Though remote, Yongzhou had been a cradle of hidden dragons and crouching tigers since antiquity.
As recorded in the History of Tang: Yongzhou Gazetteer, Yongzhou possessed "wondrous mountains and turbulent waters, home to many extraordinary figures and strange masters."
Unofficial chronicles, however, put it plainly: barren hills and treacherous waters breed unruly folk.
Yongzhou, Fengyuan Commandery, Ye County.
Ye County was backed by Mount Min and bordered by the Tong River. Rugged, precipitous ridges crisscrossed and divided the modest county. Though not soaringly high, the peaks were extraordinarily steep; villages merely dozens of li apart were separated by mountain walls so forbidding that their folk might never cross paths in an entire lifetime.
Along a mountain path that wound upward, two figures appeared. One was a young scholar; the other, an attendant boy of twelve or thirteen. Though clean, the scholar's robe was washed to a faint fade, an inconspicuous patch discreetly sewn into an out-of-the-way spot. Down on his luck though he seemed, he was fair-complexioned and refined, with a spine straight as a ramrod, bearing the innate pride of a man of letters.
Master and servant seemed to stroll with easy grace. The scholar paused occasionally to gaze about as if admiring the scenery, yet their pace was deceptively swift. In mere moments, they traversed the distance from the mountainside to the summit, leaving several li of mountain trail—a climb that ordinarily took the better part of two hours—far behind.
Standing upon the peak, they naturally took in tens of li around them at a single glance. Surveying the sprawling mountain veins before looking down at the small valley below, the scholar sighed with feeling. "Had I not come in person, how could I have known that winds and clouds were already converging here? I had prepared to spend a decade seeking the dragon, yet here I reap a harvest in my very first year."
The attendant boy also examined the surrounding terrain and asked in bewilderment, "This place is an out-of-the-way backwater with shallow waters and barren hills. Producing even a sliver of fortune would be remarkable—how could there be a true dragon?"
The scholar pointed toward the small valley ahead. "That is the dragon pool. Had I not witnessed it with my own eyes, I too would find it hard to believe."
"In so small a dragon pool, how great could a true dragon be?"
The scholar replied calmly, "Others seek dragons mostly to follow in their wake, coveting the merit of propping up a sovereign. Adepts point the dragon out or transform it. I am different. I only mean to put this dragon to use, and once finished, cast it aside. Its size matters not."
He pointed toward the small town in the valley. "The wind and clouds are merely beginning to gather; the moment for heavenly secrets to sprout is still far off. Hence, the dragon qi must be concealed extraordinarily deep, and unearthing it will take some effort. Let us head down to that town first."
With a single step forward, the scholar suddenly reappeared dozens of yards away. In a few moments, he had descended the mountain and stepped onto the road leading toward the town.
Less than two li before the town stood a grand manor, surrounded on all sides by bluestone walls over ten feet high. At the corner rose a tall watchtower where servants bearing cudgels stood guard. As the scholar and boy passed the main gate, they saw a man in a head steward's livery leading several servants, distributing gratuities to passersby.
The steward's eyes lit up upon seeing the scholar. He bowed politely. "Where does the gentleman hail from? How might I address you?"
The scholar returned the courtesy. "I am Zhang Sheng. I am currently traveling the realm in pursuit of learning, and happen to be passing by your honorable manor. Might there be some joyous occasion underway?"
The steward replied, "My master's surname is Wei. In this entire county, who hasn't heard the name of Philanthropist Wei Youcai? Today, the fourth mistress is giving birth, so Master ordered me to hand out gratuities to passersby to share the joy. You have arrived at just the right time, sir! Men!"
A servant beside him brought forward a tray of copper coins, but the steward shoved him aside. "Can't you see this gentleman is a scholar?"
The steward waved forward another servant, who presented a lacquered tray bearing brush, ink, and a money pouch. The steward took the pouch and offered it forward. Weighing it in his hand, the scholar found it was filled with loose silver—a full liang of it.
"Why this?" Zhang Sheng did not accept the pouch. He had seen clearly moments ago that the gratuities given to others were merely a few copper coins.
