Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 78: Seeking the Turtle to Ask For Help

‘Oh, what a luxury!’

Ji Yuan took this precious pot of Qianrichun and wandered around Chunhui City.¹ There were forty-two large districts in the entire Chunhui City, and each district was much larger than the twelve small districts in Ning’an County. The total population was about 200,000 people, and the streets were all interconnected, with a constant flow of carriages and horses.

Ji Yuan had always been somewhat confident in his sense of direction,² but in a place like this he still felt a bit lost as to where to go.

In the end, it was his stomach that made the final decision, so he went to find a cheap place to eat.

Fortunately, although Chunhui City was large, not everywhere was expensive, so he could still find a stall where he could have a meal for a few coins.

. . .

At this moment, in a high-class suite of an inn on Guiyue Lane, near the southern part of Chunhui City, Wei Wuwei was frowning and scribbling something in his room.

In order to meet the needs of the guests, some good inns had single-family suites like the one where Wei Wuwei was staying, in addition to the large building advertised on the signboard. The price would naturally be much higher.

“Knock knock knock…”

There was a knock on the door. Wei Wuwei raised his head and looked at the door that was already open.

“Come in!”

A middle-aged man who looked like a butler entered the room.

“Patriarch, the Zui Jin Xiao³ and Du Kang⁴ wines purchased from Dingyuan Prefecture and Duming Prefecture have already arrived. Jin Province’s Hongfentou⁵ should be on its way, and it should arrive in time. As for the Jinyu⁶ wine from Dazhen’s capital,⁷ I’m afraid it won’t make it in time even if they set off at a gallop.”

“Well, if they can’t make it in time, then that is that. These wines are already enough. Have Uncle and Third Uncle tried the wine? Which one is the best?”

The housekeeper thought for a moment before answering:

“As far as this old servant knows, among all the wines, the local Qianrichun from Chunhui Prefecture is slightly better!”

“Okay, go back down.”

“Yes, I will take my leave!”

After Old Guan Gong walked out of the room without a sound, Wei Wuwei picked up the writing brush and crossed out the words “Zui Jin Xiao wine” and “Du Kang wine” on the paper.

In preparation of this event on the 15th day of the 5th lunar month, the Wei family had prepared more than 30 kinds of fine wines, including some as famous as Qianrichun. Some were brought from Desheng Prefecture, some were purchased directly from Chunhui Prefecture, while more still were rushed in as shipments from other places.

“Hmph, Zheng Qianqiu only prepares two or three kinds of good wine every year, and the highlight is still Qianrichun. My Wei family is ten times better than his. There is no chance that the old turtle will not show up!”

Muttering to himself, Wei Wuwei once again pulled out the blue jade from his chest and played with it in his chubby hands. He looked closely at it with the light from the window, but he could not make out the four small words he had seen before.

‘If I go to the immortal mountain, would money be useful there? If it is not of any use, how would I solve the problem of food, clothing, and expenses? What about the concubines in the family at home? Could I go down the mountain to go home during the New Year? Or should I give the opportunity to someone else, but I don’t have a son yet…’

Wei Wuwei’s thoughts began to wander again.

. . .

On the 15th day of the 5th lunar month, as the sky was getting dark…

Ji Yuan, who had been waiting just outside of southern part of the city for some time, finally heard Wei Wuwei’s voice again.

Starting in the afternoon, the Wei family had divided their party into seven or eight groups, each using carts to transport the collected wine out of the South City Gate. In the evening, Wei Wuwei slowly walked out of the South City Gate holding a jar of Qianrichun in his hand and sipping it as he walked. He was accompanied by a man who looked like an old butler.

“Tsk tsk tsk… This Chunhui Prefecture is really a place with good rivers, good water, and a great location. It can actually brew such delicious wine!”

Hearing Wei Wuwei’s evaluation, the old butler next to him laughed.

“I heard that Yuanzipu was only a small wine shop back in the day, and Qianrichun was just a homemade wine that was delicious but not well-known. The magistrate at the time accidentally drank it and was amazed, so he offered it to the capital. After tasting it, the emperor was very pleased, and specially gave it the name Qianrichun.”

“Oh, I see!”

Ji Yuan, who was sitting on a tree outside the city, nodded secretly to himself, but then he heard the sloshing sound of the large quantity of wine in Wei Wuwei’s wine jar in the distance. He looked at the small wine jug in his hand, which only had two sips left, and could only sigh.

