Lanke Chess Edge -
Chapter 217: A Letter From Long Ago
“Boom…”
A second clap of thunder sounded, much weaker, and echoed in the mountains.
Lin Xinjie and Lei Yusheng straightened their clothes, feeling slightly awkward. Their panic-stricken look just now was indeed a bit embarrassing.
Yin Qing and his three classmates walked a little closer to the inside of the room, and followed the merchants’ example. They moved two tables to the corners, laying them down, and places their book packs to one side.
The remaining tables and benches could be tilted on their sides to block the wind, or used as frames to raise them off the ground if the weather was cold and damp. If they were in a spot of difficulty, they could be chopped up and used as firewood.
“Mo Xiu, let’s go collect some firewood, it’s very cold in the mountains at night.”
Yin Qing suggested to his companions, and then turned to Lei Yusheng and Lin Xinjie, who seemed to want to speak.
“You guys can tidy up around here, clear up a small area or move a few more tables over so we can sleep well at night.”
Hearing this, Lin Xinjie frowned.
“Why go to all this trouble? Didn’t we ask our carriage driver to buy us a hatchet? Couldn’t we just chop up the table sand chairs here and use them as firewood?”“Yeah, we’re exhausted after walking for most of the day, and it’s going to rain soon, it’s so troublesome to go back out!”
Yin Qing squatted down, took out the hatchet from his pack, smiled, and shook his head.
“Haven’t you wondered why there are still so many tables and chairs in this deserted outpost? If everyone chopped the items here and used them for firewood, it would be quite inconvenient for people to rest here in the future! Unless it’s absolutely necessary, it’s best not to destroy anything. It’s not raining or dark yet, so let’s go out and get some dry firewood…”
When he finished speaking, Yin Qing approached Lei Yusheng and Lin Xinjie and spoke in a low voice.
“Look after our packs.”
“Well, let’s go!”
“Yeah, the sooner you go, the sooner you’ll come back!”
Yin Qing picked up the hatchet, called out for Mo Xiu to follow, and walked out. For one thing, he wanted the other two men to look after their packs. Furthermore, those two were true young masters who had never done any menial labor since childhood; they had walked for a long time today and were exhausted.
Mo Xiu at least still had some physical strength. Although Yin Qing himself was also tired, he could be considered the most physically fit individual of their group.
When the traveling merchants over to the side overheard Yin Qing’s words, a few of the older ones turned their heads and looked at him intently. Although they didn’t say anything, their impression of this scholar had obviously greatly improved.
As Yin Qing and Mo Xiu left the deserted waystation, they could feel the wind starting to blow harder outside. They looked up at the dark clouds, with seemed to be even closer to some of the surrounding tall peaks. They could hear the rumbling sound of thunder from time to time.
“Let’s go up the flatter slope nearby.”
“Mhm!”
The two rolled up their sleeves, tied their cuffs with straps and rope they had taken out from their packs, and went to the nearby hillside.
There was no shortage of firewood in the mountains. Yin Qing and Mo Xiu picked up a lot of branches of different sizes, and also cut some from the trees. They used the hatchet to chop some of the branches, and did their best to tie them into bundles with their ropes. It only took them a quarter of an hour to collect a small bundle.
“Boom…”
The thunder in the sky became louder and the wind picked up. Mo Xiu was still collecting more firewood, but Yin Qing had stopped.
“Mo Xiu, stop gathering firewood. It’s going to rain soon, we need to go back quickly!”
“Huh? How can just this little bit be enough?”
“Hey, if we don’t go back soon, we’ll be soaked to the bone. Getting soaked in the mountains is no joke!”
The two men grabbed their haul of firewood and walked along the mountainside. If they found any dead branches or logs along their path, Mo Xiu would pick them up and put them on top of their bundle.
When they arrived back at the deserted outpost, the rotting wooden door had been half-closed, leaving only a small gap between it and the frame.
