The twenty-eighth year of Taiming had opened with the joyous occasion of Xuanyin’s Grand Selection. No one had expected the auspicious air from the immortal mountains to dissipate so fast. It didn’t even last until the year’s end. 

On the night of the eighth day of the twelfth month, a fire in the southern outskirts shook all levels of society. The dense smoke lingered for days. 

The following night, in the cotton yarn factory that was the source of the fire, its primary owner hanged himself from a roof beam in his house. The words “blood calls for blood” were placed at his feet. 

Two days later, the water transport department’s Sun Yuqing was attacked outside the city on his way to pay respects to his ancestors. Though his guards risked their lives protecting him, Lord Sun was overwhelmed with fright and fell fatally ill. An explosive array was drawn on the outside of the Canal Office building. It failed—while burying jade stamp stones for the array, the evil cultivator was discovered by the Azure Dragon Towers. He blew himself up when Heaven’s Design Pavilion arrived. 

Discontented voices rose among the people. Evil ran wild. The walkers in the mortal world had more work than they could handle. Every branch of Heaven’s Design Pavilion reported frequent injuries. 

Emperor Taiming was furious. He indiscriminately threw several major figures in the Water Transport Department into prison, startling four peak masters of Xuanyin Mountain into sending a joint inquiry into the circumstances. 

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth month, in a great court assembly, Emperor Taiming issued an order. Crown Prince Zhou Huan was to lead the inspection of the disaster of the snow wine; Prince Zhuang Zhou Ying was to make a thorough investigation of the exploitation of workers by factories along the canal, to leave the capital at once before the New Year. 

When this order was given, even the Crown Prince and Prince Zhuang themselves were stunned. In a rare occurrence, the two of them looked at each other in dismay for a moment, both thinking: What is the old man doing? Testing us? 

When the assembly broke up, Emperor Taiming said a few words of encouragement to the Crown Prince, then told him to go and consider a solution, leaving Prince Zhuang alone with him. 

Prince Zhuang was unsurprised—the matter of the snow wine wasn’t actually hard to investigate. There was no need for the Crown Prince to direct it; there would already be a scapegoat ready. All he needed to do was ready a feast and celebrate the New Year. But the waters were too deep at the Water Transport Office, never mind that His Majesty wasn’t only aiming at the southern outskirts. He showed signs of wanting to go on campaign throughout the nation. 

“There was snow fungus and pear soup cooked today, no? Go and bring lao-san a bowl,” Emperor Taiming instructed a eunuch. “Pick out the snow fungus. This kid is so picky, he won’t eat it.” 

“No need to trouble yourself,” Prince Zhuang said to Emperor Taiming, smiling. “At my age, I’ve ceased to be a picky eater.” 

“Talking about your age in front of your father!” Emperor Taiming pointed at him. “What a disgrace!” 

The emperor wasn’t really angry, so Prince Zhuang apologized half-jokingly and waited for him to discuss the inspection tour of the south. 

The old emperor’s thunderous rage during the court session seemed to have been a mask. Leaving court, he took it off and once again became the kindly and amiable “old father.” He didn’t mention serious business. For some reason, he talked to Prince Zhuang about family matters. After going on interminably about trifles, he finally mentioned Xi Ping.

“I hear that Zhengde’s kid caught General Zhi’s eye and entered the inner sect ahead of schedule?” 

“Zhengde” was the Marquis of Yongning’s courtesy name. Prince Zhuang agreed. “No one expected it. My uncle’s family is overwhelmed with flattery, but also worried that being in the inner sect, with so little sense of the gravity of things, he will irritate the peak master.” 

“General Zhi is famous for his good disposition. Of course he won’t argue with a junior.” The old emperor remembered something and added, smiling, “I remember that little rascal. When he was so little he couldn’t even walk properly yet, the first time I picked him up to have a look at him, he dared to pull my mustache. So bold… You can see the man in the child. I said then that he might have great fortune in the future.” 

The eunuch offered the pear soup and silently withdrew. In the heated room kept spotless by the protection of inscriptions, only father and son remained. 

From the bottom of his heart, Prince Zhuang didn’t want to talk to him about Xi Ping. He joined him in a laugh and changed the subject, but Emperor Taiming suddenly continued: “At first, you even wanted to remove him from the alternate roster. How fortunate that the immortal envoy wrote him back in by some coincidence. As I see it, General Zhi was already drawn to him by fate then.” 

How did he know? Had the Zhao family given it away? 

