The Sage, the Swordsman and the Scholars

by Pierre Dimaculangan

  The journey was marked by locations full of breathtaking scenery most of which did not go unnoticed by Jirgal who had not seen anything quite like it before. The path to Celestial Peak was not for the faint of heart. It was unforgiving and left no room for survival for anyone with even the slightest of injuries. The trio treaded with great caution, navigating a stone path carved right out of the side of the mountain and crossing an ancient stone bridge that hung precariously between steep cliffs.

  Zuo Shilong, being the agile and nimble warrior monk, effortlessly crossed over and climbed the ancient stone steps that snaked along the side of the mountain like it was a common city street, while Jirgal and Famin Jie lagged behind struggling to match his pace.

  “I am not as young as used to be,” Famin Jie chuckled.

  “And I am fatter than I used to be,” wheezed Jirgal dramatically. “The loss of my wagon may yet have been a blessing in disguise. Driving all these years has made my heart weak and my legs stiff!”

  The trio’s laughter echoed through the mountains and canyons beyond the mist and fog as they drew closer to the Sanctuary where the answers to Famin Jie’s questions may be found. The hostile path through the mountains was a mere foreshadowing of the path they would have to undertake in the coming days, and Famin Jie knew it.

  They journeyed for two days with minimal food and water fighting treacherous winds, the rain, and the blistering cold of night. As they neared the their destination, an old welcoming tree gently swaying with the cold breeze arched over the path as if to signal that the long and treacherous road to the Sanctuary had finally come to an end. Nestled at the mountain’s breast stood the Sanctuary — a safe haven and stronghold monastery of lost knowledge with halls of study and enlightenment for those who wished to rediscover it.

  “Amazing,” said Jirgal and Zuo Shilong simultaneously.

  “What more can you tell us of this place?” Shilong asked.

  “Erm… does anyone else know that this is here? I mean, who would’ve thought!” Jirgal added. Famin Jie kept his gaze at the Sanctuary in the distance and breathed in deep the cool misty air. They proceeded to make their way to the foot of the mountain.

  “When the first emperor united the Nine Domains of the Warring States, some say he had gone mad with power and challenged the mandate of Heaven, calling himself ‘Most High’. He then sought to secure his new position by eliminating all he perceived as a threat to his reign. History has called it the Great Book Burning and the Burial of Scholars. Countless ancient texts were destroyed along with the works of the One Hundred Schools of Thought founded by the great philosophers who sought the restoration of the Way that once prevailed in the society of ancient times. The followers and students of the schools were therefore captured and buried alive. Thousands of years of transcendent wisdom, and the histories of a legendary age were all burned into ash with the swift command of a tyrant. There were those however, who remained faithful to the laws of Heaven and had resisted the emperor in secret. They were the few who remembered the Way that had been lost and remembered that it awaited ‘restoration’. These very same scholars had managed to elude the emperor’s capture and avoid the mass executions. Though they were very few, they united to create the Sanctuary at the heart of the Huangshan range, hidden in plain sight yet far from the reach of tyrants in order to save and preserve the last true copies of the ancient texts and enlightened teachings of antiquity. It is hoped that the restoration of the Way would yet continue in a different age. Today, only a few are aware of the Sanctuary’s existence and even fewer have the discernment to navigate the perilous unknown paths and rugged trails through the mountains that lead to its anterior steps. It was in the Sanctuary that the knowledge of the ancients could be rediscovered and pieces of timeless wisdom bestowed by Heaven could be learned. If there was any hope of restoring the Way to the whole of the Middle Kingdom, it would start in the Sanctuary at the time of Heaven’s choosing. Since then, it has survived the coming and going of the dynasties with its existence known only by a few.”

  For Famin Jie and his companions, the Sanctuary was shelter from the mountain’s unforgiving slopes and an avenue to save the Middle Kingdom. They had yet to realize it. The gears of time and destiny have begun to turn once again and everything was in place to be set in motion. So it begins when the trio finally approached the gateway of the Sanctuary, exhausted, yet relieved.

