“What are you thinking about, there?” the old man with the flawed eye asked. It was the third time that he’d appeared before Toshishun, and this was the third time that he’d asked the same question. He and Toshishun stood under Luoyang’s west gate under the stars, in the dim light of a new moon. The evening mist rose into the sky. Toshishun looked up, standing still.
“Me, sir? I was thinking that I had no place to sleep tonight, and I’m not sure what I should do.”
“Oh, I see. That’s too bad. I’ll tell you something that might help you. Stand in the light of the sun, right where I’m pointing, and mark the placement of your shadow. Wait until midnight, then dig up the place where your stomach shadowed the ground. You shall find a cart--”
Suddenly, Toshishun raised his hand. “No, no. I don’t need any more money.”
“You don’t need money? So you’ve gotten sick of living in luxury, have you?” The old man’s expression was puzzled. He looked into Toshishun’s face as if he was trying to solve the riddle written in it.
“It’s not that I don’t like luxuries,” Toshishun said curtly. “I’m sick to death of people.” His face twisted into a dissatisfied frown.
“Oh? How interesting. And why are you so sick of people?”
“People are cold creatures. When I was wealthy, everyone wanted to be my friend... but just look at what happened when I became poor! They present kind faces to the world, but they aren’t actually kind. I can’t go back to being a rich man again when I know exactly what will happen if I do.”
The old man listened to Toshishun thoughtfully. He grinned, showing teeth. “I think I understand. You are a young man, but your understanding of human nature is admirable. Do you plan to live as a poor man, then, since living as a rich man has become so unbearable to you?"
Toshishun hesitated slightly. He looked up at the old man, eyes wide, appealing to him for help. “I can’t say with any honesty that I’m ready to do that, either. I want to become your disciple. I want to learn magic and become a wizard. That’s what you are, isn’t it? You must be, since you can conjure such great wealth. You wouldn’t have been able to make me the richest man in the city overnight if you weren’t. So please, become my teacher, and teach me your magical arts!”
The old man’s eyebrows drew together. He stayed silent for a while, seeming lost in thought. Then he smiled again and said, “I am a wizard, as you say. My name is Tekkanshi, and I live on Mount Gabi. The first time I saw you, I considered you a man of some intelligence and distinction, which is why I made you rich twice. If you truly want to become my disciple, I suppose we can give it a try.” And so he gladly agreed to Toshishun’s request.
Toshishun was overjoyed beyond description. Before Tekkanishi even finished speaking, he put his forehead to the dirt and bowed over and over and over again.
“No, no, there’s no need for such excessive thanks,” Tekkanshi said. “You may be my disciple, but that doesn’t mean you’ll become a powerful wizard one day. That depends entirely on you. First things first: we’ll go to Mount Gabi together. Look there--a stalk of bamboo has fallen. That’s lucky for us. Hop aboard, and we shall fly.”
Tekkanshi went over to the fresh-fallen bamboo stalk and picked it up. He muttered an arcane incantation, and then he and Toshishun climbed on it as if they were riding double on a horse. If that seemed strange, what happened next was stranger: the bamboo stalk launched into the air with all the fierceness and bravery of a dragon, flying through the clear spring evening sky in the direction of Mount Gabi.
Toshishun steeled himself, grinding his fists into his thighs, and looked down. He was greatly terrified at being up so high. All he saw when he looked down were the peaks of mountains shrouded in mist, lit by the fading light of the sun. The west gate of Luoyang was lost in the mist behind him. Toshishun looked for it, but he couldn’t find it anywhere.
Tekkanshi’s white hair fluttered in the night wind. He hummed a song in a sonorous voice that carried over the mountains. The next day they passed over the North Sea, and the next evening, they were in Sougo.4 On and on they flew, impossibly far. On their third journey, the passed into Yueyang Tower5 without any other people realizing they were there. Dongting Lake6 glittered around the tower, sacred and mysterious.
Toshishun’s and Tekkanshi’s journey ended when they alighted from their bamboo stick on Mount Gabi.
They were in a deep valley, standing atop a huge standing stone that had a mostly flat surface. They were very high up the mountain--so high that the stars above were the size of cups and saucers. The constellation that contained the North Star seemed close enough to reach out and touch.
Mount Gabi wasn’t inhabited by people, so all around, it was as silent as the grave. The only sound was the wind blowing through the branches of a solitary gnarled and twisted pine clinging to the precipice behind Toshishun and Tekkanshi.
Tekkanshi told Toshishun to go to the edge of the precipice and sit down.
“I must make a visit to the heavens to see the Queen Mother of the West. 7 While I’m gone, sit right there and wait for me. Some magical creatures might visit the mountain in my absence. They will certainly try to trick or seduce you, so be especially wary of them. Whatever they do, you must not make a sound. Do not speak to the creatures--not one word. If you speak to any of them even once, you will never become a wizard. Do you understand? Even if the heavens open up above you, you must still keep silent and wait.”
