As the sweltering summer arrived, the old locust tree, like a giant parasol offering shade, was gone. The Iron Lock Well was now privately enclosed, denying the elders the sweet well water they yearned for. The sounds of crickets had dwindled at Immortal’s Graveyard, and the creaking, aged Porcelain Mountain was no longer climbable. Fortunately, in the springtime, Peach Leaf Lane still boasted trees laden with blossoms, some a deep, enchanting red, others a soft, gentle hue.

Life is a tapestry of gatherings and separations, but thankfully, separations often lead to reunions.

Today, at the old schoolhouse, many who had left their hometown had returned.

Li Huai, Lin Shouyi, Dong Shuijing, and Shi Chunjia, before returning to their respective academies, had arranged to revisit the schoolhouse together. There wasn’t much to say, just to see the place, perhaps sit for a while.

Dong Shuijing had asked someone he knew in the county government’s registry to procure the keys and open the doors. People were often unaware of Dong Shuijing’s capabilities, or the nickname “Dong Half-City.” However, the glutinous rice wine brewed by Dong Shuijing had long been sold as far away as the Great Li capital. It was even said that the celestial ferry boats, flitting through the clouds like sparrows, stocked this very wine. This was a visible source of boundless wealth.

The four former classmates, Li Huai and Dong Shuijing, carried water together, the shoulder pole, buckets, and rags all borrowed from Li Huai’s ancestral home, packed into the basket that Shi Chunjia carried. Lin Shouyi, being the son of a wealthy family, never wanted for clothing, and hadn’t had much opportunity to do such chores. Today, he also wanted to carry water, but Dong Shuijing laughed and said that he was more familiar with the water source near Li Huai’s house.

Thus, Lin Shouyi, empty-handed, chatted with Shi Chunjia, who walked alongside him.

Both their families had moved to the Great Li capital. Lin Shouyi’s father had been promoted to a government position there, while the Shi family was simply wealthy. In the eyes of the capital’s natives, they were just country bumpkins, reeking of soil. The Shi family hadn’t had much luck in business in recent years, often getting swindled with no recourse. Shi Chunjia had held back from saying too much during their previous meeting at Riding Dragon Lane’s shop, even in jest, due to the crowd. But now, with only Lin Shouyi present, Shi Chunjia openly criticized and complained to Lin Shouyi, saying that her family had faced many setbacks in the capital, finding no help even after offering gifts. They went to Lin Shouyi’s father, but although they were not turned away, they were simply offered tea and pleasantries, and that was that. Lin Shouyi’s father made it clear that he wasn’t willing to help.

Shi Chunjia was now a married woman, no longer the carefree, pigtail-wearing girl she once was. However, the fact that she was willing to openly discuss these matters showed that she still considered Lin Shouyi a friend. How their fathers interacted was their fathers’ business. Shi Chunjia, having left the schoolhouse and academies to become a wife and mother, cherished those early years of learning all the more.

Words of complaint spoken face-to-face meant that there was no resentment harbored in the heart.

Lin Shouyi didn’t try to defend his father or his family, saying, “You know my father’s temperament and the state of my family, don’t you? Back in our school days, who dared to visit my house? Even Bao Ping, as bold as she was, how many times did she go to my house?”

The Lin family’s reputation had always been strange in the small town. They didn’t like to engage in personal relationships with outsiders. Lin Shouyi’s father was even stranger. He was upright and honest in his work at the construction office, a man of few words at home, and nearly tyrannical towards his illegitimate son, Lin Shouyi. That man seemed to maintain a clear distance with everyone. Because he was efficient in his work, he had an excellent reputation in the construction office and got along well with several supervisors. Therefore, aside from the praises of his colleagues, Lin Shouyi, as a family member or son, found him somewhat cold and unfeeling.

The letters he sent to Lin Shouyi during his travels to the Great Sui academy were always concise, like an accounting statement.

