Dad came calling

Recalling Xu Da's warning, Wang Qilin asked, "Daoist, what do you mean by that?"

The old Daoist stroked his beard. "It cannot be spoken, cannot be spoken. Heaven's secrets must not be revealed."

Xu Da curled his lip. "Heaven's secrets? Sounds more like a frog croaking. Why not a toad?"

The old Daoist put on a look of surprise. "Oh? How did you know my name?"

Xu Da was baffled. "How would I know your name?"

The old Daoist stroked his beard again and smiled. "Exactly. How did you know this old Daoist's name was Hama?"

"Your name is Hama?" Xu Da grew angry. "Old man, you dare make a fool of me?"

The old Daoist formed a hand seal and intoned a greeting. "Boundless Daoist Venerable, when have I ever made a fool of you? My name truly is Hama-Xie Hama."

Wang Qilin understood. "No wonder you drew a toad wearing Daoist robes on the paper. So that was your mark."

The old Daoist formed another hand seal and bowed slightly to him. "Precisely."

Wang Qilin asked again, "What exactly did you mean by 'three and a half months'?"

Xie Hama was about to shake his head again when Wang Qilin added, "I order you to answer!"

Hearing this, the old Daoist gave a helpless smile. "Lord Wang, why ask me? Do you not know that your life hangs by a thread?"

Wang Qilin's expression immediately darkened.

If he had only half believed Xu Da before, then after Du Cao had feigned memory loss to resign and Xie Hama had told his fortune, he now firmly believed in the curse on Crouching Dragon Township's Minor Seal.

He had joined the Heaven-Listening Bureau to prolong his life, only to end up facing an early death. What kind of situation was this?

Bad luck's mother had opened the door for bad luck-bad luck had come all the way home!

Just days ago, he had mocked the Gathering Fragrance Restaurant's proprietor for narrowing his own path. He had done even better: he had turned his own path into a dead end!

With nothing much happening in the township, he planned to investigate the truth behind the curse.

Before he could begin, on the first day of the fourth month, the day after he had taken Xie Hama on, someone suddenly knocked at the door.

Wang Qilin and Xu Da were eating lunch in the courtyard. Hearing the knock, he asked, "Who is it?"

A gruff reply came from outside. "Your dad!"

Xu Da flew into a rage, threw down his chopsticks, and made to charge out. "Fuck his mother! He dares come to our Heaven-Listening Bureau and act like a thug? Seventh, stay there. Watch me go out and deal with him!"

Wang Qilin smiled wryly. "Watch what you say. His mother is my grandmother."

He went to open the door. An old man with a worn sweat towel wrapped around his head, dressed in a gray homespun gown and straw sandals, stood there with his head tucked down, grinning guilelessly.

This was his father, Wang Liuwu, an old farmer from Great King Village in Paifang Township.

Paifang Township and Crouching Dragon Township both belonged to Auspicious County, but they were quite far apart, a good sixty li.

Seeing his travel-worn father, Wang Qilin asked, "Dad, what brings you here?"

Xu Da looked left and right in disarray, then bolted out the door.

Sitting by the window, Xie Hama laughed heartily. "Strongman Xu, you certainly are bold, wanting to become Minor Seal Wang's grandfather."

Then he extended his maimed right hand and swept his sleeve. His whole figure shifted in a flash, suddenly appearing before the two of them. "This old Daoist, Xie Hama, greets the venerable elder of the Wang family."

Wang Liuwu was stunned by the sight, flustered and frightened all at once.

Seeing this, Xie Hama swept his sleeve and vanished again.

Wang Liuwu exclaimed in wonder again and again. "That lord, that colleague of yours, that master, he, he, he-Little Seven, he's a true master! Who is he?"

Wang Qilin said, "Your son's subordinate."

Wang Liuwu's eyes widened. "Your subordinate? Oh, heavens above! Cui Suizuizi wasn't talking nonsense? You really became a Minor Seal?"

