Part 5

"Find three empty Tian San jars that you can find in this ministry and fill each with three types of liquid of varying texture, taste, color, and aroma that isn't harmful to the body. With these three filled jars, you are to trade these jars off to Deputy Trade Minister Xuan XuRu, and you're to choose something worthless from him but would be important in saving the treasury from grievous and unnecessary expenditure,"

Houjo's eyes narrowed after listening to the exam question. It was a troublesome question. One which expected him to reach out to something he least wanted. Yet with one edict from the emperor and out of determination to surpass his miserable past he had to embrace something he detested to the very core of his being. Finding three empty jars in this ministry would take some time and that was a time waster. He had less than five hours to complete his task.

The distance it took to commune between this education ministry and that trade ministry would be an hour. During that time of commune from this ministry to that ministry there would be stalls and shops selling a variety of different liquids. Then he frowned, no, that didn't solve his problem. Even though the emperor didn't forbid using money to purchase the liquids, or used the complimentary merchant's token Yushuun had given him to buy things at half price, it would beat the purpose of the exam.

The complimentary token was out of the equation. He must rely on himself to get the jobs done with using his wits. That's right, jobs and there were four of them in that paragraphed question. The objective then was to get not buy the liquids using people skills. This was Reishiin's area of expertise, he had a glib tongue. Where was he to find three Tian San jars? The education ministry was not a hut. It was a five-storey building with two halls, forty working chambers and two libraries.

Then he quickened his pace, the invigilators did the same. The officials sleeping quarters was a good place to deposit empty Tian San jars. These jars were containers for Tian San energy drink. Officials who worked late into the night or wee hours would normally sleep in these quarters. The government always supplied these energy drinks to them in the mornings before they departed from the quarters. He hadn't a doubt that the cleaners had already cleared the place up.

Without hesitating he searched for the garbage area and found it. He hurriedly removed his outer robe and inner shirt, and hung them on the tiled fence. He was only in his pants. He removed the lilac sash from his face and tied his hair with it. Jian Fu gulped at the sight of his handsome face and well-toned body. There were two male gantry workers and they were frozen when they saw Houjo wading into the mess towards them.

The lilac sash which tied his black hair enhanced his magnificent demigod-like appearance perfectly. Headmaster Tsu Zhu smiled upon seeing Jian Fu and the two gantry workers reactions. He saw Houjo clapped his hands to them with a frown on his face. After he had their attention he began relaying his request to them.

"I'm looking for three Tian San jars."

"Tian San jars?" A thin scrawny gantry worker seemed to think hard on the question.

But in actuality the thin fellow was too shocked to think because he had never laid eyes on anyone this beautiful. Even females weren't as beautiful compared to this person. He couldn't be a mortal human, could he? It might be that he was dreaming and had died in his sleep and gone to heaven. Yes, he must be an immortal of the heavens. He was a celestial being. Only celestial beings had that brilliant aura and shining beauty. The plump gantry worker next to him gaped at Houjo.

"Tian San jars,"

The plump gantry was in a trance like state as he murmured and walked to the corner of the dumping area for smaller items and picked up a wooden bucket. He approached Houjo and lifted the bucket for Houjo to look at the contents in it. Houjo glanced down to find the bucket full of Tian San jars. He carefully chose three jars. In this situation where time was against him he had to use his looks. He didn't barter nor spent money.

The reasons were he had very little money to spend and the only valuable thing was his mother's thin silver ring on his pinky. He would never trade nor would he pawn it even if his life depended on it. It was the only thing that connected him to her. He always returned the money his father had sent to him through his father's loyal retainer. He was being reminded that every penny spent on him he would need to pay it with his soul. He was better off without that 'dirty' money.

He knew his father never cared for him and saw him as a commodity to be bartered when the right time came. He would wait for that moment to come because… He shook his head, one thing was clear he had to earn his living in this harsh, unlovable world. He skipped arithmetic classes because he was working incognito as in answering past year civil service exam papers for desperate students, ironically they were on math, so in a way he was practicing on that subject.

He was also a horror storywriter known as The Dark Orator. He made quite a bundle. But according to the 'underground' publisher he'd make more if only he wrote erotica or forbidden love. Love, what did he know of it? He never got any even if he did it was out of lust. Lust wasn't love. He gritted his teeth. Lust, his father's sister was lustful. His father knew but did nothing at the apparent incestuous behavior of his sister.

Then the whole lot of older women with influential husbands seemed to love him enough to eat him alive. His father pushed him into that kind of thing. The purpose was to increase the family's coffer and propelling his father to greater political heights. His father was already in the royal court, what else did his greedy father craved for? He couldn't stand his messed up household and his father's wife never made him forget that his own mother was a whore.

