by Brian Thomas
Ronan swung round angrily his face livid as he confronted the healer and looked down on him from his superior height. “Oh there will be one more thing you will do if he does not survive. I will gut you like a pig and stuff you with your own medicine and see if you fare any better.”
The healer regarded him impassively, no indication of fear outraged indignation or any other emotion displayed at all. Eventually he replied. “And so it is, that the superstition and ignorance of small men overwhelms the accumulated wisdom of greater men who have learnt to master these base failings within themselves.” Calmly, the healer turned and left the room leaving Ronan feeling impotent and full of frustrated anger, now compounded by the shame he felt at threatening the man who had volunteered his assistance, which Ronan would have forced here at the point of his sword only a short moment ago.
Li Chin had started to gather his few possessions together ready to break camp. He had stayed in the same location too long already and if he grew complacent about the emperor’s search for him he would be caught unawares. It was two days since he had treated Ronan’s man and he intended to make a last visit after he had relocated his camp and was on his way. No vengeful barbarian had come to slaughter him since his treatment of Markurd, so he believed it was safe to assume the man still lived. He would explain to them what needed doing if the patient improved and then he would disappear again.
Li Chin could hear someone approaching at a fast run and paused in his packing, after a while deciding it was the young boy. Thinking that only bad news travelled so quickly and perhaps the patient had died after all he was sitting cross-legged and ready when the boy came to a panting halt outside, asking tentatively if he were there. Moments later the boy was inside, his message tumbling out and his concern for Li Chin obvious. “The emperor’s soldiers have arrived in the city. They have come from Yangshu city following the trail of the healer who performed the miracles there. They are telling everyone he is the mad priest they seek and say you must be him. Quickly Healer, you must leave, get away before they find you. Please Healer, you must hurry!”
Li Chin was touched the boy had come to warn him. Retribution against those discovered aiding him would be harsh and all knew it. “And you believe that I am this mad priest, yet you still came to warn me?”
The boy did not look him in the eyes. “I do not know that you are, only that you saved my mother and helped others. Please, you must hurry there is no time!”
Li Chin thought for a moment. “You are willing to help me?”
The boy pulled back his shoulders and his face set with a fierce determination. “Anything!”
Li Chin muttered distractedly. “I need to return to the Temple but there may yet be time.” Seemingly coming to a decision, Li Chin looked directly at the boy. “If you would help me, then you must listen carefully and do as I ask. Return to your home as quickly as you can. The soldiers will learn that I aided you and your mother. They will wish to question you.” The boy nodded, going pale at the implications of the soldiers arriving at his home. “Whatever questions they ask, you are to answer truthfully. Do not try and defend me or offer answers to questions they do not ask, but it is very important you answer all their questions truthfully.” The boy made to protest but Li Chin held up his hand to still his protest, adding firmly. “If you would help me, then you will do as I ask. If you agree but do otherwise it is no help and you would dishonour me and yourself.”
The boy touched his head to the floor, rising with tears in his eyes as he replied. “I wish to help. If this is what you want me to do, then I will do it.”
Li Chin looked the boy steadily in the eyes before giving him a small bow. “I know you will not dishonour me by doing other than as I ask. Now go, quickly as you can.”
The boy bowed head to the ground again, impulsively reaching out to kiss the edge of Li Chin’s gown. He rose silently and set off again towards the city. Li Chin watched him go moved by his loyalty and courage, feeling a slight twang of guilt at the deceit he had planted in the boy’s mind. Still, it was for the best, so he quickly finished packing and started his wagon on a circuitous route back to the city the boy was now racing towards. In the opposite direction to the Temple, masking his tracks as best he could while he went.
It was almost early evening by the time Li Chin had concealed his wagon, out of sight but not far from the city walls. The last of the sun was disappearing over the horizon as he returned unencumbered to his now vacated campsite, to climb a nearby tree and watch events.
