Chapter 47: Solitary Journey

Chen Pingan and Ning Yao parted ways at the twelve-legged memorial archway. Chen Pingan went to Mud Bottle Alley and knocked on a door, calling out, "Song Jixin, are you home?"

A girl in the kitchen, using a gourd ladle to scoop water, hiccuped repeatedly. After drinking some water, she felt much refreshed. She put down the ladle and walked gracefully out of the kitchen, running to open the courtyard door. She felt a little strange and replied dutifully, "My young master is not home. Chen Pingan, why are you knocking? You used to just stand in your own yard and chat with us."

Chen Pingan, separated by the courtyard door, said, "I have something to discuss."

Zhigui opened the door and joked, "A rare guest, a rare guest."

She glanced at Chen Pingan's face and asked, "What do you need my young master for? If it's not urgent, I can pass on a message later. If it's urgent, you'll probably have to go to the construction supervisor's office to find him. You saw it yourself before, my young master has a good relationship with the new supervisor, Lord Song."

She noticed that Chen Pingan was rooted to the spot, not moving an inch, and rolled her eyes. "Are you coming in or not? What are you standing there for?! Is my house a dragon's den or a tiger's lair? Or will drinking a cup of water cost you an ounce of silver?"

Saying this, the girl covered her mouth and giggled to herself. "For you, the latter is definitely scarier."

Chen Pingan twitched his lips, forcing a smile, and said softly, "Actually, I'm here to see you. I called out like that earlier because I was afraid Song Jixin would misunderstand."

Zhigui smiled knowingly and asked, "Then tell me, what is it? But let's get one thing straight, neighbor is neighbor, friendship is friendship, but I'm just a little maid living under someone else's roof in Mud Bottle Alley, unable to lift a finger. I can't help you with big matters. But if you, Chen Pingan, want to borrow money, and it's a problem that can be solved with money, then you're in luck. I do have a few tricks up my sleeve."

Chen Pingan smiled bitterly. "It's not really about money. I'll be frank with you, Liu Xianyang has been severely injured by someone at the covered bridge. The old shopkeeper from the Yang family's store went to see him, but there's nothing he can do."

Zhigui looked blank. "I haven't heard anything about this. Who did Liu Xianyang offend?"

Chen Pingan said helplessly, "It's a foreigner, from a place called Zhengyang Mountain."

Zhigui tentatively asked, "So, you want to use your connections to find a good burial plot for Liu Xianyang? That's not difficult. I can ask my young master to say a word to the supervisor, and then have someone from the office, like the gatekeeper, ask that old man Wei in Peach Leaf Alley to find a place. As long as you're not trying to occupy a mountain in a forbidden area of the court, it shouldn't be difficult."

Chen Pingan's already dark face became even darker.

Zhigui seemed to realize that she had misunderstood. She habitually bared her bright, even teeth, leaned against the Spring Festival couplets on the wall, tilted her head, and asked with a playful smile, "Chen Pingan, do you want me to repay your life-saving grace? But I'm just a maid, and the old shopkeeper from the Yang family's store can't do anything. What can I do?"

After a brief internal struggle, Chen Pingan slowly said, "Wang Zhu, I know you're not an ordinary person. The year it snowed heavily, when I saw you at my doorstep, I knew you were different from us. Later, you were the first to see that the snake gallstone was unusual. Looking back now, the way you looked at us neighbors back then is no different from the way those outsiders look at us now."

The girl grinned. "Actually, there is a difference."

I not only look down on you ordinary mortals, but I also look down on those immortal cultivators.

However, Zhigui didn't say these words out loud.

Some principles are self-evident in her eyes, but in others' eyes, they become arrogance and unruliness.

Chen Pingan asked, "I'm looking for you because I want to ask if it's possible to save Liu Xianyang. I used a locust leaf, which could only barely keep Liu Xianyang alive for the last breath. Although it wasn't much use, it was at least useful, so I want to ask if you have any locust leaves, especially extra ones?"

The girl pointed at her nose and asked, "Are you asking if my young master, Song Jixin, has any locust leaves, or me, a little maid with no parents?"

Chen Pingan stared intently at the girl and said directly, "Even if Song Jixin has them, he won't give them to me. I'm asking you, Wang Zhu. If you have any, are you willing to lend them to me? If not, do you know of any other ways to save Liu Xianyang?"

