12: Chapter 12: Fuyumi Inaka

Accountant Zhou Chengli's remark, "The capable among the Cold Households shall obtain it," still held its effect.

Before dawn had fully broken, three wooden stakes had already been driven into the ground on the edge of the land outside Niubei Hollow.

He, Wang, Feng.

No one dared touch the well anymore.

They all knew it was a tough nut to crack. The Feng Family had completely burned bridges yesterday, and instead, Sun Changshui had been pulled to the Jiang Family's side. The Jiang Family was guarding that well with their lives; no one wanted to be the first to stick their neck out.

Jiang Chengning woke up very early.

He went to the backyard of Niubei Hollow first and took a look at the well.

The well water was very still. A ring of moss along the well's rim was tinged with a wet white, like frost that had just formed in winter but hadn't yet fully settled.

Jiang Yuhe was sitting right next to the well, her hand resting on the bluestone, her eyes half-closed as if listening to something.

Zhao Xing was hanging laundry at the door of the inner room, Zhao Zhi was squatting by the steps peeling bamboo shoots, and Ah Shi was also squatting nearby, playing with stones in his hands.

"Father." Ah Shi saw him first.

Jiang Chengning gave a hum of acknowledgment. He didn't disturb Jiang Yuhe, just nodded at Zhao Xing.

"There will be more people outside later. Don't let anyone near the well."

Zhao Xing nodded.

"I know."

After saying this, Jiang Chengning turned and headed to the edge of the field.

People were already standing by the field.

Fifth Feng's left arm was still in a sling, his complexion gray, yet he insisted on standing at the very front, acting as if this field had been passed down from his ancestors.

He Qi was watching from the side, still holding the wooden stake from last night that hadn't been cleaned of mud.

The Wang Family had sent two people—Wang Laosi and his second son, Wang Jingbao. One old, one young, both looking like they were just testing the winds and trying to intimidate people.

Jiang Shoushan was leaning against an old tree, not stepping forward.

As soon as Jiang Chengning arrived, Fifth Feng spoke first.

"Brother Chengning, let's be clear today." He pointed at the ground. "The Main Peak said the capable shall obtain it; this land is no longer your Jiang Family's. If you're willing to yield, it saves us trouble. If you don't..."

Jiang Chengning didn't wait for him to finish; he raised a hand to interrupt.

"Since the Main Peak allows for competition over the field and the well, then we shall compete." He said, "But the Main Peak didn't say the Jiang Family isn't allowed to compete."

Jiang Chengning paused intentionally, then said slowly: "The Jiang Family will come to compete for this well. As for the spiritual field... the Jiang Family is willing to yield it to the He Family and the Wang Family."

Upon hearing this, He Qi narrowed his eyes first.

Wang Laosi felt a weight lift from his heart.

He had come today wanting the field more, not wanting to touch the well first. Although the few acres of land at Niubei Hollow were thin, they had indeed grown spiritual rice before. Taking a bite of the field was more cost-effective than risking his life fighting the Jiang Family.

On the contrary, Fifth Feng's expression darkened further.

"Yield? Do you have the qualification to do that?"

"The Jiang Family has the qualification to compete." Jiang Chengning said, "The Main Peak wants 'the capable to obtain it.' Since the Feng Family wants to compete for that spiritual field, the Jiang Family is willing to help the He Family and the Wang Family compete for it; the Jiang Family will take nothing."

As soon as these words were out, He Qi chuckled.

"Brother Chengning is right."

Fifth Feng glared at him, but He Qi ignored him, instead lowering his head to have his two men drive the wooden stakes toward the west side.

Fifth Feng immediately grew anxious.

"You're staking so wide, are you trying to include the Liu Family grave as well?"

"You can come and take it." He Qi didn't even look up.

Wang Laosi had intended to wait and see, but seeing the He Family actually take action, he hurriedly had his son drive stakes toward the south side. Fifth Feng, squeezed by both sides, ended up in the most passive position.

Jiang Chengning stood to the side, watching them drive stakes into the ground one by one, making no move to stop them.

Jiang Shoushan watched for a while by the tree and said in a low voice: "Are you really not going to stop them?"

Jiang Chengning also lowered his voice.

"The field is floating wealth; the well is our lifeline." He said, "Giving up this field and turning the spearhead toward the Feng Family is actually better."