The emperor’s soldiers would quickly determine they followed a cold trail and other than his visit to Ronan’s man, which he believed had gone unnoticed, he had not been seen in the city for weeks. Their next objective would be to find where he had gone and to do that they would question all those he had come into contact with until they received the information they sought. Li Chin had cured the boy’s mother and he had been an enthusiastic proponent of the healer’s magical powers to anyone who would listen. The soldiers would be inept not to find him and, so long as the boy did as he had asked, they would come here. An owl fluttered silently to land on the branch a few feet away from Li Chin and they regarded each other curiously for some time. Distracted, the owl turned to look at something in the darkness.
Soldiers closed on the vacated campsite from all directions as quietly as they could in the darkness. When it became apparent the site was empty all attempt at stealth was abandoned and their commander was called forward. A moment later the commander entered the clearing holding the boy by the arm, a truthsayer following closely behind them. “Is this the place boy?” the commander asked firmly.
The boy hesitated looking around in the dark, half surprised not to find the wagon where he had last seen it. “Yes Lord.”
“Truth.” confirmed the toneless intonation from the truthsayer.
“Are you sure? It would be an easy thing to get confused in the dark?” the commander persisted, frustration clear in his voice.
The boy looked around, spotting the ashes in Li Chin’s fire pit and feeling the grass cropped short by Li Chin’s oxen where he stood. “This is the place; I am sure.” he replied, though it was clear the boy resented answering the questions and his loyalties rested with the departed healer.”
“Truth.”
The commander regarded the boy angrily for a while before relaxing slightly. “Boy, I know this man healed your mother and you feel a sense of loyalty to him. It is good that you do. I am a warrior and value loyalty myself. But if this man is as good as you believe he would not have wished to place you in danger.” The boy glowered at him without replying. “When you last saw the priest did he tell you to do anything?”
The boy said defiantly. “I do not know that this healer is the priest you seek.”
“Truth.” came the echo.
The commander frowned in warning. “Don’t get smart boy. Answer the question I asked.”
“He told me to answer your questions truthfully.” the boy replied resentfully.”
“Truth.”
The commander’s frown deepened. “And nothing else?”
“No.” the boy answered confidently.
“Truth.”
The commander frowned in thought. “And he told you nothing else? You heard nothing that would indicate where he was going next?”
The boy hesitated slightly before answering, “No.”
“Lie! The boy lie’s Commander Kayto.” called the truthsayer triumphantly.
The commander was stern as he faced the lad, knowing he was on the trail again and it had suddenly become a hot one. “Alright boy, games are over. I follow the emperor’s commands and would know what is the lie and what is the truth?”
The boy was reluctant but knew he was in real danger now. “He told me nothing else….”
“Truth.”
“But he gave some indication of where he was going next?” the commander insisted, as the boy continued to hesitate.
The boy looked w
retched as he added. “He did not speak to me but to himself and I barely heard him. He said he must return to the Temple. But I do not know where that is.” he added hopefully at the end.
“Truth.” the Truthsayer confirmed.
The commander leaned back in satisfaction. “But I do, by the Spirits.”
The boy collapsed to his knees his face in his hands, devastated at knowing he had set the soldiers on the healer’s trail again. The commander nudged him with his foot. “You did as he instructed you to, boy. There is no need for shame. This man’s fate will not rest on what a small boy does or doesn’t say. You have courage, find it now and do not let others see what you feel.” The commander ordered his men into formation and was leading them out of the clearing a few moments later, leaving the crumpled form of the boy to make his own way home.
Li Chin waited a long time to be sure the soldiers had gone well beyond hearing and then silently stood on his branch, moving close against the trunk to further mask his outline should it be discernible. He was completely lost in the shadows of the tree’s canopy, the only thing visible within twenty feet of him were the blinking eyes of the owl sharing his branch. Looking down at the young boy Li Chin spoke softly out of the void. “Have courage, the commander speaks the truth and you did us both honour.”
