Chapter 74: Entering Jianghu

The moment I heard what Old Man Jiang said, my whole body tensed up. Because of cultivation training, the sense of reverence and caution he had instilled in me, and my own experiences, I actually held a respectful, avoidant attitude toward things like graves. I had never expected that anyone would go digging things out of tombs.

“Master, people like that, you do not care? And you are still coming here to trade?” I was still young, and in my mind, white was white and black was black. In my world, good people should live long lives, and bad people should be caught and punished.

To me, Master was a true expert, so I felt that things like digging up graves were something he should be managing.

“I do not care. Grave robbers are also a kind of profession. Many of them are poor people forced into desperation. Once they step onto that path, life and death are no longer in their own hands. Besides, if they dig up other people’s tombs, they naturally have their own consequences. Heaven is watching this. They know it themselves and even have their own rules. When retribution comes, many of them accept it. San Wa Er, the rights and wrongs of this world, the black and the white, are not as simple as you think. Just like the sky, there is day and there is night, right? Also, what our mountain lineage is responsible for belongs to another world. We do not allow those things to disturb people’s lives. But the matters of this world are not ours to control.” Old Man Jiang sighed and said softly.

At that time, I was only ten years old. Looking back now, he probably did not know how to explain these principles to a child. Human nature is the most terrifying thing, yet the essence of Daoist teaching is to let things follow their natural course, and for the laws of nature to complete their own cycle.

For a child to be exposed to certain kinds of darkness is, in truth, cruel.

After a moment of silence, Old Man Jiang said, “When you turn fifteen, I will take you out. From then on, every year I will take you out into Jianghu. By then, you will understand much more.”

I felt a slight discomfort in my heart, but I still nodded. After all, I could not yet accept worldly affairs with a calm mind, nor could I fully grasp the idea of letting others be while maintaining one’s own nature.

After walking for a while, Old Man Jiang finally pulled me into a teahouse. Compared to the others, this teahouse was clearly different. It was a two-story building with a kind of elegance that did not belong to ordinary street life.

“Even running an underground shop so openly, this is probably a display of being the industry leader,” Old Man Jiang muttered as soon as he entered, but his voice was very low, only I could hear it.

After a pause, he did not go upstairs. Instead, he casually found a table in a corner on the first floor and sat down.

After sitting for a short while, a waiter came over. Old Man Jiang casually ordered two cups of flower tea and a plate of peanuts, and was about to send the waiter away, but then he thought for a moment and asked him to bring two bowls of beef noodles from the shop next door.

The two bowls of noodles were both for me. The taste was average, but at least it filled me halfway.

“Master, you said Chengdu has so much good food, but this noodle is just average,” I said after getting used to the wild food in the mountains. I reached for the tea in front of me and took a sip, only to immediately feel extremely uncomfortable and nearly spit it out.

“You brat, this beef noodle is just ordinary street food. What kind of flower are you expecting to taste? As for the tea, I probably spoiled your palate. When you drink the tea I make on the mountain… forget it. You will understand after you follow me around Jianghu more often.” Old Man Jiang said as he peeled peanuts on his own. He drank the flower tea slowly without showing any discomfort.

After all, I was still a child. Sitting for a while was fine, but after twenty minutes I inevitably grew bored and began observing everything in the teahouse.

The people here were hard to figure out. From their voices, many were not from Sichuan. Their appearances were also very different. Unlike other teahouses, which were either filled with groups of elderly people or groups of card players, this place was different.

How should I describe them? Some looked like honest farmers, even with mud stains on their trouser legs. Some looked refined, wearing glasses and holding folding fans. Others seemed ordinary at first glance, but their eyes were unusually steady, carrying a faint ruthless edge.

Maybe it was because of what Master called my natural “heavenly eye,” but I was always unusually sensitive to what people were like. I could often feel something deep inside a person.

With such a mixed crowd, I found the teahouse strangely fascinating. Before long, I noticed something odd.

The customers who sat drinking tea would often be approached by someone after a short while. Some people would arrive, scan the room, and directly approach someone. Others were already seated customers.

Those who were approached usually looked tense. After only a few sentences, I could see them either shaking their heads or nodding. If they shook their heads, the approacher would leave immediately. If they nodded, something even stranger happened, they would simply leave together with the other person. Usually, a waiter from the teahouse would also follow along.

They would be gone for only a short time. Some would return and continue drinking tea. Some would return, settle their bill, and leave.

“San Wa Er, have you figured it out?” Old Man Jiang asked casually after sipping his tea.

“I think I have a little, but I do not understand why they keep going around talking to people, coming and going like that. They do not even seem to know each other.”

“This is business. The ones approaching people are goods brokers. They usually use coded language to ask whether someone has goods, what quality they are, and so on. After figuring that out, they give an approximate price and ask whether the person is willing to show the goods. This kind of business cannot be done openly. If someone agrees, they go through the back alley of the teahouse or near the restroom to inspect the goods. If they do not agree, that is the end of it. The owner of this teahouse is not ordinary. They do not dare to cause trouble here or rob goods privately. Most people who come here understand the rules of this area, and only regulars are allowed in. If someone accidentally comes in, after a few questions they will be asked to leave,” Old Man Jiang explained.

“Then why do the waiters follow them when they go out to inspect goods? And why were we not asked to leave?”

“The waiters follow to collect fees. This teahouse only accepts high quality goods, but it allows others to trade here. Once a deal is done, both buyer and seller must pay a commission to the teahouse. As for why we were not asked to leave, it is simply because our time has not come yet. After about an hour, someone will come to test us,” Old Man Jiang said quietly.

As expected, while we were still talking, a waiter walked over.

“Sir, did someone introduce you to drink tea here? Did they say our teahouse is good?”

“I came on my own,” Old Man Jiang replied calmly.

“I see, you are unfamiliar then. Most of our guests are regulars who come here to discuss business.”

After saying this, the waiter stared at Old Man Jiang for a long moment. At this point, if one did not understand the rules, they would probably be asked to leave.

“No talk of matters above the heavens, no talk of matters beneath the earth. Only money matters are proper business,” Old Man Jiang replied with a strangely phrased sentence.

The waiter smiled, gave a subtle nod toward the surroundings, and turned to leave.

I was completely confused. What was all that about?

“This is coded language,” Old Man Jiang explained. “It means no talking about grave robbing or tomb-related business here. Only goods that have already come out can be discussed. It also signals that this place is for trade and has nothing to do with grave robbing. It is a way of drawing a line. Over time, it became a set phrase. The waiter’s nod just now was to signal that we are insiders. Soon, someone will come to do business with us.”

Hearing all this, I felt an inexplicable excitement rising in my heart. What began as resistance had unexpectedly turned into curiosity.