Money-Mad

At dusk, when Chen Ping'an returned to the small town and passed through the East Gate, the sloppy man guarding it was still humming a tune. He was singing, "An inch of time must not be taken lightly; glory and riches may all be cast away." Perhaps Chen Ping'an's hurried footsteps disturbed him. The man opened his eyes and happened to meet the gaze of the Young Man jogging through the gate. Seeing that it was this debt collector, he was utterly deflated and waved him off irritably. "Go, go, go. What the hell is your time worth, brat? If even one of the four words 'glory and riches' has anything to do with you, you ought to burn incense in gratitude."

After Chen Ping'an ran past, he raised one hand high, spread his five fingers, and shook it vigorously.

He was clearly reminding the gatekeeper that the two of them shared a five-copper-coin bond of incense.

The man spat viciously and cursed, "You're no good bird either!"

The Young Man's figure soon vanished. The man looked up at the clear azure sky, like a lovely layer of glaze.

Rubbing his stubbly chin, the man clicked his tongue. "Mr. Qi once recited a line of poetry. What was it again? Fine things... colored glaze?"

An ox cart slowly rolled out of town. Seated on it was the blue-robed scholar whose praises everyone sang, while the driver was a dull-looking middle-aged man.

The gatekeeper immediately waved and laughed loudly. "Brother Yao, don't be in such a hurry to leave! Your brother here has got a line stuck in his belly. I only remember something about fine things and colored glaze, but I can't recall the rest no matter what. You're the learned one, kid, so explain it to me!"

With bright spirits, Zhao Yao hugged a bundle to his chest and recited clearly, "The finest things in this world are never durable; colored clouds scatter easily, and colored glaze shatters."

The man gave him a thumbs-up. "Just as expected of Brother Yao! Your learning is top-notch. When you make something of yourself someday, don't forget to come back and visit your old brother. Maybe then you can even take your teacher's place and become a schoolmaster for the children of our town. That'd be nice too."

Zhao Yao froze for a moment, then cupped his fists with a smile. "I'll accept your auspicious words, Brother."

Delighted, the man pulled an embroidered pouch from his sleeve, flicked his wrist, and tossed it high to the blue-robed scholar. Grinning, he said, "For all these years, I had you write so many Spring Festival couplets for nothing. The important thing is, you're a decent kid and never thought it troublesome. Your old brother has never misjudged a person. Take this little trinket. May the wind be fair on your journey!"

Zhao Yao hurriedly caught the money pouch. "Until we meet again!"

The man nodded with a smile and waved at the Young Man's ox cart, though he muttered, "It'll be hard."

The straw-sandaled youth walked toward the depths of the small town, while Zhao Yao's ox cart headed for the world beyond it. They brushed past each other.

Sitting on a tree stump, the man counted on his fingers. "That Sui Young Man carrying a bamboo basket with Jinli fish, Widow Gu's brat from Mud Bottle Alley, plus Brother Yao from Fulu Street—that makes three already. But there are still so many more coming, crashing in headfirst. Won't there be nothing left but scavenging scraps? Or should I take this chance to find a filial apprentice who can knead my shoulders and pound my back?"

He reached up and scratched his wrinkled dark face, then chuckled. "Best if she's a pretty female apprentice with a lovely face and a fine figure. Mm, I can tolerate a less-than-perfect face, but her legs must be long!"

This famously lifelong bachelor of the small town clasped both hands behind his head and gazed up at the sky, secretly enjoying himself. Once he thought of these happy matters, all his worries vanished at once, and he felt there was great beauty between heaven and earth.

Before leaving Mud Bottle Alley, Chen Ping'an had arranged with Liu Xianyang and the black-clothed girl to meet directly at Liu Xianyang's house. When Chen Ping'an ran there, the door was unlocked. He pushed it open and entered. Upon reaching the Main hall, he saw Liu Xianyang using a clean cotton cloth to wash and wipe down that ancestral Treasure Armor.

Miss Ning, the black-clothed girl, had put on her lightly veiling Veiled Hat again. A saber hung at her waist, while the long sword with its snow-white scabbard was casually held in her hand. For some reason, Chen Ping'an always felt that Miss Ning seemed somewhat disgusted by this sword.

