Chapter Fifty-Seven: Fish in the Pond

  The next day, Yitian woke up after washing and dressing properly. He was about to go to the mountain to relax and called back Little Zhuque to heal himself. Unexpectedly, he saw Xiao Shao standing at the door of the farmhouse with two large bags on his back.

  "Master." Xiao Xiao's face was filled with great joy. He had been dragged out of bed by Yuan Ye in the middle of the night yesterday, told about what had happened, and asked to come and take care of Yi Tianxing's daily life. Just thinking that he was trusted so much by both Yuan Ye and Master made him feel like his future prospects were limitless, how could he not be extremely delighted?

  Yi Tian Xing rubbed his forehead with a painful expression: "Was it Uncle Yuan who sent you here?"

  "Yes." Little Xiao said in surprise: "I thought it was you who told Uncle Yuan to pass on the message."

  Yi Tianxing looked at the package he was carrying and knew that Yuan Ye had definitely given this kid a death order. He sighed and led him into the house, handing him over to Mr. and Mrs. Xu. As soon as they entered the room, Xiao took out things like ginseng wine and down jackets from the package. Yi Tianxing's eyes widened in surprise, and he asked with his mouth agape, "We're not here on vacation, nor are we here for a holiday."

  "Preparedness ensures safety." Little Xiao, although unaware of what the third young master of his own family was doing hiding in this countryside small fish pond, still chuckled and said: "The countryside is cold, ginseng wine warms the body."

  Yi Tianxing pulled out a hard object from his down jacket and couldn't help but look at Driver Xiao with a sigh, saying: "What's this? You brought a shotgun to blast fish?"

  ………………………………

  So Yitianxing settled down in a small fish pond at the foot of the mountain on the west side of the provincial city.

  Although there is no real fun in picking chrysanthemums under the east fence, you can also fish for fat fish that don't move in the pond during your leisure time, drink old wine made from ginseng that has been soaked until it becomes wooden residue when you're bored, call out to the phoenix in the mountains at dawn, and ask if the fish is cooked when returning to the pond in the evening, life is also carefree.

  The scenery in the mountains is quite good, although it's a bit dull and uninteresting at night, but the stars in the sky are much brighter than any night in the city. Yi Tianxing likes to call out to the little red bird at night, and then sit on a high branch with the bird, watching the fish in the pond below competing for food, stirring up waves. Occasionally, a mountain breeze blows by, causing him to sway gently on the branch. He looks up at the moon in the sky, which seems especially bright and close to his face, and his mind wanders, wondering if it's really just a vast desert up there.

  He occasionally thought about his strange life and the bizarre experiences he had over the past year, always feeling that there was a hand of fate guiding him from behind the scenes. Although on the surface he pretended to be content with his lot in life, he couldn't help but feel a sense of discontent at drifting aimlessly, and he wanted to figure out why things were happening to him.

  Why would the old master let him go find that sound for himself? This might still be understandable, as he may have only known about his own cultivation. But why could he easily and leisurely walk into the back garden of the Return to Origin Temple like taking a stroll in a courtyard? Qin Zi had said three days ago that the back garden was forbidden to cultivators from all over the world.

  If this taboo refers to the old ancestor in the backyard who is capable of matching heaven and earth, why would the old ancestor be so generous to his own son, the red bird, and give him the Tianjia Temple's treasure, the heavenly cloak?

  Thinking that the heavenly cloak had brought him three days of trouble, Yi Tianxing was annoyed and couldn't help himself. He stroked the silver hair on top of Xiao Zhuque's head, really wanting to pull it out in frustration.

  Too many whys were like silken threads, binding his mind and making him feel increasingly burdened. His injuries had also gradually healed over the past few days, so he planned to sneak back into the provincial city and ask the monks at Huiyuan Temple for clarification.

  The bright moon shines between the trees, and there are fish swimming in the pond.

