Chapter 33: Boldly Questioning the Deity
“Daoist priest, you seem very happy today.”
“Yes, I am.”
“You didn't manage to buy a horse. What are you happy about?” Lady Calico tilted her head and looked up at Song You doubtfully. Her little face was really very cute.
“Even though I didn't manage to buy a horse, I enjoyed the hustle and bustle.”
“You like the hustle and bustle.”
“Sometimes I do.”
“When are we going to buy a horse?”
“No rush, no rush.”
As they approached the courtyard house in Tianshui Alley, they found two people already waiting at the entrance. The two were dressed in thick Daoist robes and leading a horse. They were Yingfeng and Chuyun, two Daoist priests from Fuqing Temple.
Song You was very surprised to see them and quickly stepped forward to welcome them.
“Daoist priests, what brings you here?”
“Greetings, Senior Daoist Brother.”
The two breathed in the chilly air and bowed towards him. They noticed the little girl next to him and couldn't help but ask. “Who is this...”
“Lady Calico.”
“Lady Calico!”
“Greetings, Lady Calico!”
The two hurriedly bowed to Lady Calico, their eyes filled with astonishment. They had only heard stories of demons transforming into humans from their elders in the temple, but with their limited Daoist cultivation skills, this was their first time seeing one.
Lady Calico returned their bow, imitating them.
Yingfeng then said, “The temple owner knew that you intended to travel the world but lacked a mount. The Yuewang Temple Fair opens today and he guessed you would go to look for a horse or mule. However, with the northern frontier lacking horses recently, he suspected you would most likely not find a suitable mount. By chance, we were also coming to the fair to buy some things and socialize with the Daoist priests in Yidu. Coincidentally, there was a worshiper in our temple with some connections, so the owner asked us to bring a nag here as a gift for you. Even if you don’t ride it, it can at least help carry your luggage on the long journey.”
Chuyun added, “We were worried that you might have already bought a horse or mule by the time we found you. If that happened, we'd have to lead it back. Luckily, it seems you haven't.”
Song You looked at the two of them. The Daoist robes provided limited protection against the cold, and in the cold winter night, their lips were already blue from the cold. The night fog made their eyebrows and the ends of their hair moist, adding to the damp chill.
As for this horse, it was far from being a nag.
Although it was not very tall and nothing special to look at, one could see that it had a large head with a short neck and a sturdy build. Its chest was broad, its mane long, and it had a thick skin with a coarse coat. It was clearly a Beiyuan horse.
At most, it could be considered physically unattractive for a Beiyuan horse but it was still a Beiyuan horse which was most suited for long journeys.
Song You stood still, his gaze flickering.
The two were anxious.
After a few seconds, Song You reached out, smiling, and took the reins of the horse.
“Thank you very much then.”
The two quickly heaved a sigh of relief.
“There's no need to be so polite, Senior Daoist Brother.”
“It's cold late at night, come in quickly and warm up by the fire.”
“We won't trouble you.” Yingfeng said hurriedly. “We've been out for a long while and it’s best to return as quickly as possible.”
“Our temple has friendly relations with Qingxiao Temple in the west of the city and our elders are all lodging there.” Chuyun added. “There are many robbers at night, and our elders will worry if we don’t go back now. We'll come visit you again tomorrow.”
“Junior Sister is right. We have to come back for the fair tomorrow anyway.”
“Be careful, this horse is young and might have a temper.”
“Senior Daoist Brother has ways to handle it.”
“That's true.”
“Horse, you must behave from now on. You must have accumulated good fortune over several lifetimes to be able to travel the mortal world with Senior Daoist Brother. We want to but can't even get the chance.”
“Senior Daoist Brother, we’ll take our leave now.”
The two continued to chatter seamlessly in quite an amusing way.
Song You had no choice but to watch them walk away.
He then turned back to look at the horse, and it was a very young horse as expected. He couldn’t help sighing that it may be hard to determine Guanghuazi’s Daoist cultivation level but he certainly had a remarkable knack for navigating human relationships and scheming. This old Daoist was fated not to be able to become an immortal in this lifetime, but he had already become a worldly-wise person.
“Puff...” The jujube-red[1] horse snorted.
“Shhh...” Song You calmly said to it, “Please keep quiet in the city. When I’m free, I'll take you out for a gallop.”
The jujube-red horse quieted down as expected.
There was no sign of an unstable temper.
Satisfied, Song You smiled.
Lady Calico had been staring up at the horse with wide eyes that sparkled like stars. When the two Daoist priests left, she quickly asked, “Is this horse good?”
“Of course, it's good.”
Upon hearing this, Lady Calico was overjoyed.
Song You had pondered all day and roughly guessed what she was thinking. As for understanding her fully, it wasn't necessary. After all, complete understanding is rare even between humans, let alone between man and cat.
