Chapter 206: Gold Mountain Search

The oxcarts creaked along slowly. Li Huo and his group continued walking beside them. Some of their luggage had been placed on the carts, making everyone feel much lighter and less haggard than before. These new provisions had been purchased by Sun Baolu in a town they had passed through earlier. After all, they still had a long journey ahead, and such essential supplies were indispensable.

Jin Shanzhao still carried his bamboo basket, humming a tune. The lush green grasslands around them significantly improved his mood. Such beautiful scenery was not found deep within Later Shu; it seemed they were nearing their destination. He opened his worn map again, recalibrating their current position.

"Hmm... a few more days of travel, and we should reach the pass," he murmured. He folded the map, clasped his hands together, and congratulated Li Huo: "Master Li, we're almost out of the pass. Congratulations!"

"Once we're through the pass and into the Qingqiu territory, we'll be completely safe."

Li Huo, who was reading "The Scripture of Deception," looked up at him briefly before returning to his book. "Where are you planning to go? Are you coming with us through Qingqiu to Liang?"

"No, this old man won't go to Qingqiu. Once I've seen you all to the pass, I'll return."

"Go back? Back where? Aren't you afraid of being caught?"

Jin Shanzhao smiled confidently. "No matter. This old man still has ways to protect himself."

Li Huo scrutinized the man again, finding it hard to believe he wasn't boasting. He had been so terrified by the bandit soldiers that he nearly wet himself earlier, and now he was putting on airs again.

As the two conversed, a village appeared ahead. They didn't all enter; instead, Jin Shanzhao and Li Huo went in to buy provisions. Two people wouldn't draw too much attention, and Jin Shanzhao's eloquence was well-suited for dealing with suspicious villagers. Li Huo had no intention of lingering there. He planned to quickly resupply and traverse Later Shu as fast as possible. While this would be more tiring, with pursuers behind them, they couldn't afford to be particular.

As they stepped into the village, Li Huo detected a distinct stench. Following the smell, he came across a pigsty, built beneath a house. Seeing what the black pigs were eating, Li Huo's voice trembled slightly. "Do they... feed pigs like this here too?"

The sight stirred his emotions, reminding him of Abbess Jingxin, who had died in the pigsty at Anchi Nunnery.

"Huh? Master Li, why do you say that? Isn't this how pigs are fed? That's why this old man never eats 'fragrant meat' or pork, because both pigs and dogs eat excrement."

Li Huo quickly suppressed his emotions and turned to look at him. "What did you say? Everyone feeds pigs this way?"

"Of course, it's been done this way for thousands of years."

Jin Shanzhao squatted down, picked up a small stone, and meticulously wrote strokes in the soft earth. He neatly wrote the character '家' (jiā - home), and even with a stone, his strokes were beautiful.

"'家' – this was the character he wrote."

"Master Li, look," he explained, "the top radical '宀' represents a roof or dwelling, and the bottom '豕' represents a pig. A pig under a roof – that's 'home'. From this character, you can see that at least since ancient times, pigs have been fed with refuse. Understanding characters reveals their meaning; if you ponder carefully, some things are hidden within these words."

Li Huo slowly squatted down, gently tracing the character 'home' on the ground with his finger. "So this is what 'home' means... It seems I misunderstood Abbess Jingxin before." As he recalled past moments, Li Huo's eyes welled up slightly. It had been the only place in this insane world where he could feel warmth, but that place was now gone forever.

"Master Li?" Jin Shanzhao noticed Li Huo's emotional distress and took a small step back. Having spent so much time together, he had long found Li Huo somewhat peculiar; despite possessing various supernatural abilities, the Master's mind seemed troubled.

Li Huo scraped some earth with his finger, burying the 'home' character, then stood up. He looked directly at Jin Shanzhao again, an elderly man who appeared very ordinary. "Old man, your identity isn't ordinary, is it?" Few common folk were literate, let alone capable of writing such beautiful characters with a stone.

Jin Shanzhao froze, weighing something in his mind.

"I saved your life, and you won't even tell me this? Fine, fine, if you don't want to say, don't. Let's go find a farmer and buy some grain."

Just as Li Huo turned and walked a few steps, Jin Shanzhao's voice rang out from behind. "Very well, it won't hurt to tell Master Li. This old man is actually a disciple of the School of Diplomacy."

"School of Diplomacy?" Li Huo slowly turned around, scrutinizing him with confusion. The term was unfamiliar to him.

Having revealed his identity, Jin Shanzhao seemed to become invigorated. "The world's affairs unfold like the four seasons, shifting vertically and horizontally. To unite the weak against a strong power is 'vertical alliance' (zong); to serve one strong power to attack others is 'horizontal alliance' (heng). This is the School of Diplomacy."

With Jin Shanzhao's continuous explanation, Li Huo began to understand what the School of Diplomacy was. In simple terms, it was a specialized profession that emerged in a unique environment characterized by numerous small states. In Jin Shanzhao's own words, it was about strategy and ingenuity, serving as an indispensable advisor to any ruler. They helped rulers devise strategies, forming vertical or horizontal alliances. From Li Huo's perspective, however, they were simply clever individuals who deftly maneuvered between various small states using their eloquence.

"Understanding the big picture, adept at speculation, skilled in rhetoric, adaptable to change, full of wisdom and courage, proficient in strategy, and decisive – this is what we disciples of the School of Diplomacy are."

Seeing Jin Shanzhao's chest puffed out with pride, Li Huo interrupted him. "If you're so formidable, why didn't you 'wage a war of words against an army' when we encountered that woman earlier?"

Hearing this, a hint of embarrassment appeared on Jin Shanzhao's face. "Alas, as the saying goes, 'when a scholar meets a soldier, reason cannot prevail.' This is especially true with the bandit soldiers of Later Shu."

"Heh," Li Huo turned and walked towards the village, with Jin Shanzhao hastily following him.

"Master Li, I know you don't fully trust this old man. But it's fine. Once you've safely left Later Shu, I'll attend to my own affairs. This is to prevent your location from being revealed by me."

"Since you saved my life, Master Li, I will surely repay your kindness a hundredfold. Once I become an envoy in Later Shu—"

"So after all that, it turns out you don't even have a ruler yet? Aren't you just an unemployed wanderer right now?"

"Soon, soon! Once this old man turns his fortunes around and becomes an official in Later Shu, I will surely not forget Master Li."

"Alright, we'll see about that when the time comes. Though I expect to be in Liang by then."

The lighthearted conversation between the two had been pleasant, but it abruptly ended when Li Huo suddenly gripped his sword hilt.

"Ma... Master Li?" Jin Shanzhao followed Li Huo's gaze and saw several black pottery jars under the eaves, each with a large, inverted red 'Fu' (fortune/luck) character pasted on it.