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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 4: Pottery Flask
Ji Zichen and Lin Chuyu left Tuxia Village, heading towards the Corner City of the Horned Lodge. To reach Corner Lodge, they had to pass through Juggernaut Forest.
As they walked along the main road of Juggernaut Forest, Lin Chuyu occasionally stole glances at him. Although Ji Zichen did not look at her, he could already sense her sneaky behavior. He said, "If you have something to say, just say it. No need to sneak a peek at me."
Lin Chuyu blushed when he caught her and replied, "Who’s sneaking a look at you? I just thought you weren’t as greedy as I imagined."
Ji Zichen looked at her with interest. "What makes you say that?"
"You’re so calculating with me," Lin Chuyu explained, "but you didn’t ask the villagers for any reward for that Pagoda."
Ji Zichen chuckled, "I’ve already received my reward."
Lin Chuyu was puzzled. "But I didn’t see you collect any money."
Ji Zichen smiled at her ignorance. "This time, the reward isn’t money; it’s the villagers’ grateful hearts."
"Grateful hearts?" Lin Chuyu shook her head in confusion.
Ji Zichen elaborated, "As long as the Pagoda stands, Tuxia Village will never lack water. With sufficient water, crops will thrive, and more people will come. The village will prosper, and the villagers will be even more grateful to me. When harvest time comes again, I might receive more money than selling the Pagoda."
Lin Chuyu shot him a sideways glance. "So your intention in saving the village is not as noble as it seems."
Ji Zichen countered her remark. "What’s wrong with that? I sell magical artifacts; it’s no different from doing business. Why would I do something without a reward?"
Lin Chuyu rolled her eyes at him. "I guess I misjudged you. I thought..."
Before she could finish, Ji Zichen interjected, "Thought what? Thought I was one of those chivalrous heroes who act selflessly? Those who don’t seek rewards are either wealthy or fools. How can one fill their stomach without some form of compensation? You should stop listening to those idiots in the library telling stories; they’re all lies."
Lin Chuyu wanted to refute, but Ji Zichen's words made a lot of sense.
Ji Zichen spotted a sign by the roadside that read "Pottery Flask Residence." The path leading to Pottery Flask Residence was clear, and Ji Zichen turned the horse onto the road, asking, "Do you know the lord of Corner City of the Horned Lodge?"
Lin Chuyu's gaze flickered. "I... How could I know the lord of Corner City of the Horned Lodge?"
Ji Zichen fixed her with a penetrating stare. "Really? Then why were you so anxious when the village chief mentioned him?"
Lin Chuyu stammered in her defense, "I... I just heard that the Cornerstone City Lord is a good person."
Ji Zichen replied, "Heard? You seem to hear everything others say. Are you really that foolish, or just a bit slow?"
Lin Chuyu couldn't help but react strongly. "I just know he is a good person!"
Seeing her sudden outburst, Ji Zichen was even more puzzled. "Why are you getting angry over someone you don't even know? You're quite strange."
Not wanting to continue on this topic, Lin Chuyu shifted the conversation. "Strange? I think you're even stranger. Back at Yellow Sand Thief Sand Cave, why did you act like a blind person and almost let that Sand Bandit kill you?"
Ji Zichen's expression darkened. "I truly couldn't see at that time."
"Ah!" Lin Chuyu hadn't expected such an answer from him. "But you're fine now, aren't you?"
Ji Zichen suddenly smiled. "It's a recurring issue; sometimes I can't see."
Though Ji Zichen wore a smile, Lin Chuyu knew he must be suffering inside. She suddenly thought of a question. "Are you working so hard to earn money to treat this eye condition?"
Ji Zichen chuckled. "No one can cure this condition. If you really pity me, just hurry up and pay me back."
Lin Chuyu froze for a moment. "Money? I don't owe you anything anymore."
Ji Zichen widened her eyes as if she had seen a ghost. "How could you not owe me money!"
Lin Chuyu smiled lightly. "I saved your life in the Sand Cave, remember? If you were dead, how could you pay me?"
Ji Zichen was immediately rendered speechless.
The ancient trees of Juggernaut Forest loomed large, and while the outlines of plum blossoms could still be faintly seen at the outskirts, the deeper they ventured, the more they encountered withered vines and old trees. The gnarled roots of these ancient trees resembled monsters guarding the Juggernaut Forest.
As they walked further in, Lin Chuyu felt increasingly anxious. "It seems like we're going deeper and straying from the main path."
Ji Zichen did not respond, leading them in silence.
Noticing Ji Zichen's unusual quietness, Lin Chuyu felt as if he had transformed into a different person. He exuded a sense of desolation and sorrow. Ji Zichen remained silent, prompting her to ask more questions, as the eerie stillness of Juggernaut Forest enveloped them; apart from their footsteps, there were no sounds typical of a forest.
Rather than listening to the rhythmic sound of their steps, it felt more comfortable to hear her own voice. Lin Chuyu pressed on, "Why aren't you talking? Are you angry?"
Ji Zichen's voice was even heavier than the silence around them. "No, I just want to see an old friend I haven't met in years."
"Ah, your friend," Lin Chuyu said curiously, eager to know what Ji Zichen's friend looked like. "You should be happy to see an old friend after so long. Why do you look so gloomy?"
"I'm not gloomy."
"Does he live in this mountain?"
"He lives in Pottery Flask Residence."
"Pottery Flask Residence? What does that name mean?"