The horse was a common jujube-red color. Beiyuan horses were not tall to begin with and it could be considered short even for its breed. However, he would just need it to carry traveling bags most of the time. They would be traveling slowly and did not need to hurry along like soldiers on the march so it didn't need to be very robust.
Song You closed the courtyard door and led the horse to the bamboo grove, saying, “This little courtyard is simple and crude. There is no stable. I’m sorry but you'll have to stay here temporarily. Keep quiet. I'll buy some fodder first thing in the morning.”
The horse stood still, staying silent as expected.
“From now on, we'll be traveling through mountains and rivers together. I’ll trouble you to accompany me and help carry my traveling bags. In return, I certainly won't treat you badly.” Song You actually cupped his hands and bowed to the horse as he said this.
Interestingly, though the horse continued to stand still, it blinked its pitch-dark eyes and actually seemed to have understood.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
Lady Calico reluctantly tore her eyes away from the horse and ran to open the door.
Standing outside was Constable Luo, dressed in black clothes and boots. He wore a saber at his waist.
With the temple fair these few days, many jianghu people had arrived in the city. Since there were crooks mixed in with the honest folk in the crowd, the constables had switched from their usual iron rulers to steel sabers.
Seeing that it was the little girl again that day, Constable Luo's expression changed slightly, but not only did he not show it, he adhered to the tacit agreement of not calling her Lady Calico. He just cupped his hands and asked, “Is the master back?”
“He's back...” Just as Lady Calico said this, she turned to see Song You approaching from behind.
“Chief, you haven’t gotten off work?”
“Another mysterious case has come up. I came to consult you.”
Ever since Song You had thought things through before Start of Winter, he no longer deliberately avoided human entanglements. Nowadays, when Constable Luo encountered mysterious cases, he no longer went everywhere to search for masters in temples or among the commoners but directly went opposite to consult Song You. Song You could provide answers most of the time, and Constable Luo brought small tokens of gratitude which Song You usually accepted.
They had developed a good rapport with each other.
Song You invited him to state his case.
“Today, the yamen received reports from several nobles claiming that their silver was mysteriously stolen. Most of these thefts occurred while they were watching performances of conjuring tricks,” Constable Luo described in detail.
“While the temple fair is chaotic to begin with and small-time criminals hiding in the crowd are common, what's strange is that only officially minted silver was stolen, not pieces of silver or copper coins. Some victims had their money securely bundled up.
“Some officials had gone out in sedan chairs and had placed all their money into boxes within the sedan chairs. Yet they still lost silver but only the officially minted silver.”
“Do you have any suspects?”
“Among these street performers, there are those with sticky fingers and some with strange abilities. I suspect that those street performers are committing thefts on the run.” Constable Luo stealthily observed Song You. “Among them, there is a group performing the 'Three Immortals Returning to the Cave' trick[2], who can make objects disappear and reappear. Not only is their act related, most of the thefts reported by nobles happened while watching their shows. I wanted to ask if there's a way to steal silver from a distance.”
“There's a kind of magic known as the ‘Art of Telekinesis’ which has difficult requirements for learning. Not many among the people know it but practitioners who have mastered it can fetch objects from a distance without being detected by their owners and also make them disappear into thin air.”
Constable Luo continued to observe Song You’s expression.
It seemed like Song You was merely answering his question. However, having interacted with him for several months, Constable Luo could tell from his tone and expression that Song You was actually affirming his conjecture.
“Even so, such tricks are hard to prove. The law is strict, and if we can’t find evidence, it would be troublesome if we arrested people randomly.”
“With this kind of magic, if the practitioner had the ability to fetch an object from a thousand li away, a hundred li, ten li, or even a li away, he wouldn't need to perform conjuring tricks.” Song You said. “Since the stolen silver was taken from close by, it can't be placed far away.”
Constable Luo's expression hardened and he immediately understood. Then, with a sharp sound, he quickly cupped one fist in the other hand towards Song You in a salute. “Thank you, Mister! I'll take my leave now!”
As soon as he said this, he walked out energetically.
As he reached the door, he suddenly paused, and turned to look in the direction of the bamboo grove. He quickly added, “Did you buy a horse at the temple fair? If it's inconvenient to keep it here, the yamen has a special stable. If you need it, I can help you bring it over to be kept at the yamen. The expenses will be funded by the court.”
Song You couldn’t help smiling and hurriedly thanked him.
The footsteps outside quickly faded away.
He remembered that the conjuror hadn’t packed up yet when they returned from Yuewang Temple. It was just uncertain if Constable Luo could still find the performer if he went now.
1. Traditional Chinese color. A deep reddish-brown color resembling the color of jujube/red dates. Often used to describe horses. ☜
2. Traditional Chinese magic trick that involves moving three balls between two upturned bowls while using a single chopstick. ☜
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