Chapter 423: In the World, Go Slowly
Madame Xiao Luan stood blankly outside the door for a long time without leaving. When she hesitated about whether to knock again, she turned around and saw that inconspicuous, hunched old man.
On the corridor leading to the banquet at the Snowy Vast Hall, Madame Xiao Luan, skilled at reading people, noticed upon first meeting this man that from the length of each breath to the sound of his footsteps landing, he was deeply concealed, deliberately maintaining the cultivation of the fifth realm of martial arts. Now that the old fellow had silently appeared on the fourth floor, his martial aura was already comparable to Sun Dengxian's.
Clearly, he was someone with profound scheming.
Madame Xiao Luan could only tell that this elderly retainer was a grandmaster whose martial arts surpassed Sun Dengxian's, but whether he had already stepped into the Golden Body Realm and begun climbing the Spirit Refining steps toward the Martial Ultimate Realm, she could not discern.
Not being able to see through a Pure Martial Artist meant that Madame Xiao Luan had to be careful.
The hunched old man smiled in a way that nearly gave the Water God Lady of the White Crane River goosebumps, and his words made her even more uncomfortable: "Madame Xiao Luan, have you been shut out by my young master? Don't take it to heart. My young master has always been like this; it's not aimed at you alone."
Madame Xiao Luan pondered her words, then composed herself and said with a smile, "Old sir, tonight there was a sudden rain. As a river deity, I naturally feel drawn to it. I had just gotten rid of the effects of the wine, so I took the opportunity to night-tour the Purple Qi Palace. I happened to see your young master practicing fists on the upstairs corridor. I originally thought Master Chen was a cultivator, a promising young sword immortal. I never expected his fist intent to be so superb, not inferior to any martial arts grandmaster in our Yellow Court Kingdom. Out of curiosity, I rashly visited this place. I was being presumptuous."
Zhu Lian said with great righteousness, "Not presumptuous at all, not presumptuous at all! In this world, only boors are incapable of appreciating beauty. No matter what a beauty says or does, it's never presumptuous!"
Madame Xiao Luan didn't want to tangle with this man further. Tonight's affair was destined to come to nothing, so there was no need to waste more time here.
Moreover, did he really think she had no sense of shame? As the true deity of the third-largest river in the Yellow Court Kingdom, she was not too far behind even the Five Sacred Mountain deities of the kingdom. If it weren't for Wu Yi and the Ziyang Prefecture being too powerful, and now having the advantage of allying with the Great Li Dynasty, Madame Xiao Luan would have been the one receiving the treatment Chen Ping'an enjoyed tonight at any other banquet in the Yellow Court Kingdom.
So Madame Xiao Luan exchanged a few polite words and planned to leave.
In this Ziyang Prefecture, everything was going wrong. Even after leaving this treasure building tonight, there would still be headaches waiting for her.
Zhu Lian said with a sly grin, "Madame, please wait."
Madame Xiao Luan was secretly furious, but she still maintained a dignified demeanor, asking with puzzlement, "Old sir, do you have some business? If it's not urgent, you can find me tomorrow for a leisurely chat."
Zhu Lian extended a hand and waved it, "Where is there an old sir? Compared to Madame Xiao Luan's long years, I'm just a young lad who looks a bit older. Madame Xiao Luan can call me Little Zhu—the Zhu that means 'emerald hair and ruddy complexion, vermilion ink brilliant.' The matter is not urgent. It's just that in the Snowy Vast Hall, I didn't have the courage to toast you, Madame. Now that it's late at night and there are no outsiders, I also want to take the opportunity to night-tour the Ziyang Prefecture like you did. What do you think, Madame?"
Madame Xiao Luan felt more nauseated than if she had drunk four jars of the Old Flood Dragon's Drool wine.
Still, she forced a smile and said, "It's already late. I have to set off early tomorrow morning to return to the White Crane River. I'm rather tired and would like to rest early. I hope you understand."
