Jiankang

Jiankang had no city walls, only fences.

As a rule, high officials and dignitaries came and went through the North Hedge Gate, which connected to Jingkou Avenue. The princes and nobles lived in the east of the city, north of the Qinhuai River, making it the natural route. Commercial traffic was more straightforward: bulk cargo followed the Qinhuai River downstream into the city, while smaller traders entered through the East Hedge Gate and the Three Bridges Hedge Gate on either bank. In essence, they too followed the Qinhuai River.

This was because the two banks of the Qinhuai River formed the largest, most prosperous luxury shopping district in Jiankang-and perhaps in all of China at that moment. Permanent shops alone supposedly numbered in the hundreds along the riverbanks, selling everything imaginable.

And whenever war destroyed them, they were swiftly rebuilt.

There was no helping it. This unmatched market was here, as were the goods and population of the Three Wu, together with an unbroken chain of major transport arteries-the Yangtze River, the Canal, and the Qinhuai River. It would have been hard not to prosper.

Liu Acheng and Liu Jili set out early that morning, each carrying a shoulder load of split peachwood firewood. They reached the Three Bridges Hedge Gate before noon, set down a small bundle of mixed firewood they had prepared as the one-in-ten tax under the gate clerk's peculiar gaze, then calmly entered Jiankang.

Entering Jiankang for the first time, Liu Acheng, a native of Qiao Commandery, felt no sense of returning home. Instead, he felt a faint estrangement-for no other reason than that this place was so close to Jingkou, yet seemed an entirely different world.

Outside, in Jingkou, some districts were prosperous enough to have distinctly urban features, but the place was vast. Along Jingkou Avenue, you could always clearly see the Yangtze River, wilderness, hills, woods, and fields. You could see the people from Northern Chu who had just arrived south of the Yangtze with nothing, the common folk who had spent several years here and barely supported themselves through small handicrafts and petty trade, and the followers of the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice involved in almost every stage of production in villages and towns. Of course, you could also see the aristocratic carriage processions traveling along Jingkou Avenue and the Northern Command troops in the garrison stations... you could even see tigers.

Liu Acheng had felt it himself at the time, privately calling Jingkou "life surging everywhere, all things vying to flourish."

In short, in Jingkou, the boy had never doubted whether anything he saw was real.

That place truly accommodated everything, north and south, rich and poor, noble and lowly, and thus reminded the transmigrator plainly: this was the Eastern Jin and the Sixteen Kingdoms. Every characteristic of the age he could imagine was there.

Better still, if you were an escapist unwilling to think or observe, you could even bury your head and hide for a while. For instance, if you belonged to the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice, your life could consist solely of the faith, with everything else excluded. Or if you were a soldier in a garrison town, you could pretend that nothing existed beyond the garrison army.

Even an ordinary refugee, provided he ignored the Axe-Wielding Slaves he sometimes had to dodge on Jingkou Avenue and forgot everything north of the Yangtze, could almost pretend that the age's two greatest defining features—the aristocratic clans and the chaos wrought by the Five Hu—did not exist, and live from day to day.

Of course, that assumed he could keep living from day to day.

Now, upon entering Jiankang, all those dirty, savage, impoverished, unsettling, complex, and organically intertwined things were suddenly shut out by a fence.

Had Liu Acheng transmigrated into Jiankang from the start, he would surely have thought he had arrived in Luoyang or Chang'an during the glorious Tang or mighty Han, or even a southern city of the Song or Ming with its thriving urban culture. He would have imagined himself a fish in water in this city steeped in street life and commerce, and believed he had been dealt the most heaven-blessed opening hand imaginable.

But that illusion soon vanished, because he saw something familiar.

"The Axe-Wielding Slaves are coming!"

At that low warning, the people in the street did not erupt into a commotion as they did on Jingkou Avenue. Instead, they calmly slipped into the alleys on either side. Some even pushed their wheelbarrows onto alternate routes without slowing down at all, clearly practiced to perfection.

Standing beside the road, watching the procession of ox carts roll slowly past, Liu Acheng suddenly came to his senses. He turned and smiled. "All the wealth and revenues south of the Yangtze gathered into one city to support a hundred-odd families. No wonder it's so prosperous."

