"Young Master Qi, do you have a way to contact the Ghost Doctor?" Chen Yuan asked cautiously.
Qi Shaorong nodded and said leisurely, "Of course, we're good friends, the kind that lies on the same bed."
Chen Yuan: "…" Fourth Young Master Qi, you really don't have to explain how good your relationship with the Ghost Doctor is every single time, "Actually, the Chen family has something with which they want to ask the Ghost Doctor for help."
Qi Shaorong looked at Chen Yuan and said, "What is it!"
"There are thousands of twin scaled horses [1] in the empire, did you know?" Chen Yuan asked.
"I know." The twin scaled horses were the empire's war horses. Most of them were around the fourth or fifth level, but king scaled horses can reach the seventh level. A single twin scaled horse isn't much on its own, but they're quite frightening once the number reaches a certain level. The empire has a scaled horse brigade, the horses cooperate with the soldiers, and their combined strength can be more than double the original.
"Twin scaled horses are monster beasts that are relatively easy to domesticate, and they are raised by many of the major families in the empire."
"Many of the twin scaled horses in the Imperial Racecourse have fallen ill. The Fourth Prince has sent many invites to the Ghost Doctor but none of them have been able to reach him. I hope that if Young Master Qi meets the Ghost Doctor, you can help us by talking to him about it." Chen Yuan said carefully. Chen Yuan felt like he had an acute illness and somehow ended up asking Qi Shaorong for help.
[T/n: Sorry, not really sure what the heck Chen Yuan is trying to say here.]
Qi Shaorong hooked up the corners of his mouth and said, "The manager of the Imperial Racecourse seems to be someone from the Chen Family!"
Chen Yuan: "…" It really was a person from the Chen Family, If something were to happen to the war horses, then the Chen Family would be in trouble.
"If the Ghost Doctor can cure the war horses, there will be a reward of 500 000 gold coins." Chen Yuan said.
Qi Shaorong tilted his head and stared at Chen Yuan, and a cold smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. A bad premonition suddenly rose in Chen Yuan's heart.
"Young Master Qi, is there a problem!"
"You know, I bet a million gold coins on Tianlan College winning first place," said Qi Shaorong.
Chen Yuan nodded and said, "I know. Not even the emperor knows how many people there are who envy you for getting rich overnight."
Qi Shaorong smiled and said, "Do you know where I had gotten the original gold from?"
Chen Yuan shook his head and said, "I don't know."
"You're really so stupid!" Qi Shaorong was full of dislike as he said this.
Chen Yuan, "… I'm really not that smart."
"I have a good relationship with the Ghost Doctor, so naturally this money was borrowed from him. Fortunately, I earned around 30 million from all the major gambling houses this time. I gave the Principal 10 million and Qian Mian 6 million, and what was left was divided equally between the Ghost Doctor and me." Qi Shaorong said.
Chen Yuan: "…"
"How unlucky is it that I had just made a fortune. If it was like usual, then 500 000 really isn't a small amount, but… Now, it seems that it's not enough." Qi Shaorong shook his head.
Chen Yuan: "…" Really rich.
"Young Master Qi, how much gold do you think it would take for the Ghost Doctor to be willing to lend a hand?" Chen Yuan asked.
Qi Shaorong shrugged and said, "How would I know this? The more the better."
Chen Yuan: "…" The more, the better, this scale was really difficult to grasp.
"Actually, healing the war horses would be making a contribution to society. The monarch will award the title of an official nobility onto the Ghost Doctor." Chen Yuan said.
"Nobility, that sounds pretty good!" Qi Shaorong said. The titles of nobility in the empire were separated into barons, earls, marquises, and dukes, and each title was divided into three rankings.
"I don't know what title of nobility the monarch will bestow if the war horses are cured?" Speaking of which, last time he had healed the little tiger, that stingy prince only gave him 300 000 and then dismissed him. The matter of nobility wasn't even mentioned.
"Probably a third-ranked earl." Chen Yuan said.
"Only an earl, and a third-ranked one at that?" said Qi Shaorong, full of disgust.
