Where Immortals Once Walked

Of course, the salary itself was hardly the point anymore. Rumor had it that anyone who wanted to give Steward Wu a gift had to line up for the privilege.

As the saying went, even the gatekeeper of a prime minister ranked no differently from a seventh-rank official[1]. Master He was no less important to Great Yuan than any prime minister, so why did this particular “seventh-rank official” insist on gnawing radishes every day?

“What do you know?” Steward Wu glanced at the old woman. “The more frugal I am, the more Master and Madame can trust me.”

The woman looked somewhat worried. “Master has gone south to fight this time. Do you think he can win?”

Steward Wu laughed. “His Majesty can’t say for sure, and even all those great officials throughout the royal court can’t say for sure, so what makes you think my answer would be any more reliable? Naturally, I hope that our master wins. Besides, from top to bottom, he’s the only man in the entire court who still has the ability to put down this rebellion.”

The old woman did not understand. “With so many generals, not a single one of them can get the job done?”

“The south has already suffered several defeats. Master often tells me that once an army loses too many battles, its morale scatters. Whoever His Majesty sends south next has to possess prestige and command respect. Otherwise, he won’t be able to hold the army together at all. His soldiers might desert before they even reach the battlefield.”

The old woman stared at him. “Desert? Is it really that bad?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? I followed Master to Xia Province two years ago, and that journey opened my eyes.” Steward Wu suddenly lowered his voice to a little more than a whisper. “Those deserters and routed soldiers were hardly any different from bandits! And when you talk about prestige, what does that mean except winning battle after battle?” He took another sip of wine. “Look at all those generals, great and small, inside and outside the royal court. How many have reputations that can compare with our master’s? Some of those young generals might be capable, but they have no name for themselves, so who would trust them? This battle is too important. How could His Majesty dare hand an entire army over to some young officer with neither fame nor prestige?”

The old woman was thoroughly convinced. “So in the end, it really has to be our master!”

“Mm, when Master returns victorious—” Steward Wu’s eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled. “Just you wait. Our good days will finally have come.” And precisely because those good days were close at hand, he had to tread even more carefully.

He absolutely could not ruin his chances of experiencing them through his own carelessness.

After dinner, he washed his hands and feet, and the warmth of the alcohol finally began to take hold.

Steward Wu could barely keep his eyes open. He lay down on the bed, and within a few breaths, soft snores began to rise.

In his dream, his master had not yet departed for war. Instead, He Chunhua summoned him into the study for a private conversation.

“I suddenly remembered something. Was Sun Hongye’s matter properly settled?”

“Sun Hongye?” Steward Wu looked puzzled. “Master, I withdrew fifteen taels of silver from the accounts and paid him in full. That amount should have been appropriate, shouldn’t it?”

“And then?”

“And then he left.” Steward Wu thought for a moment. “He said he planned to head east and spend some time traveling through Beijia.”

He Chunhua asked again, “What about that book? That collected commentary, or whatever it was called...”

“What collected commentary?” Steward Wu looked completely lost.

“Oh, never mind. I must be remembering it wrong.” He Chunhua clasped his hands behind his back, his expression heavy. “I’ll be setting out soon. Who knows whether this campaign will succeed in a single stroke? Sigh. Fortune and disaster are impossible to predict.”

Steward Wu consoled him, “The eldest young master suddenly returned and even brought you that enormous loan from the Rongshan Sect. That means your fortune has arrived. It’s a tremendously auspicious sign!”

“Chuan’er is certainly a child of fortune, but he isn’t accompanying me on this campaign.”

Steward Wu smiled. “The eldest young master was away for an entire year, yet didn’t you still build up Xia Province splendidly on your own? Clearly, you’re the one born with great fortune. It has nothing to do with anyone else.”

“Me? Great fortune?” He Chunhua’s expression darkened slightly. “I know where this fortune came from. What I fear is that I won’t be able to bear it!”

“Master...”

