Chapter 24: A Gift
In a residence on Peach Leaf Lane, there was an old man with kind eyes and a gentle brow, sitting on a wicker chair under the eaves. Beside him sat a maidservant with a clever, adorable appearance, wearing long pants patterned with goose-yellow embroidery and a light, pale-green gauze skirt. While listening to the old man tell a story, she slowly fanned him.
The old man suddenly spoke up and asked, "Tao Ya, the wind? Have you dozed off again? I'm not trying to scare you, but if you were in a large household outside the town, slacking off like this would earn you a punishment."
Receiving no response at all, the old man, who had always been lenient and generous toward his servants, was about to continue joking a few more sentences when his expression changed abruptly. He lifted his head and looked into the distance, his countenance turning grave. It turned out that within the small courtyard, not only was the fan held by the young maidservant completely still, but in fact, even the invisible breeze had come to a halt. The old man hurriedly held his breath and concentrated his mind, silently reciting the incantation, entering a state of sitting in forgetfulness and settling into stillness, so as not to waste his cultivation and Dao attainments in this brief reverse flow of the river of time. The old man let out a soft sigh. Qi Jingchun, the one who adhered most strictly to the rules of propriety and decorum, had finally made an exception and taken action. This truly meant that the storm was gathering, and the wind was filling the tower.
At the Iron Lock Well, a burly young man from outside the town crouched not far away, staring intently at the pulley cart. However, out of the corner of his eye, he stealthily glanced at the silhouette of a plump village woman. She was bending over the well, lifting a bucket of water. Her strikingly curved buttocks, her heavy, drooping breasts, her overall somewhat exaggerated figure—every curve was fully revealed. Her body exuded a wild aura like a full ear of wheat, adding a unique charm to the woman, who was originally only of average appearance. When the young man realized that the surrounding environment had fallen into an eerie stillness, he didn't move his body. Instead, he mustered his courage to gaze directly at that beautiful scene of the woman drawing water. He secretly swallowed his saliva, then quickly turned his body and changed his crouching posture.
No wonder his master had said that women down the mountain were tigers emerging from the forest—once their power waned, they were manageable. But if one were to bring them up the mountain, they would become mountain-tyrant tigers that devoured people. After drinking, his master always said that all the heroes and champions under heaven had lost to his own tiger that entered the mountain, without a single exception. But the young man felt that the tiger emerging from the forest was already formidable enough. For example, the woman before him—clearly ordinary-looking, yet so alluring that it made him itch with desire. If she were to slap him across the face without a word, completely unreasonably, the young man felt he still wouldn't dare to fight back. Perhaps if the woman smiled, he would even smile along with her.
As the young man thought about these things, he became somewhat disheartened. He lowered his head and glanced at his crotch, muttering curses, "No spine, no wonder you have no backbone!"
---
Inside Mud Vase Alley, Song Jixin was flipping through a thick, old, and worn local gazetteer. Song Jixin had figured out many patterns, such as that generally, additions were made every sixty years. So he privately nicknamed this book the "Jiazi Annals." Another pattern was that almost none of the town's young people, once taken away by distant relatives, ever returned to their hometown. They seemed to dislike the idea of falling leaves settling on their roots. It was like flowers blooming outside the wall while the wall inside remained plain. Many family surnames had branched out and spread, even growing into deep-rooted towering trees. For this reason, Song Jixin also nicknamed it the "Book Beyond the Wall."
The young man was currently flipping through a page of biographical records, which described the life story of a man named Cao Xi. The sparse, economical use of ink was another feature of this gazetteer. Song Jixin had read it over and over at least seven or eight times, and he knew this book by heart. So now when he flipped through it in his spare time, he only picked out some bizarre and extraordinary character stories, treating them like legendary tales told by a storyteller. There was no way to verify their truth, and Song Jixin naturally didn't care. He only remembered that man in official robes, who, before leaving the town to report for duty in the capital, came to this place alone late at night. With an extremely solemn attitude, he told the young man to remember one thing: to memorize every name that appeared in the book, along with the hundreds and thousands of people, and the respective roots of their ancestors within the town, especially the relationship networks with the four surnames and ten clans.