The girl, who had always been called Wang Zhu, rubbed her chin with one hand and gently patted her stomach with the other, shaking her head. "Nope, really nope, I'm not lying to you. If you had come earlier, there might have been a few locust leaves left. As for other ways, of course not. I'm not a god, how would I know how to bring the dead back to life or regrow flesh on bones, right? Chen Pingan, you can't force me to do the impossible. Sigh, I really misjudged you. I thought you were different from them, not the kind of guy who tries to exploit favors."

Chen Pingan was still unwilling to give up. "Really nothing? Regardless of whether I can do it or not, you can tell me."

Zhigui shook her head and said decisively, "I definitely don't have any!"

Chen Pingan smiled. "I understand."

The boy turned and left, his thin figure soon disappearing into Mud Bottle Alley.

The girl stood in the alley at the entrance to her home, watching the boy's receding figure. Her expression was complex, with a hint of pity and anger at his lack of ambition. She said angrily, "You just squandered the locust leaves you finally got? Then you might as well go and die with Liu Xianyang. Anyway, it's better to die early and be reborn early. If you're lucky, you can continue to be unfortunate brothers in the next life. It's better than those poor wretches who don't even have a next life."

The girl walked back to the courtyard. When she stepped over the threshold, she accidentally hiccuped again and scoffed, "A little full."

Suddenly, she quickened her pace and rushed forward, stomping down heavily with her foot. Then, she slowly squatted down, staring at the soil-yellow, four-legged lizard with horns on its head, and reprimanded, "Easy come, easy go. If you five little beasts dare to borrow on credit and refuse to pay back in the future, I'll skin you, pull out your tendons, and stew you in one pot!"

The four-legged lizard under the maid's sole struggled desperately, emitting a series of faint hisses, seemingly begging for mercy.After leaving Mud Bottle Alley, Chen Ping'an hurried to the schoolhouse, only to be told by an old man sweeping the grounds that Mr. Qi had left yesterday with three out-of-town guests for a deep mountain exploration, a trip that would take at least three days. Disappointed, Chen Ping'an turned to leave, when the old man, broom in hand, suddenly remembered something. He called out to the boy, saying, "Oh, right, before he left, Mr. Qi told me to tell the boy from Mud Bottle Alley who came looking for him that the principles have already been stated. Whether he's here at the schoolhouse today or not, it won't change the outcome."

The boy seemed to have expected this result, his eyes dimming.

Still waters run deep, but here, there was only lifelessness.

However, the boy still bowed in thanks, saying, "Thank you, elder."

The old man quickly took a few steps back, standing to one side and waving his hand with a smile, "I can't bear the title 'elder'."

The old man watched the boy slowly walk away, and after a distance, he seemed to raise his arm to wipe his eyes.

The old man shook his head lightly, recalling Song Jixin and Zhao Yao, two other promising scholars of roughly the same age, and then looking at this boy. Their lives were worlds apart.

Truly, some are basking in the spring breeze, while others are caught in a storm.

Chen Ping'an went back to Mud Bottle Alley, retrieved the last bag of copper coins hidden in the earthenware jar, and with the three bags of money, walked into Fortune and Prosperity Street, finding the Kiln Affairs Supervisory Office.

The gatekeeper was bewildered upon hearing the introduction. Song Jixin's neighbor from Mud Bottle Alley wanted to see Song Jixin and the Supervising Official, Lord Song?

Chen Ping'an secretly slipped him a carefully prepared gold-essence copper coin, saying nothing. The gatekeeper glanced down, weighed it in his hand, and rubbed it between his fingers, understanding dawning. However, he wasn't quick to commit. The boy soon handed over another golden coin. The gatekeeper smiled, but didn't take it, saying, "Since you're a sensible person, I'm willing to help you with the introduction. Otherwise, if I lost this job because of you, I'd be a real fool. Keep this copper coin for now. If the steward agrees to let you into the office, it's not too late to give it to me then. If he doesn't agree, I can't help you, and we'll just say this copper coin wasn't meant for me. What do you think?"

Chen Ping'an nodded vigorously.

Before long, the elderly steward and the gatekeeper arrived together. The gatekeeper winked at the boy, signaling him not to take out a copper coin at this moment. Openly accepting a bribe was a serious offense. Fortunately, the boy didn't do anything foolish, but followed the steward towards the back hall of the office.

The gatekeeper sighed, somewhat puzzled as to why the steward agreed as soon as he heard it was a boy surnamed Chen from Mud Bottle Alley. When did the threshold of the office become so low?

The gatekeeper felt a little guilty. In fact, when he saw the steward just now, his words had subtly, and not so subtly, advised the steward that it was better to avoid trouble and not let the boy into the office. However, he didn't say it directly, believing that with the old steward's deep experience in government service, he would certainly understand.

