After a while, an old scholar with gray hair and a Confucian robe¹ knocked on the door twice.

When Yin Zhaoxian saw that it was someone holding a book, he bowed to him and extended his hand to invite the other party into the school.

“Teacher Zhou! Please come in!”

“Teacher Yin!”

Teacher Zhou cupped his hands and bowed in return, then came inside and stood next to Yin Zhaoxian. He looked at the sixty to seventy students in the classroom. It was quite a considerable number.

“This is Teacher Zhou, from our county. In the future, after I leave, he will temporarily take over the position of head teacher of the county school. Come, everyone, pay your respects to Teacher Zhou.”

Upon hearing Teacher Yin’s words, the students in the school stood up one after another, bowed to Teacher Zhou together, and greeted him in unison.

“Hello, Teacher Zhou!”

Old Teacher Zhou stroked his beard and nodded, having a good first impression of these students.

When the school day ended, and the students were ready to go home, Yin Zhaoxian personally stood in the school yard to hand his students’ letters to them one by one, and also gave them each some personal advice.

This kind of student-teacher friendship deeply moved Old Teacher Zhou. He had taught in a private school² for many years, but how many students had he fostered such a deep relationship with?

It was almost evening when Yin Zhaoxian and his son Yin Qing returned home together. Yin Qing was quiet. It was not until they were walking down the street in Tian Niu Lane and could see Ju’an Pavilion in the distance that he spoke.

“Dad, the jujube fruits are ripe!”

Looking up, they saw that the branches of the jujube tree in the courtyard of Ju’an Pavilion were already full of jujubes, and they had indeed almost matured.

“Yes, it seems that there are ripe fruits this year!”

Yin Zhaoxian smiled.

“It’s strange, but since Mr. Ji left, this jujube tree has not bloomed nor borne fruit for two years, but it is finally bearing fruit again this year.”

Yin Qing smiled.

“Maybe it knew that Dad is going to take the exam, so it decided to give you results this year!³ Anyway, we’re in for a treat!”

“You, child!”

The father and son walked forward, talking and laughing. They passed by Ju’an Pavilion and looked at the tempting jujubes on the branches. The faint fragrance of fruit emanated outside.

Perhaps Yin Qing’s words reminded Yin Zhaoxian, or perhaps both the father and son were intrigued…

After returning home, they hurriedly finished the dinner that Mother Yin had prepared, then the father and son took the key to Ju’an Pavilion and prepared to go pick jujubes to eat.

In the evening, a red glow hung in the sky. In front of the door of the small pavilion, Yin Zhaoxian used the key to unlock the copper lock and slowly pushed the courtyard gate open.

“Squeak…”

The door hinge creaked, and the father and son were stunned before they had even entered through the door: there was actually someone in the courtyard!

Naturally, this person was not Ji Yuan, but rather an elderly man wearing a round-collared long gown beneath an open-front outer robe. He was gazing up at the jujube tree, but turned to look at the head of the Yin family when the courtyard gate opened.

“Who is this old gentleman? Why is he in the courtyard of Ju’an Pavilion?”

Yin Zhaoxian frowned and asked. He subconsciously glanced at the small pavilion’s outer wall. It was too high for this old man to climb over, right? Could he be a martial artist?

The old man smiled when he saw the head of the Yin family thinking for a moment.

“You must be the friend Mr. Ji mentioned in the county, right? May I ask your name, sir?”

“Do you know Mr. Ji?”

Yin Qing asked in surprise before his father had a chance to respond. However, Yin Zhaoxian didn’t dare to neglect his manners when he heard that the other party knew Ji Yuan, so he bowed and replied.

“My name is Yin Zhaoxian, and this is my son Yin Qing. Might I know the gentleman’s name, and where you met Mr. Ji?”

The old man looked at Yin Zhaoxian carefully for a while, then bowed to him in return.

“My surname is Ying Hong. I once ran into Mr. Ji in the rain in a neighboring county. I, too, am Mr. Ji’s friend!”

Seeing that the old man was calm and composed, that he didn’t look like a thief, and that he said that he was a friend of Mr. Ji, Master Yin walked into the garden with a little excitement.

“So you are also Mr. Ji’s friend! Unfortunately, Mr. Ji has been away for a long time, so you will not be able to see him here.”

