by Derek Dorris
At the end of the story, Mah Lok merely sighed. “Feng'er, you are most fortunate to have encountered so many extraordinary personalities at such a young age. Your own personal progress is no small thing either and you have committed yourself to defending the people of your country. Although I'm against violence in all its forms, this may not necessarily be a bad thing for you. But alas, I fear things have gone too far to save us from the Qui.”
Bai Feng looked up at the monk. “What do you mean, Uncle?”
“You see, Rui’In has all but established a foothold on our western border. Every outlying city has fallen with the exception of Gongsum. A number of strong fighters have gathered there to put up a last stand but the orthodox side to Wulin are not united. Up until now, they managed to stave off the Qui army by rallying the Liu citizens and through... assassinations.” The Sitting Lotus shook his head slightly with the utterance of that last word.
“What about my martial uncle, Wong Shi Hong? Is he at Gongsum? Or his apprentice, Xun Da?”
“I don't know who's there exactly. I only know that a small portion of Wulin personalities have rallied at the last moment.” Suddenly, the monk’s demeanour changed. “But it's not enough. Not nearly enough.”
“Why do you say that, Uncle? Surely there's still hope the orthodox side to Wulin will come together.”
“The only chance of that happening lies with the Shaolin or Earthly Dragon. If either of them stood formally against the Qui, orthodox Wulin would unite behind them immediately and Rui'In would have a hard time laying claim to the central plains. But the Earthly Dragon Sect is reclusive, intellectually opposed to intervening in the affairs of the world. Wong Shi Hong is a martial grandmaster of the sect but even he has no sway with what happens on Earthly Mountain. That leaves the Shaolin. But, it seems Rui'In anticipated that one.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Qui King has laid siege to the Shaolin temple. They've even decided to temporarily waive their vows of seclusion and dispatch five guardians to render assistance—but only to help the Shaolin seniors get to safety. They've no desire to engage the Qui. Yet from what I hear, it's already too late. The Shaolin Temple will fall any day now.”
On hearing this news, Bai Feng remained unexpectedly calm. Not because he didn't care about the Shaolin but because Mah Lok’s warm energy had settled his insides. If anything, Bai Feng was beginning to feel excited at the prospect of a good fight. “I'll go there too,” he said with a steely determination.
Mah Lok knew there was no point in trying to dissuade him. Instead, he concentrated his full attention on his hand and channelled a scorching hot blast of energy into the young man’s chest. Bai Feng jumped up in shock. He felt an irresistible impulse to stretch his limbs. As he followed the impulse, it was like his entire skeleton clicked into place. The monk simply smiled and nodded his head as if he had just given Bai Feng a gift.
Again, this reminded him of his three grandmasters on Earthly Mountain and suddenly something registered in Bai Feng’s mind. He had been too relaxed earlier; he had nearly missed it. “Uncle, where did you learn all this? My Sect is extremely secretive. Even if they did decide to intervene in the world’s affairs, I can’t imagine they told anyone about it.”
“I heard it directly from the Earthly Three. I’ve just come from Earthly Mountain.”
“You know my Earthly Dragon grandmasters?” asked Bai Feng in shock.
“I'm afraid, I have only met them twice,” Mah Lok lamented, suddenly sounding weak. “I rendered a service to them many years ago when I mediated between them and the Shaolin.”
“Uncle, are you feeling unwell? You sound… ”
“No, I'm fine Feng'er.” The colour was partially returning to his face, disguising the effort he had just spent. “Where was I? Oh yes, the Shaolin. A former disciple of Earthly Mountain had been wreaking havoc in the Jianghu for years and he eventually murdered a senior Shaolin expert. The Earthly Three felt somewhat responsible and sent word to Wong Shi Hong to hunt this former disciple down and eliminate him. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before the incident spiralled into a major rift between the two sects. You see, Wong Shi Hong couldn't locate the renegade, who seemingly has a talent for disappearing, and so he went directly to Shaolin Temple to apologise on Earthly Dragon’s behalf.”
