Legends of Ogre Gate

by Jeremy Bai

  “He… he…” Du Qian spluttered. It took him a moment to collect his thoughts. “He’s not from this world! He’s from—”

  “Another realm?” Sun Mai asked. “Within the same cosmos or a different cosmos?” He shook his head. “Brother Du Qian, I don’t claim to have all the answers to all the questions that exist. But I do believe that asking questions is the only way to determine the true nature of reality. I’m willing to hear more of your arguments regarding my scripture. Why don’t we go for a walk by the lake, and we can further this discussion?”

  Du Qian suddenly seemed a bit calmer than before. Placing the scripture scroll into his sleeve, he nodded. “Very well. Let’s begin with your statement that beliefs are just systems. How do you reconcile that with what Kong Zhi said in the Rites of Wan Mei?”

  Chapter 64: Flying Crocodiles?

  When Sun Mai and Du Qian returned from the lake, Du Qian was by no means convinced of anything that Sun Mai had been trying to persuade him of. However, he no longer wanted to kill Sun Mai. Furthermore, they reached an agreement whereby every day for the following month, they would have a public debate about one of the topics raised by Sun Mai in his scripture.

  During that month, the debates were attended by virtually all members of the Dragon-Phoenix Sect. In some of the debates, Du Qian came out the clear winner, in others, he was completely flummoxed by Sun Mai’s confounding logic, or lack thereof. As a result of the debates, many members of the Dragon-Phoenix Sect grew more firm in their belief of the traditional Dehuan teachings. However, many people were swayed by Sun Mai.

  Something else happened during the month of debates. News and stories reached the sect about the exploits of other famous martial artists throughout the empire.

  For example, a feud had developed between the Purple Cavern Killer and the Twin Giants of the Zhaoze Swamp. According to stories brought back to the camp by the Eyes of the Phoenix, the Purple Cavern Killer and his apprentice eventually challenged the Twin Giants to a duel. The four of them met in the salt mines south of Zun Valley, where they fought for three days and three nights. No one was present to witness the duel, but it ended in a shocking turn of events: The Twin Giants and the Purple Cavern Killer became sworn siblings.

  In an even more astonishing development, the Executioner of the South had sold his services to the Demon Emperor, earning him widespread hatred among the martial artists.

  Traders from the Dai Bien Forest brought tales of Hua Pi the Skin Dancer, tales so fantastic that many people refused to believe them. Furthermore, not all the stories were consistent. In some versions, Hua Pi was a midget who had stolen shapeshifting powers from a demon. In other versions, Hua Pi was no midget at all, but rather a beautiful woman with a demented soul who relished the screams of the victims she skinned alive. The only common theme was that Hua Pi was a terrifying figure no one dared to offend.

  One of the most popular figures in the stories was the hero Qian Chengsi, who was also called the Stone-Footed King. He had supposedly traveled south from the Yangu Plains on a mission to bring justice to those who trembled under the iron fist of the Demon Emperor. Stories about his exploits reached the sect via information gathered by the Eyes of the Phoenix, as well as from groups of passing refugees. There were multiple stories about Qian Chengsi, but the most sensational was how he had robbed the treasury of Tung-On, then fled to Mount Dao, where he was tracked down by three Lions of Peace, whom he then killed in a fight on top of a cliff.

  However, the most sensational tales to reach the camp were about the Timeless Master, who was becoming a figure so well-known that many people considered him to be even more famous than Sunan and Bao. The Timeless Master already had a group of heroes following him that was almost as large as the Dragon-Phoenix Sect. He had a sworn brother now, a great hero named Pei Fu. Rumor had it that the two of them had begun work on a palace somewhere in the southern Banyan Region.

  Recently, they had led a force of disciples to execute the corrupt magistrate of Zun City. Not only did they succeed in their mission, on their way out of the city, they ran into a squadron of Demon Emperor soldiers led by none other than the Hate General. A bloody battle was fought in which the Hate General’s squadron was completely routed. As for the Hate General, he fled into the swamp north of Zun City, barely escaping with his life.

