Lanke Chess Edge -
Chapter 251: Just Stay Here
Ji Yuan felt that he had done a pretty good job. Although the dimensional storage was 99% still his own imagination, the one percent remaining was quite delicate work. For example, when he had put away all of his paraphernalia in this moment, the ink on the inkstone did not stain his sleeves at all. In the eyes of outsiders, there was really no imperfections.1
In his final analysis, although his current state of mind was very different from that of his previous life, he still believed it was better for his techniques to be pleasing to the eye, if it was harmless and he had that choice.
After putting away the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone on the table, the sound of boiling water came from the kitchen. In the quiet Ju’an courtyard, it sounded particularly loud, especially to Ji Yuan and the two beggars.
“Well, it just so happens that the water is boiling.”
Ji Yuan walked to the kitchen. The water in the pot was indeed boiling. The firewood he had added to the stove was just enough to last until now.
He picked up the teapot on the small table beside the stove, opened the wooden box next to it, then grabbed some tea leaves from inside and put them in the teapot. Then he lifted the lid of the pot and scooped some boiling water into the teapot with a wooden ladle.
A burst of steam filled the kitchen, and after a moment, Ji Yuan came out with a tea tray, upon which were four teacups and a teapot, as well as a small clay jar with a slender porcelain spoon on the side.
Ji Yuan preferred to perform these kinds of trivial acts in life himself. The result was superior, and had a feeling of life. It was also a ritual in a sense, or to some extent it could remind him that he was in essence the same as those who worked from sunrise to sunset.
“Mr. Ji, you like to boil water and make tea yourself?”
The old beggar actually admired Ji Yuan’s style. This couldn’t even be regarded as playing a deception game with the world, but it was more like a frame of mind, and just happened to provide a distraction for the incident of the young beggar peeking on the laws of his technique before.Hearing the old beggar change the subject, Ji Yuan was also very happy and replied with a smile.
“I believe that in the right conditions, tea made by boiling water with over a firewood stove will taste better.”
“Grandpa Lu, is that true?”
The young beggar asked the old beggar naively, and the latter replied in a low voice.
“You believe this nonsense?”
Originally, the old beggar wanted to tell him not to believe Ji Yuan’s nonsense, but it was better to avoid some words.
After putting the tea set down on the stone table, Ji Yuan reached out a hand and invited them over.
“Both of you, please take a seat.”
Seeing that Ji Yuan was really not angry with Xiao You at all, the old beggar returned to that playful expression once again, and he dragged the little beggar over to sit down at the stone table.
“Tsk tsk tsk… Drinking tea brewed by Mr. Ji himself, there are not many people in the world who can have this blessing. This old beggar must savor it carefully.”
“It’s not some immortal tea.”
Ji Yuan glanced at him and replied, then skillfully turned the teacup over on the table. He lifted the teapot and poured a cup for himself and the two beggars. He did not immediately cover the teacups, but instead opened the small clay pot on the tea tray and gently scooped a spoonful of the contents with the porcelain spoon.
The porcelain spoon pulled out a crystal fine thread, and the hand holding the spoon gently tapped to break the filament, and moved it to the air above Xiao You’s tea cup. It gave off a faint sweet smell. Then the porcelain spoon was turned over, and a few drops of crystal clear honey fell into the teacup.
By this time, the water temperature was just right. Ji Yuan covered the teacup and handed it to the little beggar.
“Stir it gently before drinking, it tastes good.”
Then Ji Yuan did the same thing again, adding a small spoonful of honey for his own cup and that of the old beggar.
During this process, the two beggars frequently sniffed at the scent. Although Mr. Ji said that it was not an immortal tea, when the honey was added, it immediately turned the ordinary tea into something extraordinary.2 It felt like a special fragrance was brewing in the tea cup.
The two beggars couldn’t wait it any longer. They held up the tea cups and stirred them, then blew twice after opening the lid, and took a shallow sip.
“It’s so fragrant and sweet! It’s delicious!”
“Tsk tsk tsk… not bad, Mr. Ji knows how to enjoy himself!”
The reactions of the young beggar and the old beggar were to be expected. The former took another sip and stared at the small clay jar on the tea tray with great curiosity. He knew that this thing must be even more effective than the tea leaves.