  “The Keeper of the Sanctuary awaits us, friends,” said Famin Jie as he caught his breath in the cold air. “He will welcome us with shelter.”

  “And I hope his tables will welcome my sorry belly,” remarked Jirgal with urgency. The wind howled and threw blistering cold rain into their faces.

  “The Keeper is very old and very wise, Jirgal. I urge you to speak to him with great care and humility,” advised Famin Jie.

  “Okay, okay, but we really should hurry because my stomach does not recognize or give respect to anybody!” moaned Jirgal. “See? It growled at you just now.”

  The Sanctuary was a sight to behold as it sat majestically against the mountain’s breast where the main hall stood at the center of a compound of tall structures and buildings. Surrounding the Sanctuary was a covered walkway that formed an enclosure around the monastery. Two tall watchtowers stood on the right and left corners of the fortress overlooking the mountain range and the sea of clouds that engulfed it below. At the center of the compound, a large iron statue stood as the centerpiece of the Sanctuary. The image was of an ancient philosopher in long court robes solemnly observing the heavens and holding above its head a wide scroll that faced toward the sky. It was a befitting statue, one that presented the purpose of the Sanctuary: to seek the wisdom and will of Heaven fervently, humbly, and sincerely. Such was the reoccurring theme of the thinkers of old who sought to restore the knowledge of the Way to all people. Past the gated archway it was one hundred steps to the giant red wooden doors. With a knock of three and but two moments later, the door groaned and creaked open. A small elderly woman beside the door greeted them with a bow and a smile.

  “Welcome, masters. Your arrival has been anticipated. Please, this way,” she said with a small quivering voice. Jirgal and Zuo Shilong looked at each other with surprised expressions and shrugged simultaneously. The trio walked through the main halls passing rooms and studies up to the next floor where they were requested to wait in a library. The place felt quite lonely, antiquated yet elegant. The high ceiling and gray outdoor light beaming through the fabric-covered windows instilled a feeling of awe and mystery that left Zuo Shilong and Jirgal quite mesmerized by its sheer scale.

  “Do you have any snacks??” Jirgal did not feel intimidated by the place as he thought he would have, but felt rather protected and welcomed. Zuo Shilong once belonged to a monastery of a different sort so he was quite curious about the Sanctuary and its secrets yet was unsure of the questions that had long riddled his mind.

  Exhausted from the journey, the three of them sat still in silence seemingly too tired to produce even the simplest thoughts. After Jirgal stuffed his face with last piece of bread the trio had almost fallen asleep until the silence was finally broken when the Keeper of Sanctuary entered the library to greet them. Famin Jie met him with a warm embrace as would old friends who have not seen each other for many years.

  “I have missed you, my friend but I know you did not come for a mere holiday visit either,” said the Keeper smiling. “You too have seen the coming darkness. Such is the gift discernment.”

  “I have come to find answers. I seek your counsel, wise Keeper. This impending darkness has been troubling my soul of late. I was confronted by a witch in the woods and a foul beast attacked us on the road,” said Famin Jie urgently. The Keeper, seeming to not have been listening, turned to Jirgal and Zuo Shilong to extend his welcome and was delighted to have such unique and unlikely visitors. He studied them both.

  “You should have seen it! The ugly thing was massive. Monk here tried to fight but he was knocked out
cold,” Jirgal exclaimed.

  “It is strange that a warrior monk and a man of the Menggu would find their way into these halls! But then one would not expect less from my dear friend Famin Jie who seems to be quite adept at making new friends,” the Keeper said gleefully with a grin. Zuo Shilong bowed respectfully towards the Keeper.

  “I am honored to meet one as esteemed as you, sir,” said Zuo Shilong.

  “Oh, esteemed perhaps, but I really do just live in these halls to make sure they are clean and ready to accommodate visitors like yourselves!” the Keeper replied with humility as he giggled with satisfaction. Though he was very old, Keeper carried with him such contentment and peace. Despite his frailty, he conducted himself in a way that blessed others with his presence alone, for he was a blessed man with a humble spirit and his face glowed with a youthful energy.

