Slipping Away

In his dream, he was back more than a decade ago, overseeing the construction of the Spirit Gathering Grand Formation on Mount Xu. Mount Xu's transformation had taken a long time, but the construction feasibility study before work began had actually lasted a mere three months. When both the celestial gods and the Emperor wanted something done, no one in Beijia could stand in the way. Zaifu Kua still remembered how, during those three months, his colleague and good friend Mei Shifu had argued with him tooth and nail over the formation's construction. "Madness! Doing it this way is far too dangerous!" "This is the decree of His Imperial Majesty, and the result of the celestial gods' deliberations! What right do you have to question it?" "B-but..." "Enough with the 'buts'! Our duty is to carry it out resolutely and oversee construction with everything we have!" Zaifu Kua sneered. "If you or I dare change a single stroke and something goes wrong, would all the necks in our families be enough for the executioner's blade?" After being told this several times, Mei Shifu gave up. Yet no matter how careful everyone was, on the day the formation core was installed, disaster struck anyway... Though over a decade had passed, Zaifu Kua still remembered how fireballs shot in all directions from Tianshu Peak that day, the sky-shaking roars, the apocalyptic scene that frightened everyone out of their wits. Fortunately, he was some distance away from the point of eruption... Mei Shifu, however, who had been on Tianshu Peak, was obliterated on the spot. *Alas, all is determined by fate; none of it is up to man.* Zaifu Kua slept until past noon the next day before waking. Seeing his eyes staring blankly at the bed canopy, his concubine couldn't help asking worriedly, "Master?" "Nothing. Just reminiscing about old matters and past acquaintances." For the first few years after that fellow Mei Shifu met his unfortunate demise, Zaifu Kua had constantly dreamt of him coming back to lodge accusations, but things improved once he obtained an anxiety-calming talisman from the temple. Why had he dreamed of this man again after more than ten years? Yet what they had spoken about in the dream, he couldn't remember clearly upon waking. Probably the same old trivial rubbish from back then? It seemed he would have to visit the temple again to fetch a mind-calming talisman. However, when he arrived at the temple, the fortune-teller from last time came up to read his physiognomy again, greeting him with a bow and an immediate, "Congratulations!" Zaifu Kua snapped irritably, "What is there to celebrate?" Last night, he had even dreamed of that short-lived ghost Old Mei. "I previously told you, Lord Zaifu, that you would face a tribulation at seventy-four." "Indeed." And it had weighed on his mind for so many years. "Observing your brow and eyes today, Lord Zaifu, that wisp of calamitous aura has already dispersed." The fortune-teller made a deep bow to the ground. "Congratulations, Lord Zaifu! Your tribulation has safely passed; a hundred years of life are within your reach!" Zaifu Kua was first startled, then overjoyed. "It's over? Just like that, my tribulation is past?" Under normal circumstances, he would have been skeptical. But having suddenly dreamed of Mei Shifu last night after not seeing him for so long, could it be that his old friend had helped him from beyond the grave? Regardless, this was good news—tremendously good news! "Reward him!" In Zaifu Kua's delight, the fortune-teller was immediately bestowed a handsome reward of one hundred taels of silver. "Host a banquet! We must hold a banquet!" Zaifu Kua beamed from ear to ear. "In seven days—no, no, five days! Host the banquet in five days! Invite all my old friends to come!" His attendant acknowledged the order, then thoughtfully reminded him, "My lord, your seventy-fifth birthday is next month." "What does that matter?" Zaifu Kua waved his large hand dismissively. "Host it! Host them both!" *** He Lingchuan likewise slept until the sun was high in the sky. When he opened the courtyard gate, two Tongxin Guards were standing sentry outside. Clearly, his quarters were receiving special attention. The tiger Jiao Yu strolled out from who-knew-where and stretched beside him. "There are people watching you from the shadows too. I can smell their scent." As they passed a large tree, the tiger