Recap
“Detailed divinations don’t count.” Mu Gesheng yawned, “Say, is this how you visit people? Why didn’t you bring something to show your respect?”
“I brought it with me.” Song Wentong opened the bag on his back, and the rich aroma immediately spread out, “I specially asked someone to go down the mountain to buy them. Beef fried dumplings from the Chengdong wonton stall, tofu skin buns stuffed with bamboo shoots, and Thousand flavours’ last pan-fried duck tongue…”
“Not bad, not bad. It’s rare that you, my Lao Er, are so sensible.” Mu Gesheng looked delighted and was about to reach out for it, but Song Wentong stepped away and walked slowly to the opposite side of the room. “I didn’t bring it for you.”
“What?”
“I’ll eat standing up,” the other party said, picking up a bun. “While you kneel and watch.”
“…Song Wentong.” Mu Gesheng said in a pleasant tone, “Fuck you.”
___
It turned into late autumn in the blink of an eye.
The leaves of the ginkgo had turned yellow and appeared more brilliant and rich in the afternoon light and shadow. Bells rang in the ancient temples and the sky was filled with clouds.
The door was pushed opened with a creak, and Mu Gesheng walked in with his clothes on, “Lao Er, what are we having for breakfast?” His eyes were droopy and he looked tired, it seemed like he had just woken up.
Song Wentong was wearing an apron and roasting tea leaves. Late autumn was the last time to harvest the ginkgo leaves. He had been wandering around the stove every day for the past few days. When he heard this, he swept a shovel at him and said, “Look at what time it is. You still have the cheeks to eat breakfast?”
“What’s the matter? It’s not like I’ll delay my homework.” Mu Gesheng half-closed his eyes and dodged in a familiar manner, then took out a box of snacks from the cupboard, “Look, you clearly left breakfast for me, why do you have to say all that? Why put on this act trying to be a villain, is there a hidden motive somewhere?”
Song Wentong was about to throw the pot over, “I’m keeping it to feed the dogs! Eat it if you want!”
“I’ll eat, I’ll eat, woof woof woof.” Mu Gesheng made a face while holding the biscuit in his mouth, and slipped out with oiled soles on his feet.
Song Wentong was not willing to give up and chased him out with a spatula. The two of them shouted at the top of their lungs while running all over the verandah, leaves flew all over the sky, and magpies were startled all over the place.
Anping was used to these two people making trouble every day, so today was considered a minor matter. He wasted several months in this dream. After observing everyday, he wanted to comment that the Ginkgo Study was really solid. If it were the Chai Mansion, it would have collapsed many times after the trouble the two of them caused.
Now he had a complete picture of this dream. This was probably an ancient southeastern city in a certain year and month of the Republic of China.
There is a mountain outside the city, and a Baishui Temple* on the mountain. There is a Ginkgo Study in the Temple. In the study, there lives a crippled immortal. The immortal leads three demons. He has no ambition to destroy the heavenly palace nor does he have the heart to subjugate and eliminate demons. In short, eating and waiting for death every day; it can be described as leading a very comfortable life.
*(白水寺: also known as White Water Temple literal)
This ancient southeastern city is an important military center. The garrison commander in the city has the surname Mu. Civilians do not understand military ranks, so they call them any titles they want to. Some call him Marshal Mu, others call him Commander Mu, while some call him General Mu. When strung together with his household, there are also a lot of messy titles such as General Mu’s Mansion, Mu Mansion, Marshal Mu Mansion… Anping still doesn’t understand what the title of the leader Mu is. He only knows that he is probably a great official, and he is called the master in military tactics.
In fact, Anping didn’t have much interest in these, but what was remarkable was that Leader Mu is Mu Gesheng’s father.
Mu Gesheng is the only son of Leader Mu. He entered Ginkgo Study in Baishui Temple at the age of ten, but he had spent his previous life growing up in a military camp. The commander’s wife died young, and Mu raised his family unrestrainedly. Commander Mu threw his son into the military camp when he was only three years old. Mu Gesheng was exposed to the spirit of the military since he was a child. He cultivated his moral character after he turned ten and developed some skills of his own. He is as self-restrained as a demon king who plays by the rules and pays attention to etiquette.
