C4. The Youth Does Not Know Worry

New note! I found a translation error. OTL. Where I mentioned 'avocado flowers' in the previous chapters, it'll be changed to 'Callery pear flowers', because apparently that's what 棠梨 refers to. Callery pears. And that, my friends, is why you should NEVER rely on Google Translate for definitions of unfamiliar terms. Again, OTL. (Why would a xianxia world have avocados…)

Now, on with the story!

The way immortals stored and read information was a lot easier than mortals and their reading of the bound books one by one.

All they had to do was to place the jade slip against their forehead, skim through it with their divine sense, and the contents recorded within would be etched deeply in their minds.

Three thousand jade orbs looked like a lot, but if one read them quickly, one would be able to finish it in no more than fifteen minutes.

Chen He was but fifteen years old and had only been cultivating for nine years. His divine sense had only just formed, which severely limited his ability. Even if he exhausted all his spiritual energy, he could only read one-seventh of the jade orbs in the box.

As he held each jade orb in turn, his expression changed wildly. He became confused, surprised, angry and embarra.s.sed, until finally he found himself in a daze.

He had been living at the bottom of Sky-High Cliff for nine years now. Every morning, he was unable to remember the events of the previous day; only his steadily progressing cultivation and the spiritual energy gathered in his dantian would not disappear along with his memories.

His long-dead master, Nanhongzi, had gained insight into the Dao through martial arts. Naturally, s.h.i.+ Feng was teaching the same thing to Chen He.

A mighty martial arts pract.i.tioner would remain mighty even if he had no memories. It was difficult for Chen He to trick himself into believing he was still in the Chen household when he could pick up fifty-kilogram[1] rocks with no problem. And he could not explain why he did not have any memories dated after the age of three.

The memory of him catching katydids by the pond remained fresh, as if it had only happened yesterday; it felt as if he had reached the age of fifteen with just one blink. Through the Liquor-Wisdom Technique, he knew all the things that people his age should know: how to dress himself; the pa.s.sing of day, night, and the seasons; the names of objects and their uses. But it could not cure his confoundment.

Every morning, someone would tell Chen He that the person living together with him was his senior brother.

Chen He, who had grown up a lot, was no longer easy to fool; he would not believe in any tales that were too tall. Usually, the easiest thing for him to believe in him was the ident.i.ty of s.h.i.+ Feng.

Senior Brother…

The Senior Brother who would prepare his meals and take care of him every day, despite having ceased consumption of mortal foods himself.

The Senior Brother who, outside of his time spent cultivating by Black Depths Lake in the mornings, would always be by his side all the time.

Chen He had no sense of his own dependence, and neither did he know of how thoroughly and patiently s.h.i.+ Feng had taught and cared for him. For he only knew the s.h.i.+ Feng of this day, and had nothing to compare to.

Now all of it had been recorded in this box-full of jade orbs, and he was free to browse them.

The jade orbs had faithfully recorded everything that happened, without missing a single detail. He saw himself tripping and falling by the riverbank, then being made to cry and laugh by the 'old immortals'. He saw s.h.i.+ Feng carrying him back to the cave estate, wiping his face and giving him clay dolls and sugar people to play with. He saw s.h.i.+ Feng holding his little hand and teaching him to write, teaching him to stand on wooden posts and practise martial arts, helping him to regulate his breathing…All of these came clearly into view before his eyes.

Whenever he woke up the next day, he never felt hunger, and neither did he feel the pains and aches left behind after martial arts training; additionally, not a single time had his breaths been disrupted during his cultivation. In the time that Chen He had been destined to forget, s.h.i.+ Feng silently cared for him, like it had become a habit; it was entirely possible that even s.h.i.+ Feng himself did not know how much he had done.

—being bullied to the point of tears by those old fellows in Black Depths Valley shamed Chen He to the point of rage, but he discovered that his greatest gain from this box was the wealth he had ama.s.sed from those times. The memories that he had once owned, and later lost.

Chen He was entranced. In the orbs, those countless renditions of himself, all at once familiar and foreign, overlapped endlessly, yet they were all held in place by s.h.i.+ Feng's gentle, sunny smile.

As the youth crouched on the floor, his hand that clutched the box trembled faintly.

Tomorrow, once again, he would forget the precious memories contained in this box.

"Senior Brother, I'd like to remember forever…"

A hand touched his right shoulder. Startled, Chen He immediately realised that s.h.i.+ Feng must have already returned; s.h.i.+ Feng must have seen him rummaging about, and even seen his eyes becoming ringed with red.

"I accidentally kicked it, and the box wasn't locked," Chen He explained hastily.