Zhu Lian had already started walking forward with big strides, "I must understand you, Madame! Then allow me to escort you back to your residence. I would be worried if you went back alone, Madame. With your peerless beauty, even though you have the air of an unapproachable goddess, I still feel that if the night-patrolling cultivators of the Ziyang Prefecture looked at you too many times, my heart would ache. No, no, Madame, don't worry about me; I absolutely must see you back!"
Madame Xiao Luan just smiled and said nothing. Given her composure, she was barely restraining herself from hurling curses.
She turned directly, neither refusing nor agreeing, and shot out of the building. Her gracefully curving, enchanting form instantly transformed into a rainbow and flew away. If you could keep up, then do so.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Lian appeared beside her in an instant, accompanying her as she soared through the air!
Madame Xiao Luan's mind shook so much she nearly fell to the ground.
Far Wandering Realm!
This old lecher was actually an eighth-realm Pure Martial Artist?!
The acknowledged number one martial artist in the Yellow Court Kingdom's martial world for over forty years was only at the Golden Body Realm.
Zhu Lian followed beside Madame Xiao Luan, "Madame, I once read in a miscellaneous book that when flood dragons and river deities are stirred by passion, they bring a sweet rain and dew to the human world. I wonder if that's true or false?"
Madame Xiao Luan was furious and humiliated, hating the mastermind behind this farce and even more wishing she could beat this wretched old man into the bottom of the White Crane River, strip his soul thread by thread, twist it into lamp wicks, hang them in lanterns, and illuminate the Water Residence!
Zhu Lian continued as if talking to himself, "Being able to night-tour the Ziyang Prefecture with Madame Xiao Luan is truly a great joy in life. Don't laugh at me, Madame, but Little Zhu has a hobby of writing travelogues, recording strange people and events across thousands of mountains and rivers. I've always wanted to have a travelogue carved into print someday. I think tonight's fortunate company with you, Madame, on this night tour must be described in vivid detail in the travelogue. When the book is published, I will personally bring a copy to you, Madame!"
Madame Xiao Luan itched with anger, her breathing becoming unsteady. Her chest rose and fell. The revealing outfit she wore tonight, which she found too excessive, had been forced upon her by that person, demanding she put it on.
Zhu Lian glanced at the magnificent scene that was like a world within a hand, then quickly turned his head toward the Iron Bond River and exclaimed loudly, "What splendid scenery!"
---
Zhu Lian had long since returned to his residence on the second floor.
Inside the room in the treasure building, Chen Ping'an had completely lost all sleepiness. He lit a lamp and began flipping through books. After reading for a while, he said with lingering fear, "What did a wandering chivalry storybook say? 'Heroes often fall for the allure of beauties.' This River God Lady is too... disregarding the rules of the jianghu! At the Snowy Vast Hall, she kindly helped me, but how could she repay me like this? They say a true knight-errant doesn't hold grudges overnight, settling them the same day. But you? You repay kindness like this? Damn it, if it weren't for worrying that Zhu Lian would think I'm protesting too much, I would have slapped you! If even a hint of this leaks out, won't I be covered in mud on my crotch—even if it's not shit, it'll look like shit?"
Chen Ping'an wiped the sweat from his forehead, muttering and cursing the Water God Lady of the White Crane River.
Finally, he found an excuse to comfort himself: "The trip to the River of Time in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land wasn't wasted. If this had been earlier, I might have been foolish enough to open the door and go into her room."
As his mind gradually calmed, Chen Ping'an began to concentrate on reading a Buddhist scripture. He had borrowed six books from the Cliffside Academy library, covering Confucian, Buddhist, Taoist, Legalist, and Mohist classics. The master of Mao Mountain had said there was no need to return them in a hurry; when Chen Ping'an felt he had thoroughly understood them, he could send someone to mail them back to the academy.
Chen Ping'an suddenly closed the book, walked out of the room, and came to the railing of the corridor.
When things are unusual, there must be a monster.
The rain outside had stopped, and the night was heavy.
Chen Ping'an reached out and held the railing, walking slowly. The raindrops under his palm were broken and reunited, slightly cool.
