The Great Dao

Just as Chen Ping'an was about to run out of the courtyard, the black-clothed girl suddenly called out, "Wait, there are some things I need to tell you."

Chen Ping'an pretended not to hear. Just as he was about to open the courtyard gate, the girl raised her voice. "Chen Ping'an!"

Chen Ping'an had no choice but to turn and run back to the doorstep. Her complexion had grown somewhat rosier than before, though her voice was still hoarse. "First, after outsiders like us came to this town, although our bodies are stronger than ordinary people's, just as I told you before, aside from that, we are no different from you. Second, outsiders cannot kill anyone here. Once that rule is broken, regardless of the reason or excuse, they will be driven out and destined to gain nothing. The price is enormous—far beyond what you can imagine. Third, you should also think this through. When danger comes, outsiders like us will definitely act, even if it means leaving empty-handed. After all, staying alive is the most fundamental thing."

Chen Ping'an thought for a moment and asked, "Does that mean that when you do something, when you strike, you have to be fast?"

The black-clothed girl grinned. Her radiant expression and glittering eyes seemed to brighten the entire room. She patted the green scabbard laid across her knees and nodded. "That's right! Your strikes must be fast, faster, even the fastest! Take me, for example. I carry both a saber and a sword. Whether I draw my saber or unleash my sword, I want to be the fastest person in all the world!"

She paused. In an instant, she changed from a passionate female hero from afar into a neighboring girl eager to show off. Squinting as she smiled, she asked, "Hey, do you know how many worlds there are under heaven?"

Chen Ping'an looked utterly baffled.

The girl seemed to realize that the youth had no interest in it. She immediately lost all enthusiasm and waved him away. "You'd better buy the jars back. I'm waiting to drink my medicine."

This time, Chen Ping'an's steps as he left the courtyard were slower, and much steadier.

Not long after he left Mud Bottle Alley, the unlocked courtyard gate was gently pushed open. Inside, the black-clothed girl opened her eyes. She had just been practicing Breathing and Exhalation in a strange manner. Looking toward the doorway, she faced it as though confronting a great enemy.

The flying sword within the snow-white scabbard on the table suddenly fell utterly silent. Yet an invisible aura of grim slaughter filled the air, like the late spring cold before them, cold enough to freeze bone and kill.

The maidservant Zhi Gui sauntered to the entrance like an ordinary neighbor dropping in from door to door. She did not step over the threshold, merely craned her head into the room and looked around. As for the black-clothed girl sitting cross-legged on the small bed with a saber across her knees, she seemed not to see her at all.

Only after looking around for a long while did Zhi Gui finally spot the living person. With an innocent expression, she asked, "Big Sister, who are you? Why are you sitting on Chen Ping'an's bed? I never heard that he had any distant relatives."

Ning Yao glanced at the uninvited girl, then closed her eyes, ignoring her completely.

Seeing her play deaf and dumb, Zhi Gui did not get angry. She merely lightly shook her head, curled her lips, and wore an expression of utter disdain.

She glanced at the long sword with its snow-white scabbard on the table. Deep in her eyes hid profound hatred and fear, while faint golden threads raced wildly through her pupils. After hesitating for a moment, the maidservant still lifted one foot, preparing to cross the threshold. Then she suddenly drew it back, coughed, and said in a pretentious manner, "I'm coming in, all right? If you don't say anything, that means you don't object, right? Besides, this is Chen Ping'an's home to begin with. I've known him for many years... Don't tell me you can't understand what I'm saying? It's fine. We don't have much to talk about anyway. I only came to see whether anything was lacking here. We'll be moving away soon, and many things can be left for Chen Ping'an. You don't know this, but he's had a very hard life these past years."

With her endless chatter and affectionate concern, she and Chen Ping'an sounded exactly like childhood sweethearts.

After the maidservant Zhi Gui entered the room, all remained calm and peaceful. She walked straight to the little table and sat on a stool, though the corner of her eye kept circling around that sword.

At the same time, the black-clothed girl took out the three sheets of paper the young Daoist priest had left for Chen Ping'an and studied them carefully, trying to puzzle out some secret. Unfortunately, after examining them over and over twice, she still found no way in. Disappointed, she said, "These characters are written without any... flavor."

She clearly remembered that on the great wall in her hometown, eighteen characters had been carved at scattered intervals by someone's sword. Every single character contained a majestic force capable of suppressing ten thousand demons.

During the years when she was still a child, her greatest hobby had been standing within one stroke of those enormous characters and raising her eyes to gaze into the distance.

That was why she truly looked down on the town's four-character plaque: Qi Chong Dou Niu.

The maidservant Zhi Gui turned around and quietly straightened her slender waist, placing her hands atop one another on her knees. Perhaps she was trying her best to resemble a refined young lady of a great household. Facing the black-clothed girl, she smiled sweetly and said softly, "Ah, Miss, you really were too careless."