Zhou Wang heard everything clearly within the family genealogy.

Last night, Jiang Chengning had already sensed an invisible hand on Duansang Ridge, pushing the situation forward step by step along the desires of these Cold Households.

If the Jiang Family wanted to break free completely right now, they couldn't. But by borrowing the momentum being created, there was still a chance.

This field now was exactly what was needed to shift the conflict.

It was chaotic by the field, but it was exceptionally quiet by the well.

Jiang Yuhe listened to the rain for a long while before slowly opening her eyes.

She reached out and pressed her hand on the bluestone, the Grain Rain Qi slowly pressing downward. Grain Rain is thick, best suited for nurturing. First, stabilize the well water, then slowly support that hint of winter chill at the bottom of the well.

After practicing for these few months, she had already touched the threshold of "Listening to Rain."

The water in the well was moving, the chaos of the Qi, she could hear it all. Listening at this moment, although the bit of Qi at the bottom of the well hadn't taken shape yet, it was still a sliver clearer than yesterday.

Zhao Xing was standing behind her, and seeing her open her eyes, she asked in a low voice: "Are you alright?"

Jiang Yuhe nodded.

"It needs a few more days of nurturing."

Zhao Xing didn't ask any further.

Around noon, Sun Changshui arrived.

Today, he had rarely brought a youth along. The youth was sixteen or seventeen, his frame not yet fully grown, holding an account book in his hands. After entering the courtyard, he kept his head down, clutching the book tighter.

Jiang Chengning recognized him; it was Sun Changshui's nephew, named Sun Jingxiu.

This child didn't usually run over to the Jiang Family, so following him today was likely intentional on Sun Changshui's part.

"Chengning." As soon as Sun Changshui entered the courtyard, he glanced toward the well first. Seeing that Jiang Yuhe was still there and the situation stable, he let out a sigh of relief. "I've brought the accounts."

He was referring to the water accounts.

The Beijian Mouth had half a water vein that contained some Spiritual Qi. The Sun Family had managed it for many years, and the growth trend was good.

Sun Changshui spread the book on the table and pointed it out to Jiang Chengning.

"The main family found me and told me that the main family now wants to widen this water vein, extending it further north, and wants to open up a piece of spiritual field. It seems they are bringing new families into the mountain."

As soon as these words fell, Wang Laosi slowly raised his head first.

He Qi also looked at the account book but said nothing.

Fifth Feng's complexion grew even more livid. He was wary of the Jiang Family joining forces with the He and Wang families, so he dared not provoke trouble to forcibly seize the spiritual field.

Now, having just managed to stabilize the He and Wang families through negotiation and preparing to gather men to forcibly seize the spiritual well—or at worst destroy it—Sun Changshui had arrived.

"Are you, Sun Changshui, going to stand up for the Jiang Family now too?"

Sun Changshui didn't look at him, just closed the account book on the table.

"I am standing up for the water mouth." He said, "The water in this well connects to the Beijian Mouth. If you really want to ruin the well, and end up damaging the water vein as a result, can your Feng Family afford the consequences?"

Fifth Feng's face turned blue, and he didn't respond.

That slip of the tongue last night had already pushed the Feng Family halfway down a dead-end road. Now that the He Family and Wang Family were both eyeing the meat that was Niubei Hollow, and if he were to provoke Sun Changshui and the Beijian Mouth as well, he would truly have no way out.

The competition over the field ended with Fifth Feng ultimately being the one who suffered the most. But he was unwilling to accept it; if he just went back like this, where would the Feng Family's face go?

Only then did Jiang Chengning step forward.

"As the manager of the family, I don't want to fight until we both perish. Cold Households competing for land—if we fight until the land's spiritual resources are exhausted, that would be the greatest loss."

Jiang Chengning raised his hand and pointed at the ground.

"The north belongs to the He Family, the south belongs to the Wang Family. There is a low-lying patch on the west side most prone to waterlogging; if the Feng Family still wants it, you can go and take it yourselves."

This division looked fair, but in reality, it threw the hardest-to-nurture low-lying patch to the Feng Family.

Fifth Feng wanted to curse the moment he heard it.

But he was covered in injuries, and the He and Wang families were both watching him; in the end, he didn't dare to burn all bridges.

