Without warning, the guard drew his weapon and pointed it at Xin. The others emerged from their stations and surrounded him with their own weapons drawn. “Chieftain Iron Skin was killed last New Year’s Eve by Ming troops during a routine operation. Not sure who you are or how you managed to find this place but now you’ll not be leaving.” Before he could raise a hand to attack, Xin raised a signal with closed fist. An arrow cut through the air and pierced the guard directly in the back of the skull. The arrow’s tip protruded out from his forehead and he was killed instantly. The other guards spun around to locate the origin of the projectiles, but they too were instantly shot down by the Academicians’ superior marksmanship. The last of them ducked underneath a shot but Sun Xin had already cut him down with a swift stroke of the knife.
The Academicians emerged from the undergrowth and regrouped with Xin.
“Nice work,” he said.
“All those archery exercises with instructor Shang Jian seemed to have paid off very nicely,” said Wen Xiao as she salvaged the arrows from the bodies.
“The imperial commandos couldn’t have done better themselves,” Wen Ping added.
“Maybe. See what else you can loot from them. Ropes and grapple hooks, small weapons, and explosive smokes could prove helpful,” said Sun Xin.
“Found some small impact bombs here,” observed Wen Ping. “These men are pretty heavily armed. The body armor isn’t a joke either. They’re sacrificing some mobility for ample protection. If anything, it seems they’re preparing for an open battle.”
“An open battle with the empire,” Sun Xin added. “The Ming army is the only fighting force with the firepower that’d make them require such gear. Now we just have to figure out where they’re planning to attack and why,” he thought aloud. “Fighting these grunts will be even more difficult now. They’re clearly under the influence of the Terukk elixir, but it does not seem to have ravaged their minds.”
“Only way to find that out what they’re planning is to see this through and get it over with,” said Wen Xiao. Despite being smaller than her brother, she carried herself more confidently.
“Right. We’ll find out more once we’re inside. Reconnaissance is our secondary objective,” said Xin. “Toss the bodies into the river. The last thing we need is an investigation to discover us. Best they think they ran off somewhere for a while,” said Xin. “Raise your collars and don your hoods. Your topknots will give us away.”
6 It Escalates
Liulinchang was a district made for the literati and was one of the few places in the capital where learned men such as the gentry and the scholarly community could congregate with others of like mind. Many painters, calligraphers, and intellectuals made their way through the downtown district, and for Tian Qiu, it was the only place where he could find some respite from the taxing responsibilities of the court and as a vital member of his order. There was a great sense of community in Liulinchang, and Tian Qiu felt like he belonged there. Many books were compiled, written, and sold in the area. Great works of art such as paintings, pottery, and poetry were created and put on display in the shops. Musical instruments were handcrafted to the finest precision, and the smells and sounds blended together in perfect harmony. For Tian, there was no better place to be at the moment. It was a calmer place, with less hustle and bustle, and more time for an appreciation for the intellectual pursuits.
After a cup of tea and a snack, he moved to the terrace of a pavilion that overlooked the cityscape. The chilly autumn air and the gray skies heralded the near arrival of winter, yet Tian Qiu took great delight in the cool brisk air for it brought to him a sense of clarity he could not otherwise find being indoors. The day could not have been more perfect, at least according to his liking. The sky darkened as the sun that hid behind the clouds began to sink closer to the horizon. Tian Qiu leaped off the balcony and onto a nearby rooftop, hoping to catch a glimpse of the sun as it set. There was only a sea of clouds, gray and dreary as ever.
He looked some three stories below to observe the people making their way down the streets. People-watching was another activity he enjoyed on rare occasions in order to pass the time. Tian had always wondered what it was that drove them to continue dragging the mundane. Some of the wealthy merchants were carried on sedans while couriers ran to and fro, trying to reach their destinations with haste. Despite the gloomy day, the local women flaunted colorful parasols and waved around colorful folding hand fans or kerchiefs, while showing off their flowing dresses in an attempt to catch the attention of the young men who frequented the town.
