Chapter 71: Green Jade

The man had clearly been forcefully struck and sent flying; not only did he crash through the door of the private room, but several guqin beneath him were also broken. The tremendous commotion immediately drew the attention of everyone on the second floor.

Inside the room, a folding screen painted with mountains and birds stood before a long table carved from sandalwood. On the table rested two warmed wine pots and a guqin. Five people knelt around the table. At the center sat a man of about forty, his cheeks slightly flushed, short of stature, with his hair tied in a round topknot. Flanking him were two young men, sitting upright, dressed in straight-cut robes and headscarves, their appearance strongly reminiscent of the Three Kingdoms period.

The middle-aged man’s hands rested atop the guqin. His accent was thick, unmistakably not from Chang’an. At the two ends of the table sat men in Tang-style round-collared robes, watching the young woman who had been hurled out with faint amusement.

After getting up, Qian Xiaoyue patted the dust from her clothes; she seemed unhurt. But her loose, disheveled hair instantly drew countless stares and murmurs.

“So it really is a woman! Since when has the Four Arts Pavilion of Yanxiang Tower become so lacking in decorum?”

“Haha, she’s still young, slender, lacking the beauty of fullness. She must have just sneaked out to play.”

“Bah! You hypocrites, shut your mouths. Anyone who prefers voluptuous women can take themselves to the brothel.”

Hearing the chatter, Qian Xiaoyue’s anger flared and she shouted unabashedly. At her outburst, the room truly did fall silent.

“Sanada Mita, are you going to give me that guqin or not?”

“Little lady, I’ve already explained. The guqin is the instrument of the gentleman, the foremost of the Four Arts. It symbolizes the kingly way and virtue. For a woman, the zheng is more fitting—why be so insistent on the guqin?”

“Heh… instrument of the gentleman? Do you Japanese even care about such pretenses? I only recall you saying that whoever could elicit the clear sound from all seven strings would win the guqin. Fail, and pay you ten strings of cash—is that not so? When did you ever say women couldn’t compete?”

Qian Xiaoyue’s cold, mocking laughter resounded. Normally boisterous, she now fixed her gaze intently on the guqin atop the table, determined to win it. Her words stunned the crowd, including Lu Xin, who was not far away.

“Sanada Mita? A Japanese envoy?”

Lu Xin’s expression shifted, and he looked again inside the private room. The three seated at the table indeed had an air quite different from the Tang people—a quality that clashed with everything Tang. Lu Xin recalled what Zhao Li, the local gossip, had once said: before his own arrival in Chang’an, envoys from many nations had already gathered at the capital.

“No wonder those two young men are dressed in Three Kingdoms attire. They must be Japanese.”

As someone from the modern era, Lu Xin had grown up surrounded by tales of the Japanese, and his feelings toward them were far from positive. In later history, that nation would bring endless disaster upon this land.

“Hmph, ‘Japanese’? I, Inukami Sanada Mita, am an envoy of the Japanese nation. Even the Tang court would not be so rude. Little lady, I did not harm you just now, but if you persist, do not blame me for showing no mercy.”

Sanada Mita let out a cold, sharp laugh. His fingers pressed lightly on the guqin strings, producing an ethereal sound. Lu Xin immediately sensed a shift in the currents of air throughout the second floor, as if a violent wind might rise at any moment.

“Not good—this man is an onmyoji!”

Lu Xin’s face changed instantly. He saw Qian Xiaoyue lunge at the private room, but as she drew within five steps of the table, an invisible force seized her, rendering her unable to move.

“Let me go, you untrustworthy old man! I’ll tell my father and have the authorities drive you out of Chang’an!”

“Haha, Miss Qian, enough of your mischief. Lord Sanada Mita is an envoy from Japan—he is to be treated with utmost respect by the court. There’s no way you’ll get that guqin.”

Seeing Qian Xiaoyue entrapped, the young man sitting on the right side of the table burst out laughing, his eyes narrowed in mockery. At a signal from Sanada Mita, the two young men who had been sitting upright stood up and came to Qian Xiaoyue’s side. One forced her mouth open, while the other produced a small bottle from within his robe.

“Li Si, what are you laughing at? As the son of the Minister of Protocol, it’s bad enough you won’t help me. But to side with these Japanese—aren’t you ashamed? What do you think you’re doing? What’s in that bottle?”

“Hmph. A woman ought to stay home and observe the virtues; acting out like this, no one can help you now. Do you even know what the Ministry of Protocol is? It’s where the Tang court receives foreign envoys—how could you behave so rudely?”