He spread his palm and looked down.
He leaped onto the railing and walked slowly, gazing into the distance. Outside the Ziyang Prefecture was the Iron Bond River, and beyond the river were green mountains.
He was currently in the Yellow Court Kingdom, in the Ziyang Prefecture, inside the Purple Qi Palace's treasure building, on the railing under the eaves of the high tower.
His thoughts drifted far away.
Chen Ping'an recalled his previous trip to the Blue Luan Kingdom, where he had overheard locals and drinkers at a tavern discussing a debate between Buddhists and Taoists. There was a story about a monk holding an umbrella outside and a Confucian scholar taking shelter under the eaves.
If you encounter rain while traveling, you naturally seek shelter under an eaves.
He also remembered Lu Tai once lamenting in the small courtyard of the Flying Eagle Fort that the regrets of the human world are mostly captured by the word "cannot keep." The deepest heartfelt words are nothing more than a request to various scenery and various people: "Go slowly."
Lu Tai also said that it is difficult for us to truly empathize with the many sufferings of the world. So when suffering comes, when it falls upon a specific person, anyone would be caught off guard.
Go slowly.
Slow.
The old Daoist founder of the Guandao Temple, using the myriad forms of life in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land to observe the Way, possessed heaven-reaching Dao magic. He could clearly control the River of Time within that blessed land, speeding it up, slowing it down, or even stopping it altogether.
But as for the torrent of time in the four mountains and worlds, not even controlling it—just trying to hold it back—was said to be impossible even for the Dao Ancestor. Hence, the Supreme Sage Teacher once observed water and had an enlightenment: "It passes on like this, never ceasing day or night."
Cui Dongshan had once said that all mountaintop immortal mansions and human cities have their mysteries. Additionally, war and the teachings of the Hundred Schools of Thought are all related to the speed of the River of Time's flow. It is that the sages hope to find another way to seek slowness.
The Three Teachings sages, who already stand so high and see so far, why must they insist on slowing down?
And in the eyes of the Supreme Sage Teacher, the Buddha Ancestor, and the Dao Ancestor—these three sages who were the first to open heaven and earth—what exactly are they looking at? Why must they make the Three Realms of the mortal world "go slowly"?
The first time he traveled through the Yellow Court Kingdom with Cui Dongshan, at a mountaintop, Cui Dongshan accompanied him while practicing fists and once jokingly said that when the wheel of history rolls forward, it inevitably crushes many flowers and plants.
This was not the ruthless words of an emperor's nature, but the compassionate words of a Central Plains Confucian scholar. That scholar hoped that everyone in power who read this sentence, or those great figures who were riding in that chariot at the time, would lower their heads and look at those crushed flowers and plants.
If the world is gradually getting better, is there any need to worry? As long as it's getting better, as long as the direction is right, even if it's slow, it doesn't matter—of course, there's no need to worry.
But if the world is becoming worse, such as the wheel of history rolling over with a fierce momentum, crushing countless flowers and plants along the way, then even if someone wants to lower their head and look, they might not see clearly.
How can there be any talk of making amends?
That's why it needs to be a bit slower?
Because if you travel slowly, even if you take a wrong road, if you're wrong slowly, doesn't that mean there's an opportunity to correct it?
Or perhaps the suffering of the human world can be lessened?
Chen Ping'an walked back and forth on the railing repeatedly, each time walking to the end and turning around.
At this very moment, Chen Ping'an did not know that deep in his own unconscious heart, every profound thought was like a seed in the field of his heart. They would sprout, many might wither midway, but some might bloom and bear fruit one day.
Chen Ping'an also did not know that the words carved with carving knives on bamboo slips, which he repeatedly chewed and recited, and even had Pei Qian sun-dry the bamboo slips that recorded the words he sincerely approved of and considered beautiful, even on sunny days.
Regardless of whether those words were good or bad, whether their principles were right or wrong, these were seeds he was sowing in his heart's field.
