met free Chapter 204 The Little Beggar
Chapter 204 The Little Beggar
He needed to figure out exactly who the Confucian scholars were currently lingering in the Qin State's Hall of Recruitment.
After Lin Tian turned and left, his steps were slow and deliberate. He walked slowly and deliberately, and before he knew it, he had stepped out of the city gate of Xianyang and arrived at the tranquil lakeside on the outskirts of the city.
The lake was like a mirror, reflecting the sky and clouds. Gazing at the water, his mind gradually cleared, and he murmured to himself, "In the end, I was too impatient... Haste makes waste, and I've personally proven this old saying wrong."
If he were to actually kill Miao Du, it would be tantamount to slapping the Empress Dowager in the face—and at this moment, Ying Zheng had not yet gained power and was far from the ruthless state he would later reach, forcing his birth mother to drink poison as an apology.
In today's contest, he displayed his sharp edge, yet he had already subtly won over the hearts of the people. Lin Tian firmly believed that with this foundation of public support, his future endeavors would be much smoother.
"Zhao Ji? I'm afraid I can't avoid meeting this Empress Dowager... Is her relationship with Lü Buwei truly unbreakable?" He murmured to himself, completely unaware that Zhao Ji and Lü Buwei had already severed all ties and gone their separate ways.
With something weighing on his mind, he crushed a plain white card between his fingers—in the blink of an eye, a gleaming, lightweight modern fishing rod appeared in his hand. He found a large, moss-covered rock to sit on, cast the line into the water, and waited patiently with his eyes lowered.
The ripples were gentle, the water calm, and his tense nerves gradually relaxed, allowing him to carefully plan each move next.
"Hiding behind a tree fifty paces away—are you tired of living?" Before he finished speaking, he suddenly turned his head, his voice cold and precise, like a blade being drawn from its sheath.
"I...I was just passing by..." A dusty little beggar emerged from the shadows of the trees. He was about thirteen or fourteen years old, dressed in rags, his face covered in mud and ash, looking as if he had just rolled out of a mud pit.
"Kid? Come here." Lin Tian saw that it was a teenager and his guard was lowered.
The little beggar grinned, skipping closer, his gaze fixed on the gleaming silver fishing rod in Lin Tian's hand, his eyes wide: "This is... a fishing rod?!"
Lin Tian gently twisted his wrist, and the fishing spool creaked as the thin line wound back at a steady speed—a silver-scaled koi was steadily lifted out of the water, its tail still flicking water droplets.
The little beggar stared in disbelief: the fishing rod was neither bamboo nor wood, but gleamed with a cold, lustrous sheen; the fishing line was as thin as spider silk, dazzlingly white; and even more astonishingly, that reel-like thing could reel in the line by itself! He exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be a secret mechanism invented by the Mohists?!"
Lin Tian removed the live creature from the fishhook, looked up and smiled: "The Mohist school? This is called physical mechanical art."
Before the words were finished, a delicate fragrance of orchids quietly wafted into my nostrils—it came from the little beggar in front of me.
Orchid? The scent was subtle yet penetrating, even Lin Tian was momentarily stunned. He turned his head to examine the child: his face was covered in dirt, and his thin body was wrapped in coarse linen clothes, but the fragrance was clearly the elegant charm that only a young lady from a secluded family could exude.
His brow furrowed slightly, and a cloud of doubt arose within him.
Always one to speak his mind, he casually tore off a piece of straw rope, threaded the wriggling fish onto it, and stood up, looking down at the little beggar still squatting on the ground: "What's your name?"
The little beggar dusted off his trousers, stood up straight, and grinned, revealing two small tiger teeth: "Little beggar."
"Huh? It really has that name?"
"When the old beggar picked me up, I didn't even know my name. He just called me that, and he still does today."
Lin Tian subtly scanned his knuckles, behind his ears, and the hollow of his neck—finding no flaws—but the string in his heart tightened even more.
He ignored him and turned to walk deeper into the woods. He had only taken a dozen steps when he heard the sound of footsteps behind him again.
