Boys of Lian Li’s age weren’t typically targeted by the likes of the mouse-whiskered man. After all, by this age, a youth’s character was already formed. Those with good looks and fair skin usually came from decent families, and as young gentlemen, they were rarely fragile. They were far more difficult to control than women, and their wills were much harder to break.
Although his frame wasn’t yet fully developed, he still possessed enough strength to resist. If he were to fight back and injure a guest, it would be a major problem. Yet, when Ma Tie had summoned him, he hadn’t mentioned Lian Li’s age.
When the mouse-whiskered man arrived, he was initially hesitant to take Lian Li in because of his age. However, Lian Li’s face was so exceptionally handsome that no one in the entire Liufang Court could compare. If he were taken in and properly groomed, he would undoubtedly fetch an astronomical price. Unexpectedly, his plans backfired completely, and he ended up being captured by Lian Li instead.
These girls were between eight and fourteen years old, and most had been sold by their own families. The Qinghong Sword Sect questioned them one by one. Most of them were from towns or villages near Xianglai City.
The families of those who had been kidnapped and abducted were notified to come and collect them. Some, however, had been sold by their own families against their will and had no home to return to. After roughly assessing their aptitude for martial arts, Zhao Rong discussed the matter with his wife, Shen Wanyun.
Zhao Rong would take those with good martial arts aptitude back to the Qinghong Sword Sect to serve as outer disciples for further evaluation. As for the rest, Shen Wanyun would step in to arrange work for them, providing them with a means to make a living. Should any among them prove to be particularly clever, they would be further cultivated.
Lian Li recuperated in the Alliance Leader’s Manor for a few days, and his complexion finally improved significantly, taking on a healthy, rosy glow. He requested some Xuan paper and composed a short story of about ten thousand words based on his kidnapping and self-rescue. The middle section, specifically the part where he subdued those four men, was altered by him until it was completely unrecognizable.
He placed heavy emphasis on his courage and wit, as well as his spirit of tenacious resistance when faced with such an ordeal.
His writing was plain and accessible, and he even managed to shoehorn in a moral lesson at the end.
In any case, after he showed it to Yun Huizhou, Yun Huizhou’s assessment was:
“It doesn’t have much logic, but it’s a very satisfying read.”
Lian Li nodded. Being satisfying was exactly the point; as long as it was a fun ride, people would love to read it. After all, refined people were in the minority in this world.
He handed the manuscript to Yun Huizhou and said, “Help me take this to Honglin Bookstore and ask Manager Hu if he’ll take it. If he does, publish it anonymously; don’t use my previous pen name. As for the price, I’ll leave it to your discretion.”
Yun Huizhou returned quickly, bringing back eight hundred wen.
Lian Li was startled. Previously, the thirty-thousand-word Martial Arts Tournament Record had only fetched one tael of silver, yet this little story of barely ten thousand words actually earned eight hundred wen?
He thought for a while and concluded that the issue likely lay with the story’s genre.
After all, many people had witnessed the martial arts tournament firsthand and already knew the gist of what had happened.
However, he had used the events of that night as the basis for this short story, adapting it significantly and adding a great deal of dramatic conflict.
It looked more complete now, which was likely why it could fetch a higher price.
Just then, he suddenly remembered that the one tael of silver from selling the martial arts records was still back at the inn.
He hurriedly called out to Yun Huizhou, who was just about to leave the room.
“Yun Huizhou, on the day I was kidnapped, I sold my previous manuscript for one tael of silver. I left it under the pillow at the time; did you see it and put it away for me?”
After all, several days had passed, and they were no longer staying at the inn. If Yun Huizhou hadn’t taken the silver, it would likely be gone for good.
Fortunately, Yun Huizhou was quite reliable when it came to money. He replied, “The disciples of the Qinghong Sword Sect found it under the pillow. After they handed it to me, I put it in the bundle with the martial arts competition rewards. It’s not lost.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” Lian Li breathed a sigh of relief and then asked, “When are we leaving?”
Yun Huizhou paused for a moment before saying, “Let’s wait a few more days. I have some matters to take care of.”
Lian Li was a bit puzzled.
Yun Huizhou had previously said they would leave as soon as the items were issued. Why had more matters suddenly cropped up now? However, seeing that Yun Huizhou had no intention of explaining, he didn’t press for details.
He figured he would just be thick-skinned and continue staying at the Alliance Leader’s Manor for the next few days. At least it was safe, and since the wound on the sole of his foot hadn’t fully healed, a few more days of recovery would do him good.
Qu Tingquan frequently dropped by to chat, occasionally bringing several young disciples from the Qinghong Sword Sect with her.
The female disciples were all quite fond of him, as he had been the one to capture Ma Tie and apprehend that pimp.
Although that pimp took in both males and females, women made up the majority. Furthermore, the boys among them were mostly kidnapped, abducted, or lost. Among the girls, however, quite a few had been sold by their own families. In truth, while the villages around Xianglai City were poor, they weren’t so destitute that they had to sell their children, so the female disciples felt quite sympathetic toward the girls’ plight.
They didn’t come empty-handed, either. Every time they visited, they brought some delicious treats and pestered Lian Li to tell them once more how he had fought one against four to capture Ma Tie, the pimp, and the others.
The wait Yun Huizhou had mentioned lasted for more than half a month.
The manuscript Lian Li had previously submitted to Honglin Bookstore was also published in the Gazette. On the first day, the number of copies sold was about the same as usual.
Normally, sales for such gazettes would peak on the first day, but this time was different. From the second day all the way through the fifth, the number of copies sold continued to rise. By the third day, they had even briefly run out of stock.
Manager Hu of Honglin Bookstore was beaming with such joy that his eyes were narrowed into slits. Seeing that Lian Li hadn’t emerged from the Alliance Leader’s Manor, he sought out Yun Huizhou to pass on a message.
When Yun Huizhou returned that evening, he looked at Lian Li with a look of wonder and said, “Manager Hu mentioned that Honglin Bookstore has a branch in Jianggao City. In the future, if you have any new manuscripts, you can submit them to the branch there.”
Lian Li hadn’t expected Honglin Bookstore to actually have branches in other cities. He asked, “Jianggao City?”
“Yes, Jianggao City is the closest city to Drunken Dream Island. The most common route back to the island is to take a boat from here,” Yun Huizhou said.
Lian Li remembered Yun Huizhou mentioning that Drunken Dream Island was quite far from Xianglai City. He hadn’t expected Honglin Bookstore to have a branch out this far. This was an ancient era, and transportation was hardly developed.
Honglin Bookstore really was something else.
The two of them chatted casually as they packed their things.
Suddenly, Lian Li thought of the mouse-whiskered man and his group. He asked Yun Huizhou, “What about those three—Mouse-whiskers, Small-eyes, and Strawberry-nose?”
“What? Those are some strange names.” Yun Huizhou didn’t catch on immediately.
