3: Chapter 3: Entering the Musical Score

Just before dawn, the rain had yet to fall, and the old mulberry tree outside the ancestral house swayed gently in the wind.

The chickens in the corner of the yard did not crow, and the dogs made no sound, as if the entire mountain were still hidden within a breath that had not yet been exhaled.

No one in the house was sleeping.

Jiang Xingchuan had his shoulder wrapped in cloth, but he could not sit still.

Having achieved Qi Refining, his bones felt lighter by half a catty. Even though his shoulder ached intensely, he could not suppress the spark of excitement in his eyes.

As soon as Lin Suwen entered, she saw him moving his right arm, and her face turned cold instantly.

"Sit still."

Jiang Xingchuan coughed and obediently returned his arm to its resting position.

Lin Suwen set down the wooden basin, walked to his side, and raised her hand to press against the hot flesh around his shoulder well. As soon as she touched it, her brow furrowed.

Although Lin Suwen was a Mortal, she could sense the abnormality within Jiang Xingchuan's body through the feel of his Qi.

"It's like a blade," Lin Suwen whispered. "The Qi is surging upward, and there's a sound coming from his bone joints. It's either Awakening of Insects or Spring Equinox."

Jiang Xingchuan originally wanted to feign calmness, but upon hearing this, a hint of pride bubbled up in his eyes.

"Awakening of Insects."

"You actually managed to get your hands on something good?" Jiang Shoushan curled the corner of his mouth from the side.

Lin Suwen ignored the two of them and simply told Jiang Xingchuan to extend his hand.

Jiang Xingchuan complied.

On the youth's back of his hand, the faint layer of blue had not yet dissipated, but within that blue, there seemed to be a hidden spark of thunder, with every breath carrying a sense of momentum.

Lin Suwen watched for a long time before finally uttering, "Third Grade."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Jiang Xingchuan was somewhat shocked.

Cultivators enter the Dao through the four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

In this region, people generally cultivate Spring.

There are three categories of Spring: Birth Spring, Contention Spring, and Hidden Spring. Each category has two types, for a total of six. Birth Spring includes Start of Spring and Rain Water. Contention Spring includes Awakening of Insects and Spring Equinox. Hidden Spring includes Qingming and Grain Rain.

On the Fenchun Terrace, Cold Households can usually only obtain first or second-grade Qi, such as Start of Spring or Rain Water.

Contention Springs like Awakening of Insects are rare, and a Third Grade Awakening of Insects is certainly not something a Cold Household should touch.

This type of solar term is good for combat, but Cold Households would never actively choose it, let alone obtain it by accident.

Jiang Xingchuan grinned.

In truth, he was still feeling a bit of lingering fear.

But that lingering fear was suppressed by the new breath of Qi within his body. That feeling of being brighter and lighter all over compared to yesterday.

Jiang Shoushan noticed he was getting a bit carried away and reminded him, "If you keep smiling, I'll beat you for your sister-in-law later."

Jiang Xingchuan quickly stifled his smile.

Lin Suwen turned to look at Jiang Yuhe and reached out to place her hand on her wrist. As she pressed down, her brow furrowed even deeper.

"This isn't right either."

Jiang Chengning's heart sank.

"What's wrong?"

"It's too heavy," Lin Suwen whispered. "Like a heavy rain pressed into the earth, thick and dense. It's not Start of Spring, nor is it Rain Water."

She looked up at Jiang Chengning and said, enunciating each word, "It should be Grain Rain."

Jiang Xingchuan suddenly turned his head to look at his sister.

Jiang Shoushan also remained silent, but his face turned ugly instantly.

Grain Rain is also Spring, but it is not the same path as Start of Spring or Rain Water.

The former is Birth Spring—light and moist—suitable for Cold Households to steadily enter the Dao on the Fenchun Terrace.

The latter belongs to Hidden Spring—thick Qi and heavy roots—as if it were specifically meant for building a foundation.

How could there be Grain Rain on the Fenchun Terrace?

