Futile Devices Scans

Before Second Uncle left, he had nagged Grandma several times, urging her to be careful at night and not stumble in the dark. A filial son’s unlucky mouth had managed to turn one warning into a prophecy.

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Not long after the two left, the Xiao army besieged the city, and grain, firewood, and charcoal all became scarce. The capital had a huge population, and the trees throughout the surrounding countryside had already been chopped down. Anyone gathering firewood had to go far out into the wilderness, so most residents relied on charcoal. Once the siege began, even charcoal became difficult to obtain. The imperial palace, high officials, and wealthy households all complained endlessly, while ordinary families could only suffer through the bitter winter.

Fortunately, uncle and nephew knew Grandma was old and had difficulty moving around, so they had always been diligent about stockpiling firewood and charcoal. Before they left, they had made sure to leave plenty behind for her. After they were gone, Grandma still had enough to get by. Knowing that her neighbor Madam Yao was a widow, and that Madam Yao’s young son had been transferred to stand guard on the city walls, leaving no one at home to look after her, Grandma also shared some of her family’s charcoal with Madam Yao and often invited her over to eat.

Madam Yao had suffered a bitter fate as well. Her husband had died young, and she had refused to remarry, raising her son alone on a meager survivor’s pension and whatever money she could earn working for others. She had finally endured until her son was grown and able to draw a soldier’s pay, only for the Xiao bandits to besiege the city. Her son was young and weak. He had been guarding the walls for barely two days when a stray arrow struck him. When his body was carried back to the camp, Madam Yao cried until she almost stopped breathing and tried to end her own life on the spot, but Grandma stopped her and afterward stayed with her every day, comforting and persuading her.

One night several days earlier, the wind had blown open the courtyard gate. Hearing the noise, Grandma mistakenly thought uncle and nephew had returned and hurriedly got out of bed to welcome them. She stumbled and fell, breaking her leg and injuring her foot, and also struck her head. That was why blood had been left beside the bed.

Grandma had lain unconscious on the floor. Fortunately, the bedding had fallen over her, and the heated kang remained warm enough for her to survive the night. Early the next morning, Madam Yao came to visit, hurriedly rescued her, and called a physician.

Grandma had broken one leg and was suffering intermittent fevers. She slept in a daze for several days without fully waking. The physician could not say whether the old woman would recover or worsen and could only instruct Madam Yao to give her medicine on time, turn her body frequently, and care for her carefully—to do all that human effort could do and leave the rest to Heaven. To make caring for her easier, Madam Yao brought Grandma into her own home.

Madam Yao’s family was poor, and even her charcoal had depended on Grandma’s help, so naturally she had no money for the medical fees. In her rush to bring Grandma’s bedding and clothes over and find money for the physician, she had rummaged through Grandma’s house and left it somewhat disordered.

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With tears in his eyes, Li Si knelt and kowtowed repeatedly to Madam Yao. Madam Yao kept saying she could not accept such a great courtesy and, with tears in her own eyes, repeatedly tried to pull him up. In truth, Grandma had saved her life too. Had she not worried that this blind old neighbor would have no one left to care for her after Madam Yao died, she would long since have followed her husband and son.

Li Si thanked her again and again, pulling out the money the Commander had “lent” him and trying to stuff all of it into her hands. Madam Yao had never seen so much money in her life and was so frightened that she forcefully pushed it back.

“Little Brother Li, listen to me,” she said through tears as she pushed the money away. “I’m not looking after your grandma without any selfish thoughts of my own. All these years, your grandma kept urging me to remarry and marry your Second Uncle. I knew your Second Uncle was a good man, but I was afraid that if younger brothers and sisters came along later, my eldest son would suffer, so I never agreed. Now my son is gone, and I originally wanted to follow him. It was your grandma who saved me and persuaded me to keep living, saying there were still many days ahead. I thought that when your Second Uncle returned, if he was willing, I would marry into your family. But now even he…”

She choked up. The moment Li Si heard her mention Second Uncle, his eyes filled with tears as well, and he too began to choke up.

The two of them wiped their tears while choking back sobs, looking for all the world like family already.

