Sophora Shade

After finishing his words, the scholar chuckled self-deprecatingly. What was so precious or valuable about Qi Jingchun's disciples nowadays? A room full of children learning the basics, each paying a meager tuition of only three hundred coins a year, and for some impoverished children, it was merely three strips of cured meat.

Qi Jingchun looked at the boy who stubbornly refused to let go and asked, "Deep down, you don't actually want to kill him, but the problem is, this person seems determined to kill you, no matter what. So, is it better to kill him, completely and utterly, to temporarily preserve your own life and deal with tomorrow when it comes? Or do you hope to de-escalate the situation, to smooth things over? Am I right?"

The boy, who often overheard the "seeds of learning" next door reciting poetry, blurted out, "How can you teach me, sir?"

Qi Jingchun smiled, "Chen Ping'an, why don't you try letting go of your right hand first, and then decide if you want to go with me for a walk. There are some things for which I cannot shirk responsibility, and I must give you an explanation."

Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment. After releasing his right hand, he was astonished to find that Fu Nanhua remained completely still, his eyes, hair, and breathing all frozen.

With Qi Jingchun activating the great formation, the small town returned to stillness.

Qi Jingchun said softly, "Keep close to my footsteps, and try not to stray more than ten steps away."

The middle-aged scholar, his robes fluttering and his body ethereal, led the way towards the end of the alley. Chen Ping'an followed closely, glancing down at his left palm. It was a bloody mess, revealing white bone, yet the visible blood refused to flow.

Qi Jingchun walked ahead and asked with a smile, "Chen Ping'an, do you believe that immortals, spirits, demons, and monsters exist in this world?"

Chen Ping'an nodded. "I do. When I was young, my mother often told me old stories, telling me to believe that good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished. She said that the most often, so I remember it clearly. Other things, like water ghosts in the creek that drag children away, or the Lord of the Underworld Officials in the broken ancestral hall north of the city who hold court at night, and that the Door Gods we post actually come alive at night to protect our homes. I didn't really believe these things before, but... now, I think they're mostly true."

Qi Jingchun said softly, "Some of the things she said are true, and some are false. As for the saying that good deeds are rewarded and evil deeds are punished, it's hard to say. Because the definition of good and evil differs for common folk, emperors and generals, and immortal families. Therefore, the conclusions they draw will be very different."

Chen Ping'an hid the porcelain shard and quickened his pace, walking alongside the scholar. He looked up and asked, "Mr. Qi, may I ask a question?"

Qi Jingchun seemed to see through the boy's thoughts and calmly replied, "This small town is the burial place of the world's last True Dragon. Countless flood dragons and their kin believe this place has the most flourishing destiny, destined to 'hatch a dragon' one day. In fact, for three thousand years, this 'dragon hatching' has been long delayed. However, the children born in this town do indeed have far superior roots, temperaments, and opportunities than their peers outside. Even the offspring of many famous immortal mansion couples on the East Treasure Bottle Continent are not as good. Of course, not every child in the town possesses astonishing talent."

Qi Jingchun smiled and didn't delve deeper into the matter, perhaps afraid of hurting the child's feelings. He changed the subject, "The senior cultivators who participated in that dragon-slaying catastrophe almost all sustained serious injuries. Many of them settled here, built thatched huts, and cultivated, accepting their fate. Some couples were fortunate enough to survive, and others formed bonds after fighting side-by-side. After more than three thousand years of prosperity and reproduction, the town has grown to its current size. On the map of the Great Li Dynasty, this place was first called Great Marsh Village, then a Sage personally renamed it Dragon Abyss, and later, to avoid a character in the name of a Great Li emperor, it was modified again..."

The boy, who had been holding his tongue, finally couldn't help himself and gently interrupted Qi Jingchun's words, clenching his fists, full of longing and anticipation. "Sir, the question I actually wanted to ask is about my parents... what kind of people were they..."

Qi Jingchun fell into thought. "Since that wandering Daoist has already revealed heavenly secrets to you, I can also follow the opening he created and tell you some things. In my memory, your father was a simple and gentle man with mediocre talent, not worth being taken away from the town, naturally becoming a 'chicken rib' in the eyes of some, considered a losing deal. Perhaps out of anger, or perhaps due to extreme poverty, the porcelain buyers from outside the town tampered with your father's 'destiny porcelain.' After that, not only did his fate become turbulent, but he also dragged you and your mother down with him. Later, for some reason, he accidentally learned the secret of destiny porcelain. He knew that once it was taken out of the town after firing, he would become a puppet for life. So, he secretly smashed the destiny porcelain that belonged to you. If I remember correctly, it should have been a porcelain paperweight."

