Trafford’s Trading Club

Translator: AlfredoPoutineSoup  Editor: DesTheSloth

The “Koan Sutra” was a marvelous ancient book of Taoism. The Taoist Founder Master Luc Dongbin once said, “The most serious mistake is only cultivating physical life without altering natural instincts; but if one only practices characters without training immortality, hellish souls caught in vast disasters will be hard to become holy.”

This was a formula of cultivating lives.

Of course, it was not the usual books of Taoism that were circulating in the market but instead, came from the hidden chapters of the Koan Sutra

Tai Yinzi afterward described some of its contents. This was probably what he understood from his master’s words.

A lifetime is a complete circle. Whether experiencing awful sadness and great happiness, or feeling delicate emotions, the goal in life is sincerity. Completing cultivation is like waking up from a dream – reflecting on the past, and then being reborn into the next stage of the circle.

The body will become younger as if one was a youth again, at the same time, forgetting everything and passing onto the next stage of life.

However, no matter how wonderful it is, returning to the stage of an embryo is impossible after all.

The professor Qin Fang, was a bachelor all this while. Qin Chuyu was actually his foster daughter.

Luo Qiu was drinking the tea that Painter Yu Sanniang… Qin Chuyu served, while listening to the professor’s demands regarding the work to be done.

As for Qin Chuyu, she casually gave a greeting and then left, probably heading back to her studio.

Luo Qiu didn’t plan to have too much contact with this bizarre Taoist, thus he concentrated on the ‘homework’ Professor Qin Fang assigned.

He didn’t know which part of the fossil did the bone he touched originated from. Nevertheless, he quietly touched the same spot again due to his concerns.

He heard a voice that seemed like it was crying or confiding— Or maybe it wasn’t a voice, maybe more like thoughts.

Luo Qiu did not consider himself a normal person any longer, hence even though this matter seemed very odd, he still maintained a nonchalant expression even though his heart was in turmoil.

‘The sunset and the moaning wind come from all directions, the sadness calling out to someone unknown.’

The stuttering voice finally formed a complete sentence. However, it seemed like that was the only sentence… Luo Qiu thought about it for a second, then continued to reach out to another smaller clod.

This time, there was only half a sentence.

‘Standing on the high mountain, overlooking the ground below, I know it’s difficult to see you again.’

The second half.

‘To go or to leave, the feelings are too complex.’

…

‘No one knows what my resentment is like.’

…

Luo Qiu was not sure of how to combine them, so he merely wrote down what he heard on a blank piece of paper.

“Not bad, this handwriting.”

Who knows since when, Zhang Qingrui stood by Luo Qiu, with her hair let down on one side, long enough to reach the table.

Luo Qiu was surprised… ‘Was I too absorbed in the connotation hidden inside the fossils?’

“I’m doing the homework properly.” Zhang Qingrui chuckled, “Once the professor left, your true colors (laziness) have revealed themselves?”

Well… Luo Qiu recalled that he was aware of Zhang Qingrui’s existence at beginning. However, as the voices got clearer, he’d been immersed in them unwittingly and forgot about her presence.

It was as if he saw the Gobi Desert, the sunset and the lonely wild goose… who was it that was playing the musical instrument, whose tears fell at that moment.

“Sorry.”

Luo Qiu sighed and decided to clean up the papers with his handwriting. He thought that there were too many pieces of the fossils, so it would be difficult to copy down every single sentence if all the pieces had different sentences.

Unexpectedly, Manager Zhang picked up the paper with his handwriting, and carefully read a few sentences before asking him, “Why the hell are you writing down ‘Hu Jia Eighteen Rhythm’①?”

It was really weird… even when facing these fossils, he could write a few words of the ‘Hu Jia Eighteen Rhythm’ in a leisurely mood.

“Hu Jia Eighteen Rhythm?” Luo Qiu was dumbfounded. He curiously posed a question, “Are you sure?”

Zhang Qingrui scrunched up her eyebrows, “That should be it. My grandmother is accomplished in Chinese zither. I used to listen to her playing the Hu Jia Eighteen Rhythm when I was young. Out of curiosity, I memorized its whole content.”

Luo Qiu nodded, standing up suddenly. Stooping over the mudstone with a tool in hand, he had the demeanor of a good student, intent on his homework.

Zhang Qingrui was startled, but the next moment she saw Professor Qin Fang push open the door and walk in while reading some materials… Manager Zhang now felt really uncomfortable.

Luo Qiu was, without a doubt, a cunning guy!

She smiled inwardly, and put down the paper. She then reached out for one of the smaller pieces of dirt.

Suddenly she felt a little electric shock, and she instinctively retracted her fingers. Yet, after touching it again, there was nothing weird to be felt.

Was it perhaps the static electricity?

…

…

“Yushuo… You’re not young anymore, isn’t it about time you got married and start your own family? Your father and I are very worried about you!”

Guo Yushuo felt rather annoyed as he listened to his mother, who was calling him from his old home. He merely answered her vaguely.

His eyes never left his girlfriend— He knew it was now more and more difficult to deviate his attention away from her.

A brand new image, no longer behaving like a country girl. She started to give out a charming aura from head to toe.

At this time, his girlfriend who was drawing a picture by the window turned to him with a smile.

The depressed feeling he had earlier entirely disappeared. It had been a long time since he felt so satisfied and attracted.

Just as he wished, his girlfriend even quitted her job at the gas station and registered for a class in university.

Though she thought it was hard to return to studying, she found it very fulfilling, she had said with a sweet smile.

His girlfriend started accompanying him in watching political news that she wasn’t fond of before. She said she became interested in it.

She even started to discuss some questions with him.

‘We no longer feel dull, and the topics we discuss are not just daily trifles. Even when we talk about movies, we talk about the enchanter and background story of the monsters on the island in ‘Tempest’.”

‘We listen to classical music of C major serenade, and dance at home.’

‘In the quiet night, we embrace by the window, looking at the twinkling lights of the city.’

“Oh my god, I ran out of paint!”

Guo Yushuo smiled, he couldn’t help spoiling his girlfriend. He quickly put on his coat and said, “No worries, I’ll go buy some for you.”

“Then… I’ll cook the dinner tonight. What about wine steak for today?”

Guo Yushuo nodded with a smile… “I’ll go to the place that we went last time to buy painting tools?”

A strange thought emerged in his mind… ‘Is that place actually heaven?’

He only used one of his kidney and now his girlfriend was so perfect.

Guo Yushuo drove his car away from the underground garage in a good mood. As he left the gate, a black car that was parked at the side followed after him…

① Hu Jia Eighteen Rhythm: A great musical composition created by Liu Shang, a poet and painter in Tang Dynasty.