Chapter 2

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The rooster crowed loudly.

Golden morning light filtered through the gaps in the clouds, spreading across the land and pushing back the blue sky, wrapping the distant mountain foothills in its glow.

In the sky, smoke from cooking fires slowly rose, and the mountain village buzzed with lively activity.

The spring plowing season had passed, but even during the off-season, there was still work to be done in the fields, such as scaring away birds and pulling out spoiled grain.

After breakfast, Liangsheng followed his father, Lu Laoshi, carrying a hoe to the fields. Their small plot of land was a bit farther from the village. They were surrounded by familiar faces from the village. They greeted each other and went to their respective fields.

“Dig the ditch a bit deeper, so it can hold more water,”

Lu Laoshi instructed his son. The father and son spent the morning diverting water from the creek a few yards away, channeling it through other people’s fields and into their own. The success of their harvest depended on this small stream.

After a busy morning, Liangsheng’s calves were covered in mud. He sat on the ridge of the field, watching the creek water, now muddy, flow slowly and murkily.

Seeing his son’s expression as he leaned on his hoe, Lu Laoshi thought he was still preoccupied with buying a brush and sighed inwardly, but he was too gentle and honest, unable to express his feelings easily.

He walked over and sat down beside his son: “Liangsheng, do you really want to buy a brush?”

“Want.”

The boy looked up with a smile on his youthful face: “We should buy a donkey first. We can’t waste money, I know that.”

“We live frugally at home. Buying a donkey and building a cart for it would allow Dad to help transport goods for others. During the off-season, we could earn a bit more money.”

Lu Laoshi looked at his understanding son and patted him on the head: “You’re at the age to get married now. Our family still has many expenses ahead.”

While the father and son were talking, a distant voice called out: “Dad!” “Brother!” A small figure, with two braided pigtails swaying, came running toward them.

Crossing the small ditch, Lu Xiaoxian crouched down between the old and young, holding a basket and a chipped clay jug. She took out two flatbreads made from coarse millet from the basket.

“Dad, Brother, it’s time to eat.”

She poured a bowl of cool water from the jug and handed it to Lu Liangsheng: “Here, the buns are rough, so don’t choke on it.”

“What about me?” Lu Laoshi held out his hands. The little girl widened her eyes and pointed at her brother: “Let brother drink first. Dad, you’re an adult, you can handle being thirsty.”

Her innocent words and expression made Lu Laoshi burst into laughter, and Liangsheng, who had been preoccupied with his own thoughts, also smiled lightly.

That morning’s events were still weighing on Liangsheng’s mind. The strange dream, and the sudden appearance of drawings on the ground, left him feeling both uneasy and puzzled.

After resting for a while at noon, Lu Xiaoxian sat on the edge of the field, watching her brother and father work for a little longer before the three of them finally headed home. There were still household chores to attend to, but Liangsheng’s desire to solve his mystery was growing more urgent. After completing the tasks his mother had assigned, he washed his feet, slipped on his worn shoes, and quickly ran up the mountain, following a familiar path along the trail.

The rustling sound was that of his footsteps.

Pushing aside the low-hanging branches, Liangsheng soon reached the boulder he had visited a few times before. Moss clung to the stone, while birds perched on branches pecked at leaves and at the slowly moving green insects.

“Should I shout once or twice?” The young man stood facing the large rock, his fingers clenching nervously.

The night breeze swept through the forest, and the leaves rustled as they brushed against one another.

After hesitating for a long while, Liangsheng took a deep breath and gathered his courage, shouting: “Mas…Master… I-I’m here!”

His slightly trembling voice echoed through the open space. Suddenly, the chirpings of birds and insect sounds seemed to vanish, and apart from the rustling of leaves in the wind, an eerie silence descended.

The young man’s vision darkened as he looked up. The sky had turned overcast, with a cloud blocking out the once-bright sun.

“The weather’s changed so fast, could it be about to rain?” Lu Liangsheng thought for a moment before taking a few steps back and turning around. “Maybe I should head back now, if it starts pouring, I won’t be able to get down the mountain…”

Just as he took a couple of steps, a voice suddenly sounded from behind him: “Little boy, don’t you want to wait a bit longer?”

Just as he turned to leave, he paused. Though he had prepared himself mentally, he was still startled. Turning around, Lu Liangsheng saw that at some point, an old man in a dusty gray robe had appeared in front of the large boulder.

The old man had a face full of wrinkles but wore a smile. His back was slightly hunched, yet his eyes were unusually bright, sharp like blades, making them hard to look at directly. A gourd hung from his waist, decorated with black patterns that caught one’s attention.

“You’ve only been here for a short while, young man, and you’re already leaving? After so many days of offerings, I should repay the favor. What is your wish?”

Lu Liangsheng stood there, dazed. Remembering the events of last night, he bowed to the old man. “I… I wish to become your disciple.”

“Disciple?”

The old man approached, his gourd swaying on his belt, his sharp gaze fixed on the young man’s face. After a pause, he asked; “What is your name?”

“My name is Lu Liangsheng. I live in the village at the foot of the mountain.” Liangsheng dared not raise his head, thinking of the old stories told by the village elders, he lowered his head even more. “Old sir, last night, I had… I had a strange dream.”

