Fierce Tiger at the Door

Yuan Danqiu had not yet recovered his wits when he and Meng Haoran were suddenly surrounded by a crowd of Daoist priests.

The one closest to him, Lian Yue, asked most urgently.

"Was that gust of wind just now because of Mr. Jiang?"

"Layman Yuan, do you know that exalted person? Might we ask where that commotion came from, what he was doing in the alchemy chamber, and whether you could introduce us?"

"Could he be a master of the alchemical arts?"

"I fear even a true attained Daoist would be no more than this!"

"This poor priest has never heard of such a figure before; he must be a recluse dwelling in some corner, a Mist and Cloud Hermit keeping company with the mists!"

Yuan Danqiu and Meng Haoran were besieged by questions of every sort. The Daoist priests, having witnessed such a miraculous event, showed even more fervor than ordinary folk—one could even call it fanaticism.

Yuan Danqiu was dizzy from the questioning, his head throbbing.

He said, "How should I know? Mr. Jiang never said he could refine elixirs..."

"Master Meng, quickly tell them something!"

The forest was lush and green, and many living creatures had just received no small benefit.

The Old Deer Mountain God expressed his thanks.

These azure vapors had not been drawn forth from nothing; rather, heaven and earth had responded in harmony, adding a portion of vitality. Though the wind and breath of the world would soon blow them away, scattering them beyond Xiang Prefecture.

Still, it was an exceedingly rare karmic opportunity.

The spirits of mountains and rivers, mortal men and ghosts alike—all received this grace.

Jiang She smiled and said, "It was simply that I had heard much of alchemical arts these past few days, found them interesting, and was moved to try my hand on a whim."

"A whim brought me here; when the whim fades, I shall scatter."

"Why must the Mountain God be so courteous?"

The Mountain God gave a wry smile: "A whim, and such a great commotion—it gave this humble god no small fright."

Jiang She had only intended to draw some azure vapors, take a bit of the mountain's spiritual essence, and see if he could form an elixir.

Yet he did not know that heaven and earth would respond in resonance, not only gathering the azure vapors of the entire mountain but also affecting all of Xiang Prefecture and even several surrounding prefectures.

Fortunately, it was not a bad thing.

Having thought this through, Jiang She dismissed the matter.

He took two medicine bottles from his sleeve—one of green jade, the other white porcelain.

The Old Deer Mountain God watched and thought to himself: Mr. Jiang's sleeve is not very large, and just now there was no sound of bottles clinking together—where did he take these things from?

Could it be some profound Daoist art?

Just as he was thinking.

He saw Jiang She pour out a single green elixir.

It shone with light, round and full.

Jiang She asked, "This is my first time refining an elixir. I wonder how it is. What does the Mountain God think?"

As the elixir appeared in the wilderness, a supremely clear and fragrant medicinal aura suddenly arose. Birds in the forest fluttered up in a rush, circling overhead; rustling sounds came from the grass and thickets; mountain beasts coveted it, but the Mountain God raised his hand and drove them away.

"If this is not of the highest grade, then this humble god knows not what pill could be called such."

Jiang She, seeing the strange movements just now, also understood somewhat.

As for the remaining jade bottle, he had some idea and asked no further.

The Mountain God and the Earth Deity watched helplessly as he tucked both bottles back into his sleeve, never learning what was in the other one.

They barely suppressed the distracting thoughts of inquiry in their hearts.

The Mountain God raised his hand and said, "To have obtained this method of refining elixirs—congratulations to you, sir."

The Earth Deity also offered his congratulations beside him.

As they spoke, a tiger's roar suddenly came from the distant forest.

Lumen Mountain.

Fierce Tiger narrowed his eyes, lying prone on a great boulder.

His tail swung impatiently.

After listening to Red Fox's account, he asked, "Did they really say that?"

Red Fox snorted and said, "It's already spread all over the mountain. I heard it in the Daoist temple from those people burning incense."

"Does the Immortal know?"

"It was said right in front of the Immortal."

