Chapter 2: Bai Ke Volunteers to Lead the Way

The porter sitting by the fire turned his head at once and glanced sideways.

Indeed, not a single thread on this gentleman was damp.

The rain had been coming down so hard that even with a straw hat he had been soaked through; how could this man, after walking for so long, still have dry clothes?

The porter stared at Jiang She for a few breaths. Very soon he came to himself, and from then on dared not look directly at him again, only keeping his eyes on the firewood pile and the hem of cloth near the ground, glancing from time to time toward the rain beyond the temple to see whether it had lessened and they might depart.

Li Bai fell into thought.

His eyes grew brighter and brighter, so bright that he did not even notice when wine splashed from his cup.

Beside him, the Daoist Yuan Danqiu and Meng Haoran exchanged a look, their gazes likewise falling upon Jiang She's dry robes. Yuan raised Li Bai's already-filled cup and, with no outward change of expression, remained silent.

Jiang She smiled and said, "I had rain gear to protect me, so naturally my clothes did not get wet."

"Do you take me for someone who has never walked in the rain?" Li Bai said in disbelief. "The rain was slanting down. Even with something to shield you, the hems of your garments would be soaked. How could that be..."

"Taibai."

Yuan Danqiu cut him off.

He lifted the wine flask and poured Jiang She a cup.

"You have spoken so much, Jiang gentleman, and not yet moistened your throat. On such a damp day, it would be best to drink some wine first and drive out the chill." As he spoke, Yuan also instructed the servant boy beside him to prepare two more sets of bowls and chopsticks.

Li Bai laughed and raised his cup.

"It was I who was careless. I toast you."

They both drank it down in one swallow, and Jiang She found it all rather amusing.

The figures who had lived a thousand years before now sat before him, no longer merely a line of explanation on a page, but living people of flesh and blood, capable of surprise and curiosity.

Li Bai, Meng Haoran, and Danqiu sat before him.

Because of a sudden rainstorm, they had gathered together, drinking by the fire.

The firewood crackled and burned. Outside the temple, white rain leaped like beads; the spring mountains were green and faint, half veiled in mist.

When the servant boy had finished the broth and brought out the wine and dishes, the porter was too shy to take them. Forgetting his earlier suspicion and unease, he instinctively looked toward Jiang She. The other man gave a slight nod.

Only then did he inexplicably feel relieved. Following the example of this newly met, unfamiliar gentleman, he began eating as well, though he did not dare take much and only picked at the dishes nearest him.

Perhaps because they had talked along the road for so long, and had traveled together through the mountain path in the heavy rain, the porter felt an unconscious closeness toward Jiang She, and grew more at ease in his company.

The few of them ate and chatted idly.

First it was Yuan Danqiu, who mentioned that the emperor had widened the civil examinations and clearly intended to seek out talent, and asked whether Meng Haoran had any thought of going to take the test.

Li Bai sat cross-legged, holding his wine cup.

"Brother Meng could certainly try."

"Even those fools and mediocrities may enter court as officials; Brother Meng would surely come out first."

He himself was the son of a merchant, and those born to trade were barred from official office, so long ago he had abandoned any thought of the examinations.

Meng Haoran was more untrammeled than he: "The court admits no more than twenty men each year, and one must also submit one's essay beforehand. I have no one in the capital; it would be difficult indeed."

"Besides, to enter court and become nothing more than a louse-sized official, what is there to compare with the freedom we enjoy today?"

Li Bai leaned against the stone wall and occasionally picked at a few dishes. He had already drunk three cups of wine and was slightly intoxicated.

"If one ends up as a petty official, burying one's head in memorials and registers all day, there is indeed little pleasure in it."

Then he turned to Jiang She.

"I see that you have a remarkable bearing. I do not know who you are, but what brought you to Mount Lumen in search of immortals?"

Jiang She listened to them speak with easy composure.

"I have been away from my homeland too long. I lived in Shu for several years before, and this time I am traveling."

"Once, by chance, I came across a book and read the passage about Pang Degong meeting an immortal on Mount Lumen. The record in the book stopped only at the words that he never returned thereafter. I found the matter strange, so I came to see whether it was true."

"To travel a thousand li for a single word—what fine taste you have," Li Bai praised him.

Yuan Danqiu sat beside Li Bai, one hand holding a bowl. He had intended to fill it with meat dishes, but when he saw Jiang She seated nearby, he shifted his chopsticks and picked up only a few bites of vegetables.

He was a Daoist, and did not yet know Jiang She's background or taboos; it was best not to offend him.

Yuan asked, "Jiang gentleman, have you ever seen traces of immortals before? Pang Degong lived in Han times, and now centuries have passed. Even if the tale of his meeting an immortal were true..."

"How are we to know whether it is true or false?" Li Bai and Meng Haoran were curious, and even the porter beside them lifted his head.

This gentleman had many oddities about him. His bearing was clearly no ordinary thing, and he even seemed more like an immortal than the Daoist below who was bending his head over a steamed bun. That was what the porter thought to himself.

