Recap
“Yes, the seven houses are headed by the Divination scion. In ancient times, emperors began to pass away one after another. Some saints had a premonition of changes in the world, so they gathered like-minded people to carry out the destiny of heaven and correct destiny’s path. These were the original seven Schools of Thoughts. The saint who gathered them is the first-generation Divination scion. The forty-nine mountain ghost floral coins in his hand can be used to predict the course of destiny. The seven houses used destiny as their driving force to make decisions at important moments and guide the world. This way, they can ensure that history is never repeated. It is said that every time a country changes hands or the world changes suddenly, there are the shadows of the seven houses behind it.”
Anping couldn’t believe it, “Is it really so accurate?”
Mu Gesheng took out a handful of coins and said, “Would you like to calculate how many points you will get in the college entrance examination?”
Anping immediately changed his words: “I believe it.”
He digested the information in his mind for a while and asked: “I have only met four houses so far. Where are the remaining three?”
“One of the houses whose inheritance is within the family is the Zhu house. The head of the family is the Constellation scion. He has the bloodline of the vermillion bird and is probably considered an immortal. The house that is run by the sect is the Xian house of Penglai. The head of the sect is the Longevity scion. He pursues the path of seeking immortality, he probably has already stepped on the path of becoming a deity. And finally the Rakshasa, who will never come out except in times of great chaos, have no inheritance, and are born randomly.” Mu Gesheng gave a general idea, “You can see us again if you go back and get some more sleep.”
Anping memorized the distribution of forces tipped by the game guide, and suddenly remembered something, “Wait a minute, what did you just say? You’ve died once?” His reaction was delayed, even though he already knew Mu Gesheng is an old man, he still has goosebumps all over his body.
“You finally reacted.” Mu Gesheng looked at him with a half-smile, “That’s right, or to put it more accurately – I’m already dead.”
___
Before he finished speaking, Anping immediately stepped ten feet back.
“There’s no need to be afraid of me, I don’t eat children.” Mu Gesheng said slowly, “Have you ever watched TV series?”
The topic changed so quickly that Anping didn’t react for a moment, “What did you say?”
“Fortune tellers have a very common saying – the secrets of the heavens cannot be revealed. Some are more fancy and detailed, saying that if the secrets of the heavens are revealed, they will be struck by lightning, etc. In actuality, all of them mean the same thing. Fate cannot be easily seen without authorization, otherwise you will be punished with a calamity.”
“You’re afraid of this?” Anping was doubtful, “Aren’t you very awesome?”
“Thank you for the compliment.” Mu Gesheng looked helpless, “The Tiansuan lineage has indeed mastered the art of foretelling the future. In addition to the extraordinary talents of the Divination scion in each generation of the Tiansuan, we also rely on the power of forty-nine mountain ghosts floral coins. Among the seven Schools of Thought, there is a creed: as long as it is a divination made by the Divine scion, there will be no mistakes.”
“So?”
“Precisely because there are no mistakes, the bigger the calculation is, the more accurate the result, and the more severe the punishment suffered by the diviner.” Mu Gesheng said: “Most diviners rarely have a good ending, each generation will suffer unfathomable punishment. Disciples are all accepted early, like my master, who took in three of them at a young age and became both the father and mother figures…”
Seeing that this man started talking nonsense again, Anping quickly brought the topic back, “What does this have to do with the cause of your death?”
Mu Gesheng took a sip of wolfberry tea and shrugged, “I made some divinations that I shouldn’t have made back then.”
“What divinations?”
“Forgot.”
Anping looked at him in a deadpan manner thinking that he must be playing with him.
“Whoever lies is a little puppy.” Mu Gesheng said: “I died when I was about 18 or 19 years old and fell asleep for almost a hundred years and I just woke up a few years ago. When I woke up, I didn’t know anything about the world. Once I failed a grade, I failed it for three years consecutively. Mathematics and the sciences are really too damn difficult. If you show the three laws to the Penglai gang, I’m afraid that even the gods will try to fight Newton.”
