Dark Room

Chen Ping'an knew that look well. It was exactly how he himself had looked at Liu Xianyang as a child. Back then, Liu Xianyang had been the child king around Apricot Blossom Alley and Mud Bottle Alley. Catching snakes, trapping birds, scooping up fish—there seemed to be nothing under heaven that Liu Xianyang could not do. Later, some of the children their age who had once trailed after Liu Xianyang's backside became apprentices at the Dragon Kiln, while more scattered to the various general stores in town as clerks, or helped relatives keep accounts. And as Song Jixin had said, only the most hopeless sort would scratch out a living in the fields. In the end, Chen Ping'an was the only one still hanging around with Liu Xianyang.

Chen Ping'an strung the three Stone Flatfish he had meant to give the girl together by threading several Foxtail Grass stalks through their gills, then handed them to her. She took the string of fish and weighed it in her hand. They were rather light, not enough to make even a plate of stir-fried fish with green peppers. She tilted her head and glanced expectantly at the stream pool. Chen Ping'an immediately understood and said apologetically, "The fish I catch next need to be made into soup to help a friend recover. I can't give them to you."

The girl pointed at the open bundle not far away, indicating that she could trade those pastries for fish. Chen Ping'an shook his head with a smile. "No. Pastries taste good, and they can fill your stomach, but they aren't as nourishing as fish soup."

The girl nodded and did not force the matter. She quietly returned to her seat, carefully set the fish by her feet, and continued her great undertaking of "sitting and eating a mountain hollow."

Though Chen Ping'an was curious about her identity, he did not pry. Judging by how she was dressed, she did not look like some young lady from the wealthy households of Fulu Street or Taoye Lane. Instead, she somewhat resembled Zhi Gui, the neighbor next door—delicate and refined, and not fond of speaking. Chen Ping'an suddenly grew worried. Could she be some little maidservant who had stolen food from home? He had heard that the rules in those grand residences were terrifyingly strict. Liu Xianyang and Song Jixin always liked to speak in reverse, but this was the one matter where they made an exception. Liu Xianyang's version was especially frightening. He said that in those high-walled estates, if a maidservant so much as walked improperly, a steward with eyes as sharp as a Snake-Catching Eagle would have someone break her legs and throw her into the street outside to wait for death. Song Jixin said Liu Xianyang was passing on rumors, that it was not nearly so exaggerated. Still, the maidservants and older female attendants in great households really did walk like cats, without making the faintest sound. At the time, Liu Xianyang caught sight of the maidservant Zhi Gui secretly enjoying herself nearby and immediately flew into a rage from embarrassment, cursing Song Jixin, "Goose, my ass! Can the geese in your household talk?"

Chen Ping'an eventually caught seven or eight Stone Flatfish. They thrashed about so hard that the bamboo fish basket swayed back and forth. The pale-faced youth knew he was close to his limit. Spring water was cold in a way that drilled straight into the bones, and more importantly, his injured left hand could not take it anymore. After climbing ashore for the last time, Chen Ping'an quickly jumped down from the bluish stone cliff and slipped into the grass by the stream, producing a rustling sound. Before long, he pulled up three or four kinds of herbs, many with dirt still clinging to their roots. He gripped a large handful in his palm, picked up an ordinary pebble, returned to the stone cliff, and found a natural palm-sized hollow in the rock. After wiping it clean and dry, he gently pounded the herbs. They soon turned into a lump of green paste, its juice carrying the distinctive fragrance of wild grass by the water in spring.

With his back to the girl, Chen Ping'an took a deep breath, clenched his teeth, and began unwrapping the cloth around his left hand. Sweat soon seeped from his forehead, covering the icy stream water that had trickled down from his hair. The mangled wound was better than before, when bone had been visible, but it was still a horrifying sight. Chen Ping'an had not expected his left hand to touch the stream when he came here, so he had not prepared spare strips of cloth. Earlier, his mind had been filled entirely with earning money from Snake Gallstones and catching fish for soup. Only now did he realize he had made a serious mistake. As the youth stood there in a daze, a hand suddenly appeared before him, palm up, holding several dry, clean strips of cloth. At some point, the green-clothed girl had torn off part of her sleeve. Chen Ping'an gave a miserable smile. He did not bother standing on ceremony. After smearing the herbal medicine over the wound in his palm, he brought one end of the cloth close to his mouth and clamped it between his teeth. With his right hand, he pulled it tight, wound it twice around the back of his hand, and tied a knot. The whole sequence was orderly and fluid, like a butterfly circling branches, dazzling the onlooker's eyes.

After finishing the bandaging, Chen Ping'an slowly raised his right arm to wipe the sweat from his face. Both arms trembled uncontrollably.

The green-clothed girl, squatting nearby, held up a thumb toward Chen Ping'an, her face plainly saying that he was impressive.

Chen Ping'an pointed at his eyes with his right hand and said with a bitter smile, "Actually, it hurt so much that tears came out."

The girl turned to glance at the large basket Chen Ping'an had woven himself and the green bamboo fish basket, looking somewhat puzzled.

