Chapter 4, Hong Gu of Qing Liu Cottage (Part 2)

Chutian chuckled softly, feeling quite pleased as he looked at the glowing scale on the jade ruler and said, "Eighty years of cultivation, and I am just a few days away from turning eighteen, not bad at all!"

A cold snort came from behind the curtain of the bed, and Hong Gu angrily said: "If you die outside, I will help collect your corpse one day!"

Chutian set down the booklet in his hand, picked up the jade box, and opened the lid. Inside were only six thumb-sized yellowish-brown pills, emanating an extremely pungent yet remarkably lingering aroma

Chutian frowned: "The son of the head of the Zhou family, he must be a bad person."

The curtain was slightly drawn apart, and a pair of bright, beautiful eyes were watching the jade ruler in Chu Tian's hand through the gap

Chutian raised his eyebrows slightly, smiled, and picked up the jade ruler. With a gentle exertion of his palm, a point of white light appeared on the jade ruler, gradually lengthening and approaching the first inch mark on the ruler.

On one side of the courtyard are six exquisite bamboo cottages, which serve as the residence for the maids and attendants

Putting down the jade ruler, Chu Tian flipped through the book with the blood-red cover. After turning over a dozen pages, he chuckled and said, "Hong Gu, look, at this time last year, I had only fifty-five years of cultivation. In one year, I have increased my cultivation by twenty-five years. I have indeed been quite diligent!"

While speaking, Chu Tian pulled out a very thin carbon strip from the cover of the booklet and carefully wrote something on it. The booklet contained no names, only a number composed of heavenly stems, earthly branches, and digits. Under this number, Chu Tian wrote the words "certain year, certain month, certain day, eighty years of cultivation"

After a full tea time, the white light on the jade ruler reached around the eight-minute mark, and could no longer advance even a fraction.

"His son has returned!" Hong Gu said lightly, "Zhou Dangtou's son, Zhou Liuyun, went to the capital of Da Jin to pursue his studies twelve years ago and became a disciple under the master of the Bai Lu Academy. He just returned to Biao Prefecture seven days ago and has taken up the position of the chief scholar at the Biao Prefecture Academy, ranking first under the mountain master of the academy"

Behind the Ling family is the Chu family, and the Biao Prefecture Academy is indeed the old stronghold of the literati of Biao Prefecture... Tsk, tsk, the Biao Prefecture Academy is also the gathering place of the elite scholars of Biao Prefecture" Aunt Hong said irritably, "Isn't this just trouble knocking at the door?"

"Zhou Dangtou, that old ghost, how could he possibly forget?" Chu Tian touched his own cheek and chuckled, "When I was young and soft-hearted, I broke Zhou Dangtou's arms, but his fierce wife stabbed me in the face. If it weren't for Hong Gu having the antidote for the venom of the golden viper, I would have either died or been disfigured. It would truly be a pity for my handsome face!"

"Stop with the playful remarks; he is a serious scholar of the academy, not some second-in-command!" Hong Gu scolded with irritation and continued softly, "Even if he is just a scholar of the academy, if he dares to cause trouble, we can simply break his legs, and it won't stir up any commotion."

At the top of the small hill, a Four Seasons Red maple tree is planted, and occasionally, palm-sized red leaves fall, drifting into the stream and flowing away with the water, adding a touch of poetic charm to this small courtyard

With a gentle sigh, Hong Gu said slowly: "Oh, I was just sending someone to look for you, and here you are, which saves me the trouble. Do you still remember Zhou Dangtou, who was thrown into the White Python River by you back in the day?"

To the north of the courtyard stands a small building shaped like a bamboo shoot, with three halls on the ground floor and bedrooms on the second floor. The smallest top floor is sparsely furnished, and when the wind blows, one can faintly hear the hollow sound of a xun.

