Grass and mustard reign supreme

Chapter 148 Searching for Plum Blossoms in the Snow
Qiu Che and Qin Taiguang, wrapped in matching snow cloaks, lay like two frost-covered stone statues beneath the gnarled branches of a snow-covered pine tree, their breathing measured and slow.

Only in this way can the white breath exhaled from the mouth be as thin as a wisp of smoke, disappearing without a trace as soon as it touches the cold air, leaving no chance for anyone to notice.

Their huddled figures blended into the surrounding snow, leaving only two cold, star-like gazes fixed on the vermilion gate of Phoenix Manor to their side.

Upon seeing Zhao Chusheng's face clearly, Qin Taiguang's pupils constricted sharply, and he exclaimed, "Qin Mojuzi!"

Qiu Che asked in surprise, "Who? Which one?"

He looked up quickly and saw only two young men standing at the entrance of Phoenix Manor.

One of the men in the black robe was Zhao Chusheng, whose skin was a dark brown from years of sun exposure, and whose eyes and brows carried the honest and simple features of a countryman.

The other was wrapped in a fur coat with a blue fox fur collar, and his face was powdered, making him a handsome man with feminine features.

Especially his eyes, which sparkled with intelligence, seemed to emanate from the corners of his eyes.

It's him! It's him!

I had heard that Qin Mo was very young, but I didn't know he was born with such a handsome face.

Qin Taiguang said with surprise and doubt: "Five years ago, when the succession of the Mohists in Qin was conferred, I went with our Grand Master to watch the ceremony and personally witnessed him ascend the altar to receive the seal."

He was still a boy then, a bit shorter than he is now, but his features and bone structure hadn't changed much. It was him, it was Qin Mo Juzi!

Qin Taiguang was naturally eyeing Zhao Chusheng.

Five years ago, he accompanied the Grand Master to attend the ceremony, where Qin Mo passed on his seal and the person who stepped onto the altar was Zhao Chusheng.

Five years have passed. Although five years is not enough time for a person to change much in appearance, Zhao Chusheng has hardly changed at all.

Perhaps it's because he looked a bit too mature back then; he looked exactly like he does now.

Qiu Che and Qin Taiguang each stared at Qin Mojuzi, whom they both saw.

At this moment, a pretty young woman dressed in a maroon jacket and skirt, leading two maids with their hair in double buns, walked out gracefully.

The plum blossoms were as graceful as a plum blossom braving the snow.

Qingmei had long known that her husband was no ordinary man.

As is widely known, before he saved Yu Chengye, gained his favor, and became a staff member of the Yu family, he was a shepherd at the Yu family ranch.

But how could a shepherd be literate, proficient in mathematics, and even able to improve farm tools?

Yang Can only vaguely mentioned that he was originally a poor scholar from Jiangnan who came to Longshang in anonymity to avoid trouble.

Seeing that he was unwilling to talk much, Qingmei knew there was something going on, so she wisely didn't ask any further questions. Unexpectedly, an old friend of her husband's came to visit today.
The messenger said that the guest claimed to be a fellow student of her husband, having studied at Xuanxinglu in Wuzhou, Jiangnan, under the tutelage of a great Confucian scholar.

Qingmei was both surprised and delighted to hear this. She had thought her husband was just someone who had read books, but she never expected him to be a student of a great Confucian scholar!

The title "Great Confucian Scholar" is not an empty honor; it must be a title bestowed upon a learned scholar renowned throughout the land.

Qingmei was overjoyed and quickly came out to greet them: "Young masters, are you my husband's fellow disciples?"

Xiao Qingmei stepped forward gracefully, her smile gentle, her gaze sweeping over Zhao Chusheng in his black robe and Luo Meier in her fur coat.

"This Brother Zhao is your husband's fellow disciple." Luo Meier was afraid that Zhao Chusheng would let something slip again, and then the two of them would be turned away.

So she spoke before Zhao Chusheng could, her deliberately husky voice still carrying a hint of feminine charm: "My surname is Luo, and I am a friend of Brother Zhao."

Zhao Chusheng's hand, which he had just raised, froze in mid-air. He pursed his lips and simply shut his mouth.