Chen Ping'an was not an exception; in fact, everyone does the same, just not necessarily in the concrete way of carving bamboo slips with knives. A parent's complaint, a teacher's instruction, a passage in a book that you flip past and then turn back to read again, an old saying you've heard many times and suddenly understand one day, the green mountains and clear waters you've seen, the missed sweetheart, the scattered friends—these are all seeds in everyone's heart's field, waiting to bloom.
Chen Ping'an still did not know; he just treated it as a slow walk on the railing to clear his mind.
In the small world of his body, within the Water Mansion that held the Water Character Seal, the green-clad children all stopped what they were busy with, one by one holding their breath and concentrating.
And in the mansion that possessed the golden literary courage, outside coiled the sleeping true qi fire dragon. Inside the mansion, the small figure in golden Confucian robes, carrying a sword on its back and a few small golden books hanging from its waist, had its golden light becoming more condensed and radiant, like a god gilding its statue.
But that golden light flowing all over the Confucian-robed figure kept flaking off and scattering in small, starry specks. Clearly, it was not stable.
It was full of anticipation, waiting for the moment Chen Ping'an stopped on the railing.
Chen Ping'an continued to walk slowly.
When he left the Cliffside Academy this time, on the road, Chen Ping'an had asked Zhu Lian and Shi Rou a question.
If killing a good person who had done no wrong could save ten people, would they do it? Both shook their heads. When Chen Ping'an increased the number from ten to a thousand and then ten thousand, Shi Rou began to hesitate.
Only Zhu Lian frankly said that even if it could save the entire world, he would not kill that person.
Chen Ping'an asked why.
Zhu Lian smiled and gave his answer: "I'm afraid that I might be the one being killed."
Zhu Lian then asked Chen Ping'an for his answer.
Chen Ping'an said he couldn't give an answer either. Unless he actually reached that point, he could only know his true heart and choice then.
Inside his qi mansion, the small golden Confucian-robed figure was a bit anxious. Several times, it wanted to rush out of the mansion, run out of the small world of his body, and give Chen Ping'an a few hard thumps on the head: "You're thinking about the wrong things! Why are you thinking about such huge problems that currently have no definite answers? Don't be derelict in your duty! Don't let a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity slip by! The general direction of your thoughts just now was correct! Quickly think further and deeper about that crucial word 'slow,' that word so easily overlooked by the worldly world! Once you thoroughly understand it, when the heart is connected, that will be the great Dao opportunity for you, Chen Ping'an, to enter the Upper Five Realms in the future!"
But if it told Chen Ping'an these inside details directly, it would instead put him into an extremely bad state of mind.
Chen Ping'an finally stopped on the railing.
Both the golden Confucian-robed figure in the two mansions and the green-clad children were full of anticipation.
Then the green-clad children looked at each other and suddenly burst into laughter.
It turned out that Chen Ping'an, after stopping, his purest thought at that moment was to start missing a certain girl. And his thought was particularly not that of a proper gentleman—he was actually thinking that the next time they met at the Sword Qi Great Wall, he couldn't just hold hands. He needed to be bolder. If Miss Ning wasn't willing, at worst, he'd get a beating and a few scoldings; he believed they would still be together. But what if Miss Ning was actually willing, waiting for him, Chen Ping'an, to take the initiative? You're a grown man—without any courage, hesitant and shy—is that proper?
Chen Ping'an jumped off the railing and, as he walked toward the room, he struck his palm with his fist and encouraged himself, "Not proper! Definitely not proper! Besides, at the Inverted Mountain, you've hugged Miss Ning before. It's just that back then you were too dazed to remember what it felt like. How can that be? You can't kiss her... Chen Ping'an, are you looking for death? You can't think about that. That's too fast. You just thought so much about 'slow'—you should still be slow with Miss Ning. Slow cooking over a gentle flame is also good... good, my ass..."
The green-clad children laughed heartily, rolling on the ground.
It wasn't that they could know all of Chen Ping'an's thoughts. Tonight was an exception because Chen Ping'an's thoughts were too deeply connected to his state of mind, touching on fundamentals. His thoughts were vast, his soul greatly stirred, almost covering the entire small world of his body.
