Bad Stick

Upon arriving at the eastern gate, Chen Ping'an spotted the gatekeeper sitting on the tree stump at the gate with his legs crossed, lazily basking under the early spring sun. His eyes were closed, and he was humming a tune while patting his knees with his hands.

Chen Ping'an squatted down next to him. For him, it was very difficult to ask for the money that he was owed.

Hence, he could only cast his gaze toward the wide path in the east in silence. It was a long and winding road that resembled a thick yellow snake.

He habitually grabbed a handful of dirt and held it in his hand, massaging it slowly.

In the past, he had traveled extensively around the town with Old Man Yao, carrying heavy bags that were filled to the brim with all types of things, such as machetes and hoes. Old Man Yao had taken him to many different places, and during their travels, Chen Ping'an was often made to "eat dirt", which involved picking up a handful of dirt and placing it directly into his mouth before chewing it to carefully savor its flavor.

Over time, Chen Ping'an became more proficient at the skill, and he was able to glean the properties of any soil that he came into contact with just by massaging it between his fingers. In fact, he became so skilled at this that all he had to do was weigh up some broken porcelain fragments on the market with his hand, and he would be able to tell which kiln the porcelain had come from, and even which master it had been fired by.

Old Man Yao was a loner who could be quite inhumane at times, often beating and insulting Chen Ping'an. There was one time when Old Man Yao became so disgusted by how little talent and aptitude Chen Ping'an had that he abandoned him in the wilderness in a fit of rage before returning to the kiln alone.

By the time Chen Ping'an navigated the 60 kilometers of mountain terrain back to the dragon kiln, it was already very late at night. It had been raining heavily that day, and after finally spotting a hint of light in the distance after trudging through the mud for hours, the stubborn and resilient Chen Ping'an was struck by the urge to cry for the first time.

However, Chen Ping'an had never resented or hated Old Man Yao.

He came from a very impoverished background and had never received an education, but he understood a principle that wasn't taught in books, which was that aside from your parents, no one in the world had a duty to be good to you, and his parents had passed away very early in his life.

Chen Ping'an had the patience to stick around in silence, and it seemed that the gatekeeper could sense that he wouldn't be able to get out of this just by ignoring him. Hence, he opened his eyes and smiled as he said, "Get over it, it's just five copper coins! A young man shouldn't be so petty. Otherwise, you'll never make anything out of yourself."

"Aren't you being petty here?" Chen Ping'an countered with an exasperated expression.

"That's exactly right! If you don't want to end up like me, then forget about those five copper coins," the gatekeeper chuckled, grinning to reveal a mouthful of crooked yellow teeth.

Chen Ping'an heaved a faint sigh as he raised his head and said in a serious manner, "If you're a little tight on money right now, then I can do without the five copper coins, but we agreed upon one copper coin per letter, so you can't keep refusing to pay me like this."

The gatekeeper's entire body was giving off a sour and rotten odor, and he grinned as he said, "If you keep up that stinky attitude of yours, there's a very good chance that you're going to get in big trouble in the future. Have you not heard the saying that suffering a loss is a blessing? If you're not willing to suffer even minor losses..."

He paused momentarily as he spotted the dirt in Chen Ping'an's hand, then continued in a menacing fashion, "Then you're going to be buried in the dirt before long."

"Didn't I just say I could do without the five copper coins? Is that not accepting a minor loss?" Chen Ping'an retorted.

The gatekeeper was rather disgruntled by that irrefutable argument, and he waved a dismissive hand to chase Chen Ping'an away. "Piss off! Talking to you is like talking to a damn wall!"

Chen Ping'an released the handful of dirt, then stood up as he said, "Tree stumps are really damp, you're going to get rheumatism from sitting on that thing."

The gatekeeper raised his head as he scoffed, "I don't need you to teach me where to sit! I'm a healthy and hot-blooded young man! You could even cook a pancake on my ass!"

The gatekeeper took a glance at the departing Chen Ping'an out of the corner of his eye, then pursed his lips as he mumbled something, seemingly cursing the heavens.

————

For some reason, Mr. Qi from the private school concluded the lessons early on this day, something that he almost never did.

Behind the private school was a yard, to the north of which was a small door constructed from firewood, and it opened up to the bamboo forest outside.

While Song Jixin was listening to stories under the old locust tree with Zhi Gui, he was called by someone to go and play go with them. Song Jixin was rather reluctant, but the person who extended the invitation told him that he was there on Mr. Qi's behalf, and that Mr. Qi wanted to see if he had made any improvement in his play. Song Jixin harbored a mixture of indescribable emotions toward the serious and authoritative Mr. Qi. It was a combination of respect and fear.

