Good News

After finishing his stance training, Liu Yuanzhou practiced several more sets of Plum Blossom Fist.

Only when sweat drenched his entire body did he stop. Returning to the cave dwelling, he brewed a cup of hot tea and sipped it slowly, feeling incomparably comfortable all over.

After resting enough, he opened Third Master's wooden chest of books and took out a book.

It was a damaged volume, with pages missing from both the front and back. Its contents mainly discussed all sorts of rural taboos concerning weddings, funerals, marriages, house-building, road-building, travel, and the like. Liu Yuanzhou had no interest in such things, so he merely skimmed through it without reading carefully.

He flipped straight to a certain page and saw a sheet of golden-yellow talisman paper tucked inside. Pinching the talisman between two fingers, he brought it close to examine it carefully.

"The surface is smooth and golden-yellow. Could it be made of gold?"

"This talisman is so thin, even thinner than paper, yet it has considerable weight. Could it really be talisman paper hammered from gold?"

"If I traded it for silver, it ought to fetch a great deal. But this Golden Talisman probably isn't ordinary. Better keep it. Besides, if I took it to exchange for silver, its origins would be hard to explain. There's a good chance it would bring trouble."

After mulling it over, Liu Yuanzhou tucked the Golden Talisman back into the book.

This Golden Talisman was naturally what Liu Yuanzhou had obtained from Thousand Buddha Cave that day.

Liu Yuanzhou kept the Golden Talisman inside one of Third Master's books. For the past dozen days, he had studied it every day, hoping to unravel its mysteries.

Something the White-Haired Taoist had schemed so hard to obtain could not possibly be ordinary. Yet after studying it over and over for more than ten days, Liu Yuanzhou had gained nothing beyond the possibility that the talisman was made of gold, and that the patterns on it seemed to possess some profound mystery.

With a sigh, Liu Yuanzhou decided to set aside his research on the Golden Talisman for now. His knowledge was still too limited; he could study it slowly once he reached the city.

"Jingle, jingle." The sound of bells came from outside the door.

He closed the book chest and was just about to climb down from the kang when he heard the bells ringing outside again.

"An animal has entered the yard. Could Third Master be back?" Liu Yuanzhou's heart jumped. He hurriedly shut the book and stuffed it haphazardly into the chest.

Leaping off the kang, Liu Yuanzhou did not even have time to put on his shoes properly. He slipped them on and ran to open the door. Looking outside, he saw a mule cart already stopped before the entrance.

"Third Master, it really is you! You're back!" Liu Yuanzhou cried in delight as he ran toward the cart.

"Ah, I've finally made it home. This old bag of bones is exhausted." Third Master lifted the cloth curtain of the cart canopy, jumped down, and smiled at Liu Yuanzhou.

"Take it easy, sir. Don't go and fall." Liu Yuanzhou quickly stepped forward to support Third Master by the arm, smiling as he spoke.

"Haha, your Third Master isn't as frail as you think. Do you think I practiced martial arts for all these years in vain? Stop fussing like an old woman and hurry up, move the things." Third Master laughed and pushed Liu Yuanzhou away.

"Third Master, should we carry everything into the cave dwelling?" Wang San Ge asked as he lifted a large wicker basket from the mule cart.

"Yes, carry it all inside. Brother Wang, come in and rest with me. Let this brat Second Child do the carrying." Third Master walked to the entrance, lifted the door curtain, and went in.

"You rest first, sir. I'm not tired." Wang San Ge said with a smile.

Before long, everything on the mule cart had been moved into the cave dwelling. Looking at the several large wicker baskets on the ground, Liu Yuanzhou's eyes widened as he exclaimed, "Third Master, you brought back quite a lot of good things."

Third Master sat with his back against the wall, drinking tea. Seeing Liu Yuanzhou's astonished expression, he merely smiled without speaking.

Liu Yuanzhou could not resist rummaging through the baskets. He was not at all restrained in front of Third Master.

There were three large wicker baskets. One contained frozen chicken, beef, mutton, meatballs, and other food. Another held fresh vegetables. The last was filled with bolts of cloth, pastries and candies, and other sundries. There were also several cloth sacks that Liu Yuanzhou did not open, so he had no idea what they contained.

"Ah, your uncles were the ones who packed all this. Remember to take some meat home later." Third Master took a sip of tea, then sighed. "Ah, there's nowhere as comfortable as one's own nest. Brother Wang, hurry up and get on the kang for some tea."

Wang San Ge sat down on the edge of the kang, and Third Master poured him tea.

"You should thank me. Every few days, I came to light a fire in your cave dwelling and clean the place. Otherwise, would your cave dwelling still be fit for people to live in?" Liu Yuanzhou said with a smile.