"Young Master Qi, the matter of becoming nobility and earning an official position should be taken step by step. The Ghost Doctor is so capable, and there are many more opportunities for merit in the future. Naturally, the official's position can also rise." Chen Yuan said.
Qi Shaorong looked at Chen Yuan and said, "You go back first. I'll talk to the Ghost Doctor, but I don't know whether or not he'll agree."
Qi Shaorong looked at Chen Yuan's back as he left, sighed, and said, "A single slip may cause everlasting sorrow [2]!"
Qi Heng looked at Qi Shaorong and said perplexedly, "Master, why would you say such a thing!"
Qi Shaorong: "…" You should know, he is a famous doctor! After he's arrived in this life, it seems that he's heading down the road of becoming a veterinarian, and there's probably no turning back now. Before, when he treated the little tiger, he could still comfort himself, saying that he had saved a spiritual beast cub. Now, he's actually planning on treating horses for illnesses.
Qi Heng looked at Qi Shaorong and said, "Master, if you're unhappy with it, then just leave it."
"That wouldn't work."
Qi Heng didn't understand and asked, "Why?"
"I want to become an official."
Qi Heng: "…" What powerful reason.
Chen Yuan distractedly walked out from Qi Shaorong's place and said to Qi Shaofu a little agitatedly, "Would your Fourth Brother bear a grudge against the Chen Family because of me breaking off his engagement?! And say bad things about me to the Ghost Doctor!"
Qi Shaofu really wanted to tell him not to worry, but then he thought of Qi Shaorong's pettiness, and said, "This… Thinking about this now is useless!"
Chen Yuan: "…"
Chen Yuan scratched his head and said, "Speaking of which, your Fourth Brother offended Yi Chuxue. I don't know if the Yi Family will go find trouble for him."
"Yi Family is very busy right now, I'm afraid they don't have time to care about Yi Chuxue." Chen Yuan said.
Qi Shaofu rubbed his nose and said, "Really?"
The Yi Family's genius twins, they used to be so glorious! Today, Yi Bing has become a waste, and rumour has it that there was also something wrong with Yi Huo's body.
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen Zhuang Hao for many days now. It seems that Zhuang Hao hasn't made any appearances since the competition ended." Qi Shaofu said.
Chen Yuan nodded and said, "That's right!" After the competition ended, Zhuang Hao didn't return to the academy. Could it be said that Zhuang Hao has a psychological shadow from having his chest stroked by someone in the secret realm?
Zhuang Family.
"A-Qian, where is your elder brother?" Zhuang Renquan asked the worried Zhuang Qian.
"Brother is inside his room. Since the competition ended, Elder Brother hasn't really said much of anything yet. He seems to have taken a blow."
Zhuang Renquan shook his head and said, "What's wrong with your brother! Although Tianlan College won first place, but in terms of the individual results, he's still ranked the highest. He's performed well enough already, it's just that the other students of Shenghuang University are too bad. According to rumours, Yi Huo and Yi Bing even started a fight between brothers inside the secret dimension, and in the end Yi Bing was unable to come out."
Zhuang Qian scratched his head and blinked quickly, saying "Maybe it's because Qi Shaorong stripped Zhuang Hao's clothes, so Elder Brother feels humiliated."
Zhuang Renquan looked at Zhuang Qian and laughed, "That isn't even a problem. Your brother was only stripped of his upper clothes and not his pants. Rest assured, your brother's figure is good enough to show off, it's not embarrassing at all."
Zhuang Qian: "…"
"Third Uncle, you should go and see Elder Brother." Zhuang Qian said.
Zhuang Renquan nodded and said, "Alright."
Zhuang Renquan opened the door and walked into Zhuang Hao's bedroom. Zhuang Hao glanced at the person who had walked through the door, and faintly uttered, "Third Uncle."
Zhuang Renquan looked at Zhuang Hao and said, "What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?"
Zhuang Hao clenched his fists and said, "I lost too much face." It was even his first time being pushed to the ground by someone and getting brazenly threatened.
Zhuang Renquan patted Zhuang Hao's shoulders and said, "Enough, it's not like you suffered a huge loss."
