Chapter 35: Wen Zhongshan
Breakfast had been far too filling, and Ying Kongtu and the others did not feel like moving much.
Even Tiaozhu lay lazily on its cushion, flicking its tail from time to time.
Ying Kongtu simply opened the study and asked Wen Zhongshan, “Do you want to read? Though they’re all ancient books.”
This was the first time Ying Kongtu had opened his study to Wen Zhongshan.
Wen Zhongshan looked at the dense rows of books, stacked from the bottom of the shelves all the way to the ceiling, and was deeply shocked. “This many?!”
There were nearly enough books here to make a small library.
Wen Zhongshan looked over Ying Kongtu’s collection.
Many of these ancient books were thread-bound volumes. On many of them, Ying Kongtu had pasted extra slips of paper. Written on the slips were the titles of the books and a rough description of their contents.
Wen Zhongshan even saw bamboo slips at the top of the shelves. They should also be books Ying Kongtu usually read. The bamboo slips were smooth and clean as new, completely free of dust.
These books gave off the scent of old paper, bamboo, and wood.
It was the scent of time.
Wen Zhongshan had never felt the existence of time so clearly before.
“I started collecting them when I was young,” Ying Kongtu said with a smile. “I used to quite like reading. After accumulating them for more than a thousand years, little by little, there ended up being this many.”
Wen Zhongshan said, “More than a thousand years?”
“Yes. Including the time I spent asleep, it has already been more than a thousand years. Back then, I was even thinking of studying for the imperial examinations.”
With a smile, Ying Kongtu slowly spoke of his own past.
Wen Zhongshan listened in silence. After hearing him out, he said, “I never experienced any of that. The moment I came into being, I joined the army.”
“Actually, I never truly took the imperial examinations either.” Ying Kongtu revealed a reminiscent expression. “One spring, I left home, intending to go to the prefectural seat to study. On the road, I saw two children swept away by floodwater. In order to save them, I was also swept away by the flood.”
Wen Zhongshan lightly patted his back.
Ying Kongtu said, “I should have died back then. Later, somehow, I woke again among the mountains and forests. I had forgotten all my past, and I couldn’t even remember my own name. Later, I met a monk, and the monk gave me my current name.”
Ying Kongtu smiled and glanced at Wen Zhongshan.
He had never liked speaking about these things. Some matters were things even the little mountain gods under him did not know.
Today, looking into Wen Zhongshan’s eyes, he spoke of them.
He seemed like an orthodox mountain god whose divine power was pure, but in truth, back then, he had only been an ordinary person.
That was why afterward, he had never truly been powerful.
If one day he was fortunate enough to become true partners with Wen Zhongshan, he hoped that before then, Wen Zhongshan would know his past.
Wen Zhongshan looked into Ying Kongtu’s eyes and was stunned for a long while before saying, “I also became a long-lived being only after death.”
“No.” Wen Zhongshan then said, “Actually, I don’t know whether I was human before. Fu Yuan said I might have been human, and because I had an obsession, I awakened again after death.”
“I also think it’s possible I wasn’t.” Wen Zhongshan pursed his lips and said to Ying Kongtu, “Maybe I was just a sha formed from countless thoughts after a bloody battle.”
A sha was an inauspicious type of supernatural existence, usually associated with calamity.
If one were to calculate origins, Wen Zhongshan’s background was lower even than Ying Kongtu’s, who had become a mountain god.
In an ordinary tone, Wen Zhongshan told a story.
Back then, an army had gone deep into the borderlands to resist foreign enemies. Ahead were enemies as vicious as wolves and tigers; behind were political opponents who pursued private gain at public expense.
The general led his soldiers in a desperate battle, and in the end, they all perished among the heavy mountains.
Wen Zhongshan had awakened in such a place.
When he first woke, he had no physical body and no memories.
The only things accompanying him were corpses strewn across the mountains and plains.
A few days later, a doctor who was passing through to prevent an epidemic found him amid the mountain of corpses and sea of blood and brought him back.
He took the doctor’s surname, Wen.
As for his given name, he chose it himself.
He did not want to forget the scene where he had awakened.
Wen Zhongshan said, “Even now, I still don’t know what exactly I am—a ghost, a thought, a sha? In any case, I have nothing to do with gods.”
Wen Zhongshan paused, then continued, “My current state is already very far from my peak as well.”
“Back then, when I joined the army, there was still an emperor in the court. At that time, wolves surrounded us on all sides, and foreign enemies encircled us. I fought battle after battle at the border until the country became independent again.”
“I also led people to guard the frontier and deter one generation of enemies after another,” Wen Zhongshan said softly. “Now, the country has grown strong, and the nation is prosperous and peaceful. Instead, I no longer know what I can do. I’ve lost my direction.”
A non-human who had lost direction was dangerous.
Dangerous to others, and dangerous to themselves as well.
They might dissipate because of it.
Perhaps these secrets had lain across Wen Zhongshan’s heart for too long.
He spoke them all in one breath.
Ying Kongtu listened to his heavy tone, and in the end, reached out and hugged him.
Their chests pressed together.
Both of them were non-human, but their bodies were still burning hot. When held, they still felt like flesh and blood.
They had felt like old friends at first sight, yet it seemed only today that they truly came to know one another.
