Chapter 14: May Fifth

The young Daoist had already prepared a plethora of responses to the grass-sandal-wearing boy's inevitable question of "Who is it?". Unexpectedly, the courtyard door opened quickly, revealing that the boy had skipped that part entirely.

Mud Bottle Alley was one of the narrowest and most cramped lanes in the town. The Daoist's two-wheeled wooden cart couldn't be left outside, blocking the way. Fortunately, despite appearing scrawny and weak, Chen Ping An possessed considerable strength. He helped the young Daoist bring the heavy cart into the courtyard without much effort. Throughout the whole process, the boy remained silent, making the young Daoist feel somewhat awkward after closing the door. It was akin to someone brazenly asking for a loan, and the host lavishly entertained them with fine tea, wine, and meat. If the guest had any conscience, they would find it increasingly difficult to broach the subject.

The young Daoist thought that since the situation was already embarrassing, he might as well get it over with. He lifted a cotton blanket covering the cart, revealing a black-clad girl lying curled up on her side. Her veiled hat, askew yet still stubbornly concealing her face, remained in place. For some reason, a strong smell of blood wafted up as the thin blanket was removed. Only then did Chen Ping An notice the blood seeping through her dark clothing. He hadn't expected such a small blanket to completely mask such a potent odor. The boy took a few steps back and asked, "Daoist priest, what are you doing?"

The young Daoist replied, "Saving her! She's seriously injured, and no one in town is willing to help. I can't blame them for only looking after their own affairs. After thinking it over, I felt that you might be an exception."

Chen Ping An cut to the chase, asking, "How did she get injured?"

The Daoist, without batting an eye, said, "Just now, as I was pushing my cart past the Paifang Tower, I saw this young woman from out of town actually trying to do a rubbing of the 'Qi Chong Dou Niu' plaque. She had her rubbing kit, brushes, and everything. She scurried right up there. As for rubbings, well, it's basically a copying thing. It's something scholars do when they're full and have nothing better to do. I can't really explain it clearly right now. Anyway, this young girl climbed up, lowered her head, and sat on the crossbeam. I was terrified, so I stopped and kept reminding her to be careful. But who knew she would get so engrossed that she suddenly, *splat*, fell straight onto the ground? You know, the ground near the Paifang Tower isn't like your Mud Bottle Alley. It's as hard as the bluestone slabs on Fortune Street. So, she probably injured all her internal organs and intestines. I'm a member of the clergy; I have to be compassionate, right? I can't just ignore it, can I? Along the way, every household rejected her because of all the blood. It hasn't been long since the New Year, and it's bad luck. No one wanted to carry her inside. I know it's only human nature, so I had no choice but to come here. To put it bluntly, if even you aren't willing to take her in, I'm not some kind of immortal who can pull people back from the gates of hell. I can only wait for the girl to take her last breath and then try my best to find a place, dig a hole, and put up a marker, and that's that."

The Daoist deliberately spoke very quickly and unclearly, clearly trying to confuse the boy and trick him into agreeing. Getting started was always the hardest part. Once he got a foot in the door, he could take it one step at a time. There was always a way out, a light at the end of the tunnel.

Chen Ping An looked at the hopeful young Daoist and then at the lifeless black-clad girl with a complicated expression. After a moment of internal struggle, he nodded and asked, "How do I save her?"

The young Daoist's face immediately lit up. "Great! With you, Chen Ping An, saying that, it's half done! Don't let her injuries scare you into thinking that the King of Hell has crossed her name off the Book of Life. It's not as exaggerated as you think... Of course, everything I said earlier was true. There are all sorts of mysteries involved, like this girl's incredibly strong will to live. Plus, she seems to have some family secrets that can protect her vital heart and dantian. And then there's our town, which is a very interesting place. There are a lot of strange things, and eating or catching them can be very beneficial."

The young Daoist came to his senses and realized he had revealed too many secrets. He chuckled dryly and said, "You wouldn't understand anyway, right?"

The boy replied seriously, "I don't understand, but I can remember most of it."

The young Daoist tentatively asked, "So, when you heard the knocking on the door, you knew it was me, the fortune-teller?"

Chen Ping An hesitated for a moment and said, "Yes."

The young Daoist was curious again. "You have a good memory? How good?"

The boy glanced at the dying black-clad girl. The young Daoist smiled and explained, "She's in a very mysterious state right now and can't be moved easily. It's best to wait a moment."

Chen Ping An was skeptical. "I remember things better when I see them than when I hear them."