Madam Yao said through her tears, “Little Brother Li, at my age, I no longer want to marry anyone else. You had no mother from the time you were little, and I watched you grow up too. If you do not mind, call me ‘Godmother’ and let me count myself as having one more person left in this world. I will care for Grandma as if she were my own mother, and when I am old, I will rely on you to see me properly laid to rest…”

Li Si stared blankly for a moment. Ever since his memories began at five years old, he had lived muddled and dazed, not even knowing that he had once had a mother. After Brother Xiao slapped him awake, he had vaguely remembered a tune his mother used to hum when he was young, yet he still could not remember her blurred face…

Could he still have a mother again?

He remained dazed for a moment, then dropped to his knees again, kowtowed, and called, “Godmother!”

Madam Yao’s tears poured down like a spring. She pulled him up from the floor, saying again and again, “Good! Good!”

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After Li Si acknowledged his godmother and comforted her for a while, he returned to his own little house.

He did not sleep the entire night. He lit a candle and cleaned everything inside and outside the little house. Early the next morning, he went out, exchanged the one-hundred-tael silver note entirely into strings of cash, and rented a small courtyard in the inner city. He moved Godmother and Grandma out of the poor, shabby military camp and settled them in the better house, which also made it easier for him to travel back and forth for duty at the Imperial City Directorate and to care for Grandma.

Once all that was done, he hurried off to report for duty at the Imperial City Directorate. Seeing that he had pulled himself together, Administrator Li was greatly comforted and began teaching him the workings of the Directorate in earnest.

The Imperial City Directorate’s principal duty was guarding the palace city. Beneath it was also an Investigation Office, which carried out secret work such as investigation, surveillance, and intelligence gathering for His Majesty. The late Commander had belonged to the Investigation Office and had originally led more than ten of its patrol soldiers north to Kuiyuan. Now only two had returned alive.

Because personnel were short, Administrator Li, at Li Si’s recommendation, also promoted and transferred Tao Shi and the others into the Imperial City Directorate. Those soldiers had run themselves ragged and risked their lives for nothing, yet had not seen even the shadow of their promised three thousand guan, so they were deeply aggrieved and resentful. But the transfer and promotion were still a considerable benefit, and they barely managed to swallow their complaints.

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On the third day after Li Si and the others returned to the capital, the Xiao army broke camp early in the morning and finally withdrew.

The capital erupted into celebration. The common people poured into the streets, and some even crowded atop the western and northern walls, gazing into the distance as that vast mass of black clouds receded like the tide.

At noon, after the Xiao army had completely withdrawn, Perfected Master Shenxiao erected a sacred altar beneath Fengqiu Gate in the northern outer city and prepared to perform a public purification jiao rite, driving away demons and evil spirits and praying for Heaven to send down “divine fire” to bless and protect Great Xuan’s national fortune. Even more common people packed together to watch.

His Majesty was weak and ill and could not attend in person, so he ordered the civil and military officials to go in his stead. As an important participant in the ritual, the “Duke Protector of the State,” Qiao Shen, was naturally among them. Li Si, Tao Shi, and the others were part of the escort protecting Qiao Shen.

Tao Shi quietly told Li Si something he had heard within the army: Perfected Master Shenxiao had originally been nothing more than a low-ranking Imperial Guard soldier, forever muttering mystical nonsense and claiming that as a child he had studied “Daoist arts” under an accomplished master. Before the Xiao army marched south, the camp where he lived suffered a fire one night. The other soldiers were either killed or injured, yet he alone walked untouched through the flames. He claimed that “Daoist immortal fire” had protected him, and that by surviving the calamity he had broken through to a new realm and transformed himself into a “Perfected Master.” Later, no one knew how, but he managed to cultivate a connection with the Superintendent of the Imperial City Directorate, wormed his way into the imperial presence, and displayed some “immortal arts” before the Emperor Emeritus, who was still Emperor at the time. After that, he was transferred into the Directorate of Astronomy. Later, when the Xiao army marched south and the Emperor Emeritus fled the capital, the new Emperor had barely taken the throne when fright struck him with a grave illness and left him unconscious. It was through Shenxiao’s rites and medicine that His Majesty finally woke.

