Chapter 34: Gathering Together
Footsteps came from the direction of Song Jixin's house. Liu Xianyang was just about to jump down from the wall when a voice preceded its owner, and someone asked with a warm chuckle, "You're that kid from the Baoxi Kiln, Old Man Yao's apprentice? Surname Liu?"
It was the white-robed superintendent of kiln affairs, a jade belt around his waist, who strode out through the doorway and smiled toward the wall.
Liu Xianyang's body went stiff. He found he no longer had the strength to leap off the wall. Guiltily dry-laughing, he replied, "Reporting to you, sir, that's me. When you were at our dragon kiln opening, my master had me demonstrate a few tasks for you."
The man nodded, sized up the tall youth, and came straight to the point. "Young man, do you want to go see the outside world? For example, enlist in the army, join the fray in battle. I guarantee that if you can endure ten years, you'll become a high-ranking official. Then I myself will host a celebratory feast for you in the capital. How about it?"
Song Jixin, standing behind the man, had a face as gloomy as water. He clutched the Old Dragon Rain-Laced Jade Pendant that Fu Nanhua had given him.
This scholar seed, who had borne the labels "bastard" and "illegitimate son" for many years, now knew the true identity of the man beside him. That was why the youth understood more deeply the weight of the man's words. The phrase "host personally" would become the most powerful life-saving talisman in Great Li and the longest ladder to officialdom.
Liu Xianyang racked his brain for some bookish words and stammered, "Thank you, Superintendent, sir, for your great kindness. I am deeply honored... but I have already agreed to be an apprentice at Master Ruan's blacksmith shop. It would be wrong to go back on my word. I hope you will not... good men don't hold grudges..."
The tall youth's words got stuck in his throat. He couldn't remember them for the life of him and blushed furiously.
Song Jixin, appearing considerate, reminded him, "It's 'good men don't hold small grievances.'"
The white-robed man chuckled and didn't take it to heart. "No matter. When you have a chance to leave the town, go to the nearest Danyang Mountain Pass and find a martial artist named Liu Linxi. Tell him Song Changjing of the capital recommended you to enlist there. If he doesn't believe you, tell him that the man called Song Changjing said you still owe him thirty thousand heads of Great Sui border cavalry."
Liu Xianyang nodded dumbly. "Okay."
The man smiled and left. Song Jixin saw him to the courtyard gate and wanted to stop there, but the man seemed to have read his mind. Without turning around, he said directly, "Come with me to the superintendent's office. I'm taking you to meet someone."
Song Jixin's feet rooted into the ground like nails. His face darkened. "I'm not going!"
That place, which had an extremely high threshold in the eyes of the town's common folk, was, for the youth who had grown up year after year listening to gossip, a dragon's pool and tiger's den—a mental barrier he couldn't cross.
The man, known for being decisive and swift outside, didn't get angry at the youth's refusal to read the situation. Nor did he stop walking, but he slowed down considerably. "According to the records of the office's spies, you've already met that Sui imperial prince surnamed Gao, haven't you? Do you know that the Gao clan of Great Sui and our Song clan of Great Li have an irreconcilable enmity—a thousand-year-old feud? He is an imperial prince; he dared to come to this town deep in enemy Great Li territory. And you, Song Jixin, are also an imperial prince, yet you dare not set foot in a small official residence on your own family's land?"
Song Jixin's first reaction wasn't to ponder the depth of these words. He instantly turned his head to look at Liu Xianyang. The tall youth was sitting on the wall, rubbing his hands and tapping his legs, as if he hadn't heard the man's words at all.
The white-robed border prince of Great Li, walking in Nilpotent Alley, curled his lips. The man had gained an unexpected pleasant surprise.
Truly a seed of the old Song family.
But then he remembered that the youth was also the son of that woman, and even the number one martial grandmaster of Great Li found it troublesome and thorny.
Song Jixin gritted his teeth, turned back, and said to Zhigui, who was standing at the doorway of the house, "I'll be back soon. Don't wait lunch for me."
