That evening, Chu Hang met up again at Tongxin Pavilion with the two friends who had accompanied him back to Yuanjiang County. They ordered a tableful of dishes, and as they drank and chatted merrily, the conversation naturally turned to the day's events.
"So that scholar wasn't some spirit creature, but a human?"
As Zhang Yutong spoke, Chu Hang nodded while picking up food with his chopsticks. Worried that his friends might look down on a mere clerk, he brought up the case he had just heard about, tossing out a brick to draw forth jade.
"We can take our time with the wine. Would you two like to hear another strange tale?"
"What strange tale?"
"Heh, the Yuanjiang County Office tried a ghost by night and redressed its grievance! Now, don't go imagining things-this isn't some made-up story. It happened just a while ago, and everyone in Yuanjiang County knows about it! Hey, waiter over there! Do you remember the County Office seeking justice for a ghost a while back?"
Chu Hang addressed the first part to his two companions, then called the latter part to a waiter serving dishes at another table. The waiter glanced back and replied.
"How could I forget? I've never seen anything like it in my life! That damned wicked merchant is still in jail. Everyone says they'll go watch on the day he's executed!"
Hearing the waiter's reply, Lu Min and Zhang Yutong exchanged looks, then turned to Chu Hang.
"Tell us, quick!" "Yes, yes, stop keeping us in suspense!"
As Chu Hang recounted the story, the two gradually became engrossed in the case's bizarre twists. They also realized that this Mr. Yi was no ordinary clerk.
Lu Min and Zhang Yutong listened with their hearts surging, unable to stop themselves from speaking.
"Then why not invite Mr. Yi to join us? Meeting him in the mountains was a kind of fated encounter, after all!"
"Exactly! Why not go invite Mr. Yi?"
Chu Hang shook his head regretfully.
"My uncle said he's no ordinary worldly man. He's only compiling the county gazetteer at the County Office because the fancy took him, and his calligraphy is worthy of a great master. Our drinking and merrymaking would be nothing but childish play to him. My uncle told me not to disturb him. If I upset the man and he sweeps his sleeves and gives up compiling the book, my uncle will hold me responsible!"
"Brother Chu, you..." "So your uncle thinks so little of us..."
"Ah..."
Yi Shuyuan had no idea anyone was discussing him behind his back. Night had already fallen, and he sat at the desk in the Library, writing down what had happened that day. This was no "improper fellow" keeping a diary, but a straightforward record of wondrous and curious events. As he wrote, another problem occurred to him, drawing out a lingering sigh.
"Ah, once I start traveling, paper is going to be a real problem."
Yi Shuyuan felt certain that he would encounter many people and events in the future, and he would want to record all those marvelous stories. His papers and books would only keep piling up. He might even end up dragging a large trunk around, which would be terribly inconvenient.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt he was getting ahead of himself, yet his thoughts refused to stop. Just then, he reached the part about waking to find the tea stall gone, and something stirred faintly in his heart.
Perhaps he would someday encounter some immortal marvel that happened to resolve this worry. With that thought, Yi Shuyuan looked at the mountain stone serving as his inkstone.
Yi Shuyuan gradually grew sleepy and drifted off in a daze. When he woke again, it was already dawn. He raised his head to look at the brightening sky outside, rubbed his arms, and put on the clothes draped over him.
"Brr... no wonder I was so cold sleeping."
Yi Shuyuan looked over the desk and put away what he had written the night before. He stood, stamped his feet, and stretched his limbs, preparing to ask Wu Minggao for leave. Since he had promised yesterday to return the stone, he would not put it off until his next day of rest.
Naturally, Wu Minggao would not deny him such a small favor. After letting him know, Yi Shuyuan went straight out to buy some food on the street, then hurried into the mountains.
This time, Yi Shuyuan had a clear destination, so he did not head toward the Mountain God's temple. Even when passing the ancient pine, he merely gave it a few extra glances.
With the heavens providing fine weather and his legs serving him well, Yi Shuyuan reached the mountain stream before noon.