Qingmei glanced at Luo Meier a couple more times.

From a distance, he looked like a handsome young man.

Then I noticed something odd about her voice, and upon closer inspection, I saw that she had small ears, a graceful neck, and her facial features were even more striking…

This is clearly a woman who has changed her hairpin and changed her clothes.

When Qingmei saw her standing side by side with Zhao Chusheng, she immediately understood.

Qingmei smiled slightly, thinking that the young girl and the young master Zhao were a couple, and did not reveal the truth.

"It's really unfortunate, my husband has gone down the mountain to visit a friend."

Qingmei stepped aside to let the guests in, her tone becoming increasingly warm: "It's freezing cold outside, please come with me into the manor for a cup of hot tea to warm yourselves up. He will definitely be back before evening."

"Uh, thank you for your trouble, Madam." Zhao Chusheng hadn't even met the person in question yet, and he really had nothing to explain to Qingmei.
He forced himself to bow slightly and then stepped into the manor gate with Luo Meier.

The vermilion gate slowly closed behind them, like a heavy barrier, keeping the two gazes behind the cedar trees out of the manor.

Qiu Che stared at the tightly closed gate and said in a deep voice, "The Grand Master told us to find Yang Can and confirm whether Qin Mo has already launched a large-scale invasion of Guanzhong."

Hey! No need to ask anymore! With Qin Mo Juzi already a guest of honor at Phoenix Manor, it would be strange if Qin Mo hadn't launched a major offensive into Guanzhong.

Qin Taiguang frowned and said: "We, Qi Mo, have already laid out our plans in Guanzhong. Qin Mo is a latecomer."

However, Qi Mo and Qin Mo are, after all, from the same sect.

Therefore, following the instructions of the Grand Master, they came here to warn Qin Mo not to get involved in this matter, and that everyone should just pursue their own future.

But judging from this situation, Qin Mo has become deeply involved, and I'm afraid our words alone won't be enough to make him back down.

"Of course not!"

Qiu Che said with a wry smile, "Didn't you see? They've already gained entry into the Yu family's inner circle."

Will they back down just because of a few words from us?

Qin Taiguang pondered for a moment and said, "How about we make a public appearance and ask to see Qin Mo Juzi?"
"We've already established our presence in the Guanzhong Plain; surely they should respect the order of arrival?"

Qiu Che said, "Since Qin Mo has already set up this plan, do you think he'll leave just because of a few words from us?"

Qin Taiguang gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "Then make them leave!"

Qiu Che shook his head: "How can we rush them? Just barge in like this, and they start fighting over a single word?"
Once their identities are exposed and the powerful clans of Guanzhong are on high alert, neither Qi Mo nor Qin Mo will be able to stay put.

Qin Taiguang said, "Then what do you suggest?" Qiu Che sighed and said, "Now that Qin Mojuzi has appeared here, it is beyond our ability to negotiate."

"Perhaps we should report this to the Grand Master and let him make the decision."

"Alright!" Qin Taiguang remained silent for a moment before finally making up his mind.

“Let’s go back and report the situation here to the Grand Master truthfully, and ask him to negotiate with Grand Master Qin Mo personally.”

Having made up his mind, Qin Taiguang gestured to Qiu Che, and the two quietly withdrew.

They quietly retreated into the depths of the pine forest, and after walking about half a mile, they found their tools lying under an old pine tree.

There were four long, narrow wooden planks, their surfaces polished very smooth, with the front ends slightly upturned.

The bottom of the wooden board was covered with a layer of animal hide with the fur facing backwards, and in the middle of the front, a gap was made by knotting ropes to fit a shoe inside.

On the pine trunk, there were also four four-foot-long boxwood logs, each as thick as a baby's forearm.

At the very bottom of the boxwood, an iron rod was inserted, with a section about the length of a palm protruding from it.

This is clearly an ancient version of skis.

Skis were invented by the ancients long ago.

In the 1990s, prehistoric Paleolithic rock paintings discovered in Xinjiang depicted early inhabitants hunting in the snow using similar tools.

According to the historical materials discovered so far, the earliest written record of it appears in the Book of Sui.

