CHAPTER 60: CHAPTER 53: THE OLD WORKSHOP, THE SECLUDED GREEN POND

"Mr. Yi, is there something you need?" she asked politely.

In the teahouse, Yi Chilian, holding a black chess piece, slightly furrowed his brows. This Sui Yi, had he actually forgotten his voice? Or was he pretending to be dumb again?

Thinking back to the last time his call was hung up, his voice lowered slightly, "I heard you met with Jiang Yunxiu?"

"..."

Who did you hear that from?

"He’s not a good person, he specifically likes to trick and deceive young girls..."

"..."

Are you bad-mouthing my childhood friend?

"Don’t meet him privately, otherwise if something happens, I won’t be able to save you..."

Sui Yi was stunned for a moment before finding her voice, saying gently, "You’re mistaken, Mr. Yi. I haven’t met your friend privately, nor do I entertain such thoughts, so you can rest assured..."

Yi Chilian’s lips curved into a smile, the chess piece between his fingers seeming to become more pleasing in his eyes.

"Matching social status is important, I wouldn’t presume to reach for someone like Mr. Jiang, nor do I have any intention of doing so, so you don’t need to make a special call for this kind of thing in the future..."

Clang!

The chess piece clanged down on the board.

Yi Chilian narrowed his eyes, his tone becoming somewhat indifferent, "Social matching? I didn’t realize you had such mature views at such a young age."

"It seems like you’re always reminding me that I’m young, but I’m actually not that young. It could be because you are a bit more mature yourself..."

"I’m 26 this year, not old at all."

"..."

"I’ve already warned you, considering the stance of having saved you twice, you’d better take it to heart... Don’t meet with that kid in private anymore~~ Alright, the signal isn’t great here, I’m going to hang up!"

After hanging up the phone, Mr. Yi felt a bit more at ease in his heart, heh, this time it was his turn to hang up on her!

Jiang Yunxiu, returning from the restroom, saw Yi Chilian with a slight smile on his face.

"I say, who did you call that made you so happy..." he asked.

"Was I smiling?" Yi Chilian said indifferently.

"..." My three eyes all saw you smiling!

Jiang Yunxiu snorted in laughter and lowered his head to continue the chess game, only to turn livid!

"Yi Chilian, what do you mean by this?"

"Hmm?" Yi Chilian glanced over nonchalantly, "I surrounded your pieces, and I’ve captured nine, that’s correct."

Capture my sister!

We’re playing Gomoku, not Go!

----------

"Hey, Sui Yi, what’s with that scar... mark on your ankle?"

As Ah A was carrying the bucket back with Sui Yi, he noticed a slender trace on Sui Yi’s ankle.

Circular.

It was somewhat prominent against her snow-white, delicate skin.

"It’s been there from the beginning."

Sui Yi, holding her phone, recalled Yi Chilian’s strange words, feeling puzzled. Was his real intention to urge her to repay a favor quickly?

Was it that urgent?

Sui Yi quickly put that matter out of her mind, as it would be better to deal with Ye Zhang’s problem sooner rather than later.

Ah A, aware that Sui Yi’s family might be in trouble, said, "I’ve just asked Elder Lin, those people are not from Jiangnan District, they seem to have quite the background, and even officials are somewhat evasive, with no records whatsoever."

"Is that so..." Sui Yi frowned. If that was the case, then things were even more troublesome.

"Yes, his meaning is, there may be some rumors about your grandmother’s ancestral grave that interest them; at least, they are targeting that, otherwise they wouldn’t put in such effort... you’d best look into the history of that grave."

"I’m not originally from here, I only moved here a few years ago, so I haven’t heard any rumors, but the villagers seem to have mentioned that many years ago this area indeed had some disturbances."

The so-called disturbances, with their mysterious tint, were something the elders were always very wary of, and the children simply listened to the stories.

As the two talked and walked, followed by Zhang Yang and others, these few were now fiddling with their phones, on QQ, typing on their keyboards with rat-tat-tat sounds...

Zhao Yue and Wen Ling had originally been quite hostile towards Sui Yi, but their attitudes had improved a bit now, mainly because this scoundrel was too formidable.

They didn’t dare to provoke her!

And the two boys also settled down, but their gazes towards Sui Yi grew more fervent.

Everyone has a martial arts dream, and Sui Yi’s performance was too dazzling, cool and composed, quickly resolving a major crisis in a few moves, nothing like the other girls who screech at the sight of cockroaches!

Never arrogant or pretentious, she was indeed generous!

Unfortunately, before they hadn’t established a connection with Sui Yi, the two could only follow behind, wondering how to strike up a conversation...

As they walked, and since some students and Ah A were visiting for the first time, Sui Yi and Wang Pu decided to take a longer route to see the real Pottery Kiln.

In China, many place names are actually named after local features, much like the foreign name of China, CHINA, which was translated from the name for porcelain.

Pottery Kiln, commonly known as Banana Beach or Banana Beach Pottery Kiln, was the main base for the production of blue and white porcelain bowls for civilian use in the Jiangnan Region during the Qing Dynasty and was established in the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty.