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Li Si watched that snake-faced fraud in purple robes solemnly arrange his ritual ground, muttering incantations and leaping about in a dance. After a round of “praying for blessings,” he led the Duke Protector of the State, Qiao Shen, onto the altar. He chanted for a while, then suddenly seized Qiao Shen’s arm, shoved up his sleeve, and slashed down hard with a knife.

Li Si’s expression darkened, and he was about to rush from the formation when Tao Shi grabbed him tightly.

Qiao Shen trembled all over from the pain but did not dare struggle. Perfected Master Shenxiao held his blood-soaked arm over the incense altar, letting the blood drip into the ash, then swept his fly whisk through the air.

A great ball of fire suddenly exploded from the altar, shooting skyward like a fire dragon piercing the sun.

Qiao Shen was so frightened that he staggered backward, but Perfected Master Shenxiao held him firmly in place. The two knelt together before the altar, their faces blackened by the flames. The officials and surrounding common people hurriedly dropped to their knees as well, crying, “Immortal fire protects the state!” “Immortal fire protects the state!”

Li Si did not kneel. He stood perfectly straight, brows furrowed, staring fixedly at the fraudulent Daoist and his supernatural charade. In a daze, it was as though he once again saw Daoist Ma’s mad figure setting fire to people in the mountain forest.

Among the officials throwing themselves to their knees and crying out wildly, several people remained standing upright just as he and Tao Shi did. Among them Li Si saw Defense Commissioner Li, along with several other officials, some dressed in civil robes and others in military attire. They simply stood straight beside Defense Commissioner Li and watched the altar in silence.

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After the ritual, Li Si, Tao Shi, and the others escorted Qiao Shen and Perfected Master Shenxiao back into the palace, where they first had to pay their respects to His Majesty.

When His Majesty heard that, with the help of the State-Protecting Fire Vein, the State Preceptor had truly summoned “immortal fire,” he was delighted and immediately bestowed many more rewards upon the State Preceptor and the Duke Protector of the State—though, of course, anything involving gold or silver remained nothing more than empty words.

His Majesty instructed Li Si and the others to send the Duke Protector of the State back and let him rest properly, and also summoned an Imperial Physician to treat his wound.

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While the wound was being treated, Li Si remained by Qiao Shen’s side. After the Imperial Physician left, he sat lightly beside Qiao Shen’s couch, lowered his eyes to the thick medicinal dressing soaked through with blood on Little Brother’s arm, and asked softly, “Does it still hurt?”

Qiao Shen’s face was pale, and a little incense ash still clung to his forehead. He glanced outside and saw several palace maids and young eunuchs waiting there. Drawing his gaze back, he said quietly, “It doesn’t hurt anymore, Brother Sisi. Don’t worry.”

Li Si looked carefully around the room. Qiao Shen had been settled in a side chamber within the inner palace. By regulation, it had originally been a residence for an underage imperial prince, with redwood and yellow-painted beams all around, and at first glance it looked exquisitely refined. But the windows were damaged, dust lay on the tables and chairs, all the teacups had little chips missing, and even the bedding carried a faint smell of mildew and decay. One look was enough to tell that the place had been hurriedly cleaned out for him.

Li Si asked again, “Are you living well here?”

Qiao Shen nodded repeatedly. “I’m living very well. These past two days, His Majesty has asked me to keep him company. He cares about me very much, asked me many questions, and even said that in the future I should study together with the Crown Prince.”

In truth, the Crown Prince was only nine years old while Qiao Shen was already fourteen. They could hardly study the same lessons; Qiao Shen was merely being made a study companion.

A smile appeared on Qiao Shen’s face as he excitedly told Li Si how well His Majesty treated him, how prosperous the capital was, and how magnificent the palace was—the clothes he had worn and the food and fruit he had eaten over these two days were things he had never even seen before in Kuiyuan.

But his eyes wandered uneasily, and his voice trembled slightly. The clever, quick, bright-eyed Qiao Shen of before was nowhere to be seen.

Li Si saw his fear and unease and felt only heartache. He held Qiao Shen’s wrist and lowered his head without speaking.

Qiao Shen could also tell that he was unhappy. “Brother Sisi, did you go home? Did something happen there?”

