Chapter 37: Another Year Passes Unnoticed
In the wintry cold twelfth lunar month, he warmed himself before the fire, stroked his cat and admired flowers. The leisurely life in Yidu continued day after day.
One more task was added to the daily routine…
Caring for the horse.
Also, more expenses were incurred.
Keeping a horse in the city was a hassle.
Beiyuan horses had strong digestive ability to begin with and could tolerate coarse feed very well. They did not need fine-quality feed unless heavily worked. However, since there was no grass in the city, he had to spend money to buy fodder, and it also required regular cleaning. Fortunately, after Song You talked to it, it remained quiet. Otherwise, it would have disturbed the neighbors, not just causing trouble but also making him feel guilty.
The twelfth lunar month was almost over.
Soon, it would be Song You’s first solo Spring Festival since coming to this world.
A few days ago, the Daoist priests from Fuqing Temple had asked a worshiper who lived in Yidu to bring him a letter inviting him to celebrate the New Year at Qingcheng Mountain. They suggested arriving by the twenty-eighth if he was going, but after some thought, Song You decided not to go. Only he was unable to send a reply back to the Daoist priests of Fuqing Temple, so he didn’t know how long they waited in front of the mountain gate that day.
Constable Luo had also come to invite him, but Song You declined tactfully.
Even Prefect Yu had sent a letter.
Song You turned down all the invitations.
The wax plum blossoms lasted a long time and they were still around on New Year's Eve. They welcomed the frost and stood proud against the snow, standing alone in the icy cold.
In the courtyard, Song You counted the days. Lady Calico had transformed into human form but still couldn’t change her feline habits. She loved to walk along on top of the courtyard walls’ rain eaves.
The New Year’s timing was fitting that year, with Beginning of Spring[1] just a few days after.
He remembered that he had arrived in Yidu after the Beginning of Autumn. After the Beginning of Spring, he would have spent more or less the two seasons of autumn and winter here.
A voice came from atop the courtyard wall above his head.
“Are we leaving?”
Song You looked up to see the little girl standing barefoot on the rain eaves of the courtyard wall. Despite the narrow and slippery surface, she stood there securely, looking down at him.
This cat indeed had keen eyes.
“I’ve told you not to walk on the rooftop when in human form, people will see you as a demon.”
“I am a demon.”
“It will affect the neighbors.”
“The neighboring house on this side isn’t occupied.”
“It’s impolite.”
“Okay, okay.” Despite saying this, she showed no intention of coming down, continuing to stare at him. “Are we leaving?”
“After the Beginning of Spring.”
“How long until the Beginning of Spring?”
“A few more days.”
“Why wait for the Beginning of Spring?”
“The Beginning of Spring is the start of a year, full of vitality and all living things revive, making it a good time to start a journey.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Come down quickly.”
“Bring me a ladder.”
“You can clearly jump down.”
“People will mistake me for a demon.”
Song You fetched a ladder for her and even handed her shoes.
Lady Calico put on the shoes, feeling awkward. As she looked around the house, she couldn’t help feeling somewhat reluctant to leave.
Six months felt like a long time to a cat.
The place was already filled with her scent.
“What shall we do these few days?”
“We need to invite the landlord over to inspect the house.”
“What’s inspecting the house?”
“This is someone else’s house which was rented to us. So when we return it, we need the landlord to come and check if we’ve damaged anything.”
“And after inspecting?”
“I need to go and say goodbye to the storyteller.”
“And then?”
“Celebrate the New Year.”
“I know about celebrating the New Year.”
“Lady Calico is very wise.”
“Indeed.”
“This time, our journey will take us further and further away from home.”
“I don’t know what home is.”
Song You turned to look at her, and was silent for a moment. He only saw pure clarity in her eyes. He fell silent again, not knowing what to say.
The fourth day of the new year was the Beginning of Spring.
The fifth day would mark exactly six months of renting the courtyard house.
Song You thought it over. It was unreasonable to invite someone to inspect the house on the first day of the new year. On the second day, according to Yizhou customs, people visited graves and paid respects to deceased elders. After that, married women returned to their parental homes and people also visited relatives and friends. People might be busy until the fifth or sixth day. Considering this, it was more convenient to do it before the new year.
Thus, he decided to invite the landlord over that day.
About two hours later, the landlord arrived.
The landlord was a man in his thirties who dressed like a member of the literati. His name was Tang Zhong and his style name was Xincheng.
He had long heard that the tenant was a master, and he was also the only long-term resident in the courtyard house in the past few years. He had even come over to ask Song You for talismans before, so he naturally showed great respect now.
Summoning up his courage, he briefly inspected the little courtyard house and found no damage.
“Mister, everything is in order.”
“In that case, I will leave on the fifth day.”
“I still have one more thing to ask…”
“Please speak.”
“Previously, this courtyard…” Tang Zhong looked around. Though he felt no discomfort, he was still somewhat fearful, and spoke in a roundabout way, “Previously, this courtyard…was somewhat…unclean[2]. I heard you have profound Daoist cultivation skills. I wonder if you have…you have already eliminated it?”
Song You glanced at him and simply said, “It’s just a wisp of a remnant soul with an obsession. If you have no guilt, there’s no need to fear.”
Song You had originally seen at a glance that the female ghost had never harmed anyone nor had the ability to. He was just a temporary resident here, too lazy to concern himself further. He hadn't bothered to find out about her story.
It was only after living here for a long time, around the end of last month or early that month, that Constable Luo happened to mention it to him.