The Confucian-robed figure, with its dense golden light almost forming a golden gall like an elixir in his heart space, fell backward and couldn't help cursing, "Chen Ping'an, you bastard!"
After cursing, it instead laughed.
Although tonight's "blooming and bearing fruit" was not perfect, far from flawless, it was still of great benefit to Chen Ping'an and to itself.
For example, the embryonic form of the golden elixir at the heart of the golden Confucian-robed figure—this was exactly Mao Xiaodong's greatest expectation for Chen Ping'an's refining of Shen Wen's golden literary courage.
---
Madame Xiao Luan and her maidservant, mistress and servant, were living alone in a secluded single courtyard in a remote area of the Ziyang Prefecture.
If they had been arranged with Sun Dengxian and the other two, even Madame Xiao Luan, with her temperament, would have turned hostile.
At this moment, Madame Xiao Luan was standing in the main hall, while someone else was seated. The maidservant had already been put into a deep sleep by that person using a secret technique.
That person glanced sideways at the White Crane River Water God Lady, whose dress was too tight, with a strange smile.
Madame Xiao Luan was full of embarrassment.
This person was none other than Wu Yi, who styled herself as the True Lord of the Cave, the true master of the Ziyang Prefecture.
Madame Xiao Luan, bold as she was, would not dare to enter the forbidden Purple Qi Palace without permission, let alone wear such an outfit, not much better than that of a brothel courtesan, to knock on Chen Ping'an's door.
All of it was Wu Yi's demand.
Wu Yi did not use her cultivation to pressure her; she simply offered a condition that Madame Xiao Luan could not refuse.
It was about the matter where the Yu River Water God was trying to harm the White Crane River Water God Mansion through connections in the Dragon Spring Commandery.
The prefecture master, Huang Chu, had already agreed to help Madame Xiao Luan by making the Yu River Water God stop his underhanded actions.
In return, the White Crane River Water God Mansion would have to pay a large amount of tribute immortal money to the Ziyang Prefecture every ten years. From then on, the White Crane River would become a vassal dependency of the Ziyang Prefecture, just like the Iron Bond River. However, it wasn't all bad for the White Crane River Water God Mansion. Besides relieving their pressing troubles, by submitting to the Ziyang Prefecture, although they would inevitably grow further apart from the current Hong Emperor and draw a clear line, Huang Chu promised Madame Xiao Luan that the White Crane River, which was less than nine hundred li long, would be extended to one thousand two hundred li within a hundred years! The money would come from the Water God Mansion, but all the resistance from the imperial court of the Yellow Court Kingdom and the desperate counterattacks from displaced mountain and river deities—the Ziyang Prefecture could help deal with them. The White Crane River Water God Mansion only needed to hire the Ziyang Prefecture's cultivators at market price, and they could suppress and kill all the way through.
Immortal money is easy to acquire, but the length of the White Crane River determined the size and thickness of a great river's water transport. Not only did it require the court's approval to dig canals, but it would also inevitably encounter and various forms of strong resistance. It was absolutely not something that could be done with money alone. Once the White Crane River reached one thousand two hundred li, the increase in its water domain would incorporate all the counties, cities, and beautiful mountains and waters along the river into the jurisdiction of the White Crane River Water God Mansion. The annual revenue would become extremely considerable. This was something Madame Xiao Luan had always dreamed of. A hundred years later, not only would she surpass the Yu River and successfully become the second largest river in the Yellow Court Kingdom, but even if she wanted to leave the Cold Food River behind, or even one day be promoted to a Water God Palace, she could now imagine it.
This was the real reason why Madame Xiao Luan had been so obsequious at the Snowy Vast Hall.
She had to hold firmly onto this prospect!
It was no longer a matter of "endure a moment of calm"; it was a matter of "endure a moment and then proceed straight on the path of the Dao, with flourishing incense."
So after Wu Yi found Madame Xiao Luan and proposed a second deal, Madame Xiao Luan, who was already full of anticipation for the future, still, after weighing the pros and cons and hesitating, forced down all her grievances, anger, and shame, and chose to nod in agreement.
