Chapter 1

With a twang of the bowstring, Baozhu suddenly loosed an arrow into the bushes out in the wilds.

Thirteenth Son looked around blankly, unable to make head or tail of it. Wei Xun cheered, "What sharp eyes!"

Baozhu lifted her chin and puffed out her chest, her nose practically pointing at the sky. She had shot a mottled rabbit hidden in thick brush, a very small target. Hitting prey at that distance was nothing remarkable; what was remarkable was spotting the little creature's mottled coat amid the dappled shadows. Hearing such knowledgeable praise made her even more pleased with herself.

Wei Xun skimmed over the bushes as though his feet never touched the ground, returning with her quarry in moments. Watching his light, floating figure from behind, Baozhu thought that although his nickname was not "So-and-so the Lynx," the way he sprang off to retrieve her quarry as soon as her arrow left the bow made him exactly as useful as her lynx. She could not help finding it funny.

But once the scrawny dead rabbit reached her hands, she immediately cried out in disappointment, "Why is it so thin?"

Wei Xun smiled. "You used to hunt in the imperial preserves, didn't you? Commoners aren't allowed inside, so the game lives without a care and naturally grows fat and strong. People outside don't even have enough to eat. Of course wild rabbits look like this."

Baozhu had thought she could finally have some meat today and roast the rabbit, but when she hefted it, she feared there would be nothing but bones left after skinning it. She was deeply annoyed. She looked at Wei Xun, then lowered her eyes to the rabbit again, thinking that outside the palace, the people were skinny, the rabbits were skinny, and even the horses on the road were skinny. By the time she reached Youzhou after a thousand miles of eating in the wind and sleeping under the open sky, she would probably look as shabby as this rabbit.

Disconsolately, she tossed the dead rabbit back to Wei Xun. "Throw it away. There's nothing on it worth eating."

Wei Xun said, "It's certainly edible. What a waste to throw it away." He plucked a thin, tough grass stem and tied the rabbit to his waist. At the next eatery, he skinned it, removed its limbs, innards, and filth, then asked the proprietor to chop the carcass up, bones and meat together, stuff it into flatbread, and bake it in the oven. The rabbit skin served as payment for the proprietor's trouble.

After a short wait, the minced-rabbit flatbread emerged piping hot. The bread was crisp and delicious, its filling bursting with savory fragrance. Apart from the bone fragments being rather hard on the teeth, it tasted wonderful. Ravenously hungry, Baozhu held it in both hands and devoured it. Her table manners remained fairly refined and graceful, but her eyes were already no different from those of a starving refugee.

Naturally, Wei Xun and Thirteenth Son did not compete with her for the food. They watched with their hands tucked into their sleeves, both feeling a little sympathy. This girl had grown up in silks and luxury, and now she was displaced and homeless, racking her brains for a mouthful of meat. She really was rather pitiful. They could hardly blame her for tearing up at the slightest thing and shedding pearls.

Thirteenth Son whispered, "She really does have a strong constitution. She's only been out of the ground for twenty-odd days, and her appetite is already this good."

Wei Xun nodded without speaking. His lightning-sharp eyes made their habitual sweep of the passing travelers nearby. Suddenly, a flash of white crossed his vision, and he felt a cold wind brush his back, his hands and feet turning icy. He stared fixedly in that direction, clenching his jaw and both fists.

After leaving Xinfeng County and entering Huazhou, Xiagui County lay ahead, with Tong Pass beyond it.

Tong Pass was the gateway to Guanzhong and had always been fiercely contested by military commanders. Known as the foremost stronghold of the capital region and the throat of the four garrisons, it was the most formidable strategic choke point on the road from Chang'an to Luoyang. Its guards were unlike those elsewhere, conducting exceptionally strict inspections. An ordinary bribe would probably not get them through.

At the inn, the three discussed how to pass safely through Tong Pass, but no amount of thought produced a workable plan. The safest method was to forge identities as servants and slip through with a large merchant caravan, but this was precisely what Baozhu found most objectionable.

Wei Xun leaned by the window, his head resting on his arm as he looked down at the people coming and going in the street. His whole bearing was languid, and he seemed distracted.

After discussing it with Baozhu for ages without reaching a conclusion, Thirteenth Son turned to ask him, "What do you think, eldest senior brother?"

Without turning around, Wei Xun murmured, "It's no great matter if we can't get through. We can go back to Chang'an and head north through Yanzhou and Taiyuan. That will get us to Youzhou too."

Baozhu frowned. "What nonsense is that? Once an arrow leaves the bow, it can't turn back. We've already been traveling for days. How can we go back to Chang'an?"

Wei Xun turned his head and said lazily, "We could also have Thirteen lead the donkey through while I carry you over the pass at midnight."