“I understand,” Toshishun said. “I won’t say a word to any magical creatures. I won’t make a sound, even if it means my death.”
“I see. Hearing you say that relieves me. I’ll be off momentarily.”
Tekkanshi made his goodbyes, then climbed on the bamboo stick again. He flew up toward the peaks of mountains so high that they seemed to scrape the sky and eventually passed out of sight.
Toshishun was left alone, sitting silently on the stone. He gazed up at the stars in the night sky. Within half an hour, a cold wind blew over the mountain, cutting right through Toshishun’s thin clothing. He shivered.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?”
The voice came from the sky. Toshishun thought the tone was scolding. But who had the right to scold him here, except Tekkanshi? He remained silent, as the old wizard had instructed.
After a little while, the same voice called out again, this time louder: “If you don’t give me an answer, prepare to lose your life.” The voice was stern and unforgiving.
Of course, Toshishun said nothing.
Suddenly, a white tiger leaped onto the boulder from above. The animal seemed to appear out of nowhere. The tiger took note of where Toshishun was sitting, planted its feet and roared.
The pine tree clinging to the cliff face shook violently. From behind Toshishun, an enormous white snake emerged. It was four sake barrels in girth. The snake’s red tongue flicked in and out of its gaping mouth like a flame. The snake descended to Toshishun, creeping nearer and nearer.
Toshishun sat absolutely still and silent. He didn’t even raise an eyebrow.
The tiger and the snake sensed the vulnerability of their prey and ignored Toshishun, instead watching the movements of the other predator. They moved in circles for a while, and then sprang at Toshishun at precisely the same moment.
Toshishun thought he’d be devoured by the tiger’s jaws or bitten by the tongue-lashing snake, but just before the animals attacked him, their bodies turned to mist and melted into nothing. The night wind blew the mist away. The stone was still and silent, as before, and the only sound was the wind whistling through the branches of the scraggly pine.
Relieved, Toshishun let out a breath that he hadn’t been aware of holding. He faced the future bravely, thinking that anything that happened now couldn’t possibly shake his equilibrium.
Then a gust of wind passed over the stone, bringing with it storm clouds overhead that obscured everything like a gray sheet. Purple lightning split the sudden darkness in two. Rattling thunder shook the stone. Or perhaps it wasn’t thunder, but rain--rain that fell in fat drops, fast and hard, with a noise like thunder only louder.
Toshishun sat in the center of the storm, unafraid.
The wind, the rain, the ceaseless lightning... for a few moments, it seemed that Mount Gabi would collapse asunder from the onslaught. An ear-splitting roar of thunder rocked the stone. The clouds in the sky swirled in one great spiral, and a column of flame burst forth from the center, descending like the rain onto Toshishun’s undefended head.
Toshishun covered his ears on instinct, then went flat to the stone with his eyes closed. When he opened his eyes, the storm had passed and the sky was clear again. The mountain peaks above enfolded Mount Gabi, and the stars glittered overhead, seeming as large as cups and saucers.
The tiger, the snake and the storm were all magical mischief that Tekkanshi had warned Toshishun about. Toshishun took a few deep breaths, wiping sweat from his forehead. He focused on the task at hand, and kept himself calm. He sat back down on the stone in the same pose as before.
But before Toshishun could even really catch his breath, a warrior in golden armor popped up right in front of him! The warrior was something like nine meters tall, and his armor was a general’s, only on a grand scale. Toshishun feared that he was looking at some kind of god--an angry god.
The giant general bore a trident as a weapon. He pointed it straight at Toshishun with rage burning in his eyes. “You there! What are you doing here? Mount Gabi has been my home forever, since the beginning of the world. I don’t allow humans to set foot here without express permission. If you value your life, answer me quickly: how did you come here, and what are you doing?!”
But Toshishun remained silent, just as Tekkanshi had told him.
“So, then. You don’t answer me? I see. Then prepare yourself. Perhaps the sight of my soldiers will loosen your tongue.”
The giant raised his trident to the heavens, then beckoned toward the mountains surrounding them with his weapon. The night sky tore open in countless places, revealing a vast army of soldiers. They fell out of the sky and onto the stone, forming up around their leader.
The soldiers all carried spears and swords. They advanced on Toshishun, preparing to attack.
Toshishun nearly screamed from fright, but he caught himself in time and remained silent.
The giant general noticed that Toshishun had no intention of answering him and became enraged. “You stubborn fool! Answer me now. If you fail to respond, I shall do as I said I would and take your life!” He took up his trident, and with one strong stroke brought it down on Toshishun in a killing strike.
