Temple Fair

The oil lamp swayed in the room, its wick glowing red with char.

Three Flower Lady paced back and forth across the wooden table, though no one knew what she was up to. Suddenly, she sat down primly at the table's edge, one section of her tail naturally curling around her little feet, and said to Song You:

"Daoist, you were so cold when you cultivated today."

Song You was not surprised. The little cat always did whatever popped into her head—if she wanted to do something, she did it; if she wanted to say something, she said it. He merely answered in a low voice, "Because I was drawing in the spiritual resonance of Winter Storage. It carries a tranquil energy."

"What's that?"

"That's a long story."

"Mm..."

Three Flower Cat lowered her head and licked her body. She did not seem interested in hearing more and merely said, "Three Flower Lady only needs to breathe in and out on her own."

"Compared to Three Flower Lady, I'm nothing."

"Does your cultivation progress quickly?"

"Some people are fast, and some are slow. Even for me, sometimes it's fast and sometimes it's slow." Song You said, "Back at the Daoist temple, my cultivation proceeded by the book. After coming down the mountain, the world opened up before me, and I advanced a thousand li in a single day."

"Why?"

"That's a mysterious matter. But Three Flower Lady is a demon, not a human, so you don't need to learn any of this. Just continue breathing in and out as usual."

"Got it."

Song You smiled.

Perhaps it was because he had lived two lifetimes, or perhaps for some other reason, but he had grown less and less fond of complicated things and more and more fond of simple ones. Although the Daoist priests at Fuqing Palace were all friendly, he still found speaking with Three Flower Lady more relaxing and interesting. Even when their words had no substance whatsoever.

"Three Flower Lady."

"Hmm?"

Three Flower Cat was licking her fur. At his words, she immediately raised her head.

"How about we go back the day after tomorrow?"

"You can decide."

"Since you and I are traveling together, a matter this important should still be discussed with Three Flower Lady."

"The day after tomorrow..."

"Yes."

"Mm..."

Three Flower Cat stared at Song You for a long while before saying, "You don't seem to like them very much."

"Why do you say that?"

"There's meat here every day, yet you don't like this place."

"It's only that playing with them isn't as interesting as being with Three Flower Lady." Song You shook his head. "Besides, we can't eat their meat every day."

"That's true."

"What do you think?"

"Then we'll go back tomorrow!"

Three Flower Cat immediately spoke up, utterly decisive.

"That wouldn't be good either."

"Why not?"

"Tomorrow I need to help someone resolve some doubts about the Dao. That's my repayment for their hospitality over these past few days."

"Oh..."

Three Flower Cat fell into thought.

"Go to sleep."

Song You blew out the oil lamp, and the scattered sparks of the lamp flower fell like stars.

The next morning, Chuyun and Yingfeng came to look for Song You again, doing everything they could to give him a proper welcome. In the end, however, they lacked the bond they had shared decades ago. Forcing themselves to spend time together was not necessarily bad, but it was difficult to form, in such a short time, the kind of friendship they had forged all those years ago.

After answering the Daoist priests' questions, Song You told Guanghua Zi that evening that he planned to set off home the next day.

No matter how everyone tried to persuade him to stay, he did not waver.

Chuyun and Yingfeng, however, admired him immensely. They had likely already enshrined him in their hearts as an immortal among men and wanted to follow him as he wandered the world. But he merely told them that they were not fated to do so.

Another day passed, and Song You left the mountain before dawn.

The bright moon shone clearly upon me; I traveled only with the cat.

They walked from before sunrise until dusk. By the time the sun was sinking in the west, they were already near Yi Capital. Song You thought about it. Winter had already arrived, and spending the night somewhere would be cold. It would be better to take advantage of the moonlight and walk a little farther. Thus, he pushed on and walked all the way back to Yi Capital. By a stroke of coincidence, he reached the city just before the gates closed for the night. As soon as he returned to the courtyard, the sound of a little tune rose, and peace instantly filled his heart.

