The Peacock Ming King was bound spread-eagle and stark naked to a door plank. His hands had recovered their original state and no longer bled, but waves of sour, itching sensations drove him nearly insane. No matter how much he tried to calm his spirit and concentrate his energy, nothing worked. He could only continually bash his head against the door plank, using pain to alleviate that bone-deep sour itching.
Yun Ye wore a specially made pig-nose mask as he tossed a mushroom into a mortar and ground it to powder. He performed this task with extreme care. Tian Moji also wore a pig-nose mask. Every time Yun Ye pounded ten times with the pestle, she would add a bit of pale blue crystal to the mortar. By the looks of it, this wasn’t their first such collaboration—the two coordinated very skillfully.
The mushroom was ground into powder. Yun Ye scooped out a bit with a small spoon, examined it before his eyes, then brought it before Tian Moji. Seeing her nod, he only then brought the spoon before the Peacock Ming King’s nose. Already clearly fallen into madness, the Peacock Ming King breathed rapidly. With one inhalation through his nose, he sucked in half the spoonful of mushroom powder.
He suddenly discovered that the sour itching sensation on his body receded like a tide. Only then did he notice the strangely outfitted Yun Ye and Tian Moji. After quickly assessing his situation, he said in a hoarse voice: “Whatever you want to ask, just ask. I will tell you everything. I know I won’t survive, and only hope to enjoy a moment of peace before I die.”
“What are you doing in Chang’an?”
“Propagating Buddhist teachings, spreading Mahayana Buddhist scriptures to the Eastern Great Tang—this is my duty and also my faith.”
“Your brother Yetuo is dead. Don’t you plan to take revenge?”
“You Central Plains people say that when a person dies, it’s like a lamp being extinguished. The stinking flesh is discarded—no joy, no sorrow. He planted the cause and accepted the effect himself. It’s all karmic cycle and reincarnation. There’s no need for revenge.”
“How many of you are there? I mean, how many came in total?”
“The road coming east is distant and long. Just the four of us. Wanting to establish a sect and found a school—how difficult! Good, good.”
Tian Moji suddenly pointed at the doorway. Yun Ye obediently walked out, closing the dungeon door behind him and personally standing guard at the entrance. He continuously recited the “Song of Righteousness” to bolster his courage. As for the pig nose, he refused to remove it even if beaten to death.
After a long time, Tian Moji emerged from the dungeon dripping with fragrant sweat. She had already removed her pig nose and breathed with her mouth open for quite a while before handing a slip of paper to Yun Ye. She then returned to the rear courtyard.
That very evening, Liu Jinbao shouldered a cloth sack to the distillery and personally stuffed it into the fuel opening beneath the distillery’s boiler. Old Jiang poured a jar of strong liquor over the sack. Opening the air vent, orange-red flames immediately engulfed the sack. Liu Jinbao waited for an hour, poked around twice with the ash shovel, confirmed that nothing remained, and only then returned to the Yun residence. He nodded at Yun Ye, who was reading in the study, then went to his own room.
This day happened to be the fifteenth. The moon outside the window was large and round. Yun Ye lay sprawled on the desk, gazing at the bright moon in the sky. Clearly knowing there was no Chang’e up there, no Jade Rabbit, much less any osmanthus trees, the bewildered look in his eyes nevertheless grew more serious. He softly chanted: “In heaven, the White Jade Capital, with its nine palaces and twelve towers. An immortal strokes my head, binding my hair to receive longevity.”
Lingdang quietly entered, bringing out from the food box a bowl of millet porridge along with two servings of bright green small dishes. Yun Ye loved these things but really didn’t like items like white fungus and lotus seed soup. Watching her husband swallow the millet porridge in two gulps, she pushed the small dishes forward, indicating he should try them.
Yun Ye ate only two bites before putting down his chopsticks and continuing to sprawl on the desk gazing at the moon. Lingdang’s sobbing sounds came over. Yun Ye asked in surprise: “What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable somewhere? Or did Xinyue bully you?”
Little Lingdang said tearfully: “No, Madam treats me very well. It’s just that I don’t do well and always make you troubled.”
“That’s not true at all. Little Lingdang is so well-behaved. This husband cherishes you and can’t dote on you enough—how could I be angry with you? Some things happened today and my mood is poor. If you find the room cold and lonely, then accompany me in the study to gaze at the moon. During the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth of the eighth month, I was throwing a tantrum and nobody in the household properly celebrated the festival. Let’s look at the moon now—consider it celebrating a Mid-Autumn Festival with you.”
“Mid-Autumn Festival has hu cakes,” little Lingdang muttered in a voice barely audible.
“Then let’s go eat hu cakes. Today I’ll make hu cakes for you all. Go find the molds and wash them clean. I’ll scald flour with lard.” Hearing Yun Ye say this, little Lingdang happily ran out. Compared to usual, she was even more delighted. She carefully pondered in her mind: the madams have all gone to sleep—tonight, husband is all mine.
Having sent away the cook who helped out, Yun Ye stuffed the prepared mooncakes into his own oven. He and little Lingdang hugged their knees and squatted at the kitchen doorway, waiting for the mooncakes to bake. Yun Ye really couldn’t praise the Tang Dynasty’s hu cakes—a huge baked cake with a large spoonful of sugar frosting in the middle. More particular households would sprinkle sesame seeds and walnut pieces on top. The method was primitive and crude. The finished hu cake’s appearance was indescribable. In any case, Yun Ye lacked the courage to eat it.
