Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 19: Real But Elusive

Ji Yuan was now wondering, assuming he would make it down the mountain alive, find a way to protect himself, then look to see if he could treat his eyes, whether he might be able to join some kind of cultivation place and become an immortal.

Of course, he really wanted to find out what happened to Lu Shan Jun right when he had left, and what happened with the fleeting image of the chess piece.

Ji Yuan sensed that it was most likely related to that Lanke chess game from his previous life, and might even be the key to his survival in this world.

The mountain wind blew past. After having rested for a bit, Ji Yuan was a little drowsy.

He didn’t know whether this had been the case before, but Ji Yuan suddenly determined that his ability to withstand pressure was actually quite strong.

. . .

The group rested by the stream for around fifteen minutes. After they had recovered some physical strength, and someone helped the four injured warriors adjust their breathing, they set off on the road once more.

This time, they rushed down the rest of the mountain in one go.

In Narcissus Town, a watchman and two men in rural clothes walked through the quiet streets and alleyways. The watchman held a clapper,¹ while the two men following carried a gong and a lantern.

The even beat sounded, along with the voice of the man holding the clapper.

“This is the fourth watch…”

“Dong… dong, dong, dong…”

“This is the fourth watch…”²

…

After having walked for some time, the three of them looked around at the quiet street, pulled their coats tighter around themselves, and turned around to go back, chatting along the way.

“Yesterday, I heard that a few Jianghu³ people went up the mountain.”

“What did they want to do?”

“It seems that they took up the county government bounty list and went to Niu Kui Mountain to kill a King of Beasts!”

“Huh?”

The watchman holding the clapper was a little nervous.

“They dared enter the mountain at this time? I heard from those old hunters in the market that the beasts in the mountain aren’t just simple tigers, 80% of them are spirits. Even those old hunters don’t dare stay in there overnight.”

“Hey, are you exaggerating?”

“I’d rather believe it than be sorry!”

As the group was discussing the topic, they suddenly felt that the weather had gotten colder again, and couldn’t help but speed up their pace.

Just as they reached the end of the street and were about to turn, one of them suddenly caught sight of a group of people approaching in the distance. It was Lu Chengfeng and the other warriors, who had returned.

“There’s someone over there!”

When they got closer, the enormous white tiger’s skin made several people pale, and their heads went numb.

. . .

At dawn the next day, news of the death of Niu Kui Mountain’s vicious tiger had spread throughout Narcissus Town, and the Ning’an county government immediately dispatched officers to the town to verify the rumors.

This age was not like the Information Age that Ji Yuan lived in during his previous life. Any rich man taking a concubine was already major gossip. Now, there were actually warriors who went into the mountains to kill a man-eating tiger. An actual tiger! How cool was that?

Ning’an County was a very small territory with simple folk customs, one county seat, and only 22 villages and market towns of varying sizes under its jurisdiction, so all of the people in the county quickly learned about the warriors who had successfully gone up the mountain and slayed the tiger, and many even rushed to Narcissus Town to watch the excitement. Unfortunately, it was, for the most part, in vain, as the warriors had already rushed to the seat of the Ning’an County local government.

The nine young warriors finally presented the bloodied white tiger pelt to the Ning’an County Government. According to word-of-mouth, the magistrate of Ning’an County was a good official. He behaved honorably and handed over the eighty taels of silver listed as the reward for the bounty list to the warriors, and additionally gave them seventy more taels to purchase the white tiger skin.⁴

. . .

It was the second day after the nine warriors had returned, and it the first day that the tiger skin had arrived at the Ning’an County government office.

At the county courthouse, the large, bloodied, white tiger hide was placed on an Eight Immortals table,⁵ and the room soon filled with its peculiar smell.

This tiger pelt had been skinned perfectly horizontally down the middle, with the head, claws, body and tail still attached.

“Oh… the teeth are all there!”

“Oh, oh, look at this tiger’s mouth, it’s bigger than my head!”

“How many people did this thing eat?”

“Oh my goodness, it’s terrifying! I heard that this tiger was about to become a spirit!”

“That’s right. Fortunately they killed it now, otherwise I’m really not sure what would have happened!”

“Tsk tsk tsk… Those warriors are not only skilled in martial arts, but also ruthless!”

“Yeah, it injured four people, each one more seriously than the last. It looks scary! Doctor Tong, the best medical doctor in the county, said that was a good thing that they had practiced martial arts to such a high degree, otherwise they would have died long ago!”

A group of officers and and civil servants gathered around to marvel at the tiger skin.

County Magistrate Chen Sheng⁶ and County Captain Zhu Yanxu⁷ stood to the side with cheerful smiles.

“Hahahaha, sir, the evil tiger, which was a big concern for Ning’an County, has now been eliminated.”