"That's what distinguishes our dynasty. It's utterly different from the Former Han." Liu Jili nodded earnestly. "Once, Wang and the Ma Clan Shared the Realm. Then came the Yu, and now the Huan and Chu... no, the Huan and Xie are rising, with the Xi Family holding Jingkou. These aristocratic clans truly command armies and divide the court's power among themselves."

Clearly, their thoughts had failed to meet; they were talking about entirely different things. Liu Acheng was complaining that behind Jiankang's warped prosperity lay a hundred-odd elite clans reclining here and sucking the blood of the entire region south of the Yangtze. Liu Jili was emphasizing that, after crossing the river, the aristocratic clans had become genuinely powerful, and the present court was unlike that of either Han dynasty.

Interestingly, though, to Liu Acheng, his companion's response unexpectedly supplied another answer. These aristocratic clans might indeed monopolize nearly every resource to support themselves, but what if they were replaced by a powerful imperial house? Would that not still mean the entire realm supporting one person or one family?

At least compared with the preceding Western Jin, when an idiot emperor had triggered a succession crisis and several princes had plunged the realm into chaos, these aristocratic clans who merely lay about enjoying life south of the Yangtze began to look positively handsome.

So there still had to be progress. They would have to see who could successfully launch a northern expedition, who could unify the realm, and who could introduce imperial examinations and a land allotment system to improve social fairness and movement between the upper and lower classes.

But thinking along those lines, did he, a man wholly intent on building a fortified manor, even have the right to mock the aristocratic clans?

Was he really that rotten himself?

Liu Acheng had no intention of continuing the discussion with Liu Jili. He simply let his thoughts wander.

Soon, even those wandering thoughts were forcibly cut short, because he witnessed something that struck a crushing blow from a higher dimension against their differentiated firewood business: an ox cart laden with charcoal passing beside them.

How could ordinary people afford charcoal?

Conversely, if the aristocratic clans enjoyed everything and could plainly use charcoal, why would they use firewood?

Liu Jili panicked too. He stood stunned for a long while before looking at the dazed Liu Acheng beside him. "Are we still going to Black Robe Alley?"

"We're already here. Why wouldn't we?" Liu Acheng was actually beginning to panic himself, but it had yet to show on his face. "How big a deal can it be?"

Liu Jili's thoughts were a tangled skein. He could only nod, then continue leading the way with his firewood.

And so the two continued along the street on the Qinhuai River's southern bank, dodging aristocratic parties at least three or four times along the way. Finally, after passing a small walled town, they turned and arrived on its western side.

Liu Jili set down his load and pointed east toward the little town to explain. "That's the seat of Danyang Commandery, which administers Jiankang."

Liu Acheng, who had also set down his load, nodded.

Liu Jili continued, pointing at the street opposite the commandery seat. "That street used to be the barracks district for Stone City's garrison during Eastern Wu. The troops stationed there were Eastern Wu's elite Black Robe Guards, all dressed in black, so this neighborhood came to be called Black Robe Alley... Times changed, both banks of the Qinhuai River grew prosperous, and with the commandery seat here, safety was assured. The streets where ordinary soldiers once lived have now become the home of great families-the Wang, the Xie, and the Liu."

Understanding dawned on Liu Acheng, and he could hardly stop himself from saying, "The swallows before the Wang and Xie halls today once entered the homes of common soldiers."

"Winter's only just begun. Where would you find swallows before their halls?" Liu Jili asked, speechless. "Well? Shall we go in and look?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Liu Acheng rallied his spirits. "Even if we give up on selling firewood and just try to cadge some help, where else can we go now? Isn't the Xie Family our only possible opening?"

That was true enough. If they tried to get something from the authorities, the authorities only passed the buck. If they approached Gao Jian, taking in the Liu Clan relatives had already turned his purse inside out, and the garrison troops had their own laborers gathering firewood. As for the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice, with Lu Song the way he was, there seemed little chance of wrangling anything more from them... not to mention that the cartload of charcoal had all but extinguished Liu Acheng's firewood plan.

What else was left?

Were they not literally at the end of the road, with nowhere to turn except the Xie Family?

Very soon, beyond "nowhere to turn," the two Lius learned another expression: "no door through which to enter."

The Wang, Xie, and Liu families were all premier houses of the second rank, with pedigree and prestige plain for all to see. Even the least exalted, the Liu Clan of Pei Kingdom, had a recently deceased patriarch who had married a princess and risen to become Danyang Governor next door. As for their destination, the Xie Family, one of its two leading men currently commanded the Western Command Army, while the other served as the court's Minister of Personnel. Naturally, the gates of these houses in Black Robe Alley all had proper ceremonial guards.