The weather in Yi Capital grew colder and colder.

Song You was idle every day. Apart from often going to the entertainment quarters to listen to storytellers, he spent most of his time at home roasting by the fire, cultivating, and chatting with the cat. He lived a life of soft streamside firewood, warm wool blankets, and never leaving home with Cat.

Now and then, people came because of his reputation, seeking a talisman or an opened-light protective charm. Song You had no opened-light objects, but drawing a talisman was merely a matter of making a stroke or two. He answered every request, and it earned him at least a little money to buy meat for Three Flower Lady.

Sometimes he went out for a walk, observing Yidu City in winter and watching people brave the cold in search of a living, hurrying about in single-layered clothes. When the weather turned cold, the veil covering this prosperous age fell away completely. He gained quite a lot from what he saw.

The wax plums in the courtyard gradually began to form flower buds.

Song You often watched them beneath the tree, unsure when they would bloom. But when he leaned close and breathed in, he could already catch their faint fragrance.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

There was another knock at the courtyard gate.

Song You opened the door and saw Constable Luo outside.

In the depths of winter, Constable Luo was still dressed in black robes and black boots, though he had thickened the layers underneath. The wind had chafed his cheeks bright red, and in his hand he carried a small fish, its gills threaded through with a length of river-crossing vine.

"Greetings, Sir."

"Squad Leader, aren't you cold?"

"I practice martial arts, and I'm constantly on the move. I'm not cold."

"Come in, quickly."

Constable Luo followed Song You into the courtyard and closed the door behind him, already quite familiar with the place. As they walked, he said, "My wife's younger brother is an idle good-for-nothing. He's recently become obsessed with fishing. He went fishing for half the day today and came back shivering from the cold, yet he'd caught only this little fish—not even two fingers wide—and actually had the nerve to say he would bring it home for us to make soup. Ha! I simply brought it here as an offering to Three Flower Lady."

"That was thoughtful of you."

"Three Flower Lady..."

As Constable Luo spoke, he removed the river-crossing vine. He did not toss the small fish onto the ground, but placed it on the clean stone table instead.

Originally, when he visited Sir at the little courtyard, he never brought gifts for Three Flower Lady. He only brought things for Sir. Then, one day, he came to ask Sir about the nightmare ghost and suddenly saw a little girl as delicate as a carved doll in Sir's courtyard. He had never seen a girl there before. After visiting several more times, he sometimes saw the cat and sometimes the little girl. When he saw the cat, the girl was nowhere to be found; when he saw the girl, he could never see Three Flower Lady. As time passed, and after recalling Three Flower Lady's usual bearing and behavior, he gradually understood what was going on.

Having served as a constable in Yi Capital for many years, Constable Luo had encountered plenty of matters involving demons and ghosts and had even handled cases of animals gaining spiritual awareness. To be honest, it was not all that mysterious. Such beasts merely gained intelligence; being able to speak human words was already terrifying enough. They did not possess the ability to assume human form like the creatures in stories. Under a martial artist's blade, they would still be cut down all the same. At most, they would beg for mercy in all sorts of ways while being hacked apart.

But a demon capable of transforming into human form was something he had seen for the first time.

For a moment, Constable Luo was both astonished and felt it was only natural.

What astonished him was that there was actually a demon capable of transformation living right across from his own home, and he had failed to notice for so long. But then he thought about it. For her to appear beside a great man like Sir seemed perfectly ordinary.

What great figure in any story did not have a boy or girl attendant who was not of the mortal world, or a mount that had gained spiritual awareness?

Sir naturally ought to have one as well.

From then on, every time he came, he brought Three Flower Lady some gifts. In return, Three Flower Lady ensured that there were no mice in his home and that his grain and rice suffered no calamity.

Seeing that Three Flower Cat had already begun eating, Constable Luo watched for a while before turning to Song You and saying, "Sir, the temple festival at King Yue Temple is in a few days."

