Chapter 1: Ying Kongtu
In April, Changchuan County was beginning to warm up. Tender shoots had sprouted from the grass along the roadside, and from afar, everything was washed in a fresh, new green.
Ying Kongtu stood amid the hazy greenery, waiting for the car that was coming to pick him up.
It had just rained, and the air was damp and clean.
As Ying Kongtu breathed, he absorbed the slightly cool air, like an ancient tree taking in moisture, gradually coming back to life.
Suddenly, he heard a faint sound and turned to look toward the winding mountain road.
A convex mirror stood by the roadside.
A black car appeared in the mirror, drove out of the bend, and slowly stopped in front of Ying Kongtu.
“Senior Ying.” The car window rolled down, and Xing Chang lowered the window from inside. “When did you come out? Next time, just wait for me at home. I’ll drive over.”
“I only just came out. I happened to want a walk.” Ying Kongtu glanced at him and emphasized again, “Just call me Ying Kongtu.”
Xing Chang looked at Ying Kongtu’s figure for two seconds, then changed his wording. “Kongtu.”
Ying Kongtu went around to the passenger seat, pulled open the car door with some unfamiliarity, and got into the seat.
Xing Chang waited until he had sat properly and fastened his seat belt before slowly starting the car.
The small county town was rather remote. There were few people and few cars along the way, so they arrived at the government service hall smoothly.
There were not many people in the government service hall either.
Xing Chang brought Ying Kongtu to the real estate registration counter and showed the QR code on his phone. “Hello, we’re here to pick up the real estate ownership certificates. We made an appointment before.”
“Ying Kongtu?” After scanning the code, the clerk confirmed, “Did you bring your ID?”
Ying Kongtu handed over his newly issued ID. The photo on it had only been taken recently, and it was clear and easy to recognize.
It was indeed him.
After scanning it, the clerk glanced at him once more, then handed over four little red booklets. “The ownership of Wuchuan Mountain, Baogu Mountain, Qingfang Mountain, and Xiwu Mountain has all been registered. Please check them.”
Ying Kongtu opened them one by one and examined them carefully.
Two minutes later, he nodded to the clerk. “Thank you.”
The clerk said, “You’re welcome. Remember to read more of the mountain forest management regulations.”
Ying Kongtu had already read them at the small county library.
Because modern fonts and formatting were different from what they had been before he fell asleep, he had some difficulty reading them and had gone through them several times.
Hearing the clerk’s reminder, Ying Kongtu nodded to her in thanks.
Xing Chang, who had been waiting at the side, saw that Ying Kongtu was done and stepped forward. “It’s noon. Shall we go eat first?”
Ying Kongtu nodded and looked at Xing Chang. “My treat. You’ve accompanied me on errands for so long, and I still haven’t treated you to a meal.”
Xing Chang had been in contact with Ying Kongtu for nearly half a year, and this was the first time he had seen such a light expression on this mountain god’s face. He smiled and agreed. “Sure.”
As the officially recognized local mountain god, Ying Kongtu had fallen into a deep sleep more than three hundred years ago and had only awakened five months ago.
He had not lost his memory. It was just that the changes over the past three hundred years were greater than all the changes of the previous thousand years combined.
When he had first awakened and looked at the completely unfamiliar world before him, Ying Kongtu had even felt as though he had arrived in some land beyond the world.
At the time, the humans who approached him claimed to be from the Abnormality Management Bureau, and he had remained wary for a while.
After nearly half a year of getting along with them, he discovered that the people of today’s yamen (Ancient Chinese Office Bureau) were very different from the yamen officials of the past.
They truly did not seek anything from him. They were simply helping.
To Ying Kongtu, this was almost unimaginable.
Especially after he took out the land deeds from more than three hundred years ago. He had originally thought that, after a change of dynasty, the deeds would be useless. Yet Xing Chang and his colleagues had still helped return Ying Kongtu’s mountains to him.
Unfortunately, only four mountains remained now.
Ying Kongtu sighed inwardly.
More than three hundred years ago, there had been thirty-nine mountains under his jurisdiction. The nearby mountains had basically all been the territory of him, the mountain god.