The old man glanced at him, then turned away and walked towards the surrounding cliffs, hands behind his back. He looked around with a smile on his lips. “It was I who sent you that dream. You’ve shown sincerity by offering daily tributes for half a month. That is why I called you here. Now that you want to be my disciple, what do you wish to learn?”

“I… I wish to learn how to read.”

The old man, who had been looking proudly at the landscape, froze for a moment, even showing a hint of bewilderment as he looked back at the boy. “To read? You wish to become my disciple just to learn to read?”

“Ah… does old sir teach something else?” Liangsheng blinked in confusion.

“You…”

The old man was at a loss for words. After a moment, he flicked his sleeve, and with a loud “boom”, a large stone, the size of a millstone, flew into the air and crashed into a nearby tree. With a sharp crack, the tree’s trunk snapped, and it fell to the ground with trembling branches.

Fragments of the tree landed and rolled to the young man’s feet.

Lu Liangsheng was so shocked that he stared blankly at the scene. After a long while, he shakily raised his head and looked at the old man.

Seemingly pleased with the boy’s expression, the old man folded his sleeves behind him again. “Do you want to learn?”

After that, regardless of whether the young man agreed or not, the old man produced two old, worn books from his sleeve as if by magic, and they flew into Liangsheng’s arms. The boy hurriedly caught them, staring blankly at the musty-smelling books, unsure of what to do.

“Your Master is injured and cannot speak much with you now. I’ll go back first. Tonight, before you sleep, light an incense stick by the window, and I will teach you knowledge, including reading, in your dreams.”

The sky darkened as storm clouds gathered, and strong winds began to pick up.

The old man waved his sleeve. “It’s going to rain. Hurry home. Do not speak of today’s events to anyone.”

“Y-yes, master…”

The sequence of shocking events shattered Lu Liangsheng’s previous understanding of the world. Holding the two books tightly, he bowed respectfully to the old man and, still dazed, began to walk down the mountain.

Boom—

Thunder roared across the sky. Amid the pale blue lightning, the old man stood alone in the clearing, his face flickering in and out of view, his white beard gently swaying.

His lips moved slightly, whispering.

“Such good potential… this young man, ah…”

A long, scarlet tongue hung down to his chest. As the lightning faded, that crimson tongue quickly retracted back into his mouth.

Rumble…

Thunder echoed across the mountain ridge.

The boy had just descended the mountain when the heavy rain began to pour down. He quickly tucked the two books under his clothes, shielding them from the rain, and hurried home through the downpour.

Once inside, Liangseng sat on the edge of his bed in a daze. Outside, his mother was preparing dinner in the kitchen, his sister was tending the fire, and the lively sounds of conversation with his father filled the house, grounding him back into reality.

The experiences from earlier seemed like a dream.

As evening settled in, it wasn’t until his younger sister Xiaoxian came to the door calling him to dinner that he snapped out of his reverie.

“I’m coming,”

After sending his sister away. He then took out the hidden books once more, confirming that the events from earlier were indeed not a dream. After carefully putting them away again, he changed clothes and joined his family in the kitchen.

The family sat together around the hearth with only two small dishes, both made from vegetables grown in their yard. The grain for the meal was millet. In these times, they were lucky the local officials didn’t impose heavy taxes. In years of disaster, even such meager food could be considered a luxury.

After dinner, Lu Liangsheng helped clean up the dishes and returned to his room.

Outside, the sound of the rain continued to fall, creating a beaded curtain along the eaves of the thatched roof.

In the darkness, the boy lit an incense stick, placing it by the window. He then lay back on his bed, resting his head on a wooden pillow, eyes wide open as he stared at the pitch-black ceiling. The scent of the incense drifted into his nose as he faintly heard his parents talking in the kitchen.

“That boy, Liangsheng, has something on his mind. He barely ate anything tonight.”

“He doesn’t want to buy a brush, he’s a sensible boy. We talked about it today while working in the fields.”

“What good does talking do? He’s just like you, agrees on the outside but thinks all sorts of things inside. If he could become a scholar, the ancestral tombs of your Lu family would start emitting green smoke!”

By now, the evening had fully darkened. Only the last embers in the hearth flickered faintly, casting a warm glow over Lu Laoshi, who sat silently. Breaking a dry branch, he threw it into the fire.

“Our family can’t afford to raise a scholar.”

Across from him, his wife paused while scrubbing the pot. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her wet hand and gazed at her husband. “Then buy an old donkey, and with the remaining money, let’s buy Liangsheng a brush and a notebook.”

“Women’s foolishness. He doesn’t even know how to write.”

“He’ll learn as he goes. It’s settled then. When you go to Fushui County with the others in a few days, take Liangsheng with you.”

In the flickering firelight, Lu Laoshi rose to his feet and left. The rainwater under the eaves splashed against his trousers. He walked to the side room, peeking in at his son, who had already fallen asleep. Sighing, he turned back to the kitchen and sat down again, picking up the basket his wife had been weaving earlier. He worked late into the night, aiming to finish a few more in time for the upcoming market.

…

A gust of wind sent raindrops into the window, causing the incense smoke to waver and drift toward the sleeping figure.

Beneath his closed eyelids, Liangsheng’s eyes began to move, and a small dimple formed on his thin, pale cheek as if the wind had brushed it. Slowly, his mind drifted.

“Lu Liangsheng…”

The old man’s voice echoed in his dream once more, just like before.

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