Chapter 3: Story of Past Ennoblement
Li Shun, who had sat in silent meditation throughout the entire night, pushed open his door just as the first glimmer of fish-belly white touched the horizon.
Stepping through the pale morning light, he navigated a familiar path and turned into a cramped, unremarkable bookstore tucked away in a corner of Lengshan County.
The shopkeeper was a youth of delicate features, appearing perhaps eighteen or nineteen years of age. Yet, within his eyes which were as still as ancient wells, there occasionally flickered a sense of vicissitude utterly incongruent with his years.
"Cripple, here again? Which one do you want this time?" He showed no surprise at Li Shun’s dawn visit, his tone brimming with familiarity.
With a casual wave of his broad sleeve, he caused the shop door to swing shut through the air.
The bookstore, already lacking in brightness, instantly grew dim.
"The Emperor’s Records," Li Shun replied in a low, concise voice.
The shopkeeper let out a light chuckle upon hearing this. "I suspected as much. I’ve already prepared it for you. Old rules, the price remains unchanged."
As he spoke, he flicked a finger, plucking a yellowed, tattered scrap of paper from his sleeve and slapping it face-down onto the mottled wooden table.
The back of the paper faced upward, concealing the ink, but Li Shun had no need to turn it over to know its contents. For this was precisely the passage he had read during the "yesterday" that was swallowed by fire, the record of the strife between the Left and Right Grand Councilors and their unauthorized alteration of celestial timing.
"Change it for another," Li Shun said, his eyelids drooping slightly, his tone flat.
The shopkeeper was visibly startled for a moment before he burst into a fit of helpless laughter, shaking his head. "You’ve even become picky. Very well, choose for yourself."
With a flick of his fingers, over a dozen pages of varying shades flew out like drifting blossoms, spreading themselves in a neat, flat layer across the tabletop.
Li Shun’s gaze swept over them, and he casually selected a page, tucking it close to his chest. He then reached into his robes and carefully fished out a small grey cloth bundle. Peeling back the layers of cloth, a stalk of Lengshan Grass, swirling with a ghostly blue light, was revealed.
Feigning an expression of pained reluctance, he meticulously pinched off three translucent blades of grass and placed them upon the table.
"Three leaves?" A flash of surprise crossed the shopkeeper’s eyes. "Did we not agree? One leaf for one page." Even as he spoke, his movements were as swift as lightning; with a slight swirl of his sleeve, he had already collected the three blades of glowing blue grass.
"The extra two leaves are for information regarding the 'Lengshan Vessel'."
"The Lengshan Vessel?!" The shopkeeper’s originally indolent expression vanished instantly, his gaze piercing toward Li Shun like a torch. "Could it be that you... have also cultivated one?"
In truth, Li Shun knew nothing of this so-called "Lengshan Vessel," but observing the other’s reaction, he concluded that this object must be of great significance to Lengshan Grass.
Without a change in expression, he shook his head in denial. "How could it be so easy? I have merely withered away for half a lifetime and managed to figure out a few tricks. I thought to take one last gamble before these old bones rot through. However, my knowledge of the Lengshan Vessel’s background is meager, which is why I seek to inquire from you."
Li Shun’s words were half-truth and half-lie, spoken without a single flaw.
The shopkeeper, as expected, did not grow suspicious. In his eyes, it was already a stroke of luck for a low-level laborer to gather the annual tribute; that this cripple had surplus Lengshan Grass for trade every year proved he possessed considerable insight into the cultivation of spiritual plants. It was only natural that greed would eventually rise, spurring him to seek a higher path.
The shopkeeper’s index finger tapped rhythmically and unconsciously against the wooden table as he weighed the matter. After a moment, he gave a slight nod of agreement. "Very well. However, I have one condition."
"Speak."
"If there comes a day when you truly succeed... I want you to transcribe a copy of your cultivation insights for me."
"Is it that simple?" Li Shun’s brow arched slightly.
The shopkeeper nodded with a noncommittal smile.
"Agreed," Li Shun promised.
"The Lengshan Vessel..." The shopkeeper’s eyes narrowed, his finger tapping the table once more.
