Chapter 9: Buying Fish, Passing through Willows, and Hiring a Cat

The mountain wind howled like ghosts wailing in the night.

Song You sat back in a safe spot.

This spot was about four chi wide. Based on Song You's personal estimation, one chi in Great Yan was roughly equivalent to thirty centimeters in his previous world. Thus this spot was about the width of a bunk bed in a boarding school. The height was also about the same, meaning that he couldn't stand up.

One side was the stone cliff wall, and the other was the precipice.

The lantern filled with twilight glow was placed on the ground. It illuminated a small area of the little trail carved into the cliff. Despite the narrowness, it actually gave a sense of coziness.

The calico cat was running around, sniffing here and there. Occasionally, she even went to the cliff’s edge. She stuck her head out to look around, and fell into contemplation.

He could see that the cat felt somewhat uneasy in this unfamiliar place. Eventually, she seemed to realize that the person beside her was the most familiar thing here. Hence, she looked up at Song You several times with her brow wrinkled. Tentatively, she moved closer little by little to Song You’s side and finally lay down.

Song You had already closed his eyes, meditating quietly.

Mountains and rivers have spirits; mountains have mountain spirits and rivers have river spirits. Each mountain has its own spirit, each different, requiring careful contemplation.

The mountain wind wailing in his ear, the reverence of the people below the mountain, the countless poems and famous literary works left behind by the literati over more than a thousand years, every inscription carved into the cliffs to ensure peace by humans more than a thousand years ago, every person that has passed by here, and even those who lost their footing and fell to their deaths here; all these are part of the mountain spirit's profundity.

The spiritual qi in the mountains was blown by the wind and gathered here.

The calico cat had originally stayed by Song You’s side because she was timid. Now, she seemed to have found something more comforting and moved even closer to Song You.

The stars and the moon appeared one after another as the night deepened, and the temperature dropped gradually. The calico cat had no choice but to move closer and closer to Song You. Finally, she snuggled up against him. She felt the heat from his body warm her and a kind of comfort filled her heart.

The lantern's twilight glow continued to shine.

If someone were traveling below at night and looked up, they might have discovered this unusual point of light between the cliffs a thousand chi above.

Around midnight, Song You opened his eyes.

He raised his hand, and a wisp of spiritual energy floated above it. It looked like a stream of light, pale yellow with a hint of green. It was composed of two layers. The inner layer was a ray of highly-condensed light and the outer layer was transparent like air and diffused like smoke.

This was what he had gained from this phase.

Song You practiced the Four Seasons Rotation Method which is a cultivation method related to seasonal changes and the solar term cycle. The spiritual energy cultivated often carried seasonal properties.

In contrast to the effects of the Five Elements Method practiced by his master, it extended longevity but was not good for keeping fit and healthy. At the same time, each wisp of spiritual energy had its own unique uses. However, it lacked the inherent destructive power of spiritual energy cultivated by other methods such as the Yin-Yang Method.

In this world, spiritual energy looked like this: an inner spiritual core, surrounded by spiritual qi. Only the spiritual qi is expendable. The spiritual core is the origin and cannot be used. Once the spiritual qi is depleted, the spiritual core will regenerate it with time and through meditation. Cultivation through meditation not only increases spiritual energy but refines the spiritual core. One just had to find a balance between the two.

“Huff...” Song You exhaled a long breath, dispersing this wisp of spiritual energy into the mountains in passing. Only the glowing yellow spiritual core which was like a fine thread remained, burrowing back into his body.

Turning his head slightly, he saw the small cat snuggling against his side.

Song You stared at her without moving.

A cat's body temperature is higher than a human's. It's hard to say whether the calico cat had borrowed his warmth or he had borrowed the cat's warmth. Either way, she was snuggled up tight against him at that moment. It gave him a sense of being depended on and trusted which he had not experienced for a long time. Seeing her sleeping soundly, seemingly without any worries, his heart seemed to feel much more settled.

