The girl, however, was unbothered.
The young Daoist priest could not help bursting into laughter.
The young Daoist priest suddenly realized the atmosphere was somewhat off and hurriedly changed the subject. "The tender leaves of the Green Water Pool Dragon Scale Tamarix—oh, we call it Three Spring Willow around here—were picked at the wrong time, seven or eight days too late. And this packet of Dragon Flying Grass, commonly called Girl's Waist, was ground into powder far too carelessly. And this paper packet of layered flowers—the Yang Family Shop is even more outrageous. They promised three taels, so why is it short by one qian?"
The young Daoist priest poured out criticisms like beans from a bamboo tube, finding a whole heap of faults. There was almost nothing he found satisfactory, as if he harbored some personal grudge against the Yang Family Pharmacy. At last, he made a sharp turn and delivered his final verdict. "The shopkeeper's conscience has been eaten by dogs. Still, the medicinal herbs on this table are enough to decoct medicine and save a life. Of course, that is mainly thanks to Miss Ning's strong constitution. At most, the Yang Family Shop deserves half a copper coin of credit."
The young Daoist priest smacked his forehead and spread out a sheet of plain white paper. As he picked up his brush and wrote, he instructed, "I nearly forgot. I'll write you another prescription for decocting the medicine. This is a truly meticulous task, Chen Ping'an, so you must not be careless. My prescription treats injuries while also strengthening the foundation and nourishing the origin. It is a superior Military Strategist method of using battle to sustain battle, built upon the prerequisite of standing undefeated. Best of all, its nature is mild and will not harm the patient. At most, it takes longer and requires buying more herbs—nothing more than spending some silver. I have written down in detail when to decoct it rapidly over high heat and when to simmer it slowly over low heat. Even the hour for brewing the medicine matters. In short, Chen Ping'an, you will have to work harder over the next ten days. Men are meant to bear burdens; otherwise, why speak of men who hold up heaven and stand upon earth? You must never shirk responsibility and let the young lady look down on you for nothing..."
When he spoke the words "hold up heaven and stand upon earth," the young Daoist priest shook his head almost imperceptibly.
The prescription itself took only half a sheet of paper, while the instructions for decocting the medicine filled two sheets. The writing was ordinary Small Regular Script, square and upright, neat and proper.
Chen Ping'an was somewhat anxious. "Daoist Master, are you not going to handle this matter after this? In a life-and-death matter like this, wouldn't it be safer if you watched over it personally?"
The young Daoist priest said helplessly, "I am about to leave this small town. Within Nanjian Kingdom lies the sect of my lineage, and a ceremony is about to be held. I wish to see it with my own eyes."
Chen Ping'an was even more helpless. "Daoist Master, but I cannot read!"
The young Daoist priest paused, then smiled. "It does not matter. Miss Ning can read. Before decocting the medicine, ask her about the relevant details."
The girl nodded.
Chen Ping'an still wanted to speak, but the young Daoist priest suddenly remembered something. He took a small, exquisite seal of green jade from his sleeve, gently breathed on its carved face, then heavily pressed it onto the sheet containing the prescription. After lifting the seal from the paper, he seemed quite satisfied. He tucked it back into his sleeve, then handed Chen Ping'an the sheet along with the other two. "Keep them safely. Most books in this town are privately held collections, and they are not easy for you to buy. If you truly wish to learn characters, you can begin with this prescription of mine."
The young Daoist priest smiled at the girl. "A drifting duckweed leaf returns to the sea; where in life will we not meet again? Miss Ning, then we shall meet again someday?"
The black-clothed girl said solemnly, "Daoist Master Lu, until we meet again! Great kindness needs no thanks. If you ever need my help in the future, you may send a flying sword letter to Inverted Mountain. But remember, you must sign it with the two characters 'Lu Chen.' Otherwise, Inverted Mountain may not permit the flying sword to enter its gates."
Upon hearing the name Inverted Mountain, the young Daoist priest was clearly somewhat startled. He seemed about to speak, but the girl gave a slight shake of her head. He quickly understood and did not continue digging to the root and asking the bottom of the matter. Some things were better left unknown to the youth in the room.
The young Daoist priest left the room first, not forgetting to take the youth by the arm. "Chen Ping'an, I have a few final words to tell you."
