Chapter 69 – Starlight Sprinkled on Earth
Milky white mist slowly contained in the valley, however, the sunrise on the eastern sea slowly rose, laboriously climbing over countless mountains, throwing temperature and light over the mountain lodge in the depression, making those white mists slowly fade away.
It seemed only an instant before the day dawned. In the green-colored valley covered with trees, birds squeaked and woke up, dew dripped dew from the leaves, and the leaves that were free from the heavy loads bounced back quickly, as if stretching, and the whole valley, up and down, was filled with a feeling of fresh breathing.
Fan Xian rubbed his somewhat glazed eyes and sat on the edge of his bed for a while before coming to his senses, having talked with his father for so long and slept so late last night that he was surprisingly a bit out of sorts. There weren’t many people in the Ten Family Village who knew of his arrival, and there weren’t any servants or maids or other characters in this place, so when he pushed open the wooden door, felt the slightly cool mountain breeze that hit his face, and saw the basin of hot water at his feet, he couldn’t help but be a little surprised.
Sitting on the threshold of the door, he wrung two towels in the basin of hot water and rubbed them vigorously on his face until he rubbed his cheeks all slightly red, and he felt a sense of pain. Throwing the towels back into the water basin, he carried them into the side yard, signaling his subordinates who saw him to be silent.
Throughout the morning, Fan Xian served his father, serving tea and water, cooking food and pounding his back. After twenty years of rebirth, mostly in Tanyu State, with a lot of things going on in Kyoto, and now it’s been three years since he’s seen him, he knows that this son of his isn’t actually doing a good job, so it’s a rare day that he’s in an exotic valley, with nothing else to worry about, and he’s earnestly fulfilling his duties as a son.
Fan Shangshu was only a little surprised at first, but when he realized what was in his mind, he just smiled and let him go, and was served by his son in a leisurely manner.
Casually with some porridge white bread, father and son two people push open the courtyard door, along the wide straight road in the village of ten families, toward the village next to the direction of the mountains. At this time, the straight road is still covered by a light white fog, can not clearly see the stone cracks under the feet. Fan Xian carefully supported his father, walking and talking softly along the way.
The straight road has three horizontal and one vertical, although in the white fog, can also be seen that the system grade is very high, extremely spacious, and the height of the mountain villa building is completely inconsistent with Fan Xian knows, this is for the future transportation needs, and made preparations in advance.
A branch of peach blossom peeked out from the white fog, Fan Shangshu pointed to that place, whispered a few words, Fan Xian at his side nodded repeatedly. Again, when he reached a green stone well, Fan Shangshu said a few more words, and Fan Xian nodded again.
Traveling in the morning, along the way, Fan Shangshu gently explained to Fan Xian what this workshop would be used for in the future, who would reside in this house in the future, and how the three major workshops would be housed if they were to be restarted. Thus talking and walking, it did not take too long, father and son walked along the stone path to the green mountains, until the waist of a kind of flying stone next to the footsteps.
Father and son two at the same time turned back to look down the mountain. Only to see a golden light from the east through the miles to come, in a short time will be in the valley of the white fog swept away, revealing its true appearance. I don’t know how many different kinds of mansions, staggeringly following the straight road and the direction of the road, arranged in the valley. Between the green walls and black eaves, there are occasionally ancient trees poking out, fresh and incomparable. In the distance, a few trails of cooking smoke could be seen rising, so it must be the early risers who were boiling water for cooking.
Fan Xian squinted his eyes and looked at the valley, only to see those densely packed houses fall between the two mountains gradually accumulating farther and farther to the east, stretching away, actually some can not see the meaning of the edge.
Yesterday night, just looking at the starlight under the feet, today a glimpse of the real appearance, only to find that the ten family village now, the original has been such a grand existence, thinking of these two years of hard work, thinking of those who work hard for the ten family village, see the results of the eyes, a touch of smile gradually swept between his eyebrows, lips and teeth.
