After Chen Pingan returned to his yard, his eyelids kept twitching. His left eye twitched for wealth, and his right eye twitched for disaster.
So, Chen Pingan sat on the doorstep and began to imagine himself pulling clay on a pottery wheel, his hands suspended in mid-air. Soon, the young boy in straw sandals entered a state of forgetfulness. The boy's diligence was one thing; this action helped him endure hunger, which was equally important. Therefore, Chen Pingan had developed a habit of pulling clay whenever he had something on his mind. Firing ceramics was a matter of destiny, because before opening the kiln, no one knew if the glaze and shape of a piece would align with their expectations. It was all left to fate. However, before firing, pulling clay was undoubtedly crucial. But since Old Yao had always believed that Chen Pingan's talent was lacking and mostly assigned him physical labor for practicing with clay, Chen Pingan could only observe carefully from the side, then practice by himself, pulling clay and seeking the right touch.
A creaking sound came from the neighboring yard. It was Song Jixin, returning from the school with his maid, Zhi Gui. The handsome boy sprinted and easily leapt over the low wall. After squatting down, he opened his palm, revealing small stones the size of a fingernail, with various colors like mutton fat, bean green, and white lotus root. These cheap stones, varying in size, were commonly found on the creek shores of the small town. Among them, a bright red stone, resembling one stained with chicken blood, was the most popular. Mr. Qi from the school had carved a seal for his student, Zhao Yao, using one of these stones, and Song Jixin found it quite appealing. Several times, he had tried to trade items for it, but the other party refused.
Song Jixin tossed one stone lightly. It hit Chen Pingan's chest, but he remained unmoved.
Another stone was thrown, this time hitting the young boy's forehead, but Chen Pingan still didn't react.
Song Jixin, unperturbed, casually tossed several more stones in succession. Though he intended to distract Chen Pingan with a little discomfort, he avoided hitting his arms or fingers because he felt that would be unfair.
After throwing the stones, Song Jixin clapped his hands. Chen Pingan exhaled deeply, shook his wrist, and completely ignored Song Jixin. After thinking for a moment, he lowered his head, positioning his left hand as if holding a carving knife.
The technique known as "Jump-Knife" was not a unique skill among the old kiln workers in the town, but Old Yao's method of Jump-Knife was universally praised.
Old Yao had a few disciples, but he was never truly satisfied with any of them. When Liu Xianyang came along, he thought he had finally found someone worthy of inheriting his skills. Whenever Liu Xianyang practiced, if Chen Pingan had nothing else to do, he would squat nearby and watch closely.
Liu Xianyang, proud of his face, often used Old Yao's secret phrases to intimidate Chen Pingan, such as "To ensure the knife's path is steady, the hand must not be rigid; at its core, it's the heart that needs to be steady."
But when Chen Pingan asked what it meant to have a steady heart, Liu Xianyang was at a loss.
After watching for a while, Song Jixin lost interest and jumped off the wall into the house.
Zhi Gui, the maid, stood by the wall. If she didn't stand on tiptoe, only half her face would be visible. Even so, it was clear that the young girl was quite beautiful.
She thought for a moment, then gently rose onto her toes, her gaze scanning the area around the poor young boy. Eventually, she spotted two stones she liked: one was a translucent, crimson stone, and the other was snowy white and lustrous. Both had been discarded by her master earlier.
She hesitated for a moment before quietly saying, "Chen Pingan, could you help me pick up those two stones? I really like them."
Chen Pingan slowly raised his head, but his hands didn't stop moving. He signaled for her to wait a moment.
Zhi Gui smiled warmly, like the first green sprout on a branch after spring rains—beautiful.
However, the boy had already lowered his head, missing this enchanting scene.
Her lips curled up, and her eyes sparkled, as if tiny, lively creatures were playing within them.
When Chen Pingan stopped his work and asked which two stones she meant, Zhi Gui's expression returned to normal, soft and gentle like spring mud.
Following her finger, Chen Pingan picked up the two stones, walked over to the wall, and placed them there.
Zhi Gui grabbed the stones and held them tightly in her hand.
For someone looking for such items, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack, something rare that might take years to find.
But for someone with fate on their side, it could be as easy as picking up garbage from the street. It all depended on whether they were in the mood to take it.
Chen Pingan chuckled and asked, "Aren't you afraid of the snot-nosed kid blocking your door and cursing for an entire hour?"
She didn't admit that her master had stolen the stones, but she also didn't have the courage to deny it. She just smiled and remained silent.
In Mud Bottle Alley, there was a mother and child duo who were unrivaled in their talent for cursing. Only Song Jixin could hold his own against them. The child was particularly mischievous, always with two trails of snot hanging from his nose. He liked to catch fish and pick up stones from the creek, keeping them in a large water tank. Song Jixin liked to provoke this little troublemaker, occasionally swiping a few stones from him. It might not seem much at first, but over time, the child would notice and get upset. Once his precious stones went missing, he would become furious, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and would curse for an hour outside the yard. His mother wouldn't intervene but would stoke the flames by deliberately mentioning that Song Jixin was the illegitimate son of the former overseer, causing him to become so angry that he almost wanted to fight. Zhi Gui had to intervene multiple times to stop him.