He gritted his teeth and looked at Jiang Chengning, only speaking after a long while: "You sure know how to calculate."

Jiang Chengning didn't respond, just glanced toward the well.

With the field competition reaching this point, the well could be considered temporarily guarded.

When the sky grew dark, the families dispersed.

The He and Wang families had divided the land, but they had their own calculations in mind.

They had also seen that although they had obtained the spiritual field, they had also been dragged into the old feud between the Jiang Family and the Feng Family.

Fifth Feng's look wasn't like looking at land; it was like he wanted to kill and take revenge.

This matter would definitely not end well.

Jiang Yuhe had risen from the well. She had sat for a long time today, and a significant amount of winter chill had gathered in the well.

"Has it dispersed?" Jiang Chengning asked.

Jiang Yuhe shook her head.

"It hasn't dispersed; it's actually become a bit more stable."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shoushan finally let out a sigh of relief.

He hadn't made a move today, just stood by the well. Since the beginning of winter, he had touched the edge of that winter Qi, and right now, what he feared most was the well becoming chaotic.

Lin Suwen looked at the sky and suddenly said: "We can try tonight."

Jiang Chengning and Jiang Shoushan both looked up at her.

Lin Suwen said in a low voice: "The He and Wang families gained some cheap advantages today and went back to divide the land. The Feng Family was beaten; they might not dare to come again tonight."

If Jiang Shoushan didn't absorb it now, there might not be such an opportune time later.

Jiang Chengning was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Tonight it is."

After nightfall, the lights in the Jiang Family ancestral house were extinguished early, leaving only a small lamp in the backyard of Niubei Hollow.

Four people stood by the well.

Jiang Chengning, Lin Suwen, Jiang Yuhe, and Jiang Shoushan.

Zhou Wang, hunkered down inside the family genealogy, turned the last bit of ink he could mobilize into "Sending Spring" for Jiang Shoushan.

He had actually almost finished flipping through the "Winter Arrival Guide · Winter Solstice Chapter" over the past few days. Now, as that page was turned, the characters emerged clearly line by line:

"Winter Arrival Guide · Winter Solstice Chapter"

Use the well as the abdomen, use the cold as the gate.

The first three layers: Restrain Sound, Conceal Breath, Seal Apertures.

Three layers reveal one technique, named "Sound Concealment."

After six layers, if the well has been nurtured in cold for a long time, one may attempt "Frost Treading."

There was another line of extremely fine annotations at the bottom:

Winter Solstice Qi: Do not compete, do not listen, do not manifest outwardly.

Jiang Shoushan lowered his head, finished reading these few sentences, and then placed his hand on the well rim.

The well wall was very cold.

So cold it made one's palms go numb.

The winter Qi crawled up quietly from the bottom of the well, first wrapping around his palms, then bit by bit moving to his wrists, elbows, shoulders, and back.

The micro-white Qi on the water surface first dispersed, then slowly gathered toward the center.

Jiang Shoushan sat like this, not opening his eyes until the second half of the night.

"Did it succeed?" Jiang Chengning asked.

Jiang Shoushan nodded.

"It succeeded."

Jiang Chengning looked at Jiang Shoushan, and after a long while, said: "From now on, only we will know the origin of this Qi. If anyone outside asks, just say you heard the news from family members and obtained a wild winter at Old Grave Slope."

Jiang Shoushan hummed in acknowledgment.

This excuse had been prepared beforehand, and now it fit perfectly.

After Qiu Hanshan died, that line at Old Grave Slope had entered winter early and produced quite a bit of spiritual resources, which was strange enough on its own.

Cold Fish Pool had frozen first, and Old Crow Chen and Sun Changshui had both seen it. Even if someone were to trace back from Jiang Shoushan's winter Qi in the future, following the trail to that side would be considered reasonable.

The lamp by the well was finally extinguished.

When the few of them walked into the house, Zhao Xing was still guarding the back door, unmoving. Seeing Jiang Shoushan enter, she didn't ask much, just said in a low voice: "Did it succeed?"

Jiang Shoushan's footsteps paused.

"It succeeded."

Zhao Xing nodded and handed him the hot water bag she had been holding.

"Warm your hands."

Jiang Shoushan took it; he didn't say anything, just held the bag in his hand, but as he entered the door, he couldn't help but look back at her.

The night in the courtyard was extremely quiet.