Ninety: Deep Fate, Shallow Fate

As Chen Yage stood lost in thought, a fit of rapid coughing broke the silence. Then came a little boy, chattering anxiously without pause, asking if everything was all right, what should be done, and how to manage.

The more Chen Yage listened, the more familiar that voice seemed. She felt certain she had heard it somewhere before. Suddenly, she slapped her thigh, and her eyes lit up. It was the very same boy who had stolen her silver. Recognizing that the voice came from behind her, she stood up and looked back. Behind her was an abandoned house. She crept inside, determined to catch the little wretch.

The house was quite large, but long abandoned and in a state of deep decay. Cobwebs clung everywhere, and the dust lay in such thickness that it seemed piled like dozens of sheets of paper. Aside from its size, it was scarcely better than a ruined temple.

Chen Yage lightened her steps as much as she could. Once she slipped through the doorway, the first thing she saw was the boy. He was crouching on the ground, and beside him lay a person in white. Since the boy blocked her view, she could not see the face of the one on the floor, but from the length of the feet she judged it must be a man. Women did not bind their feet in the Tang era, but even so, they would not have been so large.

Chen Yage braced herself against the doorframe and leaned in to peer inside. Inadvertently, she tore the thin paper lining the frame, making a faint ripping sound. The boy looked up and saw her. Fear and shock flickered across his face as he stammered, how could you be here? Do not come any closer.

He kept inching backward, yet never stopped shielding the person behind him.

“You little thief, you actually dared steal this young lady’s silver,” Chen Yage said, no longer hiding herself, and strode openly into the room.

As she advanced step by step, the boy grew more frightened. After a long, halting struggle, he managed only a single word.

“Where is the money?” Chen Yage held out her hand and demanded in a stern voice. Seeing that the boy hesitated for a long while without the least intention of returning the silver, she decided to teach him a lesson. Looking around, she saw nothing but straw.

At that moment, while Chen Yage turned her head, the boy seized the chance and bolted out of the house. Chen Yage hurried after him. Du Fu happened to arrive just then. Seeing her in such haste, he was about to ask what was going on, but Chen Yage said nothing and ran off in pursuit. Du Fu had intended to follow, but then he caught sight of someone lying in the room. Driven by curiosity, he went inside.

The man in white on the ground was none other than Li Bai. That night at Phoenix Shadow Tower, he had deliberately drunk himself into a stupor, and then, under the pretense of drunken madness, left the place. Who could have known that later, out on the streets, he truly would become drunk? Yet not so drunk as to collapse senseless. It was also that same night that he laid all his cards on the table with Xu Ziyan. Unfortunately, by then Chen Yage had already left. Had she lingered even a little longer, she would not have departed alone, but together with Li Bai.

That night, outside the gates of the Xu residence, Li Bai and Xu Ziyan spoke at length. He said he would marry her, though loving her was truly difficult. After all, a single heart had only so much room; once it had taken in one person, there was little room left for another. He promised Xu Ziyan that he would do everything in his power to make her happy, and that he would honor their agreement and enter the Xu household as its son-in-law. Xu Ziyan should have been pleased to hear this, and yet she could not stop her tears.

She loved Li Bai, but she did not wish to keep him at her side by such a method. A forced melon is never sweet, and red threads tied too tightly are easily snapped. If she could not hold him, why not let him fly? Xu Ziyan was a woman of exceptional cultivation and talent. Since childhood, she had devoured the Classics and was deeply versed in the teachings for women. To her mind, a woman ought to follow a man. At least, that was how she thought. So she decided to let go, and to fulfill Li Bai and Chen Yage.

Xu Ziyan took the initiative to propose ending the engagement, but Xu Youshi refused, insisting on punishing Li Bai. At that time Li Bai had searched for Chen Yage in Xiangyang, but had not found her. He guessed that Chen Yage had left Xiangyang because of his betrothal to Xu Ziyan, and he felt profoundly guilty toward Xu Ziyan as well. He was determined not to flee Xiangyang. Under the pressure of Xu Youshi, Xu Ziyan finally used sleep-inducing powder to knock Li Bai unconscious, then hired a boat that very night and sent him out of Xiangyang.

When Li Bai awoke, it was already the next day. Having gone far from Xiangyang, and with Chen Yage also gone from Xiangyang, there was little left there for him to cling to. Thus he no longer persisted in his attachment. Traveling north, he eventually reached Luoyang, but his silver had been stolen, and he had also caught a chill. Fortunately, Qin Qin saved him. Qin Qin was the very boy who had stolen Chen Yage’s silver. The connection went back to when Li Bai first arrived in Luoyang and gave Qin Qin a steamed bun. Qin Qin had saved him only to repay that kindness, and the reason he had stolen the silver was to buy medicine for Li Bai. Unfortunately, Chen Yage knew nothing of any of this.

Seeing Li Bai lying motionless on the ground, Du Fu gathered his courage and leaned in to check his breathing. Thankfully, he was still alive, Du Fu thought silently. He reached out and touched Li Bai’s forehead, then quickly drew his hand back.

“So hot!” Du Fu exclaimed with a sigh.

From the look of it, this must have been caused by a chill. Could it be that the boy stole the silver solely to buy medicine for him? Du Fu thought to himself. Then Li Bai on the ground suddenly knit his brows. Seeing how much pain he was in, Du Fu no longer hesitated. He helped Li Bai up and carried him on his back. There was no time to find Chen Yage; the doctor had to come first. After all, this was a matter of life and death.

Carrying Li Bai, Du Fu hurried on at a brisk pace, turning left and right through the streets, until at last he spotted a clinic and rushed inside at once.

The physician took Li Bai’s pulse, then brought out a thick, black, paste-like medicine and placed it in Li Bai’s mouth to hold. Du Fu stood quietly to one side while the doctor wrote out the prescription and said, “Why did you only bring him now? If you had delayed a little longer, even Hua Tuo himself might have been helpless!”

“Doctor, then as for him now...”

“So long as he drinks my prescription, the fever will gradually subside. But he has been running a high fever for some time. This chill did not set in just yesterday or today, did it?” When Du Fu gave no reply, he went on, “His body is very weak right now. Once the fever breaks, he must be nourished properly.”

Du Fu followed him out, the medicine prescription in hand, his face troubled. He was staying at an inn at the moment, and it was most inconvenient to decoct medicine there. Moreover, he did not even know what manner of person Li Bai was, and for a time he had no idea what to do. At last he took a jade pendant from his waist and handed it to the doctor, saying earnestly, “Doctor, this man is my elder brother. He had a disagreement with our father at home and, in a fit of temper, ran away. Unexpectedly, he came down with this chill. But my brother has always been stubborn. Even if he is ill, so long as the quarrel with our father remains unresolved, he will not return home. So I beg you to let him recover here under your care. I will come every day to see him. This jade pendant has been handed down in my family for generations and is worth a fortune. I offer it as payment for treating my brother. Please take good care of him!”