When Wu Zhen suggested going goose hunting, everyone enthusiastically agreed. They rushed home to change into riding clothes, grab their bows and swords, and fetch their trained hunting dogs and falcons before heading out of the city in a grand procession.
Although this group was known as pampered young nobles with a reputation for being uneducated and unskilled, they weren’t entirely useless. At the very least, they could all ride horses and hunt and were skilled at polo. Mei Si was talented at painting; Cui Jiu excelled at playing the guqin; Xie Twelve was a masterful swordsman; Lady Sun could create incense; and two others were particularly skilled with the bow and arrow.
Coming from good families, they had been exposed to many things and had picked up various presentable skills. Those who were entirely useless were the minority. Even Lord Lü, who constantly opposed Wu Zhen because of Huozhu, had excellent calligraphy.
The group gathered at the city gate. Wu Zhen wore a deep blue robe with a turned-down collar. Her hair wasn’t styled in a woman’s bun but was instead tucked into a black gauze, giving her the complete appearance of a young man. At first glance, she looked like a strikingly handsome gentleman. She traveled light, carrying only a bow on her back and two quivers of arrows on her horse. Seeing others with their falcons and hounds, she smirked, “We’re going goose hunting today, not on a mountain hunt. Are you bringing all this just for show?”
The young lords had intended to make a grand display, but hearing Wu Zhen’s words, they could only laugh awkwardly and rub their noses as they sent their servants back with the falcons and hounds. After a short delay, the group left the city, with Wu Zhen taking the lead. Her horse was three to four lengths ahead of the dozen or so horses behind her. They galloped like this until they reached a large lake area at the foot of South Mountain, where Wu Zhen slowed down, allowing the others to catch up, panting.
“Sister Zhen, it’s rare to see wild geese this season. Are there any here?” asked one of the young men, wiping sweat from his brow.
Wu Zhen looked at the vast expanse of green waves by the lake, her lips curling into a smile as she replied, “I asked the local farmers. They said they’ve seen a few wild geese around here recently.”
“Oh, but why did Sister Zhen suddenly want to go goose hunting?”
“Sister Zhen must have suddenly craved it.”
The group chatted as they searched for signs of geese.
“Sister Zhen often acts on impulse. You can never guess what she’ll do next.”
“Hah, as if you can guess, Mei Si.”
“Maybe… maybe she’s going to propose marriage,” Mei Si joked casually, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
Wu Zhen: “…”
Ignoring the playful young men behind her, she focused on searching for traces of geese. As they ventured deeper into the knee-high grass, she caught a whiff of fresh grass scent. It was the same scent she had noticed on Mei’s eldest son yesterday afternoon. It seemed he had indeed hunted geese here the day before.
“Ah! There!” Lady Sun, with her keen eyesight, spotted a wild goose in the sky and cried out. As soon as the words left her mouth, they heard the sound of an arrow cutting through the air, followed by the goose’s mournful cry as it fell.
Of course, it was Wu Zhen who had shot the arrow. Her reaction was faster than everyone else’s, and her archery skills were the most refined. Before the others could even react, her arrow had already taken flight.
The arrow had pierced the goose’s wing, so it wasn’t dead, just fallen into the grass, crying pitifully. Wu Zhen dismounted and walked into the grass to tie up the goose. She lifted it, examined it, and seemed unsatisfied.
Mei Si and the others gathered around, with someone excitedly suggesting, “Let’s find a tavern and have them roast this goose with some sauce. It might be a bit lean, but it’ll be fresh.”
Without looking up, Wu Zhen replied, “If you want to eat, go hunt your own. I have other plans for this one.”
Mei Si laughed heartily, “Sister Zhen, you’re not going to use this goose to propose marriage, are you? Haha!”
Wu Zhen glanced at him, thinking, “If you knew who this goose was for, you probably wouldn’t be laughing.”
With Wu Zhen setting the example, the others eagerly prepared to hunt some geese themselves. However, as the afternoon passed, while the others’ horses carried various wild birds and rabbits, not a single one had managed to catch a goose. Only Wu Zhen’s horse bore seven wild geese tied together. There was no helping it – whenever Wu Zhen took action, the others were destined to lose. Every time they spotted a goose and were about to draw their bows, Wu Zhen’s arrow had already flown, hitting the mark perfectly, leaving them no chance to intervene.
“Alright, it’s getting late. Let’s head back,” Wu Zhen said, once again taking the lead on horseback with the others following behind.
Cui Jiu had been eyeing her geese the entire way back. As they entered the city, he finally couldn’t hold back anymore and said, “Sister Zhen, what are you going to do with so many geese? Why not give us a couple to eat?”
In truth, they weren’t particularly eager to eat wild goose, as it wasn’t considered an exceptional delicacy. But having set out specifically to hunt geese and returning empty-handed was frustrating. They needed something to salvage their pride.
Wu Zhen replied, “No.”
Hearing her refusal, everyone was surprised. Their Sister Zhen was usually extremely generous. Normally, she wouldn’t be stingy with a few geese. But now, she had refused twice. Suddenly, everyone became curious about what special purpose Sister Zhen had for these geese.
Near the East Market, Wu Zhen parted ways with the others. The young lords and ladies, who should have gone their separate ways, exchanged glances and silently agreed to follow Wu Zhen discreetly. They were intensely curious about what she intended to do.
Carefully trailing behind Wu Zhen, they discovered that she wasn’t heading back to Daning Ward, but instead entered Changle Ward.
“Changle Ward? There aren’t any famous entertainment houses or brothels there, are there?”
“As far as I know, there aren’t any particularly delicious taverns or wine shops either.”
