Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 173: Ji Yuan Goes Down the Mountain

The young yet intelligent child was full of curiosity about everything, and longed for beautiful things.

But his previous aspirations were limited to delicious food and entertainment, things that could be seen, touched, and felt. Even the story he had been told about his full-month celebration didn’t leave much of an impression on Xiao Yuansheng; after all, there were many ways to look for good luck in mundane happenings. Only a few days ago, a child was born in a wealthy family, and people all went around claiming the sky was filled with colorful clouds. However, Xiao Yuansheng saw nothing more than a cloudy day.

But at this moment, what his father, Wei Wuwei, revealed to Xiao Yuansheng was not only a secret, but a window to a more mysterious and colorful world.

“When I, your father, first became the head of the family, I used various means to convince the family to follow my leadership, which didn’t take too long. Shortly after that, I was passing through Ning’an County when I heard that some warriors had hunted a rare white tiger skin, so I went to buy it. On the way back, I was ambushed and narrowly avoided death…”

After he spoke softly and reminisced for a moment, Wei Wuwei looked back at his son with an extremely serious expression.

“Yuansheng, remember the two great benefactors of our Wei family. The first is the mysterious master from the public sect who saved me and my men. Without him, our Wei family would not be seeing such good fortune now. He has a birthmark on his face,¹ and is a master of the Iron Punishment Battle Guide. His voice is low and hoarse, likely due to his years of practicing the Iron Punishment Battle Guide and shouting. To be able to cultivate the Iron Punishment Battle Guide to such a level, he is likely a strict and fair person, one who acts swiftly and decisively, not moved by material things. So far, my Wei family has not been able to find out his true identity… If there is a chance, his kindness must be repaid!”

After saying this, Wei Wuwei asked his son solemnly.

“Did you remember all of that?”

Wei Yuansheng’s expression tightened and he nodded.

Wei Wuwei spoke to his son as if he were communicating with an adult. He continued only after seeing his son nod.

“Well, the second benefactor is actually no ordinary individual, but the guiding immortal of our Wei family. It is the existence of this immortal that has made it possible for our Wei family to progress this far…”

Wei Wuwei took out the jade pendant from his sleeves, attracting the attention of his son and wife.

“You’ve seen this jade pendant before, but this is not its true appearance. I almost died that day, and my disbelief in the supernatural had been shaken. I heard rumors of a strange man in Ning’an County, so I asked the county officials to take me to see him. This was the first and only time your father met Mr. Ji…”

The patriarch traveled to the county’s rumored haunted house, where the gloom of ghosts no longer filled the air… The red fox begged the gentleman for help, and he rescued it… He held the jade pendant and it glowed, showing the characters Yu Huai, illuminating the path for the Wei family to follow… Before the man left the county, the jujube tree in the courtyard bore fruit overnight to send the gentleman off…

These events were not exaggerated, but through the casual chatter and discussion of villagers and eyewitnesses during their meals, they vaguely revealed the extraordinary magic in an otherwise calm and peaceful life.

After Wei Wuwei finished his tale, he showed a rare remorseful expression.

“It’s a pity that I only had the opportunity to meet him at that time. Although I knew he was extraordinary, I didn’t understand just to what extent. I only realized this when I was at the bank of the Chunmu River outside Chunhui Prefecture’s capital. That terrifying old turtle actually envied a wild fox, and couldn’t even hide his jealousy and resentment… Ah…”

Wei Wuwei then related the story of the other tense and dangerous moments of the Wei family patriarch’s life, including the Old Turtle’s excitement at that time by the Chunmu River. Not only was it Xiao Yuansheng’s first time hearing this, but it was also the first time his mother heard the truth of the danger he had been at the time. She couldn’t help but hug her child tightly.

After all, this was a water monster. Wei Wuwei also bluntly said that the old turtle’s emotions were obviously out of control at that time. If the Wei family patriarch had responded more aggressively, it would have been disastrous.

“The old turtle was also kind to my Wei family, but everyone’s needs have been satisfied in that case, and my Wei family has never neglected to send wine to the river every year.”

At this point, Wei Wuwei repeated the Old Turtle’s words and revealed the true secret of the family’s jade pendant. It was the opportunity to seek the Immortal Yuhuai Mountain within the next twenty years, and it was upon Wei Yuansheng’s head that the hope of the Wei family rested.

As Wei Wuwei finished revealing the secret, Wei Yuansheng’s face was full of excitement and curiosity, but also some worry and fear.

“Then, Dad… do I have to go to that Yuhuai Mountain to seek immortality?”

“Well, Dad will accompany you. It would be best if your Dad could stay there with you. If not, then you will have to rely on yourself.”

Wei Wuwei was quite satisfied with his son. A child like him should be able to enter Yuhuai Mountain no matter what happened. He didn’t even dare to let Xiao Yuansheng touch his family’s jade pendant, as he suspected that, if he touched it, the immortals from Yuhuai Mountain would come and take his son away to their sect. It would be better for Xiao Yuansheng to study for two years under the care of his elders at home.

