Otherworldly Merchant

Li Mazi and the others had also woken up by now. They began to tease me. “Oh, do you know that our Little Brother Zhang was jealous for the whole night? I think he finished all the vinegar [1] in Wuhan in one night.”

Yin Xinyue smiled at me strangely. “You guys know nothing. We were just making things even. Isn’t that right, dear?”

Then, she jealousy glanced at Mrs. Qi, who blushed and lowered her head.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “All right, all right. Now tell us about the soul that has been pestering Mr. Qi. Who was it when alive?”

Yin Xinyue sat down and sighed. “Even if I tell you, I’m afraid you won’t believe me. That soul… Actually, he’s Li Bai.”

“Li Bai…” Everybody present was shocked by the name.

Li Bai was really famous. I was afraid there was no one in China that didn’t know his name. Li Bai had spent his whole life composing poems, drinking, and traveling. He had left touching poems wherever he visited. He wasn’t only the number one poet in the Tang dynasty, but the number one poet from ancient to modern days, to the point that everybody referred to him as the ‘Immortal Poet.’

The red-haired girl seemed not to buy it. “Xinyue, are you kidding? Li Bai was a great poet. Why would he linger in this world for several thousand years and not reincarnate?”

Yin Xinyue pouted her lips. “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask our expert.”

Then, people shifted their looks to me.

I smiled again. “Xinyue, are you sure he’s the real Li Bai?”

Yin Xinyue nodded. “Of course, why would I deceive you? That guy’s Li Bai. I can tell from the Tang dynasty poems he has written. Oh right, I’m sure you can’t guess who is the beauty in his drawings.”

I was interested. “Yeah, who is she?”

The woman that Li Bai could never forget was certainly someone noble. Perhaps she was a deity from the heavens.

Yin Xinyue said, “I’m a little skeptical as well, but that woman seems to be Yang Guifei.”

We exchanged looks, and we saw the doubt in each other’s eyes. None of us believed Yin Xinyue.

Yin Xinyue was a little annoyed. “What, you don't believe me?”

Li Mazi said, “How could Yang Guifei have any relationship with Li Bai? One was the wanton and unrestrained Immortal Poet, while the other was the emperor’s favorite concubine. They had nothing in common. Why would Li Bai like Yang Guifei?”

Yin Xinyue told us the story of Li Bai and Yang Guifei.

Back then, Yang Guifei’s beauty could cause nations to fall. As such, Emperor Xuanzong decided to make her his concubine. It was also around that time that he summoned Li Bai.

Li Bai was really famous, and even the emperor liked his poems.

Li Bai ended up created some poems where he praised Emperor Xuanzong for being the most outstanding emperor in history, and the emperor obviously very pleased. He gave Li Bai a post at Hanlin Academy, which served to provide scholarly expertise and poetry for the emperor.

The next day, Emperor Xuanzong brought Yang Guifei to a small lake near the palace to enjoy the flowers. After seeing the blooming flowers, they asked the composer, Li Guinian, to sing a cheerful song.

However, Emperor Xuanzong stopped Li Guinian after hearing just two words of an old song. “I’ve brought my beauty here to enjoy the flowers. Why would I want to listen to an old song of yours? Call Li Bai here, and tell him to write me a new song.”

Li Guinian sweated in fright. He went and found Li Bai.

Unfortunately, at the time, Li Bai was drinking with his friends at an inn. He was so drunk that he was lying on the table.

Li Guinian’s face paled. How could he write a song in this state? If he couldn’t write anything new, both of their heads would be removed.

Feeling helpless, Li Guinian had to pull a drunk and almost-blacked-out Li Bai to the lake near the palace.

Emperor Xuanzong was already impatient. After seeing the drunk Li Bai, his face turned purple in rage. He ordered his guard to wake up Li Bai.

“Li Bai, can you create some new poems?” asked the emperor.

Li Bai agreed and quickly created a poem.

Clouds, one thinks of her clothes; flowers, one thinks of her countenance;

the spring wind sweeps dew from her balustrade, splendid and dense.

If not seen at the peak of the Jade Mountain,

then she will be encountered under the moon on the gemstone terrace.

Li Bai’s drunk appearance was aloof and somewhat stylish. At that time, many maids and servants started to admire him. Even Yang Guifei’s eyes gleamed at him.