The general laughed so loudly that the sound shook all of Mount Gabi. Then he disappeared. His soldiers vanished with him, of course, blown away by the night wind like so much mist and dream.
The stars in the constellation of the North Star shone bright and cold on Mount Gabi. The wind fluttered the branches of the scraggly pine clinging to the cliff.
Toshishun lay collapsed on the ground. He was no longer breathing. The giant general, true to his word, had killed him.
Chapter 5
While Toshishun’s body lay prone on the stone, his soul slipped from it and was dragged to hell. Between our world and hell, there was the Anketsu Road, which cut through the nation of Kara, where only the worst souls were condemned to stay. The Anketsu Road was completely dark and cold. Toshishun spent what felt like years traveling unwillingly down that road with the icy wind at his back, being blown like a leaf through the air.
At long last, he came to Shinra Temple, which was splendidly appointed and equipped to accommodate guests. Unfortunately for Toshishun, it was also guarded by an enormous demon. As soon as the demon caught sight of Toshishun, it seized him and lugged him up the stairs into the temple.
Inside the temple was a resplendent king sitting in state on his throne. The throne was on a raised dais at the top of a grand staircase. The King wore pitch-black robes and a golden crown. His sharp eyes surveyed everything around him, and his expression was stern. This King was the great god Yama, the judge of the underworld.
Toshishun bowed low before the god, trembling in fright and thinking desperately about what he should do.
“You, there,” Yama said imperiously. “What were you doing sitting on Mount Gabi? Speak!” Yama’s voice echoed throughout the temple hall like the reverberation of thunder.
Toshishun was so shaken that he nearly answered, but he remembered what Tekkanshi had told him: “ Even if the heavens open up above you, you must still keep silent and wait.” Toshishun hung his head like a man defeated and didn’t say a word.
Yama lifted an iron file from a table at the side of his throne and scratched at his beard in irritation. “What were you doing sitting on Mount Gabi? Give me an answer! If you do not, I shall stop time here, and spend the next eternity acquainting you with the torments of hell,” he said in a tone of command.
Toshishun could not be persuaded to speak. His lips didn’t move, and no sound escaped his throat.
Yama faced the demon who had brought Toshishun to him and issued brusque commands. That demon and others in service to Yama indicated their understanding of those orders, then tossed Toshishun out of the temple. His spirit was set adrift on the Anketsu Road.
Everyone who knows anything about hell knows about the Mountain of Needles and the Lake of Blood, but there are other varied torments, too. There is the Boiling Lake, where everything is overheated to the point of melting, and the Freezing Lake, where everything freezes solid from cold. The demons pursued Toshishun, pushing him from place to place so that he experienced all the horrors of hell.
Toshishun remained silent through it all. When a sword cut into his chest, he didn’t flinch. When the skin of his face began to melt in the Boiling Lake, he gritted his teeth and endured. His tongue was cut out and his skin was shaved off; he was boiled in oil and poked with sharp iron skewers. He was bitten by poisonous snakes that addled his mind and had his eyes plucked out and eaten by a mountain hawk-eagle. There seemed to be no end to the suffering he had to endure. Toshishun was brave and patient and did not speak so much as a single word.
Surely the demons must give up soon. What else could they do? They dragged Toshishun back before Yama and reported all of the tortures that Toshishun had suffered.
Yama raised an eyebrow. He thought for a
moment, then said, “I believe this sinner’s parents are on the Beast
Road.8Bring them before me this instant!” he commanded a demon.
The demon rode on the wind through hell’s sky, high up as if he was moving through the gaps between the stars. He returned to the Shinra Temple carrying two creatures that he set down just outside the entrance.
Toshishun was astonished at the sight of the two animals. They appeared to be horses, though thin and emaciated and clearly suffering. Their faces reminded him of his parents who had died some years ago. He hadn't seem them recently except for in dreams.
“There, now,” Yama said. “What were you doing on Mount Gabi? I expect a clear honest answer out of you. If you refuse to answer, I will inflict pain and suffering upon your parents!”
Toshishun nearly spoke, but he remained silent.
“Oh? So you wish to see them suffer, then? Fine. I shall grant your wish!”
Yama, Lord of the Underworld, proclaimed in a voice that shook the entire temple: “Beat them! All you demons that can hear me, I command you to beat these creatures to skin and bone!”
The demons answered at once: “Yes, lord!” They took up iron-handled whips and beat the two poor horses black and blue without so much as a scrap of hesitation. The whips sliced through air and flesh with a whooshing sound, and the blows of the demons fell down like rain upon the defenseless animals.
The horses curled in on themselves from the pain. They fell and didn’t get up, crying tears of blood. Their neighs were high-pitched like screams. Toshishun couldn’t bear to look, but he also could not bring himself to look away.
