The Red-Gold Coins

After hesitating for a moment, Hong Yi still stepped into the room. He wanted the money badly, but everything that had happened today was too strange. He had to be careful. "If I don't lust after women or covet wealth, no demon or ghost can do anything to me." Ding-dong, ding-dong. A row of glittering little gold ingots lay on the table. As soon as Hong Yi stepped into the courtyard, he spotted several fist-sized green flames bobbing up and down in a valley a few miles away. The sight was deeply eerie. Whoo, whoo! Whoo, whoo! "Of course. Come on. It's really hard to find a tutor these days. It's rare to meet a learned scholar like you. You're a little young, but it's not every day you find someone who isn't afraid of ghosts or demons. You'll do." The woman got to her feet, speaking to herself. "Don't believe me? I can pay you a deposit in advance." The woman smiled and waved her hand over the table. "We're leaving now?" Hong Yi's eyes widened. Bang! After giving the old monk a few strings of incense money and eating a bowl of vegetarian mushroom noodles, he settled down in a side hall to rest. He lit a lamp and a charcoal fire, ready to read late into the night. "I'll be going back at dawn. All that talk about men and women keeping their distance—nobody's going to see us." The woman glanced up at the sky. A trace of unmistakable authority showed between her brows. Suddenly, she reached out, grabbed Hong Yi by the arm, and leaped clear out of the temple courtyard. As they traveled, Hong Yi thought about the Four Treasures of the Study that Duke of Xiaoli Jing Yuxing had sent him yesterday, turning them over in his mind. But from the sound, Hong Yi knew it was only a night owl in the mountains. "Of course." The woman giggled again. "It's about sixty li from here, but you won't make it by dawn at your pace. I'll take you." He was about to sit for the imperial examinations and couldn't be bothered to endure the indignities of the Marquis Mansion. He might as well stay at West Mountain for a while and keep watch over his mother's grave. "What's that?" The mountains were full of foxes, badgers, jackals, wolves, and other wild beasts. Every winter, some princes and nobles came into the mountains to hunt. "I don't have the Daoist arts to summon spirits or control ghosts, nor any strength to speak of. I don't know martial arts; I couldn't even kill a chicken. If I run into a ghost, I can only rely on my own vigorous spirit... I mustn't show weakness. The moment I do, it'll attack. My thoughts must remain upright and steadfast." "Snow paper from Pine and Bamboo Studio? It takes dozens of steps to make. A hundred sheets cost at least twenty taels of silver—half my monthly allowance. The purple stone inkstone is top quality, too, its stone smooth and fine, with a gentle warmth that keeps ink from freezing in winter. The musk ink is made by mixing top-grade pine soot with gold leaf and musk, then hammering it into shape. It glides across the page, gives the characters life, and carries a refreshing fragrance. The brush is excellent, too, made of Pure Fox fur. This whole set of the Four Treasures of the Study must be worth several hundred taels at least. Duke of Xiaoli Jing Yuxing is certainly generous. I've heard he's courteous to worthy men, devoted to public service, and often helps poor scholars. He has a fine reputation in Yujing. But I suspect his ambitions are considerable..." "Young man, you're not very old, yet you're a man of refinement. Laughter rises from the nest of blue fire..." After about the time it took to burn two or three sticks of incense, Hong Yi suddenly felt them come to a stop. He opened his eyes to a pitch-black valley, with a faint glow of fire at its center. Staring at the lamp's tiny flame, no bigger than a mustard seed, Hong Yi silently prayed. But the Daoist alchemists could smelt it into this red-colored gold, which was also called "medicinal gold." It was one of the ingredients used in their alchemical practice, when they refined lead and smelted mercury to make the Golden Core. All at once, a poetic feeling stirred in him. He recited aloud, "A century-old owl becomes a tree demon; laughter rises from the nest of blue fire." Hong Yi firmly believed that when dealing with demons and ghosts, the first thing was to have a vigorous spirit. "Oh? How do you know whether I'm a ghost or a demon?" A beauty beneath the lamplight made a breathtaking sight. "This woman seems mysterious, but she's not very subtle. She's given away her identity so easily. Someone from the imperial palace? That's no ordinary palace maid. What's she doing at West Mountain in the middle of the night?" A question flashed through Hong Yi's mind, then he said, "A gentleman loves wealth, but acquires it by the right means. You're offering ten taels of gold a month to hire a tutor, so your students can't be easy to teach. Put the money away and come see me another time." "That's right. I'm a ghost." The woman's expression changed abruptly. Her voice turned icy, her face ashen, as though she might pounce and devour him at any moment. Hong Yi flexed his fingers, widened his eyes, and glared at her. Hearing the woman speak, Hong Yi looked up at the slender figure beneath the lamp. Sure enough, she cast a shadow. Hong Yi was utterly horrified! Cold sweat broke out all over him. He hurriedly turned around and saw a young woman standing in his room beneath the lamp. She wore a pink gown in the style of a court lady; she was tall and graceful, with a willowy figure. She looked about eighteen or nineteen, so breathtakingly beautiful that it seemed hard to breathe in her presence. But Hong Yi had no thoughts to spare for admiring her beauty. Just think: a woman suddenly appearing out of nowhere in an ancient mountain temple in the dead of night—she had to be a ghost or a demon. Far away in the depths of the mountains came several mournful howls, somewhere between wolf and fox, mingling with the night wind and sounding almost like an owl. In the middle of the valley, a huge bonfire blazed. Dozens of white-furred foxes sat gathered around it. West Mountain was a great mountain outside Yujing, nearly a hundred li around. It wasn't especially majestic, but it was thick with trees, rugged and tangled, and crowned with countless peaks. Mountain springs and waterfalls cascaded through it, and rocky forests sprawled across its slopes. "That's only what a man who's