Chapter 36: Carefree Idler All reproductions of this work not on volaretranslations are stolen copies.
During the year of Qing[1], the sovereign passed away. The crown prince ascended to the throne and changed the name of the dynasty to Yao[2].
Emperor Han took charge over affairs of state and annulled the exorbitant taxies and levies. The country gain prosperity and military might, and he was praised as the brilliant ruler, though he expressed no wish to take in an empress or concubines. The loyal ministers of Emperor Han grew confused and remonstrated with him, but to no avail.
Five years later.
Everything grew peaceful.
There were sayings that because Han Zichuan had ascended the throne, the country was extremely peaceful, and its people able to live and work in contentment. HoweverâŚwithin the jianghu, peopleâs hearts trembled in fear at the mention of a certain qin player. At the same time, they took great delight in dwelling on his deeds over tea and meals.
This person wasnât particularly out of the ordinary.
In fact, nobody knew whether they were male or female. His face was always hidden by a chiffon cloth mask and he dressed like a man, but spoke like a woman. He was used to wandering about like drifting clouds and wild storksâfree and unrestrainedâand came and went without a trace[3].
He only had one hobby, and that was to collect pretty, charming men. Every time he took a fancy to a young master, heâd sit down at the qin, those fingers playing a tune to stir oneâs very soul. His heavenly pieces lingered in the air long after a performance like a celestial melody descended to earth. Only after recovering their bearings would the listeners discovered heâd abducted another young lord.
Rumors had itâŚthat when the leader of the martial arts circles vanished last year, the qin player was involved as well. They were three versions of the story.
1) One day, the leader was leisurely rowing a boat on the river and admiring the scenery of the mountains and waters. Just when he was sighing with feeling over his attractiveness, this top, unmatched martial arts expert under the earthâŚrealized that there was no wife in the world who could match him in looks. He couldnât help but shed silent tears, feeling rather melancholy. No sooner had he thought than the pond waters billowed with the sweet, plaintive notes of a qin from the mountains. A fairy-like beauty came trippingly over the waters and gave him a shock. He fell in love at first sight and decided to spend the rest of his life at her side. Thus, she effortlessly seduced him and from then on, the martial arts circle leader disappeared.
2) One day, when the leader was resting in bed with his eyes closed, he heard the melody of a qin within his quarters. A highly-skilled figure broke through his windows late at night as a thief, and the two had a fierce battle indoors. The leader was no match for the intruder and was made captive by the notes of the qin. Thus, both him and his incomparable martial prowess vanished from the jianghu.
3) Before the leader became the head of the martial arts circles, he was deeply poisoned by a villainous scoundrel. Fortunately, a mysterious female rescued him. This woman became unforgettable in his memories, so much that he constantly thought of her all day and lost his appetite from melancholy yearning. On a certain day, he was severely shocked to see her masked, fairy-like form playing the qin for a handsome gentleman in the streets. Irritated, he shouted out, âSince youâre here, why not come with me?â
Thus, he went to drag over the fairy-like beauty, jealously striking his arm towards the other gentleman. Yet one dodged while the other rose to block, resulting in an unsightly scene of tug-of-war. With no other choice, the masked beauty threw aside her qin and grabbed both men before stalking off.
After that, two figures disappeared from the world. One was the leader of the martial arts circles, the other a generalâs son from the previous dynasty who had been branded a lifelong criminal by the imperial court. His looks were handsome, and he had in possession a treasured map and many unique martial arts manuals. Sadly, he was too frail to practice the techniques himself, and couldnât talk because he was a mute.
As for the qin, which broke in half upon being flung to the groundâŚ
Rumors say it was snatched away by the masses and a single fragment of its strings or wood could be sold for up to ten thousand gold taels.
But these are all rumorsâŚ
However, the qin playing expert gained Seven Princes[5] as followers. No one knew what they looked like, because no one could enter their house.
The First (Yiâer) spoke little but had ruthless business methods and was rich in accumulated properties.
Of the Second (Erâer) and Third (Sanâer), one was immune to hundreds of poisons while the other poisoned everyone on sight, making them two sides of the same jade.