A few days prior, s.h.i.+ Feng had only just undid the two bunches of hair on the sides of his junior brother's head, re-tying the hair into a single bunch; this signified the advancement to the next level of maturity, and that he was no longer a little child. However, in this moment, when he saw Chen He's panicked expression that screamed give me a crack in the ground to hide myself in[2], he saw in his mind that expression he often saw on the little short-legged lump whenever he was nursing some sort of grievance. With that, he was unable to stop the corners of his mouth from curving upwards.

The poor white-robed youth was frozen in place, his mind full of only a single thought: I got laughed at by Senior Brother.

With a flick of his sleeve, s.h.i.+ Feng made the box close and retreat to its original position.

Seeing how Chen He kept eyeing that box, he slowly reached into the boy's collar and pulled out a similar jade orb.

Chen He quickly grabbed s.h.i.+ Feng's hand, unconsciously pleading with his gaze.

To s.h.i.+ Feng, Chen He being in such a state was quite the novel sight.

—his heartbeat seemed to speed up for a moment, but since it was only for a moment, s.h.i.+ Feng did not dwell on it.

His junior brother had been good and obedient since young. Even though he had to practise martial arts, he would always follow the positions and motions exactly. If he could not walk across the staggered posts[3] on his short little legs, he would jump from post to post; he would never complain about what he was fed, and ate what he was given. Besides, Black Depths Valley was secluded from the world. Unlike regular children, Chen He would never ask his senior brother for anything.

Was it truly because he was so infuriated by being fooled that he was going to take it out on those old fellows?

s.h.i.+ Feng's brows scrunched. It was unwise to be so hasty. With Chen He's current level of cultivation, any inhabitant of Black Depths Valley could easily smash him into the ground and render him immobile.

"Senior Brother, I only want this one, just this one." Chen He kept his eyes fixed on the jade orb in s.h.i.+ Feng's hand.

Then he earned a flick on the forehead. s.h.i.+ Feng had regained his smile—his junior brother sure did know how to act just to get what he wanted. With this jade orb, he would have today's memories; if he could search through the box any time he wanted, would the contents of the box still be a secret?

Releasing his hand, s.h.i.+ Feng pressed his fingers together and began to apply seals and Taoist amulets[4] to the box.

As he caught the jade orb, Chen He felt thoroughly satisfied. From the memories he had checked, he knew that s.h.i.+ Feng would not go back on his word while he was asleep or had forgotten. Being able to remember today forever was enough. As for the ones in the boxes, well, there was still a long way ahead. Just like Senior Brother, there would be a time when they all belonged to him!

He slipped off to practice his martial arts at the side.

His punches and strikes carried swift gusts, and his closing form[5] was superb. Detached from all worldly thoughts, his body moved exactly the way he willed it to. Learning worldly martial arts with the ability to control his breaths like a cultivator - there was no way he would not improve by leaps and bounds.

"Senior Brother, I'm going to bathe by the brook."

Not daring to look back, Chen He dashed out of the cave estate after he had finished practising.

Gripping the jade orb tightly, he dashed all the way into the forest by the lake.

Scanning the area, he found no one, not even after holding his breath and listening. Only then did he jump up into one of the Callery pear trees and sit on one of its branches. Leaning on the branch, he rested his forehead against one hand, fiddling with the jade orb in his other hand.

"Mm…what should I say to the me who lives in tomorrow?"

He took a moment to think, then began to speak to the jade orb quietly, "Don't trust anyone other than Senior Brother, and don't trust what they say! Senior Brother is very easy to identify. He wears red robes, carries a string of silver prayer beads on his wrist, and is the most good-looking person in the entire Black Depths Valley."

"Senior Brother's name is s.h.i.+ Feng, sounds a little like s.h.i.+fu [Master]. Luckily he's not my master, or I wouldn't be able to say his name at all."

"Senior Brother goes to Black Depths Lake every morning for his cultivation, so don't disturb him."

"The Valley Master says that the icy brook waters pouring from the rocks at the bottom of the mountains carries Yin energy. The mountain brooks converge in Black Depths Lake, and the water flows towards the River of Forgetfulness in the Underworld. By the River of Forgetfulness, there's the City of Innocent Deaths[6] and the Bridge of Helplessness. Senior Brother isn't Buddhist. He sits by the lake every day, sending the energy from soaking the prayer beads into the Underworld, all for the sake of his two disciples who died a long time ago, so they won't suffer so much in the cycle of life and death."