At this moment, Song Jixin sat utterly motionless, like those broken and shattered clay idols in the southeastern part of the town, scattered carelessly in the grass and mud. Regardless of wind and rain, they remained unshakable. The light streaming through the window onto the desk maintained an abnormal state of stillness.
In this residence, the only ones capable of movement were the maidservant Zhigui and the inconspicuous four-legged lizard. She had sensed the anomaly very early on. The first thought that popped into her mind was to go to the courtyard next door, find that expressionless girl, and curse her out thoroughly. But when the maidservant realized the existence of that flying sword, she abandoned this tempting idea. She first came to her young master's room, glanced obliquely at the content on the page, and found the two characters "Cao Xi" annoying. So she helped him flip forward a few pages. When she saw the passage about "Xie Shi," she smiled happily. However, she soon became disgruntled and flipped the pages back, so as not to reveal heavenly secrets and expose her own true colors. Over the years, her shrewd and cunning young master, merely out of curiosity, had suspected her identity and background, but had never caught any solid evidence. She didn't want to fail at the last moment when success was within reach. She often accompanied her young master to the village school and felt that scholars said some things that were very hypocritical and ridiculous, like "sacrifice one's life for righteousness," while some things were said quite well, like "when traveling a hundred miles, half of the journey is done at the ninety-mile mark." This really explained the principle thoroughly.
That earthy-yellow four-legged lizard was lying on the threshold, basking in the sun. When it lay still and motionless, it reverted to its "true form." Under the light, it shimmered with flowing colors, crystal clear and transparent, its entire body like a piece of glass.
Inside the house in the next courtyard, the black-clad girl Ning Yao had entered a mysterious state of fetal breathing. She didn't breathe through her mouth or nose, like an infant still in the womb, as her spirit and energy returned to their roots and thoughts ceased.
Within the snow-white scabbard, the flying sword, as if granted amnesty, slowly unsheathed itself. Then it flew lightly around its owner, gentle and affectionate like a little bird clinging close, yet also possessing the graceful beauty of a girl's fluttering skirt. It didn't fly randomly but, like drawing talismans with spiritual insight, created the best possible feng shui environment for its owner, who was healing. Sure enough, the girl, showing no signs of breathing, had the surrounding qi rapidly surging into her body. She absorbed it like a whale gulping water, frantically devouring the primordial spiritual energy of this world. At this moment, the lifeless silence of the town and the vigorous vitality of this residence formed a stark contrast.
South of the town, by the stream.
There was a short, stocky man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, exuding a sharp aura. He was bare-chested, holding an iron hammer and forging iron. With each hammer strike, sparks flew in all directions, filling the room with radiance.
Countless tiny sparks scurried around recklessly in the spacious room, spectacular and magnificent.
Each swing of the hammer created a picture.
Standing opposite the man was a girl with a neat ponytail, petite in stature. She wore a yellow cowhide apron to prevent sparks from splashing onto her body. Ordinary cotton clothes would easily be burned through, leaving holes.
After one hammer blow, millions of sparks suddenly came to a complete halt in the room.
The ponytailed girl frowned and asked, "Dad?"
The man said in a deep voice, "You take over hammering the sword blank. This is a good opportunity to temper your divine intent."
The girl put down the old sword blank and brushed aside the sparks in front of her on both sides. The sparks were scattered by her casual wave—a single move affecting the whole. These sparks, which should have been frozen in the river of time, kept colliding with one another. Each impact made the light inside the room extremely chaotic.
Compared to the elderly predecessors within the town, who seemed like hidden dragons in the abyss, all holding their breath, concentrating their minds, and sitting in stillness, the girl's actions were truly too domineering.
