Taoye Lane

Chen Ping'an carried the water back to Liu Xianyang's yard and poured it into the water vat in the kitchen. Then, he ran to the door and shouted, "Liu Xianyang, can I borrow some of your firewood, oil, and salt? I want to make fish soup for Miss Ning to help her recover. Is that okay?"

Liu Xianyang, who had been enjoying a deep sleep, was startled awake and roared, "Chen! Are you annoying or what? I was just dreaming that Zhi Gui smiled at me! Hurry up and give me a Zhi Gui!"

Chen Ping'an shook his head and remembered something. He apologized, "I actually ran into Zhi Gui by the Iron Lock Well just now, but Granny Ma interrupted, and I forgot to pass on your message. I'll make sure to deliver your message when I bring the fish soup to Miss Ning later."

Liu Xianyang did a flip and quickly put on his clothes. He sat on the threshold outside the main hall and watched the thin figure busy in the kitchen, chuckling, "I'll go with you to deliver the fish soup later. By the way, did Zhi Gui wear that bright red pomegranate skirt today? Or the light green one? Sigh, if I can save another two hundred coins, I'll be able to buy that hundred-gram silver powder box. I know she's had her eye on it for a long time but couldn't bear to buy it. It's all Song Jixin's fault, that stingy pauper. He dresses like a nobody from Fulu Street, yet poor Zhi Gui barely gets any new clothes all year round. If I were her young master, I'd buy her anything she wanted, making her richer than any young lady on Fulu Street, a true lady of ten thousand riches!"

Chen Ping'an ignored Liu Xianyang's daydreaming. He really didn't understand why Liu Xianyang was so fond of Zhi Gui. It wasn't that he looked down on her for being Song Jixin's maidservant, nor did he think Zhi Gui was unattractive. He just felt that she and Liu Xianyang didn't seem destined for each other.

Chen Ping'an asked curiously, "Why do you call her Zhi Gui too? Why not Wang Zhu anymore?"

Liu Xianyang grinned, "Now that I know you don't know how to write 'Zhi Gui' either, I don't care anymore."

Chen Ping'an said helplessly, "What's the point of comparing with me? Compare with Song Jixin. Zhi Gui isn't my maid."

Liu Xianyang sneered, "That guy isn't better than you in everything. For example, has he ever called anyone 'Dad' or 'Mom' in his life? No, right? So he's not as good as you, Chen Ping'an. No wonder Gu Can's mother and Granny Ma and those women are so sharp-tongued. Song Jixin wasn't from a clean family to begin with. Otherwise, why wouldn't he live openly in that Supervising Official's yamen and instead go to Mud Bottle Alley to live a hard life? That guy even dares to look down on people, so he deserves to be slandered and called a bastard."

Chen Ping'an stood up and walked to the kitchen door. "Liu Xianyang, although Song Jixin and I aren't exactly friends, for you to say that about him..."

Liu Xianyang quickly raised his hands, absolutely refusing to let Chen Ping'an continue his nagging. He said slyly, "I won't say it anymore, okay? Chen Ping'an, where did you get that stubborn temper of yours? My grandpa said your parents were both very easy to talk to, especially your mother. She spoke softly and always smiled. Her temper was truly impeccable. My grandpa also said that Granny Ma, who used to scold almost everyone in the nearby alleys, would actually smile and not pick fault with your mother."

Chen Ping'an couldn't stop smiling.

Liu Xianyang waved him away, "Hurry up and make soup for your little wife."

Chen Ping'an rolled his eyes, "If you have the guts, say that in front of Miss Ning?"

Liu Xianyang laughed, "You're foolish, but I'm not."

Not long after, Chen Ping'an brought out a small clay pot. The two of them locked the house and yard doors and walked towards Mud Bottle Alley. When they reached Chen Ping'an's yard entrance, Liu Xianyang saw him foolishly knocking on the door and realized that Chen Ping'an had left all his house keys with the black-clothed girl. Liu Xianyang thought this guy was truly beyond saving.

When the black-clothed girl was home, she didn't wear a veil. When she opened the door, she revealed a clean and refreshing face. Liu Xianyang felt a bit afraid of this stern-faced girl. The tall young man didn't even know why. If it was about being cold, Zhi Gui next door was even more so, yet Liu Xianyang still dared to pester her shamelessly. If it was because the black-clothed girl wore swords, that wasn't right either. When facing the rich young men from Fulu Street, even when chased and cornered like a stray dog, the young man had never truly been scared.

But he was a little afraid of this young woman from out of town named Ning Yao.

The black-clothed girl sat by the table and opened the pot. Smelling the aroma, she narrowed her long, narrow eyes slightly and nodded gently, saying, "Thank you."

Chen Ping'an observed meticulously and knew that this was the cold girl's way of showing she was in a good mood.

