A gentle warm breeze blew over the Jade Belt Pool in the southern part of the city. Ornate pleasure boats drifted here and there, their melodious music audible to those strolling along the shore, intoxicating in its languid beauty.
The Jade Belt Pool was an artificial canal, not particularly wide – only four or five boats could sail abreast – but it was quite long. A full circuit by boat would take nearly an entire day. This wasn’t the busiest time for the Jade Belt Pool. The liveliest period had been a short while ago when the peach, plum, and apricot blossoms along both banks were in full bloom. From afar, it had looked like a misty cloud, with falling petals nearly covering the water’s surface. Back then, there were so many boats that they almost clogged the waterway.
Romantic scholars, poets, ladies out for spring outings, nobles and commoners alike – everyone loved to come to the Jade Belt Pool to view flowers and enjoy the scenery, basking in the beautiful spring sunshine. But now, the flowers had faded, leaving only the continuous green willows on both banks swaying in the breeze, occasionally shedding fluffy catkins.
Wu Zhen was leaning against a window on the second floor of a pleasure boat, dozing with half-closed eyes. Her group of followers was on the first floor, their faint sounds of roughhousing and pipa music disturbing her sleep.
After a while, light footsteps came up the stairs. Wu Zhen opened one eye to peek. It was young Master Mei Si, excitedly running over with two paintings in his arms. “Sister Zhen, I found you! Why are you hiding up here sleeping alone again?”
Wu Zhen sat up, leaning against the railing, and said drowsily, “I stayed up too late listening to music last night, and then my old father woke me up early this morning. I’m exhausted.”
She had snuck out to Pingkang Ward to play at night, only sneaking back home just before dawn. Usually, she would sleep until noon, but today Duke Yu was at home. He had woken her for breakfast shortly after the city bells rang in the morning, then kept her at home lecturing her all morning. She had finally managed to slip away, hoping to catch up on sleep here, but couldn’t rest well.
Thinking of her father made Wu Zhen sigh. This time, the old man was determined to get her married. He wasn’t even returning to the temple, saying he would wait until her marriage to young Master Mei was settled before going back. It was clear that she would have no freedom for a while.
Mei Si, unaware of his big sister’s troubles, proudly showed her the paintings in his hands. “Sister Zhen, look at my new paintings. Please give me your opinion.”
Wu Zhen unrolled one and saw a fierce-looking demon with a blue face and protruding fangs. “Hmm, not bad. Looks quite ferocious.”
The young Mei Si puffed out his chest proudly. “I painted this based on the description of the ‘Blue-faced Fang’ in ‘Chronicles of Ghosts and Monsters.’ If such a creature existed, it would surely look just like my painting!”
Unfortunately, it didn’t look like the real thing at all, Wu Zhen thought to herself, having seen one before.
Mei Si was obsessed with unofficial histories and miscellaneous records, especially stories about ghosts and spirits. Besides Wu Zhen, the person he admired most was ‘White Snake Gentleman,’ the author of ‘Chronicles of Ghosts and Monsters.’ Though he had never met him, Mei Si often said they were kindred spirits and would surely become close friends if they ever met.
Because of his love for ‘Chronicles of Ghosts and Monsters,’ Mei Si decided to paint all the supernatural beings described in the book. He planned to compile them into an album and personally visit White Snake Gentleman to present it to him. Others found Mei Si’s supernatural talk tiresome, and his family scolded him for neglecting his proper studies and being obsessed with ghosts. Only Wu Zhen never mocked him for this.
Once Mei Si started talking about this topic, he could go on endlessly. Wu Zhen thought she was in for another afternoon of his chatter, but surprisingly, he suddenly stopped and pointed towards the shore. “Ah! It’s that Liu group!”
Wu Zhen turned to look and saw a circle of curtains set up under a large willow tree on the shore, with several young women sitting inside. It was common for noble ladies on spring outings to set up such curtained spaces to avoid being disturbed.
The young women seemed to have noticed their pleasure boat too. They huddled together, pointing at the boat and saying something, then all laughed together.
“They must be saying bad things about us again!” Mei Si huffed angrily. Without another word, he went downstairs. Soon, their pleasure boat moored at the shore. Wu Zhen remained motionless, leaning on the second-floor railing and watching as Mei Si led several young men and women who had been listening to music downstairs toward the curtained area.
Wu Zhen knew what would happen without even looking. Sure enough, seeing Mei Si’s group approaching with hostile intent, the young women behind the curtains stood up, not to be outdone. Both sides put their hands on their hips and started hurling insults at each other across the curtain. The scene quickly became lively.
With her keen eyesight, Wu Zhen could see a young woman sitting behind the others in the curtained area. She sat calmly at the head, gazing peacefully at the willows as if completely oblivious to the argument in front of her. Like Wu Zhen, she was used to such scenes.
This composed young woman was named Liu Taizhen, daughter of the Censor-in-chief. Lord Liu was a formidable figure who even gave the emperor headaches. He was upright and, in the emperor’s private words, “a stinking rock in the latrine.” He dared to say anything and admonish anyone. What was more terrifying was that he had once been the Director of the Imperial Academy and had trained a batch of stubborn minds just like himself. Now, all the censors in the Censorate looked up to him, and it was frightening to see a group of such headstrong individuals go out together.
