Niu Jianhu was extremely happy. Although he walked with a limp like a large monkey, it still couldn’t dampen his interest in walking. Old Niu and Madam Niu’s tears flowed copiously—this was the first time in five years their son had stood up by himself. It was also at this moment that Old Niu discovered Niu Jianhu had grown much taller, even surpassing himself. Madam Niu stood on tiptoe using her handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her son’s forehead, laughing one moment and crying the next, falling into a state of mad joy.
The old steward clutched the second prosthetic foot Yun Ye had made and refused to let go. Yun Ye struggled for quite a while before snatching it back. He called out to Niu Jianhu, who was going wild in the courtyard: “Brother Jianhu, don’t get too excited yet. Try this foot again and feel if there’s anything unsuitable—I’ll modify it.”
“It’s suitable, it’s suitable. I can walk now—nothing’s unsuitable.” Niu Jianhu didn’t want to be separated from that prosthetic foot for even a moment. People only know to cherish things after losing them. He had sat on his couch for five years, neither going out nor seeing people. At this moment, his mood was expansive—he wished he could run from Chang’an to Luoyang right now.
“Nonsense! If it were suitable, why would you be limping? Clearly that prosthetic foot is too high. Take it off—I’ll adjust it.”
The soft plastic body boiled from cow tendons was full of elasticity. Especially after adding pale yellow dye, it differed little from a real foot. Without high-hardness plastic, Yun Ye embedded thin steel plates inside as the skeleton—all top-quality hundred-times-refined soft steel. If nothing unexpected happened, one foot could be used for ten years without problems. Especially the carved foot appearance was very similar to Niu Jianhu’s right foot—this was the craftsmanship of Boyi Pavilion’s old carver, whom Yun Ye revered as a heavenly being and wanted to keep at the Yun residence but was ignored.
The replacement foot was much better. Yun Ye had Niu Jianhu grasp the door frame and let his body hang naturally, then checked the installed foot. Good—the consistency was decent. Considering the weight of both feet must be consistent, he added counterweights to the prosthetic foot. Niu Jianhu walked a few steps, and the degree of his body’s jolting decreased considerably. What remained was familiarity—the more familiar he became, the more naturally his body would adjust its center of gravity. In the future, he would be no different from ordinary people.
“It’s just this ghostly appearance—this old man has long since become accustomed to strange things.” Old Cheng stood to the side making sarcastic remarks without heart or lungs, instantly eliminating Yun Ye’s thoughts of continuing to boast.
“You old dog speak no human words! Little Ye made a foot for Jianhu, barely sleeping or resting these past days. This old man watched with heartache. You don’t praise him a few words but instead say strange things—could it be you think my Old Niu’s steel blade isn’t sharp?” Old Niu wouldn’t stand for it first, blowing his beard and glaring at Old Cheng.
“You like this child? If it weren’t for him being the only remaining sprout of his Yun family, this old man would have long since brought him over to raise as a son. You injured him twice before—this old man hasn’t settled accounts with you yet. Now you still dare speak big words to me? On horseback or on foot, take your pick. I’m happy today—perfect for a three-hundred-round battle.” As he spoke, he had his household generals lead horses and carry weapons.
Old Cheng’s heart was extremely pleased. Old Niu’s heart was so happy he wanted to shout. The two generals’ most common way of venting emotions was fighting. Coming from a bandit’s nest, who dared expect them to have civilized venting methods?
Ignoring the two martial maniacs clanging away on the martial arts field, Auntie Niu and Auntie Cheng pulled Yun Ye to the warm room with a large kang identical to the Yun family’s. The Niu family had learned early. A table full of dishes made Yun Ye drool—tender spinach, fresh cucumbers. Taking his life—there was even half a watermelon! Yun Ye disdained the meat dishes, broke off half a cucumber and stuffed it in his mouth, crunching loudly. While eating, he didn’t forget to give half to Cheng Chumo beside him. As for Niu Jianhu, he had long since rushed to the courtyard to practice walking.