But she never realized that she had not been a faithful wife either. He couldn't blame her. Anyone would end up being bitter like her if they were married to his uncaring and unreliable father. His father had three daughters with her and she had four miscarriages. The four miscarriages were all male. But daughters were not the ones to carry on the family name. Perhaps it was divine punishment to his father. But to him it was as if the punishment was for him.

He was adopted once his father knew of his existence. He was brought up in that sickening household as the son of the Ko clan. Yet they never regarded him as one. He endured physical and psychological abuses. It was then that he had started to toughen and strengthen his body and mind. When people were asleep he would train his body to the maximum. His training ground was fighting with bullies and thugs. Yes, he had his fair share of wounds and bruises.

That was before he met a reclusive old man at the foot hill of Lu Ser that he learnt proper martial arts. Those who had abused him found themselves beaten to a harsh pulp. His father had a retainer who loved to torture dogs and thought him as one. When his father ordered him to punish Houjo, the retainer would feel aroused by the thought of seeing and hearing misery. He went after that retainer first and broke four of his ribs, his fingers, wrists and elbows.

To this very day he would pee in his pants whenever he saw Houjo. Two of the retainer's assistants were psychologically scarred because they swore they saw him change into a demon right before their eyes. He crashed the sliding door of his father's chamber and gave him an ultimatum. The ultimatum was simple, leave him alone. From then on, nobody dared to do anything to him. But he wasn't let off easily. His father gave him a condition. He didn't like it and he had no choice but to give him his word.

"Thank you," Houjo said to the plump fellow.

"I need you to keep this for me," He then gave one bottle to Sir Jian Fu and the other to the Headmaster of Tsu Zhu.

He ran to the tiled fenced and grabbed his garment. He quickly wore and fastened the rope on his inner garb then he began walking briskly while wearing the outer robe. He didn't fasten the attached sash on his outer robe. He slid the one empty bottle in a pouch tied to his waist band. The robe fluttered as he ran to the next destination he had in mind. Sir Jian Fu looked at the headmaster. The old man gestured to him to run after Houjo.

Houjo stopped in front of a stream. He took out the bottle from the pouch. He knelt down and scooped the fresh clear water. He held the bottle up at eye level. It was full and took a swig. He held the bottle up at eye level again. It was half. He nodded his head and placed the cork on the mouth of the bottle. He slipped the bottle back into the pouch and the tightened the neck of the pouch. He looked at Jian Fu who bent over while panting away. The Tsu Zhu headmaster was slowly walking their path.

Houjo sprinted towards the headmaster and gave him the half filled bottle. He told the headmaster to take a swig which the headmaster complied with great relieve. Then he requested the headmaster to give him the empty bottle he gave earlier. The headmaster gave the bottle to him. He whispered something in the headmaster's ear. The headmaster nodded his head and smiled at him. Houjo turned to his heel and sped off to the right.

"Wha…," Jian Fu panted as he stared at Houjo passing him with a zoom.

Jian Fu groaned aloud at the thought of running again. Houjo had fair, flawless skin but he wasn't a flower boy. Although he looked like one he hardly acted like one. He was thoroughly manly and athletic. He looked at the headmaster who continued to walk slowly. The headmaster gestured for him to catch up with Houjo. Jian Fu ignored his gesture. He couldn't run yet. He was still panting, holding his sides as he walked towards the headmaster.

"He told you something. What was it?"

The headmaster smiled at him, "He told me to give you this," He handed the half full bottle to Jian Fu, "Drink up and keep it with you and give me the empty one he gave you earlier."

"What?" Jian Fu looked at the headmaster in disbelieve.

"You think he's long winded," The headmaster said amusedly.

"Yes,"

"No," The headmaster disagreed, "He's very thoughtful of the elderly. He's thinking patterns are unique. He told me that we would find him in a wine shop called Shiu-Tsen Brewery."

It took them twenty minutes to reach the said shop. When they entered they found Houjo was in a discussion with the owner. Houjo stopped and approached them.

"May I have the two bottles?"

Jian Fu and the headmaster gave him the bottles and he went back to the owner. The owner was looking curiously at them and then at the bottles in Houjo's hands.

"They're with me, Mr. Tsen,"

"Ah," the owner bowed to them then returned his attention to Houjo. "You mean there's a way to ferment the peaches and plums with the rice wine,"

"Yes, just mix and mesh the peaches and plums. Let the juice trickle from the extractor into the wheat wine. Then let it sit for a week in a jar buried in sand."

Sir Jian Fu looked at the headmaster who was looking at Houjo with curious delight.

