No Such Person

At dawn the next day, Yi Shuyuan woke at his desk. He patted his hair and shook out his clothes, sending quite a bit of dust falling. When he glanced at the corner of the desk, he saw that the oil lamp had long since gone out, its wick submerged in oil.

Blowing the dust off the papers, Yi Shuyuan stood and stretched. His muscles and bones crackled, and the soreness from yesterday's martial practice had vanished without a trace. The tempering effect of spiritual energy seemed remarkably good.

Yi Shuyuan carefully felt the state of his body. A faint current of energy flowed through his meridians, slight but circulating without cease. This must have been the internal energy of martial artists-an unexpected delight. It was not gathered in his dantian as A Fei had described, though, nor had he deliberately guided it there.

Then Yi Shuyuan turned his awareness slightly inward. He seemed to see a vast expanse of heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers, with a faint, shallow layer of spiritual energy flowing across the ground, occasionally stirring a light spirit wind.

Yi Shuyuan pondered whether this counted as laying a foundation and advancing his cultivation. Yet he had never met an Immortal Cultivator of this world to compare notes with, and he did not know what to call his current state.

Forget it. At least I'm another step closer to my own Dao!

But I really do need to clean up.

Yi Shuyuan surveyed the Library. Plenty of dust had already accumulated atop its bookshelves, and last night he had shaken years of old dust down from the rafters as well. Now it looked as though no one had cleaned the place in months. Dust was everywhere.

Looks like it needs a thorough cleaning!

Before long, Yi Shuyuan found a broom and dustpan. Covering his nose with one sleeve, he swept with his other hand, finding each billowing cloud of dust especially choking.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

At a time like this, Yi Shuyuan could not help wishing he knew some sophisticated spells like Wind Control or Water Control. Those would surely make cleaning wonderfully efficient.

He swept the dust into the dustpan, then, still coughing a little, carried it out and emptied it into a small flower bed a short distance beyond the corridor.

Just as he finished dumping the dust, Yi Shuyuan seemed to notice something and turned toward the end of the corridor.

An officer stood there, looking at him with mild surprise. Noticing Yi Shuyuan's gaze, the officer immediately collected himself, stepped forward, and bowed in greeting.

"Sun Yuan, Day Patrol Officer of Yuanjiang County, pays his respects to Mr. Yi!"

The moment Yi Shuyuan saw the officer, he had realized that this was no one from the County Office. Now he could also see the character for "patrol" on the man's hat. He was probably the same sort of being as the officer with "roam" on his hat whom Yi Shuyuan had seen that night.

Yi Shuyuan set down the dustpan and cupped his hands in return, voicing the thought that came to mind.

"A Day Patrol Officer? Are you under the jurisdiction of Yuanjiang County's City God?"

Sun Heng was briefly taken aback. Does that even need asking? But Yi Shuyuan did not appear to be making fun of him, so he immediately answered solemnly.

"Indeed. I am one of the Day Patrol Officers serving His Lordship the City God!"

An actual ghostly deity! Yi Shuyuan felt a little thrill of excitement, and a smile immediately appeared on his face. He made his words as courteous as possible; after all, he had questions to ask.

"May I ask what brings you here to see me, honored Day Patrol Officer?"

Seeing how courteous Yi Shuyuan was, the Day Patrol Officer relaxed a little, his tense expression easing. He then answered truthfully.

"Last night, His Lordship the City God observed spiritual energy gathering over Yuanjiang County's town and an unusual stirring of moonlight. He believed that either an accomplished master was casting a spell or some powerful creature was cultivating in hiding. Thus, he sent me to the County Office to ask whether you knew of last night's events."

Yi Shuyuan considered this. It seemed Yuanjiang County's City God already knew of his existence, and this was clearly an attempt to sound him out. Still, there was no need to conceal the matter and leave them thinking some monster really was hiding here.

"I seem to have disturbed His Lordship the City God. Last night's events had nothing to do with any creature; they were caused by my cultivation. I will take greater care in the future, so please put your minds at ease."

It really was him? The Day Patrol Officer nodded slightly and bowed to Yi Shuyuan again.

"Thank you for informing me, sir. In that case, I will trouble you no further. Day Patrol Officer Sun Yuan takes his leave!"

With that, the officer before Yi Shuyuan turned aside. A chill wind rose beneath his feet, and in just a few strides he reached the end of the corridor, about to depart.

In the time it took Yi Shuyuan to shake out the dustpan, the Day Patrol Officer had almost disappeared. He hurriedly called out.

"Please wait, Day Patrol Officer!"

Sun Heng stopped. His slightly blurred figure became clear again, and he turned to face Yi Shuyuan.

"May I ask why you called me back, Mr. Yi?"

Yi Shuyuan first hurried to set the dustpan down by the Library door, then walked toward the Day Patrol Officer. Though there seemed to be no one around, he could hardly shout about the Underworld Office and the City God inside the County Office.

Seeing Yi Shuyuan approach, Day Patrol Officer Sun Heng hurried toward him as well.

Only once they were close did Yi Shuyuan speak.

"Sorry for the trouble, but please convey a message to His Lordship the City God: Yi Shuyuan has some matters he wishes to ask the Underworld Office's ghostly deities about. Elder Huang advised me to seek out this town's City God. Would His Lordship be available to appear and meet me?"

Sun Heng's thoughts stirred. Elder Huang? Could he mean the Broad South Mountain God? Since he was only being asked to deliver a message, he readily agreed.

