Chapter 41: Practicing the Mountain Shaking Fist Technique
Deep into the night, Song Changjing returned alone to the office of the kiln supervision official. Song Jixin had already left and returned to Clay Vase Alley, a place that was like a dog's kennel. The man in white didn't have any issues with this. As a front-line general who had led armies to wars for numerous years, and as someone who could still sleep soundly amid a sea of blood and a mountain of corpses, he naturally didn't feel like his nephew had been treated badly these past few years. Even though he had been tossed into this small town, he could at least return to the capital of the Great Li Empire alive. This was already quite good.
The old steward of the kiln supervision office had been waiting outside the gates the entire time, a lantern in his hand.
Song Changjing walked through the side entrance which only had a single door open. He then continued to stride forward, saying, "No need to lead the way."
The old steward nodded in acknowledgment. He slowed down his pace before silently taking his leave.
The office of the kiln supervision official was located on Fortune Street, and this wasn't an extravagant building. In fact, it was much smaller than the residences of the Lu Clan and the Li Clan. The previous kiln supervision official — the legitimate one — had lived an honest and frugal life. The residents of the small town hadn't found this out of the ordinary.
However, Song Changjing was different. He was the younger brother of the Great Li Empire's ruler, and he had also made a profound contribution to help expand the territory of the empire. At the same time, he was also one of the top-notch martial arts grandmasters of Eastern Treasured Vial Continent.
His arrival was akin to a flood dragon crashing into a small lake. Even though the powerful clans in the small town weren't especially afraid of him, they still had to at least treat him with a sense of respect.
When Song Changjing walked past a courtyard, he noticed that there was still someone reading under the dim candlelight in a nearby building. They were sitting upright, and even though they were alone in the building, they still maintained a meticulous posture and attitude.
As expected of a noble and virtuous person.
Song Changjing's sleeves billowed in the air as he briskly walked past, and a smile of ridicule tugged at the corners of his lips.
In the past, there had once been a youth who had sought knowledge at Lake View Academy. His calligraphy skills had been divine, and his renown had echoed throughout the imperial palace. The ruler of Southern Wei Nation had invited him into the palace to compose imperial decrees in a side palace. During winter, the heavy snow and biting cold had been such that his calligraphy brush had become frozen and unable to produce any characters. Learning this, the emperor had ordered a dozen or so of his retainers to assist the young scholar and use their breaths to warm his brush.
News of this had spread through Eastern Treasured Vial Continent like wildfire, and it had immediately become a story praised and talked about by everyone.
However, no one had thought to ponder deeply about this — with how strict the imperial palace was with information, to say nothing about the emperor, eunuchs, and concubines, just how in the world had ordinary peasants learned about all of this?
Walking along a secluded and narrow path, Song Changjing suddenly broke into hearty laughter.
Song Jixin, who was dressed cleanly, arrived back in Clay Vase Alley. He pushed open the unlocked courtyard door and proceeded back to his house. What greeted him was the sight of Zhi Gui sitting on a chair in the main hall, with her eyes half-closed as she dozed off. When her head drooped to a certain angle, she would immediately jerk upright before slowly leaning forward again.
By the looks of it, the young girl was truly tired. Song Jixin bent down and lightly shook her shoulders, saying in a soft voice, "Zhi Gui, Zhi Gui, wake up. Hurry up and return to your own room. Be careful of catching a cold."
Zhi Gui rubbed her sleepy eyes and murmured, "Young Master, why are you back so late?"
Song Jixin smiled and replied, "I took a trip down to the covered bridge. It's quite far away, so I was only able to get back this late."
"Huh? Young Master, when did you change into this?" Zhi Gui said in astonishment upon seeing the unfamiliar clothing that Song Jixin was wearing.
Song Jixin was unwilling to talk about this, so he said, "Let's not talk about this. I lent you the Local County Chronicle, so how are you going with reading it and learning new characters? Do you need me to teach you anything?"
The young girl shook her head and replied, "No."
Song Jixin returned to his room. It was pitch-black, and he removed his outer robe before kicking off his shoes and feeling his way to the bed. Lying down, the young boy murmured, "Wang Zhu, Wang Zhu... So that's how it is..."
Zhi Gui also returned to her room, blowing out the candles and getting into bed. As she snuggled under the blankets, there was a soft and persistent rustling sound as if someone were hiding under the blankets and chewing on something.
