Chapter 108: Spring Hunt
At the Great Li border pass, Yefu Pass, the city gates were wide open. The few stationed light cavalry in the city had chosen a rare night march. Though no more than a thousand riders, when the orderly iron hooves of warhorses trampled the ground, the earth still trembled, like dense and urgent drumbeats that stirred one's blood.
Beside the postal road, a military general reined in his horse and halted, his expression solemn.
A young vice general with a fierce scar on his face galloped up, slowed his horse, and rode alongside the commander, asking softly, "General Han, what's the purpose of this northern raid? How could there be large bands of horse bandits and roving thieves in the vast territory north of our Great Li's Yefu Pass? And even if there were, wouldn't it be someone else's turn, not our cavalry unit?"
The stocky commander's voice was deep. "If it's not something you should ask, don't ask."
The young cavalry officer grinned and indeed stopped pressing.
The commander of the Yefu Pass cavalry hesitated for a moment, perhaps finding it hard to keep the secret himself. After deliberating, he said quietly, "It's not just our troops here at Yefu Pass. Almost half of the main field light cavalry from all border garrisons and military towns in the south have been mobilized and will all be deployed tonight."
The young officer was stunned. "The four-year cycle of spring hunt, summer hunt, autumn hunt, winter hunt? But the timing is off. We only participated in the spring hunt last year. If there were a grand military exercise of this scale this year, it should be in summer."
The commander instinctively stroked the smooth mane of his mount and said, "After we arrive at the temporary camp, the Ministry of War will issue further orders. There's no need for us to speculate."
---
More than two hundred miles west of Red Candle Town, in the upper reaches of the Embroidery River where the river was wide, there was a solitary hill in the middle of the water, vulgarly called Steamed Bun Hill by the locals. On the hill stood a lonely Earthgod Shrine, where incense never ceased. It was said to be extremely efficacious—granting sons to those who prayed for children, wealth to those who prayed for riches. Its fame spread far and wide, and it was a scenic spot that literati and poets must visit by boat. Yet the local commoners almost never came here to offer incense or worship.
The late spring night was harsh and chilly. The river rolled away endlessly, splashing spray. Faintly visible in the water was a three-foot-long green carp, swimming swiftly from the bank toward the solitary hill. The strange thing was that on its back sat a vermillion-robed child, only as tall as a palm. The child gripped two of the carp's whiskers tightly, like a horseman pulling reins, rising and falling with the carp and the river. He was soaked through, his face pale, cursing nonstop—cursing heaven, cursing earth, cursing his mother.
The green carp swam to the shore, then stopped abruptly, flinging the vermillion-robed child onto the bank. The little fellow tumbled several times, covered in dust and dirt. He shouted curses at the large green carp that was leisurely swimming back to the opposite shore, "When the upper beam is crooked, the lower one is twisted! Your master is a slut..."
The carp suddenly turned and stared fixedly at the child on the bank. The latter was scared shitless, muttered something about a good man not fighting a woman, and scurried toward the Earthgod Shrine.
The small shrine's door was not closed. The little fellow barely managed to climb over the threshold, and after rolling onto the ground, he looked up at the comical clay idol covered in peeling paint, planted his hands on his hips, and shouted angrily, "Your grandpa almost drowned in the river! Why aren't you kneeling down to receive the decree?! Believe me or not, I'll charge you with great disrespect and chop off your head with a *crack*?"
*Boom!*
The vermillion-robed child was kicked out of the Earthgod Shrine like a pebble.
A short, stocky man sat down on the threshold, cursing, "You, an incense child born in this broken shrine, dare to call yourself 'grandpa' in front of me?"
Like father, like son. No, like master, like servant.
The vermillion-robed child ran all the way back, panting, and laboriously climbed onto the threshold to sit, grinning and grimacing, his eyes full of resentment.
The man frowned and asked, "What's the matter?"
The little fellow muttered, "A bit hungry."
The man raised his arm as if to strike. The vermillion-robed child covered his head and shouted, "I just came back from eavesdropping at the City God Pavilion in town. I heard that the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Observatory issued two secret decrees, ordering all mountain and river spirits within a thousand miles of Red Candle Town to stand by locally. They are not to leave their posts, not to go into seclusion, and must be available at all times. If they fail to appear when called for roll call, immediate execution! Damn it, if I hadn't brought you this news, with your lazy nature, you'd have been killed by a borrowed knife by now... Oh, I forgot you're not human..."
This time, the little fellow was slapped into the Earthgod Shrine.
