Chapter 72: On a Clear Day Chapter 51: Only Need to Grasp This One Variable

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

The mule cart carried the youth away, and everything in Taoxi Township remained as before.

Only Shaowei had been rather troubled lately; she studied fate-calculation and physiognomy under Jiang Fu, yet had only scratched the surface and could never make real progress.

Jiang Fu clicked her tongue in amazement — this historically unyielding little brat had finally encountered a craft she simply could not master, dead or alive.

Array-laying and star-observation methods Shaowei learned without hindrance; she had a good memory, high comprehension, and a stubborn determination not to rest until she mastered something, so even when she occasionally paused and hesitated, she could always break through.

But physiognomy and qi-reading — she could only rely on her good memory to rote-memorize a thing or two; as for enlightenment, there was not a trace of it. Jiang Fu at first found it hard to believe, but now had to admit: "Thinking back to when I entered the sect, my master also said: physiognomy — if one wishes to reach the perfected realm, there is no logical path to speak of; effort is entirely useless; it depends solely on innate talent and fortune."

Shaowei sat cross-legged before the small desk, a handful of sun-dried yarrow stems clenched in each hand, and looking up asked Jiang Fu with some unwillingness: "Going by that, you have great talent in this art?"

Jiang Fu smiled: "Over-praise; it is merely that since childhood I could divine fortune and misfortune by crying and laughter, making me slightly stronger than common scales and ordinary shells."

Shaowei could hardly fail to hear that she herself was the "common scale, little fish" in Jiang Fu's mouth; though thoroughly displeased, the fact remained that she was inferior, so she lacked the confidence to retort, and could only knit her brows and, refusing to yield, go back to manipulating those forty-nine yarrow stems.

These yarrow stems numbered fifty in total; the remaining one was held in Jiang Fu's hand.

Jiang Fu had told Shaowei: the number of the Great Expansion is fifty, its use is forty-nine; within these forty-nine yarrow stems are concealed all the destinies of the world, and they can divine all things.

Shaowei stared at the one stem Jiang Fu had taken out and set aside, and asked its purpose.

Jiang Fu answered: "The Great Dao is fifty, yet this one alone lies outside Heaven's will and fate's numbers — it is the unknowable qi-mechanism that cannot be peered into, or perhaps it can be grasped and wielded by mortals."

At this moment, seeing Shaowei still wrestling with those forty-nine yarrow stems, Jiang Fu seemed to realize something; a look of sudden relief appeared in her eyes; she raised a hand and pressed down on Shaowei's arranging of the yarrow stems.

Shaowei looked up in puzzlement.

Jiang Fu raised her slender brows, shook her head and said: "Stop learning; Master has thought it through — your nature is like a stubborn stone, never willing to believe in fate, even less to accept it; since you neither believe nor accept, you naturally have no way to enter this gate."

Shaowei felt stifled and cocked one eyebrow: "This gate certainly has a mighty temper!"

Jiang Fu clicked her tongue: "Who knows who lost their temper first? You alone are allowed to have no gate in your eyes, yet this gate is not allowed to shut you out? You little brat are truly too domineering."

Not only can you not learn it to save your life, you still give such an evaluation; Shaowei was just about to flare up, but saw Jiang Fu's phoenix eyes curve, full of affection: "But Master just likes this domineering streak of yours."

Jiang Fu lifted the hand pressing on that pile of yarrow stems and placed it on Shaowei's crown, stroking gently, and said slowly: "Not learning is fine; my disciple, nature like stubborn stone manifests brilliant light, heart like treasure-moon reflected in lapis — even if domineering, it is still a perfectly proper good thing."

Shaowei tilted her head up to look at those eyes, listening to such praise, and for a moment was actually stunned, even forgetting to brush away the hand on her head.

The afternoon sunlight from outside the window streamed in, meeting Jiang Fu's gaze — compassionate, cherishing, yet hiding some entrustment — just like brilliant light, treasure-moon, lapis color.