Just as Song Jixin stepped out of the courtyard gate, he turned and smiled again. "Take that pouch of loose silver from my bedside and go to Du's shop to buy the pair of dragon-phoenix incense pendants. Anyway, we don't need to save money anymore."
Zhigui nodded and made a hand sign meaning "be careful."
Song Jixin smiled happily and swaggered away.
Once Song Jixin was far off, Liu Xianyang, still sitting on the wall, cautiously asked, "Zhigui, what's the relationship between Song Jixin and the superintendent?"
Zhigui looked at the tall youth with a pitying gaze.
Liu Xianyang couldn't stand that look. "What? Just because he knows some official in charge of porcelain, is that such a big deal?"
Zhigui twitched the corner of her mouth. Without a word, she went into the house, fetched some food, and began feeding the old hen and the fluffy chicks.
Liu Xianyang felt inexplicably dejected. He jumped off the wall and yelled into the house, "Hey, surnamed Chen, let's go to the blacksmith shop! I'm done swallowing this insult!"
The young servant girl, her back to the neighboring courtyard separated by a wall, giggled. "Buddhas vie for a stick of incense; men strive for a breath of pride. Too bad a good-for-nothing only has a bellyful of humiliation."
Liu Xianyang's blood rushed to his head; even his ears turned red. He walked to the yellow-earth wall and punched it heavily. "Wang Zhu! Say that again if you dare!"
The maid dropped all the corn and vegetable scraps, clapped her hands, turned around, and said with a smile, "Who do you think you are? Just because you tell me to say it, I should?"
Liu Xianyang stared at the maid, whose figure was just starting to fill out and who was becoming more radiant by the day. He couldn't speak. His heart felt empty, like a porcelain bowl had shattered on the ground.
Chen Ping'an had long been standing at the threshold. Seeing this, he quickly walked into the yard and said quietly, "Let's go."
The two youths walked side by side through the alley. The tall youth suddenly asked, "Chen Ping'an, am I really that worthless?"
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment and answered seriously, "The neighbors in the alley all say my mother was very kind, and they say my father was famously taciturn. So I think whether you like someone or not probably doesn't have that much to do with being worthy or not."
Liu Xianyang's face fell. "Then I'm even worse off! Even if I manage to build my own dragon kiln someday, or learn all of Master Ruan's skills, she still won't like me, right!"
Chen Ping'an wisely kept his mouth shut to avoid adding fuel to the fire.
Walking through the familiar alley, Chen Ping'an suddenly recalled a scene. Years ago, he had followed Old Man Yao along the stream deep into the mountains and saw a young elk drinking water by the edge. It wasn't afraid of him. After drinking, it lowered its head and stared at the stream for a long time without leaving. In the water's surface, besides the elk's reflection, there was also a fish swimming back and forth, reluctant to leave.
Before leaving the ancestral house, Miss Ning had suggested that since he now had a locust leaf, he should leave the town early. With the intangible protection of the ancestral shade locust leaf, there wouldn't be too much danger. She advised him not to linger too long, because she didn't know whether the matter with Liu Xianyang would implicate Chen Ping'an as well.
But Chen Ping'an insisted on seeing with his own eyes that Liu Xianyang was accepted by Master Ruan as an apprentice before he could leave with peace of mind.
Because without Liu Xianyang back then, he would have starved to death.
Of course, Chen Ping'an also hoped deep down that Miss Ning would recuperate from her injuries in his home. But he hadn't dared say it at the time, afraid she would think him frivolous.
Chen Ping'an suddenly asked, "That family heirloom armor from your grandpa—you'd never sell it to an outsider, right?"
Liu Xianyang replied as if it were only natural. "Nonsense! I'd rather die than sell it!"
He punched the youth beside him on the shoulder and joked, "I'm not a money grubber like you."
The tall youth clasped his hands behind his head. "Some things you can earn money to buy if you don't have them now. But if you lose some things, you'll never get them back in this life."
Chen Ping'an muttered to himself, "Got it."
When they were almost at the mouth of Nilpotent Alley, Liu Xianyang cursed. Chen Ping'an snapped out of his thoughts and looked up; his heart grew heavy.
