Sixteenth: Heaven, Earth, Parents, and Teachers - Part One
After Daoxin left, Mingjin pondered the envoy's invitation repeatedly, but thinking that he would have to wait until he encountered danger again to verify what Daoxin said, he really couldn't muster any interest in thinking about it anymore. He focused his mind on healing his injuries and cultivating, hoping to recover as soon as possible.
After the Autumn Equinox, out of consideration for the injured, Mingjin missed all occasions. He couldn't go to the Double Ninth Festival mountain climbing ceremony, nor did he help out during the Mid-Autumn Festival. He simply stayed at home eating and admiring the moon with Pang Ming. It wasn't until the New Year that Jizhen allowed Mingjin to go to Hegengtang to help out as in previous years. Although it would be nice to be able to slack off and just wait to be fed, working with the people around him gave Mingjin a sense of security, making him feel that he was about to return to normal.
She fully recovered in March. Mingjin, after a long absence, once again traversed the steep mountain path to the Star Gazing Platform. Mu Ning, as usual, woke up early and recorded her observations of the night's stargazing in her room. Seeing Mingjin enter, Mu Ning felt both relieved and frightened, but quickly finished recording.
The courtyard was large, and the square stone paving looked cold. Today was spear practice. Ming Jin gripped the spear shaft, took a deep breath, and carefully observed Mu Ning's movements before the two began to spar. Ming Jin's skill level was below Mu Ning's in all aspects, a fact they were both well aware of. Therefore, the core purpose of the sparring wasn't to determine a winner, but rather for Mu Ning, as the master, to continuously identify Ming Jin's weaknesses. Through genuine sparring, the disciple with lower skill would more clearly recognize his shortcomings.
Compared to usual, Mingjin was already panting heavily before fifteen minutes had even passed. After fifteen minutes, Mingjin sat on the stone bench in the courtyard, drank some hot water to calm himself, while Mu Ning, unperturbed, picked up the water jug and small shovel from the porch and tended to the plants in the yard. It was still cold that day, and the two who had just finished their sparring were still radiating visible steam, much like the hot water in their cups.
"Master Mu."
"What's wrong?" Hearing Mingjin get up and call her, Mu Ning moved over and looked at the other pot.
“My birthday is on the third day of the third month. Master Zongzheng is preparing a gathering by the Zhan River and hopes you can come with us. Master Zongzheng said that it has been a long time since we have had a proper get-together, and the third day of the third month is an auspicious day.”
“It has been a long time since we last met,” Mu Ning thought carefully, “Then I will go.”
"Very good."
"What has Zongzheng been busy with lately?" Mu Ning put the kettle and shovel back in their places and washed the mud off her hands in the large water vat nearby.
"It is said that the person who spread false information on the mountain before was actually instigated by someone outside, so Master Zongzheng has been traveling outside almost all the time, which is why it is difficult to see him on the mountain. However, now that Master Zongzheng can set his own days to rest, it means that the progress should be going smoothly."
"What's that person's name? He's the one who mingled among the new disciples. Do you know why he did that?"
“Tianzuo said that the details will not be revealed until the case is completely closed. All we know is that the person planned to come up the mountain to cause trouble,” Mingjin said, tidying up the teacups and preparing to go down the mountain for dinner. “In that case, I will tell Tianzuo when we eat, and ask him to tell Master Zongzheng that you will also come on the third day of the third month.”
The weather was better on the third day of the third lunar month, milder than usual, making it more comfortable to go out. Rong Shao and Du Gewen arrived early, set out some snacks at the agreed-upon pavilion by the Zhan River, and sat down to enjoy the spring scenery. Although it was Heaven's will that Du Gewen invite them, he had caught a chill in the spring and woke up with a fever, so he was sleeping at Ji Zhen's place. After returning home, Ming Jin invited Zhou Wei and Deng Lin to come along, but Deng Lin had just discovered she was pregnant and wasn't feeling well, so Zhou Wei stayed home to keep her company. Both felt regretful and decided to meet again at a later time.
However, Zhou Wei gave Ming Jin a box of dried fruit.
"This dish was made by me, and the next dish was made by Deng Lin. It's just a small token of our appreciation."
"Wow, I hope what you made won't kill me," Mingjin joked.