Prince Zhuang’s fingers stopped rubbing the porcelain bowl, but his expression didn’t waver by a hair. As if nothing were the matter, he said, “My grandmother is old and didn’t want to be separated from her grandson. My uncle also thought he was lazy and would never make anything of himself. He was afraid he would make trouble if he went to the immortal mountains. That’s why he asked me to think of a way to remove him from the roster.” 

The old emperor watched him closely, the laugh lines deepening at the corners of his eyes. He said no more, only urged Prince Zhuang to eat the pear soup while it was hot. 

Prince Zhuang ate two mouthfuls, then put the bowl down. “Imperial Father, about the inspection tour of the south…” 

“There’s no rush. We’ll talk about that soon. First come and appraise this new painting I’ve put up.” Like a naughty child, Emperor Taiming excitedly called Prince Zhuang over to admire the painting with him. 

Prince Zhuang could only be patient and comply. 

For the New Year, in keeping with the occasion, a Welcoming Spring painting had been hung up in the heated room. This was an ancient painting, the style a little immature. It didn’t look like the work of a master, but the use of color was very lively and bold. Though it had faded a little over the years, the child chasing a butterfly and the brilliant early spring still came through the paper vibrantly. 

“Well, whose authentic work do you think this is?” 

Great Wan’s aesthetic was simple elegance and reserve. It didn’t actually care for anything too flamboyant or showy. 

Prince Zhuang saw that the signature was “Carefree Old Man” and felt that the artist was no older than fifteen. He thought, Is this child’s scrawl worthy of being called an “authentic work”? Would anyone really bother imitating it? 

“That’s hard to say. It has a unique style. It seems to have something of the look of the south.” 

So busy it made your eyes hurt. 

“Wrong! This person is a born and bred Jinping figure,” the old emperor said, smiling. “I bet you wouldn’t think that this painting was left in the palace by Princess Duanrui in her youth.” 

Prince Zhuang froze. 

Princess Duanrui? 

The Zhou family’s forebear in Xuanyin Mountain…the one who cultivated the way of clarity? 

“According to legend, this forebear was lively and mischievous in her youth, very spoiled. She often dressed in male clothes and went out with her father and brothers, and was skilled in calligraphy and painting. When she was around ten, at the birthday feast of the Empress Dowager Ren’an, she glued on a mustache and disguised herself as an actor. She imitated the storytelling of marketplace performers and made the whole room fall over laughing. Only when the empress dowager asked her to present herself to receive an award did she recognize her.” 

For a time, Prince Zhuang suspected that the old man’s vision was going, and he had read the names wrong while reading a whole series of unofficial histories. He wasn’t in the mood to indulge in this idle chatter with the old codger, so he got the conversation back on the right track: “Indeed, I didn’t think it. Imperial Father, the inspection tour…” 

But Emperor Taiming changed the subject back. He said, “She was like you. Innate spiritual bones.” 

Prince Zhuang’s pupils contracted abruptly.

“Xuanyin Mountain permits the Zhou family to occupy the imperial throne, so they certainly won’t permit a shed skin cultivator surnamed Zhou. She had to enter the way of unfeeling and clarity. If she wants to go forward, she must become a plant without thought or self, entirely forget the name ‘Zhou Xueru.’ Otherwise, she can only allow herself to be tormented by endless trivialities, cultivate the way of clarity without finding clarity, go no further than the ascended spirit stage all her life…but she’s still a little more fortunate than you.” The emperor looked up at the childish painting and said, softly, “She only had innate spiritual bones. She wasn’t born with a paramount spiritual sense. She wasn’t as sensitive to the many distracting thoughts of those around her as you are, so she was able to have a happy and carefree childhood. She wasn’t as burdened as you.” 

The heated room at once became deathly silent. 

Prince Zhuang gently pulled back the corner of a piece of white paper sticking out of his sleeve and adopted a stance of “I don’t know what His Majesty my Imperial Father is raving about, but any bullshit the emperor says is right.” 

“Enough, stop pretending. It’s been so many years—aren’t you tired? Only your mother would think you were 'sentimental and frail.' She doesn’t know anything.” The corners of Emperor Taiming’s mouth drew out in a strange smile. He waved a hand and allowed himself to appear elderly. “Ying, Our issue is six sons and five daughters, but none of them resembles Us…apart from you.” 

Prince Zhuang stood upright and calmly responded, “That is my good fortune.” 

Emperor Taiming asked, “Xi Ping is your uncle’s only son, and his entrance into the immortal sect would be a great benefit to you—so why would you want to prevent it?” 

Prince Zhuang’s lashes like a crow’s plumage lowered. He was silent a moment, then said,“Your Majesty presides over all; everything under heaven is a game piece for Your Majesty. I was born with nothing, and for over twenty years, I have had nothing but a few cats and dogs at my side. I am unwilling to take them out for show. This is inferior. Pardon me, Your Majesty.” 