Especially when she took over the hammering, the blows were powerful and heavy, the movements swift and fierce, even more wild and unrestrained than those of the experienced man.
Each time the hammering produced sparks, they didn't disappear in the state of stillness. So, after repeated accumulations, the dense sparks were like brilliant stars, clustering in the air.
Within the sword-forging room, there were billions of sparks.
The man stared fixedly at the glowing red sword embryo and commanded in a low voice, "Silently recite the 'Shaking Dragon' chapter of the 'Sword Forging Scripture'!"
The girl's momentum suddenly dropped, and she said softly, "Dad?"
Annoyed, the man asked, "What is it?"
Her momentum dropped even further, and she timidly said, "I didn't eat much at lunch. I'm hungry and can't swing the hammer anymore."
The man became even more irritated. If it weren't for the sword forging, he would have started scolding her. "Obviously, memorizing the book is like taking your life. Find an excuse... dammit, girl, with your appetite, being hungry is normal. It really isn't an excuse..."
The girl secretly smiled. Although she said she was hungry, her hand movements didn't slow down at all. In a flash of spiritual insight, the girl let out a loud shout and then struck down with all her might, inexplicably saying, "Come out!"
The sparks scattered this time were extremely numerous and particularly dazzling.
The man's face remained expressionless, but in his heart, he thought, "It's done."
---
In the courtyard of Gu Can's house, the woman slowly awoke. Her head felt as if it were splitting. Supported by her child, she sat back down on the bench. The Duanjiang True Lord Liu Zhimao was sitting with his eyes closed, his thumb and index finger slowly rubbing together inside his sleeve.
The woman, Mrs. Gu, pressed her son to sit beside her and asked softly, "Reverend immortal, what happened?"
The old man didn't open his eyes and said, "I've accepted a good disciple, and you have a good son. Mrs. Gu, just rest assured and wait to be honored through your son."
The woman was overjoyed, tears streaming down her face as she hugged the child and murmured softly, "Husband, did you hear that? Our Gu Can will surely achieve great things..."
Liu Zhimao suddenly let out an "Eh?" of surprise. He opened his eyes, looked down at the lines on his palm, which seemed to have branched out a new path, and muttered to himself, "Why is this? It shouldn't be. The young man didn't die, but instead, that immortal clan child died inexplicably?"
The old man had to stand up, slowly paced in the courtyard, and rapidly counted on his fingers. "Worthless! Defeated by a common street youth! Cloud Mist Mountain's millennium of painstakingly accumulated reputation is thus ruined in an instant."
The woman said nervously, "Reverend elder, since our Can'er has already taken you as his master, why not let Chen Ping'an go?"
The old man roared angrily, "Foolish kindness of women! If you truly had a merciful heart, you shouldn't have entertained the thought of killing him when we first met. Now you want to play the Bodhisattva? Have you no shame?"
The woman was scolded until her face turned pale, stammering and not daring to say another word.
The old man was still not appeased. He pointed at the woman and cursed, "Country village woman, short-sighted! From now on, once Gu Can returns with me to the Book and Bamboo Lake, your meetings as mother and son must not be too frequent, so as not to hinder his cultivation. Do you have any objections?"
The woman quickly waved her hands and said, "I dare not."
The old man's expression turned sinister.
The woman was startled. She quickly came to her senses, her face crumpling as she said pitifully, "No objections, absolutely none!"
The old man brusquely flicked his sleeve and snorted, "Infuriating me to death!"
Earlier, he had thought the woman had a certain unique charm and had just conceived the idea of taking her as a personal maidservant, but now she was behaving so vulgarly and unbearably. It served her right to miss out on a blessing that could have put her on the path to cultivation.
Suddenly, the old man became extremely alert, looking around. Sure enough, this world had been artificially frozen into a "state of stillness." The state of stillness was a type of minor cave heaven in the world, one that even terrestrial immortals and golden-bodied arhats could not hope to create.