read books without understanding them would say. We scholars uphold righteousness, understand the Six Directions, know demons and ghosts, and reach toward the divine. That's what it means to investigate things." Once he knew the woman wasn't some kind of demon or ghost, Hong Yi's mind settled, and his thoughts grew nimble again. The woman who had appeared out of nowhere watched Hong Yi with a cheerful smile. The lamp flame popped into a tiny flower. "The shrinking-ground technique?" The temple, called Qiuyue Temple, was a dilapidated Buddhist temple. Only an ordinary old monk looked after it. Hong Yi stayed here for a while every year, partly to keep watch over his mother's grave and partly to enjoy some peace and quiet. "Men and women should keep their distance. Besides, it's so late. Come back tomorrow during the day." Hong Yi firmly declined. Going out at night from an ancient temple deep in the mountains with a mysterious woman was bound to bring trouble, not good fortune. Hong Yi's mother was buried at West Mountain, in a lonely grave. Because of her status, she couldn't be enshrined in the Hong Family ancestral hall after her death. Such things were usually bestowed by the emperor or empress upon civil and military officials, or upon the imperial concubines. The north wind howled, making the walls on all sides creak and groan. Hong Yi witnessed a scene he would never forget. "Hee-hee, hee-hee. Young man, you're so amusing." "Ten taels of red gold a month?" Hong Yi was astonished. In the Great Gan Dynasty, gold and silver exchanged at a ratio of one to fifteen. Ten taels of red gold came to a hundred and fifty taels of silver a month—a vast sum. "The gold is unusually pure. Only the imperial palace has money like this." Hong Yi stared at the gold coin, taken aback. Its color was red. In the Marquis Mansion, Hong Yi received only four taels of silver a month. That might sound like next to nothing, but one tael of silver exchanged for a thousand copper coins, and a single copper coin could buy a big sesame flatbread. One tael of silver was enough to support a modest family of three for a month. As dusk fell, Hong Yi reached the foot of West Mountain. He swept his mother's grave, offered incense, then found lodging in a small temple not far away, at the foot of the mountain. Someone like Jing Yuxing could give Hong Yi Four Treasures of the Study worth several hundred taels on the strength of a single poem; even Hong Xuejiao, a wealthy young lady from a marquis's household, had been astonished. Hong Yi rubbed his fingers together and steadied his mind. "Mm? What's that?" "Are you a ghost or a demon?" "What shrinking-ground technique? That was just the 'Ape-Leaping Body Technique.'" "This temple grows more dilapidated every year. But the Great Gan Dynasty doesn't value Buddhist temples; it prefers building Daoist shrines. No wonder." Looking at the temple's desolate ruin, Hong Yi felt a pang of melancholy, yet it seemed far more refreshing than the Marquis Mansion. His spirits lifted. He wrapped his clothes tightly around himself, opened the door, and stepped into the courtyard. Just like human children at a village school, the foxes sat half-crouched or cross-legged, each holding a book and making strange sounds, as if reciting their lessons. But Hong Yi couldn't appreciate the beauty of the scene at all. "Hee-hee, I came to West Mountain today to visit relatives. I never expected to meet such an amusing young man." The woman in red spoke to herself. "A scholar, hmm? Good, good. Some children among my relatives need lessons, so I'd like to hire you to teach them. The pay is ten taels of red gold a month. Would you go?" The Great Gan Dynasty's gold and silver were exchanged at a ratio of one to fifteen. "This is gold of a different purity." As the old saying went, "No gold is entirely pure, and no man is perfect." It meant that pure red gold simply didn't exist in the world. "Oh? You seem to know a lot about demons and ghosts. Scholars aren't supposed to speak of supernatural forces, so you're no ordinary scholar." A trace of suspicion appeared in the woman's eyes as she looked at Hong Yi. The leap was like shrinking the ground to an inch. In a single bound, they covered the distance an ordinary person would take twenty steps to cross. Hong Yi felt as if he were riding on clouds and mist. "This woman runs faster than a horse." Hong Yi simply closed his eyes. "I've never done anything I should feel guilty about. I came to the ancient temple to read and keep watch over my mother's grave. Why have you come looking for me? If you're a wanton female ghost looking for a scholar to spend a night with, then you've picked the wrong man. I, Hong Yi, have studied since childhood. I can't claim to be especially upright or clever, but I know how to hold fast to reason and integrity. Leave at once." "The answer is simple. Your clothes are too thin, and it's cold in the mountains. An ordinary person couldn't bear it. Second, there isn't a single household within ten li. How could a woman traveling alone appear at an ancient temple in the middle of the night?" As Hong Yi spoke, his legs suddenly began to tingle. Sure enough, he could feel the woman's fragrant breath as she spoke. She was a living person. Suddenly, the woman giggled and beckoned. "I was only teasing you. I'm not a ghost. Ghosts cast no shadows beneath a lamp. Come closer. You should be able to feel the vital energy in my body. What kind of ghost has that? If a ghost had vital energy, she wouldn't be a ghost at all, but a Yang God immortal of the Daoists." "Mother, if your spirit is watching over me, bless me to pass the examinations and restore your rightful place." Suddenly, a piercing cry rang out from the distant mountains. A dark shape rose through the ghostly flames and, in the blink of an eye, soared into the sky, bringing to mind an old demon emerging at night to suck out human hearts. Most people would have been terrified out of their wits at the sight. "That ghost fire comes from the bones of corpses. It's common enough in burial grounds; there's nothing supernatural about it." Facing the bobbing ghost flames, Hong Yi smiled and murmured to himself. This kind of red gold, minted into coins, could only be found in the imperial palace. As Hong Yi glared fiercely at the woman beneath the lamp, he steeled himself, firming his resolve. Hong Yi touched the space between his brows with a finger.