A mountain god did not need land deeds, and he had never thought of registering deeds for the other mountains.
Those four mountains had only been registered by chance, yet he had not expected them to become so useful now.
As he walked outside with the heavy ownership certificates in his hands, Ying Kongtu thought again.
His strength now was no longer comparable to what it had been at his peak. Even if all his previous territory had been placed under his name, he would not have had the energy to manage it properly.
Thinking this, the regret in his heart eased slightly.
Xing Chang sensed the change in Ying Kongtu’s mood and glanced at him several times, wanting to talk about something, but in the end, he gave up.
Ying Kongtu did not speak either. He simply invited Xing Chang to a nearby restaurant for a meal.
After lunch, Xing Chang offered to send Ying Kongtu home—his former home had long since been razed to the ground, and the Abnormality Management Bureau had assigned him a small courtyard as his new residence.
Ying Kongtu politely declined, saying he wanted to go up the mountain and take a look.
Now that he had received the ownership certificates, he could hardly wait to inspect the mountains.
Xing Chang understood how he felt and considerately drove him to the foot of the mountain.
Ying Kongtu began climbing from Wuchuan Mountain.
The four mountains for which he held ownership certificates were all low mountains, each more than five hundred meters tall but no higher than fifteen hundred meters.
In the past, they would have been easy to climb.
The plants and trees on the mountain would have taken the initiative to give way, clearing smooth little paths for him, the mountain god.
At the same time, in especially steep places, they would stretch out their branches and place them within his reach, making it convenient for him to grasp them at any time.
That no longer worked now.
It had rained just last night, and the mountain path was wet, slippery, and muddy.
On both sides of the path were thorny brambles, tangled grass and trees, and dense branches and leaves.
By the time he had climbed halfway up the mountain, he was tired.
He chose a slightly open spot and sat on a piece of deadwood to rest.
The thick vegetation blocked most of the view. Wind could not blow in, yet the damp moisture remained trapped, carrying a faintly moldy smell.
The mountain forest was completely different from before.
Ying Kongtu thought.
The mountain forest, like him, had become weakened, old, and disordered.
There was much to be done.
That was what Ying Kongtu thought halfway up the mountain. But when he climbed to the summit, his feelings changed again.
Wuchuan Mountain in May was very beautiful. The vegetation was lush, flowers were blooming, and from this angle, he could see clusters of alpine rhododendrons hidden within the emerald mountain forest.
White, pink, red, yellow, and all kinds of gradient colors.
The setting sun was sinking in the west, and the forest mist churned. Without the glare of harsh sunlight, the beauty of the mountain forest could instead be taken in more fully.
During the days when he had slept, the living beings in the mountain forest had still worked hard to grow, generation after generation, endlessly continuing.
After resting for a while at the summit, Ying Kongtu headed down the mountain.
Going down was easier than going up. Ying Kongtu was in a good mood, and his steps were light and quick.
By the time he reached the foot of the mountain, the sun had not completely set.
Looking at the sky, he decided to go to the town library and borrow two books.
The library had printed ancient books, and those were easier for him to read.
Ying Kongtu walked along the street, and people turned to look at him all the way.
He had long since grown used to other people’s gazes and did not pay much attention, nor did he look around much.
When he reached the intersection, he habitually glanced across the road.
Across the road was Changchuan River, with ancient trees growing along its bank.
Beneath the largest ancient tree stood a small mountain god temple, which was also Ying Kongtu’s little temple.
It was called a temple, but in truth, it was only a small shrine built from bricks. To keep out the rain, a few roof tiles had been placed on top.
In the past, whenever there were festivals or holidays, villagers would bring incense, candles, and offerings over to burn incense.
In the half year since Ying Kongtu had awakened, he had never seen anyone come.
Today, however, he saw a tall man standing in front of the little temple.
Ying Kongtu’s steps came to a halt.
The small county where he lived was called Changchuan County.
More than three hundred years ago, Changchuan County had still been Changchuan Village, and the mountain god temple had been built back then.
After awakening again, Ying Kongtu had looked into it specially.