"What's he doing?" Jian Fu's forehead creased, "This is no time to be swapping recipes and he has three more tasks to finish!" whispering his discontent to the headmaster.

"The second task has commenced," said the headmaster calmly.

"What?"

"Look and listen properly," the headmaster said with a smile.

Jian Fu turned to observe the discussion between Houjo and the owner.

The owner scratched his left temple, "It seems farfetched, Mr. Ko. But how do you know this?"

Houjo's eyes clouded for a moment then it disappeared as he narrowed his eyes, "Through experience,"

The owner or the invigilators nor anyone else would know what hell he was chucked into when he said 'through experience.' The amount of misery he had to endure just to stay alive in that bloody household would make anyone insane. But from it he had learnt to be resilient and resourceful. This was a secret of wine making in his family. Now he was sharing it with a commoner. Was it payback? Not really, his heart said, it was more like an investment for his future.

"You're a wine maker?"

"No, I've no interest in business of any sort,"

"I guess not," the middle aged owner looked at Houjo, "But you do have the capability of becoming a very good businessman. You'd probably succeed with that remarkable face of yours," the old man cackled.

Houjo blandly stared at him. "In that case I haven't any potential at all,"

"You're a funny guy," the old man looked at him in surprise.

In response, Houjo said nothing.

The last but most crucial element that Houjo would not divulge to the owner was something the owner had to figure out on his own to make the recipe he'd received truly successful. That element was the condition of the sand for which the jar would be buried into should be dry and not damp. If the sand was damp, it would destroy the maturity progress of the fermenting process. That means the container should be either a clay or porcelain jar not a wooden barrel.

The old man stared at him awkwardly, "Ah, bury in sand… won't a wooden barrel do?" He pointed at the wooden barrel.

"It has to be a clay or porcelain jar then bury it in sand."

"It's so troublesome to get jars." The owner complained.

"Use a clay or porcelain teapot then," Houjo suggested.

"Teapot?"

"You have at least a clay one, don't you?"

"Y-yes…"

"Be sure to cork the teapot's mouth tightly."

"Why can't it be a wooden barrel?" asked the owner with persistence.

"Simple, the contents will get moldy and it will spoil the product if put in a wooden barrel,"

"Oh," said the owner, "that makes sense," then he glanced at Houjo, "And you say, you only want a bit of rice wine in this bottle,"

"Yes, and I also need a bit of barley wine and wheat wine in the other two bottles,"

The owner looked at the bottles in Houjo's hands. Then he nodded his head, "Alright,"

The owner took the first bottle from Houjo. He went to a large wooden barrel and lifted the lid. He took the scooper and scooped some wine with it. He carefully poured the liquid into the bottle in his hand. He didn't measure the contents in the bottle and passed it to Houjo.

"Will this do?"

Houjo gazed at the bottle at eye level and nodded, "Perfect,"

Then he gave the second bottle to the owner, "Barley wine for this one,"

The owner took the second bottle and poured a little barley wine in it then passed the bottle back to Houjo who inspected it at eye level.

"Great," said Houjo, "and now, wheat wine for this last bottle,"

"What're they for?" asked the owner, puzzled, as he poured some wheat wine into the last bottle and corked it.

"An exam,"

"Huh?" the owner looked confused as he passed the last bottle to Houjo.

"Never mind, thank you for this," Houjo lifted the bottle at him then bringing it up at eye level again, "Splendid, and just the right amount."

"No, no…" The owner waved his hand, "thank you,

Houjo gave the two bottles to Jian Fu and the headmaster to keep. "Please hold on to them a little longer," Then he walked out of the wine shop.

Jian Fu slipped the bottle into his pouch attached on his waistband then rubbed his chest in exasperation. "That guy…" Pointing at nothing, "Just goes off without telling…"

"Well," the headmaster said, "you're in your twenties, aren't you? Go after him,"

"Arrghhh…" Jian Fu burst out, as he bolted out of the shop.

A barter trade to save time, thought the headmaster with a wide smile. The lad had gained the first liquid for all three bottles. The first was using his divine good looks to arrest the gantry into giving him the bottles without much fuss because he was fighting for time. He did that in less than eight minutes. Then with the wine owner he took less than forty minutes to accomplish his goal. But the lad had frowned twice because it took longer than he anticipated.

The lad had experienced hardships in his life. This he knew by just listening to the lad's conversation with the owner. His conversation was carefully coated with elusive meanings. The headmaster knew he was not telling the owner the complete technique for the recipe he gave as a barter item. He withheld something important in his calculated silence. As of what he hadn't a clue. But the lad truly knew the rule of bartering especially when giving something to someone.

