TBTTSP - Chapter 36
Chapter 36: Xu Wanqing Tells a Story (10)
Through a window overgrown with hydrangeas, propped halfway open, Xu Wanqing peered out, looking left and right. The guards were making their rounds.
It was one of countless ordinary days, yet it was also extraordinarily unusual.
She had been counting the days. By her calculations, today was the day she should have soul-transmigrated into the future Zhang Xu. Her own body would have been asleep in bed, her soul having left it, at the mercy of others.
Yet here she was, sitting and looking out at the boy's simple garden, enduring the pain that wracked her body.
Her body was covered in wounds, large and small. To torture the location of the Immortality Pills out of her, the young Imperial Preceptor's underlings had used many cruel methods.
If the boy was right, she would never travel to the future again.
The last time she had soul-transmigrated, she never imagined it would be her final conversation with Shang Yi.
She slept through the morning, exhausted. When she came to in the afternoon, her clothes had been changed, but the Peace Talisman was still there. The boy rested his chin in his hand and watched her. After a moment's thought, he said, "I found a way to anchor your soul. You won't be leaving your body again. Now, tell me where the Immortality Pills are."
There was something new inside the Peace Talisman. She took it out and examined it—a tiny, pure black hard shell. The boy smiled. "Ah, very clever of you. Wearing that will anchor your soul and keep it from wandering off."
"Who are you?"
"The late emperor's Imperial Preceptor. Yes, the one who refined the pills. I need to get my things back. The Immortality Pills must not fall into mortal hands." He lowered his gaze meekly, glanced at Xu Wanqing, and smiled. "Achieving immortality means stealing a secret from heaven. I fear I don't have long to live. I must retrieve the pills and destroy them, otherwise…"
"I've already told you everything."
She rubbed the hard shell. It was certainly useful for her current situation. She put it back inside the talisman. The boy no longer pressed her, seeming to realize that since Xu Wanqing had gritted her teeth and endured his torture, she had seen his methods and was no longer afraid. He adopted a gentler expression and had someone bring her a meal.
She was so badly injured she couldn't even sit up straight on the daybed by the window. The boy fed her medicine. When he offered the spoon, she hesitated for a moment before accepting it.
"Why did you refine the pills?"
"Naturally, to see if I could. And who would have thought I actually could? Isn't that marvelous?"
To steal one of heaven's secrets just to test himself… The boy had said he "didn't have long to live," and there was a hint of melancholy in his voice. Xu Wanqing knew she couldn't escape, so she had no choice but to engage him in pleasant conversation.
Inwardly, however, she was resentful. He had caused this disaster, and now he was the one trying to contain it. If it weren't for this boy, none of this would have ever happened.
She stuck to her story: the pills were in her bedchamber, and she knew nothing else. When asked where they came from, she claimed a man had rushed up, thrown them at her, and fled before she could get a clear look at him.
The boy was very patient, coming to speak with her every day.
One day he would ask about her two husbands and whether they had treated her well. The next, he would inquire about her wounds and if the food was to her liking.
From her window, Xu Wanqing noticed the guards were rotated daily. The boy must have other plans in motion, she thought. She wondered what fate awaited her once he found the Immortality Pills.
"What will you do after you find the Immortality Pills?"
"Logically, I should destroy them. But I've studied the arts for so long, and even my master thought I was a good-for-nothing, utterly talentless. I searched high and low for the secret formula, and I am determined to leave behind a record of my great achievement. If only I could be as famous as Xu Fu… Hah. He found the formula for immortality and then hid it away, so everyone thinks his reputation is unearned. I'm different. I will ensure my name is remembered for all time."
"You killed many children and sought out many women…"
"Since ancient times, which imperial family hasn't risen to power by treading on the lives of others? I wasn't the one who ordered the search for infants. The emperor himself heard my proposal and insisted I refine the pills. It's not as if I was the one spreading heresy to delude the public."
She said no more, simply hugging her knees and sitting in silence.
"Where do you go when your soul leaves your body? To the immortal isle of Penglai? To the age of the ancient gods? Or do you catch a glimpse of the world to come?"
