Chapter 62: The Tree Falls

Ning Yao awoke languidly, having slept soundly and deeply. Opening her eyes, she found herself sitting on a stool, momentarily disoriented. After a brief daze, she rose and pushed open the door, revealing an old man and a young boy sitting in the corridor outside, two silent gourds, not uttering a word. Hearing Ning Yao's footsteps, Chen Ping An turned his head and smiled, "You're awake! You were sleeping so soundly; I didn't want to disturb you."

Ning Yao nodded, unconcerned, and inquired, "Senior Yang?"

The old man grumbled, "What, afraid Chen Ping An would take liberties while you were asleep? Don't worry, I was keeping an eye on him. That boy has the desire but not the courage."

Chen Ping An quickly explained, "Miss Ning, don't listen to Grandpa Yang's nonsense. I assure you, I don't even have the desire!"

Ning Yao took a deep breath, focusing her energy in her dantian, and told herself, "A magnanimous person doesn't dwell on such trifles."

The old man glanced askance at the straw sandal-wearing youth, gleefully saying, "Six of his seven apertures are open, but one remains stubbornly blocked."

The rain had lessened considerably. The old man stated directly, "Bring over that bag of offering money, and that little girl’s upcoming medication and yours will be settled all at once."

Ning Yao frowned. "Yang's shop's herbs are that expensive?!"

The old man said calmly, "When someone is on the verge of starvation, how much is a bun in my hand worth?"

Ning Yao's voice deepened. "This is extortion!"

The old man puffed furiously on his dry tobacco pipe, until his entire upper body was shrouded in a faint haze. From within the "sea of clouds," his hoarse and indifferent voice emerged: "To demand exorbitant prices and then haggle is the tactic of inferior merchants; I cannot do it. My rules here are absolute, a single price, take it or leave it.”

Ning Yao was about to speak, but Chen Ping An tugged at her sleeve, secretly winking at her. In the end, she swallowed her anger.

The herbs from this small paradise were indeed of excellent quality, but this blessed place, renowned throughout the Eastern Treasure Continent, was never famous for its natural treasures, but for its "porcelain" and the opportunities, shaking the world. Therefore, even if Yang's shop's herbs were piled high as mountains, they wouldn’t be worth a few gold refined copper coins.

The old man shook his pipe. "The rain has stopped. Don't stand here flirting in front of me; it's shameless."

Chen Ping An pulled Ning Yao's arm, descended the steps, and crossed the shop's main hall to the street. Chen Ping An smiled and asked, "Don't understand? It's okay, Grandpa Yang is just like that. He doesn't like to talk about sentiment and is very... fair, yes, very fair."

Ning Yao sneered, "Fair? Everyone has a scale in their heart; why does he think he's fair? Just because he's old?"

Chen Ping An shook his head. "I don't feel like I'm being ripped off by spending a bag of copper coins."

Ning Yao glanced at the youth. "If you can spend ten years out in the world and still repeat that sentence with conviction, then you win!"

Chen Ping An smiled, "We'll see then."

Ning Yao sighed. There was really no dealing with him. "Where to next?"

Chen Ping An thought for a moment, "Let's go to the shop and see how Liu Xianyang is doing, and pull your sword out of the ground."

Ning Yao acted decisively. "Then lead the way."

She suddenly asked, "Is your body alright?"

Chen Ping An grinned. "No big problems, but other than practicing martial arts, I'll have to take medicine every day like you. Grandpa Yang said that if the effect isn't good, I might have to spend more money."

Ning Yao asked doubtfully, "Do you really believe him?"

Chen Ping An smiled and shook his head, as if he couldn't be bothered to argue with her about such things.

After leaving the small town, he rolled up his sleeves, took off the dagger that was pressed on his robe and returned it to the girl.

She hid the dagger and retrieved the narrow sabre that had been trampled into the ground by the Mountain-Moving Ape. As for the sword sheath that had been given away, Chen Ping An temporarily left it with Ning Yao, who hung it at her waist, finally giving the flying sword a place to rest.

When Chen Ping An and Ning Yao reached the southern end of the covered bridge, they saw a young girl with a ponytail sitting at the top of the steps, holding her chin in her hands, staring into the distance, leaving them with a view of her back.

