Chapter 156: A Youth's Shoulders Bear the Verdant Growth of Spring and Birdsong

Chapter 156: A Youth's Shoulders Bear the Verdant Growth of Spring and Birdsong

Cui Chan walked back from the old well to the Zhibu Pavilion and stood still outside the pavilion. Since the Qiulu Inn did not want anyone investigating the well without permission, the pavilion only had an entrance and exit path on the west side. Standing on the east side, Cui Chan was somewhat stunned, his mind wandering. Finally, gritting his teeth, he grabbed the pavilion's railing with both hands, using all his might to climb over, then tumbled onto the long bench inside and lay there gasping for breath.

Yu Lu and Xie Xie were cautious, suspecting that the Grand Li Imperial Advisor was trying to trick them or entertain himself, so they had to be careful not to fall into a trap.

To put it bluntly, even if Cui Chan handed a knife to these two youths and stood still telling them to hack at him, they wouldn't dare to do it, nor would they even take the knife.

In Xie Xie's view, the reason Chen Ping'an could be so nonchalant about Cui Chan was that Chen Ping'an was simply ignorant. He had never truly experienced the scenery of the mountains, never understood the meanings of battlefields, court machinations, or seeking immortality.

The former senior disciple of the Literary Sage, a twelfth-realm peak Qi practitioner, the Grand Li Imperial Advisor — any one of these identities alone was a towering mountain that could crush a person's spirit.

Now, with his body fragile and pitiful, Cui Chan lay on the bench, exhausted like a dog, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, "As you can see, I've not only suffered a terrible calamity that caused me to lose all my cultivation, making me completely powerless, but I've also been burdened to the point where I can't even use my storage treasure. I'm a penniless pauper. So if either of you harbors any resentment toward me, now is a golden opportunity to strike. It's now or never."

Having said this, Cui Chan turned his head to look at the distant map of Grand Li, beyond thousands of mountains and rivers, and cursed weakly, "You enjoy the fortune, I bear the blame. Damn it, the Grand Li Imperial Advisor? Oh, I'm my own uncle..."

Cui Chan muttered and grumbled to himself. Regardless, along the journey, although he hadn't successfully taken on a master and learned martial arts, after spending time with Li Huai, his cursing had indeed become much smoother — he even ended up cursing himself.

The youth and the girl were used to the Grand Li Imperial Advisor's eccentric behavior. Far from thinking Cui Chan's mind had gone bad, they became even more cautious.

Cui Chan sat up, leaned against the railing, and rested his arms on the railing, with Yu Lu and Xie Xie on his left and right respectively.

Cui Chan sighed, "You think Chen Ping'an doesn't know how high the mountains are or how deep the waters are, so he's not afraid of me at all. That is..."

Cui Chan paused briefly, then laughed, "Correct."

Cui Chan continued, "But the thing is, you've only thought about half of it. Ignorance breeds fearlessness. However, where you fall short of Chen Ping'an is that a righteous man does not worry about his shadow being crooked. The two of you — one is a sixth-realm martial artist who inexplicably achieved this through reading, with a broken kingdom bearing humiliation and burdens; the other is a brilliant Qi practitioner carrying a deep blood feud, always feeling that the future is long. So when Chen Ping'an says he will kill me, he means it. As for you two, you hesitate and waver. I might be speaking glibly, considering my position. After all, I'm Cui Chan. You should thank me that you're even alive."

Cui Chan rubbed his waist, frowning in pain, "Honestly, my waist hurts a lot."

Cui Chan looked at Yu Lu, "How about this: from now on, you two will faithfully follow me? What do you say?"

Yu Lu smiled, "Ever since I stepped out from the ranks of exile convicts, I've been following Your Excellency the Imperial Advisor, and it's been a good experience. This long journey of far-ranging study has been quite exciting. Compared to pretending to be a bookish fool in the Eastern Palace, listening to all that 'so-and-so said' every day, it's far more interesting. If Your Excellency the Imperial Advisor could occasionally spare some time to explain some difficult passages to me, I would consider my life complete."

Cui Chan pointed a finger at the tall youth, "That Chen Ping'an is cautious and unsmiling because he's like a frog at the bottom of a well who suddenly leaps out, frightened by everything he sees. You, Yu Lu, are truly scheming, with a face full of villainy. Sometimes I really want to punch your smiling face flat."

Yu Lu said helplessly, "Compared to Chen Ping'an, how am I any different? Aren't I also a frog at the bottom of a well?"

Cui Chan said casually, "Wealth and honor are scorching fires; hardship is cool medicine. This sage's warning — I'm giving it to you for free. Mull it over carefully."

Yu Lu, who had long since read thousands of books, asked curiously, "Which sage from the Confucian Temple gave this instruction?"