Fourth (Siâer) was proficient in techniques of the Five Elements and naturally talented in the art of face-changing.
Fifth (Wuâer) was reportedly very ugly, but had unfathomable internal energy.
As for Sixth (Liuâer), he was as beautiful as Fifth was ugly, and his lightness technique[4] was incomparable. Unfortunately, he couldnât speak.
Seventh (Qiâer) was lively, energetic, and possessed a spirited intelligence. He was the only person the qin player had brought from back home and was the obvious favorite. Typically, he was the one who took charge of everything.
As for this qin playing expert, his courtesy name[6] was Zang (čŹ) and his given name[7] Hua (ĺ). He self-professed to be carefree idler.
âHeyâŚhas anyone seen my shoes? Itâs so earlyâŚâ I jumped to my feet, feeling about as I searched before collapsing back onto my bed.
âOh sure, itâs very early,â a youth dressed in gleaming yellow robes gracefully burst inside, smiling irresistibly. For some reason, my whole body felt a chill as he sat down and prepared to tuck me in. âYou can almost make it for lunchtime. What made you think of getting up so early today?â
I tugged on the bedcovers, avoiding him as I feigned innocence with a lazy stretch.
âYou wasted half the night yesterday at Uglyâs[8] again, right?â So joking, he withdrew his other hand from behind his back, the long fingers waving a pair of shoes before my face. I gave him a mocking smile but involuntarily backed away, afraid to accept them.
He raised his eyebrows, a charming action very much like a certain person. Startled, my smile turned forced.
âDonât make trouble, Third. Masterâs slept for half the day, she must be hungry now that sheâs awake.â A 17 to 18 year old young man closed the door as he entered. Rolling up his sleeves, he snatched the shoes from the yellow-robed youth and started to carefully inspect and feel the material, eyebrows knitted. Without a word, the man kneeled down and clasped my feet, as if preparing to put on my shoes for me. I trembled and he raised a face to smile at me. âIâve checked, he didnât put poison inside. With Second serving you, you can definitely feel at ease.â
âHis tricks were all taught by me, so how could he dare to poison me? Like Iâd be afraid of him trying.â I said, stating the plain truth.
Second, the youth in the yellow robes, sighed and glared at me. I shrank back, and he hung his head with a laugh. âMaster, youâre afraid of neither Heaven nor EarthâŚbut how come youâve become so timid since cultivating that art?â
â
âTheăCarefree Recollectionăhas been cultivated to the seventh level, and my internal energy has almost thoroughly dispersed. Nowadays Iâm always forgetting things. Iâm afraid by the time I get to the eighth level, Iâll even forget all of you. I need safeguards in case Iâm accidentally caught by a trap and forget how to make an antidote.â
âOnly you would pick such a harmful practice to the internal energies,â the Poison Prince said heatedly as he swiftly stood up. âIf you donât want to fall into traps, then you shouldnât have cultivated it.â
âLittle Third, Masterâs body isnât well, so donât clash with her.â Second placed a small heated pot[9] on my knees before pulling the bedcovers over my legs. His voice was very low as he spoke with his head bowed. âItâs not bad like this. At least, itâs better than the endless days you spent ingesting the Scattering of Forgotten Sorrows.â
Forgotten sorrows, forget my sorrowsâŚ
These words brought up hazy, faded events from the past. A pinkie picking through the Scattering of Forgotten Sorrows pills as I downed them with alcohol in my stomach, was a scene of distant days.
My icy fingers warmed considerably next to the heated pot. Holding a headband in his hands, Second tied my hair up in the usual scholarâs topknot (a bun atop the head), held in place by a plain and simple wooden hairstick.
Sunlight streamed from the windows to warm my body, making me comfortably sleepy. Iâd obtained the ăCarefree Recollectionăby chance, but now it was a necessity. To recollect, free from cares without worrying about the pastâŚ
As it turned out, the carefree part came from having no memories of anything from the start.
âThe marital techniques manual that Sixth gave to Master is quite strange. Cultivating to the fifth level causes the internal energy to increase each passing day, but after level five, the energy recedes. Yet checking your pulse showed that you havenât deviated from your cultivation. I donât know whether this manual of Sixthâs will harm Masterâs facilities, so maybe itâs better if you quit.â Second pushed aside his sleeves before handing me a warm towel.
