Wandering Star

Xu Da sank his qi into his dantian and planted himself in a horse stance. His right fist split the heavens as he became a dragon!

The old Daoist hung weightlessly from his thick arm. His lower abdomen had burst open, but no blood or entrails spilled out, only a ring of torn paper.

A pallid face, garish rouge, flat, wooden features, and stiff limbs.

Wang Qilin was stunned.

This was a paper figure!

Xu Da was stunned too, holding his pose without moving.

"That old Daoist has some serious skills!" Wang Qilin said gravely.

He had heard of mysterious paper craftsmen in the Nine Provinces, whose paper oxen could plow fields and whose paper figures could do work.

But this was his first time learning that those paper figures could talk and fight!

"He does, but help me up first," Xu Da moaned. "I pulled something in my leg just now. My hip isn't feeling too good."

Wang Qilin threw the paper figure aside and helped him sit in the grand armchair.

Xu Da's legs were spread wide. This battle had been so brutal that he could no longer close them.

The draft through the hall kept the oil lamp's flame swaying.

The firelight flickered hazily, rising and falling.

The paper figure on the floor, its chest and abdomen smashed open, suddenly began tumbling.

Wang Qilin instinctively reached for his saber, only to realize that the night wind was rolling it around.

The old Daoist could command ghosts to steal food and control paper figures. The abilities he had displayed made Wang Qilin extremely wary.

So he told Xu Da solemnly, "The old Daoist must be nearby. Tomorrow, mobilize every resource you can and find him!"

"Look at me. How am I supposed to move now?" Xu Da had joined the crotch-clutching sect.

Wang Qilin glanced at him pityingly and asked, "Everything still intact?"

"Luckily, I'm used to it," Xu Da said. "Otherwise, you'd have someone to look after you in the imperial palace from now on."

Hearing that, Wang Qilin immediately felt regretful.

Fortunately, one of the Great Nourishment Pills they had bought last time remained. It was extremely effective at promoting circulation and dispersing bruising. After taking it that night, Xu Da could drag his leg along and walk by morning.

He went to find the local ruffians to search for the old Daoist. Seeing him in this state, one exclaimed, "Master, did you run into that little wench in the painting last night?"

Xu Da tightened his belt. "Seven times!"

I'm no good at fighting, but I'm number one at showing off.

They did not find the Daoist. That afternoon, a carriage arrived at the post station, and two servants of the Du household came to pack Du Cao's belongings.

Wang Qilin let them pack as they pleased. Everything else was easy enough, but the tabby cat Hupi proved hard to catch.

In the end, he had to lend a hand himself, using Xu Da's sock as bait before they finally caught him.

One servant marveled, "What an incredible sock. It smells like rotten fish and is as stiff as dried fish. Thank goodness Lord Wang brought out such a treasure, or we really wouldn't have caught this cat. We'd have had no way to answer for it when we got back."

The other servant said, "Exactly. This cat is our master's darling. He specifically told us it didn't matter if anything else was lost, but we couldn't lose the cat."

Wang Qilin responded politely, but a flash of inspiration crossed his mind. "Wait. Lord Du told you to bring this cat back?"

"Yes."

Wang Qilin fell silent.

Du Cao had fallen unconscious upon returning from Dismount Ridge, only waking after being taken to the clinic. Upon waking, he had lost his memory, and Shi Zhoushan had then taken him away. Throughout that time, he had never returned to the post station while conscious.

That raised a question: where had his memories of Hupi come from?

The sun rose and set, and night fell again.

Day after day passed, and the end of the month arrived.

Xu Da led men on a search outside for several days. They helped the townspeople find a number of missing chickens and ducks, a number of clothes and underpants carried off by stray cats, and a number of private stashes of money hidden by the men of various households, but they never found the old Daoist.

They did, however, find a corpse in an abandoned thatched hut!

News of the corpse's discovery swept through Crouching Dragon Township like a whirlwind. Those sitting idle at home all rushed to the thatched hut to watch the excitement.

Xu Da blocked the doorway with several ruffians. Wang Qilin walked out with a dark expression and said, "An old Daoist was responsible!"

That instantly set the scene abuzz. The onlookers began whispering among themselves and pointing.

Then an aged, low voice rang out. "Impressive, Lord Wang. Not only do you fish for fame, you frame people too!"

Wang Qilin whipped his head around and saw an old Daoist reclining on the thatched roof.

The old Daoist wore an indigo homespun Daoist robe, with disheveled hair and an equally disheveled beard. He looked exactly like the paper figure from several nights earlier.

The scene grew even louder. Several people cried out in unison, "When did that Daoist get up there?"

Someone quick on the uptake shouted, "He's the murderer?"

Wang Qilin put on a surprised expression. "Who murdered anyone?"

One ruffian said blankly, "Seventh Master, didn't you just come out and say an old Daoist was responsible for the murder?"

"What I said was that Daoist magic was used here, and an old Daoist was responsible for that magic," Wang Qilin said with a smile. "As for murder? Where was anyone murdered?"