Li Si nodded. “Grandma was injured.”

Qiao Shen quickly asked, “Is it serious? I’ll beg His Majesty to send an Imperial Physician to treat her!”

Li Si shook his head. The day before, he had asked Godmother to invite the best physician in the city to examine Grandma again. The prescription was almost identical to the previous physician’s, and both had said that Grandma was old and weak and could only be slowly nursed back to health. “I’ve already called two physicians.”

Then he asked Qiao Shen, “Little Brother, do you know that His Majesty ceded Kuiyuan?”

Qiao Shen’s hand trembled. He gripped Li Si’s wrist in return and hurriedly glanced outside. Seeing that the palace maids and young eunuchs seemed not to have heard, he lowered his voice. “Fourth Brother, this matter must not be spoken of.”

Seeing his expression, Li Si knew that he already knew. In pain, he asked, “Then what will happen to the common people? What will happen to Brother Xiao, Elder Sister, Brother-in-law, and your old steward?”

Qiao Shen covered his mouth to stop him and began trembling himself. “Fourth Brother… the day before yesterday, after you left, Defense Commissioner Li argued with His Majesty over the cession of the three military towns. His Majesty became furious and fainted after returning to his sleeping quarters. If Perfected Master Shenxiao had not hurried over to treat him, His Majesty might have fallen ill and never risen again… His Majesty did not punish Defense Commissioner Li over the matter. That was already an act of benevolence… I—I do not dare mention it again either…”

Li Si truly had not known that an Emperor who could cede the nation’s territory and abandon its common people could still be called “benevolent.”

He frowned and tried to speak, but Qiao Shen covered his mouth even more tightly and said urgently under his breath, “Fourth Brother, listen to me. This cannot be rushed, and it is not a dead end. That day, I heard His Majesty say himself that agreeing to cede the three towns was only a temporary expedient to coax the Xiao bandits away. Once the siege of the capital is lifted, he will naturally send reinforcements to aid Kuiyuan…”

Only after coaxing and reasoning with him every way he could did Qiao Shen finally settle Fourth Brother down. Tao Shi also coughed loudly outside, reminding Li Si that he needed to return to the Imperial City Directorate and perform his duties, so Li Si could only take his leave.

When he left, the young palace maids and eunuchs guarding the door secretly lifted their eyes to look at him. Deputy Commander Li and the Duke Protector of the State had argued for a few sentences inside. Although they had not heard clearly what the argument was about, it was enough to make them curious. But the moment they saw Deputy Commander Li’s stern face and icy gaze, they hurriedly lowered their heads again.

In truth, Li Si was neither throwing his official weight around nor deliberately threatening them. He was simply too angry to calm down, and his naturally cold, indifferent expression made him look frightening. By accident, it achieved exactly the desired effect, and no one dared gossip carelessly about the matter.

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Administrator Li knew that Li Si’s grandma was injured and recuperating, so he deliberately did not arrange for Li Si to stay overnight in the palace. During the day, Li Si served as a palace guard; at night, he hurried home to care for Grandma. Guard duty was strict and exhausting, and superiors and subordinates schemed against one another. Although he did not participate, he was often affected by their maneuvering. Fortunately, he worked seriously and carefully, with Administrator Li protecting him above and Tao Shi helping him below, so he made no mistakes and was never saddled with blame for anything.

At night, whenever Grandma needed turning or cleaning, he helped Godmother care for her. Whenever there was hard work around the house—moving charcoal, repairing the building, sweeping and cleaning—he would come home, stop Godmother, tell her to rest, and quietly do each job himself. Before dawn he would rise and compete with Godmother to make breakfast. Once he had eaten, he hurried back to the Imperial City Directorate.

Busy and exhausted, he endured through the last days of that chaotic winter. After the Spring Equinox came the Cold Food Festival. The weather gradually warmed, the ice vanished from the moat, green buds appeared on the willows along the Bian River, and the grasses and flowers by the water began to flourish.

Elio’s Notes: The Cold Food Festival falls shortly before Qingming. Both are traditional spring observances closely associated with remembrance of the dead and ancestral rites.