She leaned slightly, the right hand resting on Shaowei's crown not yet withdrawn, then raised her left hand, presenting that sole remaining yarrow stem before Shaowei's eyes, and said in a measured voice:

"Little brat, since you dislike it, you need not force yourself to walk alongside those forty-nine strands of Heaven's mandate; you need only grasp this one variable tight, and follow your own will. The good and evil, life and death of the world's people, the flow of the world's qi-mechanisms — you may well have your own clear mirror."

Shaowei, seemingly thoughtful, reached out her hand into the golden sunlight and received that one yarrow stem.

In truth, just as Jiang Fu said, Shaowei indeed held little fondness for the art of physiognomy. Those things that would determine a person's life and death based on a single sentence — domineering to the point even Shaowei found them domineering — since ancient times, how many rulers had seized countless lives on the strength of a single divinatory word? And she herself had, because of a single fate-related evaluation by that Hu Wu, been treated by Qin Fu as livestock and bled for years.

Shaowei indeed lacked reverence for this; yet the reason she still wanted to learn, besides a possessive desire for true ability, had another layer never spoken aloud —

She very much wanted to read Jiang Fu's lifespan, to see whether her calamities were already broken.

Ever since Jiang Fu passed her twenty-ninth birthday, Shaowei often had the uneasy feeling that tomorrow she might have to arrange a funeral; it was the first time she had lifespan anxiety for another, and this anxiety grew daily stronger.

Though Jiang Fu always said things like "won't die," "thanks to your life-saving divine blood," "at least a hundred and eighty years more," Shaowei knew her character and naturally could not lightly believe; she kept thinking she must personally calculate and divine for Jiang Fu to set her mind at ease.

But this thought was obviously stillborn; no matter how unconvinced Shaowei was in her heart, not learning was not learning, and no amount of unconvinced could change that.

Shaowei could only clench tight that one yarrow stem representing the unknown variable, received from Jiang Fu's hand.

Unable to judge Jiang Fu's lifespan by physiognomy and divination, Shaowei could only observe with the naked eye, or when Jiang Fu gave blood each month, she would secretly use her other hand to accelerate the qi-blood circulation in that arm, making the fingertip blood flow more smoothly and surgingly.

Shaowei herself felt this act was unpromising, so she did it very covertly; Jiang Fu simply pretended not to notice, only watching quietly as this generous yet self-unaware child pinched her fingers and strode away.

What let Shaowei breathe slightly easier was that no offensive white hair had reappeared on Jiang Fu's crown, and neither body nor face showed any trace of decline; she carefully recalled and felt Jiang Fu's face was even indistinguishable from when they first met — youthful, full, leisurely and at ease.

Even so, Shaowei still could not fully set her mind at rest; she longed for days to pass faster, best if every person and thing remained exactly as they were, but time whooshed and shifted to this time next year.

However, not harboring this thought would have been fine; once she had it, annoying time seemed to deliberately oppose her — dragging, dawdling, swaying; one moment spacing out and dozing, the next sipping water and picking teeth, refusing to move properly; Shaowei secretly watched Jiang Fu, feeling as if a hundred years had passed, yet in reality only the autumn harvest had arrived.

Qingwu's father had not yet returned; without needing Qingwu's household to remind her, Shaowei voluntarily fulfilled her promise — with a word of command she led Mo Li and Shan Gu to help manage the autumn harvest farm work. Zhan Zhan was not allowed to follow, because it did nothing but eat and take, damaging Shaowei's face.

For many days straight Shaowei left early and returned late; every time she ran home, the first thing she did was confirm whether Jiang Fu was still alive and well.

Jiang Fu sometimes leaned at the hall door waiting for her, sometimes stretched and walked out from the room, sometimes complained before the stove house: "At least leave me someone to cook rice?"

Hearing this, Mo Li hurried to wash hands and cut vegetables; Shaowei directly ran to the stove to light the fire; the two had to manage both outside and inside, busy as if they were two bamboo dragonflies spinning non-stop in the air.

Barely finished with the autumn harvest, the people of Taoxi Township had not yet caught their breath when the County Office suddenly assigned corvée labor.

