Corpse Liberation

Dandan Hall was where the Taoist priests of Yujing Temple practiced and refined elixirs. Visitors were not allowed inside. Yujing Temple could be called the largest Taoist temple in the Dagan Empire. It stood at the foot of Yulong Mountain, more than ten miles outside Yujing. From a glance, pavilions and towers, red walls and grand halls stretched everywhere in layer upon layer, too many for the eye to take in. The silent hall held only Lady Zhao, sitting alone with a shifting expression. "Just as I thought. She's a little calamity, exactly like that wretched woman." She was the most renowned physician at Huichun Hall, the famous clinic in Yujing. At that moment, among the throngs of visitors, was an unusual middle-aged man. He wore fine brocade, his temples streaked with gray, and carried the air of a great scholar. Yet his lustrous skin and eyes, deep as the starry sky, revealed that he was a man beyond the ordinary. This was Hong Xuanji, the pillar of the Great Gan Dynasty, a Cabinet minister and Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince—though at this hour, he ought to have been attending to state affairs in the Cabinet Hall at the imperial palace. A shrill scream burst from the white cat. The little white cat leaped violently out of Lady Zhao's arms, then cowered in a corner, staring at its mistress in terror. At Marquis Wuwen's Mansion, Lady Zhao still cradled the snow-white kitten, with two maids standing beside her. But she was not lounging with her eyes closed as usual. Instead, she leaned forward and questioned the physician who had just taken Nanny Zeng's pulse. "Madam, forgive my frankness." The old man rose. "Nanny Zeng has not suffered a stroke. Her spirit has departed, and her body is now nothing but an empty shell. Her mind is completely vacant. In a few days, her life force will be extinguished, and her blood and soul will scatter. This is what happens when someone is frightened beyond all measure. Not even the immortals could save her. I'm afraid there's nothing this old man can do." "What happened? Doctor, is there truly no hope for Nanny Zeng? Could she still wake up?" In the Great Gan Dynasty, three Taoist sects had been officially ennobled by the emperor. Fangxian Dao, favored by nobles and aristocrats for its alchemy and elixir-making, and Zhengyi Dao, supported by the court for its emphasis on precepts and calming the people, both moved freely in the world. Taishang Dao, by contrast, was mysterious and reclusive, hidden away in the mountains to cultivate the way of Taishang Forgetting Emotions. A few of its practitioners did venture out into the world, but they were exceedingly rare. Even so, the sect had still received a title from the court. "Even the immortals couldn't save her?" Lady Zhao stroked the white cat and waved a hand. "Xiao Tong, take the doctor to the accounts office to collect two taels for his consultation. Xiao Hui, see to Nanny Zeng. Have her carried to the estate outside the city. We must get her out before she breathes her last; otherwise, if Consort Yuan comes to visit in a few days, it will be terribly inauspicious. Also, give her a thousand taels for her funeral. Hold a grand water-and-land ritual for forty-nine days. Make it a splendid affair." "Hmph." Hong Xuanji gave a cold snort and ignored the two young Taoist attendants, striding straight up the mountain. "Twenty years have passed. Is Yunmeng stirring up trouble again?" Lady Zhao closed her eyes once more. A clump of snow-white cat fur now lay in her hand. The maid answered and hurried out. The time it took to burn a stick of incense later, she returned. "Steward Wu says the old master received the Empress Dowager's summons yesterday and went to the palace to pay his respects to Consort Yuan. After that, he joined the other ministers in the Cabinet Hall to discuss military action against Yunmeng. He may not return until Consort Yuan comes to visit." Yulong Mountain curved around Yujing like a jade dragon, embracing half the city from afar. With its clear waters and lush scenery, it was a peerless site of good feng shui. As he spoke, the old man hefted his medicine chest and prepared to leave. Outside Yujing. But on the mountain path to the great hall, two young Taoist attendants were already waiting for him. They wore black silk Taoist robes and held horsetails whisked at the ready. "Brother Xuanji, I invited you here today because I heard Consort Yuan has acknowledged you as a sworn relative?" Xiao Anran ignored Hong Xuanji's cold rebuke and asked with a smile. Xiao Anran answered with a cold smile of his own. "Hmph. Brother Xuanji, why are you making such a fuss? You're a great scholar of Confucian principles, so proud of your learning, and you want to drive us Taoists out. There's no need to snarl at me. I've heard that Shenji of Taishang Dao has become a refined physical form after three corpse-liberations, and is about to emerge into the world once more. Given how you treated his sister back then, he'll naturally come to settle the score with you. We'll see how you weather his fury!" Yujing Temple. "Go ask Steward Wu. Did the marquis stay away yesterday because some matter of military importance needed his attention?" Lady Zhao called to another maid. Xiao Anran was the foundation of Fangxian Dao. Its Taoist priests cultivated the Way and refined elixirs and gold, unlike Zhengyi Dao, which stressed precepts, or Taishang Dao, which pursued Taishang Forgetting Emotions and self-effacement. Hong Xuanji walked slowly. He seemed casual, yet each step carried the effortless grace of a man wandering through clouds and mist. He arrived at Dandan Hall, where few visitors roamed. "How dare you!" Hong Xuanji barked. "Since the dawn of history, every time the court has fallen into decline, it has been because monks and Taoists like you played at spirits and ghosts, beguiling the ruler and bringing ruin upon the realm. One day, I'll petition His Majesty to drive every last Taoist like you from the court." Outside the city stood several estates belonging to Marquis Wuwen's Mansion. With Nanny Zeng beyond saving, they would naturally carry her there to prepare for her funeral. Hong Xuanji had barely entered the courtyard of Dandan Hall's main sanctuary when he spotted a Taoist sitting beneath a huge snow pine. His face was a pale golden purple, he had no beard, and his eyes were closed. The main hall enshrined a colossal statue of the Dao Ancestor, clad in robes of starlight and rosy clouds, a jade ruyi in his hand. Above his head rose a stream of blue qi, which unfolded into the sun, moon, and thunder. The instant Hong Xuanji saw the Taoist beneath the pine, he recognized him as Xiao Anran, the leader of Fangxian Dao. A single look at the Dao Ancestor's statue filled the heart with a vivid, almost living sense of creation: the birth of heaven and earth, the unfolding of all things. It was carved so lifelike that it seemed ready to spring to life. Not long after the new year, the first lunar month had already passed, and the weather was gradually warming. Visitors and worshippers thronged Yujing Temple, its incense burning at the height of its prosperity. No mistake: it had the feeling of bringing something to life. Once seen and held in the mind, it could never be forgotten, as vivid as if carved into one's heart. "Your information is quite good," Hong Xuanji replied coldly. The maids discreetly nodded to themselves, all thinking that Lady Zhao had handled the matter well. Nanny Zeng could not be allowed to die in the mansion. Giving her a thousand taels at the estate and holding a water-and-land ritual would send her off in grand style, fulfilling the bond between mistress and servant. Nanny Zeng sat on a stool, supported by two maids. Her eyes stared straight ahead, lifeless as a dead fish. Several maids sensibly withdrew. The cat fur had just been torn out by hand.