No matter how renowned Lin Shouyi was in the Great Sui court, even gaining fame in the Great Li officialdom, that man had always acted as if he didn’t have such a son, never writing a single word telling Lin Shouyi to come home and visit.

Shi Chunjia remembered something and teased, “Lin Shouyi, even some of my friends have heard of you. You must be quite capable for your deeds to have reached the Great Li capital. They say you’ll surely become a virtuous scholar of the academy, even daring to dream of you becoming a *junzi*, or perhaps even a mountain immortal who has achieved cultivation, and with such handsome looks…”

Here, Shi Chunjia turned to size up Lin Shouyi in his green robe. “Wow, you really are handsome. I never noticed it before. Always wearing a stern face, like a little teacher, not very likable.”

Lin Shouyi said, “If you have the guts, say that in front of Bian Wenmao.”

Shi Chunjia laughed, “I never said you were better looking than my husband.”

Lin Shouyi shook his head and said nothing.

Shi Chunjia sighed, “Back then, you and Li Huai had the newest books in the schoolhouse. After a year, they still looked like new. Li Huai didn’t like reading them, always falling asleep, and you were the most careful when reading.”

Lin Shouyi laughed, “You remember such small things?”

Shi Chunjia asked, “If I don’t remember these, what should I remember?”

Lin Shouyi nodded, “It’s a good habit.”

Lin Shouyi hesitated for a moment, then said, “If there’s anything going on in the capital in the future, I’ll ask Bian Wenmao for help.”

Shi Chunjia was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing, pointing her finger at Lin Shouyi. “You’ve always been the least talkative, but with the most convoluted thoughts.”

Where would Lin Shouyi need to ask Bian Wenmao for anything?

Such actions of helping others while also providing them with a platform and ladder were probably unique to Lin Shouyi’s gentleness and kindness.

At the schoolhouse, Li Huai was sweeping while loudly reciting the beginning of a family teaching article, “Rise at dawn, sweep the courtyard!”

He reminisced about the past, when Teacher Qi would start cleaning the schoolhouse early every morning, personally doing everything without asking his servant, Zhao Yao.

Dong Shuijing laughed and chimed in, “Maintain cleanliness both inside and out.”

Shi Chunjia, wiping the desks, heard this and raised the rag in her hand, following with, “Rest at dusk, lock the doors.”

Not far away, Lin Shouyi smiled and said, “Inspect personally.”

Lin Shouyi carefully wiped the window frames. Studying at the foot of the mountain, cultivating on the mountain, cultivating oneself and one’s heart, wasn’t it all the same?

Shi Chunjia’s husband, Bian Wenmao, had also returned to this locust-yellow county town. The small town was part of the county and prefectural seat. Bian Wenmao, having submitted his visiting card, needed to pay a visit to Baoqi Prefect Fu Yu.
Fu Yu was also a scion of a prominent family in the capital. The Bian and Fu families shared some familial ties, both belonging to the Qingliu faction of Great Li. However, the Bian family was far inferior to the Fu family. Nevertheless, the Fu family did not possess the ostentatious wealth and power of the Cao and Yuan clans; they were not among the families of the Pillar State. Fu Yu had once served as the private secretary to Wu Yuan, the first magistrate of Longquan County, and was a man of deep and hidden talents.

After Longquan County was elevated to Longzhou, it governed the four counties of Qingci, Baoxi, Sanjiang, and Xianghuo. Prefect Yuan was promoted in situ from the chief official of Qingci County. The other three prefects were all from the capital, including both aristocratic and commoner origins. Baoxi County was taken into the possession of Fu Yu.

Bian Wenmao was willing to submit his credentials to the Baoxi Prefect’s office, but dared not visit the Qingci Prefect’s office. This was due to the deep-rooted prestige of the Pillar State families.

In fact, although Fu Yu and Yuan’s direct grandson were of equal rank, both being prefects of a county, every time he went to the governor’s official residence in the state capital for discussions, not to mention Fu Yu, even the governor, Wei Li, did not feel at ease in front of that Prefect Yuan.

