Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Wrath of the Dead

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Judging by his tone, Ma Wencai seemed to care quite a lot about what Zhu Yingtai thought of him.

“You really want her to approve of your ideas. Is her recognition that important to you?” I asked tentatively.

“No, it isn’t,” Ma Wencai said with a long sigh. “I’m merely lamenting that there is no one in this world who can understand me. I have always been utterly alone.”

I patted him on the shoulder. “There will be someone eventually. Besides, we still have a sweet potato. Let’s finish it.” I peeled the sweet potato and gave half to Ma Wencai.

That night, we talked for a long time. Before we knew it, dawn had arrived. The two of us sat shoulder to shoulder in the corner by the wall, and that was how I spent the night, sleeping against Ma Wencai’s shoulder.

I have always been fond of sleeping in, and after going to bed so late the previous night, I had no awareness of dawn at all. I only vaguely felt someone shaking me again and again, while Zhu Yingtai’s voice came from beside my ear.

“Brother Yiqing, wake up.”

I waved my hand impatiently, found a more comfortable position, and went back to sleep. Then I felt someone tugging at my hand again. I slowly opened my eyes and looked up straight into Ma Wencai’s eyes.

Good heavens! I had been sleeping in his arms. But I clearly remembered hearing Zhu Yingtai’s voice. I turned my head, only to find Zhu Yingtai and the old man staring at me in perfect unison.

Ma Wencai pulled my arms away from around his waist.

“Get up.”

Only then did I come to my senses. I immediately stood up and brushed the dirt from my clothes. Ma Wencai looked just as awkward.

“We’ve already imposed on you for an entire night. We should leave now,” Zhu Yingtai said.

Her eyes were swollen and red; she had probably cried herself to sleep the night before. Thinking back to what had happened, I figured that if I had been Zhu Yingtai, I might have cried for three days and three nights.

Leave? Tao Yuanming was right here. Where were we supposed to go? Honestly, what a joke.

I plopped myself down on the veranda. “I’m not leaving.”

“You’re not leaving?” Zhu Yingtai looked at me, apparently finding my behavior ridiculous. “Why aren’t you leaving?”

I glanced at the old man. Never mind. I would not expose him just yet. I would wait for him to admit it himself.

“We haven’t found Tao Yuanming, and we don’t have a single coin on us. Do you expect us to starve to death on the street?”

“You... Even so, we can’t go on imposing on this gentleman forever,” Zhu Yingtai said.

I shrugged and looked at the old man with a smile. “Then it depends on whether you want us to go search for Tao Yuanming, or whether you would rather let us stay here.”

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The old man sighed and clasped his hands behind his back.

“Why are you looking for Tao Yuanming?”

“Sir...” Zhu Yingtai had just begun to answer when I cut in ahead of him.

“Old man, we are students of Nishan Academy. Acting on the headmaster’s orders, we came down the mountain to seek out Master Tao Yuanming and invite him to teach at our academy.”

“Hmph.” The old man gave a cold laugh. “If all the students at Nishan Academy are like Young Master Ma here, then perhaps it would be better if no one taught there at all.”

“You...” Ma Wencai immediately knitted his brows. I rose and stepped in front of him.

“Old man, if that is what you mean, then Master Tao would not be willing to teach us either, would he? Two-thirds of the students at our academy are Brother Wencai’s followers, while the remaining third are always hanging around with me.”

“Sir, don’t listen to him. That isn’t how it is. Our academy...” Zhu Yingtai began, but I interrupted him again.

“That is exactly how it is. Tell me, old man, should we continue searching for Master Tao? I, for one, dislike doing things that are doomed to achieve nothing.”

The old man looked at me, then at Ma Wencai, with an expression that seemed to say we were beyond saving.

“Come with me.”

“Sir, please don’t be angry...” We followed the old man into the peach grove. Zhu Yingtai hurried after him.

“Sir, do you know where Master Tao is?”

The old man stopped ahead of us, and Zhu Yingtai halted as well.

“He is right beside you.”

As he spoke, the old man stepped aside. Behind him stood a gravestone, its inscription reading:

The Tomb of Master Five Willows.

“Master Five Willows is dead? What a pity. We had originally hoped to invite him to teach,” Zhu Yingtai said, a hint of sorrow in his voice.

I watched the old man’s expression. This fellow really was something else, cursing himself as dead. What a strange man. In the modern world, he would probably have been sent to a psychiatric hospital.

“Now that he is dead, there is nothing to regret, little brother. It seems we were fated never to meet,” the old man said with a sigh, patting Zhu Yingtai on the shoulder.

Zhu Yingtai sighed as well. He went to one side, gathered several chrysanthemums from the ground, and stood before the grave to mourn.

“Master Five Willows, I have long admired your noble character and integrity. It is my great regret that I never had the chance to bask in your presence. Yet a handful of earth cannot conceal the grace of a distinguished scholar. Your name will be remembered forever by the writers of generations to come.”

With that, Zhu Yingtai bowed slightly and placed the flowers before the grave. Meanwhile, the old man cheerfully walked a few steps forward and pretended to sigh.

“Once a man dies, all matters come to an end. Even if you continue thinking of him, he can no longer feel anything.”

Hmph! Tao Yuanming, just you wait. Once I return to the modern world, I’ll write about you properly. Enjoy your triumph while you can.

“This Master Tao is truly strange. His name is clearly Tao Yuanming, yet he had ‘Master Five Willows’ carved on his gravestone. Tsk, tsk...” I shook my head and looked at the old man. “I wonder what mystery lies behind that.”

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“Shouldn’t we be leaving? The dead cannot teach classes, and there is no point in staying any longer.”

The moment he said this, the so-called dead man grew visibly angry.

I secretly snickered to myself. That was what he got for pretending to be dead.

“Leaving the moment you see someone dead? Young Master Ma, aren’t you being a little too practical?” the old man said unhappily.

“Hmph. That is why I possess both wealth and status, while you...” Ma Wencai pressed his lips together and left the rest unsaid, turning his head away in disdain.

“Hmm? Wealth?” Tao Yuanming stroked his beard and extended one hand toward Ma Wencai. “Then how much do you think you owe me for last night’s lodging?”

“You know perfectly well that my money pouch was stolen!” Ma Wencai snapped angrily.

“Indeed, young man.” Tao Yuanming sighed. “Remember this: only external possessions can be stolen. True wealth of the heart is something no one can take away.”

“What nonsense!”

“What nonsense!”

Ma Wencai and I spoke at the same time. We exchanged a knowing glance, and I continued.

“Old man, can the wealth of one’s heart fill one’s stomach? You say money is merely an external possession, but I would like to ask you this: which of the things you carry within yourself was not bought with money?”

Ma Wencai gave the old man a mocking look and turned toward the edge of the peach grove. I followed him. Zhu Yingtai immediately tried to smooth things over.

“Sir, please don’t take them seriously. The two of them are simply like this.”

After we left the peach grove, Zhu Yingtai did not say another word to us. She was probably furious with both Ma Wencai and me. Still, she was carrying a great many peach branches, which the old man had likely given her.

After walking along the mountain road for half a day, we finally reached the market. Markets in ancient times were truly livelier than modern night markets. I still remembered promising Wang Lantian that I would bring him some malt candy when I came back down the mountain.

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