Bearing the blue sky

Chapter 326 Water Vein Map

The old man's cloudy eyes lingered on Zhu Ge for even longer than before.

The silk thread winding between his fingers had completely stopped, and the unfinished section of the bamboo pole hung loosely on his knees, like a lifeless little snake.

The shop was quiet for a moment, with only the faint sounds of people coming from outside the alley and the whistling of air coming from the chimneys of the kilns in the distance filling the silence.

"The methods of cultivation in the way of fishermen?"

The old man repeated the words, his voice a few decibels lower than before, as if afraid of being overheard by someone passing by outside the alley.

He put down the bamboo pole and fishing line, and rubbed his wrinkled face. "Where did you hear that I have a fishing cultivation method here?"

Zhu Ge sat down at the low table, her gaze falling on a bent fishing rod hanging on the wall behind the old man.

The fishing rod was made of a special material, unlike ordinary bamboo or wooden rods. It had a dark, almost murky green color throughout, and its surface was covered with fine textures that looked like they had been washed by water for a long time.

Several joints on the rod are wrapped with silver-gray silk thread. The way the thread is wrapped is extremely meticulous, and the spacing between each loop is so even that it looks as if it has been measured with a ruler.

"I've seen someone use it," Zhu Ge finally spoke, his voice calm: "He used a similar rod, stood by the river for a day and a night, and then caught something that shouldn't have been in that river."

The old man's eyes lit up.

Although the fleeting light vanished in an instant, Zhu Ge clearly captured it.

The old man didn't ask which river "that river" was or what "that thing" was, but instead took another look at Zhu Ge's face and figure.

"Are you talking about a tall, thin man who doesn't talk, likes to wear a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, and stays motionless like a stone when he's fishing?" the old man asked.

Zhu Ge nodded slightly: "Yes."

"

The old man let out a long breath. He beckoned to Zhu Ge to come closer, then lowered his voice and said, "Come with me."

After saying that, he stood up, casually placed the half-wound bamboo pole on the low table into the bamboo basket in the corner of the wall, and turned to walk towards a small door deep inside the shop.

The door was hidden behind a wall with fishing nets and baskets hanging on it, and it was painted almost the same color as the wall, making it difficult to spot without careful observation.

The old man took out a cast iron key from his waist and inserted it into the keyhole with a dry, creaking sound.

He turned the door twice with force, and the lock clicked open. The door slowly opened inward, revealing a section of stone steps leading to the ground.

The stone steps were narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. The walls on both sides were made of rough, rubble, with a slight dampness seeping from the gaps, carrying a faint fishy smell like a mixture of river water and mud.

There were several greasy oil lamps on the wall, their wicks making a soft crackling sound as they burned, casting the old man's shadow as a long, swaying shadow in the dim light.

Zhu Ge followed the old man without hesitation.

At the end of the path was a basement about ten feet square.

The basement ceiling wasn't high; when Zhu Ge stood up straight, her head almost touched the thick, hanging beams.

The four walls are also made of rubble, but they are more regular than the walls on both sides of the stone steps. The joints between the stones are tight and flat, as if they have been carefully polished and spliced.

The most conspicuous thing in the basement is a stone vat placed in the very center.

The stone jar was about three feet in diameter, and its surface was carved with fine water patterns and fish scales.

The carving of the patterns is extremely fine, with each scale complete and clear, gleaming with a moist glow under the light of the oil lamp.

The stone jar contained water, which was a translucent liquid with a faint bluish-green hue. The surface of the water was as calm as a mirror, and the bottom could not be seen.

The old man walked to the stone vat and gently tapped the rim of the vat three times.

The three knocks were not loud, but they produced a strange echo in the enclosed space of the basement.

The echo seemed to be partially absorbed by the water inside the stone jar, and when it was expelled, it had become a different frequency, with a faint tremor like a fish tail poking the surface of the water.

"Fishing Path —"

The old man straightened up, turned to face Zhu Ge, and his voice sounded clearer and more steady in the enclosed space of the basement than it had upstairs: "It's not written on paper. Things on paper are for outsiders. The real fishing path is in the water."

He gestured towards the stone vat with his lip: "You come here."

In the water?

Zhu Ge walked to the stone vat and looked down at the water.

The water in the tank looked unremarkable; it was so clear that you could vaguely see the fine sand and a few smooth pebbles at the bottom.

But as he looked closely, he vaguely sensed something slowly moving beneath the surface of the water.

It wasn't a fish, nor was it aquatic plants; it was more like a very slight, almost invisible ripple in the water, as if something invisible was moving and swimming beneath the surface.

"What did you see?" The old man's voice came from behind him, with the cautiousness of a teacher testing a student.

Zhu Ge was silent for a few moments, then said, "There's something moving in the water, but I can't see it clearly."

