At the sight of the strange affliction on his only son's body, and discovering that the black fur grew back each time it was shaved, Master Wang was terrified that Daoists would brand his son a monster and execute him. Daring even less to make a stir at Qingyang Temple in the county seat, he could only summon sorceresses and shamans from the surrounding villages to treat Wang Cailiang's bizarre ailment.
Two or three days slipped by in a flash. Within the Wang manor, there was non-stop dancing and spirit-channeling. Wang Cailiang drank talisman water and swallowed incense ashes to no end, yet the black fur across his back kept growing back after being shaved, returning thicker and wilder each time. It worried Master Wang so much that he could neither eat nor sleep, at his wits' end as to what to do.
Just as the entire Wang household was fretful over Wang Cailiang's strange illness, Chu Qiguang, accompanied by Qiao Zhi, was strolling unhurriedly toward the Wang family estate.
Man and cat talked as they walked. After Chu Qiguang finished explaining his plan, he asked, "How about it? No problem cooperating like this today, right?"
Qiao Zhi flicked his tail and said, "Colluding with demons, intimidation, and bribery..." Then he gave a wicked chuckle. "I really admire your style."
Chu Qiguang said, "Be careful not to get caught."
Qiao Zhi patted his chest and said, "Set your mind at ease. A few days ago, when I snuck into the Wang residence to perform the Heavenly Demon Foundation Establishment Method on him, didn't I get away unscathed? The manor of a petty landowning miser—I come and go as I please. Who could possibly stop me?"
Chu Qiguang said, "Let's leave it at that, then. Slip into the Wang house first, and don't let anyone spot you. Coordinate with me in a bit."
...
In front of the Wang family's front gates, Chu Qiguang knocked. A servant opened the door, scrutinized him, and frowned. "Ergou? What are you here for?"
Chu Qiguang knew that if he told the servant outright that he had come to cure their young master, the man would never believe him and would not let him inside.
And if he had Qiao Zhi help him fight his way in here, it would only stoke hostility, which would harm his subsequent plans.
So he lifted the strips of meat bound with hemp rope in his hand and shoved them directly into the servant's grasp, speaking courteously: "I have an important matter to discuss with Master Wang. Would you kindly announce my arrival, brother? This is a wild rabbit I caught on the back mountain—please, have a taste."
To a gatekeeper serving a local landed miser like Wang, rabbit meat was already a fine gift.
The servant weighed the meat in his hands, estimating it to be about three or four liang. Beaming with delight, he accepted it and said politely, "Brother Zhou, tell me what this is about first. I'll definitely pass the word to the master, though whether he'll see you or not is something I can't guarantee."
"Then I shall trouble you, brother," Chu Qiguang said. "You may ask your master whether Wang Cailiang was harmed by a dog ghost."
...
The Wang manor was a four-courtyard compound, with four successive courtyards and eight wing rooms. At this moment, Master Wang was sitting in the main room, his face awash with worry.
The grand master of the Wang family was named Wang Chengwang. As the wealthiest man in Wang Family Village, he had maids by day and concubines by night, with houses and fields to his name—living a life of boundless pleasure.
Wang Chengwang's only regret was that no one in the Wang family had ever passed the examinations to earn an official imperial position.
Thus, after fathering four daughters over the years, finally having a son prompted him to pour his heart into grooming Wang Cailiang in both martial and literary arts, hoping his son would pass the exams to become a martial scholar, or even a martial juren.
When that time came, it would not only bring honor to the ancestors, but also grant imperial tax-exemption privileges, allowing them to evade more taxes, swallow up more land, amass more silver, buy more maids, take more concubines, sire more sons, who could pass more martial examinations, winning even more imperial exemptions...
Just thinking about it every day made him a little giddy with excitement.
Yet who could have foreseen disaster striking out of the blue? His only son had now contracted this bizarre ailment.
The black fur growing all over his back looked just like animal pelt; anyone who saw it would cry out that he was a monster.
In this state, participating in the martial examinations was out of the question—after all, every examinee had to undergo an inspection to prevent demons from infiltrating.
And never mind the martial examinations; if the people from the Daoist temple came knocking over this, it would be another catastrophe entirely.
At this thought, Wang Chengwang could not help sighing again, the furrows on his brow deepening.
Housekeeper Wang stood beside him and consoled, "Master, please do not fret. Zhao Da has already gone to invite a master from the Imperial Heaven Sect. This time, the young master will surely be cured."
Because they dared not disturb the Daoists of the Heavenly Master Sect, the Wang family had only invited local shamans and sorceresses to treat Wang Cailiang over the past few days.
In truth, however, according to the Great Han Code established by Emperor Taizu, every sect other than the state religion—the Heavenly Master Sect—was classified as an evil cult. Whether rural spirit mediums or the Imperial Heaven Sect mentioned by the housekeeper, all were originally targets to be suppressed by the imperial court and Daoist temples.
Yet the Great Han imperial court's control over the realm was far from what it used to be. Compounded by rampant superstition among the populace, various arts of physiognomy, feng shui, and occult practices were widespread, and diverse evil cults stirred up trouble in every corner of the land.
The Imperial Heaven Sect was exceptionally popular in the rural areas of Yongzhou in the north. Lingzhou, where Qingyang County was situated, lay just east of Yongzhou, and members of the Imperial Heaven Sect occasionally surfaced here.
Just then, the gatekeeping servant came outside the room and called inside, "Master, that Ergou of the Zhou family says he has an important matter to discuss with you. He is waiting outside the manor."
The housekeeper snapped impatiently, "Senseless servant! Where would the master find the patience to bother with that Zhou family clodhopper right now? Tell him to scramble back to wherever he came from!"
Both Master Wang and Housekeeper Wang assumed that Chu Qiguang had come about the grain tax. Right now, they had no interest in wasting time on a trivial matter involving a few taels of silver from the Zhou family.
Seeing that his master said nothing, the servant was about to retreat. But remembering the rabbit meat Ergou had given him, he gritted his teeth and said, "That Zhou Ergou asked me to ask the master whether the young master was harmed by a dog ghost."
The housekeeper was about to scold him again, but Master Wang's eyes flashed beside him. Staring at the servant, he asked, "The Zhou family's second son mentioned a dog ghost to you?"
Seeing the servant nod, Master Wang pondered for a moment and said, "Bring him in to see me."
The servant withdrew, and Master Wang explained the matter of the dog ghost to the housekeeper.
Originally, regarding the attack by the dog ghost, Wang Cailiang had only spoken of it to Master Wang and a few trusted personal servants; even the housekeeper had not known.
Though many shamans and sorceresses had come to treat Wang Cailiang over the past few days, not one had deduced that he had been harmed by a dog ghost.
Yet now, even a nobody like Zhou Ergou could say it. Master Wang thought to himself that some loose-lipped servant must have leaked the secret.
He thought to himself: *Once I find out which treacherous wretch blabbed outside, I'll have them beaten to death with clubs.*
What Wang Chengwang feared most was this matter alarming the Daoist temple into coming to vanquish demons. When that happened, bribes would be demanded high and low, and with his net worth, it probably would not even be enough to sate the appetite of the temple's Daoists. In the end, he might lose both his son and his fortune.
A moment later, the servant led Chu Qiguang before the hall. Chu Qiguang spotted a familiar cat tail sweeping beneath the eaves and knew that Qiao Zhi had already snuck into the Wang residence, filling him with even greater confidence.
Chapter 18