In an alley adjacent to the street, groups of the elderly enjoyed a game of weiqi and some cards. Despite all that was transpiring in the shadows, despite the imminent threat of war and terror, the people still lived on and continued with their day. It was almost sickening. What else could they do? He watched them, wondering about their personal stories, who they were, and where they came from, or what their parents did, but all of it seemed so meaningless. But that was the tremendous responsibility that he carried as the youngest member of the council of the Martial Scholars, was it not? He dedicated his life to the defense of the very people he now observed. He had to fight to build a better world or defend against the dangers that threatened the one in which he lived.
Even as he pondered on these things, Tian Qiu felt odd, as if a powerful presence lurked nearby… watching him. Tian Qiu instinctively tightened his grip on the scabbard of his sword and secured the book satchel slung across his chest. He looked around to the left and to the right but could not detect anything. The presence he was feeling was very dark and powerful, and it became so overwhelming that he was forced to dash off the rooftop and navigate his way down into a cold, dark alley where no one else walked.
The presence grew so strong that Tian Qiu could feel the roots of his long, silky hair grow taut. He took a slow breath and watched the condensation wisp away with the alley draft.
“Remove yourself from the shadows, coward,” he announced.
In the next moment, with the sound of a rushing wind coming to a sudden halt, a dark and guttural voice emerged from his rear. The presence Tian Qiu had been feeling had finally made himself known.
“Quite pathetic to watch, are they not?” said the voice.
Tian Qiu spun around and drew his sword in one motion. He pointed it directly at the tall, cloaked and hooded figure that stood before him in the dark alley. “You? How did you get here?”
“Practice,” he replied. Kurr’s cape waved in the chilly autumn wind, adding to his ominous and disturbing presence. “The petty citizens of your kingdom—they’re like children, ignorant to the true ways of this world. They go about repeating their mindless tasks day after day. They are born just to die, their lives as irrelevant as a puff of vapor in the cold breeze. They fail to realize one thing: that everything they do, all they accomplish is ultimately for naught. Why? Their pitiful lives will all come to pass in but a few decades, without ever knowing illumination and the way of the enlightened warrior. They could never understand superiors like us, am I right, scholar?”
“And what could you possibly know of superiority and enlightenment, Snow Skin?” asked Tian Qiu spitefully, immediately recognizing just who Kurr was. He kept the tip of his straight sword pointed a mere hand’s length from Kurr’s face, fighting hard against the temptation to engage him in combat.
Kurr produced a low, throaty chuckle. “I am able to know things, Scholar, through ways you could only dream. One look at you, and I know what I see—a warrior of great intellect meant for so much more than just death as the final destination. You spend much of your short life seeking knowledge. I can respect that. Knowledge is a means to great power, and through power one can learn of the ways of true longevity and even eternity. I know your kind for I have seen it so many times before… in myself. This is why you crave knowledge so fiercely.” He smiled devilishly under the darkness of h
is large cowl. His eyes radiated a faint red glow, and they looked directly into Tian Qiu’s soul.
Tian Qiu felt his presence to be unnerving and his voice extremely unsettling, but he could not deny that the Pale Foreigner was right about him. “Death awaits us all. It is inevitable. Learning to accept that fact is honorable,” he said. How Kurr knew so much about him was greatly disturbing. It made the temptation to lash out even greater.
“Not when you have power, Child!” Kurr growled. “With power, death will never make its appointment. You fear death like all men. That fear is of a great void and eternal darkness that awaits you, the sleep from which there is no waking. I can show you how to defeat death, how to make it lose its sting. Imagine it, Scholar. Seeing the creation of heaven on earth, a utopia where there is no more pain, no more suffering, no disorder, no criminality or injustice… and you watch it unfold to continue for ten thousand years. Is this not what you and your kind fight for? What meaning has the greatest of deeds when all you will achieve in the end is but a grave? Paupers and emperors, it matters not. The destination is the same.”
