Chapter Sixty-Four: The Second Use of Universal Balm

Chapter Sixty-Four: The Second Use of Universal Balm

“Master, brilliant, truly brilliant! With a well like this, anyone wanting to steal your formula will have to first consider whether they can take the well with them!” No sooner had Zhang Qian seen off the business official Lala Wan and Zhu Liang from the Honglu Temple than Guo Nu came out of the courtyard, grinning and giving a big thumbs-up from afar.

“Shut up. Who’s your master?” With no outsiders around, Zhang Qian immediately corrected him. “Ren Quan, if you ever hear anyone call me that again, just throw them out. Don’t ever let them step into my house.”

“Yes, Manor Lord!” Ren Quan, his head still wrapped in bandages, cast a helpless look at Guo Nu and responded loudly.

“Brother Zhang, oh come on, don’t be like that! Listen to me!” Guo Nu, clearly expecting Zhang Qian not to fall for his trick, still pressed forward with a fawning smile, bowing deeply. “Those skills you taught me the other day, they’re all secret techniques from the Mohist School. I’ve been pondering and practicing them, and I’ve gained so much. Master, I’ll never be able to repay your guidance and enlightenment. Please accept my bow as your disciple!”

As he spoke, he dropped to his knees, trying to make the arrangement a done deal. But Zhang Qian, anticipating this, darted forward and grabbed his arm with one hand. “What Mohist secret techniques? I don’t remember teaching you anything! Guo Er, don’t play tricks with me. Stand up straight, or we won’t even be friends after this!”

“Master, master!” Guo Nu tried several times to kneel, but Zhang Qian was stronger and held him up. So Guo Nu stood there, still wearing a foolish grin, and explained, “The other day, you personally taught me how to rent a shop in the busiest part of Chang’an, hire female clerks, and prepare to sell Six Spirits Cologne. I did exactly as you said. But before I could even set up the shop, my father asked if I was going into the jewelry business. I repeated what you taught me, and he was so amazed he told the steward to bring out ten thousand strings’ worth of coins and silver beans. He bought all ten shares you wanted him to help sell to investors!”

“What? Your father bought all ten shares?” Zhang Qian was stunned, forgetting to argue about teaching him any skills, and stared in disbelief.

“He did. My father said, just for your idea of opening a specialty shop, even if you just drew water from a well, you could sell it for the price of sesame oil. He’s not worried about losing money!” Guo Nu thought Zhang Qian was impressed by his father’s boldness, and answered with great satisfaction.

“You—hey!” Zhang Qian clenched his fist, wanting to hit him. But seeing Guo Nu’s innocent expression, he let it drop and sighed deeply.

Everything was a mess now, utterly chaotic. Guo Nu’s father, with the best intentions of supporting his son, had completely wrecked the expansion plan for the Six Spirits Trading Company.

Originally, Zhang Qian had set the price for each share at a thousand strings of cash to prevent any one investor from buying up too many of the twenty available shares.

His plan was for Guo Nu to bring in three or four of his father’s connections, Ren Cong to pull in two or three from the Duke of Shao’s circle, and with himself, Ren Cong, and Guo Nu, the original shareholders of the Six Spirits Workshop would number around nine.

If anyone in the future coveted the business—considering the daily profits from the cologne—these nine could face the pressure together, with each bearing a lighter burden than if it were just the three young founders.

But, though the plan was perfect, it had been derailed at the outset by Guo Nu’s doting father!

If all ten shares ended up in the Guo family’s hands, what difference did it make if Guo Nu held them himself? With no other shareholders to spread the risk, as the business grew and attracted outside attention, how could he, Guo Nu, and Ren Cong possibly protect this golden goose?

“Master, master, did I do something wrong?” Noticing Zhang Qian’s obvious distress, Guo Nu finally realized something was amiss and, dropping his playful act, asked timidly.

“You...” Zhang Qian glared at him, but was at a loss for words. Shaking his head, he ordered sternly, “I am not your master, so stop calling me that. I’ve only just left my sect myself and am not qualified or interested in taking on disciples!”

“Master, I was wrong, I’ll change, I will! Just tell me what I did wrong and I’ll fix it right away!” Guo Nu was alarmed, grabbing Zhang Qian’s sleeve and shaking it like a child.

The smell of universal balm, mixed with sweat, reached Zhang Qian’s nose, adding to his sense of defeat and worry for the future, leaving him thoroughly unsettled.

“Enough, stop shaking me, you’re not a child! I told you, I’m not taking disciples!” He shook his sleeve free of Guo Nu’s grip and barked, “If you want to keep being friends, just call me Brother Zhang. If not, then go your own way. When the Six Spirits Workshop is up and running, you’ll get your regular share of the profits!”

“Zha—Brother Zhang!” Guo Nu, never having seen Zhang Qian so stern, stepped back, rubbing his eyes, which immediately turned red. “Why would you say such a thing? I only wanted to call you master out of gratitude for your help. If you think I stink, just say so. I’ll leave and never bother you again!”

His voice grew lower with each word. Afraid his tears would embarrass him, he tried to wipe them away, only to have them flow even harder.

“Why are you crying? I never said I was kicking you out!” Zhang Qian, vexed by the tears, glared at him, but his scolding quickly softened into explanation. “I’m new here, barely able to stand on my own feet, let alone take on disciples. Besides, we were friends first—wouldn’t it be awkward to suddenly become master and disciple? If you don’t feel awkward, I do!”

But the more he explained, the more Guo Nu felt aggrieved. Covering his face, he began to wail. “You think I stink, that’s all, I know it. Everyone thinks I stink, even my father doesn’t want to see me. Boohoo, boohoo...”