The young gatekeeper's original plan was, of course, to get a copper coin for free without taking any risk, and to feel justified in doing so.

Now, he only hoped that the poor, bookish boy wasn't a troublemaker.

In the main hall of the office's back courtyard, a tall man in a white robe was sitting in the master's seat, drinking tea.

Song Jixin sat in a guest chair on the left, playing with a bamboo folding fan in one hand, constantly opening and closing it, smiling as he looked at the boy in straw sandals being led in.

Black chair, white robe, a very stark contrast.

The steward retreated, and the man in the master's seat put down his teacup, smiling at the boy, "Chen Ping'an, sit wherever you like. Actually, we already met in Mud Bottle Alley, but I didn't recognize you then. Otherwise, I should have greeted you earlier."

Song Jixin found it a little amusing. Only he knew that this man would stumble slightly when referring to himself as "I."

The boy sat in the chair opposite Song Jixin.

The man cut straight to the chase, asking, "Chen Ping'an, you're here about the matter of Liu Xianyang being injured?"

The boy stood up and said, "I hope Lord Song can severely punish the perpetrators from the Zheng Yang Mountain, not just expel them from the territory."

The man smiled, "Actually, the town here is a 'lawless land.' That is to say, there are no dynasty laws here. The Supervising Official is already in an awkward position, with no authority to interfere in local affairs. Moreover, the town has always adhered to the principle of 'the people don't report, the officials don't investigate.' Whether it's killing maids and servants in wealthy households, or brawls and injuries in poorer families, no one comes to this Supervisory Office to beat the drum of injustice. So, Chen Ping'an, you're bringing a pig's head to the wrong temple, worshipping the wrong bodhisattva."

The man's words and actions were amiable, without the slightest hint of arrogance.

Chen Ping'an took out the three bags of copper coins and placed them on the high stool next to the chair, then said to the composed man, "Lord Song, I know you're very powerful. I want to know if you can save Liu Xianyang, and if you can't, can you give him justice, so that the murderer doesn't just leave town as if nothing happened?"

The man laughed heartily, "I'm very powerful? Was it that black-clothed girl who told you? Hmm, this shows that her martial arts talent is excellent, even better than your friend named Liu Xianyang. To tell you the truth, I only know how to kill people, and I'm not good at saving them. Besides, why should I break the millennia-old rules here for a boy I've only met once?"

The man pointed to the three bags of copper coins, "Without the Treasure Armor Sword Sutra, Liu Xianyang's life is not worth this much money at all. As for wanting to buy my favor, this money is far from enough. Am I, Da Li, going to fall out with Zheng Yang Mountain for three bags of money? Absolutely not, it would be a laughingstock for the entire Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent. Chen Ping'an, you may not understand this now, but if you have the opportunity to go out and travel in the future, you will understand that this is the absolute truth."

Chen Ping'an gritted his teeth and said, "Lord Song, can you tell me how it's possible to get you to act? Even if you think I can't do it even if I die, Lord Song can still tell me."

The man didn't think he had revealed any clues. A hint of surprise appeared in the eyes of this powerful feudal lord, and he smiled, "Chen Ping'an, I'm not looking down on you or deliberately making things difficult for you. On the contrary, I think you're an interesting person, so I'm willing to spend time and calmly reason with you, to do business, understand?"

Chen Ping'an nodded.Song Jixin sat in an unrefined posture, cross-legged on the chair, lightly tapping his knee with a closed folding fan.

He was watching the fire from across the river, indifferent to the events unfolding.

Song Changjing didn't dwell on Song Jixin's impropriety. In this small town, the amount of information this feudal lord possessed was second only to Qi Jingchun. He finally revealed the truth: "Chen Ping'an, you don't need to feel too much guilt, mistakenly believing that your friend died because of you. Liu Xianyang was already trapped in a dead end. As long as that boy refused to hand over the Sword Manual, it was a dead knot. Zhengyang Mountain was determined to have him killed. Neither Qi Jingchun nor Ruan Shi could stop it. It's not that no one has fought that old ape, but the price to pay would be too great, not worthwhile."

The man took a sip of tea and said leisurely, "Chen Ping'an, have you ever wondered why even you, who shouldn't have received the blessings of ancestral favor, have a locust leaf, yet Liu Xianyang, with his talent and aptitude, didn't get a single one? Have you ever thought about this question?"

Chen Ping'an said, "I'm disturbing Lord Song."

The straw-sandal-clad youth collected the three bags of copper coins and bid farewell to the supervising official before him.

