"Sir, you truly are a man of great attainments!"
"We've really had our eyes opened today!"
"Those were truly divine methods!"
All along the way, the people surrounded Song You, awestruck and full of admiration. They had plainly taken him for a great man wandering the world.
A large group of people headed toward the old man's main household.
It was the biggest household in the village.
There was no need to mention anything else. Just standing outside the courtyard and seeing the white walls and upturned eaves, with bamboo and plum trees visible within, one could tell that a particular sort of family lived here. After passing the stone lions and entering the vermilion gate, the scenery inside was likewise far beyond what an ordinary wealthy household in a mountain village could possess. Sure enough, when the old man went in to report the situation, someone nearby told Song You that this household had originally belonged to an official. After retiring home at an advanced age, he had settled here to enjoy his old age. Most of the fine fields and fertile land they had seen along the road belonged to this Old Official Liu.
In two days, it would be Old Official Liu's seventieth birthday.
Seventy was a rare age since ancient times. Old Official Liu had returned home long ago. Although he had no intention of holding a grand celebration and had not invited any guests, the nephews and other younger relatives of the family would still come, and he had hired an opera troupe as well, hoping to make the occasion lively.
Unfortunately, a vicious tiger had appeared in the village a few days earlier.
At first, they had thought it would leave once it had eaten its fill. They had even slaughtered pigs and sheep for it and spoken kindly to it, but the creature had actually settled in and refused to leave.
Old Official Liu had begun to grow anxious.
If it had been an ordinary tiger, they could have organized some strong young men and driven it away. Unfortunately, this tiger was cunning. It had fought them with both wits and courage, and after several days they still could do nothing to it. Only then had they decided to go to the county to hire someone.
If the tiger was driven away smoothly, the birthday celebration could still barely be held. If it went badly, they would send someone to notify the nephews and other relatives in the county not to come.
Now that Song You had driven away the vicious tiger with ease, both rendering them a great service and displaying extraordinary ability, Old Official Liu naturally treated him with the utmost courtesy. He hurriedly arranged the best rooms for them and invited them to stay. The Red date horse was taken to the rear courtyard and carefully tended to as well. He even sent someone to ask Song You about his preferences and taboos regarding clothing, food, lodging, and travel, and said they could send their clothes to the household laundress to be washed. He was truly taking the matter to heart.
Still, Song You had merely persuaded the fierce tiger to leave; he had not eliminated it. The villagers could not fully set their minds at ease.
That evening, Old Official Liu arranged a sumptuous banquet. The table was piled high with fish and meat. The poor old man could barely walk steadily, yet he still personally poured wine for Song You.
"Sir, you truly are a man of great attainments."
"I am merely a mountain cultivator devoted to purity. I hardly deserve such praise."
"May I ask where you cultivate?"
"Fulong Temple of Yinshan Mountain, in Lingquan County, Yizhou."
"I imagine it is an immortal mountain and renowned abode." Old Official Liu said, "This old man has yearned for the Immortal Path for many years. I simply do not know what wondrous method you used to drive back that fierce tiger."
"Merely a trifling skill. It is not worth mentioning."
Old Official Liu exchanged several glances with the people beside him, their faces betraying their difficulty. Then he praised him again: "With just a few words, you were able to persuade the mountain's vicious tiger to leave. Those were truly divine methods. But now that the vicious tiger has returned to the mountains and forests, once you leave in a few days, I fear we will once again have to live in fear."
As he spoke, the old official immediately piled on a smile:
"It is not that we doubt your immortal methods. It is simply that this beast is still a beast, and its nature is difficult to change..."
"Duke Liu, please rest assured. I have already come to an understanding with it. It will not return."
Song You also understood that their strenuous efforts to keep him here were largely motivated by this reason. Still, although the tiger had injured people, that would have been one thing; it had only eaten some domestic fowl and livestock. Its body was clean, with neither the black, fetid aura of one that had killed humans nor any phantom servants following behind it. It had never harmed anyone before. Moreover, it had already gained a measure of intelligence and was not far from awakening its spiritual wisdom. Heaven cherished life, and Song You was willing to leave it a way out.
