by Derek Dorris
For Bai Feng, it was a slightly less daunting challenge in that he already had a unique viewpoint on the world. Yet, in witnessing the intensity of the guilt and shame that pervaded Tu Ling identical emotions had stirred in him. On top of that, Bai Feng had been lately suffering from massive internal instability due to his use of the Twenty-Five Lightning Stances. The combination of the two made for considerable problems and he was now suffering the consequences.
He knew of course what the most serious problem was. Mah Lok and Reverend Tai had told him as much. He was refusing to grieve. The parents he spent his life waiting to see were gone. Their partially remembered faces pressed their way into his imagination as they had often threatened to do since he heard the news. Closing his eyes tensely, he pushed against the image. In the absence of the natural flow of grief, he was becoming consumed with rage. He felt like he was going to vomit again, he needed to get out of the room. Forcing himself to his feet, he staggered to the door and opened it.
The Seventh Guardian, the Deedless Monk, was outside waiting for him, his face covered with an expression of concern. “Feng'er, are you feeling okay?”
Unable to speak, Bai Feng simply grabbed his martial uncle by his green gown and attempted to support himself while regulating his breathing. The Deedless Monk knew exactly what he needed and helped him back into his room and into a sitting position. By now the three other monks and Tu Ling emerged from their rooms too. The four monks sat around him in a circle and attempted to help Bai Feng in the manner the Sitting Lotus and Reverend Tai had done previously. Individually, they had less internal strength than the either the Lowly Sea monk or the Shaolin Abbot but together they had more than enough to help Bai Feng re-enter the energy within him.
He woke a few hours later to see the Deedless Monk asleep in the corner of his room. Thanks to the guardian monks, he felt his internal energy was stable enough to move again but he knew as soon as he tried to use his kung fu, his anger would rise and he would fall back on his unstable energy once more. The next time might kill me, he told himself. I need to purge my mind of this anger.
He knew that the best way to do this was to allow himself think about his parents yet no matter how much he told himself to, something kept pushing their image from his mind. Concluding it was a waste of time, he got up and dressed. He called his uncles and Tu Ling into his room to discuss what to do next. Everyone agreed with Bai Feng's reasoning. Their grandmasters were being brought to Gongsum. The three grandmasters and three guardians would be relatively easy to transport given their sedation and, under the larger twenty-four man team’s guard, they would be difficult to attack without endangering their lives. They left immediately.
* * *
After travelling for half a day at a fast gallop, they came up on the flat plains of western Liu. Specifically, they were heading for a Jade Tiger meeting ground where handoffs to western-situated employers were often organised. Precluding the possibility of ambush, there was as a single path that allowed for a stealthy approach to an exposed plateau which only the Jade Tigers knew about and which they guarded well while in use. The path was a natural ditch about three to four meters deep which ran five kilometres from the outskirts of the grasslands straight into the open desert. With that path at their backs they simply stared out into the desert and waited for their paymasters to appear on the horizon, watching every move they made in their approach.
Bai Feng and Tu Ling rode up front with the Nameless, Prideless, Deedless, and Guileless Monks riding behind them. By now, the monks were fully aware of the history between the two and were deeply concerned at the manner in which their lives were becoming intertwined. This cannot end well for them, the Nameless Monk was thinking to himself as he watched Tu Ling steal secret glances at Bai Feng while the latter simply rode on, stern faced, pale, and doing his best to ignore her.
By late afternoon, they arrived at the outer edge to the grasslands. Tu Ling knew the handoff would be just before dusk. With the fading sun at the backs of the eastbound riders, the Jade Tigers would be invisible from their comparatively darker vantage point.
“From here on, no words,” Tu Ling warned. “There'll be at least three sentries along the way. You'll have to use projectiles.”
The monks looked at each other ambivalently. Is she advocating killing her own people? Could this be an indication of her deep remorse concerning her role in the Bai family tragedy or just her inherent cruelty? The significance of what she advised wasn't lost on Bai Feng either. Back at the safe house, he knew she had purposefully saved the life of that Wang Yuan character and he even heard her make arrangements with some local farmer to find and untie him the day after they left town. She wasn't completely cruel but this was a reminder to him—she was an instinctive killer.