Hence, he had no choice but to accept the invitation, given that it was from Mr. Qi. However, he insisted on staying to hear the end of the story before going to the private school. Thus, the azure-robed young boy who had acted as Mr. Qi's messenger could only return first. Prior to his departure, he urged Song Jixin not to be too late, nagging him with the same old spiel about how Mr. Qi was a man of rules and principles, and that he didn't like it when people were tardy and lacking in punctuality.

Song Jixin merely picked at his own ear in an agitated manner, saying something to placate the young boy so that he would go away.

As Song Jixin arrived in the yard behind the private school, there was a cool breeze, and as usual, the scholarly azure-robed young boy was already seated on the stool to the south with a serious expression and his back ramrod straight.

Song Jixin sat down across from the azure-robed young boy, facing the south, while Mr. Qi was seated over in the west, watching the go board in silence.

Whenever her young master played go with the azure-robed young boy, Zhi Gui would always go to take a stroll in the bamboo forest so that she didn't disturb them, and this day was no exception.

There were no highly educated clans in this secluded little town, so scholars were exceedingly rare here.

According to the rules set by Mr. Qi, Song Jixin and the azure-robed young boy had to play a minigame of guessing the stones, and the one who received the black stones would get to go first.

Song Jixin and the young boy across from him had begun learning go almost at the same time, but Song Jixin possessed remarkable aptitude and intelligence that allowed him to make rapid progress. Hence, Mr. Qi, who had taught go to both of them, regarded him as a go player with extremely high potential. To start off the stone guessing minigame, Song Jixin would pull out a handful of white stones of indeterminate number from the box.

The azure-robed young boy would then pull out either one or two black stones, and if he could guess whether the number of white stones in Song Jixin's hand was odd or even, then he would receive the black stones and go first, thereby giving him an advantage.

In all of the games that they had played against each other in the first two years, Song Jixin had maintained a spotless win record regardless of whether he received the black or white stones.

However, Song Jixin didn't have much interest in go, and he was always slacking off in his learning of the game. In contrast, the azure-robed young boy's aptitude was inferior to his, but not only was he a student at the private school, he also served as Mr. Qi's scholarly attendant, so he was always with the teacher. Thus, he was able to learn extensively just from watching Mr. Qi play out games recorded in go manuals on his own.

Hence, with the black stones, the young boy was now able to occasionally win some games. At the moment, with the black stones, he had a roughly 50:50 chance of beating Song Jixin, and his improvement over the years was very apparent. However, Mr. Qi had never commented on the dwindling skill gap between them, and he was always watching their games in silence.

Song Jixin was just about to grab some stones when Mr. Qi suddenly said, "Play an even game today. White goes first."

The two boys were both quite befuddled, with neither of them having any idea what an even game was supposed to be.

Mr. Qi carefully explained the rules in an unhurried manner, and it wasn't very complicated. All that an even game entailed was placing down two black and white stones each on the four star points of the board.

His motions in picking up and placing the stones were extremely fluid and well-rehearsed, presenting an elegant sight to behold.

The azure-robed young boy always liked to abide by the rules, so this sudden change was nothing short of a nightmare for him. He stared at the board with a dazed expression, then said in a careful voice, "Mr. Qi, if we play like this, then there are many sets of jōseki that we won't be able to use."

Song Jixin considered the new rules with slightly furrowed brows for a moment, following which his eyes quickly lit up as he said, "This is essentially shrinking the board!"

He then looked up with a smile as if he were searching for praise and asked, "Isn't that right, Mr. Qi."

"That is indeed the case," Mr. Qi replied with a nod.

Song Jixin raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the boy seated across from him, then chuckled, "Should I give him a handicap of a few stones? Otherwise, he's losing this game for sure."

The young boy immediately became flushed with embarrassment upon hearing this. He knew in his heart that the reason he was able to improve his winning record against Song Jixin was not just attributable to his own improvement.

Instead, the main reason was because Song Jixin had become less and less interested in the game over the past couple of years, to the point that he was beginning to hate the game. There were many instances in which he had intentionally thrown games, or taken major risks in the middlegame after he had already secured a clear advantage in the early game, trying to secure flashy wins, only to lose the games in the process.

Despite his superb aptitude, Song Jixin's top priority in playing go had always been to have fun.

In contrast, from the moment the azure-robed young boy first picked up a go stone, he had always been fixated on the concepts of winning and losing.

Mr. Qi turned to his scholarly assistant and said, "You can go first with white."

During the game, the azure-robed young boy played each turn slowly and carefully, steadily building a foundation, while Song Jixin was playing just as rapidly as usual, going for large and expansive positions.

The difference in their personalities was night and day.

After only fewer than 90 turns, the azure-robed young boy suffered a catastrophic loss, and he lowered his head in silence with his lips tightly pursed.

