Past Like Smoke

After only a few knocks, the door, painted black, was opened.

Today there were guests, so the door was already ajar, ready to be opened. A middle-aged man, over six feet tall with broad shoulders, pulled open the door, wiping a bead of sweat from his hurried run. He first cupped his hands and said, "My apologies, my apologies. I was just helping move a vat of pickled vegetables and didn't open the door sooner. I've made the young master wait."

He first opened the door. There were tables and chairs nearby, with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones on the table.

Some things were already written on the paper: the names of the guests and the gifts they brought. They were all valuable. Some were silks and satins from the prefectural city, and others were rare Golden Phoenix paper, a superior stationery favored by scholars and literati, which was expensive.

The middle-aged man sat down, asked Qi WuHuo's name, and looked at the mountain goods the young man was carrying. He smiled and said, "Excellent, thank you, young master. Heh... mountain goods at this time of year are quite rare."

"Master and Madam will have something delicious to eat."

"I wonder if we workers can get a taste."

He smiled as he recorded it, then took out a red paper envelope from the side. Judging by its appearance, it contained at least fifty large coins, enough to buy seven catties of pork, or five good writing brushes, or a fine piece of ink. It was quite a sum. The middle-aged man smiled and said, "We're just inviting guests for a simple meal, not hoarding wealth. It's normal to give and receive."

"It's your mountain goods, young master, that were not easy to come by."

Footsteps could be heard approaching.

"Where is Senior Brother Qi? Has Senior Brother Qi arrived?!"

Li Puyü, who had changed into new clothes, rushed over. Ever since he last met Qi WuHuo and was unintentionally awed by the Primordial Spirit Qi he exuded, he had felt a strange sense of reverence for Qi WuHuo. He had been waiting inside since early this morning and, upon hearing the conversation outside, hurried over.

When he saw Qi WuHuo again, he only felt that the latter's aura was gentle and clear, without the invisible pressure he had felt before.

Li Puyü, for some reason, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Qi WuHuo said, "Brother Li."

Li Puyü said, "Why call me Brother Li? Just call me Puyü. Come, don't stand here."

"Uncle Li, I'll trouble you with these things. Come, Senior Brother Qi, my father was very happy to hear you were coming and has been waiting for you."

Li Puyü was only a fifteen-year-old boy. He grabbed Qi WuHuo's arm and hurried inside. The first thing they entered was a stone screen with a large "福" (fortune) character written on it. Going around it, they entered a somewhat narrow passageway. Beyond that, the view opened up. Li Puyü's father, Li YueLin, was a middle-aged man with a kind and benevolent face, looking more like an old farmer living a simple life than a wealthy landowner.

Seemingly from overexertion, he already had quite a bit of white hair.

After Qi WuHuo paid his respects, Li YueLin's attitude was kind and very friendly. He simply inquired about daily life.

He also said that his son was not very promising and asked WuHuo to take good care of him, and so on.

Qi WuHuo said, "Li..."

His voice paused, then he said, "I mean, Puyü is naturally intelligent and gifted, so he will naturally be blessed."

Li YueLin smiled and shook his head, saying lightly, "How capable he is, do I not know?"

Li Puyü's face stiffened.

Criticizing his son in front of an outsider.

Dad, you're really my dad!

Li YueLin ignored his son, whose face was visibly strained, and took out a packet of silver from his wide sleeve. He grabbed Qi WuHuo's hand and said with a chuckle, "Heh... there's only a month left until the New Year. In fact, this can be considered a New Year's visit. When the New Year comes, our family will be going to the prefectural city. It's perfect timing today, I'll give you this year's lucky money."

"It's not much. Go buy some meat to eat. Look at you, you're so thin."

"Speaking of which, WuHuo, you're already fourteen, and you'll be fifteen after the New Year. Do you have a girl you like? Have you started courting anyone..."

Li Puyü's scalp tingled.

"Dad, let's go find Uncle first!"

"Dad, have some tea!"

"Dad, goodbye!"

He quickly pulled Qi WuHuo's arm and walked away, bypassing two courtyards before letting go, exhaling in relief. He apologized, "I'm sorry, Senior Brother Qi. My dad is just like that."

"Although he's decisive on important matters, he's so chatty in daily life."

"He likes to lecture."

Li Puyü's second uncle was a younger-looking man, but he seemed to have traveled extensively, with a weathered face. He was said to be a traveling merchant who had seen much of the world. He had made a fortune this year and returned to his hometown, planning to settle down. When Li Puyü brought Qi WuHuo to him, the newly rich man was sitting alone on a peach wood chair in the sun, leaning back. A long-necked wine pot sat on the table beside him, and he poured himself a drink, exuding a somewhat lazy and dejected air.

Only when he saw Li Puyü did he lift his eyes slightly and smile:

"Puyü is here?"

"Uncle, don't drink anymore. Why are you drinking so early in the day?"

Li Puyü snatched his uncle Li Yixian's wine cup and then said, "This is my Senior Brother..., Qi WuHuo."

"He's very interested in the sights of the Capital City. Uncle, aren't you a traveling merchant in the Capital City? Tell us more about it."

He added at the end, "I'm very interested too."

Li Yixian laughed heartily, "So that's how it is. It seems you respect your Senior Brother Qi a great deal."

"Come, sit here with me."

