Determination hardened Tian Feng's gaze. "Into the city! Once I am inside, you are free to leave."
Helpless to argue, the carter had no choice but to urge the ox cart forward toward the gates of Guangzong.
Seated aboard the cart, Tian Feng observed the crowds with keen eyes. Most were common folk in tattered rags—mere skin and bones, their vitality worn down to practically nothing. Yet in their gazes alone shone a glimmer of hope and longing.
At the city entrance, the Yellow Turban squad leader guarding the gates noticed Tian Feng's dignified bearing and refined demeanor. Stepping forward, the guard greeted him courteously. "May I inquire after your esteemed name, sir?"
Tian Feng stepped down from the ox cart and replied with genial calm, "A man of the mountains living in seclusion—Tian Yuan, courtesy name Zhiyuan."
Venturing into the tiger's den, Tian Feng naturally would not disclose his true name.
The Yellow Turban squad leader was well aware that this man might not have given his real name, but he paid it no heed. With a smile, he asked, "Have you also come on account of the Talent Recruitment Decree, sir?"
"Also?" Tian Feng's heart gave a sudden leap.
The squad leader laughed. "Over these past few days, quite a few sons of influential families from Julu and Wei Commanderies have arrived in Guangzong. They've joined the Court of Administration or the Court of Science to serve our cause."
A faint tingle of numbness swept over Tian Feng's scalp.
Good grief—as expected, he was not the only clever man out there.
Fortunately, he had spent years living in quiet seclusion. Especially during his period of mourning for his parents, he had avoided outsiders for a long time, so very few people would recognize him. Otherwise, running into an old acquaintance inside the city might well blow his cover and reveal his identity.
Tian Feng maintained a natural composure and nodded. "Indeed, I have come for the Talent Recruitment Decree."
Hearing this, the squad leader gave the ox cart a brief search. Seeing no weapons or armor aboard, he said, "Please enter the city, sir. Xiao Wu, escort the gentleman to the Recruitment Bureau."
The one named Xiao Wu was a scrawny Yellow Turban youth of about sixteen or seventeen, with fine down growing on his upper lip.
He stepped forward and bowed to Tian Feng. "Follow me, sir."
"Many thanks."
Tian Feng offered his thanks and climbed back into the ox cart. The driver cracked his whip, the cart's wheels rattled into motion, and it slowly trundled along behind Xiao Wu.
Once inside the city, streets crisscrossed like lines on a chessboard, teeming with pedestrians. There were displaced refugees dizzy with starvation, and merchants leading oxen and horses. Looking straight ahead, one could see the county office standing solemnly and imposingly at the very heart of the city.
Xiao Wu led Tian Feng through a maze of turns. Along the way, Tian Feng caught sight of the bustling West Market, where peddlers and hawkers loudly called out their wares—bolts of cloth, pottery, wine, and food. The scene filled him with quiet astonishment.
He could not help but ask Xiao Wu, "Do the people of the city have no fear of the war? How can they live as though these were times of peace?"
Xiao Wu broke into a radiant smile. "We have the Holy Venerable in our city! The Holy Venerable's dharma power knows no bounds, and his divine might is awe-inspiring. What does a trifling Han army amount to? Naturally, no one has any worries."
Tian Feng's eyes darted slightly as he fished for information. "I have heard that when the Holy Venerable descended into the mortal realm, he took the form of an infant, and after taking five steps in the heavens, he turned into a five-year-old child. Is that true or false?"
"It is true, of course!"
Xiao Wu was plainly filled with boundless reverence for the Yellow Sky Holy Venerable, and once the topic turned to the Holy Venerable's divine miracles, his words flowed like an unceasing torrent.
"On the first day the Holy Venerable came down to the world, he was a five-year-old immortal child. With every passing day, he grew by a year, until he became a young man—only then did he stop growing."
"Have you seen the Holy Venerable?"
"I saw him once on the battlefield, and later once more when he dispensed the spiritual water. After that, I never saw him again."
"Dispensed spiritual water?" Tian Feng was startled. "What is this spiritual water? Is it talisman water?"
He knew that during great plagues and severe droughts throughout the realm, Zhang Jiao had distributed talisman water to save the lives of the common folk. Yet he did not know how talisman water differed from spiritual water.
Xiao Wu explained, "Talisman water is talisman water—that is made by the Great Virtuous Teacher using rice broth and talisman paper. But spiritual water is created when the Holy Venerable channels his dharma power into clear water. It has the power to dispel illness and pain, and to prolong life. In the fierce battle against the Han army some days ago, many men suffered severe wounds, and it was only by drinking the spiritual water that they survived."
