Chapter 90: Third-Rank Bones

At dawn, a pale band slowly rose at the edge of the sky, like the belly of a fish.

A soldier on watch atop the city wall rubbed his hands and said to his companion, “This magistrate may be young, but he is not only bold; he is also remarkably capable. Even the horse meat he cooks tastes better than anyone else’s. Tell me, is that the sort of thing one learns from books?”

His companion rubbed his frozen face. “Probably. Though who knows whether our children will ever have such a chance.”

“Who would come all the way out here to teach them?”

“Exactly.”

The two of them turned around. The soldier pointed into the city and said, “Whenever I grow tired of guarding this blasted place, I like to look at the smoke from the hearths. When I see that smoke, I know I am not merely guarding Peace County for the Great Tang. I am guarding all these hearths, too.”

The first strand of cooking smoke rose slowly.

A new day had begun.

In the rear courtyard of the county office, Cao Ying carried in a large earthen jar to the dining room.

Wang Lao'er was kneeling there, already impatient.

Yang Xuan was giving instructions to the old rogue.

“...We need to make the most of the momentum, go mix with them, and figure out what is happening in the city.”

“Breakfast is ready.”

Everyone took their seats, and Yi Niang began handing out the food.

The horse meat had been stewed until it was soft and tender, and it tasted pretty good. With a few flatbreads, it made for a generous breakfast.

The old rogue disliked horse meat, so he tried to tempt Wang Lao'er. “Lao'er, give me your dried meat, and I’ll give you all the horse meat. Look at this—so much of it. You’d be getting a huge bargain.”

Wang Lao'er glanced at the horse meat in his bowl and hesitated. “Your meat doesn’t taste good.”

“It does.”

“Then I’ll try some.”

“Help yourself.” The old rogue was secretly delighted.

“You said so?” Wang Lao'er was unconvinced.

The old rogue smiled with the kindly expression of a cat that had a mouse firmly in its claws. “The young master can vouch for me.”

Wang Lao'er picked up a lump of horse meat and ate it. Then he said, dissatisfied, “It’s not good. I’m not trading.”

The old rogue: “...”

Yi Niang said unhappily, “Serves you right!”

Wang Lao'er’s fixation on meat was baffling. Even Yang Xuan found it curious and asked, “Why do you like meat so much, Lao'er?”

Wang Lao'er looked up. “Mother said that anyone who keeps giving me meat is a good person.”

Keeping him supplied with meat, then!

Yang Xuan felt a sudden pressure.

After breakfast, he told Yi Niang to rest at home, sent Cao Ying ahead to handle official business, and took Wang Lao'er with him to inspect the city.

By then, the households in the city were all eating breakfast.

Most people stood outside their doors with bowls in hand, eating while chatting with their neighbors.

“It’s the magistrate.”

Everyone held their bowls and watched Yang Xuan approach.

The sudden silence frightened a child so badly that he stared at Yang Xuan with fearful eyes, bowl in hand.

Yang Xuan walked right up to him.

Everyone stopped eating.

Yang Xuan produced something and placed it in the child’s bowl, then patted the boy on the head and smiled. “Such a clever child.”

After Yang Xuan had gone on, the child’s father looked down.

“It’s dried meat!”

“It’s dried meat!”

“The magistrate really is approachable.”

“The magistrate can fight horse bandits to the death. Of course he isn’t like those flashy frauds from before.”

“Exactly!”

Listening to the talk behind him, Yang Xuan’s mouth curved slightly.

Wang Lao'er looked aggrieved. “Young master, that was my dried meat.”

“I’ll give you two pieces later!” Yang Xuan said grandly.

“Greetings, Magistrate.” Qian Mo had also come to inspect the city.

“You arrived just in time. Take me to see the wounded brothers.”

Yang Xuan then visited the injured soldiers. When he learned that there was not enough medicine, he ordered, “Send men to the prefectural office. Even if you have to seize it, bring the medicine back.”

