Chapter 358: Where Do You Come From?

In the evening, the delicate, gentle singing of a courtesan drifted from Baishun Hutong, while the sound of a pipa swayed the red plum lanterns by Plum Blossom Ferry.

Only Chen Ji and Paoge remained in Plum Blossom Pavilion.

Paoge lowered his head to refill his pipe with tobacco, slowly sighing, "Ever since I came here, smoking hasn't been satisfying. The tobacco doesn't taste right; every puff feels like a knife stabbing my lungs."

Chen Ji remained silent, knowing Paoge didn't need a reply at that moment.

As he refilled his pipe, Paoge casually remarked, "What I can't stand most is the latrines here. The smell goes straight to your head, and after you're done, you have to use a bamboo strip to scrape clean. Even taking a hot bath is a hassle; you have to boil two big pots of water, then painstakingly mix in cold water. By the time one bucket of bathwater is ready, the roosters are almost crowing. The local wine isn't good either. Drink too much, and you get a headache; drink too little, and you can't forget anything."

Many people dislike the places they grew up in, perhaps due to certain bad habits there, or unkind familial ties, or even a particular person.

But when that place becomes "home," everyone begins to miss everything they once took for granted.

Paoge pulled a matchstick from his pocket and blew on it gently. The sparks flickered in the darkness.

He brought the matchstick to his pipe, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled smoke. "Ever since I got here, I feel like every day is so long, with so much time I don't know what to do with it. Before, I rarely watched sunsets; the sky always seemed to darken suddenly. These past few days, I've been sitting idly on the third floor of the observation tower at Plum Blossom Ferry, and I suddenly realized how slowly the sun sets."

Paoge was silent for a long time.

As if having made some decision, he took a sudden drag from his pipe, then looked up and blew the bluish smoke into the air, where it lingered under the eaves of Plum Blossom Pavilion. "Life between heaven and earth is suddenly like a traveler on a long journey—you wrote that poem, didn't you?"

Chen Ji murmured in affirmation.

Paoge asked again, "Lighting a lamp to examine a sword while drunk, dreaming of bugle calls from a continuous camp—you wrote that too, didn't you?"

Chen Ji murmured in affirmation again.

Paoge then asked, "And cement? You developed that too? Many new buildings in the capital recently have used cement."

Chen Ji nodded, "Yes."

Paoge sighed, "When I was a kid, my dad taught me that if you master math, physics, and chemistry, you won't fear anything anywhere. But I didn't listen at all, thinking that once I grew up, making money would be as easy as drinking water. At first, I earned some money from underground boxing. Later, when I couldn't fight anymore, I followed my big brother and learned about acceptance bills, investment guarantees, bridge loans, and pawn shops. That's when I realized I had to learn everything all over again, and that making money wasn't so simple after all. Right, Chen Ji?"

The cards were on the table.

The revelation was hidden at the end of a long monologue, much like Jing Ke concealed his dagger at the end of the Yan Kingdom map when assassinating the King of Qin. For the first time, one transmigrator spoke openly with another, each revealing their greatest secret.

Mandarin Duck Formation, Iron Wolf Whisk, poetry, cement.

These were enough for a transmigrator to realize that there were others like them in this world. And when transmigrators encountered one another, those with good intentions wouldn't feel they had met an enemy, but rather someone from their homeland.

The singing from the distant observation tower had stopped at some point, and Plum Blossom Ferry was quiet.

Paoge stared intently at Chen Ji, awaiting an answer.

A moment later, Chen Ji looked up, pulled down the grey cloth from his face, and removed his bamboo hat. "It's me."

Paoge already knew the answer in his heart, but when Chen Ji admitted it, he still felt a sense of relief.

He took several deep puffs from his pipe, remaining silent. Although these were questions he had pondered for a long time, and the answers rehearsed dozens of times, now that the words were out, he didn't know what to say next.

Chen Ji smiled and asked, "When did you realize it was me?"

Paoge exhaled a puff of smoke. "After we escaped from Mengjin Post Station, I was always wary of you trying to get information from me and Er Dao. When I arrived in the capital, I made inquiries about you and learned your name. At the time, I just thought it might be a coincidence, since we looked different... But it wasn't until I saw the cement and the Wolf Whisk that I was finally sure it wasn't a coincidence. You should have told me sooner! If I had known who you were, I would have shamelessly stayed with your group then. Why would I have endured all that hardship on the journey?"

Chen Ji ignored Paoge's complaints and instead asked the question that had been on his mind: "How did you and Er Dao get here? What happened after I died?"

Paoge recalled, "After you died, I worried that your and Wang Long's deaths would attract the police, so I immediately took Er Dao and left. But just as we walked out of Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital, a 7.4 magnitude earthquake suddenly struck Luocheng. I watched as the hospital collapsed, burying everyone in the ruins."

