Chapter 328: The People in the Paintings
Finally leaving the bottomless Lotus Flower Paradise behind, Chen Ping'an's first order of business after parting ways with the old Daoist was to inquire about the current year in Northern Jin. He was genuinely afraid of that saying from the books—"a single year in the mountains, a thousand years in the world." If the old Daoist had swindled him out of ten or twenty years, and with the long-qi sword gone, he feared he wouldn't even be able to find anyone to take revenge on.
Fortunately, after asking a merchant on the official road of Northern Jin, he breathed a sigh of relief. It had only changed from the sixth year of Guangxi to the seventh year. It was also autumn in Tongye Continent, roughly corresponding to the seasonal cycles of Lotus Flower Paradise, around the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Chen Ping'an already had a psychological shadow over Northern Jin and didn't dare linger any longer. He headed north all the way. He had long heard of the great reputation of Taiping Mountain and had intended to take a distant look at it, but now that notion was completely gone. Moreover, he didn't have a good relationship with the group of exiled immortals like Zhou Fei of Spring Tide Palace, Lu Fang of Bird's Peak, and the wanderer Feng Qingbai. Chen Ping'an just wanted to find a ferry for immortals and head straight to Baoping Continent.
Although when he left his hometown, Old Man Yang had reminded him not to return to the small town within five years, he didn't have to go home. There were many other places he could go: Old Dragon City where Fan Er was, the Green Luan Kingdom where Zhang Shanfeng and Xu Yuanxia were traveling, the Comb Water Kingdom of the old sword saint Song Yushao, Gu Can's Book and Bamboo Lake, the Great Sui Academy where Li Baoping and the others studied—there were quite a few places.
In short, Tongye Continent was not a place to linger.
Chen Ping'an put away the oil-paper umbrella he had casually brought out from the paradise. The two of them walked along the side of the official road. The scrawny little girl kept looking around curiously. "Where is this? It's not our Southern Garden Kingdom, is it?"
When Chen Ping'an had been talking to people earlier, she hadn't understood a single word.
Chen Ping'an nodded. Having this extra little burden was another reason he wanted to leave Tongye Continent immediately. Traveling with her wasn't like traveling with Lu Tai before. If they ran into mountain bandits or wild cultivators, it would be very troublesome. But thinking of Lu Tai made the gloom in Chen Ping'an's heart even thicker—that man who sold candied hawthorns.
Qi cultivators in the mountains, especially after reaching the Earth Immortal realm, could often see mountains and rivers like gods. Although it wasn't as omniscient and omnipresent as the old Daoist in Lotus Flower Paradise, it was still hardly a reassuring thing. When he returned home in the future, he would definitely ask the old man surnamed Cui or Wei Bo about the ins and outs of this divine art, including its tricks, intricacies, and taboos and constraints.
Pei Qian continued to ask, "Is it your hometown? A place where immortals live?"
Chen Ping'an smiled wryly and shook his head. "It's not my hometown, nor is it some immortal realm."
Seeing that he didn't seem willing to say more, she stopped prying.
She raised her hands and rubbed her eyes.
Chen Ping'an asked, "What's wrong?"
Pei Qian raised her head and gave a brilliant smile. "I always feel like something's off, but I can't remember anything. Just a moment ago, I was still cleaning the yard at Cao Qinglang's house, and then *whoosh*, I ended up here."
Chen Ping'an glanced at her.
Pei Qian immediately changed her tune. "I mean, after finishing cleaning the yard, I was sitting on a stool, cracking melon seeds."
The two walked another twenty-some li, and the little girl was already panting like an ox, her face wrinkled and miserable, saying she had blisters on her feet.
Chen Ping'an rented a carriage near a post station, settled on a price, and headed north. They had agreed beforehand to stop at the border prefecture city of Northern Jin, about two days' journey. Northern Jin in Tongye Continent was very different from Northern Jin in Lotus Flower Paradise. There had been no wars for a long time. Whether it was the management of post roads or travel permits, everything was very relaxed. As long as you had silver in your pocket, even if you weren't an official, you could stay at the post stations.