“Wistfulness.” Fan Shangshu held his somewhat lackluster waist and gasped with a smile, “Right now it’s just a shell, if you really want to put all the gems in, once the news leaks out, I’m afraid that everyone in the world will come and take a bite out of this meat of yours.”
“Not many people have the ability to come and bite me.” Fan Xian responded with a smile.
Fan Shangshu shook his head disapprovingly, “Although the valley is easy to defend and hard to attack, how can a mere few thousand people be able to stop a country’s army from attacking?”
“Last night father showed my child the map, if His Majesty the Emperor wants to send troops to attack, there will always be a reaction from Dongyi City and Beiqi in between.”
“Dongyi City will soon be a part of the Qing Kingdom ……”
“That’s only in name, without ten years of work, it’s hard for Qing to peacefully incorporate Dongyi City into its system.”
“What about Dongyi City itself? Or the Northern Qi people.” Fan Shangshu looked at him with a smile and said, “These legacies left behind by your mother are so tempting that no one can resist them. This place is close to Northern Qi, so how could the Northern Qi people let it go?”
Fan Xian smiled, helped his father sit on a green stone between the mountains, and said after a moment of deliberation, “On the part of Northern Qi, I have a way of checking that little emperor, and even if she is truly dazzled by the diamonds, I have a way of dissuading her from it.”
“The appearance of a second inner treasury in the world of man, do you think it’s something a king of a country can say he doesn’t want?” Fan Shangshu sized up his son with an amused look, “Although I don’t know where your confidence in the Emperor of Northern Qi comes from, if this matter does leak out, the civil and military officials of Northern Qi will surely be drooling profusely, and even if that young emperor doesn’t want to offend you, but how is he going to stop the will of the entire nation?”
Fan Xian stood by his father’s side, withdrew his gaze downward, and said with a bitter smile, “What can I do? This is a hot potato, not to mention His Majesty’s side, even if I want to protect this place in the future many years from now, I still need to be strong enough to do so.”
“Fine, as you say, let’s not consider His Majesty first.” Fan Shangshu smiled, because both his father and son knew that the greatest danger to the Ten Family Village still came from His Majesty the Emperor in Kyoto, “Let’s say that you have to maneuver between the three kingdoms of the world, just how much power do you have right now to be able to protect this place?”
“I have the most Ninth Grade powerhouses under the sky at my fingertips.” Fan Xian was silent for a moment and said seriously, “More than His Majesty holds in his hands.”
“Are you sure that the Four Gu Swords are willing to give those people to you?” Fan Xian said, “Even if he’s willing to give it to you, how will you control those people in the Sword Lodge once he’s dead.”
“That depends on what Four Gu Swords does with them.” Fan Xian responded, “As for the question of giving it or not, I don’t think he needs to think about it, this matter has the greatest benefits for Dong Yi City.”
“Speaking of benefits, I’m still a bit worried about the people of Qing.” Fan Jian was suddenly gloomy.
“This place is just a supplement, a backup, a threat.” Fan Xian pursed his lips and said softly, “If it can be left untouched, of course it’s the best end.”
The white mist in the valley had long since dispersed, and at this point, forced by the gradually warming temperature of the ground, it invisibly floated upwards, but in the mountainside met the slightly cool mountain wind that passed between the passes, and gradually seeped out white misty air again.
Fan’s father and son sitting between the white clouds, on top of the green stone, surrounded by the flow of fog, light fluttering, like two immortals in general. Not far away from the road into the mountains, there is a farmer is chopping firewood, forced to suppress the curiosity of the heart, did not cast his eyes to the two figures in the clouds. Even farther away, there were some hidden tails, these people were the escort force of the Ten Family Village, secretly protecting the buildings here, the people here.
Naturally, the existence of these people could not be hidden from Fan Xian, and only from Fan Shangshu, but the two of them did not want to alarm too many people, and just watched in silence as the clouds around them were born and died.
