Chapter 9 Little Fairy, I trouble you, young lady, to teach me. ...
Is this an apology for saying something unpleasant? Yu Nie thought to himself, a smile appearing on his face as he looked up: "Thank you, Captain."
"No need to be polite." Zi Jing propped his head up, tilted his head, and his eyes were as bright as stars. His smile was captivating. He raised his chin in confusion and asked, "What book is the young Taoist priest reading? Could it be the 'Shangqing Dadong Zhenjing'?"
Yu Nie picked up her notebook and showed it to him: "No, this is my own notebook for recording important matters."
Zi Jing seemed to understand something: "What you wrote on it doesn't look like seal script, but rather like something used by a foreign tribe." He spoke in a polite and gentle tone, like a friendly neighbor: "May I take a look?"
"Here, take this." Even though his words were a bit unpleasant, his attitude was respectful. She didn't mind much and generously placed it next to his teacup: "Take a look."
The book had a blue cover and was about the same size as the books held by the gentry, nobles, and aristocratic children at the Imperial Academy, about half a finger's width thick.
Picking up the important matters book from the long table, Zi Jing opened it and found it filled with densely packed characters he couldn't understand. He carefully read through it, and apart from the less than a hundred characters written in small seal script that he could understand, the rest was nothing short of cryptic to him.
He glanced up at her. Yu Nie didn't even look at him, continuing to enjoy her congee. This book seemed unimportant to her.
He pondered for a long time, gazing at her intently. His fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the table.
Yu Nie was enjoying her breakfast without noticing anything amiss. Once the porridge cooled down, she wolfed it down in a few bites and wiped her mouth clean.
At the same moment she put down the coarse linen cloth, the person opposite her remained expressionless and turned his gaze back to the open book.
Seeing that he was still carefully flipping through the documents, his expression as serious as if he were grading a memorial, she couldn't help but tease, "Can you understand it, sir?"
At this time, it must have been several hundred years before regular script appeared. Of course, she knew he couldn't understand it; she was just teasing him.
Who told him to scare her like that yesterday afternoon, making her tremble with fear for a long time?
Zi Jing realized she was teasing him, and the smile on the young man's lips deepened. He spoke gently: "I am just a rough man who wields knives and spears. I have never even stepped into the Imperial Academy. Unlike you, young Taoist priest, who is learned and full of knowledge."
As soon as he finished speaking, he placed the book between the two of them. His eyes and brows were as warm as a spring breeze, with a touch of laziness. He met her gaze and said, "Then I'll trouble you, young Taoist priest, to teach me."
During the ten years or so that she lived in the Taoist temple, apart from Ahui, Yu Nie had not come into contact with any other men of similar age to herself.
Even in her past life, it was all about "nothing." Back then, she moved frequently and was busy with her studies, so she didn't have any male friends, or even two close friends with the same surname.
Perhaps it was because she hadn't been this close to a man in a long time, but being stared at like that by him made her cheeks flush and she felt embarrassed.
She thought to herself, "No way, Rong Yune is just a handsome guy, and he's blushing already?!"
Perhaps speechless at her own blushing, she blinked, but instead of turning her head away, she stared at him with a stubbornness and asked, "Which sentence do you want to know the meaning of, sir?"
Zi Jing raised his hand, which landed on the first page, and casually pointed to a line of text.
She looked closely and said, "Oh, this." She placed her arms on the long table and read to him, "This is called hydrogen-helium-lithium-beryllium-boron."
He raised an eyebrow slightly: "A spell?"
“It’s a formula…” Suddenly, she stopped speaking as if realizing something, her eyes dimming instantly. Even if she explained it countless times, no one in this world would understand what a “formula” meant.
It's better not to say anything at all, and just use language that everyone can understand.
Seeing her suddenly stop, Zi Jing remained calm.
She then explained, “It’s a technique I discussed with the adults yesterday, and it can also be used as a method.” She turned a few pages, her slender white fingertips circling two formulas: “For example, combining these two techniques can create ice, which can preserve food from spoiling even in midsummer.”
Zi Jing looked at the characters he couldn't understand and asked with interest, "Are the techniques you know really that powerful?"
Yu Nie replied, "If that's what makes someone impressive, then I am indeed quite impressive."
She wasn't being self-deprecating; in fact, chemistry in her time was practically a "miracle weapon." She was simply stating the truth.
Zi Jing gazed at the beautiful young Taoist priest with her pearly white teeth and delicate eyebrows, and chuckled softly after she finished speaking.
Outside the kitchen, Xie Cheng, his wounds still healing, walked slowly, supporting himself on the doorframe as he entered.
Hearing the noise, Yu Nie turned around and saw that it was Xie Cheng, who was injured.
She quickly got up to help him: "Guard Xie is injured and shouldn't be resting properly. Why are you eating breakfast alone? Aren't you afraid your wound will reopen?"
Xie Cheng thanked her for her kindness and replied, "How could I, a perfectly healthy person, trouble you to take care of me every day?"
Yu Nie helped him to a seat and said warmly, "You are injured, so my senior brothers and sisters and I won't feel like we're in trouble. Guard Xie, just focus on recovering."
As she spoke, she gathered the broken eggshells on the table into her palm, then deftly collected the bowls and chopsticks she had used and wiped the area where she had sat clean with a cloth. She then turned and ladled two bowls of steaming hot porridge from the stove, placing them in front of the two of them.
Xie Cheng asked curiously, "It's not even Chen Shi yet, where is Daoist Yu Nie going?"
She picked up the important matters book from the table: "I'm going into town. You two have breakfast first, I'll go ahead."
Xie Cheng nodded politely and watched her figure disappear into the distance.