Pei Qian was riding in a carriage for the first time, and it felt very novel. Sitting in the carriage, swaying back and forth, it was very comfortable. From time to time, she would lift the curtain and look out at the scenery. After entering autumn, not far from the official road, they often saw patches of golden persimmon forests, making her mouth water. She wished Chen Ping'an would tell the driver to stop the carriage so she could go steal a few dozen pounds.
Taking advantage of her looking out, Chen Ping'an took out the four scrolls. The roller ends were all different: one was purple sandalwood to prevent bookworms, one was white jade, and the material of the other two was unknown. The four people in the paintings were lifelike.
Wei Xian, the founding emperor of Southern Garden Kingdom, was depicted in a typical emperor portrait, seated, wearing a golden dragon robe. But he wasn't very robust; rather, he was somewhat thin and small, and the loose dragon robe made it look a bit mismatched.
Sui Youbian, who had failed in ascending to immortality, was depicted with a sword on her back, heroic and spirited. The person in the painting seemed to meet the viewer's gaze.
Lu Baixiang, the leader of the demon cult, was clad in bright red armor, both hands resting on a sword in front of him, looking more like a mortal monarch than Wei Xian.
Zhu Lian, the martial madman who had died at the hands of Ding Ying, was stooped, hands behind his back, squinting like a little old man from the marketplace.
These four scrolls—would they only eat Grain Rain coins? The problem was, how many Grain Rain coins would one scroll need to consume to make its person come out? Furthermore, the notion of "loyalty" was open to question. Even if you set that aside, Chen Ping'an was a pure martial artist; even dharma robes like Golden Nectar and Infatuation and Snow Stop were considered mere external possessions by him.
Fortunately, after traveling through Lotus Flower Paradise with the old Daoist this time, Chen Ping'an had gained more understanding of worldly affairs. Invisibly, he began to view the "general trend of the world" in Baoping Continent and the position and situation of Lizhu Cave Heaven within the Great Li map with a different perspective. His thoughts on "external possessions" were no longer so extreme. Otherwise, according to his previous temper, these four scrolls might have been sold by Chen Ping'an at a sky-high price.
Pei Qian craned her neck to look at the portrait of Sui Youbian and whispered, "This elder sister is really beautiful."
Chen Ping'an ignored her and carefully put away the four scrolls. He didn't put them into his dimensional pocket in front of Pei Qian but temporarily placed them by his feet. He sighed inwardly—these four ancestors were too difficult to support. How much better were First and Fifteen? With the Sword Nurturing Gourd, let alone Grain Rain coins, they had been through life and death together many times, fought side by side often, and not a single Snow Flower coin had been spent. Refining and nurturing the flying swords required no effort from Chen Ping'an.
In fact, Chen Ping'an possessed a Dragon-Slaying Platform, the best whetstone in the world for refining and nurturing flying swords. But how could he bear to let that Dragon-Slaying Platform, inscribed with "Innocence" and "Ning Yao," lose even a smidgen? Fortunately, First and Fifteen had never thrown a tantrum about this matter. However, he planned to return to Dragon Spring Prefecture in the future and try to buy a small Dragon-Slaying Platform from the sage Ruan Qiong. He couldn't shortchange them.
This expenditure, Chen Ping'an wouldn't skimp on, even if it might mean using not just Grain Rain coins but Gold Essence Copper coins.
He looked at her.
Pei Qian looked back at him, worried and fearful, afraid that he would kick her out of the carriage. In a unfamiliar place, wouldn't she be bullied to death? In the capital of Southern Garden Kingdom, she at least knew the ropes: which doors had things worth stealing, which children's belongings could be snatched, who couldn't be provoked, who needed to be flattered—she had a mental abacus. Here, winter was about to arrive. If a big snowstorm came crashing down, she would starve or freeze to death. She had seen many old beggars and little beggars who couldn't survive the heavy snow, and their frozen-dead appearances were ugly.
