The Academy of the Great Tang

The golden age of the Tang Dynasty, the splendid Chang'an? Xu Changsheng toddles down the pothole-riddled Vermillion Bird Avenue in his split pants, stubby legs waddling, tiny brows furrowed. The mighty Tang Dynasty ought to have concrete roads, right? With a wave of his little hand—change, change, change! With roads in place, a public transportation system is a must, right? At the very least, spacious horse carriages should run—change, change, change! A wealthy merchant by the roadside munching on a scallion pancake, acting as if it’s some rare delicacy just because there’s a bit of meat—how embarrassing! Time to build a grand century-old tavern. The scholars of the Imperial Academy can’t even calculate numbers properly, yet they call themselves cultured? Xu Changsheng frowns, his tiny brows knitting. Doing everything himself one by one doesn’t seem feasible—what if he establishes a Tang Dynasty Institute of Technology? ... The great Confucian scholar Xu Wenyuan watches the stubby-legged boy energetically planning everything beside him. “Changsheng, what are you up to? Your grandpa here only has three copper coins—want a scallion pancake? We can only afford the plain one. The meat-filled one costs five.” Xu Changsheng: “...” Better think of a way to fill his belly first. Warnings: 1. Not for historical accuracy sticklers. 2. The protagonist will occasionally quote ancient poetry. [Advance Reservation] "The Alchemist's Handbook" My name is Brook, a lowly alchemist. I make a living crafting counterfeit antiques, because they call these fakes "relics"—curses from the old world, calamities of the era... "Brook is a beast, a walking plague." "But if you follow the little dog from Brook’s house, you’ll find food, because Mr. Brook scatters breadcrumbs on the ground for the dogs." "Thanks to his mercy." This is an age of sin and darkness, where torn limbs and shattered entrails pale before the ugliness of human hearts. "Mr. Brook is the only light in this era, shining brighter than the pale sun." "Mr. Brook no longer lets us pick up breadcrumbs from the ground. Instead, he smiles and pours us a glass of milk." P.S. 1. Likely to introduce over 800 types of antiques. 2. Each counterfeit represents a one-time-use ability.