Jing Wen raised his head, almost as if to meet the Taoist’s eyes through that piece of white cloth. He furrowed his brows and asked, “May I ask how venerable Taoist manage to see my purpose here?”
The Taoist, Zhou Aimin smiled, revealing his canine and answered, “Since sir is certainly no ordinary man, I will be sincere.” Zhou Aimin gazed at Jing Wen’s face and continued, “Judging by the lack of calluses on your palm, and their presence on only your right index finger and thumb, it could be seen that you are no farmer, but instead an individual skilled with the bow. Jing Village is surrounded on four sides by mountains, with the only entrance a valley by the Qiantang River (钱塘), there are seldom any games and plenty of fish. As such, it can be assumed that you are not a native of this land, or the very least, had lived here for only a short period of your life.”
Jing Wen grew rather shocked. To be able to tell so much from a few calluses on his fingers was truly unexpected. The furrow on his brows lighted somewhat. “Venerable Taoist is truly a dragon among men. However, there are still a dozen people in the village with a powerful physique, how could my status as a foreigner give away my ownership of the wooden chest?”
Zhou Aimin tapped his fingers against the table he sat behind, and an aged sound rang out. “That is a simple task of itself. Most men responsible for transporting these things would be given a wooden chest in the early years of their teen, approximately by their 14th birthday at the latest. By sir’s profile, you must be at least 18 of age. From the lingering vitality of the chest’s timber, it could be assumed that it was purchased more than a month ago… I had learnt earlier that no youths in the village had recently passed the age of 14, so it leaves only honourable sir as the rightful owner of the chest.”
Jing Wen, by now, was genuinely interested. Revealing an expression he had hidden for over a month, he asked with curiosity in his voice, “Is that so… if it is not disrespectful, may I ask if venerable Taoist practise any martial arts that heighten their senses and sharpen one’s mind? Moreover, I had been wondering, how could venerable Daoist foretell the martial relationship between the first man and the woman after him?”
Zhou Aimin used his feet to push the wooden chest toward Jing Wen as he explained, “This humble Taoist has little talents in martial arts. However, Heaven has been fair and compensated me with exceptionally keen senses and a sharp mind. As for the pair’s marital status, it was through the trust the woman had placed in me after I had solved her husband’s lingering issues. After all, aside from one’s wife, who would be aware of the issues plaguing the man would be a matter of excessive vigour in the bedroom?”
Jing Wen made a half bow to Zhou Aimin to express his esteem towards those impressive deductions. He said, “Venerable Taoist is unlike the phonies seen in the capital. If you have not made any reservations for the night, would venerable Taoist consider staying at my humble residency?”
Zhou Aimin, shocked by Jing Wen’s sudden gesture, hurriedly lept off from his chair and returned the bow to him. Though this action would be surely lost to Jing Wen, Zhou Aimin had still done it, saying in that position, “I dare not attempt sir’s regard, I am merely good at a few tricks. Concerning your generosity to allow this humble Taoist to freeload, I must reject the goodwill, as I had already made plans for the night.”
Jing Wen, by nature, was not an overly intimate person. He had already acted unlike himself in asking the Taoist in the first place, so he had no intentions to further persuade Zhou Aimin. He nodded, and wordlessly departed with the wooden chest.
After the conversation with Zhou Aimin, Jing Wen’s expression quickly reverted back to one as cold as the sheets of ice frozen above the Qiantang River. However, when he returned, Jing An noticed he had eaten two bowls of rice and cleared half of the food present on the table.
She tactfully said nothing so as to not disturb Jing Wen’s strangely jovial mood and silently cleaned the table. Jing Wen had spent half a day observing the Taoist read the fortunes of the villagers, and then had to transport the goods today and yesterday - which he had missed due to the children’s action - across the village, which would take the rest of the day. But still, Jing Wen had managed to make time to pay respect to his father’s grave in between.
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The next day, Jing Wen was once more carrying the box, though its contents of pig intestines had been replaced by the much more pleasant aroma of mountain herbs. What he had encountered below the eaves of Mainstreet with the little Taoist appeared to not have influenced him at all, for this morning, he had once more eaten four meat buns, much to Ling An’s disappointment.
Carrying the wooden chest, Jing Wen avoided the long line of eager villagers waiting for the little Taoist. While he could not see, Jing Wen could tell these people were different from those of the previous day due to the difference in their voice. Inevitably, Zhou Aimin’s reputation must have grown many folds due to the success of his reading the previous day.
Although Jing Wen had a good impression of the Zhou Aimin, he could not rid himself of his negative feelings toward divination in a single door. He did not have any plans of asking the Taoist to read his own fortunes, he maintained a steady speed as he walked past where the Taoist had set up his stalls.
