Chapter 3

The group checked into an ordinary inn in Xiagui County-the Sun Family Inn. As the young lady of the household, Baozhu naturally took a superior room, while Wei Xun, her accompanying servant, booked an ordinary room next door.

Thirteenth Son still found the extravagance of booking two rooms for three people deeply uncomfortable. First, he suggested letting Baozhu sleep in the bed while he and his senior brother slept on the floor, but Baozhu firmly refused.

Then he proposed that the two of them seek lodging at the Lotus Flower Temple, so they would only need to book one room for Baozhu. After all, the temple charged only a token dozen or so copper coins for food and lodging, making it the best choice for travelers with thin purses, such as impoverished scholars and itinerant petty traders.

Baozhu flew into a rage. "If you leave me alone at the inn, what was the point of hiring guards?"

Cowled by her shout, Thirteenth Son said timidly, "This is a town, after all, not some desolate wilderness... I've already registered at the Lotus Flower Temple. By monastic custom, I can eat and stay there free for three days. It really seems a shame to spend extra."

Baozhu waved a hand and declared grandly, "Since I hired you, do you think I can't afford to feed one child?" She thought she had only two men under her command; if she started docking their rations and pay and provoked a miniature mutiny, she would become a laughingstock.

Wei Xun, ordinarily miserly to a fault, actually supported her for once. He told Thirteenth Son, "At least one of us has to stay with her."

Thirteenth Son blinked. "Surely there aren't kidnappers here?"

Wei Xun shook his head. After a moment's thought, he instructed him, "Go scout the territory. Find out whether Ma San is still the local Acupoint Chief, who controls the checkpoints, and whether there are any backdoor routes through the pass."

Baozhu could make neither head nor tail of it. "What nonsense are you talking? Is this 'Mynah Talk' again?"

Thirteenth Son answered, "'Mynah Talk' is drawn on walls. What we speak is 'Spring Code'-Underworld cant. Eldest Senior Brother wants me to find out whether the boss here is still the old..."

At that point, Thirteenth Son suddenly noticed Wei Xun fixing him with a sharp glare and hastily shut his mouth.

Baozhu urged him, "Go on!"

Thirteenth Son said cautiously, "People in the trade often say, 'Better to part with an ingot of gold than teach one phrase of Spring Code.' You're better off not understanding this jargon."

Baozhu said angrily, "Are you saying I'm too poor to afford a lesson in your outlaw slang?"

Wei Xun said slowly, "It isn't that I'm unwilling to teach you. Half-understanding would only put you in danger. It would be like holding a lantern and peering curiously into an underground river. You might glimpse a scale or a claw, but every monster living in that dark river would see you clearly in the light."

His tone was grave, and his description vivid and frightening. Baozhu felt a little intimidated, yet she also thought he had indeed been acting strangely these past few days. Whenever she had encountered something unfamiliar in the streets before, he had always explained it kindly. Why was he so cold today?

Baozhu snorted and snapped, "What's so impressive about it? I wouldn't care to hear that gibberish anyway!" Pouting and puffing out her cheeks, she went behind the screen to sulk by herself.

Wei Xun gave Thirteenth Son a few more instructions and sent him off. Thirteenth Son rose, walked to the door, and asked loudly, "I'll bring back steamed buns for you. Is there anything else you want?"

Baozhu understood that perfectly well and hastily called out, "Don't buy only vegetarian ones. Bring a few with mutton filling!"

Thirteenth Son's face fell. "Sending a novice monk to buy meat buns-you certainly know how to put someone in a difficult position, Ninth Lady."

Baozhu said impatiently, "No one's forcing you to eat them! Vegetarian meals and cold tea every day-if I don't eat some meat, I won't have the strength to draw a bow."

Thirteenth Son agreed, then asked Wei Xun, "What would you like me to bring, Eldest Senior Brother?"

Wei Xun thought for a moment, leaned close, and murmured something to him.

"Oh!..." Thirteenth Son seemed a little surprised. He stared at Wei Xun for a moment, but asked no further questions, took the money, and went out at once.

Baozhu was thoroughly puzzled by the two fellow disciples' words and behavior, but could not bring herself to ask. She turned it over and over without finding an answer, even secretly worrying: They're deliberately speaking in code. Could they be planning to sell me?

Four hours later, Thirteenth Son returned with news and hot steamed buns. He said Ma San had been disposed of by the local checkpoint boss last year, and his brother-in-law Liu Mao now ran things.

Thirteenth Son said, "The checkpoint boss in this county is a bandit gone straight. People in the trade both hate and fear him, and none of them want to cross him. I couldn't make contact with the local outfit, either."