Pei Qian knew that Chen Ping'an didn't like her.
Just like she knew he really liked Cao Qinglang.
She didn't want him to like her either; as long as he provided food and drink, that was enough. It would be best if he gave her a big pile of silver. As for liking or not, how much was that worth?
The driver was an old hand on this route, familiar with the roads. Chen Ping'an and Pei Qian stayed overnight at a post station, while the driver slept in the carriage. Chen Ping'an got two of the cheapest rooms, with Pei Qian in the next room. Chen Ping'an bought some food from the post station, packed it in a bag to sling diagonally, and added some ordinary books. Otherwise, traveling empty-handed would be too conspicuous.
He gave Pei Qian a portion of food and went to his own room. He took off his sword and knife, lit the oil lamp on the table, took out his carving knife and a small emerald green bamboo slip, and began to record his experiences in Lotus Flower Paradise in tiny script.
A knock came at the door. Chen Ping'an went to open it. Pei Qian stood outside, looking timid. "It's pitch dark in there. I'm a bit scared."
Chen Ping'an found it somewhat amusing. He thought to himself, you're someone brave enough to climb onto the stone lions at rich people's gates to sleep, and now you're afraid to stay in a room?
Still, he let her in. She obediently closed the door. Chen Ping'an motioned for her to sit across from him at the table and said slowly, "This place is called Tongye Continent. It's a very large area. We're going to Baoping Continent. My hometown is in the northern part of Baoping Continent. Starting tomorrow, you will learn the standard speech of Baoping Continent and the official language of Great Li, which is from my hometown."
Pei Qian's face lit up with a bright smile as she nodded vigorously. "Got it!"
It wasn't that she wanted to learn some damn standard speech or official language; it was that this guy's implication was clearly that he was taking her to his hometown. That meant she could freeload on food and drink all the way, with no worries about food or clothing?
But then his next words poured cold water over her, making the scrawny little girl's expression flicker with discontent and silent complaints. Chen Ping'an picked up his carving knife and continued to carve characters onto the Green God Mountain bamboo slip that Wei Bo had given him. He lowered his head, carving each stroke meticulously, while saying to Pei Qian, "Starting tomorrow, besides teaching you the standard speech and official language, I'll also teach you to read. If I see you learning well, you can eat your fill at every meal. If you learn poorly, you'll eat less."
She made a bitter face. "I'm really stupid."
Chen Ping'an said "Oh" and added, "Then I can save money."
Pei Qian sneaked a glance at Chen Ping'an. He didn't seem to be joking. She immediately forced a smile. "I'll study hard."
With that, she leaned on the table and asked in a small voice, "Can you buy me some clothes?"
Without looking up, Chen Ping'an said, "When it gets cold, I'll get you a thicker piece of clothing."
She muttered, "It's autumn already, and the weather is pretty chilly. And look, my shoes have holes in them. Really, I'm not lying. If I accidentally get sick, you'll have to take care of me, and that'll be troublesome..."
As she spoke, she lifted her foot. The shoes were indeed torn, showing her grimy toes.
Chen Ping'an put down the carving knife, gently brushed off the tiny, almost invisible bamboo shavings, and said, "Go back to sleep. We have to get up early tomorrow to continue the journey."
Pei Qian said nothing more, silently got up, and left the room. After returning to her own room, she closed the door and immediately beamed with joy. Then she quickly tried to school her expression, not letting herself laugh out loud. She pounced on the bedding, rolled around happily, and finally stared at the ceiling, kicking off her broken shoes. Remembering Chen Ping'an's demeanor, she silently mouthed "Go back to sleep," not daring to say it out loud, then made a funny face.
Before going to sleep, she jumped off the bed, lit the oil lamp on the table, and then slept until dawn.
Why not light the lamp? It was all paid for.
That's what rich people should do.