Cui Chan pointed to himself, "Me."

Yu Lu was even more helpless.

Cui Chan took a pebble from his sleeve and lightly tossed it at the iron wind chime under the eaves. First time, miss; second time, miss; third time, still miss.

Cui Chan glanced at the girl Xie Xie, twitched the corner of his mouth, and said, "If I truly wanted to throw you up there, the bell would definitely ring."

The girl stood there like a clay Buddha statue, expressionless.

Cui Chan laughed, "You really do want to kill me, but you think there's only one chance, so you need a foolproof plan. You don't want to die for nothing. Yu Lu is smarter than you — he thinks killing me or not killing me doesn't make much difference."

Cui Chan sighed, "Among Chen Ping'an, Li Baoping, Li Huai, and Lin Shouyi, if you, Yu Lu, rank them from best to worst, it should be Lin Shouyi, Li Baoping, Chen Ping'an, Li Huai."

"As for you, Miss Xie Xie, it should be Li Baoping, Li Huai, Chen Ping'an, Lin Shouyi."

Cui Chan finally pointed his thumb at himself, "As for me, it's Li Huai, Li Baoping, Lin Shouyi, Chen Ping'an. I like Li Huai the most — a fool with dumb luck, least threatening to me. A bright and cheerful girl like Li Baoping, full of spirit — how could someone like me, who's full of mischief, dislike her? Looking at her warms the heart. Lin Shouyi is not bad, but I've seen too many geniuses of his kind; they bore me."

Cui Chan squinted and smiled, "You, Yu Lu, dislike Li Huai the most because you detest that kind of idle, carefree character who lives just to eat and wait for death. You think how can there be such a lazy good-for-nothing in the world? And also, he's sloppy and doesn't care about cleanliness. You like Lin Shouyi the most because subconsciously you see yourself as the crown prince of the Lu Dynasty. For a nation to prosper, it needs talents like Lin Shouyi, who are proactive and upright. As for Xie Xie, on the surface, she seems familiar with Lin Shouyi, often playing chess with him, but in truth, she's nearly mad with envy. Both are geniuses of the Dao, so why does Lin Shouyi have smooth sailing while she has to suffer such tribulations, possibly cutting off her path to immortality?"

Yu Lu was silent.

Xie Xie's expression was extremely unpleasant.

Cui Chan laughed loudly, "So why do none of us like Chen Ping'an? Yet why do Li Baoping and the other two, who are just starting out, opposite to us three mature and cunning foxes, like Chen Ping'an the most? Isn't that interesting? Yu Lu, Xie Xie, whichever of you gives me the correct answer, I'll give a good treasure that you can use."

Xie Xie said slowly, "Because the three of them have gotten used to looking to Chen Ping'an whenever they encounter difficulties or need to make decisions. They think Chen Ping'an is the fairest in handling matters and is willing to give. But to the three of us, aside from your personal schemes, Your Excellency, a commoner like Chen Ping'an, who seems easy to get along with and willing to be good to others, is truly insignificant."

Yu Lu shook his head, "Chen Ping'an is not that easy to get along with."

Cui Chan clicked his tongue, "You two are just about the same — foolishly adorable. How about I just pair you two in marriage? A perfect match — oh no, for now it's looks match talent. How about it?"

Neither Yu Lu nor Xie Xie responded, both knowing it was a joke.

Cui Chan stroked a jade pendant at his waist with two fingers, "You simply don't understand. Chen Ping'an is like a mirror. He makes those around him see their own flaws more clearly than usual. So if you spend day and night with him, as long as you have any issues in your heart, problems will arise. There was once a stupid girl named Zhu Lu who was forced to a dead end. Calling her stupid is because she was stupid without knowing it, did bad things but was still confused in her heart — that's both stupid and bad. Comparing her to that lady of our Grand Li, there's a huge gap. That lady's smartest quality was her phrase: 'You think I did something bad? Don't I know in my heart?' That careless remark back then made me decide to cooperate with her."

Cui Chan pointed to himself, "According to a certain great Daoist master's esoteric explanation, every person has two heartstrings — one good, one evil — hanging in our hearts. Just like what Chen Ping'an believes: some things are right, and they are right; some things are wrong, and they are wrong. No matter who you are or who comes to defend you, it cannot change."

"What's interesting is that the difficulty of worldly affairs lies in this: to accomplish a great good, you inevitably have to do many small wrongs. Confucian disciples, unwilling to act against their conscience, may not even last in officialdom, might not rise high in academies or schools, and end up hiding in their studies to research theories, building a cart behind closed doors. They have little benefit to the world that keeps rolling forward. Some, who stay too long in their studies, become musty and pedantic, unable to tolerate any moral flaw in others, quick to criticize and condemn, yet utterly helpless against the thoroughly corrupt figures of the court. In the end, all that's left is declining morals and collapsed rites and music."