“Mr. Ji, what’s in your jar? It’s crystal clear, and it doesn’t look like sugar water.”
“Silly child, this is called honey, and it’s not something ordinary people can afford. And Mr. Ji’s honey…”
The old beggar looked up at the busy bees among the flowers of the jujube tree.
“Even the emperor might not be able to taste it — no, he most definitely cannot taste it.”
This honey tea was indeed worthy of the old beggar’s praise, but Ji Yuan didn’t want to listen to the old beggar’s nonsense. The first few times he had taken the initiative to find the old beggar, the other party was dragging on and on without broaching the main topic, but now he came to his house to find him. Aside from being anxious to repay the favor, he couldn’t just talk nonsense.
It was rare to meet a true Taoist master, who should be even more knowledgeable than the Old Dragon in terms of the principles of Taoism, and Ji Yuan wanted to have a good chat.
“Since Mr. Lu has been to Yuhuai Mountain, you must have understood what we have been preparing for, right?”
“Yes!”
The old beggar grew serious, a rare sight, and put down the teacup in his hand.
“Although the Masters of Yuhuai Mountain were a little bit secretive towards this odl beggar, they were more or less open to me thanks to my own insignificant practice and my relationship with you, Mr. Ji.
“Mr. Ji, please let me take the liberty to ask, you and the Dragon Lord of the Tongtian River don’t seem to be optimistic about the situation of the Eastern Cloud Continent, but I know a little about the skills of those long-bearded old men in Tianji Pavilion. They are definitely not people who have attained their fame for no reason. The hexagram they calculated a few years ago was different.”
Ji Yuan stared at the old beggar with his pale eyes.
“Mr. Lu seems to have a close relationship with Tianji Pavilion. You did not spread any rumors, and you even seem to know about the specific hexagrams. Don’t tell me you heard all of this from Yuhuai Mountain.”
“I don’t dare, I don’t dare. This old beggar might dare to insult some people in Yuhuai Mountain who have rotted their brains through their excessive practice, but I wouldn’t dare play tricks in front of Mr. Ji.”
These kinds of remarks were in line with the proverb, “when picking persimmons, choose the soft ones to squeeze.”3 It was fortunate that no one from Yuhuai Mountain heard him, or even the most magnanimous of cultivators would be so angry they would spit out blood.
“The gathering of demons and evil spirits at the Water and Land Assembly could be said to have been caused by rumors, and Monk Huitong has been gone for over half a year. There are cultivators inspecting jade and performing divinations almost every day on Yuhuai Mountain. Based on the status of the Greatest Void Jade Talisman, Monk Huitong is doing fine.”
If there were no extenuating circumstances, then the means of Yuhuai Mountain were actually more intuitive than Ji Yuan’s perception of the half-formed chess piece, so Ji Yuan agreed with the old beggar’s words.
The latter hadn’t finished speaking, but he paused for a while, as if he considering how to formulate his next sentence. After thinkign about it for a long time, he still felt that there were no suitable words, so he just said it outright.
“If both Mr. Ji and the Dragon Lord are right, and Tianji Pavilion is also right, then wouldn’t that mean that the Eastern Cloud Continent is in decline, and Dazhen is the only region that is prospering? This is too inconsistent with the balance of Yin and Yang…”
Ji Yuan sipped his tea and listened carefully to the old beggar’s words. In fact, he was using those words to re-analyze and organize something in his mind. When the old beggar finished his curious words, he too felt a strange throbbing in his heart.
After putting down the teacup, Ji Yuan frowned, then relaxed and fixed his eyes on the old beggar.
“It might not be in line with the balance of nature, but then again it might be. Mr. Lu may have been in this world for a long time, and may even have seen many dynasties rise and fall. Even if you have not studied the principles of dynastic change, you must have seen many separations and reunions.”
As soon as Ji Yuan spoke, the old beggar’s expression grew solemn
“In Mr. Ji’s opinion, does Dazhen truly possess such a remarkable heaven-blessed fortune?”
“A heaven-blessed fortune? If the heavens have feelings, they will also grow old; the right path in this world is through the vicissitudes of life. Mr. Lu thinks highly of me. At most, I merely have some expectations.”
