The setting sun was impartial.
Those beautiful scenes of sunset glow were only beautiful because of the scenery beneath them. Li Shangyin had written of night rain in the Ba Mountains, and countless people had traveled there simply to experience such a rain for themselves. Fu Xi Yan, however, had never liked mountain scenery at night. That had been true in his previous life and remained true in this one. Even with lanterns illuminating the surroundings, the mountains themselves remained black and shadowed, frightening rather than beautiful. How could that compare with their fresh, clean appearance beneath the sunlight?
At this moment, the bright slopes of the Ba Mountains were wrapped in a golden cloak of sunset, graceful and beautiful, brimming with life.
He liked the light and hated darkness. Unfortunately, the old gentleman beside him was wholeheartedly determined to stuff him back into a coffin. Fu Xi Yan politely declined. “At my age, sleeping in a coffin is still a little premature.”
Shi Yi Ming said, “I went to all this trouble to trick you up the mountain. Naturally, it wasn’t merely so we could have a heart-to-heart talk.”
Fu Xi Yan gave him an aggrieved look. You actually used the word ‘trick’!
Shi Yi Ming said, “Once you’ve been kidnapped and disappeared, Yuan Jin will become anxious. Then he’ll bring people charging up Huaying Mountain.” He and Pei Xiong Ji had been correspondents for many years and regarded one another’s descendants almost as nephews of their own. When he mentioned Pei Yuan Jin, there was unmistakable warmth in his voice.
Fu Xi Yan, however, nearly jumped to his feet. “You’re trying to provoke a fight between Pei Yuan Jin and Mo Xiao Ran?”
Seeing Fu Xi Yan puff up with anger, as though one wrong word would make him throw himself into a fight, Shi Yi Ming could not help laughing. “Relax. I have no intention of making him face Mo Xiao Ran alone. With two old fellows like us here, even if someone has to risk his life, it won’t be the children’s turn.”
Fu Xi Yan calmed slightly. “Then why do you need him to charge up Huaying Mountain?”
“To make Mo Xiao Ran come back.”
A song immediately began playing in Fu Xi Yan’s head. Come back, come back… don’t keep wandering everywhere… He shook his head and chased away the faintly inappropriate background music. Then he asked quietly, “And what does any of this have to do with me lying inside a coffin?”
Shi Yi Ming said, “We’re sending you somewhere.”
Fu Xi Yan muttered, “Getting sent somewhere while lying inside a coffin… Where I come from, that’s called a funeral procession.”
Once the magnificent sunset ended, the Ba Mountains were considerate enough to provide a steady night rain.
You ask when I will return, but no date can I give;
Night rain in the Ba Mountains swells the autumn pool.
Perhaps Li Shangyin’s poem matched Fu Xi Yan’s present mood too perfectly. Inside the cramped darkness of the coffin, he unexpectedly remembered the opening couplet with perfect clarity.
Elio’s Notes: The lines are from Li Shangyin’s famous poem Night Rain Sent North (《夜雨寄北》). The poem centers on separation, longing, and the uncertainty of returning home, which is exactly why Fu Xi Yan suddenly finds it painfully appropriate.
Who knew how long this journey through Huaying Mountain would last? When would he see Pei Yuan Jin again?
He sighed softly. Then a melodious flute sounded outside.
The notes passed through curtain after curtain of rain and penetrated the thick coffin boards like a gentle hand brushing past his ear. Strangely, his restlessness began to fade. Outside the coffin, Duan Qian explained in a low voice, “Chief Steward Jing is playing the flute.”
Fu Xi Yan was silent for a moment. Then, through the coffin lid, he cursed, “You little bastard are still here?!”
That night, rain fell not only over the Ba Mountains but also beneath Huaying Mountain. The retainers of the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror remained busy throughout the fine, dense rain. Only at daybreak did someone finally bring Shi Luo Ying news.
“Luoshi.”
She slowly repeated the place name.