The steward said, "My master holds scholars in the highest esteem. It is plain at a glance that you possess immense talent, sir, so the token of gratitude is naturally different. We ask only that you bestow a name upon the child—one for a boy and one for a girl."
The steward was skinny and had the shifty, rat-faced look of a rascal, yet his speech was cultivated, showing a belly not entirely devoid of ink.
Zhang Sheng looked toward the manor. A faint glint of clear light flashed deep within his pupils. He then took up the brush and paper, writing a single character upon the sheet: Yuan.
"This is drawn from the phrase 'a dragon in the deep abyss,'" he said. "The young master is blessed with profound fortune and can well bear this character."
The steward stared at the character Yuan, brushed with sweeping vigor like dragons soaring and phoenixes dancing. He could tell it was magnificent, yet could not articulate why. He peered at it from left to right without discerning its finer points. By then, Zhang Sheng had laid down his brush and was walking away with the attendant boy.
The steward hastily called out, "Wait, sir! We are still short a name for a girl!"
Without looking back, Zhang Sheng merely said, "Master Wei has performed good deeds and accumulated virtue. It will certainly be a son."
The steward wanted to say more, but the surrounding beggars and townsfolk were already impatient and crowded in. Looking at Zhang Sheng's departing back, the steward felt a strange dread that kept him from pestering further. He left the servants to deal with the crowd, while he carefully carried the calligraphy into the manor.
In the rear courtyard of the Wei family manor, a round-faced master with long brows and narrow eyes paced back and forth, fine beads of sweat already dotting his forehead. Agonized cries from a woman echoed continuously from the wing room; birth was imminent.
The steward hurried over, holding the paper. "Master, a passing scholar outside gave the young master the name 'Yuan,' saying it comes from 'a dragon in the deep abyss.' Seeing how magnificent the calligraphy was, I rushed it straight to you."
"Only one name?"
"He said that because you have done good deeds and gathered merit, Master, it will definitely be a son this time."
The master's face instantly broke into a wide grin, and he beamed repeatedly. "As expected of a scholar—such a sweet tongue!"
Taking the paper with its still-wet ink from the steward, he scrutinized it closely and praised, "Fine handwriting!"
The steward whispered, "Master, it's upside down."
Without a word, Master Wei flipped the sheet around. This time, it indeed looked much more natural.
Staring at the sweeping character that seemed ready to take flight into the sky, he muttered to himself, "Yuan... A dragon in the deep abyss... Wei Yuan... Good, Wei Yuan it shall be."
Suddenly, he shot a suspicious glance at the steward. "Such a complicated character—you actually recognize it?"
The steward gave a sheepish chuckle. "I watched the gentleman write it, so I naturally knew which end was up."
Meanwhile, Zhang Sheng and the boy walked at an unhurried pace toward the town. After walking a distance, the boy could no longer hold back. "Sir, giving him a character was practically bestowing fortune upon him, yet they only gave a single liang of mortal silver! You let them off far too cheaply!"
Zhang Sheng weighed the pouch in his hand and smiled. "Do not look down upon this mere liang of mortal silver. It can untangle a thousand sorrows in the mortal world."
The boy remained indignant. "If you ask me, casting a small Daoist trick to make that master happy would have been plenty. Why expend your own fortune?"
Zhang Sheng said, "I happened to arrive here, and the child happened to be born. That is affinity with me, Zhang Sheng. Besides, ordinary fortune confers little real advantage to one's person—nothing more than opening the mind a bit earlier and strengthening the constitution. There is no need to haggle over it. Times have changed; fortune is cheap."
The boy did not dare argue further, though displeasure lingered on his small face.
Suddenly, Zhang Sheng felt a stirring in his heart. He raised his left hand. The skin of that hand was like jade, strikingly fair, and his slender fingers unfolded one by one like a night-blooming cereus, possessed of an exquisite softness that contrasted with his countenance. A cluster of misty cloud arose in his palm, churning as it drifted off in a certain direction.
Zhang Sheng's brows smoothed. "The water-eye of the dragon pool has been found!"