“Could Sister Zhen be visiting a friend?”
“I don’t know of any young lords or ladies living in Changle Ward.”
As they tried to recall friends who might live in the area, they couldn’t think of anyone. Everyone grew increasingly curious, except for Mei Si, whose expression became increasingly strange as he watched Wu Zhen approach a familiar residence.
Cui Jiu noticed his odd expression and nudged him with his elbow. “Hey, what’s with that constipated look on your face?”
Lady Sun, one of the only two ladies in the group, keenly sensed something was amiss. She eyed Mei Si suspiciously, “Wait a minute, Mei Si. You know whose house that is, don’t you?”
Mei Si watched as Wu Zhen entered the residence, his expression becoming increasingly complex. Surrounded by his friends and faced with their truth-seeking gazes, he finally had to answer honestly: “That’s my eldest cousin’s house.”
The group fell silent for a moment, then looked at each other in confusion. “Huh? Your eldest cousin? Who’s that?”
This was Wu Zhen’s first time entering Mei Zhuyu’s residence through the main gate. He wasn’t home yet, still on duty, so only the old servant was in the house. He didn’t recognize her, so when he opened the door, his expression was puzzled. Once Wu Zhen explained who she was, the old man’s face broke into a smile, and he warmly invited her in.
Since Mei Zhuyu wasn’t there, Wu Zhen didn’t stay long. After leaving all the geese and writing a short note, she left the house and went home.
When Mei Zhuyu returned home, the old servant greeted him with a smile, “Young Master, the Second Miss of the Wu family came by earlier.”
Mei Zhuyu: “…She’s already left?”
“Yes, she left after dropping off some things.” The old servant handed him two pieces of paper. “But she left a message for you.”
Mei Zhuyu stood in front of the cage of geese, unfolding the two pieces of paper. The handwriting was flamboyant and messy, covering the pages.
The first line of four characters – “Reciprocating the courtesy” – left Mei Zhuyu speechless. This wasn’t how reciprocation was supposed to work. He had personally hunted a goose and sent it as a betrothal gift, following his heart and custom. But there was no tradition of the woman’s family sending geese back to the man.
They had only completed the first of the six rites, the proposal. For the subsequent rites – asking the name, seeking divination, sending betrothal gifts, and choosing the wedding date – he was supposed to hunt a goose each time and send it to the Duke of Yu’s mansion. But now…
In her note to him, Wu Zhen stated that these geese were for him to use for the upcoming rites, saving him the trouble of hunting more. As for the extra geese, she suggested he cook and eat them.
Mei Zhuyu stood silently for a long while before letting out a soft sigh. He folded the paper and put it away, then stared at the cage of geese for a moment before picking out the most severely injured one and handing it to the old servant beside him.
The old servant asked, “Young Master, this one?”
Mei Zhuyu replied, “Cook it for dinner.”
Regardless of what Mei Zhuyu thought, Wu Zhen truly had good intentions. Firstly, she thought that a frail scholar like him shouldn’t have to go hunting for geese every time. While it was easy for her to hunt geese, it could be quite challenging for most people. The young lord, with his scholarly air, didn’t seem particularly skilled with a bow, so it probably wasn’t easy for him.
Secondly, she hadn’t sensed the presence of the Undying Corpse within the city and suspected it might be hiding outside the walls. Since the young lord had been keeping the Undying Bone close to his body, he had absorbed some of its essence. If the Undying Corpse were to target him, it would be dangerous. So she decided to hunt the geese herself and send them to him, saving him the trouble and preventing him from wandering outside the city and potentially encountering danger.
That night, Wu Zhen went to the Goose Tower in the Spirit Market. Huozhu and the Charlatan were already there.
“Tonight, we’ll continue searching for the Undying Bone. We need to find all these items as soon as possible to force out the Undying Corpse and deal with it,” Wu Zhen said. She was thoroughly fed up with Undying Corpses. Once they went into hiding, they were extremely difficult to find and rarely showed themselves voluntarily.
The Charlatan, who had transformed into an old man with a white beard today, asked curiously, “Why is Cat Lord in such a hurry this time? It’s only been a few days, nothing bad will happen so soon.”
Wu Zhen replied, “The sooner we resolve this, the better we can rest easy.”
As she spoke, she noticed lights coming on in the building to the right of the Goose Tower. “Oh, Little Snake is here tonight too. You two go ahead, I’ll ask Little Snake if she has any news about the Undying Corpse.”
While the Goose Tower was brightly lit and the Spirit Market bustling with activity, the night in Chang’an, belonging to ordinary people, was quiet. However, even in this calm nocturnal world, there were pockets of unrest.
In a dark alley in the southeast corner of Jinchang Ward, a shadow fled in panic. It had once been in human form but was now injured, a long gash across its chest oozed black, putrid mud. With each step, its body twisted and elongated, finally losing all semblance of human shape and beginning to slither along the ground.
All living creatures fear death, even an Undying Corpse that has harmed countless people, even though it is already dead.
The Undying Corpse fled through the dark alley, desperately trying to escape its silent pursuer. However, no matter how it struggled, the person chasing it drew ever closer.
Finally, the tall, thin figure blocked the Undying Corpse’s path, completely cutting off its escape route. With his back to the moonlight, his long shadow cast upon the moss-covered, mottled wall, he held a dark peach wood sword. Perhaps due to his extreme thinness, his moonlit facial features appeared sharp, giving his entire being a cold, detached air, filled with lethal intent.
This tall, thin man who had cornered the Undying Corpse was none other than Mei Zhuyu, the frail young lord in Wu Zhen’s eyes.