It was not only Prefect Yuan’s background, but also his own integrity and administrative skills that were key.

Yu Lu and Xie Xie first went to the Yuan ancestral home, and then rushed to the academy, picking two empty seats.

They were both former students from other places at the old Shanya Academy of Great Li, but they were not as close to Teacher Qi as Li Huai and the others. As descendants of the Lu clan who had been displaced to this place, they only met Cui Dongshan, and did not see Teacher Qi, the founder of Shanya Academy and the small town academy.

Coincidentally, Song Jixin and his maid, Zhigui, also revisited the old place today. They did not sit down in the academy classroom. Apart from Zhao Yao, Song Jixin rarely interacted with Lin Shouyi and the others at the academy. Song Jixin took Zhigui to the backyard. He sat at the stone table, where Teacher Qi used to guide him and Zhao Yao in playing chess. Zhigui stood outside the northern firewood gate as usual.

Song Jixin looked desolate, and reached out to dust off the tabletop.

He wondered if Zhao Yao, who always lost to him in chess, was safe and sound now that he was traveling far away in a foreign land.

Song Jixin turned his head and looked at Zhigui, who was bending a willow branch out of boredom.

She tiptoed and gently shook the branch.

Song Jixin looked at her profile, which he never tired of and loved even more. He could not hate her, he did not want to, he could not bear to.

She turned her head, as if completely forgetting the frank conversation that day, and turned back into the maid who depended on Song Jixin. She released her hand and smiled sweetly, “Young master, do you want to play chess?”

Song Jixin shook his head slightly.

In addition to Li Huai and Song Jixin, there were two unexpected big figures from the officialdom who graced the place with their presence.

The diligent and pragmatic Prefect Yuan, and the carefree and romantic Supervisor Cao.

Neither of them brought attendants, one deliberately did not bring them, and the other simply did not have them.

In fact, these two contemporaries, both from the Pillar State families, were once students of the old Shanya Academy in the capital of Great Li.

However, similar to the late Crown Prince Yu Lu, they had never seen Teacher Qi in person, let alone heard his teachings.

Supervisor Cao leaned against the window, with a vermilion gourd hanging from his waist. It was made of ordinary materials, but after so many years in the town, the small gourd had accompanied him for so long that it had been polished and had a pleasing patina. It was Supervisor Cao’s beloved object, worth more than a thousand gold.

Seeing the Prefect Yuan, who had taken off his official robe and put on a blue shirt, Supervisor Cao exclaimed in surprise, “Prefect Yuan is such a busy man, spinning like a top every day, his feet never leaving the ground, his buttocks never touching the chair. Prefect Yuan himself is not dizzy, but it makes others look as if they are drunk. This trip to and from Huaihuang County must delay a lot of serious business.”

Prefect Yuan looked indifferent, “Talking to you is more of a waste of time.”

The Yuan and Cao families of Great Li are now the most famous Pillar State families in the entire Treasure Bottle Continent. The reason is simple: half of the door gods posted across the continent are ancestors of the two families. In the Huaihuang County area, the old porcelain mountain Wen Temple and the Divine Immortal Tomb Wu Temple, the ancestors of the two families were also sculpted into golden statues, enjoying incense as accompanying deities.

Supervisor Cao took off the gourd from his waist, took a small sip, and narrowed his eyes, as if every time he drank, life was complete.

Prefect Yuan stood upright, a world apart from the lazy Supervisor Cao. This Yuan family disciple, who had an excellent reputation in the Great Li officialdom, said, “I wonder if Supervisor Yuan, every time he goes out drunk and staggers home, sees the portrait of the ancestors on the door, will he sober up a bit.”

Supervisor Cao was famous for being unpretentious, and addicted to wine. He did not like to drink heavily, but just took small sips slowly. So it seemed that he was drinking all day long, and his life was the road to buying wine, stopping halfway, chatting and joking with anyone.