In truth, this spiritual water was nothing more than an exceedingly crude "spiritual item" created by Huang Tian drawing worldly spiritual qi into water.
When ordinary mortals drank it, it could replenish their vital energy and blood a little, uplifting their spirits, but held little other efficacy.
Yet for the wounded Yellow Turban soldiers, the spiritual water was a lifeline. They believed with all their hearts that drinking it would allow them to live.
That fierce will to survive, paired with the modest restorative effect inherent to the spiritual water itself, had indeed saved many lives.
Tian Feng said in wonder, "Have you ever drunk the spiritual water?"
Xiao Wu shook his head. "I'm not wounded, so why would I drink it? Besides, the Holy Venerable said that spiritual water does not come easily, and it only keeps for three two-hour periods. Once three two-hour periods have passed, the spiritual power dissipates, and it turns back into ordinary water.
"Those of us in good health aren't permitted to drink it. It's all reserved for the sick and the refugees entering the city. They've gone without a full meal for so long and are weighed down by built-up ailments and aches. After drinking the spiritual water, their pain often fades away, and they manage to survive."
As he spoke, he suddenly came to a stop and pointed toward a spacious building not far off, which bore a placard reading "Spiritual Water Bureau." "That's where the spiritual water is dispensed."
Tian Feng followed his finger. Outside the Spiritual Water Bureau, several dozen Yellow Turban soldiers stood guard. Hundreds of disheveled, grime-streaked refugees, dragging their children along with them, were divided into two lines, gazing with longing at bowls of spiritual water that gave off a faint, delicate fragrance.
Tian Feng spoke up. "May we pause for a brief rest so I might take a look?"
Xiao Wu did not refuse. "Of course."
Tian Feng stepped down from the ox cart and walked toward the grounds outside the Spiritual Water Bureau. Two Yellow Turban soldiers sized him up, but they did not drive him away, so Tian Feng simply stood at the outer edge of the crowd, observing the scene.
At the head of the line, a pale-lipped, feverish young girl of seven or eight lay unconscious, cradled in a man's arms. A tall, gaunt Yellow Turban soldier gently parted her lips and slowly fed her the spiritual water.
In an instant, color returned to the young girl's lips. Her parched, dirt-streaked cheeks gradually flushed with a hint of life. Her eyelashes fluttered, and she actually opened her eyes. Shrinking back into the man's embrace, she murmured softly, "Father, it hurts so much."
Seeing this, the middle-aged man holding her was filled with boundless joy. He looked imploringly toward the tall, gaunt soldier. "Divine Emissary! Divine Emissary, please give us one more bowl of spiritual water to save my daughter!"
As he pleaded, he could not stop himself from falling to his knees.
The tall, gaunt soldier pulled him up and glared at him. "Why are you so quick to kneel? Who said I wouldn't give her more? Get up quickly!"
The middle-aged man scrambled to his feet, bowing and nodding repeatedly. "Thank you, Divine Emissary! Thank you, Divine Emissary!"
Even as he spoke, the tall, gaunt soldier picked up another bowl of spiritual water and brought it close. Catching the pure fragrance, the young girl reached her head forward and drank it down in gulps.
Having swallowed it, her vitality visibly improved, and a bright spark returned to her eyes.
The tall, gaunt soldier pointed to the side. "Head over there. There's a physician over that way. Have him examine her."
"Yes, yes!"
Beneath the gaze of the onlookers, the middle-aged man carried the young girl over to an elderly man with snow-white hair and beard. The old physician raised a hand to feel the girl's forehead, then took her pulse. A warm, kindly smile spread across his face. "The fever has broken. There is no great harm done."
The middle-aged man was overjoyed beyond measure. Right there on the ground, he kowtowed first to the physician, and then to the tall, gaunt soldier. "Thank you, Old Sir! Thank you, Divine Emissary!"
The tall, gaunt soldier waved his hand. "If you want to offer thanks, thank the Holy Venerable! The Holy Venerable's dharma power is boundless, and in his benevolence he saves the world."
"Yes, yes!" Coming to his senses, the middle-aged man turned toward the county office and knocked his head against the ground in several resounding kowtows, his expression filled with devout piety.
Looking at him, it was clear that even if he were asked to die for the Holy Venerable, he would not hesitate for an instant.
Witnessing this scene, Tian Feng was shaken to his very core, struck dumb with shock.
Chapter 19