Chapter 97: Paying Homage to the Mountain
(Another chapter tonight.)
The group slowly traveled south along Longxu Stream and Tiefu River, covering over sixty li a day. Li Baoping and Li Huai had extraordinary stamina for children. Lin Shouyi had worn through two pairs of straw sandals, but as a well-off young master, he refused to admit defeat in front of the two Li children, gritting his teeth and enduring. Chen Ping'an taught him a folk remedy using medicinal herbs to soothe his feet, and so he managed to persist. The team had the white donkey and horses to carry supplies, so the journey wasn't too arduous.
Chen Ping'an deeply admired Li Baoping, Li Huai, and Lin Shouyi—these three children. Thus the words "study tour" and the term "scholar" carried ever more weight in the straw-sandal boy's mind.
Longquan County belonged to Yongjia Prefecture of Great Li. A very long time ago, all the dynasties of Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent jointly issued an edict: any prefecture or county in the realm bearing the character "dragon" had to change it out of taboo and substitute another character. Now, Longquan County probably benefited from its connection to Lizhu Cave Heaven, thus making an exception.
The place where the broken cave heaven had settled had shifted far south compared to its earlier floating position. From Yefu Pass on Great Li's southern border, it was only about a month's travel by carriage on the official post road.
Zhu He, at the Li family residence on Fulu Street, had likely read many private collections and knew many things beyond his doorstep. Chen Ping'an would often consult Zhu He whenever he had questions, and in turn, Zhu He was happy to ask the young man about the rules and tricks of mountain and river excursions. For some reason, A Liang drank more often and spoke less. Since drinking the strong liquor from the silver gourd, Lin Shouyi had grown close to A Liang, constantly asking him all sorts of questions, and at the same time showing a tendency to become a little drunkard.
In Li Baoping's small book box was a color-illustrated atlas of prefectures and counties published by the Great Li court. Ordinarily, only the governor's office of a province would be qualified to archive such a confidential map. According to the atlas, they would soon climb a mountain range called Qidun Mountain. The mountain path stretched over three hundred li, passing through four prefectures including Yongjia and Baiyun.
The group rested briefly at the foot of the mountain. Li Huai stared at the narrow path, no wider than Qilong Lane, dumbfounded. After his shock, he turned and cursed angrily, "A Liang! Is this the post road you talked about, the official horse road built by the Great Li court?! A broken path as thin as chicken intestines counts as an official road?"
Post roads, commonly called official horse roads, connected all the counties and prefectures of a dynasty's territory. Post roads were like the meridians of a human body; if blocked, the flow of qi and blood would be disrupted. Applied to a nation, it meant that government decrees could not be enforced.
A Liang sat on a rotten tree stump by the roadside, took a drink, and laughed heartily. "Post roads also have grades. At Yefu Pass on Great Li's southern border, three post roads lead north. The Qidun Mountain post road is the smallest, mostly used for transporting porcelain, tea, and refined salt. In the past, it was bustling with travelers, but now that the Lizhu Cave Heaven has fallen to the ground, blocking the north-south passage, this post road has been temporarily abandoned. It cut off many people's livelihoods, and a lot of goods are stuck at a water transport dock on the southern foothills of the Qidun Mountain range, called Hongzhu Town. Hmm, the flower boats there are mostly small boats with two or three people. At night, they're brightly lit, and the ladies on board are very charming. They sit at the bow or stern, deliberately showing off their fair legs. You can order a jug of wine and a plate of peanuts at a tavern on the shore and watch for free all night."
The maidservant Zhu Lu quickly bent down to cover her young lady's ears, to prevent her ears from being sullied by this scoundrel's lewd talk. She said angrily, "We are not staying overnight in that Hongzhu Town!"
A Liang pointed the wine gourd at Chen Ping'an and said with a grin, "Whether we stay overnight is up to him. He's the god of wealth in charge of our purse."
Zhu Lu's gaze was sharp, murderous, as if she would kill Chen Ping'an if he dared to nod.
Chen Ping'an thought for a moment and said seriously, "We definitely need to stop in town to replenish some necessary supplies. As for whether to stay overnight, it depends on how much the inns charge. There are many of us, so if the price isn't fair, we'll have to skip it."
Zhu Lu's face darkened, pressing aggressively. "If it's cheap, we're supposed to stay in that filthy place of rouge and prostitutes? Chen Ping'an! Have you thought that my young lady and Lin Shouyi are half-Confucian disciples and students of Shanya Academy? How can they live next to those immoral women? Even if we can't see those disgusting scenes, we'll hear some unbearable lewd sounds!"
Chen Ping'an steeled himself and replied, "Let's talk about it when we reach the town."
Zhu Lu was furious, but Zhu He stopped his daughter. "Let's follow Ping'an's suggestion. Don't jump to conclusions. When we get there, we'll see. It's not like we have to stay overnight in Hongzhu Town."