“You lie! You are a liar. What you offer is impossible if not even laughable. You and your kind have done nothing but lie and deceive ever since you have stepped foot onto our lands,” cried Tian Qiu.
“Yet you can feel this very power for yourself. My vital essence, this qi I have cultivated for decades… it shakes you to your bones. Do you not desire this sort of power? I stand before you as proof of what I claim. For one hundred twenty years, I have walked this world perfecting my art and learning forbidden knowledge and yet, such pursuits have allowed me to achieve eternal life. I can impart such knowledge unto you, Scholar. Even your abilities in combat will drastically increase by cultivating an inner power you never knew existed. I believe one Wandering Swordsman whom you know quite well is already familiar with this. He is the only one who has surpassed your skills with the sword. I can show you how to achieve martial mastery well beyond his.”
“You talk too much. And do not pretend to know me. My motives are my own and are completely unknown to you. Do not be so arrogant as to assume what drives me. How you have learned of such things, I do not care. But you are wrong, wrong about me.”
Kurr snickered at his denial of the truth. He continued with his offer. “This is Illumination earned from a familiarity with the other side. Call it enlightenment or transcendence; if you learn of its mysterious ways, you will become far greater and more powerful than what you are now— a god walking amongst mortals… and you can participate in the creation of a new one. But nothing is free and thus you must do something for me.” Kurr’s toothy grin revealed his sharp canine fangs.
“You are mistaken. I do what I do because it is right. By killing scum like you, I bring honor to my family’s name, my parents’ name, and fulfill my duty to my country. When my time comes, I will be at peace knowing I have lived my life with no regrets, leaving behind only an honorable name. I don’t care how you know what you think you know, these are things that you will never understand, you snow-skinned abomination,” Tian Qiu answered him spitefully.
Kurr laughed in mockery to his words. “You people of the Middle Kingdom… so obsessed with duty, honor, and filial piety. I’ve never heard of anything more childish… And here you are calling me a liar. Men of worth crave knowledge and power. It is one of the biggest truths of life and it will never change. Provide me with another response, and this time, make sure it is worth uttering. I am not going to make this offer again. Are you sure that is a price you are willing to wager?” he hissed, his grin turning to a smirk.
Tian Qiu gritted his teeth and his left eye twitched as he relaxed his stance. He glared furiously at Kurr for several moments wishing he could remove his head and take for himself all the secrets the Pale Foreigner was claiming to possess. “Very well. Show me proof that such knowledge you are claiming can be imparted unto me, or I will cut your throat myself.”
Kurr laughed. “Good. You truly are as intelligent as I first perceived.” He bent down to sit cross-legged on the ground. He raised both of his hands out of his heavy cloak and clasped them together. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he began uttering a perverse chant with the abyssal voice that seethed out his foul mouth. He then performed wicked hand gestures simultaneously. His fingers locked and intertwined and flexed as he continued his monotonous droning. Tian Qiu continued to hold on to his sword as he looked on anxiously at what Kurr was doing. Dark energy could be felt emitting out of his body, and it shook Tian Qiu to his core. His eyes darted to the left and right, and his breathing became more erratic, and it seemed as if the alley where he stood narrowed upon him. His lungs burned like the very air itself was being corrupted. Kurr’s perverse meditation intensified until Kurr’s final hand positions caused Tian Qiu to give in.
“Stop it. That is enough!” he shouted. He raised his sword and charged at Kurr, but it only took one powerful backhanded swipe to slam him against the wall and drop his weapon. The sword clattered to the ground, and by that time, Kurr had already stood to his feet with an eerie calmness as he gazed at Tian with disapproval.