The man stood up, looked toward Red Candle Town, his expression solemn, and reminded, "I left you some food in the incense burner. Remember to eat sparingly."
"You've got some conscience after all. I really don't know how you ended up like this. The poor guy who's served the longest as an Earthgod in the entire prefecture, and you even have bad relationships with your colleagues. Even the shrimp soldiers and crab generals in Embroidery River dare to look down on you. Tell me, why am I so unlucky to have been born in your burner? Sigh, next life I should choose a better burner to reincarnate into..." The vermillion-robed child kept complaining, but it didn't stop him from familiarly climbing onto the incense table and plunging headfirst into the bronze incense burner that had seven or eight sticks of incense scattered around.
---
On the way back to Pillow Inn, Postmaster Cheng Sheng noticed the child beside him alternating between gritting his teeth and sighing deeply, as if making a life-or-death decision.
Li Huai finally stopped walking, mustered his courage, and asked, "Old Cheng, I have thirty coppers on me. Can I buy a book at that bookstore we passed earlier? How much is the cheapest book there? Can I have any left over?"
The man called Old Cheng found it both amusing and exasperating. After thinking for a moment, he answered seriously, "It's hard. That shop's books are known throughout Red Candle Town to be overpriced. Unless you're a scholar who loves collecting rare editions and unique copies, no one usually goes there to buy books. If you really want to buy a book, I know two big bookstores to the east that have Confucian classics, philosophical works, and even weird tales. I can help you bargain there."
The stubborn child shook his head. "No, it has to be that bookstore just now!"
These were all the savings Li Huai had secretly accumulated—most stolen from his uncle's house, a little from his sister Li Liu's private stash.
Earlier at the bookstore, that shabby fellow who wore straw sandals all year round hadn't tried to show off by buying a nearly ten-tael book without a word, nor had he simply refused to spend so much money on him. Instead, he had asked whether Li Huai would actually read that book.
That had surprised Li Huai. At the time, he had said he would, and truth be told, after buying it, of course he would read it—just flipping through to kill time. Li Huai actually wasn't very interested in that book, *Severed Water, Great Cliff*.
But when someone was willing to spend ten taels of silver for him, it made Li Huai very happy.
Li Huai wasn't stupid. He knew perfectly well whether others were good or bad to him.
A pair of straw sandals, a bookcase not yet finished, and this book *Severed Water, Great Cliff*—he owed so much to that person. Li Huai felt that if he didn't do something for Chen Ping'an, he wouldn't be able to feel at ease; his heart would be weighed down.
Actually, Li Huai didn't like Zhu Lu. He didn't even like Lin Shouyi, who had shared hardships with him. But he thought Li Baoping, who often bullied him in the school, was actually pretty good.
What Li Huai liked most was the carefree A Liang.
As for that poor sod from Mud Vase Alley, Li Huai was a bit afraid of him.
At that moment, Postmaster Cheng Sheng looked down at the earnest child and thought, no wonder that fellow called him a "celestial aptitude." Some things really did come from the heart. Suppressing a smile, he decided to go with the flow and help the child a little—who knew, it might create a huge bond of goodwill. Doing good for others, doing good for a thousand ordinary people, was far less valuable than forming a good connection with an immortal. He had seen it with his own eyes, heard it with his own ears—it was absolutely true.
Cheng Sheng led the child into an alley between two streets. The young shopkeeper was sitting on his doorstep, looking at them with a full smile, as if he had been waiting for them.
Just then, from the other end of the alley, a stooped old man carrying a lantern entered, walking toward Li Huai and the others.
The young gentleman slowly stood up, waved a hand at Postmaster Cheng Sheng's side, and said, "The bookstore is closed for today. Bring the child back another time to buy books."
Cheng Sheng immediately grabbed Li Huai and turned around to leave.
The elegant young gentleman, after confirming that the two had left the alley, no longer wore his previous calm and leisurely expression. Slightly respectful and uneasy, he cupped his hands and said softly, "Li Jin of Chongdan River pays respects to the Director."
The white-haired old man, holding the lantern in one hand and his other hand behind his back, nodded and stepped directly over the threshold of the bookstore. The young man who had given way followed behind him. The old man casually inserted the handle of the lantern into the lower edge of a book on the high bookshelf, turned to look at the handsome young man, and sighed with emotion, "Forty years ago when we first met, you had this face. Seeing you now, still the same—it makes others envious."
The young man clenched his folding fan and smiled, "For beings like us, being born human is the greatest fortune."
