Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 74: A Magnificent Scene

He picked up his oil-paper umbrella and wrapped it up, then looked at the fishing rod beside him. It would be inconvenient to carry it, but it would be a pity to throw it away. After hesitating for a long time, Ji Yuan simply took off the fishing line and hook, and left the green bamboo rod behind by the pond.

Looking at this clear pond again, although it took a year to produce a silver fish, it could still be regarded as miraculous.

“Next time, I will definitely get a fish from here to make soup and see how it tastes!”

Muttering to himself, Ji Yuan stepped away from the edge of the pond.

At this moment, the Laohua Mountain was covered in fog, and one couldn’t see anything more than five meters away. However, this had no effect on Ji Yuan. On the contrary, since it was basically impossible for any mountaineer to dare venture around casually at this time, Ji Yuan’s pace became very fast.

From time to time, he would use the tree branches and cliffsides to push himself into the air, or he would move forward freely with the elegant and comfortable Dragon-Flying skills, his body occasionally swaying as if he were slightly drunk. In an instant, he had crossed a large area of rugged mountain roads.

While he journeyed, Ji Yuan not only compared some contents of Qi Training Art, but also thought about the changes and functions of the three chess pieces.

These three chess pieces appeared at the time when Lu Shan Jun first sought the Tao; the moment when the red fox was released and kowtowed; and the morning when Master Yin read the farewell poem he had given him.

According to the understanding of people in this world, these occurrences were naturally unfathomable, but if he included the information from various imaginary stories Ji Yuan had seen on the Internet, it was not difficult to conclude that fundamentally, these three moments in time all had a huge impact on each of the three parties.

Among them, Lu Shan Jun and the little fox were easy to understand. The only one who was a little strange was Master Yin. However, Yin Zhaoxian understood human nature. It was very likely that the letter aroused Yin Zhaoxian’s ambition, and perhaps this ambition was great enough to change his future path in life.

Thus, it seemed that the creation of chess pieces should be a corresponding indication of destiny.

People could believe in the existence of fate but not completely trust it; fate might indeed exist, but it was not necessarily unchangeable.

During this period of time, Ji Yuan had also come into contact with many other people, including the Nine Young Heroes a while ago, and Wei Wuwei more recently, but none of them had produced chess pieces. Perhaps their level was not high enough, or perhaps they themselves did not have the “capacity to become a chess piece.”

“Then why did Lu Shan Jun’s original chess piece turn black?”

Ji Yuan muttered to himself. He thought of the evil creature in the well. It was his finger gesture that had severely damaged the evil creature, causing its demise and changing the color of the chess piece.

‘Was it due to the Yin and Water elements that the chess piece turned black, or was it due to the evil spirit, or something else? Does this affect Lu Shan Jun? It seems to have a greater impact on me…’

At this thought, Ji Yuan waved his left sleeve, and a large swath of white mist with a radius of ten feet gathered together. In an instant, it had formed into a round and crystal clear sphere of water in Ji Yuan’s left palm.

‘My water control skills are indeed stronger than my fire control skills!’

The most important role of the three chess pieces before had been in assisting Ji Yuan in gathering spiritual energy through the Qi Guiding Art. The reaction of the three chess pieces in stealing the elixir just now caused Ji Yuan to think more deeply about it.

In the beginning, Ji Yuan had believed that, although the chess pieces could gather spiritual energy, they did not seem to truly want to absorb it. Now, it seemed that they were more eager for the red Qi produced by cultivation.

‘The red Qi, and the chess pieces consuming Qi, especially this precious first ray of red Qi… Does it have a greater impact on me, or does it also impact the person represented by the chess piece? ’

“Hey! Let’s brush teeth and wash up first…”

Ji Yuan smiled self-deprecatingly. How could a small character like him have such complicated thoughts? He stretched out his hand and broke off a branch from a vine, then started to rinse his mouth and brush his teeth with the help of the sphere of water in his left hand as he walked. Finally, he poured another sphere of water over his face and rubbed it.

. . .

When Ji Yuan exited Laohua Mountain, the sun had already risen high in the sky. As the sunlight shone, the fog in the mountain gradually dissipated.

Ji Yuan used the water-control technique, and the moisture on the clothes on his body immediately seemed to evaporate into mist in the sunlight, surrounding him. If someone happened to see it, he would look as ethereal as an immortal.

There was a village on the south side of the mountain pass, which was mostly inhabited by boatmen and fishermen. There was a small ferry port down the dirt road that connected to the mountain path. The Xiaoshun River was already sparkling in the morning sun.

As it was still early, there were almost no people coming over the mountains from Jiudaokou County. Many boats of varying sized were moored at the docks. However, a large ship that looked to be heading to Jiudaokou had just arrived. People were disembarking and boatmen carried things up and down the gangplanks. Several donkey carts and horse carriages were parked at the dock.

It wasn’t even the peak busy hour, but there were already signs of hustle and bustle.

Although Xiaoshun River had the word “small” in its name,¹ it was not actually a small river. Its width ranged from 20 to 30 zhang.² It led straight to the Chunmu River in the southeast direction, and was a key component of the nautical trade route of Jiudaokou County.