“Isn’t your memory very good? How could you forget such an important thing?”
“Back then, I made a divination that I shouldn’t have, which resulted in me being punished by the heavens. I lost all my lifespan, and my soul couldn’t enter the reincarnation cycle. I should have ended up with both body and soul destroyed. But a friend helped me lock my soul and warm it in my corpse. After incubating for decades, I woke up, but my memory was a bit damaged. After all, it is common for your brain to not work well as you get older.”
Anping looked the person up and down, “Then how much can you remember now?”
“Just some things from when I was young, but then, it wasn’t like I had the time to grow old.” Mu Gesheng laughed, “It’s not a big deal. Just because the brain isn’t working well doesn’t mean it’s broken. My memory can be restored.”
“How do you restore it?”
“When I died, the mountain ghost floral coins were scattered. According to our speculations, there may be some memories attached to the coins. If I can find the coins, I can retrieve some of my memories.” Mu Gesheng said: “I lost almost all of my coins. Otherwise, Anping’er, why do you think I flip these coins every day? Have I gone crazy because of my poverty? Um, well, I am indeed quite poor.”
“…Okay.” Anping reluctantly accepted the reality, “Last question, why do you say you are dead? Didn’t you come back to life?”
“I am indeed conscious, but my departed soul and body have not returned to the three realms, and my five viscera* are no longer functioning. The latter are just existing in my body, I am half-dead, that’s all.” Mu Gesheng used an analogy, “It’s a bit like a zombie, but I’m not that stupid and not that cruel.”
*(liver, heart, spleen, lung and kidney)
Anping was speechless. Another point surfaced in his mind: zombies are not as greedy for money as you are.
“This is also the reason why I fed you blood in the first place. If it were me in the past, a mere Three Realms Displacement is nothing. But now I am a dying corpse. It would be good if I don’t have osteoporosis. If I don’t pay attention, my limbs will snap in half easily. How can I take care of 2 people at the same time?”
Anping felt a little uncomfortable hearing this, “…Thank you for your hard work.”
Mu Gesheng waved his hand, “It’s fine, not hard work at all. Just treat me to breakfast, Anping’er.”
…What about your treat as promised earlier?
This was the first time Anping went to the cafeteria during school hours. Breakfast was almost sold out, leaving only half-cold steamed buns and porridge. Mu Gesheng didn’t mind. He took out a porcelain bottle, sprinkled some unknown condiments into the rice, and ate it with gusto.
Anping took a bun and couldn’t find the filling in three bites. He couldn’t help but say: “I remember that you are very picky, aren’t you? Can you still stomach this?”
“If you can be particular about it, be particular about it. If you can’t be particular about it, just make do with it.” Mu Gesheng said matter-of-factly: “After all, I was born in troubled times. I have seen people dying of hunger everywhere and tasted the food cooked in the army. Naturally, I understand that every meal is hard-earned.”
Anping thought of Mu Gesheng’s enthusiasm for pickled cabbage instant noodles, and thought that this person was not wily.
Then he thought about the pot of red date, onion and koi carp soup, and felt that it was probably not a question of whether he was wily or not, but that this person has a problem with his sense of taste.
He looked at the porcelain bottle in Mu Gesheng’s hand, “What is that?”
“Incense ash.” Mu Gesheng held a spoon in his mouth, “Corpses can’t digest food, but the dead can receive offerings. This incense ash is a specialty of Fengdu. If you put the incense ash on it, things in this world can be used by the deceased. I need some for every food I eat.”
Anping suddenly lost his appetite, so he had to find other topics to talk about, “What’s Fengdu?”
“It lies in the underworld and refers to the capital of the ghost city, belonging to the Yin Yang house.” Mu Gesheng said while eating: “The seven Schools of Thought are involved in the affairs of the three realms. Xian house of Penglai governs the heavenly realm, while the Wu clan of the Yin Yang house governs the underworld. Didn’t you see the Lao San, Wu Zixu is always out? He spends half of his time working in the underworld.”