“That’s right! I would be happy to help County Captain Zhu find some good hunters to tan this tiger skin. Why don’t we display it at the Ning’an County courthouse for the next ten days to reassure the people!”

“Yes, Sir!”

Ning’an County relied on the mountains to sustain itself. In addition to agriculture, Niu Kui Mountain, which was rich in resources, was also a treasure of Ning’an County. Getting rid of the evil tiger was not a trivial matter. The local gentry simply took it as an opportunity to organize a county fair.

. . .

The injuries of the four warriors had been stabilized.

After Yan Fei and Luo Ningshuang’s wounds were sutured, they applied Golden Wound medicine,⁸ and were given a couple more remedies to regulate their Qi and blood. Combined with their true Qi from their cultivation and their methods of breath regulation, they didn’t have too hard a time.

Zhao Long, who had been whipped by the tiger’s tail, mainly had internal injuries, but he had a good foundation in hard skills,⁹ so there was also no serious problem.

However, although Du Heng’s humerus had been set, the bone had been completely broken. In the words of Doctor Tong, if he was lucky, he would be able to use chopsticks, but it would be impossible to wield a sword.

What was Ji Yuan doing during this period?

In addition to repeatedly trying to induce his special abilities, his most pressing need was to take a bath!

He didn’t know how long it had been since the original owner of this body, the poor beggar, had washed himself. Anyway, he ended up asking the innkeeper to change the bath water three times, and finally rubbed the caked mud off of his body over and over. After he finished washing, not only did he feel a lot lighter, but his skin had also lightened now that it no longer had dust. The drastic change really was terrifying!

. . .

On his third day of staying in Yunlai Inn, after washing his entire body and changing his clothes, Ji Yuan finally felt presentable.

That morning, Lu Chengfeng accompanied Ji Yuan around Ning’an County to find a quiet house where the latter could settle down.

He would decide later whether to rent or buy it.

Ji Yuan believed that his current understanding of the world he now found himself in was far from enough, so it was better not to rush in.

As for where the money came from, hadn’t the Ning’an County government handed out 150 taels of silver? The nine young heroes had told him that they felt compelled to give the money to the one who really deserved it.

Well, after a couple token protests, Ji Yuan accepted it. He really did deserve it, didn’t he?

After learning that an ordinary person’s annual expenditure was only a few dozen taels of silver, Ji Yuan confirmed his plan to buy the house in Ning’an County, which had simple folk customs and a good reputation among officials and the common people.

He was alone, and his requirements were not high. He didn’t need to go in and out frequently. All he needed was a quiet place that had a separate yard,¹⁰ a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom.

After changing out of the beggar’s clothes and washing up, Ji Yuan looked elegant, somewhat thin and slender, and he wore a silk kerchief on his head.¹¹ Although Ji Yuan couldn’t see clearly, he felt that he probably looked decent.

Lu Chengfeng was not a local either. He could accompany Mr. Ji, but they still needed a local broker¹² to find a house, so they were accompanied by a middle-aged man.

The county town had been very lively these past few days, thanks to all of the people coming here to see the man-eating tiger’s hide on display for the public. On top of that, it was even more popular for being a rare white tiger skin. Adding on the county fair, even people in the nearby counties came.

The purpose of Ji Yuan’s stroll was not purely to find housing, but also to take a look at the town.

At this moment, the streets were bustling with pedestrians, making the county town as lively as it would have been on New Year’s.

This experience was quite novel for Ji Yuan. Even though his eyesight was bad, his ability to recognize voices and sounds allowed him to listen to all kinds of discussions, jokes, bargaining, and even some quarrels around him on the street.

“Candied hawthorn skewers! Candied hawthorn skewers!”

“High-quality floral cloth, high-quality silk and satin!”

“Rouge, selling lip rouge!”

“Finely carved brush holders! Sandalwood, agarwood, pear wood! All available! Come have a look, here at ‘Four Treasures of the Study’ Store!”

…

Whether it was a fixed storefront or a street stall, there were always vendors shouting every so often. After all, the town had been very lively these past two days.

He had thought the loud noise would be unbearable, but Ji Yuan found that he didn’t feel irritated at all, and in fact his mind became more aware.

Ji Yuan’s eyes had always been open a little bit, but they would be come sore if he kept them open for long periods of time. But amazingly, even with this terrible vision, he could walk no differently from an ordinary sighted person.

As the trio walked, they stopped in front of the ‘Four Treasures of the Study’ Store. There were two stalls outside the store with various writing supplies, and an employee was standing outside the store to greet them.

“Esteemed guests, please take a look at this brush holder. Our Ning’an County is well-known for these kinds of writing instruments, and this one is made of top-grade yellow-flowering pear wood, carved by a master craftsman. The carvings are very fine, even high-ranking nobility like it!”

