Futile Devices Scans

In the end, the teapot was set between two large rocks. But because the teapot was too small, the two rocks had to be placed very close together, and the fire was pressed down so low it could barely lift its head, burning in a low, muffled way.

Clearly, no one expected such a fire to be able to boil water. So after the kettle was set up, Tao Mo and Gu She stood at opposite ends of the dirt-grid Go board, yet the stones in their hands numbered only a dozen or so. Finding stones of suitable size on the mountain was not an easy matter, especially when they also had to be divided into two colors.

Gu Xiaojia helped search for a while, but even then, they could only scrape together enough for a quarter of a board. Unable to help himself, he stamped his foot in frustration and said, “This isn’t satisfactory, that isn’t satisfactory—this is all because of your rotten idea.”

Tao Mo said awkwardly, “I thought a mountain might lack anything, but surely it wouldn’t lack stones.”

“It doesn’t lack stones. Look, there are stones here and there everywhere. But only if you can break them apart.” Gu Xiaojia tossed the stone in his hand onto the ground.

Gu She said, “Then we shall play blind Go.”

Tao Mo froze. “Blind Go?”

Gu She took a branch in his hand and lightly tapped the star point in the lower-left corner.

Tao Mo suddenly understood and followed his example, occupying the star point on his side.

Gu She said, “Today, I will not give you a handicap.”

Tao Mo smiled. “I will do my utmost.”

Gu Xiaojia could not help saying, “Are you saying you haven’t been doing your utmost in previous games?”

Tao Mo hurriedly waved his hands. “Of course I was doing my utmost then too. It’s just that today I’ll work twice as hard.”

Seeing that Gu She had no particular reaction, Gu Xiaojia curled his lip at Tao Mo and turned to tend the teapot.

The mountain wind blew gently, clear and cold.

More and more marks appeared on the dirt-grid Go board.

Tao Mo felt his mind growing a little muddled. The hardest part of the game was not remembering which positions he had played, but which positions had been captured, and which positions had been played again after being captured.

He secretly glanced at Gu She. Seeing him still calm and composed as he moved the branch, Tao Mo felt both admiration and worry, and his own speed of play slowed as well. To avoid making mistakes, he tried his best to place his stones in open areas.

But once the game had reached this point, even the so-called open areas had long since been divided into territories. So when he placed his stones there, he was either playing useless moves for himself or delivering more stones to Gu She to capture.

“I… I lost.” Tao Mo did not want to keep struggling at death’s door.

Gu She said, “Why did you not start from here?” The branch in his hand pointed toward the most chaotic cluster of marks in the upper-right area.

Tao Mo said, “I couldn’t quite remember the positions here.”

Gu Xiaojia said, “And here I thought your memory was so impressive! Turns out you’re just a muddlehead too.”

Gu She glanced at him blandly.

Gu Xiaojia immediately realized he had gotten carried away again, and the painful memory of his night in the kitchen instantly surged into his mind. He sat cross-legged beside the teapot and said nothing more.

Tao Mo said, “It is nearly noon. Why don’t we head back first?”

Gu Xiaojia looked at Gu She’s expression. Only when he saw that Gu She had no reaction did he say, “Why go back so early? Don’t tell me you’re worried about that Young Master Yi Yu or whatever?”

Tao Mo said in astonishment, “Are we not having lunch?”

“Lunch is of course…” Gu Xiaojia’s expression changed. “The food box is still in the carriage at the foot of the mountain.”

Tao Mo said, “Why don’t I go get it?”

Gu Xiaojia knew that in Gu She’s heart, he was now far inferior to Tao Mo. How could he dare let Tao Mo lift a hand? He hurriedly stood and said, “No need, no need. I’ll go. You don’t know where it was placed.” As he spoke, he ran down the mountain, his movements swift and efficient.

Tao Mo laughed dryly and turned back to look at Gu She, only to find that Gu She was also looking at him. “What does Young Master Gu usually do when he comes to the mountain?” Every time he was fixed by those cool, clear eyes, he could not help feeling nervous and could not stop himself from wanting to speak.

Gu She said, “Admire the scenery.”

Tao Mo nodded. “Ah, the scenery on the mountain is indeed very captivating. I wonder if Young Master Gu has ever been to the summit? Looking into the distance from a height, the view must be even more magnificent.”

Gu She said, “There is no difference. Scenery changes according to the person, not according to height.”

Tao Mo turned this sentence over and over in his mind for a long while before he praised, “Young Master Gu is truly a lofty person.”

Gu She said indifferently, “It was only idle talk.”

“It is not idle talk,” Tao Mo said excitedly. “Actually, officialdom is just like admiring scenery. A truly good official, whether he holds a high office or a low one, is still a good official who pleads on behalf of the people. As for those who become arrogant and domineering when their office is high, or timid and fearful when their office is low, it is only because they themselves are not good officials to begin with.”

