“My lord, Duke Wei left the Zhangsun residence and went directly to the Qiao Duke’s home. I heard that Zhangsun Chong has already been punished with family law.”
Hearing Liu Jinbao’s report, Yun Ye breathed a sigh of relief. Li Jing had gone mad. To get justice for his brother, he was personally taking action. Who could have known that crazy, delirious monk was his brother?
A few years ago, Li Jing had demanded information about the Bearded Guest’s whereabouts. When refused, he’d lost his temper. Now it was settled—he would definitely come to the Yun household. Not only would he ask why they’d beaten his brother, but he’d certainly ask about past events too. However, his brother should have told him by now, right? It was just a case of mistaken identity. I never said that person was the Bearded Guest.
Yun Ye sat in the reception hall, his mind spinning in circles, when he heard Liu Jinbao’s frantic voice: “My lord, Duke Wei has come to visit.” With a sigh, he prepared to go out and receive him. Making Liu Jinbao deal with Li Jing would be far too difficult for him. Just as he stepped outside, he saw Li Jing hurrying in. He wasn’t wearing official robes but rather coarse cloth garments. Most importantly, he was gripping a sheathed longsword in his hand. He didn’t look like a battle-tested commander but rather like a wandering knight-errant.
“Uncle Li, your visit…”
“Yun Ye, since you recognized him, why did you strike so viciously? Poor man—confused and simple-minded, he nearly lost his life at your hands. If you don’t give this old man an explanation today, don’t blame me for being merciless.” Li Jing’s eyes were bloodshot, looking ready to take action at the slightest disagreement.
“Uncle Li, first tell me—did you say this same thing at the Zhangsun residence?”
“Naturally. After teaching you all a lesson, this old man will go to the palace to reason with His Majesty. Did you think I’m someone who bullies the weak and fears the strong?”
Yun Ye shook his head and said, “Uncle, if that’s the case, your nephew has nothing more to say. Though offending an elder was unintentional, there was still fault. Punish me as you see fit. Yesterday I took a shoe sole from your brother—my face is still swollen. Please be gentle.”
There was no help for it. Li Jing looked ready to stake his life on getting justice for his brother. Even Zhangsun Wuji could only give his son another sound beating. In fact, this was the most convenient and effective method. No one wanted to provoke a truly enraged Li Jing—probably not even Li Er. Li Chengqian, Li Tai, Li Ke—none of the three could hope to escape.
“You lack the strength to truss a chicken, so I suppose you posed no real threat to my brother. Therefore I’ll let you off this once. But you must go examine him. A man of iron and bone—why has he become like this, unable to even recognize his own elder brother?” Li Jing spoke slowly but with absolute determination. Facing someone who spoke like this, Yun Ye listened carefully. One misstep could lead to disaster.
The Bearded Guest had become a fool? Yesterday he’d known that giant was no ordinary person, just hadn’t expected him to be the Bearded Guest. Ancient unofficial histories loved to say people were eight zhang tall with eight-zhang waists, that fists could support standing men and arms could race horses. Who had ever seen a square-shaped person?
“You’ve seen him—a tiger of a man, now just skin and bones. He keeps saying he wants to find overseas immortal mountains. When I asked him about the White Jade Capital, he showed extreme fear. Could it be that place made him what he is now?” Li Jing stared at Yun Ye with suspicious eyes, not missing any expression on his face.
Bewilderment—to be precise, Yun Ye’s current expression was one of bewilderment. Tian Xiangzi had a jade tablet inscribed with “White Jade Capital.” Li Bai’s poems contained descriptions of the White Jade Capital. Yun Ye had asked Li Gang, Yan Zhitui and other elders about the White Jade Capital. They all indicated that the origin of this term was impossible to trace. They simply believed it was a metaphor for the moon, like many other terms—unable to explain its origins or trace its source.
The Bearded Guest’s reaction to the White Jade Capital meant he knew this term, and it had even deeply affected him. Otherwise, a confused person wouldn’t have such a strong reaction. Yun Ye suddenly found himself curious about the mysterious White Jade Capital too, very much wanting to know what the Bearded Guest had experienced.
Li Jing didn’t disturb Yun Ye’s contemplation. Seeing him pace back and forth in the courtyard, occasionally muttering to himself, he found a chair to sit in and waited for Yun Ye to return to his senses.
“Tian Xiangzi is dead,” Yun Ye said to Li Jing.
“Are you certain that old thief is dead? He’s already died more than once.” Li Jing had long known of Tian Xiangzi’s death, but he had never believed it.
“This time I’m certain he’s dead. He died on the road searching for the White Jade Capital. Only one person came back alive—my friend. He confirmed personally that he cremated Tian Xiangzi with his own hands and even gave me his sarira. I sold a few of them. Oh, and one of Tian Xiangzi’s jade tablets is here.” Yun Ye remembered that in the small pouch Xi Tong had given him containing sarira, there was also that jade tablet. Keeping it served no purpose—letting Li Jing see it wouldn’t hurt.
Returning to the rear courtyard, Xinyue looked worriedly at her husband. She thought Li Jing had come seeking revenge, and her husband couldn’t beat him in a fight. She was very worried he would get injured.
