Green Mountain

Li Xuan and Qi Zhenzhuo exchanged a glance in the main hall of the posthouse. They thought the Lord Magistrate was so hospitable because the Yulin Army helped to subdue bandits, but it turned out the Magistrate was actually here for Brother Pao.

The Magistrate approached, holding Brother Pao’s arm earnestly, and said, "Mr. Chen’s poem Red River stirred my emotions, making me want to abandon my pen and join the army. However, my favorite remains Water Melody, which is unparalleled as the first poem of the Mid-Autumn Festival through the ages... I earnestly request Mr. Chen to leave a piece of poetry and calligraphy for Xuanhua Prefecture."

But Brother Pao shook his head, "Sorry, I can’t write it. Lord Magistrate, I am not stalling or making excuses; it’s true that I can’t write it."

The Magistrate was not offended and cheerfully pressed him behind the desk, "No matter, no matter. A masterpiece can happen by chance. I have prepared good wine, and perhaps once the wine takes effect, you might just be able to write it."

He gestured to the posthouse soldier, "Set the table properly; the food and wine from Fengxian Building will be here shortly."

Everyone sat down, but the members of the Yulin Army showed no interest in drinking. They whispered quietly about the sea arrest warrant at the posthouse door, discussing Chen Ji.

Li Xuan inquired of the Magistrate, "Does the Lord Magistrate know what crime Chen Ji has committed that caused the court to issue a sea arrest warrant?"

The Magistrate recalled, "I only heard from the Jiefan Guard who traveled four hundred miles, saying that the Path Chen Ji practiced endangered the power and society of our Daning. As for how it specifically poses a threat, I am unaware."

Li Xuan and Qi Zhenzhuo exchanged another look.

Qi Zhenzhuo whispered, "How could it be an issue with the official door? Brother-in-law, do you know what Path my master practiced?"

Li Xuan thought carefully, but he was suddenly startled to realize that although they had associated with Chen Ji for a year, they knew nothing about Chen Ji’s official door.

He quietly glanced at Brother Pao, who was Chen Ji’s confidant and knew more about everything, whether it be the morning report or the salt permit.

Li Xuan asked in a low voice, "Brother Pao, what Path does Chen Ji practice?"

Amid the noise, Brother Pao sat at the desk, oblivious to Li Xuan’s query.

He dipped his finger in wine, attempting to write a poem on the desk, but his finger wouldn’t move.

It wasn’t that he had no poetry to write, nor was it a matter of insisting on stopping since claiming to retire the pen; rather, it seemed as if a force in the world beyond did not allow him to write further.

On the day of the wedding at Bianyifang Restaurant, Changxiu brought the official door for Chen Ji and Er Dao, claiming it was a gift from the Prime Minister. The Path had an impressive name, Wenxin Diao Long.

However, after leaving the capital, he found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t write a word for cultivation.

It was strange.

According to the Jade Scroll, Wenxin Diao Long practices with poetry and prose, the Innate Realm can build Literary Courage to enhance physique, and the Seeking Dao Realm can bring words to life. The more touching and widely spread the works, the faster the cultivation speed.

Yet after cultivating, why can’t he even write a poem?

Brother Pao turned to look at Er Dao, who was holding Li Xuan’s Feibai Sword and carving seal script into the sword’s body with a small knife, completely focused.

Brother Pao scratched his head with his little finger, "Isn’t your official door quite difficult? It requires complete unity of heart and hand. You’ve only just started practicing, yet you dare to engrave the Li Family’s ancestral Feibai Sword?"

Er Dao ignored him, continuing to focus on carving, seemingly shutting out all sounds. However, carving just one character took all his strength.

Half an hour later, Er Dao’s body trembled slightly, drenched in sweat, with droplets trickling from his face to his chin, finally dripping onto his knees. Despite this, his hand remained steady, not a single thread out of place.

Once he finished carving the seal character ’Lin’, he wiped his forehead and looked at Brother Pao, "Brother, did you speak to me just now?"

Brother Pao retorted in annoyance, "Have you succeeded?"

Er Dao pondered for a while and asked back, "Haven’t you succeeded?"

Brother Pao instinctively replied, "How is that possible? This Wenxin Diao Long Path seems tailored for me, and cultivation is as easy as pie."

Er Dao made a sound of acknowledgment and intended to lower his head to carve the second seal character "Bing" onto the Feibai Sword.

Brother Pao gritted his teeth, advising, "Stop carving. I usually don’t see you working so diligently; you were just exhausted. Rest for a bit."

Er Dao hung his head, "We might have to fight once we reach Guyuan. If I can achieve Grand Official sooner, I won’t hold you back. Right now, I can only carve the characters ’Lin’ and ’Bing,’ but as long as I work hard enough, I’ll carve out all nine characters sooner or later."

Brother Pao continued through gritted teeth, "You don’t have to push yourself that hard. I can’t bear to see you so tired."

Er Dao smiled honestly, "It’s not tiring; each character serves a purpose. Once I’ve carved them all, it’ll provide you with a means of survival on the battlefield. Brother, I used to think interacting with people was exhausting, so I wanted to simplify everything, say one thing meaning one thing, and two things meaning two things, without listening for nuances or guessing. I don’t know what kind of discernment the Prime Minister has, but once I pick up the carving knife, my mind calms, and I don’t have to think about anything else."

Brother Pao fell silent, acknowledging that this Path was indeed most suitable for Er Dao.