Fortunately, the address was the Pottery Affairs Supervision Office in the town, which was a quiet yamen, not under the control of the heavens or the earth. In name, it was directly under the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Personnel in the capital had no right to interfere. In fact, everyone in the Great Li capital knew whether the Ministry of Rites could manage the Longquan Pottery Affairs Supervision Office.

Supervisor Cao had specially instructed the assistant officials to write “good” or “very good” for the performance appraisals of all officials and clerks in the yamen.

Those who only got “good”, if they sent some good wine, then it would be “very good.”

Those who got “very good” last year, if they did not send some wine, then they would no longer be “very good” this year.

The officialdom rules of the Pottery Affairs Supervision Office were that simple, so simple and effortless that the officials, whether from the Qingliu faction or the turbid faction, were all dumbfounded, and then overjoyed. Such an easy-to-deal-with chief official was hard to find even with a lantern.

Supervisor Cao himself did not take his official hat seriously, and the people of the town, over time, saw that this young official was not pretending to be approachable, so they also stopped taking him seriously.

Huang Erniang dared to scold him with a smile. Liu Da Yan Zhu Zi and the like, who had moved to the state capital, also dared to call Supervisor Cao brothers at the wine table, and upon returning to the state capital, they told everyone that they were good buddies with Supervisor Cao. Even those children wearing crotchless pants liked to play and joke with the idle Supervisor Cao. If they complained to their father, it would mostly be useless. If they cried to their mother, as long as the woman was fierce enough, they would dare to strip Supervisor Cao’s clothes.

Supervisor Cao had long spoken the town dialect perfectly. If he spoke to people in the Great Li official language, he would feel uncomfortable instead.

Supervisor Cao glanced at his extremely familiar contemporary, and replied, “I wonder if Prefect Yuan, who is the most observant of etiquette, will kneel down and kowtow every time he sees the door god’s portrait.”
If these two hadn’t come to this small town for experience, as a starting point for their official careers, Prefect Yuan Zhengding would definitely not exchange half a word with the other party. Construction Supervisor Cao Gengxin would most likely take the initiative to speak to Yuan Zhengding, but definitely wouldn’t be able to speak so “euphemistically.”

Yuan Zhengding was silent for a moment, “So neglecting one’s duties, will you have the face to go to Chi’er Street in the future?”

Cao Gengxin swung the wine flask in his hand, smiling, “Walking with my face, ah, Lord Yuan, that’s a very humorous statement. Next time, if anyone in the capital dares to say Lord Yuan’s only flaw is being slightly lacking in humor, I’ll run into them on the road and slap them twice across the face.”

Yuan Zhengding continued to ask, “Do you still remember Guan Yiran and Liu Xunmei? If I remember correctly, these two descendants of generals both liked to follow you around as kids.”

Although their ranks are still not considered particularly high, they are sufficient to be on equal footing with him, Yuan Zhengding, and Cao Gengxin. The key is that the trajectory of their official careers seems to indicate that these two descendants of generals have broken through a major bottleneck.

That is the transformation of their identities from military to civil.

Cao Gengxin smiled, “Lord Yuan, since you don’t recognize who I am, don’t say things as if you do.”

Yuan Zhengding feigned surprise, “Oh? May I ask who you are?”

Cao Gengxin took a sip of wine, “Before I’m properly drunk, I’m Cao the Drunkard. Once I’m properly drunk, then I’m Cao the Great Wine Immortal.”

Yuan Zhengding smiled, “Indeed, a hindrance to serious matters.”

Cao Gengxin shook his head, “I’m here to see Mr. Qi’s direct disciples, especially to ask Brother Dong for some glutinous rice wine that doesn’t require credit. Lord Yuan is different; you’re here to curry favor with the prince. The difference is obvious. I’m the filthy mud in a narrow alley that dirties boots when stepped on, while Lord Yuan is the copper mirror hanging high on the door, possessing high moral character and complete integrity.”