"In a few days?"

"In three days, on the third day of the twelfth month."

"Ah..."

Only then did Song You realize that it was already the twelfth lunar month.

"There are already many people at King Yue Temple, but it won't be liveliest until after the third." Constable Luo said, "Is there anything Sir wants to buy? The temple market is a mixed crowd. Would you like me to serve as your guide? I still have a group of men under me who can do the hard labor for you."

"We'll see when the time comes."

"If Sir needs anything, just knock on my door."

"Then I'll thank you in advance, Squad Leader."

"Sir, you're too polite."

They chatted for a while longer before Song You saw Constable Luo out.

A smile had already spread across Song You's face.

A temple festival was also called a temple market. It originated from religious gatherings, especially on major festivals or special religious holidays, when large numbers of believers would gather. Wherever there were people, there was business. In this age of poor transportation and inconvenient shopping, people also had goods they needed to purchase, so vendors began setting up stalls at temple festivals to promote their wares. More and more merchants gathered, and more and more customers came, forming a virtuous cycle. Eventually, temple festivals were no longer limited to worshippers. They became large-scale shopping festivals, one of the liveliest celebrations of the year.

Temple festivals could be large or small.

At a small one, people from nearby villages or the same county would attend. A large one was another matter entirely. At the most exaggerated, its influence could spread across several provinces. People of later generations found it difficult to imagine, but some would spend half a month traveling a thousand li simply to burn a stick of incense and enjoy the bustle of the temple festival for a few days, then spend another half a month traveling home.

During such a time, some people broadened their horizons, some made a fortune, some met lifelong friends, some encountered a beloved woman or man, and some came alone and left alone—after having their money stolen.

The temple festival at King Yue Temple was the most influential festival in Yizhou. Though it could not reach across several provinces, people from remote parts of the province would still come, along with performers and merchants from outside the province.

The reason it was set for the third day of the twelfth lunar month was that this was said to be the birthday of King Yue Divine Lord. A temple festival of this scale was no longer limited to King Yue Temple itself; it merely began around this date. It usually ended several days later, once the grand celebration was complete.

Song You had been looking forward to this temple festival for a long time.

He went out for a walk to have a look, and it was just as Constable Luo had said. Many merchants and performers had already arrived in Yi Capital that day, gathering in the streets and alleys around King Yue Temple. The whole area was in an uproar, bursting with life.

Three Flower Lady naturally saw the excitement on his face, but she was somewhat puzzled by it.

"Daoist, are temple festivals fun?"

"I don't know."

Song You answered honestly, then added, "I hope they are interesting."

"You seem to like temple festivals a lot."

"They're very lively." Song You said to Three Flower Cat, "Has Three Flower Lady ever seen a lively scene?"

"This city is already very lively."

"No..."

Song You shook his head. No matter how large Great Yan's population was or how prosperous Yi Capital had become, the limits of this era meant that perhaps there were still fewer residents gathered in the city than people who would gather beneath a provincial capital's landmark during a New Year countdown in later generations. Perhaps it could not even compare with the number of visitors received by a popular tourist attraction in a single day during Golden Week. Only this temple festival was truly bustling.

It was the grandest display of human life this era had to offer.

It was a liveliness that could rival that of later generations.

Song You's eyes shimmered, but he did not explain it to Three Flower Lady. He only said, "There are many things at the temple festival that you can't see normally, such as strange people who perform tricks, exotic flowers and plants, rare birds and beasts. We can enjoy the bustle for several days, buy lots of delicious food, and, yes, buy a horse or mule too."

"Buy a horse?"

"Yes."

"Us? Buy a horse?"

"What's wrong?"

"We're going to buy a horse?"

"A horse, or perhaps a mule." Song You said to her, "It'll make traveling the world easier in the future."

"Okay!!"

Three Flower Lady's eyes shone brightly.

Song You stared at her again and again, somewhat puzzled.

This cat seemed unusually excited.