Just then, the sound of hooves rang from outside. A person called out loudly, "Four hundred miles urgent, where is the Lord Magistrate of Xuanhua Prefecture?"

The Magistrate looked up in surprise, lifted his robe, and walked outside, muttering, "Wasn’t there just a four hundred miles urgent message three days ago? Why is there another one today?"

Li Xuan, Qi Zhenzhuo, and the others felt a stir in their hearts and followed him out.

Arriving at the post house entrance, they saw a member of the Jiefan Guard dismounting, carrying a black lacquered bamboo tube, removing Chen Ji’s sea arrest warrant, and pasting a new one for Yao An.

The magistrate was puzzled: "Who is this?"

The Jiefan Guard announced loudly to the crowd: "This person caused chaos in the Capital, and the Spy Department has issued a sea arrest warrant. A whistleblower will receive a reward of ten thousand taels!"

The magistrate gasped: "Ten thousand taels? What is happening to the world? My Xuanhua Prefecture’s annual tax silver is only eighty thousand taels... Why was Chen Ji’s sea arrest warrant removed?"

The Jiefan Guard took down the black lacquered bamboo tube, drew out a document from it, and handed it to the magistrate: "From today, Chen Ji will no longer be pursued."

The magistrate was stunned for a moment, accepted the document, and unfolded it.

Li Xuan leaned in to sneak a peek, and it turned out to be a court decree, drafted by the Cabinet, endorsed by the Ritual Supervision, and jointly signed by the Ministry of War and Ministry of Justice, sent to all the prefectures and states.

"It has been verified, former Viscount Marquis Wu Xiang Chen Ji, on the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month in the 32nd year of Jianing, during the rebellion of the traitor Yao An at the Qi Mansion’s mourning hall, heroically sacrificed himself to protect the entourage and died in service of the king. After verification by authorities, the scene of death was mournful, and his loyalty and courage are commendable."

"Posthumously promote Chen Ji to Marquis Wu Xiang, bestow the posthumous title ’Wu Xiang’, grant him the Eastern Garden Secret Artifact, dispatch Prince Fu for posthumous offerings, and additionally grant eight hundred acres of sacrificial land for rituals."

A silence fell in front of the post house, only the sound of wind blowing through the flagpole ropes could be heard.

Li Xuan was speechless for a long time, took the document from the magistrate’s hand to look at it repeatedly, and Qi Zhenzhuo also took it from him to look at it repeatedly.

The members of the Yulin Army were all taken aback and could not believe it was true.

The one who beheaded over a hundred Heavenly Strategy Army members in Guyuan, the one who took ninety strokes of imperial punishment at the Imperial Palace Gate without flinching, how could he die?

They all thought Chen Ji’s destiny was so strong that it could be written on paper to chop down trees, how could such a person die?

Li Xuan looked at the Jiefan Guard: "Is this true?"

The Jiefan Guard glanced at him: "Four hundred miles expedited, who dares to falsify the nine tribes?"

With that, the Jiefan Guard changed horses at the post house and quickly continued riding towards Datong Prefecture.

Li Xuan and the others silently returned inside the post house, no one cried, no one spoke, they just sat quietly in their chairs, not knowing what they were thinking.

The sky gradually darkened.

Qi Zhenzhuo drank cup after cup of wine, and after a long while suddenly said: "What use is a posthumous promotion at this time, can it bring the person back to life?"

Brother Pao sat behind the table slowly filling tobacco, filling another pipe after one finished, making the interior of the post house hazy with smoke.

When he reached the third pipe and was about to fill another, Er Dao stopped him: "Brother, stop smoking, I can’t open my eyes."

Brother Pao let out a scoff, dipped his finger into the wine, and idly wrote a line of text on the table, just one line.

While writing, he suddenly felt countless thoughts from the sky communicating with his own.

In the sky, it seemed as if countless students were sitting in bright classrooms, reciting poems with the teacher, echoing in his ears over and over. There were also countless people loudly reciting poetry after drinking, reverberating in his ears repeatedly.

At that moment, the poem that the teacher once required to be recited and memorized, which he did not fully understand, suddenly became clear to him.

The next moment, the previously dim sky outside the post house brightened again, with passersby looking up and exclaiming: "Why did the sky become bright again?"

In the post house, there was a sudden sound of large bells, as if a thousand bells chimed together. A beam of golden light descended from the sky, piercing the roof of the post house and entering Brother Pao’s forehead, leaving a faint vertical mark.

The Literary Courage was achieved.

Qi Zhenzhuo looked at Brother Pao, probing: "Did Brother Pao find the path to Wenxin Diao Long?"

Brother Pao scoffed again: "To think it happened this way, there’s nothing to be happy about."

Qi Zhenzhuo asked curiously: "Did Brother Pao just write a poem? What did you write?"

Hearing this, the magistrate came over to look at the writing on the table, but Brother Pao wiped it away with his hand before the crowd could see.

He said disinterestedly: "I wrote it for Chen Ji, you don’t need to see it."

After that, he stood up, picked up a bowl of wine and drank it all in one go, poured another bowl and spilled it on the ground: "Let’s go, to Guyuan."

The magistrate watched as the members of the Yulin Army stood up together, drank a bowl in full, spilled another bowl, and then mounted their horses to slowly ride into the night.

The magistrate loudly asked them from behind: "What about the reward silver for those bandits..."

No one answered him.