Green Mountain

The oar room was quiet and peaceful, beams of moonlight slanting through the oar holes in the walls, illuminating the swirling dust in the air.

Chen Ji looked at the little old man crouching on the stairs: "Change the terms."

The little old man stroked his grizzled beard thoughtfully: "But I see nothing valuable on you that can be pawned..."

Chen Ji interrupted: "Fifteen hundred taels. Once I gather enough silver, I’ll give it to you. Take it or leave it."

The little old man raised an eyebrow: "It’s just a cat."

Chen Ji calmly replied: "It’s different."

With that, his breathing gradually slowed, yet every muscle in his body tensed. In the oar room, the swirling dust in the beams of light suddenly halted, as if the air in the cabin had solidified.

At the tense moment, footsteps suddenly came from the stairs, breaking the heavy atmosphere.

Both looked up simultaneously, and Old Li hadn’t even arrived yet when his scolding voice was already echoing down: "You’re taking forever to clean the oar room, if I find you’re being lazy, you’d better scram off the boat."

Old Li came down and saw the little old man crouching at the end of the ladder, hesitating for a moment: "Old Ears, what are you doing squatting here?"

Chen Ji’s gaze wandered between Old Li and the little old man, could these two be acquaintances?

Old Ears smiled and explained: "I thought this lad looked familiar, like the offspring of an old acquaintance, so I came down to ask him."

Old Li didn’t think much of it: "This lad is a penniless scholar introduced by Li Zhu. He used to work as a private tutor in a landlord’s home. Turns out the landlord put out word on the street recently, offering 500 taels for his life, so he got connected to escape onto the ship."

Old Ears got interested: "Which landlord? What did this lad do?"

Old Li waved it off: "Just some trifling matters, nothing worth digging into."

Old Ears scoffed: "Alright, trying to bait me with this kind of story, don’t think I don’t know your little scheme? The usual trade, a secret for news."

Old Li chuckled: "You’re as nosy as ever, but let me say upfront, you know what I want. Don’t fob me off with useless information."

Old Ears urged: "Rest assured."

Old Li leaned against the stairs: "This lad schemed to court the landlord’s only daughter, wanting to eat from an empty family. The landlord didn’t agree to the marriage, so he tricked the girl into getting intimate, forcing the landlord to marry her off. But he didn’t expect the landlord to be ruthless; he sent the daughter to a farm to live and gave street ruffians money to buy this lad’s life."

Chen Ji: "..."

So this was my background? No wonder Old Li looked at me unfavorably.

Old Ears clicked his tongue in wonder: "What a scoundrel!"

Old Li urged: "Your turn now."

Old Ears thought for a bit: "Don’t take this ship’s cargo to Tiger’s Mouth or Niu Zhuang Port, things are tight there."

Old Li frowned: "Where should we go then?"

Old Ears grinned: "That’s a different price. If you want to know, you’ll owe me a piece of news."

Old Li quickly replied: "I’ll gather one for you by tomorrow."

Old Ears thought for a moment and confidently said: "Go to Kui Long’er. They’re in need of your ship’s goods, and there’s someone willing to pay white goods. If you’re willing to wait, you’ll even get yellow goods."

Old Li hesitated: "We’ve never operated through Kui Long’er, we don’t have a registered brand there. If we fall out with Panlong, we might suffer."

Old Ears patted Old Li’s shoulder: "Don’t worry, with me, Liang Wan, there’s no falling out. This is my craft."

Old Li felt reassured: "Alright, I’ll go report to the Landlord."

While they talked, Chen Ji’s gaze alternated between the two, their conversation full of code words, leaving him puzzled.

Moreover, the places they mentioned, Chen Ji hadn’t seen them on any maps before. But when Tiger’s Mouth was mentioned, he made a mental note.

Originally, he had speculated about Old Ears’ identity, but seeing this, he felt he might be wrong. The person he guessed would never meddle in these things or spread gossip daily.

When the oar room was left with only two people, Old Ears glanced at Chen Ji: "If you can sell the Mountain Lord Sect’s Scripture news to me, I’ll help you keep the secret that you’re still alive."

Chen Ji threw the rag in the water bucket and didn’t even look at Old Ears: "I’m not studying the Mountain Lord Sect’s Scripture."

Old Ears seemed a bit disappointed, but his eyes shifted, and he changed his tune: "Then what sect’s scripture are you studying? Telling me that is fine too."

Chen Ji continued scrubbing the floor: "I can’t say."

Old Ears picked his nose, flicked it to the floor: "Can’t say this, can’t say that, don’t you have some secret to trade?"

Chen Ji stopped wiping the floor: "How about a secret of someone else?"

Old Ears’ eyes lit up: "Whose?"

Chen Ji recalled: "Xuan Snake’s Official Gateway is the Heavenly Person’s Minor Five Declines, capable of sealing others’ five senses. Engaging with it, even touching its body, can randomly seal five senses."

Old Ears deflated: "What do I want with his secret? He’s only worth fifty taels of silver. Jin Zhu, Jin Zhu’s gateway is worth a thousand taels of silver."