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Cold Food and Qingming brought three consecutive days of leave, and they happened to coincide with Li Si’s rest rotation. As usual, he rose before dawn, ate breakfast, swept the courtyard, then helped Godmother turn Grandma over and wipe her clean.

Once they had changed Grandma into clean, dry clothes, Li Si carried the dirty clothing into the courtyard and sat on a small stool to scrub it. Suddenly, he heard Godmother urgently calling him from inside.

Li Si threw down the clothes and rushed into the room.

Godmother pointed at Grandma’s hand and said joyfully, “It moved! Just now, it moved! Hurry and call her!”

Li Si lowered his eyes. A strand of morning light slipped through the window and flowed toward the head of the bed like a living stream. Grandma’s withered, wrinkled fingers hung over the edge of the bed, immersed in that faint warmth, and suddenly moved again.

Li Si hurriedly knelt beside the bed, vigorously wiped his wet hands dry on his padded jacket, seized Grandma’s fingers, and called urgently, “Grandma!”

The old woman’s brows and eyes trembled. Although her eyelids remained tightly closed, her lips moved slightly too.

Li Si called again and again, “Grandma, it’s me. I’m back. Grandma, wake u—”

His voice caught. A clear tear slid from the corner of Grandma’s eye.

She had heard him.

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On Qingming, Li Si erected a cenotaph for Second Uncle outside the capital. Together with Godmother, he went on a spring outing, swept the graves of her son and Li Si’s parents, then brought willow branches home and placed them on the gate of the little courtyard.

Elio’s Notes: A cenotaph is a memorial tomb erected for someone whose remains are absent or unavailable for burial.

The weather grew warmer day by day, and Grandma improved day by day. She could open her eyes and gaze hazily in Li Si’s direction, and she could grip his hand in return. Gradually, she could even open her mouth and force out a few words.

At the end of the second month, news from the north reached the palace and also reached Li Si—it turned out that Kuiyuan had not stopped resisting, and neither had Zhongshan or Hejian. The three important military towns resisted to the death and refused to surrender. Not only did they refuse to open their gates to the Xiao army, they even drove away the land-cession envoys sent by the Great Xuan court by pelting them with stones.

The court officials continued arguing endlessly. His Majesty also understood that once the three towns were lost, Great Xuan would sooner or later lose the nation, and his resolve began to waver. He sent envoys to negotiate with the Xiao army, hoping to redeem the three towns by offering an even larger annual tribute. But why would the Xiao state refuse such fat meat once it was already at its mouth? They simply ignored him.

Since Xiao ignored him, Xuan could not simply sit and await destruction. The pro-war ministers led by Defense Commissioner Li and the venerable Commissioner Zuo urged His Majesty to issue an edict reclaiming the three towns and send a great army north to support them. His Majesty feared that doing so would anger Xiao and allow them to accuse him of breaking his word and tearing up the peace agreement, so he delayed for a long time, unwilling to agree.

How to dress up the matter so they could send troops to support the towns while still appearing to have a just cause, without giving the Xiao state anything to seize upon—the court once again argued endlessly over this.

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On this day, Li Si was again standing guard outside the quiet chamber. Spring warmth had returned, and he had shed his heavy winter clothes for the Imperial City Directorate’s spring-and-autumn uniform: an Imperial City Directorate-issued saber at his waist, a narrow-sleeved red robe, belly wrap and waist guard, black futou, and black shoes. The uniform made his shoulders seem broader and his waist narrower, his figure tall, straight, handsome, and clean-cut.

He stood wooden-faced and aloof beneath the corridor among red blossoms and green willows, like a divine general fallen into the mortal world and transformed into a human, yet still retaining the final trace of immortal air that set him apart from ordinary people.

This quiet chamber, where he had first met His Majesty, stood near the imperial study. It had originally been where the Emperor Emeritus calmed his mind and cultivated the Dao. After the Emperor Emeritus abdicated, the new Emperor was not as knowledgeable about or obsessed with Daoist arts as his father, but he did believe in them somewhat. Ever since Perfected Master Shenxiao had supposedly saved him, His Majesty had come to trust the Perfected Master even more and invited him here to chant scriptures day and night.