"Rescue teams arrived quickly. They dug through the rubble, pulling out bodies one by one. Remembering the good turn you did for me, and knowing you had no family, I wanted to arrange your funeral, so I went back to the psychiatric hospital the next day. There, I saw the rescue team pull out the bodies of your uncle and aunt—those despicable people—from the ruins, but yours was nowhere to be found."

"By the seventh day of the search, all the rubble had been cleared, and the rescue team confirmed no one had survived. I looked at each body, certain yours wasn't among them. I told the rescue team you were still down there, but they said it was impossible. I insisted you weren't among those bodies, but they said many were unidentifiable, and I probably hadn't recognized you, suggesting I check the morgue again. But I knew that wasn't it—you had a knife wound on your waist, unlike any other body."

"The rescue team ignored me and left. Not believing it, I took Er Dao and searched for you in the ruins. But in the middle of the night, the ground suddenly began to collapse, and the ruins of the psychiatric hospital plunged downwards as if being swallowed by something."

"It wasn't just the ground; a void even appeared in the sky. Dark clouds rolled down from above like a waterfall, pouring into the abyss below. I ran with Er Dao, but before we could escape, we both fell into the chasm. When I woke up again, I was here."

Chen Ji asked, perplexed, "Such a huge commotion?"

Paoge stared directly at Chen Ji. "I remember that crazy young man once told you, 'Forty-nine heavens can't hold you, go, go to where you belong.' I am now absolutely certain that the ground collapsed because of you, and the sky tore open a hole because of you... Who exactly are you?"

Chen Ji did not answer; it was not a question he could answer at that moment.

Paoge didn't press the matter. "Never mind. As long as you're the Chen Ji I know, that's enough. I'll ask you one last question."

"Ask away."

"Can we ever go back?"

Chen Ji opened his mouth, then hesitated.

After a long pause, he replied, "Perhaps not."

Paoge leaned back, taking a long, wistful drag from his pipe. Both fell silent.

Once his pipeful of tobacco had burned out, Paoge listlessly tapped the ashes onto the ground. "So, was my social security paid for nothing?"

Chen Ji was speechless.

Paoge chuckled. "Just kidding. My assets, worth over a hundred million, are gone. What do I care about social security now? Come on, since we fellow countrymen are reunited here in the Ning Dynasty, we should at least have a couple of drinks."

Chen Ji shook his head. "I've quit drinking."

Paoge looked thoughtful. "Only those planning something big quit drinking. Tell me, what do you intend to do?"

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, then stated plainly, "I need to make a large sum of money within a year. You'll have to help me."

Paoge was equally blunt. "What do I get out of it?"

Though they were "fellow countrymen," everlasting friendships never existed in this world. No one was born loyal to another, nor was anyone born to be someone's subordinate.

Only mutual benefit could bind them together.

Chen Ji stated with conviction, "For this year, we'll maintain a 10-90 split: you get ten percent, I get ninety. But after one year, I'll leave this place, and all the business here will be yours."

"You're my biggest backer in this world now, so that split is fine, we could even continue like that," Paoge said, scratching his scalp with his pinky finger. "But what kind of big business are you planning that you'd leave after it's done? It won't drag me down, will it?"

Chen Ji shook his head. "No, I just want to stay out of trouble. I'm not planning anything criminal or evil."

Paoge crossed his legs and rested his arm on 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 also know a little about the ins and outs of it, so I can definitely help you. However, one year is too short; it would take at least ten years to achieve anything significant."

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

Paoge said nothing more, calculating silently for a long time before finally speaking: "We can try, but success isn't guaranteed."

Chen Ji looked at Paoge, asking gravely, "How confident are you of success?"

Paoge replied seriously, "Only twenty percent."

Chen Ji asked again, "What if the salt permits I hold can be exchanged for salt at all imperial salt fields? How confident then?"

Paoge considered it. "Still twenty percent."

Chen Ji looked thoughtful. "Still only twenty percent?"

Paoge smiled as he explained, "When I say twenty percent, it's not about how difficult the task itself is, but whether you're tough enough, Chen Ji. This business will block many people's income. You might die before you even make any money. Lives in this Ning Dynasty are too cheap, so cheap it frightens me."

Chen Ji laughed. "Since you know that, you still dare to help me?"

Paoge laughed heartily. "No person stays fortunate forever, no flower blooms indefinitely. To be a true winner, you must first be able to lose. I, Paoge, have risen and fallen seven or eight times in the jianghu, but each time I fell, I got back up. If a person can't make a name for themselves in this life, what's the point of living?"

Paoge then changed the subject. "However, no matter how urgent you are, this business must be done step by step, starting small, from the subtle details. Before the dagger is revealed, you absolutely cannot let anyone see what we're truly planning, or we will surely die. And for the first step now, you need to find a suitable buyer for the salt permits."

Chen Ji frowned. "I do know a suitable candidate, but I'm not sure if he'll take the bait."