Chapter 35: There’s Cultivation Here As Well
The next morning.
When Song You woke up and got out of bed, he heard voices outside.
Pushing open the door, he saw Constable Luo standing in the bamboo grove. It seemed that Lady Calico had opened the door for him. He was petting the horse’s mane while talking to the little girl beside him. Most of the conversation consisted of the little girl asking questions and him answering them.
“Do you have horses at home?”
“I don’t have horses at home, but the yamen does. We can go get them when we need them.”
“Are there many?”
“Just the county yamen? Not many. However, the post stations have many, and in emergencies, we can temporarily use them depending on the situation.”
“Are they as good as our horse?”
“Well…” Constable Luo was momentarily tongue-tied.
It seemed that Lady Calico was actually quite familiar with him, reminding Song You of some pet cats from his previous world. When in a good mood, they would immediately play with guests. When in a bad mood, they would lie there and not move at all.
Lady Calico was in a very good mood that day.
Seeing Song You come out, Constable Luo finally escaped from Lady Calico's blinking eyes. He immediately turned to face Song You and cupped his hands in greeting. “Mister, you’re awake?”
“Good morning, Chief.”
“I’ve come this morning to report good news to you,” said Constable Luo. “I came too early, and you hadn’t gotten up yet. I originally intended to wait until noon and come back to report the news to you, but... your child servant insisted I come in to see the horse you bought, so I brazenly came in to wait for you.”
“It was a gift from someone!” Lady Calico immediately corrected him upon hearing this.
“Oh?”
“A fellow Daoist from Fuqing Temple in Qingcheng Mountain gave it to us. Our temples have been friendly for generations,” Song You softly explained. “It was only sent here last night. It would have been impolite to refuse, so I had to shamelessly accept it.”
“I see.”
Constable Luo continued to look at the horse. “Beiyuan horses are good horses and this horse also has a pure bloodline. However, it seems to have some congenital defects, which is why it has grown to be short and small in stature.”
“It’s good enough for us.”
“Perhaps this horse will attain enlightenment together with you.”
Song You shook his head, knowing that such compliments from people were mostly just polite flattery. He just asked, “Is the good news you mentioned about catching the thief from yesterday?”
“Thanks to you!” Constable Luo just cupped his hands in thanks.
Recalling it at the moment, he was both glowing with pride and also secretly amazed.
Half of his glow was from excitement, and the other half from pride.
The silver theft case from yesterday bore some similarities to the previous earth-traversing burglar case. Both mostly involved wealthy and noble families in the city losing large amounts of money. Such cases were no small matter. In the past, solving them within three to five months would have been good, and it was more likely they would become unresolved cases. But who could have thought that the culprits would be caught red-handed that very night?
Even more exciting and gratifying was the fact that these thieves likely didn’t just operate in Yidu. Upon further interrogation, it was likely they could also solve similar theft cases in Yangzhou as well as the capital city.
What an achievement!
As for his amazement, one must mention the process of solving the case.
Last night, after getting guidance from Song You, he divided his men into two groups. One to catch the jianghu performers and the other to search nearby hiding places. Both groups moved quickly.
Although the temple fair was still going on, the thieves were already packing up to flee.
To leave in just one day was quite cautious.
Just as the constables were about to miss them, something miraculous happened…
A thunderstorm in winter, a lightning strike in a clear night!
It struck the thieves, leaving them half-dead.
When Constable Luo arrived, the thieves were caught with the stolen silver.
If you went to the temple fair now, most people would probably still be talking about last night’s affair with relish. Not just today, but tomorrow, and even in years to come, the legend of the Yuewang deity punishing the temple fair thieves with divine lightning would perhaps still circulate.
But was that really the truth? Did the Yuewang deity really do it?
Constable Luo didn’t think so.
This was the largest temple fair in Yizhou. Many small-time criminals flouting the law and fighting jianghu people have been active these few days, yet did the Yuewang deity strike anyone down?
He didn’t believe it was unrelated to Song You.
It must have been that after Song You guided him, he foresaw the thieves’ escape and thus arranged for the lightning strike to stop them.
Last night, when the county head magistrate asked him, he had said this. He still clearly remembered the shocked expressions of the county head magistrate and his advisor.
Just like he had been shocked earlier.
Nevertheless, he still needed to report this to Song You.
Constable Luo recounted everything in detail while stealthily observing Song You’s expression.
He saw Song You smile immediately upon hearing about the sudden winter thunderstorm. However, there was a profound meaning hidden in that smile, which he couldn't understand. He heard Song You say, “It’s fine as long as they were caught.”
“We tried not to let you down.” Constable Luo hurriedly lowered his head.
After a pause, he added again, “I still need to interrogate those thieves, so I won’t disturb your morning washing up.”
“Take care, Chief.”
Song You then went back to wash up.
Afterward, he went to the bamboo grove to see the horse. The horse remained quiet, though it chewed constantly. There was some alfalfa beside it which was first-rate fodder. Constable Luo had probably brought it.
“Heh...” Song You shook his head and stroked the horse.
“Do you want to stay at the yamen's stable for a while, or stay here? The yamen has dedicated caretakers, who may take better care of you than me. But if you stay here, I won't neglect you either.”
“Alright, then stay here.”
After breakfast, more visitors arrived.
They were Daoist priests Chuyun and Yingfeng. The Daoist priests from Fuqing Temple were inviting him to join them at the temple fair.