All things possessed spirits. Beasts were foolish, and the reason they did not observe rules or keep their word was that they needed "cleverness" to support such behavior. Thus, animals actually acted according to rules more strictly than people did. Once rules took root in their minds, and they understood that something could or could not be done, they seldom violated them again.
Besides, the art of summoning birds and gathering beasts held its own mysteries. Since Song You had made an agreement with that mountain tiger, he would not seek it out or harm it, and it would not break its oath and come down from the mountain again.
It was both an agreement and a Daoist art.
It was both disposition and mystery.
Only by combining the two had Song You dared guarantee to everyone that it would never come down from the mountain again.
Seeing how certain Song You was, Old Official Liu exchanged a few more glances with the people beside him. Since he could say no more, he had no choice but to believe him.
"Many thanks, sir."
"It was no more than the lift of a hand."
"Eat, eat..."
That night, after they returned to their room, Old Official Liu even sent over several candles.
Candlelight was somewhat brighter than lamplight.
Song You felt rather sentimental as he lit them.
To tell the truth, this was the first time in his life that he had lit candles of his own accord. Candles were occasionally lit at the temple, but that was because incense worshippers lit them when offering incense and paying respects to the gods. The two masters and disciples at the temple were not sincere in their worship, so ordinarily they would never buy candles for that purpose.
Candles were far too expensive.
The last time Song You had bought lamp oil in Yi Capital, a pound had cost less than a hundred coins. If it was replaced with candles, a single one would cost three or four hundred coins. To burn them through the night, one would need at least two or three.
This Old Official Liu was truly generous.
After washing up, Song You lay down on the bed and pulled the covers over himself. A casual glance showed him Three Flower Cat crouched by the window. She leaned close to it, gazing at the night outside.
How could a human possibly guess what was in a cat's mind?
After a while, she turned her head and stared at Song You on the bed before asking in her clear voice:
"Are tigers all that big?"
"Is Three Flower Lady thinking about the tiger from today?"
"Yes."
"Was that the first time Three Flower Lady had seen a tiger?"
"Yes."
"Tigers simply grow very large."
"Are they all that big?"
"Some are bigger, and some are smaller."
"Was today's one considered big?"
"It wasn't the biggest."
"That still wasn't the biggest..."
"Are you feeling inferior again?"
The cat by the window did not answer. She merely continued asking, "Can cats grow that big?"
"Probably not."
"What about cats that have become spirits?"
"Probably not."
"Oh..."
"Actually, Three Flower Lady is more formidable than it."
"Why?"
"Three Flower Lady can speak, breathe fire, and transform into human form. That mountain tiger may have possessed great strength, but that was merely an innate advantage." Song You looked at the cat. "Three Flower Lady is still a cut above it."
"I'm very clever."
"Without a doubt."
The cat leaped back from the window and stopped letting her thoughts wander. As before, she symbolically curled up in the corner at the foot of the bed.
If nothing unexpected happened, she would appear inside the blankets tomorrow morning.
"Sleep."
Song You casually waved his hand and extinguished the candle.
Early the next morning, Old Official Liu sent someone to invite him to breakfast. He also invited him to take a walk outside his room and chatted with him respectfully. It was nothing more than the fact that he was old and, seeing that Song You possessed ability, was grasping at any possible cure. He hoped to obtain some pill or method for prolonging life, but Song You could not help him.
Another day passed, and it was Old Official Liu's birthday.
The Liu household invited every farming family in the village. Some nephews and other relatives who were away also returned, and they hired a troupe of musicians and performers, making the occasion extremely lively.
The village had only just been troubled by a vicious tiger a few days ago. Even though Old Official Liu had emphasized the matter countless times, people still felt somewhat uneasy. But once there were enough people gathered together, there was nothing left to fear.
Song You was invited to sit at the main table.
Everyone beside him was an old man of high virtue and great prestige.
