Translator: Henyee Translations
Editor: Henyee Translations
On a cool autumn day two months later.
At dusk.
In the small village at the foot of the mountain, smoke was rising from the kitchen chimneys. Three little children were running and roughhousing while the farmers were harvesting rice in the field. A big tawny dog lay lazily outside a house, sniffing at the aroma of food as the sun went down.
The approaching sound of hooves disturbed the tranquil village. Startled, the dog stood up, arched its back, and watched the rising dust in the distance with alarm on its face.
A black and a white horse sped toward the village and slowed down when they reached the entrance, where they looked up at the mountain a short distance away.
The rosy evening sun shone on the mountain, and with the lingering mist in the air, the mountain was painted a crimson color. Steep mountain rocks protruded from the cliffs. Enshrouded by the coiling mist, the mountain looked like an immortal’s land.
A shepherd boy rode toward the village on the back of a buffalo while playing a melodious tune with his flute, making the village look even more peaceful.
“They were right. This place indeed has an otherworldly feeling.” The rider of the white horse was a teenager around 14 with rosy lips and pretty white teeth. “His” hair had been neatly tied up with a silver band in a warrior style. The upper part of “his” long hair was rolled up into a bun while the lower part hung loosely over “his” shoulders, giving off a carefree look. “His” bright eyes were fixed on the mountain with an expectant look.
A young man wearing a brocade robe was on the black horse. He was about 4 or 5 years older than the teenager, and the two of them resembled each other. It was easy to reach the conclusion that the two riders were brothers, and the main difference between them was that the young man had much more defined features, which gave him a hard-boiled feeling.
Long tarpaulin sacks hung on the backs of both horses, revealing the glinting, sharp tips of spears.
The young man didn’t respond to the teenager’s comment. Instead, he only watched the shepherd boy a short distance away without saying a word.
“What’s wrong?” the teenager asked.
“It’s nothing.” The question brought the young man out of his reverie, and he smiled. “This tune is like nothing I’ve heard before. It’s so refreshing and mellow that I’m relaxed.”
The teenager nodded. The music flowing out of the flute had accentuated the ethereal feeling of the place.
“He” smiled and said, “There are so many good tunes out there and we can’t possibly know all of them. Brother, are you going to pick up a new hobby now?”
The young man chuckled and shook his head. The two of them then slowly rode into the village.
Rice paddies flanked the road, and farmers were harvesting rice in the field as sweat poured down their faces. The young man kept his gaze on the rice paddies as he rode by, and the look on his face grew stern.
The teenager looked around and saw that only some of the rice had been harvested while the rest still remained in the field. At first glance, there was nothing special about the messy rice paddies, which was why “he” was amazed by the stern look on the young man’s face. “What are you looking at now…?”
“Just look into the distance.”
The teenager looked further into the rice paddies and realized that the harvested section actually formed a Tai Chi Yin-Yang diagram. It wasn’t exactly accurate, but it was that diagram without a doubt!
Could it be an illusion?
Suppressing his amazement, the young man stopped his horse and cupped his hands at the old farmer. “Excuse me…”
The farmer looked up to find himself facing two noble young men, and he smiled broadly. “Are you going into the mountain to search for immortals? It’s already getting late. Would you like to stay at my place tonight? It’s quite cheap…”
Instantly, he no longer looked like a cultivation master. The young man’s eyes flickered, but he still introduced themselves politely. “I’m Li Qinglin and this is Li Qingjun, my younger brother. Would you mind explaining to me why you’ve cut the crops into this pattern? Is it a ritual?”
“A ritual?” The old farmer scratched his head, smearing mud all over his hair. “Xiao Qin taught me a simple way to write six and nine and together, they’re some sort of position. I don’t understand. I was just trying to memorize the numbers, so I harvested the crops like this…”
Was it that simple? The siblings exchanged looks and sighed in amazement. They had never heard of this method of writing six and nine together before, but it was more realistic than a farmer drawing a Tai Chi diagram in the middle of a crop field.
The farmer went on. “My house is very cozy. We’ve got warm beds and hot milk, and it’ll only cost you three cents a night…”
“That won’t be necessary.” The two siblings smiled at him and set off again.
“Hey…” Behind them, the farmer shouted, “Don’t go into the mountain at this hour! It’s filled with miasma these days, and there’s also a monster tiger! It’s very dangerous!”
Li Qingjun patted her spear and smiled at the old man over her shoulder. “It’ll prove how sincere we are. How would you like us to get rid of that tiger for you?”
Seeing their spears, the farmer hesitated and said, “Just be careful.”
