Green Mountain
Chapter 90 - 72, Fire and Medicine

Chapter 90: 72, Fire and Medicine

At night, between 9 and 11 PM.

Everyone in the Medical Hall was sound asleep, except for a light still burning in the main hall.

The flame of the oil residue lamp flickered on the counter, casting only a small patch of light.

Chen Ji, with his sleeves rolled up, stood behind a mahogany counter. His hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin on top of his head as he focused on grinding pieces of charcoal into powder and mixing them with a jar of high-proof Fire Saber Wine he had bought previously, spreading it across the counter.

He pushed the oil residue lamp away, quietly waiting for the alcohol, hydrocarbons, and oxides to fully evaporate.

As he waited for evaporation, he gently fanned himself while lifting his gaze to the roof beams.

A small spider was slowly spinning its web on the beam. A moth slammed into the web, struggling fiercely. The spider crawled towards the moth, oblivious to the gecko lurking at the edge of its web.

Just then, a voice came from behind him, "Why is there such a strong smell of alcohol in the room? Have you been drinking?"

Chen Ji stood up and turned around to see Old Yao, who had suddenly appeared. He smiled and said, "Master, you haven’t gone to bed yet?"

Old Yao’s face was expressionless, "My disciple is about to leave for a distant place; how could I sleep?"

"Did you divine it?"

Old Yao scoffed, "You have been cooking for everyone and looking all somber; I didn’t need to divine anything. I can guess it without divination. I don’t just divine; I use my brain too."

"Oh..."

Old Yao stood opposite him, casually inspecting the charcoal powder on the counter, "So, tell me, where do you plan to go?"

Chen Ji shook his head, "I’m not leaving; you guessed wrong this time."

Old Yao paused momentarily. He pulled out six copper coins from his sleeve and tossed them onto the counter, deciphering the divination while speaking, "Eh, you’re not leaving after all... Why aren’t you leaving?"

Chen Ji laughed, "Destiny is obscure, danger lurks within, life emerges from approaching death; aren’t these the divination signs you calculated for me, Master? I’m not one to run away."

"You think you should just wait to die? The Spy Department of the Ning Dynasty to the south is watching you, and Si Cao of the Military Intelligence Department of the Jing Dynasty to the north wants to kill you. Why do you stay here?"

Chen Ji didn’t respond. Instead, he looked up again at the spider and the gecko on the beam, curious to see if the gecko had eaten the spider yet.

Old Yao followed his gaze and said, "This time, are you the spider, the gecko, or perhaps the moth that has already fallen into the web?"

Chen Ji did not reply; he simply took the opportunity to gather the now-air-dried charcoal powder and began to weigh it on copper scales.

He took out the sulfur and saltpetre he had previously refined and purified, along with sugar, evenly mixing them together into a bamboo tube, adding a small amount of iron shavings.

At this moment, Wu Yun squeezed in through a crack in the window. Amidst this heavy atmosphere, he first looked at Old Yao, then at Chen Ji, and meowed, "Just as you guessed, Jin Zhu has already uncovered clues from the Craftsmanship Supervisor."

Chen Ji did not look up. He carefully sealed the bamboo tube, leaving a thin paper wick made from the gunpowder twisted together.

Only at this moment did Chen Ji place the bamboo tube on the counter and looked up with a smile, replying, "Master, I’m not the moth, nor the spider, and definitely not the gecko."

He looked towards the oil residue lamp at the edge of the counter, "I am that flame."

A flame not belonging to this era.

Chen Ji took a cloth, wrapped the three bamboo tubes in it, and tied it to his back.

He signaled to Wu Yun with a wave of his hand and turned to leave.

Old Yao watched him for a long time, "How much Ice Flow do you still have inside you? Enough to assimilate a few ginseng roots?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment and said, "Six roots."

Old Yao walked to the medicine cabinet, pulled open a drawer, "Convert all the Ice Flow before you go."

Chen Ji’s eyes lit up; it turned out that Master had bought ten ginseng roots in the morning to keep for him, "Thank you, Master."

