On the second day of the second month, the Dragon raised its head.
It was also the Spring Equinox.
Before dawn, Shen Hui was woken by Fifth Senior Brother.
He came in carrying a bowl of steaming porridge and said with a smile, "Little Junior Brother, eat up. Master's waiting out front."
"So early?"
Shen Hui was a little surprised. He was heading down the mountain today, but it was still dark outside. It couldn't be past the hour of the tiger yet.
Fifth Senior Brother smiled. "If we set out early, we'll reach the county seat before dark. Otherwise, we'll have to spend the night in some deserted village."
Shen Hui murmured an acknowledgment, gulped down the porridge in a few mouthfuls, slung the rattan trunk he had packed the night before onto his back, and pushed open the door.
A thin streak of fish-belly white had just appeared on the horizon. The cold wind scraped his face like strips of ice rubbing against it.
The Old Taoist stood in the courtyard in a gray cloth robe, washed so many times it had faded nearly white. The long, narrow case was strapped to his back, and he was talking with Senior Brother.
When Shen Hui came out, Li Changxing walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. "It's your first time down the mountain. Keep your wits about you and listen to Master."
"I know, Senior Brother."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jinghui poked her head out from behind the moon gate.
She clutched two warm eggs and stuffed them into Shen Hui's hands without giving him a chance to refuse. "Eat these on the way."
Then she ducked back inside. Shen Hui suspected she had gone back to bed for a little more sleep.
Second Senior Sister Jingming stood beneath the covered walkway. She looked at him from afar, lowered her eyes, and gave a slight nod without saying a word.
Only after Shen Hui followed Master out through the mountain gate did a soft, calm voice drift after them. "Take care on the road."
As for Third Senior Brother, he had already said his farewells to Shen Hui the night before.
He had also given Shen Hui a stack of old books and asked him to return them to Fragrant Snow Book Studio in the county seat. Then he had taken out some money and pressed it into Shen Hui's hand.
"Take it. Buy yourself something to eat on the way."
Shen Hui tried to refuse a couple of times, but in the end, he accepted it.
The cloth pouch was small, but the coins inside clinked together. There must have been several dozen copper coins, along with a small piece of silver.
And so, without any formal farewell, master and disciple set off one after the other, heading down the mountain through the darkness.
Some stretches of the mountain path were still covered in snow. It crunched beneath their feet.
The Old Taoist walked ahead at an unhurried pace, while Shen Hui followed close behind.
After about an hour, they left the mountain path and turned onto a somewhat wider dirt road.
On the way, Shen Hui found the rattan trunk a little cumbersome, so he took the Soul-Alarm Bell hanging from its corner and fastened it to his belt. Then he stored the trunk in his Jadeite Gourd.
After another two hours, the dirt road gradually widened until it was broad enough for a carriage.
By the time the sun stood overhead, a straight road appeared in front of them.
The road was paved with gravel and about one zhang wide. Poplar trees lined both sides, their bare branches reaching toward the gray-white sky.
"This is the official road."
The Old Taoist finally spoke. "Go east, and you'll reach Qu County. Go west, and you'll reach the seat of Yongchang Commandery."
Shen Hui nodded and looked around.
It was called an official road, but it was only about one zhang wide, just enough for a single carriage to pass.
The snow had been packed hard by the wheels and hooves of passing traffic. The road's center was gray-white, while a little snow still clung to the edges.
If a carriage came from the other direction, they would probably have to find a wider spot to pass each other.
As he looked around, the rumble of wheels and hooves sounded in the distance. A carriage with blue cloth curtains came from the east.
The driver pulled the reins from far away, jumped down, and clasped his hands toward the Old Taoist.
"Might you be a Daoist from Clear Wind Temple?"
The Old Taoist nodded.
The driver let out a breath of relief and called back into the carriage, "That's right, that's right!"
The curtain was lifted, and a middle-aged man in a blue silk robe stepped out. He looked to be in his forties, with fair skin and a sparse mustache. He wore a black gauze cap and a silver belt.
Two runners followed behind him, one tall and thin, the other short and stout.
The stout one carried a long spear on his back, while the tall, thin one wore a saber at his waist.
Both wore dark blue official uniforms with crossed collars and narrow sleeves, belted at the waist.
The man in front hurried over and bowed respectfully.
"This humble official is Chen Shou, Assistant Magistrate of Qu County. By order of the county magistrate, I've come to welcome you, Daoist."
