“Bring it along? Such a clumsy beast, getting in the way everywhere…” Chai Yaoluo thought for a moment more, “Well, fine. It might be helpful—we’ll squeeze in.”
Servants brought a collar and leather leash, helping the Temple Master secure the leopard. Chai Yaoluo and Wei Shubin climbed into the carriage and then called Jingxuan to join them, with the three women and one leopard packed tightly inside. Fortunately, this carriage was cruder but more spacious than the vermillion-wheeled palace carriages Chai Yaoluo usually rode, and was pulled by a pair of horses rather than a single ox. Several eunuch servants hitched up the carriage and surrounded it as they departed from Zixu Temple.
The procession entered the Inner City through Fanglin Gate. Chai Yaoluo usually passed through this gate and was well-known—she poked her head out the window to greet the guards, who chatted familiarly with “True Master” while perfunctorily checking their passes before letting them through.
On the east side of Fanglin Gate’s South Street stood the imposing rammed earth walls of the Palace City and Imperial City, with armed guards patrolling at intervals along the top. After traveling about a ward’s distance, Chai Yaoluo suddenly ordered the carriage to turn west, riding into the east-west street between Xiude Ward and Fuxing Ward, then after another ward, turned a corner and stopped.
Wei Shubin followed Chai Yaoluo out of the carriage, taking the reins of a mount and, at her instruction, securing their bags of necessities to her horse. Chai Yaoluo lifted Atun from the carriage and placed it directly in front of her saddle. The fat leopard seemed quite accustomed to lying on horseback, remaining perfectly still and quiet.
While Chai Yaoluo gave instructions to Jingxuan who remained in the carriage, Wei Shubin carefully observed their surroundings. This location was close to Chang’an’s northern outer wall, with few pedestrians and no obvious unusual activity. The walls of Fuxing Ward blocked their view of the palace walls to the east—abandoning the carriage for horses here provided good concealment.
After brief instructions, Chai Yaoluo waved for Jingxuan to continue ahead in the carriage with the mounted servants, while she and Wei Shubin first led their horses slowly on foot to create some distance between them.
They were walking south along the north-south road between Fuxing Ward and Xixiang Ward when, halfway through, Chai Yaoluo suddenly exclaimed in surprise: “Eh? Why is it him?”
“Who?” Wei Shubin asked.
The Daoist priestess pointed to three people who had just emerged onto the road. They were coming out of a large gate on the west side of the road heading east, leading a riding horse. Inside appeared to be a high official’s residence, with multiple stories, pavilions, and layered eaves covering a vast compound, and unlike ordinary residences which could only open onto the ward interior, its main gate opened directly onto the main street.
Wei Shubin had good eyesight and could see clearly that the one mounting the horse was a handsome youth wearing plain cloth robes, with two obvious servants following behind—nothing particularly remarkable.
“Sister Yao, you know them?”
“Yes,” Chai Yaoluo nodded, “That youth is the only surviving grandson of the last Sui Emperor Yang Guang, named Yang Min, courtesy name Zhengdao, currently serving as Honorary Cavalier Attendant—as an official, why is he dressed so plainly, mixing among common people?”
“Yang Guang’s grandson?” Wei Shubin found it interesting, “So after he was sent back from the Turks, the court granted him such a large residence…”
“That’s not his residence… Mount up, let’s follow him!”
Yang Min and his servants were some distance ahead and showed no signs of noticing they were being followed, but once mounted, they picked up speed, with the two servants having to walk quickly to keep up. Chai Yaoluo and Wei Shubin also mounted their horses, following at a distance, watching as they entered the west gate of Buzheng Ward after crossing two wards.
In the northern wards of the city, all four gates had ward troops stationed for inspections. They generally paid little attention to ordinary people, but Chai Yaoluo—a beautiful woman in men’s clothing leading a leopard and horse—was too eye-catching to not be stopped. However, the Daoist priestess’s fair face carried authority and her almond eyes flashed fiercely as she produced her palace-issued pass, and the ward troops wisely stepped aside.
The two women led their horses into Buzheng Ward, still able to see Yang Min and his three servants in the distance. Chai Yaoluo followed them discreetly until they reached an intersection, where the three entered an ordinary residence on the east side and closed its modest gate.
