Chapter 12: Entering the Valley
When the others heard Strategist Ji's instructions, they immediately responded in unison:
"Yes, sir!"
Strategist Ji shifted his gaze from Li Yan and waved his hand toward the others, speaking in a gentle tone:
"Chen An, Li Yin, stay behind. The rest of you, return to your duties."
Once everyone had dispersed, the two soldiers who had been standing in the center stepped forward.
Li Yan looked at the two men, one appeared to be around thirty, the other about twenty. Both were roughly seven feet tall.
The older one had a square face and a ruddy complexion that gave him a righteous appearance. The younger one had a round face, large eyes, and slightly fairer skin, giving off a sense of quick wit.
Both wore standard-issue light military armor.
Strategist Ji pointed to the square-faced man:
"This is Chen An."
Then he pointed to the round-faced, large-eyed young soldier:
"This is Li Yin. These two are responsible for miscellaneous tasks in the valley and are familiar with military matters. If I am not in the residence and you need something done, you may instruct them.
Hmm… if you need to enter the city on errands, take them with you. First, having them by your side will make handling matters much easier. Secondly, they are also responsible for your safety.
After all, this is a border city, enemy spies frequently infiltrate to gather intelligence. If they learn that you are my disciple, they will undoubtedly set their sights on you."
Li Yan felt a jolt in his heart upon hearing this, followed by a warmth. He bowed and replied: "Thank you, Teacher."
If earlier he had called him "Teacher" with some awkwardness, now it came sincerely from the heart.
Chen An and Li Yin also bowed to Strategist Ji:
"We will follow your command. Please rest assured, my lord."
"Good. Then go prepare some of his daily necessities and send them over shortly."
"Yes, my lord!"
With that, Strategist Ji called out to Li Yan and resumed walking inward. Li Yan quickly followed. However, he did not see that after he turned away, Chen An and Li Yin exchanged a glance, and when they looked at his back, a flicker of uncertainty flashed in their eyes.
Li Yan had originally thought he would be staying in one of the stone houses flanking the plaza. But to his surprise, his teacher didn't even glance at those buildings and walked straight ahead.
When the two reached the end of the stone houses and turned right, a valley suddenly appeared before them. On one side of the cliff at the valley entrance, several large scarlet characters were engraved:
"Military Advisor's Mansion"
Li Yan thought to himself, "This is just a mountain valley, why call it a mansion?"
But he didn't stop walking and followed Strategist Ji into the valley. It wasn't until they entered that the advisor finally stopped.
The valley wasn't very large, surrounded on three sides by steep mountains that soared into the clouds. The slopes of all three peaks were nearly vertical, appearing exceptionally precipitous and dangerous.
Shrubs and small trees grew densely on the slopes, branches stretching thickly from the base to the summit. If someone wanted to climb up, they wouldn't even find a place to set foot. Only the valley entrance served as a proper way in and out.
By now, darkness had fallen, and the view inside the valley was dim and hard to discern. At the right-hand side near the valley entrance, there was a row of stone houses, about three or four in number.
Just then, hurried footsteps came from behind. Li Yan turned to look and saw two figures emerging from the darkness. As they drew near, he recognized them as Chen An and Li Yin.
Each carried several items in their hands, likely the daily necessities that Strategist Ji had just asked them to prepare. They had come quickly, just moments behind.
The two swiftly passed by and headed straight for the row of stone houses. Soon, lights began to glow from within the buildings, shining through the doors and windows, illuminating the valley and revealing more of its details.
Strategist Ji turned and said to Li Yan:
"It's already late today. Shortly, Chen An and the others will help you get familiar with this place. Afterward, have dinner and get some rest.
You've traveled hundreds of li from your home to get here, best to sleep early. Come see me at first light tomorrow, and I'll explain matters regarding the sect."
As he spoke, Chen An and Li Yin briskly returned. Chen An smiled and said:
"Young Master Li, the rooms here are cleaned daily by the servants, so we only needed to bring the essential supplies."
Seeing them arrive, Strategist Ji gave another instruction:
"Take Li Yan with you. Deliver the food here later."
With that, he gave Li Yan a slight smile and nod before heading toward the first stone house closest to the valley entrance. His silhouette briefly darkened under the glow of the doorway's lamplight, then disappeared inside.