The woman was originally a singer in the pleasure quarters who later married the eldest son of the Tang family. Her husband was this Official Tang Zhong's elder brother. They were deeply in love, and their story won widespread approval at the time. However, the husband went to war in the north following a general he was well-acquainted with, hoping to earn merit and protect the country. Yet contact was lost within a few years. The woman, left alone at home, grew increasingly melancholic from missing her husband and soon passed away.
This story touched many people in Yidu for a time.
This courtyard house belonged to the Tang family's eldest son as well as her.
With the husband missing and the wife deceased, Tang Zhong, as their only remaining relative, naturally took possession of the courtyard house. Unfortunately, the woman's obsession ran too deep, and her ghost lingered, making the place uninhabitable and unable to be rented out. Tang Zhong was also helpless.
Song You had been moved by the story when he first heard it.
He was touched by this rare, genuine love and the enduring obsession that transcended life and death in a feudal era. He also pondered about how the story was different from what he had initially thought.
The woman's ghost hid well, and was difficult to find. She would indeed be challenging for many folk masters who specialized in exorcisms. However, Yizhou was large, and there were capable people, yet she had stayed here for years. Song You had originally thought there was some hidden reason like in the plots of novels or perhaps the woman had a special status while she was alive. Or perhaps something else was involved. Yet, he had never thought that the reason she had remained here for years without being dispatched was just due to the widespread sympathy and pity she evoked in the local society.
He was so used to thinking in complex ways that, for a moment, he couldn't even believe it was just due to the simple and pure kindness of people.
Song You suddenly understood, finding it marvelous. He realized clearly again that this was a real world. Though backward and ignorant in many ways, it was also warm and colorful.
Though ancient and modern times differ, the human hearts are interlinked.
Regarding the woman’s life story, Song You knew less than the neighbors. Regarding the impact of her ghost’s existence, he was less affected than the neighbors. The neighbors magnanimously tolerated her. Even Constable Luo, who lived opposite the courtyard, chose to turn a blind eye despite his character and duty. Song You had no reason to eliminate her.
Tang Zhong was immediately deeply disappointed but still reluctant to give up. “Is there a way to remove her?”
Song You did not answer, only shook his head at him.
“Sigh…” Tang Zhong sighed deeply, waving his hands, “Forget it, forget it. I’ve tried everything over these few years. I accept it. Let her stay here. Farewell, Mister.”
“Wishing you in advance that the new year will go as you desire.”
“I will also wish you an auspicious new year.”
The wooden door creaked open and shut.
Song You sat in the courtyard for a while longer until dusk approached. He only returned inside when he had to start cooking.
Standing on a stool, he took down a piece of cured meat and a section of sausage from the rafters, as well as an air-dried fish. He heated water to wash everything thoroughly. The preserved meat had been smoked, requiring him to scrape off the black soot from the surface with a knife. The scraping sound evoked a festive feeling.
“Daoist priest, why aren’t you eating vegetables today?”
“It’s to celebrate the New Year.”
“Right.” Lady Calico had turned back into a cat at some point without him noticing. While waiting for Song You to wash the ingredients and fetch water, she followed after him, running here and there for no reason. As Song You lit the oil lamp, casting swaying shadows as he busied around, she chased and pounced at his shadow on the ground, very absorbed in her play.
“Lady Calico, help me stoke the fire.”
“Hmm?”
“Go find some clothes, transform into human form, and help me stoke the fire.”
“Why?”
“We should cook the New Year’s Eve family reunion dinner[3]">https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/festivals/chinese-new-year-dinner.htm[/ref] together.”
“Right.” The little cat immediately ran off.
Smoke spiraled upward from kitchen chimneys, and the city was ablaze with lights. Every household in the city had lit lanterns and from outside came the sound of musical instruments.
The courtyard gradually filled with the aroma of cooking.
When the sausage was cooked, Song You patiently sliced it thinly. Seeing the little girl stoking the fire before the stove staring longingly out of the corner of his eye, he paused and felt touched. So he smiled, and when he sliced the sausage until only a small bit at the end was left, he stopped cutting. He picked it up, and handed it to her.
Lady Calico came close to sniff it and looked up at him. “Is this for me?”
“Yes.”
“But we haven’t started the meal yet.”
“Kids can eat first.”
“Oh.”
Song You couldn’t help looking nostalgic. “Do you know, Lady Calico? When I was little, every New Year when the adults were busy cutting vegetables, I always loved to hang around them. As they cut, they’d always leave a piece and hand it to us, and I always thought it tasted better than what was served at noon on the table the next day.”
“Hmm…”
Song You didn’t seem to expect her response, lost in his memories. Recalling it now, that time had been so joyful and happy.
Today, he passed it on to Lady Calico.
Not long after…
On the table were a bowl of sausage, a bowl of cured meat stir-fried with garlic sprouts, a bowl of dried fish, and half a pot of soup stewed with the pork foot he had bought that morning. It wasn’t lavish but more than enough for the two of them. The two figures, one large and one small sat opposite each other by the lamp. The oil lamp only illuminated a very narrow area, casting circular patterns on the coarse pottery bowls.
No one spoke, eating in silence.
Song You didn’t feel lonely. After so many years in the Daoist temple, it had always been just him, his master, and the old crested myna, and he was long used to it.
Before long, fireworks started outside.
Another year had passed unnoticed in this world.
1. 1st of the 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese calendar. ☜
2. Chinese euphemism for “haunted.” ☜
3. For Chinese families, this is the most important meal of the year and a time for the whole family to gather. ☜
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