Chapter Five: First Encounter with Li Xueyan

Li Yi’s good mood was abruptly interrupted, anger rising within him. He straightened his back, gazed forward with a stern expression, and his voice thundered like spring thunder: “What do you want from me?”

At the towering gates of Luoyang, several city guards stood, the leader named Diao Shoucai—a tall and imposing man with a beard covering his jaw and small, beady eyes. Seeing Li Yi dressed in fine clothes, a sword at his waist, and leading a fine steed, Diao Shoucai initially thought he had found someone to extort. Unexpectedly, this was not someone easily cowed. Still, as a city guard with powerful connections, Diao Shoucai puffed out his chest and met Li Yi’s gaze. “What do you mean, what am I doing? To enter the city, you must pay the entrance fee. That’s the rule!”

“Damn it, what entrance fee? I’ve walked all the way from Mount Mao to here, and never heard of such a thing!”

“This is Luoyang! Do you think you’re still in some country village? The entrance fee is a new policy from the Lord of the City, to collect a few coins from you to build up Luoyang! Ignorant bumpkin!”

Li Yi’s temper flared, “Damn it, you—” but before he could finish, a loud voice rang out.

“Since the founding of the nation by the High Ancestor, there has never been a city entrance tax—this is arbitrary extortion, a crime punishable by death!” From a distance, a luxurious carriage approached, attended by more than twenty guards. The speaker was the elderly driver, evidently a steward.

“Hmph! Arbitrary or not, I don’t know about any beheadings! I’m just following orders—anything else is above my pay grade!” Diao Shoucai saw the display of wealth and power, realizing these were people he could not afford to provoke, and his bluster wavered.

“How dare you—!”

“Uncle Ming, let’s enter the city first.” Just as the old steward was about to reprimand him, a voice clear as silver bells drifted from inside the carriage.

“Yes, miss!” The steward responded, producing a token and flashing it before Diao Shoucai. “Open your eyes! We are from the Prince of Rencheng’s household—get out of the way!”

At the sight of the token, Diao Shoucai paled, realizing he was in trouble. He hastily ordered his men to clear the way.

With a cold snort, the old steward then looked at Li Yi. Noting his dignified bearing and noble air, he decided to make his acquaintance. “Young man, why not enter the city together?”

Li Yi, seeing the steward’s kind eyes and knowing he was offering help, bowed. “Thank you, elder, for your assistance. Please, after you.”

The old steward nodded and drove the carriage through the gates. Li Yi stepped aside, and as the carriage passed, a curious little head peeked out—a girl of thirteen or fourteen, with a delicate oval face, willow-leaf brows, long lashes, bright black eyes, a dainty nose, and a lively mouth—fresh and youthful, beautiful as a lotus just out of water.

Li Yi hurriedly put on what he thought was a warm, handsome smile, but the girl inside blushed and quickly ducked back inside.

So shy! If all Tang dynasty women are this beautiful, won’t every day be a feast for the eyes? Li Yi chuckled to himself and shot a glance at his white Night-Shining Lion, who looked back with obvious disdain. Leading his horse into the city, Li Yi passed Diao Shoucai with a cool glance, saying nothing. To argue with a dog in public would be a mark of poor character; some things are best left ignored.

Within the city, Li Yi gazed around in wonder. Broad streets, bustling shops, crowds of people—everywhere was lively and prosperous. Though lacking the air of modernity, the ancient charm of Luoyang thrilled Li Yi, who had spent fourteen years on Mount Mao. He wandered from place to place, touching and looking at everything.

He entered a shop selling animal pelts and selected a piece of black python skin, asking the owner to fashion a scabbard for his Cold Wind Dagger. Half an hour later, he received a pitch-black scabbard, sheathed his dagger, and hid it once more inside his left trouser leg—his lifeline, so he took no chances. Finally, he stopped before an inn called “Come Again.”

The inn’s attendant quickly greeted him, “Welcome, sir! Are you here to dine or stay? Please, come in!”

The familiar phrase lifted Li Yi’s spirits. “Give me the best room, and feed my fine horse the best fodder—he has quite the temper, so take care!” He tossed the attendant a handful of coins.

“Of course, sir! You can rest assured!” The attendant’s smile widened as he took the Night-Shining Lion, calling into the inn, “Manager! An esteemed guest for the best room!” The manager hurried out, beaming with welcome.

Li Yi patted his horse’s neck, gave a few instructions, and followed the manager upstairs.

The room was clean, tidy, and spacious—Li Yi was very satisfied. After dismissing the manager, he sat on the bed, removed his box and bundle, and lay down to rest.