The rule of bartering was never to completely give everything because that was your bread and butter. To get the exact thing, one must go back to the originator of the product or to find the key to the missing element through trials. If the person was to learn from the originator, the result could never be the same. The same went to the result of his trials having a different tone to the product of the same genre would not be considered stealing or an imitation but an improvisation of something new.

This lad had the makings of a clandestine merchant or savoir-faire trading marshal. What else had the boy up his sleeves? The headmaster smiled as he walked slowly yet steadily trailing the dust Sir Jian Fu had stirred in his pursuit of the intriguing lad from the yellow province.

Meantime, Houjo slowed down to look at the shops and stalls selling the items he required. His lips thinned, there were no stalls opened at this time of day. The items he wanted were sold by open stall traders in the mornings. Only places such as brewery or winery would open into the evening. He had to find a shop that sold the items he wanted. But where was such a shop? He looked left and right. Then he spotted the place which had almost everything.

It was a tavern. His lips stretched into a small smile. There were passersby and many gaped in awe at him. He ignored them. It was the same where ever he went. Those silly, moonstruck faces oozing with nosebleeds both male and female were too irritating for him to watch. Darn it! He was even wearing the lilac sash that Reishiin gave him. Was Reishiin planning on making him flamboyant? A hostess came out from the tavern to attract customers for tea squealed in shock looking at him.

It was the last thing he wanted. The hostess thought he was a bad guy. No good guy would go about with his outer robe open except for thugs. He placed a forefinger on his lips. He had no choice again. It would have been easy for Reishiin to sweep the girl of her feet. He was not Reishiin. He hadn't the time to sweep girls of their feet. So he left her standing and staring at him as he walked into the tavern. His eyes roved slowly watching the activity in the tavern.

"Welcome to Blooming Blossoms, mysterious stranger,"

He glanced at the woman in vibrant blue robe. She was beautiful with perfectly painted lips and eyes with a tinge of light pink on her powdered face. He immediately thought of performers performing traditional Chinese opera. She'd better off without make-up. He preferred natural or little make-up on women. It showed the modesty of the woman.

"Are you alone?" she asked, her hand gently placed on his arm.

"No," he said.

She hit his arm playfully. "You're teasing me…"

"No, I'm not. There're two others who are on their way here."

"Come, sit there," the hostess pointed a table at the center of the tavern. "You can order while waiting for them."

He was not going to spend what limited amount he had with him. He felt constricted with the hostess clinging to him.

"My, what beautiful lips you have," she purred still clinging to him. "I want to see your whole face,"

She tried to pull off the lilac sash from his face. He caught her hand. She gasped in excitement. He was irritated with her. She grated his nerves. He smiled slightly and kissed her hand in his gently. He couldn't breathe with her clinging to him.

He shook his head, "I fear even my own face,"

She blinked uncomprehending a thing he said. Then she giggled, "My, you're cute…"

He suppressed the urge of glancing heavenward. Instead he shifted his eyes to the patrons or rather their orders. He saw tea, wine, juices, fruits, honey, milk, steamed sweet buns, steamed savory buns, honey rice cakes. He had to act fast, time was ticking real fast.

"Miss," he drew her closer to him. "I need you…"

She pressed herself closer to him before he could finish his sentence. If he wanted information, he had no choice but to act a bit like Reishiin. He lifted her chin and lowered his head enough to touch her lips but not. His lips lightly touched hers as he spoke.

"I need you to tell me where I can find the owner of this establishment."

She stared dazedly at him. But she lifted her hand to point at the left side of the second floor, "There…"

"Thank you,"

When he said thank you, he emphasized the 'you,' whichever way one would see whether at a glance or observing long it would seemed like they were kissing. She suddenly crumpled. He caught her before she hit the floor. He was glad that Sir Jian Fu and the Tsu Zhu headmaster were already in the tavern. They saw him holding a fainted woman in his arms. He hoped they didn't see that seductive display. They went to him.

Jian Fu scolded him, "Why did you do that to her?"

They saw. He looked at the headmaster. The old man gave him a look that was neither pleased nor of anger.

Houjo sighed, "I wouldn't expect you to understand my actions,"

Houjo passed the fainted woman into Jian Fu's arms. The senior education officer was shocked. He just held her in his arms. The headmaster's eyebrows rose in amusement.

"I presume you're resuming your tasks," stated the headmaster as a matter of fact.

He nodded but before he ascended the stairs to the second floor, he collected the other two bottles from the invigilators. He was left with three and quarter hours to finish his quest and he wanted two people here. One was the chef in the kitchen. The other was the owner of the establishment whom he had to approach first to get the owner's approval of his requests.

TO BE CONTINUED…