“Riding a wooden horse across the ice, using planks for support and bent wood for armpits, one can kick a hundred paces at a time with swift and powerful movements.”

However, this thing has very high requirements for terrain and is limited by climate, so it has not been widely popularized, and nowadays not many people know about it.

Qiu Che and Qin Taiguang skillfully slipped their boots into the rope loops and tightened them, then used two yellow wooden ski poles to poke the snow and began to glide across it.

The sound of the board scraping against the snow was as light as the wind. Qiu Che and Qin Taiguang bent over and lowered their center of gravity.

Soon, the two of them were moving faster and faster, their figures like two arrows released from a bow, swiftly passing over the undulating hillside.

The fluffy snow powder was lifted up by the bottom of the board, leaving a long white trail behind them.

The two were like mountain demons roaming the mountains, leaving Phoenix Manor far behind in the blink of an eye.

When they first went up the mountain, the two of them were only focused on seeing Yang Can, so they kept their heads down and rushed on their way, paying no attention to the scenery on both sides.

Now, plunging down the mountainside, the view opens up several times over.

Out of the corner of Qiu Che's eye, he suddenly noticed a dozen or so houses scattered in a mountain hollow not far to his right, standing out conspicuously against the white snow.

"There are houses over there, let's go take a look!"

Qiu Che shouted to Qin Taiguang, tapped the snowboard with his ski pole, and pressed it hard into the snow.

The snow embedded itself in the bottom of the board, creating a wave of snow that came to an abrupt stop.

Then, the two slid down into the ravine.

With the skis, the two arrived almost instantly, quickly stopping halfway up the mountain and looking into the valley.

In that mountain hollow, rows of trees were neatly arranged, clearly planted by humans rather than growing naturally.

Nestled in the valley are three rows of houses. In the open space between the first two rows of houses, a group of children are practicing martial arts in a line.

They were dressed in matching gray cloth shorts, and although their punches and kicks lacked power, their movements were precise and disciplined, clearly indicating that they had received expert instruction.

Qin Taiguang was secretly alarmed upon seeing this.

Under the rule of powerful clans, all the common people can be used by them, so there is no need to spend effort or money on their training, which is concentrated from childhood.

It is the Mohist school that starts training its disciples from a young age.

Moreover, learning martial arts is the first lesson for beginners.

"Could this be... this is where the Mohists of Qin train their disciples?"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Che was taken aback: "No way? Qin Mo has already been recruiting disciples here? Then... how long have they been setting up this place?"

Qiu Che had always thought that Qi Mo had been laying the groundwork in Guanzhong for nearly twenty years, and even if we only consider the order of arrival, Qin Mo should have been sensible enough to back down. But what he was seeing now...

Qi Mo had been operating in Guanzhong for twenty years, but he had never been so ostentatious. How long had Qin Mo been operating here?

Qin Taiguang's brows furrowed tightly. Suddenly, he noticed another detail:
The children practicing martial arts all seemed to have a small tag hanging from their waists.

Normally, the sign wouldn't be that eye-catching from this distance.

But a group of children were practicing martial arts, jumping, spinning, kicking, raising their feet...

As the children moved around, the nameplates on their waists bounced repeatedly, which finally caught his attention.

Qin Taiguang's eyes narrowed, and he said in a deep voice, "They are indeed disciples of our Mohist school without a doubt! Look, they are even wearing Mohist talismans!"

Following Qin Taiguang's suggestion, Qiu Che looked over and was immediately surprised: "It really is!"

Qin Taiguang thought for a moment and said in a deep voice, "We cannot be careless about this matter. We must investigate it carefully before reporting to the Grand Master."

“Okay, let’s go down and take a look.” Qiu Che strongly agreed with Qin Taiguang’s words.

The two quickly took off their skis, wrapped them in their cloaks, and stuffed them into the nearby bushes.

Immediately, the two men, dressed in shorts, stealthily made their way into the ravine.

To avoid being discovered by people below the mountain, the two took a detour and quickly disappeared into the snow.

Under the eaves, Yang Can watched his adopted sons and daughters practice martial arts with a smile, completely unaware that two Mohists were quietly approaching him.

(End of this chapter)