Magistrate Cheng held the letter in both hands, reading as he murmured to himself.
"Since ancient times, all sages and worthies have perished; only drinkers have left their names behind... Only drinkers have left their names behind... What a fine poem."
Lady Zhao saw him muttering for ages and snatched it from him to read.
"What poem is this? Did a friend write it for you?"
"Hey—careful!"
Magistrate Cheng hurriedly steadied the paper. He had waited days for this piece.
"I mean this line from Li Taibai's new work. It's written so beautifully. He dreamed of roaming at a Banquet of Ghosts and Gods, and every scene is so vivid, as if he'd experienced it himself."
"The immortal expounded the Dao, the Fierce Tiger discussed the Way, and the monkeys wept bitterly. Mountain Gods and Earth Deities gathered together, while ghosts and Spirit Demons took their places below."
"The poet drank with them, got thoroughly drunk, and didn't wake for several days."
"How carefree and unrestrained..."
As Magistrate Cheng recited, he began to yearn for it himself.
After Lady Zhao heard him recite the whole poem, she waved her fan and thought it over. "The poem doesn't say he roamed in a dream. How do you know he dreamed it?"
Magistrate Cheng smiled. "How could I not know?"
"Unless he really could have..."
He suddenly trailed off.
Seeing that he'd caught on, Lady Zhao said, "Exactly. Think about where Li Taibai is staying now. He's sharing a courtyard with that person. Perhaps... that person took him there?"
Magistrate Cheng felt she might be right.
But he refused to admit his wife had the better idea, so he insisted, "He probably wrote this based on what the hunter said. There's been plenty of talk about it around town these past few days."
Lady Zhao lowered her fan and pinched him.
"Still arguing!"
"The servants all told you they met a Fierce Tiger, the very one from the rumors, and it could even speak like a human. Think again about the Green-Robed Immortal that hunter encountered."
"Do you still want to argue with me?"
A slight pain at his waist convinced Cheng Zhi not to make an issue of it with his wife.
"All right, all right. You're right, my lady."
In an excellent mood, Magistrate Cheng picked up the letter and read it again. The more he read, the more delighted he became, until his whole body felt light and at ease. He laughed and said,
"He's finally written it. I'll go find a craftsman at once and have it carved onto a stele."
"Then this humble official can leave his name in the annals of history."
"Who knows, perhaps I'll even get promoted..."
"Hahaha..."
Lady Zhao asked, "What events did he write about?"
Magistrate Cheng stroked his beard, looking pleased with himself. "Under my governance, the people live in harmony and the five grains flourish. Xiangyang received a passing immortal, who exposed those few swindlers and made them repay the Lu Family..."
"Then there was the hunter who spent the night in the mountains and encountered an immortal."
"At the banquet, cups clinked as songs and dances continued day and night. What a delightful affair for immortals."
The more Cheng Zhi thought about it, the more pleased he became. Each sentence lifted his spirits another notch, until he'd also finished recounting the recent marvels at Pure Void Temple on Black Stone Mountain.
"Well? That happened later, so I must have sent another letter to catch him up."
"There are fifteen hundred county magistrates in Great Tang, and I, Cheng, am the only one who's met an immortal. Hahaha."
"With Heaven's help, what a stroke of fortune."
Li Bai's poem spread throughout Xiang Prefecture within days.
Not only did everyone in the prefectural city of Xiangyang discuss it, and scholars at the academies sway their heads as they recited it, but it also reached the nearby counties of Gucheng, Yiqing, Lexiang, and beyond.
For a time, paper in Xiang Prefecture became as precious as gold.
The Xiang Prefecture Governor had also heard about it. The Banquet of Ghosts and Gods described in the poem was so wondrous and fantastical that even his children had recited it at home several times, and talk of gods and ghosts had repeatedly come up at the dinner table.
The next day, the Xiang Prefecture Governor summoned Magistrate Cheng and questioned him at length.
When he learned that Cheng Zhi was about to erect a stele for the immortal, the governor simply said,
"Why not build a temple instead? Put the stele in front of it."
The governor had read the poem and heard a bellyful of strange tales. He was in high spirits, so he dipped his brush in ink and casually spread out a sheet of paper, sketching a rough map of Xiangyang.
"Where is the Lu Family's home?"