Yi Shuyuan first drank some spring water beside the tinkling trickle. With droplets still falling from the corners of his mouth, his gaze was already roaming upstream and down. He saw no sign of the strange little fish, though a few crabs were scuttling about.
"Never mind. I'll return your house first. Hmm, I remember it being right here!"
Yi Shuyuan looked around and approached a small drop in the stream. Setting down his oil-paper umbrella and bundle, he rummaged out the yellow stone that had served as his inkstone for a time and placed it beneath the falling water.
The stone looked much as it had before, except for a ring of ink in the center of its hollow that would not wash away.
As soon as Yi Shuyuan set the stone in place, clear spring water struck the inkstone's hollow, splashing in rings and stirring layer upon layer of inky ripples. Sunlight shone down, and a faint rainbow flickered in and out of sight.
Yi Shuyuan gazed at it in fascination for a while, then braced his hands on his knees and stood. Recalling the old man's words beneath the ancient pine, he smiled and called into the stream.
"Wawa~ I've put your precious house back where it belongs!"
Yi Shuyuan waited expectantly for quite some time, but there was no response.
No unusual little fish emerged from the stream either. His interest fading, Yi Shuyuan lingered a little longer before picking up his umbrella and bundle and heading toward South Hill Ridge.
Some time after Yi Shuyuan had left, a pale yellow little fish shaped like a loach quietly emerged from beneath dead twigs and rotting leaves in the stream. It surfaced and blew two bubbles. On spotting that faint rainbow, it flicked its tail, kicked up a cloud of silt, and darted over.
Beneath the yellow stone, the splashing stream water bore a trace of ink, and the little loach seemed extraordinarily content with every breath.
Just then, a voice sounded beside the water.
"A touch of ink anchors the seat of spirit; wisdom gives rise to heaven's intent. What a blessing! You little one truly are fortunate!"
A weather-beaten man dressed like a woodcutter stood watching the yellow stone in the stream and the little fish beneath the water. The latter promptly retreated into the stone, while the woodcutter looked toward South Hill Ridge. This scholar seemed far from ordinary-perhaps he was a man of great wisdom!
Meanwhile, Yi Shuyuan was approaching South Hill Ridge. He had not been here for some time, so he thought he would visit his parents' graves while he was nearby.
Yet as soon as Yi Shuyuan set foot on South Hill Ridge, he discovered someone had arrived before him. The woodcutter who had just been beside the stream now sat on a bundle of firewood, waiting for him.
Delight stirred in Yi Shuyuan's heart. He quickened his pace, approached, and cupped his hands in greeting.
"Only yesterday I was wondering when we might meet again, and today I have the pleasure of seeing you. Yi Shuyuan pays his respects!"
The woodcutter nodded slightly and stood. Only then did Yi Shuyuan notice the bamboo tube beside his feet-the very one he had left filled with wine at the Mountain God's temple yesterday.
Yi Shuyuan's delight shone plainly on his face. Compared with those believers praying to gods and Buddhas, I can at least speak with the Mountain God face-to-face.
The woodcutter looked toward the mountain stream while stretching his limbs, speaking at an unhurried pace.
"You must already know that yellow stone is a treasure?"
Of course Yi Shuyuan knew. He stepped closer and answered quite candidly.
"I do indeed. Yesterday, an old man at a tea stall told me through an amusing tale. Precisely because I learned that, I returned it to its original place today. Had it been an ordinary mountain stone, I would simply have kept using it."
The woodcutter smiled and sat down again.
"You didn't merely say it-you actually did it. For a mortal to possess such generosity of spirit is truly rare. But what if I told you that doing so might not be a good thing?"
Yi Shuyuan frowned and looked at the woodcutter in puzzlement.
"Why? Does that little one still bear a grudge against me?"
"No. As the little one's intelligence grows clearer, he will eventually understand that you have bestowed a great kindness upon him."
The Mountain God looked toward the stream and continued of his own accord.
"As the saying goes, any spiritual creature of the waters with ambition wishes to become a dragon. Though this little one's cultivation is shallow, spiritual clarity gives rise to wisdom, and that has ultimately improved his chances a little."
