Mu Gesheng’s words confirmed Anping’s suspicions—the young man before them was indeed Chai Shuxin.
The man’s expression remained calm and unruffled. He gave Anping a slight nod before looking up at Mu Gesheng on the second floor. "I’m back."
"Just in time," Mu Gesheng said, stretching lazily before vaulting down from the window. "I haven't had breakfast yet."
"What do you want to eat?"
"Yangchun noodles. Make the broth rich." Mu Gesheng casually swiped the enamel mug from Anping’s hand and took a sip. "Not bad. This lotus seed soup stall only opens during the first lunar month. It’s a classic every year."
As Chai Shuxin turned to head into the kitchen, Anping remained frozen in place. Mu Gesheng reached out and snapped his fingers in front of Anping’s eyes. "Earth to Anping," he said, his face wearing its usual roguish grin. "Staring that hard? Never seen a handsome man before?"
Anping finally snapped out of it, whispering in disbelief, "I didn't think he was still alive..."
"He died once," Mu Gesheng cut him off, finishing his sentence for him. "Just like me."
Anping froze. Just as he was about to ask more, Mu Gesheng had already walked off with the enamel mug. "Come on, let’s go hit the temple fair."
He tossed one last line over his shoulder: "Don't ask too many questions, Little An. You’ll find out in due time."
Mu Gesheng strolled to the front courtyard and reached into the merit box, grabbing a handful of loose change. The Ox-Head guard shouted at his back, "You're taking my incense money again!"
"I'll pay you back later!" Mu Gesheng waved a hand and slipped away.
Outside, the temple fair was a cacophony of gongs and drums. Two bright red lion dancers were chasing a silk ball down the street. Mu Gesheng vanished into the crowd in the blink of an eye. By the time Anping finally caught up to him, the man was crouching in front of a fortune-telling stall, holding a sugar painting of Pigsy.
To see the great Tian Suan Zi—the Heavenly Diviner—muscling in on a street peddler’s business made Anping want to laugh. The man’s shamelessness had truly reached new heights. As Anping approached, he heard Mu Gesheng say, "Brother, I see you’ve got quite a few coins in that bowl. I’ve got a large bill here; want to trade for some change?"
Anping: "..."
The fortune teller squinted at Mu Gesheng. Mu Gesheng took a bite out of Pigsy’s head and continued, "I won't make it a one-sided trade. How about this: I’ll read your fortune and tell you exactly how much you’ll earn today?"
Anping was speechless. Yet, in the time it took for him to blink, Mu Gesheng had actually succeeded in the trade. Not only that, but he had somehow walked off with the man’s bowl as well.
He watched as Mu Gesheng navigated the streets, trading the bowl for a lantern, the lantern for a candied hawthorn stick, and the hawthorn for a tiger-head doll held by a small child... Good heavens, he had turned the temple fair into a masterclass in bartering. Finally, the man leaped up and snatched the silk ball right out of the air amidst the chaos.
The two lion dancers lunged, only to realize they were biting down on a stuffed cloth tiger.
The child, having finished the candied hawthorns, looked at the bewildered lion dance troupe, sniffled, and burst into tears: "They stole my tiger!"
Mu Gesheng sauntered back into the City God Temple and dropped the change at the ticket window, rapping on the glass. "Your incense money."
He had spent the entire morning wandering the fair without spending a single cent of his own.
Anping was utterly floored. "How did you get money from a fortune-telling stall of all places?"
"Oh, that?" Mu Gesheng winked. "I told him my daughter is a city inspector."
Anping: "...Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask. Wu Biyou is a minor. How is he a city inspector?"
Mu Gesheng yawned. "He is the Wu Chang Zi, the scion of Impermanence. He has the duty to patrol the mortal realm. Besides handling those who break the laws of both worlds, he’s responsible for rounding up rogue spirits wandering the living world. He’s essentially a Day and Night Patrol Deity for Fengdu, just with a fancy mortal title tacked on."
The back courtyard door creaked open, and Chai Shuxin stepped out, carrying a white porcelain bowl that emitted clouds of steam. "Time to eat."
"Right on! Coming, coming." Mu Gesheng took the bowl. Inside the soy-colored broth was a bundle of thin noodles topped with bright green scallions. Anping’s mouth watered at the sight. The Ox-Head guard tugged on his sleeve. "Come on, let’s go get our servings."
Anping followed him into the back kitchen. The room was usually just for show, but today the stove was lit. There was a pot of thin noodles and a pot of broth. "Quite a big family we have here," the guard remarked, scooping a bowl of noodles and frying an egg for himself. He sighed in satisfaction. "Finally, someone who can actually cook is back."