Cheng Zhi pointed to a place outside the county seat, not far from Lumen Mountain. It was a scenic spot.
"That's where the immortal first appeared, at the Lu Family's home. It's also where those nineteen people slept through a great dream."
The governor considered it.
"Where do you think we should build the Immortal Temple?"
The Xiang Prefecture Governor felt a little regretful and stroked his beard. "Minister He writes exceptionally well, but His Majesty is performing the Fengshan ceremony this year, and he's too busy with official duties. Otherwise, I'd truly like to ask Minister He to write a piece for us. We could carve it onto the stele, and his name would be remembered for a thousand generations."
Minister He was He Zhizhang, currently serving as Vice Minister of Rites and a scholar at Jixian Academy. He was a man of exceptional literary talent.
This year, the emperor was going to Mount Tai to perform the Fengshan ceremony. Everyone was busy, and the Xiang Prefecture Governor did not want to impose on him.
After the two discussed it for a while, Cheng Zhi listened and decided to add the governor to the piece himself when he got back. Then he urged the craftsman to finish carving the stele as soon as possible.
After everyone had left, the Xiang Prefecture Governor spent a long while reciting the poem about the immortals.
He savored it over and over in his mind.
He could almost see it all: ghosts and gods laughing and jesting, immortals expounding the Dao and pointing the way.
In a single night, he had witnessed it all.
He beckoned one of his subordinates over and said with keen interest, "Make discreet inquiries about that person's temperament, what he likes, and where he often goes."
"Don't go knocking on the door of some lofty recluse. People like that value their peace and quiet. Don't risk upsetting the immortals and spirits."
"Prepare a gift as well. In a few days, when I have time off, Cheng Zhi's stele should be finished. I'll go pay him a visit."
"Understood?"
The subordinate cupped his hands in a salute. "I'll see to it at once."
Jiang She sat in the courtyard. The place was so quiet that the sounds outside seemed all the clearer.
Unlike in his first few days here, Jiang She could now make out the street vendors' cries beyond the courtyard walls. Wang Family's sesame flatbreads were being sold nearby. The summer heat had grown oppressive, and a drink stall had set up beside it. Their hawthorn and plum drink was especially delicious.
He could also hear
the neighbor's children fighting with sticks, arguing over who got to be the general. They often ended up in a noisy tangle, none willing to give in. In the end, they would all go home sniffling and crying, led away by their families.
The litter of cats was so frightened by the commotion that they shot up into the trees.
Among them, a little black cat scampered along the wall and over to him.
It had grown much more familiar with Jiang She. It rubbed its head against the wall as it watched him sort through his belongings.
Jiang She counted his money: five qian of gold dust, twelve strings of coins, and 256 loose copper coins. Strings of coins were inconvenient to carry on the road, so most people chose to carry them on their backs. Fortunately, Jiang She had another way.
It was already a sizable sum, enough to support an ordinary household for two or three years.
And since he didn't have to pay taxes, it would last even longer.
He also had three bottles of pills, nine pills in all, and six bottles of spirit liquid. Jiang She set them on the table. He couldn't think of a use for them just then, so he decided to deal with that later.
Two changes of clothes, a water flask, and a pottery bowl.
A few books, some paper and writing brushes, that notebook, and a map.
The table was already full. The cat on the wall seemed quite interested in the medicine bottles and gold dust, its round eyes fixed on them as it occasionally licked its little paws.
Jiang She quickly put them away.
He didn't want the cat knocking over the medicine bottles, or his money going missing.
After taking stock of his belongings, Jiang She went to the kitchen and fetched the cat a piece of meat.
The cat had been fed so often that it wasn't afraid of people. It meowed as it ate, purring between mouthfuls and clearly enjoying the meat.
Li Bai returned from a banquet outside around noon. The courtyard was peaceful, shaded by leafy trees. He saw Mr. Jiang feeding meat to the neighbor's cat. The pieces of poultry were large, and the cat's teeth were tiny, so it had to tear at the meat carefully.
Li Bai couldn't help smiling.
"That cat's come begging for food again."
The cat's ears pricked up. When it saw who had arrived, its back gradually arched, and it ate even more ferociously, afraid someone might steal its food.
"Taibai."
Jiang She stroked the little cat's fuzzy head.
"After tomorrow, I'll be leaving."
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