Zhu Lu pointed at Chen Ping'an and said angrily, "It's a good thing you're not a scholar, otherwise those sage books would be shamed by you!"
Chen Ping'an had been learning to read from Li Baoping and Zhu He along the way. Faced with Zhu Lu's righteous indignation, he was momentarily at a loss.
The culprit A Liang watched gleefully from the side.
Finally, Zhu Lu cast a sidelong glance at the green jade hairpin on the boy's head, found it annoying, and sneered, "A monkey in a hat!"
Zhu He gently scolded, "Zhu Lu!"
Li Baoping and Lin Shouyi both frowned.
A Liang lazily took a sip of wine. Even good wine loses its flavor if you keep drinking it. Then he thought of Hongzhu Town's new brew "Apricot Blossom Spring" and felt some anticipation, wondering how to swindle some silver from Chen Ping'an to satisfy his craving.
Chen Ping'an hesitated as if to speak, but in the end said nothing, and silently led them up the mountain.
But before entering the mountain, the straw-sandal boy, as always, bowed three times.
This was an old rule passed down by Old Man Yao, but he never explained the reason to Chen Ping'an. Chen Ping'an had always done it without fail over the years.
A Liang sneered at this. Even when Chen Ping'an told him not to sit on tree stumps carelessly, he never paid attention. When tired, he would plop down, just as he did now.
Chen Ping'an wasn't the type to force his own preferences on others. After advising twice, and seeing A Liang persist in his ways, he stopped dissuading him. Since nothing went wrong along the journey, he had even less reason to comment.
The next long stretch of mountain road, though paved with bluestone, was quite difficult to traverse.
It was late spring, yet the mountain vegetation showed no signs of decline. The grass and trees were thick, flowering trees in full bloom, full of life, as if this year's spring was especially long and reluctant to end.
The mountain path twisted and spiraled upward. Everyone, young and old, had their legs wrapped in cotton cloth to improve their stamina, and each carried a wooden staff. Of course, they also wore straw sandals woven by Chen Ping'an. Even Zhu He and his daughter Zhu Lu, who had several pairs of sturdy boots in their packs, were no exception.
At first, Zhu Lu absolutely refused, finding them too ugly and shabby. Later, when they encountered rainy weather in the mountains, the path became muddy and slippery. Zhu Lu was a martial artist who had entered the hall, so she wasn't in danger, but she stumbled embarrassingly. Finally, she had to take the straw sandals from her father and silently put them on. Li Huai secretly chuckled, which angered the girl, who stomped him into the mud. As a martial artist at the pinnacle of the Second Realm, her deliberate stomp was heavy, splashing Li Huai with mud all over his body.
The boy came from a poor family and hadn't brought many changes of clothes. This immediately touched his sore spot, and he burst into loud sobs.
Lin Shouyi, panting from exhaustion, didn't want to get involved in this mess. He rolled his eyes while resting by the roadside.
Zhu He was a simple-natured man. Even though he was already a Fifth Realm martial artist, he patiently apologized to the child and promised to buy him a completely new set of clothes once they left the mountains and entered a town.
But what the child cared about was his own poverty and pitifulness. Seeing the maidservant's bad temper and her wealthy father nearby, he felt salt rubbed in his wounds and cried even more heart-wrenchingly. He stomped his feet on the muddy ground, soon becoming a little mud monkey. This made everyone irritable.
Chen Ping'an went to console him, but Li Huai refused to listen. Chen Ping'an quickly ended up covered in yellow mud. Fortunately, Chen Ping'an had endured all kinds of hardships, so he didn't lose his temper, just felt a bit helpless.
Zhu Lu took the opportunity to fan the flames: "See? No good deed goes unpunished. Chen Ping'an, you might as well abandon this heartless thing."
Li Huai cried even louder.
Li Baoping's loud scolding was useless.
Chen Ping'an thought hard and finally asked tentatively, "Li Huai, how about I make you a small bamboo box later?"
The child immediately stopped crying, wiped away his tears and snot haphazardly, and asked seriously, "How big?"
Chen Ping'an replied, "It can't be too big. You're small, so it can't feel heavy when you carry it. If you don't agree, then take it as unsaid. You keep crying, and we'll continue on our way. Whether you follow or not is up to you."
Li Huai grinned and said, "Small is fine, but you have to make it nice! At least as good-looking as Li Baoping's book box!"
Zhu Lu clicked her tongue and said, "A crooked beam leads to a crooked rafter. At such a young age, he's already learned to deceive and swindle. We can tell his parents' character without even seeing them. What a fine family tradition!"
Li Huai, with the bamboo box almost in his grasp, made faces, nearly infuriating Zhu Lu.
Chen Ping'an turned to Lin Shouyi and said, "Make you a book box too?" He smiled and added, "It's convenient anyway."
Lin Shouyi was about to shake his head and refuse, but after hearing the last sentence, he hesitated and nodded.