Cui Chan didn't look at the two who were lost in thought. He spread one palm before him, then swapped to the other palm and wiped low, "Above is good, below is evil. The two lines in the heart. My line of good, Cui Chan's, is extremely high, almost level with heaven, so I see few good people. My line of evil is extremely low, so to me, everyone is worth associating with and using, without any psychological burden. You two aren't as extreme as me, but the distance between your lines isn't small either."

Cui Chan withdrew his left hand, leaving a small gap between his right thumb and index finger, bowed his head and squinted at the two fingers, "Chen Ping'an's line of good is very low, so doing good is natural to him — that's the root of him being taken as a 'goody-goody.' But you must understand: just because his line of good is low doesn't mean he's easy to talk to. Because Chen Ping'an's line of evil is very close to his line of good, so once he is certain about something and decides to do it, he is extremely decisive — for example... killing me."

"Actually, you two know very well, no matter how much you look down on Chen Ping'an, you — and of course I — will never become Chen Ping'an's friend in this life."

Yu Lu suddenly said, "I could try."

Xie Xie's lips curled into a cold smile.

But when she caught a glimpse of Yu Lu, who had raised his head to face the young Imperial Advisor, Xie Xie thought about how at Hengshan, on a tree branch, she had been coerced by Cui Chan into approaching Chen Ping'an and giving him a shallow explanation of martial arts.

The girl felt some shame.

Then she recalled that thin, standing figure on the branch, facing the wind as the mountain breeze gently blew.

She suddenly felt a nameless sorrow. She too had once had a heart without blemish, her gaze always fixed on the far distance.

"I've talked so much, wasted a whole vat of saliva. What exactly am I trying to express?"

Cui Chan began to conclude. He stood up, smiled cheerfully, and said, "What it means is this: from now on, you two fools and idiots, you'd better show genuine respect to my master, Cui Chan's teacher, understand?"

This was the second time that day that Yu Lu and Xie Xie looked at each other in shock.

"Two wretched scum who don't know their place or the height of the heavens!"

Cui Chan suddenly erupted in rage for no reason, his face dark as water. He strode forward and punched Yu Lu right in the face, "A broken prince who ended up as a convict, nearly getting characters carved on his face — do you know how many emperors and princes I, from Grand Li, have killed? And you say 'try'? You bastard, who has even betrayed his ancestral surname, do you have the right?!"

Yu Lu, caught off guard, took the punch hard but didn't dare to retaliate, simply stunned.

Cui Chan turned and walked toward the dark-skinned girl, then slapped her across the face, "A little bitch whose mountain gate was smashed — do you know how many terrestrial immortals I've personally killed?"

The proud girl instinctively reached out and grabbed the white-robed youth's wrist, stopping his slap from landing on her cheek. But she immediately regretted it. Sure enough, Cui Chan's whole person radiated a terrifying, ferocious aura. He stared hard at the girl. She was so scared she immediately let go. Cui Chan looked down at his red, slightly swollen wrist, then slapped her hard across the face, snarling, "You two dare to look down on Chen Ping'an in any way? He is my master!"

Cui Chan slapped the girl four or five times in quick succession.

The girl didn't even dare to use her Qi practitioner cultivation to deflect the force. Soon her face was red and swollen, with blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

Cui Chan, full of murderous intent, seemed unsatisfied and looked around for something to use as a weapon. Just then, he turned and saw a familiar figure running quickly toward him. Cui Chan froze on the spot.

The uninvited guest had just shouted one word, "Eat..."

Seeing Cui Chan hitting someone, he quickly swallowed the word "food" and began sprinting toward Cui Chan.

The momentum radiating from the youth was even more like murderous intent.

Terrified, Cui Chan didn't say a word. He scrambled over the pavilion railing and ran toward the old well, shouting while running, "Chen Ping'an, what are you doing?! I was disciplining my own servants—what business is it of yours? ... Hey, let's talk nicely! I'll admit I'm wrong, okay? Let's both stop and reason this out, all right?"

Chen Ping'an ran into the pavilion, pushed off the ground with his toes, leaped high, his form like a sparrow quickly clearing the railing, landed outside the pavilion, and continued charging toward Cui Chan.

Knowing he couldn't escape, Cui Chan decided to go all out. He stood at the mouth of the old well and said with a tragic, trembling voice, "Chen Ping'an, if you really want to beat me to death today, I'll just jump into the well and kill myself! Believe me or not!"

Chen Ping'an kept charging forward.

Cui Chan was about to jump into the well. Chen Ping'an frowned and suddenly stopped.

Cui Chan had one foot already off the edge, and at the last critical moment, he barely pulled his foot back, swaying on the brink of death.