“He’s so miserable. Staying up all night, much worse than the third year of high school.” Anping’s first reaction was this, “Can’t his family help him out?”
“The Wu clan of the Yin Yang house is born with a semi-yin body, and can travel freely between Yin and Yang with the body of a living person. But everything has a price. Most of the Wu clan’s people died young, and Lao San’s generation is particularly pitiful, excluding the side branch relatives who are separated through countless generations, only Lao San is left in the direct line.”
“So tragic?”
“Don’t worry.” Mu Gesheng said slowly and calmly: “People of the Wu clan have privileges after death. They can choose not to enter reincarnation, settle in Fengdu, continue to live in the underworld, and even take important positions in the underworld. Lao San has seven uncles and eight aunts in the underworld. Lots of them, every time he goes on a business trip, he visits his relatives.”
“…No wonder he became the head of the family at such a young age.”
“The position of the Impermanence scion has great responsibilities, and only living people can handle it. His seven aunts and eight aunts couldn’t handle it, so they rushed to their deaths to enjoy the blessings in the underworld.”
Anping: “…”
“I’m full, please use the ampoule slowly.” Mu Gesheng put down his chopsticks, “By the way, you may have been sleepy and dreamy recently. It’s normal. Don’t worry.”
“How long will this last?” Anpingxin said, “I don’t want to be hit with a chalk in class.”
“It’s a big dream, and it will last for several years.” Mu Gesheng smiled, “Don’t worry, it will come soon.”
Mu Gesheng was right. Anping found that he was indeed getting more and more lethargic. After sleeping in and studying late for three days in a row, his classmates began to complain about him, “Student committee, are you pregnant?”
Anping was too lazy to pay attention to him. He yawned, packed his schoolbag and went home. He didn’t even bother to eat dinner. His eyelids were so heavy that he could hardly open them. He washed up in a hurry and fell back on the bed.
Anping is now very familiar with Ginkgo Study. Most of the Divination scion in the past dynasties liked to live alone, but the master of Ginkgo Study is an exception. This person is proficient in the six skills and eight arts*. He sets up a study to teach and practice. The people in the city like to send their children to the Ginkgo Study to learn from him.
*(six skills: 礼、乐、射、御、书、数 (etiquette, music, archery, horse riding, literacy, maths), eight arts: 琴、棋、书、画、诗、酒、花、茶 (qin*: a musical instrument, chess, books, calligraphy, poetry, wine, flowers, tea), understanding of the eight arts and mastery over the six skills makes a gentleman or what they call 君子)
The study advocates teaching without distinction. There are large classes held every week, and all students can come in to learn. However, there are only two formal students admitted to the Study – Song Wentong and Wu Zixu.
As for Mu Gesheng, he did not join the Ginkgo Study, but since he is a disciple of the Tiansuan sect, he calls the master of the Ginkgo Study “Master” instead of “Sir”. He also has a senior brother who has reached the age of joining the world. He travels around all year round and is rarely seen in person.
Chai Shuxin stood outside the study door and used the door knocker while holding a medicine box in his hand.
The Ginkgo Study looks unimpressive from the outside, but there is something special about it inside. The layout of the courtyard remained unchanged from the hand of the previous generation Mo scion, with pavilions in a scattered pattern. The advantage is that it is clean, and books can be heard loudly during lectures in the front yard, and students can sleep in the darkness in the backyard. The disadvantage is that the road is far away, and when visitors come to the door, they often have to wait for a stick of incense before someone responds.
The person who opened the door was Wu Zixu. When he saw the person coming, he bowed and smiled, “It turns out to be Brother Chai. Just come in directly next time. We are all classmates, so there is no need to be formal.”