  When Bao heard about the Timeless Master defeating an ogre general, she felt both jealous and irritated, but she also couldn’t help but feel a bit of admiration. Of course, little did Bao know that stories of her own exploits, as well as Sunan’s, had a similar impact on the many people who heard them.

  As the month of debates between Du Qian and Sun Mai drew to a close, the Eyes of the Phoenix finally brought back word about the Shan people.

  The Shan was actually a blanket term for a large group of smaller tribes scattered through the north, though mostly the northwest, Banyan Region. From what the Eyes of the Phoenix had seen, most of them looked like normal people, nothing like the bizarre depiction in the Classic of Mountains and Rivers. One of the Eyes of the Phoenix insisted that she had glimpsed a headless man among a group of tribesmen she’d spotted, although many of her fellow scouts made fun of her story.

  Considering that there was little to do in the temporary camp other than train and spar, it took little convincing for Sunan to persuade Bao to join him on a trip down the Southern Fei River to look for the mythical Shan people.

  Preparations took more than a week, mostly because they needed to prepare a large raft upon which to travel down the river. Traveling on foot through the thick jungle would have added an element of danger that they preferred to avoid. After word came through that the raft had been acquired, a group set off, including Bao, Sunan, Mao Yun, Wang Tian, Ruan the Flamingo, and five lower-ranking members of each division of the sect. The goal of the journey was to move quickly and without fanfare down the river to Shan territory and determine once and for all whether the mythical version of the Shan people could be found, and whether or not the empyreal hammer truly existed.

  They set out from the temporary sect headquarters on a bright, sunlit morning, traveling in a roughly southeasterly direction toward the Southern Fei River. After a full day of travel, they were completely out of the foothills of the mountains and well into the jungle that was the Jian Shu Forest.

  From there, the pace slowed. It took about two days to reach the bend in the river where the raft was waiting. Once aboard, their pace quickened as they floated down the Southern Fei.

  Occasionally they caught sight of local tribes on the banks of the river, fishing, hunting, or washing. Sometimes there were children playing.

  As evening was falling on the first day of travel, Sunan sat by himself at the edge of the raft, fingering a bracelet made of cloth and beads. He had put the bracelet together himself recently; it was a traditional craft that most children in his home village had been adept at.

  Should I give it to her? he thought. He looked down at the bracelet for a long moment. It reminded him of his mother and sisters, for whom he had made such bracelets every summer growing up. It’s silly, isn’t it? Why would she want a stupid bracelet like this?

  A moment later Wang Tian approached and sat down next to him. Sunan quickly put the bracelet away.

  “We’ll need to set up camp soon,” Wang Tian said. “Thankfully this part of the forest is relatively safe.”

  “What do you mean relatively?”

  Wang Tian chuckled. “Well, for one thing, there are no flying crocodiles.”

  Sunan laughed out loud for a moment. Then, noticing Wang Tian’s expression, he said, “Wait, you’re serious, aren’t you?”

  “Of course. You haven’t heard the stories of the flying crocodiles down south?”

  “Sure I have, but I thought you could only find them in places like Nangu, not the Banyan…”

  “Well, that’s mostly true. From what I’ve heard, flying crocodiles can only be found south of the Zun River, so we shouldn’t s
ee any up here.”

  They camped upon the riverbank, and woke early to proceed on their way. An overland trip through the forest would have taken at least ten days in perfect travel conditions, but using the raft cut the travel time down significantly. It was roughly noontime on the third day when they concealed the raft and proceeded inland on foot. Travel progressed rather slowly because of Ruan the Flamingo, but with the assistance of other members of the sect, they managed to set a decent pace.

  “My scout spotted that headless man about half a day’s travel from here,” Wang Tian said.

  He led them up a tributary of the Southern Fei, more of a stream than a river. After they had walked along for about two hours, they reached a small pond, where they stopped for a short rest.

  Bao knelt down next to the pond and had reached her hands into the water when a strange gruntlike clicking sound echoed out.