They moved into the natural gully and using their internal kung fu, they darted forward, breezing alongside its winding walls. Self-consciously, Bai Feng took hold of Tu Ling’s hand so she could keep up with the rest of them. The warmth of each other’s skin roused old feelings within. When they were about five hundred meters in, Tu Ling raised her hand and they all stopped. She indicated to Bai Feng and he flicked something from his hand. The sentry slumped to the ground noiselessly. Bai Feng felt his insides rise. Every time I attack someone, I'm doing it with anger, he reminded himself. It has my internal energy in turmoil. Preferably, he would let one of his four uncles tend to the job; only with the exception of the Sixth Formless Monk—who wasn’t present—none of them were as proficient at throwing projectiles as he was. So the six began moving again and Bai Feng dispatched two more sentries in the same fashion as before, each instance leaving him in an increasing state of nausea.
The Four Guardians recognised this and so the Prideless Monk stepped forward and took the next three sentries out.
By mid evening, they came upon the clearing where the handoffs were always made. They raised their heads out of the gully just enough to see more than a dozen Jade Tigers stationed throughout the clearing, staring out at the horizon. Bai Feng peered toward the centre of the clearing. There, surrounded by five guards, were his grandmasters and three guardian uncles, all of them either drowsy or still unconscious.
Tu Ling noticed the Jade Tigers were much edgier than usual. No doubt they expected the four remaining guardians to have been delivered by now. With no word from the other party, there was the distinct possibility of trouble. That explains the numerous sentries along the way, she told herself.
They slid back and, to a man, each of the five looked over at Tu Ling for instructions.
“One of you on each flank,” Tu Ling said, pointing to the four monks, “another in the centre and Third Uncle will stay here with Bai Feng and I. When the time is right, I'll enter the clearing on the pretence I'm still with the Jade Tigers. Once I've placed myself between your grandmasters and the two nearest guards, Third Uncle will take the other three guards out with projectiles. At that moment, the rest of you attack from your positions en masse.”
It wasn't a perfect plan but it was the best she could do with their current numbers. Even one of the Guardians was ten times the match for any of the Jade Tigers but Tu Ling’s major concern was getting to the grandmasters before they were harmed. “Remember,” she whispered. “The Jade Tigers are charged with delivering your grandmasters to the Qui but if they're in jeopardy of losing their prisoners outright, they'll kill them without blinking. We need to move quickly.”
They agreed to the plan and assumed their positions. Sunset was still an hour away so Tu Ling waited for the best moment to attack. She was watching the perimeter guards and knew that, come the turn of the hour, they would stop checking their rear and become wholly focused on the horizon. It was a pet hate of her father's but human nature. That the troop leader was one of her father’s weaker leaders made her even more confident they would drop their rear guard completely. She sat like a bird of prey perched on a rock, waiting for this moment.
Then, all of a sudden, she heard a
commotion from behind. Cautioning Bai Feng and the Prideless Monk with her eyes, they crouched down and spied a dozen more riders coming from the rear.
The leader of the waiting troop darted forward in obsequiousness when he saw who was leading the incoming party. Watching from the side, Tu Ling was just as surprised. There, at the head of the riders was her master Xu Déshì. Beside him, rode a stocky man of medium height with fierce eyes and a long stringy beard—her father.
Even if he didn't notice the arrogant poise of the middle aged man at the front of the group, Bai Feng could tell from Tu Ling’s expression, he was none other than the leader of the Jade Tiger Sect, Ti Xiaobo. Bai Feng felt his muscles twitch and a strange smile darkened his face.
Tu Ling knew immediately what he was thinking. She squeezed his arm and pleaded with her eyes.
What lay within that plea, Bai Feng wasn't quite sure. Was it fear for her father's life or was it concern over the success of their mission? One thing for sure, if Bai Feng attacked Tu Xiaobo, he would be forfeiting his grandmasters’ lives. As such, he signalled to the guardian monks, telling them to hold.