The young Daoist pressed, "Give me an example?"

Chen Ping An thought for a moment. "Like, for example, the kiln head of our Dragon Kiln, Master Yao. His 'jumping knife' technique is the best among all the old masters in town. I can actually remember all the details after seeing it just once, but..."

The young Daoist smiled and picked up the thread, "But your hands and feet can never keep up, right?"

Chen Ping An's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously.

The young Daoist smiled knowingly. "Have you ever thought about what makes Old Man Yao's specialty so amazing?"

Chen Ping An's expression darkened. "I could never figure it out before. Later, Liu Xianyang told me that Old Man Yao said that if you want to master the jumping knife technique, you must have a steady mind, not just steady hands. After hearing that, I understood a little. I was too anxious before. The more anxious I was, the more chaotic my hands became. The more chaotic I was, the more mistakes I made. When I made a mistake, I could see it clearly. I knew where I wasn't doing as well as Old Man Yao, and then I would become even more anxious. So, I've always been the worst at pulling clay at the Dragon Kiln."

The young Daoist said calmly, "There's an old saying that the master leads you through the door, but the cultivation is up to you. But if the master never intended to lead you through the door in the first place, how can you cultivate?"

Chen Ping An shook his head. "I'm clumsy. I can't compare to Liu Xianyang, or even the average apprentice. It's not surprising that Old Man Yao looks down on me."

The young Daoist suddenly laughed. "Chen Ping An, do you know how difficult it is to understand the meaning of 'steady mind'? It's very hard to figure out. You shouldn't belittle yourself."Chen Ping'an still shook his head, "It's like catching fish in a stream. I stand where the water barely reaches my knees, bend over, and catch a fish – that's catching. Some people are good swimmers, dive into a deep pit, hold their breath for a long time, and catch a fish – that's also catching. It's still catching fish, Taoist Priest, but the two are different, right?"

The young Taoist Priest laughed heartily, noncommittal, and suddenly said, "We can save her now."

Chen Ping'an froze on the spot. The young Taoist Priest also paused, "What are you spacing out for? Carry that young woman to the bed inside!"

Chen Ping'an didn't budge. "And then?"

The Taoist Priest said matter-of-factly, "Of course, we first help the young woman change into clean clothes, and then we go to the apothecary to get some herbs to replenish her Qi and nourish her vitality. At that point, this poor Taoist must personally step forward and show off his skills."

Chen Ping'an asked with a dark face, "After the young woman wakes up, will I be beaten to death by her?"

The young Taoist Priest said decisively, "No! You are her savior! How could there be such an ungrateful person in this world?!"

Chen Ping'an remained silent.

The Taoist Priest coughed, and his imposing manner dropped sharply. "Probably not, right?"

Chen Ping'an sighed and asked tentatively, "There's a young woman next door named Zhi Gui. Can we have her do these things?"

The young Taoist Priest said helplessly, "No, that's the crux of the problem."

Chen Ping'an didn't insist, squatted on the ground, and scratched his head with both hands.

The young Taoist Priest suddenly asked, "Don't you have anything you want to ask? I may not be able to answer everything, but I'll try to answer what I can. How about it?"

Chen Ping'an sighed, got up, and said, "Let's save her first."

The young Taoist Priest beamed, "Excellent!"

He quietly waved his sleeve, suppressing a restless flying sword in its scabbard.

Chen Ping'an carried the young woman inside and gently placed her on the wooden plank bed with bedding. The wooden plank bed, which had been collapsed by Liu Xianyang's butt, had just been repaired not long ago, with a stool underneath.

The young Taoist Priest followed behind, crossed the threshold, and looked around. The house was bare, a picture of poverty.

The young Taoist Priest slapped his forehead and went out to get paper and ink, preparing to write a prescription for the young man to get medicine.

After returning to the house, the young Taoist Priest shook his head, deliberately not looking at the wooden plank bed, thinking that this poor young man was definitely going to be in trouble.

It turned out that the young man, sitting on the edge of the bed, had already removed the veiled hat of the woman in black, revealing a pale face covered in blood.

The so-called bleeding from all seven orifices was probably the scene before the young man's eyes.

