Chapter One Hundred Forty-Six: Dream Invasion

Observing the hesitation on Xi Fangping's face, Hou Qing, the mountain deity, felt a surge of secret delight and continued to persuade him.

"Scholar Xi, this mountain deity knows you were led astray by that Chen Jianchen, but that fellow harbors malicious intent and is simply trying to use you. Scholar Xi, you must not fall for his deception."

It would have been fine had he not mentioned Chen Jianchen, but at the very sound of the name, Xi Fangping jolted awake: What has come over me?

Could his father being released and being granted a slice of worldly wealth make it as though none of this had ever happened?

Is this the justice I set out to claim?

If I were to agree to this right now, how could I ever face Chen Jianchen again in the future?

At this thought, cold sweat poured down his back, and he said with righteous indignation, "You mountain deity, spare me your attempts to sow discord. What I want is justice, not some sordidly acquired wealth! If you know your wrongdoing, you should release my father immediately, and then go to the City God to make a full confession and plead for mercy!"

Hou Qing flew into a violent rage. "Good for nothing! You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Don't blame this mountain deity for being merciless!"

With that, he rose with a thunderous roar, revealing his true form—a towering ape nine feet tall, with fur as red as fire, glaring eyes, and a gaping mouth as he lunged forward roaring.

Terrified, Xi Fangping could not help but cry out, "Brother Chen, save me!"

Swish, swish, swish!

Amidst his call, three scrolls of calligraphy suddenly materialized in the void, bearing precisely the three characters written by Chen Jianchen: "Suppress", "Calm", and "Expel".

These three scrolls appeared out of thin air, swirling around Xi Fangping to form a protective barrier.

Bang!

The frenzied ape crashed straight into them, yet could do nothing against the three scrolls. Instead, the radiant light radiating from the characters pierced its fiery fur, producing a metallic clang...

"Ow!"

Xi Fangping cried out in shock and jerked awake, only to realize it had been a dream within a Southern Ke dream. The night was as deep as the sea, and the wind and rain had finally stopped.

Hearing his cry, Chen Jianchen immediately woke up and asked in a deep voice, "Brother Xi, what is it?"

Only then did Xi Fangping notice that the clothes on his back were soaked through with cold sweat, clammy and damp. With lingering fear in his heart, he recounted everything that had happened in the dream, detail by detail. By this point, he belatedly understood the purpose of the three scrolls Chen Jianchen had written and hung around them earlier: it truly was a precaution against unforeseen trouble!

Yet such methods were utterly astonishing; could Chen Jianchen not be a mortal, but an immortal?

After listening, Chen Jianchen let out a cold snort. "Despicable." He paused for a moment before adding, "Brother Xi, that you could hold fast to your original intent and remain unmoved by external temptations is truly admirable."

Xi Fangping wore a look of shame and replied, "Brother Chen flatters me. Earlier, I wavered for a split second. If I had truly agreed to it, I would never have had the face to face you again, Brother Chen."

In the Tianlong Dynasty, the Four Books were undoubtedly dry and rigid, but between the lines were deeply branded two fundamental characters: one was "Loyalty", and the other was "Trust".

As for loyalty, it naturally meant loyalty to the imperial court. As for trust, it emphasized that a person must keep their word, with trustworthiness being the foundation of existence. There was a widely circulated little story about a scholar named "Chen Tianci" who had arranged to meet someone under a bridge. Unexpectedly, the other person failed to arrive as promised while a violent rainstorm broke out and the river flooded. Refusing to leave no matter what, he clung to a bridge pillar and was drowned—never breaking his word to another even unto death.

From Chen Jianchen's perspective, this story was somewhat exaggerated and pedantic, but the values within it were recognized by many grassroots scholars.

Therefore, when Chen Jianchen came to help Xi Fangping, had Xi Fangping privately reached an agreement with the mountain deity Hou Qing and given up on seeking justice, it would have been equivalent to betraying Chen Jianchen and breaking his word for personal gain. If word of that spread, he would undoubtedly have been despised by all.