The old heirloom passed down through generations of the Liu Family sat on the table. It was called Treasure Armor, but in Chen Ping'an's eyes, it was truly ugly enough to frighten people. The enormous suit of armor was covered in iron ridges like knots on a withered tree, and five deep parallel claw marks slashed diagonally from the left shoulder all the way down to the right side of the waist.

The two youths had puzzled over this without ever finding an answer. They simply could not imagine what sort of colossal beast of the mountains and forests could have created such a terrifying sight. Later, the imperial court had sealed off many mountain peaks and forbidden commoners from entering the mountains to gather firewood or make charcoal. Chen Ping'an and Liu Xianyang almost never violated those prohibitions, and this was a major reason why.

Chen Ping'an found it rather strange. This suit of black-charcoal-like iron armor was ugly, ugly indeed, but Liu Xianyang truly regarded it as a family treasure from the bottom of his heart. Even with the friendship he shared with Chen Ping'an, Liu Xianyang had only shown it to him once over the years. Before half an incense stick's time had passed, he had carefully carried it back into its vermilion-lacquered chest and enshrined it.

Yet when Chen Ping'an saw Liu Xianyang sneak glances at the black-clothed girl from time to time, he felt relieved. Liu Xianyang had always been this sort of person. Whenever he saw a pretty woman, he could not keep his eyes under control. But he was not truly smitten; he merely liked to show off. For example, back in summer by the Covered Bridge, when he bathed bare-chested in the creek, if girls their age passed by carrying rice seedlings or leading Yellow oxen, Liu Xianyang would invariably perform his three-axe routine. First, he would scramble onto the large bluestone at the bank as though his backside were on fire. Then he would cough loudly—Song Jixin called this "announcing it to the whole world." Finally, he would dive headfirst back into the water. Chen Ping'an, whose eyesight was excellent, could actually see the girls' expressions and faces clearly from afar. He had always wanted to tell Liu Xianyang the truth: among those pretty older sisters, some rolled their eyes, some muttered curses, and most simply ignored him completely. The one thing none of them did was light up at the sight of him and think him a heroic man.

Of course, Liu Xianyang later took a liking to Song Jixin's maidservant, Zhi Gui, and for no apparent reason fell deep into it. After that, the tall youth seemed to have no eyes for any other pretty women. Even now, when he flaunted his wealth before the black-clothed girl, it was more because he hoped the proud and aloof girl would not look down on him. Don't think that just because you wear a saber and carry a sword, you can strut around like Heavenly King Father. This heirloom of mine, Liu Xianyang's, is one of a kind in the whole town.

After the veiled girl waited for Chen Ping'an, she looked around. Finally, she laid her long sword across an old antique display cabinet painted with flower patterns inlaid with gold. Its colored lacquer was mottled and cracked. To make room for the sword, she moved aside many bottles, jars, and miscellaneous items, then discovered an inlaid design on the cabinet's back panel: a golden cassia tree beneath a full moon.

Turning her head, the girl said, "I'm leaving the sword here. Don't touch it, or bear the consequences yourselves. I'm not joking."

Liu Xianyang was busy wiping the Treasure Armor. Every so often, he lowered his head and breathed on it, then gently rubbed it directly with his arm. He was already genuinely enjoying himself.

Chen Ping'an promised, "Definitely."

The girl said to Liu Xianyang, "This cabinet isn't worth much, but don't casually sell off that inlaid picture of a golden cassia beneath the moon for a pittance."

Without raising his head, Liu Xianyang said, "I've never liked that thing since I was little. If you like it, miss, just scrape it off yourself."

Naturally, the black-clothed girl would not commit such an act of burning a zither to cook a crane. She merely asked curiously, "What is this design made of?"

Liu Xianyang glanced back at it. "It's several hundred years old. How would I know? Even my grandfather couldn't explain it properly."

Chen Ping'an said softly, "They should be pebbles picked up from the creek bank. They come in many colors, but Liu Xianyang's elders must have selected only the golden-yellow ones back then, ground them up, and stuck them together. We call this kind of stone Snake Gallstone."