As the curtain moved, there was a sound of "pop, pop" and a booklet with a blood-red cover, about the size of a palm, along with a jade ruler measuring one foot in length, fell in front of Chu Tian: "Hmm, measure it yourself, another year has passed, have you made any progress?"

He closed the courtyard door behind him and walked to the small building. Following the staircase, he reached the second floor and pushed open the bedroom door on that floor

"Good boy, the second chief of the scholars!" Chu Tian furrowed his brows

Suddenly, the curtain of the bed moved slightly, and Hong Gu lazily asked, "Are you still having nightmares?"

After a considerable amount of time, a sweet and sticky voice, as if it had countless tiny hooks, slowly drilled into my ear, reaching deep into my heart, stirring my innards with a tingling sensation, and faintly echoed: "Chu Tian, Chu Dà Dàng Tóu, there is no one as diligent as you even in the brothel."

Wow, six leopard fetus pills!" Chu Tian stood up with a beaming smile, casually bowing to the bed and saying, "Hong Gu, you are indeed a person of conscience. Over the past three years, A Gou, A Que, and I have extracted profits from the Bai Mang River, and ninety percent of those profits have been spent on you. You are truly generous!

Chutian shivered slightly and continued to stride outward: "Now it has turned into a spring dream, in which you are Hong Gu, and occasionally there is also Lu Gu!"

With a smile, Chu Tian turned and left with a graceful stride

After pondering for a moment, Chu Tian stood up with a smile and said: "Red Aunt, rest assured, I have a way to deal with him. If it really doesn't work, I will ask Red Aunt to lend a hand to save me."

Hong Gu chuckled softly and said leisurely, "What is the difference between a qin house and a brothel? Ah, just in time for your arrival, it saves me some trouble!"

Putting away the six leopard fetus pills, Chu Tian looked solemnly at the bed and said, "Hmm? Has Hong Gu received news here?"

As the curtain moved, those beautiful eyes vanished without a trace. Hong Gu sighed softly, saying: "Compared to ordinary people, it's not bad, but that's about it. Sigh, who made me deal with you bunch of troublesome scoundrels?"

In the small yard, a little hill was formed using several exquisite river stones, around which a winding stream with nine twists and eight bends was carved. The rushing water of the stream struck the porcelain vases deliberately placed at the bends, continuously producing crisp sounds of "ding ding, dong dong, buzz buzz," instantly filling the small yard with liveliness

"Hong Gu, it's time to receive guests!" Leaning lazily against the door frame, the embroidered ball of flowers on her hairpin swayed slightly. Chu Tian smiled and knocked on the door, calling out to the four-poster bed inside the bedroom, which was draped with thick curtains.

With a cold snort, Hong Gu said: "Go back and tell those two boys that the remaining children from Yingkou back in the day are few, so they must not die."

The jade ruler is one foot long, with ten long scales on it. Each scale, measuring one inch in length, is further divided into ten smaller scales.

"Hong Gu, you say Qing Liu Xiao Zhu is a brothel, aren't you afraid of Lu Gu tearing your mouth apart?" Chu Tian smiled exceptionally brightly, swaying as he walked into the room, sitting down at the round table in the center of the room. He picked up half a pot of leftover tea, rinsed a tea cup, poured himself a cup of cold tea, and leisurely took a sip.

As the curtain moved, a jade box the size of a palm flew out and silently landed in front of Chu Tian

With a heavy sigh, Hong Gu helplessly said: "Unfortunately, he has become engaged to the Ling family. The ninth miss of the Ling family, Ling Yinhua, just got engaged to him five days ago. Three days ago, Ling Yue was exceptionally admitted to the Biao Prefectural Academy and has become the personal disciple of the mountain master of the academy."

"Get lost!" A pillow with a faint fragrance was thrown out forcefully, hitting Chu Tian squarely on the head: "How can you have the nerve? With the meager profits from your fish stall, how much can you possibly save? These six Leopard Fetus Pills were obtained after I shamelessly begged you bunch of rascals for them."