After saying these words, the Confucian scholar chuckled self-deprecatingly. What precious value could a disciple of Qi Jingchun possibly possess these days? A roomful of elementary students, each paying a paltry three hundred copper coins a year as tuition, some of the poorer children offering merely three strips of cured meat.

Qi Jingchun gazed at the resolute youth, unwilling to relent, and inquired, “Deep down, you are reluctant to kill him. But the problem is, this person seems determined to kill you, no matter what. So, is it better to kill him decisively, ensuring your own safety for the time being, and deal with tomorrow’s problems tomorrow? Or do you hope to smooth things over, turning a major issue into a minor one, and a minor one into nothing? Am I right?”

The young man, who often eavesdropped on the reading seeds next door reciting poems, blurted out, “How does the Master instruct me?”

Qi Jingchun smiled. “Chen Ping’an, why don’t you try releasing your right hand first, and then decide if you want to wander around with me. I have a responsibility I cannot shirk; I must give you an explanation.”

Chen Ping’an hesitated for a moment, then released his grip, opening his right hand. He was astonished to find that Fu Nanhua remained perfectly still, his eyes, hair, and breath all frozen in place.

After Qi Jingchun activated the great formation, the town returned to a state of suspended animation.

Qi Jingchun said softly, “Stay close and try not to stray more than ten steps away from me.”

The middle-aged scholar, his robes fluttering and his form ethereal, led the way towards the end of the alley. Chen Ping’an followed closely behind, glancing down at his left palm, a bloody mess with the bone visible. Yet, the blood, plainly visible, had stopped flowing.

Qi Jingchun walked ahead, smiling as he asked, “Chen Ping’an, do you believe in gods, spirits, demons, and monsters?”

Chen Ping’an nodded. “I do. When I was little, my mother often told old stories, urging me to believe that good is rewarded and evil is punished. She said that more than anything else, so I remember it very well. Other things, like water ghosts in the streams that drag children down, or the underworld officials in the ruined temple north of the city who hear cases at night, or that the door gods we paste up actually come to life in the evening and protect our homes. I didn’t really believe these things before, but… now, I think they’re probably true.”

Qi Jingchun said softly, “Some of what she said is true, and some is not. As for the idea of good being rewarded and evil being punished, that’s hard to say for certain. Because the definition of good and evil differs greatly between ordinary people, emperors and generals, and immortal cultivators. So their conclusions will be very different.”

Chen Ping’an hid the porcelain shard, quickened his pace to walk alongside the scholar, and looked up to ask, “Master Qi, may I ask a question?”

Qi Jingchun seemed to see through the boy’s thoughts, and said calmly, “This town is the burial ground, the final resting place, of the last true dragon in this world. Countless lesser dragons beneath the heavens believe that this place possesses the most potent destiny, destined to ‘produce a dragon’ one day. In fact, for three thousand years, the ‘dragon production’ has been delayed, but the children born in this town do possess superior aptitude, temperament, and opportunities compared to their peers from outside. Even the descendants born from unions of famous immortal cultivators in Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent are no better. Of course, not every child in this town has astonishing talent.”

Qi Jingchun smiled, not delving deeper into the matter, probably afraid of hurting the boy’s feelings, and changed the subject. “The senior cultivators who participated in the slaughter of the dragon were nearly all severely wounded. Many settled here, building huts and cultivating, resigned to a peaceful death. Some couples were fortunate enough to survive together, and some, after fighting side by side, naturally became a couple. Over three thousand years of breeding and growing, the town has reached its current size. In the territory of the Great Li Dynasty, this place was first called Daze Township, later renamed Dragon Abyss by a saint, and then, to avoid the taboo of a certain Great Li emperor’s name, it was changed again…”

The boy, who had been holding his question in his stomach for so long, finally couldn’t help but interrupt Qi Jingchun’s words, clenching his fists, full of longing and anticipation. “Master, the question I really wanted to ask is, what kind of people were my parents…?”

Qi Jingchun fell into contemplation. “Since that wandering Daoist has already revealed some secrets to you, I can follow the opening he created and tell you some things. In my memory, your father was a simple and kind person, of ordinary talent, not worth being taken away from the town. Naturally, he became a burden in some people’s eyes, seen as a bad deal. Perhaps out of anger, or perhaps because life was truly difficult, the porcelain buyer outside the town tampered with your father’s ‘natal porcelain’. After that, not only did he suffer many hardships, but he also brought suffering to you and your mother. Later, for some reason, he accidentally learned the secret of the natal porcelain, knowing that once it was fired and taken away from the town, he would become a puppet for life. He secretly smashed your natal porcelain. If I remember correctly, it should have been a porcelain paperweight.”