The sun approached the western horizon and the sky soon darkened. The four gates of Chunhui City gradually closed.

By this time, the number of people outside Chunhui City had suddenly decreased. Apart from some boats on the river, there might only be some people left on the eastern docks. In the south of the city, the only people left were the Wei family members who had already left the city and were hiding in secret.

Wei Wuwei and the old butler walked southwest along the river bank. Willow trees lined the way. After about five li,⁸ they saw several particularly sturdy willow trees leaning out over the river.

At this time, there was a full moon hanging high in the sky, and the evening breeze blew gently along the river. Aside from a ship a hundred zhang⁹ away on the river in the distance, there were no people around.

“Clap clap clap…”

The old butler raised his hands, and the wind whistled as his palms collided, making three clear and loud claps.

Not long after the sound fell, some people emerged from behind some of the nearby tree groves, pushing carts. There were about twenty people in total, and eight carts. Some of the carts were filled with five-catty wine jars, while others only had two wine jars, each of which was half of a person’s height.

“Patriarch!”

“Patriarch!”

“I greet the head of the family!”

Whispered greetings rang out one after another. Wei Wuwei could remain silent towards the others, but he did not dare to be arrogant with the two elders.

“Uncle, Third Uncle, you have watched me grow up since I was a child. It makes my heart ache¹⁰ to hear you call me head of the family!”

“Hehehe, the rules cannot be broken.”

“Exactly, Patriarch. Everything is ready for tonight. Can we open the jars and pour the wine into the river?”

Wei Wuwei looked at the sky and then at the wide river.

“Okay, first pour a jar of Qianrichun and a jar of Du Kang in to the river!”

“Yes!”

Wei Wuwei’s two elders personally grabbed a jar of wine each from two of the small carts, and gently brushed the seal with their palms, so that the sealing clay was removed.¹¹ They then stood on the riverbank with the wine and poured it down.

Ji Yuan hid on a willow tree about thirty zhang away downwind, smelling the aroma of the wine as it wafted towards him. He felt a bit regretful to waste these resources given by nature.

Although it didn’t seem that he was too far away, Ji Yuan was not afraid of being discovered by the old turtle or the Wei family. Even if the former had some skill in cultivation, they had not yet transformed. He didn’t even need to mention the latter. If they were all in the water, some aquatic creatures might have been able to discover Ji Yuan, but they would not have the same power on the shore.

After a while had passed since they had poured out the two jars of wine, the surface of the river finally changed.

“Crash shaa shaa… Crash shaa shaa…”¹²

In the distance, the waves on the river surface gradually rose, making the masters of the Wei family feel a chill in their hearts. Ji Yuan also focused intently on the river surface near the shore.

He saw a rippling water pattern approaching. Others could only see the ripples with their bare eyes, but could not see into the darkness under the water. However, in Ji Yuan’s eyes, the old turtle underwater was clearly visible, swimming towards them.

“Crash…”

The giant tortoise let half of its body emerge out of the water and onto the shore, frightening the Wei family member so much that they retreated in a panic.

Under the moonlight, this half of the old turtle’s back was more than ten zhang wide, as large as a small boat.

“Oh? The boy surnamed Zheng didn’t come? It seems that his time of calamity has not yet passed…”

Half of the old turtle’s body was still submerged in the water. He lay on the shore with his two claws pressing a layer of mud and grass into the shore. He looked at the wine around him before continuing.

“From this it seems that he has fallen into your hands, but it has no impact on me. Perhaps it’s even a good thing.”

Crash…

Twisting columns of water rose from the surface of the river by the shore and flew towards the carts on the riverbank. After wrapping themselves around the carts, they suddenly spread out with a bang, forming a tiny wave that pushed the carts towards the river surface.

“Splash!”

“Splash!”

“Splash!”

…

The eight cars fell into the water one after another. In the meantime, no one from the Wei family spoke. They all stared at in horror. This was the first time they had seen a monster, and the first time they had seen water-control techniques.

“What? No requests? Just delivering wine? Hehehe… Let’s talk! “

The old turtle swept the wine into the river and did not leave immediately, but rather waited on the shore.

Wei Wuwei came to his senses and bowed solemnly to the old turtle.

