Chapter 32: Conversation
Knowing Shen Tang as he did, Qi Shan knew that the young master Shen wasn't one to stay put and was worried about trouble. He quickly finished his business and rushed back. The result—
Where are they?
Where is this young master Shen?
Qi Shan stood there, her face slightly pale.
Just as she was wondering whether Shen Tang had been taken away by the flower seller or whether she had taken the flower seller away, a strange, steady male voice rang in her ears.
"Is this Qi Shan, Young Master Qi?"
"Greetings, sir. I am Qi Shan."
Qi Shan composed himself and bowed to the newcomer with his hands clasped.
After the ceremony, he straightened up and secretly observed the newcomer's appearance—his hair was gray, his face was aged and weathered, and he looked to be in his forties or fifties. He wore a faded, worn-out brown robe and straw sandals. These features alone were not enough to pique Qi Shan's curiosity. What surprised him was the man's refined and scholarly demeanor, his calm and upright features, and his unusually clear black eyes, which seemed beyond his years.
He lowered his eyelids, his gaze falling on the newcomer's hands.
Those were rough, old hands marked with chilblains, carrying several bundles of meat wrapped in lotus leaves. The owner must have been someone who did manual labor for long periods and lived in poverty. A jumble of thoughts raced through his mind in that instant, gradually settling into clarity.
He asked calmly, "How do you know Shan's name, sir?"
The visitor smiled kindly and said, "That's what that young man surnamed Shen said."
Qi Shan immediately recognized who "Young Master Shen" was.
The worry that had been weighing on his chest dissipated with this news, and he asked the visitor, "Did that young man leave any message?"
"Yes, they said, 'I'm out of town on business and will be back shortly.'"
Qi Shan didn't know what to say. Young Master Shen didn't know the way at all and had never been to Xiaocheng before. What business could he possibly have in leaving the city?
Qi Shan then asked, "Did they say what they wanted to do?"
The visitor said, "I act on behalf of Heaven to punish evil and promote good."
Qi Shan: "...???"
He looked suspicious. No, something didn't sound right. It sounded like the mystical cult doctrines those mobs were spouting.
The visitor said, "Young Master Shen was worried that you wouldn't be able to find me when you returned, so he specially asked me to wait here to avoid worrying you, Young Master Qi."
Qi Shan sighed irritably, "How could Shan worry about him? Even if I were to worry, it would be about getting involved with his scoundrels..."
The newcomer pursed his lips slightly, suppressing a knowing smile.
I must say, the judgment was quite accurate.
When Qi Shan learned about Shen Tang's "exciting" experience over the past hour from the stranger, he momentarily lost control of his expression—he had only been gone for a little over an hour, and young master Shen was already so popular? But what was done was done, and there was no point in saying anything more.
Qi Shan chatted idly while waiting for Shen Tang to return.
He remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was filled with doubts.
This old man was dressed like a poor commoner, but his speech, manner, and overall demeanor suggested he had been raised in a wealthy and noble family, surrounded by incense and perfume. Even in his faded, worn-out khaki clothes and with his hands marked by rough work, his air of refinement remained unchanged.
As they talked, Qi Shan began to discuss the power of words.
His recent study of military tactics—"walking into a trap" and "a cornered beast fighting"—is akin to using the former for troop deployment to lure enemy forces, while the latter is often used to boost morale when one's own forces are at a disadvantage, representing a last-ditch effort. If the opportunity is seized, there is a chance to turn the tide.
When the old man heard Qi Shan speaking eloquently, he seemed to be in a daze for a moment. As if he had thought of something, he said, "Walking into a trap and bringing about one's own destruction... Is the incantation used by Young Master Qi 'not seeing the sparrow in the fence, but seeing the hawk, it flies into the trap'? That's not good."
Qi Shan was slightly surprised and asked, "Why not?"
“You are easy to target. If the enemy strategist is more cunning than you, you can break their formation simply by ‘drawing your sword to snipe the net, unaware of the oriole’s flight.’”
Once the net is pierced by a sharp sword, can it still trap the oriole?
"The sky is high enough for birds to fly freely, but this brings endless troubles."
"Then, in your opinion, what would be better?"