At present, regardless of whether commoners had land for livelihood, every year they must pay field tax and head tax; adult male ding must serve the local government without pay for at least one month each year; to avoid corvée, one could pay money to the government or hire a substitute; or sell oneself into slavery — a slave's taxes and corvée are borne by the master's household.

Ordinary families, after paying field tax and head tax, simply cannot produce surplus money to offset corvée; Qingwu's father was on the service roster but the man still could not rush back; fleeing corvée is a capital crime, and this is also one reason ordinary farm households cannot easily travel far.

Jiang Fu had Shaowei deliver a sum of corvée-exemption money to Qingwu, letting the mother and daughter take it to the government office and explain the reason.

Qingwu was overwhelmed with gratitude, personally went to thank Jiang Fu, and promised she would certainly repay this money as soon as possible.

This corvée assigned by the government was moving stones to clear canals — a major engineering project; the conscripted commoners included not only those under Changsha State's jurisdiction, but also many Nan Commandery commoners.

Nan Commandery borders Changsha State; the project's scope spans the junction of commandery and state — precisely the former "mountain collapse of twenty-odd li" site.

Those collapsed mountain bodies blocked and altered several water courses; though temporarily no major harm was seen, the Yellow River to the north flooded, while this year's rain in the south was insufficient, so the Court ordered early dredging of rivers and canals to prevent trouble before it happens.

This is the government's outward explanation.

Shaowei, having recently read quite a few feng shui theories, combined with previous rumors, could not help but harbor other guesses.

Especially this day Shan Gu brought back some news heard outside: "Heard an Embroidered-Uniform Envoy has come to Nan Commandery, and there's also an Immortal Master."

Shan Gu had wandered everywhere with her granny since childhood, and had a deep impression of the Embroidered-Uniform Envoys' prestige; the common folk all say they wear black robes, carry credentials, move like ghosts, kill at a word, and their blades dare behead even officials.

These years, since there were no more kings of different surnames, the Embroidered-Uniform Envoys have been touring the four directions in place of the Son of Heaven; now they have merely finally come to the south.

Shaowei, who once lived in Chang'an, had also heard of the Embroidered-Uniform Guards' existence; at this moment she asked: "What Immortal Master? A person who knows immortal arts?"

"I don't know about immortal arts... but that's how everyone addresses them." Shan Gu said, "A Jie, have you heard of the Baili State's National Preceptor who achieved Feather Shedding Ascension to Immortality? They say this Immortal Master and the National Preceptor are martial brothers, so even if he doesn't know immortal arts, he must have many formidable abilities!"

Shan Gu also said, he heard this Immortal Master roams the four directions, and if he encounters someone with karmic affinity, he will accept them as a disciple and take them to the Chang'an Immortal Palace.

Shaowei's reaction to this was indifferent, with not even a trace of yearning — what Immortal Master, what Immortal Palace, it all sounded like a cage to her ears.

She just wondered whether the arrival of this Immortal Master and the Embroidered Uniform Envoy had anything to do with the matter of moving mountains and dredging canals? Shaowei pondered, and that guess in her heart vaguely gained a few more degrees of certainty.

She was just thinking of asking Shan Gu if there was any other news, when footsteps suddenly approached from outside the small courtyard, and a youth ran over, shouting at the door: "Shan Gu, your Adie and Aniang are calling you home!"

Shan Gu answered, but didn't leave immediately; instead, he habitually turned back, his eyes holding a clear request. Shaowei had no pressing matter either, so she waved her hand and let him go.

Shan Gu ran home, only to see the Zhou Family Couple sitting in the hall. Seeing him return, the woman hurriedly beckoned with a smile: "Bonehead, come quick."

The woman's surname was Hu; Shan Gu called her Hu Aniang, and called his foster father Zhou Adie.

After Shan Gu finished his greetings, he knelt down neatly beside his foster parents, but saw several strings of new coins placed on the small table, and an "Identity Token" written with Zhou Shan Gu's name, surname, and native place.

"Sold the grain, plus what we've accumulated these past years, there's actually some usable surplus for travel expenses..." Hu Aniang said with a smile: "Bonehead is a good child, Aniang knows you've always been concerned about Grandma's funeral arrangements. Why not go and try to find her?"

