Licorice Root

After Liu Xianyang and Chen Ping'an walked out of Mud Bottle Alley, they found two groups of people standing on their left and right. A little girl was riding on the shoulders of a burly old man, and an arrogant boy in a vibrant red robe stood beside a woman with a graceful demeanor. As Liu Xianyang walked through, he was calm and composed. In the eyes of the white-haired old man, he seemed to possess a certain commanding presence. The straw-sandaled youth's carefully concealed caution and restraint, however, were quite unimpressive.

After Lu Zhengchun bid farewell to the two, he remained rooted to the spot, trembling, and reported cautiously, "Liu Xianyang suggested that all you Immortal Masters give a suitable price, and he will reluctantly part with his family heirloom next time."

The woman looked towards the white-haired old man from Zhengyang Mountain and asked with a smile, "Elder Yuan, what are your thoughts?"

The old man pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice, "Things shouldn't go beyond three times. Before that, let's follow Liu Xianyang's suggestion and grant him immense fortune. Zhengyang Mountain can give this young man the identity of a true disciple of the sect. In addition, I will personally lend him a magic treasure for a period of one hundred years. As for your Xu family of Qingfeng City, you can handle it as you see fit."

The woman exclaimed in shock, "The identity of a true disciple of Zhengyang Mountain is already extremely noble. Elder Yuan is even going to lend out a magic treasure? Could this young man named Liu be a cultivation genius who was overlooked by a porcelain person when he was nine years old?"

The old man paid no heed, merely smiling at his young master and saying, "The small town has many shops with their own unique origins. Miss can wander around, and perhaps you'll find a bargain."

The little girl, with childlike innocence, shouted, "Giddy up, giddy up!" The old man, the Chief Guardian of Zhengyang Mountain, laughed heartily and began to jog, moving like a shifting mountain.

The boy laughed, "Zhengyang Mountain truly has great prestige!"

The woman signaled Lu Zhengchun to return first, while she took her son for a casual stroll on the street, explaining the origins of things to him. "Besides the ordinary main path up the mountain, Zhengyang Mountain also has a dedicated 'Sword Dao.' It has been passed down to this day, and six paths to the summit have been opened. This means that Zhengyang Mountain has produced six genuine enlightened Sword Immortals."

The boy scoffed, "What's the use of old records, no matter how thick? How many years can you live off past glory? Among the Qi refiners who have entered the small town, even those who came after us, every family, which one's ancestors weren't once prosperous?"

The woman held her child's hand and smiled, "Then do you know that in the past hundred years, two brand new Sword Daos are about to reach the peak of Zhengyang Mountain? The peculiar thing about that girl your age is that she can move freely on that 'Sword Peak' where sword energy crisscrosses, and the length of time she can stay there is even comparable to some of the old ancestors of Zhengyang Mountain."

The boy was stunned for a moment, then stopped in his tracks, extremely annoyed. "Since that foolish girl has such an extraordinary background, Mother, why didn't you tell me earlier? Then I wouldn't have been at odds with her all the way, causing her to retort to me at every turn. If I were to marry her in a few years and then form a Dao companion, wouldn't that be a great benefit to our Qingfeng City?!"

The woman looked at the beautiful, still childish face, full of anger, like a cub tiger. She laughed instead of getting angry, "You and that little girl are both cultivation prodigies with the potential to ascend to the 'Upper Five Realms.' Therefore, your threads of fate will be more complex and unpredictable. Acting willfully and deliberately will not be beautiful. Do you really think that girl now completely detests you?"

The boy frowned. "Otherwise?"

The woman said softly, "Let nature take its course."

The boy suddenly said with utmost seriousness, "Mother, I don't like that fellow following behind Liu Xianyang. I disliked him from the very first glance!"

The woman asked curiously, "Why is that?"

The child thought for a moment and replied, "This fellow is a bit strange. He's different from Lu Zhengchun, who understands everything, and Liu Xianyang, who understands nothing. Also, I particularly hate his eyes!"

The woman dismissed it as her son being childish again and advised, "You can't do as you please within the small town, but think about it, aren't you much more comforted knowing the fate of everyone here after this world collapses?"

The child nodded and subconsciously repeated the two words from his first encounter with the straw-sandaled youth, "Ant!"