Not merely the Axe-Wielding Slaves who accompanied their outings, but lightly armored soldiers carrying real spears and wearing iron loin armor, supported by dozens of Axe-Wielding Slaves sitting or standing before the gates.

Had the two Lius not been carrying firewood, wearing crimson headscarves, and walking meekly through with their heads lowered, they might have struggled even to enter Black Robe Alley. If they tried to intimidate someone as they had at the fortified manor of the Way of the Celestial Masters, they would probably be beaten and driven out on the spot... On reflection, it made sense. These were, after all, the halls of the Wang and Xie! The great clans that had truly governed the court in succession and shared the realm with the Sima Clan.

Indeed, these two or three families occupied what had once been the entire barracks of the Black Robe Guards. It had originally been a military camp, nothing like some aristocratic clan's country estate in Jingkou.

After passing through the street, the two sat beneath a roadside tree, cold sweat pouring off them as they stared at each other. Liu Acheng touched the flute at his waist, originally intended as a prop, and found it more ridiculous still.

"Why don't we forget it?" After an unknown length of time, Liu Jili finally spoke earnestly. "Let's just gather mixed firewood and sell it honestly. That's a way forward too... Perhaps this winter will be warm, and we'll get through it?"

"It's not impossible." Liu Acheng could only smile bitterly himself. "What can we do? We really have no connections left. We don't even know how big a kiln to dig for making charcoal..."

At that, he stopped outright, seemingly resigned to his fate.

"Even if, by some chance, one of us knew how-how to dig a kiln and burn charcoal-would we dare spend the time and effort without a definite buyer?" Liu Jili shook his head repeatedly, then began comforting the boy beside him instead. "Acheng, don't feel bad. You've done all you can. It's just as you said before: even the cleverest cook can't make a meal without rice... We have no capital at all, and we've tried every method and every avenue. Our consciences are clear."

Liu Acheng merely nodded.

Seeing this, Liu Jili could not bear it. He turned to pat the boy's shoulder and offer more comfort, only to stop suddenly as he turned. He stared at the far end of Black Robe Alley across the street, shifted his head slightly to follow something, then could not help calling out, "Acheng!"

"What?"

"I know that man." Liu Jili straightened again and pointed at a neatly dressed old man driving an ox-drawn flatbed cart, with four or five burly men following behind. "I know him!"

"Who is he?"

"He should be one of the senior slave retainers in the Xie household—a reception steward, an Accountant, something like that... He's the man who stopped me on Flower Mountain." Liu Jili watched their retreating backs as they headed south, his voice firm. "That's him!"

"Let's go." Liu Acheng wasted no words. He rose and hoisted his load.

Liu Jili rose with him.

And so, like men clutching at a life-saving straw, the two Lius followed the ox cart at a distance, heading south along the busy street. Before long, they entered a bustling market... This market was distinctly different from the luxury shops along the Qinhuai River, dealing more in basic necessities.

They could see clearly that this leader of the Xie household's slave retainers really was probably an Accountant or something similar, because he was making purchases. A mere gesture from his seat on the cart sent the burly men to carry goods out of the shops, while the shopkeepers simply nodded and bowed. Plainly, this was familiar territory.

Soon, the ox cart was piled with supplies.

The two Lius conferred and decided that, whatever happened, once the cart turned back, they would approach him directly, try to sell the Accountant their firewood, and discuss everything else afterward. They even agreed that if the Accountant really had the nerve to order his accompanying slave retainers to beat them, they would simply count themselves unlucky.

Interestingly, once the ox cart was nearly full, instead of turning back toward Black Robe Alley, the Accountant tossed the slave retainers a small pouch. They caught it with broad grins and went straight into a nearby eating house. Only one young slave retainer remained with the Accountant and the cart as they continued south.

The two Lius exchanged a glance, suppressed their thoughts, and kept following with lowered heads and firewood on their shoulders. They actually passed a Buddhist temple called Jianchu Temple, then entered a residential neighborhood inside the southern fence.

North of this neighborhood, from the Buddhist temple to the Qinhuai River, lay a typical urban commercial district. To the south seemed to be a pond, with many boats moored in the distance; they had no idea whether it connected to the Yangtze River... In any case, a place like this had no reason to have soldiers and Axe-Wielding Slaves standing guard.