The table was covered with fish and meat that people rarely had the chance to eat, along with no shortage of mountain delicacies and wild game. The cook was unusually meticulous as well; every dish had its own structure and method, and at the very least looked like an actual dish. Come to think of it, in this era, when iron woks had only recently become widespread, it was quite rare for a village banquet to offer so many varieties of dishes.
Song You soon discovered that eating here was very interesting.
Everyone was excessively enthusiastic. While eating, one had to protect one's bowl carefully. Dedicated people carried basins of rice around behind the guests, and at the slightest lapse in vigilance, a large scoop of rice would land in one's bowl. Sometimes there would even be two such people attacking from either side, forcing one to guard the left while neglecting the right.
Song You found it amusing and watched closely.
He quickly figured it out. This was actually a symbol of the host family's generosity and enthusiasm. In this era, white rice was an extravagant luxury for most people. Being able to provide unlimited white rice—even enough to stuff the guests full—showed both that the host family was not stingy in the least and that they possessed considerable means.
This performance of forcibly adding rice softened the host family's display of wealth, concealed the guests' awkwardness, and added plenty of fun, making the atmosphere at the banquet exceptionally good.
Then there were the people eating.
Even though they had only just begun their first bowl and clearly had enough appetite for two or three bowls, they covered their rice bowls tightly from the start, tacitly engaging the women serving rice in a battle of wits and courage. Only after an "accidental lapse" did they allow a bowlful of fragrant white rice to be added, provoking a burst of laughter.
It seemed like cooperation, and seemed like play.
It also seemed like a restrained form of culture.
Song You gradually sank into deep thought.
Just as he was pondering, he let his guard down for a moment, and a kitchen maid had already crept up behind him. In his panic, he imitated the person beside him and moved his bowl from right to left to evade her, only to find another kitchen maid on his left. By the time he reacted, the bowl of rice he had eaten only halfway through had sprouted a new peak, becoming a little mountain.
"Hahahaha..."
Laughter instantly rang out around the table.
Song You looked around one by one. Apart from himself and the cat standing on his leg, who watched in curiosity and confusion, everyone was laughing. Their whiskers were stained with oily broth and trembling, their dark faces were lined with countless creases, and their yellow, unhealthy teeth were missing here and there when they opened their mouths. Strangely, he felt no disgust or resistance at all. Instead, he sensed only an abundance of simplicity and brilliance.
They possessed pure hearts and unalloyed joy.
For no particular reason, he smiled as well.
This was the joy of this era.
This was the uninhibited delight of this era.
Then Old Official Liu beside him nodded and cheerfully began teaching him the secret of protecting his bowl. His heart clear as glass, Song You merely lowered his head, inclined his ear, and listened attentively.
The only one left puzzled was Three Flower Cat.
That evening, the opera troupe took the stage.
The stage was the shrine platform of the ancestral hall, with lanterns hanging all around it. The place was even livelier than during the day. The opera troupe performed for the entire night, and the people below listened for the entire night as well. The ground was filled with running children, shouting as they chased after the most simple and genuine happiness in a night without neon lights.
Song You also sat below and listened for the entire night.
Why say it was livelier than during the day?
Because the birthday banquet during the day had invited only the village's farming households. But when the opera began that evening, even people from beyond the mountains and rivers came rushing over.
Some had received word before the fierce tiger entered the village that there would be an opera performance here that day. They had counted the days and come in advance, unaware that a tiger had arrived a few days earlier. Some who lived nearby had indeed heard that a fierce tiger had recently descended from the mountains, but they thought that with so many people gathered, there was nothing to fear. For the sake of hearing the opera, they had still hurried over before nightfall.
Quite a few people had walked ten li of mountain road to get there.
Some had even brought straw mats. When they grew sleepy listening to the opera, they simply lay down wherever they were and slept.
This was undoubtedly an era with very little entertainment, and finding a bit of fun was exceptionally difficult. Perhaps for precisely that reason, some things became all the more precious. They had to be cherished properly and never treated lightly.
Before you continue