  “Um… sir, if I may. I’m not so much a warrior as I am a horseman, and even then the only horses I’ve ever owned pulled my wagon,” Jirgal remarked as his face gloomed. “I no longer even have that, thanks to that accursed beast that charged us from the hills.”

  “No worries, friend. All that you have lost will one day be returned to you in abundance through ways you would not expect,” consoled Keeper. “Although it seems that the ancient creatures have begun making more frequent appearances of late. An impending doom we have not foreseen is upon us. It will be an event so monumental that even legendary beasts are answering its call.”

  “Which is exactly why we have come to you, Keeper!” said Famin Jie urgently. “Yes, I know, but who am I?” replied the Keeper concernedly. “Come, there are serious matters to discuss.” Together, the group made their way to another hall in the Sanctuary where they dined and cleansed themselves. There, in the corridors and sparsely occupied chambers, rooms, and libraries Zuo Shilong spent his evening exploring and discovering the Sanctuary. Jirgal had found a bed and slept in an instant.

  “Keeper, I have come in search of answers because I feel Heaven’s will has become difficult to discern. I feel the negative changes all around me but I do not know whence it came,” Famin confessed.

  “Have you heard the news that not long ago strange men have arrived on the shores of the Middle Kingdom? It is true. Though as men they are not like us at all. They are pale in appearance and offer good tidings and enticing propositions for the people. Very dark clouds hang above them. I have discerned it. I also believe they are the cause of the imbalances we sense,” said the Keeper as he pensively combed the fine strands of his silky white beard.

  “Pale men? Here? What business do they have in the Middle Kingdom?” questioned Famin in all seriousness.

  “Their business is unrighteous, driven by the very same darkness that causes greed, malice, and death,” he replied.

  “The cause for distress is not so much in the physical destruction these Pale men will bring, Famin Jie, but in the eternal separation from Heaven that many people shall suffer. That, my friend, is the greatest despair that can befall the people in eternity.”

  In the lowest levels of the Sanctuary’s main hall, upon the foundations mighty stone and wood was a message carved upon rock. The Keeper led Famin Jie down a steep staircase beneath the compound. What they read was a mysterious warning was given by the ancients. The Keeper revealed it to Famin Jie and he brought the inscriptions to candlelight. It said: “The Way is salvation. Only Heaven can spare nations from calamity and bring deliverance from all injustice. Turn to Heaven and restore the Way to resist darkness and promote righteousness.”

  “This is the answer to the impending trials we will face, is it not?” Famin Jie asked.

  “We are arriving to a time of great testing when the people must choose their destinies for themselves whether it be of Heaven or of this fallen world,” the Keeper answered. “It has been 4,000 years since the Sage Kings of old led the people in the knowledge of the Way. That knowledge has been lost to the ages. I am afraid that the favor of Heaven no longer rests upon the Middle Kingdom and now our trials have finally begun.”

  “But the people will take arms against the invaders. The Ming is the strongest of all the nations. They will fight to the death.” Famin remarked assuredly.

  “And death is where it will ultimately lead. It is where it will only lead. Without the grace of Heaven and the restoration of the Way, the people in their own strength and will are powerless against the might of the darkness the invaders bring. If our people will not die by it, they shall succumb to it. City by city, province by province, in the Middle Kingdom and the lands beyond the seas and mountain peaks, the people will fall, enslaved by the accursed power of these foreign beings. I know this to be true. I have heard all the news and have meditated on it day and night.” Worry overtook Keeper’s face. “I have always known the great defining war of our age would come but never within the span of the years of my life.” Famin Jie stood before the engraving in deep thought trying to comprehend the magnitude of what was unfolding.

  “I answered the call to serve many years ago leaving behind a life of material wealth and comfort to learn and discover the Way while awaiting the instruction of Heaven,” said Famin Jie solemnly. “Until now I still wait for direction even after the darkness had begun to rise. What are we to do against this invasion? For so many years I have waited patiently and yet have I to gain students nor has the Way been restored to the people. I feel I have become lost.”