With his current physical condition, if he fell to the bottom of the well, with the residual sword energy down there, even if he didn't freeze to death or drown, and Chen Ping'an rescued him, it would still damage his foundation, taking half his life.

This showed that the youth Cui Chan was truly afraid of Chen Ping'an.

Chen Ping'an carefully looked at Cui Chan for a long time, then said, "Time to eat."

Cui Chan cautiously stepped down from the well's mouth but still didn't dare approach. He stood where he was and said indignantly, "I was just standing up for you! Those two look down on you in their hearts. I was defending your honor, telling them to show you some respect from now on. Is that wrong? You're returning good for evil!"

Chen Ping'an sneered, "Stop using me as your excuse! A leopard can't change its spots!"

After saying this, Chen Ping'an turned and walked away. As he passed the pavilion, his tone became much gentler toward the two youths, "Lin Shouyi and the others have finished a chess game. Time to eat."

Cui Chan, instead of being angry, laughed. He followed far behind Chen Ping'an, swaying as he ran, his big sleeves flapping, looking very ingratiating, "Truly worthy of being my master! So much smarter than those two idiots!"

After passing the pavilion, Cui Chan faced the two immediately changed his expression and scolded, "What are you standing there for? Eat!"

Yu Lu smiled as usual, walked out of the pavilion and down the steps, then turned around and asked, "Are you okay?"

Xie Xie's eyes were moist. She shook her head.

The tall youth pointed at the corner of his own mouth. The girl came to her senses, turned her face away, and wiped the blood from the corner of her lips.

---

The group finished the hearty breakfast prepared by the Qiulu Inn. Li Huai ate until his belly was round. The carefree little brat had no awareness of the strange atmosphere at the table.

The old scholar said to Chen Ping'an with a smile, "Come on, I'll take you to visit some bookshops in this county town. Let's chat a bit. If you'd like, you can buy me a drink."

The old scholar looked at the eager girl and smiled, "Want to come along?"

The girl nodded vigorously, "I'll go back and get my little book satchel!"

Lin Shouyi stayed at the inn to continue his breathing exercises according to the secret method recorded in "The Book That Sings Above the Clouds." Li Huai was too lazy to move and had no desire to go shopping, just telling Chen Ping'an to be sure to bring him back something delicious. Cui Chan said he had some private business and wanted to find the innkeeper to see if he could get a discount. Yu Lu and Xie Xie each returned to their rooms.

In the end, only the three of them—the old man, the older youth, and the little girl—left the Qiulu Inn, walked through Flowing Cloud Lane, and followed the old scholar to find bookshops.

The little girl kept showing off her book satchel to the old man, running in circles around him and asking if her satchel was pretty. The old man, of course, said, "Yes, yes, yes."

Chen Ping'an hesitated for a long time and finally couldn't help asking, "Master Literary Sage, are you angry with me?"

The old man had almost worn out his praise for Li Baoping's satchel. He laughed at the question and said, "You mean about refusing to become my closed-door disciple? No, no, I'm not angry. Disappointed? A little. But on second thought, this is actually better. Qi Jingchun's original intention, and A Liang's following you afterward—they weren't necessarily about giving you, Chen Ping'an, something specific. And the last time I secretly took your jade hairpin—in the end..."

At this point, the old man made a wiping gesture with his palm, "It was to let you, Chen Ping'an, just be Chen Ping'an. Without too many entanglements. You are just the youth from Mud Vase Alley in Lizhu Cave Heaven, named Chen Ping'an, leading Li Baoping and the others on a journey of study. It's that simple."

The old man smiled, "That lazy, irresponsible A Liang, for once, did something serious. He helped you make sure that mundane powers like the Grand Li dynasty wouldn't bring extra burdens to you and the children. Qi Jingchun had already ensured that those... up there... wouldn't interfere. My arrival caused that nice-tempered immortal lady of yours to show herself, which brought a little trouble. But don't worry. This old thing still has some skill. I definitely won't cause you any trouble. When it comes to reasoning with scholars, I'm good at it."

The old man patted the boy on the shoulder, "Just focus on your studies from now on."

The old man then smiled to himself, "A youth's shoulders should be like this indeed. There's no rush for matters of family and country, revenge, or righteous anger. First, let them carry the clear breeze and bright moon, the swaying willows, and the verdant growth of spring and birdsong. A young man's shoulders ought to be full of beautiful things."

Li Baoping's eyes lit up. She gave the old scholar a thumbs-up and praised, "Master Literary Sage, that was really well said!"

The old man laughed heartily, patted his belly, and said, "Of course—I've got a whole bellyful of learning!"

Chen Ping'an watched the old scholar and the little girl amusing each other, took a deep breath. He couldn't feel anything on his shoulders, but his heart was already warm.