Chen Ping'an first helped her cook a pot of porridge, telling her to watch the heat herself. Then he said to Liu Xianyang, "Are you waiting for Zhi Gui to come out? I have to deliver a letter."

Liu Xianyang was sitting on the threshold, straining his ears to listen for any movement from the other side. He was afraid of hearing any sounds of immortals fighting. The tall young man, in a bad mood, impatiently said, "You do your thing!"

Chen Ping'an left the yard. Just as he was about to reach the intersection of Mud Bottle Alley, he suddenly found his vision darkening. He looked up and saw a tall man in a snow-white robe. The man had one hand behind his back and the other resting on his white jade belt, gazing into the distance.

Perhaps realizing he was blocking the narrow alley, the man smiled slightly and stepped aside to let Chen Ping'an pass.

Chen Ping'an, full of questions, quickened his pace to leave Mud Bottle Alley. He glanced back; the man had already slowly entered Mud Bottle Alley.

Even in a fleeting glance, Chen Ping'an had seen that the spotless snow-white robe had faint golden threads embroidered on the chest and back, forming two patterns that seemed to depict living creatures moving through mountain mist and clouds, which was very marvelous. Chen Ping'an stopped thinking about it, assuming it was another outsider like Fu Nanhua looking for opportunities in Mud Bottle Alley. After walking past the Old Scholar Tree with Mr. Qi that day, the straw-sandaled youth was no longer too worried. He felt that as long as Mr. Qi was in town, even if something happened, at least he could seek justice.

As Chen Ping'an jogged past Apricot Blossom Alley, he saw the blue-clothed girl he met last night still sitting at a wonton stall. She held a chopstick in each hand, standing them upright on the table and tapping them lightly. Her round, slightly childish and chubby face was full of spirit. Her eyes were fixed on the wontons boiling in the pot, completely unaware of Chen Ping'an, who was five or six steps away.

For the blue-clothed girl, with food in front of her, even if the sky fell, she would finish eating before running away!

Chen Ping'an sincerely admired this stranger. Without disturbing her, he smiled and continued running towards the east of the town.

Some people and things, even if they are just roadside scenery, can still make one feel beautiful just by looking at them.

When Chen Ping'an reached the fence gate on the east side, the scruffy man was standing on a tree stump, standing on tiptoe and looking towards the east, as if waiting for an important person.

Chen Ping'an had heard the old men chatting by the Old Scholar Tree before, saying that when the current Supervising Official first entered the town, there was a grand procession. The elders of the Four Clans and Ten Tribes almost came out in full force to "welcome" him at the east gate of the city. However, after waiting for several hours under the scorching sun, a hurried official from the yamen ran to the east gate, saying that the Supervising Official had just woken up from a nap in the backyard of the yamen and asked everyone to meet him at the yamen. This infuriated the wealthy gentlemen, but it was said that after entering the yamen, no one dared to complain, and they all smiled like obedient grandsons.

Chen Ping'an always found it strange how those old men spoke as if they had seen it with their own eyes. Every time they talked about gossip from Fulu Street and Taoye Lane, it was more real than reality. For example, when they talked about the second aunt of the Lu family and the guard captain becoming lovers, they even described in detail how the second aunt frantically adjusted her clothes to cover her ample chest when their door was broken down, without missing a single detail. The storyteller sounded like the guard captain himself.

Liu Xianyang always listened with his mouth watering. Song Jixin would occasionally go too, but he wouldn't bring Zhi Gui. He would smile more subtly than Liu Xianyang, but when he joined the others in secretly egging them on, he was exceptionally energetic, louder than his morning and evening studies of the Sages.

Chen Ping'an squatted beside the tree stump, patiently waiting for the town's gatekeeper.

The man cursed and jumped off the stump. Upon seeing the straw-sandaled youth, he didn't say anything. He went to the yellow mud hut and brought back a stack of letters. There were six domestic letters, and he only gave Chen Ping'an five copper coins.

Chen Ping'an briefly glanced at the addresses on the letters and said nothing. Two of the letters were for next-door neighbors on Fulu Street. Chen Ping'an didn't want to take advantage of this. Of course, if the man had uncharacteristically shown kindness and given him six coins from the start, Chen Ping'an wouldn't have refused.

After deciding on the order of delivery, Chen Ping'an casually asked, "Waiting for someone?"

The man glanced towards the wide avenue to the east and said breathlessly, "Waiting for the boss!"

Chen Ping'an didn't want to stay and be a punching bag, so he quickly ran off.

The man chuckled, "Oh, he's got some insight."

The man glanced at the sky. The rolling thunder had long since stopped, and the low-hanging clouds that seemed to be pressing down on the eaves had gradually dispersed.