"A ginseng root costs thirty silver taels, or three golden melon seeds."

Chen Ji’s expression froze, "And here I thought you were giving them to me."

Old Yao sneered, "Give them to you? How could I make ends meet then?"

"Fine, I’ll just take five roots." Chen Ji counted out twelve golden melon seeds from his sleeve and placed them on the counter, then went to the apprentices’ dormitory to get out thirty silver taels...

At this moment, his hard-earned savings were reduced to just sixty-three silver taels.

"Master, I’m leaving," Chen Ji picked up five ginseng roots, transformed them into transparent crystal beads, and fed them one by one to Wu Yun.

He walked with his bundle into the back yard, climbed onto the roof, and melted into the night.

Beside the apricot tree, Old Yao watched the direction of his departure, tossing down six copper coins, "Great misfortune."

A crow cawed.

Old Yao said impatiently, "It’s the path he chose himself; if he wants to go, just go take a look. I won’t stop him."

...

...

On Zhenghe Street at night, a charcoal cart pulled by two oxen was slowly heading to the Eastern Market.

With winter approaching, charcoal had become a necessity. For instance, in the Imperial Capital, the amount of charcoal distributed annually to officials was a massive 720,000 sticks.

In the Imperial Palace, they used red bamboo charcoal; officials favored the Silver Silk Charcoal from West Mountain; wealthy households burned candlenut charcoal; ordinary families used black charcoal. Without charcoal, winter was particularly harsh.

This was the busiest time for charcoal merchants. Charcoal, burned and processed from forest timber, was transported by water to Luocheng Eastern Market, from where it was sold and delivered to various households, with carts coming and going continuously day and night.

The charcoal cart was different from a normal ox-cart; it was enclosed on all sides but open at the top.

The charcoal vendor rode the ox-cart, humming a tune along the way, completely unaware that, in the shadows by the roadside, someone was crouched with a cat perched on his shoulder, waiting for him to slowly pass by.

As the charcoal cart passed through the shadow, Chen Ji swiftly took a couple of steps and lightly jumped into the cart without making a sound.

Feeling a slight shake of the cart, the charcoal vendor turned his head back perplexedly, looking at the cobblestone road, thinking he had rolled over a small stone.

He saw no irregularities with the cartwheel and continued humming a tune, "Standing at the building’s entrance, fate conspires in marriage. Herewith a call, a guest appears, light the lamp, come upstairs, late at night adapting is a must..."

Chen Ji recognized it as a bawdy tune that had trickled out of Hongyi Lane...

These traders made money by day and spent it by night in brothels, gambling, or whoring, hardly saving any.

He smiled, huddled with Wu Yun in the grimy coal cart, closed his eyes, and let the cart take him towards East Market Hongyi Lane.

The closer he got to the East Market, the calmer Chen Ji’s heart became, he touched the short knife in his sleeve again and slowly closed his eyes.

He returned to the battlefield in his dream.

"Brother Feng Huai, what was that move called where you spun the knife close to your body just now?"

"Xing Yuan."

"Brother Feng Huai, what was that move called where you forced me to drop my knife by sliding your blade against mine?"

"Star Fire."

"Brother Feng Huai, what about that chop at my blade’s back that hurt my wrist so badly yet seemed futile?"

Feng Huai chuckled shyly, "That move is called Gold Grinder, which was supposed to break your knife in one strike. But because your sword was too good, it didn’t break."

Every trajectory of Feng Huai’s sword, every step he took or retreated, was exquisitely flawless as if a work of art.

Like a heavy hammer striking him, a mere billet of steel being forged into shape. With each death, Chen Ji traded for a new skill.

Chen Ji had never fought with outsiders with his knife, so he didn’t know if his skills were sufficient; he could only keep practicing, aiming to match and then surpass Feng Huai.

Initially, Chen Ji would die twenty or thirty times in two hours, but now, he died only three or four times.

Initially, he was full of flaws, yet now, when they exchanged moves, hundreds of sequences would pass with neither finding a gap in the other.