Ning Yao could not help asking, "Who are you?"

Zhi Gui gave an exaggerated cry and touched her chest, feigning surprise. "Miss, you can speak our local dialect?"

Ning Yao asked again, "Do you need something?"

Zhi Gui pointed at the long sword on the table. "Yours?"

Ning Yao frowned and said nothing.

The black-clothed girl did not speak, but Zhi Gui did not mind. She stood and walked to the corner, looking at the bottles and jars on the wooden rack. Though they were worthless possessions, the maidservant inspected them closely.

When he had been an apprentice Potter, Chen Ping'an had walked barefoot through every mountain and stream around the town. He had gone alone into the mountains to dig clay and chop firewood, running swiftly up and down the slopes. So long as someone was willing to teach him something, whether it was simple beginner's knowledge or obscure and difficult learning, Chen Ping'an would put twelve parts of effort into it. As for how far he could ultimately go, Chen Ping'an did not concern himself with that—and even if he wanted to, it was not something he could control. Old Man Yao taught him the craft of firing porcelain, always pinching pennies and never willing to reveal his true hidden skills. Yet whatever Old Man Yao had said or demonstrated, Chen Ping'an would practice with exceptional seriousness. Later, Liu Xianyang taught him how to make wooden bows, fishing rods, and the like, and Chen Ping'an learned them with the same meticulous care. Song Jixin next door had always spoken harshly. According to what books said, he claimed, Chen Ping'an's habit was called doing all one could and leaving fate to Heaven. What a pity, though—Chen Ping'an had no good fate at all. Since that was so, he might as well muddle through life and wait for death, smashing the jar since it was already broken.

Zhi Gui waved her hand, her smile brilliant. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving. Miss, take good care of your injuries. If you need anything, just call out. My name is Zhi Gui, and I live in the courtyard next door."

Ning Yao remained expressionless.

After the maidservant left the room and entered the courtyard, she muttered in a voice just loud enough for the black-clothed girl inside to hear, "She's not all that pretty, either."

Ning Yao also lightly remarked, seemingly casually, "What a vulgar name."

When Zhi Gui shut the courtyard gate, she used a little too much force. It slammed shut with a bang.

Ning Yao closed her eyes again to rest her mind.

Ning Yao's heart remained as calm as still water after the strange girl's visit.

But she truly disliked this town, especially the cultivators who had come here seeking opportunities. They schemed against one another and buzzed about like flies chasing profit. They called themselves Immortals and lofty masters only because they stood on mountains, not because they themselves stood so high.

In Ning Yao's heart, the Great Dao should not have been so small.

After the straw-sandaled youth left Mud Bottle Alley, the sunlight was somewhat dazzling. He raised his right hand to shield his forehead and gently exhaled.

Then he began to jog, his steps light. Though he had already crossed streets and passed through alleys many times, he felt no fatigue at all. For a youth accustomed to climbing mountains and wading through water, this little distance was truly not worth mentioning. What could truly be called arduous was making charcoal in the mountains. A Dragon Kiln consumed twenty or thirty thousand catties of charcoal every year. Especially on rainy days, living in the mountains, chopping wood, and burning charcoal was pure suffering. The youth had once nearly died inside a charcoal kiln that collapsed during construction. Nearly everything the youth had done these past years had been physical labor. It required some skill, but once one had entered the trade, one simply made a living by strength. Thus, his outwardly thin and frail appearance was merely an illusion. Within him lay the hard, lean strength forged through a thousand hammerings and ten thousand temperings.

Chen Ping'an stopped at a crossroads, leaned against a wall, and squatted down. One hand remained clenched into a fist, while the other tightened his straw sandal.

At that moment, the youth's heart was as still as water.

He only missed the one friend he had in town.

That fellow had once mysteriously boasted to Chen Ping'an that his grandfather had told him a story. When his grandfather had been young, he had personally seen someone standing by a stream. After merely taking a few running steps, that person had crossed the entire stream in a single leap. Later, Liu Xianyang and Chen Ping'an tried it themselves, choosing the narrowest stretch of the stream. They both backed up to get a running start, then jumped at the same time. The result was that Liu Xianyang, who was several years older than Chen Ping'an, quickly ran out of strength and fell into the water after his leap. Then he discovered a dark shadow above his head. With a whoosh, it continued forward and finally landed far away.

After that, Liu Xianyang never again mentioned any Immortal who could cross a stream in a single stride.

After that after, Liu Xianyang learned that Chen Ping'an often went alone to the streambank to run, leap, soar through the air, vault across, and fall.

Each time, the youth came closer to the opposite bank, never tiring of it.

Once, unable to resist secretly watching from afar, Liu Xianyang witnessed that heart-shaking scene and felt that the dark-skinned youth of that moment did not seem quite like the fool he remembered.

When the youth leaped over the stream, he was like a Snake-Catching Eagle that often circled in the skies above the town.