In the next room, Chen Ping'an wrote densely on three bamboo slips about his "Travels in Lotus Flower Paradise." Then he blew out the lamp and began to practice the six-step walking stake, combined with various sword-gripping gestures from the Sword Techniques Canon, still holding them loosely.
His steps were silent, like a fish in water. His fist intent was completely contained, his spirit inwardly gathered. Compared to when he had practiced boxing by the Dragon Beard River, when his fist intent had flowed through his entire body, it was now a world of difference.
Currently, when practicing boxing, Chen Ping'an could already let his mind wander.
After the walking stake and standing stake in the *Hillside Boxing Manual*, there was also the sleeping stake called "A Thousand Autumns." Chen Ping'an had long known the theory and posture of boxing. In fact, after reaching the fourth realm, he already felt it wasn't difficult to start. The key to the sleeping stake lay precisely in the phrase "a great dream like death," which would make a person's soul like the stagnant water of an ancient well, allowing for complete rest and recuperation. But Chen Ping'an had traveled far twice, each time farther than the last, and he didn't dare sleep too deeply. So this had been delayed until he could return to Dragon Spring.
Leaving Lotus Flower Paradise this time had been too hasty.
Otherwise, Chen Ping'an would have tried to collect as many top-tier martial arts from that world as possible. Looking back now, Ding Ying's path of martial arts wasn't wrong—he had truly stood at the peak of the mountains, the highest peak of martial arts in Lotus Flower Paradise. To reach this level required not only personal insight but also observing the scenery of lower peaks, cross-referencing, filling in gaps, and ultimately forming one's own fist intent—that was truly having one's fist reach beyond the heavens.
How similar was this to reading and reasoning?
It also had the same subtlety as building bridges in engineering books.
Before he knew it, the sky outside the window had started to pale.
Chen Ping'an had been practicing boxing all night and hadn't even broken a sweat. This was probably another convenience of reaching the fifth realm and having his soul greatly developed. But wearing the dharma robe Golden Nectar, sweating or not didn't matter.
While Chen Ping'an practiced boxing, the little lotus figure, whose injuries had healed, sat on the edge of the table dozing off. After leaving Lotus Flower Paradise, the little fellow seemed to have some worries.
Chen Ping'an stopped his boxing, sat down by the table, and the little figure's head drooped.
Chen Ping'an smiled and rubbed its head but said nothing. Comforting people really wasn't his strong suit.
He took out the four scrolls again, spread them on the table, and began to think about whether to "stake a claim."
In the past, Chen Ping'an had feared luck like a tiger.
Now, many of his knots had been untied. Especially after Lizhu Cave Heaven shattered and fell, especially after being schemed against by the Pope Lu Chen and getting entangled with He Xiaoliang of the Divine Proclamation Sect, his journey to Great Sui had turned misfortune into fortune, bringing extremely good luck. After parting ways with He Xiaoliang on the Kunpeng ship, his luck hadn't been bad either.
Moreover, his current wealth wasn't thin. Not to mention the enormous gains from traveling with Lu Tai, just the transaction in Old Dragon City with that Yin spirit accompanied by Zheng Dafeng: he had spent a full ten Grain Rain coins to buy a small bamboo slip of Brave Bamboo, apparently just to buy the phrase "Immortals and mortals are separate, Yin and Yang are separated; the soul settles the spirit, the spirit molds the golden body."
So Chen Ping'an didn't expect to be able to "support" all four paintings. Picking one of them, like a small gamble for fun, would be reasonable enough.
Chaos was already stirring. Chen Ping'an did need some helpers to help look after his household.
He didn't dare hope for help from the old man surnamed Cui—one taught boxing, the other learned boxing; that was all he could ask for.
Wei Bo was ultimately the mountain god, with his own duties.
The little green-clad boy and the pink-dressed girl had shallow cultivation. Moreover, Chen Ping'an treated them more like an older brother treating two children. This was a matter of temperament, unrelated to age. If something serious came up, he would not only keep them out of danger but would keep them far away from the trouble.