Those sword skills, as if engraved in his bones for thousands of years, formed intricate and delicate totems, slowly being awakened.

Chen Ji straightened up again, "Let’s go again."

On the boulder, Xuanyuan still sat, clad in a dark King Robe. The only change was the embroidery of constellations, now reduced to the Ziwei Star Constellation.

Xuanyuan asked, "Are you in a rush for time?"

Chen Ji replied, "Indeed, I am."

Xuanyuan wondered, "Is someone outside trying to kill you?"

Chen Ji calmly responded, "No, there’s someone I want to kill."

Xuanyuan laughed heartily, "No wonder you are advancing faster today. This moment is suitable for practicing the sword! The sword is the courage amongst all weapons; without a desire to kill, one cannot master the sword! But I suggest you stop and rest for a bit before continuing, as fatigue only leads to restlessness and doesn’t help."

Chen Ji, pensive, sat down decisively on the ground, "Brother Feng Huai, why don’t you also sit and rest for a while."

Feng Huai sheathed his sword and sat down, his posture as proper as an apprentice’s.

The three of them seated on the ground atop Qingshan, surrounded by flowing clouds like an immortal realm, being blessed with longevity by immortals.

Chen Ji sighed, "Brother Feng Huai, your sword skills are truly excellent."

Feng Huai, adorned in Light Armor and looking about twenty, was handsome and somewhat green. Just from his appearance, one would never guess him to be a master of the sword.

Hearing Chen Ji compliment him, he blushed even more shyly, "You taught us well back then. We suffered quite a bit practicing the sword under you."

Chen Ji, taken aback, "...I taught you? Then why do I feel like you take so much joy in chopping at me?"

Feng Huai hesitated briefly, "Who wouldn’t find that exciting?"

Chen Ji calmly said, "...Makes sense. Just be nicer when not practicing the sword."

Feng Huai hastily replied, "Understood!"

Suddenly, Chen Ji asked, "Xuanyuan, if I died tonight, would you be able to return to this world through my body?"

Xuanyuan gazed at Chen Ji, "Yes."

"And if you really do return, could you help me kill someone?"

Xuanyuan smirked, "Kill them yourself."

"Alright." Chen Ji turned back to look at Xuanyuan standing on the boulder, "Then, about that... Can I borrow ’Whale’ tonight?"

"No," Xuanyuan shook his head.

"But I need to kill someone tonight, and other swords don’t quite suit me like ’Whale’ does."

Xuanyuan sneered, "Do enemies bargain with you? Can you negotiate every situation you encounter? I told you, being clever is good, but there are mountains in this world that you can’t go around. If you want ’Whale’, you have to defeat Feng Huai first."

"Understood."

At that moment, Chen Ji heard Wu Yun meow lowly by his ear, he leaned on his sword to stand, looking towards Xuanyuan, "There’s much to do tonight, if all goes well, see you tomorrow."

Xuanyuan fell silent for a moment before responding, "See you tomorrow."

Chen Ji opened his eyes inside the coal cart, which had slowly stopped outside Hongyi Lane, with the driver humming the bawdy tune cheerfully walking towards Hongyi Lane.

He and Wu Yun cautiously poked their heads out of the cart, only to be surprised by a familiar carriage that had stopped beside them.

Next, the Princely Heir’s voice emerged, "Using the Medical Hall as a diversion was a good idea. Chen Ji even set the ladder for us... Now look, climbing out of the back garden has torn my robe!"

Commandery Princess Bai Li responded right after, "Is it so wrong that I didn’t want to go through the Medical Hall?"

"Alright, alright..."

As Chen Ji watched the two hop down from the carriage and head towards Hongyi Lane, he wanted to stop them and warn them of the danger tonight, but how could he explain his presence here?

Watching as the Princely Heir and Commandery Princess Bai Li disappeared into Hongyi Lane, Chen Ji hesitated for a moment, then reached into the coal cart, smeared his face with coal dust.

"Let’s go, Wu Yun. Let’s climb onto the rooftop."