It had been silent for long enough, and suddenly, Fan Shangshu spoke calmly, “A person that can change a world from the bone, for my father to look through the history books since a thousand years, there has never been one.”
Fan Xian did not respond, knowing what his father was saying.
“Your mother was gifted with heavenly beauty and talent, she may have wanted to change the world with her own strength, only in the end, she still lost.” Fan Shangshu’s expression was cold and wooden, yet within this cold and wooden expression, there was an indescribable sigh of relief.
He raised his arm once, his sleeve waving between the light mist, pointing at the building in the valley, and said emotionally, “Many years ago, on that piece of barren land in northern Fujian, I was also like today, watching the infinite bloom of the landscape, born from the barrenness. Your mother’s mind always had so many whimsical ideas, convinced the world not to mention that it also seemed to convince this God to give us limitations …… so how can people not be moved?”
Fan Xian was slightly moved as he listened.
“Back then, if your mother had not died, the inner treasury would certainly not be what it is now, and according to her thoughts, the Ye family’s estate was always going to be spread across the world.” Fan Jian sighed, “You started to do this ten family villages, I did not agree, but thinking of your mother’s wish back then, I also went along with you.”
“During those years, no, it’s all these years, I’ve been thinking about one question, and that is, where exactly did your mother come from? What exactly did she want to do when she came into this world? And …… why did she leave?”
Fan Xian sat down, sitting close to his father in silence.
Fan Shangshu’s thin face looked extraordinarily calm in the mountain wind: “We old guys have all experienced things that happened many years ago, and we can guess that your mother came from that ethereal temple, and that Five Bamboos was her escort …… But the temple has always stayed out of the world’s affairs, so why is there such a story like a dream?”
Fan Xian clasped his hands around his knees and gently pressed his face against them, looking sideways at his father in a state of disorientation. He knew that his father had been a famous prodigal scholar in Kyoto back then, and that his poetry, calligraphy, and painting were all of the world’s choices, but it was only later that his partners began to work on the world’s affairs, so he gave up those spiritual things, and threw himself into the accounts and other boring but important affairs.
Today on the mountainside beside the ten villages, Fan Jian, who has retired from the position of Minister of Households of the Qing Dynasty for three years, has finally returned to the appearance of the literary youth of that year, only that the youth is already close to old age.
“If His Majesty really constructed the big net back then, then why were the five bamboo transferred?” Fan Shangshu’s voice suddenly snapped up, staring at Fan Xian, “There is only one threat in this world that could transfer Five Bamboo away from your mother.”
Fan Xian muttered, “The temple.”
“Not bad, that day, if there hadn’t been a divine temple visitor descending upon the world, Five Bamboos definitely wouldn’t have left Kyoto to intercept that person.” Fan Shangshu narrowed his eyes and said, “If this was all in His Majesty’s plan, how could he have known that a divine temple would come at that time? How was he able to reach the vapid temple?”
“You suspect that it was His Majesty who cooperated with the divine temple back then?” Fan Xian sat up straight, his hands leaving his calves as he looked at his father.
Fan Shangshu slightly lowered his eyes and said, “Chen Pingping and I have been guessing all these years, and the reason why we haven’t made any moves is that we still have a sense of reverence and fear in our hearts for the divine temple. If His Majesty is really the person designated by the Divine Temple, what can we do?”
“If only Five Bamboo hadn’t lost his memory, he should know the secrets of the divine temple.” He looked at Fan Xian gently and said, “If you really want to break with His Majesty in the future, you must get this matter straight. We’re all mortals, we’re not your mother, and it’s impossible for mortals to fight against the temple.”
Fan Xian’s face was calm, even after hearing about the divine temple, he still didn’t have a hint of trepidation and said, “Uncle Wuzhu has left.”
“Where did he go?”