The man sat down on the tree stump with a sigh, "When immortals fight, mortals suffer."

Six letters in total. There was one each for the four major surnames—Lu, Li, Zhao, and Song—on Fulu Street, and two in Taoye Lane. Coincidentally, one of them was a letter from the kind old man Chen Ping'an had met earlier. Even more coincidentally, the person who opened the door to receive the letter was the old man himself. Seeing that it was Chen Ping'an, the old man recognized the straw-sandaled youth and joked, "Child, won't you come in for a drink of water?"

Chen Ping'an smiled shyly and shook his head.

The old man was not surprised. He reached into his sleeve and took out a handful of copper coins, handing them to Chen Ping'an. He chuckled and explained, "We have good news at home today. This is a token of good luck for whoever sees it. It's not much, just over ten coins, so please take it."

Chen Ping'an then accepted the copper coins and said with a smile, "Thank you, Grandpa Wei!"

The old man nodded and suddenly said, "Child, recently, when you have nothing else to do, you can often sit under the scholar tree. If you see any scholar leaves or scholar branches on the ground, take them home and keep them. They can ward off ants and centipedes. It's very good, and it won't cost you any money."

Chen Ping'an bowed thankfully to the old man from beneath the steps.

The old man smiled, "Go on, go on. The year's plan starts in spring, and it's definitely a good thing for a young man to stretch his muscles."

The young man ran away from Taoye Lane, its streets paved with bluestone.

The old man stood at his doorstep for a long time, gazing at the peach trees on either side. A graceful, young maidservant approached him and whispered, "Old Ancestor, what are you looking at? It's cold outside, don't catch a chill."

The maidservant had served the old man for many years. She knew he had a kind heart like a Bodhisattva. The young woman felt respect, not fear, towards the old man. With a charming smile, she playfully asked, "Old Ancestor, are you perhaps thinking of the girl you met when you were young? Was that girl standing under the peach tree then?"

The white-haired old man chuckled, "Tao Ya, you're like that boy who delivered the message, both 'thoughtful people'."

The maidservant, pleased with the praise, giggled charmingly.

The old man suddenly laughed, "A distant relative is coming to visit these next two days. When they arrive, Tao Ya, you'll leave the small town with the other children."

The maidservant froze for a moment, her eyes immediately reddening. She choked out, "Old Ancestor, I don't want to leave here."

The old man, usually very easygoing, waved his hand. "I'll watch the lane scenery a little longer. You go back first, Tao Ya. Be good, or I'll get angry."

The maidservant had no choice but to leave timidly, looking back repeatedly.

The peach leaves in Taoye Lane were lush, but there were no peach blossoms yet.

The old man let out a soft sigh, stepped over the threshold, and descended the steps. He walked towards the nearest peach tree and stood beneath it. The old man said sadly, "The peach tree is young and tender, its blossoms brilliant. I truly will never see them again."

The old man glanced back at his house and murmured, "This small town's good fortune was never meant to align with the Great Dao. The Sages forcibly reshaped heaven and earth here, bestowing upon it immense luck for a full three thousand years. Those who left this town throughout the generations have spread far and wide across the East Treasure Bottle Continent. But Heaven is cunning, and now it's time to settle the score and collect its due. You children, why don't you hurry and leave this place? Do you want to wait for death with us old, broken porcelain? Know that death comes in degrees. For our town's thousands of people, this death would be absolute, leaving no chance for an afterlife."

"So, while Heaven is still turning a blind eye, the more people who can leave, the better."

The old man extended his withered palm and touched a peach branch. "Thoughtful people, thoughtful people. I hope Heaven truly won't disappoint."

At some point, the grandmother of the young scholar Zhao Yao, an old woman leaning on a cane, approached. "An old man about to be buried, and still so naive, smearing himself with rouge like an old woman. Truly, utterly detestable. Can your meager kindness change even a fraction of this impending disaster?"

The old man's eyes were a little unfocused. He looked at the equally white-haired old woman and inexplicably said, "You've come."

The old woman was stunned at first, then immediately flew into a rage. She swung her cane at him, "Shameless old rogue! At your age, you still dare to be so lewd?!"

The cane rained down on him, and the old man had no choice but to flee, laughing heartily.

The old woman stood under the peach tree, still furious, regretting her soft heart that made her come to Taoye Lane.

Finally, the old woman looked up at the peach leaves, which were sprouting new buds.

The old woman walked back to Fulu Street step by step, her cane tapping repeatedly on the bluestone.

A peaceful town that had prospered for a thousand years, never imagining that in the end, all its inhabitants would be pitiable souls with no afterlife.

Was there truly no sliver of hope?

The stream grows shallower, the well water colder, the old scholar tree older, the iron lock rusty, the great clouds hang low.

This year, the peach leaves will not see peach blossoms.