Suddenly, Ji Zichen stopped and struck at a patch of weeds with his whip. He noticed that the upper half of the tall weeds was broken off, and Lin Chuyu's wide eyes caught sight of a row of broken wine jars.
"How come there are so many wine jars in the bushes?" Lin Chuyu exclaimed in surprise.
Ji Zichen stepped forward, explaining, "The Pottery Flask refers to the vessels used for storing wine. This place used to be a mountain of wine, with jars scattered all over."
"Why were the wine jars spread across the entire mountain?" she asked.
"Because there were too many visitors. The Pottery Flask could no longer accommodate all the guests. Juggernaut Forest became famous for the Swallow Brew brewed by the Yan Sisters, attracting wine lovers from all over. Back then, the mountain was filled with wine jars, and guests could simply sit on the ground to drink. After finishing their wine, they would leave their money in the jars."
Lin Chuyu smiled and said, "With so many people drinking, it must have been quite lively."
However, the scene before them was starkly different from what Ji Zichen had described. Lin Chuyu asked, "So why has it changed so much now?"
Ji Zichen looked pained and did not answer, only saying, "We have arrived."
Lin Chuyu looked up and was stunned by the sight before her. She saw a white jade-shaped wine pot standing on a high slope, adorned with soaring blue patterns. However, the once pristine white jade had turned a dull yellow, appearing desolate and dilapidated, with climbing vines covering most of it.
This was Lin Chuyu's first time seeing a building shaped like a wine pot. There was a black plaque on it that read "Pottery Flask Residence." Lin Chuyu exclaimed in surprise, "The Pottery Flask Residence is just a giant wine pot!" Then she clapped her hands and laughed, "It's so fun to enter a wine pot to drink!"
Ji Zichen ignored her playful spirit. Before entering the Pottery Flask Residence, he took out an incense stick and placed it on the ground. Then he raised two fingers of his left hand and said, "Close!" As soon as he spoke the incantation, the incense stick sank into the ground.
"Let's go inside," he said.
Inside the Pottery Flask Residence, despite its disarray and decay, remnants of its former grandeur could still be seen. Upon entering, they found themselves in a large hall. Two massive columns stood seven steps away from them; their surfaces were decayed and gray. Ji Zichen placed one hand against a gray column, and it seemed to regain its blood-red color from years past. He could almost see the joyful scenes of that time. But as soon as he removed his hand from the column, it returned to its gray state.
This wasn't due to any magical transformation; rather, it was his memory of those days. In Lin Chuyu's eyes, the columns remained lifeless gray. Passing by them led into a spacious hall that could accommodate two hundred people. In the hall stood a fountain with statues of two Golden Swallows nestled closely together. In the center was a circular wine pool that once housed goldfish but now contained only foul-smelling stagnant water.
Beyond the circular pool was a stage where renowned troupes used to perform in years past; now only remnants of its former glory remained.
Ji Zichen gazed at the stage covered in spider webs and began recounting its history to Lin Chuyu.
Fifteen years ago, in this place lived the Yan Sisters, the elder named Yan Fang and the younger Yan Min. Both possessed extraordinary beauty. Yan Fang was already married and had a three-year-old son. On the day of her son's third birthday, Yan Min had taken it upon herself to raise a swarm of bees, located at the base of Hill Base, where there was a beehive as large as a mountain wall.
Seeing that there were too many guests for her to handle, Yan Fang wanted to call Yan Min for help. However, she couldn't find her sister in Pottery Flask. She thought that perhaps Yan Min had gone to play with the bees again. Yan Fang had always disliked bees and had advised Yan Min to dismantle the hive, but Yan Min stubbornly refused. Frustrated, Yan Fang summoned a servant from the shop and instructed him to bring Yan Min back. The servant was also reluctant to approach the beehive, but he went nonetheless.
The servant expected to see the entire mountain wall swarming with bees, but to his surprise, not a single bee was in sight. Curious, he moved closer and noticed that one of the bee holes on the hive was large enough for a person to crawl inside. Of course, he wouldn’t dare enter out of curiosity. He called out several times but received no response. Just as he was about to leave, he spotted a pair of embroidered shoes protruding from the fourth bee hole.
Recognizing them as Yan Min's shoes, he hurried over and grasped her ankle nervously saying, "Sister, how did you get inside the bee hole? Are you stuck? Don’t be afraid; I’ll pull you out!"
As soon as he managed to pull Yan Min out, he was overwhelmed with disgust; she was covered in bee larvae as if the entire hive had been using her body to incubate their eggs.
Afterward, Yan Min fell into a coma for a while. A doctor came to check on her and determined that she was merely in shock.
When Yan Min finally regained consciousness, she found that the beehive had been dismantled by Yan Fang. The two sisters had a fierce argument, leading to a strained relationship between them. Months passed, and Yan Min appeared increasingly despondent, looking gaunt and haggard. One night, Yan Fang heard eerie laughter coming from Yan Min's room. Unable to resist her curiosity, she put on a robe and went to investigate. To her shock, upon entering the room, she saw Yan Min approaching with her hands cradling a swollen belly.
"Elder sister," she said with an unsettling grin, "Min'er is pregnant."
Yan Fang's expression changed dramatically. "How could you be pregnant?!"
Yan Min immediately lifted her shirt to reveal her belly covered in swollen bee larvae that dropped onto the ground and writhed about. With a sinister smile, she bared her teeth and said, "Elder sister, once I hatch these little ones, my nephews will have plenty of playmates."
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