Somehow the news had leaked out. When Yun Ye arrived at the departure point of Hungry Wolf Island, it was already packed with people. Over a thousand fully armed men—were they preparing to hunt or stage a rebellion? In any case, the Lantian County deputy magistrate who had approved the dandies’ entry into the mountains was so frightened he nearly wet his pants. Sweating profusely, he begged everyone to come up with a plan, preferably to enter the mountains in an organized fashion rather than rushing in chaotically.
Li Ke had the highest status and was elected by everyone to become the Grand Commander of the Qinling Mountain Campaign, with unified control over personnel and resources. Cheng Chumo was the vanguard, Li Huairen and Zhangsun Chong served as left and right guards, and Yun Ye was the Grand Commander of the Rear Army. Once the official positions were selected, all the dandies were given the rank of colonel. Together they swore not to withdraw their troops until they had captured the last rabbit in the Qinling Mountains, then led their respective henchmen howling as they charged into the Qinling range.
“Young people nowadays are getting smarter and smarter. Don’t you think so, Brother Xuanling?” Du Ruhui looked at the express report from Lantian County on his desk and turned to ask the chancellor beside him.
“It’s good that they’re smart. My son Yiai has joined them too. Rather than worrying about him in the chaotic Chang’an, it’s better for him to go hunting in the Qinling Mountains together. In the wild mountains and wilderness, people can’t catch him by his pigtails anymore, right? Hunting can’t possibly offend anyone’s taboos.”
“You’re right. My son went too. He even said he’d bring back a tiger skin to warm this old man’s legs. He wasn’t like this before—always parading on horses at Zhangtai, making people worry. The academy is truly a good place for nurturing people. When the younger generation learns to be clever, it’s a blessing for us elders. Brother Xuanling, tomorrow is our rest day. Why don’t we travel together to Yushan? I hear Master Zhao Yanling’s tea ceremony has become even more exquisite. It would be perfect to impose on him for a visit.”
“Your words suit my heart exactly, worthy brother. Day after day laboring over documents is unbearably tedious. Now that most matters are complete, you and I should indeed relax and refresh ourselves. Then tomorrow we shall travel arm in arm.” After speaking, both men laughed heartily and continued burying their heads in the case files.
Li Chengqian had nowhere to go, so he hid in the bank counting silver. The bank had now become one of the Great Tang’s most important institutions. When Li Ke left, he handed over the accounts clearly and asked his elder brother to help audit the treasury. This gesture made Li Chengqian both happy and bittersweet. This was an opportunity his younger brother had specifically created to let him thoroughly understand the bank’s operational process and know exactly what the bank’s foundation was. The brothers had now become distant with each other—they no longer spoke plainly. Was this the price of growing up?
Just yesterday he had punished an advisor who came to speak, saying something about how Prince Wei moving into Wude Hall meant he was only separated from the Eastern Palace by a wall, that His Majesty’s excessive favor toward Prince Wei might threaten the Eastern Palace in the future, and that countermeasures needed to be prepared early—such as sending out spies to collect evidence of Prince Wei’s misconduct for future retaliation.
Yun Ye had explained very clearly why Li Tai moved into Wude Hall. That place had now become a forbidden zone. If there was nothing to do, one should stay far away from it. If things went wrong, the tragedy of Ganlu Hall might repeat itself. What Li Tai was now managing was a huge sky thunder, and if not handled properly, it would explode. Don’t go prying into matters there when you have nothing better to do.
The words were spoken in a clouded and foggy manner, but Li Chengqian still understood. That place was where the Great Tang’s secret weapons were being developed. Qing Que’s temperament was most suited for this task, so moving into Wude Hall wasn’t glory or favor, but an extremely important responsibility.
He demoted the advisor who had spoken to become a local official in a prefecture or county, and strictly ordered that there should be no similar remarks in the future—violators would never be pardoned. When this order was issued, the demoted advisor looked up to heaven and sighed: “Your Highness, you will surely regret not accepting loyal advice today.” After speaking, with one donkey and one servant boy, he departed alone to take up his post, filled with the melancholy of having his ambitions thwarted.
Chang’an City had fewer dandies parading on horses at Zhangtai, but was packed with Taoist priests and Buddhist monks. Some bold Taoist masters would even visit Yanlai Tower, but those monks holding tin staffs and carrying alms bowls were annoying. The temples could no longer accommodate them, so the monks moved into the family temples of some wealthy households. The Yun family’s temple housed forty or fifty old monks, among them Shishi’s father who was staying at the Yun residence. Father and daughter rarely saw each other, and when they met, they had become somewhat estranged.
Jue Yuan would never have imagined that the noble young lady before him was his own daughter Shishi. He saw her wearing deerskin short boots, dressed in a light blue brocade short jacket, with a skirt of the same color that looked perfectly fitted no matter how you looked at it. On her wrist was a bracelet twisted from gold wire, with gemstones shining brilliantly on it. Her hair was no longer in the disheveled state of before. In her movements was the natural bearing of a great family’s young lady. The little maid behind her held a gray monk’s robe and a pair of cloth shoes with layered soles. An ancient-looking long saber was cradled in his daughter’s arms. Was this still his child who had suffered hardship since childhood?
The bright-eyed, white-toothed little girl called out sweetly, “Father,” finally awakening Jue Yuan from his dream. The little girl hugged her monk father and burst into tears. The old monk Tanyin chanted a Buddhist invocation and entered the Yun family’s temple to discuss Buddhist teachings with the old madam. To leave home, to leave home meant severing worldly ties. Now Jue Yuan was entangled by karmic debts—who knew when it would end?