As Tu Xiaobo rode into the clearing, he looked furious. His accompanying riders immediately took up defensive positions while he leapt off his horse and smashed his boot down on the bowing troop leader’s back. “Your entire rear is exposed!”
Though in pain from the stamp, the troop leader was even more rattled by the news he just heard. “Chief Tu, I placed six sentries,” he said before being interrupted by another kick.
“And they're all dead! Why didn't they have signal flares? Why wasn't there two per post?” These weren't standard practices in the Jade Tigers but for a package this important, it was reasonable for Tu Xiaobo to expect it. The troop leader had no answer.
“Brother Xu,” Tu Xiaobo shouted for his most trusted aid. “Secure this whole clearing.”
“It's done,” The bald, spiky bearded monk boomed in his unmistakable voice.
“You!” Tu Xiaobo flared at the troop leader again. “Tell me everything that's happened since you left Earthly Mountain. Someone is preparing to ambush you and you better be able to tell me who it is.”
The clueless troop leader proceeded to explain how the party with the Four Guardians had yet to arrive.
Tu Xiaobo shouted for his guards to be on the ready, “There are thirty of us and only a handful of them. But their tracks were light so expect them to be highly skilled, most likely affiliated with Earthly Dragon, if not the Four Guardians themselves.”
With that, a lookout signalled Tu Xiaobo. The Qui party had just made the horizon.
“Damn! At this point, they'll be dug in,” he said referring to the ambushers. “No time to scour the area.”
As the Qui party approached, Tu Xiaobo could discern about a fifty soldiers and six experts in the party. At their head, exuding a powerful air was an extraordinarily tall, foreign looking person. One glance was enough for the Jade Tiger boss to know he was no ordinary expert. Tu Xiaobo was a distinctly strong martial expert himself so he rarely felt outmatched. Yet, looking at this person, gave him precisely that feeling. The experts to the right and left of the tall foreigner were of a lower class, he told himself, though stronger the majority of my operatives. Nevertheless, Xu Déshì and I should probably be capable of matching them. As for the Qui soldiers, they would find it difficult to breach my thirty Jade Tigers who possess not only the high ground but also a critical familiarity with the area.
When the Qui party arrived, their soldiers assumed a protective formation around the experts’ flank and rear. Tu Xiaobo went forward and bowed politely but not overly so. The giant figure on the lead horse stayed in his saddle and merely nodded his head in return. Tu Xiaobo remained polite.
As Tu Ling and Bai Feng were watching from their vantage point, Tu Ling was totally confused by the manner in which her father was behaving. Who is that rude bastard?
However, crouching beside her, Bai Feng wasn't at all surprised. Not only has he recovered from his battle with Wong Shi Hong, he thought, he looks stronger than ever. It was, of course, Wangchuk Drup, flanked by Priest Hou, Han Liang, Sing Yi, and the Lin couple. This time it was Bai Feng's turn to gesture Tu Ling to stay calm. As he did, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She nearly wept.
Bai Feng wasn't as smart as Tu Ling in tactics but he wasn't stupid. He knew now the Qui have arrived, he and the guardian monks wouldn't have a chance of rescuing his grandmasters nor the remaining guardians. Diving into the middle of that mess with the Qui in front of us and the Jade Tigers behind simply isn't an option, he told himself. The only thing to do now is to wait for the handover to happen and the take them from Wangchuk Drup’s party as they make their way back to Gongsum. He listened attentively as Tu Xiaobo and Wangchuk Drup conversed. It was clear Tu Xiaobo was irritated and the big Yarlese wasn't appreciating his tone.
“Why did you send an operative to Earthly Mountain?” Tu Xiaobo asked sternly. “My men are trained to take care of any eventuality. The only thing your clumsy operative did was jeopardise our mission.”
“Your mission?” Wangchuk Drup laughed. A horrible clanging sound reverberated around the clearing. “I think it's as much our mission?” The Yarlese was outwardly dismissive but, inwardly, he was surprised and somewhat impressed the Jade Tigers had detected his presence on the mountain.