After leaving the small town, Chen Ping'an and Liu Xianyang soon saw the covered bridge. Liu Xianyang casually asked, "Why do you think Song Jixin's father built this covered bridge? If he built it, why did he specifically rebuild the old stone arch bridge? I heard the stone bridge wasn't dismantled either. It's like wearing a coat. I wonder if it'll be hot in the summer, hahaha..."

By the end, the tall young man was amused by himself.

A golden plaque hung at one end of the covered bridge, a four-character plaque whose author was unknown, with extremely large characters: "Prosperity and Progress."

As the two youths walked up the steps, Liu Xianyang stomped his feet hard and said mysteriously, "Old Man Yao once told me that there was something strange beneath these steps. He said that when the covered bridge was first built, one night, Song Jixin's father ordered people to dig a large pit here and bury a porcelain jar as tall as a person. Are you scared?"

Chen Ping'an said irritably, "What's there to be afraid of."

The two entered the shaded covered bridge. Liu Xianyang whispered, "Do you think it's because of the deep pool beneath the bridge, where several people drowned? They needed to invite monks and Daoist priests to perform rituals to ward off evil spirits?"

Chen Ping'an never spoke rashly about ghosts and spirits.

Since Liu Xianyang couldn't get an answer, he lost interest.

This newly built wooden covered bridge still exuded a faint scent of wood and paint. The main beams and pillars were made of wood felled from deep mountain forests that had been sealed for countless years. It was extremely difficult to transport them out of the mountains. The small stream that wound around the mountain usually had a low water level, far from enough to float those giant logs. They had to choose times of heavy rain when the mountain paths were muddy and slippery, and one wrong step could lead to falling into the floodwaters. It was extremely dangerous. Fortunately, no strong young people drowned that time. Some said that when transporting the wood out of the mountain, the tutor Qi Jingchun personally went to help, teaching people how to operate the equipment hand in hand, so it was thanks to Mr. Qi that everything went safely.

Upon reaching the steps of the covered bridge on the north side, Liu Xianyang suddenly sat down, resting on a large bluestone slab. Chen Ping'an had no choice but to squat beside him.

Liu Xianyang asked with a smile, "If it weren't for me, would you and Song Jixin have become very good friends?"

Chen Ping'an shook his head. "Perhaps our relationship would have been a bit closer, but not by much."

Liu Xianyang asked curiously, "Why? You two are neighbors, and about the same age. To be honest, Song Jixin likes to show off his knowledge and speaks harshly, but he doesn't seem to have done anything wicked. You're also easygoing, so why wouldn't it work out?"

Chen Ping'an smiled. "Let's not talk about this. When we get to the blacksmith shop later, don't be so flippant. Whether you can keep your family's Treasure Armor depends on whether you can become Master Ruan's beginner disciple."

"I know, I know. Chen Ping'an, to be honest, you really need to change your nagging habit in the future, or you'll annoy people to death."

Liu Xianyang leaned back, resting the back of his head on the topmost step of the covered bridge, gazing at the azure sky. "You've followed Old Man Yao for a long time and climbed many mountains. How far can you see?"

Chen Ping'an casually pulled out a stalk of licorice root, brushed off the dirt, and put it in his mouth to chew. He mumbled, "The furthest time was probably three years ago. Old Man Yao and I made a round trip, taking about ten days. We bypassed more than ten sealed mountain peaks alone. Finally, we reached a very strange mountain, frighteningly tall. You might not believe it, but when we climbed halfway up, all you could see was clouds and mist. Finally, Old Man Yao and I managed to reach the summit, and then..."

Liu Xianyang waited for a long time but didn't get to hear the rest. He turned and laughed, "You're like someone who stops halfway through defecating and pulls up their pants!"

Chen Ping'an felt a pang of sadness and said softly, "You know, Old Man Yao has a very bad impression of me. He almost never reasoned with me, nor did he want to teach me the true skills of porcelain firing. Every time we went into the mountains, Old Man Yao wouldn't talk much. From entering the mountain to returning to the Dragon Kiln, he barely said a few words. But that time, after reaching the summit, Old Man Yao was probably in a good mood, so he said a bit more. He told me to see the scenery there, and if I saw it, not to talk too much after going down the mountain. He said that people should focus on doing their work, and just talking idly would be embarrassing even if they left the small town."