“It isn’t up to you, and it isn’t up to me, either. There is nothing humanity can do about fate.” The old emperor’s slightly clouded eyes were frighteningly bright. He sat sturdily and said, “We have ordered you to make an inspection tour of the south. Do you know what that means?” 

“My wits are slow,” Prince Zhuang answered in a businesslike manner. “Please elaborate, Your Majesty.” 

“We want you to spare no effort.” The old emperor tore away the clinging mask of the “old father” and grimly said, “Investigate those pot-bellied demons who fill iron furnaces with men, gut those animals with their bottomless greed, no matter who the master behind them is. Can you do that?” 

Prince Zhuang answered, “I will strictly abide by Your Majesty’s orders and make a thorough investigation of this matter. I will await Your Majesty’s appraisal.” 

Even if you cast me out, can you come out of it clean? 

When the old emperor had made his big production over twenty years ago, he had reaped the benefits of the internal strife among the immortal mountains’ thirty-six peaks. This time, Xuanyin Mountain wasn’t about to give him tacit approval. 

Emperor Taiming was silent a moment, then said with emphasis, “The wound has already festered. The limb must be amputated to save the patient. Ying, We are giving you the knife.” 

Prince Zhuang frowned, not quite understanding what Emperor Taiming was getting at. 

What, was His Majesty plotting a rebellion? 

“The sky is about to fall. The Crown Prince is too kind and gentle. He…he can’t shoulder this. Only you are ruthless enough.” 

Perhaps it was only because it was what he expected to see, but Prince Zhuang thought that there was madness in his Imperial Father’s smile. 

Emperor Taiming said, “The Xi family’s boy has entered the immortal sect and joined the Dignitary of Fate High Elder’s lineage. Princess Duanrui must have had a hand in this. Ying, the immortal sect has already chosen you.” 

Prince Zhuang thought, So what? 

Supposing for the moment that Xuanyin really preferred him, could that bit of preference make them countenance this kind of provocation? 

Had the old codger also been drinking the extra strength snow wine? 

But Emperor Taiming said nothing more, only instructed, “You may leave. Do not disappoint Us… Remember to see your mother before you leave.” 

Only when the evening lanterns had been lit did Prince Zhuang leave Guangyun Palace. As soon as he got into his carriage, the inscriptions blocked the smoke and dust outside. Bai Ling, as a piece of paper, slipped out of the sleeve of his court dress. “Your Highness, His Majesty just now…” 

“Don’t fuss.” Prince Zhuang waved a hand and pressed down hard on his temples. “Give me some quiet.” 

Bai Ling didn’t make a sound. He took out a bottle of Spring Sunshine Pills and put it beside Prince Zhuang’s hand, silently waiting on him. 

The carriage drove slowly towards Prince Zhuang Manor. Outside the inscriptions there was a scattering of snow, like the ashes of the dead spread over the sky. 

Prince Zhuang kept his eyes closed until they reached the manor. Before the carriage had come to a full stop, he suddenly heard a qin playing.

His brow, furrowed the whole way, suddenly relaxed. He asked, “Where is the music coming from?” 

Bai Ling listened in. “It seems to be coming from the manor…” 

Before he could finish, Prince Zhuang had already pushed open the door and nearly jumped out of the carriage. 

Bai Ling flew up and stuck to his sleeve as paper. The servants were frightened, hastily following with an opened umbrella. “Your Highness, it’s snowing! Take care not to catch cold! Your Highness!” 

Prince Zhuang walked rapidly into the courtyard. As soon as he looked up, he saw on the roof of the south study one man and one cat—a pair of enemies. 

The big black cat was suspiciously circling the newcomer. It came close and sniffed at the hems of his robes. Probably it was thinking that he smelled familiar, but that there seemed to be something wrong.

And this person who had been parted from him for almost four seasons raised his head and smiled at Prince Zhuang. “San-ge, I’ve come to cadge a meal again!” 

Just as if he had never left. 

Prince Zhuang exhaled gently. His shoulders relaxed. He left the shadow he had brought back from Guangyun Palace at the door. 

First he wanted to smile, but when the corners of his mouth had lifted halfway, he forced his expression to harden again. “You’ve spent most of a year in the immortal sect, and all you’ve learned is how to climb the roof and tear up the tiles? What a disgrace! Come down here at once!” 

“All right!” Without warning, Xi Ping tucked the black cat under his arm. Accompanied by the cat’s scream, he jumped down from the rooftop holding it. 