The two of them greeted each other, and Chai Shuxin followed them into the courtyard and said slowly: “Ginkgo Study is the residence of Sir, and Sir is the elder, so etiquette cannot be discarded…”
“Lao Si, if I don’t chop you up today, I’ll take Sir’s surname as my own!” A loud shout was heard, and two figures were seen passing by quickly. It was Mu Gesheng and Song Wentong. The latter was carrying the murderous kitchen knife and a chicken with a hairless butt.
“First you need to have the ability to catch your father!”
“Unfilial son! After all the shit and piss Lao Zi fed to raise you!”
The two of them swept away like a gust of wind, their curses mixed with high-pitched crows, leaving chicken feathers all over the floor.
“Sorry, Brother Chai has seen a joke. Lao Si killed a chicken raised by the Lao Er today because it was too noisy.” Wu Zixu smiled, “There was also a chicken whose feathers had just been plucked halfway, but Lao Er found out unexpectedly. That’s how the fight started.”
Chai Shuxin held the medicine box expressionlessly and watched Wu Zixu take out an abacus from his arms, “Impermanence scion, what are you doing?”
“I’ll break up the fight later. I’ll settle the study’s debts for this month first.” Wu Zixu seemed to be familiar with the situation, “Lest they have to demolish the house again.”
The master of Ginkgo Study has been ill all year round, so it is a routine for him to come every month to collect firewood, but today there is one more person in the waterside pavilion.
There is a chessboard placed near the water, and the master of Ginkgo Study is playing chess with someone.
The young man held the white chess piece, smiled and said, “Master, if this piece is placed, it will be a foregone conclusion.”
“Yes, after traveling around for several years, your chess skills have improved again.”
Chai Shuxin stepped forward and saluted, “I have met you sir.” Then he turned slightly and said, “Brother Lin.”
Anping suddenly realized that this person was Mu Gesheng’s senior disciple, Lin Juansheng, the eldest disciple of the Tianshu sect.
The green shirt is covered with flowers, and the orchid and jade trees are blooming. Anping looked at the young man in front of him and felt that if the master of the Ginkgo Study had his hair dyed to black hair, able to stand, he would look like Lin Juansheng today.
This is what a master and disciple should look like, Anping thought. They are both apprentices taught by the same master. The senior brother is so handsome and graceful. What kind of demon is Mu Gesheng? A skin demon hiding its true skin?
“We haven’t seen each other for a few years. Shuxin has grown up a lot.” Lin Juansheng looked at Chai Shuxin and said with a smile, “You’re an outstandingly handsome young man.”
“He has grown up a lot! But, it also proves that you are getting older!” A figure suddenly emerged from the bottom of the water, splashing water all over Lin Juansheng, “Senior brother, help!”
“Junior brother, you are the only one who can shout for help in such a sharp tongue.” Lin Juansheng smiled helplessly and pulled the person out of the water, “It’s cold, be careful of catching a flu.”
“It’s a trivial matter to catch the flu. Senior brother, please save me first.” Mu Gesheng rubbed his forehead and pointed at Song Wentong, who was staring furiously at him on the other side of the water bank. “That guy wants to kill his own people for a chicken.”
“Wentong’s chicken is a treasure.” The master of the Ginkgo Study smiled and said, “It tells you when to get up in the morning, and it also tells you when to sleep at night.”
“Master!”
“Okay, okay, master is here, Wentong will not do anything.” Lin Juansheng handed over a cup of hot tea and pointed to the game on the board, “I can save you. Play this game with me.”
Mu Gesheng trembled when he heard this, “Senior brother, you just won the national championship last month.”
“Because I won the national championship, that is why I came back to play with you.”
Chai Shuxin was startled when he heard this and couldn’t help but look at Wu Zixu.
“Lao Si and senior brother played nine games of chess before.” Wu Zixu was still settling the accounts, and said softly while moving the beads: “Two games are tied, seven games are won.”
“Who won it?”
Wu Zixu raised his head and smiled: “Who do you think?”
Chai Shuxin was silent for a moment before turning his gaze back to the waterside.