Qi Jingchun said in a deep voice, “You must know that every infant born in the town each year has a code name that is filed away, and there are people in town who specialize in using secret techniques to extract a drop of blood from the heart and infuse it into the natal porcelain that will be fired. A girl’s natal porcelain must be fired for six years, and a boy’s even longer, with the kiln fire never allowed to go out for nine years. The child’s talent, like the quality of ordinary fired porcelain, is left to fate and luck. But the price for ‘betting on the porcelain’ after it is cast is very high. Although your aptitude is now equally mediocre, you can imagine the fury of the porcelain buyer outside the town when your father resolutely smashed that porcelain paperweight.”

“As for your mother, she was a gentle and virtuous woman.”

Qi Jingchun smiled suddenly. “When your mother married your father, many of her peers in town were quite upset. But to be honest, asking me to recount the details of your parents’ lives is difficult. After coming here, I have many things to do besides teaching.”

The young man hmm’d in agreement, gently turning his head away, wiping his face haphazardly with his hand. He had probably forgotten the terrible condition of his left hand, and his face was smeared with blood, but he couldn’t bear to wipe it with his sleeve.

The two passed under the twelve-legged archway.

Qi Jingchun, not looking at him, spoke frankly with the boy, “When the true dragon fell here, four saints personally appeared and established a covenant, stipulating that every sixty years, someone would be replaced to sit here and help guard the remaining destiny left after the true dragon died. In fact, there was some debate about whether to eradicate the roots… But telling you these unspeakable secrets would harm you. In general, people from the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, plus a soldier, are the four main sides. The remaining hundred schools of thought, blessed lands, immortal sects, wealthy clans, and so on from the Eastern Treasure Bottle Continent all have a certain share and opportunity to benefit here. It is laughable that the number of ‘porcelain buying’ spots within a century has almost become the marker of whether a sect or family is considered first-class.”

Chen Ping’an said, “I don’t understand what the Master is saying, but I’ve memorized it all. But knowing that my parents were good people today is enough for me.”

Qi Jingchun smiled, “I don’t expect you to understand now; it’s just some foreshadowing. Otherwise, simply telling you not to kill Fu Nanhua, you definitely wouldn’t listen. The reason I don’t want you to kill him is not because I, Qi Jingchun, pity him, nor is it because I hope he, Fu Nanhua, and Old Dragon City will be grateful and I can get some benefits in the future. It’s not like that. In fact, it’s the opposite. We Confucian disciples advocate entering the world, and we are most opposed to the recklessness of cultivators. The two sides have been fighting openly and secretly for countless years. If I, Qi Jingchun, were the same age as when I first went to Cliff Academy to study, then whether it was Liu Zhimao, the River-Cutting True Monarch, or Fu Nanhua, the young city lord of Old Dragon City, there would be no chance of survival; I would have destroyed them with a single palm.”

The boy realized that at this moment, Master Qi, although his tone was still gentle and his walking posture was still elegant, gave off a completely different feeling.

It was like when Old Yao was drunk and said that the porcelain we fire is for the Emperor, who can compare?

When Master Qi said he would destroy others with a single palm, it was the same tone, but with the same expression as Old Yao at that time.

Qi Jingchun frowned, looked up towards Mud Bottle Lane, as if listening to someone speak, although he didn’t show any annoyance, the displeasure in his eyes was undisguised.

He finally said coldly, “Leave quickly!”

Chen Ping’an looked bewildered.

Qi Jingchun explained, “It’s that storyteller, whose real name is Liu Zhimao, Daoist name River-Cutting True Monarch. He’s actually a heretical Daoist with decent cultivation but poor character. Cai Jinjian and Fu Nanhua’s grudges with you were mostly stirred up by him. In the end, he planted an unorthodox curse in your heart, a four-word mantra, secretly engraving the words ‘一心求死’ (一心求死, Determined to Seek Death) in your heart, a very vicious method.”

Chen Ping’an silently remembered the name Liu Zhimao.

Qi Jingchun sighed and asked, “Aren’t you curious why I didn’t intervene?”

Chen Ping’an shook his head.

Qi Jingchun said to himself, “This world is like old porcelain that has been weathered for three thousand years, on the verge of breaking apart. You are, after all, outsiders, and with the protection of the great formation, no matter what you do, as long as it’s not too excessive, it won’t cause the porcelain to shatter. But I am the one holding the porcelain. My every move will affect the cracks in this porcelain. In fact, whatever I do, it will only increase and spread those cracks. If it were just the porcelain breaking, it would be fine, but the fate of these five or six thousand people in this town, in this life and the next, is in my hands. How can I be careless?”

However, Qi Jingchun spoke too quietly about these words that had been pent up for many years, and Chen Ping’an strained his ears but couldn’t hear clearly.

