Chapter 36: Ancient Book

Liu Xianyang quickly returned with a bamboo basket on his back. Chen Pingan was by the well, observing the well-digging and earth-moving. Liu Xianyang kicked Chen Pingan's backside, almost sending the straw-sandaled youth sprawling. Seeing it was the tall youth, he didn't mind. Liu Xianyang said carelessly, "It's done! Master Ruan said I have to stay here these days, not running around. Digging wells during the day and forging iron at night. After a week and a half, I'll be his first apprentice in this town, what's it called, the founding disciple. I brought you a basket, go find stones, from the blacksmith shop up to the covered bridge. But I'm warning you, I can't help you with the water pit near Qingniu Ridge. Master Ruan said if I dare cross the covered bridge north or west, he'll break my legs."

Liu Xianyang threw an arm around the straw-sandaled youth's neck, whispering, "Master Ruan said nothing ever gets lost in this town. He also said those outsiders follow a strange rule. They can be fair merchants or swindling cheats, even the rag-picking beggars can do it, but they can't be sneaky thieves. He said up here, the heavens don't sleep, they're watching us. Spooky, right? It spooks me, anyway."

Liu Xianyang suddenly threatened, "Hey, Chen, you can keep living in my house, but don't you dare sell my family's ancestral armor while I'm gone!"

Chen Pingan punched Liu Xianyang in the chest, making the tall youth release him and rub his chest. He cursed, "You skinny little monkey! Where did you get so much strength? Does walking a hundred miles with Old Yao every few days, or chopping wood and burning charcoal in the mountains for a few months, really build up that much stamina?"

Chen Pingan laughed, "I bet I can run back to town with a basket of stones faster than you."

Liu Xianyang squinted, "How about we see who can hold their breath underwater longer?"

Reaching the stream, Chen Pingan bent down and rolled up his trouser legs, saying, "I'm not doing anything that only lasts one breath."

Before entering the water, Chen Pingan plucked a bunch of spring grass from the bank to line the basket. He grumbled that he would add more grass after every twenty stones. Liu Xianyang was annoyed and wanted to throw the basket at Chen Pingan, but he refused, saying that if Liu Xianyang carried the basket, he would just throw the stones in, and Chen Pingan would be heartbroken. Liu Xianyang almost quit on the spot. These colorful stones had been worthless for centuries, how did they become so precious and delicate in Chen Pingan's hands? And he dared to complain about Liu Xianyang's handling!

In the end, the tall youth reluctantly entered the water to find stones. Chen Pingan and he were on either side, intending to thoroughly search the stream. The stream was mostly knee-deep, some higher spots were waist-deep, and occasionally there were man-high pools, mostly formed by boulders. When they reached these places, it was Liu Xianyang's time to shine. He would take off the basket and hand it to the straw-sandaled youth squatting on the boulder, and then hold his breath and dive underwater, pulling out the stones he wanted from the gaps in the giant rocks, or even from the layered stone piles.

Of course, Chen Pingan could do it too, but it would be hard, time-consuming, and much more tiring than Liu Xianyang.

Before they reached the covered bridge, the basket was already seven or eight tenths full. Among them was a dark green snake-bile stone that Liu Xianyang had to dive three times to retrieve. It was the size of a palm, speckled with golden dots, with water-like patterns. The stone was fine and heavy, and when Chen Pingan stroked it, he felt a slight prickling sensation.

Anyone could tell that this stone was extraordinary.

Finally, the two youths sat shoulder to shoulder on a giant rock in the stream. Liu Xianyang supported himself with his hands on the rock, looking at the slow-flowing stream, and asked, "Chen Pingan, have you ever thought about leaving the town?"

Chen Pingan replied, "I haven't thought about it yet. You need money to travel, and what about the house after I leave? No one will help take care of it, what if it collapses someday? And I need to visit my parents' graves often to pull weeds."

Liu Xianyang said helplessly, "Why do you always think about so many useless things? It's boring. No wonder Song Jixin says you're cursed to go around in circles in this tiny place forever."

Chen Pingan turned his head and smiled, "Do you remember what I told you last time, about that tree?"

Liu Xianyang said unhappily, "A tree growing on a grave, what's so strange about that? Besides, that's another branch of the Chen family's ancestors, it has nothing to do with you, Chen Pingan!"

Chen Pingan sat cross-legged and sighed softly, "I wonder if there are many people named Chen outside the town."

