Chapter 139 Part 2

 

Yuwen Zhi galloped on the wild road outside the city. The pagoda gradually showed its hazy shadow in the night.

Because of the war, the pagoda, which used to light up all night to show the way for night travelers, had been dark for a long time, and the guards were nowhere to be seen. But tonight, a few dim lights were shining through the eyes of the pagoda on the bottom floor, which look particularly conspicuous in the rolling black wilderness.

When Yuwen Zhi arrived in front of the pagoda, he jumped off his horse, pushed open the two half-open doors, and rushed in.

An old man stood with his back to the pagoda gate, hands clasped behind him, face slightly upturned, quietly gazing at the mural on the pagoda wall. His hair and beard were streaked with gray, and he wore a patched grey robe and simple cloth shoes. By the corner of the wall lay a traveler’s bundle, a straw rain hat, a cane shaped like a sword, and a gourd of wine. These few belongings were all worn and weathered with use. Apart from these, there was nothing else.

Yuwen Zhi came to an abrupt halt, suppressed his pounding heartbeat, and stared at the back of the old traveler in front of him. The man, hearing the sound, slowly turned. A pair of gentle eyes, laced with quiet strength, met his, lingering on his face for a moment. Then, the elder spoke softly, almost to himself: “Compared to when I met you here before… you’ve grown so much taller. You truly look like a man now.”

As soon as Yuwen Zhi heard this old voice, his whole body trembled and he could hardly stand.

“Seeing Shizi reminded me of my little Yu’er. I remember this mural was painted by her.”

The old traveler took another look at the murals in the pagoda under the dim light and spoke.

“Some time ago, I was forced to part ways with her due to other matters. Now, that business remains unresolved, and I hear she’s in Chang’an as well. It’s been a long time since we last met—I don’t know how she’s been, but I’ve missed her dearly. Seeing that the fighting here has finally quieted down, I thought I might go to Chang’an to see her while I can still walk, so she wouldn’t worry about me either. Unexpectedly, I heard that Shizi had a dispute with the court again. Thinking back on the few times we’ve met before, Shizi, I took the liberty—perhaps beyond my place—to invite you here.”

The old traveler’s eyes, with a hint of kind smile, fell on Yuwen Zhi’s face opposite him.

It was a kind of kindness that was bright and insightful, kept to one’s simplicity and able to embrace all things.

“If Shizi has any dispute with her, or if she has done anything wrong to you, you can tell me. When I go to the capital to meet her, I will try to talk to her on your behalf.” The old traveler said slowly.

Yuwen Zhi could no longer care about pride or dignity. He lunged forward and dropped to his knees before the old man, throwing his arms around the old man’s legs.

“I don’t accept it! She was too cruel to me!”

He looked up at the man before him, eyes bloodshot, his voice choking with emotion. When he tried to speak again, the grief seemed too overwhelming—his throat tightened, and he couldn’t get the words out. His face flushed deep red with the strain.

The old traveler couldn’t help but shake his head slightly, took out his wine gourd, pulled out the cork and handed it over.

“It’s hard to get wine here because of the war. There still have half a pot of good wine here, but I can’t bear to drink it. I didn’t expect that I started coughing again these few days. If little Yu’er knew, she might not be able to sleep well again. Thinking that I didn’t want to let her worry, I endured it. If you don’t mind, have a few sips.”

Yuwen Zhi took it gratefully, sat on the ground, tilted his head back and gulped down most of the drink in one breath. After he calmed down, he called out “Grandfather”.

“Grandfather, have you ever heard of the Grand Archery Ceremony? I prepared day and night to win this Grand Archery Ceremony, but the night before the event, she came to me and asked me to give up the opportunity the next day! What right did she have to deprive me of my chance? It was clearly an imperial decree issued by the emperor to everyone! Anyone can participate, and I won the qualification! But she wouldn’t let me go! I was extremely reluctant, but I didn’t dare to disobey her. I was miserable until dawn that night. Then I learned that my father’s purpose in letting me marry her was in order to prepare for a rebellion. So it’s all right…”

He nodded and took another sip.

