Can I help you with something?

Meanwhile, Chen Ping'an had made his way to the entrance of his courtyard, and he was just about to step inside when Fu Nanhua and Cai Jinjian hurriedly approached him.

The former smiled as he said, "We meet again! What a coincidence."

Chen Ping'an turned around upon hearing the voice behind him, and he nodded in response as he asked, "Can I help you with something?"

Fu Nanhua was very fluent in the dialect used in the small town, and he said, "This place is called Clay Vase Alley, right? I wanted to ask you if there's someone by the name of Song Jixin living here, and also a child by the name of Gu Can. I'm from the capital, and my parents are family friends of Song Jixin's father.

"This here is Cai Jinjian, and she's a relative of Gu Can's mother, which is why we were traveling together. What a coincidence it is that both of the people that we're looking for are living in the same alley! Everything's so conveniently put together that it almost feels like the storyline of a novel!"

Fu Nanhua wore a calm and friendly smile on his face as he spoke, and even though he was speaking to a lowly young boy like Chen Ping'an, he still went out of his way to bend over slightly so that his face was level with Chen Ping'an's, rather than towering over and looking down on him. It was a very natural and thoughtful gesture that didn't arouse any suspicions that he could be up to no good, and it presented him as a kind and modest gentleman.

A bashful smile appeared on Chen Ping'an's face as he replied, "It really is quite the coincidence."

Fu Nanhua's smile widened even further as he asked in a gentle voice, "May I ask where those two are living on this alley?"

To his surprise, Chen Ping'an shook his head as he replied, "I was an apprentice at a dragon kiln until just recently, so I was living outside the town for many years and only just moved back. Hence, I'm not very familiar with my neighbors on this alley. Perhaps you should ask someone else."

Fu Nanhua's smile remained unchanged, and he didn't immediately offer a response, seemingly pausing to consider how best to proceed.

Cai Jinjian smiled as she interjected, "Lying is not a good habit, little boy. Do you think we look like bad people? Setting that aside, what mischief could we possibly be up to under broad daylight?"

Chen Ping'an blinked innocently as he replied, "But I really don't know."

Cai Jinjian reverted back to her normal dialect as she turned to Fu Nanhua and asked, "Could it be that this boy wants to be compensated?"

"It doesn't look like it," Fu Nanhua replied.

A hint of extremely well-concealed agitation flashed through Cai Jinjian's eyes as she said, "If worse comes to worst, we'll just have to knock on the door of every household here. We'll be able to find the people we're looking for eventually."

Fu Nanhua waved a hand at her to dismiss this idea, then patiently turned back to Chen Ping'an as he offered, "How about this? If you help us out, I'll give you something."

Chen Ping'an scratched his head as he looked back at Fu Nanhua with a pair of clear and innocent eyes.

All of a sudden, Fu Nanhua abruptly stood up straight again.

He had spotted a scholarly young boy squatting on top of a wall not far away from them, and the boy was observing them while perched on his vantage point.

Beside the young boy stood a girl of around the same age. Only the top half of her face was visible, but it could be seen that she had a very clean and elegant appearance, with a pair of delicate eyebrows.

In that instant, Fu Nanhua was convinced that this young boy was the person that he was looking for.

The boy stood up as he asked in a loud voice, "Are you looking for someone?"

Fu Nanhua and Cai Jinjian were forced to raise their heads to look up at him, and the former replied, "That's right, I'm looking for you, and my companion here is looking for Gu Can. Can you help us?"

"Do you know me?" the boy asked with furrowed brows.

Fu Nanhua smiled as he replied, "Of course not, but I'm familiar with Master Song, who's currently working in the Ministry of Rites."

Song Jixin didn't waste any more time with small talk as he asked, "I can help you find that snotty brat, Gu Can, but what's in it for me?"

Fu Nanhua immediately removed the green jade pendant hanging from his waist, then tossed it at Song Jixin. "You can have this."

Song Jixin was rather taken aback as he caught the jade pendant, but his expression remained unchanged as he turned to Zhi Gui and instructed, "Go take them to Gu Can."

Zhi Gui nodded in response and emerged from the courtyard. Standing on the narrow street outside, it was as if her very presence alone was enough to illuminate the entirety of Clay Vase Alley.

Fu Nanhua turned to Chen Ping'an as he smiled and said, "I'll leave you with a parting message, little boy: even the rain that falls from the heavens can't nurture a plant without a root."

He then made his way over to Zhi Gui, but Cai Jinjian remained standing in front of Chen Ping'an, looking down at him with an amused expression as she asked, "Do you know what that means?"

For some reason, she was suddenly struck by the urge to tease the young boy, and before Chen Ping'an had a chance to reply, she chuckled, "He was telling you that you just missed out on a huge opportunity. If he were willing to spare even a bit of the dirt scraped out from under his fingernails and give it to you, you would be able to live in comfort and excess for the rest of your life here.

"Fortunately for you, you're probably never going to find out exactly what it is that you missed out on today. I suppose that's the only silver lining on the cloud. Otherwise, you'd be kicking yourself with remorse!"

Fu Nanhua could hear what she was saying, and he felt like her words were completely wasted on the young boy who clearly had no idea what she was talking about.

Compared with the people in the town, those on the outside resided in a completely different world, and the gulf between them was wider than the distance between heaven and earth.

Cai Jinjian continued to look at Chen Ping'an as she strode backward, re-emphasizing as she approached Zhi Gui, "Even the rain that falls from the heavens can't nurture a plant without a root. Make sure you don't forget that saying."

Chen Ping'an's expression remained unchanged this entire time, but he suddenly exclaimed, "Look out behind you..."

Cai Jinjian's entire body abruptly stiffened.

"There's dog shit," Chen Ping'an finished.