stood on its hind legs, raking its sharp claws across the trunk with a screeching sound. "I'd love to eat them all up!" Being monitored felt exceedingly foul. It was the dignified Household General of Baishan... "Endure it," He Lingchuan said, stroking the tiger's back and feeling the knotted muscles beneath its fur. "Last night, I instructed the kitchen to slaughter a fat sheep, wrap the mutton up, and hang it in the cold water pool, all waiting for you." The reason he hadn't hung it in the lake behind the mountain was that it wasn't safe there. Sure enough, as soon as the tiger heard there was meat to eat, its temper subsided. Walking outward, He Lingchuan also noticed several pairs of eyes fixed upon him. His spiritual senses were growing increasingly potent; the moment someone spied on him, an instinctive sense of anomaly would well up. Evidently, among those Fan Long had stationed at Pianxiang Villa, there were hidden scouts in addition to overt sentries. Entering the back kitchen, the tiger got its wish and received the slaughtered, skinned, and washed fat sheep, while an enthusiastic cook stuffed a large food basket into He Lingchuan's hands. Four tiers of food boxes, stacked together. He Lingchuan said a few pleasant words to the cook, handed over ten copper coins as a tip, and then swept both the food basket and the mutton into his storage ring before strolling toward the back of the mountain. As Fu Shanyue's silver poured out, Pianxiang Villa was looking more and more like a proper estate. Servants swept the fallen leaves on the paths with a rustling sound; unable to resist, the tiger rolled around twice on a thick pile of leaves. *Ah, that feels great!* A pavilion on the back mountain was undergoing repairs, clinking and clattering. The late-autumn sunlight beat down, bringing a rare warmth. A gap had been cut through the bushes behind the weasel's home, and a small pier had been built overnight. The pleasure boat was moored right there. He Lingchuan hopped onto the boat, untied the mooring line, and pushed the wooden oar against the pier's boarding. Just as the tiger bounded onto the prow, the pleasure boat drifted away from the shore, gliding lazily toward the center of the lake. It squatted down, its large eyes staring straight toward the shore, and suddenly said, "Those rats showed their faces after all." Behind the bushes on the lakeside, figures were flickering. "They're called Tongxin Guards, not rats." Seeing the way the tiger stared, He Lingchuan felt it looked just like a cat watching mice, with even the tuft of white fur at the tip of its tail flicking ceaselessly. "Time to eat." The tiger's attitude toward the Tongxin Guards was mostly because Fu Shanyue was growing increasingly impatient with all the restrictions and regulations in Lingxu City. He Lingchuan took out the fat sheep, used a knife to carve it into several large chunks, and laid them on the bow to feed the tiger. The cabin space was a bit too cramped for a tiger nearly ten feet long. He Lingchuan opened the food boxes one by one. Inside were a large bowl of braised noodles, a steamer basket of pan-fried buns, a tall stack of scallion pancakes, a portion of stewed pear soup, and, tucked in the corner, a small bowl of crystal pickled scallions. The bottoms of the pan-fried buns had been fried into a golden, crispy crust that rasped when scraped with chopsticks. The tops, however, were soft and tender, dotted with a few black sesame seeds. Not fearing the heat, He Lingchuan popped one straight into his mouth; with a squirt, hot juices burst forth. As for the scallion pancakes, thin as they appeared, they were flaky and multi-layered. When he rolled one up with a few crystal pickled scallions inside, the flavor was instantly elevated to another level. The bowl of braised noodles was even more impressive. Not only was it packed with ingredients—dried shiitake mushrooms, shrimp, pork, squid, shredded bamboo shoots, and dried daylily flowers—but its base was a rich broth simmered from pork bones and chicken carcasses. The broth was thick and clinging just right; taking a slurp and gulping it down was intensely satisfying. Never mind He Lingchuan; even an ordinary person finishing such piping-hot braised noodles would feel warm from head to toe. His ravenous devouring made the tiger eating raw meat opposite him look gentle and refined by comparison. There