Late autumn dusk, the setting sun cast its slanting rays.
Inside the ox cart, the young men laughed and played, writing on each other's dust-covered faces.
After the laughter subsided, the heir sat in the ox cart and looked at Chen Ji: "Not many people have been able to outsmart my father over the years. Half a year ago, during the flood in Yuzhou, he went south to requisition grain. The local gentry colluded to underreport their land to evade taxes, each household donating ten stones of grain as if giving alms to beggars. On the same day, they hosted a banquet on the Qinhuai River, pouring a hundred jars of fine wine into the river, calling it 'sharing a drink with the world.'"
"And then?" Liu Quxing perked up; they rarely got to hear such courtly gossip.
The heir chuckled: "My father didn't get angry with them. Instead, he had craftsmen transport a stone tablet over ten feet tall and erected it right in front of the Jinling government office. It clearly recorded the amount of grain each gentry had donated, ostensibly to praise their virtues, but in reality, to show the common people the true face of these gentry. At the time, even the storytellers in the teahouses were crafting tales mocking the gentry for their hypocrisy, preaching benevolence and morality while being greedy and unkind."
Chen Ji pondered: "The storytellers' tales, were they commissioned by the prince?"
The heir's eyes widened: "How did you know?"
"What happened next?"
"Within half a month, the gentry couldn't bear the shame and obediently donated the grain."
Liu Quxing admired: "The prince is indeed skilled at using subtle force to move mountains."
The heir looked at Chen Ji and gave him a thumbs-up: "You, kid, managed to outsmart my father. You're quite the character!"
But Chen Ji wasn't happy.
Seeing his furrowed brow, the heir asked curiously: "Why aren't you happy? If I could outsmart him once, I'd boast about it for ten years!"
Chen Ji sighed: "Your father isn't one to suffer losses for no reason. I feel like he's about to turn the tables on me."
The heir sighed: "True..."
Liu Quxing turned to Chen Ji: "Chen Ji, where did you learn about the inverted flame kiln? You never mentioned it before."
"A dream from an immortal," Chen Ji sat cross-legged in the ox cart, closing his eyes to rest.
Liu Quxing scoffed: "Nonsense. If there really were immortals sending dreams, why would they only send them to you and not me?"
But the heir suddenly said: "There really are immortals who send dreams. Ordinary people might not know, but the Taoist leader of Huangshan, Shituzi, can summon gods from the Forty-Nine Heavens."
"Huh?"
Chen Ji, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them, staring intently at the heir like a torch, but casually asked: "The Forty-Nine Heavens?"
Finally.
Chen Ji finally heard someone mention the Forty-Nine Heavens.
He had asked his master, but his master hadn't heard of it.
He had asked Xuanyuan, but Xuanyuan hadn't heard of it either.
At one point, Chen Ji had wondered if everything that happened in the Qing Mountain Mental Hospital was just a hallucination from his dying moments.
Li Qingniao, the Forty-Nine Heavens, Paoge, Erdao, even himself—none of it existed.
But now, the dream had finally entered reality.
The heir sat up straight, mysteriously pointing at the colorful clouds in the sky: "You don't know about the Forty-Nine Heavens, do you? It's said to be where the gods reside. My father said that the reason the Huangshan Taoist sect is so powerful is because they can summon gods from the Forty-Nine Heavens. It's said that when the Taoist leader Shituzi fought with the Jing Dynasty's top experts, he summoned the Five Dipper Star Lords from the Forty-Nine Heavens to the mortal realm."
Chen Ji leaned forward slightly: "The Forty-Nine Heavens is where the gods live?"
The heir recalled: "My father mentioned it once. All the gods and Buddhas reside in the Forty-Nine Heavens. Places like Wuji Mountain, Yujing Mountain, Liren Heaven, Mount Sumeru, Penglai, Fangzhang, Northern Kuru Continent, and Southern Jambu Continent are the names of each heaven. But that's all I know. My father rarely spoke of it, as if it were taboo."
After saying this, he leaned forward, whispering mysteriously: "My father said that every now and then, gods from the Forty-Nine Heavens reincarnate into the mortal world, hiding among the common people. Maybe we've all seen gods, but we just don't know it."
Chen Ji leaned back slightly, casually asking: "What are the characteristics of these gods? How can we tell who is a god?"
The heir shrugged: "I don't know."
Chen Ji breathed a slight sigh of relief.
But then Liu Quxing asked curiously: "Heir, have you ever seen a god from the Forty-Nine Heavens?"
The heir shook his head: "I don't know. Maybe I have, maybe I haven't."
Liu Quxing pressed: "Do the gods from the Forty-Nine Heavens need to poop?"
She Dengke laughed: "If they eat, they must poop."
Liu Quxing retorted: "What if they don't eat?!"
She Dengke also retorted: "If they don't eat, how do they live? They must poop a lot!"
Chen Ji's expression grew complicated.
He changed the subject: "Heir, in the history of our Ning Dynasty, are there any known gods from the Forty-Nine Heavens?"
"Yes."
Everyone turned to look.