He could not bear to disturb her so he decided to sleep like this that night.

During the second half of the night, there was vague activity from mountain demons. Yet, none came to bother Song You. Places where humans are rare often became paradises for demons and monsters. However, without humans constantly coming and going, harmful demons and ghosts also disappeared.

Despite being woken up by the cold innumerable times, it was still a peaceful night for Song You.

There was fog in the mountains early the next morning, but it stayed below the cliffs.

Song You sat with his back leaning against the cliff wall, eating breakfast while watching the calico cat play with stones using her paws at the side.

That day's meal was tastier than those of the past few days.

He had passed a checkpoint yesterday, and it was a rather lively place. Song You had bought some steamed buns, picking only those with meat fillings. Some were filled with pork and some with eggs. Although he had finished growing at his age, he still needed meat.

The calico cat suddenly seemed to notice something while playing. She ran to the edge of the cliff, looked out, and then turned back to Song You saying “They’ve turned red!”

“What?”

“They were still green yesterday!”

“What?”

“The trees!”

“Yes...” Song You followed her gaze. Sure enough, those trees growing on the cliff had all turned red overnight, as if it was already late autumn. The pale cliff walls and the rolling white fog below set off by contrast the red foliage on the steep cliff and made the scenery much more exquisite.

Song You did not appear surprised and just looked at the scenery. “Today is Beginning of Autumn.”

“Beginning of Autumn?”

“It means autumn has arrived.”

“Cold season.”

“More or less…” Song You pried apart a new steamed bun, “Do you eat steamed bun fillings? They’re made from meat.”

“Hmm?” The calico cat looked back at him.

She was pushing a stone to the left with her right paw, intending to catch it with her left but missed. The stone fell off the cliff and made her freeze for a moment.

“It fell down!”

“Do you eat meat fillings?”

“I went over there and caught a little bird to eat this morning while you were still asleep.” The calico cat said with a bit of regret, “Unfortunately, I only caught one.”

“Well done.” This was a very self-sufficient cat.

Song You quickly finished his steamed bun. He got up, bent over and said, “It's cold on the mountain. Let's go down.”

“I feel cold too.”

“Let's go.”

Song You started walking while bent over. The calico cat crawled along at his feet, looking up at him as she crawled. “It's so cold here, and it’s so hard to walk. Why don't you walk below?”

Song You smiled but didn't answer.

At the time, the mountain fog hadn't cleared yet. One side was the cliff carved with ghosts and deities, and the other side a bottomless abyss where only white clouds were visible.

On the stone wall beside them, someone had inscribed a poem. “Even if I die nine times in the southern wilderness, I do not regret it. This journey has been the most extraordinary in my whole life.”

It was still early, and the morning light was golden. There were thousands of li of misty mountains and rivers, flowing water under small bridges, and glimpses of villages. Such a primeval mountain village landscape was rare in the future. Such beautiful scenery made him forget that he was in a backward place.

***

Hearing the distant shouts of peddlers hawking their wares, Song You knew that he and Lady Calico had the good fortune to come upon the village market here.

Such village markets usually open only every few days, ten days or even half a month.

Arriving at such a lively place, the calico cat was inevitably a bit reserved. She lost some of her bouncing liveliness on the mountain path and stuck closely to Song You's feet. It made him worry constantly about stepping on her paws or tail.

Unfortunately, they had arrived a bit late after all and the market was about to close. Although there were still some peddlers who were reluctant to go home, he couldn't find any fish sellers.

Hearing the same sales pitches again meant he had circled back to where he started.

“Daoist priest, what are you looking for?” The calico cat looked up and stared at Song You.

“I told you I'm not a Daoist priest.”

“Then what are you?”

“It's complicated.” Song You thought for a moment and explained to her, “I just grew up in a Daoist temple. Although I practice magic and read Daoist classics, I neither follow Daoist doctrine nor worship Daoist gods. Even my master is at most a fake Daoist priest.”