  The Keeper stood silently with his hands in his sleeves and closed his eyes. “Even in the moments of silence, there is ever the Grand Orchestrator, preparing the people for the fulfillment of His will. Silence does not mean Heaven has ceased to speak, but rather that you must draw closer so that you may hear and listen,” Keeper told Jie.

  “The imminent conflict we are about to witness in the Middle Kingdom is but a mere physical manifestation of a great war in the realm of the unseen and we are very much participants in that unseen battle whether we choose to engage in it or not. The outcome of the battles of the invisible shall be the outcome of the battles throughout the realms of the Middle Kingdom.” Famin Jie pondered on these words and sighed as he anxiously paced around the room distressed at what was unfolding. He did not know his purpose and why he was not able to accomplish what he had hoped for all these years. His message of Truth had returned void in every challenge he undertook. The people were not ready to accept what he had to teach and Heaven seemed to have not favored his attempts to serve. Uncertainties and doubts overwhelmed his soul for without the Way, the Middle Kingdom will fall.

  “I will fight for the cause of the people and for righteousness. It is time that we emerge from obscurity to finally spread the Word of Heaven, Keeper. For years our message has yielded very little fruit but now the time has come. You are familiar with the dealings of Shang Di. Surely you can tell me what I must do, Keeper” he said fervently.

  “That is something you must discover for yourself, for indeed the time has come,” he replied. “When the Way prevailed over the land, the people knew the Will of Heaven. When the Way was lost, the people called upon the kings and emperors to mediate. A burnt offering was made at the Border Sacrifice on behalf of the people symbolizing the cleansing needed to be right before the presence of the Most High. Though the Emperor performs the Great Sacrifice to this day, the people of the Ming do not remember Shang Di or his perfect mandates. There are very few like ourselves who have submitted in obedience to the Way -the only path to the Most High. You must go to the Secret Place to humble yourself and be still and meditate upon the mandates of Heaven as revealed in the texts. Neglect the needs of the body so you will not lose sight of your purpose, and to commune in spirit with that which you cannot see. Heaven honors sincere and earnest searching. The correct path will be revealed to you, Seeker.”

  Famin Jie heeded the Keeper’s words and proceeded into the Secret Place— a private courtyard enclosed with stone inside the head of the mountain located behind the Sanctuary. It was where a disciple of the Way and a
seeker of Heaven would cleanse the spirit, meditate, and study the truths as revealed by the ancients through sacred scrolls thought to have long been destroyed. For three days and nights Famin Jie did just that, neglecting rest and bodily nourishment to center his mind on that which transcended the physical and the natural. In the torchlights of the Secret Place, he meditated and read through the transcendent inspiration of the sages through the preserved written declarations and teachings of the partial revelation. High above the walls of stone through the narrow opening above the courtyard, he looked up at the night sky and beheld the innumerable host of stars and was in awe. He praised Heaven. The Darkness bore witness to his communion in spirit and was disturbed by it. It descended upon the Seeker and oppressed him…

  The wind blew through the balcony where Zuo Shilong stood. The wind carried a faint yet audible moan, like a distant bellowing of a large bear, and it brought chills down his spine.

  “The wind brings a fell cry from the south. It is not from a man,” commented Zuo Shilong as he leaned his ear towards the wind with great interest.

  “Ah, yes. Even the Yeren can feel the disturbances caused by the unnatural. They are most sensitive to the changes in the delicate balance of nature and they cry for it,” said Keeper.

  “Ye-ren?” asked Zuo Shilong with a raised eyebrow.

  “The Yeren are as old as the Middle Kingdom itself, inhabiting the forests, valleys, and mountains of the central and Northern provinces for many thousand years though they were rarely ever encountered by travelers. They tend to shy away from the approaching footsteps of people. They are very large two-legged creatures of massive strength, taller than the tallest man, covered in long shaggy hair, and heavier than even the largest bears. Though fierce in appearance and imposing in stature, they were known to be meek and pacific in nature. One can sometimes hear their howls, whoops and grunts echoing for miles across the valleys.”