Mah Lok eased back on his heels and breathed deeply. Bai Feng was concerned for him yet too intrigued to interrupt the story. Truthfully, he was glad of the distraction.
“At the time, their Head Abbot, Reverend Tai, was in secluded meditation,” Mah Lok continued, “which is common for great martial masters like him so Wong Shi Hong was forced to deal with lesser, more rash members of the Shaolin hierarchy. Matters came to a head and the Majestic Wanderer was even forced to defend himself.
“He left under a cloud and reported back to Earthly Mountain. Not wanting to inflame things further, they sent for me and asked me to mediate in the dispute. You see Feng’er; the Lowly Sea Sect was established by the same holy sect that established Earthly Dragon.”
“What?”
“It was centuries ago so the link is tenuous now. But both founding parties originally belonged to the same unorthodox sect of Buddhist priests who travelled here by sea from the southern continent. The majority of the party were devout pacifists and settled around Baiyun Mountain. But some of them believed wholeheartedly that the purpose to life could be best achieved through martial perfection. They broke away, travelling further inland and eventually settled on Earthly Mountain.”
Bai Feng's head was awash. “I'd no idea the two sects I spent my childhood at were so connected.”
“It was merely a coincidence Feng'er; a quirk of fate.”
“So did you help them resolve the dispute?”
“Yes but with a great degree of trouble. When I arrived at Shaolin Temple, the senior Shaolin monks were accusing Earthly Dragon of not only orchestrating the recent death of their disciple but also murdering their previous Abbot Reverend Tung.”
“They must have been mad! Don't they know the first thing about us? We'd never do something like that!”
“Apparently, while Wong Shi Hong was apologising for the actions of their former disciple, he referred to a previous incident between that same troublesome disciple and the Shaolin. Wong Shi Hong was under the impression the senior Shaolin monks were already aware of the incident, only it transpired that when Reverend Tai replaced their murdered leader, he had purposefully concealed it from them. When the senior Shaolin monks found out, they were apoplectic.
“I calmed everyone down and reminded them of Reverend Tai’s wisdom. I pointed out that he likely had good reason to keep this from them. I suggested they should wait until he finishes his meditation and then seek his counsel. The senior monks agreed and, once Reverend Tai resurfaced, the incident was resolved amicably.”
“I never knew things were so tense between our two sects. Neither the Earthly Three nor my martial uncles spoke of the outside world. It was one of our most sacred vows.”
“I know and not an unwise one given your goal.” Mah Lok was sounding stronger now. Talking was doing him good so he continued, “The Earthly Dragon Sect has always shared an unusual relationship with the Shaolin, Feng’er. The two sects were established around the same time, both are influenced by an intuitive marriage of early Taoist and the Buddhist philosophies of the southern continent and both hold central the desire to achieve perfection in life. However, they differ in how such perfection should be attained. The Shaolin are more committed to acts of benevolence and the attainment of sociocultural harmony while the Earthly Dragon is narrower in their concerns; they are obsessed in perfecting human expression. The Shaolin argue the Earthly Dragon goals could not be achieved until society became harmonised while the Earthly Dragon argue social and cultural harmony will only arise when people began striving for true perfection.”
“How often have these differences boiled over into aggression?”
“The ea
rly years of both sects were marked by some heated exchanges. However, most were resolved passively. There were rumours of a few contests in which Shaolin’s best were soundly beaten yet there was always a mutual recognition of their similarities and a genuine admiration for each other. During this time, the sects’ respective leaderships would often meet to discuss the martial arts and trade pointers amicably.
“Then without warning, the Earthly Dragon retreated from the world citing the insidious social customs of hierarchy and greed as the main barrier to achieving the zenith of artistic expression. And so they holed up in the natural fortress of Earthly Mountain and entered into deep ascetic meditation and practice. Contact between the sects was only temporarily re-established when Earthly Dragon renegade murdered the Shaolin’s senior expert.”
“I’m glad they didn’t let it pass.”