  Sunan looked up into the trees on the opposite side of the pond, and the blood drained from his face. Sitting there in the branch of a tall tree was an enormous crocodile staring directly at Bao.

  As Bao looked up from the water, the crocodile dropped out of the tree and began to fly directly toward her. Before anyone could react, the beast was only about two meters away from her, its jaws opening to reveal a mouthful of sharp teeth.

  There was no time to ponder the situation. Sunan quickly leapt into the air toward the flying crocodile, unleashing Rebuke of the Dragon.

  Just when the crocodile’s jaws were about to snap down on the shocked Bao, two illusory dragons slammed into it, knocking it out of the air and sending it splashing down into the pond.

  Sunan landed right next to Bao, drawing his saber as he did. Bao rose to her feet, stepping back and pulling out two daggers. The rest of the party also drew their weapons.

  That was when more grunting and clicking sounds filled the air. Upon looking up into the surrounding trees, they saw three more flying crocodiles looking at them from within the canopy above.

  “Dammit, Wang Tian,” Sunan said. “I thought you said the flying crocodiles lived south of the Zun River!”

  “They do!” Wang Tian cried. “These things shouldn’t be here.”

  A raspy voice spoke out from farther within the trees. “They’re mine.”

  As the words were spoken, an old man stepped out into the open. He wore hide garments, and his long white hair hung loosely over his shoulders. His clothing was embroidered with deep-blue cloth, and his right arm was covered with a complicated tattoo. At first, Sunan assumed he was one of the local tribesmen, but Wang Tian’s words quickly proved him wrong.

  “You’re from Zhaoze Swamp, aren’t you?” he said.

  The old man smiled, reaching up to stroke his scraggly white beard. “You’re a sharp one, aren’t you? That’s right, I’m originally from the swamp. Enough with the chitchat. Hand over your valuables, and then I’ll be on my way.”

  Mao Yun’s eyes went wide. “You’re trying to rob us?”

  The old man let out a low whistle, and the flying crocodiles made more grunting sounds. As for the crocodile that had landed in the pond, it remained under the surface of the water, staring up at Bao.

  “I’d prefer to think of it as you people donating to my traveling expenses,” he said with a crooked grin.

  Bao took a step forward. “Look, old man, we don’t have the time for this. Take your lizards and scram.”

  Within the wooden travel pack strapped to Bao’s pack was her Phoenix Crown, but before she could even consider taking it out and putting it on, a cold gleam flickered in the old man’s eyes, and he said, “Wrong answer.”

  Then he made a clicking sound, and the crocodiles all flew into the air.

  Chapter 65: The Speaker

  Flying crocodiles descended from the trees, and the crocodile in the pond burst out with snapping jaws as it attacked Bao. Whizzing sounds could be heard as the old man launched a handful of darts.

  He’s a qi fighter, thought Bao. As she dodged to the side to avoid the crocodile, Sunan’s saber spun through the air to deflect the darts.

  Fierce fighting broke out, with two or three members of the Dragon-Phoenix Sect each taking on one of the crocodiles.

  As Sunan flew off to fight the old man on the other side of the pond, Bao fostered the spark of rage which had just leapt up in her heart, using it to alter her qi flow.

  She had no attention to spare for Sunan or anyone else. She alone fought the flying crocodile which had initially ambushed her. After evading its initial lunging bite, she threw a knife toward its eye, but the blade merely glanced off the top of its head. Then it swung its tail, catching her off guard and sending her flying backward through the trees.

  As she was struggling to her feet, it flew toward her again. She focused solely on manipulating the qi within her body, building it up to unleash in the powerful attack she had first invented at the foot of Mount Fohe. In a critical moment like this, there was no time to worry about what Du Qian had said about the danger of cathartic moves like this.

  She waited until the last possible moment before dodging to the side, and then she roared in a rage as she swung her hand through the air. Five bands of red energy shot out, slicing through the flying crocodile’s armored hide as if it were nothing more than wet paper.

