Unintended Immortality

When Song You returned home, he noticed that the two talismans on the table were missing, but the note had a few more words added.

He picked it up and read, “I’ll strictly follow the immortal’s decree.”

“…” Song You shook his head. If he could be considered an immortal, then immortals would be quite ordinary.

Lady Calico had jumped onto the long couch when he took out half a string of copper coins and said, “Congratulations, Lady Calico. The first business deal was quite successful, and after several days of work, you’ve earned quite a bit.”

“How much is it?”

“You caught forty-six mice, and the steward promised ten wen per mouse. However, the gentleman said you were so impressive and greatly helpful that he gave us a little extra. We ended up with five hundred qian.”

“How much is five hundred qian?”

“…” Song You thought for a moment on how to explain. “Here, the rent for a house is the highest in the world. To stay here for a month costs one thousand qian, so five hundred qian can cover half a month.”

“Is that a lot?”

Lady Calico was very pleased to hear this.

Then Song You continued, “The steward also mentioned that the whole street is plagued by mice and will likely need you to help. We might really rely on you to stay in Changjing.”

Lady Calico became even happier. “Right!”

“It seems people really can’t do without cats, and can’t do without a good Cat God like Lady Calico.”

“Right!”

“This is your money, Lady Calico. Please accept it.”

“It’s for the rent.”

“Let’s keep it in this drawer for now.”

“Okay!”

“Since you worked hard all night, rest early. You might have to work again tonight.”

“Next time, don’t say that I can finish catching the mice in just one night!”

“Did it tire you out?”

“No!” The cat looked up at him with a serious expression. “It’s just that there are too many mice over there. I can catch a lot every time, but if I catch them all in one day, I can only eat one or two. It’s too wasteful. If it takes a few more days, I can eat more.”

“…” The cat was quite clever in its calculations.

Song You helplessly thought for a moment and said, “Then we’ll just tell them that catching all the mice in one night will tire you out, and we need to spread it over several days.”

“Tell them that...”

“Of course, we’re just tricking them.”

“Right!”

Lady Calico stared at him for a while, her eyes gradually becoming drowsy. She yawned and lay down, still keeping her eyes open, occasionally glancing at the pile of coins. She was very tired but happy, unable to fall asleep.

***

In the afternoon, someone indeed came looking for them.

Following the agreement with Lady Calico, Song You informed them that catching so many mice in one night would exhaust the cat, and that it might not be possible to catch all the mice in one go and might miss some of the mice. Therefore, he suggested spreading the work over five days. As for the fee, it was the same as with Official Liu—five hundred qian per session.

Thus, every afternoon, he would send Lady Calico out to work. In the morning, he would pick her up. Each night, Lady Calico would catch about seven to ten mice, eat one or two herself, and the rest would be fed to the city’s stray cats.

After a few days, when Song You went to pick up Lady Calico in the morning, he often encountered people from the noble families who were curious about the commotion. It seemed that these nobles had shared the amazing story with their friends, who didn’t believe it and came to see for themselves, and they were all greatly astonished.

He had not yet gained fame in Changjing as a Daoist exorcist, but Lady Calico had already become well-known among the scholars and gentry.

At the same time, he had not seen Heroine Wu for several days.

The heroine next door generally got up very early and left as soon as the sun rose, and he didn’t know where she had gone. In the evening, Song You had to send Lady Calico.

Recently, he had also developed a fondness for evening walks. The feeling of walking alone on the ancient city streets on a cool night, with the sounds and sights from the surrounding doors seeming like the city's own murmurs, made him feel at ease. Thus, with one leaving early and the other returning late, it was rare for them to cross paths.

February approached its end. After sending Lady Calico out for work one evening, Song You returned home very late. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he heard a creak overhead. The window of the apartment above was wide open, and a head poked out.

Seeing him, the voice asked softly, “Why are you only coming back now? No, why have you been coming back so late these past few days? Aren’t you afraid of breaking the curfew?”

“Oh…” Song You stood at the door and looked up, cupping his hands in greeting. “Recently, we have customers asking Lady Calico to catch mice. I’ve been walking back slowly after sending her to the Eastern District every evening, so it’s this late by the time I return.”

“Catching mice?”

“Yes.”

“Someone really hired you to catch mice?”

“I was surprised too.”

“How much do you charge per session?”

“One hundred qian per day for one household, and it usually lasts five days.”

“Is it really that profitable? Are you crazy?”

“The Eastern District has a street where the mice problem is severe; the mice are almost becoming demons. No matter how you try to catch them, you can’t get them all.” Song You smiled and said, “The nobles don’t lack money. Some seek peace and quiet, while others are just curious.”

“Really…”

“Do you have something on your mind, heroine?”

“Nothing, I’m just concerned because you come back so late every day,” Heroine Wu said from upstairs. “A few days ago, the imperial guards and the gods from the City God Temple fought with demons from the Eastern District all the way to the Western District. Didn’t you hear about it?”

“I heard some rumors.”

“Oh, so you’re so well-informed?”

“I heard it at a teahouse over there.”

“Even after hearing that, you still dare to go out at night. Seems like you have quite a lot of courage…”

“It’s alright.”

“Just be careful and don’t get eaten by demons or caught by the imperial guards.” Heroine Wu paused and said, “Otherwise, they’ll definitely ask about me. If they find out you’re renting from me without a contract, I’ll have trouble.”

“Don’t worry, heroine.”

“I hope that you have extraordinary skills in the Daoist arts…”

“If you encounter any evil or demons while traveling, feel free to ask me for help. I won’t charge you.” Song You still stood below and cupped his hands in greeting, appearing calm. “If you hear any news about demons, do let me know. I’ll split any reward with you.”