The little beggar caught up with him, his voice clear and bright: "Big brother, can I have a bite of the fish?!"
Lin Tian did not stop walking, leaving only his cold and hard profile.
The child exclaimed again, "I'll bake it for you! I guarantee it'll be cooked perfectly!"
"No need. Let's go our separate ways."
His tone was distant, his eyes indifferent, and he walked straight into the clearing in the woods, bending down to gather firewood. But as soon as he squatted down, a pile of dry branches and leaves was already neatly stacked at his feet—the little beggar was holding the firewood, looking up and smiling, his eyes as clear as the stream in early spring.
Lin Tian stared at that smile, his fingertips paused, and he suddenly realized that his previous wariness might have been... a bit too much.
Lin Tian simply stood by and watched, letting the little beggar busy himself with his own affairs—from gathering firewood and lighting a fire, scraping off scales and gutting the animal, to setting up a pole and roasting it, all in one smooth motion. He stood quietly to the side the whole time, his gaze fixed on the beggar like a hook.
Seeing the child's practiced ease as he handled the stove, Lin Tian's heart stirred slightly: he really did seem like a poor child who had grown up in poverty. But then his gaze fell on those fingers—the knuckles were even, the palms smooth, the nails neatly trimmed, not a single crack or callus to be found…
His eyebrows shot up suddenly, and a playful smile curled at the corners of his lips. A little beggar, exposed to the sun and rain, with hands more delicate than those of a skilled seamstress? A cold glint flashed in Lin Tian's eyes; suspicion had already begun to creep in.
He was no ordinary beggar, yet he happened to be here. What a coincidence! He must have come for something.
With a flick of his finger, several plain white cards shattered, transforming into several exquisite porcelain jars: one containing pungent pepper powder, another containing tongue-burning spicy noodles, and a small celadon bottle about the size of a thumb, containing colorless and odorless "mind-controlling powder".
"Alright! Seeing how quick you are, I'll reward you with the fish tail." Lin Tian said in a light tone, strode forward, and casually took the bamboo skewer for grilled fish from the little beggar.
He placed the bottles and jars one by one on the muddy ground. Sure enough, the little beggar came closer to examine them. He picked up a jar and looked at it from all angles, his eyes sparkling like a little sparrow that had just discovered a new nest.
Lin Tian glanced down, but inwardly chuckled: Look, look closely—the more carefully you look, the more you'll believe these are just ordinary ingredients; the more relaxed you are, the easier it will be for the medicine to go down your throat.
"Big brother, what are these?" the little beggar asked, looking up at the ground.
"Kitchen odds and ends, used to flavor stir-fries," Lin Tian replied casually.
"Oh..." He nodded and didn't ask any further questions.
Lin Tian sprinkled chili powder and pepper in sequence, and the aroma of caramelized oil and pungent spices rose up. While the little beggar was squinting and swallowing because of the strong aroma, he flicked his wrist, and the mouth of the celadon bottle tilted slightly, and a wisp of invisible medicinal powder quietly mixed into the sizzling sound of hot oil.
After the powder was sprinkled away, he flicked his finger, and the small bottle silently disappeared into his sleeve, as if it had never existed.
Hmph, you think you can find a flaw in this smooth and seamless performance?
"Wow—it smells so good!"
"Just ordinary skills," Lin Tian said calmly. "But I've always loved thinking about food."
The little beggar scratched his messy hair and asked in surprise, "Those young masters dressed in silk and jade, those scholars with books in their hands and nodding their heads, who would want to get their hands dirty with stove ash? Big brother, you can even start a fire?"
Lin Tian leaned closer to the fish and sniffed it, nodding in satisfaction: "Smells good, doesn't it? If you had this kind of ingredient, I guarantee you'd be fighting over who gets to cook it."
He deftly broke off a section of the fish tail and handed it over: "Here you go. Be careful, it's hot, use your sleeve to cushion it!"
"Ouch! It's hot!" The little beggar grinned, revealing two small tiger teeth, his smile clean and bright. Lin Tian's heart suddenly skipped a beat—could it be that he was just imagining things?
Never mind, let's not delve into it for now.