The Pei family erupted in wailing. They’d waited so long—finally Pei Ji had died and they could cry their hearts out. The wailing from the inner residence made Yun Ye quite irritated. Elder Pei’s appearance showed neither sorrow nor joy—just excitement overall. His two legs busily ran here and there preparing funeral arrangements. Yun Ye sat in the reception hall with no one paying him any attention.
People arrive in the world amid crying and are sent off amid crying. Aside from those few cries at birth that come from the heart, the rest of the wailing is unreliable. For instance, that person over there crying loudly while chewing on a chicken leg was highly suspicious. Seeing Yun Ye watching him, he embarrassedly tucked the chicken leg into his chest and continued wailing loudly with a resonant voice.
No point in interfering with the Pei family celebrating with their wailing. Yun Ye walked out of the Pei residence preparing to return to his Chang’an residence. Elder Pei, hearing that his old father was plotted to death, remained unmoved—as if wailing a couple of times now was far more important than avenging his father. The title, the property, the women—these things were matters of life and death. After settling these matters, who knew if Elder Pei would still have any thought of avenging his father.
Dou Yanshan clearly acted more like a son than Elder Pei. To avenge his whole family, he didn’t hesitate to oppose the world’s most powerful man. Though he died miserably, acting this way was manly. If Elder Pei now took his household guards to slaughter everyone in Yanlai Tower, burn down Yanlai Tower, and tomorrow be bound and beheaded at the Western Market, all this would be more admirable than his current bustling about managing his father’s funeral arrangements.
Speaking of Yanlai Tower, he saw Yanlai Tower. Chang’an’s curfew was now quite lax. Around ten o’clock at night was when Yanlai Tower was liveliest. Gaudily dressed women came and went, their chirping voices irritating. Huan Niang’s round, rolling body kept rolling through the crowd—she seemed quite pleased with herself.
Foolish woman! If you want to stay alive, it’s truly difficult. As soon as that Japanese woman leaves, the Bai Qi Si will immediately slice off your fat flesh piece by piece. For a bit of gold, you really don’t care about your life anymore.
Standing in a dark corner, Yun Ye gazed at the brilliantly lit Yanlai Tower and sighed deeply. Elder Pei didn’t care about his father’s death, but Li’er definitely would. For so many years working like an ox and horse for the Li family—even without merit there was hard work. He wouldn’t let his subordinate be killed off for nothing while remaining unmoved. One could imagine that Yanlai Tower would definitely turn to ash in Li’er’s fury.
Two very familiar bastards walked out of Yanlai Tower supporting each other. From their unsteady legs you could tell these two definitely needed to replenish their bodies. Daoist Sun’s medicine would definitely be just what they needed.
“Ah, Brother Li! Ah, Brother Chai! You two haven’t been seen in a long time. Seeing you walk out from there in such vigorous spirits, no need to ask about your health.”
“Oh my, it’s Brother Yun! Why are you only coming now? Perfect timing—this brother hasn’t had his fill yet. Let’s go in right now and fight another three hundred rounds. I refuse to believe I can’t conquer that Hebei woman.”
“Forget it. Right now you can’t even walk steadily, stumbling all over the place. Don’t embarrass yourself. Brother was fortunate to receive a dose of medicine from Old Immortal Sun—it’s most effective. Takes effect in fifteen days. There’s quite a lot of medicine. I wonder if you two brothers would like to drink a bowl?”
“Brother is being too formal! No matter what, I must drink three bowls of the Divine Immortal Sun’s medicine. Last time I sought the old immortal for a prescription and was chased down the mountain. If I’d run a bit slower, my leg would’ve broken. The old immortal is good in every way except his temper isn’t great. We juniors can’t speak up! Since Brother Yun received such generous gifts, you absolutely mustn’t be selfish. Tomorrow let’s gather the brothers and all replenish ourselves together—what do you say?”
“As it should be. I’ll trouble Brother Li to summon the brothers. Tomorrow afternoon I’ll brew the medicine and we’ll all take our supplements together.”
Chai Lingwu wasn’t a good person, and Li Kui wasn’t any better. Princess Baling would rather die than marry Chai Lingwu, making Li’er rage helplessly. Chai Lingwu himself was worthless—at such a young age already mixing around in pleasure houses everywhere. Chai Shao wanted to send him to the Academy, but Li Gang politely declined, saying his learning wasn’t enough to keep up. There was a world of difference between mischievous children and bad children. Li Gang didn’t want to teach a talented scoundrel.
Li Kui was Li Ji’s second son. His elder brother was weak and sickly, so he’d performed witchcraft at home cursing his brother to an early death. The furious Li Ji broke one of his legs and vowed that even if his eldest son died, the title wouldn’t go to him. So in utter despair, his words and actions became even more detestable. Since they were all scions of meritorious nobles, Yun Ye couldn’t avoid knowing them.
After bidding farewell to the two, Yun Ye rode Wang Cai back to Xinghua Ward. Only a few old servants looked after the house. The maids and servants had all been taken by Xinyue back to the Yun family estate. Other families’ servants racked their brains trying to stay in Chang’an—only the Yun family servants preferred going to the estate whenever they had a chance. No one wanted to stay in Chang’an guarding an empty house.
If the old gentlemen were going, safety measures had to be taken to the extreme. The job of going ahead to clear landmines was only suitable for these young masters. As long as they drank Sun Simiao’s medicine, at most they’d act a bit disgracefully but absolutely wouldn’t be in mortal danger. Disguising his purpose would also be achieved—Gao Shanyang would definitely be very willing to perform the Heavenly Demon Dance for him.
