Money Grubber

As dusk settled, Chen Ping'an, on his way back to town, passed the east gate. The slovenly gatekeeper was still there, humming a tune. He was singing, "An inch of time cannot be taken lightly, wealth and glory can all be discarded." Perhaps startled by the straw-sandaled youth's hurried footsteps, the man opened his eyes and met the gaze of the boy jogging into the gate. Seeing the debt collector, the man's face fell. He waved dismissively, "Get lost, get lost. Your time is worthless, kid. If you could even touch one word of 'wealth' or 'glory,' you'd be blessed."

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

It was clearly a reminder to the gatekeeper that they shared a karmic connection of five copper coins.

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

The youth's figure quickly disappeared. The man looked up at the clear, azure sky, like a beautiful glaze.

Rubbing his stubbled chin, the man clicked his tongue, "Mr. Qi once said a line of poetry, what was it, 'good things,' 'glazed tiles'?"

A ox-cart slowly pulled out of the town. On it sat a blue-robed scholar, widely praised, and the driver was a middle-aged man with a dull expression.

The man immediately waved and shouted, "Brother Yao, don't rush off! I have something I forgot to say, I only remember 'good things,' 'glazed tiles,' and the like, but I can't recall anything else. You're a scholar, tell me about it!"

Zhao Yao, beaming, held a satchel and said loudly, "The best things in the world are not strong, colorful clouds scatter easily, glazed tiles are brittle!"

The man gave him a thumbs-up. "As expected of Brother Yao, your scholarship is top-notch. When you make it big in the future, don't forget to come back and see your old brother. Who knows, maybe you can even replace your teacher and become a schoolmaster for our town's children. That would be great."

Zhao Yao paused for a moment, then cupped his fist and smiled faintly, "Thank you for your kind words!"

The man, delighted, took an embroidered pouch from his sleeve. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it high to the blue-robed scholar, grinning, "After all these years of you writing so many couplets for me, and you've always been so kind and never found it troublesome. I never misjudge people. Take this little gift, have a safe journey!"

Zhao Yao quickly caught the money pouch. "Farewell!"

The man smiled and nodded, waving at the youth's ox cart, but then he muttered, "It's unlikely."

The youth in straw sandals walked deeper into the town, while Zhao Yao's oxcart headed for the world beyond. They passed each other.

The man, sitting on a tree stump, counted on his fingers. "The Great Sui youth carrying the bamboo basket of golden carp, Widow Gu's son from Mud Bottle Alley, and then Brother Yao from Fulu Street. That makes three. But there are still so many people coming. If they all rush in, won't I be left with nothing but scavenging? Or maybe I should find a filial disciple who can give me a shoulder rub?"

The man reached up and scratched his wrinkled, dark cheek, chuckling, "It would be best if it were a pretty female disciple, with a good face and figure. Hmm, I could tolerate a less attractive face, but her legs must be long!"

This notorious bachelor of the town clasped his hands behind his head, tilted his face to the sky, and chuckled to himself. Thinking of these happy thoughts, his worries vanished, and he felt a great beauty in the world.

Before Chen Ping'an left Mud Bottle Alley, he had arranged with Liu Xianyang and the black-clothed girl to meet at Liu Xianyang's house. When Chen Ping'an arrived at Liu Xianyang's home, the door was unlocked. He pushed it open and entered the main hall, finding Liu Xianyang cleaning and wiping the ancestral Treasure Armor with a clean cotton cloth.

Miss Ning, the black-clothed girl, had put on her light veil hat again. She wore a sash knife, and the long sword in its snow-white scabbard was held casually in her hand. For some reason, Chen Ping'an always felt that Miss Ning seemed somewhat disdainful of this sword.

The heirloom, passed down through generations of the Liu family, lay on the table. It was called Treasure Armor, but to Chen Ping'an, it looked truly ugly and terrifying. The enormous armor was covered in iron tendons like withered tree burls, and there were five deep, parallel claw marks running from the left shoulder diagonally down to the right waist.

On this point, the two youths were utterly baffled. They couldn't imagine what kind of colossal forest beast could have caused such a terrifying sight. Later, the imperial court imposed many prohibitions on entering the mountains to chop wood or make charcoal. A large part of the reason Chen Ping'an and Liu Xianyang rarely violated these prohibitions was this.

Chen Ping'an found it strange. This jet-black iron armor was ugly, but Liu Xianyang genuinely cherished it as a family heirloom. Even with their close friendship, Chen Ping'an had only been allowed to see it once in all these years. It was put back into the vermilion lacquered box and enshrined again in less than the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn.

However, seeing Liu Xianyang steal glances at the black-clothed girl from time to time, Chen Ping'an felt a sense of understanding. Liu Xianyang had always been like this, unable to keep his eyes off pretty girls. But he wasn't truly smitten; he just liked to show off. For example, when they used to swim shirtless in the stream by the covered bridge in the summer, if any young girls carrying seedlings or leading yellow oxen passed by, Liu Xianyang would inevitably put on a show. He'd scramble ashore like his backside was on fire and climb onto a large bluestone, then cough loudly – Song Jixin had called this "announcing to the world" – and finally dive into the water. Chen Ping'an, with his sharp eyesight, could clearly see the expressions and reactions of the girls in the distance. He had always wanted to tell Liu Xianyang the truth: those pretty older sisters were rolling their eyes, whispering insults, or simply ignoring him. Not a single one looked at him with admiration, thinking he was a hero.

