I left the card with Ni Siyu and gave her the address of the pawnshop, telling her to send Mulan back if it got late.
When I arrived at the bar, the first thing I saw was six or seven people sitting by the dance floor drinking. It was a little past 1 p.m., and normally there would be absolutely no customers at this time. Because the main lights weren't on, it was so dark I couldn't make out who they were. I said to Sun Sixin, "Business is good, you're open for business now. Where's Liu Laoliu?"
Sun Sixin pointed towards the dance floor, and that's when I saw Liu Laoliu drinking with those people.
I immediately had a bad feeling, but I felt a little relieved as I slowly approached. I saw that there were six people sitting around Liu Laoliu, all of them old men, each with white hair and beard and an elegant demeanor. They didn't talk much to each other, but they looked exactly alike. I suspected that they were Liu Laoda, Liu Laoer, Liu Laosan... Liu Laoqi.
I first clasped my hands in a fist salute to the old swindlers and greeted them with a smile, "You guys are here?"
The old men were very reserved and none of them paid any attention to me.
Damn it, they're so arrogant, trying to scam me out of food and drink!
I pulled Liu Laoliu aside and asked, "Are these all the fortune tellers from under the overpass?"
Old Liu was already a bit drunk. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the group of swindlers, muttering, "Come on... let me introduce you, this is..."
I ignored what he was saying, shook hands with the first old swindler, and said warmly, "Welcome, welcome! Come visit again sometime." It's one thing to be polite in private, but in front of outsiders, I had to give Old Liu face. We're in the underworld; we can't afford to lose face...
To my surprise, the first old swindler, seeing me extend my palm, moved with lightning speed and seized my pulse. He placed two fingers on it, closed his eyes, and concentrated for a moment before staring at me and saying, "Your spleen is weak and your liver fire is excessive."
I was speechless. "Fortune tellers can even tell this?"
At this point, Liu Laoliu had already vaguely introduced the second person: "This is Liu Gongquan."
Liu Gongquan? That sounds familiar.
Liu Laoliu pointed to the third old man: "This is Wu Daozi."
This sounds even more familiar, it seems to be from an artist...
Liu Laoliu then pointed to the fourth old man: "This one is Wang Xizhi."
As I was taken aback, Liu Gongquan, whom Liu Laoliu had just introduced, also stood up, grabbed Wang Xizhi's hand and shook it vigorously, saying excitedly, "Senior, it really is you? What an honor!"
Wang Xizhi asked blankly, "Who are you?"
Liu Gongquan said, "I'm right behind you, old man. I also enjoy calligraphy." Upon seeing his idol, the old man, in a moment of enthusiasm, dipped his finger in wine and began to scribble on the table. Wang Xizhi, hands behind his back, glanced at it a few times, then hurriedly stood up and exclaimed, "Wow, your central stroke is excellent! It's like stone carving, bold and vigorous!" Liu Gongquan smiled neither humbly nor arrogantly, saying, "I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed; much of it is learned from my predecessors."
The two men got along very well and started gesturing with their fingers. The fifth old man pulled out a large pile of calligraphy brushes of all shapes and sizes from his pocket and handed one to each of them: "Use this."
Wang Xizhi nodded to him, then asked, "May I ask for your guidance..."
The pen dealer bowed to Wang Xizhi and said, "My name is Yan Liben, and I greatly admire Master Wang."
Before Wang Xizhi could react, Wu Daozi jumped up: "Master Yan? I never expected to see you here. I was only seven years old when you passed away, and missing the chance to meet you has always been my greatest regret!"
Yan Liben glanced at Wu Daozi's hands and said, "You're a painter, aren't you?"
"That's right, that's right."
The two old men got more and more carried away with their conversation and stopped paying attention to anyone else.
There's only one old man left, and I don't know who he is, but I know he can't be low-class. I've realized now that this is a new batch of clients: Wu Daozi, Yan Liben, Wang Xizhi, Liu Gongquan—all household names.
Old Liu introduced the last old man to me: "This is Hua Tuo."
Wow! I knew it, Dr. Hua!
I practically poked my hand on Old Hua's nose, repeatedly saying, "Miracle Doctor, please check my pulse."
The first old man seemed very unhappy and said, "Didn't I already give you a diagnosis? You have weak spleen and excessive liver fire!"
I was about to retort when I realized that since we were all at this level, this person must be no less impressive. It had been too noisy earlier, so I hadn't heard what this person's name was. I quickly and respectfully asked, "May I ask your honorable name?"
The old man said calmly, "Qin Yueren."
Oh dear, I've been fooled. This one really isn't famous at all.
Hua Tuo trembled slightly, straightened up, and asked, "Qin Yueren, are you the divine physician Bian Que?"
Bian Que replied, "I dare not accept such praise; I am but an ordinary physician."
Bian Que! Wahaha, I hugged the old man tightly and cried out, "Dr. Bian, my dear father, you must see what's wrong with me! Even if you can't cure me, don't run away!"
Didn't you learn this from childhood? When Bian Que met Duke Huan of Qi, the old man was reluctant to seek medical help and his illness had become incurable. When Teacher Bian saw that there was no hope, he ran away as fast as he could.
I noticed that Teacher Bian sat quite steadily after seeing me, so I guess I still have a long way to go.
The clients who came this time can be summarized as follows: two calligraphers, two painters, and two doctors—all intellectuals. I glanced at Liu Laoliu, who nodded and said, "Yes, we had a backlog of clients because of He Tiandou's matter a while ago. I might have to send more people to you these next few days, especially the intellectuals."
I looked at the people in the room. The medical students were practically bringing the dead back to life, the writers were making a fortune per thousand words (and more!), and the artists could easily sell a few ink dots for billions.
Faced with this scene, I slowly felt dizzy: the great masters of history are having their annual meeting here?
Chapter Seven: Changing the Flag
Several big names were drinking and chatting happily in my bar, making it quite lively. It was just a pity that they were missing someone to play the piano. Liu Laoliu pulled me in front of everyone and said, "This is Xiao Qiang. He will take care of everyone's food and daily life from now on."
Six old men politely nodded to me. Although few of them seemed to be taking it seriously, I was still quite satisfied; these were all national treasures!
Liu Laoliu said to me, "Then you go ahead and do your thing. I need to hurry up and process the paperwork for the next batch of people. Once these scholars arrive, He Tiandou shouldn't be able to do anything to you."
At this point, the conversation among the masters had become more complex. Wu Daozi pulled Liu Gongquan aside and said, "Your calligraphy is excellent. Next time I finish a painting, could you add some calligraphy for me?" Since ancient times, calligraphy and painting have been inseparable, and a master painter's calligraphy is generally not bad either. However, since everyone has their own area of expertise, Wu Daozi, with a mindset of striving for perfection, made the request to Liu Gongquan.
Liu Gongquan was the youngest among them—probably only a little over 1200 years old. Everyone else was his senior, so he humbly replied, "It is an honor!"
Yan Liben chatted with Hua Tuo for a while and said, "Doctor, my eyes have been blurry lately, and I feel dizzy after sitting for a long time. What do you think is wrong?" Hua Tuo took his pulse for a while and said, "Your qi and blood are a bit deficient, plus you haven't been exercising for a long time. When you have time, I'll teach you the Five Animal Frolics."