Both sides of the coin bore a relief carving of a soaring kite[1].
As the copper coin had an azure color to it, this kite was also known as the azure kite[2].
"Yes, mandate tokens like these are categorized by color," said the poplar guardian spirit, as though suddenly recalling something. "Wait, this azure kite coin isn't yours!"
The white-robed youth cut in, "I lent it to Mister Sun."
The poplar guardian spirit spoke in a slow, unhurried tone, but the man in gray was already growing impatient. "Since you've shown yourself, I have a question for you. Give me a quick answer, and I'll be on my way."
"Ask, then."
A guardian spirit was also known as a mountain god or mountain deity, and in some places, they were more commonly known as a lord of the land[3].
In regions saturated with spirit qi and teeming with life, guardian spirits could slowly come into being. If they received formal investiture from a monarch of the mortal realm, they would gain access to origin energy and be granted authority to govern an area's lands and waters.
However, if the kingdom collapsed or the investiture lapsed, their powers would likewise wane, and they would return to a wild state.
Though the poplar guardian spirit had once received an investiture from the King of Yuan, it did not even have a mountain god temple in its honor. However, there was actually a very simple reason for this. The spirit had spent most of its years in deep slumber, completely ignoring the affairs of its territory. The local creatures' prayers and offerings were ignored for so long that they eventually stopped bothering.
Still, when summoned by this man in gray, it had no choice but to respond.
It was still groggy from being roused, but instinct told it that this man was not someone it could afford to offend lightly.
"Forty or fifty days ago, a sand leopard passed through here. I want to know where it went," the gray-robed man said bluntly. "They only nest in the Western Mountains, so one showing up here is rare."
"A sand leopard? Hm…" The poplar guardian spirit drew out its answer. "Let me take a look."
The two men waited in silence for slightly over a quarter-hour.
Suddenly, a young deer emerged from a nearby brush. It showed no fear of them, even giving a little shake of its head in greeting.
The poplar guardian spirit said, "Follow it."
The deer turned and bounded away, and the two men immediately gave chase.
They crossed two peaks before the deer led them to a cliff, where it stopped right at the edge.
"The sand leopard came here?" The white-robed youth crouched down and found several dark stains on the rock. "There's blood, but it's quite old."
The deer craned its neck over the edge of the cliff.
"It jumped?"
The deer nodded.
Strange. If the sand leopard had already been badly wounded, why come all the way here just to jump to its death? The two men exchanged a look, then carefully climbed down the side of the cliff to the bottom of the ravine.
The air here was damp and cool, the ground shaded and lush with vegetation. The two men searched the ravine thoroughly but found no trace of a leopard corpse.
The white-robed youth looked up at the cliff above. "It was already injured, and a fall from that height would've finished it off. There are no large trees on the way down to break its fall, nor any vines or leaves that could have cushioned its landing. Poplar guardian spirit, is it still somewhere in the area?"
"The leopard is no longer here. But if you're wondering about its fall, I can show it to you." This time, the voice came from another tree. It was a beech tree.
A gust of wind swept through the gorge, spinning dirt and leaves into a small whirlwind. To the two men's surprise, the swirling debris gradually took on form.
In the wind's grasp, the dirt and leaves formed not just the figure of a leopard but also that of a human!
The white-robed youth stared in astonishment. "So someone else fell from the cliff along with the leopard?"
The two figures were then shown lying motionless on the ground.
The white-robed youth frowned. "They died together? Then where did their bodies go?"
Another whirlwind rose, shaping two new figures in the air.
"Two people arrived, and… they were killed?" Upon realizing this, the white-robed youth's face darkened. "I see. No wonder my two men never returned. So that's what happened!"
The beech tree then spoke directly, "Then another group came and took the two bodies away separately. They were each carried off in a different direction."
The white-robed youth peered closely, but the figures formed by the swirling dirt and leaves were simply a blurred mess. At most, they resembled humanoid shapes, but discerning any facial features was completely out of the question.
"Who were these people? Where did they come from?"
