Chapter 47: 46 No Calendar in the Mountains

46 No Calendar in the Mountains

Tang Zhao took the note, remained silent for a long moment, and hesitated, "Inviting me inside?"

He suddenly realized: was there really someone in the Time Jar?

The ink on the paper was fresh, clearly written just now, and definitely not some old writing from years ago; this had to be the work of a person. Even if the Time Jar had become a spirit, it would only be able to speak, not write.

Being prone to playing with ink and paper was a bad habit only a scholar like Tang Zhao would have.

"Could it be that the Judge really was looking for someone in the Prison? And the one he was looking for was you? He went through all that trouble to find you, and he really did find you, yet you refused to see him, to the point that he had it and then lost it? You and he aren't on the same side?"

The Time Jar did not answer, but Tang Zhao felt his guess was nine times out of ten correct.

"Since you refused to come out then, why are you willing to show yourself now?"

It couldn't be that he had just gone crazy smashing the Time Jar and threatened to bury it in the dirt, scaring the person inside, could it?

That Judge was clearly capable of being even crazier.

The fact that the Time Jar contained another person, while still miraculous, seemed a little less miraculous now.

A person seemed to be the source of miracles; even if a matter was fantastical, with a person presiding over it, even if their methods were completely beyond Tang Zhao's imagination, it seemed to lose its veil of mystery all at once, turning into something like a "mastermind" behind a conspiracy.

Tang Zhao calmed down, and another kind of wariness arose. He first performed a salute and said, "I was rude just now, senior. Since you are willing to speak, why not reveal yourself?"

After a while, a ball of paper rolled out from the mouth of the Time Jar.

"It is inconvenient to go out; I sincerely invite my young friend to come to my humble abode for a chat."

Tang Zhao stared at the mouth of the Time Jar, pondering in silence.

The "humble abode" the other party spoke of referred to this Time Jar.

So he still had to crawl into the Time Jar...

After weighing the pros and cons, Tang Zhao steeled himself. He first went back to write a note and pressed it under a candle—that was a clue left for others to find him—then he took an Art Tool and carefully crawled into the mouth of the Time Jar.

The moment his head entered the Time Jar, the text on his Glasses changed:

"Sword: Record into the Sword Manual?"

"... Yes." Tang Zhao thought subconsciously.

"Begin Knock Sword."

A large number of golden Talismans flowed across the Glasses, as if it were raining light. Tang Zhao felt dazzled and hurriedly reached out to take off the Glasses.

The moment he took off the Glasses, Tang Zhao suddenly felt a wave of dizziness in his head.

It was that feeling of his Spirit being shaken!

This was not the ripple-like fluctuation on a water surface from before, but a head-on impact like the first time he had encountered an Art Tool; in an instant, he almost fell into a faint.

He hurriedly pushed the Glasses back on.

The dizziness disappeared.

The screen-scrolling continued.

Tang Zhao was suddenly startled, and he realized—

Every time he wore the Glasses, he had never suffered a Spirit impact, not even a ripple!

As someone with a "Spirit Talent," Tang Zhao had already guessed that he was very susceptible to Spirit attacks. Things like Art Tools, Phantoms, swords, and so on would disturb his mind at the slightest provocation.

But if he wore the Glasses, these disturbances disappeared, whether they were active or passive, strong or weak, immersive or observational; none of it had ever happened. Later, the Glasses cracked in half, and wearing them all the time was cumbersome, so he rarely wore them, and all kinds of disturbances returned.

He hadn't realized that these Glasses had been protecting him all along!

However, this didn't seem to be entirely a good thing?

Sometimes, he needed fluctuations to judge abnormalities?

No, that way of judging was risky, and there were better ways. For example, that day in the Prison, he put on the Glasses; he didn't judge that the Time Jar was abnormal through Spirit interference, but rather—he saw it at a glance.

The Glasses would display it directly!

Tang Zhao understood in an instant:

It was better to wear the Glasses after all.

At this moment, he was about to enter an unfamiliar place and was in extra need of the protection of the Glasses; a mere crack in the lens and a bit of screen-scrolling were not worth worrying about.

Letting the golden light flicker before his eyes, Tang Zhao had already entered the Time Jar completely.

Then he stood up.

Heaven and earth shifted, and in an instant, the world had changed.

A breeze brushed against his face, soft and cool, mixed with the fragrance of fruit wood and a faint scent of water vapor.

It was late autumn now, and there would never be such a wind; not only had the world changed, but even the seasons had shifted.

At this moment, he was standing in a great hall; the hall had walls on three sides and was completely open on one.

