Chapter Ninety-Four: The Formless Wanderer

“Sir, please don’t make things difficult for me. Tianxiang Tower receives seven or eight hundred guests a day, even if not a thousand. If you were asking after the movements of one of the princes, or an official of the third rank or above, I might be able to answer a thing or two. The private rooms on the third floor all have records. But a court scholar like this, I truly have no recollection of him. As for the words on the signboard, our young mistress had them written by a very celebrated scholar. I have never even seen that man.”

The manager in the main hall of the first floor was very polite, but he could do nothing to help Yu Lang’s inquiries.

Yu Lang felt a little stifled. “Uncle Taibai is so renowned as the Poet Immortal, and yet even this manager has never heard of him.”

Du Fu found a vacant seat and led Yu Lang over to sit. “Since we are here, let us make the best of it. We can’t make this trip for nothing. Besides, since we have come to Tianxiang Tower, let us enjoy its fine food and wine. Ordinary days, I would never bear to spend money in a place like this. Brother Taibai’s name as the Poet Immortal may thunder through the circles of the learned, but the managers of these wine houses are mostly men from humble backgrounds, waiting tables for a living. They have not studied much, so it is only natural they would not know him.”

“May I ask whether you are friends of Scholar Li?” A beautiful woman came forward of her own accord and addressed them.

She wore only a layer of gauze, her delicate chest half concealed. To Yu Lang, accustomed as he was to the modest and refined women of the south, it seemed a little too bold. Along the way he had already seen many women in Chang’an dressed in a similar fashion, but this was his first formal conversation, and he still felt somewhat shy.

Yu Lang turned his eyes aside, not daring to look at the girl directly. “We are indeed friends of Scholar Li Taibai.” Fearing there might be someone in the Hanlin Academy who shared Li Bai’s surname, Yu Lang deliberately stressed the full name. After all, Li was a very common surname in the Tang Dynasty, so it would not be strange if there were others in the academy with that name.

No sooner had Yu Lang admitted it than the woman’s attitude changed completely. Gone was her earlier gentleness. She slapped the table lightly and said, “Li Taibai owes me thirty taels of silver for drinks. I have been waiting here three days for him and still haven’t caught him. Since you say you’re his friends, then you must pay his debt for him!”

Yu Lang was stunned. First, it was his first time in the Great Tang encountering such a sharp-tongued woman; second, he could not tell whether she truly knew Li Bai or was simply using the pretext to extort money.

At such a moment, Du Fu remained calmer. “May I ask your honored name, young lady? Since Li Taibai borrowed thirty taels from you, did he leave any written proof?”

Seeing that Du Fu had no intention of shirking the debt, the woman’s expression softened somewhat. She drew a crumpled sheet of paper from her sleeve and said in a low voice, “My name is Li Yaxian, and I am a song girl at Spring Charm Tower. Li Taibai did not write me a note of debt, only left me a poem.”

Du Fu unfolded the paper and let Yu Lang read it with him.

After finishing it, Yu Lang could not help but laugh. On that crumpled sheet were written lines boasting that the writer was a wine immortal with no money in his purse, that he had come merely to spend the night and would sleep in the street tomorrow. The signature, three scrawled words reading “Li Taibai,” looked ninety percent convincing, but in Yu Lang’s eyes it was not the real man’s hand. Someone was clearly using the reputation of the Poet Immortal Li Taibai to cheat food and drink. To imitate another’s handwriting to such a degree meant this person must have an excellent calligraphic foundation.

Du Fu, on the other hand, found the impostor rather amusing despite the fraud. Smiling, he asked, “This Li Taibai you know—how old is he, and what does he look like?”

The woman thought carefully for a moment. “He was only seventeen or eighteen. Quite tall and handsome, in fact, and very gentle with me. He said he was a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, and that this poem, if sold outside, would be worth at least fifty taels of silver. So it could serve as payment for a night’s company.”