Suddenly, a sharp voice rang out, "Song Jixin, Song Jixin, come quick and catch them in the act! Your maid is having a secret flirtation with Chen Pingan! If you don't do something soon, she might climb the wall tonight and knock on Chen Pingan's door! Hurry up, get out here! Tsk tsk tsk, Chen Pingan is already touching that girl's face! You didn't see it? Chen Pingan was smiling so creepily…"
Song Jixin, who hadn't appeared, lazily shouted from inside the house, "What's this nonsense? Last night, I saw Chen Pingan pulling your mother's collar, and when I caught him, he had to pull his hand out with all his strength. It's your mother's fault. Her chest is just too much to handle, poor Chen Pingan was sweating all over…"
The old man shook his head and laughed, saying, "Buy it? I can't afford it. Steal it? I can't take it either."
The woman also shook her head, "It was like that before, but it may not be the case in the future."
The elderly man, who had been leisurely at first, was struck as if by a thunderbolt when he heard her words. He suddenly waved his sleeve, his fingers moving swiftly.
He sighed deeply, "How did it come to this?"
The woman's face turned cold as she sneered, "Do you think there are any good people in this small town, Immortal?"
The old man stood up, gazing deeply at the bewildered child. It seemed like he had made an immense decision. He flicked his wrist, and the white bowl reappeared.
The old man walked to the large water jar, half the height of a person, and quickly scooped a bowl of water from it.
The woman appeared calm but her palm was slick with sweat.
The old man returned to his seat and beckoned to the child, "Come over here and have a look."
The child looked at his mother, who nodded with an encouraging expression.
As the child approached, the old man gently blew on the surface of the water in the bowl, causing ripples to spread.
He smiled, "Open your mouth."
At the same time, with a flick of his hand, the old man seemed to pull a locust leaf from somewhere on the child.
He held it loosely between his fingers, not fully grasping it.
The child instinctively made a noise.
The old man flicked his finger, and the lush green locust leaf vanished into the child's mouth.
The child froze, then realized that there was no odd taste in his mouth.
Before the child could ask, the old man pointed at the white bowl he was holding in his palm. "Look closely, and tell me what you see."
The child's eyes widened as he focused on the water in the bowl. He first saw an extremely tiny black dot, which slowly grew into a slightly more noticeable black line. Gradually, it expanded until it resembled a small yellowish mudfish, happily swimming through the ripples on the surface of the water.
The child, his mind in a whirlwind, suddenly remembered and exclaimed, "I recognize it! I got it from Chen Ping'an's side..."
The woman slapped her son's face, furious. "Shut up!"
The old man wasn't surprised and calmly replied, "As cultivators, we break the rules to achieve immortality. This little competition means nothing. No need to be so nervous. If it's meant to be your son's, it won't escape. If it's not meant for that boy, he won't be able to keep it."
This child, named Gu Can, weighed less than forty pounds.
But his "root bone" was exceptionally heavy.
So, when the elderly man, who possessed supernatural abilities, had used his family's secret technique to weigh Gu Can's bones earlier, he couldn't lift him.
That was the condition for him to take him as his disciple.
Otherwise, a three-year-old child carrying gold through the market would be asking for trouble.
The old man smiled calmly, his eyes turning cold as he slowly said, "Of course, even if it originally belonged to that boy, what of it? Now that I, personally, am here, it's no longer his."
The child became silent, trembling with fear.
The woman seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
The old man once again put on a kind and gentle expression. "Child, this bowl contains all the water from the river, and now it also holds a little dragon. From now on, you are my direct disciple."
"I am a 'True Lord', just one step away from becoming the 'Founder' of a sect. Though I am from a lesser sect... Anyway, you'll understand the weight of the terms 'True Lord' and 'Founder' in the future."
The old man laughed heartily, "It will only be heavier than this bowl of river water."
The child suddenly burst into tears. "This isn't right! It belongs to Chen Ping'an!"
The woman, humiliated and enraged, raised her arm high, preparing to punish her foolish son.
The old man waved his hand, smiling faintly. "Having such a heart is not all bad."
The child lowered his head, wiping his tears and snot with the back of his hand.
The woman glanced at the old man, who smiled knowingly and nodded.
Like-minded people understood each other without a word.
When the child looked up again, both his mother and his inexplicable new mentor were smiling faintly.
The child turned his head, recalling that when Chen Ping'an left, he had made sure to close the gate behind him.
——
The small town was like a farmland, thriving in a bountiful year.
However, some people were just like a weed among the rice, barely noticed after a single glance.
For example, the barefoot boy walking alone in the Mud Bottle Alley.