The black cat instantly remembered this fiend. Its new hatred combined with old enmity. Its fur stood on end, and it tried to claw Xi Ping’s face. 

But the old enemy had changed. As if he were walking on air, Xi Ping’s figure flashed, and he landed lightly behind Prince Zhuang. He stood on tiptoe and pulled a face at the black cat. 

Prince Zhuang: “…” 

Fine. It turned out that in the terrifying episode at the Latent Cultivation Temple, only other people’s hearts had been terror-stricken; Xi Ping himself had no heart. 

“Shifu sent me down from the mountain to take care of some stuff.” Xi Ping walked into the study of Prince Zhuang Manor as if walking into his own home and familiarly brewed tea himself—the green jade cup he always used was still in its original place on the little tea tray. “I’ve just stopped by at home. I wasn’t going to come see you so late at night, but I heard my dad say that His Majesty was sending you far away… Listen, is His Majesty your father or not? How can he order you around like this? He won’t even let you stay to celebrate the New Year!” 

Prince Zhuang could only wave a hand and send the servants away. He thought that General Zhi lived up to his reputation for having a good temper—he had spoiled this brat even more thoroughly! 

Once the servants were gone, Xi Ping looked around and called a greeting to Prince Zhuang’s sleeve: “Hello, secret guard-da-ge!” 

Prince Zhuang froze. 

Bai Ling, whose hiding place had been identified, could only float down and change to human form. He chattily said, “Viscount—Flying Jade Peak does indeed have a profound wealth of knowledge. You only opened your spiritual eyes half a year ago, and you’ve already surpassed most of Heaven’s Design Pavilion.” 

Xi Ping said, “Of course.” 

Bai Ling: “…” 

He didn’t know how to respond to this. 

Fortunately, Prince Zhuang came to his rescue. He asked, “Since when have you known that Bai Ling wasn’t mortal?” 

“I’ve known since I was little,” Xi Ping said. “This secret guard-da-ge even taught me about inscriptions once. I felt that he was around most of the time, but before I couldn’t hear him at all.” 

The paperman’s concealment was exceptional. Bai Ling’s psyche barely withstood the fact that he had been detected by a mortal. “How did you know that I was around? How did I give myself away?” 

“You didn’t,” Xi Ping said. “I knew by looking at my san-ge’s expression.” 

Prince Zhuang squeezed his teacup and softly asked, “Didn’t you think it was strange that I would have a cultivator as my secret guard?” 

Xi Ping looked at him in confusion, his expression plainly saying “What does it have to do with me?” “Oh, right, san-ge, let me show you something good.” 

“You…” Prince Zhuang saw what he had taken out and froze. It was a white jade ornament the size of a finger pad. Following the natural bit of green in the jade, it had been made into an openwork carving of a budding snow lotus. 

Xi Ping didn’t touch it with his hands. A little inexpertly, he used a layer of spiritual energy to take the white jade ornament out of his mustard seed and, beset by peril, placed it in Prince Zhuang’s hand. 

When the jade ornament touched him, the small snow lotus slowly opened. Prince Zhuang instantly felt a refreshing breeze sweep through his body. The tight pain he’d felt in his chest for several days diminished considerably. 

As if afraid of startling the flower, Bai Ling lowered his voice. “This is…the legendary Heart-Protecting Lotus carved by Master Lin Chi himself?” 

“Yes. Shifu ordered me to take a few immortal tools from Flying Jade Peak before I left. I saw this and asked for it at once. This jade has been soaking up spiritual energy on Flying Jade Peak for over a hundred years. It’s thoroughly marinated. Even without a cultivator to help it along, it’s still enough for it to bloom for a hundred years. Carrying it on you dispels illness and avoids filth, wards off all poisons… Anyway, you could drink three jin of extra strength snow wine without any problem.” 

Prince Zhuang heard the words “snow wine.” “Was it General Zhi who told you about what happened in the factory district in the southern outskirts?” 

“Sure.” Xi Ping nodded as if he wasn’t too concerned about this matter. He changed the subject so quickly it was a little unnatural. He looked down and took out a thick stack of talismans. “There are also these… Oh, no, that’s wrong.” 

He flipped through them and saw that the ones he’d drawn incorrectly had also gotten mixed in by accident. He pulled out more than half of them. “Use the ones on top as much as you can, the ones on top are the good ones. The ones on the bottom all have some problems, but they’ll still do something.” 

Bai Ling looked at them. “They’re all talismans for avoiding contamination.” 