"Oh, I see. I will certainly pass on your message, sir! Whether His Lordship agrees to meet you or not, I will return to inform you. If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave!"

"Farewell, Day Patrol Officer!"

Only after seeing that Yi Shuyuan had nothing further to ask did Sun Yuan turn and leave.

Watching him depart, Yi Shuyuan felt more at ease. He had been wondering how to make contact with Yuanjiang County's Underworld Office, and now the problem had solved itself. He had thought he might have to ask the Broad South Mountain God for help.

At Yuanjiang County's City God Temple, crowds were bustling as worshippers came to offer incense. The street outside was lively too, every bit as busy as the main street outside the County Office.

Yet beyond the sight of ordinary people, a special officer was swiftly making his way through the crowds toward the City God Temple.

Worshippers filled both the inside and outside of the temple, but as the officer stepped through the main hall's entrance, the light dimmed. All the worshippers visible from outside vanished, leaving only the temple's divine statues and the officer in the great hall.

This officer was none other than Day Patrol Officer Sun Heng, who had just left Yi Shuyuan. He bowed before the City God's statue in the hall.

"My lord, I have visited the Yuanjiang County Office and met that Mr. Yi. According to him, last night's disturbance was indeed caused by his cultivation."

The immense City God statue atop the altar slowly lowered its head to look at Sun Heng, and a resonant voice echoed through the hall.

"So it was him."

Sun Heng immediately continued.

"Mr. Yi also said he has matters he wishes to ask about and hopes to pay you a visit, my lord. He said Elder Huang had directed him here."

The enormous City God statue slowly rose to its feet. Dust seemed to fall from its body, only to turn into wisps of smoke carrying wafts of sandalwood fragrance. As the giant statue stepped forward, it grew smaller and smaller, finally becoming an old man of ordinary stature wearing a gauze-winged crown before the altar.

"He wishes to see me?"

Sun Heng nodded in reply.

"That is indeed what he said."

The City God frowned slightly, looking toward the County Office as he murmured.

"This man's cultivation is unfathomable, yet he works as a minor clerk at the County Office compiling the County Gazetteer. That is rather absurd, unlike an ordinary follower of the immortal Dao. Yet he also stood up for a lone wandering soul to redress an injustice. If he knows Huang Hongchuan as well, he seems even less likely to be some evil fiend. What deeper purpose does he have in coming to my Yuanjiang County under the name of a nonexistent mortal?"

"My lord, shall I go and refuse him, then?"

The City God turned toward the Day Patrol Officer and raised a hand to stop him.

"No! This man's attainment is inscrutable. Since he has requested a meeting, I should not slight him. Let me sound him out. Here is what we shall do: go a little later and tell him that I invite him to the City God Temple for a conversation tomorrow, when the temple opens at the hour of the Rabbit!"

"Understood, my lord!"

The Day Patrol Officer cupped his hands and accepted the order. The City God nodded and looked outside the hall.

"Mm. You may go."

"Yes. I take my leave!"

The Day Patrol Officer left the great hall, leaving Yuanjiang County's City God standing alone inside. Not far beyond the entrance, worshippers approached with incense, each carrying their own feelings and petitions.

The City God walked out of the hall. With one step, he was surrounded by people offering incense. Looking back, he saw that the hall behind him was also bustling with crowds, the faithful bowing before the clay statue.

Who exactly is this Mr. Yi?

The old City God looked thoughtful. As the local deity governing Yuanjiang County, leaving outsiders aside, he at least knew something of every mortal household within its borders. Moreover, the City God Hall possessed an Underworld Office treasure that could verify mortals' deeds.

The Book of Life and Death was a treasure formed from the divine power of the Underworld Office. Although it lacked the extravagant abilities attributed to it in the myths of Yi Shuyuan's previous life, it could help the underworld gods understand the circumstances of mortals within their jurisdiction, and even alert them when someone's death drew near.

That night, when Yi Shuyuan first drew their attention, Yuanjiang County's Underworld Office had already investigated him thoroughly through various means. Over time, they learned that Yi Shuyuan was Yi Baokang's elder brother and Yi Sheng's eldest son. Everyone in both the Yi family and West River Village knew this.

Yet to every Underworld Deity in Yuanjiang County's Underworld Office, all of this was utterly absurd.

Because the Yi family had no eldest son named Yi Shuyuan at all. Even the Book of Life and Death contained no such name!

This was truly baffling. It was hard to understand why so many mortals acknowledged and remembered a person named Yi Shuyuan, while the underworld gods had no recollection of him whatsoever. Even if the underworld gods could conceivably forget, what about the Book of Life and Death?

If he had cast a spell, why do something that seemed so meaningless?

Besides, memory was a profoundly mysterious thing. Though mortals could easily be deceived by illusions, their minds were also extraordinarily complex.

Influencing one person's memory with a divine ability or spell was not difficult. But doing so to an entire family or village, while making everyone's memories interlock-from children to old men, and even some departed souls-and stretching those memories across decades, was simply too unimaginable!

"If he wishes to meet, then we shall meet."

The old City God frowned slightly. After considering it for a while, he decided to wait until he had met Yi Shuyuan before seeking out the Broad South Mountain God to learn more. After all, Huang Hongchuan was an eccentric too. In his more than two hundred years as City God, they had dealt with each other only once, so he truly knew little about him.