Even if Ji Yuan put it tactfully, this was enough to shock the old beggar.
The little beggar next to him didn’t understand a word of their conversation. He felt that it was more profound and headache-inducing than some of the cultivation principles that Grandpa Lu taught him recently.
After talking about these things that gave the young beggar headaches, the old beggar and Ji Yuan transitioned to other topics. Some of them seemed to be about cultivation, and some were completely trivial and ordinary. But if he inspected their words carefully, the young beggar felt that they were not as simple as they seemed.
Of course, at the end of each topic, the old beggar would make some points about the topic and add some indirect comments. The meaning of his words was something like “can you give me a definite answer to the favor I owe you?” He just phrased it in an obscure way.
Anyway, in the end, the young beggar had no idea what the two adults were talking about. They chatted about this and that. He only knew that Grandpa Lu couldn’t get a definite answer from Mr. Ji on how to repay the favor.
Time passed from early morning to noon. The two beggars also ate a table of dishes made by Ji Yuan himself. Ji Yuan wasn’t the best cook, so most of them were either steamed or boiled, but with his unique seasonings and dipping sauces that were well-matched to the food, the two beggars ate so much they wanted to scrape their plates.
In the afternoon, the old beggar finally took the young beggar to say goodbye. If they stayed any longer, they would have to stay overnight in Ju’an Pavilion. The old beggar wouldn’t be bothered to do so in other places, but he felt uncomfortable imposing on Ji Yuan.
Half an hour later, on the official road outside of Ning’an County, two beggars in ragged clothing were walking by the side of the road. The old beggar didn’t say a word. After holding it in for so long, the young beggar finally couldn’t help himself.
“Grandpa Lu, are we still going to leave Dazhen?”
“Hey… We can’t leave, it’s not so easy to leave!”
The little beggar frowned, but he didn’t care. Seeing the awkward look on the old beggar’s face, he added another sentence.
“Grandpa Lu, don’t beat around the bush with Mr. Ji like just now. Just speak directly, so that Mr. Ji can’t misunderstand what you want to say.”
Hearing his words, the old beggar was in a rare state of agitation.
“He doesn’t understand? He’s pretending to be stupid! He can make better conversation than I can, and I am already very straightforward as an old beggar. If I spoke more plainly, wouldn’t it be the same as begging him? I, an old beggar, always feel inferior in front of Ji Yuan. Don’t you think it’s annoying?”
The young beggar was speechless for a while, muttering in a low voice.
“It’s okay to feel inferior. Why should we beggars fight for pride…”
The old beggar looked at him and didn’t say anything. He held the young beggar’s hand and walked down the official road, muttering to himself for a long time.
“Masters all like to save face, it’s just a matter of who…”
In Ning’an County, in the small pavilion of Tian Niu Lane, Ji Yuan placed the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone on the stone table and began to write again, with a faint smile on his face.
‘Trying to match wits with me? You will lose! Just obediently stay here in Dazhen…’
T/n: To summarize in layman’s terms for people (like me) who are feeling as lost as the young beggar in this chapter:
Lu: Tianji Pavilion’s divinations changed recently. Say… three years ago? >_>
JY: Wow, you must be really close with Tianji Pavilion to know their hexagrams in detail. Wonder why? <_<
Lu: Ahahaha never mind. But anyway, how can both Dazhen be prosperous and the continent be going into the dark ages? They can’t possibly both be true, right??? *ominous cultivator premonitions*
JY: I mean, it’s kind of natural for all things to decay. Balance is in letting them do so at their own pace. The problem is when they don’t…
Lu: Sooo… do you really think there’s some crazy awesome fortune in Dazhen?
JY: Seems plausible. You’ll just have to wait around Dazhen to see, hmm?
Lu: *shocked*
JY: Good thing you have that favor that you still need to pay back, right? Guess you have no choice but to stick around. 😀
JY: Now I have more allies hanging around that I can call on when things inevitably go downhill
- The exact translation is “no smell of fireworks,” which combined with the next paragraph I understand as “no downsides” or no aberrant details
- 化腐朽为神奇 (huàfǔxiǔwéishénqí): Lit. to change something rotten into something magical
- i.e. pick on the easy target.
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