Chapter Seventy-Seven: Coming of Age, Bidding Farewell to Youth

The cold and clear moonlight flooded the elegant guest courtyard. In the garden, Li Bai, slightly tipsy, slowly poured out half a cup of fine wine onto the ground. He glanced at his dispirited disciple, Lu Liao-liao, who was slumped drunkenly over the table, and let out a gentle sigh.

“Flowers bloom for a season, a man lives but a lifetime; life is bitterly short, and the world is unpredictable. Some people, you see, are sent to accompany us for a stretch, but cannot stay with us for a lifetime. In just a year of separation, both you and I, master and disciple, have suffered the pain of losing wife and child. Grief! Sorrow! They say at forty one is free of doubts, at fifty one understands Heaven’s will, but I, Li Taibai, still do not know what this so-called destiny truly is.”

By now, Lu Liao-liao had learned that his master’s wife in Yanzhou, Shandong, had passed away early in the year, and his junior fellow, Li Tianran, had gone missing. Master Li Bai, after searching in vain for days, had come to Liang Garden in Luoyang to admire the peonies and ease his heart, inadvertently creating the celebrated tale of buying a wall with a thousand pieces of gold.

“Master! Now I see, you really might be a celestial come down to earth. While I still wallow in this sea of suffering, enduring torment, you have already learned to let go, and even found yourself a young and beautiful new wife.” Lu Liao-liao lay sprawled over the table, taking another sip of wine, his words carrying a hint of discontent.

“Liao-liao, you’re mistaken. Your master hasn’t let them go, but has placed them in his heart instead. The departed are gone, the living must carry on. If you keep sinking into despair, you only bring pain to yourself and those around you. What good can come of it? Pull yourself together. You’re over twenty now, without mother or father—find an auspicious day, and I’ll conduct your coming-of-age ceremony. Then you’ll be truly grown. Some things you will come to understand in time.”

Li Bai sighed, gazing up at the crescent moon in the sky, then drained his cup in one go.

Three days later, the wedding was held as scheduled. After all the elaborate rituals, Lu Liao-liao, feeling rather aggrieved, led Bai Liangqi and, together with a group of young boys and children, performed the ceremonial bows to the newlyweds. After receiving a red envelope filled with copper coins, he wandered, feeling melancholic, to the front courtyard.

The banquet in the front courtyard was mainly for ordinary guests—neighbors and townsfolk. Toying with the copper coins in his red envelope, he idly observed the guests feasting and drinking. Among them, a timid, chubby youth, with a wide, ingratiating smile, was raising his cup to toast those nearby.

“And who are you, so bold as to sneak into the clan’s wedding feast for a free meal?” Lu Liao-liao stood behind the plump youth and shouted.

The boy jumped to his feet in fright, stammering, “I am a neighbor of the clan, really—I brought a gift, I did!”

“Oh? And what did you give, let’s hear it?” Lu Liao-liao pressed him.

“Just a small token, hardly worth mentioning. The sentiment matters more than the gift, truly!” The youth dared not turn his head, his face flushing as red as a monkey’s backside.

Lu Liao-liao slapped him heavily on the shoulder. “So, Third Brother, you’re getting more impressive by the day. So young and already so capable, yet you’re stooping to the tricks of loafers, sneaking in for a free meal.”

The boy spun around, patting his chest. “Second Brother, you nearly scared me to death! But I really did give a red envelope with two copper coins as a wedding gift—so I’m not just freeloading, right? By the way, what are you doing here?”

Lu Liao-liao sighed. “The groom is my master, Master Taibai, and the bride is my new mistress. Why do you think I’m here?”

Han Yougui, the chubby lad, slapped his forehead. “How could I be so muddleheaded! I forgot all about that. I’m sworn brothers with the immortal poet’s disciple—should have come openly for a grand feast!”

Lu Liao-liao dragged Han Yougui out from among the tables before he could embarrass himself further. “How long have you been hungry this time? Come, I’ll take you to eat properly.”

In the small courtyard where Lu Liao-liao was staying, he watched Han Yougui devouring the food ravenously, like a starving ghost reborn, and felt a pang in his heart.

“I remember Emil once gave you all her copper coins. You spent them all so quickly?” he asked.

Han Yougui, clutching a roast chicken in one hand, patted his chest with the other. “Those coins my sister gave me—I haven’t spent a single one! By the way, where is Sister Emil? I haven’t seen her.”

Lu Liao-liao felt a lump in his chest. Only after a long pause did he manage to say, with difficulty, “Your sister Emil has passed away, along with my unborn child. They were poisoned at the Ten-Li Pavilion outside Youzhou City.”

Half a roast chicken fell from Han Yougui’s lips. With greasy hands, he grabbed Lu Liao-liao by the chest. “What did you say?”

Eyes red, Lu Liao-liao recounted the whole story. Han Yougui burst into tears, pointing at Lu Liao-liao and cursing, “You useless fool! How could you fail to protect her? If I’d taken her from you, she wouldn’t have died so miserably!”