“Earthly Mountain doesn’t have rigid ethical codes, as you know Feng’er. Perfection is to be obtained in whatever way it can. However, the Earthly Three firmly believe a by-product of that perfection should be social harmony and benevolence. They just never went as far as prescribing such behaviour in a canon of ethics like the Shaolin did.”
Mah Lok shifted uncomfortably for a moment before resuming. “Relations between the two sects settled down after that. However, although Reverend Tai never held any ill will towards the Earthly Dragon for his master’s murder, when I reported the incident back to the Earthly Three, there was a pervasive feeling of responsibility among them. After all, this enemy's skills were of their sect and he surely relied on them when killing the old Reverend Tung. Thus, when word reached them that Shaolin Temple was besieged by Qui forces, they decided they should break their vows of reclusion and send help. They summoned me in the hope that I could help them liaise with the Shaolin again.”
“Why didn't you go with them?”
“Of course, I'm more than sympathetic to their cause but I cannot take sides in actions that lead to violence.”
Bai Feng recalled his stalwart stance against violence from when he was a young student at the monastery. He used to think it was small minded and stupid. Knowing now, how vastly he had underestimated this diminutive monk, he felt it was in fact he who was and possibly still is, small minded. This was something to consider at a later point, he told himself. For now, I am who I am.
“Uncle, this wayward student of ours... Who was… who is he?”
“Let's see if you can guess?”
Bai Feng eyes didn't move. “The Divine Alchemist.”
“How did you know?”
“I didn't for sure. In all my years there, my masters never mentioned anything to me about Yu Guo Wei. That he was a disciple of my sect is bewildering. Yet there was something about the way he fought... and the way he acts… like he has no ego.”
Bai Feng explained what happened at the meeting of southern experts. “It would be enough to compel most people to move to the other side of the earth to escape the shame. But he didn't even blink. Yes, he killed all the witnesses but I can't help thinking that action was more tactical than personal. He couldn't afford to be perceived as weak if he was going to recruit more experts to his cause.”
“You're a smart boy Feng'er,” Mah Lok said with a satisfied smile. “Yu Guo Wei’s personality is truly unique. So much so that when your sect’s elders came across him as a young man, they were convinced he was the key to fully actualising the Earthly Dragon philosophy. But they were fooled—fooled by the complexities of desire and selfhood. You see, ego doesn't give rise to pride and shame only. It also manifests itself, albeit much more subtly, in our desire to attain things and in our hatreds. Yu Guo Wei is absent of shame and pride yet he craves power. That is his expression of ego.”
“But they were convinced his mind would be a basis for pure external kung fu?”
Mah Lok looked at his cousin’s son with intensity. “And now it seems they think your mind is that base.”
“So…?”
“So if he failed… so could you.”
“But I don't want anything—other than to achieve perfection.”
“And that may be your ego’s crucible. Or…”
“Or what?”
“Or it might be your anger.”
“My anger?”
“Feng'er, you left Baiyun Mountain because you were angry over your parents’ dishonour. Did you really forgive them it?”
“Yes!” Bai Feng said like he was shocked. “More than forgive, I saw the emptiness in the whole concept of honour. That's why I joined Earthly Dragon.”
“But from what you told me, you were led to Earthly Mountain by others. Are you sure you didn't just tell them what they wanted to hear? Are you sure there are no traces of self-righteous anger left in you? Do you not revel in others’ inability to shake off the yolk of their ego? Or revel in their foolish desire for reputation? Where does that revelling come from?”
Immediately, Bai Feng's mind thought back to the ferry crossing. Wasn't I inwardly mocking those boys? Feeling superior to them? Patting myself on the back for not reacting to their taunts? And then ultimately, did I not react?
Mah Lok said nothing. He just let what he said sink in. When the time was right, he spoke. “Feng'er, I sense that anger is your loadstone. If anything will betray your pursuit, it will be that.”
Bai Feng was shaken by the revelation.