Song Jixin's elbow was resting on the table, while his cheek was resting on his hand. At the same time, he held a stone between two of his fingers on his other hand, gently tapping the stone table as he stared at the position.

According to the rules set by Mr. Qi, it was strictly prohibited to verbally declare one's loss, and resignation took place in the form of the silent gesture of tossing one's stones onto the table.

The azure-robed young boy was extremely reluctant to admit defeat, but he still resigned.

"Go and practice your calligraphy. There's no need to clean up the board. Write out the '永' character 300 times."

The young boy hurriedly rose to his feet and extended a respectful bow before taking his leave.

Only after the young boy was out of sight did Song Jixin ask in a quiet voice, "Are you about to leave this place as well, Sir?"

The scholar nodded in response. "I will be leaving within 10 days."

Song Jixin smiled as he said, "That's good. I'll be able to see you off."

The scholar hesitated momentarily, then said, "There's no need to do that. After you leave the town, make sure to keep a low profile and not draw attention to yourself. I don't have anything other than three elementary books, namely Principles of Life for Children, Rites and Music, and An Anthology of Literary Essays. You can take them all. Make sure to revise them regularly.

"Only by repeatedly reading a book over and over again will you be able to glean its true meaning. If you can read over 10,000 books, you'll be able to write as if you were assisted by the gods. You'll understand what that means when you get to that point. As for those three light readings, 'Profound and Subtle', 'Tao Li Anthology', and 'Tales of Mountains and Seas', I encourage you to read them in your free time as well for self-cultivation."

A surprised and slightly awkward look appeared on Song Jixin's face, and he mustered up some courage as he said, "It almost sounds like this is going to be the final time we see each other, and it feels very strange."

A smile appeared on Mr. Qi's face as he said in a gentle voice, "It's not as serious as you make it out to be. Who knows where we'll meet again someday? I'm sure we'll be reunited eventually."

The smile on his face made the beholder feel as if they were basking in a warm spring breeze, and he suddenly said, "Go and pay Zhao Yao a visit. It'll be an early farewell."

Song Jixin rose to his feet as he chuckled, "Alright, then I'll have to trouble you to clean up the board, Sir."

He then rushed away gleefully while Mr. Qi bent over to pick up the stones, seemingly in a completely haphazard fashion, but in reality, he was picking the stone up in an alternating sequence of black and white. The first stone that he picked up was the last black stone that Song Jixin had placed, and he cleared the board in the reverse order of the sequence of moves that were played, doing so with unerring accuracy.

At some point, Zhi Gui had already returned from the bamboo forest, but she was standing outside the wooden door, refraining from stepping into the yard.

Without turning around, Mr. Qi said in a solemn voice, "You're on your own now."

At this moment, Zhi Gui wore a dazed and timid look on her face, striking the beholder with a sense of sympathy.

A hint of anger appeared on Mr. Qi's face, and he slowly turned away with a cold look in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Zhi Gui was still seemingly dazed and confused, as innocent and naive as ever.

Mr. Qi stood up straight like a sturdy tree in the wind, turning to the young girl with a cold sneer. "What a disgusting creature you are!"

The innocent look on the young girl's face slowly faded, and a cold look appeared in her eyes while a mocking sneer surfaced on her face, as if she were asking "what're you gonna do about it?"

The two of them stared directly at one another, and it was as if a confrontation between a dragon and a serpent were taking place.

Each of them was looking at the other as if they were sworn enemies.

In the distance, Song Jixin called out, "Time to go home, Zhi Gui."

"Yes, Young Master," Zhi Gui immediately replied obediently as she got up on the tips of her toes.

She pushed the wooden door open, then jogged past Mr. Qi. After running a few steps, she turned around and extended a curtsy toward him as she said in a gentle and adorable voice, "I'll be leaving now, Sir."

Sometime later, the scholar heaved a faint sigh.

The spring breeze was as gentle as ever, and the rustling of the bamboo leaves resembled the sound of a book's turning pages.

————

The young Daoist priest in the lotus hat was packing up his stall while sighing in dismay. The town residents who were familiar with him asked him why he was so glum, but he merely shook his head and refused to answer.

A newlywed woman who had last had her fortune told there was passing by, and she could see that the young Daoist priest wasn't his normal self. She stopped in her tracks in a shy manner and began asking questions in a tender voice, but her large, watery eyes were saying something else entirely as they roamed insistently over the young man's handsome face.

The Daoist priest took a subtle glance at the woman, but as he shifted his gaze slightly downward, he was greeted by the sight of a voluptuous bulge. He gulped slightly, then said in a mysterious voice, "I picked out a stick for myself earlier today, and it was a bad stick that entails great peril."