A Man in the Snow: Starting with a Sword Challenge to the Northern Liang Prince's Palace

A small sailboat, its sails patched and its hull marked by the marks of wind and waves, docked. A middle-aged scholar, dressed in a long blue robe, disembarked, carrying a wooden box. He asked a swordsman by the roadside, "Excuse me, where does Chen Ping'an, Chen Yin Guan, reside?"

The sword cultivator pointed in the direction of the Hidden Official's Office.

The middle-aged scholar thanked him and walked over with the wooden box in his arms.

Chen Ping'an was processing official documents in the hidden government office. A thick stack of documents was piled on the table, including city defense maps, grain and fodder lists, and personnel allocation tables, each requiring his signature. He held the paper with his left hand and the pen in his right, his wrist aching from writing.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Chen Ping'an?" The middle-aged scholar stood at the door.

Chen Pingan looked up: "That's me."

A middle-aged scholar walked in, placed the wooden box on the table, stepped back, and bowed: "I am a clerk at the Confucian Temple, and I have been ordered to deliver Mr. Qi Jingchun's relics to Young Master Chen."

Chen Ping'an stopped writing.

He put down his pen and looked at the wooden box on the table. The box was small, about a foot long and wide, made of rosewood, with rounded edges and no decorations. Two characters were engraved on the lid: "Jingchun".

Chen Ping'an stretched out his hand, then pulled it back.

"Mr. Qi..." he began, his voice a little hoarse.

The middle-aged scholar lowered his head: "Mr. Qi has been gone for many years. These relics have been kept in the Confucian Temple and were only found when the storeroom was being cleaned up a few days ago. Lord Lisheng said that these things should be given to Young Master Chen."

Chen Ping'an remained silent for a long time.

The middle-aged scholar did not urge him; he stood aside and waited quietly.

"Thank you," Chen Pingan finally said.

The middle-aged scholar cupped his hands in greeting again, then turned and left.

Chen Ping'an sat alone in the Hidden Official's Mansion, staring at the wooden box for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. His hand remained on the lid, but he did not open it.

He thought of Qi Jingchun. He thought of that middle-aged man who always wore a blue long gown, spoke slowly and deliberately, and had a gentle smile. He thought of when he was teaching in Mud Bottle Alley, Chen Ping'an would squat outside the window to eavesdrop, and when Qi Jingchun discovered him, he didn't chase him away, but instead smiled at him.

He remembered Qi Jingchun taking the sword for him. He remembered the blood gushing from Qi Jingchun's chest, staining her blue robe red. He remembered Qi Jingchun's last words: "Ping'an, study hard."

Chen Pingan took a deep breath and opened the wooden box.

There are only three things inside.

Several scrolls were neatly stacked and bound with cloth strips. The pages were yellowed and the edges were curled, but they were well preserved. Chen Ping'an untied the cloth strips and opened the top scroll, which was the Analects of Confucius, handwritten by Qi Jingchun. The handwriting was neat and elegant, with no stroke being perfunctory.

A jade pendant, bluish-green, round, with a square hole in the center. A small character "齐" is engraved on the pendant, and the characters "平安" are engraved on the back.

A letter, addressed to "Please open to me in peace."

Chen Pingan picked up the letter and opened it.

The letter paper was thin and yellowed, and the ink had faded a bit, but the handwriting was still clear.

"Peace, by the time you read this letter, I will probably be gone. Don't be sad, everyone dies eventually, I just chose the path I was meant to choose."

You are a good child, and I know you will go far. But no matter how far you go, never forget that you are a scholar. A scholar is not defined by how many books he has read, but by how many things he has done.

Some things just have to be done. If I don't do them, someone else will. But since I've encountered this situation, it's my turn to do it.

You don't need to learn from me, nor do you need to remember me. Living well is more important than anything else.

Qi Jingchun

After reading the letter, Chen Ping'an placed it on the table, lowered his head, and remained motionless.

After a long while, he picked up the jade pendant. The jade was warm and smooth, and felt cool to the touch. He turned it over and looked at the two characters "平安" (peace and safety) engraved on the back. The characters were small and finely engraved, as if the engraver had put in a great deal of effort.

It was carved by Qi Jingchun.

Chen Ping'an gripped the jade pendant tightly in his hand until his palm ached.

In the evening, he went to the tavern.

Ye Yun was doing accounts behind the counter. When he saw Chen Ping'an come in, he closed the account book, took a pot of "Forget-Me-Not" tea from the shelf, and poured a bowl of it.

Chen Pingan sat down, picked up the bowl, and took a sip. Then he put it down and took another sip.

Ye Yun noticed that his eyes were a little red, but didn't ask.

After Chen Ping'an finished the first bowl, Ye Yun poured him another one.

Halfway through his second bowl, Chen Ping'an suddenly spoke up: "Boss Ye, you've met Mr. Qi, haven't you?"

Ye Yun was wiping the dishes, her hands still moving: "I've seen you."

Chen Pingan: "What did he say in the end?"

Ye Yun put down the bowl and rag, leaned against the counter, and thought for a moment.

He said, "Some things just have to be done by someone."

Chen Ping'an's eyes reddened. Just like he wrote in his letter.

"He could have lived." Chen Ping'an's voice was very low, as if he were talking to himself.

Ye Yun looked at him but didn't reply.