The boy was fascinated by her. He tugged on her arm. "Let's trade secrets. You ask me a question, and then you have to answer one of mine. That way, we'll each know two new secrets."
"I have no secrets. I've already told you everything there is to tell. Keeping me here is useless. You might as well kill me and search for the Immortality Pills freely. There's no need to waste what's left of your life on me."
"You asked about me. You can still write your novels. I may be nameless, but I'd like you to write my story, to preserve my name for posterity."
"…" She closed her eyes, ignoring him.
More than two months passed. The guards outside had gone through a full rotation, a fact Xu Wanqing did not fail to notice.
She couldn't accomplish anything by staying here.
She considered several possible courses of action:
Report the matter to the emperor, but if he learned of the Immortality Pills, it would likely lead to thousands more deaths;
Flee into hiding, marry into some rural family and live out her days under an assumed name, but her knowledge of the pills would only endanger innocent people;
Retrieve the Immortality Pills, hand them over to the boy, and submit to her fate. That was better than wasting her life away here.
The next time the boy came, they began to draw lots.
Each of them wrote down three questions, rolled them up, and placed them in a container.
The six questions were mixed together. The first one fell out, and they unrolled it.
"It's my question," she said. "Where did you learn your arts?"
"In my family's backyard, we raised a donkey. When my master arrived, he led the donkey away. I chased him for twenty li, all the way up a mountain. He had no choice but to teach me a few unorthodox spells." The boy drew the next lot gleefully. "Ah, this one is mine. How is it that your soul can leave your body?"
"It happens naturally. It is not something I do intentionally," she said, telling the truth.
"The ways of the Dao are truly wondrous. Some people are simply born with an immortal fate," the boy muttered to himself.
Day after day, they drew lots, taking turns asking all the questions they wanted to ask.
They avoided the two questions they were both deliberately concealing—"Where do you go when your soul leaves your body?" and "Where are the Immortality Pills?"—and the rest of their questions soon became tedious.
The boy started asking lame questions like, "Why do you want to write novels?" and she, in turn, had to rack her brain for questions like, "How old are you?"
Another half a month passed. By now, Xu Wanqing was asking questions like, "What are we eating today?" and "Why did you cut off those lotus leaves to float them on the water?"
She learned nothing from the boy's answers, and he learned nothing of use from hers.
Wary of each other, Xu Wanqing finally called a halt to the game.
After her meal, she stood in the courtyard enjoying the cool evening air. The four-o'clock flowers were in bloom. Suddenly, a squad of guards approached.
The one in the lead asked, "Madam, did you see anyone pass through here just now?"
She shook her head.
The guards marched away in unison. She began to pace slowly. After about the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, a guard hurried toward her.
She said nonchalantly, "I didn't see anyone. You've already been by."
"Madam, it's me," he said. "Do you still have the item I gave you last time?"
The guard lifted his ill-fitting helmet, revealing a pair of eyes. Xu Wanqing remembered him.
It was the tall, thin man—the one who had thrust a box into her hands, brought a fatal disaster upon her entire household, and then fled.
"I don't have it."
"Then where is it?" The man looked around, clearly anxious. She felt a surge of resentment, but then thought that at least she could finally be done with this business.
"What do you plan to do with the Immortality Pills?"
"That is not your concern, Madam."
Not her concern, yet it had brought her nothing but trouble. She shook her head slightly, indicating she had nothing more to say.
After a brief standoff, the man finally relented. "Madam, I am a secret guard for His Majesty, the current emperor. I stole the pills, and in his rage, the late emperor suffered an apoplexy and passed away. Now, with the new emperor's reign, the nation is prosperous and the people are at peace. His Majesty's benevolence blesses the realm. If he could live forever, it would be a great fortune for all the people of the Great Ming…"
She was no longer a child, and she was certainly no fool to be so easily deceived.
"They're in my bedchamber. The Imperial Preceptor's men may have already searched it, but check the chests."
She said it casually, hoping to send him away, but he was extremely cautious. "How do I know you're not deceiving me, Madam?"
"If you don't believe me, then forget it." She turned and went back inside.
Handing immortality over to an emperor? She would have to be mad.
After the man finally left, she made her choice.
