Sun Simiao wouldn’t go because the Pei family hadn’t invited him. The old man wouldn’t lower himself to voluntarily go to the door to treat Pei Ji. If he cured him, he’d gain no favor. If he failed, he’d earn resentment. Either way there was nothing good in it—why go?
Yun Ye looked at Sun Simiao suspiciously. This didn’t match the old master’s usual behavior. The master had never cared about owing or being owed favors. Why was he so abnormal today? But then again, Master Sun’s medical skills were first in Chang’an—this had long been beyond dispute. The Pei family knew Master Sun was in Chang’an and hadn’t gone traveling. Why hadn’t they invited the master to their door?
“Boy, if the patient’s family didn’t invite this old man, it means they have something unspeakable to hide, and preserving this secret is more important than Pei Ji’s old life. They’re afraid this old Daoist will see through the symptoms and discover the truth, which is why they haven’t sought me out. Finding other physicians doesn’t raise such concerns—they can either intimidate them with power or coerce them with threats. There are always ways to make physicians keep quiet. These methods don’t work on this old Daoist. Not inviting me to treat him is very normal. One should be reasonable—if they don’t want to invite me to treat him, we have no need to go.”
“As for the ‘Heavenly Demon Dance’ you mentioned, it’s just the Buddhist hymn popular in Hexi. Aside from being more ornate, there’s nothing to see. A few women making coquettish gestures, displaying their charms—they’ve defiled perfectly good Buddhist chanting. However, precisely because one is sacred and the other obscene, that feeling of obscenity defiling sanctity intoxicates many people, which is why it has such a great reputation. This old Daoist saw it in Hexi years ago—nothing miraculous about it. But this time Pei Ji fell victim, so there must be some background to it.”
Sun Simiao’s hands kept working as he prepared medicine for Yun Ye and Li Tai, telling Yun Ye everything he knew about the ‘Heavenly Demon Dance.’ From his words, Yun Ye heard deep disdain.
“This dose of Rejuvenation Decoction is a kidney-fortifying formula. After drinking this medicine, for fifteen days you won’t have lustful desires. Once the kidney water is replenished, the medicine’s effect naturally resolves itself. It’s a secret not passed down by Daoists. If you go watch the ‘Heavenly Demon Dance,’ take this medicine and you’ll definitely be fine. It will also help restore your depleted body.”
Sun Simiao tossed the two doses of medicine to them, then told them to quickly get lost. He stared entranced at a thin sheet of paper.
“Yezi, listening to Master Sun, if we drink this medicine, for the next fifteen days we two brothers will be no different from eunuchs, right? Are you still planning to drink it?” Coming out of the medicine hut, Li Tai dangled the medicine Sun Simiao had prepared in front of Yun Ye’s eyes and asked quietly.
“Drink it! Why not drink it? Men will inevitably have some kidney deficiency and lack of energy. Maintaining the body is very important. Besides, this is medicine personally prepared by Master Sun. If you don’t drink it, do you expect him to prepare medicine for you again next time?”
“Of course I’ll drink it. It’s just that Master Sun gave quite a lot of medicine. This is good stuff—we can’t waste it. Why not find some brothers with physical discomfort to drink it together? What do you think? You just said yourself that men will inevitably have some minor kidney deficiency problems. If we don’t share such good stuff with a group of brothers, wouldn’t we two be too lacking in loyalty? Of course Hippatia is a woman so forget about her.”
Yun Ye stopped and looked carefully at Li Tai, saying: “This move is a bit ruthless. You’re planning to make all the young masters of Chang’an into eunuchs for fifteen days? Then watch the so-called ‘Heavenly Demon Dance’ together? And watch Hippatia make a fool of herself while we’re at it? Not a bad plan. Why should only we two brothers suffer misfortune while they each hide at home in romantic pleasure? Being able to watch Hippatia humiliate herself is a lifelong wish of this brother. That damned woman always circles around my wife with ill intentions. Teaching her a lesson would be good. But if she can’t withstand it, we’ll have to drag her out to avoid losing her life.”
“Naturally. I just want revenge—I don’t want her life. Otherwise she’d have died long ago. You handle summoning the brothers.”
“In your dreams! Should I be the only one blamed afterward? You handle the imperial clan, I’ll handle the nobles and marquises. This time the momentum must be big. We’re all playboys who ride through the pleasure quarters—even if we lose face, we deserve it and won’t damage the Great Tang’s dignity.”
“Master Sun said the Pei family has something unspeakable to hide. It’s inconvenient for you to go. I’ll go alone and see if I can get anything useful from Pei Ji.”
Taking guards, they entered Chang’an overnight. Li Tai returned to Prince Wei’s mansion. Yun Ye’s group quickly arrived at the Pei residence. From afar they could see white mourning banners hanging on the main gate. The spirit banner hadn’t been raised—it seemed the person hadn’t died yet. They were just waiting for him to breathe his last, after which there would be loud wailing.
The eldest Pei son hemmed and hawed, unwilling to let Yun Ye see Pei Ji, only saying he was already terminally ill—whether he saw him or not made no difference. They appreciated his sentiment. After the Pei family’s mourning period ended, they would specially come to his residence to express thanks.
“Elder Pei, I know this is difficult for you. The old master had an incident that’s rather inglorious. Right now you probably feel too ashamed to see people and just want him to leave quietly and peacefully. I’ll only tell you one thing—tell the old master that whether he sees me or not isn’t for him to decide.”
