Chapter 102
Chapter 102
Jin Bao let out a startled cry.
“That’s Jin Bao!”
Xiao Che’s expression changed at the sound of her voice, and he immediately ran toward the southeastern corner.
Xiao Jingmo, Xu Huaijin, and Ye Qi followed close behind.
From a distance, Xiao Che spotted Jin Bao sitting on the ground and staring blankly at the vines in front of her.
“Jin Bao, what happened? Why are you sitting on the ground?”
Xiao Che lifted her into his arms.
Jin Bao pointed one small finger behind the vines.
“Daddy, there’s someone there. Someone’s behind them.”
The words sent a chill through everyone who had rushed over, as though cold air were climbing from the soles of their feet.
“Valley Master, all of you stay back. I’ll handle this.”
Ye Qi gripped his sword with both hands, his gaze sharp as he approached the vines one step at a time. Everyone else held their breath and stared without blinking, afraid that some kind of monster might spring out at any moment.
Ye Qi gently lifted the vines with the tip of his sword. Behind them sat an old Daoist in a Daoist robe, cross-legged and with his eyes shut.
Everyone cried out at the sight.
“Is… is he still alive?”
Xiao Jingmo stepped up behind Ye Qi and studied the old man carefully before asking.
Ye Qi moved two steps closer and cautiously checked for breath. Finding no sign of life, he turned and shook his head at Xiao Jingmo.
“He’s dead.”
Ye Qi tried to carry the man out from behind the vines and place him in an open area of the valley.
But the old Daoist’s body had already fused with the vines. Ye Qi had no choice but to cut through them before lifting the man out and setting him on the open ground.
Strangely enough, the instant sunlight touched the old Daoist’s corpse, it crumbled into a pile of dry bones.
Everyone stared at the bizarre phenomenon, momentarily lost for words.
Even after so many years on the battlefield, Xiao Che had never witnessed anything so strange.
“Valley Master, look. There’s a bundle here too.”
Once Ye Qi cut away the vines, the place where the old Daoist had been sitting lay fully exposed.
A bundle had indeed been left beside him.
Ye Qi slit it open with his sword. He barely used any force before the cloth fell to pieces. After so many years of exposure to wind and rain, it had long since rotted through.
As the bundle came apart, the objects inside were revealed.
Ye Qi removed them one by one. This time, he was more careful and did not expose them to the sunlight.
When he finished taking inventory, he found a compass and several books.
One concerned feng shui, another physiognomy, and a third Qimen Dunjia.
Xu Huaijin was the only person present with even a modest understanding of Qimen Dunjia, so Xiao Che handed him the books and asked him to look through them and see whether he could identify the old Daoist.
Xu Huaijin leafed through each book. At the end of the feng shui volume, he found a line of tiny writing.
I am Qiu Daofeng. For prying too often into Heaven’s secrets, I suffered a terrible backlash and died here in seated meditation. These books contain the fruits of my sect’s lifelong study, and I leave them to the one destined to find them. I pray you follow the natural Way and preserve the balance of yin and yang. Never lightly pry into Heaven’s secrets. Let my fate serve as your warning. Remember this. Remember it well!
Clutching the books, Xu Huaijin became so excited that he could barely speak coherently. “Qiu Daofeng! These bones actually belong to Qiu Daofeng!”
Xiao Che had never heard of the man and could not help growing curious.
“Mr. Xu, was he truly that powerful?”
Xu Huaijin carefully put the books away, then knelt and bowed several times to Qiu Daofeng’s remains before rising.
“Valley Master, Daoist Qiu was the living immortal who disappeared long ago. It was said he could divine Heaven’s will above and descend into the underworld below. I heard the Daoists speak of him while I was staying at a temple.
“But he vanished twenty years ago. I never imagined he had passed away here in seated meditation. If an ordinary person could master even a tenth of the knowledge in these three books, they would be capable of establishing a school of their own.”
Xiao Che nodded. “Then he was something like Master Huiyuan.”
Xu Huaijin shook his head. “No. Master Huiyuan could not compare with Daoist Qiu. I heard that with a single glance at someone’s face, Daoist Qiu could determine everything about their past and predict their future fortune. Perhaps it was precisely because he pried too often into Heaven’s secrets that he suffered such a backlash.”
Xu Huaijin held the books out to Xiao Che.
“Valley Master, these books are far too precious. I cannot accept them.”
Xiao Che did not reach for them.
“Mr. Xu, I believe you are the destined person Daoist Qiu mentioned. None of us can understand these books. You are the only one with any exposure to their contents. Without a teacher to guide you or exceptional innate talent, texts of this Daoist tradition might as well be written in an unknown language. They are useless to the rest of us. Study the formations in them well. They may prove useful someday.”
Xu Huaijin knew Xiao Che had no aspirations in this field. Besides, all of them carried a blood feud, and sooner or later they would face Prince Cheng in battle. If Xu Huaijin could master the Qimen Dunjia in this book, he would surely be able to help the Valley Master accomplish great things in the future.
“Then I thank the Valley Master for his high regard. I will study these works diligently and not disappoint your expectations.”
Since he had received the fruit of Qiu Daofeng’s lifelong labor, it was only right that he lay the man’s remains to rest.
Xu Huaijin willingly entered Qiu Daofeng’s school as his disciple. From then on, he would begin his life anew as a disciple of Qiu Daofeng.
The glory of his past – his brilliance as the top imperial examination scholar and his talent for serving as a chief minister – had been nothing but shackles to him.
Early the next morning, everyone gathered in the valley.
Today, they would begin building their home.
Xu Huaijin led a group to excavate cave dwellings into the northern slope. Their most urgent priority was to establish shelter.
It was a massive undertaking and the most critical task before them.
Xiao Jingmo selected one person from the crowd to help compile the valley registry.
Most of these people were former officials whose families had been stripped of their property and sent into exile, so their education was beyond question.
After breakfast, Old Han prepared to take Jin Bao out of the valley.
Pei Wanqing worried that Jin Bao might grow cold or hungry.
She added another layer beneath the girl’s best newly made fur coat, then slung a little satchel across her body.
The satchel was also sewn from hide and was not especially large.
Pei Wanqing filled half of it with roasted jerky, then added a large handful of pine nuts and a wheat flatbread.
“Good girl, listen to Grandpa Han while you’re outside. Don’t run off, and make sure you return to the valley before dark. Do you remember?”
Jin Bao blinked and obediently agreed to every instruction.
“Mommy, Baby remembers everything. But Baby’s wearing too much. Baby can barely walk.”
Bundled up until she was round and plump, Jin Bao looked from a distance like a miniature brown bear with only her eyes peeking out.
“Good girl, you’ll get used to it. It’s cold outside, nothing like it is here in the valley.”
Inside the valley, Pei Wanqing and the others needed only lightly padded jackets and did not feel cold. When the sun rose at noon, they did not even need those.
Outside the valley, however, it was a different story. The temperature was at least several dozen degrees below freezing.
When Jin Bao realized her protest was useless, she could only nod obediently.
“Madam, rest assured. I will take excellent care of the Young Miss.”
Pei Wanqing was reluctant to let her go. Ever since finding Jin Bao, this was the first time she would be separated from the girl for an entire day. Her heart felt strangely empty, and she could not help worrying.
“Then I will have to trouble you, Old Master. Jin Bao is easy to care for and isn’t mischievous, but she does have a mind of her own. I hope you will be patient with her.”
“Madam, there is no need for such formality. The Young Miss is clever and full of surprises. I am very fond of her.”
And so Jin Bao followed Old Han out of Black Pine Valley.