Qi Jingchun looked at the boy who was wiping his face with his right hand from time to time. The two had already reached the Iron Lock Well in Apricot Blossom Lane, where a woman was bending over to draw water. Qi Jingchun asked, “If a stranger falls into the well, and you will die if you save them, do you save them or not?”

Chen Ping’an thought for a moment and asked back, “I want to know, can I really save that person?”

Qi Jingchun didn’t answer the boy’s question, but smiled and said, “Remember, a gentleman does not save.”

The boy was stunned and asked in confusion, “A gentleman?”

Qi Jingchun hesitated for a moment, squatted down, straightened the straw-shoed boy’s clothes, and then wiped away the bloodstains with his hand, saying softly, “When encountering misfortune, first have compassion, but a gentleman is not a pedantic person. He can go to the well to save people, but he will never put himself in a deadly situation.”

It seemed that this question had aroused his thoughts.

The boy asked seriously, “Master, can I still live? If so, how long can I live?”

Qi Jingchun thought carefully, slowly stood up, and said decisively, “If you are not afraid of a rough road ahead and enduring great hardship, you will definitely be able to live.”

The boy immediately smiled brightly and said naturally, “I’m not afraid of hardship!”

Qi Jingchun, thinking about the boy’s composure along the way, was relieved. “Let’s go, I’ll take you to a place. Although I, Qi Jingchun, can’t help you much, but since things have come to this, letting you get through this calamity is not considered breaking the rules. In fact, I should have compensated you with an opportunity.”

The boy was confused.

The two came to the old locust tree. For some reason, the town inside and outside was silent, only this old locust seemed to be the only exception, its leaves swaying gently, graceful and beautiful.

After Qi Jingchun stopped, his expression became solemn, bowed, and looked up to ask, “Can Qi Jingchun ask you for a locust leaf so that the boy can leave the town safely in the future, and at least within three years, not suffer the backlash of disaster?”

The thousand-year-old locust tree was silent.

Qi Jingchun asked again, “Qi Jingchun has been stationed here for fifty-nine years, if not for merit then for hard work, can’t I even ask for a locust leaf of ancestral grace? Besides, the boy is originally a resident of your town. Why are you so stingy, venerable predecessors?”

The old locust still had no response.

The silence was like a silent mockery.

You, Qi Jingchun, have great powers, but you are still one within this heaven and earth, and you are even the pitiful one who presides over the key to the great formation. What can you do if we are unwilling to freely bestow this incense favor?

Qi Jingchun’s expression was uncertain, and finally he could only sigh and look down, filled with guilt.

The boy grinned and comforted him, “Daoist Lu said that as long as I go to the south side of the town and find a blacksmith surnamed Ruan to be his apprentice, there is hope to live. Master Qi, without this… locust leaf, I believe there won’t be any problems!”

Qi Jingchun smiled and asked, “Truthfully?”

The boy scratched his head and said shyly, “False.”

Qi Jingchun smiled knowingly.

Suddenly.

A vibrant, verdant locust leaf fell gently from the highest point of the canopy.

The boy simply reached out his palm, and the leaf fell into his hand on its own.

On the leaf, there was a golden character, flashing and disappearing.

Qi Jingchun was somewhat astonished. After a moment, he said in a deep voice, “This character is ‘Yao’. Chen Ping’an, are you willing to repay the Yao family’s kindness, regardless of life or death?! To be honest, even without this leaf, you may not be without a glimmer of hope, and I can tell you that clearly. So you must think carefully!”

The boy asked, “Is it the ‘Yao’ character of Yao Shifu (master)?”

Qi Jingchun nodded, “Exactly.”

The boy put his hands together, gently clasping the locust leaf in his palm, and said loudly, “As long as I live, as long as it is a person with the surname Yao related to you, just like Master Qi said before, even if he falls into a well, even if saving him means certain death, I, Chen Ping’an, will save him!”

The world became silent.

Qi Jingchun smiled, “Let’s go.”

As he led the boy away, he quietly turned his head and looked at the highest point of the locust tree, Qi Jingchun’s face showing a hint of sarcasm.

The “Chen” locust leaves were not non-existent, in fact there were more than just one or two, but in the end, knowing that this place was about to collapse, they would rather seek another host, even if they weren’t surnamed Chen, and still no ancestral shade was willing to look favorably on the straw-shoed boy from Mud Bottle Lane.

Qi Jingchun turned his head, touched the boy’s head, and joked, “If it were Song Jixin, Zhao Yao, or Gu Can, if they made such a grand vow as you did before, it might have triggered a resonance with heaven and earth.”

The boy smiled brightly, “I can’t control that, I’ll just do my own thing.”

Qi Jingchun asked again, “Is that the truth this time?”

The boy smiled, “It is!”