The two people ran and chased each other in the corridor. Anping had seen Song Wentong’s skills several times. This person’s appearance was directly proportional to his fierceness. Mu Gesheng was never strong but he ran away faster than anyone else every time he provoked someone. In the blink of an eye, Anping saw this man quickly sneaking into a room with quick eyes and legs, “Lao San*, save me! Lao Er is going to kill someone!”
*(Third brother literal, they are not blood related brothers but disciples of the same sect who are as close as family.)
The room was full of papers. A man raised his head from the pile of books and asked helplessly: “Why did you provoke him again?”
Golden ginkgo trees draped over the windows outside. Behind the desk is a man holding a brush and a piece of paper. He has gentle eyes and a face of jade.*
*(smooth and fair)
The most attractive thing was the other party’s flowing voice, which calmed Anping’s mind with just one sentence, “Lao Er, why are you… holding a spatula? Are you commandeering my study room to roast tea leaves?”
Song Wentong came up to the door fiercely and kicked open the door, “Lao San, please don’t cover for him, otherwise, I’ll beat you both up today.”
“Hero, please spare my life.” Lao San said, looking at Mu Gesheng and spreading his hands, “See, I can’t save you either.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, just lend me a place to hide.”
“Get the fuck out of there!” Song Wentong stood at the door and pointed at Mu Gesheng’s nose and yelled, “Don’t hide like a tortoise!”
“I won’t.” Mu Gesheng made a funny face, “Lao San’s place is very nice. I will sleep here right now.”
“You just woke up and you want to go back to sleep?! Mu Gesheng, are you a pig?!”
Mu Gesheng covered his ears as if he couldn’t hear anything. He held the tin box of biscuit in his arms and continued to eat.
Song Wentong was so angry that he kicked the door of the room with a loud bang. Seeing that he was about to knock the door off its hinges, Lao San said: “Lao Er, please don’t care about him for now. You can’t leave the fire on for too long when roasting the tea leaves. You didn’t turn off the flame when you came out, right? Don’t let the kitchen burn down.”
Song Wentong was shocked, “Wu Zixu, are you speaking for him again?!”
“No way, why would I dare to.” The young man known as Wu Zixu laughed, “Lao Si will definitely not go out obediently. If you want to catch him, just come in and catch him, but don’t turn the study upside down again. I haven’t settled the accounts for this month yet, with you guys here making a fuss, I don’t know if I can even get it done before monkey years and horse month.*”
*(not sure when he can get it done by~ a very long time)
Anping remembers this. The last time Song Wentong and Mu Gesheng acted like little demons and destroyed the study, they were punished by kneeling down and had to kneel down to help the other settle accounts. The two of them did calculations without stopping. Abacus beads flew all over the sky, and their heads were puffy the next day.
Wu Zixu was born in the Wu clan of the Yin Yang house, one of the seven Schools of Thought. He is the current head of the Wu clan and holds the position of the Impermanence scion. He is young and promising, gentle and polite, but unfortunately he is born with a hard life. He is busy with family affairs every day, and when he has time, he has to nanny to these two ruffians.
After several months in Anping’s dream, he had a rough grasp of everything around him, but he was still confused about the “seven houses” known to the public. So far, he had met three families in total: Mo house, Song clan, the head of the house: Song Wentong, titled the Mo scion; Yin Yang house, Wu clan, head of the house: Wu Zixu, titled the Impermanence scion; Yao house, Chai clan, head of the house: Chai Shuxin, titled the Spiritual scion; and the “Divination scion” mentioned by the master of Ginkgo Study, he does not know if these seven houses have anything to do with each other.
