Okay, here is the rewritten passage, adhering to standard English grammar and retaining the original pronouns and Xianxia novel style:

“Ruan Xiu hurried back to the blacksmith shop, finding only her father sitting on a bamboo chair under the eaves. She handed him the wine pot, then sat on another chair. “Father, have you finished discussing matters?”

Ruan Qiong opened the wine pot, not even needing to drink, just sniffing it caused him a headache. It was indeed Peach Blossom Spring Brew, but not the superior kind that cost two taels of silver. It was clearly the cheapest Spring Brew, worth only eight qian of silver per pot. Ruan Qiong, out of the corner of his eye, saw his daughter looking guilty, her hands twisting the hem of her clothes, her gaze darting around, obviously afraid of him exposing her deception. Ruan Qiong sighed inwardly, forced himself to pretend he had noticed nothing, and tilted his head back to gulp down some wine. He truly felt a bellyful of frustration and resentment. The man spoke slowly, “Finished. It went alright. Later, I’ll have someone go to the kiln affairs yamen, find that Dali official named Wu Yuan, and get the new and old maps of the mountain and river terrain. I estimate Chen Ping’an will come to ask me for them when he comes to his senses.”

Ruan Xiu was relieved, and with a smile, she let out an “Oh,” extending her legs straight out and stretching languidly. She leaned comfortably against the smooth, cool back of the small bamboo chair.

Ruan Qiong thought of how he was about to establish a foothold here; the beginning was always difficult, but this seemed like a good omen, and his mood improved somewhat. He actually spoke a few words of praise for Chen Ping’an, “That boy from Mud Bottle Alley, while simple in nature, isn’t stupid.”

Ruan Xiu happily retorted, “Father, that’s called profound wisdom disguised as simplicity, you know?”

Ruan Qiong chuckled, saying nothing.

In his heart, the man grumbled, *What profound wisdom disguised as simplicity do I know?*

Ruan Qiong gazed at the distant stream, holding the neck of the wine pot with two fingers, gently shaking it. “There are some things that Father can’t say to him directly, lest he overthink and misunderstand, and end up making things worse. Tomorrow, when you see him, you can tell him.”

Ruan Xiu asked curiously, “What is it?”

Ruan Qiong was silent for a moment, then lifted the wine pot and took a small sip of the fiery liquor before saying, “Tell him not to expect anything from Dragon Spine Mountain. Even some Upper Fifth Realm individuals without backing wouldn’t dare to ask for it. Wind and Snow Temple and True Martial Mountain spent no small amount of effort, plus my current position, to barely take it. There are still many secretly envious people, gnashing their teeth behind the scenes. Of course, you don’t need to explain these convoluted details to Chen Ping’an; just tell him plainly not to think too much about Dragon Spine Mountain. Secondly, since the Dali Dynasty is selling mountains at low prices, there are only about sixty or so in total. Chen Ping’an can buy, at most, five mountain peaks. Any more, and it would be difficult for me to protect him and his mountains. Thirdly, Father has just made the decision to demand the three mountains, with Divine Radiance Mountain as the core, from Dali. When you let Chen Ping’an look over the maps, tell him to pay attention to the sizes of surrounding mountains next to Divine Radiance Mountain, Lamp Picking Mountain, and Spear Leaning Peak. Father isn’t an unreasonable man; I won’t make him spend all of his money there. I only need him to put up half the price of gold essence coins. Come to think of it, if he’s truly clever, buying more mountains surrounding your father’s two mountains and one peak is the right path. Finally, you can also tell him that if he can spare a few copper coins, he should buy a few shops in town. I estimate that many good shops will be up for sale soon, because many town establishments with connections outside will likely relocate, so the prices will definitely be cheap, at most one copper coin.”

Ruan Xiu tentatively asked, “Father, why don’t you buy the New Year’s money shops? You collected my two bags of copper coins. Can you return one coin to me first? Just one, how about it?”

Ruan Qiong gave a forced smile. “Don’t even think about the copper coins Father has saved. I advise you to give up that thought immediately. By the way, you can let Chen Ping’an foot the bill; he’s the big moneybags of our little town now.”

Ruan Xiu unhesitatingly said, “How can I do that? He’s so poor. He has to borrow over ten taels of silver from other people.”

Ruan Qiong’s lips twitched. He couldn’t help but turn his head and ask, “Oh, Father’s money isn’t money, but Chen Ping’an’s is?”

Ruan Xiu giggled. “He and I aren’t that close.”