With the four people in the paintings, Chen Ping'an didn't have such burdens.
As for how to get along with them once they became familiar, that could wait until the time came.
Among the four scrolls, Chen Ping'an didn't know who to choose first, but he was very sure about who not to choose first—the portrait of Sui Youbian.
If Ning Yao ever found out that he had a woman coming out of a painting following him, and that it cost a lot of Grain Rain coins, that would be terrible!
So he first put that scroll into the flying sword Fifteen.
Then he also put away Lu Baixiang, the founding patriarch of the demon cult. He looked like an unruly sort, and he had founded the largest underground organization in Lotus Flower Paradise. If Chen Ping'an managed to invite him out, and he turned out to be a domineering demon like Zhou Fei of Spring Tide Palace, disregarding ethics and rebelling against morality, what then? Would he have to lock him back into the scroll?
There was no such logic in the world of not treating money like money.
Grain Rain coins weren't Snow Flower coins, and even Snow Flower coins wouldn't do.
With the second scroll put away, only Wei Xian's ancestor and the seemingly amiable martial madman Zhu Lian remained. The latter was the former owner of the silver lotus crown, which made Chen Ping'an a bit uneasy. The battle with Ding Ying had almost cost him his life at Guni Mountain; it was the most dangerous fight of his life.
Chen Ping'an stared at the two scrolls, hesitating.
The little lotus figure sat silently in front of Chen Ping'an, also earnestly studying the two portraits.
Unable to make up his mind, Chen Ping'an smiled and asked, "Which one looks more agreeable to you?"
The little lotus figure turned its head. The little fellow, missing an arm, pointed at the scrolls, then pointed at itself, as if asking whether Chen Ping'an really wanted it to choose.
Chen Ping'an narrowed his eyes and nodded.
The little guy nimbly stood up, ran back and forth along the edges of the two scrolls, his eyes wide open, and even lay down on the table to examine the figures in the paintings, looking very earnest and cute.
Chen Ping'an watched with amusement.
Finally, the little fellow crouched down and pointed at the scroll of Wei Xian beside him.
Chen Ping'an laughed heartily. "Then it's him."
After standing up, the little fellow quickly ran to the edge of the table and tugged at Chen Ping'an's sleeve, looking worried, probably afraid that he had made the wrong choice.
"It's fine. I had to choose one anyway. Even if I choose wrong, it doesn't matter." Chen Ping'an reached out a finger and tickled its armpit. The little fellow giggled.
Chen Ping'an took out a Grain Rain coin, held it between two fingers, and gently placed it on the portrait of the founding emperor of Southern Garden Kingdom. As soon as the coin touched the scroll, it melted away like ice and snow, quickly covering the scroll's surface with a layer of the coin's spiritual energy. Misty haze spread like the moisture of a lake, then suddenly rippled and scattered. Chen Ping'an looked at the portrait of Wei Xian again. It had gained a bit of "vitality." Particularly on the luxurious dragon robe, woven from warp and weft, golden light flickered.
Unfortunately, he couldn't see more details. How many Grain Rain coins would be needed remained a mystery.
Chen Ping'an made up his mind: he would throw ten Grain Rain coins into it. If there were still no clear signs by then, he would consider it money down the drain.
He carefully put away the scroll, hung Infatuation and Snow Stop at his waist, slung the cloth bundle over his shoulder, and went next door to call Pei Qian to continue the journey.
After knocking for a while, the little girl finally opened the door groggily. Seeing Chen Ping'an, she looked a bit reluctant.
After she dressed, she walked toward him. He pointed at the bed.
Pei Qian looked confused.
Chen Ping'an said, "Tidy it up before leaving."
Pei Qian said aggrievedly, "We paid to stay at the post station. You spent a lot of silver."
Chen Ping'an remained silent.
Pei Qian had no choice but to turn back and tidy the bedding.
Chen Ping'an glanced at the oil lamp on the table and frowned.
