Chapter 023: Steadying the Mind, One Awakens from Dreams and Illusions; Rippling Lakes Reflect the Mountain Ranges

"Jiao'an..." Seeing Liu Jiao'an's face, Guan Yin rubbed his sore eyes. "Didn't you say you were going out just now?"

Every day or two, Liu Jiao'an would head to the market to sell her handmade embroidery, trading it for money to buy rice. Their diet had been quite plain lately, a far cry from the rich, hearty meals Guan Yin was accustomed to at the university cafeteria.

"Husband? You are not my husband!"

"Drag him to the magistrate's office! Let her see the fate of those who dare impersonate my husband!"

Guan Yin could already imagine the bailiffs walking in, their chains clanking and heavy wooden cangues in hand, waiting for him to submit willingly. The day he had dreaded had finally arrived before he could find a way back to reality. Guan Yin lowered his gaze, feeling his heart tremble.

"This isn't what I wanted to do either, I am also..."

"Husband?"

A call drifted in as if from the distant horizon. Not far in front of the desk, a mist, white as silk and smooth as a lake, swirled in response to the voice.

"Why? Not what you wanted to do? Corrupt officials claim they are forced by circumstance to take bribes and break the law; robbers claim they kill for a living. Does the government not punish such people?"

"Furthermore, you have usurped another man's life, occupying his body, enjoying his wife, his property, and his servants. Do you truly believe you are better than those people?"

At first, Guan Yin found the comparison absurd, but upon reflection, he put himself in their shoes. If a stranger had stolen the body of someone he loved, would he believe the intruder's claims of innocence? If he found a way, would he not seek calculated revenge?

"Husband, wake up."

A dizzying, spinning sensation finally dispersed the layers of fog. When Guan Yin awoke, the first thing he saw was Sanheng.

Unlike usual, the lingering terror of the dream left him unable to fully shake off the nightmare. He looked at Sanheng with caution. "You wouldn't..."

"Of course Sanheng wouldn't." Though Sanheng did not know what her master was muttering about, she knew it was best to agree. "Sanheng saw you murmuring and feared you were having a nightmare, so I woke you."

"Could it be that you were dreaming of the so-called, the so-called..."

"The so-called what? Zhuangzi dreaming of a butterfly?" Since the original owner of the body had told Liu Jiao'an this story, perhaps Sanheng had heard it too. Having just woken up, Guan Yin had already forgotten most of the dream, remembering only the dread of his identity being exposed.

"No, that’s not it, Master. Try another." Sanheng shook her head. "It wasn't that."

"Was it a Nanke dream, a yellow millet dream, or perhaps..."

Sanheng counted on her fingers, comparing the terms her master mentioned with the stories she had heard. Unable to reach a conclusion, she simply clapped her hands. "Ah, I only worried that I had disturbed your pleasant dream."

"Your master doesn't have pleasant dreams," Liu Jiao'an said as she pushed open the door and entered, while Sanheng was still secretly struggling with the names of dreams. "If she has any ideas, she simply writes them into her stories."

Seeing his wife enter, Sanheng stopped her wandering thoughts and nodded with a smile. "You are right, Madam, I understand."

"Sanheng, go heat some water for the Madam." Seeing Liu Jiao'an nod in silent approval, Sanheng turned and stepped out.

"Back so early?" With Sanheng gone, Guan Yin stood up to greet Liu Jiao'an. "It is a long trip to the market and back. You must be tired."

"I am quite well... It's just that as I neared the market, I felt a sudden palpitation. I worried that something had happened at home, so I hurried back, and then I felt fine."

In his dream, he had felt only hesitation and suspicion, but outside of it, he was met with her unconditional concern. Guan Yin did not know how to respond and stared blankly at Liu Jiao'an.

After a moment of silence between them, Liu Jiao'an spoke first again. "The scenery of late spring is beautiful. When you are free, let us go for a walk together, husband."

For those living in a courtyard that barely spanned a room and a half, there was no distinction between the busy farming season and the slack season.

They relied on a small tea mountain behind them, and since neither the original owner nor Liu Jiao'an knew how to farm, they had only a tiny plot of land that was barely enough to feed the three of them. Sanheng was responsible for its upkeep, while most of their seasonal vegetables had to be bought at the market.

"Alright." Guan Yin agreed, then immediately regretted it. He didn't know when his next manuscript was due, and if he ran into anyone he knew while wandering the hills, how would he hide his identity?

Fortunately, Liu Jiao'an had prepared well and thought of an alternative for him. "If you are busy, husband, we can just walk on the mountain; if you are very busy... visiting the neighbors nearby would be just as nice."

For a fleeting moment, Guan Yin thought: if he could keep his identity hidden forever, perhaps this simple, quiet life would be enough—with nothing to fight for, nothing to worry about.

But that would be unfair to the original owner, his parents, and the childhood dream he had spent twenty years of hard study to realize.

"Who would want to be a teacher?"

"Teaching and nurturing people, what is wrong with that?"

"It is good for others, but nowadays, who even treats teachers like human beings?"

Those extreme words echoed in his ears again, and Guan Yin’s heart raced. In the few months he had spent as a student teacher, he had certainly encountered parents who refused to listen to reason.

The clouds were wide and the sky was high, filled with the sound of birds. A long wind blew through the pine forest, and a light rain tapped on the bamboo tips—a perfect landscape painting of the Jiangnan region. He looked up to see a wash of orange-red as the sun set behind the western hills.

"Sir, my son is slow-witted. I must trouble you to take him under your wing."

After another dizzying spell, Cheng Heng looked up to see a middle-aged man smiling broadly, pushing a half-grown child toward him. "This is..."

"My son, Ruan Bi. I must trouble you, Sir."

"Ruan Bi?" This was the second story in his script. Cheng Heng's first reaction was not to the historical merchant Ruan Bi of the late Ming Dynasty, but rather to the version in his altered screenplay.

"Sir, are you..."

Suppressing the "haunted" look on his face, Cheng Heng nodded with a seasoned air. "It is nothing, nothing at all. That is a fine name."

"That is good. Thank you, Sir." The man knew this meant the teacher was willing to accept the boy.

Nudging his son, Master Ruan signaled for Ruan Bi to pay his respects to the teacher.

"Greetings, Sir."

Cheng Heng shifted slightly to avoid the bow. "Take the child to rest now. It is getting late."

After much bowing and declining of thanks, the man left the gifts and walked away with his son, leaving Cheng Heng to fret over the offerings while sitting at his desk, muttering to himself: "She told me not to change history, but Ruan Bi is recorded in the history books—how did he become my student?"

He had just been feeling dizzy while leaning on a chair in that old, dark room, so how had he ended up in a different place now? Cheng Heng could not fathom it; he only intended to lean against the desk and fall asleep early. Perhaps, if he slept, he would see Guan Yin again, and he would have someone to talk to.