Qi Jingchun said solemnly, "You should know that every baby born in the town each year is given a codename that is filed away. The town also has dedicated people who use unique secret arts to extract a drop of heart's blood and infuse it into the destiny porcelain that will be fired later. A girl's destiny porcelain takes six years to fire, and a boy's takes even longer. The kiln fire must not be extinguished for a single day, continuing for nine years. The child's talent is like the quality of ordinary fired porcelain; it can only be left to fate and luck. However, the bids placed for 'porcelain gambling' are very high. Although your aptitude is also mediocre now, when your father resolutely smashed that porcelain paperweight, the rage of the porcelain buyers outside the town can be imagined."

"As for your mother, she was a woman of gentle and virtuous disposition."

Qi Jingchun suddenly laughed at this point. "When your mother married your father, many people her age in the town were quite glum. But honestly, if you ask me for the details of your parents' lives when they were alive, it's difficult for me. After coming here, besides teaching, I have many other things to do."

The boy let out a hum and gently turned his head, wiping his face haphazardly with his hand. The boy seemed to have forgotten the terrible condition of his left hand, his face covered in bloodstains, and he was too reluctant to wipe it with his sleeve.

The two passed the Twelve-Pillar Archway Building.

Qi Jingchun didn't look at him and spoke frankly with the boy, "When the True Dragon fell here, four Sages personally appeared and made a pact, stipulating that every sixty years, one person would be stationed here to help guard the residual destiny left by the True Dragon's death. In fact, there was debate at the time whether to eradicate it completely... but telling you these unspeakable heavenly secrets would be harming you. Generally speaking, people from the Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist schools, along with the School of Military, formed the four main parties. The rest, including the Hundred Schools of Thought, Blessed Lands, immortal families, and powerful aristocratic families of the East Treasure Bottle Continent, all had certain shares and opportunities to benefit from here. It's laughable, but whether there was a quota for 'porcelain buying' within a century almost became a mark of whether a sect or family was of first-rate status."

Chen Ping'an said, "I don't understand what you're saying, sir, but I've noted it all down. However, knowing today that my parents were good people is enough for me."

Qi Jingchun smiled, "I don't expect you to understand it right now; it's just a prelude. Otherwise, if I simply told you not to kill Fu Nanhua, you definitely wouldn't listen. The reason I'm telling you not to kill is not because I, Qi Jingchun, feel empathy for my own kind, or pity for the unfortunate. It's not because I hope Fu Nanhua and Old Dragon City will be grateful and I can get some benefits later. It's the opposite. My Confucian disciples advocate for engaging with the world and are most resistant to the recklessness of cultivators. The two sides have been in constant conflict for countless years. If I, Qi Jingchun, were still the age I was when I first went to Cliff Academy to study, then River-Cutting True Lord Liu Zhimao, or the young city lord of Old Dragon City, Fu Nanhua, would have no chance of survival now; I would have struck them into dust with a single palm."

The boy noticed that Mr. Qi, at this moment, although his tone was still gentle and his posture elegant, felt like a completely different person.

It was like Old Man Yao, after getting drunk, saying that the porcelain they fired was for the emperor, and who could compare?

When Mr. Qi spoke of striking someone into dust with a palm, his tone was different from Old Man Yao's then, but his expression was exactly the same.

Qi Jingchun frowned, looking up towards Mud Bottle Alley, as if listening to someone speak. Although he didn't show any annoyance, the displeasure in his eyes was unconcealed.

He finally said coldly, "Leave quickly!"

Chen Ping'an looked bewildered.

Qi Jingchun explained, "It's that storyteller, whose real name is Liu Zhimao, and his Daoist title is River-Cutting True Lord. He's actually a Daoist from a heterodox sect with decent cultivation but poor character. Cai Jinjian and Fu Nanhua's grievances with you are largely his doing. In the end, he planted a wicked talisman in your heart. It's a four-character mantra, secretly inscribed in your mind, the words 'desire to die.' His methods are extremely malicious."

Chen Ping'an silently remembered the name Liu Zhimao.

Qi Jingchun sighed and asked, "Aren't you curious why I didn't act?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head.

Qi Jingchun continued speaking to himself, "This world is like old porcelain, weathered by wind and sun for three thousand years, on the verge of shattering. You are outsiders after all, and you have the great formation protecting you. As long as you don't go too far, the porcelain won't break. But I am the one holding the porcelain; any action I take will affect the cracks in this porcelain. In fact, no matter what I do, it will only cause those lines to spread. If the porcelain just broke, it would be fine. But the fate of the five to six thousand people in this town, in this life and the next, rests in my hands. How can I be careless?"

However, these words, accumulated over many years and wanting to be spoken, were said too softly by Mr. Qi for Chen Ping'an to hear clearly even with his ears perked up.

