Chapter 115: Liu Bo and Sima Nandi

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Wang Ge slept poorly that night, because there was now an admirer of hers in the carriage: Sima Nandi. This young lady had probably acquired a bad habit while being weaned. She could not fall asleep unless she picked at Wang Ge’s face. With that plump little finger of hers, she would scrape at Wang Ge’s eye, then prod the bridge of her nose, then work up and down along her philtrum, as though giving her a full facial examination. How exasperating.

At dawn, the mountainside trees reflected the morning light in pale green. A hunting falcon rested on a branch. When Wang Ge climbed down from the ox cart, she tilted her head back in delight. In both her lifetimes, this was the first time she had ever seen an eagle from such a close distance.

The majestic general of the skies stared back at her. Its tail lifted slightly…

And a foreign object fell.

Unable to contain herself, she gave a soft cry. “Oh, my heavens!”

Even eagles pooped.

“Fellow Disciple Wang.” Bian Zi stood at the rear entrance with her hair hanging loose, full of energy.

The fellow disciple who had been picking at Wang Ge’s face sat up as well, rubbing her bleary eyes.

After Wang Ge carried Bian Zi down, a maidservant came over with a large cloth sack and set it before Sima Nandi. When the sack was opened, it was filled with garments of every color.

“My lady,” the maidservant asked, “which one will you wear today?”

Wang Ge and Bian Zi exchanged a smile and went to wash.

Half an hour later, the party broke camp. One by one, the hunting falcons grew busy again. They served as guides, calling out to warn of wild beasts and to indicate which paths were easier to traverse. Every time Wang Ge looked up, there were never fewer than five falcons in her field of vision.

If Red Sky were to guide them instead… Never mind. It would certainly lead them straight to a fishpond.

The mountain looked near, but the road was long.

It was nearly noon before they had covered more than half the distance. People had been sent down from the mountain to meet them. From a few scattered words, Wang Ge could tell that they did not belong to the Xie clan.

As the path wound upward, Xie Ju, walking ahead, turned back and smiled at Wang Ge.

Wang Ge saw him and smiled in return.

Ahead of Xie Ju walked Sima Nandi, wearing a short hemp jacket for the first time. The fabric, however, was fine and costly ramie. Her hair had been bound up beneath a headcloth, also woven from fine ramie silk. Ten paces ahead of Sima Nandi were Master Zuo and Master Guo.

The two masters were remarkably robust. They climbed the entire mountain path alongside the retainers, only occasionally lending each other a hand. Among those who had come down to meet them was a man about their age, evidently a close friend of theirs. He had a stern, upright face, and when he did not smile, he seemed even more imposing. His bearing was entirely different from that of Master Zuo and Master Guo.

“Grandfather!” Bian Zi called to him from the back of a maidservant. The little girl was just behind Wang Ge.

Bian Wangzhi looked over, waved at his granddaughter, and did not come any closer.

So this was Fellow Disciple Bian’s grandfather! Wang Ge thought to herself: He must be an official. Even when waving to his own granddaughter, he did not smile. He was far more imposing than Magistrate Huan.

At noon, everyone stopped for only two quarter-hours. They ate the leftover wheat cakes prepared during the morning meal.

They continued climbing. Another maidservant took over carrying Wang Ge. These servants had all been carefully selected by the Xie clan, and none was inferior to the retainers when it came to climbing. Their steps were so steady that Wang Ge began to doze on the woman’s back.

The beginning of the Hour of the Monkey in the afternoon.

They had finally arrived!

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The first thing Wang Ge saw was an endless stretch of green folding screens. All the young students climbed down from the servants’ backs and entered the long passage between the screens with the procession. There were no weeds or trailing vines beneath their feet; everything had been cleared and leveled. Every few dozen paces, the screens opened, allowing people to pass through lengthwise.

At the end of the screens, the sloping cliff rose gradually. Beneath it, people hurried back and forth in numbers several times greater than before. Some were felling trees or hauling materials; some were constructing plank roads; others carried iron tools and continued upward along the cliff.

Dust filled the air. Fortunately, the screens blocked most of it.

There must have been more than one group of forces here before them. One could distinguish them simply by observing the screens, which differed in color and construction.

Sure enough, the young students were led to the section occupied by the Xie clan. There were eleven small pyramid tents arranged there. Each tent was enclosed on three sides and open on one. Straw mats covered the ground, with a small table placed upon each mat. The tents were all different shades, none repeating, and each student was assigned one.

Wonderful. She would not have to endure Sima Nandi picking at her face that night.

Wang Ge deliberately waited until the other students had chosen their tents, then entered the one beside Xie Ju’s. Sima Nandi came running over and asked with a smile, “Xie Ju, can I trade places with you?”