Thinking along those lines, he recalled that since meeting this gentleman, he too had encountered strange matters; the medicinal bundle on his back always seemed lighter than before, and nothing in the basket had gone missing.

All four were waiting for an answer.

It was not a difficult question. After pondering for a moment, Jiang She said, "If there truly had been an encounter with immortals, then any miraculous event must have left traces. One only needs to follow the clues."

Li Bai sighed.

"I advise you to give up that idea."

He spoke candidly: "To be honest, I have already lived on Mount Lumen for some time. I have wandered this mountain from end to end; every tree and blade of grass is fixed in my mind. Brother Meng is a local as well and has lived here for many years. Aside from its fine scenery, I have found no sign of anything strange about this mountain."

Jiang She smiled but said nothing.

Li Bai said, "If you truly want to verify it for yourself, today happens to be free. I know these woods and hills fairly well, so I can show you the way."

"As for the talk of immortals..." Li Bai paused, fixing his eyes on Jiang She's. "I fear I may have to disappoint you."

Jiang She showed no sign of disappointment and only thanked him.

"Then I shall trouble you to guide me."

After they finished eating, another two quarters of an hour passed. Seeing that the rain outside the mountain temple had lessened, Li Bai planted three sticks of incense before the temple as thanks to the mountain god for sheltering them for a time.

Jiang She said, "I shall also offer a stick of incense."

He borrowed incense from the servant boy and, facing the cracked, broken image in the mountain temple, long overgrown with moss, clasped his hands and bowed.

Li Bai was just about to ask, "Do you need fire?"

When he saw that the fragrant incense had already lit, wisps of green smoke rising and drifting up along the fissured deity statue.

"Did you bring a fire-tinder?" Li Bai asked, setting down the firewood he had picked up and bidding farewell to Yuan Danqiu and Meng Haoran. They had originally planned to go down the mountain at the hour of the goat to return for the birthday celebration, but Li Bai disliked such things and had run off halfway there.

"Yes."

Jiang She bade farewell to the others and took up the rain gear set aside nearby. Outside the mountain temple, only a hazy mist of rain remained. The clouds parted and the sun emerged; birds settled among the woods, shaking the rain from their feathers as they called out.

He and Li Bai set out together along the mountain path.

After the two left, the others remaining in the temple finally began to speak.

Yuan Danqiu laughed. "Taibai slipped away. He has never liked that old lady of the Lu family."

Meng Haoran also laughed.

He looked toward the rugged mountain path by which the two had departed, already unable to see their figures. "That Jiang She does not seem like an ordinary man. Taibai has gone with him to seek immortals, though I wonder what they will actually find."

Yuan Danqiu thought it over as well.

"I feel the same. I fear this Jiang gentleman has some miraculous Daoist art about him, otherwise why would the rain not touch his clothes? Perhaps he is a high master of our Daoist order."

The porter listened, his heart in turmoil, and also spoke of the strange incident from earlier.

"When we first met Jiang gentleman, we saw that he had brought no rain gear, so we asked him to come to the temple and take shelter from the rain. Later, when he saw how hard it was for us to carry the medicine, he offered to shield us from the rain. How was it that we had never seen him carrying an umbrella before..."

"Strange indeed. After Jiang gentleman opened the umbrella, not a drop of rain struck us at all. At the time I thought his umbrella must simply be very large."

After hearing this, Yuan Danqiu also found it odd.

He said with regret, "This is truly an extraordinary man, perhaps one of those recluses of the mists and clouds who dwell in seclusion upon the mountains. If not for having to go celebrate the Lu family's birthday, I would have wished to go up the mountain with you."

Meng Haoran also felt some regret, but business came first.

"When Taibai returns, we should question him carefully."

"Indeed, we should ask more!"

The rain had completely stopped.

The group had gathered because of the rain. Now that they had rested a while and the downpour had ceased, they ought to take their leave.

The porter opened his basket, intending to sort through the medicinal herbs inside, shake off the rainwater, pick out the good ones, and go down the mountain to sell them at the apothecary.

But when he looked inside, he found it utterly dry, not a trace of rainwater anywhere. The roots, stems, and every leaf of the herbs looked as fresh as if they had just been gathered, with not a single mark of compression or breakage, and no sign of being drenched by rain.

It was as though a hand had swept away all the rainwater, making even withered sprouts and leaves return to spring.

They were entirely top-grade goods.

With a thud, the basket fell to the ground.

The porter froze.

The other two, hearing of it, came over to look.

After the situation was made clear, in the mountain temple there remained a Daoist, a scholar, and a porter. All three stared wide-eyed at the old basket, exchanging looks in mute astonishment.

At length, the three left in succession.

No one noticed that inside the mountain god temple, the incense on the altar suddenly burned much faster, and the green smoke rose straight upward.

The cracks upon the mountain god statue slowly began to spread.