Chapter 526: Preserving Han

Scholar Lu stepped into the alleyways of Linzi's outer ward. Guided by a disciple of Scholar Hou, he twisted and turned east and west until he finally found this unremarkable little courtyard house.

From the outside, it looked no different from any ordinary residence, but once inside, one could catch a faint, peculiar odor in the air — cinnabar, and sulfur too...

Amidst the swirling smoke, a middle-aged man in plain robes emerged from the house. This was the renowned fangshi of the age, Han Zhong. Though he appeared youthful, his fame rivaled Scholar Hou's; he was the leader of the "Summoning the Stove to Attract Beings" school.

Seeing it was Scholar Lu of the Overseas Immortal-Seeking school, Han Zhong showed no great enthusiasm. He merely gave a slight bow and invited him to sit.

Scholar Lu glanced around and said with a smile, "The high officials at court are quarreling fiercely over whether to burn the books or compile them, and the local officers are searching houses everywhere, indicting anyone who hides a book. Yet here you are, Master Han, hiding away in such a quiet, secluded spot."

Han Zhong smiled. "The hundred officials govern the realm for His Majesty, while we fangshi must secure immortality for His Majesty. Each performs his own duty — why interfere with one another? Besides, even if all the folk poetry, histories, and the words of the Hundred Schools are banned, we fangshi in court service enjoy the same treatment as the Erudites. Can we not still consult the arts of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases of Master Zou?"

The fangshi, as a group, were not quite the same as the Confucian scholars who loved to "use the past to criticize the present."

"Indeed. Whether they burn the books or compile them, it does not hinder us from refining elixirs and seeking immortality."

Having said this, Scholar Lu began to inspect the place. "Is this a newly purchased residence, Master Han?"

"This was my master's old elixir chamber. I have recently bought it back."

Han Zhong explained, "I once studied the esoteric arts here in Linzi. Every day, I would raise a wooden pestle and pound large chunks of cinnabar into small pieces, then grind them into a fine powder in a mortar. Only then could the cinnabar be refined into quicksilver, and the mercury transformed into an elixir..."

He cupped his hands in salute toward the direction of Qin Shi Huang's traveling palace. "His Majesty has stayed in the Qi region for quite some time. Scholar Lu, you have spared no effort searching for immortal islands for His Majesty along the coast. We, of course, dare not slacken in our elixir refinement either."

Scholar Lu chuckled drily. "How loyal you are, Master Han. But after all these years, has His Majesty ever eaten a single pill of the medicine you've concocted?"

Han Zhong's expression stiffened. "His Majesty will take no medicine but an elixir of immortality, and an elixir of immortality requires rare and precious ingredients, making it difficult to refine. Naturally, I have had no opportunity to present one."

"I'm afraid even if you did refine an elixir of immortality, Master Han, His Majesty would not easily consume it."

Scholar Lu rose with a chuckle and began recounting an old story.

"His Majesty is most fond of Han Fei's essays. In one of his memorials, Han Fei mentioned an incident: It is said that in years past, a visitor from Qi came to offer an elixir of immortality to the King of Chu. As the receptionist carried the medicine into the palace, a palace guard saw it and asked, 'Is it edible?' The receptionist said yes, whereupon the guard snatched the elixir of immortality and ate it."

"The King of Chu was furious when he heard of this and had the guard bound for punishment. But the guard said, 'The visitor from Qi claimed this was an elixir of immortality. I ate the medicine, and now Your Majesty would have me killed. How is this an elixir of immortality? It is clearly a death-bringing medicine! The visitor was deceiving Your Majesty!' The King of Chu found this reasoning sound and so released the guard."

"His Majesty has surely read this essay and understands Han Fei's point. What he detests most is being deceived. Therefore, when fangshi offer medicine, they must first have dogs and junior convict servants taste it. If it fails to achieve the touted effect, the fangshi is indicted. The law of Qin states that if a claim is not verified, the penalty is death. This is no joking matter."

Scholar Lu shook his head. "Is this not the reason you have never had the chance to present your medicine, Master Han?"

