CHAPTER 461: 353. WHERE DOES IT COME FROM

In the nighttime, the gentle and tender songs of a songstress drifted through Baishun Alley, with the sound of the pipa swaying the red plum lanterns at Meihua Ferry Crossing.

In the Plum Blossom Pavilion, only Chen Ji and Brother Pao remained.

Brother Pao lowered his head and packed some more tobacco for himself, sighing slowly, "Since coming here, even smoking isn’t satisfying. The taste of the tobacco isn’t right either, with each puff like a knife stabbing into the lungs."

Chen Ji didn’t speak; he knew Brother Pao didn’t need a response right now.

As Brother Pao packed his tobacco, he casually said, "What I can’t stand the most is the outhouses here. The smell goes straight to your skull, and after you’re done, you have to use bamboo strips to wipe. Even taking a hot shower is a hassle. You have to boil two big pots of water and then painstakingly mix it with cold water. By the time you have a tub ready for a bath, the roosters are almost crowing. The wine here doesn’t taste good either — drink too much and you get a headache, drink a little and you can’t forget anything."

Many people hate the places where they grew up. It might be due to some bad habits there, or the unloving family ties, or perhaps someone they dislike.

But when that place becomes "home," everyone starts to reminisce about all the things they once took for granted.

Brother Pao took a fire inch from his pocket, blowing gently on it, the sparks flickering in the dark night.

He brought the fire inch to his pipe and took a deep draw, slowly exhaling the smoke: "Being here, every day seems to stretch out infinitely, with more time than I know what to do with. I used to rarely watch sunsets, thinking that night always fell in an instant. But these days, as I sit on the third floor of the Covered Building at Meihua Ferry Crossing daydreaming, I suddenly realized that the sun sets so slowly."

Brother Pao fell silent for a long time.

It seemed as if he was ready for something, suddenly taking a drag from his cigarette before looking up and blowing blue smoke into the air, where it lingered under the eaves of the Plum Blossom Pavilion: "Life between heaven and earth is fleeting like a distant traveler. Is this poem yours?"

Chen Ji made a sound of acknowledgment.

Brother Pao asked again, "To hold a sword by the light of the lamp while drunk, and dream of the trumpet sounding at the camps, is that also yours?"

Chen Ji gave another sound of acknowledgment.

Brother Pao asked once more, "The cement too? Recently, a lot of new houses in the Imperial Capital used cement."

Chen Ji nodded, "Yes."

Brother Pao sighed, "When I was young, my dad taught me science and mathematics would take you places, but I never paid attention. I just thought that once I grew up, making money would be as easy as drinking water. At first, I earned some money from illegal boxing, but when I couldn’t fight anymore, I followed the big boss to learn about promissory notes, investment guarantees, intermediary trading, and pawnshops, only to find out that I had to learn everything anew. Turns out making money isn’t that easy. Right, Chen Ji?"

The cards were laid on the table.

The confession was hidden in the lengthy dialogue, just like Jing Ke hiding his dagger at the end of Yan Country’s map when attempting to assassinate the King of Qin. It was the first time cross-time travelers had an open conversation, revealing their greatest secrets to each other.

Mandarin Duck Formation, Iron Wolf Brush, poems, cement.

These were enough for a traveler to realize that there were other travelers in this world. And when a traveler meets another, a person with goodwill won’t feel like they’ve met an enemy but rather someone from their homeland.

The singing from the Covered Building in the distance had unknowingly stopped. Meihua Ferry Crossing was silent.

Brother Pao stared intently at Chen Ji, awaiting an answer.

After a moment, Chen Ji raised his head, pulled down the gray cloth from his face, and removed the bamboo hat from his head: "It’s me."

Brother Pao had already guessed the answer, but when Chen Ji admitted it, there was still a hint of relief.

He took several puffs of his cigarette, saying nothing. Although he had thought about these questions countless times, after speaking, he didn’t know what else to say.

Chen Ji smiled and asked, "Since when did you know it was me?"

Brother Pao blew out a puff of smoke, "Since escaping from Mengjin Inn, I’ve always been wary of how you and Er Dao tried to pry information out of me. Once in the Imperial Capital, I asked around about you and learned your name. At first, I just thought it might be a coincidence since you looked different... But until I saw the cement and the Iron Wolf Brush, I finally realized it wasn’t a coincidence. If you had told me earlier about your identity, I would’ve shamelessly stuck to the group and avoided all the hardships I endured on this journey."

Chen Ji ignored Brother Pao’s complaints and instead asked the question he had been pondering: "How did you and Er Dao end up here? After I died, what happened?"

Brother Pao recalled, "After you died, I feared that your death and Wang Long’s would attract the police, so I immediately took Er Dao and left. But just as we left Qingshan Mental Hospital, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Luocheng City. I saw the mental hospital collapse, burying everyone in the rubble."