Incorporating residential homes, ancient ceramic production lines, and ancient temples and opera stages, it still completely retains the form of an ancient village centered around handicraft workshops from the nascent period of the commodity economy. Because it is a small place and not an ancient official kiln that has been passed down from ancient times but a private kiln owned by the common people, it is not very large and is only somewhat famous in the Jiangnan District.

Fortunately, most of the place has been well-preserved and renovated, with simple rural charm and ancient elegance. Sui Yi and the others ambled along, stopping to explore the pure wooden structure of the two-story stilt houses, which covered a vast area and boasted deep ancient corridors. The pillars supporting the building beams were imbued with a rotting and ancient flavor. People still lived inside the building, and some of the elderly saw Sui Yi and others without surprise, as tourists often came to play here...

Following the stilt houses were the Triple Palaces and the ancient opera stage. From these structures, everyone felt as if they had returned to the bustling scenes of ordinary people during the Ming and Qing Dynasties...

Zhang Yang and the others’ main purpose was actually to play with clay at the old workshops.

That is, to make pottery!

The old workshop was very ancient, and as soon as Sui Yi walked in, he could sense the dispersing magnetic sensation. On these buildings, what he saw was a simple aura of blank whiteness, clearly of some age.

The cultural atmosphere couldn’t be as rich as that of books, but ancient pottery bowls would tell a different story.

The old workshop had only one pottery master, a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance that seemed somewhat slow-witted, which was a common trait among many craftspeople. He spoke in a polite and simple manner. Locals like Wang Pu mostly called him Master Shen. It was said that he was from out of town and had settled here over a decade ago...

He never left Pottery Kiln, not even to visit the village below where Sui Yi and the others stayed...

--An odd, quiet person who could endure solitude.

Sui Yi didn’t join the others to play with clay; instead, she wandered around the old workshop. Knowing Sui Yi was always decisive, Ah A followed her, silently contemplating what style she might like as they looked at the clay.

The old workshop wasn’t big, with a front courtyard, middle courtyard, and back courtyard. The middle courtyard was the largest, with various sections for kilns and firing ovens. The back courtyard, located a fair distance from the middle courtyard, was connected by a long, quiet corridor, a place only a spontaneous and bold person like Sui Yi would venture into alone...

After a while, she pushed open the gate to the back courtyard. What entered her view was an extremely serene courtyard that connected to the back mountain, where fallen leaves scattered and fell to the ground, rotting over time amid the damp earth and the moss growing in the crevices of the bluestone caused by the moisture...

This scent was fresh yet fishy, and together with the damp air and the silent, still environment, it gave off an eerie feeling.

Sui Yi was not particularly fond of such places. Just as she planned to leave, she glanced to the right and saw a water pond.

There was a channel coming from the mountain, with spring water flowing through the channel into the pond. If the pond was full, the water would overflow onto the bluestone. If it wasn’t full, the water vapor would still maintain the area’s dampness.

But the water in the pond was truly tranquil.

Next to the pond, there was a mid-sized banyan tree with inky green leaves and gnarled roots, standing about four to five meters tall—giving off an ancient vibe.

The expansive canopy of leaves covered one-third of the water surface...

An indescribable realm.

Sui Yi became interested and walked over, dragging her still slightly damp shoes and holding her coat in her hand.

Walking along the edge of the pond, she looked down to see that the water was not shallow, but very clear. However, the deeper she looked, the less distinct it became, as if the bottom of the pond was dirty, perhaps with water plants or something?...

Her face reflected on the water surface.

Above, there were large, lush, green leaves.

The ripples, pushed by the wind, distorted her face and the leaves, creating an eerie and sinister sight...

Gradually, the distorted leaves changed... morphing into another face.

That face fell down!

Sui Yi was startled and her body instinctively moved to step back!

Splash!

The strange, twisted face was unforgettable, evoking terror, and the dark thing that bore this face landed on the edge of the pond, resembling a large monkey...

Crouching...

Before Sui Yi could get a clear look at it, it suddenly pushed off with its hind legs, and whether it was a claw or something else, it suddenly grabbed her ankle!

The speed was incredibly fast, far surpassing that of the young man!

Sui Yi’s eyes grew cold as she was about to kick away the shadow, but then she felt an immense force assail her shin, pulling her violently!

The strength was terrifying, and Sui Yi had no doubt it could lift a small car...

Let alone her, who weighed less than ninety pounds!

Her coat was thrown into the air...

Splash!

Sui Yi was dragged into the water of Pond Lake!

Water splashed everywhere!

The loud noise echoed outward...

"What was that sound?" Ah A was the first to react, looking up in the direction of the back courtyard.

Master Shen, who was instructing Zhang Yang and the others, was also startled and immediately said, "You all wait here, I’ll go check..."

"Sui Yi isn’t here!" Ah A had already tossed aside the half-fashioned clay bowl and dashed towards the back courtyard...

Wang Pu and the others quickly followed!

Worried about them, Master Shen naturally followed...

----------(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your votes for recommendations and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)