Lu Liao-liao let Han Yougui shake him fiercely, unable to reply.

Han Yougui shoved him away and dashed out.

“Where are you going?” Lu Liao-liao blocked his path.

“I’m going to avenge Sister Emil!” Han Yougui’s eyes were red as he glared at Lu Liao-liao.

“Avenge her? Whom will you seek revenge on? The all-powerful Imperial Censor Yang Zhao, or the completely untraceable assassin?” Lu Liao-liao shook his head bitterly.

“I’ll avenge her on that scheming military governor, An Lushan! If he hadn’t sent Sister Emil, such a delicate woman, to do that wretched spying, she wouldn’t have died so horribly.” Han Yougui stared north, toward Youzhou City, eyes burning with hatred.

“An Lushan commands two towns, with countless troops under his command. How do you propose to take revenge? Besides, Emil was offered to him by her own tribe, seeking his protection. She gave herself willingly for her people. Do you think she’d want you to seek vengeance against An Lushan?” Lu Liao-liao forced a bitter smile.

“You’re just afraid, that’s all,” Han Yougui said with contempt.

“Afraid? What is there to fear? A common man’s rage, blood spilled within five paces. But even if we died for vengeance, would it truly avenge Emil? Only by rising to high position and wielding real power can we truly change things,” Lu Liao-liao said, a fierce light flashing in his eyes.

“So he’s just a great general of the border towns. I’ll enlist in the army right now. I refuse to believe I, Han Yougui, cannot carve out my own future. One day, I’ll make those who killed Sister Emil pay in blood.” Han Yougui’s eyes blazed with fury.

“I think you’d better come back to Chang’an with me and plan things carefully,” Lu Liao-liao said, grasping Han Yougui’s arm.

“No! To me, Chang’an is a filthy, stinking cesspit. I’d rather fight my way forward, blade to blade, on the battlefield.” Han Yougui shook his head resolutely.

Without another word, Han Yougui left, never looking back. Seven days later, Lu Liao-liao underwent his coming-of-age ceremony.

After bathing and incense purification, Lu Liao-liao stood before a bronze mirror as Zhou Liuzi carefully combed his long hair, tying it atop his head into a proper topknot. Walking out from the east room, he saw his master, Master Taibai, and his new mistress, Zong Yueniang, seated with solemn dignity.

He knelt before them, and Li Bai bestowed the black cap, the leather ceremonial cap, and the nobleman’s cap upon him in succession, with grave admonitions at each stage. When the ceremony was over, the guests raised their cups in blessing.

Lu Jiu gazed absentmindedly at Lu Liao-liao’s solemn face, now cold and resolute, utterly changed from his former roguish, carefree self. The boy who had so often driven her mad with frustration had finally come of age.

Her heart pounded uncontrollably. Yet, seeing him like this, for some reason, she felt a twinge of sorrow and tenderness. Perhaps, as Sister Zong Yueniang had said, this infuriating, hateful fellow had long since taken up residence in her heart. Lu Jiu’s cheeks suddenly flushed crimson.

That night, in the moonlit courtyard, Li Bai for once abstained from wine. Slowly, he drew the sword Zhanlu and, gazing up at the bright moon, seemed almost to float from the ground.

“The Jade Capital stands in heaven, twelve towers and five city walls. Immortals touch my crown, binding my hair for long life.” As Li Bai recited the verses, Lu Liao-liao felt as if he were witnessing an immortal dancing with a sword beneath the moon.

In that place and time, Li Bai’s sword seemed to be the very radiance of the moon, present everywhere, like the beautiful full moon itself—reflected in the eye, yet passing through the very soul.

His robes fluttering, Li Bai landed lightly before the dazed Lu Liao-liao and patted him on the shoulder.

“This is the ‘Sword of Longevity’ I recently comprehended—it has already reached the threshold of the Celestial Sword. I now pass it to you as a gift for your coming of age. But I hope you will never have cause to use it.”

“Such a dreamlike, exquisite sword... It’s hard to imagine it could ever harm anyone,” Lu Liao-liao said, still lost in the vision.

“The more beautiful a thing is, the more it wounds without trace,” Li Bai said, his tone full of meaning.

“You mean Her Ladyship, the Imperial Consort? Just how beautiful is she, that a single poem for her got you banished from Chang’an, never to return?” Lu Liao-liao asked, curious.

“How to put it? When you try to describe her beauty, you find all words pale and powerless. A single glance and you’re lost, utterly entranced by her beauty, incapable of the slightest impure thought.” Li Bai pondered for a long moment, then shook his head, as if still unsatisfied with his description.

“Alas!” Lu Liao-liao sighed resentfully. “Master, your poem may have been satisfying for you, but it’s not just you—even my own official career has become rocky because of it!”

“You are a man now; your road is for you to walk. You can hardly blame your master for that.” Li Bai rapped Lu Liao-liao on the head in mock annoyance.