"Could it really be that once a spirit creature succeeds in cultivating, it has to harm people?"
Yi Shuyuan moved closer and gazed out at the mountain scenery, waiting for the woodcutter to continue.
"Of course not. Among the demons, spirits, and monstrous beings beneath heaven, many harm people. But here in this corner of Broad South Mountain, I know their affairs well enough. Such evil creatures are rare."
So that means there are still some here? Naturally, Yi Shuyuan kept that thought to himself, rather than tactlessly asking it now. The woodcutter continued.
"Five hundred years of cultivation to become a flood dragon, then another five hundred years of bitter cultivation before one may hope to realize the dream of becoming a true dragon. Once that threshold is crossed, heaven and earth open wide!"
Yi Shuyuan's interest surged, and he could not help blurting out a question.
"Does that mean exactly five hundred years, or can there be some variation?"
The woodcutter paused, apparently not expecting such a question from Yi Shuyuan. Torn between laughter and exasperation, he answered.
"That naturally refers to cultivation attainment. If one could become a flood dragon the moment five hundred years passed, the Heavenly Dao would be far too merciful! Countless tribulations lie along the way. If one fails to overcome them, losing cultivation would already be a stroke of fortune. The slightest misstep could mean death and the dissolution of one's cultivation."
"Then there are also those with extraordinary gifts who attain profound cultivation in fewer years?"
The woodcutter smiled.
"Trees grow tall or short, and jade differs in quality. Just as some people are called child prodigies, whose studies and writing seem divinely aided and far surpass ordinary people, all things may follow the same principle."
Yi Shuyuan quietly committed this to memory as the woodcutter went on.
"When the little one becomes a flood dragon, the mountain streams will not be enough to accommodate him. He must raise the waters and surge into great rivers or vast lakes, places abundant in water's spiritual essence."
Something stirred in Yi Shuyuan's heart.
"Are you saying that when the little one descends the mountain, he might raise a flood and bring disaster upon the nearby people, and that what I did today would make me bear some of that karma?"
"You would indeed bear some karma, but not when he descends the mountain. If he can cultivate to that stage, I will not permit him to run wild on Broad South Mountain. Besides, the E River is so close that there is no need to muster such force. A single mountain torrent would carry him into the river."
"But then I will no longer have authority over him. Whether he brings blessing or disaster, performs virtuous deeds or commits sins, is difficult to predict. You did not merely return a mountain stone-you left wisdom upon it. Your connection to him is far from slight!"
This was looking rather far ahead. Yi Shuyuan did not know whether to laugh or cry.
"Lord Mountain God, even at the lowest estimate, this would be several hundred years from now, wouldn't it? I, Yi Shuyuan, am a mere mortal. What virtue or ability do I possess that could let me live that long, and what grounds do I have to worry about it? Am I supposed to go back to the stream and take it away now? I couldn't do such a thing!"
Yi Shuyuan had relaxed considerably by now. As he chatted with the woodcutter, he actually began taking snacks from his bundle, continuing to speak as he sorted through the pastries.
"People are born ignorant, and so are all living things. Good and evil may sometimes lie a single thought apart, but that thought springs from what one has been taught. The little one is still only a little one, after all, and does not yet know right from wrong or good from evil. Teach him evil, and he will do evil; teach him goodness, and he will do good!"
At this, the woodcutter finally stood again. When Yi Shuyuan looked up, he found the woodcutter standing before him with a smile, cupping his hands and bowing.
"Huang Hongchuan, the Broad South Mountain God."
After a moment of surprise, delight spread across Yi Shuyuan's face. He hurriedly set down the pastries, dusted off his hands, and returned the bow.
"Yi Shuyuan, a minor clerk at the County Office. I am sure you already know all about me, Lord Mountain God."
"Heh, just as well-I've brought the wine you gave me, borrowing flowers to offer to the Buddha. Would you care to share a little lunch?"
"Hahahaha! Nothing would please me more!"
The Mountain God was utterly free and easy now, while Yi Shuyuan could scarcely conceal his excitement at drawing closer to the Broad South Mountain God.
Before you continue