chen Dawei in two days, he hoped to stay at that family's house for a few days and settle this absurd marriage. Whether it succeeded or not, it would at least fulfill one of his grandfather's dying wishes.
Back in the small inn, as soon as Yan Shouyi lay down on the bed, a wave of drowsiness washed over him, and soon he was snoring evenly.
He had a dream where he saw an ancient battlefield littered with corpses. He held a sharp sword, with an abyss in front of him and an army of thousands behind him… Those people seemed to be there to kill him.
Yan Shouyi slept until sunset.
Using his essence blood to write the Taishan Stone Daredevil last night had indeed consumed a lot of Yan Shouyi's energy, which was why he needed so much sleep to recover.
Upon waking, Yan Shouyi habitually reached into his satchel for a compass.
The compass was a rustic brown, made of fine nanmu wood. Some parts had developed a patina from use, and the markings were somewhat blurred, but Yan Shouyi didn't mind because he knew every detail of this compass by heart.
Casting a divination for himself every day was Yan Shouyi's habit.
Yan Shouyi gently spun the compass in his hand, muttering incantations, which were not curses but rather sounded like calculations.
After a while, Yan Shouyi frowned and muttered to himself, "Why is it an inauspicious卦 (gua)? And a prison calamity at that!"
Could it be because he saved a life last night?
Yan Shouyi felt a headache coming on. Forcibly altering someone's fate had consequences, but Yan Shouyi hadn't expected the retribution to arrive so quickly.
However, I abide by the law. How could I face imprisonment?
At worst, I'll just hide in the inn until this streak of bad luck passes.
While Yan Shouyi was contemplating, a knock suddenly sounded at the room door. Yan Shouyi went to open it and saw a stout middle-aged woman standing outside, seemingly the innkeeper.
The innkeeper sized Yan Shouyi up. Seeing his youthful vigor, her eyes lit up. "Young man, want some fast food?"
Yan Shouyi was taken aback. He had slept all day and was just feeling hungry. Without much thought, he nodded. "Yes, where can I get it?"
"Wait here in the room. I'll bring it up shortly." The innkeeper smiled broadly, her eyes seemingly hinting at something. She personally closed the door for Yan Shouyi and went downstairs.
Back in his room, Yan Shouyi felt puzzled. This small inn not only served fast food but also delivered it?
"Grandpa said it's hard to do business in the city. I never expected it to reach this point, where even a small inn offers such thoughtful service…"