Chapter 658 (3): Flipping Through the Old Lunar Almanac

The Great Li Empire's construction of a great river was in full swing, with significant civil works taking place in many areas.

Guan Yiran and Liu Xunmei, both descendants of notable clans, instantly became rising stars in the Great Li Empire, wielding both status and influence.

As for Liu Qingfeng, who had suddenly come out of nowhere and risen to a lofty position after previously being a prefectural overseer in the Azure Phoenix Nation, people quickly lost interest in investigating his background following a brief period of heated discussions in the officialdom of the Great Li Empire's capital. This was, in part, thanks to some purposeful machinations behind the scenes.

He hailed from a scholarly clan in a small and remote nation, and it was confirmed that he wasn't a Qi refiner, implying that he wouldn't enjoy a very long life. His political performance in the Azure Phoenix Nation had been okay, but his reputation had been in absolute tatters. As such, his current position would give him a future, but it would be incredibly difficult for him to achieve any great advancements, especially since he hadn't risen up the ranks in the officialdom of the Great Li Empire's capital.

Regarding how Liu Qingfeng had suddenly soared to great heights and obtained significant power? Heavens knew. There were all kinds of speculations in the capital of the empire, and one theorized that Liu Qingfeng was a puppet backed by the Cloud Forest Jiang Clan. After all, the estuary of the great river under construction was located right beside the Jiang Clan.

An extremely handsome young boy in white was squatting on the ridges in the fields and gazing into the distance, watching an armed clash between two clans over water rights. He was completely engrossed, and squatting beside him was a skinny and frail child with little emotion.

Liu Qingfeng was also sitting on a ridge in the fields, and Wang Yifu and Liu Suo were both standing in the distance. Liu Suo was Liu Qingfeng's subordinate, and he wasn't overly afraid of the strange young boy, with whom he had interacted in the past. There wasn't much else to say about the young boy besides his thoughts and actions being very eccentric. Even so, Wang Yifu had warned Liu Suo that he would do well to keep his distance from that so-called young boy.

Liu Qingfeng turned around and looked at the young boy who was chewing on a stalk of grass, saying, "Both major and minor tasks can progress gradually, one step at a time. There's probably no need for Mr. Cui to sit here and keep a close eye on everything."

Cui Dongshan continued to spectate the conflict in the distance, where hoes and carrying poles were being swung around as weapons. There were many people who were related to each other as uncles or nephews, and even though they were fighting for real at this moment, they would continue to be amicable relatives afterward. They would display sincerity from the bottom of their hearts.

Hearing Liu Qingfeng's comment, Cui Dongshan's gaze remained unwavering as he casually replied, "The great river being called Qi is a reason in and of itself."

Liu Qingfeng smiled and nodded in understanding.

A horse-drawn carriage stopped on a small rural road, from which Li Baozhen stepped down and walked over, bowing in respect and saying in greeting, "Mr. Cui."

Cui Dongshan completely ignored him.

Li Baozhen stood up straight and turned to Liu Qingfeng, saying with a smile, "Mr. Liu."

Liu Qingfeng smiled and gestured for him to take a seat.

Li Baozhen sat down beside Liu Qingfeng.

Cui Dongshan turned around and said in amusement, "A meeting to speak of hardships; this is the Jianghu after all."

He then stood up and continued, "I won't get in the way of you two brothers catching up with each other. I'll head off and entertain myself."

Cui Dongshan grabbed the collar of the little boy beside him and flew away on the wind.

He silently landed in a city located at the foot of a mountain several hundred kilometers away, where he sat in the shade of a tree with Brother Gao. There were throngs of people around them, and they watched a crude game of "Go" on the streetside for one entire hour. This wasn't legitimate Go, and it was something a fair bit easier. Otherwise, these ordinary mortals hadn't touched a single Go manual in their lives, so how could they possibly attract such a large crowd?

The crowd dispersed after the host won a large pile of copper coins and silver pieces, and he planned to finish up for the day. This was called mastering a single skill to make money anywhere in the world. When he saw the young boy in white being unwilling to leave, however, he took a few extra glances and decided that the young boy was most likely a young master from a wealthy family. That being the case, he smiled and asked, "Do you like to play chess games?"

Cui Dongshan was filled with eagerness and raring to go. He rubbed his hands together and replied, "Yes, I do. Not only do I like chess games, but I even know how to play Go. However, I left home in a hurry, so I don't have many copper coins on me. No matter, because I've picked up a few things regarding this game and can definitely beat you."

The host smiled upon hearing this. He was implementing the "Earthworm Lures the Dragon" chess setup, one of the ten most renowned chess setups in the world. He wasn't afraid of others noticing some clues, and the more they noticed, the better. He was most afraid of others seeing no solutions and thus being completely unwilling to take his bait.[1]

Cui Dongshan smacked the head of the little boy and instructed, "Hurry up and earn some money from this chess game."

The host laughed heartily, surprisingly packing his things away in a swift manner. He couldn't be bothered dealing with this young boy.

Cui Dongshan didn't stop him, instead slowly shuffling over to squat down opposite the little boy. He leaned forward and stared at Brother Gao, after which he reached over and pulled at the little boy's cheeks. "How did he notice that you were a chess grandmaster? I didn't tell him that your surname is Gao."[2]

The little boy remained expressionless.

