The inn stood outside the city, a detached three-story building with a large forest beyond its courtyard wall. From the window, the hooked crescent moon could be seen hanging above the treetops. Wind passed through the woods with a rustle, carrying a trace of coolness into the room. It stirred the candle flame on the table, and the two shadows cast upon the bed curtains swayed gently with it.
Xiao Chunhe leaned listlessly against the headboard. Yue Jingming brought over the medicine and handed it to him. “Drink.”
“Is it bitter?” Xiao Chunhe asked.
Yue Jingming said blandly, “I added something to remove the taste. Drink it in one gulp and it will be slightly sweet.”
Without doubting him, Xiao Chunhe raised the bowl and drained it. The instant the medicine entered his mouth, overwhelming bitterness flooded across his tongue. Just as he was about to spit it out, Yue Jingming clasped four fingers around the bowl and pressed a thumb against his Adam’s apple, forcing him to swallow everything.
The bitterness contorted Xiao Chunhe’s face. He stared at Yue Jingming in disbelief. “You actually lied to me?!”
If anyone else had told him the medicine was not bitter, Xiao Chunhe would at least have hesitated. But the person before him looked like the last man in the world capable of lying.
Yue Jingming took the bowl from his hands before Xiao Chunhe crushed it. “Anything that removes the taste will weaken the medicine. If you insist on adding it next time, you will have to drink three extra bowls.”
“I’d rather die than drink this every day.” Xiao Chunhe collapsed dramatically onto the bed. “Why are you so practiced at forcing medicine down people’s throats?”
“When my junior brothers and sisters were young, they hated taking medicine whenever they fell ill. Master pitied them and could not bear to force them, so I had to do it instead,” Yue Jingming said.
He had considerable authority among the children. Whatever he said, those little brats believed him, and his technique for forcing medicine down them had been swift, accurate, and ruthless. After recovering, his junior brothers and sisters would burst into tears the moment they saw him. Yue Jingming had been gloomy about it for a long time, until Su Ji finally took him down the mountain to buy a great deal of candy and helped him coax them back around.
“Hmph.” Xiao Chunhe laughed. “Then where’s my candy?”
Yue Jingming glanced at him and actually took a piece of malt candy from his sleeve. He unwrapped it and handed it over.
Xiao Chunhe accepted it in surprise. “You carry candy around with you?”
“I asked the innkeeper’s boy to buy some while I was decocting the medicine.” Yue Jingming paused. “This medicine is very bitter. Ordinary people can hardly tolerate it.”
Xiao Chunhe was not a child, after all. If the other man did not ask for candy, Yue Jingming could hardly offer it to him first.
Xiao Chunhe bit into the candy and narrowed his eyes comfortably. “I used to say you were a block of wood. Looks like I wasn’t entirely right.”
“Rest properly after taking the medicine.” Yue Jingming ignored the remark, carried the empty bowl back to the table, and prepared to meditate again.
“I can’t sleep anymore.” The candy had restored Xiao Chunhe’s spirits. Lying on his side with his head propped on one hand, he patted the bedding eagerly. “Good wife, come lie down. Husband and wife should whisper together in bed.”
With his back to him, Yue Jingming replied in a clear, cool voice, “Words have power. Ever since Heaven and Earth were set apart, people have observed taboos and avoided ominous speech. Do not casually joke about things like this.”
Elio’s Notes: Yue Jingming’s wording alludes to the ancient idea of jue di tian tong (绝地天通), the separation or severing of direct traffic between Heaven and Earth. Here he folds that cosmological idea into the traditional belief that spoken words can carry auspicious or inauspicious force.
Xiao Chunhe laughed. “If talking could really make the two of us husband and wife, I would talk about it day and night without stopping. Besides, marriage has always been a joyous affair. What ill omen could there possibly be?”
Yue Jingming frowned. “Two men becoming husband and wife goes against human convention and the natural order. How could that be called marriage?”
Xiao Chunhe smiled. “The Dao follows what is natural, and all things exist because they should exist. If you have to betray your own heart, what kind of conformity with the Heavenly Dao is that? Heaven doesn’t care.”
Yue Jingming said, “Sophistry.”
Xiao Chunhe replied, “Stubborn old-fashioned nonsense.”
“…”
Xiao Chunhe casually picked up a banknote, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at his shoulder.
Yue Jingming turned around and saw Xiao Chunhe waving a talisman between his fingers. Even half-dead from illness, this man refused to behave. Grinning, Xiao Chunhe said, “Sneaking talismans into my clothes behind my back? That doesn’t sound very honorable if word gets out.”
Yue Jingming replied openly, “It was only to make it easier for me to recover the Chalcedony Demon Heart.”
“Not upright at all.” Xiao Chunhe rested his head on one arm and crossed his legs. He blew at the talisman. “Anyone who didn’t know better might think you couldn’t bear to part with me.”