Chen Jianchen looked up at the sky and roughly estimated the time. Dawn was near, so he said, "Since the wind and rain have stopped, we might as well head down the mountain now. This place is not somewhere to linger."

As a netherworld mountain deity, Hou Qing had not yet attained the realm of the Dharma Body, so he could not manifest physically in the mortal world to pursue them. However, the fact that he could invade Xi Fangping's spiritual consciousness sounded a loud alarm for them; it was best to leave as early as possible.

Xi Fangping naturally had no objections. The two of them tidied up briefly, lit a lantern, and carrying it, began their descent down the mountain.

Because of the overnight rain, the mountain path was quite slippery and full of mud, making it extremely difficult to walk. Fortunately, their physical foundations were quite good, and they walked with steady steps.

They successfully reached the foot of the mountain just as the eastern horizon began to turn a pale fish-belly white. Believing that after a night of wind and rain, today would turn out to be a bright, sunny day.

Arriving at the market at the foot of the mountain, early-rising food stalls had already been set up. Congee, deep-fried dough sticks, and sesame flatbreads gave off an enticing aroma.

After the events of the previous night, both Chen Jianchen and Xi Fangping were ravenously hungry. They quickly found a clean stall and eagerly dug into the food. Once their stomachs were full, the morning sun rose in the east, illuminating the earth with brilliant light.

They hired a carriage and began their journey back to Jiangzhou.

Prior to this, Xi Fangping had only been to Jiangzhou once, during the New Year when he had specially hurried over to set up a couplet stall on the street to make money by writing calligraphy. But whether due to excessive competition or some other reason, after setting up his stall for ten days, apart from covering his costs, he had earned less than a string of coins. To save money back then, out of the ten days he had spent five sleeping under other people's eaves, three sleeping near the outer walls of a nearby temple, and the remaining two sleeping directly in a narrow alley.

In truth, Xi Fangping's plight was merely a microcosm of scholars of humble origins across the world. Under the current dynastic rule, the polarization between the rich and poor classes was becoming increasingly severe and widening by the day. Even scholars who had attained the title of Xiucai would face bitter poverty if they lacked business acumen.

One had to realize that passing the provincial examination was exceedingly difficult; simply gaining the qualification to sit for the provincial exams could never be achieved through a good literary style alone. Outside the examination hall, there were human connections, networks, and far too many intricacies to navigate.

Rote memorization no longer offered a way out.

Entering Jiangzhou for the second time, Xi Fangping was flooded with a myriad of emotions. He had once sworn that one day he would enter the city in grand style to pursue his studies, but looking at it now, that dream felt so infinitely remote.

Chen Jianchen did not return to the academy, instead having the carriage drive directly to his own home. Upon arrival, he introduced Xi Fangping to Mo Sanniang and Abao as his classmate.

Initially, Xi Fangping felt somewhat reserved, but gradually he opened up. Upon entering Chen Jianchen's study and seeing the shelves lined with a dazzling array of books, he let out a loud exclamation of awe, his eyes going wide.

Chen Jianchen curled his lips, thinking to himself that if he were to see the study of Zhang Huanyun, the book maniac of Suzhou, he would probably faint from pure bliss on the spot...

As a scholar, loving books was naturally a matter of course. Moreover, for many years, Xi Fangping had relied on copying books to study, making him cherish books all the more, treating them as precious treasures. Thus, when he saw a copy of *Explanations of the Four Books of the Eight Treasures* tossed carelessly aside with its pages crudely folded over, his heart ached, and he immediately picked it up to smooth it out.

Seeing this, Chen Jianchen smiled speechlessly. It seemed this Xi Fangping was truly a book lover, so he said, "Brother Xi, you may feel free to take and read any of the books here."