Fierce Tiger's tiger face showed a human-like expression of fear and anger. He flicked his tail uneasily, pacing back and forth in the forest, and asked, "Did the Immortal believe it?"

"How would I know?"

"You dare to go ask the immortal?"

The tiger roared and cursed, "Since we awakened to wisdom, we've never eaten a person, let alone done what's been said—harming people's wealth, even wiping out their entire families."

"And they even blame the Lu family's misfortune on me!"

"How will the immortal see me now?"

The mountain stream babbled along. Xiang Prefecture was split by the Han River running through the city, creating the unique landscape of north and south towns. North was Xiangyang, south was Fan City.

One river, two banks, the same moon and sky.

At the same time, the Han River served as a shield, with Xian Mountain and Lumen Mountain as barriers, making this land easy to defend and hard to attack. In ancient times, it was a frequent battleground for warring states.

The Han River flowed, its shipping thriving, merchant caravans coming and going without end, which also made Xiangyang exceptionally prosperous. Jiang She once read a poem that went: "Straight from Ba Gorge through Wu Gorge, then down to Xiangyang and on to Luoyang."

The mountain stream's final destination was the Han River.

Chen Family Village sat on a tributary of the Han River, good for farming. Seventy percent of the village's land belonged to the main Chen family, who held their ground and were wealthy among the local gentry.

Chen Erniu was a branch descendant split off who-knew-how-many years ago. To the main family, he was more like an indentured servant without a contract.

These past few days, Chen Erniu's life had been much better.

The main family had specially invited him to their residence to talk, and even servants from the county seat came to treat him to tea. All they wanted was for him to recount what he'd encountered that day from start to finish, in detail, so the young masters and ladies of the household could enjoy the tale.

As he talked, to earn more tea money, Chen Erniu had coordinated his story with his nephew and added plenty of embellishments.

But since it involved gods and spirits, he didn't dare speak recklessly.

He just added some descriptions—how splendid the banquet his nephew heard that night was, what the few fragments of conversation sounded like, and he filled in a few lines himself.

He also described what the music and singing sounded like. Chen Erniu even tried humming a bit. The servant listened with a frown, enduring it without interrupting.

"Is that all?"

"How did the immortal subdue the tiger?"

"I didn't see the immortal subdue the tiger, so I don't dare say more."

"I didn't dare look closely at what the immortal looked like. I just remember he was very handsome. The immortal wore a set of green robes with long sleeves. Yes, yes, that should be what you call wide sleeves. We country folk don't understand these things."

"He came out of the bamboo grove. At first, Dalang and I thought we'd run into a ghost."

"Behind the immortal followed a person in white clothes. I didn't see his face clearly. He walked with the immortal and had a particularly fragrant smell of wine on him."

Chen Erniu had recalled that night's sights countless times over these past few days, memorizing them until they were worn smooth in his mind.

"At the time, I was too scared to think. Now that I look back, that wine smell was really fragrant. It must have been the wine the immortal drank."

The servant listened carefully.

He was a servant from Magistrate Cheng's household, having driven all this way specifically to inquire thoroughly about this matter. Stories of immortals were always rare.

But recently, Xiangyang City had heard quite a few tales.

They stirred the magistrate's heart with unbearable curiosity, to the point where he nearly wrote letters three times a day urging his friend to finish the essay quickly, so he could hire craftsmen to carve it onto a stele.

"Tell me more. Think carefully—is there anything you've left out? I need to return to the city before dark."

The city...

Chen Erniu suddenly remembered.

"Oh, right! The immortal was heading north—toward the city!"

The servant was startled.

The immortal Chen Erniu spoke of was in Xiangyang?

Chen Erniu was lowering his head to drink tea. Too many people had questioned him these past few days. He talked from morning till night, telling the story in the village during the day and repeating it to his family or his uncle's household when he got back. His throat was dry enough to smoke.

Suddenly, a tiger's roar rang in his ears, deafening.

"ROOOAR—"

Birds scattered in all directions.

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