The retainer said, “Eight experts were seen carrying a black coffin toward Luoshi. When they stopped to rest along the way, they placed the coffin on the ground. Judging from how deeply it sank into the mud, there should have been a person inside.”
He had assumed Shi Luo Ying would continue questioning him about every detail and had already prepared the entire account. Instead, she abruptly changed the subject. “Where is Eldest Senior Brother?”
The retainer hesitated. “He has been away from the mountain for half a year.”
Shi Luo Ying’s gaze dimmed.
After that wedding, the total number of people on Huaying Mountain did not appear to have decreased, yet the number of familiar faces around her grew smaller and smaller.
Another retainer hurried over. “Young Master Pei has come up the mountain again.”
Shi Luo Ying was not surprised. Pei Yuan Jin’s direct and uncompromising nature was known throughout the world. The fact that he had said he would return tomorrow rather than standing on the mountain until midnight already counted as giving them considerable face.
After those first two, the other retainers gradually returned as well. Their reports were much the same. All had seen a black coffin somewhere around Luoshi, and all had encountered Pei Yuan Jin while returning up the mountain.
Shi Luo Ying listened carefully to every report without showing the slightest impatience.
By the time Pei Yuan Jin reached the wooden cottage, all the retainers she had dispatched had already returned. Despite rushing about for an entire night, they remained full of energy. When they faced Pei Yuan Jin, the hands gripping their weapons were still strong and steady.
Shi Luo Ying, by contrast, had clearly been affected by staying awake all night. Her naturally somewhat dry hair looked even more unruly than usual. Her bright eyes were threaded with blood vessels. Only her smile remained as warm and approachable as ever.
“The person you’re looking for may be in Luoshi.”
Pei Yuan Jin had walked through the rain, yet not a single drop had touched him. Whenever rain approached from above, it evaporated automatically, as though the anger burning inside him had transformed into genuine flame, fierce enough that even rain could not extinguish it.
“What kind of place is that?”
“A small market town that prospered because of river transport.”
Pei Yuan Jin’s expression changed instantly. “Take me there.”
Having seen Jiangnan’s intricate network of waterways, he knew perfectly well that tracking someone by water was much harder than tracking them over land, especially when the enemy was operating on familiar ground.
The rain hanging over Huaying Mountain did not stop until noon. Rain washed away tracks, but the drizzle that had lasted from last night until today had been so fine and light that it apparently had not accomplished much.
Perhaps Duan Qian was tired. Unlike before, he made no attempt to erase their trail and simply brought the coffin into a private residence. Not long afterward, a sedan chair was slowly carried out through the back door.
Two men carried the front and two the rear, swaying along toward the riverbank.
Fu Xi Yan sprawled inside the chair, nauseated by all the rocking. Finally unable to endure it, he knocked against the side.
Duan Qian immediately leaned closer. “Keep your voice down. Don’t forget there’s still a steamed bun in your mouth.”
Fu Xi Yan looked down at the bun in his hand and rolled his eyes. “You can tell me where we’re going now, can’t you?”
“You’ll know soon enough.”
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll shout for help.”
“…”
Fu Xi Yan threatened, “I’m someone who has already died once. There’s nothing I wouldn’t dare do.”
Duan Qian gritted his teeth. “Couldn’t you have stayed dead a little longer?”
Fu Xi Yan began clearing his throat in preparation for shouting. Duan Qian’s head started aching. Finally, he lowered his voice and said, “We’re going to Ghostshadow’s headquarters.”
Fu Xi Yan stared at him. “Just us?”
If his memory had not failed him, only yesterday Old Master Shi had sworn that with two old fellows like us here, even if someone has to risk his life, it won’t be the children’s turn. So these two “old fellows” were apparently Duan Qian and himself?!
Duan Qian had no idea what bitterness was filling Fu Xi Yan’s heart. He merely said impatiently, “Relax. Everything has been arranged.”
Fu Xi Yan knocked on the sedan again.
“What now?”
“If you know how to speak, then speak more.”