Liu Xianyang comforted him, "It's not that I'm speaking well of Old Man Yao. He doesn't like you, but he doesn't hate you either. He has that bad temper with everyone, and he's only a little better with me."

Chen Ping'an nodded. "That's why, deep down, I've always been very grateful to Old Man Yao."

Liu Xianyang suddenly exclaimed angrily, "After all this talk, you still haven't said what you saw!"

Chen Ping'an pointed to the east. "The mountain we climbed was already very high, but from the summit, I saw a mountain even higher to the east. I can't even describe how tall it was."

Liu Xianyang cursed, "You just saw a tall mountain, and I thought you saw Immortals riding clouds and mist!"

Chen Ping'an thought for a moment, filled with longing. "Perhaps there really are Immortals on that mountain?"

Liu Xianyang asked with a laugh, "Chen Ping'an, do you think Immortals also need to eat, drink, and excrete?"

Chen Ping'an rubbed his chin. "If Immortals also need to defecate, that's quite inappropriate."

Liu Xianyang slapped Chen Ping'an hard on the head, then stood up and ran off. "Then Immortals will be defecating on your head!"

Liu Xianyang's blow was not light, and it made Chen Ping'an a little dizzy. He didn't think about chasing after the tall young man. After getting up, he muttered to himself, "Thunder, is that the Immortals snoring in their sleep? If it rains, it shouldn't be Immortals urinating, right? That would be too miserable for us..."

Chen Ping'an quickened his pace, soon catching up to Liu Xianyang.

After some playful roughhousing, they finally arrived at the blacksmith shop by the stream. Seven or eight structures had already been erected, including earthen houses and thatched cottages. In Chen Ping'an's eyes, these were all piles and piles of money.

A large group of young men and adults from the small town were digging wells. Most of the people his age were former apprentices from the Dragon Kiln, like Liu Xianyang. After losing the "porcelain rice bowl" bestowed by the emperor, being able to secure a stable job at the blacksmith shop was already considered very fortunate. However, according to Liu Xianyang, most of these helpers were temporary laborers just doing odd jobs. Master Ruan said he would only take a few indoor disciples, with the rest becoming long-term workers at best.

Liu Xianyang waved his hand. "Wait here. I'll go say hello to Master Ruan and see if I can bring you along to witness the blacksmithing. Tsk tsk, if you see his daughter swinging a hammer and forging iron, I guarantee it'll shock you to death!"

Chen Ping'an stood in place, not wandering around.

He surveyed his surroundings. Seven wells were already taking shape, with well winches and fences around the openings. At some of the well mouths, people continuously emerged, carrying baskets on their heads.

Watching the busy crowd digging wells, Chen Ping'an habitually squatted down, picked up a handful of soil, and slowly rubbed it between his fingertips.

It felt quite moist, but it wasn't water-attributed soil. Quite the opposite, it was fire-attributed soil, specifically the last type of fire-attributed soil. According to Old Man Yao, it was called "Seven Moons Flowing Fire Loam." The soil's nature would naturally turn warm and cool, not too dry, and it was highly malleable. This also meant that when reinforcing the well walls, there would be less risk of collapse, which was a good thing.

It was clear that even if blacksmith Master Ruan wasn't an expert in digging wells, he was certainly not an amateur.

Chen Ping'an just couldn't understand why they were digging so many wells in such a small area.

Chen Ping'an turned his head towards the stream and grinned.

To the straw-sandaled youth, this nameless stream was now a treasure trove filled with gold, silver, and copper coins.

However, after handling the Snake Gallstone tonight, Chen Ping'an had to sneak over to Mud Bottle Alley. He needed to dig something from beneath the large water vat at Gu Can's house, as per the secret whisper Gu Can gave him before leaving the small town. Gu Can had been in such a hurry when he left that he hadn't explained much, only saying it was his family's treasure and that even his mother didn't know where he had hidden it.

The thought of that snotty kid made Chen Ping'an smile.

In the past, Chen Ping'an had been Liu Xianyang's tag-along, following him to catch fish, hunt snakes, and raid bird nests. Now that Chen Ping'an had become a young man, he had a little follower behind him too.

For the straw-sandaled youth who had no one to rely on, one was his older brother, and the other was his younger brother.

One he needed to repay a debt of gratitude to, and the other he needed to take care of.

So, over the years, Chen Ping'an had lived a hard life, but not a bitter one.