Han Zhong sensed a hint of mockery in Scholar Lu's words and retorted pointedly:

"Are you not the same, Scholar Lu? Day and night, you urged His Majesty to tour the east, perform the Feng and Shan sacrifices, and visit the coast. Now that His Majesty has come to Qi and Lu, he is once again preoccupied with the compilation of books. All of you from the Overseas Immortal-Seeking school have been neglected. Did you not tell Scholar Hou that there is a great talent in Linzi awaiting His Majesty's summons? If I am not mistaken, that man is Anqi Sheng, is he not? And where is he now?"

Scholar Lu spread his hands. "Anqi Sheng's movements are like a dragon's — you see the head but not the tail. It is not for me to control. He heard that His Majesty is entangled in worldly affairs in Linzi and felt this was not a good time for a discussion. So he changed his mind and decided to wait by the seaside. When we go to Jiaodong, we will naturally meet him."

He then smiled. "Master Han, have you not also prepared a gift for His Majesty here in Qi and Lu — readied a person for him? Where is he now?"

"What do you mean by that?!"

Han Zhong's face remained calm, but Scholar Lu clearly saw that the hand hidden within his sleeve was pinching the flesh of his own wrist, struggling to maintain his composure and clarity.

So Scholar Lu rose and began idly fiddling with the assorted jars and pots on the cupboard, speaking casually of a story from long ago.

"I have learned of a secret. Back when Han was pressed by Qin and on the verge of annihilation, someone proposed three stratagems to the King of Han."

"The first was to send the hydraulics engineer Zheng Guo to Qin to build a canal, thereby exhausting Qin's national strength so it could not afford to attack Han. The second was to have Prince Han Fei, whom the King of Qin greatly admired, go to Qin and, when the opportunity arose, advise for the preservation of Han. The third: hearing that the King of Qin, though young, was already deeply interested in the arts of immortals and esoteric techniques, Han could secretly cultivate a fangshi, spend money to raise his reputation, make him illustrious, and send him into Qin to stay by the King of Qin's side and gain his trust. If the first two stratagems failed, he would then add poison to the elixir he offered and kill the King of Qin..."

Hearing this, Han Zhong could no longer remain composed. He glared at Scholar Lu, the hand in his sleeve clenching into a fist!

Scholar Lu, however, clapped his hands as if to himself. "The men of Han are clever and cunning. Though they too sent an assassin into Qin, they were not as direct as the men of Yan, who insisted on finding a swordsman or swinging a zhu at His Majesty's head right in the grand hall. Much more sophisticated."

"Unfortunately, this stratagem was very troublesome. First, they had to find someone whose identity would not arouse the King of Qin's suspicion. Second, he had to be loyal to Han and willing to die for it. Third, it would take a very long time to make him a famous fangshi."

"Fortunately, the King of Han finally found a descendant of a Han prince in the Qi region. By coincidence, this man was also studying the esoteric arts. So Han funded him, allowing him to study under a renowned master and have the money to purchase rare ingredients and refine elixir pills. Over ten years, he gained a modest reputation. This man may not have still cherished the thought that he and the King of Han shared the same ancestor, but he bore in mind the grace of Han's support."

"But no one expected that Han's first stratagem, the Zheng Guo Canal, far from draining Qin, actually made it stronger. The second stratagem was also useless. After Han Fei entered Qin, his intention to preserve Han was exposed by Li Si and Yao Jia, and he was soon forced to commit suicide. Then, Ye Teng defected and led the Qin army in a fierce assault on Han, and Han fell. That bastard son of the Han ducal house who studied the esoteric arts had only just set out from Linzi. When he reached Han territory, all he saw was the empty royal palace of Xinzheng..."

"So that fangshi turned back and returned to Linzi, lying dormant for another ten years. His fame grew even greater; there was no one in Qi and Lu who did not know his name. Word even reached Xianyang. This time, the First Emperor of Qin himself sent men to recruit him to court, to refine an elixir of immortality for him. There was not a moment he did not think of adding poison to the pill. It is only a pity that, because of the Emperor's caution, he never found the chance to administer the poison..."