Ji Yuan nibbled on a leftover biscuit and walked to the ferry terminal at a normal pace. Without even looking at the big ships, he headed straight towards a small passenger boat with a tarp-covered awning. An old man in his fifties and a dark-skinned young man who looked to be old enough to be his son were cleaning the boat.

“Boatman, do you accept business to Chunhui Prefecture?”

Ji Yuan’s powerful voice sounded, attracting the attention of the two busy people on the boat towards the shore. A man wearing a wide-sleeved gray robe, carrying a bag and an umbrella, stood on the pier. He looked like a scholar, except for his hairstyle. At first glance, he looked to be in his thirties or forties, but upon closer inspection, he could have been younger. Not even the old boatman could tell how old this person was.

The old man walked to the bow of the boat and responded to Ji Yuan.

“Of course I can go there. Is the gentleman alone or with a companion? Would you like to charter a boat, or wait for other passengers to go with you?”

Ji Yuan thought for a moment before asking a question.

“I am alone. How much does it cost to charter a boat as opposed to waiting for passengers?”

“If you charter the boat, it would only take only three days to reach Chunhui Prefecture, since the weather is favorable this season. The fare will naturally be paid by you alone, which is 200 coins.”

Two hundred coins, which was around 1,200 wen, a little over one tael of silver. Ji Yuan frowned, thinking that this price was a little expensive.

“If you are waiting for a other passengers to go with you, sir, please wait here for a while. I will put up a sign to attract passengers, and write that we are headed to Chunhui Prefecture. You can also find people who wish to go there yourself. You can all share the boat fare, or you can pay a little more. As long as everyone agrees, please rest assured, sir. There are still many people going to Chunhui Prefecture every day, but my boat is small and can carry at most ten people. Otherwise, you will have no room to sleep at night.”

Ji Yuan looked at the boat. It was about 3 zhang long and 1 zhang wide in the middle,³ with a mast in the center. A black canvas covered the stern. This was probably the place for the passengers to take shelter from the rain and rest.

“Alright, sorry to bother you. I’ll go compare prices!”

“Please do so at your own convenience, sir. But the price of our boat is already very fair!”

After saying this, the boatman continued to clean up the cabin with the young man on the boat, seeming very confident.

Sure enough, after wandering around for a long time, Ji Yuan finally came back to that boat. It wasn’t that there were no cheaper boats, but considering the time required, cleanliness, and comfort, this one was really the most suitable.

Seeing him come back, the old boatman also smiled.

“Well, sir, have you made up your mind?”

“Well, boatman, we’ll wait for the first half of the day. It would be best if there were passengers joining us. If there are no passengers, then I’ll charter a boat.”

“Okay, sir, it’s up to you! For a three-day itinerary, the meals on board will be fresh fish, no extra fee required!”

This time, their tone became much more respectful. There were indeed people going to Chunhui Prefecture every day, but they all preferred large passenger ships. Their small boat didn’t get much business. Ji Yuan just didn’t like the noise of large ships.

After hanging up the sign calling for passengers to Chunhui Prefecture, Ji Yuan didn’t go out to solicit customers. Instead, he sat down at the prow of the boat and read a book, as if he did not care whether or not passengers joined him.

Moreover, Ji Yuan asked the boatman to set the fare at 120 coins for one ride, and he would cover the rest. It wasn’t that Ji Yuan was showing off, but rather that it was inappropriate to share the cost equally. It would be fine for people to spend less money and squeeze into a bigger boat.

By noon, only six people had gathered in total: two scholars who were traveling together, an old man accompanied by a younger man – a grandfather and grandson – and the last two were not related to each other, one strong man with a beard and a thin, middle-aged man.

The boatman only said that the fare was 120 coins, but did not mention that Ji Yuan would be covering the remaining fare, as requested by Ji Yuan in advance.

Seeing that the boat passengers basically didn’t greet each other, Ji Yuan also did not move from beginning to end, though he heard all of their voices. In this era, there were still few women traveling.

At noon, the boatman came to ask Ji Yuan’s opinion. After getting his approval, he untied the mooring ropes and set sail, pushing the big oar at the stern⁴ along the southeastern direction of the Xiaoshun River.

As the old boatman rowed the boat, he sang a loud fisherman’s song in a strong voice, following the rhythm of the oars. The cadence of the rhythm was particularly charming.

“Fishing boat~ Paddle up~ Fisherman~ Laughs aloud~”⁵

Ji Yuan, who had been sitting on the prow reading a book, smiled knowingly when he heard the song. He turned his head and looked towards the stern. As the old man sang, the color of his blurred aura and mood were slightly different from before. ⁶

Looking up at the sky, Ji Yuan felt inspired.

“The physical appearance of the human body is also like the appearance of the sky, ever-changing!”

1. 小 (xiǎo)=small ↩︎
2. ~200-300ft, 66-99m ↩︎
3. ~30ft/10m long, 10ft/3.3m wide ↩︎
4. Look up classical Chinese boats, with one long pole that serves to push the boat along, and used as a single standing oar – it’s not the same as a rudder, though it can function like one ↩︎
5. 渔舟哟 ~ 起桨哟 ~ 渔人哟 ~ 乐悠悠: As you can see, it’s a song made with 3 characters per line, fun and catchy tune. Think sea shanties ↩︎
6. T/n: don’t ask me what’s going on here, I can only guess that JY is finding “magic” in everyday acts ↩︎