Li Yan stared blankly at his teacher's retreating figure, thinking: My teacher truly handles things in a direct and straightforward way.
At that moment, Chen An chuckled lightly:
"Young Master Li, come with us then."
Li Yan gave his thanks and followed the two men inside. This time, their pace was much slower.
Chen An proved to be quite talkative, while Li Yin deferred to him but was efficient in his actions, and occasionally chimed in with a few words.
As they walked and talked, Li Yan began to learn more about the place.
It turned out that Marshal Hong had originally arranged a residence for Strategist Ji in the city. But the advisor preferred solitude and quiet, unwilling to live amidst the city's noise.
Eventually, he found this secluded valley outside the city and chose to live here alone.
But how could Marshal Hong allow a high-ranking official to live in such rough conditions? After trying and failing to persuade him, the Marshal finally sent people to renovate the valley.
They cleared over a hundred zhang of open land outside the valley, built housing, stationed guards, and even assigned maids and servants to manage food and daily needs.
In the end, Strategist Ji only kept twenty soldiers and three women to handle meals and laundry. Everyone else he sent back.
According to the advisor himself, he preferred to live alone, but he couldn't completely reject the Marshal's goodwill. As for the name "Military Advisor's Mansion," it was given simply to match the format of an official's dwelling.
There were four stone houses in the valley. The first one near the entrance was where the Military Advisor resided. The second house next to it was used by the advisor to practice martial arts from time to time. The other two were unoccupied.
As Chen An explained, they were normally not allowed to enter these houses freely. Unless the Military Advisor gave orders, they were only permitted inside during routine food delivery or cleaning.
Anyone who broke the rules would be immediately expelled from the valley and once they returned to the city, one could imagine how Marshal Hong would deal with them.
Aside from the four stone houses, the valley also had fully equipped toilets and bathing facilities, built into the corners of the compound.
Li Yan ultimately chose the house located at the very back of the valley, built right against the mountain wall. It was spacious and gave off a very solid feeling.
Clearly, it had been constructed by military personnel. Military structures always prioritized practicality, what mattered most was sturdiness and durability.
Li Yan looked around the interior of the stone house. The floor was paved with blue stone and broken rock, clean and bright. The simple furnishings were all in place, but they seemed rather inconspicuous within the spacious room.
Against the northern wall stood a wide wooden bed. Along the eastern wall was a washstand with some toiletries, while the western wall held a four-tiered bookshelf, upon which lay a few books.
A wooden table sat by the southern window, with a few teacups and a kettle placed on top, along with two chairs.
At the head of the table sat two tall chests, woven from aged brown rattan, placed side by side on the floor. Their height nearly reached the tabletop, likely used for storing clothing and similar items.
The north and west sides of the stone house were built against the mountainside. The eastern wall was connected to other houses, so only the southern side had an entrance door and a large window, both facing into the valley.
Li Yan noticed that the window was quite tall, framed with fine wooden latticework, and currently open.
Even with just one window, the room didn't feel stuffy at all. Instead, a cool autumn night breeze wafted in, bringing a sense of ease and comfort.
"Young Master Li, please feel free to rest a bit. There's hot water in the kettle. Once the meal is ready, someone will bring it over.
We aren't allowed to linger in the valley for long. Lord Ji doesn't like outsiders staying here. If there's nothing else, we'll take our leave now."
After placing down the supplies, Chen An and Li Yin said this to Li Yan.
Li Yan, who had been inspecting the room, quickly turned to them upon hearing this.
"Thank you both for your trouble!"
The two cupped their hands in farewell and left.
Li Yan walked over to the table, took the bundle off his shoulder, and placed it down. Then he went to the two brown rattan chests and opened them one after the other.
The inside of the chests was empty. Each had a piece of black cloth laid at the bottom as padding, clearly meant for storing clothing.
Li Yan took his bundle from the table, untied it, and began neatly folding the coarse cloth garments inside and placing them into one of the chests.
These were hand-sewn by his fourth sister and his mother.
Though the fabric was rough, some even cut from old, worn clothes, Li Yan felt as though his little mountain village was right beside him. The warmth was palpable. Just seeing them reminded him of his mother and fourth sister.
