He left the temple grounds, still heading west, and eventually found what passed as a commercial avenue, and then a very modest hotel—the Pleasant Rest. Corvyn certainly hoped so as he brought the electrobike to a stop under the roof overhanging the entrance. He sensed neither powers nor principalities, and secured the bike before entering the building.
An angular dark-haired man immediately appeared in the spotless but spare foyer. “A room, sir?”
“If you have any.”
“We have several comfortable rooms. Our two suites, I regret, are already occupied.”
“A comfortable room will suffice.” Corvyn tendered his card.
“Are you here to inspect the refractories?” asked the clerk as he scanned the card and returned it.
“No. I’m passing through. I had business in Luoyang and Baiyin, and I’m on my way to Keifeng.”
“You’ll be comfortable here, sir.”
“What about places to eat?”
“Our small restaurant is modestly good, sir. Would you like assistance with anything?”
“I’ve secured the electrobike in front. Is there a better place?”
“No, sir. It will be quite safe there. Your chamber is that of the two pines on the second level.”
Corvyn retrieved the clothing cases from the electrobike and carried them up to his chamber, which he found to be moderately spacious … and spare, not that such bothered him. Then he walked down to the restaurant, which had eight booths and three tables.
The single server or attendant simply said, “Any vacant table or booth, sir.”
Corvyn immediately noted that all the booths had privacy screens, but that the tables did not. Three of the booths were occupied, one by two women, one appearing younger than the other; a second by a man wearing a gray uniform that Corvyn did not recognize; and the third by two men, the first sharp-featured and more mature than the rounder-faced younger man. The two both wore looser-fitting dark blue jackets and trousers, and something about them worried at Corvyn as he took a booth on the same side as the two men, but with an empty booth between them.
The impermite tabletop displayed the menu. Corvyn studied it and chose the pan-fried noodles with fowl and black tea. While he waited, he considered the pair in the blue jackets, their conversation blocked by the privacy screen, unlike those in the other occupied booths. After a time, Corvyn used the shadows to circumvent the booth’s privacy screen, only to find that the older man of the pair had also employed a personal screen.
Two levels of screens in a restaurant? Why in Heaven would he do that?
The only reason that Corvyn could think of was that the man worried far less about powers who could circumvent the screens than residents of Heaven who could not. Still … he was more than a little curious, and he used the shadows to overhear the conversation.
“… what you observed about the man who just entered?”
“He is well-dressed with fashionable and near-new garments. The colors are dark, suggesting a conservative outlook, or that he does not wish to draw attention to himself. His skin is a light tan, and his eyes are gray. That combination likely reflects a Paulist, Skeptic, or Saint background, less possibly a mixed genetic heritage. His carriage is confident, but not boastful. He took a position where he could observe everyone except us. He quickly looked once at each group.”
“What does that signify about him? That he’s not that interested in any of us?”
“No, honored—”
“Never in public,” hissed the older man. “Even with screens, your lips can be read. Go on.”
“He is either a man of business or property or an upper-midlevel Taoist inspector, possibly here on a covert investigation of the refractories … or for some other purpose.”
As Corvyn listened to the younger man try to deduce who and what Corvyn might be, he remembered why the pair seemed somehow familiar. They were very similar to the two men he had observed at the Ridgetop Inn when he’d barely begun his latest travels, and their demeanor also suggested that they were Confucians. He could see why the Confucians might want to conduct observations in Paulist, Saint, or Skeptic lands, but why in Taoist lands, where the customs were similar enough that no one would even likely much notice a single individual from a Confucian background, but where two men studying people and other matters would draw more attention?
Training, perhaps? Or to draw attention away from something else?
Then, again, maybe there was another point to the obvious.
Corvyn turned his full attention back to the conversation.
“… most likely not an inspector, more likely a commercial spy of some type, on his way to Keifeng…”
“Why is he here, then?”
“Because no one would expect him this far from the river.”
At that moment, the server reappeared with Corvyn’s pan-fried noodles, and he turned some of his attention to the meal, since the pair had turned their attentions to the two women, and seemed to Corvyn not to be as accurate in their assessments of the women as they were of Corvyn, since he was a spy of sorts and he was on his way to Keifeng. It struck him that the younger woman was a junior relation of the older, either being kind or flattering the older woman for some advantage, but then, Corvyn might be just as far off in his judgments as they were in theirs.
The noodles were not outstanding but better than just fair, and that was perfectly fine with Corvyn. He could a use good meal and a solid night’s sleep.
Do you not see the raven knows that gold
shines more than lurid truth a god mistold?
32
The room at the Pleasant Rest might have been spare, but the bed was comfortable, and Corvyn slept better than he had in days. He woke moderately early, but refreshed, and immediately used the hotel system to check on news about the Blue Dolphin, but there was no additional information. Nor was there any mention of survivors, which puzzled Corvyn, because, surely, someone had discovered that.
Even with a noodle breakfast, where he saw no sign of the puzzling pair of possible Confucians, he was back on the river road in less than an hour. While he could have investigated the two more, he doubted he would have discovered anything significant without possibly making his location known to the power or powers behind the tridents and the destruction of the Blue Dolphin.