Tu Xiaobo clenched his fists. “Be that as it may, Rui'In knows how we work; and he agreed we would handle this ourselves.”
“It was your ineptitude I was guarding against,” Wangchuk Drup responded. “Your ragtag group of warriors might be good for a kidnapping or a backstreet murder but this mission was too important to leave in your hands.” He untied what looked like a gold coloured cloth sack from his belt and lifted it up in front of Tu Xiaobo.
Tu Xiaobo slowly raised a hand to signal his men to remain calm. He could sense their aggravation not to mention Wangchuk Drup’s intention to incite them.
Wangchuk Drup saw the caution in Tu Xiaobo's actions. He smiled disdainfully and, for the first time, cast his eyes down at the still drowsy grandmasters. “The Earthly Dragon rabble has been long admired as the Mount Tai of Wulin. But look at them now.” The Yarlese remembered with fury the way in which they had treated him years earlier and he was relishing this moment. “Look at your beloved Forth Guardian now!” he said with a gruesome laugh as he threw the gold sack down at their knees. As the cloth rolled open, its contents tumbled out.
After Wangchuk Drup’s failed raid on Gongsum and Yu Guo Wei's failure to kill Fu Xiaoli, Rui'In’s plans to subdue and occupy the four great cities of the western border within weeks were in serious jeopardy. When Yu Guo Wei inexplicably sent a weakened Wangchuk Drup to prevent Wong Shi Hong from recruiting Tao Huiqing, the inevitable result scuppered Rui'In's plans outright. Fu Xiaoli and Tao Huiqing promptly threw their weight behind the Plum Tree Brotherhood giving Wong Shi Hong a greater means of rallying the orthodox side of Wulin to his cause. After all, the Ten Greats commanded huge respect.
With this in mind, Rui'In put his backup plan in motion—the simultaneous destruction of Shaolin Temple and Earthly Dragon; something that would bring unorthodox Wulin under his banner and crush the spirits of the orthodox side. He summoned Wangchuk Drup and Yu Guo Wei to his camp, reprimanded them for their failure to achieve their objectives, and questioned Yu Guo Wei's peculiar decisions concerning the Shangqing operation. He ordered Yu Guo Wei to assist him with the siege of Shaolin and told Wangchuk Drup to handle the Earthly Dragon side of things, leaving the latter under express orders to use the Jade Tiger Sect. The Yarlese resented not being able to take Earthly Mountain himself but found the Qui king intractable on the matter. Rui'In had previously liaised with one of the Jade Tiger intermediaries who laid out a plan which the king thought excellent. All they needed was a slow acting sedative which they were convinced Yu Guo Wei could provide. The smelly chemist had just the compound and he left it in his disciple’s charge before leaving for M
ount Song.
For his part, Wangchuk Drup continued to liaise with the Jade Tiger's intermediary on Rui'In’s behalf and passed on the sedative with instructions on how to use it. Yet the Yarlese had misgivings about leaving the Earthly Dragon operation solely in the hands of the Jade Tigers. He knew how they worked. If there was even the slightest trace they were being monitored or supervised, they would walk away from the job. However, convinced in his own superiority, he decided to go to Earthly Mountain anyway and observe the operation secretly.
Days later, he found himself on the very same peak which Yu Guo Wei had stood ten years earlier—the peak from which Wangchuk Drup watched him descend as he lay beaten and immobilised on the ground. It was a perfect position. He could see both the Earthly Peak and the Third Gorge simultaneously. He watched as the three remaining guardians went about their business and eventually saw the brown-robed Faceless Monk slouch forward as Yu Guo Wei's sedative finally took effect. Before long, the Jade Tigers emerged at the far side of the Third Gorge. He watched as they set about crossing it with ropes and harnesses. He watched them scale the ladder and emerge with the three grandmasters unconscious on a stretcher. How he would've loved to be the one to find those effete monks asleep in their quarters? he thought. He would wake them and make them watch as he slaughtered those arrogant guardians before their eyes. Time enough for that, he said to himself. For some reason, Rui'In wanted them alive. So long as I can be the one to dispatch them when he's finished with them, I'll be happy.