Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 5: Door Gods

Shi Jingzhi boldly extended his wrist. “The jade pendant? Take a look if you want.”

Yin Ci pretended to grab the pendant, pressing the back of his hand against Shi Jingzhi’s wrist, once again carefully examining his pulse. At this moment, Shi Jingzhi had eaten his fill and was lying down to rest, allowing Yin Ci to conduct a more detailed examination.

After a while, Yin Ci’s expression subtly changed.

“The material and craftsmanship are both excellent. It’s worth at least ten taels of silver alone.” Shi Jingzhi sighed. “Have you looked at it enough? I… cough!”

He suddenly remembered to turn around before coughing out blood.

Yin Ci withdrew his hand and turned away. “I’ve seen enough. I’ll sleep now.”

Shi Jingzhi grumbled a few times, cleaned up the blood-soaked cloth, and his breathing quickly returned to normal. Yin Ci opened his eyes slightly and stared into the darkness of the room.

Shi Jingzhi shouldn’t be someone pretending to be a highly skilled cultivator. His age wasn’t misrepresented; he was indeed twenty-seven. What was even more interesting was that his pulse was extraordinarily strange. No matter how he looked at it, his body was already nearing its end, like a bowstring on the verge of breaking. If he did nothing, Shi Jingzhi would live for at most another year.

But he didn’t seem like a dying person.

Yin Ci had lived for over three hundred years and had searched through countless medical books for a way to end his own life. He compared Shi Jingzhi’s symptoms one by one but couldn’t find an answer. Apart from his physical meridians being on the verge of collapse, this person could be considered healthy.

Without finding the cause of the illness, there was naturally no way to administer medicine.

No wonder Shi Jingzhi was reluctant to part with the jade bead. This guy was basically betting on something beyond the mortal realm. In the present world, there was no cure, so it was normal to have hope in legendary items.

Yin Ci closed his eyes, feeling a strange sense of relief in his chest. Since Shi Jingzhi wouldn’t live much longer… The Kushan Sect? Well, it was just a master-disciple game, and it wouldn’t hurt to play along with him.

If the legendary item truly existed, it would undoubtedly become his possession. Once the matter of the Ghost Tomb settled, Shi Jingzhi wouldn’t have many days left to live anyway, and Yin Ci could even loosen up a bit in front of him, without worrying about the aftermath.

The next morning.

When Shi Jingzhi woke up, he realized that his disciple was suddenly not so filial.

As the master, he specifically woke up early to teach this kid cultivation. As a result, Yin Ci needed to be shaken several times by him before he reluctantly opened his eyes, which held a hint of murderous intent.

Shi Jingzhi: “If you don’t get up now, I’ll cough blood on your face.”

Yin Ci slowly sat up; his tone no longer as docile as before. “It’s only the hour of the tiger*.”

*Based on traditional Chinese timekeeping, it corresponds to the hours of 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. or 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. (depending on the branch). The time is based on the 12 zodiac animals.

“You’re not young anymore. You must study and train twice as hard to make up for your shortcomings,” Shi Jingzhi responded without backing down, reaching out to unbutton Yin Ci’s inner garment. “Take it off.”

Yin Ci turned his head slowly, gripping his collar tightly. “Shizun, could it be that you’re really a fox spirit?”

Shi Jingzhi: “Fox—who do you think you are… Quickly take off your inner garments, and I will help you regulate your meridians. Learning internal cultivation will be twice as effective.”

Yin Ci finally understood and casually took off his upper garment.

Shi Jingzhi reached out his hand and carefully examined Yin Ci’s back. His back was firm and beautiful, radiating the vitality unique to young people. The skin tone matched that of his head, neck, and arms perfectly. Shi Jingzhi only saw a few fine scars and didn’t notice any unnatural seams.

Was he being overly suspicious? Shi Jingzhi shook his head and placed his palm on Yin Ci’s back.

Shi Jingzhi knew that it would be embarrassing to perform snow rolling exercises. He had intended to showcase his skills by helping his disciple adjust his meridians and accumulate some prestige. However, as he sent his true qi into Yin Ci’s body, it dissipated and disappeared without a trace. After a while, he stubbornly tried again, but Yin Ci’s meridians remained unresponsive.

Shi Jingzhi was dumbfounded. He had finally managed to deceive an honest disciple, only to find out that he was a hopeless case!