Quite the contrary. The two followed as far as an intersection before a small alley, where they saw the ox cart stop in the distance. Though the surroundings were lively, it was merely a few boys playing on bamboo hobbyhorses, while girls of various ages leaned over the nearby walls, giggling as they watched.

Under these circumstances, no one paid any attention when the two set down their firewood.

"Little sisters, do you know the family of that man who was just driving the cart?" Pointing at the distant ox cart, Liu Acheng walked beneath the wall and openly questioned the girls leaning over it. "We're supposed to deliver firewood to his home, but we've followed him an awfully long way."

The girls chattered all at once, drawing a constant stream of interjections from the boys on their bamboo hobbyhorses. Since the children all spoke the Wu dialect, he could not make out what they were saying at first.

Having spent a few more years south of the Yangtze, Liu Jili understood and immediately explained, "They say his surname is Qian. He's an Accountant for a noble household in Black Robe Alley. A few years ago, he married a widowed auntie who lived here..."

Liu Acheng immediately smiled.

"Acheng, this is inside Jiankang. Don't lose your head in desperation and do anything heavy-handed," Liu Jili hurriedly warned him.

"What are you thinking? We're only borrowing his connections." Liu Cheng smiled. "As they say, mountains pile up and rivers wind until no road seems left; then, beyond dark willows and bright flowers, another village appears... We're here to do business."

"But we'd still best put a scare into him!" With no time to ponder the two lines his companion had just produced, Liu Jili offered the opposite warning, then jerked his chin. "Shall we?"

There was no helping it. This truly was a life-saving straw.

From a distance, Liu Acheng watched the young slave retainer still unloading goods into the small courtyard. He nodded, hoisted the peachwood firewood, and started forward. After two steps, he turned back to ask the children, "Little sisters, what is this place called?"

This time, the children answered in perfect unison. "Changgan Lane~"

Liu Acheng actually understood them. Then he carried his firewood into the alley, loudly reciting as he walked.

As the poem went:

"My hair had only just covered my brow; I picked flowers and played before the gate.

You came riding a bamboo horse, circling the well curb, playing with green plums.

Together we lived in Changgan Lane, two little ones without suspicion.

At fourteen I became your wife, my shy face never yet unguarded..."

Having reached this point, he had clearly forgotten the rest and began reciting from the start again. On the second pass, just as he reached "two little ones without suspicion," Qian Agong—Steward Qian—came out of the courtyard to investigate out of curiosity. Seeing two men in Crimson Futou carrying firewood, he immediately lost interest and started to turn back.

But his head had barely turned, his body not yet moving, when he looked back again and fixed his gaze on the two newcomers, then stood tongue-tied and wide-eyed.

Liu Acheng did not hesitate at the sight. He laughed aloud on the spot. "Steward Qian, Qian Agong, it's been so long! Last time, our libationer spoke with you about letting our Way of the Celestial Masters supply the Xie household exclusively with firewood and charcoal once winter came. You told us to bring two loads of firewood from our order to your home first, so you could see whether it burned hot enough. We've brought it today!"

Steward Qian stood dumbfounded. There was no telling what he was thinking-or whether he simply had no idea what to think.

The young slave retainer beside him had initially paused to glance at these two porters from the Way of the Celestial Masters. Now, hearing this, he merely lowered his head, picked up another bolt of cloth, and passed beside them into the gate... Truly, without suspicion.

Emperor Taizu lived in poverty south of the Yangtze. One day, he carried peachwood firewood to Changgan Lane. There lived a man surnamed Qian, advanced in years and newly wealthy, who had taken a merchant's daughter as his wife. She was exceedingly beautiful and never left the house. Master Qian invited Emperor Taizu inside with his firewood. The moment he crossed the courtyard gate, a mournful howl arose from the bedchamber. An instant later, a white fox shot out like an arrow and fled into the reeds of South Pond, while the merchant's daughter also vanished.

That night, Master Qian dreamed of a white fox, which told him, "When you were young, you saved me on Mount Jiang. Later, I was fortunate enough to attain the Way. Taking pity on your advancing years, I had wished to share this life with you and repay your kindness. Why did you bring a true dragon through the gate?"

-A Sequel to In Search of the Supernatural. Expanded and revised by Tao Qian of Qi.