088 The Legendary Sage of Poetry

Chen Yage was now full of resolve but short on strength. She wanted to help the man in black, yet her body would not allow it. Leaning against the corridor, she watched him trade blows with Iron Head.

Suddenly, Iron Head was kicked down at her feet. Chen Yage froze. In a flash, he sprang up from the ground and reached for her throat, but before his hand could get close, the man in black had seized it tightly.

The man in black’s eyes turned sharp. He yanked forward, and Iron Head crashed into the window. Then, with a swift counterkick, Iron Head was brought to his knees beneath him. The man in black walked toward Chen Yage, his fair face taking on a faint and inexplicable sadness in the moonlight.

“Go on, leave quickly,” he said softly.

For some reason, Chen Yage felt an unaccountable fondness for this man. So wherever he went, she followed behind him.

“Why do you not return home?” the man in black asked her in confusion.

Chen Yage shook her head and stared at him with wide, unblinking eyes. She muttered a few sounds, pointed to her own mouth, then glanced back at Iron Head and Liu San. She did not know whether the man in black understood her meaning, but she herself did not know how to explain it.

The man in black strode directly toward Iron Head. Extending a hand, he said coldly, “Hand over the antidote.”

“I don’t have any antidote.” Liu San supported Iron Head as they retreated step by step. The man in black pressed forward step by step as well, tightening his grip on the sword in his hand. Seeing the situation turn against them, Liu San had no choice but to produce the antidote and offer it up with both hands. Begging for mercy, he said, “Sir, please spare us. I’ll give you the antidote. I’ll give you all of it...”

Liu San’s hands trembled. The man in black took the small blue porcelain vial from him and handed it to Chen Yage. Chen Yage swallowed one of the pills in the bottle. After forcing it down, she waited for the moment when she could speak again.

A strange burning rose in her throat. The man in black noticed something was wrong. “What is it?”

Chen Yage gave a wry smile and shook her head. Gradually, the heat subsided. She felt much better.

Seeing that she was unharmed, the man in black turned and left. Chen Yage stood there, wanting to call after him, but no words would come. Watching him go farther and farther away, she finally shouted, “What is your name?”

“Du Fu.” His voice was carried off by the evening wind, yet Chen Yage heard those two words clearly, as though a bolt of lightning had split the sky. She stood rooted in place.

After a while, Chen Yage hurried after the direction in which Du Fu had gone. Fortunately, he had not gone far, so she caught up quickly.

“What else do you want?” Du Fu looked at her faintly, with no extra expression.

“Thank you,” Chen Yage said sincerely. “Do you know where this is?”

“Lingbi.” The answer was simple and concise.

Chen Yage nodded, half understanding, half not. After speaking, Du Fu turned and continued on his way. Chen Yage followed at his heels. Du Fu was puzzled. “Why do you not go home?”

“I have no home.” Chen Yage lowered her head. It was the truth. She had no home. If she ever had one, it was in another world. At least for now, she could not return.

Du Fu fell silent. Then he gave a soft laugh. “I wander the world at large, already away from home for many years. This too is not my home...”

“Then where are you going next?” Chen Yage interrupted him. Though it was rude to do so, politeness was sometimes worthless, especially with a stubborn-minded man from the past.

“Luoyang.” Du Fu answered without hesitation. “Why is the young lady so interested in my journey?”

Chen Yage smiled and shook her head. “I want to go to Chang’an. May I go with you? Once we reach Luoyang, I’ll go to Chang’an on my own. Rest assured, I can do anything, so I won’t be a burden to you on the road.”

“What relatives do you have in Chang’an?”

“None.” Chen Yage shook her head decisively.

“Then why would a woman like you go to Chang’an? The journey is long, and even after arriving there, where would you settle?”

“Chang’an lies beneath the Son of Heaven’s feet. With the Son of Heaven’s feet upon it, the empire is at peace. Surely there will be a place for me to take root.”

“Why are you so determined to go to Chang’an?” Du Fu still could not understand.

Chen Yage hesitated. She was not determined to go to Chang’an. Only, there was a voice in her heart repeating over and over: go to Chang’an, go to Chang’an. Perhaps she was still clinging to the hope that once she reached Chang’an, she might see Li Bai again. She still could not let him go.

Chen Yage smiled faintly. “As a subject of the Tang, what is wrong with wanting to witness the splendor of the empire’s most prosperous place? Or are you worried that, with the powerful and noble there, it would not suit someone like me, with not a single coin to my name and no family or friends?”

“I do not mean that. Since the young lady is determined, I have nothing more to say. Are you that trusting of me?”

Chen Yage had never considered this question. At any rate, Du Fu was a great poetic sage. Surely he was not some lecher. Besides, judging from his gentle bearing, he did not seem like such a man. So she could pat her chest and assure herself that traveling with Du Fu would be absolutely safe.

“I trust you. If you saw my true appearance, I believe you would have no improper thoughts.”

Du Fu looked somewhat bewildered. He did not quite understand what she meant. Chen Yage said, “Where is there water?”

So Du Fu took Chen Yage back to the inn, the very one where she was staying. Chen Yage fetched a basin of water and carefully washed her face. Once the makeup had mostly come off, she looked at herself in the mirror by the dressing table. The somewhat dark face reflected there seemed faintly unfamiliar. For the first time, Chen Yage felt that perhaps this was better. Ugly, yes, but at least safe.

Du Fu was indeed startled by her true face. But he had traveled widely and seen all manner of strange and bizarre things. So his surprise lasted only an instant before he quickly composed himself.

Chen Yage said, “Well? Did I frighten you?”

Du Fu shook his head. “Not really. But the difference between before and after is rather great.”

For some reason, Chen Yage was very pleased with his answer. Though the truth was not pleasant to hear, it allowed her to see herself clearly, to know herself.

“But no matter how you look at it, you are still a young lady. Why do you trust me so much?”

“Because I trust my own judgment of people. You are a good person, so I trust you.”

Chen Yage’s words made Du Fu laugh aloud. “The young lady flatters me too much. In life, one meets and parts wherever one goes; for you and me to meet is itself a kind of fate. Since you wish to travel with me, how could I refuse? There is only one thing I do not understand.”

“Please say it.” Chen Yage adjusted her hair. She had always felt there were too many ornaments on her head, pressing until her neck ached.

“Why were you afflicted by the Five Notes Dissolution? Those things are used specifically to control women of the pleasure quarters...”

Chen Yage cut him off again. “So you also think I am a woman of the pleasure quarters?”