Then why had you chosen so quickly in the first place?

Xie Ju sighed, picked up his chest, and moved to the tent at the very edge. He had wanted to stay beside Wang Ge, but apart from her, he was the oldest—and he was a boy. How could he compete with a female disciple for a place?

Sima Nandi next went to the tent on Wang Ge’s right and asked another disciple who had just turned four, “Can you trade places with Fellow Disciple Bian?”

“All right.” The child did not seem to mind, but the chest stood as tall as he did. A retainer had carried it over earlier, and he found it difficult to lift on his own.

Wang Ge had been craning her neck to watch. She hurried over, helped him lift the chest, took his hand, and followed Sima Nandi to Bian Zi’s tent.

Bian Zi loved cleanliness. She was in the middle of sweeping the straw mat with a little broom, and the moment she saw what was happening, she understood.

Wang Ge had only just carried out Miss Bian’s chest when Sima Nandi gave a cry of alarm. Her short legs flew, and she sprinted back to her own tent.

Following the direction in which Sima Nandi had been staring, Wang Ge looked over in surprise.

Liu Bo stood ahead, watching her.

He held two rolls of bamboo slips in his hands. Like many of the boys, he wore plain white hemp clothing. Yet he alone resembled a cold lotus blooming on a sheer cliff. Wherever he appeared, he drew the eye at once and inspired admiration.

“Elder Brother Liu.” Meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign land, Wang Ge went forward gladly. Still unable to believe it, she asked, “When did you arrive?”

“I came with Qinghe Estate the day before yesterday. When I heard that the craftsmen and students from Nanshan Lodge had arrived, I knew you would be among them.”

After speaking, Liu Bo smiled down at the much shorter Bian Zi.

Bian Zi smiled back, thinking: This elder brother is truly handsome. If Red Sky ever took human form, he would surely look like such an outstanding young man.

Xie Ju came over and gave Wang Ge a meaningful glance.

Wang Ge understood. “Elder Brother Liu, these two are my fellow disciples, Xie Ju and Bian Zi. This is my… friend, Liu Bo.”

This time, they straightened their expressions and formally exchanged bows.

Afterward, Xie Ju said excitedly, “So you are the child prodigy Liu Bo!”

“I am unworthy of that title. Young Master Xie, I have long admired your reputation.”

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Wang Ge was stunned.

Good heavens! A child prodigy? A prodigy admired by Tiger Cub, himself a prodigy? Elder Brother Liu was actually this famous?

“Cough!”

Sima Nandi appeared behind Liu Bo.

Wang Ge, Xie Ju, and Bian Zi all stared in astonishment.

In the short time that had passed, Sima Nandi had changed into a white top and red skirt. Even her shoes had been replaced with embroidered boots. She had removed her headcloth and fastened a small carved comb in her hair. Most astonishing of all, her eyebrows were unmistakably thicker and more arched than before.

“Lord Liu, it has been… many days since we last met. I am five years old now. I cough…”

Sima Nandi bowed as she stammered through her greeting. Her little face had turned bright red, and she twisted about shyly and coyly. She was being utterly affected.

Liu Bo returned the bow. “Greetings, young lady.”

“Hmph!”

Angrily, Sima Nandi turned and walked away. Her left foot caught on her right, and she stumbled two steps forward.

Oh… how humiliating.

Wiping away her tears, she ran back into her tent.

Xie Ju and Miss Bian knew that Wang Ge must have something to discuss with Liu Bo. One returned to his tent, while the other went to comfort Sima Nandi.

Liu Bo lowered his voice. “Come.”

Wang Ge followed him.

“The Xie clan did not tell you why you were coming here, did they?”

“No.”

“They were afraid that, given your ages, you might let the matter slip. Now that we have arrived, you may as well know. Three great clans have come here: the Huan clan, the Wang clan, and the Xie clan. The reason is that an ancient Yin ruin has been discovered. More exciting still, there is a tomb atop the ruins.”

Wang Ge was left reeling in the wind.

Tomb raiding?

So this was why she had come with these ancient people—to rob an even more ancient tomb?

Was that what he meant?

Folding screens: Also called passage tents, these were screens or tents used to shield people from wind and dust, and were generally very long.

Portable screens: Movable partitions carried on poles. A supporting base could be placed beneath them; they may be understood as smaller folding screens.

Pyramid tents: These tents were narrow at the top and broad at the bottom, like an overturned measure. They were commonly used by ordinary people in ancient times.

Young lady: A respectful form of address for an unmarried daughter of a feudal lord or noble family. Like “young master,” it was generally used in the third person; when spoken directly to someone, it could imply a certain distance.

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