They were almost at the foot of the mountain when they reached the other end of the village. The fog had grown so thick that they could barely make out the houses in the village. A woodcutter walked unhurriedly toward the village, carrying a load over his shoulder and humming a tune.
“Everyone says how great immortal life is, but they can never forget about fame. Great generals and officials have all gone, with tall grass covering their tombs.
“Everyone says how great immortal life is, but they can never forget about money. No amount is ever enough, and they’ll keep making money until they drop…”
The siblings were lost in their thoughts when they heard the lyrics. The horses walked more and more slowly until they came to a full stop.
This was such a unique place that even a woodcutter’s song was so perceptive. No wonder everyone believed there were immortals on the mountain. It made sense.
“Excuse me…” Li Qinglin stopped the woodcutter. “May I ask who wrote this song?”
The woodcutter smiled. “I learned it from the boy of the Qin Family. It’s very interesting, isn’t it?”
“Very interesting” would be an understatement. This place was known for its immortal deeds, and for generations, people had been coming out here to look for immortals. Those lyrics meant so much more in a place like this.
“Could you tell us where to find this Mr. Qin?”
The woodcutter pointed at a spot somewhere deep in the fog. “His house is at the end of the village, and he’s drying some medicinal herbs in the yard. You’ll know which house it is when you get there.”
It was indeed very easy to spot. The small courtyard was cramped with shelves on which lay dustpans filled with various medicinal herbs. The faint fragrance was quite pleasing to the nose.
A teenager sat in the middle of the yard and was pounding some medicine in a mortar. He seemed very carefree and didn’t realize he had visitors.
After observing him for a while on their horses, the two siblings realized they weren’t as revered as they were before, because the teenager was simply too young. He was 16 or 17 at most and wasn’t much older than Li Qingjun. They simply couldn’t imagine that he was some sort of hermit master. From what they could tell, the teenager was just a common cultivator who was even below their levels.
But he was an interesting teenager nonetheless. With his plain clothes and straw sandals, he looked a little emaciated. However, he looked too gentle and quiet to be a common peasant and one would rather take him for a scholar. He pounded the medicine at an unhurried pace while humming a tune they hadn’t heard before. The sounds of the pestle knocking against the mortar resonated in the air, creating a rather relaxing rhythm. Before they knew it, they began to admire the tranquil idyllic life here.
By the looks of it, this teeanger had probably learned the song and numbers from some book or senior members of the family. Since the farmer and the woodcutter had addressed him as Xiao Qin or “the Qin boy”, it was likely that he no longer had any senior family members left.
The funny thing was that his “pestle” was a spiked club that was thicker than his thigh. The malicious-looking spikes glinted in the evening light, providing a ridiculous contrast to his mild appearance.
Was that the weapon he cultivated with?
“Hey!” Li Qingjun couldn’t help but chuckle. “Can you use a spiked club to grind your medicine? Doesn’t it have a pointed tip?”
The teenager stopped what he was doing and looked over his shoulder. He spotted the spears in their bags, but he didn’t answer the question when he spoke. “It’s not a good time to go into the mountain at night. Be careful out there. There’s a monster tiger on the mountaintop, and you should keep your distance. If you get too close, run away immediately. It won’t chase you.”
Li Qinglin asked, “Are you Mr. Qin?”
The teenager answered casually, “Call me Qin Yi.”
Li Qinglin introduced himself and added, “My brother and I were on our way into the mountains to look for immortals when we heard a woodcutter singing a song. It was quite profound. I was told that you wrote it.”
“Nope. I heard it from some wandering Taoist priest when I was younger. I have nothing to do with its creation.”
It confirmed Li Qingjun’s assumption that a teenager of his age couldn’t be some cultivation master. “He” bid the teenager farewell and turned to set off for the mountain again.
Li Qinglin suddenly said, “Brother Qin, I presume you’re a herbalist. Do you have some antidotes here? We would like to purchase some.”
Li Qingjun found the question very odd. They had brought all kinds of medicine with them, so why would he want to buy more?
“I don’t have any kind of medicine. This pill can solve all your problems.” Qin Yi then threw a small sack at them. “There are two pills inside. Ten taels of silver, please.”
Li Qingjun caught the sack. When she saw the two date-sized pills inside, she snickered. “No pill can neutralize all toxins. What’s this pill called?”
“He” had a clear and melodious voice, but the chuckle made her less resolute, making “him” sound younger and more ignorant.
Qin Yi studied “him” for a while and grinned. “It’s called ‘Sooner or Later’.”