Yin Zhaoxian explained with a smile.

“Ah, I know…”

The old man continued to look at the jujube tree while laughing.

“I came here to check these past two years, but the jujube tree didn’t bear fruit. This year it finally bloomed! Mr. Ji only gave me two jujubes at the beginning, which really were not enough for me to eat!”

“Huh?”

Yin Zhaoxian was a little puzzled. Had this person been visiting in the past two years? He had no impression of him. Did he sneak in like this every time and leave after seeing nothing?

However, he could understand why the old man was craving fresh jujubes. Who wouldn’t crave them after having tasted them?

So Yin Zhaoxian laughed and said:

“That must be because Mr. Ji didn’t bring many jujubes with him when he departed. Old Sir, you’ve come at a good time. You can eat as many jujubes as you like in this courtyard!”

Ji Yuan had originally entrusted Yin Zhaoxian with distributing the jujubes. Now that a friend of his had come from afar, there was no harm if they wanted to eat more.

The old gentleman who was looking at the jujube tree across from him had his eyes light up when he heard the words. The jujube branches in the courtyard actually trembled slightly at this moment, as if a gust of wind had just blown past.

“Hahahaha… Master Yin, you must be joking. I would be unable to eat enough, and it would also be inconvenient for me to eat freely. How about this: I’ll just eat one bite. Do you agree, Master Yin?”

“One bite?”

Yin Zhaoxian was astonished. At the same time, he began to wonder: could it be that Mr. Ji’s friend was also extraordinary?

“Yes, just one bite! Do you agree, Master Yin?”

The old man stroked his beard and nodded, as if he was only going to have a brief taste.

“Haha, what is there to disagree with? I am simply taking care of the jujubes on behalf of Mr. Ji. Since you are Mr. Ji’s friend, the old man can eat as much as he wants! Qing’er, let’s pick the jujubes for this old gentleman.”

“Okay, let’s pick the fruit!”

Yin Qing could hardly keep his patience any longer, and he finally heard that he could pick jujubes. But before he could move, the old man spoke again.

“No need, no need to trouble yourselves!”

Having spoken, the old man raised his head again, grinning, and imitated Yin Qing’s tone.⁴

“Hahahaha… Let’s pick the jujubes~! AWOOOO…“⁵

Whoooosh… Whoosh…

Amid the deafening sound of a dragon’s roar, a strong gust of wind suddenly rose in the courtyard. The whole jujube tree shook, and countless jujubes were swept off the branches by the gale and directed into a mouth of heaven and earth⁶ opened by the old man.

Yin Zhaoxian and Yin Qing stood unsteadily and raised their hands to block their faces from the sight in front of them, shocked and scared.

After only a few breaths, the brief gale stopped. The father and son were shocked to find that at least half of the fruit on the jujube tree in the courtyard were gone, but the branches and leaves had not been damaged.

But the way the jujube tree swayed in the wind felt a little weird.

“Crunch… crunch… crunch…”

Bursts of chewing sounds came from the mouth of the old man next to him. The fragrance of fresh jujubes emanated from him.

“Not bad, not bad, it tastes very good, very good!”

Master Yin’s heart was still pounding wildly. Even though he had been mentally prepared for something extraordinary, the difference between reality and his imagination was too great.

“Master Yin, this old man only took one bite, I didn’t go back on my word. You cannot make false accusations to Mr. Ji about what happened today, hahahaha…”

Although Yin Zhaoxian’s heart was still palpitating, he nonetheless tried his best to calm down and bowed to the old man.

“I, Yin, failed to recognize a true master. Sir, you have kept your word and your promise. You only took one bite, though it frightened me and my son. If there is a next time, I hope the old gentleman might give us a warning first!”

Ying Hong had been observing Yin Zhaoxian carefully from the time they met up until the moment he swallowed the jujubes. He saw that this man had a righteous and extraordinary aura. When he heard the man’s words, which were still casual and relaxed despite his lingering fear, he smiled and nodded.

“As expected of Mr. Ji’s only friend in the county. I have indeed frightened Master Yin, please don’t hold it against me!”

“I wouldn’t dare!”

Although there was still some lingering fear, the atmosphere quickly became harmonious after exchanging a few words. They picked a plate of jujubes and sat down at the stone table to chat, mainly about how they had each come to know Ji Yuan and had become friends with him.