The heads of three houses are all young and well-established, but two of them are still studying in the Ginkgo Study. This study probably has something special about it. However, Anping has been observing for several months. The master burns incense and makes tea every day, Mu Gesheng sleeps and provides fortune telling service, and Song Wentong practices swordsmanship and footwork. Except for Wu Zixu who often goes out because of household matters, this seems to be a retirement home with chess tables and a card room for retired veteran cadres. Occasionally, they are called on by the master, but essentially their job is just reading full time and waiting for death.
In another word – it’s fucking awesome!
Especially Mu Gesheng, who brings chaos inside and outside, he doesn’t stand or sit properly nor does he have the temperament of a young master, he is not a spoiled child, he is lazy to an extent that is resented by both humans and ghosts alike. As long as it wasn’t something interesting, no one could drag him out of the study. He was like a daughter from a noble family who never left the door. Except for fighting with Song Wentong, he basically laid down wherever he went. The great reputation of the Leader’s house was ruined.
Anping gritted his teeth while he looked at him, wanting to take out a few copies of the textbook and throw them on this man’s face. You are having a great time now, do you know that you will have to repeat the same grade for three years a hundred years in the future? If you have the time now, why not do your homework?
Among them, Anping has the highest favorable impression of Wu Zixu. This man has a beautiful voice and a gentle personality. There was probably nothing in the world that he couldn’t explain and there was nothing that he couldn’t accomplish.
The only exception was that he was often caught between Mu Gesheng and Song Wentong and he couldn’t satisfy both parties at the same time.
Song Wentong walked away with fire in his eyes. Wu Zixu closed the book and said with a helpless smile: “I don’t think he will be able to calm down in a while. I’m afraid your dinner tonight will be ruined.”
Ginkgo Study is located in Baishui Temple, so the daily life of the two parties does not intersect with each other. Anyone can go to the temple to eat. A light vegetarian meal is provided by the temple. But no young man likes white porridge and pickles, and Ginkgo Study is not opposed to self-sufficiency. Among the three, only Song Wentong’s craftsmanship can be put on the table, and Mu Gesheng eats and drinks every day, this includes three meals a day and an afternoon tea and some light night snacks.
Anping was originally curious that the two of them fought almost everyday hence Song Wentong must not be easy to get along with. However, after seeing Mu Gesheng blow up the kitchen once, he chose to praise the Lao Er for his wisdom, graciousness and martial prowess.
Mu Gesheng wiped the snack dregs off his hands and said, “It doesn’t matter. I made a fortune some time ago and I’m going down the mountain today.”
“This is rare, what has interested you?”
“I’m going to apologize to someone.” Mu Gesheng said in a relaxed manner, “I’m going to breathe in some fresh autumn wind along the way.”
As the sun set, Mu Gesheng went down the mountain into the city, turned all the way to the Chai Mansion, climbed over the wall and jumped in.
Anping’s head hurts as he watched Mu Gesheng’s antics as he climbed over the wall instead of walking through the door. This style of apology was really domineering.
The house that the two of them demolished last time has been repaired, and the garden is dense and well-organized. Mu Gesheng took out the coins and made a calculation, then jumped up to the eaves and walked into an annex. The house is divided into two floors, with the roof covered with black tiles and long carved windows on all sides. Light leaks out through fine gauze, and there are faint voices that they can hear.
Mu Gesheng laid on the roof, his ear pressed against the tiles. He took out a handful of melon seeds that he had just picked up and cracked them while listening.
“The people in the North Plains have been urging me many times asking when the batch of medicinal materials will arrive. Several major pharmacies have already run out of stock…”
“It’s almost the end of the year. At the end of the year, people from different houses will come to pay their respects. I’m afraid we won’t look very good then…”
“After all, he is still young…”
The room was full of people, whispering.
Mu Gesheng listened for a while and figured out the situation – the shore was under martial law, several batches of Chai’s medical goods were stuck at the port and could not be shipped out, and the supply of supplies had been cut off for more than a month. It was said that a Chai clan’s patient in the north had become seriously ill due to drug withdrawal.