was no helping it; big cats were naturally incapable of chewing, only able to shear meat with their carnassials and swallow it down. By the time He Lingchuan finished eating, Jiao Yu had gnawed through less than a quarter of the sheep. He grabbed the wooden oar and rowed toward the north shore. Man and tiger had boarded on the south shore of the lake. Now that they were cutting a straight line toward the north shore, the watching Tongxin Guards had no choice but to sprint north along the shoreline. As it happened, this lake was not small, and its shoreline was quite winding. One impatient Tongxin Guard stripped off his outer tunic and prepared to plunge into the water. "Let's swim across! Swimming is faster than walking!" Swimming took a straight line as well. Yet just as he reached the water's edge, before he could kick off his shoes, a companion suddenly grabbed him. "Don't go in! Look at the lake!" The guard glanced at the water just in time to see a massive creature leap nearly four feet above the surface, crashing back down heavily. The exploding spray flashed like molten gold and scattered jade in the sunlight, splashing across their faces. Wiping the water from their faces, several guards asked, "What was that?" "Looked like a giant-mouth catfish." Catfish ate anything and were naturally prone to growing huge, but this one was over ten feet long. When it breached the water, its gaping maw looked more than wide enough to swallow a man whole. Just then, another enormous fish exposed its spine above the surface. It wasn't a catfish, but it was not a bit smaller, only lighter in color. After it cruised half a circle near the shore, not a single guard dared enter the water. How could two fish kings suddenly appear in the lake behind Mount Qilin? Anyone could guess it had everything to do with these Chiyan people. The guards had no choice but to follow the winding shoreline obediently toward the north shore. By the time they arrived, the pleasure boat had already drifted into the tall grass along the north bank. The tiger was still crouched at the bow eating, leaving only a hind leg of the fat sheep. As for the cabin, it was naturally empty. The Tongxin Guards looked at one another, rather chagrined. *This kid really is as cunning as Vice Commander Fan said!* On their very first day on duty at Pianxiang Villa, they had already lost their target! Yet the lake was so vast that no matter where the He fellow rowed, it would be easy to shake them off. How were they supposed to solve this problem? While they were at their wits' end— He Lingchuan was already humming a little ditty at the foot of Mount Qilin. The bighorn rock sheep was leisurely nibbling on grass roots here; seeing its master arrive, it happily rubbed its head against his arm. Mounting the rock sheep, He Lingchuan galloped toward the south. Originally, the lake behind Mount Qilin had plenty of fish, but no yaoguai. He had enlisted the help of Old Ge the gibbon to invite two fish demons to take up residence. Normally, these two fish demons made a living in lakes and rivers by driving fish into fishermen's nets, receiving a share or payment after the catch. But the competition in this trade was fierce; there were plenty of younger, stronger newcomers, and humans drove hard bargains. The two giant fish always felt underfed. Now, things were different: He Lingchuan had invited them to reside in Qilin Lake. While the lake's surface wasn't particularly vast for the two fish, its depths were profound and connected to karst caves inside the mountain, making for a splendid environment. The fish demons of Qilin Lake had been cleared out long ago. For the two new fish kings, food here was plentiful, and He Lingchuan had promised regular supplemental meals. Best of all, their job duties were remarkably simple: Permit no one into the water, and occasionally help tow a boat. And to He Lingchuan, any yaoguai that could be bribed was a good yaoguai. *** Dong Rui walked down the street dressed in coarse cloth, wearing a veiled hat on his head, with a little squirrel perched on his shoulder. The squirrel kept issuing him instructions: "Straight ahead." "To the left! Left! Not right!" "Into the alley." "You walked right past it, idiot! Go back, that's not the road I meant!" Dong Rui: "..." Where on earth had that He fellow found such a chatterbox? He sorely wanted to sew its mouth shut.