Baozhu angrily slapped the table. "Stop talking nonsense! Have you ever been to Tong Pass? There are sheer cliffs on both sides, and the winding track between them is barely wide enough for a single ox cart. With guards posted there, not even a bird could fly through. Besides, there are thousands of soldiers stationed in the old fortress. Once ten thousand arrows fly at you, whether you're an ape or a lynx, they'll turn you into a hedgehog!"

"Then let's stay in Xiagui County a few more days and see how things look."

"A few more days?!"

No matter how dangerous she made it sound, Wei Xun seemed to let her words blow past his ears. After that inexplicable remark, he went back to looking out the window. For some reason, ever since they left Xinfeng County, he had become rather reluctant to press on. He delayed whenever he could and no longer urged her to get up early.

Normally, he was full of energy all day long, his eyes gleaming, and she never saw him tired. Yet these past two days he had behaved quite differently, rising late and retiring early, returning to his own room as soon as dusk fell. When Baozhu went looking for him on some matter at night, she could not see him; only Thirteenth Son came out to answer her.

Thoroughly puzzled, Baozhu followed his gaze. People came and went in the street, but there was nothing unusual.

Thirteenth Son rose. "I'll go bribe the gate officials of Xiagui County now. We have to get through Xiagui before we can talk about entering Tong Pass. Besides, my travel permit only authorizes travel within the capital region. Whichever direction we take afterward, I'll have to ask the authorities to add a few lines first."

Baozhu actually felt a trace of envy for the little novice. "Being a monk gives you such freedom. If I could get an Ordination Certificate and enter religious life, I wouldn't have all this trouble."

Thirteenth Son was astonished. "Do you want to become a Buddhist nun, Ninth Lady?"

Baozhu smoothed her thick, glossy black hair. "I don't want to shave my head. Of course I'd become a Daoist nun."

Thirteenth Son sighed. "As the saying goes, 'An emperor's daughter need never worry about finding a husband.' Who knows how many handsome young men from great families are hoping to marry you, yet you want to enter religious life."

Naturally, Thirteenth Son did not know that the noble princesses of the Li imperial house actually worried a great deal about finding husbands.

The women of the Li family had always been renowned for their arrogance and extravagance. Whether as daughters at home or married wives, their position within their families far exceeded that of women in previous dynasties. When a princess married, she could not only live apart from her parents-in-law in a princess's residence built for her, but was also exempt from the ordinary courtesies expected of a daughter-in-law.

Quite a few powerful princesses kept male confidants after marriage, and could even make their husbands mourn them for three years after their deaths. Marrying one amounted to bowing and scraping to bring home an ancestor to worship, so none of the great families wished to marry a princess. There was even a saying at court: "Marry a princess, and an official residence springs up on level ground." To have an entire government office materialize in one's own home and impose its rule-what an indignity!

Princess Wanshou was not only deeply favored by the emperor, but also famed for her skill with bow and horse and her formidable martial prowess. Taking Princess Pingyang, the celebrated "Lady Li" of years past, as her ideal, she had once performed the astonishing feat of shooting an arrow through both eyes of a gazelle from a hundred paces away. Faced with a princess so abundantly endowed with martial virtue, even men eager to cling to the dragon and phoenix and willing to humble themselves had to consider whether they could withstand an arrow from her straight to the chest.

Once, hearing that Han Jizhou, the youngest son of Minister of Revenue Han Ren, was a graceful young gentleman renowned throughout the capital, the emperor tentatively asked the minister whether he wished to unite their families by marriage. Old Han said neither yes nor no. He simply dropped to his knees with a thud and sobbed until his goatee was soaked with tears and snot. The scene became exceedingly awkward, and the matter was quietly dropped.

It was precisely because the princess had trouble finding a husband that the emperor and his favored consort had prepared a lavish dowry for her. They were willing to exchange the wealth of the realm for Princess Wanshou's marital happiness, and had even considered the extreme measure of "snatching a son-in-law from beneath the examination results board."

But these palace secrets were not for outsiders to hear, and the girl had her own tangled thoughts that she could hardly explain. She grabbed a generous handful of coins for Thirteenth Son and urged him, "Don't talk nonsense about things you don't understand, child. I'm already dead. What marriage is there to discuss? Hurry out and take care of things. Find out whether there's a good way through the pass."

Thirteenth Son took the money. "Let me give you the unpleasant warning first: I really can't buy an Ordination Certificate."