  Yì Tiān Xíng sat on the high treetop, swaying gently in the night breeze. Suddenly, he let out a loud cry, as if to vent the frustration that had been building up inside him for days. Then, with a swift kick, he plunged into the fish pond. Little Zhū Què was startled by his father's sudden madness and chirped anxiously as it flew up into the sky.

  Water splashes everywhere.

  At this time, Yi Tianxing was extremely bored and had nothing better to do, so he jumped into the fish pond to play. Who would have thought that the fish in this pond were not ordinary fish like carp or bream, but freshwater sharks? Freshwater sharks are also known as paddlefish, although they only feed on decaying animal carcasses and plant debris in the wild, but with a name like shark, they must be quite ferocious. Seeing such a large mammal fall from the sky into their home, they didn't know if they could consider it food or not, so they were also afraid that this guy had come to steal their rotten fish and shrimp, so they used their ferocity to surround Yi Tianxing, biting and tearing at his body fiercely.

  Yitian woke up after being splashed with cold water, and then found countless large fat fish swimming around him, either green or white. He was startled at first, but when he saw that these fish were desperately biting his body, he thought it was fun. His diamond-like body now feared that even bullets couldn't penetrate, let alone be torn apart by the fish's teeth.

  As a result, the shark's desperate biting felt like a gentle pat all over his body, and Yi Tianxing was like he was in a Turkish bath, enjoying the emperor-like treatment, being gently massaged by the concubines' embroidered fists and powdered legs.

  In the pond, he was rolling around with these big fat fish. He was bitten by nearly a thousand mouths, and finally ended this unusual massage, crawling up from the edge of the pond, leaving those poor fish that had been biting for half a day but hadn't swallowed a single piece of meat swimming tiredly in the water.

  After making such a fuss, the young man finally threw away all his worries and regained his usual languid and nonchalant expression.

  Xiao Xiao, who was awakened by the noise here, rushed to the pool and saw Yi Tianxing, who was wet all over, sitting on a stone at the edge of the pond, spitting out water.

  "Master, nothing's wrong, is it?" Xiao Xiao's face was full of vigilance.

  Yi Tianxing stared at the fierce fire hail gun in his hand, and smiled bitterly: "As long as you don't misfire, I guess nothing will happen."

  …………………………………

  Rural life, although quite interesting at first, can also become tedious after a while. Xu Bo and his mother didn't have the habit of watching TV, they only had a radio in their bedroom. Yi Tianxing was getting tired of eating fish and meat, Xiao Zhuque was lovely and clever but couldn't talk, so he had more opportunities to chat with driver Xiao Xiao. These chats led him to come up with a somewhat strange idea.

  Although Yitian Xing himself also felt that this idea was a bit unprovoked, and he considered the problem somewhat selfishly for his own sake, even with some irresponsible behavior like a rascal, but sometimes when he occasionally saw Xiao Xiao's temperament, he felt that this might be the right way.

  "Have you been in touch with Uncle Yuan these past few days?" he asked casually.

  Xiao Xiao calmly replied, "No, Uncle Yuan has instructed us. The young master doesn't want anyone to know you're hiding here, so he won't contact us on his own initiative. I won't call him either, in case it reveals the young master's whereabouts."

  Yitian smiled slightly: "Tell me about yourself, staying with me in such a boring place, don't you feel suffocated? Or else you can go back to the city and take a look."

  Xiao Xiao smiled and said, "Young master, this is a rare opportunity. Although I haven't had much contact with you, I always feel that there must be many wonderful things about you, and it's always good to follow you and learn from your example."

  Yi Tian Xing had a peacock-like personality, and it was inevitable that he would be self-loving. He chuckled and asked, "What's so mysterious about it?" On the surface, he was being humble, but in his heart, he thought to himself, "My temperament is indeed quite capable of attracting people."

  Xiao Xiao sat down beside him, gazing at the fish pond: "Young Master always does things unexpectedly, like the first time he sent you to the Temple of Return to the Origin. When you went in, you were wearing ordinary clothes, but when you came out, you were dressed in a monk's robe." He chuckled and said: "Although I don't know why this is, and Young Master probably won't tell me either, still, I think Young Master is quite mysterious."

