Chapter 5

Qiushui’s funeral observances went on for six days. Blaming me for her death, Leng Yushu would not let me attend. I was glad of the leisure.

They clattered away in the front courtyard while I stayed in the rear, playing with cats and dogs.

On the seventh day, Leng Yushu, whom I had not seen for several days, came to my courtyard dressed in white.

“Whatever else, you were Qiushui’s sister. Her funeral procession leaves today. You ought to see her off.” For some reason, he had changed his mind and come expressly to fetch me.

I tossed the rest of my dried fish into the lake and rose calmly. “Very well. Let’s go.”

The front courtyard was deserted. Only Leng Yushu and Zhoudu were there. He wanted to elevate Qiushui to the status of wife, yet feared that others would see and he would lose face in Licheng. He could only hold her funeral in secret, behind closed doors.

At the entrance to the mourning hall, he quietly stopped outside.

I thought nothing of it and stepped over the threshold. “Monk Zhoudu, what an unusual funeral you’ve arranged. I’ve never seen realgar scattered around a mourning hall, or senluo flowers used in one.”

“These flowers grow only where I come from. Their centers are edible—sweeter than candied hawthorns. Would you like a taste, husband?” I plucked a ghostly blue senluo flower and held it out to Leng Yushu.

Frightened, he backed away. “N-no… No, thank you…”

I took a step forward and scuffed the realgar scattered on the ground.

Beside me, Zhoudu, who had been beating a wooden prayer block, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

“What’s wrong, Master?” I tilted my head at him.

“Nothing. A minor ailment. Thank you for your concern, madam.” Seeing me watching him, he waved his hands and headed out, urging Leng Yushu along. “Doctor Leng, it’s time. We must see Miss Qiushui off.”

“Oh—yes, of course.” Leng Yushu fumbled for the memorial tablet and followed close behind him out of the house.

Alone again, I returned to the pavilion in the rear courtyard.

I had barely sat down when a little black snake emerged from the lake and coiled around my reddened fingertips.

“Still hungry?”

He shook his head. His slender tongue lapped at my fingertips like a puppy’s.

“If you’ve had enough to eat, get back to work.” I tapped his little head. Looking aggrieved, he returned to the lake, glancing back at every step.

After Qiushui’s funeral, Leng Yushu seemed to avoid me deliberately. Whenever he had a moment, he went to Duye Temple.

Some time passed like this. Then he suddenly came to my room, took my hand, and looked at me tenderly. “My wife, I wasn’t myself these past few days. I didn’t mean to neglect you.”

“It doesn’t matter.” I looked at him, my eyes perfectly calm.

He paid no attention to my perfunctory answer. Stroking my hand, he let his gaze travel up from it until our eyes met.

“My wife, I want to make my third wish.” His voice was full of affection.

My eyes brightened. Now I was interested.

He gazed tenderly at me, his lips moving. “I want a child.”

“Granted.” After a brief moment’s thought, I agreed.

The night stretched on. Leng Yushu drifted through the dream I had woven for him.

I sat quietly on a stool, watching the expressions flit across his face. At times he looked entranced; at others, vicious.

After all these years, his talent for changing faces had only improved.

At some point, the little black snake slipped inside. “He only just teamed up with that old monk to hurt you, and you’re still agreeing to have his child? A spirit having a child with a mortal goes against Heaven’s law.”

I stroked his head. “You must be nearly healed. You can talk again.”

A little while earlier, Zhoudu had used Qiushui’s body to approach me. He had stolen something I wore and used it to find my cave.

Everything in this world had its natural counter, and mountain spirits such as myself, who had cultivated for many years, were no exception. Near the place where I lived, senluo flowers would grow—flowers that could subdue me specifically.

Zhoudu had gone to pick them, only to encounter the little black snake living in my cave. He had injured the snake, and the snake had bitten him in return.

The little snake tossed his head in displeasure.

“That old monk was Qiushui all along! Leng Yushu’s been spending so much time with him. Who knows what they’re plotting now? It can’t be anything good! How could you agree so easily? Do you even know? And besides, when our kind give birth, that’s when we’re most…”

Before he could go on and on, I interrupted softly. “I only promised to give him a child. I never said I would bear it myself.”

“If you’re well enough, go and watch the child.”

“Oh… All right…”

The little snake deflated at once and slunk away. As he left, he was still muttering, “Making a male snake incubate a baby every day. Who does that…?”

I sighed helplessly. I had never realized how much he talked.

Once he had gone, I breathed over my belly. Leng Yushu wanted a child. Then I would give him one.

He took me for a fox who knew nothing of the world. He thought a few sweet words would deceive me, just like in the stories.

But even if I knew nothing of the world, I had still cultivated for a thousand years. I was a thousand years his senior. How could I be so easily deceived?