Chen Ji remained silent and continued to scrub the floor.

Old Ears’ eyes twinkled: "It seems Mr. Chen and Jin Zhu have quite the rapport... Bai Long, however, if you can trade the secret of Bai Long, you could exchange it for ten thousand taels."

Chen Ji’s expression shifted: "I don’t have Bai Long’s, how much is the Prime Minister’s worth?"

Old Ears said disinterestedly: "What’s the point of a Poison Minister who spends his days plotting in a dark room? That one’s worthless."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "Only interested in things that are fun?"

Old Ears nodded: "That’s right, only what’s fun."

Chen Ji racked his brains for a long time: "Let me think, I’ll exchange with you when I have something."

Old Ears shrugged: "Xuan Snake’s is fifty taels, you still owe me fourteen hundred and fifty taels of silver, when these debts are cleared, you can come to me for someone else’s information."

Chen Ji countered: "Who else’s information do you know?"

Old Ears said meaningfully: "I’ve traveled north and south, I know more than you can imagine, I’ll leave now."

Chen Ji listened to the footsteps on the stairs grow distant, and slowly sighed with relief, as Wu Yun poked its head out of his arms: "What should we do?"

He picked up the cloth again to wipe the floor: "Since I can’t figure this person out, it’s better to leave sooner. Originally, I planned to travel all the way to Jinling by ship, but now I think perhaps we should disembark early. We’ll walk when we next dock, even if this lonely old man spreads the word on every street that I’m still alive, no one will believe him, and at most it would be considered gossip."

Wu Yun solemnly said: "If push comes to shove, you can pawn me off first, the big picture is more important."

Chen Ji chuckled: "You do understand that the big picture matters."

Wu Yun said casually: "It was Xiao Man who taught me, previously she sold her assets to help you save Princess Bai Li, and the little monk said that even though she couldn’t bear to, she also said the big picture is more important."

Chen Ji gave an acknowledging hum.

Wu Yun nestled back into Chen Ji’s arms, warm and cozy, and fell asleep.

...

...

By the time Chen Ji finished cleaning the oar room, it was already 9 to 11 PM.

He carried a wooden bucket up to the deck, only to find it bustling, with the helmsman steering, and Old Li climbing up the mast’s lookout to guide the direction, while sailors pulled at the masts below.

The hardship of voyaging lies in the fact that it never stops day or night; once the wind is favorable, it’s common to sail for three consecutive days and nights.

Once the wind stops, the ship can’t move.

The Anlan had more than eighty people onboard, and they didn’t catch a break until 1 AM.

Chen Ji saw the crew sitting in threes and fours on the deck, gathered around Old Ears. Some sat cross-legged, some leaned against the masts, and others lay sprawled among the ropes.

Old Ears sat right in the middle, cross-legged, with the air of a storytelling master.

A burly man sat cross-legged: "Old Ears, I’ll tell you something new, what will you exchange for it?"

Old Ears smiled as he pulled out a handful of roasted peanuts from his sleeve and peeled them leisurely: "That depends on how new your story is."

The man grew animated, leaning forward: "A few days ago, I heard at the docks that there’s a wonder in Tongzhou. This person was born with a pair of Yin Yang Eyes, able to see what clings to people..."

Old Ears interrupted impatiently: "Hold it, hold it, no ghost stories for me, I’m not listening to that."

The man was puzzled: "But ghost stories are what’s interesting."

Old Ears shook his head: "There’s nothing really special about immortals; they’re just people who’ve lived a bit longer, but if they lose their human touch, what’s the point of living long?"

A lean sailor coughed, leaning forward: "Old Ears, I’ll tell one. See if it’s to your taste."

Old Ears popped a peanut into his mouth: "Go ahead."

The sailor began: "In Suzhou, there’s a Landlord Shi who opened a silk shop. After divorcing his wife, he married a woman named Zhang Mei. This Landlord Shi had a legitimate eldest son who later also divorced his wife. Guess who he married? It was Zhang Mei’s cousin, Zhang Yan. The father and son became brothers-in-law, and the cousins became mother-in-law and daughter-in-law..."

Old Ears listened with keen interest.

At this time, Old Li climbed down the mast, and Chen Ji approached to inquire: "May I ask, Chief Captain, how did Old Ears get his nickname, and what is his real name?"

Old Li shook his head: "His real name has long been forgotten, as for Old Ears... in the old days, everyone in Jianghu called him ’Ear God’. It’s said you could seek him for information on the Ning and Jing Dynasties, and even about Korea and Japan, supernatural as he was, with a wide range of connections."

Chen Ji whispered: "Why did he board this ship?"

Old Li glanced at him: "Old Ears used to be a sailor, no matter if it was north or south, with him on board, there wasn’t a destination unreachable. He retired over ten years ago, but showed up recently, saying his savings were all squandered by his son, so he’s reentering Jianghu to earn some retirement money... why are you asking all this?"

Chen Ji smiled: "Oh, nothing, just envious of his skills, hoping to learn from him."

Old Li waved dismissively: "Go away, not everyone can learn those skills."