Scolding the Scholar Tree

Chen Ping'an thought that if he were to touch stones during the day in the future, he could start from Liu Xianyang's side and move upstream all the way to that covered bridge. Therefore, tonight he chose a spot further upstream from his first dive, thus moving away from the covered bridge and the green stone cliff known as "Green Ox Back" in their dialect, which was where Chen Ping'an first saw the green-clothed girl. Because of this, he missed meeting Song Jixin and the Supervising Official.

Above the covered bridge hung a plaque with the four characters "Feng Sheng Shui Qi" (Prosperity and Progress).

The man in the white robe and jade belt was nominally the Dragon Kiln Supervising Official, but in reality, he was the Great Li's most powerful feudal lord. Under his leadership, Song Jixin arrived at the bottom of the covered bridge's steps. Before coming, he had not only bathed and changed clothes at the yamen but also wore a sachet and a dragon-shaped jade pendant made of ordinary material, its luster dim and unremarkable. Instead, the "Old Dragon Spreads Rain" jade pendant, which was superior in both material, appearance, and symbolism, was forcefully ordered by the man to be removed and absolutely not to be worn.

Song Jixin held three sticks of incense in his hands, the young man standing at the bottom of the steps, at a loss.

Song Changjing, the Great Li feudal lord, turned around, extended a hand, and gently rubbed the tops of the three incense sticks with two fingers, igniting them.

The man said casually, "After you kneel, face the plaque, kowtow three times, and stick the incense into the ground. That's all there is to it."

Although Song Jixin was full of doubt, he still followed the instructions of this "uncle" who had descended from the heavens, holding the incense, kneeling, and kowtowing three times.

Although the man spoke lightly, after the young man knelt, his expression became solemn and extremely complex. He looked at the ground where the young man kowtowed, revealing a deeply hidden loathing.

After sticking the three incense sticks into the ground and standing up, Song Jixin asked, "Is it okay to offer incense here?"

The man chuckled, "It's just a formality, don't take it too seriously. Starting now, learn to play along, or you might be overwhelmed later."

The man's smile faded. "But don't forget, this covered bridge is your... place of origin."

Song Jixin's lips were blue, whether from frostbite due to the late spring chill. The young man pretended to be relaxed and said, "These four words, you can't just use them carelessly, can you?"

The man patted his belly with one hand and held his white jade belt with the other, laughing heartily, "It's fine in the Capital City, but here it doesn't matter. There are no lapdogs of the court or stray dogs of the jianghu to pounce on me and tear me to pieces."

Song Jixin asked curiously, "Are you afraid of being criticized?"

The man retorted, "In the Great Li Dynasty, I'm already invincible both above and below the mountains. If I still have nothing to fear, wouldn't I be more at ease than the one sitting on the dragon throne? Boy, do you think that's proper?"

Song Jixin pondered for a moment, hesitated, and then made up his mind to ask, "Are you hiding your strength, or are you fostering rebellion for your own benefit?"

The man burst into laughter, pointed at the sharp-tongued young man, and shook his head, "You dare to speak such treasonous words. You're too reckless about the consequences. Whether you go to the Capital City in the future or to some immortal's abode above the mountains to avoid trouble, I advise you, don't be so unrestrained in your speech and actions, or you'll surely bring great misfortune upon yourself."

Song Jixin nodded, "I'll remember that."

The man pointed to the golden plaque, "Feng Sheng Shui Qi, Feng Sheng Shui Qi. I ask you, how does 'Shui Qi' (water rise) rise?"

Song Jixin answered crisply, "I don't know."

The man muttered, "To know what you know, and to not know what you don't know, that is knowledge. What nonsense. Scholars always have so many convoluted thoughts, even a fart has to be delivered in a roundabout way."

However, facing the young man, the man was slightly more refined, "If I remember correctly, in your small town's three thousand years, no matter how big the flood, the highest water level of this stream has never exceeded the tip of the rusted sword's blade."