Song You happened to have some things to buy as well, so he agreed to go with them.
Thus, a group of real Daoist priests with a fake one mingled in, arrived at the streets and alleys near Yuewang Temple. The surrounding voices were chaotic. The passersby were all excited with an urge to talk or a desire to know more showing on their faces. It was as if they had just heard something incredible and were eager to clarify the details or to share what they knew.
“What happened?” A middle-aged Daoist priest asked curiously.
The younger Daoist priests, being more lively, saw people gathering to discuss spiritedly and moved over to listen. When they returned, they pieced together what they had heard.
“It’s said that the deity manifested.”
“They said lightning struck the thieves.”
“They said there were lost items...”
The middle-aged Daoist priest couldn’t gain the whole picture which was rather frustrating. However, it did provide him with a topic to discuss with Song You, “Did you hear about this manifestation at Yuewang Temple?”
It was just a casual question, but Song You unexpectedly nodded. “I just heard about it this morning.”
“Oh?” The Daoist priests immediately perked up their ears.
“Yesterday, a group of thieves used some esoteric methods to steal here. Later they were discovered by Yidu constables who came to arrest them. Just as the thieves were about to escape, the Yuewang deity manifested and struck them down with lightning.”
“Really?”
“It shouldn’t be fake.”
“Then it must be a real divine manifestation,” the middle-aged Daoist priest quickly said. “We should go to the deity’s temple to offer incense.”
“We should.”
Song You also went to offer incense again.
However, the deity was no longer there today.
Then they continued to stroll through the temple fair.
The Daoist priests wanted to buy some daily necessities used in their temple. Of course, they were only buying those that were inconvenient to buy in the towns below the mountain. Song You bought a bell for the jujube-red horse and items like a small pot and a woven rush raincoat for future long travel.
He also accompanied them in watching performances again.
These Daoist priests had gone to visit friends and discuss Daoism the day before, so that day was their first time at the temple fair. Even if they came every year, it was only once a year. The younger ones were naturally excited, unwilling to leave as they stood with the crowd. Fortunately, the elders were also very patient, and would usually either wait outside for them or join them in watching.
Most of these jianghu performers also actually had some real skills.
Whether honed through practice or through esoteric Daoist arts, they were real skills which were all worth watching.
Especially these esoteric Daoist arts which captivated the young Daoist priests.
One should never assume Daoist priests from established temples were superior to these jianghu performers because they appeared more honorable and legitimate.
There was no inherent hierarchy in esoteric Daoist arts, and they were hard to acquire. The skills passed down through generations among jianghu performers were not necessarily found in temples. Even if they were, most people spent their lives mastering one skill, and performers among the people were not necessarily inferior to Daoist priests and monks in temples. In fact, if they could endure the asceticism and look for a temple to cultivate in, they could easily gain ordination certificates based on their skills.
Only talent and hard work can create the difference.
They wandered from morning until dusk like this.
As the sky darkened, that day’s temple fair was different from the day before, with many dark tents added. These tents, big and small, had people standing at the entrances collecting entrance fees. One could go in if one paid.
The older Daoist priests had seen these before once or twice, but the younger ones hadn’t. Thinking that the tickets were cheap after all, they went in to see curiosities one after another.
Some tents had rare exhibits, like peacocks with jet-black feathers, spotless white leopards, and giant lingzhi mushrooms said to be a thousand years old. Some were genuinely eye-opening, while others were clearly scams to make money.
There were frequent exclamations of surprise or ridicule from the visitors.
Some tents had all kinds of displays of deformities and grotesque exhibits.
Moving mummies, people with only the upper half of their bodies, and even human swine or grown-up malformed children.
In the night, many people actually came in groups to see these. It was evident that they were both scared and thrilled by this kind of horror exhibition. The more scared they were, the more they liked it, and the more excited they became.
Daoist priest Chuyun, being a woman, often found it terrifying and covered her eyes. Daoist priest Yingfeng often showed signs of discomfort though he was a man, and wanted to leave early.
After a while, Daoist priest Chuyun didn’t want to enter any more tents. Song You, not wanting Lady Calico to see these, asked her to stay outside and look after Lady Calico.
He remained calm himself, observing and pondering.
He watched the exhibits and the visitors.
He gained some insights by examining human nature and human hearts like this.
The last tents were for obscene exhibits.
They didn’t know ahead of time but after entering for just a few wen, they found candle-lit scenes filled with naked women.
Of course, there weren’t that many graceful curves or beautiful faces, just something for the male visitors to ogle. The visitors were almost all men. Some of these people would either secretly glance, or come in groups of two or three pointing and whispering with indecent smiles. Those who entered by mistake and didn't know what was going on quickly left, while the bold ones even made a move as if to touch.
Seeing a group of Daoists enter, many sneered.
“Daoist priests like these too?”
“Where do you cultivate?”
“Lust is really human nature, haha!”
The middle-aged Daoist priests, with their high level of cultivation, only responded with smiles and ignored them.
The younger Daoist priests blushed, and looked down, not daring to look. They regretted not asking what was inside beforehand, and just wanted to leave quickly.
Song You remained composed, mostly observing the visitors.
This was the way of the times, and one couldn’t judge these visitors' characters based on this. Whether they behaved boldly or reservedly could only reflect their recent characters and ways of thinking.
If one asked what kind of people were these?
The answer was that they were merely ordinary people.
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