Liang Gou'er, lying at the end of the cart with his legs crossed, lifted the straw hat from his face and said: "My ancestors once met one. This person claimed to have come from the Forty-Nine Heavens, entering the mortal world to cultivate the Taoist Yang Spirit, hoping to achieve unity with the Tao through this path. Even in the darkest night, his Yang Spirit shone like the blazing sun."
"Did he achieve unity with the Tao?" Liang Gou'er sneered: "No. This person was ambushed and killed by the Jing Dynasty's military shrine while serving in the Ning Dynasty's border army. His body perished, and his Tao was extinguished. It was probably two hundred years ago. I don't know the details."
Chen Ji fell into deep thought.
Li Qingniao had once told him, "The Forty-Nine Heavens cannot keep you. Go to where you belong."
He was certain he had come from the Forty-Nine Heavens, but the place he lived in had no connection to the abode of gods, and he was no god.
But regardless, Chen Ji had finally grasped some clues about the Forty-Nine Heavens.
Like a ship adrift, he had finally dropped an anchor into the depths of the sea.
...
...
In the orange-red glow of the setting sun, the slow-moving ox cart entered from the south of the city.
Liu Quxing suddenly said: "Look, there are so many people in front of the examination hall."
Everyone turned to look.
Under the evening glow, hundreds of people were gathered in front of the examination hall—ambitious youths, disheartened middle-aged men, and elderly men with numb expressions.
"Those are the autumn examination candidates," the heir said softly: "I've seen that old man before. I heard he's been taking the exams his whole life, selling all his family's land, and even after his wife left and his family fell apart, he still hasn't given up."
In front of the examination hall, each candidate carried a bamboo basket containing their bedding and three days' worth of food.
Before entering the examination hall, the outer officials would open each basket for inspection and thoroughly search the candidates to prevent cheating.
As the ox cart passed the examination hall, the disheveled heir quickly lowered his head: "Quick, quick, lower your heads! I see a lot of familiar faces!"
But it was too late.
Someone caught a glimpse of the ox cart and asked uncertainly: "Huh, is that the heir?"
The examination candidates all turned to look at the ox cart.
At the entrance of the examination hall, Chen Wenzong, Chen Wenxiao, and Lin Chaojing, who were being inspected by the outer officials, also turned around.
"The heir?"
"Is that disheveled person on the ox cart the heir?"
On the ox cart, the heir buried his head in his chest while flicking the whip to urge the ox forward, muttering: "Hurry, Brother Ox, hurry! This is so embarrassing!"
But the old ox moved at its own leisurely pace, ignoring him, and instead swished its tail, dropping a pile of grass-scented dung.
Beside the ox cart, someone followed closely, tilting their head to confirm the heir's identity.
Suddenly, someone exclaimed: "It really is the heir! Heir, how did you end up like this?"
The heir looked up, stopping the ox cart, and awkwardly smiled: "I went to work."
Chen Ji turned his head and saw his two elder brothers, Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao, standing on the steps of the examination hall, looking back.
Chen Wenzong's eyes were filled with disappointment and regret.
The three brothers gazed at each other from afar.
The setting sun shone over the wall behind Chen Ji, casting light on the entrance of the examination hall, making Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao seem to glow.
At that moment, the crowd slowly parted, and Lin Chaojing stepped forward, saying earnestly: "I remember the heir saying at Donglin Academy that he would take the autumn examination with us to see if he could pass on his own merit. But today, we never saw him."
The heir's expression calmed, and he simply smiled: "You all are so talented, I feel inferior. I decided not to embarrass myself. I wish you all success in the exams and hope you achieve great honors."
Lin Chaojing bowed slightly, smiling: "Thank you for your kind words, heir. But there's one thing I must advise you, though I'm not sure if I should say it."
The heir waved his hand: "Please, go ahead."
Lin Chaojing said: "You are the heir of Prince Jing. Prince Jing is diligent in governance and beloved by the people. I hope you can put aside your playful nature, cultivate yourself, and not disappoint the reputation of Prince Jing's household."
The heir also stood and bowed in return: "Thank you for the reminder. We won't disturb you any longer. Farewell."
With that, he sat back down, calmly flicking the reins, and the ox cart slowly moved away.
Behind them, someone whispered: "The heir is so unruly. It's a pity, given Prince Jing's diligence and love for the people..."
On the ox cart, Liu Quxing, hearing the comments, hung his head and said: "It's only because Prince Jing is kind that they dare to speak like this. If it were Prince Fu, Prince Qi, or Prince An, would they dare to mock? They'd have their chickens and dogs slaughtered!"
Chen Ji silently turned to look at the heir, whose face was calm, showing no emotion.
But as the sun completely set behind the horizon, the light in the heir's eyes also dimmed.
The heir said softly: "Why didn't my father have another son?"
Chen Ji smiled and asked: "So he could compete with you for the position of Prince Jing?"
The heir looked away: "Let him have it. I don't want anything. I'd give it all to him."
At that moment, Chen Ji tightened the reins, forcefully turning the ox cart around.
The heir turned back, surprised: "Hey? What are you doing?"
Chen Ji laughed heartily: "A man lives for his pride! Let's not go back yet. We'll stay at the kiln and make cement until we succeed. If we never succeed, we'll never go back!"
The heir laughed: "Why are you so determined to make cement?"
"To leave our mark in history!"
(End of Chapter)