Song Jixin asked doubtfully, "The old man who lives by the Iron Lock Well in Apricot Blossom Alley does often mention this saying under the scholar tree. Is there truly any mystery to it?"

The man pointed to the far distance, where the stream exited the mountains, and said with a smile, "In the mountains and forests, snakes have their paths, and within houses, mice have their routes. As for rivers and streams, flood dragons have their ways."

The man retracted his finger and patiently explained, "In many other places in the Great Li Dynasty, there are customs of hanging swords under bridges. However, those bronze swords, peach wood swords, or talisman swords can often block one incursion of flood dragons and forest pythons, but not a second. Many of those who hang magic swords have shallow cultivation, and cannot withstand the power of even one passage through the river. Instead, they provoke the flood dragons within the flood. Thus, after the flood passes, bridges that could have stood collapse, and the swords disappear. Only the sword here..."

The man trailed off mid-sentence and fell silent.

Song Jixin had been holding back from asking.

The man sighed, "Only this sword, from the first day it was hung under the bridge, was not meant to guard against flood dragons passing through the river. Instead, it was used by a Sage to suppress the exit of the Dragon-Locking Well. The exit, that is, the deep pool beneath the bridge, prevents the dragon energy from overflowing and dissipating too quickly, lest it forcibly break this small world."

Song Jixin asked pointedly, "Did the last True Dragon in the world truly die?"

Song Changjing laughed, "In the dragon-slaying war three thousand years ago, countless Qi refiners died, and even Sages of the Three Teachings and masters of the Hundred Schools suffered heavy losses. Do you think all of them were out of their minds, or that the Sages lived their lives to the dogs? Deliberately keeping the last True Dragon alive, like raising common birds, fish, and insects?"

Song Jixin retorted, "Perhaps they couldn't completely kill that True Dragon? They could only use delaying tactics and a strategy of slow erosion. Although I don't know the original intentions and plans of the Sages thousands of years ago, I can guess that the True Dragon was definitely not simple!"

The man shook his head, then nodded. "You're half right. The True Dragon is indeed dead. As for its true identity and symbolic meaning, the word 'not simple' absolutely cannot encompass it."

Song Jixin wanted to speak but stopped.

"In short, all of Great Li's plans and countless efforts were only for 'Feng Sheng Shui Qi' (Prosperity and Progress), for the future great undertaking of marching south."

The man walked up the steps first and said slowly, "If you ask me why the Sages of three thousand years ago wanted to slay dragons, I can't answer you. But if you ask why you were left here, and why you are a noble prince of Great Li's direct lineage, I can tell you the truth in detail."

Song Jixin lowered his head, his expression unreadable.

Since the young man didn't ask, the man naturally didn't impose. When he reached the top step, he turned to face the small town, "In the future, have a broader perspective. To engage in a dispute of honor with someone like Liu Xianyang, and even harbor murderous intent, don't you find it beneath you?"

Song Jixin sat at the top of the steps, looking north with the man, and asked an unrelated question, "Is our Great Li at the northernmost end of East Treasure Bottle Continent?"

The man nodded, "Yes, we've been considered northern barbarians for nearly a thousand years. Only now that our fists are hard enough have we earned a little respect."

Song Jixin still kept his head down, but his eyes were burning with intensity.

The man named Song Changjing said calmly, "When you reach the Capital City, be careful of someone nicknamed 'Embroidered Tiger'."

Song Jixin was completely bewildered.

Song Changjing laughed, "He is now our Great Li's National Teacher, and also the teaching master of your fellow countryman, your younger brother. Great Li has been able to expand its territory so greatly in the past fifty years, from seventy founding prefectures and eight hundred cities to the current one hundred forty prefectures and fifteen hundred cities, and he deserves half the credit."

Song Jixin suddenly looked up.

The man smiled, "Boy, you guessed correctly."