Chen Ping'an first placed the bundle on the bed and told the black-clothed girl that it contained newly bought clothes.
The two then came to the courtyard. The young Daoist priest immediately asked in a low voice, "With your memory, you must have long since recognized the characters on the first prescription. And with a Reading Seed living next door, saying 'I cannot read' was not your real reason for stopping me from leaving."
Chen Ping'an replied, "With your abilities, Daoist Master, you surely know the reason."
The young Daoist priest laughed despite himself. "You think you are certain to die, so you fear there will be no one to take care of that little girl?"
Chen Ping'an nodded. "Since I opened the door back then, I have to see it through to the end."
The young Daoist priest stood beside the cart. With two fingers held together, he made a silent swipe. The long sword in its white scabbard, into which the Confucian scholar Qi Jingchun had pressed two characters of Sword Qi, quietly flew into the room. The black-clothed girl apparently did not wish to frighten Chen Ping'an, so she tacitly allowed the flying sword's presumptuous intrusion. The young Daoist priest pondered for a moment. Whenever he thought over a problem, he subconsciously extended one finger to tap the Lotus Crown atop his head. Finally, he said, "Before coming here, I heard a senior brother say that one must be reasonable in doing things and humane in dealing with people... Since that is so, I should not be overly rigid and harsh. Though everyone has their own karmic ties, the fundamental doctrine of my sect does differ somewhat from the teachings of ordinary Daoist lineages... Meeting is itself fate. This barely counts as a good affinity, so I might as well follow the current. That divination tube and its one hundred and eight slips cannot be given to you; the karmic threads are too tangled, and once they cannot be sorted out or cut apart, they become quite troublesome. As for that private seal, it is a little too weighty. If I gave it to you, then once the restrictions on this town vanished and everything stood exposed in broad daylight, would I not be harming you? Sigh, could it be that I should give you gold, silver, and copper coins instead? That would be far too unrefined, far too vulgar. How could I bring myself to do that..."
To his surprise, Chen Ping'an said decisively, "Daoist Master Lu, giving money is very refined. It is not vulgar!"
The young Daoist priest smiled teasingly. "You did not understand the first two items, but you surely knew they were of no small significance. Why did you not ask for them?"
The youth slowly said, "A white bowl that could hold at least a huge vat of water, a Daoist Master who could burn talisman paper for elders in the underworld, a severely injured and strange girl, and that bag of twenty-eight copper coins made of gold. Before, Old Man Yao only said that this place was very strange. But now I have seen it with my own eyes. If this had been before I met those two outsiders, I definitely would have avoided all of you, and I would not have opened the door today."
The young Daoist priest leaned sideways against the cart and said in a deep voice, "That Outsider Woman pointed at the center of your brow. It was a vile trick that forcibly opened a person's acupoints, called 'pointing' in martial arts. There are distinctions of high and low in the technique, and good and bad in the intent. To give an example, the gate to your courtyard is not very sturdy, correct? She deliberately struck it with an iron hammer. Of course the gate could be opened, but its foundation was actually damaged. Imagine that in the wind, rain, frost, and snow to come, the one who opened the gate has long since slipped away with oil beneath her feet. But what about you, the master who lives in that courtyard year-round?"
Chen Ping'an hesitated briefly. "I am fairly able to endure hardship."
Looking at the straw-sandaled youth, who did not seem to be joking in the slightest, the young Daoist priest was angered into laughter. "That was only her first attempt to harm you. If your sinews and bones had been strong and your qi and blood flourishing, it would not have been difficult for you to live into your thirties or forties. But her later strike to your chest with her palm was the truly fatal blow. Not only did it damage the origin of your body, it also severed your road to longevity... To be precise, you originally had a sliver of opportunity left. Borrowing the immense tide of heaven and earth overturning, of cosmos reversing, it was not impossible for you to resume Great Dao cultivation. It is like a surging flood rushing downward, with countless flood dragons, fish, and shrimp in the river. Those with good luck naturally reap great gains, but even the most unfortunate might catch a small fish or shrimp by riding on the coattails of those who haul up flood dragons, snakes, and giant turtles."
Chen Ping'an did not turn pale with shock or panic. He stood there quietly, without even the slightest sign of putting on a show of composure.