“Squeak…”
The two pushed the it open together, and the old wooden door squeaked as it ground against the floor. Lei Yusheng and Lin Xinjie on the other side hurriedly stood up and went over to help bring the firewood in, before closing the door.
Only then did Yin Qing and Mo Xiu finally hear the loud whooshing noises from outside the door. It seemed that the wind had already grown quite strong.
“Young man, if you don’t have enough firewood, we have some extra here. It’s all dry firewood. If you need kindling, come over and take some charcoal.”
Seeing the four scholars hurrying about, an old man surnamed Lu of the traveling merchants spoke to them.
The traveling merchants were no large corporate businessman; their money was earned through hard labor. They would prepare everything on their own whenever they traveled. If there was firewood around, they would chop that and start a fire; if there wasn’t, they would always carry dry firewood in their packs.
The four scholars were immediately surprised and thanked him repeatedly.
About half an hour later, the rain finally started to come down. Fortunately, although the waystation had long been abandoned, there weren’t too many leaks, and most of the ones that did exist were in the corners, near the outside of the walls. Yin Qing and the traveling merchants were well-situated.
Two piles of firewood were burning in the central room of the waystation. Yin Qing used a few earthen bricks that he found in the outpost as a makeshift stove, and copied some of the traveling merchants, who used pots to collect rainwater and brought it back to boil.
When it rained in the mountains, it grew darker much faster. The traveling merchants were obviously well prepared. The ones sitting on the inside were warming themselves by the fire, while those sitting on the outside wore straw raincoats and hats. They also set up their surrounding tables and benches.
There were fewer people on Yin Qing’s side of the room, so it wasn’t as cold when they wanted to warm themselves by the fire. They followed the merchants’ example and prepared some dry food, sticking it on wooden sticks to make roasted buns.
“This night won’t be that difficult to endure, but I might not be able to sleep.”
Lei Yusheng spoke. He took a book from his book pack, and began to read it by the firelight.
About two hours later, Yin Qing, Mo Xiu, and Lin Xinjie still sat by the fire, wide-eyed and staring at each other, and Lei Yusheng had fallen asleep, curled up on a low table with his book as a pillow.
“I really admire Yusheng a little…”
Lin Xinjie said with a twitch of his lips. Beside, him Mo Xiu was also dumbfounded.
“Didn’t he just say that he won’t be able to sleep tonight?”
Many of the traveling merchants on the other side were already lying down as well. Some were even snoring, obviously sleeping soundly. However, there were essentially always a few people awake, and the ones keeping watch chatted in low voices.
“Uncle Lu, where do you think those scholars are from? Their accents don’t sound like people from Wan Province.”
Someone glanced over to the other side of the room and asked curiously.
“It’s not too clear. Anyway, it’s none of our business.”
“A scholar can become an official if he passes the imperial examination. Hey, Uncle Lu, when do you think I’ll get rich? When can I go to school, pass the imperial examination, become a top scholar, and live a life of wealth and honor for the rest of my life?”
The older man surnamed Lu looked at him, and then back at the scholars to the side.
“Probably soon. Someone will come over and take your watch in a little while.”1
The man scratched his head. He didn’t quite Lu Bo’s words, and felt that he was just talking nonsense. 2 However, Yin Qing, who heard it clearly, burst out laughing.
The older man surnamed Lu then sighed at his companion.
“Ah, that’s the difference between your brains!”
At this very moment, there was a sudden knock at the door of the deserted outpost.
“Knock knock knock… knock knock knock…”
“Is there anyone there? We just spotted a fire!”
The high-pitched voice and knocking on the door woke all the sleeping merchants.
“The door isn’t blocked, just push it open!”
As soon as one of the merchants finished speaking, someone pushed the door open from outside. The wooden door grated against the ground as it was shoved open.
“Whooo… whooooo…”
“Shhhhh…plik plik plik…”3
It was stormy outside.
“Boom…”
“Aaaah!”
As lighting illuminated the door, a woman screamed, and several figures at the door hurried into the waystation, pushing the door closed again.
