Chapter 54 Brother and Sister Reunited

During the days that followed, Li Jie took up residence in Baisha Village, returning home only once for the annual prefectural examination. To participate in the provincial examinations, candidates were required to rank in the top two tiers of the annual examinations administered by the provincial education officials. The remainder of his time was spent at the Chunyang Terrace, either refining his literary essays or practicing martial arts. He benefited immensely from both scholarly and martial pursuits.

Although Master Baisha had repeatedly failed the metropolitan examinations, this was by no means due to a deficiency in his essay-writing skills. Rather, it was because the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism was deeply entrenched in the imperial court, and the philosophical views expressed outwardly by Chen Xianzhang did not conform to that orthodox path. His philosophies of "venerating nature," "holding doubt in high esteem," and "valuing self-realization" were not favored by those in power.

At the time, Yin Min, the Junior Vice Minister of Personnel (one of the powerful officials famously dubbed "paper-mâché grand secretaries and mud-sculpted ministers"), harbored deep resentment against Master Baisha due to a satirical poem hinting at him. Furthermore, when Yin Min's son was rejected as a disciple, Yin Min orchestrated a scheme behind the scenes to blot Chen Xianzhang's examination paper, resulting in his dismissal.

After failing his third metropolitan examination at the age of forty-two, Chen Xianzhang extinguished all thoughts of pursuing an official career through the imperial examinations and instead retired to his native region to dedicate himself entirely to scholarship. Except for the year 1882, when he was recommended to the capital by Peng Shao, the Left Administration Commissioner of Guangdong, and Zhu Ying, the Censor-in-Chief, to await an official appointment—only to return hastily three months later because his elderly mother was consumed by a longing for her son—he repeatedly declined all subsequent imperial summonses.

In his later years, he devoted himself entirely to paving the way for others, imparting knowledge to his disciples. Moved by his profound virtue and scholarship, students from all directions flocked to him in ever-increasing numbers. "The administrative commissioners of the eastern and western circuits, as well as vassal kings and overseas pacification commissioners, without exception paid their respects at the master's cottage." His fame reached its zenith. Chen Xianzhang taught all disciples without discrimination and instructed them tirelessly, regardless of their background. Historical records note: "As for Buddhist monks, Daoists, merchants, farmers, servants, and the humble who came to pay their respects, the master received them all with utmost sincerity, answering every single inquiry without fail."

As Chen Xianzhang's students successively achieved high honors in the imperial examinations, his renown grew daily, earning him the title of "pure Confucian." When he traveled to the capital in response to the imperial recommendation in the eighteenth year of the Chenghua era and passed through Guangzhou, scholars within the city rushed to catch a glimpse of him. "From the south of the city to the provincial administration office, the onlookers numbered in the tens of thousands, and those who sketched his likeness numbered well over a hundred." Upon entering the capital, hundreds of high-ranking ministers and grand councillors visited his door daily, with some proclaiming that a sage had been reborn.

On this particular day, when Li Jie returned from his studies to the small courtyard he rented, he noticed that Fang Yi's expression was exceptionally joyous. He therefore asked, "What is it? Did something wonderful happen today to make you so happy?"

Seeing Li Jie return, Fang Yi's eyes lit up as she said happily, "I have seen my older brother!"

Fearing that Fang Yi might have been deceived, Li Jie asked, "Didn't you say before that you had no surviving family? Where did this brother suddenly pop up from?"

"No, no, it's not like that. Ever since my brother left home five years ago, there had been no news of him whatsoever. Our whole family assumed he had met with a tragedy, which is why I said before that I had no family left. Who could have imagined that I would be able to see him again today?" As she spoke, a hesitating expression crept onto her face.

Seeing this, Li Jie asked, "That is wonderful news! Is there something else troubling you?"

Fang Yi's expression shifted uncertainly. After a moment, she bit her lip and said, "Young Master, promise me first that you won't be angry, and then I will tell you."

Li Jie smiled and nodded.

Then Fang Yi called out, "Brother, you can come out now."

A young man of about twenty stepped out from the room. He was dressed in a blue martial attire with a long sword strapped to his back. With his sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, the more Li Jie looked at him, the more familiar he seemed.

"It's you!"

Fang Kun cupped his fists and said, "I committed many offenses that night, but at the time I did not know how to face my younger sister, so I could only watch over her from the shadows. Who could have known I would be discovered by the Young Master, leading to a clash between us?"

Hearing this, Li Jie waved his hand and said, "Since it was a misunderstanding, let's let bygones be bygones. We can consider ourselves friends brought together by a clash."