Reaching out to hold Ying Kongtu tightly, Wen Zhongshan said, “Back then, it was Fu Yuan who suggested I come to Changchuan County.”
“The Fu Yuan who sent us rice?”
“Yes, him. At the time, I told him I wanted to go out for a walk. He suggested I come here and said you were a mountain god who had just awakened and might not adapt well to modern society, so he asked me to take care of you.”
Back then, Wen Zhongshan had awakened among heavy mountains and had been picked up by the kindhearted Doctor Wen, who brought him back and cared for him for quite some time.
Later, although he repaid that kindness, having received the grace of those who came before him, he was also willing to look after those who came after.
When he heard that the mountain god’s situation was somewhat similar to his own back then, he hesitated briefly, then agreed.
“Actually, the mountain god doesn’t need to be taken care of. You’ve always been strong, and these mountains and forests have always been supporting you.”
“The one who needed taking care of was me. Fu Yuan gave me a commission and gave my life an anchor, so I wouldn’t immediately fall apart.”
“I’m very glad he gave me a thread, so I could follow that thread and find you.”
Wen Zhongshan was not good at laying bare his feelings.
His voice was very low.
But the two of them were standing close enough that no matter how low his voice was, it would not be drowned out by each other’s heartbeat.
Ying Kongtu looked at Wen Zhongshan.
Wen Zhongshan’s expression carried confusion.
This tall and handsome man stood there, his aura completely different from usual.
He looked as though he had finished making a report and was waiting for Ying Kongtu’s judgment and decision.
Just like at many moments in his life, he had always been chosen, always been arranged.
If not by humans, then by fate, wrapped up and pushed forward.
Ying Kongtu was different.
From the moment he was born as “Ying Kongtu” until now, he had always known his mission, and he had always had things he truly wanted to do.
He had never truly been lost or without direction.
After thinking seriously, Ying Kongtu said, “Leave it to time.”
Wen Zhongshan raised his eyes to look at him. At this moment, his expression was almost like that of the furry little mountain gods under Ying Kongtu.
No, he was like a huge, furry animal.
Ying Kongtu lightly patted his back. “Since you’re still lost, then stay lost for now. Maybe one day, everything will suddenly become clear.”
“There’s no need to hurry. Confusion is also part of life.” As Ying Kongtu spoke, he hugged Wen Zhongshan firmly again.
If before, Ying Kongtu had been full of goodwill toward Wen Zhongshan,
then today, he felt an added tenderness for him.
Just as he did with the many lives under his care, Ying Kongtu took him into the scope of his protection.
Wen Zhongshan was arranged by Ying Kongtu to sit in the courtyard.
Warm sunlight spilled down. On the table, cassia-bark orange tea gave off curling wisps of steam.
Yellowing pages basked in the sunlight. Those ancient printed characters were the layouts and handwriting Wen Zhongshan was most familiar with.
The books were dried by the sunlight, and Wen Zhongshan was gradually dried by the sunlight too.
After lunch, Ying Kongtu said, “Let’s go patrol the mountain.”
“When your heart is unsettled, patrolling the mountain helps. Walking in the forest, there will always be a path ahead, and people will know what they should do.”
Wen Zhongshan answered in a low voice, “All right.”
Ying Kongtu took Wen Zhongshan to Ai Mountain.
They started from Wuchuan Mountain, following the distant and steep mountain path step by step upward. Their bodies gradually grew tired, but their minds became clearer instead.
Snow had fallen on Ai Mountain.
A thin layer of fresh snow covered the branches, stones, and mountain ground. When stepped on, it was soft and fluffy, making creaking sounds.
This kind of snow was not slippery. It would become slippery only after some time passed, when the ice and snow melted slightly and formed a thin shell of ice on top.
Now was the best time to step on snow.
“How is it? Are you feeling a little better?” Ying Kongtu smiled.
Wen Zhongshan looked at his smiling face and nodded.
Ying Kongtu took a deep breath. “The air is wonderful. I love the forest after snow.”
“Of course, I also love the forest after rain, the forest on clear days, and the forest filled with mist. I love all kinds of forests.”
“Mm. You are a mountain god.”
“When I was human, I probably loved them too,” Ying Kongtu said with a smile.
Ying Kongtu brought Wen Zhongshan to the edge of Snow Mountain Lake.
A thin layer of ice had formed over the lake. Looking down through the ice, one could see large fish swimming beneath.
“I was wondering how Tiaozhu managed to catch such a big fish today. So it suddenly froze over, and the fish are a little short of oxygen.”
Ying Kongtu observed for a while, then selected a large stone on the lakeshore.
He threw the stone onto the lake surface.
With the thud of breaking ice, a large crack split open across the calm lake.
The wind blew over the water beneath the ice, making the lake shimmer with ripples.
The fish below the surface swam back and forth. After hesitating for a while, they ultimately could not resist the temptation and floated up to the surface to breathe in great mouthfuls.
Ying Kongtu smashed two more openings in the ice, then clapped his hands and said to Wen Zhongshan, “Let’s go. We’ll check on the woad. It should be growing quite well.”
Even in wind and snow, there would still be new life struggling to survive.
Ying Kongtu smiled, patted Wen Zhongshan’s back, and led him down the mountain.
