William Carter nodded, half-understanding, then thought for a moment and spoke again: “Chongzhou Academy is the largest academy in Shuzhou City, and even in Jiannan Dao it’s quite renowned. Even though you and Mr. Bennett have shared a few drinks, there’s no way he’d let me into the academy without taking a single coin. There’s barely a grain of rice left in our house’s rice jar.”

　　Hearing this, The Elder reached into his robe, rummaged for a while, and pulled out a jade token about the size of a baby’s fist, tossing it to William Carter.

　　William Carter caught the jade token and asked in confusion, “Master, what is this? Could it have something to do with my background? Was this left on me when you found me?” The round jade token in his hand was flawless white, smooth and warm to the touch, with a double-dragon chasing a pearl design carved on both sides, and a single “cloud” character in the center, ancient and elegant.

　　“Don’t overthink it. I’ve forgotten which journey I swindled this from. Didn’t you say we’re out of rice? This should be enough to trade for a few sesame cakes.” Henry waved his hand dismissively.

　　“Master, you were hiding such a good thing? But using this to buy sesame cakes is just too wasteful. Do you have anything else? Give me another one, just in case I need to spend some silver to get into the academy.” It was obvious at a glance that this jade token was no ordinary item. William Carter casually put it away, his eyes shining as he looked at The Elder.

　　The Elder looked at William Carter with a hint of disappointment and said, “So young, yet all you think about is money, money, money. Have you fallen into a pit of coins? Old Bennett may be pedantic, but even he’s more open-minded than you. If I deliberately lose a few games of chess to him and gift him a jug of Jian Nanchun liquor, he’ll be begging me to send my disciple to his shabby academy. By the way, we’re out of wine. On your way back, get me a jug of Jian Nanchun, and remember to bring half a roast chicken from Wang Ji’s in the south of the city. Last time it was too fatty and greasy, so pick a better one this time.” As he spoke, he tossed his wine flask to William Carter.

　　“You only care about eating, of course you don’t worry about money. And every time it’s you mooching off Mr. Bennett’s wine—when have you ever treated him? Mr. Bennett’s chess skills are far better than yours. Every time, you’re the one blushing and shouting for a take-back.” William Carter rolled his eyes and pouted.

　　“Oh, so now you dare to mock your master?” The Elder’s old face flushed, and he took off his worn shoe, holding it up as if to hit him.

　　William Carter laughed, tossed the longsword in his hand to his master, and turned to run, dashing down the mountain path beside the old pine. As he ran, he called out, “If I go to the academy, I won’t have time to write letters for people, so you’ll have no wine to drink for a while.”

　　“This rascal.” The Elder smiled helplessly, put his shoe back on, picked up the longsword, and walked toward the main hall. Stepping over the threshold, he glanced back at the mossy stone under the half-charred old pine, shook his head, and murmured, “That boy thinks third rank is as common as cabbage in the martial world. Only at third rank does one enter the flow, and entering the flow is no simple matter.”

　　William Carter had already lived in this temple for eighteen years, and that The Elder was his master, Henry. According to his master, he was picked up by the river. But over the years, whenever he asked which river he was found by, his master always claimed to have forgotten, so William Carter’s hopes of learning about his origins were nearly dashed.

　　Every year, his master would take him down the mountain to travel, which really just meant pretending to be mystical to swindle food and drink. The rest of the time was spent meditating and stargazing in the temple, and on ordinary days, he was left to read on his own, with his master only giving him pointers when in the mood.

　　Most of the silver they swindled on their travels was spent on books for him, so although he always came back from those grand mansions with a pile of coins, after a few months of wandering, what was left was basically a cartload of books, and their days remained tight.

　　William Carter hung the rather delicate wine gourd at his waist and sped down the stone path, taking three or five steps at a time, his toes barely touching the ground before he was off again. His wide Daoist robe billowed in the wind, and with his handsome face, he truly looked a bit otherworldly.

　　Having lived this way for years, William Carter didn’t find life hard at all. His expression was calm, though his mouth kept moving. If anyone heard what he was muttering, they’d surely burst out laughing.

　　“That old man just knows how to hide on the mountain and sleep. Clearly, if he just went to Shuzhou City and opened his mouth, those landlords and rich merchants would be lining up to give him money, but he insists ‘a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass by its own burrow.’ If a rabbit’s really starving, it’ll even eat mud—who cares if it’s the grass by its own burrow?”

　　“Luckily, he’s got a clever disciple like me. Setting up a stall to read fortunes and write letters for people, at least I won’t starve. Now he’s sending me off to take the civil service exam. I heard if you get first place, those rich merchants will give you rewards. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother with such a boring thing.”

　　“Going to Chongzhou Academy is fine, but Mr. Bennett is easy enough to deal with. It’s Emily Bennett, that little girl, who’s a hassle. I’ll have to rack my brains and tell her some martial world stories. If she’s not satisfied, she’ll beat me up again.”

　　“Of course, it’s not that I’m afraid of her. A gentleman uses words, not fists. But that little demon somehow learned some sword techniques. Last time, she used a thin bamboo stick and still gave me a good thrashing. I need to find out who her master is first, so I can come up with a plan.”