Long Chen was startled as he didn’t know these two people. He looked around but didn’t see anyone else. The two of them were definitely coming toward him.
“Ladies…”
Long Chen was about to speak when one of them stuck a small cotton ball to his scarf.
The cotton ball was pink, representing the heart. There were some small barbs that kept it attached to his scarf. If he tore it off, it would rip out some strands from his scarf.
“This…?”
Long Chen was lost. These two women looked like proper ladies, but they actually liked to mess around with people like this.
Before he could finish speaking, the other one also stuck a cotton ball to his scarf.
After finishing, the two women blushed and ran off, leaving behind only their tinkling laughter.
“Something seems off.”
Long Chen suddenly thought of his father’s laughter as he had walked out, as well as his mother’s somewhat odd actions. It seemed that he had been conned.
Continuing on his way, Long Chen suddenly saw a group of men wearing white robes and scholar bands on their heads. They carried white paper fans. They were tottering, seemingly drunk.
Based on their apparel, they were scholars from some academy, and their cultivation bases weren’t bad either. At such a young age, they had reached the Foundation Forging realm.
However, with the way they were swaggering about, Long Chen felt that they would need to at least be at the Netherpassage realm to have such arrogance.
They were tottering side to side like crabs as if this giant road wasn’t enough for the eight of them.
Long Chen saw scarves on their necks as well, and the color was the same as his. He instantly understood that this blue scarf represented something.
Furthermore, those people’s scarves also had many cotton balls on them, with the fewest having only seven and the most having over ten.
Those people saw Long Chen and his scarf and instantly became disdainful. They began walking directly toward him.
“They want to bump into me?” Long Chen was speechless. He didn’t care, so he got out of the path. But that group became even more unbearable.
“Hmph, he doesn’t even dare to reveal his identity plate. He either has no status or is a country bumpkin from outside,” sneered one.
Only then did Long Chen notice the jade plates on their waists indicating that they came from the Grand Xia’s Scholar Mansion.
That was a high level academy in the Grand Xia where both culture and martial arts were taught. The people inside were all talented, and many would become officials in the government in the future.
Of course, some people only joined in order to get that status. Some rich families would send their children there just to win some face.
Long Chen had heard of this place, and he knew that although they did martial arts as well, it was the scholar aspect that was focused on.
At the same time as he read the Grand Xia’s Scholar Mansion on their jade plates, he also saw a small Outer character written on it, meaning that they weren’t even the top students of the academy.
Long Chen smiled. Looking down on others to make yourself look stronger was just a display of those who felt inferior. Why bother talking with them?
Inside the Grand Xia, Long Chen had a layer of Spiritual Strength covering his face to make sure that others couldn’t recognize him. After all, he had once been the mighty National Protector, so many people inside the capital recognized him. By covering up his face and not revealing his identity plate, these people assumed that Long Chen’s status was so low that he was embarrassed to reveal it.
Long Chen continued onward and saw another man with a scarf who wasn’t revealing his identity plate.
However, that man seemed dispirited. His clothes were new, but Long Chen saw that the insides of his sleeves were worn. Clearly, he was so poor that he couldn’t even buy a new set of clothes and was forced to only buy an outer robe, while his inner robes were still broken down from use.
“Brother, why are you sighing?” Long Chen took the initiative in greeting him.
“Sir, you are…?” The man was startled and hastily tried to bow.
“What sir? We’re both the same. Let us share our misery.” Long Chen waved his hand and put on a bitter expression.
“Sir must be joking. You already have two ladies willing to sing you the song of their hearts, and you aren’t satisfied?” The dejected man shook his head.
“I saw some people with ten each just pass! I almost died of envy and tried to snatch them away. So tell me, these cotton balls…”
“They’re heart jewels,” corrected the man.
“Right, these heart jewels, what’s the story behind them? I hope you won’t laugh at me, but I don’t have much learning. I feel like a scholarly man such as yourself can simplify it for me,” said Long Chen with a smile.