Zhuang Hao gritted his teeth and said, "It was me who underestimated the enemy, so I was played into that person's hands like that."
"Qi Shaorong's reputation as a waste was too prominent, you underestimating the enemy is excusable." Zhuang Renquan said.
Zhuang Hao shook his head and said, "I should have realized earlier that there's no way the Ghost Doctor could've taken a fancy to a waste."
Zhuang Renquan smiled and said, "Qi Shaorong is indeed a rare talent. The Qi Family should already be regretting expelling Qi Shaorong from the family."
After the competition ended, Hu Feng, that guy, took with him some instructors from Tianlan College to various gambling houses to collect the bets that were won. According to the rumours, Hu Feng had retrieved around 30 million gold coins from all the gambling houses, and 30% of it was directly given to Hu Feng.
If Qi Shaorong was still a part of the Qi family, then the Qi family could've used the name of filial piety to coerce Qi Shaorong into surrendering the money, but unfortunately…
Seeing Qi Shaorong's actions inside the secret realm, he really has no affection for the Qi Family. Now that he has Hu Feng as his backing, if the Qi Family wanted to try doing something, they wouldn't be able to.
Tianlan College won first place, and now Hu Feng, that fellow, walked around bringing the wind [3].
"Have the rankings for Seven Imperial Talents been shuffled?" Zhuang Hao asked.
Zhuang Renquan nodded and said, "That's really the case. First place still belongs to you." Zhuang Hao was deceived by Qi Shaorong this time and something almost went wrong. However, while it may have been thrilling, the end result wasn't surprising. In terms of true strength, the difference between Qi Shaorong and Zhuang Hao was still too large.
"Second and third place is still the Second Prince Tang Tianfeng and the Fourth Prince Tang Tianying, respectively." The two princes of the royal family didn't participate in the competition this time.
"Fourth place changed from Qi Shaokang to Qi Shaorong, and fifth place changed to Qian Mian."
"Speaking of, that Qian Mian is very odd. He's been at Tianlan College for many years now but rarely ever shows himself. Judging from his performance inside the secret dimension, that guy might also have a heavenly mental strength grade. According to the rumours, not even the principal of Tianlan College Hu Feng knows the true strength of that fellow."
"Sixth place is Qi Shaokang and seventh is Yi Huo."
"Chen Yuan and Yi Bing are off the rankings. Chen Yuan was kicked out by Qi Shaorong on the first day of the competition, and lost way too much face, there's really no way for him to be able to stay on the rankings. As for Yi Bing, he was turned into a waste by someone inside the secret dimension, and is now lying in bed."
Zhuang Hao lowered his head and said, "Yi Bing has really become a waste person."
"The Yi Family invited many light priests over, and they all said that there was no solution." Zhuang Renquan said.
Zhuang Hao pursed his lips and said, "So it's like that!"
"Yi Bing's matter, do you think it was Yi Huo who instigated it?" Zhuang Renquan asked.
Zhuang Hao shook his head and said, "I don't know. In fact, before the competition started, I felt that the atmosphere between Yi Huo and Yi Bing was a bit weird. However, I think that even if Yi Huo had some animosity towards Yi Bing, it still shouldn't have gotten to the point of there being a discord between the two brothers."
Zhuang Renquan looked towards the bracelet that was on the table and said with some amazement, "This thing, are you not planning on throwing it away?"
"No, leaving this bracelet here can help me remember the lessons that were taught this time." Zhuang Hao said darkly.
Footnotes:
Twin scaled horses: So the original is "双蛟马", 双 (shuang) means double/twin, 蛟 (jiao) apparently is a mythical flood dragon capable of invoking storms and floods (or like a scaled dragon of some sorts), and 马 (ma) is horse. I wasn't really sure how to translate this, so I just went with "twin scaled horse" (because "dragon horse" just sounds weird), but let me know if you have a better translation for this!
A single slip may cause everlasting sorrow: Idiom, meaning a moment's error can cause a lifelong regret.
Bringing the wind: No idea what this means. Judging from the context, it could just mean that Hu Feng is really happy or something?