"It would be better to 'sink into water or fire and bring about one's own destruction'."
Qi Shan: "..."
If "walking into a trap" still leaves a way out, a chance to "draw the sword and snipe the trap," then the old man's words of power are a deadly move that will kill the enemy, brimming with murderous intent. Qi Shan looked at the old man with some surprise; this man looked kind, yet he spoke of death so readily.
"Then—in your opinion, old man, even a cornered beast will fight back."
The old man was uninterested and indifferent, but he made a surprising statement: "On the battlefield, it is a matter of life and death. If one harbors the mentality of 'fighting like a cornered beast' and leaves room for maneuver in one's attacks, it will be difficult to win in the long run."
Qi Shan: "..."
You can't judge a book by its cover; that's really true.
He thought he was being unconventional enough, but he never expected to encounter someone even more unconventional than himself. But this old man… Before Qi Shan could think any further, Shen Tang rode over on his mule, trotting along. He jumped down and laughed, “Yuan Liang, I’ve kept you waiting.”
Qi Shan put aside her extraneous thoughts and carefully examined Shen Tang's clothes and hands. They were clean. Could it be that no one had died?
"You say 'act on behalf of Heaven, punish evil and promote good,' but what about 'evil'?"
Leaning against the motorcycle, Shen Tang said with great enthusiasm, "They're fast. They'll probably be able to ask Meng Po for a bowl of soup by now."
Qi Shan: "..."
So this "evil" really is plural.
This young master Shen is also quite fierce.
Seeing that Shen Tang and his companion had reunited, the old man bid them farewell.
Qi Shan hurriedly asked the old man where he lived now, hoping to have a chance to play a couple of rounds of chess, but the old man politely declined.
Watching his father-in-law leave with several lotus leaf packages, Qi Shan frowned, only snapping out of his daze when Shen Tang waved his hand in front of his eyes.
What are you doing?
She slapped Shen Tang's hand away impatiently.
Shen Tang said, "No matter how much you look at them, they won't turn around."
Qi Shan murmured, "What a pity."
Shen Tang took out two candies and chewed them, then jogged to catch up with Qi Shan, asking curiously, "What's the pity?"
Qi Shan said, "This person is not simple."
Shen Tang thought he was going to say something. Anyone who isn't blind can see it. She said, "Someone who can be spotted at a glance in a vast sea of people is certainly not simple. Judging from his demeanor, he doesn't seem like an ordinary person. I wonder if his family has fallen on hard times or if some other misfortune has befallen him."
She wasn't unaware that the old man was a hermit, living a life of quiet seclusion in the city and a secluded life in the countryside. But even hermits have their own standards. Even if they lived in poverty, they wouldn't eat offal that ordinary people would despise, dress shabbily, and do so much hard labor.
Qi Shan didn't answer, so Shen Tang asked again, "You two seem to be having a very pleasant conversation, like you've known each other for ages. What are you talking about?"
"Words of Power".
"Does he have literary talent?"
Qi Shan lowered her eyes: "Perhaps, it did happen."
Shen Tang: "???"
Does having existed in the past mean it no longer exists?
If even Qi Shan could be attracted to them, the two must be "birds of a feather." Shen Tang couldn't help but wonder—why did that old man lose his literary talent? Was it like the Gong family's confiscation of property and exile, where the alchemy hall was forcibly abolished and the literary talent crushed?
As Qi Shan walked, she realized that the footsteps behind her had disappeared.
Turning my head, I saw Shen Tang run to a butcher shop that was closing up shop and ask the butcher something. She ran back a little while later.
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My new book is ranked so low on the signing list.
"Walking into a trap": The phrase "not seeing the sparrows in the fence, but seeing the hawks walking into the trap" in the text is simplified to "walking into a trap," which comes from the poem "The Yellow Sparrow in the Wild Field."
Even a cornered beast will fight: If a cornered beast will fight, how much more so a human? It means that even in dire straits, one should fight desperately to boost morale, especially when one's side is at a disadvantage. The old man wasn't interested, because he felt that it was either a matter of charging forward and killing the enemy, or being killed himself.
To sink into water or fire is to invite one's own destruction, which is exactly what the words mean.
(End of this chapter)
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