Ruan Qiong nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. They weren’t that close? Not that close, yet you could disregard your conscience and make your father drink this awful wine, all so you could line your pockets in order to lend money to that bastard? Daughter, how close do you think you have to be considered close? Ruan Qiong harshly gulped down some of the tasteless liquor, stood up. “Anyway, I’ve said what needs to be said. You pick and choose what you want to tell Chen Ping’an tomorrow.”

The man strode away, knowing with absolute certainty that his daughter would be saying everything tomorrow, both what should be said and what shouldn’t.

Ruan Qiong became increasingly aggrieved. He couldn’t scold his daughter, and he couldn’t hit that little rascal digging at the corner of the wall with his hoe, so the man could only mutter a curse under his breath. He strolled to a deserted clearing, tossed away the empty wine pot that he had finished despite its awful taste, and his figure shot into the sky, instantly landing in front of the shop selling Peach Blossom Spring Brew. The shop was naturally closed for the night. He knocked loudly on the door. Soon, a woman groggily got out of bed and opened the door from the backyard, grumbling all the while: “So eager to die and reincarnate?” “Drinking at this hour, why don’t you drink urine? At least it won’t cost money.” “Dare to knock on a widow’s door at night, aren’t you afraid this old woman will break your legs?” She was not polite at all.

Ruan Qiong stood at the door, his face grim, not saying a word.

Seeing that it was Blacksmith Ruan, the woman glanced at the middle-aged man’s tightly flexed arm muscles in the moonlight, and her face immediately transformed. Her eyes became sultry, and she enthusiastically grasped the man’s arm, which felt as hard as iron. As a long drought meets timely rain, the woman’s smile grew even more eager. When she was leading the way, one stumble was all it took and she was about to fall into the man’s arms. But the blacksmith remained clueless, gently holding her shoulders. In the end, he threw down some silver, grabbed two pots of wine, and strode away.

The woman stood at the door, her face full of mockery, and she loudly teased, “Such a healthy, strapping man, yet as soft as his surname! Soft Ruan! I mean, Ruan Blacksmith! If you come to my shop for wine in the future, I’ll have to charge you double! If Ruan Blacksmith has a backbone someday, I might not charge you anything at all. Free wine, free woman.”

Ruan Qiong walked indifferently all the way to the end of the street, his figure flashing, and he didn’t return to the shop south of town, but went to the north, arriving at the foot of a small mountain.

It was a mountain made entirely of broken porcelain.

Ruan Qiong randomly found a place thirty paces from this mountain and sat down cross-legged.

A voice rang out not far away, “What a coincidence, you’re here too.”

Ruan Qiong nodded and tossed over a pot of wine.

The old man caught the wine, weighing it in his hand. He clicked his tongue. “Buying wine from Widow Liu’s shop at this hour; any man is going to suffer a loss.”

Ruan Qiong, of course, didn’t want to talk about that. He instead asked, “Old Mr. Yang, who exactly is that youth beside the new Superintendent Wu Yuan? I can’t see through him. On the surface, he seems no different from an ordinary person.”

The old man was none other than Old Man Yang from Yang’s shop. He took a sip of wine. “The old saying goes, those who come are not good, and those who are good do not come. Right?”

After saying that, Old Man Yang laughed and looked up.

At the peak of the porcelain mountain stood a youth in a green robe, his hands folded in his sleeves, a beauty mark between his eyebrows, and a spring-like smile.

The youth took a hand out of his sleeve and waved it. “Knock when entering a door, worship when entering a temple. I know the rules. I met Ruan Master first, and then came to see Old Yang. My etiquette can’t be faulted.”

Old Man Yang didn’t continue drinking. He somehow found a rope and tied the wine pot around his waist. Taking a puff of his pipe, he laughed, “Entering the mountains and marshes, one draws talismans for deterrence. I just don’t know if you’re drawing ghost talismans or immortal talismans?”

The youth put his hand away, leaned forward slightly, and said with a smile, “Regardless of how Old Yang and Ruan Master misunderstand, I guarantee that after I’ve greeted both of you, there will be no more interaction. Well, if there is, it’ll probably just be the establishment of the City God Pavilion. For the moment, I am in charge and will slightly overlap with both of you. As for the Wenchang Pavilion and Martial Saint Temple, I can’t manage those. I can only manage a sesame seed-sized City God Pavilion.”

According to the saying in town, within the boundary of a county, the magistrate has full authority over all affairs of the Yang realm. As for the lofty, clay City God, he is actually responsible for watching over the nighttime and yin creatures under his jurisdiction.

Ruan Master frowned deeply. Was he a tribute from the Ministry of Rites of the Dali Dynasty? Or an alchemist from the Imperial Observatory?

