Arriving at Shanshui Tower, the two had just reached the upper floor when a guest at the neighboring private booth happened to look out and smiled. “Young Lord! Third Young Master!”
He rose and came out to greet them.
Lin Xiao and Jiang Sanlang saw it was the Fourth Young Master Chen of the Ningyuan Marquis household — someone they knew — and had to stop and exchange pleasantries.
“What a pleasant coincidence to meet here. Young Lord, Third Young Master — won’t you join us for a few cups?” The Fourth Young Master Chen was naturally good at drawing people in, and since Lin Xiao and Jiang Sanlang were two of the most distinguished men in the capital, he had long harbored a wish to cultivate a closer acquaintance with them.
Before Lin Xiao and Jiang Sanlang could respond, someone else came out of the private booth. “Eleventh Brother, Third Young Master Jiang.” The tone was cheerful and easy — it was Xia Di.
Inside the booth sat a number of other young men from noble families, all of whom rose with smiles and beckoned the two of them to enter.
Jiang Sanlang gave an indifferent smile and let Fourth Young Master Chen pull him into the booth. Lin Xiao, seeing Xia Di, felt a vague and undefined unease, but with Jiang Sanlang already inside and Xia Di holding fast to him, he had little choice but to take a seat as well.
Once the two were seated, Fourth Young Master Chen quickly called for more dishes and wine. The portly Master Kong unfolded a paper fan and waved it with affected elegance, casting a sidelong look at Jiang Sanlang. “Third Young Master — it’s been nearly half a year since we last saw you at any pleasure house or tavern. I hear you’ve sent away all the consorts in your household. What — has Third Young Master resolved to reform himself and become a paragon of virtue from this day forward?”
Jiang Sanlang’s eyes remained on the wine cup slowly turning in his hands. The smile at the corners of his mouth stayed in place, but his gaze turned abruptly cold.
Fourth Young Master Chen inwardly cursed his soon-to-be brother-in-law for opening his mouth without checking who he was talking to. Did this idiot not know what kind of person Jiang Sanlang was? He wasn’t someone just anyone could presume to tease. He fully deserved the cold look he was about to receive.
He also felt a quiet pang for his sister, Yu Qi — perfectly fine in looks and character, yet assigned by their parents to this fool Kong Weide.
Still, this was family; appearances had to be maintained. He quickly redirected the conversation, saying to Jiang Sanlang and Lin Xiao with a smile, “Young Lord, Third Young Master Jiang — you arrived just after Second Young Master Liu was telling us about the latest extraordinary news from the capital.”
Lin Xiao was well aware that this crowd typically frequented the pleasure quarters, and that their “extraordinary news from the capital” most likely amounted to which brothel or pleasure house had a newcomer, or which official had a fresh romantic scandal. The mere thought of it felt tedious, and he gave a faint smile without taking the bait.
Jiang Sanlang was equally disinterested, lounging lazily back in his chair. “Oh? What extraordinary news?”
“Word is that a new establishment called Little Mingbo Tower has opened in Yongle Quarter, with a celebrated courtesan named Chun Qiao at its helm. She is said to be bewitchingly lovely, and all who lay eyes on her are instantly captivated. She has made quite a name for herself in the capital of late. Second Young Master Liu had the good fortune to see her in person two days ago and has been singing her praises ever since,” said Fourth Young Master Chen with a smile.
Second Young Master Liu gave an agreeing nod, his expression not without regret. “Her looks are truly beyond anything one finds in the ordinary world, and her figure is impeccable. The only difficulty is that she speaks not a word of the Central Plains tongue. All who have spoken with her say they cannot understand her at all. Even among the refined scholars from the Jiangnan region who accompanied us, some said it sounded neither like Wu dialect nor Huai dialect. Some have guessed she may have crossed from the Eastern Islands and is concealing her origins by posing as a southerner. We were so taken with her striking beauty that we couldn’t be bothered to investigate further.”
Xia Di was thoroughly unimpressed. He gave a derisive laugh. “She doesn’t even speak the tongue of the Central Plains — so she’s got a slightly pleasing face, and you’ve all gone completely out of your heads over her? And you lot always claim to be connoisseurs of the pleasure quarters. Is this really all you amount to? Besides, women throughout the world each have their own charm, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What you consider beautiful, others may find utterly ordinary.”
Second Young Master Liu lamented, “Xia Gongzi, you simply don’t know — every time this woman hangs out her sign to receive guests, Little Mingbo Tower is packed to the rafters. Everyone arrives clutching ten thousand in gold, desperately hoping to win her favor. But this Chun Qiao is unlike the others: she has no interest in talent or wealth — only in good looks. She selects her own guests each time, and only handsome young men can catch her eye. I’ve been there several times. I’ve thrown away thousands in silver, swallowed my belly full of tea, and never so much as touched Chun Qiao’s hand.”