Half an hour later, Li Yi got up, washed his face, and opened his bundle: inside were several small gourds, some spare clothes, a hundred taels of silver, and a handful of copper coins.

The silver came from Senior Brother Pan. Though his master and senior brothers were Daoists, they were respected by generations of emperors, so Mount Mao never lacked such things. The clothes were bought from a tailor; though not his style, now was not the time for outlandish fashion. The small gourds were his most valuable possessions: perfumes he had experimented with on Mount Mao. Since he was alone and needed a steady income, and though a hundred taels was not little, it would be gone in no time—especially with no house or horse in Chang’an, where it’s hard to get by—he knew he needed money.

Ever since before leaving the mountain, Li Yi had prepared for this, developing perfumes. Though complex, even a simple version was within his grasp, a jack-of-all-trades as he was. He had many money-making ideas, but with his current resources, perfume was the best bet. The wildflowers of Mount Mao had provided all the raw materials he needed—no research costs at all.

He had produced six fragrances: jasmine, lavender, clove, orchid, rose, and gardenia, each with their formula carefully recorded, and only two samples of each. He hid his treasures in the most secret spot in the room, then took his ancient ink sword and headed downstairs.

There, he gave the manager a stern warning to look after his belongings—or else!

After leaving the inn, Li Yi rode his Night-Shining Lion through the city, wandering until dusk. As night fell, he arrived at Luoyang’s largest inn—the Yibin Pavilion.

The attendant swiftly came to take his horse and led him upstairs to a private room, serving him signature dishes. Li Yi sat in the private room, sipping tea and enjoying the night view of Luoyang.

He was thoroughly absorbed in the view when a noisy commotion outside the door disturbed him. At first, he ignored it, but as it threatened to spoil his meal, he got up and opened the door.

Stepping out, he saw the manager at the corner of the corridor, humbly explaining something to a group hidden around the bend.

“Oh, Young Master Li, I truly don’t mean to trouble you. You know, tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, so we’re much busier than usual. The last private room was given to another gentleman a quarter of an hour ago!” The manager, clearly frazzled, spotted Li Yi and hurried over, apologetic. “My apologies, sir, for disturbing your meal, but there’s nothing I can do—these people are not to be offended.”

Seeing the manager’s respectful attitude, Li Yi let it go, nodding and preparing to return to his meal. He had no interest in who was around the corner, nor did he wish to stir up trouble—he didn’t plan to stay long in Luoyang; Chang’an was his true destination.

But life is rarely so simple—trouble finds you whether you seek it or not. Just as Li Yi turned to go, a male voice called out from around the corner.

“My friend, forgive us for disturbing your dinner. My family is entertaining an esteemed guest tonight and wanted to host them here at Yibin Pavilion. Unfortunately, there were no rooms left, and as our guest is a lady, it’s not appropriate to dine in the main hall. Would you be willing to let us have this private room? I’ll cover all your expenses tonight—what do you say?”

Li Yi frowned instinctively—who wouldn’t be annoyed at such a request? But the young man, just over twenty, had a refined and gentle manner, and though clearly of high status, spoke without arrogance. He seemed a true gentleman. Li Yi was about to refuse when another voice, a woman’s, sounded from the corner: “Cousin, if there’s no room, let’s just dine back at the manor. It’s quite all right.”

The voice struck a chord of familiarity. Li Yi looked back but saw no one—the lady must have been too shy to appear. He thought for a moment and realized: it was her!

He remembered that the voice belonged to the young lady he’d met earlier that afternoon. Since she had helped him before, it would be ungracious to refuse. After a moment’s thought, he said to the young gentleman, “To be honest, I sympathize with your predicament, but I don’t like giving up my room, nor do I care about a free meal. However, if your lady companion is the one who helped me earlier today, it would be rude of me to decline. So, would you ask her if she remembers the prince on the white horse from this afternoon, and whether she’d like to dine together? Fate brings us together twice in one day—why not make a friend?”

The young man’s brow furrowed slightly—Li Yi’s words bordered on forwardness for this era—but seeing Li Yi’s earnest expression, he decided he wasn’t being frivolous and agreed to ask.

Soon, the young gentleman returned, accompanied by two ladies and two maidservants. One lady was indeed the beauty from the afternoon, the other a girl of about sixteen or seventeen, equally stunning and graceful.

Heavens, is the water and soil of the Tang dynasty so nourishing? Every woman you meet is a great beauty! Li Yi muttered in amazement, then straightened, raised his head, and greeted them with a warm smile. “My name is Li Yi, courtesy name Wenyong. It is an honor to meet you.”