Wu Yi said that as long as Madame Xiao Luan was willing to climb into Chen Ping'an's bed tonight and enjoy a night of pleasure, it would be like doing Wu Yi and the Ziyang Prefecture a favor. Then Wu Yi would make the Iron Bond River completely subordinate to the White Crane River. The Jixiang Temple could no longer use borrowed power to make a river temple compete with a great river mansion. Moreover, from now on, she, Wu Yi, would put in a good word for Xiao Luan and the White Crane River Water God Mansion with the Great Li Dynasty. As for whether it would ultimately result in a "peace and tranquility token," she, Wu Yi, would not pat her chest and guarantee anything, but at the very least, she would personally handle the matter.
Thus, Madame Xiao Luan's amorous night visit came to be.
Even that light rain was a disguise created by Wu Yi using her divine abilities within the domain of the Ziyang Prefecture. It was meant to prove to Chen Ping'an that Madame Xiao Luan was indeed moved by passion—a sincere, admiring River God Lady who had fallen in love at first sight and was offering herself for a brief, no-strings-attached affair. What was there not to like? Besides that, there was another secret. Earlier, Wu Yi had deliberately mentioned the matter of karma related to killing flood dragons and such creatures. It was not a lie. In fact, she could tell that Chen Ping'an indeed had a causal knot on him. How to resolve it? Naturally, by using the divine incense and merit of the White Crane River Water God Lady to help remove it. Wu Yi straightforwardly stated that this loss would be compensated in immortal money. After thinking it over, Madame Xiao Luan agreed.
Unfortunately, Madame Xiao Luan returned without success.
Chen Ping'an hadn't even let her through the door.
Wu Yi slowly spoke, "Xiao Luan, with such a great opportunity right in front of you and you couldn't grasp it, you really are a waste."
Madame Xiao Luan smiled bitterly.
Wu Yi suddenly asked, "Could it be that Chen Ping'an isn't interested in women like you? Your maidservant looks younger, and her appearance is passable. Should we let her try?"
Madame Xiao Luan shook her head, "She probably wouldn't even be able to enter the building where your Eminence resides. That fellow named Zhu Lian is a Far Wandering Realm martial artist. He pestered me for a long time. Though he seemed frivolous, at the critical moment, he had already developed killing intent toward me. Zhu Lian deliberately didn't hide it. If she went instead, she might be beaten to death right outside the building. Her body would either be thrown out of the Purple Qi Palace or simply dumped into the Iron Bond River to drift downstream, where it would conveniently float to our White Crane River."
Wu Yi rubbed her brow, "What is Chen Ping'an thinking?"
Madame Xiao Luan was helpless. At the time, that fellow had shut the door without a second word. How could she not be angry and embarrassed?
Wu Yi studied Madame Xiao Luan, "In terms of appearance, you're one of the best beauties in our Yellow Court Kingdom, aren't you? Where else can I find a woman with a good-looking surface vessel for him? If we take common mortal women, even if they look passable at first glance, which one isn't unbearably filthy? Xiao Luan, do you think maybe it's because he's not into your type of voluptuous matron? Perhaps he only likes petite and delicate young girls or exceptionally tall and slender ones?"
Madame Xiao Luan shook her head.
She truly didn't know.
Wu Yi sighed, "Then tell me, is Chen Ping'an a normal man or not?"
Madame Xiao Luan said softly, "Probably so."
Wu Yi said with a serious expression, "What do you think of me?"
Madame Xiao Luan's back went cold. From Chen Ping'an, to his retainer Zhu Lian, and now to this ancestor of the Ziyang Prefecture—they were all incomprehensible lunatics.
She had to carefully choose her words and uttered a polite remark, "How could your Eminence, with your lofty status, stoop to such humiliation?"
Wu Yi waved her hand, somewhat disheartened, "Forget it. It's not good to force you to barge into the tower and take Chen Ping'an by force."
