Futile Devices Scans

The New Year had only just passed, and the open fields beyond the city were still shrouded in a layer of cold air.

The sky was somewhat overcast, not good weather for a spring outing.

Tao Mo lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the bleak scenery outside, where grass and trees had yet to grow. In a low voice, he asked, “Where are we going?”

Gu She held black stones in one hand and white stones in the other, playing against himself. “Up the mountain.”

“What mountain?” Tao Mo remembered that Adviser Jin had once mentioned the nearby mountains. “Long Mountain, Yunlin Mountain, or Liguo Mountain?”

Gu She asked, “Is there a difference?”

Tao Mo thought for a moment and said, “Of the three mountains, Long Mountain is the tallest and is surrounded by mist and clouds, but the slopes are steep and dangerous, and the roads are hard to travel. Yunlin Mountain is actually a good place to go, but its feng shui is also good, so the ancestral graves of the people of Tanyang County are all there, and it is also called Ten Thousand Ghosts Mountain. As for Liguo Mountain, it is said to be a barren mountain with no scenery to speak of.”

Gu She said, “Then in your opinion, which mountain should we go to?”

Tao Mo tried to read his expression, but could not tell whether he was sincerely asking or merely making casual conversation. After weighing his words, he said, “Actually, all of them are fine. Since it is a spring outing, any mountain would be the same.”

“We’re going to Yunlin Mountain!” Gu Xiaojia suddenly shouted from outside.

Tao Mo shrank his shoulders.

Gu She asked, “Afraid of ghosts?”

Tao Mo answered honestly, “Afraid.”

“Have you done something that weighs on your conscience?”

Tao Mo hesitated. “Yes. I suppose I have.”

Gu Xiaojia laughed loudly. “Hahahaha… Then you’d better be careful. Ghosts like people who have done guilty things best when they’re looking for someone to die in their place.”

Tao Mo lifted his head, wanting to quietly see Gu She’s expression, only to discover that Gu She was looking at him.

“Do you… do you have anything weighing on your conscience?” he asked.

Gu She said, “No.”

Tao Mo said enviously, “You are so clever. Whatever you do, you must think it through carefully before acting. Naturally, you would not have anything to feel guilty about.”

“Whether something weighs on one’s conscience has nothing to do with whether one thinks three times before acting.”

Tao Mo said, “If I had thought three times back then, perhaps I would not feel guilty now.”

“If something can be changed by thinking three times, then it should not be called a matter of conscience,” Gu She said.

Tao Mo froze slightly. “Then what should it be called?”

Gu She slowly said, “Repentance.”

Tao Mo let out a soft sigh, leaned his body against the carriage wall, and closed his eyes.

Gu She returned his gaze to the Go board and continued playing against himself.

The carriage gradually slowed, then came to a stop. At last, the carriage jolted slightly, and Gu Xiaojia jumped down from his horse and opened the door. “Young Master, we’re here.”

Tao Mo opened his eyes, which carried a hazy trace of moisture. He quickly lowered his head and half-walked, half-climbed down from the carriage.

After Tao Mo got down, Gu Xiaojia turned to help Gu She.

Tao Mo took the opportunity to quickly wipe the corners of his eyes with his sleeve.

“Young Master. It rained a few days ago, and the soil on the mountain is still damp. Why don’t we just sit at the foot of the mountain?” Gu Xiaojia said.

Tao Mo looked at the mountain. Its slopes were steep, rising high into the clouds. Standing at the foot and gazing upward, he felt as though he could barely breathe. “This is… Long Mountain?”

Gu Xiaojia chuckled as he tied the horse to a tree trunk. “You really believed we were going to Yunlin Mountain?”

Tao Mo laughed foolishly and said nothing.

Gu Xiaojia took the Go board and the Go bowls from the carriage, wrapped them in a bundle, slung them onto his back, and then went to carry the stove and tea utensils.

Gu She glanced at them and said, “There is no need to bring those.”

Gu Xiaojia said, “If I don’t bring the teapot, what will Young Master drink?”

Gu She said, “There is stream water on the mountain.”

Gu Xiaojia said, “The weather is cold and damp. I fear that water will be freezing as well.”

Tao Mo said, “We can look for firewood on the mountain and boil water.”

Gu Xiaojia thought for a moment. “Then I’ll only bring the teapot and teacups.”

Gu She said, “There is no need to bring the Go board either.”

Gu Xiaojia said, “But didn’t Young Master want to play Go?”

Tao Mo said, “That is simple too. When the time comes, we can draw a grid on the ground and use stones as Go pieces.”

Gu Xiaojia curled his lip. “You make it sound so simple.”

Tao Mo hurriedly said, “Then why don’t I help you carry some of the things?”

Seeing that Gu She had already started up the mountain path, Gu Xiaojia threw the things back into the carriage and simply ran upward with the tea set in his arms.

Behind him, Tao Mo called loudly, “What about the carriage?”

Without turning his head, Gu Xiaojia said, “Don’t worry. Within several hundred li of Tanyang County, no one dares touch my young master’s things.”

Tao Mo clicked his tongue in amazement and thought: What if someone from several hundred li outside Tanyang County happened to pass by? Everything in that carriage was a treasure, and there was no guarantee others would not be moved by greed at the sight of wealth. But since Gu Xiaojia dared to do this, he must have something to rely on. His thoughts circled once or twice before he cast the matter to the back of his mind.