The open side faced a lake, with ten thousand acres of rippling water connecting to the green sky; the breeze was blowing from the surface of the lake. Above was bright daylight, below was the vast water mist, and between the sky and water, the outlines of distant mountains were faintly visible like light ink.

Looking back at the hall, there was also a fragrance in the room, like sandalwood and musk, with a lingering charm. The furnishings and layout all around were exquisite and comfortable; gold, pearls, jade, and porcelain were not lacking in splendor, while bamboo, wood, silk, and gauze were not lacking in delicacy. Every table, every chair, every Lamp, and every rack seemed to be shrouded in a layer of lustrous, warm light, making one feel intoxicated and relaxed.

A soft couch lay across the front of the hall, and someone was lying diagonally on it, facing the water, in an extremely comfortable posture.

It was a fat old man with a round face and a round body, looking just like a ball, with a large beard that obscured even his facial features. He wore a wide, loose brocade robe and was barefoot; because it was home attire, there were no accessories, only a hairband tied around his head, with a round, golden-yellow gemstone embedded in it.

Tang Zhao was surprised. He had previously seen the elegant and spirited handwriting on the note, with its refined tone and polite phrasing, and had assumed it was a high-level person with a scholarly temperament. He hadn't expected this old man to look so slovenly, without a shred of scholarly air.

Scholar or not, he was still a high-level person; building a house inside a Time Jar was one thing, but having the clear sky and the lake and mountain scenery too was just too excessive, wasn't it?

Even though he was close at hand, the fat old man was completely unaware, just closing his eyes to rest.

Tang Zhao thought: If I had arrived unexpectedly to pay a visit, it would be one thing if you were asleep, but since you were the one who invited me, what are you putting on an act for?

Although he thought this, he still took the initiative to say, "The student has come by invitation; I wonder what instructions the senior has?"

The fat old man opened his eyes—because his hair was too long, one couldn't tell how wide he opened them—rubbed his face with his hands, and said vaguely, "Oh, young friend, I was sleeping so well, why did you have to come and disturb me?"

Tang Zhao was just about to say, "Weren't you the one who called me?" when he suddenly understood his meaning. This was an allusion to himself ruining the old man's seclusion in the dungeon. He said, "It was a coincidence. I also didn't expect that the plain-looking Time Jar would hide such a world. I did not mean to disturb you; I hope you will forgive my ignorance."

The fat old man said, "With one word of 'ignorance,' you've ruined years of my quiet cultivation. If I asked you to compensate, you couldn't afford it. So I just wanted to see you, to see what kind of person broke my layout." After saying this, he stared at Tang Zhao diagonally; he wouldn't say there was much malice in his gaze, but there certainly wasn't any goodwill.

Tang Zhao thought to himself: You haven't broken a situation for people in so many years because you hid well, hiding in the Prison of Black Spider Villa, mingling with those Time Jars that contain people—who could have guessed that? If you had been placed out in the open in broad daylight, and since I am not the only person in the world with talent, you would have been discovered long ago.

Although he thought this, he was not so mean-spirited as to say it aloud, and said: "It was just luck; this student has nothing extraordinary about him."

The fat old man sat up, leaned against the thick, soft cushion, and said: "It's passable. I see that although you are not some peerless figure the likes of which are rare in heaven and earth, you have the advantage of being young, and you do have potential. It was not in vain that I called you in to take a look. What year is it this year?"

Tang Zhao looked at him and thought: He is putting on more and more airs. He said: "It is currently the fourth year of Yongping."

The fat old man said: "Yongping... what year is that? How many years is it from the twelfth year of Xizhen?"

Tang Zhao said: "Xizhen... is that from the Xizhen era of the former Zheng dynasty? That was at least a hundred years ago!"

The fat old man's eyes were dazed, and he said: "Ah, so I have slept for so long."

The words "not knowing there was a Han dynasty, let alone the Wei or Jin" flashed through Tang Zhao's mind, and he said: "How old are you?"

The fat old man said: "Who still remembers such things? Time has long since lost its meaning for me."

Tang Zhao said: "No time? Could it be that you are immortal?"

The fat old man said leisurely: "Immortal? That won't do, because I am already old."

These few sentences were spoken with great profundity, and Tang Zhao could not help but feel a sense of awe. The fat old man said: "If I had had the opportunity like you and arrived here when I was young, naturally I would not have grown old."

Tang Zhao was stunned for a moment, and the fat old man said: "Be my page boy."

Tang Zhao was dumbfounded, and the fat old man said: "Could it be that you still want to take me as your master? This seat does not take disciples. Even if you have some talent, the fate is not yet ripe. It just so happens that this seat lacks a book boy, and seeing that you are reasonably clever, I will take you in."

