Outside Maple Bridge Town.
Apricot Blossom Village.
“Hey, isn’t this Young Master Su? Back from a long journey?” In a simple bamboo shed by the roadside, a waiter tossed the towel in his hand over his shoulder.
Su Baiyi, who was carrying a bookcase, had just appeared at the entrance of the village when he heard the waiter’s call. He immediately leaped a few times and landed next to the bamboo shed, laughing, “That’s right. I’ve been away for more than ten days, and I’m dying to have some of your apricot blossom wine. Hurry up and bring me a pot, and a portion of braised donkey meat. Pack another portion for me to take to my master.”
“Sure thing. Wait a moment.” The waiter responded with a smile.
Su Baiyi found a seat in the corner. He had been travelling non-stop for the past few days, afraid that the woman with the amazing martial arts skills would catch up to him. After all, her words “We will meet again” were quite frightening. Now that he had set foot in Apricot Blossom Village, Su Baiyi finally let out a sigh of relief. He put his bookcase aside, took out the scroll wrapped in cowhide paper, took a deep breath, and unwrapped it.
Inside, it was not a complete book, but merely a few pages of a fragmented manuscript. Su Baiyi picked them up and counted, “One page, two pages, three pages—only three pages of fragments to practice with, no wonder he ended up training himself into a wreck.”
“What is the young master looking at? The wine and donkey meat are here.” The waiter placed a pot of wine, a plate of sauce-covered donkey meat, and the packaged food and drink on the table
Su Baiyi smiled, “Mind your own business.”
“My little shop doesn’t have much business.” The waiter saw that Su Baiyi was unwilling to say anything and didn’t press him. He turned his head and happened to see two people passing by the door. He hurriedly greeted them, “You two gentlemen look unfamiliar. You must be passing through our Apricot Blossom Village, right? Why don’t you come in and have a cup of our village’s specialty apricot blossom wine?”
One of them was a monk, with a sturdy figure, about forty years old, with a string of huge Buddhist beads hanging on his chest, holding a crescent spade in his hand, with a serious expression. Upon hearing the call, he turned to glance at the waiter, who, intimidated, took a step back.
Su Baiyi quietly tucked the fragmented manuscript into his sleeves
Accompanying the middle-aged monk was a person in a mask, slender and carrying a dark green umbrella. His voice was that of a kind young man, “That’s right, since we’re here, we should have a drink of apricot blossom wine. Abbot Jie Kong, what do you think?”
“I never drink alcohol.” The middle-aged monk named Jie Kong walked straight into the bamboo shed. “Just give me a cup of tea.”
“It’s okay if you don’t drink alcohol. Our shop’s apricot blossom cake is also excellent.” The waiter hurriedly said.
“Bring us a pot of wine and a pot of tea; we’ll pass on the apricot blossom cakes.” The masked person and Jie Kong found a spot to sit down. As the masked person lowered his head, he suddenly noticed a line of writing on the table.
“In Apricot Blossom Village flows apricot blossom wine, apricot blossom wine soothes all woes of mine.” The masked person traced a finger over the line of characters and murmured softly.
“This was written by Mr. Xie back then.” The waiter put a pot of apricot blossom wine on the table.
“Oh? Mr. Xie?” The masked man chuckled lightly. “Looking at this handwriting, it doesn’t look like it was written with a brush. But rather…”
“It’s as if it’s been embedded into the table itself, isn’t it!” The waiter boasted, tossing the white cloth over his shoulder. “I’m not bragging, but I saw Mr. Xie write these words with my own eyes. That day, he and Mr. Li, the scholar from the city, were drunk, and Mr. Xie dipped his hand in the wine and wrote this poem on the table. After they left, I wiped the table with a cloth. With each wipe, characters sank deeper and deeper. Finally, the table was clean, but the writing remained there forever.”
“That’s amazing,” the masked person said with a hint of amusement in his voice, while the middle-aged monk’s brows furrowed ever tighter.
Su Baiyi put down a piece of silver, got up, and carried his bookcase quietly out.