Such a great supernatural power could be described as reaching the pinnacle. Although it was largely attributed to that grand formation, it still inspired profound awe and reverence.
Imagine, as long as one was within this world, whether you were an immortal, buddha, spirit, devil, or monster, you would have to come and kowtow to me. What kind of feeling was that?
Liu Zhimao, the Duanjiang True Lord, dreamed of reaching such a height. "When the art is supreme, use it sparingly"? To hell with that! Liu Zhimao wished that, after possessing such a minor cave heaven, he could drag in the third-generation disciples of the Buddha, the Dao Ancestor, and the Confucian Sect Leader. He didn't dare ask them to bow their heads, but at least they could all be equals and address each other as peers.
Without any warning, Liu Zhimao spat out a mouthful of blood, and blood also splattered from his palm, as if someone had slashed a deep groove in it with a sharp tool.
On his other hand, the white bowl involuntarily appeared. The ripples on the water's surface were chaotic, and black lines scurried about wildly, crashing into walls everywhere.
Without any hesitation, the old man placed one hand over the other. Though he was a member of the Daoist heterodox path, he performed a Confucian bow of respect, bending all the way down with utmost piety, and said in a trembling voice, "Liu Zhimao, island master of Green Gorge Island at Book and Bamboo Lake, earnestly begs Mr. Qi to have compassion on this junior's sincere pursuit of the Dao. If I have offended in any way, I beg you, sir, to... a great sage not to bear grudges against a petty man!"
After a long silence.
"Leave at once!"
These four words exploded like spring thunder in the True Lord's ears.
Liu Zhimao ecstatically said, "Rest assured, sir, this junior will immediately take Mrs. Gu and her son away from the town."
Remembering something, the old man, who had been referring to himself as a junior, cautiously asked, "May I ask, sir, how should I handle these two pouches of gold essence copper coins on me?"
The majestic voice sounded again, "One person and one object happen to be two portions of opportunity. Leave them in the courtyard. Within thirty years, you are not to leave Book and Bamboo Lake by half a step."
Liu Zhimao felt a huge burden lift from his shoulders. This time, he did not deliberately perform the Confucian salute with a fawning air. Instead, he made a solemn Daoist bow with palms together. "The elder's gift, I dare not decline. Mr. Qi's great kindness and virtue, this junior will remember deep in his heart, forever engraved in his bones!"
After this, Qi Jingchun's voice did not reappear, and the state of stillness quickly dissipated. Liu Zhimao wasted no time. He immediately had Mrs. Gu take Gu Can and leave the town with him. Just as Mrs. Gu was about to speak, Liu Zhimao shot her an extremely fierce glare that frightened her into silence. Liu Zhimao pulled out two pouches. Although he felt some reluctance in his heart, this heterodox Daoist, who aspired to a well-deserved True Lord title, still unhesitatingly placed them on the bench. However, just as he reached the small courtyard, Liu Zhimao suddenly asked, "Does your family have any old heirlooms left behind?"
Mrs. Gu looked clueless, but the crafty Gu Can immediately reminded her, "Didn't Dad leave a multi-treasure cabinet? The one covered in dust under the bed?"
Liu Zhimao's eyes lit up. Without a second word, he told the woman to lead the way and check it out.
Since that sage had acknowledged Gu Can himself as an opportunity, it meant the child could take away the opportunities belonging to him.
As for the ultimate ownership of these opportunities—in the town, even if the Heavenly King himself came, he'd have to listen to Qi Jingchun. But once at Book and Bamboo Lake, things would be hard to say.
Finally left unattended, Gu Can waited until the two had gone inside the house. Then he grabbed one pouch in each hand, gently pulled open the door bolt, and sprinted like crazy toward the other end of Mud Vase Alley.
Inside the house, Mrs. Gu was kneeling on the ground, reaching under the bed to drag out a box. The box wasn't big, but it was quite heavy. She struggled with it, panting from the effort.