Four hours later, he neared the outskirts of Keifeng, where the current Laozi ruled in the name of the Jade Emperor. The immaculately sculpted terraces on the hillsides, many of which contained tea plants, slowly gave way to equally well-tended houses, each with a tiled roof, and almost every one seemed to be in harmony with the grounds and gardens surrounding it. But then, socially reinforced harmony with nature had always been an integral aspect of the Tao, and one reason why Corvyn doubted that the power behind the tridents lay in Keifeng. Because it likely did not, he hoped that the Laozi or the Jade Emperor might favor him with what they knew. At the very least, he should be able to find out more about the poetess … and possibly even something about the singer, although he had the feeling that the singer might well have left the Houses of the Decalivre for one or more villages of belief.
As he passed through the outskirts of Keifeng, he saw several work gangs in faded blue trousers and shirts toiling on the river wall, cleaning, scraping, and replacing stones. For a moment, he wondered why, then recalled that bankrupt or impoverished gamblers were indentured to public work service until their debts were paid. Upon release, most tended to refrain from excessive gambling, but some spent a life alternating between gambling and toiling, and, in Heaven, that could be a very long time.
Corvyn returned his full attention to the road.
Keifeng was one of the three largest cities in Heaven, the other two being Tian and Varanasi, although Los Santos seemed close to as large with its recent growth. The city proper of Keifeng stretched some forty milles along the north bank of the Yellow River, as it had for more than generations, its growth never rapid and almost imperceptible.
It was not for nothing that some referred to Keifeng as “the endless city,” as Corvyn recalled when he realized that the center of Keifeng still lay some twenty milles ahead even when he passed the city gates. The city gates were largely symbolic, except to Caishen, the god of wealth, whose powers were curtailed beyond those limits, because otherwise the pursuit of material goods would have dominated all the lands of Tao and the balance between nature, man, and commerce would have been permanently disrupted.
Even with the traffic moving steadily, more than an hour passed before Corvyn neared the center of Keifeng, but despite looking for recent rapid growth, Corvyn did not see any signs of such. Even from the river road he could see the Palace of Harmony, its polished jade walls glowing under the afternoon sun, with the massive malachite staircase rising from the Park of the Way to the yellow gate of the Celestial Emperor that formed the entry to the palace, and which, paradoxically to Corvyn, was the only physical link between the east and west wings of the Palace of Harmony.
In the end, Corvyn chose the Zhongzhou Imperial as his hotel, largely because it had a good reputation and, equally important, he had never stayed there before, although he did find the multicolored dome a bit garish. It was also only a few blocks from the Park of the Way, which was most convenient because he did not intend to remain in Keifeng any longer than necessary … unless he discovered something unexpected.
Once in the small suite, he accessed the various news sources through the hotel system, scanning them quickly. There was now a publicly expressed consensus of opinion on the destruction of the Blue Dolphin—that it had been a freak accident, terrible as it was. There was also the mention of a possible survivor, based on reports that could not be verified. Corvyn smiled crookedly. That meant that most of the hegemons suspected that it was anything but an accident, but with absolutely no proof, no one wanted to say that. And whoever was behind it will suspect that you are the survivor.
It would be interesting to see if the Laozi revealed anything. There had been no more events like the destruction of the Blue Dolphin, not that Corvyn expected anything similar immediately. Nor was there any other significantly disturbing news, but there seldom had been in the first stages of any previous attempt to transform the comity of the Decalivre.
Corvyn showered and changed into a dark gray jacket and trousers with a light gray shirt. His second pair of new boots were also dark gray. Then he ate an early dinner at the hotel restaurant, after which he walked out the front door, heading toward the park in the early twilight. He entered the Park of the Way on a gray stone walk that passed through a white stone wall a meter and a half high. The wall surrounded the entire trapezoidal park except on the north and smaller end, which tapered to the width of the malachite staircase, malachite because it was green, and not jade, because it was traveled by common feet.
Once inside the park, Corvyn took one of the smaller stone-paved paths that twisted and turned, sometimes through tree-lined arches and sometimes around ponds, some of which had lilies and other flora, and others of which did not. Even from the south end of the park, Corvyn could definitely sense the emanations of power from the Palace of Harmony, certainly more so than he had felt in any of the Houses he had so far visited, except, of course, Los Santos, although he wouldn’t have expected great power in Nauvoo, Marcion, Yerusalem, or Jannah. He expected more power in the northern Houses … and in Aethena.
He walked, in circuitous fashion, to the western side of the park and back into the city proper, continuing toward another concentration of power. Two blocks later, he discovered the source of that power—a building lit with cascades of shimmering light. He realized, belatedly, that it was the temple of Caishen, the god of wealth and, not incidentally, also the city god of Keifeng. With a smile, he continued walking, making his way through the brightly lighted entrance and into the casino that was also a temple, or the reverse.
One of the uniformed greeters looked askance at Corvyn, but said nothing, possibly because the temple/casino’s detectors registered his shielded card, and such shielding indicated wealth or power, if not both.