Gu She said, “You are thinking too far.”

Tao Mo grew uneasy.

Gu She said, “But it does make some sense.”

Tao Mo beamed.

The two stood silently for a while.

Gu She looked toward that kettle of water. “Will it boil?”

Tao Mo was not very confident either. “It should, shouldn’t it? Isn’t there a saying… the Foolish Old Man moved the mountains?”

Gu She said, “Dripping water wears through stone.”

“Ah? Did I say it wrong again?” Tao Mo asked, embarrassed.

“No, it was not wrong.” Gu She smiled.

Tao Mo said sincerely, “You look very good when you smile.”

Gu She looked askance at him. “You approached me only because I look good when I smile?”

“No, no. You look very good even when you do not smile.” Tao Mo thought of their first meeting, and his voice immediately lowered. “The first time I saw you, I thought you were very good-looking.”

Gu She said, “So you approached me only because I am good-looking?”

Tao Mo panicked so badly that sweat appeared on his forehead. He shook his head and waved his hands at the same time. “No, not entirely. You are very clever, and you are a good person, and… in short, I truly feel that you are a good person.”

“Actually, even if it were only because of the good looks you mentioned, that would be fine too,” Gu She said calmly.

Tao Mo froze.

Gu She said, “Under Heaven, some people love wealth, some love fame, some love power and influence, and some love rivers and mountains. Naturally, there will also be people who love beauty. It is only a difference in preference; there is no question of whose state of mind is higher or deeper.”

It was the first time Tao Mo had ever heard such an explanation. Ever since he was young, although his father had doted on him, he had also hoped that he would become outstanding and make something of himself. So Tao Mo had always believed that passing the examinations and inheriting the family business were the proper path. Now, hearing Gu She speak this way, it seemed as though there were proper paths everywhere in the world, depending only on each person’s preference.

“You are not angry when others praise your appearance?” Tao Mo had thought most men were unwilling to be praised for their looks. Some even deliberately grew beards to hide their beauty, afraid that others would look down upon their talent because of their appearance.

Gu She said, “Appearance is given by one’s parents. How is talent and intelligence any different? Why favor one and slight the other?”

Tao Mo said, “Isn’t learning something one studies for oneself?”

Gu She said, “If a person who remembers everything at a glance and reads ten lines at once, and a dull-headed person as stupid as a pig, put in the same effort and study the same things, which one is more likely to distinguish himself?”

“Naturally, the one who remembers everything at a glance.”

“That is natural aptitude, and it too is bestowed by one’s parents.”

Tao Mo felt as though a blockage in his mind had suddenly opened. “Young Master Gu’s natural gifts must be extremely high.”

Gu She looked at him. “Yours should have been as well.”

Tao Mo’s face flushed with embarrassment. “I was mischievous as a child. Now that I regret it, it is already too late.”

Gu She said, “In learning, there is no first or last. Whoever has attained understanding may be a teacher.”

Tao Mo lowered his head and pondered the meaning of those words for a while before saying, “I have already asked Adviser Mu to help me find a tutor. This time, I will definitely study properly.”

Gu She said, “If you wish to find a tutor…”

“Young…”

From the path they had taken up the mountain, Gu Xiaojia’s faint shouting and yelling drifted over.

Although Tao Mo wanted to know what Gu She had not finished saying, he had no choice but to first go toward the path.

He saw Gu Xiaojia running over in a great hurry, with fresh muddy marks still on his knees. The moment Gu Xiaojia saw him, he immediately stopped, pointed down the mountain with one hand, and shouted breathlessly, “The carriage, the carriage… has been stolen!”

Tao Mo: “…” Could this be considered within expectations?

Gu She’s brows furrowed slightly. He rose and walked down along the path.

Tao Mo wanted even more to follow him, but then he remembered that the teapot was still roasting over the fire and the teacups were still set inside the pavilion. He hurriedly turned back, put out the fire, poured away the water, and carried the tea set down the mountain. In only that short span of time, the backs of Gu She and Gu Xiaojia had already blurred out of sight.

This was Tao Mo’s first time on Long Mountain. With things in his hands and anxiety in his heart, he stumbled and bumped his way down, falling on his backside who knew how many times. From beginning to end, he only knew not to let the things in his arms fall. By the time he reached the foot of the mountain, he looked as though he had been planted out of the earth.

He saw Gu She standing by the roadside, with Gu Xiaojia nowhere in sight. Ignoring the soreness all over his body, he rushed over and immediately asked, “Where is Gu Xiaojia?”

Gu She said, “He went to Sangtou Village.”

Tao Mo said blankly, “Sangtou Village?”

Gu She said, “This road only leads to Sangtou Village. Ordinarily, no outsiders come and go.”

Only then did Tao Mo understand why Gu Xiaojia had said no one would ever steal the carriage. He simply had not expected that as soon as Gu Xiaojia had made such a boast, he would slap his own mouth with it.

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