Wei Xun's expression shifted uncertainly. He stood up and said, "You don't carry enough weight. I'd better go sound them out myself." Then he gave Thirteenth Son a meaningful look. "Keep your wits about you. Don't leave her."

Thirteenth Son nodded in agreement. Instead of using the front door, Wei Xun hurriedly climbed out through the rear window.

Baozhu asked, "Don't you think your eldest senior brother has been acting a little strangely these past two days?"

"Perhaps the season doesn't agree with him, or he hasn't adjusted to the local climate." After offering those empty words, Thirteenth Son asked solicitously, "Won't you have another steamed bun, Ninth Lady? This eatery is famous far and wide. I stood in line for ages. When I asked for mutton filling, they laughed at me for quite a while."

Wei Xun stayed out all night, and a whole day passed without his return. By the following day, many guests had gathered in the inn's main hall, discussing the news: whether they possessed official identification and travel permits or not, none of them could pass through Tong Pass-the whole of Xiagui County had been sealed off.

Apart from couriers carrying urgent military dispatches, no one was permitted to enter or leave, whether they were visiting relatives and friends, seeking work, trading, or traveling to the Capital for the examinations. The gates were shut, and dozens of armored soldiers patrolled the gate towers, all standing ready as though a great army were about to descend upon them.

Thirteenth Son went downstairs to ask around, then returned to the room looking uneasy. "How strange. I haven't heard of any rebels these past two years. Besides, this is Xiagui. The Capital lies to the west, and the natural stronghold of Tong Pass to the east. Even if there were rebels, surely they couldn't suddenly fight their way here?"

Baozhu said worriedly, "If it isn't an external threat, could it be trouble within?"

Thirteenth Son struck his fist into his palm. "Put that way, it does look rather like they're hunting a fugitive wanted by the court."

At his words, Baozhu's heart lurched, and some unsettling possibilities immediately occurred to her. On second thought, she felt she was worrying too much. She was neither a wanted criminal nor a rebel, so why should she feel afraid? No longer caring whether she showed her face, she took Thirteenth Son downstairs and sat in the main hall to listen for news.

Some guests guessed they were hunting spies from the Foreign Lands; others suspected an epidemic spreading through the town. No one could make sense of it.

A merchant transporting fresh seasonal fruit wore a deep frown. "Just my bad luck. I'm afraid this whole shipment will rot on my hands."

Another man said, "Losing money is one thing. Let's just hope we don't get dragged into some major case. That could ruin an entire household!"

They remained gathered until after the evening watch. Just as everyone was preparing to retire, a local relative of the innkeeper suddenly arrived. He said residents living near the County Yamen had heard numerous prisoners being taken into the Prison Ward, all crying that they had been wronged. Others said these suspects had all been arrested at the Lotus Flower Temple.

That set the pot of hot oil boiling over. No one felt sleepy anymore.

"Oh, those screams were dreadful! They simply weren't sounds of this world. Who knows whether they were having their sinews pulled out or their skin peeled off? Even in this heat, we didn't dare open our doors or windows. We just covered our ears and trembled. And judging by the voices, it wasn't only one or two people. There must have been many."

His vivid account sent the travelers into a panic. A middle-aged man dressed as a scholar straightened his black headcloth and said solemnly, "I am a Civil Scattered Official traveling to Chang'an to await appointment. Though I hold only the ninth rank, I am still a man of the government. Surely there are also influential people stranded here in Xiagui County who have connections at court. Even if the gates cannot be opened to let us through, they cannot keep everyone in the dark. I shall go to the County Yamen and make inquiries."

Seeing someone of status willing to investigate, the innkeeper and the other travelers regarded him with newfound respect. Some poured him tea, others offered to lend him a horse, and they escorted him out in a bustling crowd.

Baozhu listened from one side. Once he had gone, she leaned toward Thirteenth Son's ear and sneered, "What a show-off. An official with a post no bigger than the eye of a needle, putting on such airs."

Thirteenth Son replied quietly, "Haven't you heard the saying, Ninth Lady, 'A county magistrate can ruin a household; a prefect can wipe out a family'? However low his rank, he still carries more weight than an untitled commoner."

Baozhu curled her lip in disdain. At the great palace banquets for the court, one could still make out the faces of the princes, dukes, and marquises in the front rows, but officials below the fifth rank knelt farther back without even daring to raise their heads. Once outside Chang'an City, the value of an official title swelled enormously. Every stray cat and dog dared put on airs.

The county town was small. In less than an hour, the ninth-rank Probationary Scattered Official returned with his nose thoroughly rubbed in the dust and quietly slipped back to his room to sleep. But he had been right about one thing: influential people with powerful connections in town could learn the inside story.