Although Song Changjing didn't try to keep him, he personally got up to see him off. Song Jixin was about to reluctantly stand up when he saw his uncle slightly shake his head, so he plopped back down and comfortably leaned against the back of the chair.

As he reached the threshold, Song Changjing said without warning, "There are two things I can do, but I can't. So, if you can accomplish just one of them, I might consider helping you teach that old ape a lesson."

The young man quickly stopped, turned around, and his face was solemn.

The man said calmly, "One is to find an opportunity to kidnap the Zhengyang Mountain girl who is with the old ape, disrupt his mind, and force him to stay in the town. The other is to secretly cut down that old locust tree at night and then pull out the iron chain from the iron-locked well. You can do both, or just one. If you accomplish one, I will help you severely injure the perpetrator. If you accomplish both, I will kill the Zhengyang Mountain old ape for you."

Song Changjing smiled and promised, "A word is a word, I will never go back on it!"

Then, the powerful Da Li feudal lord said something inexplicable, "Chen Ping'an, I believe you can feel the truth of a statement."

The young man left in silence.

Not seeing or hearing the young man beat his chest and make grand declarations, Song Changjing instead found it normal. Standing at the door, with his back to Song Jixin inside the house, he asked, "You're more familiar with him. Do you think he'll do it?"

Song Jixin shook his head. "Hard to say. Under normal circumstances, it's very difficult, very difficult to get him to do something against his conscience, but for Liu Xianyang's sake, it's a bit uncertain."

The man stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the sky, and asked, "Assuming the youth really gives us a pleasant surprise, and this lord takes the opportunity to intervene, whether it's to befriend Zhengyang Mountain or to ally with the Fenglei Garden, we can only choose one. It may even lead to animosity with the other side. Compared to this lord standing aside and allowing Da Li to remain lukewarm and indifferent to both sides, which outcome do you think is better for Da Li?"

Song Jixin stood up, tapping his palm with the folding fan, pacing slowly, and after thinking, said, "Choose the latter in times of peace and prosperity, the former in times of turmoil."

Then the young man smiled, "Regardless of whether the world outside the town is one of peace or turmoil, it seems at least you, Uncle, have already made your choice."

Song Changjing scoffed, "What is a martial man like us to do in times of peace and prosperity? Be a watchdog for scholars?"

Song Changjing turned to look at the stiff-faced youth, "This lord has seen that this youth is the real knot in your heart, and one that you will struggle to untie anytime soon. Once you leave the town with this knot, it will hinder your cultivation. So, you can witness how a simple youth with a pure heart becomes filled with malice and worldliness. By then, you will feel that it's pointless to be upset with such a person."

Song Jixin opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn't refute anything and fell into contemplation.

The man walked back into the house, sat in the main seat, and drained the cup of tea in one gulp, "Most importantly, this lord is playing these childish tricks not only to find a clumsy excuse to muddy the waters, but also to make you understand a principle: on the path of cultivation you are about to embark on, anyone could be your enemy... for example, your own uncle, Song Changjing."

The youth was stunned.

Song Changjing sneered, "Because the demonic obsession of a mental knot, if it's not uprooted, the consequences will be endless, like weeds in the wilderness, growing back with the spring breeze."

Song Changjing ridiculed and scorned, "Song Jixin, who will soon be the Da Li Prince, are you filled with grief and indignation? But what can you do now? So, do you think you are any better than Chen Ping'an, who is being played like a puppet?"

Song Jixin stared fixedly at the man with a calm expression. The young man's five fingers gripping the folding fan revealed his sinews.

The man sat upright in the chair, his eyes deep, looking out of the house, as if talking to himself, "The more people you see in the future, the more you will discover an interesting thing: what goes around comes around, swift retribution, a commoner's fury spilling three feet of blood, talented scholars and beautiful women, lovers finally getting married, are all wishful thinking imagined by useless people. Therefore, your own fists must be strong. Rely on this lord? Rely on your biological parents? I advise you to give up on that idea early, otherwise taking you out of the town would be the same as taking your corpse to a mass grave. In an imperial family, one is responsible for one's own life and death."

The youth was drenched in sweat, slumped in the chair.

Although the youth concealed his smugness very deeply after learning his true identity, and behaved normally in the yamen, in the eyes of the feudal lord Song Changjing, it was like holding a demon-revealing mirror, illuminating a goblin who had just transformed into human form. Therefore, he was able to make it vanish into smoke between conversations.

Song Changjing looked into the distance, his gaze seemed to reach the southernmost tip of Eastern Precious Bottle Continent, to that distant Old Dragon City.

