Chapter 136: The Same Below the Mountains
Once you camp out in the wilds, keeping watch through the night is an absolute necessity. Before the Red Candle Town and Pillow Post Inn, Chen Ping'an had taken the first watch, while Zhu He, as a fifth-tier martial artist with a robust physique and better endurance for staying up, was responsible for the second watch. Now that Zhu He had left, it shifted to Lin Shouyi taking the first watch and Chen Ping'an the second, doing their best to keep the campfire from dying out to prevent any unexpected intrusions.
Chen Ping'an was no stranger to this. Tending the kiln fire when firing pottery was a matter of utmost importance. Having worked as a kiln apprentice for so many years, although Old Man Yao considered him untalented and unwilling to teach him the closely guarded secrets of pottery firing, Chen Ping'an almost never made mistakes in the other grueling tasks. Thus, he was very familiar with the patience and perseverance required for night watch duties.
Moreover, during the quiet depths of the night when he was alone, he could use the watch time to practice the Mountain-Shaking Fist's stance and footwork back and forth, occasionally weave straw sandals, or take out the small Dragon-Slaying Platform to help Li Baoping sharpen her narrow blade, Xiangfu.
As his progress with the Sword Furnace stance deepened, especially with the fiery dragon of qi inside his body finally settling on two qi mansions as its resting places, whenever Chen Ping'an formed hand seals like a sword furnace and slowly immersed himself in breathing exercises, he would enter a half-asleep, half-awake mystical state. Even though the spring chill had extended unusually long this year and summer heat was slow to arrive, whenever Chen Ping'an took the second watch, even if the campfire accidentally went out, he still felt no dampness or cold. Whenever he withdrew the sword furnace and rose to do stance practice to stretch his muscles, his whole body felt warm, and during the day's travel, he showed no signs of fatigue.
Tonight, Chen Ping'an continued to sit cross-legged by the campfire, diligently practicing the sword furnace. The stream of qi inside him soon moved along the qi mansion at his dantian like a carp swimming upstream, slowly surging toward the dragon gate. It would pause briefly at the acupoint where the sword qi had departed, like a traveler resting at a post inn, or a climber catching their breath halfway up the mountain. Then it would gather momentum, continue its sprint, circle to the back of his neck, and finally rush straight to the center of his brow.
Opening his eyes, Chen Ping'an exhaled a mouthful of stale air, stood up, and lightly hopped a few times. He quickly turned his head and saw Yu Lu descending from the carriage, walking over slowly, cradling some not particularly dry branches in his arms. Yu Lu crouched by the campfire, mimicking how Chen Ping'an built a "fire stove," carefully adding kindling instead of just tossing it on, and soon the flames grew stronger.
Yu Lu reached his hands close to the fire, gently rubbing them together. Turning his head, he smiled and said, "Chen Ping'an, can I take part in the night watches from now on? You need to focus on practicing your fist techniques and stances without distractions. My physique is actually pretty decent, as I'm sure you've noticed. So if you're willing to trust me, you could leave the two hours before dawn to me."
Chen Ping'an shook his head. "Yu Lu, I appreciate your kindness, but I don't need you to keep watch for now."
Yu Lu understood the implication: Chen Ping'an still wasn't confident entrusting everyone's safety to him. The tall youth didn't get angry or offended. Nodding, he said, "If there's ever a need, just tell me. I want to do something for everyone as well, or else I'd feel guilty."
Chen Ping'an looked at the face illuminated by the firelight—sharp features, bright eyes—and could clearly sense his goodwill.
Chen Ping'an smiled. "Alright."
Yu Lu casually remarked, "By the calendar, it should already be summer now, but the weather still feels like late spring."
Chen Ping'an agreed. "This year is a bit strange."
After a few more pleasantries, Yu Lu stood up to take his leave. Chen Ping'an watched the tall youth walk away.
According to what Lin Shouyi had privately told him, when Yu Lu played chess, he didn't seem to have much killing power or any brilliant moves, but in reality, he was even stronger than the girl Xie Xie, who favored bold, aggressive plays that left blood splattered everywhere.
Chen Ping'an had long noticed that Yu Lu was extremely meticulous in everything he did, leaving no gaps. Lin Shouyi had said that Yu Lu handled tasks even more steadily than the most seasoned and skilled government clerks.