T

"Not bad." A barely perceptible smile appeared on the old man's lips.

He walked to Zhu Ge's side, took down a short-handled wooden pole from the wall, and tied a thin silver thread as fine as a hair to the end of the pole, with a tiny iron hook hanging from the end of the thread.

"Your friend who wears a straw raincoat also learned it here."

The old man put the wooden pole back on the wall, turned around and looked at Zhu Ge: "Back then, he sat in front of this vat for three whole days and three nights. After three days, he stood up and said to me, and then he left and went to the south."

"Did he leave anything behind before he left?" Zhu Ge asked.

The old man remained silent for a while, as if considering whether he should speak, then seemed to have made up his mind, turned around and walked to a wooden box in the corner of the basement.

He crouched down, lifted the lid of the box, and pulled something out.

The object was wrapped in a piece of old blue cloth, the edges of which were worn and frayed, as if it had been repeatedly opened and wrapped many times.

The old man placed the cloth bag on the rim of the stone vat and slowly unfolded it in front of Zhu Ge.

Inside the cloth bag was a roll of animal hide.

The animal hide is tough and has a dark yellow hue that is unique to it after years of weathering. There are a few small holes from insects along the edges, but the main body is well preserved.

A picture was drawn on the animal hide with some kind of dark brown pigment.

It was a map of watercourses, with bold yet dynamic lines, as if drawn by a brush dipped in flowing water and dragged across the paper.

When Zhu Ge's gaze fell on the picture, her pupils contracted slightly.

River map!

The river's course depicted in the map is completely different from the distribution of waterways he observed from the outside.

Instead of taking the obvious surface waterways, it meanders along certain hidden crevices deep underground, bypassing cities and mountains, and traversing the depths of the earth that are inaccessible to ordinary people.

The lines converge in some places to form a dense network, as intricate as an underwater maze, while in other places they suddenly separate and flow in completely different directions.

In the upper right corner of the animal hide, a line of text was written in small characters, the handwriting was messy and thin, and the ending strokes resembled the tension left in the moment when a fishing line was suddenly pulled up: "The waterways all lead to secluded places, and the fishing paths are within them."

Zhu Ge's gaze lingered on that line of text for a long time.

"What did he say and do when he left this?" Zhu Ge asked.

"He was a collateral branch of the Luo family of Dongting. His father and mother spent a lot of money to send him to work in the south. Was he an official in charge of the Awakening of Insects? Or the Cold Dew?" The old man fell into recollection: "He should have been an official in charge of the Cold Dew, since most of the Luo family in Dongting were officials in charge of the Cold Dew, who were proficient in waterways and controlled water conservancy."

"But he said that the position of Jingzhe official is a matter of great importance to the country, and he wants to start from the position of Jingzhe official to sweep away the injustices in the world."

"The paths of agriculture, fishing, forestry, and animal husbandry are all interconnected," he said. "Since I am a fisherman, I should speak up for agriculture, forestry, fishing, and animal husbandry."

"He wants to become the official in charge of the Awakening of Insects, and then protect the people of this region."

A fisherman in a straw raincoat?

Jingzhe Official?

To protect the people of this region?

Zhu Ge fell silent.

He originally came here simply to follow the directions given by the divination.

The divination indicates that there is a cause and effect and an opportunity for him here.

The results of it?

I guessed the beginning, but I didn't guess the ending.

I never expected this. I thought I would go on a killing spree and then get some treasure.

As a result, I learned the story of the fisherman in the straw raincoat.

The boy who slew the dragon eventually became the dragon himself.

The fisherman in his straw raincoat, who once harbored ideals and beliefs, eventually became someone he himself despised.

"Can I take this picture with me?" Zhu Ge looked up at the old man.

The old man thought for a moment, then reached out and rolled up the animal hide again, wrapped it in the blue cloth, and handed it to Zhu Ge: "Take it. It's been here with me for many years, and no one has ever come to see it. When your friend left, he said that whoever has this painting is destined to have it, and he didn't care anymore."

"This diagram is used in the same way as my water tank. If you want to understand and learn the way of fishing, just look at the diagram."

This is a picture left by the fisherman in the straw raincoat many years ago.

Zhu Ge took the rolled-up animal hide, and the moment he touched it, he felt a very faint tremor from inside the hide, like the vibration of flowing water.

It wasn't just ordinary touch; it felt more like some kind of information sealed within the animal hide's texture was actively sensing his contact.

But this is not the time to overthink it.

Zhu Ge clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Now that the matter is settled, I shall take my leave."

The old man nodded slightly, then led Zhu Ge back to the ground.

There's not much else to say; Zhu Ge left some money and left.

This trip wasn't very fruitful, but the feeling of resolving a cause and effect was quite nice.

The story of the fisherman in the straw raincoat left no trace in his mind from then on.