The mountain path was narrow, rugged, and slippery from dampness.

Tao Mo had not walked very far before he fell twice in succession, leaving muddy marks across his chest and backside. Because Gu Xiaojia had gloated over his tumbles, he also fell once. After that, the three of them walked in silence.

When they reached the mountainside, they saw a pavilion that looked like a simple thatched shelter.

Two wooden boards hung to the left and right of the pavilion, but there were no couplets written on them.

Tao Mo asked in puzzlement, “Why are there no couplets?”

Gu Xiaojia said, “If my young master doesn’t write them, who would dare?”

Tao Mo asked, “Then why doesn’t Young Master Gu write them?”

Gu Xiaojia said again, “How could such a shabby pavilion be worthy of my young master’s inscription?”

Tao Mo said, “Then wouldn’t this pavilion have no couplets at all?”

Gu Xiaojia replied, “This is called: when Young Master modestly yields, who dares step forward first?”

“Isn’t that a little overbearing?” Tao Mo muttered in a very small voice.

Gu Xiaojia heard him clearly and glared at him. “Who says my young master is overbearing? My young master has never said others aren’t allowed to write something for this pavilion, nor has he ever said he would write something for this pavilion himself. Clearly, they’re just ashamed of their own inferiority and don’t dare show off in front of my young master.”

Tao Mo hurriedly smiled apologetically.

Gu She suddenly turned back from inside the pavilion and asked, “What inscription do you think would suit this pavilion?”

Tao Mo hastily waved his hands. “This… I don’t understand such things.”

Gu Xiaojia said in surprise, “Young Master, are you truly going to inscribe something for this pavilion?”

Gu She said, “There is no reason I cannot.”

Gu Xiaojia said, “Even if you inscribe it, perhaps someone will steal it within two days.”

Gu She said, “I’ll write, ‘Do not steal.’”

Gu Xiaojia silently glanced at Tao Mo, who was still standing to the side looking rather confused, then placed the tea set on the small square table inside the pavilion and turned to look for firewood.

Gu She said, “What do you think I should write?”

Tao Mo thought for a moment. “Why not call it Modao Pavilion?”

“Modao Pavilion? Mo dao ting…” Gu She smiled openly. “Not bad.”

Tao Mo said, “It’s a pity we didn’t bring brush and ink.”

Gu She said, “It doesn’t matter.” He took a small knife from his robe, removed one of the wooden boards, laid it horizontally, and carved the three characters: Modao Pavilion.

Tao Mo could not read, but seeing the strokes he carved, strong and graceful like iron strokes and silver hooks, vigorous and full of force, he knew they were excellent characters.

“Good,” he praised softly.

Gu Xiaojia returned carrying several pieces of firewood he had picked up and sneered, “What would you know about what is good?”

Tao Mo’s face flushed.

Gu She glanced at him blandly.

Gu Xiaojia shrank his neck and did not dare say anything more. He ran over to look at Gu She’s characters. “Modao Pavilion. A good name.”

Gu She said, “Tao Mo came up with it.”

Gu Xiaojia said in surprise, “Oh. Hard to believe even you can come up with a decent name.”

Tao Mo said shyly, “It was Young Master Gu who came up with it well.”

Gu She paused.

“Didn’t Young Master Gu say he wanted to write ‘Do not steal’? I thought ‘do not steal’ was mo dao…”

Gu Xiaojia turned away speechlessly to start the fire.

Tao Mo looked at the slight upward curve at the corner of Gu She’s mouth with a puzzled expression. “What is it?”

Gu She bent down and wrote two small characters, “do not steal,” beside the three characters “Modao Pavilion,” then carved his signature.

Elio’s Notes: “Modao” is a pun. Gu She means to write 莫盗, “do not steal,” but Tao Mo, who cannot read, suggests 莫道亭, which sounds the same but means something closer to “Do Not Speak Pavilion” or “Do Not Say Pavilion.” Gu She keeps the more elegant 莫道 as the pavilion name, then adds 莫盗 beside it to preserve Tao Mo’s original meaning.

Tao Mo tilted his head and followed the path of his knife, reading one character at a time. “Gu She… left this?”

“No. My courtesy name.” Gu She put away the knife and said blandly, “Gu Xianzhi.”

“Gu Xianzhi…” Tao Mo vaguely felt that the name sounded familiar and could not help repeating it several times.

“All done.” Gu Xiaojia clapped his hands and stood up. “I’ll fetch water.”

Tao Mo turned his head to look for a small wooden stick, then began drawing a grid on the ground.

Because a Go board had nineteen lines across and nineteen lines down, only after Tao Mo finished drawing the horizontal lines did he realize that if he wanted to draw the vertical lines in the middle, he would have to walk into the board itself. “Er…”

Gu She had been waiting at the side for some time. At that moment, he silently handed him a longer wooden strip.

Tao Mo’s face reddened, his eyes brightening as he took the strip and continued drawing.

By the time he finished drawing the grid, Gu Xiaojia happened to return with the water. Holding the teapot, he looked at the fire, then suddenly turned to Tao Mo in frustration. “How am I supposed to put the teapot over it?”

Tao Mo pondered. “Hold it?”

If he could, Gu Xiaojia truly wanted to pounce on him and punch him hard.

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