Assistant Magistrate.
Shen Hui pondered the title. In later generations, it was probably about equivalent to a deputy county magistrate?
An official of Principal Eighth Rank?
For an Assistant Magistrate to come all this way along the official road to meet him, Master must have quite a bit of pull.
But the Old Taoist remained composed. He nodded and studied the man. "Thank you for the trouble, Assistant Magistrate. Is Magistrate Wang well?"
"His Honor is well, but..." Chen Shou paused and lowered his voice. "Over the past six months, a great many matters have piled up in the county. His Honor has been so worried he's gone half gray."
The Old Taoist said nothing. He merely glanced at the carriage.
Chen Shou hurriedly explained, "His Honor arranged this carriage especially for you. It's a little plain, but surely better than walking."
Shen Hui stepped closer for a look. The carriage wasn't pulled by a horse, but by a gray donkey. A strip of red cloth was tied around the shaft. Its curtains had faded from washing, but they were clean.
The Old Taoist waved a hand. "This poor Daoist would rather walk. Let him ride."
Chen Shou froze and looked at Shen Hui.
Shen Hui quickly shook his head. "This disciple will walk too."
Master was walking, after all. How could Shen Hui bring himself to ride?
The Old Taoist said no more and strode off.
Chen Shou had no choice but to tell the two runners and the driver to follow behind with the donkey cart. He walked alongside the pair himself.
The road was difficult, and the donkey cart moved slowly. Every so often, the others had to stop and wait for it to catch up.
With nothing else to do, Shen Hui kept glancing at the two runners.
He saw the tall, thin one with the saber sitting beside the driver, his legs dangling over the side of the carriage shaft.
The short, stout one hadn't climbed aboard. He walked behind the cart with the long spear over his shoulder.
Perhaps he was tired of carrying the spear on his shoulder, so he turned it crosswise and rested it across his shoulders. He hooked both arms over it and swayed along as though he were hanging from the shaft.
He looked rather ridiculous, but he didn't walk any slower.
Shen Hui found it amusing and couldn't help taking another couple of looks.
The tall, thin runner noticed him. Sitting on the carriage, he squinted and pulled a face, revealing a row of yellow teeth.
"Tell me,"
the Old Taoist asked as they walked, "what's happened over the past six months?"
Chen Shou pulled a folded sheet of paper from his sleeve, opened it, and read as they walked. "Last August, the Liu Family Old Residence in the east of the city was haunted. No one dared go near it. In September, three days after Widow Wang was buried south of the city, scratching sounds came from inside her coffin. When they opened it, her body had turned over, and all her fingernails had been worn off. She's still tied up with ropes now. In October, three children went missing from Xu Family Village in the north. Some say something from the mountains carried them off. In November..."
He read them off one by one, and Shen Hui listened with pricked ears.
There had been hauntings, a corpse coming back to life, missing children, monster troubles, and a bandit attack.
It was said that after the Wolf Demon at Cat Ridge had been eliminated, the mountain pass had actually become clear.
A band of roving bandits had taken over the old route and often came down the mountain to raid travelers, targeting passing merchants in particular.
After listening, the Old Taoist said only, "We'll deal with the bandits on the way back to the temple."
Then he fell silent again and continued along the road.
As he walked, Shen Hui took in the official road around him.
Though it was paved with gravel, it was pockmarked and in disrepair.
After about half an hour, a courtyard enclosed by an earthen wall appeared beside the road. A flagpole stood at the entrance, flying a faded flag.
The courtyard contained several low buildings and two tethered, scrawny horses. Three men in short jackets squatted by the wall, basking in the sun.
"This is a military relay station on Bonan Road."
Seeing Shen Hui looking over, Chen Shou explained, "Another thirty li ahead, there's a larger one. This road is an important route to Liangzhou, with many merchants passing through, so the court established several relay stations."
Shen Hui nodded.
He had read about Bonan Road in books.
Heading west along this road, one passed Yongchang Commandery and left the borders of the Great Shuo Kingdom. Some merchants traveled to Shen Du, others to the Shan Kingdom. Both journeys stretched thousands of li.
No wonder the bandits had their eyes on this place. Anyone traveling this road either carried money or valuable goods.
They followed the official road for another half day. In the distance, they saw a cluster of gray, dusty buildings, crowded along a bend in the river, with some higher than others.
They had reached Qu County.