He did not use the word "borrow". As the saying goes, "A maniac in borrowing books, a miser in returning them," in this realm, the word "borrow" should not be spoken lightly.

Overjoyed beyond measure, Xi Fangping repeatedly expressed his gratitude and hurriedly took down a long-desired copy of *Notes from the Eight-Inch Tower* to read. How does one relieve worries? Only through books.

Nowadays, Chen Jianchen's living environment had undergone earth-shaking changes, having long since entered a well-off standard of living. Therefore, he frequently scoured the market for all kinds of useful books, buying them to read in his study. Astronomy, geography, classics, histories, philosophers, collections of poetry and prose—it was all-encompassing. Walking ten thousand li and reading ten thousand volumes was the only way one could eventually achieve the unity of knowledge and action. Although he was a transmigrator, the content of the books in this plane was fundamentally different and distinct from his previous life, requiring him to study them anew.

Ever since he unraveled the mental knot concerning the eight-legged essay, Chen Jianchen had truly achieved the state of "following his heart's desires without transgressing what is right."

A study is the most private place for a man, much like the boudoir of a young lady of a wealthy family. By allowing Xi Fangping to enter, Chen Jianchen clearly felt that this person possessed independent thinking, steadfast principles, and was a dutiful son—not just another pedantic scholar, making him someone worth befriending. Having one more friend meant having one more source of strength for the future.

The "Cannot-Smell-Cock-Crow Incense" could not be used during daylight hours, so they had to wait until nightfall.

After finishing dinner, Chen Jianchen found an excuse to leave with Xi Fangping, heading early to the City God Temple in Jiangzhou City.

The Jiangzhou City God Temple covered a vast area with continuous buildings, adorned everywhere with carved beams and painted pillars. At the main hall, the entrance bore a couplet on either side that read: "The time for good and evil to be rewarded has come; do not argue whether retribution is late or early." The horizontal scroll read: "No partiality here."

This couplet had been written years ago when Wu Wencai's father, the current Minister of Rites Lord Wu Yongbiao, was serving as the Prefect of Jiangzhou.

The characters were neat, very handsome, and the strokes were stern, carrying an inherent majesty. The meaning of the couplet was filled with the intent to persuade people toward goodness, while the horizontal plaque's phrase "No partiality here" left one wondering whether Lord Wu was comparing himself to the deity or inscribing it for the City God. Regardless, Chen Jianchen knew full well that these were merely polite facades.

Facades could not be taken literally; to take them literally was to court self-destruction.

The City God Temple accommodated incense-offering guests because there were many side chambers inside—Guanghan Daoist Priest had originally stayed in one of the side chambers of the City God Temple.

Living in the side chambers of the City God Temple required no fee, but one had to donate at least a string of incense money in advance to qualify for accommodation. For this reason, Chen Jianchen specifically donated two strings of coins—one for himself, and the other to cover Xi Fangping.

Xi Fangping felt a bit sheepish and embarrassed, but he did not utter excessive words of gratitude. He simply resolved in his heart that he would repay this kindness manifold in the future; this, after all, was the best way to show gratitude.

Having settled into the side chamber, as the evening shadows closed in and the moon rose above the willow tips, Chen Jianchen familiarly produced two sticks of the Cannot-Smell-Cock-Crow Incense and ignited them. Soon, he and Xi Fangping guided their spiritual souls to re-enter the netherworld.

This time, what appeared before them was no longer a mountain, but a massive city. Above the city gate, a plaque with archaic characters bore the two words: "Jiangzhou".

Chen Jianchen had originally thought they would appear instantly inside the City God Temple, but from the looks of it now, things were somewhat different and not quite like that.

At this moment, people were entering and exiting this city of Jiangzhou from time to time. They moved just like ordinary mortals, wearing diverse clothing and bearing varied expressions. Yet Chen Jianchen was very well aware that these figures were actually nether-souls—fairly respectable, human-like nether-souls!