Chapter 12

Baozhu had no wish to see a corpse, so she left the courtyard and took refuge in the street. Before long, she heard the constables cry out that they had unearthed a woman's body. The evidence stood like a mountain. Out of pity, she had meant to help the aggrieved man, only for a flogging to turn straight into a death sentence. Fate truly was impossible to predict.

Even a stupid country bumpkin who could not make such a simple lie hold together knew to exploit the chaos and pin his wife's murder on the Green-Robed Wanderer. Such was the treachery of the human heart. In Xiagui now, even a missing sheep or chicken would probably be blamed on Wei Xun.

Baozhu noticed a shop selling "superior-grade" aromatics and medicines beside the street and went inside to look. Despite the words on its sign, the shop had little of genuinely superior quality. Seeing her expensive dress and distinguished bearing, the shopkeeper hurried to attend to her. "What spices would you like, young lady? We have fine agarwood and sandalwood, frankincense and musk. Or are you looking for medicine to take?"

"Do you have pepper?" Baozhu asked.

Ever since Zhang Qian's journey west had opened the trade routes, foreign merchants had traveled countless miles in pursuit of immense profits, bringing in all manner of exotic specialties. This spice had been given the name "pepper" because it resembled the Sichuan pepper grown in Shu, with "foreign" added because it was not produced in their own country.

These little black grains from India were a spice, a medicine, and a luxury of the highest order. They traveled the reverse of Xuanzang's route to fetch the scriptures, surviving a thousand hardships and dangers before reaching the Central Plains, and were quite literally worth their weight in gold. Even in the Capital, only the immensely wealthy would bring them out to impress honored guests at a banquet. Ordinary families never dared dream of them.

Since the Kaiyuan era, pepper's light weight, high value, and ease of transport had gradually made it a popular gift for bribery, much favored by the powerful. For a time, pepper in Chang'an could be used directly in trade and tax payments as a precious commodity worth its weight in gold. To describe something expensive, people would say it was "as dear as pepper."

Surprised by her discerning tastes, the shopkeeper hastened to say, "No one in Xiagui County can afford to use it, so my little shop wouldn't dare stock any. But I know a spice merchant bound for Chang'an who's been trapped here by the city lockdown. He might have some pepper."

"Have him bring his goods here," Baozhu said. "I want to buy some."

The shopkeeper agreed repeatedly and immediately sent a servant to fetch him. Since the city had been sealed, every trade had ground to a halt; even earning a commission as a broker would count as doing business. A short while later, the spice merchant hurried over, carrying a small box of pepper as promised. Baozhu picked up a grain to inspect its quality and scent, then took out her purse and poured out a handful of gold beads to pay.

At some point, Bao Lang had followed her over. Standing in the doorway with his arms folded, he watched her and said, "I thought you wanted to buy incense. I didn't expect you to buy this."

"I happen to like the taste," Baozhu said displeasedly. "Wu Zhiyuan can't afford to provide it, so I have to buy it myself."

With payment and goods exchanged, Baozhu put away the pepper and rose to leave. Bao Lang remained leaning against the doorframe. He was tall and broad; if she forced her way past, she would have to brush against his body.

Not knowing what he meant by this, Baozhu glared at him without a word.

Looking thoughtful, Bao Lang asked, "I'm only a military man, with no nose for scents, but I've always been curious. What fragrance do you wear, Lady Fang Xie?"

Baozhu was furious. His question was practically equivalent to asking her to her face what color her underclothes were. It was already outrageously presumptuous, and his stance made it clear that he intended to force an answer from her.

"I've always been curious about something too, Special Envoy Bao Lang," she said coldly. "What rank is a Defense Commissioner?"

Without waiting for his answer, Baozhu drew her riding crop and pressed one end against him, forcibly pushing him away from the doorway to clear a path. Then she swept gracefully outside without a sideways glance.

Powerful though a regional Military Governor might be, he had no authority to confer official ranks upon his subordinates. Bao Lang held a position of great power in Xuzhou, but in Chang'an he would be nothing more than an unranked military officer outside the official hierarchy. Baozhu's contempt was plain on her face. Pushed aside by her riding crop, Bao Lang could only let her leave, but his curiosity about the girl had reached its peak.

Though the murder of a wife and burial of her body in the backyard made a sensational case, it had nothing to do with the stolen pearl and murder. Bao Lang left several constables to handle it and paid it no further attention.

The party rode back to the County Yamen and found thirty or forty people kneeling in the courtyard outside the main hall. Magistrate Wu Zhiyuan and County Deputy Wang Yue were there too, both looking rather helpless. The people wore plain clothes and appeared to be commoners. Their leader was a lame man leaning on a crutch.

"What's going on here?" Bao Lang asked with a frown.