People's attraction to Buddhism and Daoism was not without worldly reasons. Members of religious orders were exempt from corvée labor and paid neither taxes nor grain levies. Those who owned good farmland and property could save a great deal of wealth, so naturally many people yearned for religious life. To prevent households from disappearing from the registers, the authorities instituted Ordination Certificates. Only this officially issued document allowed someone to enter religious life legally. Thus, an Ordination Certificate was not only valuable, but also subject to quotas approved from above, with opportunities arising perhaps only a few times a year. It was not easily obtained.

After explaining the reasons and telling Baozhu not to get her hopes up, Thirteenth Son took the money out to bribe the gate officials, while Wei Xun continued staring absently downstairs.

People streamed through the street: merchants traveling north and south, itinerant craftsmen living far from home, and landless refugees heading to Chang'an in search of a livelihood. Every one of them hurried along the road toward the well-fed life they imagined.

After spending half the day out making inquiries, Thirteenth Son returned with heartening news.

Lotus Flower Temple, a famous old monastery in Xiagui County, would soon hold a grand feast open to all for three days around the nineteenth day of the sixth month, the day Guanyin attained enlightenment. Its gates would be thrown open and vegetarian meals distributed freely. Monastics and laypeople alike could visit and share in the celebration.

Thirteenth Son said excitedly, "Lotus Flower Temple's vegetarian food is famous far and wide. Usually they only serve wealthy patrons, but this time they're giving it away for three whole days. We can all go get a free meal!"

Hearing that the food was vegetarian, Baozhu showed little interest. Thirteenth Son hurried on, "I hear their vegetarian dishes are different. In both taste and appearance, they're exactly like real meat. You must try them, Ninth Lady. Besides, this ceremony is being held to enshrine an unparalleled treasure. Even if you don't go for the food, it would be worth seeing it and broadening your horizons."

"Oh? Is it a Buddha Relic or a Buddha Bone?" Baozhu asked curiously.

Thirteenth Son shook his head. "I don't know about that. They say it's a treasure from Xuzhou, being enshrined temporarily at Lotus Flower Temple before it's taken to the imperial palace in Chang'an. Then we won't be able to see it even if we want to."

In such hot weather, Baozhu did not want to squeeze into a crowd. But she was young, at an age that naturally loved good food, amusement, and lively gatherings, and she could not withstand Thirteenth Son's repeated pleas and persuasion. In the end, she decided to go. Who could have imagined that a proud daughter of the imperial line would now bustle about for a free vegetarian meal? She found it both saddening and funny.

The gate officials of Xiagui County had already been bribed. Early the next morning, the three checked out and led their donkey into town.

The streets leading to Lotus Flower Temple were already far more crowded than usual. Everyone looked eager, curious about the rare ceremony and mysterious treasure. Many had come all the way from the countryside; to them, attending a religious ceremony was no different from going to market. Inside the temple gates, people jostled shoulder to shoulder amid a boiling clamor of voices. Some were even pushed into the Life-Release Pond.

Lotus Flower Temple was already wealthy, and rich Buddhist households had generously opened their purses to support it with donations. Every monk, from the highest to the lowest, had poured tremendous effort into this ceremony. Vast quantities of incense cakes and sticks had been placed in the bronze burner before the main hall without regard for cost. Flames blazed, and rather than curling gently upward, the blue smoke surged into the sky as though the place were on fire.

For some reason, maintaining order were not only the temple's monks but also numerous government men, prodding and blocking people with their wooden staves. Thus, despite the immense crowd, people were not yet trampling one another.

Baozhu had long forgotten her self-pity and looked around curiously. Her broad veiled hat and face veil were impossible to keep on in the crowd, so she removed them and gave them to Thirteenth Son. When she had first recovered from her grave illness, her face had still been pale and haggard. But throughout their journey, both fellow disciples had willingly given her the best food. After more than half a month of such care, her vitality had gradually returned. Beneath the sunlight, her cheeks seemed veiled in the pearly sheen of glazed beads. Her glances sparkled with life, carrying an innate, lofty nobility that took no account of anyone around her.

In the rear palace, where beauties clustered together, she might not have seemed particularly outstanding. But at this public religious gathering, so much like a temple fair or market, she was striking indeed. These people knew neither etiquette nor restraint. At the sight of a beautiful girl, they gaped and stared, utterly forgetting that they had come to worship the bodhisattvas and accumulate merit.

Most, seeing her extraordinary bearing, guessed that she was a young lady from a great household. They merely stared, not daring to approach and offend her.

But a few street ruffians who "feared neither the Governor of Jingzhao in life nor the King of Hell in death" deliberately squeezed close to her, hoping to steal a little intimacy amid the confusion. Before they could even touch the hem of her clothes, however, someone lightly kicked the backs of their knees. Half their bodies went numb and sore, and they fell to their knees, unable to stand no matter how they struggled, nearly getting trampled to death by the people around them.