As he entered, he noticed Xinyue leaning against the doorframe watching him. He reached out and patted her bottom, laughing heartily as he opened the cabinet at the head of the bed, found the cloth pouch, took out the jade tablet and examined it again. Finding nothing miraculous about it, he held it in his hand and returned to the front hall amid Xinyue’s coquettish reproaches.
“The jade tablet is at least a pre-Qin artifact,” Li Jing said, setting down the tablet. Identifying jade artifacts had always been an elegant pastime for wealthy families. Li Jing came from a great wealthy family—identifying ancient jade was common knowledge for him.
“Regarding the White Jade Capital, I only know one poem, which my teacher inadvertently revealed. As for your brother, I don’t know how he learned about the White Jade Capital. Back then in the wilderness, the giant I saw wasn’t like your brother is now.”
“Of course not. Do you know my brother could once tear apart tigers and leopards barehanded? He was extraordinarily bold—no mounted warrior could last three exchanges with him. Ground combat was his specialty. Where his nine-ring saber passed, ghosts and spirits cowered. Back then, the seventy-two bands of pirates roaming the South Sea—he killed them all clean in ten days…”
“Stop, stop, Uncle, I can’t take it! What seventy-two bands? Four or five would be the limit. And ten days? It took at least over a month, maybe half a year. One man? You couldn’t make me believe that if you killed me! Do you people have any sense of proportion when you speak? Whenever you mention His Majesty, it’s always ‘dragon bearing and phoenix quality.’ What kind of dragon? What kind of phoenix? Always thirty-six, seventy-two, eighty-one, one hundred and eight. Can’t you mention any other numbers? If you killed one, say you killed one. Two means two. Don’t kill one and say ‘slaughtered countless bandits,’ or have two fall off a cliff to their deaths and say ‘corpses piled like mountains.’ Such descriptions are very inaccurate. Your nephew studies mathematics and is most sensitive to numbers. Please tell me clearly—exactly how many enemies did your brother kill?”
Li Jing’s face reddened slightly. He was accustomed to bragging about his brother and couldn’t immediately change his habits. Being openly mocked by Yun Ye with such pointed sarcasm clearly made him lose face. He sat there drinking tea to cover his embarrassment.
“Your nephew has always wanted to ask you—you’re a master of military formations and highly skilled in martial arts. Aunt is also a heroine among women. From her last episode when she flew onto the spirit wall, her skills are not weak. Your brother is a renowned warrior at home and abroad. Why did Aunt develop problems? Why did your brother develop the same problems? Don’t hide it from me. I know the causes of this illness in great detail. You only need to tell me—what did you see? What did you experience?”
“Boy, stop asking. Your greatest fault is excessive curiosity. In the northwestern desert, there’s a ghost city. Every midnight, ghostly wailing…”
“That’s just a pile of broken earth. Because rocks have different hardness levels, wind blows away the softer parts, leaving the harder portions, forming all sorts of strange shapes. Plus those earth mounds are full of holes. In the desert, daytime temperatures are high and nighttime temperatures are low. At midnight, air currents move up and down, forming wind. When wind blows through holes, it makes sounds, like when we blow whistles. I heard there’s a huge colony of ants there, so people and livestock that enter become white bones. What’s so strange about that?”
Li Jing’s expression turned peculiar as he looked at Yun Ye and said, “This kind of place isn’t only in the desert. I heard that in Nanzhao’s miasma lands there’s also…”
Before Li Jing could finish, Yun Ye continued, “You want to talk about Nanzhao’s stone forest, right? There’s no wind there, but there’s water. The stones there are limestone, which is easily eroded by water. Look at the stone slabs under dripping eaves—they all have small pits. Not to mention that place has endless rain and mist year-round. What’s strange about peculiar landforms appearing?”
Li Jing placed his hands on the table, tapping continuously. Phenomena he considered incomprehensibly demonic appeared completely ordinary to Yun Ye—everything could be explained with reason. It all seemed very logical. But thinking of his youthful experiences, his heart grew dim. He himself had suffered—there was no need to drag Yun Ye into it. As long as Yun Ye could cure Zhongjian’s illness, that would be enough. To demand more might truly spark another conflict.
Thinking of how both his wife and brother had suffered terrible misfortunes, he couldn’t help feeling extremely sorrowful. Even his desire for revenge faded. He said to Yun Ye, “Let’s go now. His illness truly cannot be delayed any longer.”
“How can that work? To treat a lion requires either another lion or a tiger. Where does your nephew look like a fierce beast? Unless you find an absolute master, it won’t work. How could your brother’s skills be matched by common small fry?”
“How do you treat his illness?” Li Jing couldn’t understand what connection there was between treatment and martial skills.
“Treatment is your nephew’s business. Other matters are yours—for instance, you still need to seek revenge. That’s important business that can’t be delayed. The Prince of Hejian, Qiao Duke, Ying Duke, Lu Duke—you haven’t visited any of these families yet. How can you abandon things halfway?” Li Jing looked at Yun Ye strangely and said, “Are you certain all these people are your friends?”
“Of course. Sharing hardship is naturally a brother’s duty. If Zhangsun Chong had bad luck, how could Li Huairen and the others enjoy themselves alone? You go quickly. I’ll go to the palace to find you an absolute master. Last time this fellow didn’t die even under those circumstances—I wonder if he can escape calamity this time too.”