His Majesty had been made dizzy and feverish by officials arguing in court, and his old illness of heart palpitations and fainting had returned. Perfected Master Shenxiao summoned the Duke Protector of the State, Qiao Shen, to accompany him, and together they chanted scriptures and performed rites to “treat” His Majesty.

Li Si had stood guard outside listening to the chanting for an hour. He already greatly disliked Perfected Master Shenxiao, and as he listened, his own heart began pounding and his head grew dizzy. Irritated, he shook his head, wishing he could fling Shenxiao’s sharp, grating chanting straight out of his ears.

Suddenly, a familiar voice called softly, “Deputy Commander Li, long time no see.”

Li Si turned and saw the Strongman, whom he had not seen in quite some time. His belly was no longer large, and his face had lost much of its former roundness. He wore an official robe that looked proper enough, but a belly wrap and waist guard were fastened around his middle—more like the uniform of a military officer than a civil official of the Directorate of Astronomy.

The Strongman stepped forward and exchanged greetings with him. He had originally come to report to the Perfected Master, but upon hearing that Shenxiao was inside performing a rite for His Majesty, he temporarily did not dare enter and could only stand outside with Li Si.

Seeing Li Si staring at his belly wrap, he explained quietly, “I’m not with the Directorate of Astronomy anymore. His Majesty ordered the Immortal Master to establish an ‘Immortal Fire Army’ of his own, and I’m the deputy general…”

Li Si stared at him in astonishment—what did it mean, establish an army of his own? He understood every single word, yet strung together they made no damn sense.

Seeing his confusion, the Strongman explained in a low voice, “His Majesty is worried that the Xiao bandits will be angered because he regrets ceding the three towns, and he’s afraid they’ll march south on the capital again. So the Perfected Master said he could train an elite force of immortal-fire soldiers, have them cultivate the ‘Five-Armor Military Method’ under him, and use them to help defend the city. You should have heard of that military method too. It’s what Daoist Ma used back in Ant County…”

The instant the Strongman saw Li Si’s gaze turn furious and sharp, he hurriedly grabbed him. “Deputy Commander Li, don’t get angry. Don’t get angry!”

The Strongman shot Tao Shi a look, signaling for him to continue standing guard, then dragged Li Si farther from the room. The two hid behind a corner of the wall. Only after making certain no one was nearby did the Strongman quickly let go.

Li Si was so angry that he had already placed one hand on the hilt of his saber. “Is he going to imitate Daoist Ma and practice demonic arts to deceive people too?”

Was he going to find another group of people whose Five Phases belonged to fire and turn them into soldiers, making them meditate and practice breathing every day while cultivating fake Daoist arts?

Of course the Strongman knew the false trick behind Daoist Ma’s fire-spitting. He had personally watched Daoist Ma fail to protect his body with immortal fire and be cut down by Li Si with a single strike. He knew perfectly well how absurd this “immortal fire” and “Five-Armor Military Method” were and could only sigh. “It isn’t that the Perfected Master learned from Daoist Ma. The Perfected Master was Daoist Ma’s teacher. Daoist Ma learned from him…”

Li Si said angrily, “You’re serving as his deputy general, so are you going to help him deceive people too?”

The Strongman hurriedly threw himself onto Li Si’s hand and shoved the inch of blade he had drawn back into its sheath, his face going pale with fright. “Deputy—Deputy Commander Li, what are you doing? You—you know I had no choice! If I refuse to be this deputy general and defy the Immortal Master, I’m afraid I won’t even keep my life…”

The Strongman hurriedly glanced left and right again. Only after confirming that no one was passing did he continue, “Besides, isn’t it better for me to be deputy general than someone else? At least I’m actually leading them through martial training. Aside from meditating and practicing breathing every day to satisfy the Immortal Master, I haven’t let them abandon saber work or archery. I was even thinking of finding time to ask you how to train soldiers…”

“Teach my ass!” Li Si snapped.

He angrily rolled up his sleeves, preparing to beat the Strongman again. The Strongman covered his head and begged for mercy, saying that he was about to meet His Majesty and absolutely could not have his face injured. Li Si seized one of his exposed pig ears.

“Eek! Eek!” the Strongman cried in pain. “Why are you just like Commander Zhang? Why do you pull people’s ears too?”