Yuan Zhengding frowned, “All you’ve learned over the years is how to be glib?”

Cao Gengxin retorted, “Have you learned it then?”

Yuan Zhengding said in a deep voice, “This is not child’s play!”

Cao Gengxin secured his small wine flask and cupped his fists, begging for mercy, “Lord Yuan, just focus on your own ability to rise through the ranks, and don’t worry about whether this lazy bum is making progress.”

Yuan Zhengding sighed inwardly.

He greatly dislikes this person’s style, but deep down, Yuan Zhengding still hopes that this scion of the Cao family can put a little more effort into climbing the career ladder.

Of course, Yuan Zhengding is primarily thinking of himself.

Whether in officialdom, the literary world, or the martial world, or on the mountains.

The world is such a strange place; all onlookers love to see evenly matched rivals contending, willing to give them more attention. If someone breaks away early, leaving everyone else behind, it’s not necessarily a good thing.

The responsibilities of the Kiln Affairs Supervisory Office are actually quite extensive.

Yuan Zhengding is very envious.

First, it can prevent thieves and even personally catch them.

The small town’s four surnames and ten clans, Song, Zhao, Lu, Li, Chen, Shi, etc., are all under the Supervisory Office’s power of surveillance. This office, which on the surface only supervises the firing of imperial porcelain, can actually manage anything: Yang’s shop, North Peak Piyun Mountain, Linlu Academy, Dragon Spring Sword Sect, Fallen Mountain, all the immortal mountain peaks west of the town, the academy later established by the Chen family of Dragon Tail Creek, the large and small civil and martial temples of the prefecture and county, the Chenghuang Pavilion and Chenghuang Temple, all mountain and water deities including the Iron Talisman River, the three rivers of Chongdan, Embroidery, and Jade Liquid, Red Candle Town, regional officials, prominent families, commoners, and even those who cultivate the Way, with or without a Peace Talisman, can be investigated by Supervisor Cao if he wishes. The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Rites of Dali will not and dare not hold him accountable.

However, this Supervisor Cao, appointed by the late Emperor, seems to have chosen to manage nothing.

Yuan Zhengding is both happy and worried. He is happy that the peer by his side, who would originally be a mortal enemy in the Dali court, is so incompetent. He is worried that the ambitious young Emperor will find Cao Gengxin displeasing and one day lose patience, no longer respecting the Cao family’s face and simply replacing him. In the future, when Yuan Zhengding seizes the opportunity to be promoted to the position of Governor of Long Prefecture, becoming a truly powerful regional official, he will find himself constrained. After all, the lessons of the past are clear; the new Supervisor will definitely not be so easy to talk to.

Not far from the academy.

Ma Kuxuan and his maid, Shudian, were standing.

They had exchanged glances with Cao Gengxin and Yuan Zhengding, but neither side had any intention of greeting the other.

They were never on the same path.

Ma Kuxuan said, “When my grandmother was alive, she liked to scold people, either to their faces or behind their backs if she didn’t dare to do it in person. Among the people she knew, there were only three she didn’t scold. Mr. Qi of the academy was one of them. My grandmother said Mr. Qi was a truly good person.”

Ma Kuxuan twitched the corner of his mouth, crossed his arms, leaned back, and leaned against a mud wall, “People in my hometown like to speak without restraint and without thinking.”

Ma Kuxuan smiled and then said a strange phrase, “Dang bei dang de ci.”

Shudian didn’t understand at all; it was probably a local saying.

Shudian only knew one thing: the small town’s dialect was mostly monotone, without inflections.

Ma Kuxuan rarely spoke to her in such a non-offensive manner; it was as if he were surprisingly chatting casually, smiling and explaining, “It means that when you hear someone’s words, it’s like carrying a load on your shoulders, whether you can bear that weight.”

A young man who walked out of the ancestral home in Mud Bottle Lane paused for a long time when passing by Chen Pingan’s ancestral home.