“Immortal Lord, I am Wei Wuwei, the head of the Wei Family in Desheng Prefecture. I carry a jade pendant from my ancestors. I only know that the jade pendant comes from Yuhuai Mountain’s Immortal Sect, but I don’t know how to enter the Immortal Gate. Please advise me, Immortal Lord!”

The old turtle turned to look at Wei Wuwei in surprise.

“You actually know that the jade pendant is from Yuhuai Mountain? Come closer and let me take a look at you!”

Even though Wei Wuwei felt fearful, he gritted his teeth and approached the old turtle. He stopped only when he was about a foot away. His heart beat like a pounding drum.

“Huh!? Why is your fate so unclear? Impossible, this is impossible… You are clearly just a mortal!”

Ordinary people could change their fate with perseverance, but how could they possibly blur their destiny?

The old turtle suddenly raised his head again in astonished contemplation, staring at Wei Wuwei.

“Since you know of Yuhuai Mountain, have you ever met with any experts?”

Wei Wuwei’s breathing became much steadier. When he heard the old turtle’s astonishment, he almost immediately thought of that calming¹³ chess player in the small courtyard in Ning’an County.

But he didn’t know whether Mr. Ji would allow him to reveal his information, so he was hesitant for a moment.

However, the old turtle in the river seemed to see through this, and spoke in a hurried tone.

“You must have met one, right? You must have met one! Wei Wuwei–!”

The remaining half of the old tortoise actually emerged out of the river, and its voice changed from its previous calm to an excited and loud tone.

“Could you introduce me, this old turtle, to the master? Or could you ask them a few words from me? Wei Wuwei–! Can you hear me out!!!”

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T/n: someone please save me from the pain that is translating the names of wines TT_TT Also my three editors are me, myself, and I, so if you see anything I missed, or if you think there’s a better translation, please don’t hesitate to drop a friendly comment (and thank you to those of you who have done so already, much appreciated)! 😀

1. Here’s an interesting conundrum: the raws use 府 (fǔ) which could either mean “prefecture” for Ancient China or “seat of government,” i.e. “capital.” So I have no idea if I should translate this as Chunhui Capital City or Chunhui Prefecture. I am going to stick with “City” for the most part, since that’s what makes the most sense in this context… Wish me luck ↩︎
2. T/n: … SINCE WHEN, BUDDY??? You literally got lost on a STRAIGHT ROAD 10 chapters ago ↩︎
3. 醉 (zuì): intoxicated, 今 (jīn): now/present time, 宵 (xiāo): night — something like “Intoxicated Until Night” or “Drunk Tonight” ↩︎
4. Du Kang is a man credited with the invention of alcohol in Chinese legend. ↩︎
5. 红粉 (hóngfěn): rouge/makeup powder/”the fairer sex,” 头 (tou) suffix for nouns OR 头 (tóu): hair style/end/beginning — something poetic like “A Beauty’s End” ↩︎
6. 金玉 (jīnyù): gold and jade/precious ↩︎
7. Fun side note, 京畿 (Jīngjī) means “capital city and its surroundings” We can see these characters in the Chinese terms for Gyeonggi Province in Korea (京畿道 Jīngjī dào) Kyōto Prefecture in Japan (京都府 Jīngdū fǔ). Essentially, it’s a term for the country’s capital region. ↩︎
8. ~2.5km, ~1.5 miles ↩︎
9. ~330m, 1000 ft ↩︎
10. Lit: “hurts my teeth” ↩︎
11. T/n: Mango’s research rabbit-hole time! The whole field of wine storage and wine sealing is surprisingly complex. I’ve looked into it a bit to find good historical sources for the wine jars (that aren’t other NovelFires/xianxia comics) and I only found some. Sadly, none with the actual seal for reference. In modern times, there’s a whole craft of wine jug/bottle making, especially with ceramics, since it can’t be too porous, has to stand up to a certain amount of pressure for fermentation (especially with sparkling wines), and the shape, material, etc. also have significance. The seal/cork is super complicated, too. It’s quite fascinating, I highly recommend doing some research. ↩︎
12. Sound of waves hitting the riverbank ↩︎
13. The exact word used is 安然 (ānrán): calmly/without qualms/free from worry/safe and sound. Beautiful word and connotations! ↩︎