Qi WuHuo thanked him and sat down beside him. Li Yixian smelled strongly of alcohol and looked quite dejected. He casually chatted about the customs of various places, speaking of simple things that a traveling merchant might encounter, and which were most likely to impress a boy of Qi WuHuo's age. Qi WuHuo noticed that he was wearing fine silks and satins, but his dejected demeanor was hard to conceal. He truly did not look like a merchant returning home wealthy.

I don't know how much connection there is between what happens in dreams and reality.

Was it just a dream?

Or did it contain some sort of deduction about future events?

While listening to Li Yixian's idle chatter, the Li family's banquet also began. Li YueLin sat at the head of the table, the main seat of honor. The Li family members who had rushed from various towns chatted amongst themselves. Li Yixian stared at the wine pot, seemingly no longer intending to speak further. Qi WuHuo brought over a wine cup and suddenly said, "However, Mr. Li is very impressive."

Li Yixian mumbled, "Hmm?"

Qi WuHuo said, "Three years ago, the imperial court issued the Decree of Virtuous Sound for Ascension, stating that those belonging to various armies and official departments who acted as brokers in villages, towns, and market shops should be taxed like commoners and not receive any special treatment."

"Under such circumstances, to be able to make a large profit doing business in the Capital City is no ordinary feat."

This was a decree issued when the emperor ascended the throne three years ago, stating that when the military and officials engaged in business, they were not to receive any preferential treatment and should be treated the same as ordinary citizens.

Li Yixian, half-drunk and half-awake, subconsciously said, "Isn't that a good thing?"

"A good thing? I thought that under such circumstances, it was tacitly understood that the military and officials could engage in business. Their connections and positions, even the convenience of knowing court developments in advance, were not something ordinary people could match. Ordinary citizens who cooperated with them would be completely exploited. Not only would they not make money, but even their own capital for doing business would be taken away."

"In the end, they would leave the Capital City in disgrace, unwilling to return home, and often disappear on the road..."

!!!!

A chill ran down Li Yixian's spine, and the feeling of drunkenness instantly vanished!

He suddenly looked up.

He saw the young man in the simple blue shirt looking at him, his eyes calm.

It was as if his experiences had all been easily seen through by this young man who was still far from the Capital City.

Qi WuHuo said, "Mr. Su said so."

"Ah... this, is that so..."

"Ha, haha, there are indeed people like that, but I am different."

Li Yixian forced a stiff smile.

Then he lowered his head to drink.

At this moment, after Li YueLin's opening remarks, the juniors began to showcase their talents in front of the many elders.

Li Puyü, sitting next to Qi WuHuo, stiffened slightly.

He had been diligently practicing the zither. After visiting Qi WuHuo earlier, he had originally planned to find his second uncle, but he was dragged away to practice the zither so as not to embarrass himself on this day. Everyone's attention was focused on these juniors playing the zither. Only Li Yixian was stunned by Qi WuHuo's words, and subconsciously paid more attention to Qi WuHuo.

He unintentionally said more, recounting various sights and sounds from the Capital City.

Some of the names matched what Qi WuHuo had experienced or heard of.

However, the events themselves did not entirely align.

Like a dream, yet not a dream; like reality, yet not reality.

Qi WuHuo was quiet for a while and then asked, "Then, outside the mountains in the Capital City, there is a mountain called Dingyan Peak. Do you know of it, Mr. Li?"

"I do. The mountain resembles a cauldron, and smoke rises from it during the day. There is also a Daoist temple on it."

"I have visited it."

"Is that so? Then, does the temple enshrine the mountain spirit Qiong Yu?"

Li Yixian paused his drinking and asked doubtfully, "The temple naturally enshrues the Patriarch of the Daoist school."

"Why would it be a mountain spirit?"

"Qiong Yu? Is that the name of a mountain spirit?"

Qi WuHuo was silent for a moment, then smiled and replied:

"So that's how it is... Then, I must have remembered it wrong."

Qi WuHuo lowered his head, looking at the ripples in his cup, and suddenly smiled. He felt a strange sensation. The names of those in the Capital City who had once been his friends and enemies were living lives that were familiar yet different from what he knew. Some of their names didn't even match those in his dreams, making it feel like a mixture of truth and falsehood, neither truly real nor truly false.

And I alone remain.

He suddenly felt an indescribable feeling, as if he had moved on, or perhaps as if the dream was continuing.

Was it a dream or reality? Was Qi WuHuo a high-ranking official in his dream, or had he returned to his youth after being a high-ranking official?

Zhuang Zhou dreamt of butterflies, and butterflies dreamt of Zhuang Zhou.

Li Yixian couldn't hear the young man's question and looked up in confusion. He saw the young man in blue sitting there, lost in thought. At this moment, Li Puyü finally managed to finish a piece of music with great difficulty. Under the increasingly furrowed brow of his father and the oppressive pressure of the tutor, who was almost pulling out his beard, he let out a long sigh, pushed the zither aside, and said, "It's your turn, it's your turn!"

After sitting down, he remembered that next to him was Qi WuHuo.

Not the next clan member who was supposed to play the zither.

Qi WuHuo had always been poor and likely wouldn't know how to play the zither. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the young man in the blue shirt place his fingers on the ancient zither.

His fingers pressed down slightly.

The next moment.

The sound of the zither erupted like tearing silk.

The room, which had been filled with idle chatter, suddenly fell silent. The zither music was clear and resonant, and everyone in the hall could hear it clearly, as if their hearts had been stirred.

Inside and outside the house.

Human and non-human.

Everything fell silent for a moment.

"Dao through Zither, Primordial Spirit gestating?!"

Outside the Li family residence, a Daoist priest's expression changed drastically.