As the Yin family’s father and son recounted the story of Ji Yuan rescuing the red fox, and releasing it together with Yin Qing, the old man was smiling along.

Although the old man was obviously concealing some things in his words, Yin Zhaoxian didn’t ask about it, nor did he casually inquire about the old man’s background, despite him clearly not being an ordinary person. He simply listened and talked.

The two chatted happily. Suddenly, the old man Ying Hong seemed to think of something, slapped his head, and shouted.

“I almost forgot!”

As he spoke, he took out a thin-necked porcelain wine jug and two porcelain cups from behind his back, as if he were performing a magic trick, and placed them on the stone table.

“This old man owes Mr. Ji a drink, but unfortunately, Mr. Ji is extraordinary, and I cannot find him nor predict his whereabouts. I came here to see if the jujubes were ripe, and to see if he had returned. Since Master Yin and I get along quite well, I would like to ask Master Yin to please taste this wine I have brought for Mr. Ji first. How about it?”

“Why not!”

Yin Zhaoxian felt at ease. Although he rarely drank alcohol, he figured that he could not embarrass Mr. Ji. It was just a drink!

The old man smiled without saying a word, and poured a cup for Yin Zhaoxian and himself.

“Master Yin, please!”

“Mr. Ying, cheers!”⁷

Together, they each raised their glasses and drank. Upon drinking the glass, Yin Zhaoxian could only feel the sweet, mellow taste of the thick wine that lingered on his tongue, and a wave of heat flowed through his body, making a blush rise on his cheeks.

“Good… wine…”

Before he had even finished his sentence, Yin Zhaoxian sprawled on the stone table and stopped moving.

Yin Qing, who had just been eating dates to the side, panicked. He looked at the old man and then back at his father. He knew that the old man would not harm his father, but Yin Qing was still worried.

“Sir, this… my father… is he all right?”

“Hahahaha… he’s alright, he’s alright. Master Yin simply couldn’t handle the alcohol, he’s drunk!”

The old man raised his glass and finished his wine, and laughed happily!

“Go home and get a blanket to cover your father, let him sleep in the courtyard tonight! Go quickly!”

Yin Qing gulped and nodded. He didn’t dare go against the old gentleman’s wishes, so he hurried out of the yard and ran home.

After Yin Qing left, the old man’s smile faded slightly. He poured another glass of wine, and stood up with the glass in his hand.

He glanced at the jujube tree in the courtyard.

“Haha, I’ll pour you a drink, too!”

After speaking, he raised his cup and poured its contents on the roots of the tree. The wine soaked into the base of the tree without leaving any wet marks.

When Yin Qing hurried back with the blanket and his worried mother, there was no one else in the yard except Yin Zhaoxian, asleep on the table.

T/n: In other circumstances I would be exasperated at Ying Hong for tricking them, but he just wanted to test YZX, which is fair. But also the way he went about it and then nonchalantly crunched on jujubes is just too dang funny… It has the same energy as that “a smoothie” meme with the ostrich:

YZX: what have you got there?

YH: *Opening up a terrifying draconic maw that seems to swallow the heavens*

YH: A jujube

1. Also called Shenyi
2. The word is 私塾 (sīshú); when they say “private school,” it’s not really a private school as we know it today. They mean that it’s not private tutoring, like what rich families might use.
3. Play on words: “give results” as in give fruit, and “give results” like one would for an exam
4. Both of their sentences end on the character 咯 which is either a phonetic (gē) or a final particle indicating that something is obvious/impatience (lo). I believe it’s a more childish way of speaking
5. 昂 (áng): to raise one’s head, used here as both an onomatopoeia and action modifier like he’s narrating his actions — similar to the English “Hup!” when lifting something. 吼 (hǒu): roar/howl
6. Play on words: “mouth of heaven and earth” 1) big mouth, 2) inner space/mystical space, 3) describing a terrifying phenomena of a powerful spiritual being eating an entire tree’s worth of fruit — i.e. he can eat everything under heaven and earth, 4) the illusion that heaven and earth are getting sucked into his mouth
7. Both the “please” and the “cheers” here are the same word: 请 (qǐng) to ask/to invite/please/to treat/to request

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read