By the light of the fire inside, the traveling merchants and the scholars could see that it was a group of three women. Although they had umbrellas, they were obviously soaked through. They were rubbing their arms and looked very cold. Some parts of their clothes clung to their bodies, revealing graceful figures.
“Shall we warm ourselves by the fire?”
The leading woman glanced at both sides of the room and asked.
As for the traveling merchants, although most of them were staring at the women’s bodies and features, almost all of them had their axes in hand, and didn’t say anything unnecessary.
The scholars were also looking at the women, Yin Qing and Lei Yusheng included, despite the latter having just woken up. However, Yin Qing, the youngest, had received strict education from his teacher, and did not look at them too directly.
The three women naturally walked over to the scholars.
Lei Yusheng hurriedly got off the table and sat upright beside the fire, while Lin Xinjie brought over a stool and dusted it down with a towel.
“Young man, you are all scholars, men and women should not mingle!”
The elder surnamed Lu suddenly spoke these words: age bred wisdom, after all.4 No matter how one looked at it, it was quite strange for three women to suddenly appear in the wilderness in the middle of the night.
Yin Qing immediately followed suit.
“The Old Man just reminded me, these girls were soaked by the rain and need a separate place to warm themselves by the fire. By the way, Old Man, how about we give our campfire to the girls? As scholars, we should not look upon them without their permission. How about we squeeze in with you? Brother Mo, you agree with me, right?”
The other three looked at Yin Qing, but hesitated and didn’t answer.
“That’s right, that’s right. Then, come on over here, youngsters!”
Yin Qing bowed to the old man, glanced sternly at his friends, and forcibly dragged them over to the other side.
“Oh… we don’t care…”
One woman said in a daze.
“But we care! A girl’s reputation is no trivial matter!”
Yin Qing dragged his friends to the merchants’ side without saying anything more, or even taking his book pack along. At this moment, his strength was so powerful that the three scholars who wanted to dawdle were dragged over by him alone.
The three women were obviously a little stunned. After a long moment, the leader laughed, and jokingly said, “what a pedant!”5 and led the other two women to sit by the campfire that the scholars had previously been at. They subconsciously looked at the four book packs.
On the other side, the elder surnamed Lu nodded to Yin Qing and others. He gestured them over to sit at the empty seats near the campfire, and spoke in a very low voice.
“When you go out, it’s better to be safe than sorry!”6
Yin Qing just bowed with cupped hands and didn’t speak. Unlike the others, he seemed to be able to smell a pungent odor, which made him extremely uneasy, especially since these women all appeared to be human.
Over the past couple months, in addition to studying by the riverbank, he had occasionally chatted with the Old Turtle in the river when no one else was around. The Old Turtle of the Chunmu River said that although Dazhen was peaceful, there were actually countless tyles of mountain spirits and monsters in this world. However, regardless of their relative strength, as long as they had successfully cultivated into a true human body, their cultivation would definitely not be weak.
Of course, when considering the human transformation, the “cultivation” element was essential; some monsters’ human bodies were created by spiritual powers and techniques, and they remained essentially unchanged at their core, even if mortals could not see through their disguise.
Then, there were other various tricks to lure mortals, such as “deceptive sacrifice,” in which they would steal the essence or vitality of human beings, which could shorten some people’s lifespans and even kill others.
As the saying went, “those who handle cinnabar are stained red; those who work with ink are stained black.”7 Yin Qing had been exposed to similar things before, and instinctively felt that there was something wrong with these three women.
With a “bang!” one of the book packs fell over, and the inkstone, wolf hair brush, and several other items inside fell out.
“Aiya… Whose things are these? I8 accidentally knocked it over!”
One of the women looked anxious.
“It’s mine, it’s mine! Hey, don’t step on the rice paper!”
“Ah… don’t step on it!”
Mo Xiu was in a hurry and ran over quickly. Yin Qing shouted, “Mo Xiu!” but it was too late to hold him back.