"Mm, you did keep the cave dwelling quite warm." Third Master nodded. "But why do I smell another scent? It seems like a woman's scent. Second Child, which woman did you bring into my cave dwelling?" Third Master looked at Liu Yuanzhou suspiciously, though inwardly he was grinning from ear to ear.

Liu Yuanzhou's heart skipped a beat. Did he find out? No, he's just teasing me. With a turn of thought, he raised a thumb and put on an amazed expression. "Third Master, your nose is incredible. You could even smell that out? Then guess who I brought here."

"Haha, keep boasting. Even that sweetheart of yours has gone off to the city now." Third Master burst into laughter.

"Can we not bring that up?" Liu Yuanzhou said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "All right, you two rest first. I'll go home and have my mother cook. Come eat at my house this afternoon. How about Mutton Heluo Noodles?" Liu Yuanzhou asked Third Master.

"Fine, but don't be in such a hurry to leave. I have some good news to tell you." Seeing Liu Yuanzhou about to go, Third Master called him back.

"What good news?" Liu Yuanzhou asked curiously.

"It concerns you." Third Master lifted his cup and began drinking tea.

"If you won't tell me, I'm leaving." Liu Yuanzhou pretended to turn away.

"You brat really has no patience. Fine, here's the matter: I found you a position at the Tai Xuan Sect Yan Province Branch. What do you think? That counts as good news, doesn't it?" Third Master looked at Liu Yuanzhou with a smug expression.

"Really? You're not lying to me, are you?" Liu Yuanzhou looked overjoyed, scarcely daring to believe it. It was like being handed a pillow just as he got sleepy—could such good fortune really exist?

"Absolutely true. When has your Third Master ever lied to anyone?" Third Master said, putting on a stern face.

"No, it's not that I don't believe you. This news is just too unexpected." Liu Yuanzhou hurriedly said. "Third Master, this is... this is..." Looking at Third Master, he became so excited that his words came out in a jumble.

"All right, no need to say so much in thanks. Go get me something to eat now. I'm starving to death." Third Master waved a hand.

"Okay, I'll go right away." Liu Yuanzhou ran out excitedly. "I'll get you a jin of liquor too."

"This brat." Third Master shook his head with a smile.

That night, Liu Da sat on the kang, puffing at his dry tobacco one draw after another, while his wife Zhang Shi sat beneath the oil lamp, stitching a shoe sole stitch by stitch.

"Tell me, Liu Da, are you really letting Second Child go work in the city?" Zhang Shi threw the half-finished shoe sole onto the kang, raised her head to look at her husband, her eyes full of resentment and anger.

That afternoon, they had invited Third Master to eat at their home. During the meal, Third Master mentioned that he had found Liu Yuanzhou an excellent job in the city and asked what the two of them thought. Liu Da had agreed at once with a delighted expression, while Zhang Shi had kept silent for the sake of Liu Da's face. After seeing Third Master off, and after both sons had gone to rest, the rage Zhang Shi had been bottling up finally erupted.

"Keep your voice down. It wouldn't be good if they heard us." Liu Da knocked out his pipe bowl, frowned at his wife, then lit another bowl of tobacco. Sighing, he said, "You still don't understand our Second Child. Look at how happy he was this afternoon. He already knew the news."

"Our Second Child has lofty ambitions. He may not say it, but I can tell that he wants to go out and make a name for himself. His heart isn't in this village."

"And there's Xiaozhong, who grew up playing with him. That boy went off in grand style to take the Xiucai and provincial examinations. Could our Second Child possibly feel good about that? Could he be content? Ah, it's all because we were useless and never let the child study."

"He never tells us these things. I know he's afraid we'll worry, but as adults, we can't let the child suffer such grievances in silence. Tell me, what can he do in the village besides farm?"

"Luckily, Third Uncle found the child a job, and it was through Uncle Jiali's connections. With him looking after the child, of course I gladly agreed. It's better than letting him go wandering about alone without rhyme or reason, isn't it?"

Zhang Shi wiped away her tears, picked up the shoe sole, and continued stitching. "I know all that too. I just can't bear to let the child leave."

"Ah, the child has grown up. How much longer can we control him?" Liu Da sighed.

Naturally, Liu Yuanzhou knew nothing of his parents' sighs. At that moment, he lay on the kang, still too excited to fall asleep.

Thinking that he would soon be able to join the Tai Xuan Sect, and that the problems troubling him had suddenly been solved as easily as a knife slicing through bamboo, how could he possibly sleep peacefully?

According to Third Master, the matter was basically settled. They had gone through Uncle Jiali's internal connections, but a sect as large as the Tai Xuan Sect still had certain basic procedures for new recruits. Because of the New Year, some departments were on holiday, so they would have to wait for further notice on when the procedures would be completed.

I hope it happens soon. Liu Yuanzhou silently prayed.