Nathan Foster first looked for a tent with the fewest people; it was a riddle tent.

On the stage hung dozens of small wooden plaques, each one a riddle. No one was there to greet visitors; you had to go up and guess the riddles yourself.

A few scholars were on stage, heads bowed in deep thought.

Nathan Foster perked up—solving riddles was his forte, and he never missed.

He walked up to the stage in high spirits and saw a scholar staring blankly at a wooden plaque. Nathan Foster leaned in to take a look.

“Sixty days, guess a character.”

A very simple and straightforward riddle. Nathan Foster chuckled; the scholar couldn’t even guess this one? Wasn’t it just the character for “friend” (朋)?

“What happens if you guess it right?” he asked the scholar beside him.

“You take it down and claim your prize. Each correct answer gets you five coins.”

The scholar suddenly asked Nathan Foster, “Did you figure it out, young master?”

Nathan Foster grinned, took down the plaque, and said to him, “It’s the character 朋!”

The scholar slapped his forehead hard. “That’s right! Sixty days is two months, isn’t it?”

Nathan Foster turned to another plaque: “After parting words, let go of past grudges (guess a character).”

He casually took down the plaque—this was the character “modest” (谦).

Then he looked at the plaque on the left: “Guan Yu leaves Maicheng (guess a character).”

Nathan Foster thought for a moment, then took down the plaque—this was the character “emerald” (翠).

...

Nathan Foster was in his element, taking down all fifty wooden plaques in one go, leaving the nearby scholars dumbfounded.

Nathan Foster felt a bit embarrassed, so he hung one plaque back and said with a smile, “I’ll leave this one for you guys—take your time!”

He turned and ran to the back, where an old man sat behind the tent, chin in hand, dozing off at the table.

“Clatter!” A pile of plaques landed in front of him. “Old man, time to claim my prize!”

The old man was startled, looked at the pile of plaques, then at Nathan Foster. “You solved them all, young man?”

“Of course!”

Nathan Foster said proudly, “Let me tell you one by one. ‘Waving but not coming closer’—is it the character ‘surpass’ (超)?”

“Correct! You got it, young man.”

“‘The sun nears dusk, guess a place name’—is it Luoyang?”

“Absolutely right! It’s Luoyang.”

Just then, an angry voice suddenly sounded behind him. “You’ve gone too far!”

Nathan Foster turned around and saw the little loli from earlier standing behind him, holding a wooden plaque, glaring at him furiously.

“Little sister, what’s wrong?” Nathan Foster blinked and asked.

“Greedy, selfish jerk!”

The little loli threw the plaque at his feet, stomped hard, and stormed off in a huff.

Nathan Foster felt extremely pleased and couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

The old man understood and shook his head at Nathan Foster. “You took all the plaques, so the young lady got angry.”

“She’s just too impatient.”

Nathan Foster blinked and smiled. “If I finish guessing, won’t you just hang up more?”

“That’s true!”

Nathan Foster picked up the plaque on the ground and raised an eyebrow. “The executioner’s face—guess an official title.”

“Ha! The answer is ‘prime minister,’ right?”

...

Nathan Foster had never been this happy before. He solved a bunch of riddles, earned two hundred and fifty coins, and vented his frustration—it was truly satisfying.

Humming a little tune, he walked out from behind the tent, went to a bookstall, and spent ten coins on a shoulder bag.

Patting the bag full of clinking copper coins, Nathan Foster felt completely content and turned to head for another tent.

Only then did Nathan Foster notice the secret of the tents: each tent had golden flowers hanging from the top—the fewer the flowers, the lower the prize.

No wonder no one was at the riddle tent; it only had one golden flower.

The tent at the far east had nine golden flowers, the highest prize, and was packed with people. Nathan Foster figured he wouldn’t be able to squeeze in.

At that moment, he suddenly spotted the greatsword heroine standing in front of the tent with five golden flowers, standing out like a crane among chickens. The scholars all kept their distance, feeling inferior. The little loli was probably inside.

Five golden flowers—he wondered what the challenge was.

Nathan Foster squeezed forward and saw two large characters in the center of the tent: “Couplets!”

Only then did Nathan Foster realize this was the couplet tent, though he didn’t know what the prize was.

On stage stood a middle-aged scholar in a white robe, with a long beard under his chin and a beaming face—he looked like the host.

The middle-aged scholar laughed and said, “Just now, Eric Lee gave a great answer: ‘Willow catkins rise with the wind,’ and he replied, ‘Phoenix trees lament the coming of frost’—a truly marvelous couplet. This young lady’s ‘Banana leaves droop with the rain’ was just a bit lacking, so this round goes to Eric Lee.”

Only then did Nathan Foster see the little loli from earlier. She was standing in front of the greatsword heroine, looking unhappy—it turned out she was competing with someone.

On the other side was a scholar of about twenty, dressed in fine clothes and holding a folding fan. He gently tapped his palm with the fan, looking quite pleased with himself.

Nathan Foster immediately felt contempt. She’s just a six- or seven-year-old girl, and you, a grown man, are proud of beating her? Have you no shame?

The host gestured, and a young attendant came out carrying a red lacquered wooden tray filled with copper coins—probably several hundred.

“This is the second round’s prize: five hundred coins. Congratulations to Eric Lee!”