Wu Zhiyuan came forward to answer. "These are the craftsmen from Changzhou who came to Xiagui County with you, Special Envoy. They're asking me to open the gates and let them go on to Chang'an first." He then pointed to the lame man leading them and told him to come forward and explain.

The man was about Yang Xingjian's age, but his hair was already graying. His face was weather-beaten and etched with misery. Below the knee of his left leg, the flesh had wasted away until it was as withered as bone. He was not merely lame, but disabled.

He did his utmost to straighten his back and said in a clear voice, "We craftsmen from Changzhou have been summoned by imperial decree to perform labor service on Princess Wanshou's tomb. If we miss the appointed date, the court will punish us severely. Please let us pass, officials."

Bao Lang sneered. "If we let you leave first, every stray cat and dog, every ox-demon and snake-spirit will come begging us to open the gates. How are we supposed to catch the thief then? Princess Wanshou has already ascended to heaven. She's in no hurry. She can wait." He then waved for his guards to disperse them.

Baozhu had never imagined that she would hear her former title again here in Xiagui County, or that these men would be hurrying to Chang'an to build her own tomb. For a moment, her feelings were tangled beyond words.

Under the laws of the current dynasty, missing the deadline for labor service was punishable by flogging. Bao Lang's guards shoved the lame man roughly, and the other craftsmen hurried to support him. He looked up and glared at Bao Lang with bitter hatred, but there was nothing he could do. He could only limp away from the County Yamen with the other craftsmen.

Baozhu had endured quite enough of Bao Lang's overbearing manner that day. She had no desire to see his arrogant face again. Dismounting without even a word of courtesy, she tossed him the reins, lifted her chin, and turned toward the inner residence.

Bao Lang watched her proud, graceful figure disappear through the inner gate and smiled before turning to mount his own horse. Back beside his original master, Te Le Li paced restlessly. The horse had spent the entire day with Lady Yang, and Bao Lang caught the fragrance she had left on the saddle and mud flaps.

So close and still so fresh, that faint, drifting fragrance was suddenly unmistakable to Bao Lang's keen senses. It was as though he had seized hold of the girl's secret. He froze, finally recalling the scent's extraordinary origins.

Auspicious Dragon-Brain.

It was the fragrance of Auspicious Dragon-Brain.

At the time, he had only just begun to distinguish himself by presenting the precious pearl to the Military Governor. His skill with a saber had earned him promotion from an ordinary warrior to one of Cui Keyong's personal guards. He had attended his first banquet among the powerful, held for envoys sent by the king of the Jiaozhi Kingdom to offer tribute in Chang'an.

The envoys carried a specialty of Jiaozhi: the aromatic Auspicious Dragon-Brain. It was tribute intended for the emperor of Great Tang, an exceedingly rare and precious fragrance from a foreign land. Even as a gift of state, there were only ten pieces. Naturally, Cui Keyong did not dare keep any for himself. He merely used the banquet as a pretext to ask the envoys to open the gold box and let everyone admire it.

Bao Lang had seen the pieces of Auspicious Dragon-Brain in the gold box, shaped like silkworm cocoons and white as jade and snow. He had smelled their incomparable fragrance, but had not understood what made them so precious.

Drunk, with a household courtesan in his arms, Cui Keyong had laughed and told him, "This is a fragrance only the women of His Majesty's household may use. Deep within the palace in Chang'an are the noblest, most beautiful women under heaven-women you could never imagine, never possess in your entire life. Now you can smell their scent and enjoy a night of erotic dreams."

Was she a woman he could never possess? Could she be more than the daughter of a distinguished family or high official, with an even nobler identity?

Beauty was rare, but many lowborn household courtesans possessed it too. The sensation of holding great power was far more intoxicating. Was the formidable Green-Robed Wanderer lingering in the city instead of fleeing because he too coveted her?

Bao Lang stood motionless beside Te Le Li, steeped in the fragrance of Auspicious Dragon-Brain and the memory of that dreamlike banquet, feeling an unbearable heat rise through his body. He yearned to possess her just as he yearned for the supreme power she represented. The flames of ambition blazed, sending tremors of excitement through him.

If he could not marry her by proper means, what if he abducted her and took her by force? Just as he had slain that red-eyed, white-scaled serpent demon and seized the precious pearl that had sent him soaring to success. Did she belong to the emperor? Or to a vassal prince? He cared nothing about virginity. Plunder, possessions belonging to another-those were what excited him most.

Wei Xun had barely regained a shred of consciousness when he discovered that someone had visited his hiding place: the dust in the loft had been disturbed. Startled, his first instinct was to force himself up and flee, but then he noticed two different sets of footprints, both left by people he knew.

How had those two found him?