Of course, later Liu Xianyang fell for Song Jixin's maidservant, Zhi Gui, and became inexplicably infatuated. After that, the tall youth seemed to have no eyes for any other beautiful women. Even now, when he was trying to impress the black-clothed girl, it was more about hoping the proud and aloof girl wouldn't look down on him, thinking that just because she carried a saber and a sword, she was superior to everyone. He wanted her to know that his family heirloom was unique in the town.

When the veiled girl arrived after Chen Ping'an, she looked around and finally placed her long sword horizontally on an old curio cabinet adorned with painted gold-inlaid floral patterns. The colored lacquer was mottled and cracked. To make space for her sword, she moved aside many bottles and jars, discovering an inlaid pattern on the back wall of the cabinet: a golden osmanthus tree under a full moon.

The girl turned and said, "I'm leaving my sword here. Don't touch it, or you'll face the consequences. I'm not joking."

Liu Xianyang was busy polishing the Treasure Armor, occasionally blowing on it and rubbing it gently with his arm, truly enjoying himself.

Chen Ping'an promised, "Of course."

The girl said to Liu Xianyang, "This cabinet isn't valuable, but don't sell this golden osmanthus hanging moon inlay cheaply."

Liu Xianyang replied without looking up, "I've disliked that thing since I was a child. If you like it, Miss, feel free to scrape it off yourself."

The black-clothed girl certainly wouldn't do something so crude. She merely asked curiously, "What is the material of this pattern?"

Liu Xianyang glanced back. "It's an object hundreds of years old. How would I know? Even my grandfather couldn't tell you much about it."

Chen Ping'an said softly, "It's probably made from pebbles picked up from the stream bank. There are many colors, but Liu Xianyang's elders must have only selected the golden-yellow ones back then, crushed them, and then glued them together. We call this kind of stone Snake Gallstone."

The black-clothed girl asked, "Pebbles? Are there many in the stream?"

Chen Ping'an smiled. "If you want them, Miss Ning, I can collect a whole basketful for you in a day. No one around here cares for them, only Gu Can likes them and often goes to pick them up by himself."

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

Chen Ping'an was surprised. "Are these pebbles valuable outside of here?"

She adjusted her veil hat. "The price depends on who gets them. Besides that, even if they fall into the hands of someone knowledgeable, whether it works out also depends on luck. With good luck, one is enough. With bad luck, even a mountain of pebbles won't do. But no matter what, they are valuable, very valuable. It's just uncertain if they can be brought out of town, and that's crucial."

Liu Xianyang interjected, "There's something strange about these stones. Once they are taken out of the stream, their color fades when exposed to wind and sun, especially after rain or snow. Other than that, there's nothing else."

The girl said regretfully, "As expected."

Chen Ping'an hesitated. "How about I go collect a big basketful tomorrow and try? What if there's an exception?"

The girl shook her head. "It's meaningless to me."

Liu Xianyang had already moved the Treasure Armor back inside and hidden it. He leaned against the doorframe and said with a smile, "Chen Ping'an is a big money grubber. He might go to the stream to look for stones tonight."

The girl said, "I'm leaving."

As she reached the doorway, she turned and asked, "I will keep the hairpin and the prescription safe for you. However, you'll still need to go to Mud Bottle Alley tomorrow to help with the medicine."

Chen Ping'an nodded. "No problem."

She thought for a moment, her expression solemn, and warned, "Among the outsiders who entered the town around the same time as me, the most formidable is probably that old man from Zhengyang Mountain. He's here specifically to escort the little girl. Next is the Great Sui eunuch who injured me. After him is Liu Zhimao, who took Gu Can away. And don't underestimate that smiling assassin woman. So, if you encounter the old man from Zhengyang Mountain, try to avoid any arguments. If a conflict arises, just stall for time. Do not engage in any fighting. Don't harbor any foolish hopes. You must stall until I arrive."

Liu Xianyang said in a low voice, "On our turf, these strangers, unfamiliar with the place, would really dare to kill someone?"

Chen Ping'an glanced at him and nodded, "I dare."

Liu Xianyang swallowed.

Chen Ping'an suddenly asked, "Do you still remember what Daoist Master Lu... that is, the fortune teller who set up a stall, told you?"

Liu Xianyang's head spun. After racking his brain to recall, he scratched his ears and cheeks, "How could I possibly remember that clearly? I only know it was some unpleasant, unlucky words. Anyway, he said something about great calamity, needing to burn incense, and all sorts of nonsense. At the time, I just thought he was talking rubbish, trying to cheat people out of their money..."

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

The girl said fiercely, "He can't remember the fortune slip himself, so how can I interpret it for him? Does he really think I'm an immortal!"

Chen Ping'an was a bit bewildered, unable to understand why Miss Ning was suddenly so angry.

The girl strode out of the house.

Her departure was much more swift and decisive than her leisurely arrival.

The girl with the sash knife walked down the wide alley, wondering if she should find some books to study later.

The moment the girl imagined herself traveling the world, cleanly and decisively decapitating enemies with her flying sword, and then reciting a few impassioned impromptu poems, she felt incredibly cool, even though no one was around!

Just as the girl was filled with anticipation, a familiar figure flashed past her.

"See you tomorrow, Miss Ning."

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

It was the straw-sandaled youth, carrying a basket on his back, moving as fast as lightning.

The girl stood dumbfounded, muttering to herself, "Is there really such a money grubber?"