Lin Xiao sat listening and felt nothing but cold amusement. These calculated games of manufactured mystique — how shallow and tiresome. Yet they were enough to keep these men hopelessly obsessed, pursuing her as though she were some extraordinary treasure. Thinking this, he felt thoroughly bored. His body was still in the room, but his thoughts had already drifted to the Flower Goddess Festival tomorrow — wondering when Qin Yao might come out, and whether she would like the arrangements he had made. Unfortunately, he had spent his youth entirely on martial training and scholarly study and rarely went out for leisure, so he knew very little about what young women enjoyed, and had no idea at all how to ensure Qin Yao would be happy.
Imagining how lovely Qin Yao would look wearing the snow-and-plum hairpin, he felt a surge of anticipation and longing rise within him like the waves of heat shimmering outside in the blazing summer air, rolling in on themselves one after another, impossible to suppress.
Master Kong Weide shook his plump head and declared, “Phah, how tedious. This Chun Qiao values nothing in a man but his looks — her vision and understanding are truly limited. Does she not know that the world’s most gifted men are largely quite plain in appearance, while those who are handsome and striking tend to be shallow and lacking in real substance?”
He spoke with such aggrieved resentment, gratifying himself with his own words, that he failed to notice he had just managed to insult Lin Xiao, Jiang Sanlang, and Xia Di — all seated at the same table — by lumping them in as “shallow and lacking in substance.”
Fourth Young Master Chen nearly leapt up to slap Kong Weide then and there. Every time this man opened his mouth, he managed to offend at least half the company, and yet he was utterly unaware of it and felt compelled to hold forth on everything. Infuriating beyond measure.
Fortunately Lin Xiao was deep in his own thoughts and had not registered a word of it. Jiang Sanlang and Xia Di simply treated Kong Weide’s pronouncement as wind and focused on discussing plans for going out to enjoy the Flower Goddess Festival. Only Second Young Master Liu looked thoroughly dejected, sighing repeatedly, “When will I ever have the good fortune of spending a night of bliss with Chun Qiao?”
Qing Xuzi and his three disciples arrived at the Pei household and were shown inside by Pei Lin.
Qin Yao had been a little nervous at first, uncertain how Pei Min would react when she recognized her. But when they entered, only Madam Pei came out to meet them — Pei Min, perhaps out of a sense of propriety, had not shown herself at all.
“You must be the Daoist Master Qing Xuzi.” The moment Madam Pei saw them enter, much of the fear and distress in her face seemed to ease. She hastened forward, supported by the arm of a maidservant, and bowed deeply. “Greetings to the Master.”
“Please, Madam, there is no need for such ceremony — do get up quickly.” Qing Xuzi, whenever in the presence of outsiders, never failed to present himself as a dignified and courteous figure — he was quite good at making an impression.
He cast an inquiring look toward the rear of the hall and asked, “Where are the young master and young miss of the household? Why have they not come out?”
“Oh — our eldest son is currently on duty at the Commander’s Office and has not yet left for the day. As for our daughter, she only returned from the Academy yesterday. My husband and I were afraid of frightening her, so we have not told her of the strange occurrences in the house these past days,” Pei Lin replied.
Qin Yao inwardly knitted her brow. With Pei Min’s parents looking this troubled and gloomy, how could Pei Min not have guessed something was wrong at home?
Qing Xuzi said no more. He had A’Han bring out the Infinite Mirror, and starting from the main hall, he moved through the rooms in careful inspection all the way to the rear garden. Several times along the way, waves appeared in the Infinite Mirror and dark mist swirled within it — clear evidence that malign energy was indeed present in the Pei household.
When they reached one particular spot in the rear courtyard, the dark mist in the mirror had thickened until it formed droplets of black that overflowed from the mirror’s surface and slowly trickled downward. Qing Xuzi saw this and brought his foot down with a sharp stamp, then looked up ahead: there was a vermilion painted door. He quickly asked, “What is this place?”
Master and Madam Pei answered: “This is the rear gate of the household. Beyond it is Sanyuan Lane. It is not used often — only occasionally, when servants go out through this gate to buy miscellaneous things for the household.”
Qing Xuzi studied the anomaly in the mirror for a long time, then gave a cold laugh. “If this poor Daoist’s guess is not wrong, that wicked creature enters through this gate every night and exits through it again — rain or shine, without fail. That is rather interesting — it is rare to see a wicked creature so orderly in its habits.”
Before he could finish speaking, one of the servants nearby said, “The Young Master is back.”
Qin Yao looked back at the sound, and saw a young man approaching from a distance. His features bore a striking resemblance to Pei Min’s — the same sweeping brows, the same high straight nose, the same pair of dark, bright eyes, full of spirit — yet where Pei Min had a scholarly air, he had the crisp, alert bearing unique to a military man.
The young master of the Pei household caught sight of Qing Xuzi and the others. His eyes held not a trace of warmth. His expression was dark as he walked toward them.