The old man nodded, not disputing it.
The young man asked curiously, "Was it your arrangement for those people to stay at Pillow Inn?"
The old man remained silent.
The young man tactfully did not press further.
He had opened this small bookstore a hundred years ago, watching worldly affairs coldly, having seen much of human relationships and official turbulence. He was no stranger to the Great Li bureaucracy. To reserve so many first-class and second-class inn rooms at Pillow Inn would require the ability of at least a Vice Minister of one of the Six Ministries—or perhaps one of the three Directors. In the Great Li court, below the Ministers and Vice Ministers of the Six Ministries, the Directors were the heads of the various departments, and the Assistant Directors were deputies, rank 5B. Directors and Assistant Directors were not high-ranking officials, but three Directors held power beyond imagination.
These were the Director of the Merit Evaluation Department of the Ministry of Personnel, the Director of the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War, and the Director of the Ritual Worship Department of the Ministry of Rites. These three department heads were low in rank but wielded great power, drawing the attention of both the court and the public. Once sent to local posts, they would inevitably be promoted to regional magnates.
One was in charge of the promotions and evaluations of all local officials below the fourth rank in the entire dynasty.
One was responsible for screening and reviewing the promotion of military personnel in the dynasty's armed forces, and especially held the authority to recruit and pacify martial artists from the martial world.
One was specifically responsible for the state's sacrificial ceremonies. On many occasions, even the monarch would seek advice from this person, who was usually a graduate of a Confucian academy or a college.
The unremarkable old man before them was one of them.
Forty years ago, Li Jin, as the owner of this bookstore, had gifted two classical texts to a poor scholar on his way to the capital for the imperial examinations. Unexpectedly, that poor scholar later rose through the ranks and became the Director of the Ritual Worship Department of the Great Li Ministry of Rites—honorable yet powerful. But for Li Jin, who was far from the court and deep in the martial world, the Ritual Worship Department had another significance. It was said that many capital officials couldn't even find the door to this small office, yet it secretly controlled the screening and evaluation of all legitimate mountain and river spirits in the realm. Though it didn't have the final authority to confirm appointments, it had the crucial power of recommendation.
Through officials and merchants passing through Red Candle Town, Li Jin learned that the old man had taken this position. He sent several letters, but all disappeared without a trace. Having received no reply, Li Jin dared not act rashly and had to give up with regret.
Over the past hundred years, the "young man" who went by the name Li Jin had painstakingly sought the position of the legitimate River God of Chongdan River, using many connections and burning incense, but all efforts were in vain.
The old man suddenly said, "You should know the reason why Chongdan River was not given a River God seat. So when I received the letters you quietly sent to my residence, I pretended not to see them. It's not that I was unwilling to help, but truly powerless."
The young man smiled bitterly and nodded, "I understand. Unless His Majesty the Emperor gives his nod, even the Minister of Rites opening his mouth would be useless."
The old man smiled, gazing at the young man before him. Every twenty or thirty years, this person would change his face and appearance. The old man narrowed his eyes and said, "But now an opportunity has arisen before you. It depends on whether you dare to fight for it."
The young man showed no excitement. Instead, he asked, "I've heard that within the territory of Longquan County, formerly the Bead Grotto Heaven, His Majesty the Great Li Emperor has enfeoffed a River God of Whisker River, a River God of Iron Talisman River, and has enfeoffed Mountain Gods for Cloak Cloud Mountain, Lamp Mountain, and Fallen Mountain. Granting three mountains and two waters, a total of five seats, has already used up much of His Majesty's resources. How could he possibly spare a valuable slot for Chongdan River at a time when he's stretched thin?"
The old man laughed, "Don't worry, it's not some conspiracy aimed at you. To be blunt, you're not worth me making a personal trip."
The young man was slightly angered but then showed the helplessness of someone living under someone else's roof, and said no more.
The old man's smile faded. "Centered around Red Candle Town, within a radius of a thousand miles, all legitimate mountain and river spirits enfeoffed by the Great Li court, as well as substitute Earth Gods and River Matrons, are to be on standby in the near future, ready to participate in a siege. Additionally, border towns in the south, including Yefu Pass, have mobilized a large number of elite cavalry and sent out countless scouts and reconnaissance riders. As for you, Li Jin, if not for the favor of those books you gave me back then, I would never have told you this news. Whether you're there or not, it makes no difference."
Li Jin was utterly shocked. "Setting up such a large operation within Great Li's borders? What exactly are they besieging?"
The old man told him directly, "One person."
