Blade - Unbound

Chapter 201: The Whole Realm Is Fed

Li Yan had come with Wang Daoxuan to ask about the golden phoenix ornament. This object was a Chu Token. Based on what Yan Jiuling had said, along with the history of the lineage that Night Crier had once mentioned, Li Yan had already pieced together part of the bigger picture.

During the ancient Zhou Dynasty, sacrificial customs had varied greatly across the land after the collapse of ritual and musical order. The traditions of the shamanic paths throughout the north and south had undergone two major consolidations.

The first occurred when Qin Shi Huang unified the realm, gathering shamans and ritual specialists from every region in Xianyang, where they became known as the Hidden Cultivators of the Qin Palace. However, they were sent away after the infamous Burning of the Books and Burial of the Scholars.

Night Crier's lineage originated from them, though it represented only a small branch. Those people remained extremely secretive, and no one knew where they had hidden themselves.

Another portion eventually evolved into the Shang Mountain lineage.

The second consolidation came during the Han Dynasty, when Emperor Gaozu summoned shamans from across the empire to Chang'an, where each established shrines to worship the various regional deities, creating a form of religious unification.

Later, however, as Confucianism and the Daoist Orthodox schools rose to prominence, the shamanic traditions gradually declined. Some spread among the common folk, while others disappeared entirely.

Li Yan was only mildly interested in the history of these ritual lineages. What truly intrigued him was why this Chu Token contained a strange energy that was connected to the divine killing qi that only the Underworld should possess. Perhaps he could find some clues within the surviving folk ritual traditions.

Old Liu accepted the golden phoenix ornament and examined it carefully for a while. Seeming to remember something, he nodded. "Now that you mention it, I really have seen something similar before."

Li Yan's eyes immediately lit up. "Please enlighten me, Senior."

The old coroner replied, "I wouldn't dare."

Returning the golden phoenix ornament to Li Yan, Old Liu invited the two men to sit, poured them tea, and slowly began his explanation.

"My late master mentioned this only in passing. Although the Taixuan Orthodox Sect is now considered the orthodox faith of the Divine Continent, the local ritual lineages here never truly disappeared. The customs of the common people also retain many connections to ancient Chu.

"For example, here, we revere the phoenix and honor the rooster, believing that chickens can separate yin from yang. That came from the ancient Chu ancestors taking the phoenix as their totem, regarding it as the incarnation of their ancestral deity Zhurong, the God of Fire. Many ritual traditions, even my own methods of warding off evil during autopsies, require the use of chicken blood.

"We also worship fire and favor the color red, another tradition connected to the God of Fire. At the end of the first lunar month, people carry fire throughout their homes to drive away evil. On New Year's Eve, they hang charcoal, called General's Charcoal, at their doors, bound with red paper.

"We also place great importance on sacred cogon grass and holy reeds, and say that no village is complete without maple trees. That's because the Classic of Mountains and Seas records that maple trees grew from the shackles cast aside by Chiyou. Planting maples at a village entrance is said to bring the protection of the War God.

"You can still find traces of ancient Chu in many folk traditions. But only one ritual lineage truly inherited the ancient Chu shamanic arts. They were once based at Mount Jun, where they worshipped the ancient Chu deities. They were called the Siming Society. However, that lineage disappeared long ago. My master only happened to come across it in an old volume and told me the story for amusement. At the time, he even copied down their insignia. It looked exactly like this..."

Li Yan's eyes brightened as realization dawned on him. "Mount Jun?"

Mount Jun lay within Dongting Lake. One of the Daoist blessed lands, it was also known as Mount Xiang, named after the Xiang Lord, one of the Ten Gods of Chu. According to Yuan Ba, the treasure had been found in the mountains near Dongting Lake. It was very likely connected to this mysterious Siming Society.

It seemed he would have to make a trip to Mount Jun when he found the time. Perhaps he would uncover some valuable clues there.

Li Yan immediately stood, cupped his hands with a smile, and said, "Your knowledge is truly admirable, Elder. Thank you."

"Not at all." Old Liu looked flustered and quickly stood as well. "I've only repeated what I've heard from others. It's just a few old stories. They may not even be true."

Seeing Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan preparing to leave, he glanced around before hurriedly saying, "You two helped resolve my troubles, yet I possess nothing of value and have little money to repay you. There happens to be a banquet shortly. Please join us; it can serve as a farewell feast."