Turning to Qian Mo, he said, “They are all brave men. We cannot let them bleed and weep as well.”

“Magistrate...”

A soldier injured in the leg was choked with emotion. “With words like that from the magistrate, it was worth it for us.”

“Rest well and recover.” Yang Xuan bent down and patted his shoulder.

When he stepped outside, the Vermilion Bird said, “They would die for you.”

“I’m only putting myself in their place.”

Yet the men sent to the prefectural office returned empty-handed.

“There really is no medicine,” Qian Mo said with a sigh. “Forget it. Such is fate.”

Yang Xuan felt fury boiling in his chest. “Fate is something you seize for yourself! Where is the medicine?”

Qian Mo was silent for a moment. “The horse bandits have it. Those alien tribes have it too.”

“Why?”

“They can buy medicine from the Liao people, and the horse bandits can buy it as well.”

But not us!

Yang Xuan understood at once. “Chen Prefecture is too far from Chang'an. The people are poor, and merchants are unwilling to come here with goods to sell.”

“Yes.” Qian Mo had not expected this young county magistrate to see through the matter so quickly, and his heart could not help but fill with a little more hope for the future.

“The horse bandits, then?”

Yang Xuan returned to the county office.

There was hardly any official business in Peace County. With only two minor clerks, Hu Zhang and Zhen Siwen, along with Cao Ying, everything was managed with ease.

“Greetings, Magistrate.”

The three of them rose to salute him.

Yang Xuan nodded and went in.

“The wounded urgently need medicine. Moreover, the weather is growing colder, so the number of sick people in the city will surely rise. At present, the most urgent matter is finding medicine.”

Cao Ying was stunned. “That will be difficult.”

“Hard or not, it must be done.”

Yang Xuan took out a map and pointed at it. “On the left side of Peace County is the Jibo tribe. Directly ahead is the Washe tribe, and behind them is the Yuhu tribe. The closest is the Washe tribe.”

Cao Ying’s finger slid slowly across the map and came to rest on the Washe tribe. He looked up and asked, “Does the young master mean to obtain medicine from the Washe tribe?”

“Exactly.”

At midday that very day, word spread.

“The magistrate has gone in search of medicine.”

Cao Ying came out to calm everyone’s hearts.

...

Opposite Chen Prefecture lay Tanzhou of the Northern Liao, but the two lands did not share a border.

Between them stretched a broad expanse of grassland.

Where there was grassland, there were herdsmen, and in time those herdsmen became tribes.

With these alien tribes as a buffer, even if the Great Tang and the Northern Liao fell out, they could not easily wage war across the distance.

Thus these tribes became tools.

But tools had tempers too. The seven times Peace County had been broken was proof enough of that.

Four riders appeared on the road to the Washe tribe.

Ahead of them, a squad of scouts emerged.

“Stop!”

The four riders pulled up.

The scouts advanced slowly and surrounded them. The leader at their head wore helmet and armor, his eyes coldly fixed on them.

A youth.

A woman.

A fool who only grinned foolishly.

And the last one... astonishingly, a blind man.

The youth stepped forward and cupped his hands. “Greetings, honored sir.”

The leader stroked his tangled beard. Confusion flashed through his bloodshot eyes. His collar was exposed beneath his armor, caked with thick grime. Yang Xuan could even see lice crawling in and out of the folds.

The general narrowed his eyes at them.

“Where have you come from, and where are you going?”

Yang Xuan replied, “Honored sir, we come from the Great Tang and are preparing to go to the Washe tribe.”

The general reached inside his collar and scratched. He pinched with two fingers, and a faint popping sound followed. Looking pleased, he glanced at Yi Niang. “What are you going to the Washe tribe for?”

“To worship a god.” Yang Xuan pointed at the old rogue. “My teacher has spent thirty years feeling bones and has revealed too many secrets of heaven. That is why he is now blind. Some time ago, he received a divine revelation. The god who can free him is to be found in the north, so we have followed the divine command all the way here in order to worship.”