When he turned around, he saw that the person beside him was still staring in the direction where the little Taoist had disappeared.
"What is the captain looking at?" Huan Xun wanted to conceal his identity, so he had to address him as captain along with the others.
Zi Jing placed one foot on the long bench, propped his elbow on his knee, and rested half of his face in his hand, tilting his head to glance at Xie Cheng: "Watching the spies."
*
Spring has passed its end, and before the beginning of summer, the April sun is already blazing.
Wearing a black three-layered gauze hat that reached his waist, Yu Nie wiped the sweat from his forehead and stood outside the Rong family mansion, holding a two-foot-long peach wood sword, waiting for his servants to summon him.
Every action has its rules, and every path has its regulations.
All disciples of Lingbao Temple must wear their seal and sword when leaving the temple, and be dressed in proper attire; this is a rule left by the successive abbots.
It has been passed down for more than ten generations, and no one has ever failed to follow it.
On such a hot day, even without any religious ceremony, Yu Nie still has to take his peach wood sword with him when he goes out.
Before a cup of tea could be brewed, that fellow nimbly emerged from the dark brown gate and invited Yu Nie inside.
The servant had already informed Rong Dajia of her purpose.
Upon learning that she had a solution to the pigment problem, she stepped into the hall. Rong Dajia, as if seeing a living deity, was overjoyed and rushed forward with his plump and round body followed by the entire Rong family: "Little fairy, fairy... you have truly come to save the lives of my whole family."
Rong Da Jia's two calls of "Fairy Maiden" made Yu Nie's ears burn with embarrassment. She quickly waved her hands and said, "Da Jia, please don't say that. Lingbao Temple has been fortunate to receive your help over the years. Now that you are in trouble, how can we sit idly by?"
Rong Dajia's eyes reddened with emotion: "Little Fairy is truly kind and benevolent, so compassionate!"
She blushed even more at the praise and quickly changed the subject: "Don't be so polite, Mr. Jia. Tell me, what is the current situation?"
Rong Dajia sighed, led her to a seat, and after dismissing the maid to serve tea, he explained the situation with a worried expression: "After the internal strife in Tokharistan, I learned that the pigments could not be transported. So I went to the county government and reported that the peacock blue pigment commonly used in previous years could no longer be used for the porcelain ewers this year. I requested that other pigments be used instead."
"But to my surprise, the county government replied that the equipment presented to the royal family could not be replaced so easily, and that we should find a solution ourselves."
“This peacock blue pigment was originally transported to Huaiyuan by Tocharian merchants. We are just porcelain sellers, what can we do?” Rong family lad interjected, “Even if our Rong family paid hundreds of gold coins to search the entire Dingzhou, plus our remaining inventory, it still wouldn’t be enough.”
"Isn't this just making things difficult for people?" The young master of the Rong family slammed his hand on the table, his tone indignant.
Madam Rong tugged at her son's sleeve, signaling him to watch his words. Then, with a hint of apology, she said to Yu Nie, "My eldest son is a bit too sincere. I hope Little Fairy will forgive him and not take offense."
Yu Nie didn't care much about this. She had seen the porcelain teapot from the Rong family before, and she had memorized the colors of the pigments.
Without hesitation, she asked, "Besides what your esteemed residence already has, how much more paint does the Jia family need?"
“One hundred and twenty-six scrolls,” Rong Jialang replied.
"What's the latest you need it?"
"Middle of next month."
One application of paint is needed for one pot, and it's only early morning, so there's plenty of time.
“In that case, you don’t need to worry anymore,” she said, patting her chest generously. “Leave these things to me.”
Seeing her so confident, Rong Dajia and his family hesitated and asked, "The little fairy said she could concoct peacock blue, but fairy... how exactly does she do it?"
If she said it was chemistry, everyone would be confused. She scratched her head and chuckled as she answered, "The other day I was cleaning the scripture pavilion and found a book about pigments. My uncle said that this was my master's..." She explained, "That is, the previous abbot, who collected it from a lame old man while traveling around. The book contains many methods for making pigments, including peacock blue."
She continued to fabricate, "The sudden appearance of this book proves that the Jia family is blessed. It is because the Three Pure Ones have bestowed their divine power upon me, a humble Taoist, to help the Jia family solve their problems."
As she finished speaking, she took out the important matters book from her bosom and placed it on the table: "Here, this is the book."
With both physical and witness evidence, the Jia family, who had been half-believing and half-doubting just moments before, were instantly convinced and truly believed in the existence of supernatural powers.
This is not surprising to Yu Nie. In ancient times, everything was based on "celestial phenomena," and the existence of gods was highly revered. Otherwise, Buddhist culture in Beiye would not have been so prevalent.
It's understandable that the Rong family believed her nonsense.
The date for delivering the paint was set. The Rong family thanked Yu Nie profusely and prepared a banquet to treat her well.
However, she had other matters to attend to. After thanking the Rong family for their kindness, she drank two cups of tea and then rode away on her little red horse.
Yu Nie rode his reddish-brown pony slowly into Qingping Street. The horse's hooves clattered crisply on the stone pavement. The street was bustling with people, and the cries of vendors filled the air. Selling steamed buns and wontons, silver hairpins and jade bracelets—this street had everything one could need for daily life.
She was searching for what she wanted, and finally spotted it. Just as she was about to dismount, a pebble grazed her bridle and hit the horse's ear with a "thud."
The horse was startled and reared up, neighing and screaming. The horse lurched violently, and she lost her grip on the reins, falling backward.
As she hovered in mid-air, a figure with a slender waist and back appeared, stepping onto the railing of a nearby tavern and leaping down.
A note from the author:
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