For some reason, this feudal lord remembered a sentence, "The human heart is like a mirror. The cleaner it is, the more free of dust, the more it cannot withstand scrutiny and testing."Though the scholarly officials in the royal court are often tedious and irritating, the great truths they sometimes utter are beyond the grasp of us martial men, even if we lived for a thousand years.

Song Changjing reined in his thoughts, extending his hand southwards, as if wielding a spear, his锋芒毕露 (fēng máng bì lù, sharp edge fully revealed), "Song Jixin, if you deem what I say today to be incorrect, so be it. Endure it. Only when we reach Old Dragon City and our positions are reversed, will I consider lending an ear!"

The Great Li Prince, Song Jixin, having regained his composure, smiled, "We shall see."

At the entrance of the official residence, the straw-sandaled youth dutifully presented the gatekeeper with his second copper coin.

Beneath the "Qi Chong Dou Niu (气冲斗牛, spirit reaching the heavens)" plaque of the twelve-arched gate tower, Chen Ping An spotted the black-clad girl and hurried towards her.

Ning Yao stood there, asking, "How did it go?"

Chen Ping An shook his head, "I sought them all out. Met with two of them. Wasn't able to see Mister Qi, but I knew the answer from the start."

A gentleman does not offer unsolicited aid.

Mister Qi had indeed stated this beforehand.

Ning Yao frowned, silent.

Chen Ping An then cautioned the girl to be careful before sprinting away.

First, he arrived at the Yang family shop, using a piece of refined copper to purchase a large assortment of healing balms, plasters, and herbs for treating falls and internal injuries from a trusted elder. The boy was familiar with the usage and decoction of these remedies. Firing porcelain in the dragon kilns was a livelihood dependent on the mountain's bounty, and accidents were frequent. Old Yao might have disapproved of Chen Ping An, considering him only a half-disciple, but he couldn't deny the boy's swiftness and guileless nature. Thus, many errands and spending tasks were entrusted to Chen Ping An, such as buying medicine and decocting it for the kiln's injured workers.

Returning to his ancestral home in Mud Bottle Lane, Chen Ping An closed the door. He first began decocting the medicine, a prescription for internal injuries. While waiting for the right heat, he laid out a faded but clean garment on the table, tearing it into strips for bandages. The famously frugal straw-sandaled youth felt no remorse. Besides strapping the paperweight knife that Ning Yao had lent him to his arm, the boy also wrapped layers of cotton strips around his shins and wrists.

Chen Ping An took down the self-made wooden bow from the wall, hesitated, and ultimately decided against carrying it. Instead, he retrieved his slingshot and a pouch of pebbles from the windowsill.

To knowingly attempt the impossible, to persist despite three setbacks, was a stubbornness unique to the boy.

Without trying, the boy would never be content, just as he had pleaded with the old shopkeeper at the smithy for one last attempt.

Seeking out the enigmatic Zhi Gui first was in the hopes of finding a sliver of life for Liu Xianyang. Seeking out Mister Qi was driven by a sliver of hope that he would uphold justice. Lastly, seeking out Ning Yao's so-called martial arts master, the supervising official Lord Song, was a transparent gamble of everything he owned.

The boy had considered everything clearly from the start, so while he felt loss, he didn't feel utterly devastated.

In truth, Prince Song Changjing and neighbor Song Jixin did not understand Chen Ping An at all.

Some things are worth doing even if it means death. But some things must *never* be done, even if it means death.

The boy squatted in the corner, quietly awaiting the decoction of the medicine. This particular brew was strange, serving no other purpose than to alleviate pain. Once, a man at the dragon kiln suffered from a bizarre illness, bedridden and barely alive for half a day. More than that, he was in so much pain that his face and limbs were contorted. The Yang family shop provided this prescription. The man soon died, but he passed without pain, even having the strength to sit up, deliver his final words, and, with Old Yao's assistance, take one last look at the kiln.

Chen Ping An felt he would also need it.

Seeing some scraps of cloth on the table, the boy removed his worn straw sandals, took out a pair of brand-new shoes he had always been reluctant to wear, brought over a ceramic pot, and took out the broken pieces of porcelain within.

Roughly half an hour later, having finished everything, the boy opened the door and silently left Mud Bottle Lane.

Dusk approached, the sunlight no longer harsh. Layers of fiery clouds painted the horizon, incredibly vibrant.

The straw-sandaled youth walked towards Fortune and Prosperity Street.

The blue flagstone street was deserted, the boy walking alone.