"Say less. Has the stove you damaged with your wind magic been repaired yet?" Zhou Wei retorted with a smile. "Both of you cook such terrible food. After getting married, you've been going to He Geng Tang even more often. You two are truly a rare sight in this world."
Shen Du and Zhu Zhenyun both came. To make it more lively, Mei Chong and Pang Ming were also invited. Mei Chong said he would probably arrive a little late, while Pang Ming did not show up at all.
"Where is Yuanbei?" Rong Shao asked Mingjin.
"He's going to give a lecture at the academy this morning and to collect medicinal herbs at the Medicine Sect this afternoon, so he won't be coming," Mingjin explained.
A small wooden boat was moored by the Zhan River. It belonged to Ma Ji, who would occasionally row it out to fish in the middle of the water when he had some free time. Ma Ji wasn't a very good fisherman and only went out to fish when the weather was nice. He left the small boat there for everyone to use. It was Shen Du's first time crossing the river. While Zhu Zhenyun and Ming Jin were chatting with Shen Du on the riverbank, Mu Ning leisurely strolled over carrying a food box.
"What's going on here?" Mu Ning sat down next to Du Gewen and picked up a pastry that Ming Jin had brought over. Zhu Zhenyun had gone back to Juxia with her parents and brought back some new tea from Juxia, which she brought today for everyone to try. Although boiling water here was a bit troublesome, Du Gewen was skilled in fire magic, so with a little spell, white smoke gradually rose from the kettle, and soon the three people chatting could smell the faint aroma of tea.
“It’s so convenient,” Rong Shao said with a smile. “Back when Tian Guang had just learned wind magic, he dried Tian Hua’s hair after she washed it, and Zong Zheng said he was using magic indiscriminately. Now he’s doing the same thing.”
“It’s really troublesome to boil water every time,” Dugwen said helplessly. “When we first came here, you were very afraid of these spells, but now you’ve learned some of them.”
"Waaah!"
Chen Du's ferry training suffered a serious mishap, capsizing the boat. Fortunately, his daily cultivation was excellent, and although the boat capsized, he easily leaped to the bottom. Unfortunately, the boat pole had already drifted away with the undulating water. When Zhu Zhenyun helped Chen Du pull the boat back, Ming Jin controlled the wind, causing the water to send the boat pole back.
"This is really easy to look at but hard to do." Chen Du wrung out the water from his sleeves and then quickly dried them with fire magic.
"Senior Brother Tianyi, what are you doing?" Mei Chong, who arrived late, looked at Chen Du and asked in confusion, "Master originally planned to come, but there was an unexpected problem with the pills, so Master decided to deal with it."
"Didn't we invite Wei Shi and Wei Yi? Why didn't they come?" Zhu Zhenyun found it very strange.
“They heard that Master Rong was here, so none of them wanted to come. Someone had arranged for Sister Yahe to have her clothes taken today, so Elder Yan didn’t dare bring the two children to the water’s edge. But when he went to ask, the children found out and started clamoring to go out and play. So Elder Yan took the two children to climb the small hill next to the West Wharf,” Mei Chong explained.
"It's been so long, and they're still the same," Rong Shao said helplessly.
“Speaking of which, it’s already rare to find a teacher who is truly learned, let alone a female teacher. I never expected that our academy would produce two of them,” Mei Chong said, taking the candied fruit that Mu Ning handed him. “Teacher Rong, how long did you study under Teacher Chen before he could find fault with you? When I was in the academy, I would tremble all over whenever I heard the name of Teacher Chen.”
After saying that, Mei Chong involuntarily returned to his previous state and then casually hugged Ming Jin.
"Zongzheng and I were both studying away from home. We came to Kongyun Mountain after being invited by Elder Mu. Before that, we were just an ordinary couple outside and had no idea about this other world."
“So it’s Elder Mu. I didn’t know that,” Mei Chong said in surprise. “But Tianzuo said that Elder Du and Elder Mu were both successful candidates in the imperial examinations. They must not be from ordinary families.”
“That’s a long story. But thinking about it now, it was a long time ago,” Dugwen would occasionally think of the past. “I was introduced to Wupeng when I was thirty-two. Wupeng was only twenty-seven at the time, and now almost twenty years have passed.”
"When did Master Mu leave the officialdom and come to Kongyun Mountain?" Mingjin asked curiously.
