Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 29: Xiao Yin Qing

[T/n note on title]¹

Since he was physically and mentally exhausted, Ji Yuan didn’t think about it any more, and instead chose to go back to his room to sleep.

He had previously been unable to sleep for most of the night, and was also greatly frightened. Now, he made his way to the bed and feel asleep in no time at all.

This time, he slept until the sun rose at dawn.

“Hooo…”

Ji Yuan yawned and stretched. He got up from the bed and looked in the direction of the door and window. Even with the window paper covering the view, he could tell that it was already bright outside.

After getting dressed, he moved to open the door. The slanting sunlight shone on his body, making Ji Yuan feel warm.

He was full of energy, and there was no pain or itching in his body. It seemed that there would be no sequelae from the previous night. Ji Yuan planned to try his special vital energy abilities later to see if they had been affected.

In the courtyard, the jujube branches swayed slightly, and the sunlight shone through the leaves, casting mottles patches of light and shadow on the ground. The gloomy feel of Ju’an Pavilion had disappeared.

As someone with the soul of a 21st century youth, what was the first thing to do upon waking up? Of course, it was brushing his teeth and washing himself!²

In the past, in Yunlai Inn, the inn workers would bring fresh willow branches³ and water every day, but now he had to do it himself.

Looking at the well in the courtyard, and remembering the vision of the ghost emerging from it last night, Ji Yuan took less than a fraction of a second to reject the idea of using that well water.

‘In the future, let’s use the water from outside…’

Ji Yuan felt that, even if he wasn’t a germophobe, none of the friends in his previous life would use this well either.

After going out into the yard, Ji Yuan directly picked up the wooden board to cover the well, and then pressed the stones back on top of it.

He looked at the big empty vat and the two buckets outside the kitchen door. Well, it looked like he would have to fetch some water.

He had never seen pork or pigs running,⁴ and he had never carried water himself, but how could this possibly be more difficult than coming up with a plan to evade the tiger spirit, or facing the evil ghost head-on?

. . .

Ten minutes later, by Tian Niu Square’s public water wells,⁵ two large wells with windlasses⁶ could be seen, surrounded by a lot of slabs of bluestone and ditches to divert the water.

From all the way at his house, Ji Yuan could hear a lot of people talking about how they had heard a terrifying scream last night. Some people were also saying that there was a lot of movement from the direction of Ju’an Pavilion the other day, and that they suspected that someone new had moved in.

‘Based on this information, I can conclude that the loud noises in the second half of the night were blocked by the formation. Otherwise, these people wouldn’t be so calm. But I could hear it all last night, despite being outside the formation; it seems that my hearing is not just limited to the normal range!’

Ji Yuan, a handsome stranger in a wide-sleeved robe, came here to fetch water, which naturally attracted a lot of attention in Tian Niu Square, particularly from the girls and women who were doing laundry.

Despite hearing their whispers and feeling their gazes, Ji Yuan was not embarrassed at all. On the contrary, he was quite happy. In his previous life, his appearance didn’t turn nearly as many heads.

Thick-skinned people are more likely to be happy!

“Hey, who is this…”

“I’ve never seen him before, he looks so good!”

“He came here to fetch water, so he must live in Tian Niu Square or nearby, right?”

“I don’t know!”

The sound of chatter was mixed with the sound of rubbing and washing clothes, along with the clap of wooden boards. There were also others chatting about family issues, complaining about parents, and the footsteps of people passing by.

Ji Yuan rolled up his sleeves and tied the cuffs at his elbows. He used a the windlass reel to fetch some fresh water. It was a very novel experience for him. The bucket attached to the reel was small, and it took two repetitions to fill one of Ji Yuan’s buckets. Soon enough, after four trips, both buckets were full.

During this process, Ji Yuan also patiently observed the people of Tian Niu Square. Hearing their stories and filial piety, it seemed that this kind of atmosphere in ancient times was much richer than the community in the previous life.

Well, people were also a lot more shy. Whenever Ji Yuan turned his head in search of a sound, the younger girls would look away and dared not glance back.

Ji Yuan filled his buckets, put the pole in place,⁷ picked up the load, and splendidly took a step forward.

“Crash!”

The water in the bucket at the back spilled directly onto his clothes. Ji Yuan subconsciously wanted to avoid it, but as a result the two buckets swayed even more violently. His back heel hit the bucket, causing them to go flying, water spilling everywhere.

At this moment, his extremely bad eyesight only made things worse. His whole body swayed back and forth like he was dancing Yangko.⁸

“Hey, hey…”

Steady, steady!

“Bang! Bang!”

Both buckets fell off, and half of Ji Yuan’s clothes were splashed with water.