  The crocodile didn’t even have a chance to react before it was falling to the ground amidst a shower of blood and gore.

  The old man fighting Sunan let out a bellow of grief and anger, but he wasn’t able to break free from his fight with Sunan.

  Bao looked around and saw that the other members of the Dragon-Phoenix Sect were holding their own against the three surviving flying crocodiles. Without hesitation, she leapt to join Sunan in fighting the old man.

  Before she could get close enough to land a blow, though, the old man suddenly inhaled deeply and then expelled the breath out of his mouth in a violent blast toward Sunan. Sunan was flung backward, landing hard on his back on the other side of the pond.

  Bao slashed her remaining knife toward the old man’s throat. The old man dodged, throwing a dart toward her face, which she kicked aside with Dragon Cleaves the Clouds.

  As Bao and the old man fought back and forth, Wang Tian and another Dragon-Phoenix fighter faltered in their fight against another of the flying crocodiles, forcing Sunan to leap to their aid.

  Moments later, the old man unleashed the same move he had used on Sunan, expelling a powerful breath backed with internal energy. Bao attempted to avoid the move but was hit dead on and flew backward until she slammed into a tree, which knocked the wind out of her.

  As she flopped to the ground, gasping for breath, the old man leapt high into the air and threw two darts at her. Her hands were planted on the ground as she struggled to push herself to her feet, and her knife lay a few meters away from her. There was no time for Dragon Cleaves the Clouds or any other move that she could think of.

  That was when a blur passed in front of her eyes, resolving itself into the form of Sunan. His sword screamed through the air, knocking down one of the darts. However, the second dart slammed into his shoulder, and the force of the blow sent him spinning off to the side.

  Another spark of rage burned to life in Bao’s heart as she rose to her feet and struggled to suck in a breath of air.

  In that same moment, a growling cry rose up as Mao Yun delivered a killing blow to one of the other flying crocodiles.

  As Bao began to circulate her qi to deliver another slash of rage, the old man made a clicking sound, then leapt backward at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, he vanished into the trees. The flying crocodiles shot into the air, disappearing moments later. Almost as quick as the fight began, it ended.

  Bao intentionally kept her rage simmering in case the retreat was a feint, but she turned toward Sunan, who was just now struggling up. She stepped forward to offer a helping hand, then she saw the dart embedded in his shoulder.

  “That looks like it hurts,” she said.


  He grimaced and reached up to touch the dart. “I’ve had worse,” he said.

  “Really? When?”

  Gripping the exposed end of the dart, he pulled it out and sucked in a deep breath. “Good question.”

  He tossed the dart to the ground next to him.

  Luckily, none of the other Dragon-Phoenix Sect members had received any significant injuries in the short skirmish.

  “That’s not poisoned, is it?” Mao Yun asked.

  Bao squatted down and picked up the dart. The only thing that she could see on the surface was blood. She sniffed it. “Doesn’t appear to be. Do you feel anything strange inside of you, Sunan?”

  Sunan closed his eyes for a long moment. “No. Just pain.”

  After taking time to clean Sunan’s wound and bind it as best they could, they proceeded on up the stream.

  Eventually, Wang Tian pointed out into the forest. “The clearing is just up ahead. That’s where the headless man was spotted.”

  They immediately struck out toward the clearing. Soon, the trees began to clear, and they could see an open space ahead of them. It was also possible to see that the clearing was occupied.

  Sitting in the very center, out in the open, was a young woman wearing hide clothing similar to that worn by the old man they had just fought, except that hers was patched with yellow cloth. She sat cross-legged on a low, wide boulder, her eyes closed and her hands resting on her knees.

  As Wang Tian cautiously led the way into the open, the young woman’s eyes opened.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” she said. “Greetings, Young Dragon. Greetings, Fierce Phoenix.” Before anyone could respond, she rose to her feet and hopped nimbly off the boulder. “Please come with me. The True Shan are waiting for you.”

  The group exchanged glances, but there was little time for discussion, as the young woman was just about to disappear into the trees.