“Once the southern rebels are dealt with, I still have to fight Dong Haoming in the northwest. How much of my good fortune will remain by then?” He looked at Steward Wu. “Old Wu, do you remember when I first began...?” He did not finish the sentence. Instead, he mimed lighting incense and bowing in worship.

Steward Wu thought for a moment. “That was twenty years ago. Back when you were working as a courier at a relay station in Heishui City, you assassinated an envoy from Andong and were thrown into prison. That was where I first met you. Later, you cleared me of the false charges against me, and I was spared execution... Then two years after that, the Andong people invaded again. The local authorities pushed you forward to face them. You had no confidence at all that you could win, so only then did you finally make up your mind to ask a god for aid.”

He Chunhua murmured to himself, “Why did I choose that particular god back then? I truly can’t remember.”

Steward Wu rarely heard his master speak with such uncertainty or self-doubt.

If he had been awake, he might have sensed that something was wrong. But right now... Right now, everything seemed perfectly natural, so not the slightest suspicion arose in his mind.

“You went to see Grand Shaman Zhaomandu and told him that you needed help. Defeating an enemy, reclaiming a city, and even taking revenge were simply too difficult for one man to accomplish alone,” recalled Steward Wu. “At first, Grand Shaman Zhaomandu refused to advise you. But by the end, you were crying so hard you could barely speak, and even he was moved. He finally said that you could try petitioning Naluotian. He said that this heavenly god could bring good fortune, but that the chances of it actually answering a human were extremely low.”

He Chunhua nodded slowly. “The heavenly gods are greedier than humans. Why would they ever help someone so easily?”

Steward Wu said softly, “But you succeeded in summoning it.”

“And the price?”

“By then, you already had the eldest young master. The heavenly god specifically demanded him.”

He Chunhua shook his head. “I never imagined I would possess something it wanted.”

“You couldn’t bear to agree, but the heavenly god refused to change its condition. Heishui City was facing retaliation from the Andong people at the time, and the situation was desperate, so...”

So there had been no choice but to sacrifice his eldest son.

“Think back for me. Why did the heavenly god want Chuan’er?” asked He Chunhua. “Was there any loophole in the agreement we made back then?”

“The heavenly god only said that the eldest young master’s body was special—one in ten thousand—and extremely useful to it.” Steward Wu looked ashamed. “This old servant is useless. I still cannot find any flaw in that agreement.”

He Chunhua let out a long sigh. “Where exactly has Chuan’er been these past few months?”

“You believe he went somewhere besides the State of Xuluo and Rongshan?”

He Chunhua glanced at him. “What do you think?”

“If even you don’t know, Master, how could this old servant possibly know?”

He Chunhua grunted softly in acknowledgment.

* * *

The next morning, Steward Wu slept until well after dawn before finally waking.

The moment he heard the time, he complained to the old woman, “Why didn’t you wake me earlier?”

“You were sleeping so soundly. I tried several times, but you just wouldn’t wake up.”

Steward Wu hurriedly climbed out of bed to wash and dress.

While washing his face, he vaguely remembered having several dreams during the night. One of them had even involved the master. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember what they had discussed.

It seemed to have been something about the distant past.

Good grief. I work as the family steward during the day, and apparently I’m still doing the job in my dreams at night.

Steward Wu shook his head and went to attend to business at the He Residence.

On the way, he happened to encounter He Lingchuan. Steward Wu bowed respectfully, and the eldest young master smiled at him with extraordinary warmth.

“Steward Wu, did you sleep well last night?”

“Ah, very well. I slept wonderfully. Thank you for asking, Eldest Young Master.”

He Lingchuan nodded, then he clasped his hands behind his back as he strolled out of the residence. A large group of guards followed behind him, and a tiny squirrel sat perched on his shoulder.

He had fully captured the impressive air of a young master surrounded front and rear by attendants.

Steward Wu watched his departing back and scratched the rear of his head.

Hadn’t the eldest young master come up in my dream last night?

1. Note that this should be based on the nine-rank system of Imperial China. I’d probably say that this rank is equivalent to a county magistrate. ☜