Chen Ping'an looked embarrassed. "Those stones can be sold for money, and catching fish is important too."

The girl seemed half to understand, yet she still did not speak. Her eyes drifted blankly as she turned and stared vacantly at the sparkling stream.

The babbling stream caressed the rocks protruding from its surface, splashing and murmuring.

At that moment, the stars blazed overhead, heaven and earth lay desolate and still, and it seemed that there was only a boy and a girl left in the human world.

Chen Ping'an's body gradually calmed and steadied. His once hurried breathing unconsciously slowed, becoming long and continuous.

It was like a stream swollen by mountain floods turning into a creek in the dry waters of spring and autumn.

The youth himself paid no attention whatsoever to this quiet change. It came naturally, as water flowed into its channel.

Chen Ping'an knew that he was soaked through and could not stay in the early spring wind for too long. He needed to hurry back to town and change clothes. Naturally, the youth knew nothing of the health-preserving principles and medical theories found in books, but having feared illness more than anything else all his life, he had long developed a keen instinct for the changing seasons and what his body could endure. So he quickly put on his straw sandals, tied the fish basket around his waist, slung the large basket over his back, waved to the green-clothed girl, and said with a smile, "I'm leaving. You should head home early too, miss."

As Chen Ping'an walked down the stone cliff, he could not help turning back to remind her, "The water by the Covered Bridge is especially deep. Be careful not to slip. When you go home, it's best to stick to the side by the paddy fields. Even if you fall, getting covered in mud is better than falling into the stream..."

As Chen Ping'an spoke, he suddenly realized that what he was saying was somewhat unlucky. It did not sound like a blessing at all, but rather like the foul-mouthed curses Gu Can's mother from Mud Bottle Alley was best at. Chen Ping'an quickly shut his mouth, stopped nagging, quickened his pace, and ran north toward town.

The large basket was heavy.

But the straw-sandaled youth was exceptionally happy.

After undoing that Heart Knot which had nearly become a dead knot, Chen Ping'an felt for the first time that he wanted to live well. Really well.

For example, he needed money!

He wanted to be able to afford Spring Festival couplets carrying that unique scent of ink, painted Guardian Gods, and meat buns from Old Madam Mao's shop. Better yet, he wanted to buy a cow and raise a flock of chickens like Song Jixin next door...

The green-clothed girl was still tirelessly "digging the mountain," her expression solemn and earnest. Each time she picked up a new pastry, it was as if she were facing a mortal enemy.

As she wrestled with a piece of Peach Blossom Cake, her body suddenly stiffened. Realizing that something was terribly wrong, she did not run. Instead, she opened her mouth wide, swallowed more than half the cake in one gulp, dusted off her hands, and sat where she was, bound and waiting for death.

At some point, a man had appeared. He was not tall, but he gave off an impression of solid, honest strength. Yet no one would mistake him for an ordinary farmer, because his gaze was simply too piercing for anyone to meet directly.

The man looked at the flower-patterned bundle that had been reduced to nothing but a "mountain foot," his face full of helplessness. He wanted to say a few words of reprimand, yet could not bear to. Silently watching his daughter's stubborn expression of I made a mistake, so I'll accept the punishment, his heart ached so badly that it felt as though he were the one at fault.

The man dearly wanted to say something to ease the mood, such as, "Daughter, if you're hungry, just eat over at Sword Furnace Thatched Hut. Once you're done, Father will go into town tomorrow and buy you more."

But when the words reached his lips, the naturally reserved man could not say them. Each word seemed to weigh a thousand jun, pressing down hard upon his tongue. No matter what, he did not know how to comfort his daughter.

At this moment, the man felt that he was not even as capable as that straw-sandaled youth. At least his daughter had not been so nervous around him.

The green-clothed girl suddenly raised her head and asked, "Father, why didn't you take him as an apprentice back then?"

His daughter taking the initiative to speak made the man feel as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

Though the man kept a stern face, he had already plopped himself down beside his daughter. He explained, "That child's acquired temperament is quite good, but his innate foundation is far too poor. Even if Father took him in, his fellow disciples would soon leave him far behind. No matter how hard he worked, he could only watch the gap widen. And if another Senior Brother Liu were to appear someday, what would be the point?"

The green-clothed girl's face darkened. It was unclear whether it was because she had heard the name "Senior Brother Liu," or because the straw-sandaled youth had passed her by.

After hesitating, the man decided not to hide anything, lest she stray onto the wrong path or disrupt the Sage's plan. "Besides, that youth is too ordinary. In this town, that makes him seem especially unusual. Xiu'er, you probably do not know this, but that child's Natal Ceramic was shattered long ago. That is why he has become something like a wandering ghost, without the shelter of ancestral blessings. At the same time, all sorts of strange things that are not easy to notice will happen around him. That is also why Song Jixin and that woman chose to become his neighbors. Otherwise, with Song Jixin's status, could he possibly be unable to live even on Fulu Street? Obviously not."

The girl thought it over seriously. "Father, are you saying he's a bit like bait?"