He had risen too abruptly, and dizziness overwhelmed him. Unable to support himself, Wei Xun could only lie back down. Most of the agony that had penetrated every limb and bone was gone, leaving an extreme cold that numbed his hands and feet.

A few rays of sunset squeezed through gaps in the tiles into the cramped, dim loft. Countless specks of dust danced in them, like his muddled, chaotic thoughts. This quiet, secluded place had once given him a sense of safety, but now his mind was filled with questions about why they had come looking for him. Had an enemy come to trouble them? That traveling merchant who clung like a medicinal plaster should be no match for Thirteenth Son...

The temperaments and fighting skills of his opponents, along with every possible countermeasure, raced through Wei Xun's mind like a revolving lantern. A powerful sense of helplessness swept over him. Alone, he could fight or flee and adapt as circumstances demanded; either way, he could manage. But he was no longer alone. The interval between attacks had shortened considerably again, forcing him into hiding before he had even dealt with the person following them.

Without finding that elusive elixir, how much longer could he cling to life? At the very least, he had to last until he delivered her to Youzhou...

These tangled thoughts flashed through his mind as Wei Xun gathered strength in his dantian, hoping to get up and return as soon as possible to protect his companions at the inn. Only then did he notice the rich, pungent smell of spice filling the air. Breathing it in, he felt a trace of warmth seep into his icy chest and belly.

At first, he thought someone nearby was cooking, but the smell seemed very close. It was neither evodia nor Sichuan pepper, but an exceptionally expensive spice.

Breathing in the scent, Wei Xun slowly pushed himself upright. He formed seals with both hands, sat cross-legged in the lotus position, and closed his eyes to circulate his qi and regulate his breathing. Drawing upon the power of the Mysterious Qi Primordial Art within his sea of qi, he cleared the blockages formed by cold paralysis in his meridians one by one. However fiercely anxiety burned within him, he had to recover at least twenty or thirty percent of his strength before leaving, or he would only become another burden.

His mind settled into concentration. Once he closed his eyes, four hours slipped swiftly past. The sun sank beyond the western hills and the bright moon rose into the sky. Darkness engulfed the loft, broken only by the faint glow of the stove he used to keep warm during his illness. The hour when he felt most at ease had arrived.

At last, Wei Xun cleared the obstruction in his chest. He opened his eyes, took a breath, and looked for the source of the pungent scent. A squat black earthenware pot simmered on the stove. Several layers of damp cloth were tightly wrapped around its mouth to prevent its contents from spilling or evaporating. The smell came from inside it.

Utterly puzzled, Wei Xun peeled away the cloth layer by layer and lifted the lid. A strong, pungent fragrance rushed into his face, mingled with the rich smell of meat and fat. Peering inside, he saw lamb stewed with wheat kernels and goji berries. A thick layer of coarsely ground pepper floated over the meat porridge.

Who could be so extravagantly wasteful as to scatter that much pepper into a single pot of porridge?

The answer required no thought at all.

Wei Xun sighed, thinking that unless he hurried to get up and return, the party's travel funds would soon be squandered away.

A muffled thud came from the courtyard as someone dropped over the wall, followed by approaching footsteps. Wei Xun recognized his junior brother, Thirteenth Son, at once. His breathing was strong and his steps steady; he did not sound injured. Wei Xun felt a little reassured.

The little novice climbed the ladder holding a candle, his bald head emerging through the loft entrance. He blinked and saw Wei Xun sitting cross-legged in the darkness, his eyes alert and bright. Clearly, he had regained consciousness. Overjoyed, Thirteenth Son called in a hushed voice, "Eldest senior brother, you're finally awake!"

"Who's the enemy?" Wei Xun asked immediately.

Thirteenth Son froze. Ten thousand horses seemed to thunder through his mind, and his expression twisted with conflicting emotions. After a long hesitation, he said, "The Green-Robed Wanderer."

Hearing his own alias, Wei Xun frowned in bewilderment. "What the hell?"

"Eldest senior brother, you've really landed Ninth Lady in a terrible mess this time."

Once he began, Thirteenth Son poured out the whole story: after Wei Xun's departure, the Military Governor's treasure had been stolen from the Many-Treasures Pagoda in Xiagui County; Constabulary Chief Luo Chengye had died horribly in his home; a letter delivered to the County Yamen by throwing knife had denounced the Green-Clothed Slave at the Sun Family Inn; and Wei Xun had become the prime suspect, hunted throughout the city.

He added, "It turns out that traveling merchant following Ninth Lady was sent by her elder brother to find her. He's even a high official traveling incognito. After you left, if he hadn't pretended to be Ninth Lady's father and used his official status to vouch for her, she would have been dragged into court and tortured because of you."