The cloud in his palm pointed not toward the town, but behind the Wei manor they had just passed. Looking from afar, one could see an ancient tree behind the estate, so thick it would take several people linking arms to encircle it. Its canopy spread like a great parasol, sheltering half of the Wei family's rear compound.
Zhang Sheng dispersed the mist in his palm. A few paces later, he stood beneath the ancient tree. Looking up at it, he nodded. "Water and wood engender each other; this is the place."
He circled the ancient tree once, then examined the orientation of the Wei manor. Frowning slightly, he said, "It still shares some entanglement with this estate. If I draw away the dragon qi, the household will inevitably suffer some disruption. Go catch a pheasant. Once I have the dragon qi, I will replenish some good fortune for the family, and bring a bit of joy to that master while I'm at it."
The boy acknowledged the order and sped off, returning moments later cradling a bright-feathered pheasant.
Zhang Sheng had already selected the positions for the array. Gathering a few stray stones, he built a platform and planted twigs at specific bearings around it. "The way of formations is such that once you grasp the fundamental principles, you can adapt at will. This Guishui Light-Merging Formation gathers surrounding heavenly secrets and fortune. Ordinarily, it requires many precious materials, but by setting it over a water-eye, many array nodes only need a simple object to hold the spot. Speaking of which, this too counts as deceiving Heaven and Earth."
Zhang Sheng produced a jade platter and set it upon the platform. The jade was of exquisite quality, carved with countless patterns that faintly shimmered with flowing light. Once the jade platter was settled, Zhang Sheng said to the boy, "When matters here are concluded, our affinity will have run its course. Over the past year, I have passed the fundamentals on to you. With that foundation, you can seek out a sect of your liking and cultivate properly in the future."
The boy's eyes instantly reddened. He dropped to his knees with a thud and cried, "No, I don't want to go anywhere else! I only want to follow you, Sir! In my heart, you are my only master!"
Yet Zhang Sheng remained unmoved, his tone indifferent. "You and I possess no affinity as master and disciple; do not call me Master. Your destiny is insufficient; forcing it is futile."
The boy dared not plead further, kneeling on the ground and wiping away tears.
Zhang Sheng said, "I am about to activate the formation. This is your final lesson; watch closely. You may not easily see such an array again in the days to come."
The boy wiped his tears and hastened to watch.
Zhang Sheng raised his index finger to his brow, eyes half-closed. Suddenly, seven points of light flew from his body, sinking one by one into the formation platter. Every inscription on the jade platter lit up, swirling into a vortex whose center was dark and bottomless, leading to who knew where.
Zhang Sheng said, "The formation is complete. Wait now; it will draw the little dragon forth on its own."
Before his words could fade, a plume of black qi erupted from the vortex's center, coiling above the array.
The boy's eyes widened. He had not expected this small place truly to harbor fortune, yet whatever it was looked nothing like dragon qi. Something seemed faintly visible within the black mist, but his cultivation was inadequate, leaving him unable to see clearly.
Zhang Sheng, however, saw it plainly. Within the black mist, a bizarre, enormous bird was circling slowly. It bore three long, brilliantly colored tail feathers, and on its head rested a human face.
At the sight of the great bird, Zhang Sheng's expression shifted slightly. He thought to himself, Fortunately, it is merely a wisp of aura, not even a fragmented soul.
He waved a hand to disperse the black mist and said, "Wait a little longer."
In the blink of an eye, two more masses of shadow billowed from the vortex, lingering in the air. Zhang Sheng focused his gaze and saw two gigantic beasts. From their savage visages and soaring, ferocious aura alone, one could tell they presaged nothing good.
"Why is it either a star of calamity or a rebel?" With an odd expression, Zhang Sheng waved away the two shadows.
A moment later, the array continued to spin, yet the vortex remained entirely still. Zhang Sheng's brow twitched, and he said coldly, "A mere little dragon—no matter how deep you hide, I will drag you out!"
He raised a hand and pointed. Several more points of light sank from his fingertips into the array. The formation blazed with light, its vortex spinning with furious speed!
Instantly, several clusters of fortune spewed continuously from the array, darkening the surroundings by a fraction.