Yue Jingming stopped responding.
Realizing he had teased the man enough, Xiao Chunhe grabbed the little cloth fox from beside him and threw it over. He used considerable force, and Yue Jingming instinctively caught it.
“Talismans tear too easily. I want a Yingshi Token.” Xiao Chunhe yawned and sprawled lazily across the bedding. “I’ll trade you the little fox.”
Yue Jingming was about to refuse when Xiao Chunhe added, “If you won’t agree, I’ll have the little fox swallow you in one bite.”
Xiao Chunhe waited for quite some time. Just as his patience was running out and he was about to get up, a wooden token engraved with cranes and auspicious clouds landed accurately beside his pillow.
“Sleep.” Yue Jingming extinguished the candle.
By moonlight, Xiao Chunhe picked up the Yingshi Token and examined it closely, delighted. “Good wife, I knew you had me in your heart. Can I carve my own name on the back?”
“…Do as you like.”
“I told you before that if fate let us meet again, I’d tell you my real name. Clearly our fate runs incredibly deep. I’ll tell you the truth. I’m actually not called Xiang Gong. My real name is Hao Fujun. You can call me Fujun.”
Elio’s Notes: 郝符均, Hao Fujun, is another deliberately suspicious alias. It sounds close to 好夫君, “good husband,” continuing Xiao Chunhe’s running habit of disguising spouse jokes as perfectly respectable names.
“…”
“Shut up.”
“All right, all right. I really can’t do anything with you.”
＊
The next day.
Xiao Chunhe slept sprawled face-down across the bed, one leg and one arm dangling toward the floor. Just as he was about to roll off, Yue Jingming reached out to steady him. The sleeping man abruptly sprang awake and flicked open his fan. Poisoned needles skimmed past Yue Jingming’s neck and buried themselves in the wall behind him.
“Not a demon.” Xiao Chunhe looked at him, seeming to wake fully at once. His expression changed sharply, and he grabbed Yue Jingming’s arm. “Are you all right? Did it hit you anywhere? Did I frighten you?”
Yue Jingming shook his head. “I’m fine. I only saw that you were about to fall off the bed, so I…”
“Right. I’ve always slept badly, and somehow I sleep especially deeply beside you.” Xiao Chunhe checked him twice to make certain he was unhurt before finally relaxing, looking deeply annoyed with himself. “I’ll throw this rotten fan away right now. It hurt you last time too, and I nearly died of heartache.”
He really did throw the fan toward the window, only for Yue Jingming’s horsetail whisk to catch it halfway.
Yue Jingming placed the fan back into his hands. “It has protected you for many years. Do not casually damage or discard it.”
Xiao Chunhe reluctantly tucked the fan back at his waist. Then he suddenly stepped forward, cupped Yue Jingming’s face, and smiled. “My Daoist, why are you so good?”
Yue Jingming removed his hands. “Get ready. We’re going to catch a demon.”
While washing, Xiao Chunhe asked curiously, “I already ate the demon heart. How are you still determining the moyao’s location?”
“Not the moyao. Someone asked me for help yesterday.” Yue Jingming drank his tea at an unhurried pace and only picked up his chopsticks after Xiao Chunhe finished washing and sat at the table.
Xiao Chunhe stuffed a bun into his mouth. “Who asked you? What about the moyao?”
Yue Jingming ate quietly, every movement refined and proper. Xiao Chunhe chewed his bun and waited for ages before realization dawned. “No talking while eating?”
Yue Jingming gave the slightest nod and pushed the warm porridge beside him closer.
Xiao Chunhe normally skipped breakfast and disliked porridge even more, but today the bland bowl somehow tasted especially sweet. Even when it was time to drink his medicine afterward, he did so with unusual enthusiasm, looking expectantly toward Yue Jingming for his malt candy.
Yue Jingming handed it to him.
“You unwrapped it for me last night.” Xiao Chunhe smiled at him.
Yue Jingming unwrapped the candy and held it out. Xiao Chunhe did not take it. Instead, he leaned forward and bit the candy directly from his fingers, then walked away as if nothing had happened and tied the Yingshi Token around his waist. “How do I use this thing?”
Yue Jingming glanced at the wrapper in his hand, set it casually on the table, then went over and drew a talismanic mark across the token. “If you encounter danger, simply call for me. I will sense it.”
Xiao Chunhe’s lips curved upward. “Su Zheng?”
“Rongxi. My courtesy name,” Yue Jingming said.
Elio’s Notes: A traditional Chinese courtesy name, or zi (字), was a name used in adulthood alongside one’s personal name, especially in formal or social settings. Yue Jingming’s courtesy name is Rongxi.
Xiao Chunhe looked straight into his eyes, his tone teasing and lingering. “Su… Rong… xi?”
“Mm.” Yue Jingming returned the token to his waist.
“Your master gave it to you, didn’t he?” Xiao Chunhe asked enviously. “No one ever gave me a courtesy name. Must be nice.”