However, nothing happened when Mo Xiu arrived. The woman apologized repeatedly and helped him pack the book pack back up. When she saw Mo Xiu’s clothes in the pack, the woman became timid.
“Sir, my clothes are wet, and I feel cold and uncomfortable. Can I borrow your clothes to wear?”
“Huh? Uh… oh…”
Mo Xiu glanced at the woman’s clothes, which clung to her body. His face grew a little red, and he opened his book pack to get the clothes for her.
“Then what about us… Can you guys lend us some clothes too?”
The two women stood to the side, acting delicate.
Yin Qing suddenly had an idea. He glanced at the elder surnamed Lu, then stood up and walked over. Seeing that Lei Yusheng and Lin Xinjie also wanted to stand up, he turned around and spoke with a serious look on his face.
“Sit down!”
After saying this, Yin Qing turned back around, suddenly wearing a bright smile, and walked over quickly.
“How about this: I also have a few sets of clothes, I’ll get them for you two girls!”
The two women covered their mouths and smiled.
“Thank you so much, sir!”
“Ah, it’s alright!”
Yin Qing half-knelt, hiding the panicked sweat on his forehead under the guise that it was due to never having interacted with a woman before.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a woman squatting beside him and looking at him. Something seemed to move under her skirt, and a faint, foul odor reached his nose once again, making his movements even more impatient.
‘Found it! ’
What Yin Qing turned to was a letter — the very letter that Ji Yuan had given to Yin Zhaoxian when he first left Ning’an County. When Yin Zhaoxian had gone to Wan Province, he had passed it on to Yin Qing. In addition to being a request that his son use it to practice his handwriting, it was also a kind of encouragement.
Yin Qing quietly took out the letter out of the old envelope, then hid it in his clothes, and took them all out.
“Is this robe alright?”
“As long as we’re not naked, it’s fine~”
A woman joked. She picked up the clothes and shook them out, and a piece of letter paper fell from the cloth.
Swish…
A ray of divine light containing a repelling aura flashed across the letter.
“Ah…”
“Ah…”
“Ah…”
The three women were suddenly so frightened that they leapt away from the campfire, their faces full of fear.
“Oops, Mr. Ji’s letter fell out. It’s my fault for not putting it away properly!”
Yin Qing’s voice was filled with surprise. After confirming that the letter was indeed useful on this occasion, he picked up the paper that had fallen to the ground. In his eyes, each of the words inscribed on it seemed to glow with a faint light.
Although the letter written by Ji Yuan long ago was not an Edict, the will and spirit it contained at the time had remained condensed in it for many years.
T/n: is it just me, or is literally every single mountain structure haunted? Just stop building stuff in the mountains, people.
Also, this is even more evidence for my “JY was powerful all along and is definitely an unreliable narrator” opinion.
- T/n: in case it wasn’t clear (’cause it wasn’t) Lu is sarcastically saying “in your dreams” — “someone will come take your watch for you, so you can to go sleep and dream of that”
- Lit. “a donkey’s lips do not match a horse’s mouth” — idiom to mean something irrelevant
- T/n: More rain sounds. Why is it so hard to translate rain sounds???
- 人 (rén): person, 老成 (lǎochéng): mature/experienced, 精 (jīng): essence/proficient/etc. Lit. “experienced people are proficient/skilled”
- 书呆子 (shūdāizi): lit. bookish fool
- 小心驶得万年船 Lit. “when set said, be sure to obtain a ten-thousand-year-old/very-very-old ship” with the implication being that it was good for 10000 years, it’ll be good for a few more
- 近朱者赤，近墨者黑 (jìnzhūzhěchì, jìnmòzhěhēi): those who handle cinnabar are stained red; those who work with ink are stained black. Idiom — you are the product of your environment. Could also be translated to “Birds of a feather flock together”
- The words used are “this little girl” instead of “I.” This is common as a respectful/humble way of speaking (which is probably the case here), but it could also be viewed as a coquettish/cute way of speaking. Imagine her as an anime girl going “tee-hee~!”
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