“What place is that?” Wei Shubin asked. Chai Yaoluo answered: “That’s his actual home.”
“Ah?” Wei Shubin was surprised, “Then that place he came from… that large mansion, what was that?”
Chai Yaoluo shook her head without speaking, leading her horse southward. Wei Shubin followed, distantly spotting a large compound at the southern end of the intersection against the ward wall, its protruding eaves towering notably above nearby commoners’ homes. At the center of the highest eaves stood a bright red clay statue, shaped like flames leaping skyward.
Fire… Could this be Chang’an’s oldest and most famous “Buzheng Ward Fire Temple”?
Right—at Prince Wu’s mansion, Chai Yaoluo had told the servants they were “going to see the Sacred Fire.” The Tuyuhun prince Sang Sai had also mentioned that the bald young Hu merchant in charge of guarding the Seventeenth Princess was the son of either the temple or the Sabao household’s chief steward. It seemed both Li Yuangui and Chai Yaoluo were familiar with these Hu merchants—was the Daoist priestess planning to storm directly into their stronghold to demand the princess?
If so, just the two of them wouldn’t be enough… Well, why worry so much? What did she have left to fear now?
Chai Yaoluo led her horse and leopard straight toward the Fire Temple, completely ignoring the stares of passersby. At the gate, she exchanged words with an elderly Hu doorkeeper who went inside to announce them, soon returning to “invite Miss Chai to enter.”
This was Wei Shubin’s first time entering a Fire Temple, and she couldn’t help being curious. Inside the outer gate was an extremely spacious courtyard with over ten round-topped felt tents, surrounded by camels, horses, wooden pens, woodpiles, and other items, with many Hu people bustling about.
The elderly Hu guide didn’t lead them toward the tall main shrine hall, but turned through the courtyard, winding through to a small side courtyard with modest buildings. Chai Yaoluo pursed her lips, whispering to Wei Shubin: “They don’t allow women to enter the sacred altar where they tend the fire—so many tedious rules—though Atun might be allowed in.”
Wei Shubin glanced at the fat leopard on her leash, noting two furry round meatballs under its tail, and couldn’t help giggling, blushing red. She had recently read many medical texts at Zixu Temple, including diagrams of human meridians and acupoints that had opened her eyes, teaching this unmarried young woman things she… perhaps shouldn’t know.
The elderly Hu opened the side building’s door, letting them enter. It was growing dark, and servants came to light lamps and candles, bringing pastries and dairy foods. Wei Shubin picked up a bowl of milk but put it right back down at the strong gamey smell, while Chai Yaoluo was quite used to Hu cuisine, first feeding some to Atun before helping herself generously.
The door creaked and a sturdy Hu man with a hooked nose entered, exchanging greetings with Chai Yaoluo. He removed his Hu cap and bowed, revealing a completely bald head without a single hair, so Wei Shubin knew without introduction that this must be the Sabao household’s current steward, An San.
After exchanging pleasantries and sitting down, the Daoist priestess got straight to the point:
“Steward An, your son Yenna has committed treason alongside the Tuyuhun prince Sang Sai and is still holding my seventeenth aunt—the current Heaven Khagan’s sister, the Seventeenth Princess—captive, a crime worthy of executing three generations of the family. Are you aware of this matter, Third Brother?”
“I am aware,” the bald An San smiled at the two women. “My unworthy son has gone astray, wandering with no word of his whereabouts, and as his father, I am also anxious. Whether this foolish child can return home safely now depends on you, True Master!”
Note: In Vol 3 – Chapter 10, when Chai Yaoluo says the Fire Temple “doesn’t allow women to enter the sacred fire altar,” this statement is actually inaccurate. Zoroastrianism did not allow anyone outside their faith, regardless of gender, to enter their sacred fire altars. Even ordinary believers couldn’t approach too closely—the responsibility for tending the sacred fire and conducting various rituals belonged to hereditary priestly families.
Unlike Buddhism and Daoism, Zoroastrianism did not actively seek to spread their faith or recruit followers. Some research suggests that Zoroastrianism in China remained confined to the Sogdian community, with almost no Han Chinese converts. Therefore, to ordinary Tang people, the Fire Temple was very mysterious. Although Chai Yaoluo might have known more than most people, she still only had a partial understanding, of some of her wild speculations.