Lin Suwen added in a low voice, "I'm afraid it's not Second or Third Grade. This breath of Qi is extremely heavy; it is highly likely to be Fourth Grade Grain Rain."

The difference between Third and Fourth is immense. Third Grade is the limit for a Qi Refining Family, while Fourth Grade is only possible for a Foundation Establishment clan.

Jiang Chengning stared at his daughter's face, and the cold dread that he hadn't fully realized last night began to take root and bloom.

For the Cold Household Fenchun Terrace to provide a Fourth Grade Grain Rain—this was using someone to test fate. Asking a young girl with only a First Grade Qi-Guiding Method to receive this Fourth Grade solar term was pure wishful thinking.

Jiang Yuhe being able to receive it wasn't because the Zhou Family wanted to give the Jiang Family face.

On the contrary, it was because someone thought she couldn't receive it, and that her death could bring something to the Zhou Family.

"The Zhou Family..." Jiang Shoushan said, but did not continue.

There was no need to say more.

The Zhou Family would certainly not let this matter rest.

Jiang Chengning didn't ask further; some things were not for a Cold Household to uncover.

At least not now.

Lin Suwen then released her daughter's wrist and turned to look at the clan history on the table.

The book was still lying open where it had been; the words that appeared yesterday hadn't faded, but a few more strokes had been added to the bottom of the first page. It was as if someone had taken a fine brush and added something to it in the middle of the night while they weren't paying attention.

Jiang Chengning followed her gaze and was also stunned for a moment.

Beneath the line from last night, "Jiang Yuhe ascends the stage, Jiang Xingchuan enters the trench," there was indeed more text.

There were five names.

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

Behind each name hung a tiny character.

Ning, Su, Chuan, He, Shou.

Lin Suwen took two steps closer and lowered her voice: "Words have appeared again."

Jiang Shoushan also stood up.

"Come here," Jiang Chengning said.

The few people in the room all looked at him.

"After Chengpu died, the Jiang Family's incense has been hanging by a thread," he stared at the clan history and said slowly. "Last night it showed the path, and this morning it showed the people. Whether it is our ancestors manifesting the words or this book truly coming alive, this step must be taken."

"Entering the genealogy."

Jiang Shoushan was the first to understand.

The Jiang Family is a Cold Household, but even Cold Households have a genealogy.

It was just that they had been too destitute in recent years; other than the names of the dead and their birth and death years, almost nothing else had been added to the genealogy.

But according to the old rules, if a Family member obtains an immortal opportunity, they should first leave their name in the ancestral genealogy.

Jiang Chengning stood up and took the small knife from the table.

"One drop of blood from each person," he said. "Place it by your name."

Lin Suwen reached out first.

The tip of the knife pricked her fingertip, and a drop of blood fell onto the line for "Lin Suwen."

As soon as the blood fell, the character "Su" lit up gently and then merged into the blood.

Lin Suwen first felt her mind clear, and the fatigue from staying up all night suddenly dissipated by half. Afterward, she felt that everything she saw had become inexplicably clearer and more vivid.

As the five members of the Jiang Family each dripped their blood into the genealogy, they all had a distinct, unique feeling.

Jiang Xingchuan couldn't help but look down at his palms, and after a long while, he uttered, "This book... really has something to it."

Jiang Chengning didn't respond to him; he gently closed the book halfway.

"This matter must rot within the Family," he said. "No one is to speak of it outside."

No one in the room objected.

Jiang Shoushan suddenly said, "Those two Zhou Family tenant farmers weren't buried very deep."

Jiang Xingchuan looked up: "Are you afraid the Zhou Family will investigate?"

"They will investigate sooner or later," Jiang Shoushan said. "The dead are not rabbits; if two go missing, no one asks. If even one night patrolman on the Zhou Family mountain goes missing, they will comb through everything."

Jiang Chengning nodded.

"That is why Xingchuan must not be revealed."

"Everyone saw Jiang Yuhe ascend the stage and receive the public Spring. Her success is an open account. As for Xingchuan's wild Spring, as long as we don't admit it, the Zhou Family can only guess for now."