She chose the lesser of two evils.
Nothing could be worse than the Immortality Pills falling into the hands of the imperial family.
As the Imperial Preceptor's guards rushed into her bedchamber, found her dressing box, opened it, and delivered the pills to that mysterious courtyard, Xu Wanqing was playing chess with the boy.
"Once the pills arrive," he said, "I suppose I should thank you."
Two coffins sat in the courtyard, one to the left and one to the right. The boy said that, as a token of his gratitude, he was bestowing upon her the special honor of being buried with him.
The two of them, unrelated by blood or marriage, were to be buried together. Xu Wanqing said nothing.
Her only regret was not having cherished her last chance to see Shang Yi.
The guards rushed through the crowd, carrying the box, their steps light and swift as they moved like shadows.
The boy pointed out the burial plot he had chosen long ago. He said the feng shui was excellent, that it was safe from robbers, and that it could even accumulate qi to nourish the body, describing it as if it were a magnificent estate.
The main gate swung open. The lead guard rushed in, knelt on one knee, and gently placed the box on the table.
The boy opened the dressing box and glanced inside. "Mm, they're real."
The hand he reached out with instantly withered and aged. The boy snatched it back and gestured, pushing the box toward Xu Wanqing.
She took the box. "Is this the so-called… price for prying into heaven's secrets?"
"It is. Oh, and thank you for that eulogy you wrote. It chronicles my life quite well. I've already had it carved into my coffin. Come and have a look."
Clutching the dressing box, she followed the boy. Their backs were to the guards.
"Open it and take a look."
She did as he said. Inside, seven pills were arranged in a neat row.
"Here," he said. "Take them."
She froze for a second, then grabbed the pills, her hand filling with them. The boy snatched the box away and snapped it shut.
A sharp blade pierced her abdomen. The boy yanked it out, kicked her into the coffin, and ordered, "Nail it shut."
In agony, her fingers uncurled, and one of the pills fell from her grasp.
The coffin lid slammed shut, and darkness pressed in on her.
An unknown amount of time passed. When she awoke again, the coffin seemed to be shaking. She could hear faint voices from outside. "The southern one is the Imperial Preceptor's. Open it."
The voice sounded familiar, perhaps it was one of the guards.
"Nothing here," someone replied after a moment. "The Imperial Preceptor is dead as a doornail. Look, there are a few pills, but I doubt they're any good. All this mystical nonsense… they were all mad."
"Open the other one," someone ordered.
"The one buried with him?"
"Never mind. We knew him, after all. Close the lid on the Imperial Preceptor's coffin. My apologies for the intrusion."
The people gradually left. She raised a hand to touch the coffin lid. It was nailed shut, though a tiny bit of air seeped through. She struggled to gather the scattered pills. The pain in her abdomen was unbearable, so she swallowed the first one. Beneath her, she found two strings of coins.
She took a large coin and wedged it into the seam next to a nail, prying with all her might until a thin crack appeared.
Exhausted, she lay back in the grim coffin.
The pain in her abdomen seemed to be fading. As some of her strength returned, she resumed prying at the lid with the coin.
She felt no hunger, not even thirst. It was then she realized she might have truly swallowed an immortality pill.
She finally managed to open the coffin after taking the second pill. She then opened the Imperial Preceptor's coffin and saw only a withered mummy, shrunken to the size of a child, curled into a ball. Scattered around it were three or four pills that looked like the real ones. She sniffed them, but the pungent odor was unbearable, so she threw them away.
She spent her days in the tomb drawing characters to pass the time, with no idea how long had gone by. She hadn't yet figured out that one pill could sustain her for a century; she simply took another whenever the skin on the back of her hand began to look slack. In this way, she consumed five of them.
She harbored a faint hope that if she truly was immortal, she might be able to walk among the living again before she finished all seven pills.
This continued until the day a great commotion came from above. The tomb entrance was opened, and a steel scaffold was lowered down.
Someone above said, "Hold on. We've had too many unlucky incidents already. Call President Shang. Nobody goes down there."
President Shang… By then, she had almost forgotten how to speak. Having not communicated with anyone for so long, she could only repeat words she had said in the past.