He asked twice before the beech tree finally replied in a muffled voice, "I don't know. Too much time has passed. The traces have faded. This is as much as the wind spirits remember."
The gray-robed man was not discouraged by this and asked, "But can you at least tell us the direction they headed as they left Mount Hulu?"
The beech brought two branches together and pointed in a single direction.
The direction that it pointed was right back the way they had come.
"Heishui City?" A flash of cold light glinted in the white-robed youth's eyes. "I knew it. Donglai Mansion's missing guards must've found a lead."
Even if their investigation had brought them all the way here, what they had uncovered was still just a vague direction. Heishui City was not exactly large, but it was not small either.
The gray-robed man chuckled. "They went to Heishui City? Then that makes things easy. The simplest methods are often the most effective."
The forest was still and silent. The poplar guardian spirit had already taken its leave.
The two men headed in the direction of Heishui City, but after walking just over a hundred steps, the gray-robed man suddenly halted, then he raised a hand and launched a streak of white light.
A sharp cry rang out from a grove some hundred meters away, followed by the frantic flapping of wings.
They followed the sound and found fresh blood beneath a tree.
The droplets were not obvious, but luckily, the white-robed youth was an expert tracker. After giving chase for about a hundred and seventy meters, they came upon a sparrowhawk sprawled on the ground. This specific sparrowhawk, which was larger than a common eagle, had had its wings and belly pierced through.
The blood seeping from its wounds had turned a dark green.
"I've had the feeling we've been watched ever since leaving Heishui City. So it was a little monster all along." The white-robed youth stepped forward and pressed the tip of his foot to the hawk's throat. "Who sent you?"
The sparrowhawk panted, beak agape.
"Speak." The white-robed youth pressed down harder. "The poison will reach your heart within a quarter-hour. Once it does, death is certain!"
With a cry of pain, the sparrowhawk finally spoke, "If I tell the truth, will you let me go?"
"Of course," the white-robed youth said with a smile. "Would the Honghu[4] concern itself with a mere sparrow?"
The sparrowhawk blurted out, "I'm just a hired hand! I was resting at the Red Mountain Tavern when someone came in and told me to tail you two. I was told to observe everything you do and report back."
"Who was it?"
"I don't know. I was just paid to do a job!"
The gray-robed man suddenly interjected, "Don't believe a word it's saying. This is a domesticated monster!"
If it's a domesticated monster, then it definitely has a master.
The white-robed youth's eyes turned icy. Without another word, he stomped down hard. "Speak!"
* * *
The next morning, the He Family was still eating breakfast when a servant came rushing in with a report:
"Two guests have arrived. They claim to be under the command of the Grand General of the Northern Expedition from Xun Province!"
He Lingchuan's heart gave a sudden lurch. He looked to his father. He Chunhua, too, was slightly taken aback, his face visibly tightening. "Invite them to the Pure Swan Hall for tea."
The Pure Swan Hall was the He Family's formal receiving room. It was suited for small, private meetings.
He stood up and nodded to He Lingchuan. "Lingchuan, come with me."
He Yue and Madame Ying both looked surprised.
They were completely confused as to why He Chunhua would bring He Lingchuan to meet with guests from Xun Province.
But as head of the household, He Chunhua never needed to explain his decisions. Without another word, he led a steward and He Lingchuan toward the front hall.
1. This is not the type of kite that people fly around on the end of a string. Instead, the kite mentioned here refers to the birds of prey closely related to hawks and eagles. ☜
2. The azure kite (青鸢; Qingyuan) is very likely related to the Qingluan (青鸾), which is a mythical azure-colored phoenix in Chinese mythology that is believed always to accompany the Queen Mother of the West (西王母) and serves as her messenger. ☜
3. This is also known as Tudigong. I provide a more in-depth explanation for the differences and similarities between the terms in the thoughts/notes section below. ☜
4. The Honghu (鸿鹄) refers to a type of white phoenix. It also serves as a poetic reference to high-flying creatures such as swans and wild geese in ancient Chinese culture, and it is also sometimes used to refer to a person with noble aspirations. ☜