"I was twenty-two when I left, and it was about two years later that I learned about what happened here, and then I began my cultivation." Mu Ning picked up her teacup and took a small sip.
Mu Ning was five years younger than Du Gewen. They were not born in the same year and did not know each other at all when they were officials in the court.
Du Gewen was the only son in his family. He passed the imperial examination on his third attempt at the age of twenty-three and subsequently worked in the government's office managing border affairs. Du Gewen married Rong Shao when he was nineteen and she was seventeen. Because their families were old friends, they had known each other since childhood. By their generation, both of their families had fallen on hard times. Rong Shao's family consisted of only one younger brother, five years his junior, who never passed the imperial examinations. Fortunately, he managed to live a peaceful life managing a small farm, so his situation wasn't too dire.
Mu Ning was the third of four brothers born of the same mother. His second brother passed away before he was even 100 days old, leaving only his eldest brother, Mu Ning, and his youngest brother to adulthood. Mu Ning's eldest brother failed the imperial examination the first time, but on his second attempt, he and the nineteen-year-old Mu Ning took the exam together and both passed. Mu Ning came from a small, poor family, and the fact that the two brothers both passed the exam caused quite a stir at the time.
Mu Ning entered the imperial court as an official, initially assigned to draw star charts. Although his days were tedious, they were at least stable. Soon after taking office, his family arranged a marriage for him. The woman was from another poor family. Before their marriage, the two had only met briefly when their families met in their youth and had not seen each other since. However, Mu Ning's mother and the woman's mother had always been on good terms. In fact, the marriage had been arranged before Mu Ning passed the imperial examination, but fortunately, he passed, which was a double celebration. The two were also compatible in temperament.
Therefore, during her nineteenth and twentieth years, Mu Ning could be said to have no worries.
The uproar began two months before Mu Ning turned twenty-one. At her elder brother's place, Mu Ning had her first private meeting with their year's examiner, Xu Bingjun, the Minister of Rites. Although both brothers passed the exam, her elder brother ranked higher and immediately gained Xu Bingjun's favor, subsequently taking up a direct post at the Ministry of Rites, where he got along well with everyone. Mu Ning's name, however, was hidden among the crowd, actually quite low, and therefore she received little attention. Furthermore, while observing celestial phenomena there, her relationships with others were distant; aside from her first visit, she had barely even seen her superiors a few times.
"You drew this picture well." When they first met, Xu Bingjun casually picked up the star map that Mu Ning had placed in his elder brother's home and said.
Xu Bingjun's reason for wanting to see Mu Ning was quite simple. He was embroiled in factional strife with other ministers in the court and needed someone else to work for him. So when his elder brother mentioned his younger brother, who had joined the court at the same time, Xu Bingjun saw this as a good opportunity.
At that time, Mu Ning, who had little understanding of the power struggles in the imperial court, had two main reasons. First, he wanted to achieve his ambition of success and fame. Although drawing star charts was a stable life, it was not a long-term solution for Mu Ning, and he had always wanted to change his current situation. Second, the advice from his elder brother and the examiner was truly moving, making Mu Ning feel that following their lead would not be a mistake. So, he decisively agreed at the dinner table.
Naturally, Xu Bingjun's side was bound to lose the factional struggle; otherwise, Mu Ning wouldn't be at Kongyun Mountain right now. Mu Ning had done some things alongside her elder brother and had many heartfelt discussions with Xu Bingjun. Those few months were truly the first time in Mu Ning's life that her heart was filled with excitement. Moreover, more than a year after their marriage, Mu Ning's wife was diagnosed with pregnancy, and suddenly good things came in pairs again, naturally making Mu Ning overjoyed.
However, six months later, the tide turned. Xu Bingjun and two other high-ranking officials were dismissed from their posts and exiled, and Mu Ning's elder brother was also demoted to a desolate place. The political climate in the court shifted instantly. During the purge, although the emperor and his faction knew of Mu Ning's existence, they believed he was insignificant and powerless, unlikely to make a significant impact on the matter. Furthermore, no one specifically impeached Mu Ning, so he was spared. After this incident, his younger brother, who was still awaiting the imperial examinations, was persuaded by his parents to return home and spend the rest of his life running a business in his hometown, no longer concerning himself with court affairs.