Zhang Sheng looked through them one by one. He saw a boundless pool of blood, collapsing peaks, bloodstained royal banners, shattered divine weapons, and a colossal cauldron pinning down a mountain of corpses. By this point, he was at a loss for words. Yet another wisp of fortune was stranger still: a slender iron tube sheathed in wood, tipped with a long pointed blade, stuck diagonally into scorched earth, with endless rubble and broken walls stretching into the distance.
Composed as Zhang Sheng usually was, his face had turned thoroughly grim. How was this a gathering of winds and clouds? This was plainly a convergence of Heaven and Earth's murderous intent!
Before he could decide whether to continue drawing out the dragon qi, a frigid, desolate, primeval aura emanated from the vortex. A colossal entity appeared on the other side, attempting to force its way through. Yet the vortex of the array was far too small; it could barely push a single strand of its aura across. The moment this strand emerged, the landscape around the formation began to warp!
Deciding in a flash, Zhang Sheng waved his sleeve to drain the formation's Dao power. With a sharp snap, the jade platter shattered, severing the conduit through which the monstrous entity was crossing.
That colossal mass of fortune was infuriated, letting out an enraged roar, yet it was forced to vanish alongside the collapsing vortex.
With the platter shattered, the gathered fortune dispersed, and everything returned to normal. Only then did Zhang Sheng realize he was drenched in cold sweat. He did not know what that titanic fortune was, only that it could never be permitted to cross over. Had it manifested in this realm, the catastrophe would have gone far beyond collapsing mountains and sinking continents.
As he prepared to leave, Zhang Sheng looked back toward the Wei manor. In his eyes, a haze of grayish-black qi now hung over the estate, something that had not been there before. He sighed inwardly. The formation had indeed damaged the family's geomantic fortune; he could not simply walk away.
Pondering for a moment, Zhang Sheng summoned a tiny firebird into his palm. This was a wisp of phoenix qi he had obtained elsewhere, quite precious, and more than sufficient to mend the Wei manor's fortune. He instructed the boy to toss the pheasant toward the manor, then pointed a finger, sending the tiny firebird into the bird's body. This was borrowing an object to work an art, substituting heavenly secrets—a common technique for altering fate and fortune.
Blessed by this art, the pheasant would momentarily transform into a celestial phoenix, restoring the damaged fortune of the Wei manor with plenty to spare. Not only would Philanthropist Wei enjoy wealth and a peaceful end to his days, but a surplus of blessing would remain for his descendants.
Having regained its freedom, the pheasant immediately took flight. At that moment, a dark ring of light abruptly rose around it, instantly transforming it into a three-headed bird clothed entirely in black feathers!
Even Zhang Sheng was momentarily stunned. Accomplished as he was, he could not fathom the origins of this three-headed giant bird, but it certainly had nothing to do with a celestial phoenix.
Right then, a resounding infant's wail drifted from the manor. The child was born.
At that very instant, the three-headed giant bird came to life. Two of its heads looked down below, while the third swiveled around, all three dark-gold eyes fixing squarely upon Zhang Sheng!
In that breath, Zhang Sheng felt as though plunged into an ice cave, perched over an abyss, hovering on the verge of death!
The giant bird's three eyes struck him with three distinct shocks!
Zhang Sheng's mind went blank. Every divine ability, Daoist art, and profound doctrine vanished as though wiped away; he could not recall a single word.
A corner of his face suddenly fractured, faintly revealing another countenance beneath. Though only one eye was bared, the brow arched like a crescent moon with a tip sharp as a sword, and the eye, bright as a star and deep as polished lacquer, held a faint hint of pain—a gaze that, once seen, could never be forgotten.
The three-headed giant bird cast that single glance at Zhang Sheng, then looked down once more. Circling the manor once, it spread its wings, soared high, and vanished beyond the ninth heaven in the blink of an eye.
After a long silence, Zhang Sheng finally spoke: "There are too many rebels in this place. We should not linger."
With that, he departed with the attendant boy. Behind them, the ancient tree still stood, sheltering like a great parasol.
In the third year of the Longwu reign of the Great Tang, Wei Yuan was born in Ye County of Yongzhou. At his birth, Zhang Sheng prayed and cast an incantation, and an auspicious omen descended from the heavens.