Seeing the two of them reconcile, Fang Yi beamed with a bright smile. One of the two men was her flesh-and-blood brother, while the other was the man to whom she had long secretly pledged her heart. Ever since that night of conflict, Li Jie had behaved entirely differently from his usual self, remaining tense and tight-lipped along the journey. If the two of them had clashed again this time, she would have been caught squarely in the middle, torn and not knowing what was best to do. Fortunately, the misunderstanding between them was now cleared up, to everyone's delight.

Through their subsequent conversation, Li Jie learned that this man was named Fang Kun, Fang Yi's full brother. Ever since leaving home at the age of seventeen to roam the martial world, he had accidentally stumbled into a mountain forest and fallen off a cliff. Not only did he miraculously survive, but he also inherited the legacy of Zhuobu Fan, the "Sword God" of the One-Word Wise Sword Sect.

Because the cliff was steep and sheer, he had been forced to bitterly practice martial arts at the bottom of the valley. Fortunately, a deep pool in the valley spared him from starvation. After living the life of a wild man for several years and mastering his martial arts to perfection, he was finally able to climb out of the valley. Upon emerging, he discovered that five years had already passed—truly, time in the mountains flies unmeasured by years.

Filled with an urgent longing to return home, he had traveled day and night, braving the wind and dew on his journey back. To his shock, upon returning to his hometown, the villagers informed him that his entire family had migrated to Nanjing two months prior. Upon learning this, Fang Kun tracked them step-by-step, investigating through various channels, only to lose all trace of his family completely once he reached Fuzhou City.

He had first hurried onward to his next destination, Jianning Prefecture, but found no trace of his family there either. Overcome with anxiety and terrified that an accident had befallen them, he rushed back to Fuzhou City and made widespread inquiries within the city. By chance, he caught a glimpse of Fang Yi's figure and thought she looked remarkably like his sister. After investigation, he learned of the hardships Fang Yi had suffered. At that moment, learning the news of his family's misfortune felt to him like a thunderbolt out of a clear blue sky.

Fang Kun was consumed by remorse, bitterly hating himself for not having devoted himself entirely to martial arts in the past. If only he had practiced for one more shichen each day during those five years, if only he had returned home a little earlier, then the subsequent tragedies would never have happened. Missing his parents by a mere two months meant being separated from them by the gulf of life and death forever. For a long time afterward, he sought solace in alcohol and remained utterly dejected. When he finally regained his composure, he did not dare to see his younger sister, having no idea how to face her.

Regaining his wits, Fang Kun secretly resolved to watch over Fang Yi from the shadows henceforth, swearing that he would never let tragedy strike again. Seeing that the Lin family treated Fang Yi quite well and did not regard her as an outsider, and observing through his daily watch that Fang Yi's gaze toward Li Jie was unmistakably unusual, he completely abandoned the idea of revealing himself.

During the days when Li Jie and Fang Yi traveled to Xinhui, on Li Jie's very first outing, Fang Kun had followed him from afar. Seeing that Li Jie was not out carousing or visiting brothels, but rather upholding justice and aiding the weak, Fang Kun grew even more satisfied with him. To achieve the status of a生员 (shengxuan / imperial student) at such a young age, to be self-disciplined without the pedantic airs of corrupted scholars, and to possess formidable martial arts—he thought to himself that if his sister were to marry Li Jie, he would be thoroughly pleased. Thereafter, whenever Li Jie went out, Fang Kun would secretly protect his sister.

It was not until that one occasion when he stayed too close and was discovered by Li Jie that a fight broke out between them. Initially, Fang Kun knew Li Jie was skilled in martial arts, but he remained confident that he could prevail over him, given Li Jie's youth. Who could have known that once they crossed blows, he would realize how terribly mistaken he was? Li Jie's martial arts were so formidable that they left him scrambling desperately just to parry the attacks. If it had not been for Fang Yi's intervention, which allowed him to narrowly escape, he would have revealed his identity to Li Jie right then and there.

Ever since that incident, Fang Kun had been even more cautious, never daring to get too close. However, after Li Jie left to pursue his studies elsewhere, whenever Fang Yi was left alone, her face would often betray a look of bitter sorrow, which wrung his heart. Finally, unable to suppress his longing for family any longer, he chose to reveal his identity to Fang Yi. Seeing her joyful expression afterward made him feel that he should have reunited with her much sooner.

After listening to Fang Kun's experiences, Li Jie let out a long sigh. All things in this world have their predetermined courses; yet, was not everything he was currently doing precisely an effort to break those predetermined paths, to turn the tide against a collapse, and to prop up a grand edifice on the verge of falling? He would never allow the tragedies of the future to be played out again.