Chapter 49: Encountering a Clear Day Chapter 28: A New Home of Going With the Flow

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

The story's content, however, was vastly different from what Shaowei had imagined.

"'Bo' ranks as the twenty-third hexagram among the sixty-four hexagrams, with the upper trigram Gen representing mountain, and the lower trigram Kun representing earth. Hence this hexagram is called Mountain-Earth Bo — signifying mountain stones peeling away and collapsing onto the ground, an image of mountain collapse and decline."

"And within the twelve months of a year, 'Bo' represents the Xu Month, which is the ninth month."

Shaowei listened with exceptional attentiveness, so much so that this cunning Daoist knowledge drilled into her head before she could guard against it.

Having finished introducing Bo's identity, the full story unfolded from Jiang Fu's mouth:

"In the ninth month of this year, in a small mountain village in the north, Bo arrived on schedule; yin qi began to strip away yang qi, the qi of heaven and earth transformed, leaves turned from green to yellow, all things were about to enter winter storage..."

Jiang Fu's voice as she narrated leisurely was well-suited for storytelling; following her words, Shaowei seemed to see the verdant mountains and waters before her eyes gradually shift inch by inch into withered yellow, and the sound of severe winter's cold wind rose by her ears.

"To prepare for the coming harsh winter, the villagers picked clean every fruit on the trees, stripping and storing all food; they thought this would let them pass a plentiful and secure winter, and indeed it did..."

"But the following year, a pest disaster occurred, because the small birds responsible for peeling pests had all starved to death in the long harsh winter."

"The pest disaster raged, fruits were destroyed, even the fruit trees gradually sickened and died; the calamity spread, the people's food was stripped bare, they fell ill from hunger and cold, and thus a plague broke out..."

"Many years later, the commoners in the small mountain village learned their lesson and established the rule 'When Bo month arrives, the large fruit is not eaten'; they would leave some fruit at the treetops, birds had fruit to eat, the carried-away pits fell and took root, slowly growing into new fruit trees... thus winter passed and spring came, cycling endlessly, life continuing unceasingly. People no longer needed to fear Bo's arrival; though Bo must come, it could no longer strip away all yang qi, always leaving a thread of vitality to await next year's return of yang and Kun spring."

This brief story was not as eye-catching as Shaowei had imagined.

Shaowei had never properly read any books, therefore she could not conjure from nothing the other side of things she had never known; but when someone told her, she would extend her thinking along with it, rather than opening her mouth to deny it outright.

Shaowei sat quietly, associating on her own to Marquis's choice.

This time, there seemed to have been a change after all; from the sights and sounds along the road these past months, and Jiang Fu's occasional analysis of the situation... from these scattered bits of information, Shaowei could discern that this upheaval was far smaller than the last one.

Shaowei remembered, last time the visible bloodbath in Chang'an City alone lasted all the way until deep autumn when leaves fell. No one knew how many people ultimately died; rage spread and burned everywhere, burning again and again, burning until even people in the Marquis Mansion dared not easily go out or speak.

Yet this time it ended early.

The variable in this seemed to be only Marquis's decision — so, after glimpsing that unchangeable, cruel fate as inevitable as the Bo hexagram, he actually, like this Broken Mountain, knowing it would collapse, at that final moment decisively threw himself toward the direction of blocking the flood?

Shaowei only felt it impossible to fathom; she was someone who, if she suffered harm, would retaliate tenfold a hundredfold, and she thought she would forever be such a person.

Or perhaps precisely because she could not fathom it, as she now looked again at the traces of Broken Mountain, a cluster of indescribable shock gradually gathered in her heart.

This shock had nothing to do with praise or blame; she was simply shocked that — how could there be such a person in the world?

But regardless of how the world speculated on his motives or judged his right and wrong, that collapsed high mountain which had struggled to preserve a thread of vitality had already fallen completely silent; the silent high mountain could not hear, and need not care about, the world's various discussions.