“He went home …… Well, it should just be the divine temple to take a look.” The corners of Fan Xian’s lips curled slightly as he said, “Before he left, he said that there wasn’t much left in the temple, so father, don’t worry too much …… If the temple really doesn’t do anything in the world, then he won’t be able to make any impact on me.”
“How many years has Five Bamboo been gone?”
“Almost three years.”
“Three years and still not back.” Fan Shangshu slowly closed his eyes, “I’m only afraid that there’s something wrong with things.”
Fan Xian did not answer, his heart was naturally also incredibly worried about Uncle Wu Zhu, only that he had never thought of using the mundane things of the human world to stop Uncle Wu Zhu’s journey to find himself, and from the very beginning, he had known that the temple that was hidden amongst the snow and ice must have played some sort of role in that story many years ago, and today, listening to his father’s analysis, he was more and more certain of this.
“Back then, Chen Pingping insisted that you send Sean back to Northern Qi, for what, you should be clear now.”
“Yes, there are only three people in the world, Sean, Bitter Lotus, and Uncle Wuzhu, who know where the temple is. Bitter Lotus naturally refused to tell, and Uncle Five Bamboo never remembered, so only Sean knew.” Fan Xian responded, “The old dean is trying to let me know the secret of the divine temple.”
At these words, Fan Xian’s eyelashes suddenly blinked. The past and the aftermath, many past events were strung together in his mind, and he even clearly remembered the conversation between himself and the old man in the wheelchair beside the pond in the Supervisory Academy, beside those fish that sank to the bottom of the sand.
Chen Pingping waved her hand and said with a frown, “You should learn to liberalize your vision a bit in the future. Don’t always stare at a department or a division, a district official, a district Kyoto. You need to learn to stand in a higher position ……”
Fan Xian responded, “Do you want to set your sights on the entire world?”
Chen Pingping laughed, “Perhaps it should be higher.”
Where should one place one’s vision higher than the highest in the world? Naturally, it was the temple that was high above the clouds and deep in the freezing cold. Fan Xian was slightly moved, and then he realized that a long time ago, Chen Pingping had guessed that His Majesty had the temple standing behind him, and that was why he had asked himself to send Sean back to the north, reminding himself that His Majesty was more than …… just a person.
“It’s good since you understand. His Majesty himself is already incomparably powerful, but there is still a divine temple standing behind him.” Fan Shangshu still had his eyes closed as he said indifferently, “That’s why I can’t even raise any thoughts of rebelling against him. But since you dare, you must dig up from the roots.”
Fan Xian did not pick up on this remark; in fact, Uncle Wuzhu’s return home had originally been a subtle move in his plans. To deal with the temple, one had to be a non-human above the level of a great master to do so, and Uncle Five Bamboo returned to the temple while Fan Xian stayed in this world to continue his fight.
“Though Five Bamboo thinks there’s nothing in the temple.” Fan Xian’s brow furrowed, “But who knows? According to you, he has been gone for more than two years and has yet to return without a single word, what if something happened to him there?”
“I don’t know.” A feeling of frustration arose in Fan Xian’s heart, only in front of the emperor’s old man, there had been too many feelings of frustration, so many that he was almost numb, so he didn’t care much.
“In the future, if things don’t work out, I’ll go to the temple to find him, and even if he dies, I’ll dig his corpse out of the snow.” Fan Xian’s heart went cold, yet amidst the coldness there was a trace of heat that could not be extinguished in any way, and he said with steely calmness, “This is not Qing Guo’s business, just mine.”
Uncle Wuzhu was his closest relative, an indispensable part of his life. If anything happened to Uncle Wuzhu, Fan Xian would not be able to live comfortably even if he had to live on. If something happened to Uncle Wuzhu, Fan Xian would not be able to live a comfortable life, and if he couldn’t live comfortably, what was the point of living?
Fan Shangshu looked at him quietly, knowing that the secret about the temple was hidden in the deepest part of this boy’s heart, thinking that he had been hiding it from himself all these years, Fan Shangshu was not angry but happy, there were not many young men with such a sense of propriety in the world, probably only such a young man could live, and live better and better, in between the struggles with his majesty.