Gu Can originally planned to go directly to the prefecture city but, after thinking about it, headed towards the academy.

At the Ox Horn Mountain ferry, a tall man returning home for the first time after leaving town stepped off an intercontinental ferry heading north to North Club Roushou Continent.

Ruan Xiu greeted him with a smile, “Hello, Liu Xianyang.”

Liu Xianyang walked over quickly, his smile radiant, “Miss Ruan!”

Ruan Xiu nodded and tossed him a sword badge. With this item, he could travel far and wide in Long Prefecture.

In fact, Liu Xianyang would be a direct descendant of the Dragon Spring Sword Sect’s Ancestral Hall in a few years.

Liu Xianyang was only on loan to the Chunru Chen family of South Posuo Continent for twenty years.

Liu Xianyang took the sword badge, bid farewell, and immediately flew to his ancestral home, then to a grave near the dragon kiln, and finally returned to the small town.

He blocked Gu Can at the entrance of Mud Bottle Lane and beat him up.

Gu Can didn’t fight back.

A red-clad woman hopping squares in the clouds also changed her mind. After calculating the time, she didn’t go to the Dali capital but detoured back to her hometown.

Looking down, she landed near the academy.
Ruan Xiu went to the New Year’s treat shop in Qilong Lane, eating pastries all the way to the academy.

As a result, the already bustling academy became even more crowded.

Bian Wenmao left the Prefectural Governor’s mansion and arrived at a street near the academy in a carriage. Lifting the curtain, he looked over and was surprised to find that Supervisor Cao and Prefect Yuan were actually standing together.

Bian Wenmao weighed the pros and cons. Since the disciples of those two High Pillar Kingdom officials were present, he decided not to bother with pleasantries. He lowered the curtain and reminded the coachman to move the carriage.

As for the other people near the academy, Bian Wenmao either knew them and had already interacted with them, or they were unfamiliar, so he paid them no attention.

Bian Wenmao was only waiting for Shi Chunjia to leave that small academy, and then they would set off together to return to the capital of Dali.

A seemingly weak scholar had actually gone back on his word, bringing his old Longbo brother, walking cautiously, and wandering into this small town.

As a result, he was attracted by the “commotion” at the academy. Liu Chicheng gritted his teeth and silently told himself that he would just take a look and not cause trouble. Even if some random brat in this tiny place jumped up and slapped him, he would still greet them with a smile!

And so, Liu Chicheng and his old Longbo brother witnessed a scene.

The academy seemed to be dispersing all at once, so at that moment, everyone came into view of the pedestrians on the street.

Ruan Xiu, the girl in green with pigtails.

Li Baoping, wearing a red padded jacket.

Li Huai, Lin Shouyi, Dong Shuijing.

Yu Lu, Xie Xie.

Ma Kuxuan.

Song Jixin, Zhigui.

Liu Xianyang, Gu Can.

Those people, more or less, glanced at Liu Chicheng standing on the side of the road.

Especially Gu Can, with a playful smile.

Liu Chicheng felt his scalp tingle, regretting it to the core. He shouldn’t have come, absolutely shouldn’t have come.

If they were alone, he would have slapped his old Longbo brother a long time ago. He was being foolish, and the brother didn’t even try to dissuade him. What kind of bosom buddy was that?

Although Chai Bofu had lost his cultivation, he still had his insight. However, he was even tougher than Liu Chicheng. He figured he was a dead man walking anyway, so they could just take him.

Liu Chicheng humbly asked, “Old Longbo brother, if you were to make a living here, how long do you think you’d last?”

Chai Bofu was speechless.

Just as those people were moving further and further away from the academy and closer to the street.

Chai Bofu felt increasingly suffocated.

Liu Chicheng stopped speaking in his mind and said to his old Longbo brother with a smile, “Do you know that Chen Ping’an and I are the closest of friends?!”

Chai Bofu thought for a moment and nodded, “Me too.”