The young Daoist priest neither praised nor belittled him. He merely sighed softly. "Chen Ping'an, to look lightly upon life and death at such a young age is no good thing. Do you think that living is best, but if there truly is no way and Heaven absolutely will not let you live, then death is death, and you are not afraid, correct? Because for you, death is instead an opportunity that holds the hope of reunion?"
Chen Ping'an did not deny it.
The young Daoist priest suddenly cursed, "Have you ever considered how your parents would feel if, by some stroke of luck, you met them amid the vast and boundless darkness of the underworld?"
The more the young Daoist priest spoke, the angrier he became. He extended a finger and forcefully poked the youth's head, as if trying to poke enlightenment into that blockhead. "In unofficial histories and Strange Tales, White Impermanence wears a tall white hat. Whenever he comes to the world of the living to seize the souls of the dead, the dead can clearly see four large characters written upon that white hat: 'You are here too'! Chen Ping'an! Tell me, when your parents see you, will they happily ask, 'Son, you are here too?' Will they still be able to go reincarnate in peace? Do you truly think there are many people in this world blessed with fortune that reaches the heavens, able to remain parent and child or husband and wife lifetime after lifetime? Let me tell you plainly: no way! Not even the Sect Masters of those High Sects, whose every word can make mountains and rivers change color, possess such heaven-reaching ability. Much less you, Chen Ping'an—a pauper whose next morning is never secure and who cannot even get three full meals a day?!"
By the end, the young Daoist priest's words were rapid and severe, his expression exceptionally stern.
The youth was at a loss.
Since coming of age, this was the first time in his life that he had felt such terror. His hands and feet turned icy cold.
The youth crouched down and wrapped both arms around his head. This time, he did not scratch it.
The young Daoist priest looked down at that thin, small figure. "Enough, enough. To save someone, I owe you a favor. I had hoped it would be best if I could welsh on it, or else leave a little for the next life. But now it seems I should repay you in full, and then we will be even from here on. I will tell you three things. Remember every one clearly. First, once Miss Ning has recovered somewhat, take her to the creek south of town and find a father and daughter surnamed Ruan. Remember, take her with you. Otherwise, it will be useless even if you go alone a hundred times. Once you are there, even if you have to shamelessly cling to them, throw tantrums, and roll on the ground, you must strive to become their hired helper or apprentice. Digging wells and moving stones is fine; forging swords and hammering iron is fine too. In any case, you will have found a shady place to settle. That way, Miss Ning will have repaid your favor, and you need not feel that you are taking advantage of her."
"The second matter is this: after the Fifth Day of the Fifth Month, go often to the little creek beneath the Covered Bridge. Whether you pick up stones, catch fish, or feel for shrimp is up to you. In any event, go often. Go when your heart is troubled and your thoughts are in chaos; when your heart senses something, go even more. As for what you may gain, with your meager bit of fortune, who knows? But at least diligence can make up for clumsiness. If you still gain nothing after all that, then you should accept your fate, boy."
After speaking of the two matters, the young Daoist priest began pushing the cart. Seeing that the youth still squatted there unmoving, though now facing him, he said, "Get up and help!"
After the youth rose, he went to help push the cart and asked curiously, "Didn't you say there were three things?"
The young Daoist priest snorted coldly. "I already told you: think of it yourself!"
The youth was dumbfounded.
After that, the Daoist priest gave several more instructions.
"Those copper coins are quite precious. Keep them safe."
"For a while, go out less."
"Smile more. Always wearing such a long face when you are not even handsome—who are you putting on that look for, boy?"
He chattered on and on.
The young Daoist priest truly seemed like an elder now.
After getting the cart out of the courtyard, the youth said he would push it out of Mud Bottle Alley. The young Daoist priest did not refuse.
One before the other, they walked through the narrow alley. At last, the Daoist priest said, "There is something I should still say. According to the fate I have calculated, your parents' early deaths were not your fault."
The young Daoist priest paused for a long time. Only when the cart was about to leave Mud Bottle Alley did he softly say, "Not only that, but the hardships of your life's path have also come from being burdened by your parents."
The youth remained silent.
In the end, the young Daoist priest insisted that the youth not see him off. He pushed the cart alone and departed far away toward the East Gate.
When he looked back, the youth was still standing at the mouth of the alley, waving hard at him, his smile brilliant.
He looked nothing at all like someone about to die.
Before you continue