"I'll buy some porcelain this afternoon, and then head to Shengjing!"

Zhu Ge, Hua Liusha, and Liu Jianjian each bought a large pile of porcelain.

I must say, the porcelain here is truly beautiful.

Afterwards, Zhu Ge sat down to study the water vein diagram.

It should be noted that among the ten Heavenly Officials of the human race, the Cold Dew Official is in charge of water conservancy throughout the world.

Water conservancy is not just about water conservancy, but a general term encompassing waterways, waterways, and water management.

All places in the world with water are under the jurisdiction of the Cold Dew Official.

From ocean currents in the vast oceans to the currents in great rivers and streams underground, all are under the control of the Cold Dew Official.

The Cold Dew Official is the same person as the New Year's Eve Official.

Therefore, Zhu Ge prepared to learn about the waterways and fishermen's ways.

When the water vein map was spread out on the table in the inn room.

The afternoon sun was shining obliquely through the cracks in the window, cutting a warm band of light across the yellowed animal hide.

Zhu Ge sat at the table, her hands resting on either side of the edge, her gaze slowly moving along the rough yet dynamic lines.

Water veins!

Liu Jianjian squatted at the door of the room, holding a newly bought blue and white porcelain bowl in her arms. A lifelike carp was painted on the inside of the bowl, and the scales were drawn with fine brushstrokes.

She glanced at the bowl a few times, then looked up at Zhu Ge's focused profile. Not daring to disturb her, she quietly moved to a slightly different position so that the light coming in from outside wouldn't block Zhu Ge's view of the picture.

Hua Liusha sat on a low stool by the window, sewing new spirit clothes with needle and thread in her hand.

"These veins are undercurrents—" Zhu Ge's fingertips slowly moved along the main water vein lines on the map.

The lines appeared clearer in the sunlight than under the oil lamp in the basement, and the dark brown pigment seeped deeply into the texture of the animal hide.

The edges of the lines slightly blur, like ink naturally spreading on rice paper.

He could feel the very slight vibration of the water flowing from where his fingertips touched.

The tremor that the rolled-up animal hide had given him since he first held it became even more pronounced as he observed it up close.

The distribution of water veins on the map was more complex than he had initially thought.

Beneath those thick main lines lie countless tiny branches, which in turn extend outwards with even more delicate lines, like the network of roots of an old tree spreading deep in the earth.

Some lines are marked with tiny dots at their ends, with very small notes next to the dots.

"Spring," "Dark Pool," "Effervescent Mouth," "Seepage Crevice" —

The handwriting and the inscription in the upper right corner were written by the same person, and both had that same cursive and slender style.

Zhu Ge's gaze swept over the markings one by one, and a three-dimensional picture of the distribution of underground water sources in this area gradually formed in his mind.

His previous understanding of water veins mostly came from theoretical descriptions in books.

How are underground water layers distributed? How does spring water gush out from rock fissures? How do rivers resurface after traveling underground for a distance?

That knowledge remained at the conceptual level, but this picture concretizes those concepts into visible, flowing entities.

"Fishing path —" Zhu Ge repeated the word softly.

As his fingertips left the surface of the animal hide, the subtle vibrations diminished.

He rolled up the animal hide and put it away, then stood up, walked to the window, and opened it to look at the street scene outside.

In the afternoon, Jingdezhen was bathed in a warm, porcelain-white light. In the distance, wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys of the kilns, and people came and went on the streets. The noise of people mixed with the rumbling of horse-drawn cart wheels over the stone slabs.

"Master, have you finished looking at it?" Liu Jianjian poked her head in from the doorway, still holding the blue-and-white porcelain bowl in her hands. "How was it? What good stuff was in that picture?"

"There's plenty of water," Zhu Ge winked.

Liu Jianjian exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? Water? Just... water?"

Liu Jianjian tilted her head and thought for a moment, not quite understanding, but she didn't ask any further questions.

She carefully placed the blue-and-white porcelain bowl she was holding on the small table by the door, and then excitedly pulled out another item from behind her back.

It was a small porcelain figurine, about the size of a palm, depicting a boy holding a fish basket. He had a smiling face and the glaze was a warm, pleasing white that made people feel good just looking at it.

Liu Jianjian smiled and said, "Master, look at this! I bought it at the shop at the end of the street for only three coins. The old lady selling things said that this porcelain figurine can bring good fortune to fish and shrimp if placed next to the water tank."

Zhu Ge glanced at the porcelain figurine, smiled, and said nothing.

It's a pity that these porcelain pieces are all ordinary items.

To buy magical artifacts in the city, one must deal with those powerful families.

Zhu Ge then gave up the idea of ​​buying fine porcelain.

"Let's go. We've bought some souvenirs, settled our karmic debts, and that's enough."

"Next stop, Shengjing!"

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