The boy gasped and looked up into the darkness above him, eventually calling out softly, “Healer?”
At the sound of his voice the owl hooted and flapped its wings as it leapt from the branch to find a quieter hunting ground. The boy gasped again in wonder, his eyes following the owl as it disappeared into the night. Standing to follow the owl’s flight long after it had gone the boy gave a bright smile reflected in the moonlight, before running off carefree to the city.
Li Chin raised an eyebrow as he watched the boy disappear into the night. Not wanting the boy to see him in case the soldiers returned Li Chin’s ploy to appear as a Spirit voice in the night had worked better than he had expected. If questioned again the healer will no doubt have appeared to the boy as an owl, or to have spoken through an owl. Li Chin was pleased the commander, Commander Kayto, had dealt fairly with the boy, doing only what was necessary to perform his duty and offering consolation when few others would have.
Li Chin dropped lightly to the ground. It was time to see to his patient in the city and then make his real escape, while there remained some darkness to mask his departure.
When Li Chin entered the room he could immediately sense it had been thoroughly cleaned, even the patients and carers were noticeably cleaner. He made his way over to Markurd’s bed and stopped Jory from waking Ronan who slept in a chair beside the bed. They were joined by Ping, who kowtowed before rising to bow again less formerly. Markurd was thinner but breathing more easily and sleeping, rather than lying in an unconscious fever. Removing the windings that covered Markurd’s middle Li Chin carefully freed the moss clinging to the two wounds. Forcing the wounds open he removed five plump maggots from each of them, the same number he had placed in each.
Jory and Ping were watching fascinated and Li Chin waved them closer so he could speak to them quietly. “Inflammation around the wound has reduced. The black discolouration has nearly gone, eaten away by our little helpers, and there is virtually no discharge.” Selecting the same pot as before Li Chin shook out ten more fresh maggots, making sure that his observers were watching closely as he dropped five in each wound, placing fresh moss over them and binding it all in place with new windings. “At this time the day after tomorrow be sure that you remove all five maggots from each wound. Only after this stitch the wounds closed, bathe the man all over with the sandalwood oil as you saw me do before.” He waited for them both to nod their understanding, before continuing. “He is taking water?” At their nods of confirmation he added. “Hold him while we give him some now and be sure he drinks at least the same twice a day over the next two days.”
The pair tipped Markurd up and Li Chin poured a beaker of water from which Markurd drank weakly. He examined the shrunken form of what remained of the man he had met in his tent only a few days ago. “His condition has improved. He may yet survive but it will depend upon his will to live, his courage. Here I cannot assist, he must want to fight to live.”
Jory looked down at Markurd who was now resting more easily, saying with passion, “Markurd has enough courage for ten men. If you have cured the fever then he will win this battle as he has many others.”
Li Chin regarded them both dispassionately. “Remember the instructions, give him only light broths with some garlic and gin-sing when he first wakes, something more substantial when he can sit up to eat, no alcohol. Tea would be best. Then we shall see.” Finished, he returned the few items he had used to his bag, leaving as silently as he had entered.
Chapter 39
Ronan sat on a stool watching Ping as she fed Markurd spoons of broth while he sat grumpily upright in his bed. Markurd had predictably complained, in a voice which sounded like gravel and barely loud enough to be heard, that he needed no such help. Ronan had silenced his protests with a scowl watching to make sure he took all the broth without further protest. Ping placed the spoon in the now empty bowl with a small smile of satisfaction.
Markurd laid his head back to rest, drifting off to sleep in seconds. It was a healthy sleep and Ronan knew he was looking at his friend’s recovery, unless a new illness took him before he was strong enough to fight it off. He was pleased and relieved beyond measure, while at the same time shamed at his treatment of the man who had undoubtedly saved Markurd.