Qi Jingchun looked at the boy who kept wiping his face with his right hand. The two had reached near the Iron Lock Well in Apricot Blossom Alley. A woman was bending over to draw water there. Qi Jingchun asked, "If a stranger fell into the well, and you could save them, but you would die in the process, would you save them?"

Chen Ping'an thought for a moment and retorted, "I'd like to know, could that person truly be saved?"

Qi Jingchun didn't answer the boy's question, but smiled, "Remember, a gentleman does not save."

The boy was stunned and asked doubtfully, "Gentleman?"

Qi Jingchun hesitated for a moment, then squatted down. He first straightened the boy's clothes and then used his hand to wipe away the bloodstains, saying softly, "When encountering misfortune, one should first have compassion. But a gentleman is not a pedant. He can go to the well to save someone, but he will absolutely not put himself in mortal danger."

As if this question had sparked his thoughts, the boy asked seriously, "Sir, can I still live now? If so, how long can I live?"

Qi Jingchun thought carefully, then slowly stood up and said decisively, "If you are not afraid of a difficult path ahead and enduring great hardship, then you will definitely live."

The boy's smile immediately brightened, and he said as a matter of course, "I'm not afraid of hardship!"

Qi Jingchun, thinking of the boy's composure throughout their journey, felt relieved. "Come, I'll take you somewhere. Although I, Qi Jingchun, cannot help you with much, things have come to this point. Letting you survive this calamity will not be considered breaking the rules. In fact, you should have been compensated with an opportunity."

The boy was somewhat dazed.

The two arrived under the Old Scholar Tree. For some reason, the town, inside and out, was silent. Only this old scholar tree seemed to be an exception, its leaves rustling gently, swaying gracefully.

Qi Jingchun stopped, his face solemn. He bowed and then looked up, asking, "May Qi Jingchun ask for a Sophora Leaf from you, so that the boy can leave this town peacefully in the future, and at least for three years, be free from the calamities and disasters that will strike back?"

The thousand-year-old scholar tree remained silent.

Qi Jingchun asked again, "I've been stationed here for fifty-nine years. Even if I haven't earned merit, I've certainly put in the effort. Can't I at least get a single ancestral shade locust leaf? Besides, the boy is from your town. Esteemed ancestors, why are you so stingy?"

The old locust tree remained silent.

The silence at this moment was like a wordless mockery.

You, Qi Jingchun, possess great divine abilities, but ultimately you are just one person within this world. Moreover, you are the unfortunate soul managing the hub of the great formation. If we simply don't wish to bestow this incense offering of faith freely, what can you do about it?

Qi Jingchun's expression flickered with changing emotions, and in the end, he could only sigh. He lowered his head, looking full of guilt.

The boy grinned and, in turn, comforted him, "Daoist Master Lu said that if I go to the south of the town and find a blacksmith named Ruan to be his apprentice, I'll have a chance to survive. Mr. Qi, without this... locust leaf, I'm sure it'll be fine!"

Qi Jingchun smiled and asked, "Is that the truth?"

The boy scratched his head and shyly replied, "No."

Qi Jingchun smiled knowingly.

Suddenly.

A fresh, tender sophora leaf, verdant and dripping with dew, floated down from the very top of the canopy.

The boy merely extended his palm, and the leaf tự động fell into it.

On the leaf, a golden character flashed and disappeared.

Qi Jingchun was somewhat astonished. After a moment, he said gravely, "This character is 'Yao.' Chen Ping'an, are you willing to repay the kindness of the Yao family, regardless of life or death?! To be frank, even without this leaf, you might still have a sliver of hope. I can tell you that clearly. So, you must think carefully!"

The boy asked, "Is it the character 'Yao' from Master Yao?"

Qi Jingchun nodded, "Precisely."

The boy clasped his hands together, gently holding the sophora leaf between his palms. He looked up and declared loudly, "As long as I live, and for any person surnamed Yao who is related to you, just as Mr. Qi said before, even if they fall into a well, even if saving them means certain death, I, Chen Ping'an, will save them!"

Heavenly silence descended.

Qi Jingchun smiled and said, "Let's go."

As he led the boy away, he subtly turned his head to look at the highest point of the locust tree, a mocking expression on his face.

It wasn't that there were no locust leaves with the surname "Chen." In fact, there were more than one or two. But in the end, knowing that this place was about to collapse, they would rather find another host, even if it wasn't surnamed Chen, and still, there was no ancestral shade of faith willing to look out for the straw-sandaled youth from Mud Bottle Alley.

Qi Jingchun turned back, patted the boy's head, and teased, "If it were someone like Song Jixin, Zhao Yao, or Gu Can making such a grand vow like you just did, it might have caused a resonance with heaven and earth."

The boy's smile was bright, "I can't control that. I'll just do my own thing."

Qi Jingchun asked again, "Is this the truth this time?"

The boy smiled and said, "Yes!"