Zhou Adie nodded: "Whether you find her or not is another matter; just treat it as settling a heart's concern."

Shan Gu raised his head in surprise, his eyes already red.

Back then, in order to bury Grandma, he was cheated by someone, and when he woke up on the boat, his first thought was that he had to go back and find Grandma, couldn't let Grandma's corpse have no resting place.

But he couldn't escape that small boat, and afterward he was taken to the even more distant Taoxi Township. When he looked back, he could no longer remember the road, and after a separation of several months, where could he even go to find Grandma?

After everything was settled, he had thought about going back, even if he could only find a scrap of Grandma's clothing or a piece of her remains, but he had foster parents now...

If he truly wanted to leave, the Zhou Family Couple naturally couldn't stop him; Shan Gu had a rebellious streak. But he was now very clear about which actions would hurt people, and which demands were willful and unreasonable.

Therefore, to him at this moment, the most precious thing wasn't this travel money, but this permission and trust. A child adopted halfway — aren't they afraid he'll run off and never come back? If this isn't trust, what is?

Shan Gu shed tears, kowtowed to the Zhou Family Couple, and said chokingly: No matter whether he finds anything or not, he will rush back before New Year's Day.

The Zhou Family Couple were naturally uneasy about him traveling alone. Although Shan Gu now had the ability to protect himself, parents inevitably consider more.

In Taoxi Township there was a wealthy household marrying off a daughter to Runan Commandery; the wedding escort party would depart in three days. The couple had made arrangements, letting Shan Gu set off with acquaintances in the party. Their Shan Gu could help with odd jobs, and even as a guard he would be more than sufficient.

After Shan Gu finished kowtowing, he went to ask Shaowei for permission.

Shaowei naturally had no reason to object, only giving him a dagger for self-defense, and instructing him on two things: one, be extra careful; two, don't neglect his staff technique — practice whenever he has time.

Shan Gu nodded like pounding garlic. After that, for three consecutive days, he came every day to bid farewell to Shaowei, until Shaowei's head ached from it. That day she simply couldn't be bothered to see him off.

Shaowei didn't see him off, but Shan Gu came again to say goodbye. In the late eighth month weather, he had early on dug out that wolfskin coat and tied it at his waist — or rather, it should be called a wolf-sheep combined coat now — Hu Aniang, seeing he refused to part with it, had sewn sheepskin onto it last year, remaking it into a fitted coat.

Jiang Fu saw it last winter month and laughed, saying this half-wolf half-sheep coat actually suits Shan Gu's nature.

Now seeing Shan Gu come again to verbosely bid farewell, Shaowei, broom in hand, felt anxious for him, and chased him off: "You'll miss the auspicious hour! Be careful they won't take you!"

"Alright!" Shan Gu hurriedly agreed: "A Jie, then I'm leaving!"

Shaowei perfunctorily nodded.

Shan Gu walked a few steps, then turned back, and loudly said: "A Jie, remember to save the non-urgent work for me! I'll go fast and return fast!"

Shaowei: "Got it, got it!"

Seeing Shaowei's impatient expression, Shan Gu gave a "heh" laugh, didn't dare say more, shouldered his bundle, and ran off swiftly.

Shaowei continued sweeping. The large bamboo broom in her hand scraped the ground with a rustling sound, sending fallen leaves and dust flying.

After finishing sweeping, Shaowei raised her head to gaze at the sky, and spaced out for a while.

That night, the manservant who should have arrived on time still didn't appear. This was already the second consecutive time he broke his appointment; in other words, he hadn't come for twenty days.

These past years, Shaowei would also wait in vain like this from time to time. The manservant's whereabouts were erratic; it seemed he would make a long trip every so often.

Since she was already awake anyway, the firewood that needed splitting was also done. With nothing to do, thinking of that guess in her heart, Shaowei simply took advantage of the night and went out the door.

Zhan Zhan flapped its wings and followed. One person, one bird quickly vanished into the dark night.