Lu Chengfeng’s attire was quite elegant. Although Ji Yuan wore simple clothes, he too looked very dignified. He did not resemble a master who lacked money. As for the broker, he was regarded as a servant.

Ji Yuan’s eyes could only make out a blur of dark yellow when he looked at the pen holder. It was useless to open his eyes wider, so he squatted down and stretched out his hand to carefully fumble for the pen holder. When he found it, he picked it up, tracing along the carvings carefully, feeling the grooves and undulations and listening to the sound of his fingers running over the wood.

This process made a vivid image of the brush holder appear in his mind.

‘This craftsmanship is so exquisite!’¹³

This brush holder was carved with landscapes and characters, and the pictures and texts were densely packed with lifelike characters. It was so dense it reminded him of the texts of He Zhou Ji.¹⁴

Ji Yuan had merely been curious about the craftsmanship and technology in this world, but was amazed.

The dazzling array of vendors, wandering pedestrians, the hustle and bustle of his surroundings, and the fine detail of these small handicrafts… everything felt real and rich. Ji Yuan could smell a breath of vitality, and his outstanding hearing helped him catch a glimpse into all walks of life, the joys and sorrows of industry.

Ji Yuan slowly opened his sore eyes, feeling a little dazed. Only now did he truly accept that he really was no longer in his original world.

T/n: and with that, we have made it out of the mountain!!! JY is back in business, and also finally not wearing rags or smelling like a 3-month-old skunk! Wooo!

Some translation groups have approached me, and I just want to say hello! And thank you! I will probably continue doing this for fun, so I won’t be joining any official groups or servers at this time, but I appreciate the invite. MAJOR respect for all of your work – you really start to realize how difficult it is once you do it yourself. 😀

1. Traditional Chinese percussion instrument comprised of 2 sticks of bamboo. ↩︎
2. Text repeated in raws. The night watchman is a job from Ancient China; he goes around at night, hits the gong once at a crossroads and several times upon seeing suspicious activity, twice at 9PM (21h), three times at midnight, and four times at 3AM. If you’re curious, Google “Chinese night watch and gong.” This is, amusingly enough, the fourth method of time-telling from before-we-had-clocks that we have encountered in this story so far (incense sticks, bamboo shadows, “Xu” hour, and now the gong). ↩︎
3. “Jianghu” generally refers to the fictional land in which lots of Chinese wuxia are set, basically the Chinese equivalent of European medieval fantasy worlds. ↩︎
4. 1.3 oz/~28.5g of silver. One tael would be around 2100 yuan/$290 in the late Tang dynasty, depreciated to less than a third as much in the mid Ming dynasty. Today one tael would be around 120yuan/$16. Chances are, it’s not an exact conversion – I know most of you aren’t as nerdy as I (proudly!) am, doing mathematical analysis on fantasy currencies to find the exact conversion rates. (Future Mango here: it’s explained in the next chapter, they use the conversion of 1 tael to 1,000 yuan, or ~$138. He just rewarded them with nearly $21,000) ↩︎
5. Early 19th-century Chinese large, square dining table meant to seat 8 people (hence the “Eight Immortals,” you can look it up if you’re curious), the top of which is inset with puddingstone. ↩︎
6. The County Magistrate, or local magistrate, is the official in charge of the administration of the county, chosen from those who passed the imperial examinations. This includes maintaining laws, justice, collecting taxes, paperwork, etc. It’s a relatively low position in government. (Allow me to nerd out for a moment: go read the Wikipedia article for some fascinating information about the governmental and hierarchical dynamics that magistrates had to juggle!) ↩︎
7. The County Military Officer, or County Captain, is like the Magistrate, but in charge of military affairs. This includes local security/policing, commanding local troops, and defense against external threats. ↩︎
8. Just a name for what seems to be some kind of paste. Apparently, can also be translated to “wound patch” medicine. Take this with a grain of salt, and maybe think of it as a kind of fantasy poultice, because I couldn’t find any definite sources. ↩︎
9. Physical/body cultivation techniques ↩︎
10. The inner/separate courtyard, also called “Siheyuan,” “heyuan,” “quandrangle,” or “inner patio,” is a small courtyard at the center of the house that connects all rooms together and lets in light and ventilation. You can find similar patio-based houses pretty much all over the world. ↩︎
11. The manhua portrays the scarf slightly differently (it looks like a small ribbon), but it was something common for scholars or officials to wear and indicated higher status and/or education. If you’re curious about the different kinds, look up “古代 中国 纶巾”. Later, JY switches to a jade hairpin, which as far as I can tell has a different significance. ↩︎
12. Lit: “snake” 😀 ↩︎
13. Raws had “TM,” which is Chinese slang used to emphasize the following adjective. ↩︎
14. Zhou Ji was a Chinese Minister of Education who was very unpopular and later removed from office. ↩︎