Staring at the young man, Mah Lok was becoming increasingly aware of Bai Feng's predicament. With the news of his parents’ fate, he faces a gigantic challenge, he thought. The anger it will cause within him will be immense. And just like pride or shame or cravings for power, it will choke his kung fu. It will compel him to fall back on his internal power and choke further. A cycle. A spiral. And with the current state of his internal energy, it will most likely kill him. He decided against telling Bai Feng this. He had enough to contend with right now.
At length, Bai Feng spoke. “Uncle, excuse me,” he said while kowtowing. “I wish I could escort you back to the Lowly Sea Sect but I have to leave immediately if I'm to offer any help at all.”
“That's fine my boy. I might stay here a few days and pray. It's nearly four years since I found your family slaughtered here.” His words were not accidental. He wanted to see if Bai Feng was ready to leave.
The young man blanched when heard Mah Lok refer to his family’s “slaughter” but he didn't lose control like he did earlier. He simply frowned.
“Feng'er,” Mah Lok said, seemingly staring at nothing in particular. “That girl—what are your thoughts concerning her?”
“I… I don't know. I feel like slaughtering her entire sect!” Bai Feng replied coldly.
“But not her?”
“I don't think I could.”
“That's good. But consider this,” the monk’s tone darkened as he leaned forward. “If you do slaughter her family, it will be as good as slaughtering her. She hasn't had your training. More than that, you should ask yourself where the desire for such vengeance comes from. I don't want you to decide anything now. Just consider those words from now until you meet her again.”
Bai Feng respected the seniors of this world too much to disregard earnest advice. He simply nodded, tucked his father’s manual inside his robe, bowed once again to his father's cousin, and left.
The Sitting Lotus waited for Bai Feng to leave and then exhaled deeply. His face turned a shade alabaster and his eyes closed. He had just funnelled a lifetime of energy cultivation into Bai Feng’s chest—so that his cousin’s son may continue to live even if he did not.
* * *
Bai Feng had never been to Mount Song or the Shaolin Temple. He had never even crossed paths with any of their monks or disciples. Yet, he headed north east without question and travelled almost non-stop to their headquarters. It wasn't simply that he wanted to help them overcome the Qui, though that was certainly among his concerns. Deep within him, something else was at work. Something that made him feel immensely strong if albeit a little unstable. Ba
i Feng couldn't know it but this energy, although useful in the short term, was liable to kill him. It was exactly what the Sitting Lotus was trying to prevent when he sacrificed everything he had to the young man. The problem lay within the grief and indeed anger that Bai Feng was now suppressing. He had heard the news about his parents and crumbled. The Sitting Lotus transmitted his own energy to him in order to settle Bai Feng's newly acquired internal reserve and it worked—for now. As that wore off, the personal consequences of his family's fate would rebound badly within him and further disturb his profound pool of new and unsettled internal energy. He had been carrying the seed of these emotions around for years but now—ever since he left Baiyun Mountain in fact—they were growing into something gargantuan; something terrifying.
By early morning of the following day, Bai Feng came within sight of Mount Song. He had never known war or seen a proper military battle so his eyes were dazzled by the size of the Qui army—some five thousand men strong—not to mention their formations and fortifications. He didn't possess the tactical experience of Xun Da but he was intelligent enough to spot the crucial positions and even discern where Rui’In would be based. Under the cover of twilight, he approached a rear guard post with stealth and saw two guards maintaining a vigilant watch.
Bai Feng had never relied on projectiles before. The Sixth Guardian on Earthly Mountain, the Formless Monk, had instructed him in shooting darts and bone awls but Bai Feng always preferred empty handed kung fu. Projectiles were something he never saw a use for until he began travelling through Wulin. However, his training at Earthly Mountain and his recent assimilation of the Lightning Arms Style had significantly raised the speed and precision of his hands and arms and so, almost without thinking, he bent down, picked up two stones and flicked his first two fingers at the same time. The two guards were hit before they heard anything, the side of their heads making a soft target. Without realising it, Bai Feng was now using his internal strength to kill. He had broken his sect’s central rule. And he didn't even realise it.