"The rescue team arrived quickly, clearing the debris and pulling bodies out of the ruins. Remembering our brief connection and knowing you were without relatives, I wanted to arrange your final affairs, so I returned to the mental hospital the next day. There, I saw the rescue team pulling out the bodies of your uncle and aunt, that despicable couple, but there was no sign of yours."

"By the seventh day of the searches, they had cleared all the rubble, and the rescue team confirmed there were no survivors. I checked each body and was sure yours wasn’t among them. I told the rescue team you were still there, but they said it wasn’t possible. I told them your body wasn’t with those others, but they said many bodies were unrecognizable, and I should check the morgue again. But I knew that wasn’t the case, your waist had a knife scar, distinct from the others."

"The rescue team ignored me and left. Disbelieving, Er Dao and I searched the ruins for you. But in the dead of night, the ground suddenly started collapsing, as if the ruins of the mental hospital were being swallowed into a chasm."

"It wasn’t just the ground; even the sky opened up with a void, the clouds above poured down like a waterfall into the abyss below. I pulled Er Dao to run out, but before we could make it out, we fell into the chasm together. When we woke up, we were here."

Chen Ji was puzzled, "Was it that big of a commotion?"

Brother Pao stared directly at Chen Ji: "I remember that crazy young man once told you ’Forty-nine Heavens can’t keep you, go, go to where you should go.’ Now I’m very certain, that land sank because of you, the sky tore open a hole because of you... Who exactly are you?"

Chen Ji did not answer, this was not a question he could answer now.

Brother Pao didn’t mind: "Never mind, as long as you are the Chen Ji I know, I have one last question for you."

"Ask away."

"Can we still go back?"

Chen Ji opened his mouth, hesitated.

After careful consideration, he replied, "Perhaps we can’t go back."

Brother Pao leaned back, took a deep, melancholy puff of his cigarette, and the two fell into silence together.

After the pot of tobacco was burned through, Brother Pao finally tapped the ashes on the ground with a sense of idle boredom: "Then wasn’t my social security contribution a waste?"

Chen Ji: "..."

Brother Pao chuckled: "Just kidding, I lost assets worth over a hundred million, why care about social security? Come, since comrades are reunited here in the Ning Dynasty, we must at least have a drink or two."

Chen Ji shook his head: "I’ve quit drinking."

Brother Pao pondered: "Someone who quits drinking must be aiming for something big, tell me, what do you want to do?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment, then straightforwardly said, "I need to earn a large sum of money within a year, and you have to help me."

Brother Pao also responded straightforwardly: "What do I get in return?"

Though they were "comrades," in this world, there is no eternal friendship; no one is born loyal to another, no one is naturally another’s subordinate.

The only thing that could bind them together was interest.

Chen Ji said confidently, "In this year, we will still split the profits 1 to 9, you one, me nine. But after a year, I’ll leave for another country, and all the business here will be yours."

"You’re now my biggest support in this world, this division isn’t a problem, we can keep dividing it this way," Brother Pao scratched his scalp with his little finger: "But what big move are you making that even after success, you have to leave? It won’t get me involved, right?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "No, I just want to stay away from trouble, not committing any heinous crimes."

Brother Pao crossed his legs, draping his arm over the railing behind him: "Based on the questions you just asked me, I can roughly guess what you want to do with these salt permits. I understand a bit of the intricacies, so I can indeed help. But one year is too short a time, at least ten years to see little success."

Chen Ji shook his head again: "I can’t wait that long."

Brother Pao no longer spoke, silently calculating for a long time before speaking, "It could be tried, but not necessarily successful."

Chen Ji looked at Brother Pao, asking seriously: "How much confidence do you have?"

Brother Pao replied earnestly: "Only twenty percent."

Chen Ji asked again: "If the salt permits in my hand could exchange salt at all saltworks in the Inner Court, how much confidence?"

Brother Pao thought it over: "Still twenty percent."

Chen Ji pondered: "Still only twenty percent?"

Brother Pao smiled and explained: "When I say only twenty percent, it’s not because the matter itself is difficult, but it depends on whether your luck is strong enough. Chen Ji, this business will block many people’s money path, you might not earn the money, and lose your life first. The lives of people in the Ning Dynasty are so cheap, it’s scary."

Chen Ji laughed: "Knowing this, you’re still willing to help me?"

Brother Pao laughed heartily: "Man doesn’t have a thousand good days, flowers don’t bloom for a hundred days, to be a true winner, you must first bear losses. I’ve risen and fallen seven or eight times in Jianghu, when haven’t I fallen and climbed back up again? If a man can’t make a name for himself, life is meaningless."

Brother Pao shifted his tone: "However, even if you’re in a hurry, this business must be done step by step, starting small, starting with the details. Before the dagger is revealed from the map, you absolutely cannot let people see what exactly we’re up to, otherwise, we will surely die. And the first step now, you have to find a suitable buyer for the salt permits."

Chen Ji nodded: "I’ve already found one."

"Who?"

"A scholar named Huang Que."