Ronan frowned again as he thought of the healer’s second visit which he had slept through. Angry he had not been woken at the time his attempts to see the healer since had failed miserably, the campsite empty and a ludicrous story circulating that the healer had turned into an owl to escape the emperor’s soldiers who pursued him. Looking towards Ping as she rose to go he stopped her, his curiosity piqued. “Jory says you kowtowed to the healer. It was my understanding your people only kowtowed to masters and lords.”
Ping hesitated before replying. “It is said the healer is the Temple priest sought by the emperor’s soldiers.”
Ronan frowned in puzzlement. “So you think the healer is a priest and this is why you bow so low, because he is a man of the Gods?”
Ping frowned as she thought. “They are men close to the Spirits and walk amongst them. This is worthy of respect but it is not just for this, it is also for what they are.”
Ronan raised his eyebrows sceptically. “You mean men who can walk up walls and turn themselves into owls to talk to young boys in the dark of the night?”
Ping gave him a stern glance, uncharacteristic for her. “The Temple priests do many amazing things, which they say is not magic. That anyone who studies and trains hard enough, as they do, could also achieve these miraculous things. I could never imagine walking with the Great Spirits or myself walking up a wall. Yet many people in Yangshu city saw the Temple priest do this, even if you do not believe the boy about the owl. If it is not magic, then what is it? “
Ping suddenly appeared embarrassed at having been so direct, even to a barbarian. Ronan spoke quickly before she took flight. “You are right, knowledge is worthy of respect and it is because of this that I wish to understand. Learned wisdom I can accept but not magic and no amount of knowledge can allow a man to turn himself into a bird. I believe this man plays on the superstition and ignorance he sees in others to propagate an image built on exaggerated stories for his own purpose.” Ping looked uncomfortable and bowed, making to leave again when Ronan stopped her again. “If I am wrong then tell me otherwise, I wish to know and understand what is happening here.”
Ping hesitated again before relenting. “The Temple priests live only to serve the people; this is their purpose.”
Ronan nodded. “We have priests of our own in my land. They serve the people but in doing so they serve themselves even better, living a life that many can only dream of and are like a pl
ague upon the land.”
Ping looked curiously at Ronan before apologising. “I am sorry. I am not explaining this very well. It is not something I have thought of before, just something which is known by all. I have never seen a Temple priest before but I know of them, they are part of our people’s history. If you wish, I could tell you what I learned as a girl. Of our history and the Temple priests?”
Ronan nodded curiously and Ping frowned as she thought before beginning. “In the dawn time of our civilisation and before the current Wang dynasty the Temple owed allegiance to no one other than itself. Its priests were marvellous warriors and scholars, studying all things and held in great respect by the people for their knowledge, especially of healing and their closeness to the Spirits. The Temple was the custodian of our people’s traditions and rituals, connecting the living with our ancestors and they used their wisdom to guide us. Our civilisation is premier in the world, all countries beyond its borders being barbarians in comparison. To a large extent this is due to the accumulated knowledge of the Temple, which it gave freely for the benefit of all the peoples of the land. The Temple priests’ meditation brought them closer to the Spirits and they became so knowledgeable that they were eventually blessed by the Spirits. Ever since they have been able to perform amazing physical feats, beyond the dreams of ordinary men. Many wish to become Temple priests but of those who would join only few are ever accepted by their order. All priests who are accepted are tattooed with the symbols of their knowledge and as an open declaration of their martial skills.” Ping held up her arms, allowing the sleeves to fall back and expose her slim forearms, “The twin dragons, one blue for water and the other red for fire.” Placing her forearms together she bent her hands back, so that they formed a “Т” “and the open hands enclosed in a circle tattooed on their forehead. On graduating from acolyte to an accepted priest of their order many would leave the Temple to offer their wisdom and healing to the common people. They would cross the civilised world, gathering new knowledge to take back to the Temple, living upon the alms and generosity of the people as they travelled. The Temple priests were welcomed throughout the land as men of wisdom, healers and spiritual guides, with no interest other than to share their knowledge for the common good.”