He hadn't brought much with him, and the chests were quite large. Even after placing all his clothes in one chest, only about thirty to forty percent of the space was used.
After thinking for a moment, he took out the pickled vegetables and dried rations from his bundle and arranged them neatly along the wall by the table. He did not store them in the other empty chest.
Once the chests were closed, Li Yan pulled out a chair and sat at the table. He picked up the kettle and poured himself a cup of water. The water was still warm, it seemed someone truly did come by daily to change the water and clean the room.
Li Yan was truly exhausted. He had traveled over 200 li today, only eating some dried food and water along the way. Now he was both hungry and thirsty, and his body was weary.
The outside was pitch black now, and he had no desire to wander around the courtyard. He sipped his water while lost in thought.
Reflecting on the events of the day and the place where he now sat, it all still felt like a dream. After a while, the water soothed his throat, but his hunger and fatigue grew stronger. He thought to himself: "Thankfully, Teacher didn't assign me anything tonight. Otherwise, I truly wouldn't have had the energy to manage. That would've been embarrassing in front of him."
While mulling over this, the sound of footsteps came from outside. Since the door hadn't been closed and they were in a secluded valley, the footsteps echoed clearly in the night.
Li Yan looked up to see a figure at the entrance. A woman stood there, carrying a wooden tray.
Li Yan rose to greet her. She respectfully stood just outside the doorway, so he said:
"Where is your kitchen? Next time I can go pick up the food myself."
At these words, the woman's face turned pale, and she shivered.
"Young Master Li, you mustn't say such things! If Lord Ji were to hear that, it would be a terrible offense."
Li Yan reached out to take the tray and froze at her reaction. He asked curiously, "Why is that?"
The woman quickly replied, "Places like the kitchen are where the servants stay. How could a lord or young master possibly go there? Lord Ji would never permit it."
Li Yan was momentarily confused. Then he gradually understood, back home, he could go anywhere he pleased. But now, with this change in identity, he hadn't fully adapted. Taking the tray, he said,
"Then next time, just bring the food inside and place it on the table."
The woman looked at him, as though recalling something, and added:
"Young Master Li, aside from meal delivery and cleaning, we are not allowed to enter the valley freely. Lord Ji has also instructed that we are never to casually enter these four rooms, lest we disturb him.
When Lord Ji returns, his door is usually closed. If we see a black wooden tag hanging on the door handle, we place the meal on the stone platform outside and come back later to retrieve it.
If the food hasn't been eaten, we take it back, throw it away, and prepare a new meal to deliver again.
Cleaning Lord Ji's room requires his express permission before anyone can enter. As for the room you're in and the adjacent one, since they were previously unoccupied, they've been cleaned at regular intervals. But now that you live here, we can no longer enter as we please."
Li Yan listened and finally noticed the black wooden tag hanging from the inside of his door handle. After thinking about it, he guessed that his teacher must hang it outside while cultivating to avoid being disturbed.
Although he didn't understand the deeper aspects of martial arts, he'd heard a few things, such as how inner cultivation and meditation must not be interrupted, lest one suffer from qi deviation.
The woman reminded him once more that after finishing the meal, he should place the dishes on the stone platform outside. Someone would come to collect them later. Then she bowed slightly and quickly left.
Although the food wasn't fine cuisine, it was still something Li Yan had never tasted before, well-prepared military rations. He ate with great satisfaction, but soon thoughts of home crept in again.
I wonder if Mother and Father have eaten yet… or if they're still worrying about me.
For a moment, Li Yan felt a little melancholy.
He stood up and packed the dishes into the tray, then stepped outside. Sure enough, just outside the door was a stone platform, and he placed the tray on top.
Not far across from his stone house seemed to be a small pond or pool.
Looking up, he saw layers of dark forest blanketing the mountain ridges all around. Overhead, the circular patch of sky was sprinkled with stars. He stared blankly at it for a while, missing his old home and everything in his village.
He returned inside, washed up briefly, closed the doors and windows, and lay down on the bed.
On his first night away from home, Li Yan drifted into a deep sleep, his heart filled with thoughts of his parents and every tree and blade of grass in the village.
(Chapter End)