Duan Qian became annoyed too. He never should have let the Mirror Master clear Fu Xi Yan’s meridians. “What exactly do you want me to say?”
“Why are we going to Ghostshadow’s headquarters?!”
Duan Qian fell silent for a moment. “Did the Mirror Master really tell you nothing?”
“…”
How could Fu Xi Yan say he had told him nothing? He had told him plenty. Possibly too much. So much that he had somehow skipped everything he actually needed to explain. Fu Xi Yan said, “I’m asking, so answer. Otherwise, if a fight breaks out later, I’ll have to decide whether I should beat you up too.”
Duan Qian was afraid he might genuinely start causing trouble and was about to explain the essentials when they turned a corner. The mouth of the alley appeared ahead, accompanied by the growing roar of a crowd.
Duan Qian could only say, “Later.”
Fu Xi Yan took a deep breath and angrily stuffed the steamed bun into his mouth.
The sedan chair emerged from the alley and quickly blended into the endless flow of people. No one paid much attention to such an ordinary sedan chair. After all, sedans like this were extremely common in Luoshi.
When Luoshi first developed, no one had planned its layout very carefully. Its sole main road was already packed simply from transporting goods. Add ordinary traffic on top of that, and Fu Xi Yan suspected it would rival rush hour in Beijing or Shanghai from his memories. For that reason, traveling merchants, brothel girls, and wealthy local households all favored sedan chairs.
The sedan stopped at the docks. Duan Qian lifted the curtain and climbed inside. He smiled slightly at Fu Xi Yan. “Bear with it.” Then a sack came down over Fu Xi Yan’s head.
Fu Xi Yan: “…”
Isn’t the entire point of putting someone in a sack that they won’t know who did it?! You’re doing this right in front of me! Do you seriously think I don’t have a temper… Ugh! At least straighten my head! All the blood’s rushing down! What are you doing? Why are you shoving my head against my stomach? Let go! If you don’t let go, I’m going to lose my temper!
Duan Qian pressed desperately against his head. His voice practically squeezed through clenched teeth. “Move down. Lower. Lower! Otherwise you won’t fit inside the box!”
Fu Xi Yan pulled the bun from his mouth. “You’re planning to sink me in the river and you expect me to cooperate?!”
“Get down!” Duan Qian threw his body forward and pressed. The steamed bun went straight back into Fu Xi Yan’s mouth. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the sedan bearers slammed the wooden chest shut and locked it. Only then did one of them breathe out in relief. “Quickly. Carry it away.”
The chest was carried onto a fishing boat moored along the bank. Two sedan bearers carried the empty sedan back the way they had come, while the other two boarded the boat.
The fishing boat slowly pushed away from shore, traveled north with the current for a short distance, then docked on the opposite bank.
Fu Xi Yan had curled himself into a ball. A sore waist, aching back, and cramping legs did not even begin to describe his discomfort. If he had not kept telling himself that the greater plan mattered most, he would have loved nothing more than to imitate some ancient television drama, burst dramatically out of the chest with a loud bang, and shout: I quit!
After they came ashore, the bearers continued carrying the chest.
It was so cramped inside that Fu Xi Yan could not even raise his head, much less remove the bun from his mouth. He could only prick up his ears and listen carefully to his surroundings.
They seemed to be climbing uphill. Then the path leveled out. Then they climbed again.
Gradually, the bearers slowed. Fu Xi Yan heard a temple monk striking a bell.
A little later, they seemed to be descending. That section was short. Before long, the chest was set on the ground. He heard Duan Qian ask, “Has the leader returned?”
A cool voice replied, “Not yet. Is this the future Young Madam of the Immortal Treasury Palace?”
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you going to let him out?”
Hearing this, Fu Xi Yan nearly wept tears of joy. Then Duan Qian said, “Wait a moment. Let me leave first, then release him.”
“Why?”
“I have a feeling the first thing he’ll do after getting out is beat me.”
Fu Xi Yan thought: That isn’t a feeling. That’s a prophecy.