“There is something wrong with the matter?” Although he appreciated it in his heart, Fan Shangshu still said with slight sarcasm, “If it really comes to that day, do you think that His Majesty will still let you live to embark on the path of searching for the temple?”
“I don’t know.” This was the second time Fan Xian had said he didn’t know, there weren’t many unfathomable people in this world, but His Majesty the Emperor was clearly one of them, and Fan Xian didn’t wish to make a complete break with the man in the dragon chair, for one thing there was some sentimentality, and for another, Fan Xian knew that his own self nowadays was not a match for the Emperor’s old man, no matter which way he spoke of it.
“I don’t know.” Fan Xian repeated again, “But to live, there is always something that must be done, so what if I lose? Although His Majesty is incredibly powerful, if he wants to kill me, it’s not that simple.”
He said with a slight astringent smile, “Unless he is willing to go out of the palace, leave the imperial government behind, and chase me all over the world.”
Fan Shangshu said with a faint smile, “Such things are really not in line with his character. However, you are his most trusted and favored subject, so if he finds out that you have truly rebelled, it wouldn’t be surprising to see what kind of things he would do under such emotional turmoil.”
“Then I’ll just have to pray for heaven’s blessing.” Fan Xian smiled, “So still, I don’t want to turn my back on His Majesty until Uncle Wuzhu returns.”
Fan Shangshu smiled back, finally realizing that his wandering over the past two years was not just because of the uneasiness of being trapped under that ethical oppression, but also because he had to stall for time if he was waiting.
If the source of His Majesty the Emperor’s strong self-confidence lay in Qing’s powerful national strength, the constant flow of money in the internal treasury, the art of controlling the world’s power and strategy, and his own powerful Zong Shi cultivation, then Fan Xian’s self-confidence came from the fact that he had been waiting for a long time.
Then Fan Xian’s self-confidence comes from the part of the Supervisory Court that belongs to him, the information in his head that is enough to remodel an inner treasury, the silver bills in his arms that are enough to remodel an inner treasury, and …… that powerful Five Bamboo.
“I hope Ye Liuyun is really out to sea.” Fan Shangshu gave Fan Xian a rather thoughtful look.
Fan Xian was silent for a long time, knowing what his father was trying to remind him of, and said a moment later, “I hope so too.”
Fan Xian only stayed in the Ten Villages for a day, secretly meeting with those few Qing Yu Tang Ye Bosses who had been rescued from Kyoto, with each side sighing. Although these old shopkeepers were already dead in the records of the Qing court, they still had relatives in Kyoto and brothers and friends in the three major workshops in Jiangnan, so Fan Xian was originally a little worried that if he withheld these old shopkeepers in the Ten Villages, they would not have some other ideas.
But after meeting them, he realized that these old shopkeepers were very enthusiastic about the restoration of the inner storehouse, and even hated to bet the rest of their lives on it.
Of course, for the Ye family’s old shopkeepers, this had nothing to do with the inner treasury, and they didn’t care to what extent Qing’s power would be weakened, they just thought that these things were originally belonging to the Ye family, but they were taken away by the shameless Qing royal family, and now since the young master wanted to rebuild the Ye family, tears and snot began to flow, and the old horse’s heart began to jump.
Fan Xian rechecked the process flow charts of the three major workshops with these old shopkeepers, reconfirmed the future possibilities of the ten villages, and finally accomplished the purpose of his trip. At twilight that day, he then made a great salute to his father, and then walked alone out of the great village and into the deep valley.
When he was halfway up the mountain, when he looked back, the valley was already dark, and the lights were gradually rising, like stars in the sky. He looked up and saw that the sky was dotted with stars, like the lights on earth, and the stars in the sky, not knowing whether they were spilling down from the sky or rising from the ground, were beautiful to the extreme.