"In conclusion, I definitely won't stay in this small place my entire life and wait for death."
Walking through the gentle spring breeze, the tall young boy dreamed about a bright and exciting future. Meanwhile, the young boy in straw sandals chewed the straw in his mouth. One person spoke, and one person listened.
————
When Chen Ping'an returned to Liu Xianyang's house with the basket of pebbles, he picked out his favorite few pebbles and took them to the wing room like always. As for the other pebbles, he left them in the kitchen. After locking the house door and courtyard door, he ran back to Clay Vase Alley. When he arrived home, he saw the young woman in black sitting in the courtyard and enjoying the sun. After greeting her, Chen Ping'an started to brew a pot of medicine.
There was a hacking sound coming from next door, and Chen Ping'an couldn't help but find this strange. Even though Song Jixin had no parents to look after him, he had never been short on food or clothes. In fact, he had always had a lot of spare money. Perhaps he wasn't as well off as the young masters from the Four Surnames, but his wealth and lifestyle could definitely rival those from the Ten Clans. Books and brushes, small and exquisite trinkets, beautiful and elegant ornaments... These were extravagant things that Chen Ping'an had never heard of before, much less seen. From time to time, a new addition would adorn Song Jixin's study.
In fact, Song Jixin and his maidservant never had to perform any dirty or tiring tasks. Pickling vegetables was too pungent, so Song Jixin didn't allow his maidservant Zhi Gui to pickle any vegetables. Chopping firewood was also too tiring, so Song Jixin would directly buy bundles upon bundles of firewood to use. He would also buy bags and bags of the best charcoal.
When Chen Ping'an brought the bowl of medicine to Ning Yao, he could surprisingly still hear the intermittent sound of hacking coming from next door. While Ning Yao drank her medicine, Chen Ping'an couldn't help but walk to the courtyard wall and get on his tippy-toes. He discovered that Zhi Gui was hacking at a "person" with a kitchen knife. This was a small wooden figurine.
Chen Ping'an had worked in the kilns for many years, so he had seen many high-quality products and also chopped countless amounts of wood. Thus, he was able to determine the quality of the wood with a single glance. The wood was as smooth and glossy as jade, and this signified that the wooden person was definitely an ancient item. Moreover, the wooden person was covered in red and black dots. However, it had already been hacked into several pieces by Zhi Gui.
The young girl suddenly turned around. Upon seeing Chen Ping'an, she raised her sweaty and dirty arm to wipe her face before forcing a smile and saying, "Oh, you're back. I wanted to borrow a hatchet from you before, but your guest wasn't willing to open the door for me."
Chen Ping'an faltered upon hearing this, and he said, "I'll get it for you right away. Hatchets are different from kitchen knives, so don't swing it too forcefully at the start. Otherwise, it's very easy to slip and hurt yourself."
Sitting on a small stool, the exhausted young girl waved her hand. "Alright, alright. Now hurry up and get the hatchet for me."
When Chen Ping'an returned with the hatchet, Zhi Gui was already standing at the courtyard wall. She smiled and asked, "Do you know what that is?"
Chen Ping'an shook his head and replied, "No."
Zhi Gui didn't tell him the answer. Instead, she sat back down on her small stool and continued to hack at the wooden person.
Chen Ping'an was extremely worried as he looked at her awkward movements and incorrect postures. However, since she didn't ask for help, Chen Ping'an didn't try to offer any uninvited advice either. Turning around, he found that Ning Yao had already left the courtyard. Chen Ping'an recalled something, and quickly entered his house. He then placed something on the table before the young woman in black.
This was a snake gall pebble that was just large enough to wrap one's hand around. It looked like a frozen piece of honey, with its color brilliant and its patterns delicate.
Ning Yao was slightly baffled.
Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "It's a present for you, Ning Yao."
The young woman in black who always carried her saber suddenly asked, "You like this one the most?"
Chen Ping'an was put in a tough spot, and he could only say, "This one... is probably my fourth favorite. I've already put the other three away."