The man stroked her head. "More or less."

Then he smiled. "If we father and daughter were not sword cultivators who cared least in all the world about external things, fortunate chances, and destiny, Father might well have kept him by our side to see whether he could bring you a few more benefits."

The green-clothed girl seemed rather sullen, in low spirits.

The man sighed. "Xiu'er, Father's words may be rough, but the reasoning isn't. Don't dislike them for being unpleasant."

The green-clothed girl still looked listless, unable to summon any energy.

After thinking for a moment, the man pointed at the Covered Bridge in the distance, stretching across the stream like a black dragon. "The construction of that Covered Bridge was a grand undertaking into which the Great Li Dynasty poured countless efforts, all to suppress that inconspicuous iron sword. Just imagine it: three thousand years later, after an ownerless sword's Primordial Spirit had been damaged and drained away, even after more than three thousand full years, an entire dynasty still had to pay such an enormous price merely to suppress the little bit of lingering might it possessed. And all they sought was no more than a moment's rest for it..."

The girl gave an "Oh," drooping her head. From the corner of her eye, she kept glancing at that mountain foot, absentmindedly echoing, "Impressive, impressive."

The man did not know whether to laugh or cry as he rubbed his forehead.

Heaven was vast, earth was vast, but eating was the greatest thing of all.

But her mother was not this sort of woman either. So whose temperament had this daughter inherited?

The man patted his daughter's shoulder and said gently, "Father is going to meet someone. Eat by yourself, slowly. No one is going to fight you for it."

The girl abruptly raised her head and grabbed the man's arm. A scarlet bracelet around her wrist gleamed brilliantly, taking the form of a Flood Dragon whose head and tail met.

It was like a living little Flood Dragon of flame coiled around the girl's wrist.

The man said with relief, "At least you still have a bit of conscience. All right, don't worry. Father is going to see Mr. Qi."

The girl released his arm and immediately snatched up another pastry, wolfing it down.

The man's anger surged up from nowhere. He had endured with great difficulty until now, but at last could not help muttering, "Eat, eat, eat! That brat surnamed Liu deserves a beating, no doubt, but he really didn't say anything wrong. One day, you'll eat yourself into a chubby little fatty! Who would dare marry you then? Will Father have to snatch a live-in son-in-law?"

The girl stopped eating. Holding the pastry in both hands, she looked as though tears might fall at any moment.

The man fled in disarray. With his back to his daughter, he did not forget to slap himself.

Every time, it ended like this—success crumbling at the last moment.

In the middle of the night, Chen Ping'an ran all the way back to Liu Xianyang's house. As he unlocked the door, he could already hear that fellow's thunderous snoring.

What a big heart.

If it had been Chen Ping'an, he definitely would not have slept peacefully tonight.

He first placed both the large basket and fish basket in the kitchen shed built in the courtyard. Then he went to the right-side room Liu Xianyang had cleared out for him. After hurriedly changing into dry clothes, Chen Ping'an returned to the courtyard kitchen and dealt with the Stone Flatfish—gutting them, cleaning them, placing them on a clean porcelain plate, then covering them with another plate so they would not lure snakes, rats, or insects.

Chen Ping'an then picked five or six Snake Gallstones from the large basket, the ones that caught his eye most, and carried them into the side room where he slept.

Earlier, he had also taken a glance at the long sword Miss Ning had left on the cabinet. It was still lying there quietly.

After finishing all this, Chen Ping'an was finally able to lie down beneath the covers. His body gradually warmed, but the youth's eyes shone brightly.

Partly because his left hand throbbed with pain, and partly because he was not sleepy.

But the real reason was that, compared with Liu Xianyang, Chen Ping'an knew better how "unreasonable" those Outsiders could be.

The youth did not dare fall into a deep sleep.

So Chen Ping'an did not sleep the entire night, always keeping watch on the courtyard gate and the room door.

At dawn, Chen Ping'an got up and went to the kitchen. He picked up the shoulder pole, preparing to fetch two buckets of water from Iron Lock Well in Apricot Blossom Alley.

Still half asleep, Liu Xianyang hid beneath his blankets with only his head showing. Hearing the faint sounds, he called out groggily, "Chen Ping'an, getting up so early? What are you doing?"

Chen Ping'an replied irritably, "Fetching water!"

Liu Xianyang called again, "If you run into Zhi Gui, say hello for me."

Chen Ping'an could not be bothered with him.

Just as he was about to leave the little courtyard, Chen Ping'an suddenly heard Liu Xianyang say, "Chen Ping'an, if you're willing to help me, I'll go feel around the water pool for stones for you later!"

Chen Ping'an broke into a brilliant smile. "Deal!"

Liu Xianyang rolled his eyes and even pulled his head back beneath the blankets, muttering, "Disloyal bastard. Knew this was the only thing that would work."

On the stone steps of the Covered Bridge, a middle-aged Confucian scholar sat alone. He had sat there in silence until daybreak.

When the first pale blue ray of dawn appeared in the sky, he looked up and smiled softly.

"A dark room of a thousand years is lit by a single lamp."