Conferment

The Geng family’s carts and horses left the city by the north gate, passed through Wuliu Town, and came to Taoxi Village at the foot of the mountain. Qin Xuan walked with Geng Zhi, following Zhu Ping and Zhu Gui, who had charge of guiding the way. They stepped across the moss and grass that clothed the stone bridge at the village entrance, then raised their eyes and took in the whole mountain. In spring, Yunxiu Mountain was at its most pure and exquisite. Its shape was wonderfully secluded and deep; from afar it was like a dark green screen laid across half the sky. Up close, the whole valley was filled with pines and bamboo, dense enough to shut out the sun. It was only a pity that today ink-black clouds lay piled and gathered, and all the countryside lay heavy in dark blue-grey, so that even the early-spring peach blossoms had lost their blooming charm. “Clouds capping the peak mean rain; clouds at mid-slope mean none.” Zhu Gui looked at the low-hanging cloud, capping the summit like a hat, and judged with the confidence of experience: “There’s no dodging this mountain rain, I’m afraid. Geng family head, I’d take the shaded slope route. It’s a detour, but it keeps us clear of the muddy runoff from the upper ravines, and there’s a ruined temple along the way—so if we can’t get down the mountain tonight, we’ll have somewhere to shelter from the wind.” Geng Zhi was all for it: “Young Master Qin, what do you think?” For a moment Jinghui, Jinyanshu, and all the rest looked at him. When a crowd travels in the mountains, someone has to take the lead and make the decisions; otherwise everyone talks over everyone else and disaster comes easily. At least on the surface, Qin Xuan was the temporary leader of the band. Qin Xuan had already made up his mind. He said to Geng Zhi, “No hurry to climb. First we go to the Earth God Temple.” Liu Xi and Yu Han were the first to answer: “Senior Brother, this way.” The two of them took over as guides, and everyone followed close behind. Taoxi Village had a warm, lived-in bustle about it, full of crowing cocks and barking dogs. The houses along the way stood at all heights, every one of them earthen-walled and thatch-roofed, firewood stacked against the foot of the walls, hoes and sickles hanging beneath the eaves. Turning west out of the village onto a narrow path, with abandoned fields and scrubby trees on either side, they walked about a li and saw a small temple standing on the earthen slope ahead. The temple was no bigger than a single room, of grey brick and dark tiles. Its plaster had peeled away, exposing the yellow earth beneath. The two cypresses before the gate, though, grew vigorously, a deep, dark green. The temple door stood ajar. On the wooden plaque above the lintel were carved the three characters “Earth God Temple,” but the paint had worn away entirely, leaving only a faint outline. “Earth God! Is the Earth God of Taoxi Village at home?” Only Liu Xi and Yu Han would have dared to shout like that. The whole crowd Geng Zhi had brought stood outside the temple, and no one presumed to go in. Small as this temple was, its divine incense belonged to one of the kinds reckoned among the Nine Provinces’ Divine Sects and demon sects. Only people from a great orthodox lineage dared to deal with him in such a manner. “Where do these juniors come from, disturbing a man’s peace?” An old, deep voice came from inside the temple, reaching each of them clearly. “Forgive the disturbance. We are disciples of Yuansong Temple, and we have important matters to ask about.” “Yuansong Temple?” The old voice came again. “Do you carry a commandery token?” The commandery office he meant was the Yingyang Prefecture in Pingyuan Commandery’s city. All three of the Nine Provinces’ great imperial dynasties kept such offices, charged solely with overseeing the Royal Way Shrines—that is, the various divine beings under the dynasty’s authority. By speaking this way, the Earth God of Taoxi Village made plain that he held the standing of a Royal Way Shrine, and was no rootless mud god of the wild marshes. Even facing Yuansong Temple, he kept his back straight and his words hard. The two juniors of Yuansong Temple, unversed in the ways of the world, were hesitating, and before Qin Xuan could speak, Jinyanshu gave a cold snort: “A question, a few words—what need is there for a token? Why won’t the Earth God grant a small convenience?” “You want a convenience, he wants a convenience—where am I to find so many conveniences?” The Earth God treated all alike, and gave him no face either: “A whole chicken and a whole fish. Nine lamps of incense and candles. Five pig heads, half-raw.” Plainly he had seen that the Geng family head was a wealthy man with business to ask of him, and so he opened his mouth wide and demanded a great many offerings. Geng Zhi was not a stingy man: “Easily done. I’ll have someone bring them from my residence.” “No need to wait—you have them ready in your carts.” This Earth God had a keen nose. Qin Xuan stepped forward: “Those are for the Geng family head’s ancestral rites. Some days ago an earth dragon moved beneath Yunxiu Mountain, and his family patriarch’s grave was shifted—we suspect the earth dragon carried it off on its back as it moved the mountain. You are here; you should know which way the earth dragon went.” Hearing this, the Earth God was just about to raise his price on the spot. But then… Qin Xuan drew a jade talisman from his robes. The temple head, old Daoist Wu, had given it to him, and its chief purpose was to let old Daoist Wu sense him from afar. So long as he was within Pingyuan Commandery, the talisman was as good as a life-preserving charm. That was the greatest convenience old Daoist Wu had given him. The moment the jade talisman appeared, the Earth God’s whole body seized up, and at once he swallowed the words already at his lips. The main hall of the Earth God Temple was even smaller, with room for only a single offering table. In the censer on that table a few stubs of incense still burned, blue smoke curling and coiling beneath the low roof. The clay statue’s eyes went wide as it studied the jade talisman carefully. No mistake—it was the Dao Sect’s “Talisman