Lin Suwen put away the small knife and whispered, "Jiang Yuhe's Grain Rain is too eye-catching; the Zhou Family will surely watch her. If Xingchuan stays hidden, at least we will have a backup plan."

Jiang Yuhe hadn't interrupted the whole time, and only now did she suddenly speak: "Someone is coming."

After entering the genealogy, the clarity brought by the character "He" made her much more sensitive to the movements outside the house.

Sure enough, the next moment, a knock—neither light nor heavy—sounded at the gate of the courtyard.

"Jiang Chengning."

It was someone from the Zhou Family.

The air in the room instantly tightened.

Jiang Xingchuan instinctively wanted to stand up, but Jiang Chengning suppressed him with a look.

"Go into the inner room," Jiang Chengning said. "Don't remove the cloth on your shoulder."

Jiang Xingchuan held his breath in his chest, but in the end, he endured it, lowered his head, and slipped into the east wing.

Lin Suwen turned to add firewood to the stove, her expression already restored to normal.

Jiang Chengning pushed the clan history toward the corner of the table, covering most of it, leaving only a corner of the black cover exposed.

The courtyard gate knocked again.

This time it was heavier.

"Coming," Jiang Chengning responded and went to open the door.

As the door opened, standing outside was the Zhou Family's accountant, Accountant Zhou Chengli.

This man was in his forties, thin, with a high nose bridge, but his eyes were extremely small, and they always looked like he couldn't open them. He was the person the few Cold Households on the mountain disliked the most, because whenever anything related to account books or calculations was involved, it eventually had to pass through his hands.

Accountant Zhou Chengli smiled, his gaze sweeping around the room first.

"Jiang Family, it was quite lively last night."

Jiang Chengning also smiled.

"When people in the mountains celebrate the Start of Spring, which Family isn't lively?"

Accountant Zhou Chengli didn't take the bait and just said, "The Elder asked me to come and see who in the Jiang Family succeeded this morning."

As he said this, his gaze had already landed on Jiang Yuhe.

Clearly, the news from the Fenchun Terrace had already arrived ahead of him.

Jiang Chengning stepped aside.

"Jiang Yuhe."

Jiang Yuhe rose from under the lamp, stepped forward, and bowed, neither humble nor arrogant.

Accountant Zhou Chengli squinted at her for two breaths, his smile fading slightly.

"So you really did succeed."

After saying this, he swept his gaze around the room as if casually.

"Where are the others?"

Jiang Chengning remained impassive, his eyes lowered.

"Jiang Xingchuan went into the mountains with Shoushan last night to scout the path, took a fall, and injured his shoulder, so he can't get up right now."

"Scouting the path in the mountains?" Accountant Zhou Chengli raised an eyebrow slightly, the smile on his face not fading.

"Yes," Jiang Shoushan added from behind. "We wandered around blindly, didn't find anything, and almost lost our lives."

Accountant Zhou Chengli looked at Jiang Shoushan for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"It's best that you didn't find anything."

After saying this, his gaze fell back onto Jiang Yuhe.

"The Elder asked me to bring a message. Since the Jiang Family has continued its incense this year, you may temporarily not relocate from the mountain tomorrow. But those two acres of hillside fields in the east of the valley were originally lent to you for food because no one in your Family was cultivating. Now that you have Qi Refining, the accounts for those two acres must be recalculated."

"Starting tomorrow, our Family will begin collecting Spirit Rice as tax."

Jiang Chengning showed no emotion on his face and simply nodded.

"Calculate it however it should be calculated."

Accountant Zhou Chengli looked at him, as if trying to see something more on his face. But after looking for a few breaths, he ultimately saw nothing, so he flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.

When the courtyard gate closed again, no one in the room spoke.

Until the footsteps had completely faded away, Jiang Shoushan whispered, "They came really fast."

Jiang Chengning didn't respond to him, but instead lowered his head to look at the clan history on the corner of the table.

It still lay there quietly, as if it had done nothing at all.