The man also sat on the steps, resting his hands on his knees, gazing into the distance.

Another contributor to Great Li's territorial expansion was clearly visible, far away yet close at hand.

At this moment, Song Jixin trembled all over, his scalp tingling.

They remained silent for a long time. After a while, Song Jixin suddenly said, "Uncle, although I had murderous intent towards Liu Xianyang, and even considered making a deal with Fu Nanhua of Old Dragon City to find a way to kill Liu Xianyang. However, I never felt that Liu Xianyang was qualified to be my equal, even with his long-standing family heritage. I wanted to kill him simply because I wouldn't have to pay much of a price. That's all."

Song Changjing showed some interest, "So, you have another unresolved issue?"

The young man touched his neck and remained silent.

***

Deep in the night, all was quiet.

Someone was still walking the streets of the small town. Her figure was slender, her clothes thin. As she passed the Iron Lock Well in Apricot Blossom Alley, she gritted her teeth. When she went by the memorial archway, she kicked a stone pillar fiercely. Finally, she arrived under the old scholar tree, its branches and leaves lush. According to the elders, this tree had lived for an unknown number of years, and no matter when a dead branch fell, it never hit anyone; it was extremely spiritual.

The girl swaggered to the base of the tree, clearly dismissive of these tales.

She opened the ancient book, borrowed from her young master, and began to "search for the horse by its picture."

She called out names one by one, like a great general inspecting troops on an autumn battlefield.

When her throat grew dry, she stopped naming them. Holding the local gazetteer, which Song Jixin called the "Book Beyond the Wall," in one hand, she pointed at the scholar tree with the other, tilting her head back and shouting, "Are you ungrateful?!"

There was no sound, no reply.

The girl immediately stamped her foot and cursed loudly, "The Four Clans and Ten Tribes, let's start with the Four Clans: Lu, Li, Zhao, Song! You four great clans, be sensible and quick about it! Each clan must drop at least three sophora leaves. If even one leaf is missing, I, Wang Zhu, will never be done with you! When I get out, I'll deal with each of you, whether you're young men, women, children, or the elderly. You're all ungrateful wretches who can't be raised properly!"

The girl, panting from her tirade, held her waist and continued to curse, "Clan Song, who was the greatest contributor to the Great Li Dynasty being able to bear your name? Don't you know? Are you pretending to be foolish? Believe it or not, when I get out, I'll make sure the Great Li's surname is Lu, Zhao, or anything else, just not Song!"

"The ten great families, two sophora leaves from each surname. As for the ordinary surnames, at least one leaf. Of course, anyone with the courage to bet more will be greatly rewarded. I'll make sure they profit handsomely!"

"The Cao family among the ten tribes, yes, the Cao family that produced that scoundrel Cao Xi! That brat did all sorts of disgusting things back then. Even when he was still in diapers, he was full of malice! Besides your two sophora leaves, you must give me an extra one as compensation, otherwise, I, Wang Zhu, swear that when I get out, I will ensure Cao Xi has no descendants! How can such a wicked person who dares to urinate in a well become a True Lord of a nation?!"

"And the Xie family, you have a fellow named Xie Shi in your family, right? Yes, I have some connection with him. If it weren't for me back then, he would have been washed away by the flood. So, if you don't give me an extra sophora leaf, is that acceptable?"

In the distance, Qi Jingchun watched the scene under the scholar tree quietly, saying nothing.

He looked like a strict father who only knew how to spank his children, watching a child who grew more and more spoiled, with a sense of helplessness.

But when he saw the girl constantly flipping through the book, and then the sophora leaves detaching from their branches and drifting down between the pages, Qi Jingchun felt a sense of relief.

With a thousand unspoken words, Qi Jingchun finally murmured, "After you leave home, be good."

As if sensing something, the girl suddenly looked back.

There was no one there.

The girl felt a sense of loss. She shook her head, stopped pondering, and turned back to continue scolding the scholar tree.