“Stop boasting! Get inside quickly; the imperial guards might come soon!”

“Clang!” With that, the window upstairs was already closed.

The Daoist withdrew his gaze and went back inside his home. He fetched water to wash up and then went upstairs. Just as he lay down and was preparing to rest, he suddenly heard a knocking sound from the wall next door.

“Knock knock.”

“Hey? Are you there?”

“…” Song You couldn't help but fall silent. He had known the thin wall might not provide good soundproofing, but he hadn’t expected the sound to be so clear.

“What’s up, heroine?”

“Are you really short on money?”

“To be honest, if it weren’t for the recent earnings of Lady Calico, the money I have left would only be enough to pay next month’s rent.”

“Hey! I’ve seen poor Daoists, but I’ve never seen one so short on money!” The voice from next door seemed to carry a hint of amusement.

“The Daoist merely has modest desires; poverty can also bring peace,” Song You responded through the wall without feeling embarrassed. “If there’s a need for money, then it’s naturally a time of financial shortage.”

“So what do you need money for?”

“A good meal.”

“Stop joking around!”

“…”

“Are you really skilled in exorcism?”

“Especially skilled.”

“Did you see the notice at the city gate?”

“I checked it out once when I first arrived in Changjing, but it had already been taken down. I heard it was removed by local experts and martial artists.”

“I inquired a couple of days ago. It’s true that some notices were removed, but while some have been fulfilled, others were put back up. Recently, a new one was added,” Heroine Wu said.

She continued, “Coincidentally, I also need some money urgently recently. How about this: I’ll go check the notice at the city gate and gather some information. If we find something suitable, we can take it down together, and we’ll split the reward according to our contributions! How does that sound?”

“What are you going to use the money for?”

“I said we wouldn’t pry into each other’s affairs.”

“But you just asked me…”

“Sorry about that!”

“…”

The apology was rather straightforward.

A few seconds later, a voice came from next door again, “Why are you silent? What do you think? I’ve personally fought demons and ghosts before. I might not be as skilled as you Daoists, but I’m good with martial arts, and I’m brave. No matter if we encounter demons or ghosts, strong or weak, I won’t hold you back. I’m also well-informed and can gather intelligence.”

“Exorcising demons and driving away evil is meant to help the people. Even without a reward, it should be done if encountered. Since there is a reward, how could I refuse?”

“Agreed. I’ll go check when I’m free!”

“Alright…”

Both sides then fell silent.

***

Without Lady Calico prowling and coming and going in the bed, it felt like something was missing. However, he was gradually getting used to it over the past few days.

Song You slept soundly and had a pleasant dream. In his dream, he saw the old Daoist from the temple.

The dream was fragmented and disjointed. Sometimes he saw the old Daoist walking through the wild mountains of Pingzhou, lifting and beating up the Mountain God, and also beating up a leopard demon in the market town on the great mountain who refused to sell her ham.

At other times, he dreamt of the old Daoist arriving in Changjing and beating up the City God. He also dreamt of the old Daoist traveling the world and using the Five Elements spell to exorcise demons, visiting all the prominent figures and great demons.

He woke up in the middle of the night. Daoists with cultivation rarely dreamt, and it was either because he missed the old Daoist deeply or the old Daoist missed him deeply.

He did miss her a bit. After all, she had raised him. Needless to say, they had a deep bond.

It was unfortunate, though…

The reason he woke up wasn’t just because of the dream but because he heard a thunderclap. He then had a vague sense of intuition that one of his talismans had been used.

Among the two talismans, one contained the complete spiritual energy of the Jingzhe and the Dashu[1]. The spiritual energy of the Four Seasons Rotation Method was very mysterious; once activated, one would be able to sense it.

Song You opened the window and looked in that direction, but there was no movement in that direction anymore. Moreover, only one thunder talisman had been used. The fire talisman had not been activated, so the situation likely wasn’t very urgent.

After waiting for a while and seeing that the second talisman hadn’t been used, it was most likely that the situation had been resolved.

It made sense. After all, the two Jingzhe spiritual energies Song You had cultivated since coming down the mountain were derived from insights gained in the mortuary of Xuzhou and the retrospective experience on Yunding Mountain.

Jingzhe spiritual energy was best suited for activating thunder magic. No matter which one was used, the power of the thunder magic would had an impressive celestial might. Even if the power was reduced when used in talismans, it should not be something an ordinary demon could withstand.

At this moment, Song You had no intention of going back to sleep. He sat by the window, listening to the night wind and thinking about the old Daoist.

It had been nearly three years since he came down the mountain. He wondered how the old Daoist was doing. He didn't know when he would return.

A faint sense of worry lingered in Song You's heart. He was worried that he might never see her again.

The old Daoist went through the same thing back then. When she traveled down the mountain, by the time she returned to the Yin-Yang Mountain, Daoist Tiansuan had already passed away. Only a ghostly friend Daoist Tiansun had met during his travels was left to collect her body and guard the temple.

He had also heard that many ancestors of the Hidden Dragon Temple had met the same fate. For various reasons, they refused to extend their lives, and the long travels exhausted them. By the time they returned after their studies, they were already old. They would raise a disciple, and by the time the disciple came down the mountain, the master would be an elderly person. Then would find it difficult to hold on until the disciple returned.

“…” He wanted to send a letter, but the temple felt as distant as the heavens. The nights seemed to last as long as years.

He could only use this method, hoping that the old Daoist would dream of him and experience a sleepless night as well.

Suddenly, the sound of a drum echoed outside. It was already the fifth watch of the night.

1. Dashu is the 12th solar term. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 120° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 135°. ☜

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