Liu Taizhen was this formidable Censor Liu’s beloved daughter. Everyone knew how much he doted on her, so no one in Chang’an dared to offend Liu Taizhen – except for Wu Zhen.
If Wu Zhen was the leader of a group of noble young troublemakers in Chang’an, leading them in mischief, then the group of noble young women led by Liu Taizhen was the epitome of propriety and etiquette. The two groups despised each other, and it had evolved to the point where they would engage in a verbal battle whenever they saw each other. This all started simply because years ago, Wu Zhen and Liu Taizhen had an argument that was witnessed by others. The followers on both sides wanted to regain face for their leaders, and so the situation escalated to its current state.
By now, the grudge had deepened, and insulting each other had become a habit. Even Wu Zhen couldn’t stop them if she tried, so she just let them argue, knowing it wouldn’t get too out of hand.
As Wu Zhen watched, she suddenly raised an eyebrow because she saw Liu Taizhen glance in her direction.
While the two sides were in the heat of their argument, no one noticed that Liu Taizhen, who had been sitting to the side, had disappeared. She had quietly walked to a large tree not far away, and Wu Zhen, who had originally been on the pleasure boat, was now beside her.
The two legendary enemies stood side by side in a peaceful atmosphere.
“Something foul has sneaked into Chang’an,” Liu Taizhen said right away, her slightly pale face as cold as ice.
Wu Zhen: “What foul thing? I haven’t noticed anything.”
Liu Taizhen glanced at her and said irritably, “How could the Cat Lord notice anything when she spends every day listening to music in pleasure houses and brothels?”
Wu Zhen put a hand on her shoulder and smiled, “Little Snake, you’re wronging me. I went to the supernatural market last night too, but didn’t notice anything amiss. But what about you? I didn’t see you or your two assistants at Yan Tower. Where did you all go off to play?”
“You think I’m like you, thinking about playing all day?” Liu Taizhen’s tone was terrible, but she didn’t shake off Wu Zhen’s hand. “I took them to trace that foul thing’s trail.”
“Oh, that must have been hard work,” Wu Zhen said. “Did you find anything?”
Liu Taizhen took a small object from her sleeve to show her. “We didn’t find that thing, but we discovered this.”
Wu Zhen frowned as soon as she saw it, cursing under her breath, “This damn thing again. Such a nuisance.”
In Liu Taizhen’s hand was a crystal-clear stone without any impurities. In the middle of the stone was a point of congealed bright red, making it look extraordinarily strange and beautiful. Ordinary people couldn’t see anything special about it, but to non-human beings, this object was extremely ominous.
There was a type of spirit called ‘Undecaying Corpse’, formed when a person died in extreme suffering, their resentment too heavy to dissipate after death. These spirits’ flesh would rot but their bones wouldn’t decay. These undecaying bones would turn into many crystal-clear stones, with the red point in the middle being concentrated resentment. These were called ‘Undecaying Bones’.
The Undecaying Corpses would take these resentment-filled ‘Undecaying Bones’ and give them to ordinary people. If an ordinary person wore an ‘Undecaying Bone’, they would die an unnatural death within half a month.
These spirits that took pleasure in harming people were what Wu Zhen hated most. They were mostly formed after human deaths, lacking rationality and only knowing how to harm people. As the ‘Cat Lord’, dealing with these foul things that snuck into Chang’an was part of Wu Zhen’s duty.
“We don’t know how many ‘Undecaying Bones’ are out there. We need to find them quickly, or more people will die,” Liu Taizhen said.
Wu Zhen agreed and took the Undecaying Bone from her hand, tossing it into the leather pouch at her waist. “Your constitution isn’t suitable for holding such things. I’ll keep it.”
Liu Taizhen was startled, and then her tone noticeably improved, “Don’t always try to slack off. Do your job properly.” Having known each other for many years, almost growing up together, Liu Taizhen knew that while Wu Zhen loved to play, she was very reliable when it came to work. Whatever task she undertook, she would always complete it.
Wu Zhen smiled and playfully tousled Liu Taizhen’s hair, acting like a flirtatious rake. “Yes, Snake Lord, I wouldn’t dare to slack off.”
Liu Taizhen’s brow twitched violently. Before she could say anything more, Wu Zhen had already left with a hearty laugh.
…
Mei Si and his group, having exchanged barbs with the sharp-tongued young women, returned to the pleasure boat satisfied. He wanted to continue talking to Wu Zhen about his paintings but saw her playing with a strange transparent stone.
He casually mentioned, “I have one of those stones too.”
“Oh, you do?” Wu Zhen paused and naturally held out her hand. “I like these things. Give me yours.”
Mei Si scratched his head and showed a regretful expression. “Ah, but my cousin came to our house this morning, and I saw he liked it, so I gave it to him.”
Wu Zhen’s expression became peculiar. She asked, “Your cousin, the eldest son of the Mei family?”
Mei Si nodded. “Yes, my eldest cousin. I’m not very familiar with him. We’ve only met a few times and don’t usually interact. He came to our house today apparently about his marriage. The last time I saw him was during the New Year. Oh, right, he works as a section chief in the Ministry of Justice. Sister Zhen, you probably don’t know him.”
Wu Zhen: “…”
Not only does your Sister Zhen know him, but she might even become your cousin-in-law, Wu Zhen thought to herself.