Li Jin looked into the old man's eyes; he didn't seem to be lying. He asked slowly, "Director, what do you need me to do?"
The old man smiled. "A small matter within your ability. Just keep an eye on a man who has just arrived in Red Candle Town. I know that in the more than two hundred years since you left Chongdan River, you've managed to establish yourself well in this town. You're more familiar with the waterways than the City God, and more attuned to the town's every change than the two River Gods. Also, if the capital archives are correct, you have a few rare Azure Underworld Fish, which come from ancient texts—perfect for scouting and delivering messages over small areas."
Li Jin's face turned ugly.
The old man sneered, "Relax. Azure Underworld Fish are indeed a once-in-a-century find, but I'm not so low as to covet your possessions."
Li Jin laughed bitterly. "I was being a petty man judging a gentleman's heart."
He then asked, "Who is that man?"
The old man answered slowly, "A man wearing a bamboo hat, with a small silver gourd at his waist, accompanied by a group of children. Those children come from what was once the Bead Grotto Heaven, now Longquan County. As for the man's true identity, the Great Li intelligence service hasn't yet uncovered it."
Li Jin's jaw dropped. "That man came to my shop before."
The old man's gaze sharpened like lightning.
Li Jin said carefully, "Just a coincidence."
The old man waved his hand and warned, "It doesn't matter. From now on, be careful not to reveal any clues. It's better to accomplish nothing than to make a mistake. If you inadvertently alert the enemy due to a blunder, don't worry—because by then, you'll be dead. If that man doesn't kill you, I will do it myself."
"But if this matter succeeds, I can't guarantee you'll become River God of Chongdan River, but I can make sure His Majesty remembers your name first."
Li Jin laughed bitterly. "Does that count as 'in the emperor's mind'?"
The old man stopped in the middle of randomly picking up a book and flipping through it. He turned his head and asked, "What, unwilling?"
Li Jin laughed heartily. "Fortune favors the bold, and besides, I don't have to personally charge into battle. It's a sure profit with no loss—I'm in!"
He snapped his fingers, and near his shoulder, two tiny, extraordinarily slender-tailed fish appeared. They shared his spiritual consciousness—what the fishes' eyes saw, Li Jin could see.
They flicked their long tails and vanished instantly.
Before leaving, the old man laughed and remarked, "The prices of books in your shop are still so high."
Only at that moment did Li Jin feel that the old man faintly resembled the young poor scholar of yesteryear.
The old man retrieved his lantern and left the shop.
After leaving the alley, at a corner stood a burly man with arms crossed. The two walked side by side. The burly man asked, "Aren't you afraid of overdoing it?"
The old man said casually, "Actually, this hunt has reached the point where even if that Li Jin suddenly lost his mind, ran to that man named A Liang, and revealed everything, it wouldn't matter anymore."
The man said irritably, "In the end, it's still about repaying the favor of the books he gave you back then?"
The old man squinted with a hint of pride and said softly, "The favors I owe are still worth a fair bit, aren't they?"
---
Zhu Lu said she wanted to eat candied hawthorn skewers. Although Zhu He was a bit curious about why his daughter had suddenly developed a taste for sweets, this request wasn't a problem at all. So he took the girl to find a vendor.
In the end, they really did find one. A peddler carrying a large bunch of candied hawthorn skewers was walking through the streets and alleys, shouting loudly.
Zhu He didn't like this snack, but Zhu Lu bought three skewers in one go. Zhu He was puzzled, and the girl smiled, saying she would eat one skewer herself and give the other two to Miss Li Baoping and Chen Ping'an.
She also said she wanted to apologize to that boy tonight—at least say sorry to him so she could feel at ease.
Zhu He felt relieved, immensely pleased.
The father and daughter returned to the inn and learned that Chen Ping'an and Li Baoping had already come back to Pillow Inn.
Zhu Lu, who hadn't finished her first skewer of candied hawthorns, chose the courtyard behind the first-class inn rooms and asked her father to pass a message to Chen Ping'an, saying she would meet him there.
Zhu He strode away, finding it a bit funny. This girl's face was too thin; bowing her head to admit a mistake wasn't anything shameful.
Soon after, a straw-sandaled youth appeared at one end of the painted corridor. Seeing Zhu Lu sitting on a bench at the other end, he quickened his pace slightly.
On the bench beside the girl, fifteen or sixteen candied hawthorn skewers were scattered.
The girl stood up, smiling, her hands behind her back, pretending to be naive and cute.
She walked toward the youth.
(Chapter End)