In the end, she even burped in satisfaction.
Meanwhile, even though Liu Xianyang was still yet to become an official disciple of Master Ruan, it was already abundantly clear to the others that Master Ruan held this tall and broad young boy in extremely high regard. Otherwise, there was no way he would have personally taught him how to forge sword billets. Not everyone was allowed to enter that row of swordsmithing buildings.
During lunch break, a young man who had worked in the dragon kilns before jogged over to Liu Xianyang and told him that someone was looking for him. He wriggled his eyebrows and winked, and his expression appeared especially playful and teasing. He said that a woman who was even more beautiful than those on Fortune Street was looking for Liu Xianyang.
Liu Xianyang followed him with a playful grin. However, he was actually feeling extremely solemn.
Sure enough, he saw that slender woman standing by a well. Nearby, the young men were working extremely hard as they dug the wells.
Just like the young scholar Song Jixin had said, Liu Xianyang was indeed a country bumpkin who didn't know much. However, determining whether a woman was beautiful or not had nothing to do with how many books one had read. Nor did it have to do with whether one was literate or not. Perhaps the young boy didn't know, but calling someone beautiful was only a very general remark. Under this umbrella of beauty, there existed a type that was charming, where the woman would appear both dignified and naturally alluring. This type of beauty was particularly soul-stirring.
If one insisted on defining a charming beauty, perhaps this would be a woman who had slender and intoxicating eyebrows.
The unfamiliar woman standing before him had eyebrows that were as slender as a willow branch and a forehead as smooth and bright as jade.
She had come alone today, and she didn't look like she was here to accuse Liu Xianyang of any wrongdoing. It didn't look like she was here to pressure and bully him either. Liu Xianyang breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.
He conceded that this woman was very beautiful, and he conceded that she indeed possessed a graceful and noble demeanor. If he had come across such a woman on the streets in the past, perhaps he would have looked over and whistled at her. However, this wouldn't mean that he had fallen for her. Liu Xianyang had only ever liked a single girl — the maidservant from Clay Vase Alley. This was the case now, and it would be the case in the future.
Liu Xianyang walked toward the creek with the beautiful woman, and he said in a firm voice, "Ma'am, if you're trying to convince me to sell my family heirloom to you, I suggest that you give up."
The woman smiled beautifully and replied, "Don't be so quick to reject my offer. Allow me to explain the benefits and intricacies first, and then you can decide again after you finish listening."
The young boy's expression remained unchanging, and he purposefully continued to act in a carefree and relaxed manner. However, his heart had already sunk.
In the distance, a young girl in green was squatting by a blacksmith forge with a bowl of rice in her hands. The rice was heaped so high that it formed a pyramid shape that protruded far above the side of the bowl. She lifted the bowl of rice and started to wolf it down. After destroying the "pyramid", she caught a glimpse of the braised pork belly that she had hidden inside the bowl of rice. She glowed with happiness, and she secretly turned around to have her back face the man who was slowly eating his own bowl of rice.
"Father, aren't you going to stop that outsider lady?" she asked.
"No," the man replied in a low and muffled voice.
The young girl in green felt slightly anxious, and she said, "But he's going to be your opening disciple in the future. Aren't you afraid that he'll be led astray?"
"That will simply mean that he doesn't have enough fortune," the man replied calmly.
"Father, won't you feel like that's a great pity?" the girl asked with a puzzled expression.
For example, when she saw those delicious and exquisite desserts in the shops... So be it if she didn't have any money. However, if she had money and decided to purchase some, wouldn't it be a great shame if she accidentally dropped them on the floor? She would deserve to be punished by the heavens!
The man answered with a completely unrelated question of his own, asking, "How's the braised pork belly?"
The young girl subconsciously nodded and said in happiness, "It's delicious!"
However, she immediately froze in the next moment. Her father had issued a "decree" before, saying that she could only eat one meat dish a day. Thus, she had pretended to get a full bowl of rice, but she had actually hidden a piece of braised pork belly inside. This was so that she could rightfully eat another meat dish at night.
The young girl had an awkward expression as she lifted her bowl of rice up high and said in a righteous manner, "There's only one piece! I didn't break the rules!"
The man chuckled and asked, "Then will it be a pity if you can't eat that other piece of braised pork belly hidden at the bottom?"
The young girl opened her mouth, yet she didn't know what to say. Her expression was ashen, and it was as if she had been struck by lightning.