“Hahaha.” Du Fu’s playful nature had never entirely left him; hearing such a story, he could not help laughing aloud. “A Li Taibai of seventeen or eighteen years old—now that is someone I should like to know. Miss, you have been deceived. Scholar Li is already well past thirty and approaching forty. How could he possibly be a boy of seventeen or eighteen?”

“Is that true?” Li Yaxian looked doubtful.

“Yes. At the time, I was doubtful too. How could there be a court scholar of seventeen or eighteen? But the man had such a carefree air, and after a few cups of wine I was already half-drunk and soft in the ears. In the end, I was still fooled by a few sweet words.” Li Yaxian’s mood dimmed. If that thirty taels could not be recovered, her position at Spring Charm Tower would surely become extremely difficult. The madam might even seize the opportunity to force her onto the path of prostitution. She had managed to stay in Spring Charm Tower as a performer rather than selling her body entirely by relying on her fine skill at the qin. If this matter could not be resolved, all her previous efforts would likely go to waste.

Though sharp-tongued, Li Yaxian was not a woman who made trouble without reason. Having determined that Li Taibai had nothing to do with this, she no longer hounded the two men. With a downcast look, she turned to leave.

Seeing this, Du Fu felt reluctant. If the woman had stubbornly behaved unreasonably, he might not have given her a single coin. But because she was so sensible, his pity rose instead.

Yu Lang stepped forward first and stopped her. “That coward who used Uncle Taibai’s name to swindle money from women—I will make sure to find him. Miss, this matter is on us now. Tell us, what other obvious features did that man have?”

Yu Lang’s motive in helping her was not as pure as Du Fu’s. The trail to finding Li Bai had gone cold, and Yu Lang had already made a mistake in his earlier plan. A method like searching by clues and following the trail might work in Yangzhou, but in a city like Chang’an with over a million people, it was unlikely to succeed. Li Yaxian’s words just now had given him an idea. He might as well make the falsehood real: take the poem from her and go to the Hanlin Academy to demand payment. By then, no matter how arrogant the gatekeeper might be, he would have to show some restraint.

Li Yaxian’s face brightened. “Then I thank you both in advance. That man had a remarkably beautiful voice, and he loved singing. He often sang in the middle of a sentence, and he would tap several wooden boards he carried with him to keep time.”

That was a fairly distinctive clue. Unfortunately, Yu Lang had only just arrived in Chang’an and had not met many people yet, so he turned a seeking look to Du Fu.

Du Fu hesitated and shook his head. In truth, a name had already come to mind, but he was certain that person would never use another man’s name to swindle people.

Yu Lang pondered for a while. “Sister Yaxian, how about this? You do not need to go looking for him for now. I’ll give you forty taels and buy this note from you. Then you can come with us to the Hanlin Academy and stage a little play.”

Li Yaxian’s eyes lit up. “Besides the qin and singing, acting is what I’m best at.”

Du Fu understood Yu Lang’s wicked intentions and joined him with a sly grin.

“What are you grinning about? Hand over the silver, then. And the cost of this meal too—you’re paying for that. Once we’ve eaten and drunk our fill, we’ll set out.” Yu Lang invited Miss Li Yaxian to take a seat.

Du Fu looked at him with innocent, wounded eyes.

“You were the one footing the bill every time we went wild in Yangzhou. I’ve traveled thousands of miles west with you, and all my silver has been spent on the road. It’s your turn to bleed a little.” Yu Lang bit into a piece of soft cake from Tianxiang Tower and nodded repeatedly. It truly was an exquisite delicacy.

Du Fu fumbled for a long while, fishing in his hat, his sleeves, and even his boots, before finally scraping together enough money.

Yu Lang could not stand the pitiful act any longer and laughed. “Rest easy. Once we make a scene at the Hanlin Academy, that silver will circle right back into your pocket.”

Du Fu had been waiting for precisely that promise. At once, his face brightened into a full smile, and he poured wine for the other two.