Anping didn’t know how to play chess, so everyone in the waterside pavilion watched and meditated. A game of chess was played from morning to dusk. Wu Zixu watched for a while and then hurriedly went back to approve official documents. The master of Ginkgo Study also pushed his wheelchair away to take a nap in the afternoon, and left a leisurely message: “If you win against your senior brother, I will let Wentong cook and slaughter his chickens.”
“Master, please don’t trick me.” Mu Gesheng said with a bitter face, “I will not be responsible for this tragedy”
“The road ahead is long and the journey is tough, we must have enough energy.”
Only Chai Shuxin stood beside them the entire time, with his eyes lowered and his figure upright. He didn’t look tired for several hours. Anping waited until dusk was almost over, when the lamps were lit in the waterside pavilion, and then Chai Shuxin finally moved.
Anping followed this man out, only to find that he had gone to the kitchen.
Song Wentong was practicing his swordplay in the yard. When he saw him, he asked, “Why did you come here?”
“Help the cook.” Chai Shuxin said quietly: “Kill the chicken.”
Ginkgo study, small kitchen.
Firewood, rice, oil and salt and a bright light in the evening.
Song Wentong chopped off the chicken’s head with a knife and stir-fried the Sichuan peppercorns in a pan. Aroma filled the air, “I didn’t expect you to actually know how to cook.”
“Herbalists have many prescriptions for herbal meals.” Chai Shuxin rolled up his sleeves and was making soup. “My cooking skills are not as good as my sister’s, I’m just an amateur cook.”
“Are you going to make pork belly and chicken soup?” Song Wentong glanced at the stove and lifted the spatula, “Since there are two chickens. We can shred them to make five bowls of noodle soup, and use the rest to make a dish of soy sauce chicken legs and a dish of spicy and sour chicken feet. The chicken is deep-fried in the pan, and some spicy red oil is added…Why the hell are you here again? Get out!”
“I’m here to mourn Brother Chicken’s passing.” Mu Gesheng lay on the window sill, raised his hand to catch the apple thrown by Song Wentong, and took a bite, “I warned it when it had crowed in the morning: that anyone who disturbs my sleep, will be crushed to ashes.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Taking revenge on a chicken?”
“Hey, remember to leave some of the feathers for me to tie into a duster.” Mu Gesheng quickly changed the subject and looked at Chai Shuxin, “The little doctor actually washed his hands and made soup? What good fortune did we run into today?”
“Pork belly and chicken soup, added with pepper and Codonopsis pilosula, can replenish deficiency and strengthen the spleen.” Chai Shuxin said calmly: “It is good for sir’s health.”
“Little doctor, if you have time, please teach me how to make the all-in-one pot.” Mu Gesheng was eager to make an effort and said shamelessly: “I tried it once in your house last time and I will never forget it, but this man insists that he can’t make it.”
“All-in-one pot is my sister’s specialty dish, and I don’t know how to make it.” Chai Shuxin said, “Come back next time, if you want to try it”
Song Wentong was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and looked at Chai Shuxin suspiciously, “You two have turned your hostility into friendship? What kind of ecstasy soup did Lao Si pour into you?”
Mu Gesheng threw the apple core at him, “A dog can’t spit out ivory. If you don’t speak, no one will treat you as a mute.”
Seeing that the two men were about to fight again, Chai Shuxin walked to the window, looked at Mu Gesheng under the lamp, and nodded slightly, “Thank you for last time.”
Mu Gesheng was stunned, “Ah? What happened last time?”
Chai Shuxin: “…”
“Oh oh oh, I remembered. I just went to say hello to the cargo side at the pier. It’s just a small effort really, little doctor. Don’t worry… little doctor! Oh, don’t leave! Stay and have a meal! I really didn’t do it for you—”
___
T/N: Happy Thanksgiving! I found this last chapter I left in my drafts so I posted it. I will stop translating this novel, if anyone wants to pick it up, please feel free to do so. Thank you for supporting this translations 🙂
To support the author’s raw: click here.
Support me here: click here.
Update: Indefinite
Leave a Reply