Shishi wiped away her tears and happily draped the monk’s robe she had sewn with her own hands over her father’s shoulders, then squatted down to put on the cloth shoes she had stitched herself for her father. Seeing her father properly dressed, only then did she present the long saber to her father.
“Father, this is what your daughter bought for you with her own allowance. Master said this is a good blade. Originally I wanted to ask the Yun family’s caravan to deliver it to you, but your daughter was unwilling, afraid it would get lost. This time you’ve returned, so you can take this blade with you. You’re a martial arts master—you should have a handy weapon.”
“Shishi, are you doing well here?” Jue Yuan took the long saber and placed it on the tea table. He was more concerned about his daughter’s recent situation.
“You know that Master has always doted on your daughter. The mistress is also good to this child, as is Old Madam. There’s Daya, Xiao Ya, Xiao Wu, and recently Xiao Jie was added. Your daughter is very well at Master’s place. Father doesn’t need to worry.”
Jue Yuan drank his tea, listening to his daughter chatter about interesting stories from the Yun household—how Xiao Ya’s fat pig had grown so plump it could barely walk, how Wang Cai had accidentally eaten Sichuan pepper and drooled for a whole day, how Xiao Jie had accidentally seen Xiao Wu bathing and been chased for three days, how Xiao Ya hadn’t studied well and had her palm struck by the teacher. In short, all trivial household matters.
But it was precisely these small matters that gradually calmed Jue Yuan’s anxious heart. He could hear that Yun Ye was very fond of his daughter, completely raising her as his own child. Shishi had the bearing of a young lady from a great family, and the little maid behind her was also proper and correct—this was the style only great households possessed.
Shishi seemed not to need worry, but the Buddhist sect’s hope this time of using Marquis Yun’s connections to make their opinions reach the emperor’s ears directly seemed likely to fall through. Yun Ye hadn’t left early or late, but departed Chang’an to hunt in the Qinling Mountains at the most crucial moment. Needless to say, he was avoiding them, unwilling to be involved in the struggle.
Shishi was immersed in her own joyful dreams, wanting to beg Old Madam to let her father stay permanently in the family temple to cultivate. Unfortunately, she didn’t know that her father had come this time with the determination to die to fight for Buddhism’s last sliver of opportunity.
If they couldn’t obtain this final opportunity, bloodshed would become unavoidable. The emperor sat on his high throne overlooking all things in the world. Neither Taoist dominance nor Buddhist prosperity aligned with his interests, so he chose to help neither side—like a hungry wolf wandering outside the sheep pen, constantly watching two groups of sheep about to brawl inside. The old, weak, sick, and disabled would surely enter its belly and become the most delicious food.
Yun Ye had miscalculated one thing—Qiu Ran Ke didn’t sleep for ten days. He woke up after only eight days. Just after waking, he found his limbs moved freely. With a loud shout, he leaped from the bed, ready to duel with the evil thief. But even the strongest person couldn’t withstand eight days of starvation. Each day he could only take in a little thin porridge. Qiu Ran Ke’s lower limbs were weak and powerless. He fell to one knee on the ground, forcibly raising his spirits as he searched everywhere for the evil thief’s whereabouts.
The door opened, and a woman in red clothes walked in. She looked very familiar. He couldn’t help but call out: “Third Sister! Didn’t you already meet with harm? Where is that evil thief? I will dismember him ten thousand times over.”
“Elder Brother, what evil thief? The master who fought with you that day was someone my husband invited to help restore your memory. That you can remember your little sister is truly wonderful! My husband has gone to court. If he knew you had already recovered, who knows how delighted he would be.”
“No evil thief? Little Sister, you must have been deceived by the evil thief. He killed people wantonly here and even ate human flesh—he’s absolutely the number one evil thief in the world. Let me rest a moment, then I’ll go settle accounts with him. That little girl’s arms were chopped off alive by him—I saw it with my own eyes. How could I be wrong?”
After speaking, he took a bowl of porridge from the plate in Hong Fu’s hands and poured it down his throat with a tilt of his neck. Then he said to Hong Fu: “Get me a sheep—I’m very hungry.” After speaking, he strode out the door. His expression froze. Several children were playing in the courtyard, and among them, a little girl in red—wasn’t she the child whose arms had been severed that day? Why could she still be in the courtyard gnawing on a huge pear?
“What is the meaning of this?” The servant whose neck had been cut last walked through the courtyard carrying water buckets. Seeing Qiu Ran Ke, he even bowed before continuing to carry water to the rear residence.
He stretched out both arms and touched his own neck. The skin there was still completely intact, obviously not looking like it had just been injured. But why did the wounds on his legs seem like they had only been injured yesterday?
“Little Sister, how many days have I been unconscious?”
“You slept for a full fourteen hours. The physician said your spirit and body were excessively depleted and you needed to sleep for three days. Not even half that time has passed and you’ve already awakened. Don’t think too much. Even in your dreams you kept shouting about evil thieves. As long as you’ve woken up, Little Sister is happy. Don’t think about anything else. Little Sister will first get you some food. The physician won’t let you eat meat, saying it’s bad for the spleen and stomach.” Hong Fu covered her mouth and laughed softly, calling over a maid to prepare food. She herself helped Qiu Ran Ke sit back in the main hall, constantly talking with him, afraid he would once again forget the past.