Chapter 31: Mountain Lord, Swallowing Dragon

Within the small courtyard, the crow flapped its wings, sizing up the black cloud from left and right.

The black cloud, full and content, desired to pounce, but each time it was easily evaded. The crow’s caws were filled with playful mischief.

For reasons unknown, Chen Ji suddenly felt that the crow and the cat, the youth and the old man, in this courtyard, appeared particularly harmonious and peaceful.

And this night was already one of the few tranquil nights he had experienced since arriving in this world.

There was no framing, no struggle unto death.

The mysterious veil of this world was finally slowly lifting before him.

"Master," Chen Ji voiced his most perplexing question. "Do all Walking Officials have to go and kill like us...?"

Old Man Yao was puzzled. "Kill what? Kill patients?"

"Eh?" Chen Ji was even more confused. "Master, how do you cultivate?"

Old Man Yao stated lightly, "Heal the patients, and their illness energy can then be used by me."

Chen Ji was startled. The same cultivation path, yet even the method of cultivation was different?

However, just as this thought arose, the crow landed on the apricot tree, its wings like fingers, pointing at Chen Ji and cawing with laughter, laughing so hard it nearly fell from the branch.

Chen Ji: "…Master, there's no point in deceiving people!"

Old Man Yao sneered, "Ultimately, you haven't experienced the world yet. You have a brain, but not much of it. And remember, this Jianghu is more arduous than you imagine compared to the worldly path. Besides yourself and that fox slave, you cannot trust anyone."

"You can't trust me either?"

"Precisely, you cannot trust me either," Old Man Yao shook the remaining pastry crumbs the black cloud had eaten into his mouth, wasting nothing. "This cultivation path of ours is the most forbidden knowledge under heaven. Once people know of it, the Secret Spy Department wants to kill you, the Main Punishment Department wants to kill you, Prince Jing wants to kill you, the Emperor wants to kill you, all officials under heaven want to kill you. This path, one without a brain cannot cultivate successfully."

"Master, are there other Walking Officials cultivating this path of ours?" Chen Ji asked curiously.

Old Man Yao recalled, "Killed several, but I don't know if they've all been eliminated."

Chen Ji: "..."

He finished chewing the biscuit, somewhat choked, and went to the kitchen to pour a cup of water to drink, then continued to ask, "Master, what is this cultivation path of ours called?"

Old Man Yao stroked his beard. "I've already answered enough. I don't want to answer anymore..."

Before he could finish speaking, the black cloud had already burrowed into his embrace, rubbing against him in a frenzy.

Old Man Yao thought for a moment before answering, "Some people say it's called 'Mountain Lord'."

Chen Ji seemed lost in thought. "Mountain Lord?"

"Others call it 'Swallow Dragon'."

Chen Ji became solemn for a moment. The meaning of Mountain Lord was obscure, while Swallow Dragon seemed more direct!

He asked curiously, "Master, if you kill me, can you advance your cultivation?"

"No," Old Man Yao glanced at him. "Instead, if you kill me, you can speed up your cultivation a bit. Why don't you try?"

Chen Ji: "…Master, you don't need to be so polite."

Old Man Yao continued to explain, "If you are the only person in this world cultivating 'Mountain Lord', then your cultivation speed will be one hundred percent. If there are two people cultivating, then your cultivation speed will be five percent. How, does saying it like this make you more motivated?"

Chen Ji frowned and said sincerely, "I think many people will be motivated."

"So, all the Walking Officials under heaven, unless it's a last resort, will not take disciples."

"How do you calculate a last resort?"

"Either oneself is heavily injured near death, or about to become old and infirm, or knowing oneself has no hope of exploring the Great Dao," Old Man Yao sighed. "I have seen masters teaching disciples, and the disciples then want to kill their masters; I have seen fathers passing it to their sons, and the sons then want to harm their fathers."

Chen Ji noticed the desolation in the old man's tone. "Master, besides She Dengke and Liu Quxing, do I have other senior brothers?"

Old Man Yao scoffed, "Yes, they're dead. I killed them."

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment. "Do you have children?"

Old Man Yao was silent for a long time. "I just answered. When you live long enough, you will understand a truth: do not easily form ties with people. Those who are destined are all meant to say goodbye, to disappoint."

At this moment, Chen Ji finally understood why Old Man Yao was not close to people. The stories behind that indifference were definitely not something that could be explained in a sentence or two.

Old Man Yao should have genuinely intended to teach his son, otherwise, he could have waited until he was near death before passing on the cultivation path, but Old Man Yao's son seemed to have harbored ill intentions.

No wonder there were extremely few Walking Officials in this world, simply because everyone who mastered this cultivation path would absolutely not easily pass it on, and they would still suppress each other. Not all sons under heaven wanted to harm their fathers, but there was no shortage of sons who wanted to harm their fathers.

Chen Ji was puzzled. "Why did you still choose to take disciples, and you took three at once?"

Old Man Yao glanced at him, then at the crow still teasing the black cloud. "I have no master-disciple affection for you whatsoever. I just don't want this cultivation path to be broken in my hands. So, you don't need to have too much hope in me. You pay the tuition silver, I teach the skills, that's all there is to it."

Chen Ji felt that the reason Old Man Yao gave was not sufficient, but he did not continue to dwell on it, only saying sincerely, "Although I said you might not believe it, I certainly will not harm you…"

"Don't say that so early," Old Man Yao snorted. "What should be told to you has been told to you. I told you these things so that you don't die in confusion. The rest I cannot tell you, perhaps I will tell you some later when I'm in a good mood."

Chen Ji: "...When will you be in a good mood?"

"You return my ginseng, and I'll be in a better mood."