After this dramatic change, Mu Ning felt utterly dejected. His colleagues, who were also aware of his elder brother's ordeal, and his superiors, whom he only occasionally met, were fully aware of the political climate in the court. Mu Ning even suspected that his brother might be on the other side's side. After that, Mu Ning could only do trivial, insignificant tasks, far more mundane than his previous work of drawing star charts, and his mental and physical strength began to wane.
As if things weren't going to go wrong, the wife, nearly seven months pregnant, suddenly fell into a coma. Her face turned ashen, and she spent more days asleep than awake, unable to leave her bed. Mu Ning searched far and wide for doctors in the vicinity, but could only learn that the wife suffered from an incurable disease; they were all powerless to help and didn't even know how to prescribe medication. A month later, the wife, terminally ill, passed away, leaving no survivors, mother or child.
The house was filled with somber sounds, and the neighbors all lamented the unpredictability of life. Bearing all this burden, Mu Ning persisted in serving as an official in the court for half a year. Finally, disheartened, he resigned and returned home shortly after the age of twenty-two. Although his parents and brothers felt that resigning was not the right thing to do, seeing Mu Ning's listless expression and far worse state than before, they thought it was more important to save him and didn't say much.
Mu Ning spent more than three months at home in a daze. One day, he realized the absurdity of his life, but he still didn't know what to do next. One day, he was reading in his study when he suddenly missed the time he spent with his brother. Then he thought about how the two of them were now separated by distance and he couldn't even see his mentor. He felt a pang of sorrow and wrote a long letter to relieve his distress.
After finishing writing, he felt less gloomy and prepared to go out to clear his head. He set off from the back door of his house, intending to go for a walk up the mountain. It was the height of summer, and although the mountain was cool, there were many insects. Mu Ning swatted at mosquitoes all the way, and was covered in sweat. So, before he could even enjoy the scenery, he was forced to descend the mountain, pondering as he walked when he would be able to see his elder brother and mentor.
As Mu Ning descended the mountain, she reached her doorstep and knocked. Turning to the side, she saw a white-robed Taoist priest wearing a bamboo hat descending the mountain via another path. Although his robes were white, they were stained earthy, worn, and patched in numerous places, giving him a somewhat unkempt appearance. Mu Ning then realized that Taoist priests rarely paid attention to their attire, and quickly dismissed her prejudice.
Seeing that Mu Ning was about to push the door open, the man decisively called out to him, and started running as he said, "Fellow Daoist, please wait."
Mu Ning turned her head and watched as the person scurried past her.
"I have been traveling for a long time and am extremely thirsty. Please grant me a drink of water. I will pray for your family's well-being when I have traveled thousands of miles."
Just then, a servant came to open the door, and Mu Ning invited the white-robed Taoist priest inside. Upon seeing this, the servant assumed that the priest was a friend of Mu Ning, so he waited until the priest entered before closing the door. Then, as Mu Ning had instructed, he went to fetch a large water jug.
"Please have some, Taoist priest."
After thanking him, the Taoist priest first poured a full cup of water from the kettle, which he drank in two gulps. Then he took out a water gourd, and Mu Ning and the servant stood beside him, watching as the Taoist priest carefully poured half a kettle of water into his gourd. Seeing this, Mu Ning instructed the servant to go and get the leftover flatbread from lunch.
Upon hearing this, the Taoist priest first expressed his gratitude.
Mu Ning said, "These are just what's left over. We usually give them to the monks who come to beg for alms. Daoist, you don't need to be so polite."
To his delight, the Taoist priest thanked him first, and then, led by Mu Ning, sat down at the stone table in the backyard. The servant, who had been worried that this stranger might have ill intentions, was still observing him silently. After watching for a while, he realized that the man was just hungry, and since Mu Ning said that he would take care of it himself, he put down the cakes and went to do his work in the front.
The Taoist priest removed his straw hat. Although he was terribly hungry, he endured it, filled a water vat nearby, washed his hands and face, and then sat back down at the stone table to feast. The flatbread was baked, and although it was cold now, it was still very delicious. It was a rare find—white flour flatbread—but with a touch of salt mixed in, making it a superior treat for a traveler who had been starving for so long.
That was the first cultivator Mu Ning encountered.
This person was Pei Xuanzhen, who was twenty-two years old at the time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