Don’t look at me, don’t look at me, don’t look at me. He repeated in his mind.
“Ah, that’s right, Mr. Su!” The server’s high-pitched voice interrupted his reverie, “You are Mr. Xie’s proud disciple, aren’t you?”
“I still have something to do.” Su Baiyi took a step forward, but then stopped.
The wind lifted the masked person’s grey robe, and he gently adjusted his mask, his tone carrying a slight chill, “Why are you in such a hurry to leave, little brother?”
Su Baiyi smiled awkwardly, “It’s clear you two aren’t here for the wine. I think you’re either here to rob or to rape. Best to run while I can.”
“Oh? Why do you think we’re not here for the wine?” The masked man asked.
“You’re a monk who doesn’t drink.” Su Baiyi pointed a finger at the monk, then at the masked man. “And as for you, how can you drink with a mask on?”
“We’re indeed not here for the wine, we’re here for your master.” The masked man admitted calmly.
“Are you interested in my master’s calligraphy? My master’s writing is very expensive… The rich people in the city come every year to ask for a pair of couplets for the New Year, but…” Su Baiyi stopped halfway, swallowing his saliva.
A curved knife suddenly flew from the hands of the masked person, stopping just a foot away from Su Baiyi’s forehead and spinning rapidly. The aura of the knife made the young man’s forehead ache slightly.
“My master’s surname is Xie, his given name is Zhize.”
“The two lines of poetry on that table were written by him!”
“He’s over forty this year, with a clean-shaven face! Fond of wine, fond of sauce-covered donkey meat! Very lazy! Those couplets during the New Year, I wrote them all for him, but even though he took the silver, he never shared any with me!”
“Enough,” said the masked person, with a gentle tug, the curved knife flew back into his sleeve. He stepped aside to clear the path, “Tell your master that the name Xie Zhize doesn’t sound good, and also, guests have arrived. I hope he will welcome them all.”
“Welcome them all?” In the backyard of the calligraphy school, a middle-aged scholar in white robes tossed a piece of sauce-covered donkey meat into his mouth. He appeared to be the Mr. Xie mentioned by the waiter.”This guy has quite an attitude.”
Bending forward, Su Baiyi whispered, “Master, ever since leaving Twilight City, I’ve felt as if someone has been following me. At first, I thought it was that girl, but now I suspect it’s these two. I even felt there were others lurking in the shadows; I thought I was just being paranoid. Could they also be after these three pages of the manuscript?”
“These three pages of the manuscript are naturally what they want to get, but the purpose of their trip here should be me. Three pages of fragments can’t tempt them that much.” Mr. Xie smiled. “Do you know who they are?”
“I can’t guess.” Su Baiyi shook his head.
“The number one sect in the world, Shanglin Heavenly Palace.” Mr. Xie took a sip of wine.
“Ah?” Su Baiyi opened his mouth wide.
“Shanglin Heavenly Palace is based on Weilong Mountain, with three towers and four courtyards. That monk named Jie Kong is the head of the Punishment and Discipline Courtyard, and that masked man is Wen Xi, the deputy head of the Thousand Inventions Courtyard. They have been tracking my traces for more than ten years, and it’s time they found me.” Mr. Xie threw another piece of meat into his mouth.
Su Baiyi quickly got up and opened the cabinet, throwing the silver money notes inside into his bookcase.
“What are you doing?” Mr. Xie asked.
Su Baiyi didn’t look back. “Running away!”
“You can’t run away. Since they appeared here, the whole village should be surrounded by Shanglin Heavenly Palace by now.” Mr. Xie said calmly.
Su Baiyi patted the sword at his waist, “Then we can only fight.”
“Disciple, oh disciple, I have taught you for more than a decade. Your appearance has become ever more handsome, quite resembling my own youthful elegance. But why is your demeanor so lacking? It’s either fight or flight with you. Can’t there be a more refined approach?” Mr. Xie sighed.
Su Baiyi quickly sat down cross-legged. “What approach?”
“We’ll wait.” Mr. Xie drank another cup of wine.
Thanks for translating this