“Your Uncle Cheng knew you had a good palate, so he specially ran to the palace to get this for you, making His Majesty quite unhappy.” Auntie Cheng arranged dishes for Yun Ye while shooing Cheng Chumo out. Auntie Niu busied herself helping Yun Ye remove his cloak, taking up the conversation: “Look how much this child craves it. In the dead of winter, you can’t see green vegetables—such suffering!”
“Little Ye, when you were with your master before, what did you eat in winter?” Cheng Chumo snatched another cucumber.
“Tons of things—all kinds of melons and fruits: tangerines, watermelons, bananas, pineapples, grapes, apples, pears. There was even something called ginseng fruit—tasted terrible. I secretly threw it away but got caught and was punished by having to eat it all, skin and everything. All kinds of green vegetables—chili peppers, eggplant, that thing you call Kunlun purple gourd, rapeseed, Chinese cabbage. Anyway, tons of stuff—I can’t even count them all. Things that fly in the sky, run on the ground, swim in the water—everything was available.”
Yun Ye greatly missed the ordinary life of later generations. Living as a high official at the provincial-ministerial level in the Great Tang was less comfortable than a small citizen in later times. Just thinking about it made him feel pitiful for himself. Although pinning the story of a son throwing away ginseng fruit on himself was somewhat embarrassing, who would know?
“Isn’t this the life only immortals can live? Little Ye, you lost out big by entering the mortal world.”
“That’s why I say he’s my brother—he understands people. Last night I even dreamed about the days with my master. But having said that, a real man should conquer the world bare-bottomed. Without these things, we’ll create them ourselves. Let’s start with food. When spring opens, first build several kilns, fire bricks, fire cement, build a large stretch of warm rooms, then run flues underneath to heat the ground. I don’t believe we can’t grow several kinds of green vegetables in winter. Then we’ll sell them all over Chang’an.” Yun Ye spoke nonsense freely.
“Leave this work to me. You arrange it, I’ll do it. Call Jianhu too—this is a money-making business!” Cheng Chumo was already fantasizing about entire mountains covered with green vegetables. The two aunties saw the brothers blowing hot air enthusiastically and teased them from the side, saying when the time came they would definitely personally carry vegetable baskets to sell vegetables at each great duke’s residence.
“Marquis Yun has installed another foot for General Niu’s son. I heard that just after installing it, Young Marquis Niu, who had been lame on his couch for five years, could run as fast as the wind. Who knows what kind of foot was installed—could it be the legendary Flying Fur Foot? Traveling a thousand li by day and eight hundred by night, crossing great rivers and marshes as if on flat ground, passing over high mountains and leaping city fortifications is even easier.”
Hearing the marketplace rumors Li Chengqian reported, Emperor Li’er’s eyes nearly bulged out. Traveling a thousand li daily? Even horses couldn’t run that fast. And passing through cities and leaping fortifications? Bullshit! Could it be that what Yun Ye installed on Niu Jianhu wasn’t a leg but a pair of wings?
“Qian’er, do you believe Yun Ye truly installed a foot on Niu Jianhu?” Li’er asked his son, who increasingly had the bearing of a crown prince.
“Reporting to Imperial Father, based on this child’s understanding of Yun Ye, the matter of installing a foot on Niu Jianhu is probably true, but it’s definitely not the joke about traveling a thousand li daily. There’s probably something suspicious here. This child is dull and hasn’t figured out the principle.” Li Chengqian answered seriously.
“That you can think this way makes Imperial Father very happy. The gentleman does not speak of strange things, supernatural powers, disorder, or spirits. Marquis Yun is perhaps an extremely intelligent person with some special methods that can make disabled people like ordinary people. It’s just that the common people are ignorant—unable to find answers, they wildly speculate and fabricate from thin air an immortal-like figure.”