“Ahahahahaha…”

“Hehehehe…”

“Uhahahahahaha…”

The women and passersby burst into laughter when they saw this scene.

“He really is such a gentleman!”

“Hahahaha, Mom, he can’t even pick up water!”

“Ouch, I’m dying of laughter, I’ve never seen anyone carry water like this and not immediately sway to death, hahahahaha…”

Damn, damn, dammit! What a disappointment!

It turns out that carrying water is also a skill!

Even though he had honed his thick skin for two lifetimes, his face still felt hot. And in front of everyone, too, his appearance really took a dive!

Fortunately, there are no acquaintances around!

However, the way to get rid of this embarrassment was actually very simple. As long as he didn’t feel embarrassed, it was fine. In any case, he could blame it on his eyes not working well, so why would he bother saving face?

So Ji Yuan also shook his head and laughed casually.

“Hahahaha… It’s not easy to carry water!”

After saying this with a smile, Ji Yuan leaned over and stretched out his hand to fumble around for the bucket and the pole that were lying on the ground. This action was very different from expected, and finally made the people around him notice Ji Yuan’s eyes.

“Hey, that person’s eyesight doesn’t seem to be very goo!”

“Yeah, just now I was wondering why he couldn’t seem to open his eyes…”

“This… he still comes to fetch water by himself?”

…

The laughter was gone. It seemed that most people in Ning’an County were still simple and wouldn’t really laugh at a blind man. Well, except for that damn broker.

“Sir, let me help you carry the water!”

A clear voice sounded from the side. Ji Yuan heard footsteps approaching. At this moment, he had just touched the pole, and he looked up and around to pinpoint the sound. It was a boy who looked to be around eleven or twelve years old, with tanned skin and handsome features.

Huh? Handsome features? I can actually see him clearly!

Ji Yuan couldn’t help but take a closer look at the little boy who took the initiative to help. According to his the experience in the past two days, it seemed that anyone who he could see clearly was not ordinary.

“What’s your name, little kid? How old are you?”

The little boy was a bit stunned when he saw Ji Yuan’s pale eyes, and it took him a while to react.

“My name is Yin Qing, I’m 12 years old. I often help my family carry water. I’m very strong!”

Ji Yuan nodded with a smile, and then listened to the surrounding voices. He couldn’t hear any of the child’s family was nearby, but there was a group of children playing around not too far away. It seemed that Yin Qing had come out to play with them by himself.

“Thank you then!”

It was really embarrassing to let a child carry water, but Ji Yuan also wanted to use this time to observe Yin Qing.

“It’s alright, it’s alright!”

As soon as Ji Yuan finished speaking, Yin Qing had already picked up two buckets, taken the pole, and run back to the well. He looked like a lively, cheerful, and helpful ordinary child.

. . .

“Sir,⁹ where is your home? Have we arrived yet? Do you still want to keep going?”

He and Ji Yuan walked deeper and deeper together towards the east corner of Tian Niu Lane,¹⁰ and there were fewer and fewer people around.

“It’s almost there, right in front!”

Ji Yuan looked at this child from time to time, and felt that he gave off a very spiritual feeling.

After a while, Yin Qing stopped outside the courtyard of Ju’an Pavilion, glancing at Ji Yuan, who had also stopped, with a sad face.

“Sir… you live here…”

He was looking at Ji Yuan as if he had seen something odd.

“Yes, I live here. I just moved in yesterday. Why, wasn’t Yin Xiaowa’er¹¹ going to help me carry the water in?”

1. I may have already mentioned this, but “Xiao” is a casual honorific that means “little,” usually used for children. ↩︎
2. T/n: … okay, be honest here… ↩︎
3. Teeth-cleaning twigs, same concept as modern-day dog “toothbrushes” – you chew it until the end is frayed, and the motion makes it brush against the teeth. ↩︎
4. Think of it like saying, “I’ve never lived in a rural area like this” ↩︎
5. No exact translation, but it seems to break down to that meaning: 双 (shuāng): two/double/pair; 井 (jǐng): a well; 浦 (pǔ): shore/drainage ditch. Water wells in squares were common in each area of the neighborhood. ↩︎
6. A large winch for moving heavy weights. It’s a classic sight on top of wells to reel the bucket back up. ↩︎
7. Carrying pole ↩︎
8. Chinese folk dance ↩︎
9. 大先生 respectful and formal way to address someone, like “Mr.” but even more respect: “great sir,” “grand gentleman,” maybe “Mr. Sir” ↩︎
10. Full disclosure: the translation is technically Tian Niu Lane, but the context seems to be used interchangeably with “Square.” I’ve translated it as “Square” in the past, and will probably stick to that. ↩︎
11. Xiaowa – child, er – suffix that means little, so he’s calling him “little child Yin” ↩︎