“I don't understand.” The calico cat was very honest.

“It means we are just cultivators who occupy a Daoist temple and wear Daoist robes.” Song You said.

“Why occupy someone else's temple?”

“We built it ourselves, or at least our elders did, and they passed it down.” Song You explained helplessly, “The purpose was to enjoy the preferential policies of the imperial court towards religions. Some lazy previous masters could also live the lives they wanted through it."

“I still don't understand.”

“Then call me Daoist priest if you want.”

“Okay, Daoist priest.”

“Let's go…” Song You said helplessly and regretfully.

Just as he was about to leave and turned around, the near midday sunshine dispersed the fog. He saw rows of willow trees by a distant riverside. Under a willow tree, an old man wearing a bamboo hat was sitting by the river. He was holding a fishing rod and reeling it in.

“Lady Calico, please wait here for me.” Song You passed through the willows along the river, and quickly reached the old fisherman. He said respectfully, “Elder, greetings. May I ask if your catch is for sale?”

“I only catch small fish for myself to eat. You should buy from the market.”

“I recently formed ties with a calico cat and agreed to travel with her on a journey. However, I have not yet given her a friendship gift[1] and feel guilty. Passing by here today, I wanted to buy her two small fish as a gift. However, I strolled through the entire market just now, but I couldn't buy any.” Song You said respectfully, "I have no choice but to seek your help.”

“In that case, what's the harm in giving you two fish?”

“How can I accept such a present from you? I should buy them at the market price!”

“I prefer to give them to you.”

“In that case, thank you.” Song You dared not refuse further as the old man had already given him the fish. In return, he should also repay the old man by accepting graciously.

Not long after, Song You came back through the willows carrying two small fish. He found the calico cat sitting properly there and waiting for him. She held a cicada in her mouth which she had just caught.

Seeing him approach, she lowered her head and spat out the cicada onto the ground. “Daoist priest, I just caught a cicada. Do you want to eat it?”

“Thanks, but no.” Song You was unusually solemn. As he refused, he bent down and offered the small fish to her. He said sincerely, "Lady Calico, I wish to form ties with you. This is my friendship gift to you. Although it's a small gift, it carries my heartfelt sincerity and it’s a Great Yan tradition. Please enjoy it.”

The calico cat lowered her head and looked at the fish. Then she looked up at him. “I don't know what a friendship gift is.”

Song You straightened up and explained softly. “It's like when a normal household wishes to keep a cat. They have to give a gift to the kitten's mother, the cat’s previous owner, or the kitten itself. It means that they are inviting the cat to their home to help catch mice, and it is a reward for its hard work.”

“I understand.”

“Please enjoy it.”

“If I eat your fish, will I become your cat?”

“No.” Song You said, “Lady Calico is still her own cat and will always belong only to herself. We will just travel side by side for a while in the future. We will keep each other company and support each other. In some areas, I might need your help or rely on your tolerance. Thus I am giving you this food in advance as a gift.”

“It’s like the offerings I used to eat.”

“It’s a bit similar.”

The calico cat stared at him, looking pensive.

1. In the Song Dynasty, there was a unique tradition for acquiring a cat. The person who wanted to take a kitten home would have to present the owner with a bag of salt or offer food to the mother cat as a "betrothal gift," which we referred to as friendship gift here. They would even write a proposal letter, formalizing this exchange. This custom is referred to as "hiring a cat." The title of this chapter originates from a poem titled Begging for a Cat written by the cat-loving poet Huang Tingjian. The poem describes how he desperately wanted a cat because his cat died and mice kept pestering him. Upon learning of a cat recently giving birth to a litter of kittens, he bought fish, tied with willow, and presented the "betrothal gift" to the mother cat. This gesture symbolized his intent to hire the kitten and bring it into his house. ☜