The young man quickly got up, first took a stool from the side of the table and placed it by the bed, then quickly ran to a corner of the wall, where there was a small wooden shelf with pots and pans neatly placed. Next to the wooden shelf was a small water tank covered with a wooden board to keep out mosquitoes and flies. The water tank was filled with well water drawn from the iron lock well in Apricot Blossom Lane. The young man took a wooden basin and a gourd dipper, squatted by the water tank, scooped clean water from the earthenware tank into the wooden basin, then placed a clean cotton cloth on the edge of the basin, carried it to the bed, placed it on the stool, and began to wipe the blood from the face of the young woman whose veiled hat had been removed.

The young Taoist Priest turned around and raised a piece of paper in his hand, "There's a small apothecary on Fortune and Prosperity Street. Take this prescription to get the medicine."

The young man asked in confusion, "Didn't Taoist Priest just say?"

The young Taoist Priest looked blank, blinked, and said, "Yes, I said to be careful when you get the medicine, not to be too high-profile or flamboyant, lest you cause a stir in the city and ruin the young woman's reputation."

Chen Ping'an said "Oh" and asked while washing the cotton cloth, "Does Taoist Priest have the money to get the medicine?"

The young Taoist Priest immediately became nervous, "You don't have it?"

Chen Ping'an put the wooden basin on the table and gently pressed a golden copper coin, taken from who-knows-where, onto the table, "Taoist Priest, I'll use this to exchange for ordinary copper coins with you. As for how to exchange them, Taoist Priest, you decide."

The young Taoist Priest thought for a moment, "This copper coin on the table is enough to buy everything on the prescription. I'll go get you the money now."

Soon the Taoist Priest returned with a bag of ordinary copper coins and some bits of silver, handing them all to Chen Ping'an.

Chen Ping'an instructed, "I'll pour out this basin of water later. Taoist Priest doesn't need to help. Song Jixin, who lives next door, likes new things. It wouldn't be good if he saw it."

The young Taoist Priest said solemnly, "Chen Ping'an, don't you have any questions you want to ask?"

Chen Ping'an stood still, roughly weighed the copper coins and silver in his mind, and carefully put them away after he had a good count, then signaled to go outside to talk. After the two walked out of the threshold, the straw sandal boy raised his head and slowly said, "I know you are not ordinary people. Old Yao said a long time ago when he was drunk that our little town is unusual, everything is strange, everyone is strange, but Old Yao couldn't say what was strange, and of course, I understand even less. This time Gu Can said that storyteller, with an ordinary big white bowl, could pour out a big tank of water. Although Gu Can is quite annoying, I know he wasn't lying about this. It's like…"

The young man paused for a moment and continued, "It's like today there was a very tall woman in this alley outside the door. She flicked my forehead once with her finger and patted my chest once. Finally, she said I would die soon, and I know what she said is true."

The young Taoist Priest's face was heavy.

Chen Ping'an finally said, "Taoist Priest said that the talisman paper you wrote, after burning it, could bring good luck to my parents. I actually believe Taoist Priest. So when Taoist Priest came to my door and asked me to save someone, I didn't say anything just now, but I hope Taoist Priest will agree to one thing. If you agree, whatever you want me to do next is fine. If Taoist Priest doesn't agree, after I get the prescription, and help Taoist Priest decoct the medicine, I will ask you to leave."

The Taoist Priest asked, "What are the conditions? Tell me."

The young man, who always gave the impression of being calm and experienced, was a little uneasy, and replied, "My parents died early. I was very young at the time. I don't know why, I remember many things from my childhood, but the appearance of my parents is always blurry, and I can't remember it clearly. Later, I ate Hundred Families meals for a while and survived thanks to the neighbors. Once, I inadvertently heard people say that I was born on the fifth day of the fifth month. From their tone, it shouldn't be a very auspicious day. Someone next door said it more directly and frankly..."The youth had been circling the point, pausing hesitantly, but finally, he directly addressed the matter. He lowered his head, his voice subdued, "After helping the Daoist save the person, if, I mean if, if I were to suddenly die one day, could the Daoist help me reincarnate in my next life? And reincarnate as the child of my own parents?"

The young Daoist remained silent.

Chen Ping'an grinned, scratching his head, "If it's not possible, then forget it. Indeed, how could such a thing exist in this world? I was making things difficult for the Daoist."

The Daoist smiled wryly, "What about that young lady?"

Chen Ping'an abruptly turned around, his back facing the Daoist. He raised his fist and waved it, cracking a joke for the first time, "She's so beautiful, it would be foolish not to save her!"

The young Daoist watched the straw-sandaled youth, feigning ease, push open the door and leave.

Walking in the Mud Bottle Alley, the youth seemed to remember someone, and suddenly, tears streamed down his face.