The other person said, “It should be fine if he only beats you once.” Then he opened the chest directly.
The instant Fu Xi Yan raised his head, he suddenly understood all the grievance Sun Wukong must have felt after spending five hundred years crushed beneath the Five-Finger Mountain, together with the gratitude and joy he must have felt when Tang Sanzang finally released him.
Forget escorting Tang Sanzang to India. At this moment, Fu Xi Yan would have supported escorting him all the way to Europe or the Americas.
The instant the chest opened, Duan Qian had already hidden himself in a corner. Standing before Fu Xi Yan was a refined-looking young man in his twenties. “I am Chao Yun. I was originally the Mirror Master’s page boy. I now serve as Ghostshadow’s chief manager.”
Fu Xi Yan nodded to him. Then he climbed out of the chest and walked step by step toward Duan Qian.
Duan Qian said, “Listen to my explanation.”
Fu Xi Yan pulled the bun from his mouth and threw it directly into Duan Qian’s face. Then he charged forward, grabbed Duan Qian by the head, curled him into a ball, and rolled him back and forth across the floor.
“Enough!” Duan Qian finally collapsed on the ground.
Fu Xi Yan could not resist kicking him once before giving a cold snort. “Talk. What exactly is going on?”
Duan Qian climbed up and began straightening his clothes.
Chao Yun voluntarily took over the explanation. “Fifteen years ago, the Mirror Master ordered Xu Ri and me to accompany Senior Brother Song down the mountain and establish Ghostshadow. Whenever the Mirror Master entered seclusion, Xu Ri and I handled his correspondence and calculated the retainers’ compensation. Because of that, we were able to recruit a group of members fairly quickly.”
After listening to his explanation, Fu Xi Yan roughly categorized his former occupation as a communications coordinator.
Chao Yun continued, “Things went well at first. Then one day, Senior Brother Song returned carrying Xu Ri’s corpse. Only then did I learn that Xu Ri had been unwilling to accept a life in which he could never practice martial arts. He defected to Mo Xiao Ran, willingly became one of his puppets, and betrayed Ghostshadow.” “Senior Brother Song killed him, but Mo Xiao Ran had already learned our secrets. During Ghostshadow’s early years, Senior Brother Song had conducted certain unsavory businesses to accumulate wealth and recruit manpower. Mo Xiao Ran used those matters to threaten us, so we had no choice but to compromise and maintain the appearance of peaceful coexistence.”
Fu Xi Yan could not resist interrupting him. “Ghostshadow has spent all these years murdering people, setting fires, and committing practically every crime imaginable. Was all of that ordered by Mo Xiao Ran too?”
“Only a small portion. Senior Brother Song decided most of it himself.” Chao Yun continued matter-of-factly, “He said those who accomplish great things cannot concern themselves with minor details. If we failed to accumulate enough resources, we would never be able to oppose Mo Xiao Ran, much less rescue Senior Sister Shi from his hands.”
Fu Xi Yan asked, “And you believed him?”
Chao Yun looked back at him blankly, as though wondering why he wouldn’t believe him.
Fu Xi Yan fell silent.
Chao Yun and Xu Ri had both led very simple lives. They were orphans Shi Yi Ming had taken in and had grown up within the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror. Unfortunately, neither had any talent for martial arts. Judging from Shi Yi Ming’s daily habits and the thoroughly crooked paths his two disciples had taken, children incapable of learning martial arts probably received little attention to begin with, much less any serious moral education. It was therefore unsurprising that they had developed the habit of blindly obeying the people closest to them.
Fu Xi Yan asked, “You never contacted the Mirror Master?” Had Chao Yun told Shi Yi Ming earlier, perhaps Ghostshadow would not have remained under Song Qi Yun’s control for so many years.
“The Mirror Master was in seclusion. He could not be disturbed without good reason.”
Although Chao Yun had stopped serving as a page boy many years ago, some ideas had already rooted themselves too deeply to change.