“I will give you time to think on this matter. Do not waste this opportunity. Think about what you can do for the world. Earn a place among the titans. Is it not honorable? On the thirtieth day of this month, the armies of the Underworld march onto the capital. There will be further instructions for you in the coming days. You will find them hidden away inside the abandoned building in the slum area of the Outer City district. After all has been said and done, I will grant what you wish.” He looked up and leaped with such great force that he cleared the roof of the adjacent house with just one bound. “Choose well, Scholar! I offer you the ancient and forbidden secrets, but continue in your delusions of honor and duty… and you will find only death at every turn.” He fled the scene with speed, but he laughed all the way, believing that he had already succeeded.
Kurr knew full well that the Martial Scholar was not only highly skilled and intelligent, but also highly prone to being enticed with knowledge at nearly any cost. Kurr’s strength with the ancient metaphysical arts had gifted him with the discernment of a clairvoyant which then allowed him to see this in Tian, and tempt him into becoming an instrument for bringing the Terukk plot into realization. The final piece had been set in place and now the march of the Underworld was ready to commence.
Tian Qiu slumped against the wall, trying to internalize his experience. He was confused, in shock, and angry all at once. He had spent years searching and wandering the earth for that one thing that could fill the void in his heart, and finally, he was presented with what appeared to be the solution. He was furious and filled with utter hate for Kurr, but this could be his only chance to obtain of the secrets he believed he was destined for. After much thought and recollection, he gathered himself and stood to his feet with a glare of fierceness in his eyes. He knew what he had to do.
- -
Zhang Sunzan refocused his vision as he emerged from the dimly-lit cabin space near the rear of the ship. The land of Riben appeared in the horizon when the haze began to part, and gulls flew about, squawking as they circled around the Ming warships. Mountains and shapely rooftops became discernable in the distance, and fishing boats began to increase in number as they neared the shore.
They had bypassed the usual meeting place— the town of Nagasaki in the archipelago’s south which served as a bridge between Riben and the continent, and had proceeded directly to dock in the city of Osaka.
The Phoenix Spirit and the escort ships docked at the pier. There, Zhang Sunzan was greeted by an entourage of the Samurai upon disembarking. They have been expecting his arrival, and have been eager to receive him on behalf of Shogun Yoshitane. Zhang Sunzan’s personal escort of Academicians was apprehensive about the meeting as well. The situation in Riben had become volatile and the entire nation was on edge. A small core group of Academicians acco
mpanied him as they disembarked the ship and stepped foot onto the docks. They did not take much time for formalities and the head of the entourage expressed the urgency of the situation. They seemed to have been eager to depart.
“We go to Kyoto city. Shogun Yoshitane waits in castle,” said the commanding red samurai in his broken Han dialect. They were quite intimidating, more for their demeanor than their actual appearance. They were mounted on horseback and clad in heavy box-shaped metal armor interwoven and embroidered with silks of many colors. What caught Zhang’s eye were their helmets which appeared to be more like headdresses adorned with lavish ornaments of golden symbols or beasts. Some even sported grisly war masks used to intimidate the enemy on the battlefield. Together, Zhang, the Academicians including Ah’Chung, and the Samurai mounted up and proceeded posthaste.
The land of Riben had many charms that amused Zhang Sunzan. As the group proceeded out of Osaka, he took a moment to observe the common folk in their daily living. There was a profound culture of respect and submission to authority that was remarkably different from that of the Ming. Wherever they went, all people stopped their activities to make way for the incoming party, and they kowtowed along the street as the procession passed by. Zhang Sunzan looked upon them with great fascination. The people, the culture, and the land were all so familiar yet so alien from that of the Middle Kingdom. He found it charming and even admirable. He thought the same as he laid eyes upon the women who giggled as they stole a quick glance of him when he passed by. Maybe, just maybe, an alliance with the warriors of Riben would mean the difference between victory and defeat. Many colorful shops lined the streets, but the damage of war and unrest was apparent.
The group made their way past the city and across the fields through a brightly-colored forest. No one made conversation, and the only sounds that could be heard were the trees swaying to the wind, and the thumping of horse hooves over the rocky road. The flags and banners fluttered in the wind from time to time. Riben felt very serene and surreal.
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