These rumors leaked from their trusted attendants and escorts, then reached the streets through servants. The news seemed to sprout legs. Before dawn had fully broken, more than half the town knew that the rare treasure Cui Keyong, military governor of the Wuwei Army, was presenting to the reigning emperor had been stolen in full view of everyone while enshrined on the top floor of the Many-Treasures Pagoda at the Lotus Flower Temple.

Nor was that all. Luo Chengye, chief of Xiagui County's Unworthy Men and the man responsible for guarding the treasure, had been killed by the thief in his own home. His belly had been split open and his entrails spilled out; his death had been gruesome.

The eyes of the entire town turned toward that Buddhist pagoda.

Anyone who was not blind could see that the Many-Treasures Pagoda stood over twenty zhang tall. Apart from the entrance on the ground floor, the upper stories had no doors or windows. Each story had only a foot-wide eave, with nothing to hold on to. Moreover, a ring of bronze bells hung from every tier of eaves, layer upon layer gleaming gold. Even an expert climber secretly scaling it could not possibly avoid touching every single bell. Thus, once the entrance at the base was shut and soldiers were stationed around it, only birds could reach the top without a sound.

Yet this inconceivable thing had happened.

The guests at the Sun Family Inn debated it heatedly.

A guest from the direction of Bianliang asked skeptically, "Military Commissioner Cui is known as the King of Xuzhou where we come from. Who would dare pluck a tooth from a tiger's mouth and touch his belongings? Especially a treasure he meant to present to the emperor?"

An old man stroked his beard and shook his head sagely. "It must have been a peerless master thief, defying heaven and law alike, with extraordinary skills. Otherwise, how could he have broken through defenses like walls of bronze and iron and flown to the top of the pagoda to take the treasure?"

At the old man's words, the young girl who had been listening quietly choked on her tea. Not wanting anyone to notice anything strange in her expression, she shielded her cup with her hand and pretended to continue drinking.

Another young guest asked, "A treasure the military governor meant to present to the emperor should have been escorted all the way to Chang'an by his own envoy. Why was it delayed here in Xiagui and enshrined at the Lotus Flower Temple?"

An old woman who swept and cleaned at the inn coughed twice, then drawled, "This old servant has a younger sister who works as a wet nurse at Magistrate Wu's Residence, so I've heard a little news."

Everyone's eyes immediately gathered on her. The old woman brightened; her eyes were no longer dim and her back no longer bent, as though she had suddenly grown ten years younger. She said mysteriously, "Magistrate Wu is a most devoted son. Everyone in town knows that. His old mother worships the Buddha, burns incense and eats vegetarian meals every day, and Magistrate Wu waits on her hand and foot..."

The young guest interrupted impatiently, "Granny, what does any of that have to do with the missing treasure?"

The old woman glared. "What an impatient young fellow! How can I explain what happened afterward without telling you what led up to it?"

Eager to hear the inside story, the listeners promptly scolded the young guest and begged the old woman to continue.

"When Military Commissioner Cui's treasure-bearing envoy arrived in Xiagui this time, Magistrate Wu naturally had to host a feast for him. His mother wanted a look at the treasure. How could a devoted son like Magistrate Wu not find a way? So he thought of having the treasure enshrined in the pagoda, allowing his mother to take a look under the pretext of worshipping the Buddha. He pleaded every which way, and the envoy agreed as a favor. They say the present emperor also worships the Buddha, and the Lotus Flower Temple is renowned far and wide. Enshrining it there for a few days would only add to its glory. Who could have imagined something would happen here? Yesterday morning, when they opened the pagoda to inspect it, the treasure had vanished without rhyme or reason. More than half of Magistrate Wu's hair turned white on the spot. He promptly arrested the Unworthy Men guarding the pagoda and the monks tending it and had them tortured, hoping only to recover the treasure and redeem his offense."

After hearing the conclusion, everyone felt the reasoning was sound and the sequence convincing, and noisy discussion broke out. Some blamed the Wu family's old mother for causing trouble; others called Magistrate Wu foolishly filial and muddleheaded. Only the petty official, robbed of everyone's attention, was deeply displeased and declared loudly:

"How could a mere woman alter affairs of state and military importance?!"

He drank some tea and cleared his throat. Only after making certain everyone's attention had shifted to him did he say in a ringing voice, "Princess Wanshou, the pearl of His Majesty's palm, has just passed away. The whole world knows it. His Majesty has fallen ill with grief, and I hear he has suspended court for many days. Sending a treasure now would only invite a cold reception. Lord Cui must have instructed his envoy to find an excuse to linger on the road for a few days, then present it after His Majesty recovers, so he can obtain the reward he expects. The military governor of the Wuwei Army rules an entire region. How could a mere seventh-rank county magistrate dare delay his business over a private family matter? Old Madam Wu wanting to see the treasure-utter nonsense!"