But regardless of whether his roots were in the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Observatory, or somewhere in the Dali Imperial Palace, since he dared to stand so brazenly on the peak of Porcelain Mountain, he was definitely at least a Tenth Floor cultivator standing at the highest point of the Middle Fifth Realm.

So, this youth was definitely not a youth.

The refined cultivator with what looked like a cinnabar spot on his brow looked at Old Man Yang and said, “Old sir, I’m saying this in advance: A cautious ship sails for ten thousand years.”

Old Man Yang took a hard puff of his pipe, only exhaling an extremely thin wisp of smoke that quickly and silently dissipated into the world.

The seemingly refined youth still had his hands in his sleeves, but his sleeve moved slightly, as if he was forming hand seals with his fingers.

Ruan Qiong heavily sighed. “For my sake, let’s just drop this. Otherwise, if the three of us fight, are we really going to ruin this area for a thousand miles?”

The youth immediately took his hands out of his sleeves, raising them high, with the suspicion that he’s turning to another direction after seeing the wind. He smiled and said, “I have no problem with that.”

Old Man Yang sniffed, and two imperceptible wisps of blue-purple smoke quickly flew into the old man’s nose.

The old man coldly laughed. “You know quite a lot.”

The youth reached out and pinched his nose. “Not too much, not too little, just right. For example, I only know that I should call you Qing…Grand Master, not Old Mr. Yang.”

The youth deliberately left out one word.

It wasn’t a joke or out of amusement, but the moment that word was about to escape his lips, he truly felt the old man’s killing intent, resolute and decisive, so he chose to temporarily retreat a step.

The youth leaned backward and fell, laughing. “Let’s say goodbye here. I hope there is no more meeting. Yangguan Road, a single-log bridge, or Ghost Gate, let’s go our separate ways and show our own skills.”

The youth in the green robe disappeared.

Ruan Qiong said in a deep voice, “He might be in the Upper Fifth Realm!”

Old Man Yang chuckled, “Making a fuss over nothing. You, Ruan Qiong, are also in the Upper Fifth Realm. Even if East Treasure Bottle Continent is small, it is still one of the Nine Continents. Don’t say Eleventh or Twelfth Floor, even a Thirteenth Floor alchemist has a chance to emerge.”

Ruan Qiong’s mood wasn’t relaxed, and he shook his head. “I’m just newly entered Eleventh Floor, my realm hasn’t stabilized yet. Although I come from a military background and am decent at attacking and killing techniques, still…”

The old man shook his head and turned to leave, holding his pipe and exhaling smoke. “Just be content. There are countless cultivators in the world, and Tenth Floor cultivators are already as rare as phoenix feathers and dragon scales, let alone those in the Upper Fifth Realm. In the end, you’re wary of that person, but that person is wary of you. Porcelain hitting jade, you two are actually nervous.”

Ruan Qiong thought about it, and not being the type to obsess over things, he simply stopped caring about the strange youth’s origins. It was best if they didn’t interfere with each other; harmony begets wealth.

With a thunderous boom, Ruan Qiong’s figure soared into the sky, and after reaching the sea of clouds, he swiftly plummeted toward the stream bank.

Old Man Yang, leisurely sauntering back to town, smiled. “Youthful vigor, ah.”

————

A youth in a green robe walked in the alleys of town, muttering to himself, “Night curfew has to be implemented, night watchmen has to be in place, market also has to be established, everything is waiting to be rebuilt, our county magistrate will have a lot to do.”

The handsome youth with a beauty mark between his eyebrows lightly twirled a string of old keys, entering an alley called Erlang Alley, which was next to Apricot Blossom Alley. It was said that two incredibly formidable figures had emerged from the family line, but no one could say who they were or what they did. Over time, it became yet another of the old men’s mystical tales under the old locust tree.

Now that the old locust tree had fallen, the town’s popularity seemed to have diminished a lot at once. Children didn’t feel it so deeply, young people felt the view was more open, but there were more empty space instead. Only nostalgic old people would occasionally sigh. Erlang Alley and Apricot Blossom Alley weren’t inhabited by wealthy families, but they were better than those below them. For example, the people near Mud Bottle Alley mostly couldn’t hold their heads up when they saw people from these two alleys. Granny Ma and her grandson Ma Ku Xuan lived in Apricot Blossom Alley and were considered to be doing quite well in town.

The youth stopped in front of a residence. On the door were two new, brightly colored door gods. The youth looked up at one of them, an silver-armored god holding a short halberd, imposing, standing on one leg, fierce and glaring. The youth laughed, “Returning home in brocade, nothing more than this.”