Wu Yi stood up, "But this deal, even if it fails tonight, will remain valid for a while. You still have a chance, Xiao Luan. It's up to you."
Suddenly, first Wu Yi, then Xiao Luan, became solemn, sensing an unusual... Dao resonance.
It was lofty, ethereal, majestic, vast—so many things, indescribable in words.
Both guessed a bit of what it might be.
Wu Yi said fiercely, "Xiao Luan! What do you say?"
Madame Xiao Luan's heart surged, no longer hesitant. This White Crane River Water God Lady's inner answer was already unshakable.
Compared to her "coincidental" encounter with the Hong Emperor's ancestor by the White Crane River back then, Madame Xiao Luan's feelings were now far more fervent.
After Wu Yi marched away, Madame Xiao Luan returned to rest in her room. She tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep all night.
Another rain fell over the Ziyang Prefecture that night.
Zhu Lian stood on the corridor under the eaves of the second floor and let out a strange laugh, "Well, well. This is getting real."
---
Chen Ping'an didn't know any of this.
He returned to his room. The lamp still burned on the table.
He began to continue reading. As he read, by the dim yellow light, he looked up and glanced around.
A book said: Some people's hearts are like a demon-revealing mirror, making all ghosts and monsters around them show their true colors.
But Chen Ping'an wished that his true heart was just an oil lamp, placed on the table in the ancestral home of Mud Bottle Lane with its bare walls. Through that small light, he could see the dust and moths that kept him company. If a guest came to the house, he would see on the yellow mud windowsill a coarse little pottery pot he had placed there, in which a delicate blade of grass swayed gracefully.
Chen Ping'an lay down on the table.
His chin resting on the back of his hand, Chen Ping'an stared at the lamp flame.
He vaguely knew that there was something waiting for him to face.
He had thought of many possibilities and felt unafraid of all of them.
Except for one thing, one person.
Chen Ping'an didn't dare to think too much.
The principles of the world have no distinctions of intimacy or estrangement—this was something Chen Ping'an himself had said.
---
Pei Qian suddenly woke up with a start, sitting up as if from a nightmare.
She thought for a moment but couldn't remember the content of the nightmare. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, still drowsy, then found a talisman, pasted it on her forehead, and went back to sleep.
She could see through people's hearts, see the landscape of a person's mind—like Old Cook Zhu Lian's bloody wind and rain, with only a single tall building standing tall, or Cui Dongshan's deep, dark pool with scattered golden books on the shore.
She harbored the biggest secret deep inside her, one she hadn't even told her master, Chen Ping'an.
As long as she focused her mind to look at Chen Ping'an, she would feel as if she were at the bottom of a small well, looking up. There was probably a lamp placed on the well's mouth, a small ball of light. It should have made her, a coward afraid of ghosts and darkness, feel warm and yearn for it. But instead, it made her feel, as she had many times in the Lotus Flower Blessed Land, like looking up at the blazing sun in the sky. It made her eyes burn and tears flow, yet she always forgot the pain once it healed, and she couldn't help looking up again and again.
When she looked down, it was a serene moon reflected on the water's surface down in the well. Below that, faint and indistinct, there seemed to swim a flood dragon that should have been terrifying but instead made her feel an intimate closeness.
The well water of her master's heart was rising.
Perhaps one day, the moon in the water would meet the lamp at the mouth of the well.
Pei Qian, in her deep sleep, unconsciously placed her hand on her heart. There, hidden against her body, was a small pouch that Cui Dongshan had taught her to make, saying that if one day her master was heartbroken and very angry, she should take it out and give it to him.
---
Chen Ping'an didn't sleep all night.
On a whim, he decided not to stay any longer at the Ziyang Prefecture. He wanted to set out on the road, so he asked Zhu Lian to inform the steward, essentially giving a heads-up to Wu Yi.