Baozhu noticed none of this. She merely felt uncomfortable under all those surrounding stares, for she had never been treated this way in the palace. In a moment of distraction, she remembered witnessing that same rapturous, spellbound admiration many years ago, when her mother was still alive.

With her jade pendants chiming and a scented breeze stirring, her mother would appear at a palace banquet, and her radiant beauty would light up the entire hall. Old men or young, scions of great families or men of humble origins, even worldly high officials with flocks of concubines would look at her mother exactly as these ignorant country fellows did: stunned, entranced, bewildered, feverish... Their expressions were no different.

One slight smile from her left civil officials stumbling over their words; one tune on her pipa left military commanders unable to hold their wine cups steady. Everyone lost composure, every soul was carried away...

"Where exactly is that treasure?"

A worshipper's impatient shout pulled Baozhu out of that sumptuous, glittering past and back to reality. She had assumed the treasure would be enshrined in the main hall, but several people said it was kept in the temple's Many-Treasures Pagoda and would not be displayed publicly.

A glowing-faced, middle-aged monk ascended the ritual platform before the main hall, straightened his silk cassock, and drew out his voice: "Boundless praise to the Buddha Treasure, whose achievement spans immeasurable kalpas; majestic stands his sixteen-foot form of purple gold, awakening attained upon the snowy peak; the jade-white tuft between his brows shines bright, illuminating the darkness of the six realms." He began chanting Praise of the Buddha Treasure, his voice resounding like a bell, immediately drawing the eyes of the faithful.

Someone pointed and said, "That's Monk Liaoru, the abbot of Lotus Flower Temple. He's a famous eminent monk."

Baozhu stood on tiptoe to look from afar. The monk preaching on the high platform had a round face, thick lips, and ox-like eyes. He was not handsome. Whether he was an eminent monk or a short one, she had no interest in him. Turning, she quietly asked Wei Xun, "See where they're serving the food."

All three had the same thought. They moved against the stream of people and reached a two-story building-Jinghua Hall. This was originally Lotus Flower Temple's dining hall for important patrons. One look at Baozhu's noble bearing made the monk at the door unwilling to slight her, and he smilingly invited them inside ahead of time.

Thirteenth Son often visited monasteries for free meals, but he always lodged as a visiting monk and ate in the communal hall with the others. He had never entered such a spotless private room with gleaming windows. The little novice sighed with feeling. "Today we're getting this treatment on Ninth Lady's account. Beauty really does bring privileges."

Baozhu glanced at him, thinking that this was merely a free vegetarian meal. What did a child know of beauty's power? She had inherited only three or four parts in ten of her mother's looks. A true beauty who could topple kingdoms made people willing to die for her at first sight.

The second floor of Jinghua Hall afforded an excellent view and escaped the damp heat of the packed courtyard. Its private dining rooms were furnished just like those of the restaurants in town.

Once the three were seated, the guest-reception monk brought tea. A little later, he served Lotus Flower Temple's celebrated vegetarian dishes: whole chickens, whole fish, and eight-treasure crisp duck, all made from wheat flour mixed with tofu and shaped in molds. Their cavities were stuffed with diced Kunlun melon and assorted mushrooms, then they were fried in boiling oil. The flavor was nothing extraordinary, but their shapes were indeed lifelike. The details of the fish scales and chicken skin were especially delicate; considerable care had clearly gone into them.

After a few bites, Baozhu felt increasingly amused. She was about to joke with Wei Xun about the monks' hypocrisy, but he still looked preoccupied. He scarcely touched his chopsticks, merely staring out the window.

Had he not rested properly? Even the dark circles beneath his eyes had deepened. He plainly went to bed early and rose late. Could he have only pretended to rest while sneaking out at night to amuse himself?

Baozhu also looked outside. Below, heads still surged in a tightly packed crowd, but beyond a single wall, the rear courtyard stood empty. Seven or eight men in bailiffs' uniforms patrolled back and forth. Behind them stood Lotus Flower Temple's Buddhist pagoda-the Many-Treasures Pagoda.

The pagoda had seven stories and an umbrella-shaped crown. A ring of bronze bells hung from the eaves of each level, over a thousand bells swaying gently in the breeze, their chimes pleasing to the ear. Though elegant and imposing, it was hardly exceptional among the pagodas Baozhu had seen. Chang'an City abounded in monasteries and Buddhist retreats, many as magnificent as palaces.

Baozhu's eyesight was excellent. From afar, she saw that three different large locks had been fastened across the doors at the foot of the pagoda, both horizontally and vertically. She was deeply puzzled.

What exactly is the treasure enshrined in that pagoda, that it needs such strict guarding? And why does Wei Xun care so much about it?