I smiled as I unfolded the cloth and placed it over my face, so comfortable I gave a sigh. âWouldnât giving up be a waste of my previous efforts? If I can break through the seventh level and get deep enough into the eighth, Iâll recover both my internal energy and my memories. As long as you keep Little Third from trying anything on me before then, Iâll rest easy.â
âYouâŚâ As soon as I heard the exasperated tone, I knew it was the young Poison Prince. He always spoke clumsily when he was angry.
âKeep your distance, donât touch Master with your poisonous hands.â
Through an opening in the towel, I could see the poisonous so-and-soâs face flushing red with embarrassed rage and hate at his inability to speak properly. The corners of my lips turned up as I regained my confidence and heaved a sigh of relief. Removing the cloth, I carelessly wiped my face before throwing it aside. While the little Poison Prince glowered, I even extended my finger on purpose to raise up Little Secondâs face. âPrecious darling, only you love me best.â
Little Second gave a furtive grin, very used to me taking liberties.
This child. Even when he smiled, it was laden with grief, as if deliberately provoking my pity.
âEven since Master eliminated Secondâs personal enemies, my only thought has been to serve Master well,â he raised his eyes and gave me a soft look filled with affectionate feeling. âDonât chase me away tonight, all right?â
âThat wonât do, wonât do at allâŚâ
My hand trembled and I instantly pulled back, only to see his pupils dim. But he quickly turned and grabbed his head, smiling awkwardlyâŚ
â
I met Second four years ago.
At that time, I never thought of saving him. The moment when he stood alone, wearing a simple robe and surrounded by a sea of fire, seemed very fearless. It was the people of the jianghu who had set the fire to kill him, but he kept smiling as usual. Even now, I can only vaguely describe his expression then. Looking back to that past makes my heart pound, but at the time I only thought him an exceptionally mesmerizing sight.
Before the fires could swallow him up, he used his final moment of clarity to fight back. I knew that if I ignored him then, I might regret it for a lifetime.
Because his mournful smile unexpectedly reminded me of Fang Hua.
Who wouldâve known that after my rescue, I discovered he was the foster son of the Pill King? Rumors said before the Pill King died, he soaked his son in all sorts of medicines, making his body immune to hundreds of different poisons. Even his blood became something as precious as gold. If the late emperorâs men had found him earlier and extracted that blood, then their ruler might have recovered seventy to eighty percent without Fang Huaâs help at all.
â
I lightly stroked Secondâs hair. It was comforting, and made my palm itch. Amongst the others, he was the most obedient and the one who relied on me the most.
âŚonly, he relied on me too much. I came back to my senses and sighed.
âSecond, last time I told someone to bring me back some precious medicinal ingredients. You havenât soaked in a medicinal bath for so long, so thereâs a cart full of ingredients free for you to use⌠Half a jin[10] or even three jin is fine, you can bathe to your heartâs content.â
He smiled, and I stroked his face before looking up at the Poison Prince, whose attitude was respectful and solemn. âDonât wear yellow robes next time, Little Third. Looking at it vexes me.â
The little Poison Prince gave me another glare before swinging his sleeves and barging out of the room. I bore it with a smile as that vulgar yellow again assaulted my eyes. Actually, these robes were probably the most suitable, proper clothes heâd worn in the past few years.
ButâŚ
Ever since five years ago, I started treating yellow as a distasteful colorâŚ
âMaster, was it worth it to tease him? Heâs used to being frugal, so itâs rare for him to order robes. This morning he wore it for the first time to stroll back and forth in front of your doors. He was waiting until noon on an empty stomach just so you could see him, but then you made him angry,â Second muttered, âWho knows who heâll target next as a result? Itâll be up to me to save them again.â
âItâs not that I donât want him to get more clothes. Weâre not short of silver, so thereâs no need to save money.â MoreoverâŚwearing yellow from head to toe reminded me of a certain person.
Five years had passed, yet instead of forgetting the things I should, I remembered them clearer than ever.