Unexpectedly, the prefecture master Huang Chu rushed over quickly and earnestly urged Chen Ping'an to stay, saying that if Chen Ping'an left the Ziyang Prefecture like this, he, as prefecture master, would have to resign. No matter what, Chen Ping'an had to stay for another day or two, so he could have someone take him to see the scenic spots near the Ziyang Prefecture. He also told Chen Ping'an that the ancestor of the residence, Wu Yi, had already left for the Cold Food River, but before leaving, she had given orders: when Chen Ping'an and his party left the Ziyang Prefecture, they could each choose an item from the first to the fourth floors of the Purple Qi Palace's treasure building as a parting gift from the prefecture. If Chen Ping'an refused, then he, as prefecture master, would pick the four most precious items in front of Chen Ping'an and smash them on the spot.
Chen Ping'an was increasingly unable to guess what Wu Yi was up to.
This kind of shameless, enthusiastic hospitality was too unreasonable. Even Wei Bo would never have such a big face.
Chen Ping'an naturally wanted to leave this den of trouble immediately. Whether Huang Chu smashed the four treasures or not, first there was Wu Yi's unprovoked kindness, and then Madame Xiao Luan's night visit. Chen Ping'an really had developed a psychological shadow toward this Ziyang Prefecture.
But Huang Chu seemed to have anticipated this. He discarded all dignity, imitating his ancestor's roguish attitude and said, "Whether I can continue as prefecture master, Chen Gongzi, depends entirely on your decision. Can't you allow the Ziyang Prefecture to fulfill its duties as a host? Are you going to watch me, Huang Chu, lose my position as prefecture master?"
After discussing with Zhu Lian and Shi Rou, Chen Ping'an decided to let things be for now. He agreed to stay another day for Huang Chu's sake and look at the nearby scenery.
It turned out that when the Ziyang Prefecture sent someone to be their guide, Chen Ping'an immediately regretted it. Zhu Lian, on the other hand, was clearly gloating, not thinking it was a bad thing at all.
The guide was none other than Madame Xiao Luan, who had regained her dignified demeanor. She was the one in charge of taking Chen Ping'an's group on a sightseeing tour through the mountains and rivers.
Chen Ping'an gritted his teeth and boarded a tower ship docked on the Iron Bond River, heading upstream.
In the night, the group returned to the Ziyang Prefecture.
Wu Yi stood in the small courtyard of Madame Xiao Luan's residence and asked with a smile, "How did it go?"
Madame Xiao Luan hesitated.
Wu Yi said displeasedly, "Just say it!"
Madame Xiao Luan sighed, "All the way, I gave him every kind of hint. Then I spoke bluntly, expressing my admiration and longing for him. From beginning to end, Chen Ping'an didn't give me a good face and didn't say a word. It was only just before we disembarked that Chen Ping'an said two sentences to me."
Wu Yi asked curiously, "What were they?"
Madame Xiao Luan smiled bitterly, "The first sentence: 'Madame Xiao Luan, are you intentionally trying to kill me?'"
Wu Yi was confused.
Madame Xiao Luan was somewhat uneasy, "The second sentence, Chen Ping'an said very seriously: 'If you keep bothering me like this, I'll beat you to death with one fist.'"
Wu Yi raised two fingers and rubbed her temples.
Madame Xiao Luan covered her mouth and gave a delicate laugh, suddenly releasing every charm. Then she composed herself, patted her chest, and said softly, "I knew he wasn't joking, so I was really afraid. But I'm still a bit unconvinced. I know this time I was bound to miss this great opportunity."
She bowed to Wu Yi respectfully, apologizing.
Wu Yi looked at her askance, "At least you know your own worth."
Madame Xiao Luan was startled, then suddenly realized the implication. She stole a glance at Wu Yi, who was tall and slender, almost thin. Madame Xiao Luan quickly looked away, a bit embarrassed.
Wu Yi said angrily, "That Chen Ping'an is just blind!"
---
Zhu Lian had been hiding his laughter all along. He accompanied Chen Ping'an and stood on the fourth-floor corridor.
He couldn't help bursting out loud and asked, "Young master, how does it feel to encounter such an unexpected romantic blessing?"
Chen Ping'an said darkly, "The jianghu is dangerous!"