It was Lu Zhengchun, the eldest scion of the Lu family from Fortune Street. Years ago, it was this man who had led a gang of friends to block Liu Xianyang in this very alley and nearly beat him to death. If Chen Ping'an hadn't run over and shouted a few times, Liu Xianyang, who had no elders or relatives left, would probably have been thrown into the mass grave.
Song Jixin had been crouching on the wall back then, watching the spectacle and egging them on. Later, he told the still-terrified Chen Ping'an that what Lu Zhengchun and his gang did was called "acting chivalrous" outside the town.
Lu Zhengchun blocked Liu Xianyang's path, forcing a smile. "Don't be nervous. I'm not here to settle old scores today. I'm here to..."
Liu Xianyang interrupted him. "Again? A good dog doesn't block the way. Move it!"
Lu Zhengchun's face was awkward. He plastered on a smile. "Liu Xianyang, I really do have something to discuss with you this time. Last time, you didn't even let us finish talking before you ran off. That's not good. At least hear out the conditions I'm offering, right? To be honest, we two buddies were never enemies in the first place; there's no need to be so hostile. Me and those guests, we're sincere!"
Liu Xianyang tilted his head and sneered. "What, are you addicted to playing matchmaker? I'm just curious—you, Lu Zhengchun, the grandson of the wealthiest family in our town, why do you like playing lackey for outsiders so much?"
Lu Zhengchun's face turned ashen, but he still forced a smile. He looked utterly ridiculous, almost begging. "Liu Xianyang, just name your price, they'll try their best to satisfy you. For example, copper coins? How about you give me a number? Like... a hundred and fifty strings? Or even two hundred strings, I can help you negotiate. Two hundred strings! That's enough to buy half a house on Fortune Street!"
Liu Xianyang stared at the man's eyes and expression, his face full of contempt. "Two hundred strings? You think I'm a beggar? Sincere? Stop playing games with me. I've got real business to attend to. Get lost!"
Outside Nilpotent Alley, at the corner, a little girl as delicate as a porcelain doll sat on the shoulders of a burly old man. A boy in a bright red robe was led by the hand of a woman. At an age that should have been innocent and carefree, his face already bore a sinister look beyond his years. He spoke in the language of his homeland. "Is this Lu fellow really that stupid? What use is he?"
The woman shook her head and said with a gentle smile, "When bestowing favors on others, you need to know that a peck of rice creates a benefactor, a bushel creates an enemy. In business, to maximize profit, you first probe the other's bottom line, like Lu Zhengchun is doing."
The child asked in confusion, "Do we need to go through this much trouble just to do business with these native peasants?"
The woman laughed. "Human nature is complex; the human heart is dark. It's not divided by cultivation level. People from small places might have limited horizons, but not all of them are fools. If you think that way, you'll suffer for it one day."
The child said, "Oh. Mother, you're so well-versed in human hearts, why don't you just negotiate directly?"
The woman patiently explained, "Look at how we're dressed. No matter which shop you go to, if the seller is even a little shrewd, they'll hike up the price for you."
The child sighed. "But being so roundabout is so unpleasant."
The woman crouched down, placed her hands on the child's cheeks, looked at his face—so like his father's—and said seriously, "Remember, cultivating the mind is also a form of cultivation. Cultivate strength in favorable times, cultivate the mind in adverse times. Neither can be lacking."
The child shook his head, breaking free from the woman's hands, and said irritably, "There you go with those vague truths again. So annoying."
The woman felt a bit helpless but didn't continue to impart wisdom earnestly. She only thought that her child had good talent, good bone structure, and two prominent families as his backing, so his future was long. Though his temperament was somewhat stubborn and gloomy, she could slowly refine him over time—rushing would do the most harm.
Listening to the boring conversation from the alley, the little girl looked worried. "White Ape Grandpa, if that person absolutely refuses to sell, what do we do?"
The old man with arms as long as an ape's smiled. "Then let him die. This old servant came here precisely to handle this worst-case scenario. Otherwise, that sum of money would have gone down the drain without even a sound. But then, we'd have some trouble with the young miss's safety. We'd probably have to entrust her to the Song or Li family."