The black-clothed girl asked, "Pebbles? Are there many of them in the creek?"

Chen Ping'an smiled. "If Miss Ning wants some, I can gather you a whole big basket every day. No one around here cares for them. Only Gu Can likes them; he often goes collecting by himself."

The black-clothed girl sighed and gazed deeply at the impoverished youth from Mud Bottle Alley. "A pauper living atop mountains of gold and silver."

Chen Ping'an asked in surprise, "These pebbles are valuable outside?"

She adjusted her Veiled Hat and said, "How high or low their price is depends on whose hands they fall into. Besides that, even if they fall into the hands of someone knowledgeable, whether they amount to anything still depends on luck. With good luck, one stone is enough. With bad luck, even a mountain piled high with stones will come to nothing. But no matter what, they are valuable—very valuable. The question is whether they can be taken out of the small town. That is crucial."

Liu Xianyang interjected, "There's something strange about these stones. Once you take them out of the creek, if they're exposed to wind and sunlight, their colors fade. Especially after rain or snow, the color fades even more badly. Other than that, there's nothing else."

The girl said regretfully, "Just as I thought."

Chen Ping'an hesitated. "How about I gather a big basketful tomorrow and try? What if there are exceptions?"

The girl shook her head. "It has no meaning for me."

Liu Xianyang had already carried the Treasure Armor back into the room and hidden it away. Leaning sideways against the doorway, he smiled. "Chen Ping'an is a real money-mad fool. Maybe he'll go feel around for stones in the creek tonight."

The girl tossed out one sentence. "I'm leaving."

When she reached the door, she turned back and asked, "I'll keep the hairpin and the prescription safely for you. But tomorrow, I'll still need you to go to Mud Bottle Alley and help brew the medicine."

Chen Ping'an nodded. "No problem."

After some thought, her expression turned grave as she warned, "Among the Outsiders who entered the small town around the same time as I did, the most formidable should be that old man from Zhengyang Mountain. He came specifically to escort the little girl. Next is the Sui eunuch who injured me, followed by Liu Zhimao, who took Gu Can away. Don't underestimate that woman who hides daggers behind her smile either. So if you encounter that old fellow from Zhengyang Mountain, try not to argue with him. But if conflict does arise, just stall for time. You are not allowed to fight anyone, and do not harbor the slightest fluke mentality. You must drag things out until I appear."

Liu Xianyang said in a low voice, "On our turf, would those outsiders who don't know the place really dare kill someone?"

Chen Ping'an looked at him and nodded. "They would."

Liu Xianyang swallowed.

Chen Ping'an suddenly asked, "Do you remember what Daoist Master Lu... that fortune-teller with the stall, told you?"

Liu Xianyang's head began to ache. After racking his brains, he scratched his ears and cheeks. "How could I remember it clearly? I only know it was some unpleasant, inauspicious nonsense. Something about a great calamity, burning incense, and so on—just a mess of words. I took him for a babbling fraud trying to cheat people out of money..."

Chen Ping'an turned to look at the black-clothed girl.

The girl snapped viciously, "He can't even remember the fortune slip properly himself, so how am I supposed to interpret it for him? Does he really think I'm an immortal?"

Chen Ping'an was somewhat baffled. He could not understand why Miss Ning had suddenly become so angry.

The girl strode out of the house.

Compared to her leisurely pace on the way here, she was now far more swift and decisive.

Walking through the broad alleyway, the saber-wearing girl wondered whether she should find a few books to gnaw through when she had the time.

When she imagined herself roaming the four corners of the world, cleanly and decisively using her flying sword to sever heads, then following it up with a few impassioned lines of improvised poetry—even if no one was around—she felt it was truly stylish!

Just as the girl was filled with longing, a familiar figure flashed past her like the wind.

"See you tomorrow, Miss Ning!"

By the time the voice landed, the figure was already nearly at the end of the alley.

The straw-sandaled youth ran like the wind with a basket on his back.

The girl stood frozen as a wooden chicken and muttered to herself, "There really is a money-mad fool like this?"