For a moment, Fu Xi Yan did not know what to say. Human thoughts differed wildly from one person to another. Something he regarded as perfectly natural might appear fantastical to someone else, and the reverse could be equally true.
All he could say was that if everyone beneath Heaven possessed only one thought and one voice, the world might indeed become peaceful. But it would also become silent.
Duan Qian coughed lightly, breaking the quiet. “While Master Song still hasn’t returned, we should hurry and discuss what happens next.”
Chao Yun nodded blankly. “Three months ago, however, the Mirror Master had Chief Steward Jing deliver a letter to me. He instructed me to find someone inside Ghostshadow whom nobody trusted.”
Fu Xi Yan turned toward Duan Qian.
Chao Yun said, “I submitted three names.”
Noticing Fu Xi Yan’s gaze, he explained, “Wei Li Ming, one of Duan Qian’s subordinates, betrayed the organization and defected to the Immortal Treasury Palace. Senior Brother Song therefore suspected Duan Qian as well and transferred him to Southern Yu for observation.” “Unfortunately, while Duan Qian was in Southern Yu, his movements were suspicious. He came and went unpredictably. Senior Brother Song had already been preparing to order his elimination.” He paused. “So naturally, nobody trusted him.”
Fu Xi Yan looked at Duan Qian. “Chief Steward Jing is practically your lifesaving benefactor.”
Duan Qian casually flicked his sleeve into place. “I may not be Song Qi Yun’s match, but killing me wouldn’t be that easy for him.”
Fu Xi Yan did not doubt that for a moment. Anyone capable of evading the City of Ten Thousand Beasts’ pursuit for so many years was unquestionably a master in the art of fleeing for his life.
Fu Xi Yan asked, “What happened next?”
Chao Yun said, “After that, the Mirror Master ordered me to transfer Duan Qian back to headquarters. He also told me to forge a request from Mo Xiao Ran.”
Something stirred in Fu Xi Yan’s mind.
Duan Qian said, “This time, when we brought you from the Immortal Treasury Palace to the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror, we did it under the pretense that Mo Xiao Ran had commissioned the job.”
Fu Xi Yan linked everything together in his head. Then understanding struck.
“So from Song Qi Yun’s perspective, Mo Xiao Ran suddenly issued a request for Ghostshadow to kidnap me. Chao Yun handed that request to Duan Qian…” He nodded to himself. “And of course Duan Qian would be the perfect person for the job. Song Qi Yun already wanted him dead. A dangerous mission that would offend the Immortal Treasury Palace and require pulling teeth from a tiger’s mouth was naturally best assigned to someone marked for death.” “If he failed, there would be no loss. If he succeeded, Song Qi Yun would naturally hurry back to see what Mo Xiao Ran intended to do.”
Duan Qian nodded smugly. “And Mo Xiao Ran, meanwhile, will assume Song Qi Yun acted rashly, exposed Ghostshadow’s headquarters, and brought trouble directly to Huaying Mountain. He has always regarded the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror as his traditional territory and main base of influence. If something like this happens, he’ll definitely rush back.”
Fu Xi Yan remembered what Shi Yi Ming had said. Pei Yuan Jin would panic over his disappearance and charge up Huaying Mountain. So from the very beginning, when Duan Qian had used “investigating the true identity of Ghostshadow’s leader” as an excuse to let Pei Yuan Jin trail behind them, that too had been part of the plan!
Thinking of the excuses Duan Qian had used while deceiving him, Fu Xi Yan realized this was no scheme to kill two birds with one stone. This was three birds with one stone!
“So you deliberately left clues all along the road for Yuan Jin to follow?”
Duan Qian immediately complained, “Of all the marks you could have left behind, why did you have to leave bitten pieces of flatbread? Do you have any idea how much effort I spent reproducing them?”
Fu Xi Yan refused to listen. If Duan Qian had simply explained everything from the start, Fu Xi Yan would not have suffered so much on the road. And why did he have to lie in a coffin of all things?!
It was terribly inauspicious!