Setting aside other matters, if it came to killing, the old man would be expelled by the Saint, but compared to money vanishing without a trace, it was like throwing a stone into water—at least there would be a splash.
But unless absolutely necessary, the old man would never take this way out. No matter how significant that Sword Canon was, no matter how much Zhengyang Mountain cherished it, it was far inferior to the young miss on his shoulders and her path to longevity. At least that was how the old man saw it.
Among the four surnames and ten clans of the town, the Lu family ranked first.
But outside, it was the exact opposite—the Lu family was at the bottom. This was because a dynasty ruled by the main branch of the Lu family had been overthrown by the combined forces of Great Li's two border armies. After that, the Lu family's position on Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent was precarious.
Back in the alley, Liu Xianyang listened to Lu Zhengchun's talk of high office, wealth, and beautiful women like clouds—it felt like listening to Song Jixin spouting bookish nonsense. He got especially annoyed, stepped forward, pointed at Lu Zhengchun's nose, and said decisively, "That armor is a heirloom of my Liu family. It has nothing to do with money! Even if you asked me to move into your house today and called me grandpa every day from now on, I still wouldn't care! You got that, Lu?!"
Lu Zhengchun stood alone at the entrance of Nilpotent Alley, staring at the unyielding youth before him. It was clear the barefoot man didn't fear the one wearing shoes. The eldest Lu scion almost wished he could just smash his head against the ground.
Earlier, at Corridor Bridge, he had acted as a mediator, blocking Liu Xianyang's way to the blacksmith shop, but his first attempt failed. When he returned to the Fortune Street mansion, his grandfather, after entertaining the noble guests, had called him into the secret room without a word. He didn't say anything harsh or talk about family legacy. He just pointed to the body under the white cloth. "Zhengchun, I don't have any other request. I only hope that your younger brother won't die with his eyes open. When the seventh-day rites come, I hope you've already left the town. Consider it seeing the outside world for him."
Lu Zhengchun's eyes suddenly reddened. His voice choked as he sobbed, "Liu Xianyang, I'm begging you, okay?!"
Liu Xianyang was stunned.
The youth who had grown up in luxury and ease looked even more fragile and helpless. His lips trembled; his words dissolved into sobs. "Okay? I'll kneel for you, I'll admit I was wrong, will that do?"
With a thud, Lu Zhengchun knelt solidly on the muddy ground of Nilpotent Alley and began to kowtow.
A man's knees are made of gold.
The youth kowtowed without any hesitation, his forehead striking the ground with a thud.
Outside the alley wall, the little girl lightly tapped her feet against the old man's chest, thinking about the mountains she had seen along the way and which one she would pick to move back to her homeland.
The boy looked a bit gleeful and asked casually, "Mother, has this Lu fellow lost his mind? Are we really going to take a madman out of the town? How embarrassing would that be?"
The woman's expression was complex. She recalled many strange people and extraordinary events she had witnessed. She seemed to want to say something but held back. Finally, she shook her head. "No."
Liu Xianyang was at a loss.
The tall youth could never have imagined Lu Zhengchun would do this. The eldest grandson of the town's richest family was kneeling at his feet, kowtowing?
Liu Xianyang's face was conflicted. Just then, Chen Ping'an, who had been observing both Liu Xianyang and Lu Zhengchun, tugged at his sleeve and gave a slight shake of his head.
Liu Xianyang said reluctantly, "This is too much..."
Chen Ping'an's gaze was resolute, his meaning clear.
The easygoing tall youth was starting to soften.
But to the black-clad girl, the straw-sandaled youth, usually a pushover, was now showing an unexpected hardness.
Chen Ping'an's intuition told him that if Liu Xianyang had agreed to the deal before Lu Zhengchun knelt, he might have suffered some losses but would have survived. But now, Liu Xianyang was in the same predicament Chen Ping'an had faced before. Back then, without Master Qi's intervention, his fate would have been to kill Fu Nanhua and then be killed—either by Cloud Gazing Mountain or Old Dragon City.