She waited below for someone to come down. She didn't expect a couple to descend that very night, muttering to themselves about getting here early to grab the good stuff, so they could pay for their daughter's university tuition and never have to do this godforsaken manual labor again.
The couple worked nimbly, digging up earth and hauling it out. From the shadows, she watched them, feeling a vague sense of familiarity, as if they were old acquaintances.
By the time she remembered seeing them in a photograph at Zhang Xu's home, the reckless pair had already set up dynamite.
"There's another door here. Let's blow the damn thing open."
"Don't. It could cause a cave-in."
A tall, thin girl came down.
She had short hair and was wearing a crop top, skinny jeans, and sneakers. She squeezed through the opening. "Dad! Mom! Stop! You'll be finished if your boss finds out!"
"Zhang Xu, what the hell do you know?" the man said. "When you're out in the world, you have to be sharp. You call this working? You should just go back to school!"
The woman said, "Oh, must you always be so harsh? A-Xu, listen to Mom. Your dad and I can work construction sites, but a chance like this is rare. Your dad says there are antiques down here. We'll just secretly take a few things to sell, and then you can go back to school, all right? It'll be enough to pay for your university, and your dad and I won't have to be migrant workers anymore. We can go back to the village and be with you. How does that sound?"
"…" Xu Wanqing couldn't help but sigh.
"Who's there!" The sigh echoed all around them, sounding like a sob. The man grabbed his shovel and looked around wildly, but there was no one there.
Zhang Xu looked like a sullen, awkward child, following behind them with her hands in her pockets, not saying a word. She tried to stop her parents from setting the explosives, but they just yelled at her until she left.
Xu Wanqing gently patted Zhang Xu on the shoulder. She was in another hidden passage. Zhang Xu's eyes went wide, but she didn't scream. She just stared, as if petrified.
At that moment, she wondered, had her past self soul-transmigrated into Zhang Xu?
She struggled to open her mouth, the words coming out haltingly. "Zhang… Xu…"
"Even if you're a restless spirit, don't call my name to ward off your bad luck!" Zhang Xu whispered, her entire body trembling violently.
"I am… I am Xu Wanqing…"
She was out of practice with speaking, struggling to remember how. Her Henan accent sounded a little strange, but thankfully, it was similar enough to other northern accents that she could be understood.
Zhang Xu flinched. "I don't know you…"
She fell silent, wondering blankly what to do. Suddenly, a deafening explosion nearly shattered her eardrums.
The ceiling began to tremble, and rocks rained down.
She shoved Zhang Xu out of the way with all her might. When she circled around from another direction to look, Zhang Xu's parents were already buried beneath the rubble.
She was in the main tomb passage, which was remarkably sturdy. Only the area near the door had sustained some damage, and dry sand was pouring through the cracks.
That substance, dynamite, was truly terrifying. The couple had been bold and skilled, but they hadn't listened to their child's pleas and had died here. Perhaps it was fate.
She stood blankly in the tomb, keeping watch over the two bodies, and only hid when she heard people coming.
She would later learn that Zhang Xu had no memory of this experience in the tomb.
Now, she sat before Zhang Xu, gazing at the girl. Her hair had grown out a little, finally covering her ears so she didn't look so bald. Her expression was the same as when they had first met—taut with fear and restraint. Her eyes darted about as she blinked constantly, her hands rubbing nervously against her knees.
"I am Xu Wanqing."
"…Hello," Zhang Xu said, tremulously offering her ID card with both hands. "It's… it's a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I'm Zhang Xu."
"Hello." She glanced at Shang Yi, who was sitting nearby cracking melon seeds, and gently tugged on her sleeve. The two of them moved aside to talk.
"This isn't the first time I've seen her…"
"You've mentioned that," Shang Yi said. "It's fine. Just help her remember. Go on, it's okay. She knows her parents died because of my project. Say what you need to say, and I'll handle the rest."
So she returned to the sofa. Across from her, a nervous Zhang Xu was scratching her head, messing up her hair.
"This isn't the first time we've met," she began softly. "The last time was in the tomb. Do you remember?"
The tall girl across from her shook her head like a rattle drum.
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