Learning that the discovery of a corpse was false news, the townspeople left in disappointment.

Sitting on the roof and looking down at them, the old Daoist said, "You really will stop at nothing to force me out, Lord Wang. Very well. Here I am. Come arrest me."

"Who said I wanted to arrest you?" Wang Qilin asked.

The old Daoist stroked his beard and said calmly, "You don't want to arrest me? Then why make such a fuss looking for me?"

"I want to tell you a story," Wang Qilin said.

The old Daoist's calm turned to curiosity. "Tell me a story? What story?"

"There was a countryman selling pears at a market," Wang Qilin said. "His pears were sweet and fragrant, but very expensive. A Daoist in ragged clothes went up to his cart and held out his hand to beg from him..."

He had seen this story while watching cartoons in his dreams. It was called "Planting Pears."

When he finished, he smiled and asked, "Daoist, who would you say was in the wrong in that story?"

"The pear seller, of course," the old Daoist said. "The man only begged for a single pear to quench his thirst, not his whole cartload. Why was he so stingy?"

"So being weak makes me right, and being poor makes me entitled?" Wang Qilin asked. "As long as I'm weak or poor, I can demand things from others, and if they refuse, they're stingy. Is that it?"

Before the old Daoist could speak, Wang Qilin cupped his hands again. "Then please teach me your spell for commanding ghosts to steal food."

The old Daoist understood his meaning and smiled again. "I knew you were skilled with a saber, Lord Wang, but I never expected such a sharp tongue. Still, all this talk is useless. So what if I am stingy?"

"Nothing," Wang Qilin said. "Actually, you're not merely stingy. You also like throwing your weight around and bullying the weak. Could the Dao you cultivate be called robbery?"

The smiling old Daoist flew into a rage at those words. He demanded sharply, "How can you make such vicious accusations, Lord Wang? How have I bullied the weak?"

"Wasn't that restaurant owner weak compared to you?" Wang Qilin asked. "Didn't you bully him? Wasn't the countryman selling pears weak compared to that Daoist? Didn't your fellow Daoist bully him?"

"I understand now. You Daoist cultivators are all robbers!"

"Today, you consider stealing dishes from a restaurant perfectly normal. In the future, someone stronger than you will consider robbing you of your secret manuals and magical treasures perfectly normal too!"

"No wonder His Majesty wants to keep you cultivators under control. If you're allowed to do whatever you please, where in this world will there be any justice left?!"

Each sentence came faster and carried more force than the last. By the end, Wang Qilin angrily swept his hand, and a faint rumble of thunder actually followed his sleeve!

The sound startled the old Daoist. He protested, "That day, I only went to ask the owner for a bowl of water and a bowl of leftover rice, but he..."

"But why should he give them to you? Giving is a kindness, not giving is his right! You have the right to ask, and he has the right to refuse!" Wang Qilin interrupted sharply.

The old Daoist stopped arguing and sighed. "What a sharp-tongued Minor Seal. This old Daoist can't outargue you. How about this? I have no money on me right now. Once I get some and give it to the restaurant owner, will that settle this matter?"

"How will you get the money?" Wang Qilin asked. "Steal it with your Five Ghost Transport Technique again?"

The old Daoist flushed with anger and embarrassment. "Don't look down on me. The five elements and fate, geomancy and feng shui, ghost-catching and warding off evil, rain-summoning and averting disasters-there's no art I haven't mastered. How hard could earning a little money be?"

"As it happens, there's a paying job right in front of you," Wang Qilin said with a smile. "If you truly want to repay the owner, take this job."

"What job?" the old Daoist asked.

"As the Minor Seal of Crouching Dragon Township, I still need a Wandering Star under me," Wang Qilin said. "The monthly salary is twenty silver zhu."

The old Daoist burst out laughing. "So you laid a trap and were waiting for me to walk into it, my lord. Unfortunately, I've lived freely for many years. I'm not used to being someone's subordinate."

"Then prepare to go to prison," Wang Qilin said, tightening his grip on his saber's hilt. "Strongman Xu, under the laws of our dynasty, what is the punishment for stealing the people's property through magic?"

Xu Da stepped forward and said grimly, "Beheading!"

Wang Qilin was stunned. "That warrants beheading?"

Xu Da kept his gaze straight ahead. "No. I'm scaring him."

Wang Qilin rolled his eyes hard, then told the Daoist, "If you refuse to atone through meritorious service, I'll have to arrest you and have you sentenced."

The old Daoist regarded him leisurely. "Do you think you can capture me?"

"I can't," Wang Qilin said. "But the Heaven-Listening Bureau can!"

The old Daoist fell silent, merely staring at him as he extended his left hand and began calculating something on his fingers.

Then he suddenly smiled, slapped the eaves, and jumped down. "Very well. I'll earn a little salary under you, Lord Wang. It's only three and a half months anyway. I can get through it if I endure a little."

It was almost the fourth month now. From the fourth month to the middle of the seventh was exactly three and a half months.