Tang Zhao was bewildered; seeing the fat old man as if he were looking at a patient, he did not get angry but instead wanted to offer a few words of comfort. The fat old man said: "Alright, stop dawdling. Kowtow to me twice, call me Master, and then go cook dinner. I am hungry."

Tang Zhao was both angry and amused, and said: "What makes you think I would acknowledge you as my master?"

The fat old man sneered: "You, a mere Mortal, having stumbled into such an immortal residence, how could you not harbor a desire to seek immortality? Look at you, your face is full of envy and admiration that you cannot even hide. By rights, you should be begging me bitterly, asking me to bestow an opportunity upon you, willing to fawn at my feet and serve like a dog or horse. I would refuse until the end, give you a few tests, and even make you kneel outside for days and nights before granting it—that is the style of an immortal family. I think that is too hypocritical; it just so happens that I have lived in seclusion for many years without a page boy to serve me, and you are suitable, so I have dispensed with all the empty formalities and taken you in."

Tang Zhao had been furious when he heard him tell him to kowtow and acknowledge him as master, even thinking of the human traffickers in the desolate village that night, and had felt a sense of shared hatred. But hearing his matter-of-fact words, he felt that this person possessed a sort of absurd, naive innocence; although his words seemed rude, they were not necessarily malicious in the usual sense, just difficult for ordinary people to understand.

He explained patiently: "You have misunderstood. I have no intention of staying."

The fat old man said: "Have you read a few books and now consider yourself to have honor and shame, unable to bring yourself to acknowledge a master? Fine, acknowledge me as your Ancestor. Originally I could have acknowledged you as my godson, but you are only a few years old, and for someone of my age to acknowledge you as a son would make your seniority too high, which would be unfair to the people of the world. Just call me Ancestor. I am not a stingy person; if you serve me well, I will naturally give you benefits."

Tang Zhao felt more and more that he was seriously ill, and patiently said again: "Senior, you have truly misunderstood. I did indeed feel a sense of admiration just now, but I have no intention of staying. Because I still have things to do outside; although this place is good, I cannot stay. Actually, your place here is really very good, except for being a bit lonely..."

Suddenly, only a "Crack!" was heard, dust rose, and the couch in front of him actually collapsed!

Tang Zhao was startled, and saw the fat old man already lying in a pile of broken wood. He hurriedly reached out to pull him up, but the old man suddenly shook his hand off and roared: "Get out—"

He waved his hands repeatedly, shooing Tang Zhao away like a fly, and said: "Get out, get out quickly! You don't know a damn thing, you're an eyesore here, why haven't you gotten out yet!"

Tang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief; although the old man's words were unkind, it was good that he could leave. He added: "Senior, would you like to move your home to another place? My place is too unsafe. If someone were to drag you out one day, I fear some might be disrespectful to your... Time Jar. Although they are also very hard to destroy, it would be disrespectful to use the jar to hold things like pig blood or duck feathers."

The fat old man glared at him and said: "Of course I want to find a safe place, but don't think you'll get any benefits from this. I won't give you a single cent of the things here."

Tang Zhao sighed, feeling very tired, and said: "It's a small favor, what benefits do I need? After all, it is partly my fault that you are moving out of that quiet place in the Prison. Can you change the shape of the Time Jar? That way it will be easier for me to move. I can't go back to the Prison, so I will try my best to find a quiet place far from people."

He said sincerely: "I won't hide it from you, I am not exactly free right now either, and there are some things beyond my reach; to move you, I can only wait for an opportunity. Moreover, there aren't many places as quiet and inconspicuous as the Prison. I can only say I will try my best to find one; if I can move you within half a month, I will. If I can't, I will entrust you to someone else. He is smarter and more alert than me, perhaps he can find you a good home?"

He suddenly thought that if the fat old man insisted on recruiting a page boy and provided food, lodging, and benefits, perhaps Wei Zhangle would be interested? However, Wei Zhangle had just found the direction of a Sword Guest and had the path of the Land Inspection Department; otherwise, he might have been willing to stay here, as it was at least safer than Black Spider Villa.

The fat old man climbed up from the wood shavings and said: "Little brat, you sure know how to say high-sounding words. What one month, half a month—do I lack that little bit of time? If you're going to get out, get out. Remember not to mention me to anyone, especially that person wearing the black and white Mask. If you dare mention a single word, I will take your life. Get out, the exit is outside."

Tang Zhao raised an eyebrow and said: "No need for reminders, this junior has always kept his word." Having said that, he walked out of the water flow.

Just as he stepped over the threshold, a light flashed on his Glasses.

"Knock Sword complete!"