The sad man shook his head, sighing. “What’s the point of reading a hundred useless books? No matter how much I read, what’s the point? People’s hearts are all ostentatious. Sorry for being rude, I shouldn’t be complaining. The heart jewels became popular during the time of princess Xia Yin during the Grand Xia’s Wu De era. Princess Xia Yin was very kind and lively. Once, she snuck out of the palace to play and accidentally brushed against someone while they were looking at the lanterns by the river. One of her heart-shaped hairpins snagged on that person’s scarf. Because of the hooks on the hairpin, it was stuck firmly to that person’s scarf. They spent a long time before managing to extricate the hairpin without damaging the scarf. After working together on that, they actually grew friendly and continued to meet. But later on, their relationship was discovered by the imperial palace, and at that time, the imperial family’s rule was that the princesses could not marry commoners. The person she had bumped into then went into the military, and in just over ten years, went from a common foot soldier into the position of general through his accomplishments. However, during a fierce battle against barbarians, he was shot in the eye. Feeling that he was no longer fit for the princess, he silently left. However, just as he left the army, the princess ran over, bringing her entire dowry with her. In the end, they married. The story between them circulated throughout the commoners, and later, it became custom for unmarried young men and women to flirt during the Lantern Festival. The men would wear scarves, while the women would place their heart jewels on the scarves of the men they liked. The heart jewels are actually a tiny lock that can be opened with no key. Inside is a slip of paper with the girl’s information on it. If you feel like there’s a tie between you and her, you can use that information to start a relationship with her…”
The man sighed deeply. It seemed he had been looking for that fabled soul mate, but he hadn’t found her.
Long Chen rolled his eyes. No wonder his father had been laughing, so Long Chen had been tricked into going out for courting.
This made Long Chen think of the Phoenix Cry Empire’s Lantern Festival. After being away for so many years, he ended up running into a similar custom here.
At that time, Shi Feng, fatty Yu, Shi Hou, and him had all been companions. Recalling it, Long Chen felt as if it was just yesterday.
“What are you sighing about? As a man, you have to stand up straight. What, can you not bear it? Do you want to seek death to end it all?” Long Chen’s lip curled.
“How… how did you know?”
Just how strong was Long Chen’s Spiritual Strength? He had easily read that person’s spiritual fluctuations. This fellow had grown tired of life and was thinking of death.
“Speak. If you have troubles, perhaps I can help you once,” said Long Chen.
“I… I was harmed by others. They destroyed my certificate of acceptance, so I was unable to enter the Grand Xia’s Scholar Mansion. I have no way to right this wrong. I spent my final coin on buying a new robe to see if I can find someone who has the slightest good feelings toward me before dying. That way, I could die without regrets. But… I didn’t even encounter one.”
Long Chen shook his head. “If I hadn’t said that I would help you, I really wouldn’t help someone like you. Rather than thinking about how to solve your problems, you want to use death to avoid them? Useless is an appropriate word for people like you. Don’t tell me that you worked hard, that your luck was bad, that those people were evil. As long as you live in this world, no one has it easy. Remember this if you feel that life is easy, then there are definitely people carrying the burden of your life for you. If you rely on a mountain, the mountain will collapse one day. If you rely on your father, your father will age one day. If you’re weak, the troubles will be strong. If you’re strong, the troubles will be weak. In life, if you want to pass a mountain, open a path. If you want to cross a river, build a bridge. There are plenty of people less fortunate than you in this world. They don’t have time to complain or cry because they cannot avoid this reality. They know they have a heavy burden on their shoulders, and that this burden will be passed onto the others beside them if they die, making their lives even more difficult. People can’t be too selfish…”
Just as Long Chen was chiding the man, he suddenly noticed that quite a few people had come over, staring in shock at him. Perhaps Long Chen was too good at showing off, but some of the ladies were looking at him worshipfully like he was a great scholar.
“Sir, I understand.” The man suddenly bowed deeply toward him and turned to leave.
“Hey, wait a moment. I have a tablet here. Take it, and your problem will be easily resolved,” called out Long Chen.
The man looked back and smiled. “If I take your tablet, I might be able to resolve my current problem, but no one will be giving me a second tablet when the next issue comes. So I’ll resolve things myself. I will not forget the favor of your teachings, Sir.” He once more bowed toward Long Chen and left. Ten years later, a great scholar would rise.
Long Chen stared blankly for a while. He had originally wanted to help him, only to end up scolding him away. He felt like he had gone a bit too far this time.
After that person’s departure, Long Chen felt odd being stared at by so many people. He put away his tablet and left.
“Did you see that tablet of his?”
“I only saw a part of it. It said National Protector, but I didn’t see the rest…”
“National Protector… General Long Chen?”
By the time they reacted, Long Chen had vanished.