Nowadays, no one believed in the mountain god anymore. The reason the mountain god temple still existed was that it had become a cultural relic of this small county town and was under state protection. It was even repaired from time to time.
Ying Kongtu had gone back and forth through the small county town so many times, yet this was the first time he had seen someone standing outside the mountain god temple.
After watching for a few moments, Ying Kongtu quickly realized that the man had not come to worship the mountain god by himself. He had brought a long-haired orange tabby cat with him, yellow-backed and white-bellied, a very large one.
An orange tabby with this appearance was quite rare, and Ying Kongtu could not help looking a couple more times.
The orange tabby had delicate features, but it was fierce, struggling hard in the man’s arms.
The man held the cat firmly by the back of the neck and supported its bottom. “What are you hiding for?”
The orange tabby hissed. “Meow!”
The man guided the cat to press its paw print in front of the mountain god temple. “Just registering your household. It’ll be done soon.”
Ying Kongtu looked at the man and the cat.
The man looked at the cat paw print left in the soil. “All right. May the mountain god protect you and keep you safe wherever you go.”
According to legend, when kittens and puppies pressed their paw prints in front of the mountain god temple, they were registered there, and from then on, they fell under the mountain god’s jurisdiction.
If they got lost, the mountain god had to help send them back.
Ying Kongtu dug this memory out from some forgotten corner of his mind. Looking at the man and the cat, his gaze became complicated.
He had not expected that in this day and age, there would still be someone bringing a cat to worship the mountain god.
Even he himself was not certain whether, as a mountain god, he could still protect the living beings on this land.
Wen Zhongshan straightened up with the cat in his arms and sensed a gaze.
He turned his head and looked over.
Across the road stood a young man, who was looking this way. Wen Zhongshan raised his head and met those eyes.
They were a pair of eyes tinged faintly with gray-blue, like a dark mountain at dusk after rain.
Wen Zhongshan paused, then carried the cat and walked over.
The young man was very tall and stood very straight. Even when he stood casually, there was a kind of taut strength to him, like a slender, upright tree in spring.
Wen Zhongshan rarely sensed beauty from a human body.
The young man before him, however, was an exception.
He stood there, his body proportions and lines extraordinarily beautiful. Even without looking at his face, there was a beauty to him that struck the eye.
Ying Kongtu remained where he was, waiting as the man walked closer step by step with the cat in his arms. He said, “It’s rare to see someone bring a cat to worship the mountain god.”
Wen Zhongshan said, “A stray cat I picked up recently. Wild and hard to tame, always running outside. I brought it here to pray, hoping it stays safe and sound.”
Wen Zhongshan lightly scratched the side of the orange tabby’s neck, then looked up at Ying Kongtu. “My name is Wen Zhongshan. Wen as in ‘to hear,’ and Zhongshan as in ‘the light boat has already passed through countless mountains.’ May I get to know you?”
“Zhongshan.”
Hearing this name, Ying Kongtu, as a mountain god, felt as though something had plucked at his heart. He raised his head and looked at Wen Zhongshan.
There was a hint of puzzlement in Wen Zhongshan’s eyes.
Ying Kongtu said, “My name is Ying Kongtu. Ying as in ‘ought to,’ and Kongtu as in ‘if one can understand the principle of true emptiness, there is no need to toil and draw diagrams.’”
After Ying Kongtu finished speaking, he saw that Wen Zhongshan did not seem to understand. After a pause, he changed to a more everyday explanation. “Kong as in ‘empty,’ and Tu as in ‘grand ambitions.’”
“I understood.” Wen Zhongshan said, “I was just thinking that your name sounds like it comes from a verse of Buddhist gatha. It’s very special.”
Ying Kongtu said, “Your name sounds very nice too. You came to this small county to—”
“To live here for a while.” Holding the cat, Wen Zhongshan said, “I got tired of staying outside and wanted to spend a couple of peaceful years here. What about you? Are you local?”
Ying Kongtu looked at Wen Zhongshan, then past him at the mountain god temple across the road.
After pausing for two seconds, Ying Kongtu nodded. “I was born and raised here.”