The more he thought about it, the more two little flames seemed to ignite in his eyes as he stared at Duan Qian.
Duan Qian immediately gave him an ingratiating smile. “The flatbread wasn’t bad, actually. Easy to find. And you could eat while making the marks, so it filled your stomach too.”
Fu Xi Yan ignored him and continued following his earlier train of thought. “You lure Song Qi Yun and Mo Xiao Ran back here, and then…”
With two old fellows like us here, even if someone has to risk his life, it won’t be the children’s turn.
Shi Yi Ming’s words echoed in his mind again.
Fu Xi Yan suddenly understood.
Shi Yi Ming plus Jing Luo plus Pei Yuan Jin.
Against Mo Xiao Ran plus Song Qi Yun.
Looking purely at the lineup, their side had the overwhelming advantage.
Even better, from the outside, there was no sign that Shi Yi Ming or Jing Luo had interfered at all. Because at present, Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin were the ones apparently in danger and at a disadvantage, neither Mo Xiao Ran nor Song Qi Yun would be on guard against a trap. To them, Huaying Mountain was their own stronghold. Having the Young Master and future Young Madam of the Immortal Treasury Palace voluntarily appear here was practically the perfect combination of time, terrain, and opportunity.
What possible reason would they have not to strike?
Fu Xi Yan turned the scheme over and over in his mind for a long while. Finally, he could not resist asking, “Chief Steward Jing came up with this plan, didn’t he?” It was not that Fu Xi Yan looked down on the Master of the Heaven-and-Earth Mirror. The problem was that Shi Yi Ming had established himself far too firmly as a martial-arts fanatic. He did not seem like someone capable of devising such an elaborate enter-the-tiger’s-den-to-catch-the-tiger-cub strategy.
Chao Yun shook his head. “I don’t know. I only carry out orders.”
Fu Xi Yan looked at his blank expression and became slightly worried. “If Song Qi Yun comes back…”
Chao Yun seemed to know what he wanted to say. “I won’t reveal anything.”
Fu Xi Yan remained skeptical.
Chao Yun said, “I’ve done quite a lot behind his back over the years. He’s never discovered it.”
Although Song Qi Yun could always persuade him to continue working for Ghostshadow, Chao Yun still experienced doubt and dislike. When faced with something he did not want to do, he would find a compromise. When there was something he did want to accomplish, he would simply take a more indirect route to achieve it.
Song Qi Yun spent most of every year traveling outside and trusted Chao Yun enormously. As a result, he had never noticed anything unusual. Whenever a mission occasionally failed, Song Qi Yun merely assumed his subordinates had performed poorly and never considered the possibility that someone had leaked information.
Fine. Suppose Chao Yun really could pull it off. But…
Fu Xi Yan asked, “What if Song Qi Yun and Mo Xiao Ran run into each other on the road?”
That was the greatest flaw in their entire trap. The instant those two exchanged a few words, everything would collapse.
Chao Yun said, “Mo Xiao Ran went to Haojing. If he comes back, he should travel along the same route you did. Senior Brother Song went to Jiangcheng.”
Fu Xi Yan’s entire body jolted. “What did he go to Jiangcheng for?”
One could hardly blame him for being sensitive. Most of his family was in Jiangcheng now. Pei Yuan Jin had indeed left people there to protect them, but before a Martial King, such protection was practically meaningless.
If Song Qi Yun intended to do something…
The thought alone made Fu Xi Yan unable to sit still. “Can you find out what mission Song Qi Yun went to Jiangcheng to carry out?”
Chao Yun said, “The things Senior Brother Song personally handles aren’t recorded here. But as of yesterday, I hadn’t received any reports of anything major happening in Jiangcheng.”
Fu Xi Yan relaxed slightly. His father was the Governor of Hubei. If an assassin targeted him, it would certainly qualify as something “major.”
“And…” Chao Yun spoke slowly. “According to our intelligence, Senior Brother Song is already on his way back. If he travels quickly…” “He may arrive today.”