Chen Ji hurriedly said, "I'll go to the medicine merchant's tomorrow morning when I wake up…"

Old Man Yao stooped his back and stopped at the door of the main room. The crow flapped onto his shoulder. "No need to think too much. Since you have already helped the Secret Spy Department do things, then you have stepped into this Jianghu with one foot. After this, life and death are by fate. Don't regret it, and you'll be fine."

Chen Ji asked, "Master, what is Jianghu?"

Old Man Yao said flatly, "Jianghu, ah, it is a place without novelty, day after day."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because human nature is also like this, day after day, without novelty."

Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Master, what kind of person is the Inner Minister who manages the Secret Spy Department?"

"The most vicious person under heaven. Otherwise, why would everyone privately call him the 'Poisonous Minister'?" Old Man Yao pushed the door open and entered the room. "In the days to come, you will miss these times when you still don't know how good they were."

Chen Ji looked at the old man and the crow on the old man's shoulder, suddenly feeling as if he saw himself and the black cloud on the long street of Luocheng that night.

Yet he heard from inside the room Old Man Yao suddenly humming a strange melody: "Following the law, morning after morning worried; the strong bully, night after night sing; harming others to benefit oneself, riding horses and mules; being upright and fair, starving. Repairing bridges and mending roads, blind eyes; killing people and setting fires, many. I ask my Buddha in the West Heaven, Buddha says I also have no way…"

Chen Ji returned to his room, lay flat on the communal bed with his arm as a pillow, his brain echoing the song his master had just hummed. The black cloud lay on his chest.

"Black cloud, don't lie on my chest, I can't sleep like this."

Black cloud raised its head and looked at him. "If it wasn't for me, would your master have said so much to you? You've established such great merit, it's perfectly reasonable for me to sleep on your head, isn't it?"

Chen Ji was silent for a moment. "You have a point!"

...

...

Early morning, before the chickens crowed, the black cloud was already gone without a trace.

Chen Ji carried the shoulder pole and filled the water jars, then swept the courtyard clean.

He saw the crow perched on the apricot tree branch sizing him up, then smiled and greeted it. The crow only tilted its head and looked at him, continuing to perch on the branch and sleep.

After everything was in order, Chen Ji wore the Buddha Gate treasure coin on his wrist and stuffed all the silver ingots out the door.

The medicine merchants were in the East Market. Merchants from the south and north stayed here, scholars going for exams stopped here, officials going to take office entertained here. It should be a hub under heaven.

However, they were all just passersby in Luocheng. After the noise, they would leave.

Starting from Taiping Medical Hall, Chen Ji walked for about an hour before he could faintly hear the bustling noise of the East Market. The brothels were already closed, the fishermen were just returning from the river, and he saw them carrying cage after cage of fish baskets ashore. The boat trackers were carrying ropes towards the edge of the canal.

Chen Ji raised his head, his gaze searching for the block after block of signboards, and finally stopped at "Hundred Deer Pavilion". This was the largest medicine merchant in Luocheng. Sixty percent of the herbs in the city were transported here, wholesale from the southern and northern herb markets.

This was also where Taiping Medical Hall usually purchased herbs. The three senior brothers had all been here before.

Chen Ji stepped through the door threshold, and a plump shopkeeper squinted with a smile and welcomed him. "Yo, Little Doctor Chen, why are you visiting today? Didn't my guys just deliver goods to Taiping Medical Hall yesterday?"

Chen Ji smiled in response, "Master sent me to get a few old ginseng roots. The palace needs them. Do you happen to have any in stock at Hundred Deer Pavilion at this time?"

The shopkeeper said with difficulty, "It's good to let Little Doctor Chen know, the price of aged ginseng is not cheap. When purchasing, we buy according to the order quantity. Your master ordered one per month, and we don't have any extra to give to Taiping Medical Hall."

Chen Ji turned around and walked away. "Then I'll go ask elsewhere."

Yet, the shopkeeper hurriedly pulled him back again, his face full of smiles. "Little Doctor Chen, don't be anxious. Why don't you let me finish speaking? Coincidentally, Fangping Medicine Shop ordered several ginseng roots yesterday and they haven't been sent yet. We are old friends with Imperial Doctor Yao. If the palace needs them, we can first allocate them to you."

Chen Ji remained noncommittal. "Then take them out for me to see."

"This way, please. The precious herbs are all kept in the backyard."

The shopkeeper led Chen Ji towards the backyard of Hundred Deer Pavilion, pushed open the wooden door of a storeroom, and said, "Please."

Chen Ji went in and surveyed the more than ten boxes of herbs surrounding him. Yet he heard the sound of the door closing from behind him.

Strange, I'm just looking at ginseng, why close the door!?

Something's not right!

Chen Ji crouched down and rolled forward, then stood up, and saw the shopkeeper waving a dagger directly at him, his face fiercely abnormal.

However, Chen Ji struck first, kicking the shopkeeper's fat belly.

The shopkeeper did not expect Chen Ji to be faster than him. Not only did he dodge the attack, he could also instantly counterattack. After taking this kick, he fell backward and shouted in a low voice, "Save me!"

Chen Ji still wanted to seize the opportunity to chase after and kill the shopkeeper, but before he could defend himself, he felt a gust of wind from behind. Someone flashed out from behind the wooden box of herbs and pressed a dagger against his neck from behind.

This time, the opponent's speed was so fast that Chen Ji had only seen it on Lin Chaoqing, Yun Yang, and Jiao Tu. He simply had no time to react.

He felt the ice-cold of the dagger, and the hairs on his neck instantly stood up. Yet he calmly asked, "What is this for?"

The person behind him said calmly, "You betrayed your surname, your identity, defected and sold out Zhou Chengyi. Surely you should die?"

Chen Ji was speechless… truly, what he feared, came to pass!