“Feeling bones? Divine revelation?”

The general narrowed his eyes at the old rogue. “Let me have a feel.”

Yang Xuan nodded. “Please roll up your sleeve.”

The general rolled up his sleeve. “There.”

The old rogue trembled as he extended a hand, then abruptly seized the general’s arm and began to feel upward with shaking fingers.

The general was startled and nearly jumped.

The old rogue’s hand gradually steadied, and he stroked the arm with exquisite gentleness.

Like the caress of a lover.

The old rogue suddenly frowned. “Why does this old man feel gooseflesh?”

“Ahem.” Yang Xuan coughed a few times. “That is the awe of the divine.”

“Humans only enjoy being touched by an admired member of the opposite sex. Touching between the same sex is repulsive.” The Vermilion Bird murmured, “Of course, there are exceptions...”

After a long inspection, the old rogue rolled his eyes and said, “Third-grade bones.”

The general frowned. “What does that mean?”

Yang Xuan smiled. “This way, please.”

The general came closer, and Yang Xuan studied him carefully.

“Third-grade bones are middling at best. By the way, sir, what sort of fate does this honored guest bear?”

The old rogue had forgotten this rehearsed part. Hearing the question, he blurted out, “A fate of longing through the autumn waters.”

As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He thought to himself that he should have said something worse!

How was the young master supposed to respond now?

Damn old rogue!

Yang Xuan paused, then laughed.

“Hahaha!”

His laughter was hearty.

Using that laughter, he swiftly gathered his thoughts.

“Honored sir... it seems there is some trouble in your household.”

As he spoke, Yang Xuan began counting on his fingers.

The general froze.

He got it right.

The general hesitated. “I would like to have my wife looked at.”

His wife?

The old rogue rolled his eyes. “Thirty-six.”

Yang Xuan quickly counted on his fingers, then suddenly raised his head. “Honored sir, your line has been difficult to continue...”

In an instant, the general’s face turned as white as paper.

“However... there is still a chance.”

Those words made the general overjoyed. “As expected, you are a master, a true master! Please, enlighten me.”

“This is a secret of heaven. And yet we are now on our way to seek forgiveness from the gods in bitter earnest. Alas!” Yang Xuan lowered his head.

“Say it,” the old rogue murmured.

Yang Xuan looked up and cast a worried glance at the old rogue. “Teacher... very well. The bridge of the honored guest’s nose sinks slightly, and his earlobes are thin and narrow. This is the sign of severed offspring. If you wish to change it, first, each year save one ox and one person, and continue for three years. Only then will children come.”

The general blinked. “Just that?”

Yang Xuan clasped his hands behind his back and looked at him. “The sins of a former life entangle this one. To break free without payment is utterly impossible. There must be redemption. Save one ox and one person each year, three oxen and three people in three years; that is the highest offering. Then your wish may reach the heavens. Do you understand?”

The general reached for his money pouch.

“Do not implicate us,” Yang Xuan said with a bitter smile, waving his hand. “To accept payment would be to reveal heavenly secrets for the sake of wealth. That is unforgivable. We seek only the gods’ forgiveness now. How could we possibly take your money?”

The last trace of the general’s doubt vanished. “Where are you going?”

“To the north.” Yang Xuan pointed straight ahead. “The gods dwell where there is the aura of a king. We travel by reading the signs of fate.”

“Is that not the khan’s territory?” the general said. “I will take you there.”

“Honored sir has military duties,” Yang Xuan declined, worried that the old rogue might not be able to keep rolling his eyes for much longer.

The general seized his hand. “What military duty could compare to this? Come.”

“Would that be proper?” Yang Xuan glanced at the old rogue.

The old rogue lifted his gaze to the sky.

And rolled his eyes.

The sky was a deep, clear blue.