Jiang Fu did not summarize the moral of this story named "Bo", nor did she ask Shaowei what insight she had; she simply let Shaowei sit quietly, spacing out in a daze.

In the wind, some damp air slowly condensed; fine drizzle floated and drifted.

Shaowei had previously only lived in Taishan Commandery and Chang'an; the rain there always fell crisply, either like pearls or like threads; she had rarely seen such rain vapor like gauze and mist.

Unable to see the rainwater's tracks with the naked eye, Shaowei unconsciously tilted her face up, reached out to grab at the air, and caught only a wisp of formless damp wind.

Jiang Fu turned her head to look at this child grabbing at rain; a trace of amusement slowly surfaced in her eyes.

At that time she had followed the hexagram all the way to Taishan Commandery, yet never expected that waiting for her would be such a broken, fierce little child.

Jiang Fu had harbored private doubts; she had seen too many truly intelligent people, so she knew very well this child did not possess supreme wisdom; but having interacted all the way to now, looking again at this child, watching those hands trying to catch rainwater, the doubts in Jiang Fu's heart finally vanished in a flash.

Good and evil are both innate; perhaps only this piece of pure stubborn stone can forge an unmoving true heart.

The misty rain and fog of late April did not delay the journey.

Jiang Fu took the bamboo hat Mo Li handed over, grabbed the bamboo pole, and rose from the grass.

Shaowei followed suit, casually stuffing Zhan Zhan into her lapel, quickening her pace a few steps to catch up to Jiang Fu, and asked: "How much farther do we have to walk? Didn't you say we'd pick a place to settle once we reached where spring is warm? It's almost summer now."

Jiang Fu turned the tables: "You chose the road; you have to open your mouth and say stop before we can stop."

Shaowei puzzled: "How is it that I chose it?"

Jiang Fu: "You chose it while you were unconscious."

Shaowei's eyes slanted a sidelong glance; this fake master of hers opened her eyes every day and loved to spout nonsense, true and false all mystifyingly mixed.

Shaowei half-believing half-doubting: "If I don't say stop, do you intend to keep going south forever? Where would we go if we go further south?"

Jiang Fu answered seriously: "Further south... four hundred li south of here is Wuling Commandery; four hundred li south of Wuling Commandery is Lingling Commandery; eight hundred li south of Lingling Commandery is Cangwu Commandery; south of Cangwu there is no more human habitation, only the West River and the South Sea."

At this time Shaowei could not yet realize that Jiang Fu being able to reel off such detailed geography was a remarkable ability.

Shaowei had only heard of Cangwu Commandery; last time Liu Qi was thrown there and made Cangwu Commandery King.

Even the servants at Lu Hou Mansion, when mentioning that Sixth Prince being sent to Cangwu Commandery, had tones that faintly carried some pity.

Therefore the moment Shaowei heard the three words Cangwu Commandery, she felt that was a most wretched destination, and at once did not want to continue south.

Shaowei was not afraid of hard days, but neither was she determined to have hard days.

And the little bird in her arms had flown such a long road and was already very tired.

Hearing Jiang Fu just now shamelessly say her word was final, Shaowei deliberately asked: "If I say I don't want to walk anymore, and want to settle right here right now, would you agree too?"

Jiang Fu turned her head and counter-questioned her: "Do you truly want to stop here?"

Shaowei slightly lifted her chin: "Mm."

"Fine then." Jiang Fu instantly revealed a radiant smile; she raised the bamboo pole pointing all around: "By the shores of Dongting, gazing south toward Wuling, backed by mountains and facing water... even if enemies chase us here to kill us one day, this can serve as a ready-made excellent burial ground, truly a supreme treasure land suitable for both living and dying."

A moment later, she gripped the bamboo pole and planted it into the grass beneath her feet, bent slightly, her other hand reaching to touch Shaowei's head, smiling as she announced: "I'll listen to you, little brat; we'll make our home right here!"