“I don’t think you stink, and besides, you barely have any smell now!” Embarrassed by the sobbing, Zhang Qian hurried to explain, “And anyway, it’s not your fault, it’s fate, not a flaw in your character. I was only able to get a proper identity in the Tang and take over this manor because you helped me get registered. You and Ren Cong have been running around helping me for days—I’ve seen everything with my own eyes. Even if I were blind, I’d know you’re both true friends, willing to risk anything for each other. I’d be lucky to have friends like you—why would I ever shun you for a bit of body odor?”

“Boohoo, you’re just saying that. You don’t really mean it. I know, everyone looks down on me. I know it in my heart. That’s why I made myself stink more, so you’d have an excuse to avoid me. My father thinks I’m an embarrassment, so I stay away from home. My brothers can’t wait for me to die, so I go looking for trouble everywhere, in the underworld, in shady business. When you gave me that balm and cologne, I thought I could finally be one of you. But you all still wish I’d disappear. Boohoo...”

“Stop crying, it’s not like that, it’s not what you think!” Zhang Qian’s heart ached as if pierced by knives. He stepped forward and gently gripped Guo Nu’s shoulder.

Ignored, excluded by peers, treated as a jinx by his own parents... acting out just to get attention, but only making things worse and ending up more alone—Zhang Qian knew exactly how that felt, having lived through it in another world himself.

But he’d come through it. He’d left all the scorn, distancing, resentment, and self-abandonment far behind. Had he not stepped into a time rift while looking at his phone, he might not have become a philosophy graduate student, but he’d certainly have been an excellent teacher.

He had once promised himself that if he ever became a teacher, he would treat every student with the kindness his own teacher, Mr. Liu, had shown him. Now, a student had come to him, wounded in all the same places he’d once been.

“Alright, don’t cry anymore. I’m not shunning you, I promise!” Zhang Qian sniffed hard, swallowing both his tears and his memories. Then, with a smile, he patted Guo Nu’s shoulder. “Besides, except for a lucky few, nobody in this world is perfect. Look at Ren Xiao Wu—his memory is worse than his forgetfulness, and after all those years of study, he’s still an illiterate. And Ren Quan—when he smiles, he looks like a sly fox. He’s a good man, but everyone thinks he’s scheming. Wrapped up in bandages now, he looks just like a foreign merchant from Dashi...”

“Pfft...” Guo Nu was so amused by the description that he burst out laughing through his tears.

But, glancing around, he felt embarrassed, quickly turning his head to the wall and rubbing his red eyes.

Truth be told, after bathing and applying balm and cologne, Guo Nu’s body odor was barely noticeable now. Unless one tried to smell it, it could be ignored.

“Honestly, a lot of this is just in your head,” Zhang Qian said, stepping up and putting a hand on Guo Nu’s shoulder, speaking gently. “If your father really thought you were a disgrace, would he have given you ten thousand strings in support? All those connections in officialdom and business—if people didn’t respect your father, or if he wasn’t secretly helping you, could you really pull it off with just your own face?”

He sighed softly, his tone growing even gentler. “I heard from Ren Xiao Wu that you can even sneak people over the Chang’an city walls at night. That takes real clout. You’re not an official, nor a gang leader—without your uncles and elders helping behind the scenes, could you do all that? As for me, it’s not that I don’t want to be friends. I’ve said it before: we’re friends. As friends, we can talk about anything. If I’m wrong, you can argue back. If you’re wrong, I can point it out without worrying about your pride. But as master and disciple, it’s just me talking and you listening.”

“I don’t mind, Master. I’ll do as you say, east or west. If not for you, everyone would still shun me. Since you taught me how to open a shop, people have finally started to take me seriously!” Guo Nu turned to face him, eyes red, and spoke loudly.

“People always cared about you. It was you who shut yourself off!” Zhang Qian scolded, rolling his eyes.

“You’re right, Master, it was me, your disciple, who shut himself off!” Noting that Zhang Qian hadn’t stopped him from saying ‘Master’ this time, Guo Nu was overjoyed and went along with it.

“Don’t call me Master!” Zhang Qian immediately noticed the trap and refused. “You may not be afraid of anything, but I’m not ready to be considered an old man!”

Seeing disappointment flood Guo Nu’s face, he paused before continuing, “If you want to learn from me, fine, call me Senior Brother. I’ll teach you on behalf of my sect. But no more crying, and don’t push your luck! Or you’ll miss your chance!”

“Yes, Senior Brother! Please accept my bow!” Guo Nu immediately smiled, wiped away his tears, and knelt.

“Get up, our sect doesn’t kneel!” Zhang Qian sighed in resignation and pulled Guo Nu up. “Our sect follows the ancient Mohist rites—everyone is born equal, even master and disciple. When you join, a deep bow is enough, no need to kneel. Why are your hands greasy? Damn it, Guo Nu, your hands are covered in universal balm! Did you really use balm to wipe your eyes just now?”

“No, no! I really was crying!” Seeing his trick about to be exposed, Guo Nu quickly broke free, stepped back, and bowed deeply, “Greetings, Senior Brother. Your junior, Guo Nu, pays his respects. Thank you for accepting me as a disciple on behalf of our master. Senior Brother, don’t hit me! I was wrong, I was wrong!”

“I’ll beat you, you scoundrel! Using balm on your eyes to fool me! If I don’t peel your skin today, I’m not worthy of being the senior brother!” Realizing he’d been tricked again, Zhang Qian, feigning anger, chased after Guo Nu and rained blows on his well-padded body.

“Senior Brother, I was wrong, spare me! Help! Senior Brother is killing me!”