Liu Xianyang exposed him, "I don't know about outside the town, I only know that in the town, there are only a few people named Chen, and except for you, they all seem to be servants of the four surnames and ten clans, slaves for generations. The funny thing is, these people act like cattle and horses in the mansions, always bowing and scraping, but as soon as they leave those mansions, they immediately change their faces and look down on everyone. So Old Yao is right, if you, Chen Pingan, ever become their servant, then your branch of the Chen family that didn't move out of the town will be completely wiped out."

According to Old Yao, there were two branches of the Chen family in the town, but one branch moved away long ago. Chen Pingan's branch used to be prosperous, but that "used to be" was too long ago, even Old Yao couldn't say whether it was hundreds of years, five hundred years, eight hundred years? Or a thousand years? Later, it was divided into several branches, and the population became smaller and smaller. Their luck was probably taken away by the branch that moved away, and their ancestral shrine was often neglected, so many graves were gradually left unattended, and most of the mountains where the graves were located were gradually turned into forbidden mountains by the court officials.The black-clad girl, never without her blade, suddenly asked, "You like this one the most?"

Chen Pingan was a little embarrassed. "This one... is probably fourth best. I've hidden the best three."

Only then did she accept the stone, pinching it with two fingers and holding it above her head. Light streamed through the window into the room, illuminating the stone.

She tilted her head back, squinting, carefully observing the subtle patterns within the stone.

She looked at the stone.

The young man looked at her.

Deep in the night, a youth stealthily infiltrated Mud Bottle Lane, moving like a nocturnal wildcat, silent and unseen. He quietly made his way to Gu Can's courtyard, found the large water vat placed in the corner, and crouched down. He discovered that the snake-gall stones, once neatly arranged, had been rummaged through and scattered, as if someone knew of their value even before Chen Pingan. Gu Can was the small town's only oddball who enjoyed collecting snake-gall stones, and no matter how many he found in the stream, he would only take one home each time, always choosing the most pleasing one. Over time, he accumulated fifty or sixty stones, which he used to plug the gaps at the bottom of the water vat.

After moving aside many dried-up snake-gall stones, Chen Pingan saw that there were no signs of digging at the base of the vat, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He began to excavate the soil with his right hand, little by little. When he finally touched oiled paper, his heart jolted, and he slowed his pace.

Finally, he retrieved an object wrapped in oiled paper, which appeared to be a book.

After concealing it in his robes, Chen Pingan refilled the soil. He carefully examined the remaining snake-gall stones. These remaining stones were all "dead." Compared to the stones Chen Pingan had recently collected from the stream, they were completely different in color, texture, and weight. These stones were like listless old men, while the ones Chen Pingan had retrieved were like newborn infants, full of vitality.

Chen Pingan thought for a moment and decided to leave Mud Bottle Lane in the direction of his own house.

As he walked to the entrance of Song Jixin's courtyard, he heard a creak as the door opened. Chen Pingan had no choice but to pretend to knock on his own door and call out, "Miss Ning, are you asleep? I'm back to get something."

Soon, a light illuminated the house, and the black-clad girl opened the courtyard door for Chen Pingan.

Next door, the maidservant Zhigui leisurely walked out of the house. Upon reaching the courtyard, she saw the vague figures on Chen Pingan's side, cradling a large, yellowed tome in her arms. She shook her head and clicked her tongue, as if she had just caught a pair of illicit lovers.

She walked alone in Mud Bottle Lane, skipping and jumping.

Her golden, double pupils appeared exceptionally cold and sacred in the night.

They made the slender and graceful girl seem like a dragon lurking in the narrow cracks of the stones, as if she would transform and ascend into the heavens upon leaving the alley.

Although Ning Yao allowed Chen Pingan into the courtyard, and even into the house, her expression was unpleasant. She sat at the table, one arm leaning on the scabbard, her fingers lightly tapping the hilt.

After confirming that Zhigui had entered the alley, Chen Pingan awkwardly explained, "I went to Gu Can's house to retrieve something, but she happened to be leaving. I had to hide here. Miss Ning, please don't misunderstand."

She asked, "What thing?"

Chen Pingan hesitated, then pulled out the oiled paper package. "I don't know yet."

She turned away, saying, "Open it yourself first, and then decide if you want to tell me."

Chen Pingan nodded and sat across from her at the table. He unwrapped the layers of oiled paper, causing bits of dirt to fall onto the surface. Finally, a very old book was revealed.

There were only two words on the book cover, and Chen Pingan only recognized one of them: Mountain.

He placed the book on the table, rotated it, and pushed it towards the black-clad girl, curiously asking, "Miss Ning, how do you pronounce this character?"

The girl turned back, glanced down, and said, "Hàn."

The book's title was Hǎn Shān – "Shaking Mountain".