Tuk! Tuk! Tuk!
Accompanying the rhythmic tapping, points of golden light suddenly ignited in the dark depths of the bookstore. Hundreds of flickering, illusory golden characters flew out from the shadows like moths to a flame, interlacing in mid-air to form a brilliant, lengthy text.
The shopkeeper casually grabbed a sheet of white paper and tossed it upward. The golden characters instantly surged into the paper like swallows returning to the woods, the ink beginning to congeal.
"My thanks!" Li Shun took the paper and tucked it away without looking.
As he turned to depart, Li Shun’s pace faltered slightly. He suddenly looked back and asked, "By the way, we have known each other for so long, yet I still do not know how to address you, shopkeeper."
The shopkeeper did not answer immediately, but instead scrutinized Li Shun once more with a searching gaze. After a moment, he softly uttered the words: "Zhou Xunzhen."
Li Shun cupped his hands in a polite salute and strode out the door.
Before leaving, his peripheral vision caught the four large characters hanging upon the bookstore's plaque: "Jixia Bookshop."
Blending into the bustling morning crowds of the market, Li Shun appeared to be wandering aimlessly, but a thread of his mind had already sunk into the Fangcun Realm to examine the two papers Zhou Xunzhen had given him.
Through the information between the lines, Li Shun finally understood what manner of entity this "Lengshan Vessel" truly was.
"The Emperor among Lengshan Grass is the Lengshan Vessel. During the growth process of Lengshan Grass, there is a certain possibility of it undergoing a metamorphosis and ascending into a Lengshan Vessel. However, this probability is exceedingly low. Since the founding of Great Qian five hundred and seventy-two years ago, only three stalks have ever manifested in the entirety of Lengshan County.
"Though the government has mastered the secret method of mass-producing Lengshan Grass, they remain helpless regarding the cultivation of the Lengshan Vessel. Thus, the value of the two is as different as clouds and mud.
"In the 333rd year of the New Calendar, a laborer in Lengshan County happened upon a stroke of luck and grew a stalk of Lengshan Vessel. The Imperial Court was greatly pleased and conferred rewards, promoting him four ranks in succession. From a lowly commoner, he leaped to become a noble of the fourth rank, the Bu Geng(Literal means, no longer serving) rank, and was henceforth freed from the hardships of forced labor..."
Li Shun’s expression remained unchanged, but a wave of turbulence had already risen in his heart.
"It seems that this year, a fourth Lengshan Vessel has been born in Lengshan County. It is precisely because of this that the remnants of the Xiang Kingdom were drawn here."
Suppressing his surging thoughts, Li Shun turned his gaze toward the second sheet of paper.
Upon it was only a brief paragraph:
[The Emperor desired to collect the wealth of the four directions, and thus decreed the Minister of Grain, Gongshu Yuan, to re-establish the currency laws. Yuan submitted a memorial, saying: "In the past, when the various states were partitioned, the coinage was chaotic and diverse, unequal in weight and value, which allowed merchants to breed treachery. Now that the four directions are unified, we should rectify the foundation. I pray to abolish the old coins of the world and exclusively mint a new currency, naming it the 'Yuan'. The 'Yuan' signifies the beginning; Great is the Primal Gan, from which all things find their beginning. Using this to facilitate trade will manifest the prestige of unification." The Emperor was greatly pleased and granted the petition. Thereupon, the gold, silver, pearls, and jade of the world were all funneled into the public coffers and hidden deep within the inner treasury. In the marketplaces, only the 'Yuan' currency was seen in circulation, and true gold and silver vanished from the world.]
"So that is how it is," Li Shun sighed inwardly.
In the twenty-six years since arriving in this world, he had long grown accustomed to the various incongruities and eccentricities of this unified empire.
Such as the twenty-four-hour timekeeping system, the sunset forcibly delayed until eleven o'clock at night, and this legal tender named "Yuan."
Initially, Li Shun had secretly speculated whether the high-and-mighty Emperor of Qian was also a "transmigrator." It was not until he spent heavy sums at the Jixia Bookshop to purchase fragments of The Emperor’s Records—gradually peering into the past of this massive empire through the cracks of history—that he completely overturned his hypothesis.