When he spoke of the princess's death and the emperor's illness, the young girl bit her lower lip hard.

The old woman had supplied street gossip passed from mouth to mouth, while the petty official had speculated from an insider's perspective. Each account sounded reasonable in its own way.

The innkeeper said, "Humble folk like us don't know lofty figures such as magistrates and military governors, but we do know Luo Chengye, the Unworthy Marshal. His word was law here in Xiagui County. He used to be an outlaw hero, nicknamed the 'Lion Hound,' meaning his nose was as keen as a dog's. His eyes watched four directions and his ears heard all eight. In the three years since he came to Xiagui County, he solved numerous major cases and brought our habitual thieves and bandits to heel. He was known as Huazhou's finest constable. Only he was a little greedy, and we had to offer him a tribute now and then."

The young guest hurried to say, "Then the master thief must have feared the Lion Hound's doglike nose and killed him first, to keep that brilliant investigator from tracking him down and bringing him to justice."

The innkeeper shook his head. "You don't understand. Luo Chengye was extraordinarily skilled in martial arts. When he wielded his Four-Sided Pattern-Welded Iron Mace, his defense was like an iron barrel-water couldn't splash through and a needle couldn't pierce it. Even four or five men were no match for him. How could one thief have killed him so easily?"

The listeners were thoroughly enjoying themselves and all began talking at once. Then the discussion returned to the central question: what exactly was the treasure?

Was it a Buddha's tooth? Fine jade? A gemstone? A celebrated piece of calligraphy by Wang Xizhi, the Sage of Calligraphy? Or an immortal pill from Penglai Island that prolonged life?

Once their curiosity was roused, everyone felt the same unrelievable itch as old Madam Wu, longing for just one look at the treasure so they would have something to talk about. The innkeeper seized the opportunity to bring out a bushel of dried melon seeds and sell them for two copper coins a packet, constantly topping up tea and water with attentive service. Seeing how young Thirteenth Son was, he even gave him a free handful.

The merchant from Bianliang suddenly said, "I have heard a strange tale from Xuzhou that I would like to share with you all. Though I wouldn't dare say whether it concerns this particular treasure."

Everyone urged him, "Tell us, tell us!"

The merchant said, "Last year, an ordinary soldier in the Wuwei Army got drunk and was traveling through the countryside when a white snake over three zhang long and as thick as a bucket suddenly blocked his path. Its eyes shone red like carriage lanterns. The fright sobered him up at once. He quickly drew his saber and fought the snake, only managing to kill it after a long struggle. Set into the white snake's forehead was a Baozhu an inch across that glowed at night. After the soldier dug it out, the snake's corpse turned into a pool of clear water and vanished. He dared not keep it for himself, so he presented the pearl to his commanding superior—the military governor. Military Commissioner Cui treated it as a priceless treasure and immediately promoted the snake-slaying soldier to his trusted retinue. Around Xuzhou, there is scarcely anyone who hasn't heard this story. I hear that soldier still serves under the governor. I wouldn't dare embellish it. Every word is true."

While everyone was still spellbound by this marvelous tale, the petty official suddenly clapped his hands, as though divine revelation had cleared the blockage in his mind. "It fits! It fits!"

This time, he dared not raise his voice and deliberately lowered it. "The story of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, slaying the white snake, raising a rebellion, and winning the realm is known in every household, even to women and children. A White Snake Baozhu, whether genuine or false, is fit for the emperor alone to possess. However overwhelming Cui Keyong's power in Xuzhou, he is merely a regional strongman. Unless he intends to rebel, he would not dare keep a treasure bearing such a name for himself. Since the strange tale has already spread, he must voluntarily present the Baozhu to the emperor to demonstrate his unwavering loyalty. This isn't about seeking a reward. It is the prudent course of self-preservation—he has no choice."

"So that's it! So that's it!"

"This official truly is Zhuge Liang reborn!"

Everyone nodded, praising the petty official's deduction as sensible and well reasoned. They unanimously agreed that the treasure stolen from the Lotus Flower Temple was undoubtedly the White Snake Pearl.

Baozhu had listened for a long time, schooling her expression and holding her breath. Only after confirming that there was no more news did she rise and return to her room with Thirteenth Son, weighed down by worries.

She was not worried that Magistrate Wu might lose his office or his life. It was simply that Wei Xun had been missing for nearly two days and had yet to reappear.