Corvyn studied the tables, or small altars, where the faithful made their offerings in various ways, ranging from ancient mahjong to battling quantum random-number generators attempting to build elaborate light structures projected above their particular altar.
Nodding, he turned and walked toward the center of the temple, where a column of light shifted colors. As he neared that column of light, shadows unseen to the various classes of worshippers slowly enfolded Corvyn, cloaking him from all others. The figure who appeared wore a black military uniform with brilliant jade piping. He carried a black whip, one that was not leather, Corvyn knew, but black steel with barbs on the end of the most flexible lash. He also rode a tiger nearly as large as an ancient shire warhorse.
Corvyn waited. He would rather not anger Caishen, especially since the god of wealth appeared in his military attribute, as Marshal Zhao, which was most unusual.
“Why are you here, Raven?”
“Occasionally, I travel to observe what is happening across Heaven.”
“In places like Baiyin?”
“I presume that Shui Rong informed you that I might be passing this way.”
“You infringed on his perquisites, Raven. You also disrupted the civic harmony of Baiyin.”
“I was only passing through,” Corvyn pointed out. “I immediately left the area of the temple when he appeared. There are so many temples in the lands of the Jade Emperor that it is difficult to avoid them all.”
The marshal ignored the gentle jab and went on, “If you were just passing through, why did you disrupt harmony?”
“I had no idea that taking pity on a poor ghost vixen would disrupt Shui Rong’s civic harmony.”
“You didn’t think that elevating a ghost vixen to a minor principality would be without impact?” The marshal frowned. Even his black beard expressed displeasure.
“How could the addition of one very minor female principality even send a shiver of change through the lands of the Jade Emperor? People pray to you for fortune. Sometimes, even Skeptics pray to you. Sometimes, it appears that you answer those prayers. Can you not grant me the same favor? A vixen prayed to become permanently real and fully human. I did my best to grant that wish. If I’d slept with her, that would have happened anyway.”
“You did more than that.”
“Those things happen, as you well know.” Corvyn smiled. “Tell me, did that singer who calls himself Bran Denu ever ask your functionaries here for a job?”
Caishen frowned once more. “You think I concern myself with such details?”
“Not usually, but in his case, you would have noticed a certain aura of power, and that would have piqued your concern.” Corvyn did not know that the singer had such an aura, not for certain, but his observations suggested that it was more than possible.
“Oh … that one. My people told him that his repertoire was not suited to our clientele. We suggested that he try elsewhere. He sang in a few squares. Despite his … abilities, he found the acoustics less than acceptable and departed…”
Corvyn repressed a smile at the euphemism for acts by Caishen’s functionaries to assure that the singer did not remain in Keifeng.
“… That was more than a year ago. He should have headed west. The Saints would have appreciated him much more.”
Corvyn nodded at Caishen’s words, along with the confirmation that the singer had been imbued with some power. “He headed to Tian, then?”
“In that direction. There are rumors that he took over a village of belief in the northeast lands of Tian. I find that hard to believe.” Caishen shrugged and continued, “If so, that would suggest that Zijuan’s powers are diminishing. I don’t see signs of that.”
“Have you talked to any of those surrounding Zijuan?”
“Why would I bother? I’m sure that with their great belief in moral improvement they will do as they see fit. They’ll just
cram another motley power or demigod into their great long march toward moral improvement. Or what they term moral improvement under the revered words of the Twin Masters.”
Corvyn merely asked, “The singer had no sense of ziran, then?”
“Like many who fail to understand the essence of what is, he regarded desire and ambition as paramount. Even you understand the flaws in such a belief.”
Corvyn did, although his idea of balance was not exactly one with which either Caishen or the Laozi would have fully agreed.
“In your more mortal aspect, shadowed one, will you be worshipping here this evening?” Caishen smiled.
“I have always respected honest wealth honestly obtained, and that is my form of worship,” replied Corvyn.
“That is more than sufficient.” With that, Caishen and the shadows vanished, and Corvyn stood alone in front of the column of shifting light.
You have one more piece of the puzzle.
As he made his way from Caishen’s temple, he wondered how much he would discover on the morrow … and whether he should make a detour to the north.
The gods of coins, the gods of wealth,
cannot but fear the raven’s stealth.
33
When Corvyn rose after a restful and thankfully dream-free sleep, he did not hurry through his shower and toiletries, nor his breakfast, but composed himself. In time, he walked to the Park of the Way, from the north end of which he climbed the malachite staircase with measured steps until he reached the yellow gate of the Celestial Emperor, also known as the Jade Emperor, the latter term being the one that Corvyn preferred. From there he turned east toward the half of the Palace of Harmony with yellow roof tiles, the half that few entered, and from which few emerged unchanged. He walked through another gate, with a green dragon on the right and a white tiger on the left. While those few who dared enter the East Palace would have taken the left-hand door, Corvyn took the middle door into the Hall of First Enlightenment, a space totally empty of decoration and a reminder that to find the way, one must turn from material distractions. The second hall was smaller, if not by much, and ended with three red doors … and three massive guards in black-lacquered armor accented in red.
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