Li Si snapped his fan shut with a crack, turning his face away in anger. Then Sanada Mita spoke again, his voice icy:

“Don’t worry, it’s not poison—you won’t die. But offending me is to offend the Emperor of Japan. Swallowing this pill will only give you stomach pains for half a month—a mild punishment.”

“No, I won’t take it! Sanada Mita, if you dare do this to me, my master and my senior brother will never let you go!”

“Your master? Hah! No one can save you today. Disciple, get on with it.”

Sanada Mita’s tone was glacial. But at his words, the young man with the bottle was suddenly hurled back into the room, smashing the folding screen to splinters. The other let out a scream as his right wrist was seized, forcing him to his knees.

Sanada Mita’s face twisted with rage. Clutching the guqin, he rose, his inner power surging as he shattered the table before him.

“Who are you?”

A sly laugh answered. “I’m the senior brother she mentioned. Lord Envoy, as a foreign diplomat, to flaunt your power in the imperial city of the Tang—don’t you think that’s improper?”

Lu Xin’s tone was cool, seemingly unhurried, though Sanada Mita’s power clearly surpassed his own. He was barely holding on. Qian Xiaoyue, seeing him, cried out in delight.

“Senior brother! Why are you here? I was so scared! These Japanese are outrageous—you must avenge me!”

“Silence!” Lu Xin had no time to deal with the wild girl behind him. Sanada Mita narrowed his hawk-like eyes, silent for a long moment before speaking again.

“So, you are determined to protect her?”

“Lord Envoy, as an onmyoji, why make an issue of a foolish girl? So many eyes and ears here—if word spreads, it’s a small matter to tarnish your name, but if it harms relations between the Tang and Japan, that would be far more troublesome, don’t you think? One last thing, as a parting courtesy—when your country presents its official letter to our court, do not use the name ‘Japan’, and do not mention your emperor. Our Emperor Taizong will not be pleased.”

Lu Xin spoke each word with deliberate care, then turned to lead Qian Xiaoyue downstairs. Throughout, Sanada Mita’s fist remained clenched, his face taut with barely suppressed fury. Yet in the end, he did not act.

Five minutes later, Lu Xin and Qian Xiaoyue exited the alley where Yanxiang Tower stood. Rounding the corner, Lu Xin staggered, braced himself against a wall, and sat. Now, blood rimmed his lips.

Seeing this, Qian Xiaoyue blanched, hurriedly crouching beside him.

“Senior brother, what’s wrong?”

“That Japanese's power is several times my own—it was already invading my organs. If we hadn’t left, I’d be dead or crippled by now!”

“What is this 'power'?”

“Enough questions for now. Tell me—why did you provoke the Japanese envoy? And what’s the story with that guqin?”

She sighed. “It’s the famed Green Jade of the Han dynasty, once owned by Sima Xiangru. Made of the finest paulownia, its sound is exquisite. Legend says Sima Xiangru used it to play the immortal ‘Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix’. I thought it lost to history, yet here it is—in their hands…”

Qian Xiaoyue slumped on the ground, downcast. She explained that she had only gone to Yanxiang Tower to buy a guqin, but there she encountered Li Si, son of the Minister of Protocol, and Sanada Mita. Disguised as a man, she wasn’t recognized at first. When someone wanted to buy a guqin, Sanada Mita showed off the Green Jade and declared that anyone who could elicit sound from all seven strings would win it; otherwise, they owed him ten strings of cash. It might have been an idle boast, but Qian Xiaoyue managed to play all seven open notes. The rest was what Lu Xin had witnessed.

As for guqin, Lu Xin knew little. But he had heard of Sima Xiangru even before traveling through time—a legendary talent from Shu, lover of Zhuo Wenjun, whose “Phoenix Seeks the Phoenix” resonated through the ages. Sima Xiangru was also a Taoist, and his writings brimmed with celestial imagery. Seeing the guqin, Lu Xin was certain Sima Xiangru had been an onmyoji, and the Green Jade was likely a magical artifact, perhaps even a spiritual treasure.

“All right, the thing is already in their hands—you should let it go. That guqin can’t be bought for any price.”

“Hmph! A bunch of faithless scoundrels, always babbling about virtue—disgusting!” Qian Xiaoyue cursed loudly into the street, so enraged she seemed liable to hit herself, attracting a crowd of stares. Lu Xin ignored her, turning away and pretending not to know her.

“By the way, senior brother, what were you doing at Yanxiang Tower?”

“Looking for you, of course.”

“For me?”

“Yes. I need to find someone in Chang’an named Lu Tingfang. Have you heard of him?”

“No, but…I know someone who might help. Since you saved me, as thanks, I’ll take you to him—how about that?”