“That’s the only one I’ve learned so far.” Xi Ping grumbled, “My shifu isn’t good at anything but the sword. He tossed a talisman dictionary at me and told me to look them up myself, as if you could look one up and learn it like an unfamiliar character in the Shuowen Jiezi¹. It’s not that easy!” 

Prince Zhuang squeezed the Heart-Protecting Lotus in his hand for a time. He seemed to be feeling faintly ill at ease. He said, “I have Bai Ling with me. I’m not short on talismans to use.” 

Without even thinking, Xi Ping said, “That’s different. I drew these.” 

As if it was self-evident that talismans drawn by him were more meaningful than those drawn by someone else. 

Prince Zhuang was speechless for a moment. He held his forehead and said, smiling, “What else have you learned? Go ahead and flaunt all of it.” 

“There’s also the qin,” Xi Ping said, flexing his finger. As if there was an invisible string, his finger made a clear and melodious sound. 

Bai Ling said, “Flying Jade Peak truly does have a profound wealth of knowledge. What treasure is this? I haven’t heard of it.” 

“This is a ‘bone qin.’” Xi Ping didn’t explain further. “San-ge, you probably haven’t been sleeping well the last few days. I’ll play a song for you.” 

Prince Zhuang was afraid of his songs. He quickly said, “There’s no hurry. Let’s dine first. You can play when you’ve eaten.” 

His original thought had been that Xi Ping would eat and drink his fill and forget about this matter, but it turned out that he had his heart set on performing today. Prince Zhuang didn’t know what General Zhi had been thinking giving him a qin. All he could do was put his ears at risk. He adjusted his posture and prepared to give his full attention to Mr. Yu Gan’s work. 

But Xi Ping didn’t play one of his bewildering love songs. He sat and lightly moved his fingers, playing a “Spell of Lucidity and Calm.” 

Prince Zhuang listened. This “bone qin” of his must have been an immortal tool used for healing. Its sound was mild and peaceful. It passed through the manor’s courtyard walls, spreading far outwards. Jackdaws and sparrows landed all over the wall outside the south study, and the black cat that hissed as soon as it saw Xi Ping had slipped in at some point, found a corner of the study, and curled up with its ears pricked up. 

In the middle of the song, the playing paused for a moment. Bai Ling, who was practically about to enter meditation, came back to himself and saw Xi Ping raising a finger towards him. 

At some point, Prince Zhuang had fallen asleep with his head propped on his hand, looking as if he had no cares at all. 

Bai Ling quietly stepped up to place him on a small couch and cover him with a quilt. 

The calming spell continued. 

A-Xiang—Wei Chengxiang arrived in the ruins left by the fire in the southern outskirts near dawn. Starting from the former mouth of Rat Alley, she walked fifty paces south, lifted a burnt plank, and as she expected found a pouch. 

The pouch was full of blue jade. 

She bit through her finger and dripped blood on it. The blue jade in the pouch flashed and sank into the palm of her hand. Wei Chengxiang had a traveling bag on her back—inside were two memorial tablets, one reincarnation wood amulet, a stack of mixed grain flatbread, a handful of coins…and a Golden Tray lottery ticket for a lottery whose winner had yet to be announced. 

Then she walked to the ferry crossing. A boat was waiting for her there. 

There were already five or six raggedly dressed people crowded onto the boat, all in the prime of life, all left with nowhere to go after the fire in the southern outskirts. All their faces wore the same blank numbness. 

The punter just happened to be the old beggar who had beaten a plank while singing in the ruins of the fire. He waved his pole, and ripples spread from the boat, as if he were taking the boat full of people over the Wangchuan River that separated mortals from ghosts. 

After leaving the ferry crossing, they switched to a steamship. Someone came down from the steamship to welcome them. 

Wei Chengxiang looked around and saw several similar boats stopped nearby. She knew that there was more than one boat worth of people who had been attracted by these evil cultivators. 

The greeter who had come down from the steamship silently saluted each person on the boat. When Wei Chengxiang’s turn came, the greeter met her eyes and involuntarily froze—it was as if a living person had been mixed in with the ghosts. 

Wei Chengxiang smiled at him unwaveringly and took a step forward. Lowering her voice, she said, “The conflagration burns on, the cry of the cicada is without end.” 

The greeter said in astonishment, “You’re…” 

“Before Old Mud died for the cause, he was negotiating the matter of the spiritual stones with my Tai Sui. Unexpectedly, the blue-clothesers burst in to arrest him.” Through her bundle, Wei Chengxiang tightly hugged the two memorial tablets. These tablets were her blood and soul. 

“My number is sixty. Tai Sui has ordered me to travel with you to the tumultuous southern border.”