Then her plump buttocks received a hard kick from the Duanjiang True Lord. The old man teased, "Mrs. Gu, you lose out on the basis of post-natal maintenance. But relying on this, you could barely qualify as a second-class maidservant on Green Gorge Island. As a third-class, you'd be more than qualified. I don't fancy you myself, but on Green Gorge Island, there are a few guest elders and individual cultivators who might just have a taste for this. When the time comes, you'd better try your best. Don't be shy and miss out on a blessing."
The woman's body stiffened slightly. More than half of her body was still under the bed, so her expression was hard to read.
---
When they reached the mouth of an alley, Qi Jingchun said to Chen Ping'an, "I will handle Cai Jinjian and Fu Nanhua. Now that you have this piece of ancestral parasol leaf, you must value life and death even less. Living well is the greatest reward you can give to your parents. As for the subsequent troubles from Cloud Mist Mountain, Old Dragon City, and the Duanjiang True Lord, I dare not say they will never bother you, but within ten years, they certainly won't come looking for trouble. If you're lucky and remain a commoner, you could even have thirty years of peace."
Qi Jingchun smiled and continued, "There's no need to hold any grudges against the town. Later... before long, those schemes should be gone too. If you want twenty or thirty years of a stable life, you might as well find a girl here to marry, build a family and a career. But if you want to see the world beyond the town and experience the true sights, that's also a good thing. Reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles—these are things we scholars must do. You'll discover later that in the town, reading is difficult, but walking is easy. Outside the town, many scholars find it easy to buy books, read books, and collect books, but they dislike walking long distances. They dread hardship. So-called study tours are just carriage rides to the suburbs."
The young man asked in surprise, "Mr. Qi, does walking count as hardship?"
Qi Jingchun laughed heartily. "Let's not even talk about beyond the town. Just look at your side. Do you see anyone your age from Blessing Street or Peach Leaf Lane who runs all over the mountains and fields like you do?"
The young man nodded and said, "That's true."
Qi Jingchun thought for a moment, then reached up and pulled a green jade hairpin from his topknot. He bent down and handed it to the impoverished youth. "Consider this a farewell gift. It's not a valuable item, much less an immortal artifact. You can accept it without worry. In fact, I was once just like you—a youth from a humble alley. I studied hard, endured many hardships and setbacks, and of course met with various opportunities. Only then did I enter the Cliff Academy, where I studied under my master. That period was the happiest time of my life, Qi Jingchun. Later, when my master was about to leave the mountain, he gave me this hairpin as a kind of expectation and entrustment. But looking back now, over so many years, I haven't done well. I believe that if my master were still alive, he would certainly be disappointed."
The young man didn't dare accept this gift.
This green jade hairpin seemed to carry the bond between Mr. Qi and his master—the affection and meaning were heavy, and the item itself was no small thing either.
The young man, though inexperienced, had grown up firing imperial porcelain and had some appreciation for the quality of objects.
Qi Jingchun said warmly, "If left with me, my master's keepsake would be buried along with me. It's better to give it to you. Besides, you haven't received a reward without merit. I've stayed in this town for nearly sixty years, and there's always been a small knot in my heart that I couldn't untie. Unfortunately, my master is long gone, and I thought I would never find the answer in this life. But you unintentionally helped resolve it for me. So, giving you this hairpin is perfectly fitting in terms of sentiment, reason, and propriety. Chen Ping'an, I could only help you get a single parasol leaf. I cannot give you any more opportunities."
The young man took the hairpin, made of ordinary jade, with both hands. He lifted his head and said sincerely, "You have already done a great deal, sir."
Qi Jingchun smiled and let it go. Seeing that the young man had been persuaded to accept the hairpin, he felt that a burden had been lifted. The hairpin was indeed ordinary and plain, but it was his master's keepsake. Being able to give it a youth who would not dishonor the inscription on the jade hairpin was a very good thing.
So Qi Jingchun finally advised, "Chen Ping'an, remember this. No matter what happens in the future, never lose hope in this world."