Chapter 142: Chapter 142: Good Brothers with the Same Name and Surname_1
As usual, Qin Sisi spent her daytime practicing magic, while Ye You concealed herself into her Portable Space, busily honing her skills in Alchemy. Days passed swiftly in this manner.
To ensure sufficient energy at night, both Qin Sisi and Ye You chose to take a good rest at noon.
When night fell once again, the earth was draped in darkness; the Yang energy carried by the sun had dissipated, and the Yin energy of the night was growing stronger.
Qin Sisi stood in front of the couch while Ye You was seated on it. With a slight wave of Ye You’s claws, a white mist flew out from her fingertips. After some shifting and transforming, a figure appeared before them; initially quite blurry, it gradually grew clearer – it was the ghost that appeared in the well last night.
Having been nourished by Ye You’s medicine, the ghost seemed to be in better condition; its complexion was still somewhat pale, but no longer the horrifying shade of white as the previous night, and its eyes seemed to be a little more vibrant.
The ghost opened its eyes, looking left and right in confusion, muttering to itself, "Where is this? How did I end up here?"
Eventually, the ghost’s gaze fell upon Qin Sisi. After a brief moment of surprise, some changes appeared on its expression, a hint of spiritedness gleamed in its eyes as it softly said, "I remember now. You pulled me out of that well."
Qin Sisi curved her lips, about to speak, when the ghost suddenly formed fists with both hands and bent ninety degrees at the waist, making a grand obeisance to Qin Sisi with dignified respect, "Thank you, Fairy, for saving me."
Fairy? Qin Sisi was pretty speechless, this man, he’s a real scholarly type! Judging from his appearance, he really did have a scholar’s demeanor.
Qin Sisi spoke gently, "I am not a fairy, I am just an ordinary person."
The ghost shook his head stubbornly, "A fairy that was capable of lifting me from the depths of the well, certainly isn’t an ordinary person. I beseech you, Fairy, to wield your great mercy, vindicate my grievances and avenge my injustice. In my next life, I will work as hard as an ox or a horse to repay you."
Clearing his grievances was indeed his deepest desire.
Seeing that he was willing to promise repayment in his next life, if his vengeance could be fulfilled, he would probably willingly offer his Soul Power.
Qin Sisi felt a sense of relief in her heart, there was no need for an exhausting negotiation with the ghost anymore, as long as she could help him accomplish his wish. The feeling of being regarded as a fairy wasn’t all that bad.
After a moment of contemplation, Qin Sisi asked, "What’s your name? Of what era were you from?"
The ghost responded with a bow, "Answering Fairy, my surname is Zhuang, given name Qin, born in the second year of Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty, and died in the fifth year of Zhengde. I was the top scorer in the imperial examination in the fifth year of Zhengde."
Zhuang Qin, the national scholar?
Qin Sisi was quite astonished; the imperial examination was held triennially, which means there was only one top scorer every three years. She never thought that this ordinary-looking man before her was a bona fide genius.
Nevertheless, he was pronounced the national scholar in the fifth year of Zhengde but also perished in the same year, what’s the story there?
Temporarily suppressing her doubts, Qin Sisi checked the time on her phone, then hesitantly asked Zhuang Qin, "Do you know that you have been dead for a long time?"
The ghost showed a trace of grief on his face, sighing, "I know; even though I have been dormant, I could still feel the passage of time. If I am not mistaken, it has been several hundred years now."
Qin Sisi couldn’t help but be amazed inwardly, nodding her head and saying, "You guessed well, more than five hundred years have passed since you died."
Even in a dormant state, his soul could still perceive the flow of time and speculate the approximate span of it. Indeed, worthy of the reputation of a genius.
Zhuang Qin sighed again, keeping his head down and remained silent, looking rather burdened.
Qin Sisi pointed to the couch and said, "Let’s sit down and talk."
Zhuang Qin hurriedly extended his arm in a gesture of invitation and said to Qin Sisi, "Please have a seat, Fairy."
Seeing his courteous manner, Qin Sisi no longer hesitated and sat down directly on the couch, then said to him, "You should sit, too."
Zhuang Qin quickly refused, "No no no, it is not proper for genders to mix, and it suffices for me to stand."
Qin Sisi: "...Right then."
Having said that, Qin Sisi threw a bemused glance at Ye You.
Ye You winked at her, then turned her head the other way, in a cheerful mood: I like this scholarly gentleman; he’s quite considerate.
Qin Sisi looked at Zhuang Qin and said in a clear voice, "Tell me about your grievances, I can’t guarantee that I will be able to help you, but I will try my best."
Zhuang Qin nodded, slightly tilting his head back, his eyes gradually grew distant; the memories dormant for over five hundred years began to stir.
Zhuang Qin slowly started recounting his story, "At the beginning of the fifth year of Zhengde, I left my hometown in Jiangnan to participate in the imperial examination in Jing City. The high number of examinees from all over the country resulted in skyrocketing prices for lodgings in Jing City."
"Because my family wasn’t wealthy, to save some money, instead of staying in an inn, I took up temporary lodging at a rural household."
"There was only Grandma Yang living in the household, her husband and children were already deceased, she had no income. I lived there, paying her a bit of rent and would help her with some chores. Our needs met each other’s, and we formed a harmonious relationship."
"One day, another examinee came along, he too was short of money and was looking for a cheaper place to lodge. Seeing him in the same predicament as I was, I asked Grandma Yang to take him in."
"Upon inquiry, I found out that we shared both the same name and family name. He was two years older than me. We were both amazed at the coincidence and felt that it was some kind of destiny."
"Since then, we shared meals and a room; we studied and wrote together, composed poetry, discussed classics, and even pointed out each other’s shortcomings. Our relationship grew closer and we became like real brothers."
"We even started referring to each other as brothers, with me calling him ’big brother’ and he called me ’second brother’. Being an only child, I was delighted to have an ’older brother’, and treated him with utmost sincerity."
"However, unexpected things happen. On the eve of the exam, he suddenly fell ill; he was down with an unbreakable fever, constant coughs, and was weak all over."
"Out of concern for his wellbeing, I advised him to give up on the current phase of exams and try again in three years. He was resolute and attended the exam despite his illness."
"When the results were announced, I emerged as the national scholar, while he failed. I couldn’t bear this situation and, putting aside my own joy, bought some gifts to console him instead."
"He was very upset, and said impatiently that his level of scholarship was higher than mine and he should have become the national scholar as well; it was unfair of heaven to cost him the scholarship because of his illness."