Elder Pei looked at Yun Ye in surprise. If an ordinary person heard this explanation from the Pei family, they would definitely leave a gift and turn back. Yun Ye doing this was very discourteous. Though quite annoyed, he still patiently said: “Please speak, Brother Yun.”
Yun Ye quietly said in Elder Pei’s ear: “I feel this time it’s not a matter of the old master’s fortitude being insufficient. I’m afraid it was an enemy’s revenge.”
Elder Pei suddenly raised his head and asked urgently: “You believe my father was the victim of a plot?”
Yun Ye nodded. Elder Pei begged pardon and quickly walked into the inner residence. If Yun Ye was right, the Pei family matter couldn’t be considered shameful. Being plotted against was different from losing one’s vital essence due to weak will—one was passive, the other a personal problem. Of course they had to get to the bottom of it. Now the Pei family head watched a dance and became terminally ill. Clearly in ordinary times he did nothing good, daily indulging in wine and women, embezzling the people’s wealth. Quite a few families who considered themselves of strict family tradition had already severed relations with the Pei family.
After sitting a while, Elder Pei hurriedly came out and invited Yun Ye into the inner residence. All along the way, female family members secretly watched Yun Ye. Each wore white clothes—in the twilight they looked like ghosts.
Pei Ji was clearly experiencing his final rally. Leaning against a cushioned pillow hugging his quilt, seeing Yun Ye enter, he didn’t exchange pleasantries but said directly: “This old man’s days are numbered, so I won’t stand on ceremony. Marquis Yun, do you truly believe this old man was the victim of a plot? In my youth I was utterly dissolute. Even in my old age I couldn’t resist feminine seduction. If Marquis Yun is only worried about the Pei family’s reputation, there’s no need. This old man did what he did and can bear the consequences himself. False words and concealment bring the Pei family no benefit whatsoever.”
Just from this statement, even if Pei Ji was a lecher, he was one Yun Ye could look up to. This kind of responsibility not everyone had. These words not all important figures could speak. Exposing one’s own ugliness while remaining unfazed—Yun Ye very much hoped he could cultivate to this level.
“Lord Pei, this junior has met that Gao Shanyang and was also seduced by her. But with my half-baked character I could ignore it completely. Why would it endanger your life, Uncle? This junior isn’t boasting about my fortitude. You say you were dissolute in youth—this junior is currently in a dissolute period with no fortitude to speak of. Therefore this junior believes there must be something strange in this. Could Uncle describe the situation at that time for this junior? Because the next person to watch the ‘Heavenly Demon Dance’ will be this junior himself.”
Pei Ji thought for a moment and said: “At the beginning, this old man observed that woman was only of middling beauty at best. Only the dance had some merit. As she danced to the Buddhist chanting, it aroused my interest. That chanting was like someone whispering in your ear, constantly telling you how beautiful and moving the woman on stage was. Every sentence spoke to your heart. The cymbals’ rhythm seemed to merge with you—your heart beat once, the drum struck once, the woman on stage moaned once. At that time, thin sandalwood mist surrounded this old man, making me think I was floating in the clouds.”
“After drinking a few cups of wine, looking at that woman again, she seemed impossibly beautiful. I’m not afraid of you laughing, nephew—this old man truly had lustful thoughts then. My whole body was inexplicably excited. I only thought of pinning that woman beneath me and ravaging her thoroughly, finally swallowing her whole with skin, bones, blood and flesh. This old man actually seemed to do this. The blood was sweet, the flesh salty, the bones crisp and tender like young celery. It was a gluttonous feast! This old man was like an evil ghost from hell, covered in blood, sitting among severed limbs and gnawing…”
“The feast ended and this old man awoke. Looking at that Japanese woman, she was still only of middling beauty. The dance was still barely watchable. But this old man’s lower body was in complete disarray. When blood gushed like a fountain, only then did this old man understand my end had come. Too late for regrets.”
“Afterward this old man wondered if I’d been the victim of a plot. But there were no fewer than ten officials from the Court of State Ceremonial present. Though each was as disgraceful as this old man, they had no danger to their lives. Only this old man was most shameful. They swore and vowed this old man never left his seat nor did anyone approach me. The wine was all ladled from the wine vat. The sandalwood was also ordinary sandalwood. Taking it home and having craftsmen examine it, they all said it was premium sandalwood with nothing else mixed in. Hahaha, matters having reached this point, this old man can only lie at home lingering on, waiting for my time to come.”
“Marquis Yun, if this old man brought humiliation on himself, so be it. But if I was plotted against by villains, please restore this old man’s good name.” After Pei Ji finished speaking, he nodded with difficulty on his pillow as a deep bow of thanks.
Yun Ye looked at Pei Ji with an odd expression and said: “If I wasn’t certain when I entered, then after hearing what Uncle said, this junior can be one hundred percent certain—you were indeed the victim of a plot, without any doubt.”
Pei Ji actually sat up from the bed, staring unblinkingly at Yun Ye and asking: “Are Marquis Yun’s words true? Though this old man is about to die, I won’t tolerate pity.”
Yun Ye sniffed and said to Pei Ji, who clearly couldn’t hold on much longer: “Uncle has been strong all your life. At the end naturally you won’t grovel like a fly or dog. This junior is not the type in the secular world who knows how to comfort others. When I say you were the victim of a plot, then you were the victim of a plot. Uncle, do you still remember that beauty whose face you scarred with the iron mace?”
Light suddenly blazed in Pei Ji’s eyes. He laughed looking up at heaven: “So that’s it! So that’s it!” The laughter suddenly ceased. His body fell heavily onto the bed. Thus he breathed his last.