One was the most beautiful woman of the Tang dynasty, while the other was the Tang dynasty’s best poet. Since they had come together, it was hard to not have any sparks.

Tang Xuanzong was excited and asked Li Bai to write more. However, Li Bai rejected him and excused himself. “I’m too tired. I don’t even have the strength to grind the ink! Moreover, when I write poems, I have a bad habit of taking my shoes off. Otherwise, I won’t be in the mood.”

Emperor Xuanzong laughed. “That’s okay. As long as you can write a poem, just do whatever you want.”

Li Bai nodded and asked Yang Guozhong to grind more ink for him and asked Gao Lishi to take his shoes off.

Yang Guozhong was Yang Guifei’s brother, and Gao Lishi was Emperor Xuanzong’s favorite eunuch. Most of the important officials and nobles had to bow to them when they saw them, but a little scholar like Li Bai instructed them to make him some ink and take his shoes off for him!

Although Yang Guozhong and Gao Lishi gritted their teeth and served Li Bai, they hated his guts from the bottom of their hearts. They wished to give him a lesson someday.

Since Li Bai felt comfortable and was in high spirits, he wrote ten poems at once. Each of them was beautiful and remained famous in the capital for quite a long time. Emperor Xuanzong was also surprised. It was as if he was watching a deity. How could Li Bai, in his intoxicated state, write such perfect poems? If he wasn’t a deity, what else could he be?

Yang Guifei started to admire Li Bai more when she realized that all of his poems praised her beauty. She knew that Li Bai was interested in her.

Good wine and a beautiful companion while watching the bright moon... A man could not ask for more.

However, since his lover was in the emperor’s embrace, Li Bai felt distressed.

Then, their ambiguous relationship began…

They were in love but not predestined to be together. It was really hard for them to meet, too.

However, Yang Guifei often encouraged Emperor Xuanzong to bring her to see Li Bai. Every time, Li Bai created more poems to praise Yang Guifei’s beauty.

Yang Guifei would also discreetly send Li Bai some gifts. For instance, she sent a handkerchief that she had embroidered herself. She also sent an ink slab. She would quietly make more ink for Li Bai and secretly read his poems.

Yang Guifei often gave Li Bai compliments before Emperor Xuanzong. To please the beauty, Emperor Xuanzong also started to appreciate Li Bai more.

However, Yang Guozhong and Gao Lishi still hated Li Bai as they had been forced to make ink for him and take his shoes off that day. They had lost too much face, and they tried everything they could to worsen the relationship between Emperor Xuanzong and Li Bai.

Due to the two treacherous officials, Li Bai slowly lost his favor. Emperor Xuanzong rarely summoned him, and to avoid alerting the emperor, Yang Guifei didn’t dare to see Li Bai anymore.

Li Bai was an outstanding and talented man, while Yang Guifei was a stunning, peerless beauty. Both of them had to endure the lovesickness.

In the end, Li Bai couldn’t endure life in the palace anymore. He was a man with wishes and desires, and now he was just an entertainer for the emperor. He decided to resign and begin his life in seclusion.

Although Li Bai had resigned and left the palace, his love for Yang Guifei never ended.

Not long after that, the An-Shi Rebellion erupted. Under the pressure of his officials, Emperor Xuanzong sentenced Yang Guifei to death at Mawei Pass.

After Yang Guifei’s death, Li Bai was no longer the same aloof and unrestrained poet. He ignored his meals and kept drinking wine. His body decayed, and he kept gazing at the ink slab Yang Guifei had gifted him.

To prove his love for Yang Guifei, Li Bai vowed not to write more poems. After having his last tumbler of wine, he jumped into the lake and ended his life as the Immortal Poet.

When he died, Li Bai still held the ink slab that Yang Guifei had gifted him. His spirit wasn’t pleased with his death, and his love and yearning for Yang Guifei didn’t vanish. As such, his soul attached itself to the ink slab.

When his time came, Li Bai’s ghost escaped the ink slab and possessed Mr. Qi’s body. He tried to continue the love of his previous life.

However, Yang Guifei’s soul had already vanished in the river of history. He could no longer see the woman he had been yearning for.

After listening to the sad love story, all those present were shaken. The young ladies were especially moved and cried.

1. Drinking vinegar is synonym of being jealous in Chinese.