Unable to refuse the hopeful look in the old man's eyes, Wang Daoxuan smiled. "What banquet is this?"

Old Liu replied, "A wealthy family in the city is having their only grandson acknowledge me as his father."

Seeing the astonishment on Li Yan's and Wang Daoxuan's faces, Old Liu shook his head with a bitter smile. "I'm not afraid of being laughed at. Though I've lived a hard life, I have no fewer than seven or eight sons, if not ten.

"It's our local custom. Children are easier to raise if they're 'lowly'. Especially for an only son born in old age or the sole heir of several generations. When such a child is born, the family fears he won't survive, so they have him 'grow lowly hair'."

"'Growing lowly hair' means shaving the top of the head while leaving a patch called the Broken Roof Tile, and keeping a little braid at the back called the Dog's Tail. The meaning is that humble children are easier to raise. Not only that, they usually have the child acknowledge someone in a humble profession as an adoptive father.

"My profession earns neither gold nor silver, but somehow I've ended up with all these children. They rarely visit during the year, but every New Year they always bring me some food."

"I see." Wang Daoxuan smiled. "Similar customs exist in many places. In the northern regions, children instead acknowledge large trees or stones as their godfathers and godmothers."

Turning to Li Yan, he smiled again. "Brother Yan, I've developed quite an appetite. Why don't we enjoy the banquet before leaving? Ezhou is famous for its delicious food."

Li Yan smiled and nodded in agreement. "That sounds excellent."

He knew perfectly well that Wang Daoxuan wasn't truly greedy for food. He was simply preserving what little dignity Old Liu still had.

Just as Old Liu had said, the family adopting him as the child's father was indeed one of the city's wealthy households. They had made their fortune transporting grain and operating grain businesses. They had finally had a son late in life and treasured him dearly. To celebrate giving the child an adoptive father, they prepared an elaborate banquet and invited all the neighbors.

The local banquet was called the Grand Surrounding Feast. Every eight dishes formed one course, and there were eight successive courses in total, each carefully arranged.

The first course consisted of eight varieties of seasonal fresh fruit. The second featured eight kinds of pastries. The third served eight sweet dishes, including lotus seed soup, glutinous rice dumplings in sweet soup, sweet fermented glutinous rice wine, and Heart Eggs. The fourth course consisted of eight cold dishes, including braised pig ears, braised pig tongue, braised duck breast, and three kinds of cold mixed vegetables.

When the fourth course was done, the wine begin to flow, with everyone drinking the region's famous yellow rice wine. The fifth course featured the main dishes, Ruyi Meat Loaf, Crystal Meatballs, Buddha-Hand Salmon, Whole Braised Chicken, Soy-Braised Pork Chunks, and more. The sixth course consisted of four mountain delicacies and four seafood delicacies. The seventh served four staple dishes and four vegetarian dishes. The eighth concluded with four tea refreshments.

The people of Ezhou were renowned for their hospitality, believing that anyone who came to their door was a guest. Even in the jianghu, there was a saying: A true hero never attacks a guest who has come to his door.

Once everyone learned who Li Yan's group were, guests kept coming over to offer them toasts.

Li Yan and the others ate and drank to their hearts' content. Sha Lifei was naturally outgoing. Whether they were wealthy landlords or humble laborers, he treated everyone as brothers. By the end, his face was flushed crimson with drink, and he could barely walk straight. Just as Li Yan's group was preparing to leave, Sha Lifei staggered over with one arm slung around a burly man's shoulders.

"Lit... Little Yan." Even his tongue had become tied in knots as he patted the man beside him and introduced him. "T-This is another brother from the Daoist world. Real generous fellow. In... Insists on taking us all the way to Yunyang Prefecture."

The man also spoke with a thick slur. "No... No problem. Brothers come from all corners of the world. F-Friends from other provinces come here, and we can't let anyone look down on us."

Li Yan frowned. "This brother is part of the mystic path?"

The man before him wore coarse homespun clothing. He was broad-shouldered, dark-skinned, and weather-beaten, the very image of a laboring boatman. There wasn't the slightest trace of an unusual aura about him. How could he possibly be a practitioner of the mystic path?