This made Chen He a little unhappy. He leaned heavily against the tree trunk, and it was a long time before he finally sighed:

"The cultivation world is so troublesome. The master has to make magical treasures for the disciples when they're alive, and he has to look after and educate them. Does he have to worry about them even after they die? Our master died a long time ago, and there's no one to care about or take care of Senior Brother."

Under the sunlight, the youth in white frowned, troubled. Hesitantly, he continued, "Elder Long-Brows thinks I don't remember, but he told me before. Senior Brother has a very bad fate; he's all alone, his master and disciples died, his family and friends betrayed and left him. Plus, his disciples were killed by one of his relatives, so don't mention anything like family or searching for relatives in front of Senior Brother. Best not to mention my martial nephews at all!"

"Also, Senior Brother hardly speaks, but don't be surprised. That's because Senior Brother is practising the Silence Meditation[7]. In the cultivation world, only the ways of Buddhism can salvage people from the cycle of life and death. Buddhists also say that the body, mind and mouth are the roots of evil deeds, so Senior Brother went to look at the Buddhist teachings that he didn't understand before and started keeping quiet since nineteen years ago. He doesn't even use his divine sense much."

Before Chen He's eyes, there flashed a scene that was all at once familiar and foreign: long hair hanging loose, s.h.i.+ Feng remained there with his lower body submerged in the freezing waters of the lake. The prayer beads that pa.s.sed between his fingertips became clearer and brighter, the end of the string dipping into the water. The spiritual energy attached to the beads took on a corporeal form, seeping into the water as wisps and flowing towards the Underworld.

He did not read sutras, nor did he recite Buddhist doctrines.

For all his persistence, all he wished for the innocent dead was a return to peace and happiness.

"Senior Brother's disciples must be smarter than me, since Senior Brother's so good to them!" Chen He said sourly. Then he smacked his head, reflecting severely on what he had said, "No, I'm still alive. I shouldn't say all that in front of Senior Brother."

The winds blew the Callery pear flowers off their branches. The boy would have been well-hidden among the branches, what with his white clothing and all, but the jade orb in his hand reflected the sun's light and gave his presence away.

s.h.i.+ Feng managed to find Chen He in no time.

As he hid himself to listen, he happened to hear his junior brother saying this matter-of-factly:

"You know what they say; it's better to wait for the right time to take revenge. Though that old bunch have tricked me horribly, I can't defeat any of them right now. Correction: even after a hundred years, I won't be able to defeat those ancient fellows. But when the time comes, there'll definitely be a way to solve the problem! There's a trick in the cultivation world: if you can't defeat the senior brother, pick on the junior brother; if you can't beat the master, beat his disciple. A back attack is much more effective than simply trying to whoop his a.s.s. Once I get out of the valley, I'll have all the opportunities I need to get my revenge!"

s.h.i.+ Feng could not help but smile.

In the gentle breeze, the youth leaned against the tree branches, swaying along with the wind. Chin resting on his hand, he thought hard:

"So right now, there is a very serious question. My Senior Brother—does he have many enemies?"

Hm, it seems the s.h.i.+p is being built.

And on that note, on with the language and culture lessons!

[1]: Original text describes the weight of the rock(s) as 百斤; 斤 is approximately five hundred grams, or half a kilogram…hence, 100 halves of kilograms would make 50 kilograms.

[2]: (A bit long) The term here may be 'a crack in the ground', but 'hole in the ground' is also quite common. Readers who've gone through a lot of translated Chinese novels, or tried MTL-ing Chinese novels before, you might have seen this before - 'wanting to find a hole [in the ground] to hide in', or in direct speech, 'I wish I could find a hole [in the ground] and go hide in it'. It's an expression that symbolises quite a high level of embarra.s.sment, the kind of embarra.s.sment intense enough to make you want to hide your face by any means possible.

[3]: Originally 梅花樁; it refers to a certain arrangement of wooden posts planted in the ground, and is used for basic martial arts training. 梅花 means 'plum blossom'; hence the arrangement for 梅花樁 has five posts arranged like the five petals of the plum blossom.

[4]: The original term, 符籙, was quite hard to translate…It seems to be the practice of using various symbols, seals, or amulets to cast spells; there are word-based ones and pictorial-based ones. Taoists are the best at doing this, so it often refers to the Taoist practices of using such seals and amulets to cast spells. And also why I chose to apply the word 'Taoist' in this case.

[5]: Just a note, this particular translation refers to a position from the Taiji 太極 style of martial arts; the closing form is always the final position.

[6]: This one seems to have been invented, unlike the Bridge of Helplessness, which is well-doc.u.mented.

[7]: Originally 閉口禪. If there's a better translation, I'll change it…this was done at 5am.