Cui Dongshan became bored after spouting nonsense for a long time, so he stood up and wandered around the city with the little boy. They came across a young person looking for precious treasures to purchase, and he had come from the capital of this small vassal nation. He was most likely a trusted apprentice of some shopkeeper in the antique trade, being dispatched to various regions to search for all kinds of peculiar treasures, antiques, and calligraphy works.

These treasure hunters needed to have sharp eyes and be trustworthy, or else they might just run away after obtaining extremely valuable treasures. They might even set up their own antique shops.

Cui Dongshan followed the treasure hunter around the street stalls, checking out and carefully observing all of the items that the young man had picked up or secretly looked at. The treasure hunter was infuriated, and he stopped at a quiet location and said in exasperation, "If you're short on money, young boy, I'm happy to give you some. Stop following me around for fun. You might find this entertaining, but you're actually ruining my livelihood."

Cui Dongshan looked at the young man's eyes and expression, and he inadvertently felt a slight sense of familiarity. He suddenly smiled and replied, "Rest assured, I definitely won't cause any further trouble for you."

The young man was slightly skeptical, but it didn't seem appropriate for him to shoo the young boy away. Thankfully, the young boy indeed remained quiet and well-behaved as he continued to walk around and look for treasures.

However, this caused the treasure hunter to feel slightly anxious. This wasn't a case of the world being a dangerous place, and the young boy was actually targeting him from the very beginning, right? There were all kinds of tricks and schemes in the world, making them extremely difficult to defend against.

However, the young boy randomly purchased a porcelain bowl and placed it on the little boy's head, after which he bid farewell to the treasure hunter, saying that he needed to return to the private school to eat. Otherwise, heaven and earth were lofty, but nothing was as lofty as one's master. His master would grow worried if he didn't return for a long time.

The young treasure hunter breathed a sigh of relief.

Cui Dongshan grabbed the white bowl from Brother Gao's head and tossed it to the young treasure hunter, saying with a dazzling smile, "I learned many new tricks from you, but I don't have anything to thank you with, so please take this bowl as a small token."

The young treasure hunter initially wanted to turn this down, seeing no purpose in accepting a crappy bowl that was nothing but a waste of space. Moreover, even though the young boy was dressed like a wealthy descendant, he had counted through his copper coins one by one when making a purchase, not appearing like a well-off person at all.

Before he could say anything, however, the young boy had already grabbed the little boy's arm and run off into the distance. The treasure hunter was surprised by the young boy's speed, and he felt like the little boy was truly quite pitiful.

The sun gradually set in the west, and a row of village houses along a muddy path outside the city cast long shadows over the ground.

"Master was affected by a certain matter during his youth, so he's slightly apprehensive about acting righteously and helping strangers seek justice," Cui Dongshan murmured to himself. "Moreover, Master always feels like he's able to be very thorough even though he hasn't read many books, so other experienced cultivators should most likely be the same. In reality, however, Master is naturally asking too much and thinking too highly of these people.

"Which is more terrifying? Having good intentions and making mistakes, or having impure intentions fester? It's necessary to make a choice.

"Master was intelligent and mature from a young age, always putting his heart and soul into every matter. That being the case, how can I, a disciple, bear to say these things?"

Cui Dongshan continued to murmur to himself.

A child returned home on an ox after herding cattle for the day.

Cui Dongshan was doing something similar, riding on the back of a little boy. He swayed his shoulders, causing the pitiful little boy to stumble as he walked.

"Hovering clouds over the horizon, willows lining the path, apricot blossoms being sold on the streets," Cui Dongshan remarked.

He then slapped the little boy's cheeks and exclaimed, "Brother Gao, my literary juices are flowing, so why don't you compose a poem as well?"

The little boy blinked in response.

Cui Dongshan squeezed the little boy's face harder and asked in a threatening voice, "You're not giving me face?!"

"Smoke rising from rural chimneys, a young herder rides an ox, a flute playing an old melody," the little boy said in a muffled voice.

"You're truly a genius, Brother Gao!"

Cui Dongshan wrapped an arm around the little boy's neck and forcefully smacked the back of his head, exclaiming with a loud laugh, "Just how fortunate am I to be acquainted with you?!"

The young herder glanced back at the two people, and he became so afraid that he hurriedly instructed his ox to run faster.

Cui Dongshan covered the little boy's eyes and commanded, "Summon your full strength and get running!"

In the end, the little boy whose vision was covered by Cui Dongshan shakily ran forward, all the way into a river.

Cui Dongshan let go of the little boy in midair, vigorously flapping his arms and causing his large sleeves to billow in the wind. Right before the two of them hit water, he laughed heartily and shouted, "The wise delight in water! Here I come!"[3]

1. Earthworm Lures the Dragon (蚯蚓引龙) is a legitimate setup in Chinese chess, recorded in manuals from the Qing dynasty. ☜

2. Gao (高) literally means tall, and is the first character in the term for grandmaster (高手). ☜

3. The wise delight in water (智者乐水) is a line from The Analects of Confucius, which means wise people like water for its flexible and adaptable nature. ☜