In the backyard of Yang's shop, the solitary old man put away his tobacco pipe and waved his hand, dispersing the smoke around him. He said, "Don't worry. After it's done, I promise to give you the imperishable body of a River Goddess. As for whether you can truly achieve divine status and be promoted to a righteous god of a river, it depends on your own fortune."

The old man lightly tapped the ground with his pipe, looked up at the old locust tree in the town, and tutted, "When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter."

Three carriages drove one after another towards Mud Bottle Lane.

The Prince of Great Li really couldn't understand why his nephew insisted on competing with a boy from the slum.

He even had a knot in his heart.

Song Changjing laughed, "Anyway, I've already intervened in this muddled account between you and Chen Ping An once, and I won't get involved again. You solve it yourself."

Finally, Song Changjing reminded him, "You can have private relations with Zheng Yang Mountain, but don't get too involved."

Song Jixin laughed, "Private relations? Are you talking about that little girl? Haha, it's just for fun, not really a relationship."

Song Changjing smiled, "Just for fun, so you casually gave away a Sword Nourishing Gourd?"

Song Jixin stopped talking, feeling awkward.

The carriages couldn't enter the small lane, and Song Changjing didn't want to get out of the carriage. Song Jixin got out of the carriage alone and found that it was raining. It was still a drizzling spring rain, misty and hazy, but it was getting heavier.

He quickly ran into Mud Bottle Lane, came to his own yard, pushed open the door, and saw Zhigui sitting on the threshold of the main room, lost in thought.

Song Jixin smiled and called out, "Let's go, young master will take you to the capital of Great Li to broaden your horizons!"

Zhigui came back to her senses, "Ah? Are we leaving so soon?"

Song Jixin nodded, "Anyway, everything has been packed for a long time. Two big boxes in my room, plus your little box. Everything we can move and want to move has been packed, so it doesn't matter whether we leave sooner or later."

Zhigui rested her chin on her knees, feeling sad, "That's right, this is our home."

Song Jixin sighed, sat down on the threshold with her, reached out and wiped the rain from his forehead, and said softly, "What, reluctant to leave? If you really don't want to leave, then we'll leave later. It's okay, I'll go and say hello over there."

Zhigui suddenly smiled and shook her small fist vigorously, "No need! Let's go! Who's afraid of who!"

Song Jixin reminded, "Don't forget that four-legged snake."Zhi Gui was instantly furious, huffing and puffing, "That damned fool, snuck into my trunk yesterday and hid underneath it, making me search for half the day. When I finally found it, several rouge boxes under the trunk were ruined! Truly unforgivable, deserving of death!"

Song Jixin, a bit worried about the lizard's fate, tentatively asked, "That fool wasn't… killed by you, was it?"

Zhi Gui shook her head. "Not yet. I'm sparing its little life for now, to settle accounts with it after we get to the capital. Oh, Young Master, when we get to the capital, let's raise a few more hens, okay? At least five!"

Song Jixin was puzzled. "We have enough eggs already. Why buy more? You always complain that our hen is too noisy."

Zhi Gui said with a straight face, "When we do, I'll tie a rope to each hen's leg and then tie the ropes to that fool's four legs and head. Whenever I'm unhappy, I can go chase the hens. Otherwise, that lizard may be foolish, but it's fast. Every time, I'd get exhausted, and it would only make me angrier..."

Listening to his maidservant's rambling, Song Jixin's mind was filled with images of that execution scene. He muttered to himself, "Isn't that like being torn apart by five horses… no, five chickens."

Song Jixin burst into laughter.

Zhi Gui was used to her young master's wild thoughts and wasn't surprised. She only asked, "Young Master, the trunk is so heavy. How are the two of us going to move it? And there are so many things we should have gotten rid of."

Song Jixin stood up and snapped his fingers. "Come out, I know you're hiding nearby. Please carry the trunk to the carriage."

There was no response.

Song Jixin was silent for a long time, his face turning grim. "Get out here! Do you want me to have my uncle come carry it himself?!"

After a moment, several hidden figures quietly appeared from the rooftops across from Mud Bottle Alley, or from the small alleys outside the courtyard gate.

A total of five black-clad assassins entered one after another after their leader opened the gate.

The leader hesitated for a moment, clasped his fist, and said in a muffled voice, "We were bound by our duties and dared not show ourselves. Please forgive us, Your Highness."