Afterwards, they continued north by carriage. The driver knew the route well and mostly timed it so that they stayed in post stations and town inns, without having to camp out in the open.
Chen Ping'an began to teach her the standard speech and official language, along with some general customs of East Baoping Continent and the Great Li dynasty. He also took out a Confucian classic bought from a bookshop in Scholar's Lane to teach her to read. Conveniently, reading and learning the words were done in the standard speech and official language, killing three birds with one stone. But Pei Qian wasn't very serious about learning. She had learned over a hundred characters, but it was clear she didn't like studying. She obviously preferred sleeping in the carriage, even if it meant doing nothing. As long as Chen Ping'an left her alone, she could sleep for half the day, then wake up, lift the curtain to look at the scenery, and go back to sleep after. That was a skill in itself.
After that, there was a lot of rain along the way.
Slowly and leisurely, they finally reached that border prefecture city of Northern Jin. Chen Ping'an paid the other half of the silver, then began walking with Pei Qian.
Because the weather had turned cold and it rained often, Chen Ping'an did buy her a set of thick clothes and new boots, but he didn't give them to her immediately. So every day she stared longingly at his sling bag, and for the first time ever, she even offered to carry it for him.
Within Northern Jin, ordinary city gates weren't strict. As long as the driver greased the palms, Pei Qian, who had no household registration or travel permits, could be sneaked into the cities. But border checkpoints were different. Chen Ping'an began to lead her over mountains and rivers. Pei Qian was worlds apart from the hardworking Li Baoping. Even though Chen Ping'an carefully managed her pace, she complained endlessly, squeezing out tears time and again. Even with Chen Ping'an's good temper, it went from not annoying to annoying.
However, after giving her the new clothes and boots, Pei Qian behaved herself for a few days. Then, because she didn't know how to take care of them, her clothes soon became tattered from the thorns and brambles in the wild mountain paths. She reverted to her old habits. Chen Ping'an promised to buy her another set when they reached the next town, which gave her some spirit. But Northern Jin's border was long, and the mountain roads were difficult to traverse. Pei Qian was sullen all day. Every time Chen Ping'an asked her to practice writing with a twig on the ground, she would deliberately write like worms crawling. If he told her to write a hundred characters, she wouldn't write a single extra one.
During this time, Chen Ping'an "fed" another three Grain Rain coins.
Since Chen Ping'an was now practicing boxing even while walking—almost every breath tempering his physique—it seemed that all his energy was focused on the standing stake of the Sword Furnace.
Only when Chen Ping'an practiced the Sword Furnace did Pei Qian get some energy. She wouldn't dare get close to him, just stood in the distance, silently watching him stand motionless like a piece of wood. Over time, she found it boring too.
One night, Chen Ping'an led her to camp in a desolate wilderness. The last time they were in the border prefecture city, besides buying a small cowhide tent specially for Pei Qian, Chen Ping'an had also bought fishhooks and fishing line. He found a thin bamboo branch on the mountain to make a fishing rod and started night fishing by a creek.
In the dead of night, Chen Ping'an turned his head. Red light flickered in the distant mountain forest.
A strange scene soon appeared.
There was a sedan chair carried by eight bearers, with big red lanterns hanging at its four corners. The bearers seemed to be sprites that had grown up in the wild. The ones playing gongs and drums were a group of ghostly apparitions. At the head was a white-boned skeleton with a rusty sword at its waist.
Beside the sedan chair, there was an old woman dressed in gaudy, festive red clothes, with heavy makeup, two round patches of rouge on her cheeks, and a pale face, surrounded by wisps of black smoke.
Chen Ping'an, now familiar with mountain affairs, knew that this was likely the so-called "mountain god taking a bride."
Unwilling to stir up trouble, he pretended not to see anything.
But he hadn't expected Pei Qian to wake up at that moment. She crawled out of the cowhide tent, rubbed her eyes, and stared blankly at the wedding procession.