15: Chapter 15 The "Tears of the Mountain God" as Told by the Mountain Folks

The raindrops on the pine needles had not yet dried; a gust of wind caused them to roll down the needles, leaving tiny wet marks on Chen Jie's canvas backpack. As he stepped over the pebbles in the stream, walking toward the outside of the mountain, Zhao Kai was complaining while holding his half-dry mobile phone. The water ripples on the screen looked like a wriggling little snake, blurring the signal bars into indistinct green lines.

"I'm asking, does this godforsaken place even have a signal tower?" Zhao Kai tapped his phone against a rock. "If I had known, I would have listened to my mom and gone to the seaside for our graduation trip—smell these clothes, they're so damp you could wring out a fishy stench. Why isn't that jade stone of yours continuing to work its magic?"

Chen Jie didn't reply, his fingertips rubbing against the outside of his tool bag. The dark green jade stone was scorching hot through the canvas, even more so than when they were in the rain shelter this morning; it felt like he was carrying a freshly peeled chestnut. Looking down, he discovered that the mud stains on his pant legs were climbing up the fabric, congealing into a small ball of mud at the knee. With a light touch, it crumbled away, revealing the dry fabric underneath—the jade stone was acting up again.

"There's a house ahead!" Old Liu pointed forward with his pipe. A few grey-tiled roofs swayed in the bamboo shadows, and the smoke drifting from the chimney was torn into thin strips by the wind, wrapping around the treetops of a walnut tree. He quickened his pace down the slope, the sweet fragrance of wild grapes wafting from his bamboo basket. "That's Old Zhou's family. His father used to forage for herbs on Suiyu Slope when he was young; he might know the origin of your jade stone."

The courtyard gate was not closed; morning glories climbed all over the creaking bamboo fence, with raindrops still clinging to their purplish petals. Just as Chen Jie was about to call out, he saw an old man wearing a blue cloth jacket crouching in the grain-drying yard, holding a translucent white jade stone in his hand, sprinkling it over the herbs in a bamboo tray. Those herbs, soaked by the rain, were drying at a speed visible to the naked eye, their leaves curling into tiny tubes as if they had been thoroughly dried by the autumn sun.

"Old Zhou, let us pass!" Old Liu placed his bamboo basket in the corner, and the sweet scent of wild grapes spread out.

When the old man looked up, Chen Jie noticed the white jade stone in his hand—its surface was covered in dense, horizontal and vertical patterns, which were surprisingly similar to his own jade stone, only the color was like a pebble from the stream, shimmering with a layer of water light. "It's Old Liu," Old Zhou said, tucking the jade stone into his pocket. "Are these two young men from the city?"

"They fell into the stream; we're here to rest for a bit." Old Liu gestured toward Chen Jie. "The two of them found a strange jade stone that can dry things on its own. Could you take a look?"

Old Zhou's eyes suddenly lit up as he peered into Chen Jie's backpack. "Is it dark green? Does it have horizontal and vertical patterns?" Seeing Chen Jie nod, he suddenly shouted into the house, "Wife, bring that earthenware jar!"

The door creaked open, and a woman wearing an apron came out carrying an earthenware jar with a layer of gauze covering the opening. When Old Zhou uncovered the gauze, Chen Jie smelled a crisp, cool scent of water. At the bottom of the jar sat a white jade stone the size of a pigeon egg, emitting tiny bubbles that gradually cleared the murky water in the jar.

"This is called the 'Tears of the Mountain God'." Old Zhou pointed to the white jade stone, tracing a circle around the rim of the jar with his fingertip. "The jade stone of Suiyu Slope is stained with the Spiritual Qi of the Jade God and can perform Water purification and repel dampness. When my father was foraging for herbs on the slope years ago, he was bitten by a venomous snake. Before he lost consciousness, he grabbed this jade stone. When he woke up, the venom in his wound had disappeared on its own, and the jade stone had changed from green to black, then slowly turned back to white."

Chen Jie's heart stirred, and he took out his jade stone and placed it by the jar. As soon as the two jade stones drew near, the water in the jar suddenly bubbled with a "gurgle." The patterns on the white jade stone glowed with golden light, while the patterns on his own jade stone lit up with blue light. The two lights intertwined into a web on the surface of the water, wrapping all the mud and sand at the bottom of the jar into tiny balls, which climbed up the wall of the jar and gathered on the gauze at the opening, as if held by an invisible hand.

"It really is the 'Jade God Twin Stones'!" Old Zhou's voice trembled. "The elders said that when the Jade God refined the jade, he divided the Spiritual Qi of Water purification and dampness-repelling into two jade stones, and they would recognize each other when they met someone fated. My white one can perform Water purification, and your green one can repel dampness; together..."

Before he could finish, Zhao Kai suddenly pointed at the bamboo tray in the grain-drying yard—the herbs that had been soaked just a moment ago now seemed as if they had been blown by the wind, drifting piece by piece toward the jade stone. When they landed at Chen Jie's feet, they were all dry and crispy, and even the most tender buds hadn't wilted. He picked one up and tasted it; it was bitter with a hint of sweetness, even fresher than what was found in the city's traditional Chinese medicine shops.

"This is bizarre..." Zhao Kai touched his half-dry mobile phone. "If this jade stone could be mass-produced, the dryer factories would all go out of business."

Old Zhou, however, sighed and put the white jade stone back into the jar. "It's a pity, Suiyu Slope is off-limits now. A few years ago, a group of outsiders came to mine, blowing up half the slope and burying many jade stones containing Spiritual Qi." He glanced at Chen Jie's jade stone. "Since your jade stone can work such miracles, I'm afraid it has chosen you as its master."

Chen Jie stuffed the jade stone back into his tool bag. When his fingertips touched the surface of the stone, he discovered that the horizontal and vertical patterns were embedded with tiny golden shavings, like powder that had fallen off Old Zhou's white jade stone. He suddenly recalled what Auntie Wang had said: her husband's green jade stone could make the water in a pickled vegetable jar clear, Old Zhou's white jade stone could perform Water purification, and his own could repel dampness—could it be that the jade stones of Suiyu Slope were originally different "parts" refined by the Jade God?

"Can this jade stone... cure snake venom?" Zhao Kai suddenly leaned in, his eyes wide.

"It has to have spiritual nature." Old Zhou covered the earthenware jar. "Ordinary jade stones from Suiyu Slope can only perform Water purification; only those with Spiritual Qi will recognize a master. My white one has been with me for thirty years, and it can't do anything but perform Water purification. Your green one can move on its own; I'm afraid it has more spiritual nature than mine."

Chen Jie looked toward Suiyu Slope, where clouds and mist were rolling over, wrapping around the mountain peaks like a ball of cotton. He suddenly felt that this journey was like repairing a complex machine; Old Zhou's white jade stone, the green jade stone belonging to Auntie Wang's husband, and his own piece that could repel dampness were all scattered parts, and Suiyu Slope was the core of that machine, waiting to be reassembled.

The wind passed through the walnut grove, carrying a cool, refreshing Qi, mixed with the bitter scent of herbs. Chen Jie touched his tool bag; the temperature of the jade stone had gradually faded, but it felt heavier than before, as if it were hiding more secrets. When he looked up, he saw Old Zhou muttering toward the direction of Suiyu Slope, his expression as pious as if he were talking to someone—perhaps there really was a Jade God, or perhaps that was just the mountain folk's reverence for nature, but this jade stone picked up from the stream was indeed uncovering the secrets of the mountain bit by bit, like a key being inserted into a lock.