Little Lingdang stared at Yun Ye with a foolish smile. Yun Ye made a funny face, and little Lingdang could laugh for ages. With love, even water satisfies hunger—at this moment, who still cared about the moon in the sky?
Yun Ye tasted a fruit mooncake and furrowed his brow. The sweet and sour taste didn’t seem right. Little Lingdang ate one piece and exclaimed in surprise—this one was pear, this one was raisin, this one was melon. After eating three pieces, Yun Ye forbade her from eating more. These things were too heavy; eating too much at night caused indigestion. Little Lingdang ate without restraint—at this rate she would devour them all.
A small bell in the kitchen suddenly rang. Yun Ye shielded Lingdang behind him, took down a set of servant’s clothes from the kitchen coat rack and changed into them. He instructed Lingdang to hide in the inner room and not come out. He himself stood at the window looking out into the courtyard.
Three agile figures jumped from the wall into the courtyard, their feet making not the slightest sound. The two native dogs in the Yun family courtyard were about to bark when they collapsed softly to the ground. A flash of killing intent appeared in Yun Ye’s eyes. He removed the kitchen bell, lightly plucked the thin cord four times, then returned to the window to watch his study’s location. The lamplight there remained bright.
The three black shadows moved rapidly along the dark areas by the wall roots. Their target was extremely clear—Yun Ye’s study. Yun Ye waited a while. Sure enough, two more black-clothed people jumped in, standing with their backs against the wall roots, seemingly providing support for the three ahead. Yun Ye heavily strummed the thin cord once. A crisp sound of a crossbow being triggered rang out. One of the black-clothed people was sent flying by the crossbow bolt, crashing against the wall with large splatters of blood spraying out.
The other black-clothed person’s soul fled in terror. Having just jumped onto the wall, he was pierced from behind by the crossbow, his corpse spinning as it fell out of the Yun residence. In less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Liu Jinbao arrived at the kitchen. Seeing that Yun Ye and the Third Madam were both present, he swallowed back what he was going to say. Lingdang knew something had happened at home. Being sensible, she followed the guards to the rear residence, not forgetting to take her mooncakes with her.
“My Lord, seven people total. There were two more outside the courtyard wall. Uncle Jiang and the others captured them. Of the three who entered the study, one survived and two died. The household watchdogs were knocked unconscious. The guards are fine.”
“Very good. Order them to continue holding fast. Let’s go see what kind of people these are.”
The face coverings were pulled off. Yun Ye didn’t need a second look to know these people were all from the Fire Worship religion. With a gloomy expression, he said: “The Yun family has no entanglement whatsoever with the Zoroastrian religion. Why would you enter my home at night to commit banditry? Times are different now. You have a temple in Chongning Ward—such a large temple. Wanting to abandon it entirely probably isn’t easy, right? What reason would make you disregard even your foundation to oppose this marquis?”
“Ever since you met the Peacock Ming King, he disappeared. His transmigration plate fell into your hands, right? Give it to us! We’re willing to pay any price. The King of Light is about to descend. Give us the transmigration plate. We’re willing to exchange all our wealth and all our virgins with you. Otherwise, you evil spirit will surely receive the final judgment of the Bridge of Judgment and fall forever into the dark hell.”
“You’re talking about this thing?” Yun Ye took out from under the table a small high square pedestal bronze plate supporting a beast design. He placed it on the table. The black-clothed people bound like dumplings whimpered, wanting to get close to the bronze plate.
“I’m very curious—when this thing was in the Peacock Ming King’s hands, you didn’t even dare touch it. How is it that once it reached my hands, you came overnight to snatch it? Am I easier to bully than the Peacock Ming King?” Yun Ye toyed with the small bronze plate in his hands, examining it back and forth.
“Marquis Yun, this thing has no use whatsoever to you, but to us, it is the most precious ritual object in the world. We came from the distant desert to Chang’an precisely to keep the sacred fire burning forever. Without the ritual bronze plate, we are wandering ghosts. Even if the sacred fire blazes most vigorously, it’s just a mass of flames with no spiritual sustenance. We can only walk in darkness. We beg you, Marquis Yun—give it to us. We will agree to any condition.”
The leading white-haired and bearded elder pleaded bitterly. Yun Ye’s eyes were ice-cold as he said: “Answer my question. Why didn’t you snatch it from the Peacock Ming King’s hands?”
“We cannot take it. He is the messenger—the messenger who brings us the bronze plate. Once we snatch it from his hands, the seed of the sacred fire will be gone. Only those closest to the Sun God can obtain the sacred fire. The sacred fire cannot tolerate our profanation.”
“I understand now. You fear the figure behind the Peacock Ming King and don’t dare offend him, so you came to bully me instead. This is truly outrageous. Today I’ll let you know the consequences of bullying me.”
Having spoken, Yun Ye placed the bronze plate on the table. He drew his short knife and, amid the black-clothed people’s shrill, terrified cries, cleaved the bronze plate in half with one blow.
“You will go to hell! You will go to hell!” The elder’s eyes became vacant as he muttered: “God of Light, what have I seen? God of Light, what have I seen…”
As his voice grew lower and lower, the elder’s head drooped down. Liu Jinbao felt his neck and said to Yun Ye: “My Lord, he’s dead.”