“A personal name and a courtesy name are both external things. There is no need to take them too seriously.” Yue Jingming turned and picked up his sword. “Let’s go.”
In high spirits, Xiao Chunhe followed him downstairs. The innkeeper’s boy nearly jumped upon seeing them. Yesterday the two had looked ready to draw weapons on each other, yet after a single night they were somehow close again.
The summer sun blazed overhead, though trees along the country road offered shade. Xiao Chunhe walked beside Yue Jingming, lazily waving his fan so that the breeze reached both of them. “What demon are we catching today?”
“There is a village called Wangjia about fifteen li outside the city. Yesterday, while buying medicine, I met the village head. He said a demon has taken up residence in the well at the village entrance and made the water unusable. In weather this hot, the villagers must fetch water from the neighboring village. A round trip takes half a day,” Yue Jingming explained.
“It isn’t as though they have no water at all and are dying of thirst. You’re going to meddle in something this trivial too?” Xiao Chunhe immediately lost interest.
“It may be a small matter, but it is still a hardship for the villagers,” Yue Jingming said.
Xiao Chunhe sighed. “How much silver are they paying?”
Yue Jingming looked puzzled. “Why would they pay silver?”
Xiao Chunhe stared at him in disbelief. “You’d better not tell me you haven’t collected a single coin for all the demons you’ve subdued since coming down the mountain.”
Yue Jingming considered seriously. “I have not accepted money, but several families gave me flatbread and eggs, and one gave me a sachet for repelling mosquitoes and insects.”
Cases like the Li and Zheng families were rare. Most of the lesser demons he had dealt with along the road required little effort. It was already generous for the households involved to offer him a meal, and he certainly would not take their money as well.
“My heavens.” Xiao Chunhe looked horrified. “Then where has the money you’ve been spending come from?”
Seeing his expression, Yue Jingming said seriously, “I charge for divination. Besides, I brought money with me.”
Xiao Chunhe raised an eyebrow. “How much do you have left now?”
“It is inconvenient to say.”
“Tsk. Almost gone, isn’t it?” Xiao Chunhe said. “I felt your money pouch last night. It was more than half lighter than before.”
Yue Jingming: “…”
Xiao Chunhe suddenly became serious. “Where are those mosquito-repelling sachets? I’ve never heard of sachets that repel insects. We call those medicine pouches.”
Yue Jingming replied, “One was given by a woman with a child. Her husband died at the frontier, and she is raising the child alone. The south has many insects and miasmas…”
Xiao Chunhe held out his hand. “Let me see.”
Yue Jingming had no choice but to hand the sachets over.
One glance was enough for Xiao Chunhe to notice the paired lotuses embroidered on one of them. Young women were usually reserved. The paired-lotus pattern had been embroidered so subtly that it differed only slightly from ordinary lotus flowers, but Xiao Chunhe knew such tricks far too well. That woman had obviously taken a fancy to this stinking Daoist!
Elio’s Notes: Paired lotuses, bingdi lian (并蒂莲), traditionally symbolize a loving couple joined together. A discreet paired-lotus design on a personal gift could therefore carry romantic implications without saying them outright.
Xiao Chunhe practically emitted smoke from the top of his head. “Was this the only one?”
“There are several others from young women,” Yue Jingming said.
“You accepted all of them?!” Xiao Chunhe asked through gritted teeth.
“…If I refused, they cried and pulled at my sleeves. I needed to continue my journey, so it was difficult to keep refusing.”
Xiao Chunhe exploded. “From now on, you are not allowed to casually accept sachets from other people! Women are forbidden. Men are even more forbidden. Who knows whether they’re human or demons or what dirty thoughts they have about you!”
“They were only chance acquaintances. I will probably never see them again. Why create unpleasantness over it?” Yue Jingming asked.
“You don’t care, but the poor girls might spend day and night thinking about you!” Xiao Chunhe threw all the sachets away in one go. “Maybe one of them will recognize you by the sachet someday and drag you home as her son-in-law.”
“Mm.” A faint smile passed through Yue Jingming’s eyes. “That makes sense.”
Xiao Chunhe tied his little red fox onto Yue Jingming’s waist instead and raised an eyebrow. “Mine doesn’t just repel mosquitoes. It wards off evil and destroys charms too. One is enough.”
Yue Jingming let him do as he pleased. He took out a water flask and handed it over. “Drink some water. We still have some distance to go.”
Xiao Chunhe drank several mouthfuls and sighed. “Good thing you met me. Otherwise who knows how many romantic debts you’d accumulate.”
Yue Jingming did not comment.
Xiao Chunhe shook the flask and handed it back. “Say thank you.”
Yue Jingming sighed. “Many thanks to Young Master for rescuing me from dire peril.”
Xiao Chunhe gave a satisfied laugh. “No need to be polite.”