Besides, he was so drunk that he could barely stand. Taking them to Yunyang Prefecture sounded like a joke.

"What? You looking down on me?" The man immediately grew indignant, craning his neck as he shouted, "Come with me to the river! My boat's there! I'll show you my magic!"

Sha Lifei egged him on from the side. "Good! Let's see what you've got! Little Yan, don't underestimate my friend. He's a descendant of the ancient Dragon Keepers!"

"Oh?"

Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan exchanged glances, their expressions becoming serious. Now that matters had reached this point, refusing would be awkward. They bid farewell to Old Liu and the host family, gathered their belongings, and headed to the riverside dock.

The man had indeed told the truth. Though he was stumbling from drink, the moment he took hold of the boat, he handled it with remarkable steadiness. It was merely an ordinary flat-bottomed skiff, but with a single push of his bamboo pole, it moved swiftly through the water. Before long, the port disappeared behind them.

Li Yan chuckled. "Didn't you say you were going to demonstrate your magic?"

He regretted saying those words almost immediately.

The boatman instantly became excited. "J-Just watch!"

As they reached a stretch of shallow water, he began stamping hard on the boat, rocking it violently and creating tremendous noise.

"What are you doing?" Sha Lifei cried out in alarm, "Trying to murder us and rob us clean?"

The man ignored him completely. Forming hand seals, he loudly chanted, "Ankles dim, ankles dim, eighteen-catty fish come to him..."

Before he had even finished speaking, schools of fish gathered around the boat, thrashing wildly on the water's surface. He effortlessly scooped up several large fish with a net and tossed them into the boat.

He preened, "Well? Pretty good spell, isn't it? With this technique, I'll never go hungry."

Li Yan didn't know what else to say.

"What? You still don't believe me?" Seeing Li Yan's expression, the man became anxious again, and he cried out, "Watch me summon a dragon!"

With that, he lay over the side of the boat, grabbed one of the fish, and swished it back and forth in the water while making strange gurgling sounds. Sure enough, before long, a dragon's head emerged from the river.

Except it wasn't a dragon at all. It was an alligator. The silly-looking creature bit onto the fish in the man's hand. After getting a couple of pats on the head, it lazily sank back beneath the water.

Li Yan was even more speechless at the display.

The man asked proudly, "Well?"

Li Yan could only cup his hands helplessly. "Fellow Daoist, your mastery of the mystic arts surpasses mine."

Only then did the man look satisfied and finally calm down.

Watching them, Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard with a smile. "When Huguang prospers, the whole realm is well-fed. The old saying truly wasn't false. What an outstanding land blessed with remarkable people."

As they spoke, the little boat entered a broad expanse of open water where the river and sky blended into one. Verdant mountains rose and fell along both banks, while emerald waves rippled beneath them, forming a scene of breathtaking beauty.

On a distant riverside hillside, terraced paddies stretched upward like stairways. Farmers were already hard at work in the fields. Along the ridges, a village yin-yang master led a procession, burning incense and joss paper while drums and music rang out around him, with villagers gathered to watch.

Sha Lifei asked curiously, "Are they performing a ritual over there?"

"Th... That's called Opening the Rice Seedlings." The boatman replied, "Every family holds it when transplanting seedlings in spring. Only a skilled master can perform it. Come on, I'll take you over for a look."

With another push of his bamboo pole, the skiff sped toward the shore.

Nearby, another family happened to be performing the same ceremony. The group watched as drums and music resounded.

Holding burning incense, the yin yang master chanted in rhythmic tones, "Spring has arrived, and the hundred grasses grow. We respectfully invite the Great Heavenly Rice Seedling Deity. Come early, O Seedling God, do not wait until the dead of night..."

Wang Daoxuan's expression immediately became solemn. "It's a sacrifice to the God of Grain!"

Although the words "earth" and "grain" were often spoken together, the God of the Earth and the God of Grain were two different deities. The God of Grain was the one who blessed the harvest with abundant crops.

The boatman looked even more pleased. "Well? Aren't the masters in our region impressive?"

There was no trace of mockery left on Li Yan's face as he answered seriously, "Indeed. I am not their equal."

He understood that this was the true foundation of the mystic arts. They were created to protect living beings, ensure favorable weather, and bless the land with abundant harvests.

As dusk settled over the land, a great city slowly emerged in the distance.