Only after hearing this did Ning Yao accept the pebble. She picked it up with two fingers and held it above her head, causing the rays of sunshine filtering through the window to shine on the pebble.
She raised her head and squinted, carefully examining the delicate patterns inside the pebble.
She continued to look at the pebble.
Chen Ping’an continued to look at her.
————
Deep in the night, a young boy stealthily crept through Clay Vase Alley like a silent and nimble cat. He went into Gu Can's home, and he found the large water vat that was placed in the corner of the courtyard. After squatting down, he found that many of the originally neat and tidily placed snake gall pebbles had already been taken away by someone. It was as if someone had discovered their value before him.
Gu Can was the only weirdo in the small town who liked to collect snake gall pebbles, and no matter how many pebbles he found at a time, he would only take a single one home. He would only keep his favorite one. Thus, after collecting them for a long time, he was only able to gather 50 to 60 snake gall pebbles. He used these pebbles to cover the gaps in the bottom of the water vat.
Chen Ping'an pushed aside the snake gall pebbles that had already lost their luster. When he saw no dig marks on the bottom of the water vat, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He started to dig with his hands. When he eventually felt parchment paper, his heart jolted, and his movements became slower and more careful.
In the end, he retrieved the item that was wrapped in the parchment paper. By the looks of it, this was a book.
After hiding it under his clothes, Chen Ping'an scooped the soil back into the water vat. Looking carefully at the remaining snake gall pebbles, he confirmed that they were all "dead". Compared to the pebbles that Chen Ping'an had collected from the creek, they were completely different in terms of both color and pattern. The pebbles that Chen Ping'an had collected were like lively infants full of vitality, while the pebbles sitting around the water vat were like elderly people fast approaching death.
Chen Ping'an pondered for a moment before deciding to leave Clay Vase Alley from the direction of his home.
When he arrived outside Song Jixin's courtyard door, he heard the creak of a door being opened. Chen Ping'an had no option but to knock on his own door and shout, "Ning Yao, have you gone to sleep yet? I came back to get something."
A light quickly lit up in the house, and the young woman in black walked over to open the door for Chen Ping'an.
Next door, Zhi Gui slowly walked out with a thick and yellowing book in her arms. When she arrived in the courtyard, she saw flickering lights and shadows in Chen Ping'an's house, and she couldn't help but shake her head and click her tongue in wonder. It was as if she had caught a couple engaged in an illicit affair.
She skipped and hopped as she walked down Clay Vase Alley by herself.
Her golden eyes with twin pupils appeared especially ice-cold and holy in the dark of the night.
This made the slender and shapely young girl seem like a flood dragon that was swimming through thin cracks in the rock. If she managed to leave the small alley, it was as if she would enter the rivers and transform into a dragon.
————
Even though Ning Yao allowed Chen Ping'an to enter the courtyard and even the house, her expression was slightly dark as she sat beside the table and leaned against the scabbard of her saber, which she lightly drummed her fingers along.
After confirming that Zhi Gui had entered the alley, Chen Ping'an finally explained with an awkward expression, "I went to Gu Can's house to get something, yet Zhi Gui coincidentally decided to go out just as I was passing by. I was left with no option but to hide here for a while. Ning Yao, please don't misunderstand."
"What thing?" Ning Yao asked.
Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment before retrieving the book wrapped in parchment paper. "I'm not sure either."
Ning Yao turned around and instructed, "Open it and have a look first. Then you can decide whether you want to tell me or not."
Chen Ping'an nodded and sat down opposite her. He then unwrapped the layers of parchment paper, causing dirt to continuously fall onto the table. In the end, an ancient book appeared before him.
There were only two characters on the cover of the ancient book, and Chen Ping'an only recognized one of them — mountain.
He placed the ancient book on the table before rotating it around and pushing it toward Ning Yao. He then asked in curiosity, "Ning Yao, what's this character?"
The young woman turned around and glanced down.
"Shaking," she replied.
Mountain Shaking — this was the title of the ancient book.