And more critically, according to the "rules" Miss Ning had told him about, since Lu Zhengchun himself was a local of the town, if he or the Lu family wanted to kill Liu Xianyang, Master Qi most likely couldn't intervene.
Chen Ping'an's mind raced. While Lu Zhengchun was still frantically kowtowing, he lowered his voice and said to Liu Xianyang, "If it's really unavoidable, pretend to agree. Let's go see Master Ruan first, and once he accepts you as his apprentice, we can talk later."
Liu Xianyang nodded and said to Lu Zhengchun, "Hey buddy, you'd better get up first. Let's talk standing! What kind of scene is this you're making?!"
Lu Zhengchun didn't stand up. He raised his head, his forehead red and smeared with mud.
Liu Xianyang sighed helplessly. "You need to go back and discuss a fair price with them. Don't try to fool me again. I'm not stupid. What's two hundred strings of copper coins? Not to mention whether I'd be losing my shirt, aren't those noble guests afraid of being cheap?"
Lu Zhengchun slowly got up and smiled. "That's the spirit! As long as you're willing to talk, Liu Xianyang, from now on, I, Lu Zhengchun, am your brother! Whether you acknowledge me or not, I'll acknowledge you!"
Liu Xianyang walked over, put his arm around Lu Zhengchun's shoulders, and headed toward the alley mouth, comforting him, "Old Lu, from now on, you have to take your brother along when you're enjoying the good life. When this deal is done, I'll make sure to treat you to some fine liquor."
Lu Zhengchun wiped his forehead and laughed heartily. "Drinking is easy! What's so hard about that? It'll be my treat—can't let you spend your money. It's settled, or I'll be angry."
Liu Xianyang laughed loudly. "I knew you were a good man, Old Lu. Following you is definitely the right move!"
Chen Ping'an walked behind the two, leaning slightly toward the alley wall, keeping his eyes fixed on the activity at the alley mouth.
---
The white-robed man, accompanied by the youth Song Jixin, was led by the elderly steward toward the back hall of the superintendent's office.
The steward said that Mr. Li from the academy, who had come from afar, had waited for about half an hour before saying he wanted to go to the school to visit a Confucian elder.
Song Changjing made no comment on this. He just asked, "The assassin who died in the alley—have you found out which faction's pawn he was?"
The steward hesitated.
Song Changjing frowned. "Hmm?"
The old man quickly bent down in fear. "It was... the Song family on Fortune Street."
Song Changjing sneered. "Can't you give me even a little bit of a surprise?"
The old steward was sweating profusely.
Song Jixin remained silent, his eyes burning.
Inside the school, Qi Jingchun gently put down his book and turned his head. At the door stood a handsome young man in a high Confucian cap and gown, smiling without speaking.
Qi Jingchun's face was calm and serious.
In the town, a bald man in strange clothes walked barefoot, his expression withered. He came to the Iron Lock Well, looked into the deep well, put his palms together, closed his eyes, and said softly, "The Buddha sees one bowl of water, eight hundred thousand tiny beings."
Outside the town, on the peak of a mountain, someone stood on the thick branch of a towering ancient tree, gazing down at the outline of the town. A tiger tally hung at his waist, and a long sword rested on his back.
Beyond this realm.
On a long road that slanted upward as if leading to the heavens, clouds and mist shrouded everything. No scenery could be seen.
A young yellow-crowned Daoist nun rode a white deer, slowly ascending the height.
Beside her, a jade-faced Daoist walked lightly, as smooth as flowing clouds and water. Two long-whiskered fish, one red and one blue, swam and circled around him.
Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, and Martial Arts—the three teachings and one martial school—were about to gather in the town.
By the creek south of the town, in the blacksmith shop, a father and daughter were forging iron. Sparks flew like a brilliant rain of fire.
The man held a sword blank and said to the pony-tailed girl wielding the hammer, "Don't go to the town for a while."
The girl's strength immediately weakened considerably. She felt as if all her energy had slipped away with the snacks and treats in the town.
The man laughed angrily. "What a waste!"
The girl turned her grief into strength and slammed the hammer heavily onto the red-hot sword bar.
Under the dazzling sparks, the girl looked like a fire god descending to the mortal world.