Chen Ping'an had experienced this firsthand. For instance, after only watching Chen Ping'an weave straw sandals once or twice, Yu Lu quickly learned to do it himself, and quite skillfully at that—the pair on his feet were his own work. Another example: whenever Chen Ping'an went fishing, Yu Lu would often stand nearby, silently observing—noting at what time Chen Ping'an cast his line, in what section of the water, how he cast and retrieved the rod, how he played a big fish to keep its head above water, and how he carefully let the fish shake free of the hook when it first saw the light. After that, once when Chen Ping'an had to attend to something else, Yu Lu asked if he could give it a try. Taking the rod from Chen Ping'an, Yu Lu, who had never fished before, ended up with a decent catch.
Chen Ping'an never said anything about all this, but he observed and remembered it all. He felt that this tall youth, whose name might not even be real, if he was a good person, would be an excellent one; if he turned out to be a bad person, Chen Ping'an couldn't imagine it.
The night passed without incident.
Aside from the dwindling campfire near Chen Ping'an, a lamp had been lit early in the distant carriage compartment, burning all night. The white-clad youth was engrossed in reading some book.
At the first light of dawn, Chen Ping'an began to focus his mind. He went to the most open vantage point on the mountainside of this Hengshan and, as the sun rose, started practicing his fist techniques. Li Baoping and Lin Shouyi gradually joined in, while Li Huai, who could never stay still, ran off after a short while. Yu Lu and Xie Xie were used to this by now. Today, the white-clad youth lifted the curtain and stood on the carriage, watching them practice their moves with serious precision. In the earliest days, he would sneer, glance at them once, and never look again. But as time passed, this young state preceptor spent longer and longer periods standing by, hands in his sleeves, observing.
After breakfast, the group began walking up the mountain path. They passed the Green Lady Temple, which was recorded in the local county annals, and the old cypress tree that had grown alongside the small shrine. If one compared only the size of its shade, not the depth of its spiritual connections, it could already rival the locust tree in the Bead Gourd Cave Heaven.
Lin Shouyi had assumed Chen Ping'an would continue on, but instead, Chen Ping'an went into the temple to have a look, then called Lin Shouyi, Li Baoping, and Li Huai inside. The small shrine was a mess, reeking of alcohol. The clay statue on the shrine platform—Li Huai craned his neck to look at it—didn't resemble the female ghost girl who had played chess with Lin Shouyi the previous night at all. Having interacted the most with that yin spirit along the way and knowing many inside stories, Lin Shouyi explained to Li Huai that in many places, common people, grateful to a manifest deity who protects their region, would erect statues and offer incense. The golden image they worshipped was often inaccurate and might not even resemble the deity's true appearance. But this didn't affect the temple's incense offerings.
It took nearly half an hour to clean up the small shrine. Only then did Chen Ping'an and the others set off again. Before leaving, Lin Shouyi stood alone on the prayer mat near the shrine platform, cupped his hands, and bowed in farewell to this Green Lady, who had gifted him a rare chess manual.
Meanwhile, the white-clad youth, accompanied by Yu Lu, stepped over the threshold. Cui Chan looked around, then walked to the altar, examining the small incense burner filled with ashes. It was an ordinary copper censer, but perhaps after centuries of accumulation, its surface had become bright and gleaming. The incense sticks inside had burned down to their ends, packed tightly together. This showed that the small shrine, even though it wasn't included in the Yellow Court Kingdom's official register of mountains and rivers—and strictly speaking should have been banned as a licentious temple—could already be considered to have thriving incense offerings given its modest size.
The white-clad youth suddenly spoke up. "Yu Lu, whenever you encounter a temple or shrine, offer a bow. It's a good deed to form bonds with mountains and waters."
Although Yu Lu didn't understand the reason, he still bowed three times as a symbolic gesture.
The girl Xie Xie stood outside the door, the bamboo flute already tied at her waist.
After leaving the Hengshan area, the group arrived at a prefectural city in the Yellow Court Kingdom. Having already witnessed the grandeur of Wild Frontier Pass and the prosperity of Red Candle Town at the confluence of three rivers, Chen Ping'an and the others were somewhat mentally prepared for the large cities and towns of the outside world. Still, Li Huai felt a bit constrained and even secretly put away the painted wooden puppet he often carried back into his small book box.