of Conferment”! This talisman could command the mountain lords and marsh barons beneath it, the spirit gods of streams and ravines. With the register of earth deities, it could confer wild-marsh spirits as protector deities of the Dao Sect. What was more, it could create from nothing, conferring rank upon mountains and great marshes, appointing the true gods of peaks and rivers. Though his incense was not of the same order as the imperial dynasty’s Royal Way Shrines, he still felt an invisible pressure. Yuansong Temple in Pingyuan Commandery had no power of divine conferment at all; this talisman could only have come from its Upper Court—Guanjiang Mountain. This was bad! The Earth God’s heart lurched. That was one branch of the ancestral line of the Daoist court, not remotely on the same level as the commandery’s Yingyang Prefecture. Even if they tore his temple down, the city god of the commandery and the commandant of Yingyang Prefecture would say it had been well torn down. He looked at Qin Xuan and saw, in effect, an honored guest of Guanjiang Mountain; how would he dare put on airs now? With a bang, a burst of white mist exploded inside the little temple, and at once an old man appeared—kindly-eyed, white-bearded, with a ruddy face. Leaning on a staff, he trotted briskly toward Qin Xuan. “This humble deity, Hu Feng, was blind and unperceiving. I did not know you were a distinguished disciple of one of Guanjiang Mountain’s Perfected Ones—might I ask which?” His attitude had swung a full hundred and eighty degrees, and the whole crowd outside the temple was thrown off balance. Qin Xuan put the talisman away, and there was no harshness in his words: “No need for questions. The Geng family head can well afford your offerings. First, tell us about Yunxiu Mountain.” “Yes.” The Earth God smiled apologetically. The other had not only forgiven him but was even offering him something; how would he dare haggle? The ruddy-faced old man turned to Geng Zhi: “Your family patriarch’s grave—was it near Chongxi Valley on Yunxiu Mountain?” “Exactly!” Geng Zhi answered at once. “Then that’s it. Follow Chongxi Valley and first look east for a cold pool, then search north, tracing the sand-and-water vein of Chongxi Valley as you go. You should find it in one of the other pools.” Geng Zhi was baffled: “How can you tell?” The Earth God glanced at Qin Xuan and explained patiently: “What moves underground is a dragon earthworm. The creature is a close kin of the cavern demons, and not very intelligent. Some days ago, while this humble deity was cultivating, I felt a surge of yin qi coming from the west. Dragon earthworms delight in yin, and this one chased that qi and set the dragon vein of Yunxiu Mountain stirring.” “The dragon vein shifted the mountain as it went and left a water channel behind. The wretch went mad—it fancies it carries a trace of dragon blood and wants to transform into a flood dragon. It followed the water course, chasing and swallowing the dragon vein, which threw the earth veins into turmoil and shifted the mountains and rivers. But a dragon earthworm bores when it meets sand, rests when it meets a pool, and swims upstream against flowing water. Your family patriarch is very likely resting in one of those cold pools.” Hearing this, Geng Zhi cupped his fists and bowed: “Many thanks for the Earth God’s guidance.” “No need to thank this old fellow—just don’t forget my incense and food. Watching all that excitement cost me no small amount of divine power.” The Earth God reminded him, then said to Qin Xuan, “With the earth veins unsettled, yin creatures have been making a great deal of trouble lately. This humble deity has already reported it to the prefecture office. When the immortal master enters the mountain, he should avoid places where miasma and flower bane have gathered, and must not cut corners with shortcuts.” Qin Xuan cupped his hands and thanked him. The Earth God hurried after them and saw them out of the temple. Once they had left the temple, Yu Han muttered, “That Earth God is reasonable enough—just a bit greedy for food.” Liu Xi said, “A minor god of a Royal Way Shrine like that gets only two hundred years of spirit lifespan at most. His statue looks dull grey; his allotted years are probably nearly spent. With no hope of breaking through, of course he eats what he can and leaves no regrets.” The bladesman Old Huang, arms around his saber, said, “Life is a dream—so take your joys while you may. Men are like that; are gods any different?” Nearby, Geng Zhi seemed to take it to heart: “Send a pigeon back and have them add one big, fat pig, thick with lard.” “Yes!” Someone answered and went to see to it. After some discussion, they left a few men to watch the horses and the carts. The rest took up the incense, candles, and offerings in their hands or on their shoulders, and with the two Zhus leading the way, went into Yunxiu Mountain under the watching, amused eyes of many a Taoxi Village local. The mountain rolled on in unbroken ridges, joining up with the mountains and rivers of the commanderies to the west. Events proved that Qin Xuan had been entirely right to question the Earth God, and everyone felt glad of it—only that the cold pool near Chongxi Valley where the dragon earthworm rested was extremely hard to find, let alone the Geng family patriarch’s grave. Following the cold pools, they walked more than thirty li north. Along the way they came upon two deep pools; Geng Zhi sent down men who were excellent swimmers, but both came back with nothing. They groped on another twenty li as the sky gradually dimmed and evening mist closed in on every side. They found a third pool. It was round as a full moon, with nameless wildflowers growing all around it, their faint fragrance assailing the senses. Geng Zhi was overjoyed and ordered a careful search, but it was still not the one. “Patriarch, where on earth are you?!” Anxious at heart, he shouted out at the mountains and rivers. Qin Xuan saw he was near the end of his rope and meant to say a word to comfort him, but before he could, Zhu Ping, scouting ahead, shouted urgently: “A grave! There’s a grave!” Hm? Had the Geng family patriarch’s spirit answered them? …