But he had already established himself as a master, and he couldn’t simply act like nothing happened and let Yin Ci go back to sleep. Shi Jingzhi began sweating profusely for a while, then pressed Yin Ci’s head back when he tried to turn around.

“Shizun, is there something wrong with my body?” Yin Ci was the first to break the silence.

“Um, it seems that internal cultivation is not suitable for you,” Shi Jingzhi answered with a profound and mysterious tone. “No worries, I will help you adjust your practice direction… I’m hungry, so you make breakfast first. It will be more effective to teach you after you’ve eaten.”

Yin Ci glanced at the stars outside the window with a gradually complicated expression.

Shi Jingzhi: “No whining allowed. We martial artists should wake up earlier than the rooster.”

“…Okay.”

To be honest, Yin Ci was slightly surprised.

Shi Jingzhi was a person skilled in internal cultivation, but Yin Ci’s meridians were damaged, and he couldn’t cultivate inner force at all. Without being able to learn anything, their master-disciple relationship couldn’t truly develop. Even if Yin Ci was truly ignorant, he wouldn’t be convinced by Shi Jingzhi’s teachings.

According to common sense, Shi Jingzhi should have taken another disciple and allowed himself to be a relaxed cook. However, this person not only didn’t disclose the truth but also had the appearance of wanting to stick to this path until the end.

While contemplating this, Yin Ci tidied up the unused materials from the previous day, made pearl jade and white jade soup* and warmed up two meat buns.

*A soup made of vegetables, spinach leaves (jade), tofu (white jade), and rice crackers (pearls). It comes from a folktale of how Zhu Yanzhang, who was once poor when young, passed out due to hunger. An old woman took him home and fed him, revitalizing him. He then asked her what she had given him to eat, to which she replied jokingly, “pearls, jade, and white jade soup”.

At that moment, Shi Jingzhi snuck into the courtyard with a flag in hand. Yin Ci happened to be idle and secretly observed him.

Shi Jingzhi waved the flagpole and began demonstrating a sword technique. After watching a few moves, Yin Ci’s expression gradually became serious.

It was the knife technique of the Chigou Sect assassins, or more precisely, the sword technique of the two assassins that attacked Shi Jingzhi. Shi Jingzhi repeatedly imitated the flagpole’s movement, from awkward to smooth, and even deconstructed the moves to distill three techniques. Judging from his movements, Shi Jingzhi was indeed unfamiliar with wielding a blade and sword techniques and lacked the ingrained proficiency. He relied mainly on his understanding.

He replicated the assassins’ footwork in the same manner, then lifted his head with a more confident demeanor.

Yin Ci remained silent, realizing that this kid was clearly trying to learn on the spot and go all out. On second thought, how did the “Shi Family of Yidu” overlook Shi Jingzhi’s talent?

Breakfast was served. Shi Jingzhi held a meat bun in his mouth, gesturing and pointing. “I have chosen three knife techniques and a set of footwork for you. However, your tendons and bones have not yet fully developed, so go and squat in a horse stance for two hours. Once your foundation is solid, I will pass them on to you.”

Yin Ci’s face remained unchanged. “Yes. But…”

“But?”

“I don’t like knives. I want to use a sword.”

Shi Jingzhi frowned. “Young people shouldn’t be picky! Go and do your horse stance.”

Yin Ci asked, “Does the knife technique have a name?”

Shi Jingzhi glanced at the pearl jade and white jade soup on the table. “This knife technique is called ‘White Jade Green Technique’. Remember it well.”

So, the tofu vegetable knife technique, right? Yin Ci cleared his throat. “I hope Shizun will teach me more.”

“In a while, I will demonstrate the horse stance for you, and then you can practice on your own.” Shi Jingzhi smiled. “I’ll go take a nap first.”

‘…Maybe it would be best to kill this kid,’ Yin Ci calmly thought.

Yin Ci, of course, wouldn’t obey. When Shi Jingzhi fell asleep, he simply found a comfortable corner in the courtyard, laid down, and closed his eyes to rest. Not long after, Auntie Zhang woke up and was startled by Yin Ci in the yard.

“They say old folks sleep less, but you young ones wake up earlier than me.” With the added impression of a well-behaved grandson, she treated Yin Ci with extra kindness.

“I warmed up some cabbage tofu soup on the stove. Auntie, have a bowl.” Yin Ci smiled and made the dish’s name more straightforward.