Travel was difficult in the countryside, and the government postman only came once every half month. Since his promotion to Minor Seal, Wang Qilin had not had time to send word home, but news traveled by word of mouth among the villagers, and it had clearly already reached their village.

Wang Qilin sighed. "Yes, I really became a Minor Seal. Dad, did you come all this way to Crouching Dragon Township just to confirm the news?"

Wang Liuwu grinned. "Not just for that. I also wanted to bring you a message. When do you think you'll have time to come home? The clan elders have arranged a marriage match for you. You need to come back and have a look."

Wang Qilin felt a headache coming on. "My career's only just getting started, and now I have to get married?"

Wang Liuwu glared. "Of course! Even the sages said a grown man should establish a family and a career. You need to establish a family first."

Getting a clear look at his son's jet-black official uniform, he grew somewhat timid and added, "If you don't want to rush into marriage, just come back and have a look first. We can't slight the clan elders, can we?"

Wang Qilin nodded. "Right. Then how about this? I happen to have nothing much to do these next couple of days. I'll ask for leave and go home with you. I can bring you the salary I just received, too."

Wang Liuwu was delighted at once. He puffed out his chest. "That would be wonderful. Once we're back, I'll take you to the ancestral hall and the ancestral graves to pay proper respects. We must give our ancestors plenty of thanks for their protection. Our Wang family has actually produced an official!"

Thinking of the Minor Seal's curse, Wang Qilin felt that his ancestors had not protected him all that much.

The stone table in the courtyard held the remains of their meal: a large basin of white rice, a plate of stir-fried chicken, a plate of braised eel, and a bowl of pickled vegetables fried in lard. Wang Liuwu gazed at them longingly, swallowed, then hurriedly turned his head away and pretended not to have seen them.

His son was an official now. As his father, he could not disgrace him.

Wang Qilin felt a pang of sadness. "Dad, sit down. I'll get you a bowl of rice. You haven't had lunch yet, have you?"

Wang Liuwu gave a dry laugh. "I have, I have. Your mother boiled sweet potatoes for me before I left. Scrimp at home, spend on the road. I've eaten my fill."

Just then, a large, dark face poked through the doorway. Xu Da said meekly, "Seventh, Uncle, let's eat at the Gathering Fragrance Restaurant. I just went over and booked a table."

Wang Qilin said, "That works too. It's my treat today. We need to go to the Gathering Fragrance Restaurant to discuss compensation with the proprietor anyway."

He called Xie Hama along, and the four of them entered the Gathering Fragrance Restaurant.

Xie Hama came face-to-face with the proprietor, one embarrassed and the other uneasy. Knowing that he had already become a wandering star, the proprietor hurried to apologize first, saying he had failed to recognize his worth.

Wang Qilin waved a hand. "Proprietor, get us a table. I actually came to settle accounts this time. A few days ago..."

"Let's not mention what happened a few days ago. No need to mention it." The proprietor smiled apologetically. "I was at fault first. I, Zhu, was blind and failed to recognize Mount Tai."

Xie Hama limped through the doorway. "Proprietor Zhu, there's no need for this. I was in the wrong, and I will take responsibility. Rest assured, whatever the food that went missing the other day was worth, I will compensate you for every bit of it."

The largest private room had already been booked by a local gentleman celebrating his grandson's birthday, so Wang Qilin volunteered to take a small one.

But just as their food and wine arrived, the gentleman came over of his own accord to offer a toast. He repeatedly apologized to everyone for occupying the large private room and downed three cups of wine in succession.

The waiter served the dishes briskly. There were the usual three dishes and a soup, along with a roast chicken and half a stewed goose-all substantial fare.

Looking at the steaming chicken, duck, fish, and meat on the table, smelling the aroma wafting toward him, and recalling the gentleman's earlier courtesies, Wang Liuwu could not help sighing. "Wonderful. This is truly wonderful."