  Yi Tian Xing didn't expect that the so-called wonderful things would be these, and he awkwardly said: "That is... uh, in the Guiyuan Temple, my clothes were burned by the incense of the monks. The abbot of Guiyuan Temple was embarrassed, so he compensated me with a set of clothes..." Suddenly, he felt that his excuse seemed too unconvincing, and he stopped talking abruptly.

  Xiao Xiao chuckled and said: "What about the night before last? How did Young Master have the guts to play in the shark tank at Danshui?"

  Yi Tianxing remained silent for a while, then patted Xiao's shoulder and said: "Your thoughts are indeed quite delicate, but there are some things that I'm not convenient to say, so don't ask about them in the future."

  Xiao Xiao's face flashed a hint of fear, and he quickly stood up saying: "I won't dare to in the future."

  Yitian Xing laughed and scolded him to sit down: "It's just that you asked me and I didn't know how to answer, what are you afraid of?"

  The fish pond became somewhat awkwardly quiet.

  "Long ago, an unknown poet wrote: or in the quiet forest, walking slowly and thinking about those who are worthy of being called wise and kind... " Yi Tianxing rubbed his teeth, feeling a bit sour. "I'm not a wise person. But I can tell you're a wise person, so I have some questions to ask you."

  "Please speak, young master." Xiao Xiao listened and saw that he had something to ask, and replied respectfully.

  "I heard you're studying law on your own?"

  "Yes."

  "As expected, you're quite ambitious." Yi Tianxing smiled and gestured for him to sit down beside him. After a moment's thought, he said, "You should be very clear that I'm not willing to interfere with the Gu family's business in the provincial city, although Old Master has always had this idea. Can you help me come up with a plan?"

  Xiao Xiao didn't expect that from the very beginning, he would give himself such a big problem. Why did the old master want to let this young university student take over the provincial city business? It was not something that this low-ranking underworld figure could understand. He muttered: "This little one doesn't dare to randomly guess the old master's intentions, perhaps it's because he thinks you have this ability."

  "What about the wish?" Yi Tianxing asked quietly, turning his head to look at him: "Ability and wish are two necessary conditions for a person to do something well. What if there is no wish? How should I refuse?"

  Xiao Xiao furrowed his brow, gazing at the fish pond where ripples of golden light shimmered like scales. He felt a vague sense that some kind of opportunity was waiting for him. After thinking for a moment, he chose his words carefully and spoke slowly: "Only capable people can talk about their desires. Most people are passively chosen, rather than everyone having the choice to accept or decline like Young Master."

  Yitian Xing looked at him with some interest.

  "I know the young master is a scholar and looks down on us rascals who mix with the underworld." Xiao Xiao chuckled: "Actually, Old Yuan has already lost his temper several times behind your back. He really wants to help you rise to power, but you always avoid him."

  Yi Tian Xing also smiled and said, "I won't hide it from you, when I was young, I saw many things, and I didn't have a good impression of the underworld. Moreover, I really had enough ability to choose whether or not to take over, and my wish was definitely not to."

  "Why did you agree with Old Master Gu in the first place?" Little Xiao asked curiously.

  Yi Tianxing spread out his hands and said helplessly: "How could I have agreed? It was completely a case of forcing the ducks to go up the shelves."

  Xiao Xiao furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, thinking that this unremarkable Third Young Master in front of him seemed to have some extraordinary abilities after all. Otherwise, why would the old master value him so much? After a while, he said: "Actually, Young Master, people who mix in the underworld are like what I said earlier, they are just passively chosen. In the early stages of entering the profession, there are not many people who have the opportunity to choose. If you are willing to return to the company and do things, it's possible that you can still lead everyone on the right path."

  Yitian Xing smiled and shook his head: "This can't convince me. Everyone's life path is chosen by themselves, so they should also be responsible for it. Moreover, whitewashing this kind of thing in a place like ours is too difficult."