Song Jixin said expressionlessly, "Carry on with your work."

The man kept his head lowered. "This subordinate begs Your Highness to help explain to the King."

Song Jixin said impatiently, "Do you think my uncle would hold such a trivial matter against you?!"

The five remained motionless, standing in the courtyard in the drizzling rain, refusing to budge.

Song Jixin compromised. "Fine, I'll explain the situation for you."

Only then did the five enter the house. Three black-clad men easily carried the trunk, while the first and last man escorted, walking slowly into Mud Bottle Alley before sprinting away.

Song Jixin was lost in thought.

Zhi Gui opened an oil-paper umbrella and handed a slightly larger one to Song Jixin. After locking the main house, the kitchen, and the courtyard gate, the two stood under their umbrellas at the courtyard entrance. Song Jixin looked at the spring couplets with red backgrounds and black characters, and the painted door gods, and said softly, "I wonder if we'll still be able to see these couplets when we come back next time."

Zhi Gui said, "We're leaving. Why would we come back?"

Song Jixin mocked himself. "That's right. If we do well, there's no one to show off to when we come back. If we don't do well, there will be plenty of people laughing at us."

The rain continued, and the alley gradually became muddy. Zhi Gui didn't want to stay any longer and urged, "Let's go, let's go."

Song Jixin nodded, and the two walked toward the entrance of Mud Bottle Alley, one in front of the other.

Zhi Gui walked ahead, hurrying.

Song Jixin walked behind her, his pace slow. As he passed a high wall facing a courtyard gate, Song Jixin, holding the umbrella, stopped and turned to look.

The boy stared blankly at the unremarkable yellow mud wall.

Zhi Gui, who was ahead, turned back and couldn't help but complain, "Young Master, if you don't hurry, the rain is going to get heavier!"

The boy under the umbrella, his expression unclear, raised his arm in a gesture, and then responded to his maidservant's call, finally quickening his pace.

Inside a carriage on the street outside Mud Bottle Alley, the Great Li Prince Song Changjing was resting with his eyes closed.

The Supervisory Office creates a confidential file every day. Nine of the Great Li's top assassins and spies are responsible for observing and recording everything about "Supervisor Song's illegitimate son." It includes what streets he and his maidservant strolled on, how much money he spent on what food and goods, what articles he recited in the morning from which books of sages, when he secretly drank alcohol for the first time, who he flew kites and caught crickets with outside of town, why, with whom, and where he had arguments, etc. No matter how small, everything is recorded in the file and sent to the Great Li capital every three months, to be placed on the desk in the imperial study of that palace. Finally, they are compiled together and named "Small Daily Records" by his brother, who loves literature. From Small Daily Records One to Small Daily Records Fifteen, the fifteen years of a fifteen-year-old boy from a humble alley have been written into fifteen books.

Before coming to the town, Song Changjing read those books full of boring little things, but he keenly noticed that one of them, "Seven," was missing a page, obviously torn out. This should mean that a major change occurred in the summer and autumn when Song Jixin was twelve years old.

Before coming to the town, Song Changjing thought it was a bloody assassination that started in the Great Li capital and involved figures that even his brother could only suffer in silence. But Song Changjing later realized that the story recorded on that page was probably not a pleasant memory for the boy Song Jixin, and it must be related to Chen Ping'an of Mud Bottle Alley.

Song Changjing began to sort through his thoughts. The Great Li's top prince, who rarely had time to relax, carefully recalled the details of the recorded dialogues between the two boys, as well as the scenes at the time.

Song Changjing opened his eyes, disliking the carriage window curtain, and first saw the slender figure of the maidservant holding the umbrella, and then his nephew Song Jixin. The two were walking toward the second carriage, while the three boxes had already been moved to the last carriage.

Song Changjing said softly, "Let's go."

The carriage started to move slowly.

The carriage suddenly stopped. Not long after, Song Jixin rushed into the carriage, his face full of anger, and said furiously, "What do you mean?!"

Song Changjing asked, "Are you talking about the corpses in your carriage?"