The youth opened the door and entered. It was a small but exquisite house, with a square courtyard open to the sky, and a pond dug in the ground. The ventilation was excellent, and the second floor had a beauty railing, suitable for stargazing at night and appreciating snow in winter. The youth was very satisfied, muttering that it was a good place to cultivate.

The youth moved a carved wooden chair and sat by the pond, flicked his sleeves, and with a rustling sound, a large pile of broken porcelain slid out, ranging in size from fists to grains of rice, countless in number. In the end, it filled the top, probably more than one basket could hold, all floating in the air above the pond under the courtyard.

This move was truly having a world within a sleeve.

The youth looked around, rubbed his eyebrows, and muttered to himself, “Where to start?”

“It’s you.” In the end, he picked a date-red piece with the most appeal, and with a slight thought, it flew out of the pile of porcelain, and stopped quietly in the air a foot in front of him.

After that, pieces of porcelain constantly flew out of that small mountain and came in front of the youth, and then were gently placed by him somewhere.

It was like piecing together a porcelain.”

———–

“The next day, at the blacksmith shop, Ruan Xiu gave Chen Ping’an two maps, one old, with yellowed paper. On the map, mountains rose and fell, but the names of the mountains were all A-one, B-three, and so on. On the new map, which still had the fresh scent of ink, in addition to that, there were also Dragon Spine Mountain, True Pearl Mountain, Divine Radiance Mountain, and other names that weren’t so boring, and finally, there was also “Dali Dragon Spring County.”

Ruan Xiu pointed to the place names and mountain names, explaining and introducing them to Chen Ping’an one by one, and finally reminded him, “Although the locations on the two maps look like they only shifted by the size of a fingernail, when you enter the mountains, you’ll find that it may be a difference of several *li*. Because after the Liyuan Jade Mansion landed on Dali soil, the surface shook greatly, and even some mountain peaks with unstable roots collapsed and shattered at that time. This will also create many accidents on your path forward. You must be careful.”

Chen Ping’an carefully put away the two maps, and finally carried a basket on his back. Similar to the last time he brought Chen Duo and the others into the mountains, he apologized to Ruan Xiu, “This time, I’ll try to reach the area of Lamp Picking Mountain and Spear Leaning Peak on the map. I estimate I’ll return here in at least half a month, at most a month.”

Ruan Xiu softly said, “That’s so long. Will you have enough food?”

Chen Ping’an held back a smile. “I’m used to being in the mountains. I can eat wild game and mountain fruits, and I can find them. I promise I won’t starve myself.”

Ruan Xiu nodded and smiled, “My father promised to lend you those ten taels of silver. After you leave the mountain, I’ll definitely be able to give it to you.”

Chen Ping’an thought for a moment, and still told the truth, “Miss Ruan, don’t wrong yourself. I can find a way to get the money myself. You can’t really insist on not eating the snacks from the New Year’s money shop for ten days and a half, can you?”

Ruan Xiu’s face turned red, wondering how he knew the truth.

Chen Ping’an was a little helpless, smiling without speaking. *I thought that with Master Ruan’s bad temper, it would be strange if he were willing to lend me the silver, so it’s not that my eyes are sharp, but that Miss Ruan’s disguise is really not clever.*

Seeing her a little disappointed, Chen Ping’an quickly comforted her. “Miss Ruan, I appreciate your kindness. Thank you.”

Ruan Xiu smiled.

She suddenly said, “I’ll see you off.”

Chen Ping’an had already strode away, turning his head and waving his hand. “No need, I know the way very well. I can walk with my eyes closed.”

The girl with the ponytail softly said “Oh,” and then waved goodbye to him.

After Chen Ping’an walked out of Ruan’s shop, he ran upstream along the creek.

Chen Ping’an wasn’t interested in the mountains near the town. Although they weren’t big and the prices weren’t high, he didn’t want to buy them here. They were too close to the town, and he couldn’t stand the spotlight. Also, Master Ruan had said a few suggestive words before. The mountains in this area, including “Earth True Mountain” and “Distant Curtain Peak,” originally had good foundations, but unfortunately, they had been hollowed out over the years, so they were just embroidered pillows. He had to keep going west until he reached True Pearl Mountain before it would improve somewhat.

Chen Ping’an walked for a full day and night, only resting for less than two hours, before finally climbing to the top of a small mountain, taking a deep breath. His lungs were filled with the fragrance of mountain herbs and trees.

The boy in straw sandals straightened his chest, stomped his feet heavily, and said heroically, “This is mine!”