“No rush. It’s an auspicious time now. I’ll go stick up the Door Gods* painting first. It rained heavily a few days ago, and the drawings froze… Oh, this side is a bit high…”

*Also known as Menshen, they are divine guardians of doors and gates in Chinese folk religion, used to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones.

Seeing Auntie Zhang’s eager gaze, Yin Ci could only continue to play the role of a well-behaved grandson. “Let me do it.”

“I heard that you came from the mountains.” Auntie Zhang took a sip of hot soup, and her wrinkles seemed to melt in the steam. “Do you stick up Door Gods where you’re from?”

“No.”

“It’s better to stick them up. With the protection of the dual gods, evil spirits won’t dare to approach.” The old woman spoke devoutly.

Yin Ci unfolded the painting of the Door Gods. There were two of them—one depicted a fierce general with leopard-like eyes, while the other depicted a wise and venerable official with flowing white hair. The colors were vibrant, the brushwork exaggerated, and the characters lifelike. It was clear that they held considerable value.

“These are the founding heroes of our Great Yun, immortals who descended from the stars.” Auntie Zhang thought Yin Ci was interested in the paintings of the Door Gods. “Aren’t they well-drawn? If you want, I can buy two for you at noon. I know the artist and can get you a discount. You can each carry one with you for protection…”

Yin Ci politely said, “Thank you, Auntie. It’s just that we’re in a hurry and afraid of getting the Door Gods dirty or wrinkled, which would be disrespectful to the immortals.”

Auntie Zhang closed her mouth with regret and continued drinking her soup.

By the time Shi Jingzhi woke up again, the sun was already high in the sky. He showed no embarrassment and kindly asked Yin Ci, “Have you finished the horse stance?”

Before Yin Ci could reply, Shi Jingzhi reached out his hand and pointed at Yin Ci’s lower back. Yin Ci didn’t dodge and took the poke.

“Not bad, you can still stand. It seems you didn’t slack off,” Shi Jingzhi said satisfactorily, then turned to Auntie Zhang. “Did you change your Door Gods drawings? They look really grand.”

The old lady was very happy. “Of course, it was your little disciple who helped me put them up.”

“A’Ci might not know, but that general is Sun Wang, the Marquis of Lie’an, and the elderly man is He Cheng’an, the Imperial Preceptor*. Together, they are called the Dual Heroes of the Founding—Great Yun was mostly established by these two.”

*It’s a title awarded by the emperor. They play a crucial role in the education, guidance, and advice given to the emperor and the crown prince, as well as the education and moral development of the royal family. They also serve under the emperor’s authority to protect the religion and guide the state through divinations. You can think of him as the head of the state religion.

Shi Jingzhi noticed that the old lady was in a good mood, so he continued to talk a bit more.

“When the founding emperor passed away, the crown prince was still young. The Marquis of Lie’an served as regent for ten years, leading battles everywhere and stabilizing Great Yun, without touching the imperial power. As for the Imperial Preceptor… When Great Yun had just established its capital, there were two consecutive years of severe drought and widespread epidemic. Master He sacrificed himself to the heavens. Even to this day, Great Yun enjoys favorable weather and has not experienced any major disasters.”

“Both of them are figures who greatly influenced the destiny of the nation. It’s not an exaggeration to say they were immortals who descended to the mortal realm. In my opinion… umph!”

Yin Ci stuffed a bun into Shi Jingzhi’s mouth. “Shizun, I hate listening to history. It gives me a headache.”

Shi Jingzhi quickly ate the bun and wiped his mouth. “Alright, then. I’ll take you out to play.”

They spent the whole day playing. As the sun began to set, instead of returning to Auntie Zhang’s place, Shi Jingzhi led Yin Ci to an inn.

Yin Ci looked up and saw the large red characters “Shunhe Inn”. The inn was luxuriously decorated, and the door naturally had the Door Gods paintings. The pictures were embellished with gold foil and fine gold lines, even more exquisite than those at Auntie Zhang’s home. He glanced at them for a moment, then indifferently looked away and turned around.

But as he turned, Yin Ci accidentally bumped into a stranger behind him.

The impact wasn’t strong, but it was enough that they both staggered. Unexpectedly, the person let out a muffled groan and sat down on the ground, appearing to be injured.

Yin Ci: “…?”

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The author has something to say:

Perhaps this is how Yin Ci’s encounters begin.

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