“This is a serious attempt at destroying our reputation.” An elder in the room stood up and said: “Yao house Chai clan, great and benevolent healers, but there are medicines but unable to supply them, this is also the responsibility of healers. It is a trivial matter to run out of supplies, but saving lives is a big deal. Asking the master of the house to please solve this crisis as soon as possible.”
Chai Shuxin was sitting in the main seat, wearing white clothes, emitting an ice-cold aura. “Second uncle, don’t worry, we have already urgently transferred medicine from the northeast to the North Plains. It will be there within half a month, enough to make up for it.”
“That’s very good, but some materials are specialties from the south, and transportation by the river cannot be interrupted. You need to pay more attention to the port.”
“I understand.” Chai Shuxin said calmly: “Uncle, drink tea.”
Mu Gesheng watched it for a while, then clicked his tongue while swallowing the melon seeds and said, “This deep courtyard is indeed more exciting than what was written in the play.”
Anping also inferred some crucial details from this conversation. This matter was neither big nor small, neither trivial nor serious. Chai Shuxin was nominally the head of the Chai clan, but all the uncles in the household were ambitiously trying to undermine him. This young man was sitting on top of the throne all alone. The An family was also in business, so this scene was familiar to him. It was similar to the way his relatives from all walks of life came to visit during the holidays.
But at least there is still a real liveliness in his family, while below them, all there was is aggressive politeness.
Mu Gesheng spit out a melon seed shell and said, “It’s not a good thing to have money. This little doctor’s life is more tiring than Lao San’s.”
The Mu house does not like to pamper their children, and Mu Gesheng’s monthly pocket money amounts to nothing. Unlike his other two friends who became heads of their houses at a young age, he is poor and has nothing to lose, but he is more carefree and joyful. Song Wentong seemed to be doing business. He occasionally went down to take care of things, but he is usually a hands-off shopkeeper. The busiest person is Wu Zixu. Wu Zixu seems to have endless work to do. He approves official documents and goes on business trips almost every day, and occasionally, when he is free, he has to deal with the study’s accounts. When Mu Gesheng was full and had nothing to do, he would give him black sesame paste, saying it would prevent the boy from balding early.
Anping saw Wu Zixu looking in the mirror once. The young man sighed repeatedly at the dark circles under his eyes.
If Wu Zixu still has the leisure to look in the mirror when he is busy, Chai Shuxin does not have such luck. There seems to be no one around him who can take care of him. The people in the room below them are probably all from the Chai clan, while the elders look very impressive, they do not seem to be very close to each other.
A simple matter, no matter how serious or trivial, was stirred up into a big deal by several rounds of aggression. A room full of people talked about it from early evening until late at night. Finally, a few of the elders couldn’t hold it any longer and said, “That’s all I have to say. The head of the house should know how best to handle this.”
Chai Shuxin’s expression didn’t change much. He stood up and saluted, “Third uncle, walk slowly.”*
*(literal translated as walk slowly but means goodbye, take care.)
The other party stroked his long beard, turned around and left, “It’s getting late, so there’s no need to send me off personally.”
“Really well-educated.” Mu Gesheng yawned and said, “This piece of shit is even bowing to him, what a piece of work.”
For the first time, Anping agreed with Mu Gesheng’s words.
The people in the room dispersed one after another. Chai Shuxin sat on the main seat, looking down at the teacup on the table, it is not known what he was thinking about.
Mu Gesheng hung upside down from the eaves and knocked on the window. “The tea has become cold. Drinking it is not good for your health.”
Chai Shuxin paused while pouring tea, “Who?”
“A kindhearted person out on a cold night, here specially to drink the woes away.”* Mu Gesheng opened the window and said with a smile, “Do you want to drink red date, onion and koi carp soup?”
*(“寒夜好心人，特来慰风尘。”, I believe this last part 慰风尘 refers to this poem called 简卢陟by 韦应物, in particular, 风尘 has this meaning of seeking a place to rest after traveling tirelessly, conveying the poet’s intentions to drink away the fatigue, carrying a weary sigh at the end. )
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T/N: This entire chapter is 🙂 really 🙂 easy 🙂 to 🙂 translate 🙂
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