Who knew that when he was passing, the Taoist would actually interrupt the advice he was currently giving?
“Honorable sir! The venerable lady before me has an ailment that I alone cannot cure. It must be the fate of the Heavens to have sent you my way!”
Jing Wen’s footsteps’ ceased, as he stood in place. While he had no good feelings toward Jing Village, these people were still the ones that his father had been surrounded by in his early life. Moreover, the venerable lady Zhou Aimin was referring to should be the old and widowed lady Zhi (只), whose only child had died in the wars to unify the land beneath heavens launched by the Zhu some twenty years ago.
In the end, Jing Wen placed the wooden chest against the wall not far from Zhou Aimin’s stall and stood behind him. He said emotionlessly, “Venerable Taoist, my medical skills are limited to treating stab wounds and burns. While I am willing to help, I am afraid I will not be up to your expectations.”
Zhou Aimin thought that Jing Wen was simply being humble. He paused for a moment, giving the impression that he was in deep thought, before suddenly saying, “Sir, your martial skills were once second to none in the Great Zhu Empire. And now, even if it had been greatly weakened by your injuries, it should be still of sufficient quality. Lady Zhi is suffering from a lingering spirit that plagues her mind and corrodes her health. If you are willing to channel your Qi through her liver, passing through her lower Dantian (丹田) and ending at her heart, I will receive great help in dispelling the spirit.”
At this moment, two thoughts appeared in Jing Wen’s mind, but out of respect for Zhou Aimin did not speak of them before the townsfolk. Rather, he asked, “Venerable Taoist, I have been recently unable to even channel Qi through my own body, not to mention anyone else’s… furthermore, lady Zhi’s body is frail and cannot tolerate the fierce nature of my Qi.”
Zhou Aimin, as if expecting Jing Wen to suppress his emotions and instead place his concerns regarding lady Zhi first, shook his head and said, “Sir, your time here has cleansed your mind and calmed your spirit. Though I am not certain how fierce your Qi, or the issues currently plaguing you, I assure you that as long as you follow my instructions, lady Zhi can tolerate it.”
Jing Wen looked down and fell silent for a long time. His robes gingerly fluttered in the wind as a breeze blew past Mainstreet, carrying with it a flurry of snow. One of the flakes landed on the piece of white cloth, blending with the fabric’s colour as it melted.
The wind also stirred the bells attached to Zhou Aimin’s stall, creating a faint, but heart-stirring chime that reflected the sounds of nature.
As the breezes subsided, the snow was carried to some other place along the broad road, and the sound of the bells slowly dissipated below the eaves. Only then, did Jing Wen open his mouth to speak.
“Venerable Taoist, while I trust your goodwill toward lady Zhi, I do not trust your skills in cultivation. Qi is the product of the generosity of heavens, and mustn’t be treated so lightly as you do.” Jing Wen stretched out his hands and an extremely weak, faint light appeared between his fingers. He said, “I have indeed observed a mellowness in my spiritual essence, and perhaps there is a possibility to rid lady Zhi of her illness. However, my experience as an imperial guard has taught me that a ten percent chance of failure is as good as one hundred percent. There needs to be an absolute certainty.”
Jing Wen turned to lady Zhi, who, he assumed, was disheartened by his rejection of the Taoist’s ideas. He said, “I have a few medicine and herbs, such as the 10-year old ginseng in my residence. By twilight, I shall deliver these to you, lady Zhi, and it should prolong my lady’s life. But what lady must understand is that the matters of spirits are those depending on the self, and medicine can only aid in recovery.”
Having said his words, Jing Wen no longer saw any purpose standing. Raising the wooden chest onto his back, Jing Wen left the stall of Zhou Aimin.
A long time passed before Zhou Aimin recovered. Staring at the overwhelming crowd lining before him, he sighed and said in an amicable tone, “The honourable sir does indeed have many nuggets of wisdom.” Zhou Aimin paused before he said, “The previous breeze was a sigh of ill omens, carrying the fortunes out of this village. I shall remain here for another day, and in compensation for today, shall read each individual two fortunes.”
Lady Zhi, who had been stunned by Jing Wen’s generosity in giving her a variety of herbs, including the renowned 10-year old ginseng, recovered after hearing these words. She was the first one to leave Zhou Aimin’s stall.
Soon, the entire queue had scattered. Some of them remained lingering on the Mainstreet, while others returned to their homes to doze off the chill of winter.
Zhou Aimin leaned against the wooden chair he stood on. Watching the heavy clouds that appeared to cover the whole world, he said, “As master had said, a starved camel is still bigger than a living horse.”