“I didn’t want to obey my father’s wishes, so I cut off my arm to help her—”

He lifted up the arm that was cut that day and showed the old man the scar that still remained. As the old man hissed in surprise and sympathy, his eyes became redder.

“Grandfather, you saw it, I didn’t lie to you! I was in so much pain that I almost died, but she only asked someone to bring me medicine. She didn’t even want to see me! A few days later, she imprisoned me again! I couldn’t even step out of the gate of the Jinzouyuan. All I could see every day were the wild geese flying over my head…”

The wine in the gourd was quite strong and he gradually got drunk. When he said this, it was unknown what he was thinking of, but a crooked sneer appeared on his face.

“She is so considerate to me! She was afraid that I would be lonely, so she specially left a few maids to serve me well…”

The old traveler listened carefully, sighed and nodded: “She is wrong to do that. What kind of man does she think you are?”

Yuwen Zhi choked up.

“I spent my days drunk and senseless. Perhaps she had finished her affairs, or perhaps she suddenly remembered that I might still be of use to her—so she had a moment of kindness and recalled I was still alive, and came to see me. I was angry and refused to see her, and she really never showed up again…”

Yuwen Zhi drank all the wine and wiped his eyes with his sleeve.

“She didn’t care whether I lived or died. My father had another son, and it was clear that he didn’t want me anymore. That time… it was the most painful period of my life. Every day was torment. I longed so desperately for her to come see me again, even if just to comfort me with a single word. And finally, she did come—but only because she had made a deal with my uncle. She let me go back, just so he would turn to the court’s side…”

Yuwen Zhi could no longer hold back, and under the influence of drunkenness, he hugged the sleeve of the old traveler nearby and burst into tears like a sad child.

“I am just a tool she uses…”

The old traveler kept shaking his head and sighing, patting him on the back gently. Yuwen Zhi cried for a while, then suddenly raised his head again, gritting his teeth and said, “I liked her so much. If she had treated me even half as well as she did others—no, not even half, just a fraction of that—I would’ve gladly died for her! Now that that surnamed Pei is in trouble, she must be very anxious and wants me to save him. In order to coax me, she drew a picture for me early on, saying that she kept the wall fish I gave her before, and explained why she didn’t come to see me. I don’t believe it! She never treated me that well! It was all just tricks to coax me, to deceive me! She’s clever and ruthless—she knew exactly how to control me! I hate myself for being so useless. I should’ve just ignored her, never listened to her sweet words. To hell with the country, to hell with duty! I just want to live as I please, to have what I want! I really wish I could be like my father, rebel, break into Chang’an, break into the palace—”

He suddenly paused and stopped.

The old traveler looked at Yuwen Zhi, who was drunk and had no restraint in his words, and said, “Break into the palace, and then what? Seize her and force her to become yours?”

Yuwen Zhi stared blankly at the old traveler, and slowly, like a deflated puffer fish, he collapsed.

“She will regard me as a monster and will definitely kill me…” he murmured.

“Young man, you are extremely confused, you are not confused to the end!”

As Yuwen Zhi stared at him in bewilderment, the old traveler said, “You hate my granddaughter for being ruthless, but if she does everything you want and shows you mercy, then so what? Isn’t it just to give you more hope, to make you feel that one day, you will be able to win her favor as you wish?”

The old traveler laughed and shook his head.

“Grandfather tells you that my little Yu’er is the prettiest and best girl in the world. She has been like this since she was little. Now that she has grown up, it’s only natural that you like her, others like her, and many men in the world like her.”

The old traveler’s tone was filled with a hint of pride.

“But she is not a person who drags her feet. Don’t be fooled by her quiet appearance. She is very opinionated and may not even listen to me. If she treated you this way, she surely had her reasons. If you truly love her, then you should respect her. But instead, you demand that she treat you a certain way, and when things didn’t go as you wish, you throw a tantrum and use a matter that concerns the lives of million people to try and force her into giving you a response—”

The old traveler sighed again, shaking his head.

“There’s no need for me to say more. You hate her so much that you gnashed your teeth when you mentioned her. But when you returned, though you wore no chains, you didn’t follow the late County Prince’s will. Instead, you did the right thing. That alone proves it: what is right and what is wrong—you know it better than anyone. What you can’t get over is just the hurdle in your heart.