The more Wei Xun heard of this string of inconceivable coincidences, the tighter his chest grew. The meridians of his upper burner, only just cleared, seemed to clog again. Through gritted teeth, he asked, "Where is she now? Why aren't you with her, protecting her?"

"She and that official named Yang are under house arrest in the inner residence of the County Yamen, in Magistrate Wu's home," Thirteenth Son said. "They're given food and drink, but aren't allowed out. It's my own fault for being greedy and lodging at the Lotus Flower Temple for free vegetarian meals. Now that the city's sealed to catch the thief, all monks listed in the Monk Register are confined to the temple and must answer roll call every day. I had to go back and be locked up. I can only climb over the wall at night to visit you."

Wei Xun hastily wrapped his burned hand and rose to go find Baozhu. Thirteenth Son stopped him. "Wait, senior brother. Take the medicine on the stove before you go. Ninth Lady told me to bring it over. She said it was terribly difficult to buy, and that I was to pour it down your throat if necessary."

Baozhu dried the water from her body, wrapped up her dripping hair, and tied the sachet she wore close to her skin around her waist with a five-colored cord before putting on her underclothes. Then she called the servants to carry out the bath barrel, whose water had gone cold. She reflected that fortunately, she had been buried wearing her usual Auspicious Dragon-Brain. Pepper was expensive, but money could always buy it; she had no idea where to purchase this extraordinary fragrance offered as tribute by the Jiaozhi Kingdom. She would have to take good care of it.

Though her confinement brought a thousand vexations, having servants was the one thing that pleased her. She could finally use cleansing beans to wash her hair properly. Unfortunately, these were not trusted maids who obeyed as readily as her own arms and fingers, so she still had to apply the hair oil and dry it herself. In the palace, many people had tended her meticulously, and she had never needed to lift a finger. She had never imagined how troublesome her black tresses would become as they grew longer and thicker.

Baozhu sat on the couch drying her hair when she suddenly heard three light knocks outside the little window.

This time, there was no clumsy noise of someone climbing the wall. The knocking was unhurried, as though an ordinary visitor stood at the door. Baozhu paused. By her reckoning, it was about time. She did not know what she should say when they met. Should she berate him for leaving without a word, or vent her anger at being implicated and imprisoned because of him?

After she had pondered for a long while, another three light knocks sounded outside, neither too quick nor too slow.

Baozhu lowered her sleeves to cover the backs of her hands and called, "Come in."

Wei Xun slipped through the window soundlessly and landed lightly. Apart from his lingering pallor, he moved no differently than usual. His burned left hand was roughly bandaged, the cloth tied in a cross-shaped knot, and he carried the earthenware pot of medicinal porridge.

They looked at each other for a moment, neither speaking.

The air still held the damp warmth of Baozhu's bath. Her hair hung loose, and the subtle fragrance on her body, drawn out by the hot water, lingered in every corner of the room. Wei Xun suspected he had entered a private chamber at the wrong time and hesitated over whether he should climb back out.

Seeing him pressed awkwardly against the wall like a lynx caught misbehaving, Baozhu found that her towering anger and hurt would not erupt after all. She even felt a little like laughing.

Deliberately keeping her face stern, she said gravely, "So the visitor is the renowned Green-Robed Wanderer of the martial world. How remiss of me not to have come out to welcome you."

Knowing she meant to mock him, Wei Xun grew even more embarrassed and lowered his gaze to the floor.

Baozhu asked a question whose answer she already knew. "The Many-Treasures Pagoda at the Lotus Flower Temple is so tightly guarded that not even the wind can slip through. Rumor has it that only the master thief known as the Green-Robed Wanderer, with his extraordinary skills, could climb the pagoda and steal the pearl. May I ask whether that is true?"

Still frowning miserably, Wei Xun answered, "I could, but I didn't do it."

Baozhu asked again, "Luo Chengye, Xiagui County's Constabulary Chief, was a highly skilled fighter. Rumor has it that only the Green-Robed Wanderer could strike once and take his head. May I ask whether that is really true?"

Head bowed in dejection, Wei Xun answered, "I could, but I didn't do it."

Baozhu continued, "Yesterday, another woman was abducted by the Green-Robed Wanderer in Oxhorn Alley in Yonghe Ward. Her husband reported that the thief carried a woman weighing a stone and a half, along with two hundred catties of copper coins, over the city wall and escaped. What do you say to that?"

This was so utterly absurd that Wei Xun did not know where to begin refuting it. He looked up at Baozhu and found her watching him with a half-smile, the teasing in her eyes unmistakable. Only then did he realize she had invented it deliberately.

He could only smile wryly and say, "I could, but I most certainly didn't do that."

Baozhu could contain herself no longer. She covered her mouth and laughed. This mischievous wretch who loved teasing others had finally fallen into her hands.