“By the way, Dad told me before about the immortal fruit I got at my full-month celebration. Where did that come from?”

Wei Wuwei subconsciously licked his lips.

“Naturally, it came from the jujube tree in Mr. Ji’s courtyard. That tree is obviously no longer an ordinary jujube tree. In recent years, it has rarely produced fruit, but when it does its fruit is fire-red, and it has been called a ‘fire jujube.’ It contains magical properties, and is extremely rare. The one you ate was obtained by your Dad from the one-armed swordsman Du Daxia.”

“Since you know it’s in Ning’an County, can’t Dad just go get some?”

Wei Wuwei looked at his son and smiled.

“Yuansheng, there are many things in the world that can’t be bought with money or snatched with martial arts. A young boy guards that jujube tree, and his identity is also remarkable; he is the second son of the top scholar, the first one to have achieved the top score in all three imperial examinations since the founding of Dazhen. More importantly, he often came to play with Mr. Ji in the past. He is definitely no ordinary child.

“But that alone is not enough. No one dares to offend the young man, but he is only a scholar’s son, after all, and the jujube tree is no ordinary tree. Some people tried to steal the jujubes, but they suffered dire consequences… Even if they managed to succeed, those were Mr. Ji’s fruits. If they succeeded by improper means, there would definitely be retribution in the future.”

“Oh…”

The father and son spoke late into the night. There were a lot of stories to tell, and Wei Wuwei told them all. Not long after Wei Yuansheng finished listening, he fell asleep in his mother’s arms.

The next day, the old teacher met Wei Yuansheng once more in one of the study rooms of the back wing.

This time, Master Li was even more meticulous. The young master of the Wei family had actually changed his naughty behavior over night, and had started studying very hard.

Although some distraction was inevitable, this was extremely rare for a child of this age.

Seeing this chubby pale kid who could barely hold a brush learning to write, with fine sweat on his face and ink smudging his fingers, the old teacher felt both happy and distressed.

. . .

Spring turned to summer once more in the new year.

In Changchuan Prefecture, Bing Province, the Yun Mountain range on the edge of Dongle County were once more shrouded in mist. However, the sun had risen, and the fog in the mountains would soon dissipate.

Ji Yuan woke up in the bed in Cloud Mountain Temple. He left a note on the table in the room, and went down the mountain first thing.

This was the first time that Ji Yuan had truly left Yun Mountain since he had resolved the Huang family’s affairs.

The Land God temple on the edge of Maoqian Town was not very large, but it was popular since its construction, with the strong support of the Huang family also played a significant role.

The temple was just a courtyard with front and rear gates. There was a shrine in the courtyard, with an incense burner in front of it. The shrine was three zhang long,² filled with clay statues, offering altars, cushions, and other objects.

A respected old man who lived near the temple acted as the temple groundskeeper, and the town gave him some coin in wages.

There were no sacrifices nor festivals today, and it was still early in the morning, so the Land Temple was deserted.

The old man got up early, as his duty as the temple groundskeeper. He moved a bamboo chair out of the temple early in the morning and prepared to bask in the sun for a while. His job was much easier than farming or working in agriculture.

The chair had barely been set up when he found that there was one more person in the courtyard.

He resembled a tall, well-proportioned and handsome scholar in white robe, but judging from his hair bun, he was no scholar. He stood in front of the temple looking at the Land God’s statue neither burning incense nor praying.

“Uh, sir, do you want to burn incense to pay respects to the gods, or do you want to make a sacrifice or pray?”

Ji Yuan turned around, bowed with cupped hands to the temple groundskeeper, said “sorry to bother you,” and then turned around and left.

“What a weird guy…”

The temple grounds keeper walked a few steps to the entrance of the temple, slightly hunched over, but found that he couldn’t see anyone, neither in front nor behind him. What he also didn’t see was a paper crane circling in the air above the temple, before landing on top of the statue of the Land God. It pecked it twice, causing small ripples spread out from its point of contact with the statue.

After the span of only two breaths, the Land God incarnated himself into the statue and looked around the temple. The temple keeper stood at the gate, looking around, as if he were searching for something.

The Land God looked up at the paper crane, slightly surprised, then took it back to his palace in the temple.

As soon as the paper crane fell into the Land God’s palm, a divine voice appeared.

“If you don’t want to be just a small Land God in Maoqian Town, you can stop before attaining a golden body on your path of using incense power and faith to cultivate divinity!”³

The Land God trembled, almost crumpling the paper crane.

“The Immortal!”

Although Ji Yuan couldn’t see how the Land God reacted, he could make a guess. At this moment, he checked in on Huang Xingye on his way.

The last time Huang Xingye had gone up the mountain to express his gratitude to Cloud Mountain Temple, Ji Yuan had cast a spiritual technique on him to help hide his “personal god.” When Huang Xingye died in the future, people would also be able to pray to this “god.”

1. Thank you mindsystem for pointing out in ch. 48: “His hair was tied up simply, and his face was dark, as if there were a dark birthmark covering half of his visage.”
2. ~30 feet, ~10m
3. The exact translation of this is a little unclear, but I did my best