Chen Ping'an and the others had household registration records from Longquan County of the Great Li Dynasty, so the process of entering the city went especially smoothly and quickly. Although the suzerain state of the Yellow Court Kingdom was the Great Sui of the Gao clan, not the Great Li of the Song clan, the Great Li's annexation of the vast northern territory of an entire continent had made its southward advance a foregone conclusion. In recent years, the Yellow Court Kingdom had been especially courteous to itinerant scholars from the Great Li, almost treating them like living bodhisattvas passing through—after all, who knew if one day the kingdom's territory might become a province of the Great Li Dynasty?
The Lu clan dynasty, once the overlord of the northern realm of Vase Bottle Continent, had not only seen its territory shattered but its entire royal clan reduced to convicts and commoners. The bloody precedent was still fresh in everyone's memory.
Before entering the city, Chen Ping'an had carefully asked the locals about scenic spots inside and outside the city. He hoped that Li Baoping and the others could, while ensuring their safety during this journey of study, see as many famous mountains and great rivers, Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries, and ancient ruins as possible—not just rush through without a glance, ending up at the Great Sui Academy having seen nothing but rough travel and hurried journeys.
For this entry into the city, they planned to visit the city god temple, renowned as the oldest in the Yellow Court Kingdom. Its murals depicted the scenes of the eighteen levels of hell, said to make viewers feel as if they were actually there.
After asking for directions, the group headed along a broad street toward the city god temple.
Suddenly, a commotion arose behind them. Chen Ping'an turned to look and was shocked. He saw a scene that would never appear within the Great Li Dynasty: a group of spirited young men and women, about seven or eight of them, all dressed in flowing robes. Led by a white-haired old man, they swaggered through the streets. Some rode a massive black tiger as a mount; others had a two-zhang-long crimson serpent following behind them; still others carried a huge ox-horn bow on their backs.
The streets, once bustling with people, quickly emptied as everyone scrambled to the sides. Some careless children were half-dragged by their parents into nearby shops. The bright red serpent, with no visible restraint from its owner, swayed its head and tail. Both its head and tail were covered in crimson scale armor, making this spiritual pet, raised by mountain immortals, appear even more arrogant. It didn't move in a straight line but periodically slithered near the shops, occasionally stopping to rear up its head, intimidating the trembling city folk.
One timid young child, under the serpent's close gaze, was so scared he burst into tears. His terrified parents quickly covered his mouth.
The serpent continued forward. Suddenly, it lashed its tail, striking the face of a man who had just breathed a sigh of relief. The man spun through the air several times before crashing heavily to the ground. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he struggled to his feet and fled in panic with his pale-faced wife and child.
Standing at a distance, Chen Ping'an noticed the reactions of the passersby: some gloated, some trembled in fear, some clicked their tongues in wonder—but no one seemed to think there was anything wrong with the beast's harmful behavior.
Lin Shouyi pulled a talisman from his sleeve and stood beside Chen Ping'an. Li Baoping and Li Huai stood closer to the shops.
The white-clad youth's carriage, driven by the coachman Yu Lu, also moved off the main road, stopping near the roadside.
That group of mountain immortals, as seen by the common people of the Yellow Court Kingdom, soon passed by Chen Ping'an's party. The old man's lips moved slightly, and all the young people immediately looked over, their gazes ranging from provocative to curious. However, the owner of the red serpent let out a light shout, calling the rampaging beast back to his side. Clearly, the senior from their sect responsible for this trip down the mountain had already reminded them not to be too unreasonable when encountering other mountain forces on the road.
As the old man brushed past Chen Ping'an and the others, he even smiled in a show of lofty demeanor, nodding politely to the youth Lin Shouyi.
The two sides separated without conflict, peaceful as well water and river water.
Young Cui Chan stepped out of the carriage, kicked Xie Xie—who wasn't actually blocking his way—out of his path, jumped down, and said in a voice loud enough for Chen Ping'an to hear, calmly: "Beyond the Great Li, it's all like this."
Chen Ping'an watched the group disappear into the distance before any government officials emerged with swords at their waists to restore order—basically just making a show of it.
Chen Ping'an asked, "Doesn't the imperial court do anything about this?"
Cui Chan laughed. "Either they don't want to, or they don't dare to, or they... would be more than happy to do something for the mountain immortals."
Chen Ping'an turned to Li Baoping and Li Huai and said quietly, "Let's keep moving."
Cui Chan no longer rode in the carriage but walked between the four and the carriage, moving slowly.
A youth in white, with a vermillion mark between his brows, sleeves fluttering—an immortal's graceful bearing.
(End of chapter)