"His cultivation is so high, if he wanted to leave, no one could stop him," Chen Ping'an continued. "Why would he want to die? For those people in Mud Bottle Alley who had nothing to do with him? For those he didn't even know?"

Ye Yun remained silent for a while.

"Because he chose that path," he said. "Just like I chose my path, and you chose yours."

Chen Ping'an looked up at him: "Boss Ye, what is your path?"

Ye Yun did not answer immediately. He picked up the wine pot, poured a bowl for Chen Ping'an, poured one for himself, and took a sip.

"To save a person," he said.

"Who?"

Ye Yun glanced at the portrait hanging on the wall. Chen Ping'an followed his gaze—the woman in white in the portrait was as aloof and elegant as a plum blossom.

"My wife," Ye Yun said.

Chen Pingan didn't ask any more questions.

The two men drank in silence. The oil lamp in the tavern had been burning for a long time, and the flickering flame cast their shadows on the wall, swaying back and forth.

After finishing his third bowl, Chen Ping'an took out the jade pendant from his pocket and placed it on the table.

"Mr. Qi left it to me," he said.

Ye Yun picked up the jade pendant and examined it. He turned it over and saw the words "Peace" on the back, tracing the characters with his fingers. He returned the jade pendant to Chen Ping'an and then took out a jade pendant from his own pocket.

Chen Ping'an was stunned.

The jade pendant in Ye Yun's hand was almost identical to Qi Jingchun's—blue, round, with a square hole in the center. The only difference was the inscription; Ye Yun's pendant had the character "Li" engraved on it.

"This was entrusted to me by Mr. Qi to pass on." Ye Yun handed over the jade pendant. "He said that if you ever encounter difficulties in the future, take this jade pendant to the Confucian Temple, and someone will help you."

Chen Ping'an took the jade pendants and placed them side by side in his palm. One was engraved with "Ping'an" (Peace), and the other with "Li" (Li). They were made of the same jade and were the same size, clearly carved from the same piece of jade.

"Why does Mr. Qi have two?" Chen Ping'an asked.

Ye Yun picked up his wine bowl and took a sip: "That one engraved with the character 'Li' wasn't originally for you. It was for someone else. But that person... is gone. Mr. Qi said that since that person is gone, he'll give it to you too. Maybe one day, you can settle some things for him."

Chen Ping'an held the two jade pendants in his hands, which were warm.

"Who is that person?" he asked.

Ye Yun looked at him, his gaze deep: "Li Yufu."

It's that name again.

Chen Ping'an's heart skipped a beat. He remembered the dream, the figure turning around in the sea of ​​clouds, and the words he couldn't quite hear. Li Yufu. That name was like a thorn, stuck in his heart, impossible to remove.

"What does Li Yufu have to do with me?" Chen Ping'an asked.

Ye Yun did not answer. He finished the wine in his bowl, put it down, stood up, walked behind the counter, and began to tidy up the wine jug.

"Peace," he said with his back to Chen Ping'an, "there are some things I can't tell you now. But you can remember this—there was a reason why Mr. Qi gave you both of these jade pendants."

Chen Ping'an wanted to ask more questions, but Ye Yun had already turned and gone to the backyard, his figure disappearing behind the curtain.

He sat in front of the counter, clutching two jade pendants in his hand, one engraved with "Peace" and the other with "Li".

Peace. Li.

Li Yufu.

He strung the two jade pendants together and hung them around his neck, close to his heart. The jade was cool to the touch, and felt refreshingly cool against his skin.

He sat for a while longer, finished the rest of the wine in his bowl, and then got up and left.

As he stepped out of the tavern, a cool night breeze blew from the Sword Qi Great Wall. He stood at the doorway, looking up at the sky. There was no moon, and very few stars; it was pitch black.

He touched the jade pendant on his chest and walked along the street towards his residence.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

He recalled the last sentence in Qi Jingchun's letter: "Living well is more important than anything else."

"Mr. Qi, I will live well," Chen Ping'an thought to himself. But some things require more than just living.

He continued walking, his footsteps echoing clearly in the empty street.

Inside the tavern, Ye Yun emerged from the backyard, carrying a bowl of freshly cooked hangover soup. Chen Ping'an had already left. He placed the soup on the counter and drank it himself.

The soup was so hot that he winced.

He put down his bowl, walked to the wall, and looked at the portrait.

"Park She," he said softly, "I've fulfilled Qi Jingchun's last wish. Now, it's time to settle our score."

The woman in the portrait remained aloof and serene, like a plum blossom, and did not answer.

Ye Yun stood there for a while, then turned to close the door. He installed the door panels one by one, and as the last panel was put in, he peeked out through the crack. The night at the Sword Qi Great Wall was very dark, and torches flickered on the distant city walls like blinking eyes.

He installed the last door panel and bolted it.

The tavern was completely dark.

In the darkness, he sat behind the counter and took out the jade pendant engraved with the character "Li" from his pocket—he had given the same pendant to Chen Ping'an, keeping an identical one for himself. There were originally two pendants; he kept one, and Qi Jingchun had the other. Qi Jingchun's pendant was given to Chen Ping'an, while his own remained.

He touched the character "Li" engraved on the jade pendant, tracing the strokes with his fingertips again and again.

"Li Yufu," he said, "your journey is not yet over. But he will walk it for you."

Outside the window, the wind picked up, making the door creak and groan.

Ye Yun put the jade pendant back into his pocket, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.