Anping served himself a bowl. He had only seen Chai Shuxin cook once in his dreams; he hadn't expected the man’s skills to be this good.
Back at the Ginkgo Study, he had watched Song Wentong cook private meals every day, but he could only watch, never taste. It had been agonizing. Today, he finally got to satisfy his cravings. The two of them sat by the stove, eating happily.
"It’s New Year’s Eve," the guard said, uncovering various pots and pans on the counter. There were marinated chickens and ducks in crocks, fish and shrimp soaking in clear water, and several baskets of vegetables. "With this spread, we’re going to have a massive feast tonight."
Anping looked out the window, unsure of how to address Chai Shuxin. After a moment’s hesitation, he asked vaguely, "That gentleman... does he live here?"
"Indeed." The guard kept his head down, focused on his noodles. "Something happened a while back, and he had to go away on business. It just so happened to coincide with when you arrived." He let out a burp. "Thank goodness he made it back for the New Year. Otherwise, with the Heavenly Diviner’s cooking, we’d be eating nothing but cold wind for our reunion dinner."
"Does he usually do all the cooking?"
The guard smiled and looked out the window. "Not entirely."
The two of them stood by the back door. Chai Shuxin held his bowl while Mu Gesheng stood on the threshold, pinning up New Year couplets.
The guard was right; by the afternoon, the kitchen was in full swing. The sounds of frying, braising, and stewing filled the air, and a rich aroma permeated the courtyard. Mu Gesheng sat under the eaves playing Go with Anping. Anping had been learning from Lin Juansheng for several days and had made some progress, but as expected, he was utterly decimated.
"You lost again, Anping." Mu Gesheng tossed a game piece. "Want to play Gomoku instead?"
The man was slaughtering him while teasing him at the same time, even using the stones to form a smiley face on the board. Anping’s mental state crumbled. "I’m done."
"Don't be like that. You studied under my Senior Brother; it’s embarrassing to give up so easily."
Anping wasn't falling for it. "Even the Chang Sheng Zi loses to you. There’s no shame in it."
Mu Gesheng shrugged. "A pity Senior Brother isn't here. It’s been a long time since we played."
Lin Juansheng was the Sect Leader of Penglai. A few days ago, matters had arisen within the sect, and he had returned early.
With nothing to do, Mu Gesheng went to the kitchen and brought back a large bowl of freshly fried lotus root sandwiches. They were golden and crispy, and the sound of his crunching filled the courtyard. Anping reached his limit. He went to his room, grabbed his backpack, and pulled out two thick stacks of practice exams.
"Anping, it’s New Year’s," Mu Gesheng said, raising an eyebrow. "Is there really a need to be this diligent? Doing homework on New Year’s Eve?"
Anping thought, *Heh.* He placed one stack of exams in front of Mu Gesheng. "These are yours, Student Mu."
"Let’s study hard and finish them together."
Naturally, Mu Gesheng refused. He began folding the exam papers into paper airplanes and flying them across the courtyard.
Anping was about to protest when the back door creaked open. "Is that old fossil awake yet... Fuck!"
It was Wu Biyou. The paper airplane in Mu Gesheng’s hand took flight and hit him square in the face.
"Daughter, you’re here." Mu Gesheng waved him over, finally finding a new source of entertainment. "Come, kowtow to your father, and I’ll give you your New Year’s money."
Wu Biyou seemed to have brought New Year’s gifts; he was carrying several bags. He exploded instantly. "Kowtow to your damn grandfather!"
"Is that any way to speak to your father? No respect for your elders. Careful, or you won't grow an inch this year." Mu Gesheng wiped his hands. "It just so happens that San-Jiu is back. Stay for the reunion dinner tonight."
Wu Biyou seemed somewhat wary of Chai Shuxin. He glanced toward the kitchen and said stiffly, "I’m not eating." He dropped the gifts and turned to leave.
The next second, the kitchen door opened. Chai Shuxin stood in the doorway. "It’s time for your medicine."
This time, it was Mu Gesheng’s turn to refuse. "I’m not taking it." He added, "I just finished the last prescription. At least let a man catch his breath."
"You stopped taking your medicine without permission months ago," Chai Shuxin said, unmoved. "You didn't take a single dose of the last prescription."
Exposed, Mu Gesheng didn't even blush. He chewed on a lotus root sandwich and mumbled, "Fine, fine. I’ll take it after my daughter gives me his New Year’s greetings."
Chai Shuxin turned his gaze toward Wu Biyou.
Wu Biyou: "..."