“The mountains rise high and rivers stretch vast, the winds surge and the clouds churn. Only by jumping out of the ground three feet high and standing high can you see so far. A young man need not always perform heroic deeds, but he must never walk himself into a dead end. Rather than let anger lead to ruin, why not simply do what must be done? That way, should you meet her again one day… she might just see you in a new light.”

Yuwen Zhi stood motionless, stunned.

“How about this.” The old traveler pondered for a moment, “Grandfather will give you a small gift as a commemoration of our meeting today.”

“Grandfather is telling you, this is something that the young master from the Pei family doesn’t even have. You are the only one in the world who has it, so don’t let anyone know.”

“What… what is it?”

Yuwen Zhi’s heart skipped a beat and he felt excited. At this moment, he felt drunk, but he held on and refused to close his eyes.

“You go to sleep, and you’ll know when you wake up.” The old traveler said with a smile. Then he stood up, coughed a few times, and walked towards his luggage on the ground.

Yuwen Zhi was reluctant to fall asleep, but he could not resist the drunkenness and finally dozed off. When he woke up, he found that the sky was already bright in the pagoda. The night had passed and it was almost dawn.

He held his aching head and sat up from the ground. An old piece of clothing covering his body slipped off. He was dazed for a moment, and suddenly remembered everything that happened last night. He suddenly came to his senses and hurried to find the old traveler.

The still dim morning light shone through the pagoda’s eyes. But the pagoda was empty except for him. If it weren’t for the few candles on the wall and the clothes covering his body, he would have thought that his chance encounter with her grandfather last night was just a dream.

He suddenly jumped up from the ground, ran out of the pagoda gate to look around, but saw only the dim morning light and the vast wilderness. Where was the figure of the old man from last night?

Yuwen Zhi stood still in the field for a long time, until the east was getting bright and the sun was about to rise, and suddenly thought of the scene before he fell asleep last night, and walked back inside. When he reached the gate of the pagoda, his steps stopped.

A beam of the newly risen morning sun suddenly pierced through the pagoda on his side, casting its light onto the wall opposite.

He remembered that there was originally an empty wall there, but at this moment, a new painting suddenly appeared.

Slowly, he walked towards it. In the center of the painting was a stream of water, vast and winding like a ribbon. Misty trees and clouds lined its banks, like something out of a dream. At the end of the river bank, a woman who was more beautiful than a fairy slowly emerged from the water like a blooming lotus. She wore heavenly robes, ribbons billowing like windblown silk, her feet lightly treading on cloud and water, slowly flying away. As she moved, her garments stirred clouds of mist, which circled and swirled about her, vying to kiss the hem of her skirt.

She was about to fly away, but she was looking back slightly, with a smile on her face, and a pair of familiar bright eyes looking in the other direction of the painting. There was no one in that place, only a clump of trees by the river. However, the viewer seemed to be able to see at a glance that there was a person who was reluctant to say goodbye there.

The morning sun outside the pagoda became brighter and brighter, finally completely illuminating the entire painting. It was so dazzling that it almost captivated people and made them enter the painting.

There was no signature on the painting, just inscription of a few lines of small characters.

“A fleeting smile by the waterside—where in this world does true feeling not abide.”

“In imitation of Gu Changkang’s ancient painting, portraying Cao Zhi’s Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River, gifted to a young friend.”

Yuwen Zhi stared blankly for a long time. In the end, unable to hold back, he slowly sank to his knees before the wall—as if in reverence—pressing his face deep to the ground, and remained there, motionless, for a long time.

“County Prince! County Prince!”

At this time, there was a chaotic sound of horse hooves and shouts outside. Li Dalu and his men finally found this place, rushed in, and saw this scene, and was shocked.

Yuwen Zhi slowly got up from the ground, his back facing the people behind him. He stood still for a while, then turned his head and said: “Uncle, follow the order of the court and lead the troops to attack Zhongdu!”

After he finished speaking, he pushed everyone away, walked out of the gate door and left.

“Where are you going?”

Li Dalu came back to his senses from his surprise, chased after him and asked.

“I have somewhere else to go.”

He responded, without looking back, and strode away.

Previous     TOC     Next