The peak of Qidun Mountain presented a very strange sight. It was like a huge grain-drying ground common in small towns, with a flat surface, as if a celestial being had sliced off the top of the mountain with a sword.
The children were overjoyed. Even Zhu He, gazing north, felt refreshed and wished he could let out a long howl.
Chen Ping'an was used to seeing mountain tops, especially on his last mountain trip, where he walked over each peak step by step. Now, he appeared relatively composed.
They would spend the night on the peak. Zhu He and Zhu Lu began setting up tents. Li Huai and Lin Shouyi ran to collect burnable firewood. Chen Ping'an and Li Baoping used stones to build a stove and cook rice.
Now the rice and dried vegetables in their packs were almost gone, so they indeed needed to find a bustling town to replenish supplies. To this end, Chen Ping'an picked medicinal herbs whenever he saw them along the way and put them in his backpack. He was familiar with crossing mountains and had nimble feet. Even if he needed to detour to climb cliffs, he could quickly catch up with the group without delaying the journey. He had now accumulated nearly half a backpack of dried rare herbs, hoping to spend as little of his savings as possible.
They finished the rice with a few plates of pickled vegetables. A Liang started a rebellion, leading Li Huai to tap their white bowls with chopsticks and shout, "We want meat! We want meat!"
Chen Ping'an nodded and said he would set a few traps tonight to see if they could catch some hares or wild chickens to have a taste of meat.
Snakes have snake paths, mice have mouse trails—the same goes for mountain beasts. Chen Ping'an was no stranger to this. With careful observation, it was easy to find the routes where wild animals foraged and drank. Small traps made of trees and stones were not complicated, and practice made perfect.
At dusk, the sky was filled with colorful clouds. Not long after the boy left the top plateau alone to try his luck, they saw colored clouds gathering and dispersing around the peak at great speed, like a mischievous child's changing face. Yet the group didn't feel a strong mountain wind. At the same time, the originally clear and bright mountain scenery gave the observant a sense of gloom, as if covered by haze.
This immediately made Zhu He feel heavy-hearted. He tried not to disturb the three children who were huddled together reciting books, nor did he greet his daughter who sat alone by the cliff in a daze. Zhu He thought for a moment, went to a secluded spot, and pulled out a yellowed ancient book from his bosom. He flipped to a page in the middle titled "Opening the Mountain," and his finger stopped near the "Soil Gathering Technique." He carefully scanned the fine red text, as tiny as fly heads. Flipping the page, there were two diagrams: one depicted a small mountain with roots bunched like bamboo shoots at the base, with the annotation "Mount Tai Talisman" in the margin; the other showed a mysterious hand seal gesture.
Zhu He's expression was solemn. He muttered intermittently to deepen his memory: "Take a handful of soil from the east and south of the mountain. Best to form the character 'Yue' (ancient form of 'mountain'), but the character 'Shan' also works." "Burn a talisman of reverence to the mountain god, step on the characters 'Kui' and 'Gang', exhale once, and you can borrow the mountain from the mountain god and earth god, connecting your qi with the earth..."
He closed the book, carefully placed it back in his bosom, then took out a yellow paper from a stack of yellow talismans in his sleeve. Following the book's instructions, he grabbed a handful of soil from the east and south of the stone plateau, and twisted it into the ancient character "Yue" (mountain-over-prison).
Zhu He was about to rub the yellow talisman given by the Li family's ancestor to ignite it when he was startled. It turned out A Liang was squatting beside him, holding his wine gourd, and said with a chuckle, "The talisman in your hand is of ordinary material, but the technique of the person who drew it is not bad. However, in the art of talismans, not a single step can be off. Paper material is as important as a person's bone structure. So it can't bear the weight of the character 'Yue'. I advise you to just write the character 'Shan' (mountain). Otherwise, you might fail to invite the god and instead anger the mountain spirit."
Zhu He, after all, was encountering legendary mountain spirits and monsters for the first time, so he was a bit nervous. He asked softly, "Senior A Liang, does this Qidun Mountain really have an earth god or mountain god dwelling here? Then why is there such a heavy yin and evil aura?"
A Liang leisurely took a sip of wine and laughed scornfully, "Who told you that mountain gods and earth gods are necessarily kind-hearted?"
Zhu He was stunned. "They're not?"
A Liang chuckled. "I'm just saying. Who knows if the host here is in a good or bad mood to receive guests?"
Zhu He suddenly realized. "Oh no, Chen Ping'an is alone off the peak!"
A Liang nodded.
Zhu He said hurriedly, "Senior A Liang, you go find Chen Ping'an, and I'll continue with this soil-gathering mountain technique. How about that? I, Zhu He, am only a Fifth Realm martial artist. I'm confident I can fight worldly experts, but against those strange things, I really have no confidence."
A Liang stood up with a smile, sauntered away, and casually tossed out a line, "Well, you take care then."