The sound of clapping rang out. Han Zhong forced a smile. "How splendid! Scholar Lu, it seems to me you have not only studied the esoteric arts of Yin and Yang, but have also learned from the School of Minor Talks how to fabricate stories, have you not?"

Scholar Lu returned to his seat, drew close to Han Zhong, and smiled. "Master Han, you know better than anyone that this story is true. That bastard scion of the Han ducal house who failed to complete his mission, that fangshi who lay dormant in the Qin palace, intent on avenging Han — his name is Han Zhong!"

Han Zhong's smile faded. "Where is your proof? Great Qin has laws: one who brings a false accusation will suffer the penalty of the crime he alleged! Scholar Lu, our status is not ordinary; you had best be careful with your words!"

Scholar Lu, however, shook his head. "Master Han, you bought this old elixir chamber to find the men you once studied the esoteric arts with, to kill them and silence them, am I right? Because they spent ten years with you day and night and know a thing or two about you. Linzi is crisscrossed with canals and ditches. After suffocating them, you could pour some wine over them, toss them in, and others would think they got drunk and fell in and drowned."

"After doing that, you thought your scheme was flawless. What a pity. Lately, you have often sent your young disciple out to other regions to purchase medicinal ingredients. But buying medicine was a pretense; his real task was to contact the anti-Qin rebel party. He was supposed to return and report yesterday, yet he is still nowhere to be seen. Does Master Han not find that strange?"

Han Zhong, checkmated, turned ashen. "It was you!"

"It was me."

Scholar Lu stroked his beard, his smile deeply meaningful. "If I report this matter, His Majesty will surely be enraged and hand you over to the Commandant of Justice. There will be no need for harsh torture; even the water punishment, which leaves the skin and flesh unmarked, is not easy to endure. Master Han, you have never suffered much since childhood. What should be said and what should not be said — I fear you will end up saying it all."

Han Zhong, who had been forcing himself to hold on, collapsed all at once. He raised his head and licked his dry lips. "Scholar Lu, though you and I belong to different schools, we have not yet reached the point of irreconcilable enmity. Not long ago, you made an agreement with Scholar Hou that our two houses would sail in the same boat and help each other. If you wished to put me to death, a single word would suffice. Why go to such trouble? May I ask, sir, what do you want me to do?"

Scholar Lu said, "The Son of Heaven has completed the Feng and Shan sacrifices and has also promulgated the Book Proscription Law in Linzi. Now that these matters are mostly settled, he will travel east any day now. You and I are both in the retinue. In a few days, we will enter the Jiaodong region. Master Han, are you not in contact with those sworn warriors intent on restoring Han and seeking revenge, sending men every few months to inform them of the court's movements? This group is also lying low in Qi, are they not? Since that is so, why not tell them they can ambush His Majesty within the borders of Jiaodong Commandery? They will surely succeed!"

Han Zhong was shocked. "The Governor of Jiaodong governs his commandery with extreme strictness. Even if they can infiltrate, I fear they will have no chance to assassinate him. Even if the assassination succeeds, they will find it hard to escape. Scholar Lu, are you not sending them to their deaths?"

Scholar Lu was unconcerned. "If they do not harbor a resolve to die, how can they accomplish a deed that requires certain death?"

Han Zhong, however, did not believe him and asked, "Scholar Lu, in doing this, what exactly are you after?"

Scholar Lu gave a hollow laugh. "I, too, am a man of the Six Kingdoms. My goal is the same as yours, Master Han: we both wish to restore the Six Kingdoms."

"No. It is not the same."

Han Zhong was no fool. He immediately understood. "If an attempt to assassinate His Majesty occurs in Jiaodong, neither the Governor nor the Commandant can escape blame."

Han Zhong raised his head and sneered. "Scholar Lu, could it be that you intend to use the blood of those sworn warriors to implicate the Governor of Jiaodong, Heifu, and at the very least have him transferred away, so as to clear the obstacles for your Overseas Immortal-Seeking endeavor?"

(End of Chapter)