  He got up and walked towards the fish pond, took the medicine and food from Xu Bo's hand, and scattered them into the fish pond. The light yellow food was scattered by his arm, broken into a semicircle, and fell flat on the surface of the pond.

  Xu Bo smiled and said: "Mr. Yi is really skilled, just like an old hand who has been feeding fish for decades."

  ……

  ……

  Xiao Xiao An quietly followed behind him, watching as he finished up and handed over a towel. Yi Tian Xing took the towel in hand but was momentarily stunned, only then realizing it was for wiping his sweat. However, sprinkling some bait for his physical constitution didn't even count as exercise, let alone cause him to break a sweat. He smiled and handed the towel back: "From the day I met you, I've felt that you're a very astute person. Would you mind telling me about your past?"

  The two words "city government" often seem to have a strange meaning, especially when they come out of the mouth of the person in charge, and will bring bad results.

  Xiao Xiao was startled and wanted to argue, but Yi Tian Xing waved his hand to stop him, saying casually: "You said earlier that those who mixed with the Black Path had their own reasons. I'd like to hear your reason."

  ……

  ……

  Xiao Xiao's reason for entering the Jianghu was simple, just like every young person in society who has forgotten how to walk. He didn't study well because he wasn't good at studying, so he had a lot of free time, and with that free time, he could go out and play wherever he wanted. The more places he went to, the more arrogant people he met, and naturally, it was easy for him to get bullied. Young people are hot-blooded, and what's called a balanced counterattack, he would naturally rise up in anger to fight back against the bullying. But fighting back just got him bullied even more severely, so he had to find a backer. That's how he joined his school's social club, which made things even more hopeless for him. After graduating, he directly followed his former leader and started making a living by mixing with others in the Jianghu, all the way until now.

  Yitian furrowed his brow and forced a smile as he listened to him finish speaking about this big pile of old, rotten sesame seeds. He said, "Which one of these reasons can stand on its own?"

  "No." Xiao Xiao replied crisply at this time.

  "So." Yi Tianxing expressed his opinion, "It's still the old saying from just now, everyone has to be responsible for their own path, I really have no reason to do these things." He turned around and walked to the shore, where he stepped on the medicine bait in the bucket with his foot and said calmly: "Old Master may really appreciate me, the ancient family business in the provincial city indeed needs someone to take care of it, Uncle Yuan is getting older and his temperament is too simple, it seems that one day he will also follow Old Master back to Gaoyang County."

  Xiao Xiao hung her head and listened behind him.

  "A man of justice is a man of profit. I'm not a good person, it's just that this thing doesn't have enough benefits to attract me." Yi Tianxing looked at him calmly, "The reason why I said so much to you is that you should understand the reason."

  "I understand." Little Xiao said respectfully with his head bowed.

  "Take it easy." Yi Tian Xing nodded, a faint smile floating at the corner of his lips: "I'm just a student, I don't have any experience to share with you. But I only know one thing, whether it's the underworld or the legitimate world, what people pursue is ultimately just money. So think more and see how you can do less harm while earning more, that's the key."

  Xiao Xiao felt that he couldn't see through the young master in front of him, and after a while, he tentatively asked: "But if you only make money, what will happen when the rivers and lakes become chaotic?"

  "What's the Rivers and Lakes? What are the Rivers and Lakes?" Yi Tianxing said in a low voice, "If you don't have money to make, there is no Rivers and Lakes. Look at those people in the book who fight for nothing but money. As long as you make enough money, you will have enough control over the Rivers and Lakes."

  "Must we turn over a new leaf and ask nothing of Jianghu affairs?" Little Xiao stared blankly: "But there are many shops on the turf with business disputes, and other big brothers look for trouble. The small bosses are used to finding us, and the brothers in the Taoist community are indeed useful, besides being fellow villagers..."

  "What's the use of maintaining order?" Yi Tianxing picked up a handful of fish food from the bucket, slowly rubbing it into small balls and said with a smile: "If the underworld is useful, then what's the point of having police?"