Sitting in his study, he took out the Bai Qi Si report and read it three times from beginning to end. Interesting! He’d long suspected that favored consort hadn’t died. But if so, who was the woman who appeared when he summoned spirits?
Li Yuan probably didn’t know this woman was still alive. But even if he knew, surely he wouldn’t have the slightest pity for a ghost-like woman. Beautiful women were unforgettable—ugly women should go to hell. Yun Ye didn’t believe Li Yuan’s feelings would let him ignore the difference in appearance. This time, the former favored consort probably had no intention of staying alive. Having killed Pei Ji, the imperial family was also her target for attack. If she couldn’t kill people, making the imperial family lose face would achieve her revenge goal.
He didn’t know if she was using Gao Shanyang or being used by her. Perhaps the two were using each other mutually. But their goal was very consistent—both wanted the Great Tang to take a big fall in the seductive red dust.
While bathing, Yun Ye was still thinking: what role did that Buddhist chanting play? The rhythm matched the heartbeat? With so many people in the venue, their heartbeat speeds weren’t the same. To make everyone fall into an illusion probably required other things to assist. If not in a sealed room, what power would the Heavenly Demon Dance have?
When one principle is understood, a hundred principles become clear. Pulling up the blanket to sleep, Yun Ye let out a long sigh.
Li Tai came to Xinghua Ward early in the morning, telling Yun Ye he’d already notified the imperial clan’s young masters to gather at the Yun residence in the afternoon. Tonight they were preparing to go to Yanlai Tower together to witness the ‘Heavenly Demon Dance’ that could bewitch people to death.
Yun Ye, who was eating, pulled out two pig-snout masks that the cement workshop craftsmen wore from under the table. He gave one to Li Tai. After drinking down the red bean porridge, he watched Li Tai skillfully fit the pig snout onto his face. After adjusting the elastic properly, he asked Yun Ye: “You think there’s a problem with the air?”
Yun Ye nodded, also adjusting his own pig snout properly. Tonight he’d have to rely on it to keep his head clear. Nothing could withstand scrutiny. After making complete preparations, Yun Ye decided to go witness the so-called ‘Heavenly Demon Dance’ tonight. He didn’t believe that without using hallucinogenic drugs, anyone could make him fall into madness.
Only at noon, guests at the Yun residence arrived in an endless stream. Old servants continuously welcomed guests to the back garden. The usually quiet Yun residence immediately became bustling with activity.
Twenty-three distinguished guests all sat in the garden waiting for Yun Ye to finish brewing the medicine. Zhangsun Chong had already composed three poems. Cheng Chumo had already picked seven or eight unripe pears from the pear tree, taking one bite from each before casually tossing them away, repeatedly telling Yun Ye that his family’s pears didn’t taste good.
Li Huairen was more honest, sitting steadily by the large pot brewing medicine. These days he also constantly felt inadequate. Divine Immortal Sun didn’t prescribe aphrodisiac medicines. In the whole world, only Yun Ye had the face to make the old man make an exception, so he greatly cherished this rare opportunity. He really did need a good supplement. Zhangsun Chong had two sons and one daughter. Yun Ye was the same. Cheng Chumo didn’t dare run wild because he hadn’t married his primary wife—otherwise he’d have several children too. Only he, no matter how hard he tried, his four wives hadn’t even laid an egg. One or two could be blamed on the women’s problems, but all four women having no movement—it seemed the problem could only lie with himself.
Going to other people’s homes meant drinking wine. Coming to the Yun residence actually meant collectively drinking medicine. The young masters brought half a playful, half curious mindset, laughing and chattering while waiting for the medicine to finish brewing, planning to make a big scene at Yanlai Tower tonight.
“Yezi, this brother’s body is so robust I could kill a tiger. No need to supplement. Your body isn’t good—drink my bowl too.”
“Chumo, you must drink. Tonight might be very dangerous. This medicine isn’t an aphrodisiac but a medicine to suppress desires, clear the heart, and reduce fire. The ‘Heavenly Demon Dance’ is very dangerous. Going without proper preparation—the wise wouldn’t do it.”
Hearing Yun Ye’s words, Cheng Chumo drained his medicine in one gulp, laughing loudly as he went to rough-house with the young masters. Zhangsun Chong and Li Huairen also learned the details from Li Tai and drank their medicine without the slightest hesitation.
The Yun residence set out a rich wine banquet for entertainment. While drinking wine, they waited for sunset. Going to a brothel in broad daylight really wasn’t proper. But Yun Ye was waiting for everyone’s medicine to take effect. When he could no longer feel the existence of his little brother, he knew the medicine had taken effect. Li Tai unnaturally kept looking at his lower body. Zhangsun Chong also had a look of horror on his face. Li Huairen had already asked Yun Ye eight times.
No help for it—these young masters had no fortitude to speak of. As soon as they saw passionate scenes, even if asked to perform on the spot, they wouldn’t care. Everyone exchanging concubines and maids had long made them sworn brothers. Mere public indulgence was nothing. Only solving the problem at the root was the most correct solution.
The young masters with large groups of vicious servants galloped on horseback through Chang’an’s main streets. For a time chickens flew and dogs jumped. Seeing the night patrol military guards, they deliberately rode horses to chase them until the guards fell into the drainage ditch, then laughed loudly and rode away.
Yun Ye and Zhangsun Chong walked at the rear. Seeing Yanlai Tower’s large sign right ahead, Zhangsun Chong couldn’t help but be struck with poetic inspiration. He smiled and said to Yun Ye: “If you ask how much sorrow I have, it’s just like a group of eunuchs visiting a brothel.”