Song Jixin's face was ashen as he stared intently at Song Changjing.Song Changjing said calmly, "Do you know the identity of the corpse? The Dali intelligence agency has seven branches. I control three of them, mainly used to infiltrate the courts of various countries, gather important military intelligence, and buy off civil and military officials of enemy countries. The national preceptor, Xiu Hu, controls three, mainly targeting public opinion and Jianghu dynamics within the dynasty, especially monitoring any disturbances in the capital. The last one is specifically responsible for dealing with mountain cultivators, directly under… a certain person. This small town has a total of nine Dali spies, from these seven branches, all to ensure your safety and absolutely no mistakes."

Song Jixin said in a deep voice, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Song Changjing smiled and said, "The twists and turns in this, who that person is truly loyal to, a whole bunch of murky truths, it would be difficult for me to explain clearly to you. Anyway, this person deserved to die. But you need to remember one thing, right now, outsiders treat you as a Dali prince, regarding you as an extraordinary member of the royal family. Whether they are respectful or flattering to you on the surface, you can accept it all, but don't forget why they are doing so."

Song Jixin sneered, "Oh? Why?"

Song Changjing smiled slightly, "Do you really think you're that important? It's all because I'm by your side. Afraid you'd forget this, so I'm taking this opportunity to make you wiser. Being with a dead man isn't pleasant. But it's better than next time, when I have to be by your corpse."

Song Jixin's face flushed red.

Song Changjing glanced at the young man and said in a cold tone, "Get out of the carriage."

Song Jixin instantly swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue, silently turned around, and left, gnashing his teeth in hatred.

After the young man got out of the carriage, Song Changjing dismissed it with a smile, "With this little ability, when he gets to the capital, wouldn't he immediately be targeted by those toothless tigers and foxes, who would love to tear off a few pieces of flesh from him?"

This prince was actually also having a headache at the thought of going to the capital.

Inside the carriage, it was the dead man who took up the most space.

Song Jixin was very uncomfortable, but the maid, Zhigui, remained calm. He casually asked, "By the way, Zhigui, did you bring our family's old key?"

She asked suspiciously, "No, I just left it in my room. I don't want to go back. Why are you asking, young master? Besides, don't you also have a set of house keys?"

Song Jixin said "Oh," and smiled, "I left mine in the room too."

Three carriages passed the old locust tree, left the small town, and finally bumped along the muddy road, heading east all the way.

When passing the fence gate east of the town, Zheng Dafeng, the gatekeeper who was sheltering from the rain in his own mud house, squatted at the entrance with his hands in his sleeves, watching the three carriages. The old bachelor yawned.

About half an hour later, Song Changjing said in a deep voice, "Stop the carriage!"

Song Changjing got out of the carriage. Song Jixin and Zhigui in the carriage behind them lifted the curtains, their two heads squeezed together, curiously looking towards Song Changjing.

Song Changjing waved his hand, and Song Jixin pulled Zhigui back inside.

Song Changjing walked forward. Not far away, a plain-looking, honest middle-aged man was blocking the center of the road, his straw sandals and trouser legs covered in mud.

Song Changjing walked forward while smiling and said, "I really didn't expect that such a character was hidden in the small town. It seems that our Dali spies are really just eating shit instead of food."

This prince's spotless white robe was also covered in mud, and his boots were naturally no exception.

Song Changjing finally stopped ten steps away from the man, "Since you didn't attack as soon as we met, then why not talk about it? What exactly do you want?"

The town man, whose roof had been trampled by the Mountain Moving Ape, no longer had the useless appearance of squatting on the ground and sulking when facing this Dali prince. He said in a deep voice, "Song Changjing, if you can survive the fight, you will naturally know the answer!"

Song Changjing frowned. The man understood and said, "Let the carriages pass first."

Song Changjing nodded with a smile, without turning around, always staring at the man, and shouted loudly, "Carriages go first, just go forward."

The man walked to the side of the road, allowing the three carriages to pass unimpeded.

Song Changjing waited until the carriages completely disappeared from sight before looking at the man who was patiently waiting.

This person's realm is only higher than his own.

However, the difference between the two is limited.

Song Changjing had no fear, on the contrary, his fighting spirit was high, and his blood was boiling. He tugged at his collar.

The person in front of him, although unknown, is definitely the best whetstone to sharpen his martial arts.

Song Changjing's intuition told him that whether he lives or dies today, whether tomorrow is good or bad, all depends on this!