"After tomorrow’s reset, I can exchange for another page."
"A pity that in this remote Lengshan County’s Jixia Bookshop, there are not many pages left of The Emperor’s Records that I haven't seen."
The Emperor’s Records was a monumental work written by the Grand Historian, recording the various events following the founding of Great Qian.
Legend had it that the Grand Historian and the Emperor of Qian were close friends from childhood. Thus, he dared to record what ordinary men dared not, and critique the faults that the world dared not speak of.
Sadly, in the 454th year of the New Calendar, the Grand Historian reached the end of his lifespan and perished.
Since then, within the court and throughout the wilderness, there was no one left who dared or could wield the brush to carry such a heavy burden.
The Emperor’s Records thus became a swan song, the original manuscript locked away tightly within the palace. Those fragments drifting among the people were merely snippets transcribed in years past.
"Many of the people recorded in The Emperor’s Records are still alive today, and most have attained power that overshadows the court. These powerful ministers naturally do not wish to see the secrets of their humble beginnings exposed to the world. Thus, while the Record is not an official forbidden book, it has become an absolute taboo in the open. If I hadn't used the leaves of Lengshan Grass as a trade, Zhou Xunzhen would never have brought it out."
...
As Li Shun pondered, he limped along without pause. Before long, he arrived at the Lengshan Marketplace.
He deliberately concealed his movements, circling between different general stores and shops, making decentralized purchases of a total of ninety "Shadow-Retaining Coins."
In total, he spent over twenty thousand Yuan.
Though Li Shun was a laborer, he received a monthly salary of three thousand Yuan.
Furthermore, he had almost no expenses in Lengshan County besides food and drink; over the years, he had amassed quite a bit of wealth. This amount of money was something he could still provide.
A Shadow-Retaining Coin was divided into two halves: the sub and the mother.
Once activated, it could maintain its function for seven consecutive days. The mother coin could reflect the scenes surrounding the sub-coin like a water mirror.
This item was originally forged by the School of Military, intended as a sharp tool for spies to gather military intelligence. After the world was unified and strife vanished from the four directions, such military supplies gradually trickled into the homes of ordinary folk, becoming a common tool for communication.
Li Shun tucked the Shadow-Retaining Coins away and quietly returned to his wooden house. After making further preparations, he called over Old Feng from next door.
"Cripple, you have business with me?" Feng Guan asked as he entered.
Li Shun swept his hand back, and with a clatter, ninety Shadow-Retaining Coins shimmering with cold light were spread across the rough wooden table. "Old Feng, help me with a task."
As Li Shun slowly laid out his plan in a low voice, Old Feng’s murky eyes suddenly bulged. An expression of extreme horror instantly surged onto his face.
Like a bird startled by a bowstring, he hurriedly looked outside and lowered his voice, his tone carrying an irrepressible tremor: "Cripple, what are you trying to do? Scattering these things across the entire county... if the government finds out, heads will roll!"
Li Shun coldly interrupted Feng Guan’s words, his deep gaze piercing the other man. He asked only one question earnestly: "Old Feng, look at the state you are in now. How many years do you honestly think you have left to live?"
Feng Guan’s words came to an abrupt halt; he stood frozen on the spot.
Li Shun thoughtfully handed him the mirror he had prepared beforehand.
Feng Guan instinctively looked at his reflection.
Deep, crisscrossing furrows covered his face, and his white hair was as sparse as withered grass.
That grey, senile countenance was a completely different person from the young man in his memories.
Feng Guan, who had toiled in this hellish Lengshan County for an unknown number of years without ever looking in a mirror, too afraid to face his own appearance, was utterly paralyzed.
A deathly silence fell over the room.
After a long time, Feng Guan finally raised his hand tremulously. Desolate, elderly tears spilled from his murky eyes. "I... I have actually become this old."
Li Shun walked slowly to Feng Guan’s side. He raised his hand and patted the man’s hunched shoulder with a steady, forceful grip. Leaning in, he whispered:
"Now, an opportunity to defy the heavens and change your fate lies right before you."