This group truly formed a bizarre food chain. Wu Biyou practically pinched his nose as he gave Mu Gesheng his New Year’s greetings. Once finished, he didn't leave. He sat on the steps playing games, kicking Anping’s table. "Get on. Team up."
Anping pulled out his phone. They played a few matches with a decent win rate, and Wu Biyou’s expression softened slightly. Anping thought for a moment and tried to make small talk. "You’re spending New Year’s here?"
"What of it?" Wu Biyou shot him a sidelong glance. "I can't come?"
"I thought you didn't like your 'dad'." He was always calling him an old fossil.
"Screw you, he’s not my dad." Wu Biyou snorted. "I’m here to see the Luo Cha Zi. He and my father were brothers back in the day."
*As if Mu Gesheng wasn't Wu Zixu’s brother too,* Anping thought. Then he realized the title Wu Biyou had used. "What did you just call him?"
"Luo Cha Zi," Wu Biyou said. "That old fossil didn't tell you? Didn't you see the memorial tablet in that room the other night?"
On Anping’s first night at the City God Temple, he had woken from a dream and seen a memorial tablet in a room blown open by the wind.
*The Spirit Pivot of the Seven Houses—The Seat of Chai Shuxin.*
In the memories Anping had seen, Chai Shuxin was still the Ling Shu Zi—the Spirit Pivot. He had no idea what had happened in the interim.
Memorial tablets were for the dead. Mu Gesheng had also said that morning that Chai Shuxin, like him, was a person who had already died.
*Luo Cha Zi—The Rakshasa. Born of chaos, presiding over slaughter.*
Though they could suppress a chaotic world, they were violent and ferocious. Every generation of the Luo Cha Zi was a great rebel, utterly uncontrollable. Some had even turned against the other six houses, becoming a variable that everyone feared and found a headache to deal with.
*If you meet a Buddha, kill the Buddha; if you meet a Patriarch, kill the Patriarch; if you meet an Arhat, kill the Arhat; if you meet your parents, kill your parents; if you meet your kin, kill your kin. Only then shall you find liberation.*
The Chai Shuxin in Anping’s memories was taciturn and cold, but he was ultimately a gentleman. It was hard to believe that the young master of the House of Medicine had become something so sinister.
"I thought that old fossil told you everything." Wu Biyou looked at Anping with a cold sneer. "Then again, there are things he doesn't even remember himself."
Wu Biyou was a firecracker that could go off at any moment. Anping wanted to ask what had happened to Wu Zixu before he died, but he opened his mouth and swallowed the words.
The mists of the past were layered and thick, growing more mysterious by the second. Anping didn't even know how Mu Gesheng had introduced him to the others; everyone seemed to have accepted his presence for no apparent reason. At the end of the day, he was just an ordinary person. Could he really intervene in the affairs of the Seven Houses so easily?
Could it be that Mu Gesheng really intended to take him as a disciple, as Wu Biyou suggested?
Anping shuddered. He had a family business to inherit. Being an ordinary rich second-generation kid was perfectly fine; he didn't have such lofty ambitions.
He had seen Mu Gesheng’s memories with his own eyes. It was a half-lifetime of magnificent scale, filled with both sorrow and joy.
Though Mu Gesheng treated him with some closeness, the man had lived so long he was practically a spirit. He never showed his true emotions, meeting everyone with a smile. Reflecting on everything, Anping felt that Mu Gesheng might not be what everyone said he was. Perhaps he had other plans.
His level of cultivation was far beyond what Anping could fathom. Anping let his thoughts wander for a moment before finally tossing the chaotic reflections to the back of his mind.
There would be plenty of time ahead.
In the kitchen, Mu Gesheng drank a bowl of medicine with a look of deep misery. "Is your business finished?"
"Mostly. The remnants of the San-Tu Realm have been largely cleared out." Chai Shuxin was washing dishes at the sink. "Is he the child you mentioned?"
"Yeah. By a stroke of luck, he tasted my blood." Mu Gesheng leaned over to rinse his mouth. "There’s a bit of fate there, so I’m keeping him by my side for now." He suddenly remembered something. "When the Yin-Yang Ladder acted up a while ago, were you the one who saved him from the San-Tu Realm?"
"He was wearing a jade buckle that had your blood on it."
"Trust you to notice that."
Chai Shuxin dried his hands and pulled an object from his robe, handing it to Mu Gesheng. "I retrieved this from the Yin-Yang Ladder."
Mu Gesheng froze for a moment, then broke into a smile. "You actually found it."
It was a Mountain Ghost Coin.
***