“Well then,” Yama said. “Are you ready to confess?” He commanded the demons to set aside their whips for a moment and waited for Toshishun’s answer. The horses were little more than bruised and torn flesh stretched over broken bones.
Toshishin shut his eyes tight and focused only on what Tekkanshi had told him to do. In the sudden silence all around, he heard a faint, familiar voice--one that he hadn’t heard in years, yet was still familiar.
“Please don’t worry about us. All we care about is your happiness, son. No matter what Lord Yama does to us, please do not speak.”
Toshishun listened to the voice and could not be mistaken: it was his mother’s. He opened his eyes, then rushed to the fallen horses. He looked them directly in the eyes, weeping himself. As tormented as his mother had been, she didn’t show any sign of hatred for the demons. She was thinking only about Toshishun in this moment. It was such a contrast to all those horrible people who’d treated him well when he’d been rich and successful. His mother’s love, taken for granted in life, now struck Toshishun as heroic and brave.
Toshishun entirely forgot Tekkanshi’s instructions to be silent. He threw his arms around his mother’s neck and cried out, “Mom!”
Toshishun stood under the western gate of Luoyang in the evening with his own voice echoing in his ears. A new moon shone faintly in the cloudy sky. Men and women passed by on the street in their carts, hurrying to and fro. It was just like it had been before Toshishun had gone to Mount Gabi with Tekkanshi--if, in fact, they’d gone anywhere at all.
“Well, then. You gave it a go, being my disciple, but it seems that you will never be a wizard.” Tekkanshi’s flawed eye gleamed. He smiled faintly.
“No, I’ll never be a wizard,” Toshishun said. “But--and it’s strange--I’m almost happy that I never will be one.”
Tears streamed down Toshishun’s face. He seized Tekkanshi’s hand suddenly and squeezed. “I couldn’t remain silent in the face of my poor parents being tormented and beaten with whips in hell. If that means I will never be a wizard, then so be it.”
Tekkanshi’s expression became solemn. “If you had managed to remain silent...” He paused, then looked Toshishun straight in the eye. “If you had managed to remain silent, I would have killed you myself on the spot. But now, you have no more desire to become a wizard. And you don’t want to be a rich man again, either. What is it that you wish to do now?”
“Anything,” Toshishun said, “as long as it’s good honest work. I want to feel like a person again.” The tone of his voice struck an unusually warm note that Tekkanshi had never heard before.
“Don’t forget those words,” Tekkanshi said. “After today, it’s unlikely that you and I will ever see one another again.” He started walking away before he even finished speaking.
Before he’d gone more than a few steps, Tekkanshi turned around to face Toshishun again. “I remembered just now... I have a house at the foot of Mount Taishan. If you’d like to live there and work the fields outside it, I’ll welcome you. If you get to the house soon, you should see the peach blossoms all in bloom. It’s the perfect time of year for them,” he said pleasantly.
THE END
1 Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (8 September 685 – 3 May 762) was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756 CE. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. In the early half of his reign he was a diligent and astute ruler. Ably assisted by capable chancellors like Yao Chong, Song Jing and Zhang Yue, he was credited with bringing the Tang dynasty to a pinnacle of culture and power. Later internal conflicts would cause friction, and the Tang dynasty’s golden age ended with the An Lushan Rebellion. ↩
2 Dimocarpus longan, commonly known as the longan and dragon's eye, is a tropical tree species that produces edible fruit. It is one of the better-known tropical members of the soapberry family Sapindaceae, to which the lychee and rambutan also belong.The fruit of the longan is similar to that of the lychee, but less aromatic in taste. It is native to tropical Asia and China. ↩
3 Guilin (alternatively romanized as Kweilin) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is situated on the west bank of the Li River and borders Hunan to the north. Its name means "forest of sweet osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant sweet trees located in the region. Guilin is one of China's most popular tourist destinations, and the epithet "By water, by mountains, most lovely, Guilin" (山水甲天下) is often associated with the city. ↩
4 蒼梧 (Sougo) was an ancient Chinese province that corresponds to modern-day Guangxi. It is in the southern part of China, and very mountainous. ↩
5 岳陽桜 (Yueyang Tower) is an ancient Chinese tower in Yueyang, Hunan Province, on the shore of Lake Dongting.↩
6 Lake Dongting ( 洞庭湖) literally means "Grotto Court." The lake was named for the huge hall or cavern which was believed to exist beneath the lake. The spirits of the Sage-King Shun's wives Ehuang and Nüying were said to be the rulers of this grotto, which was claimed to have underground passages opening to all parts of the Chinese empire. ↩
7 The Queen Mother of the West (西王母) is an ancient Chinese goddess. Wizards and practitioners of Chinese magic were supposed to be sanctioned by her. One of her functions was to authorize new wizards to practice magic.↩
8 The Beast Road (畜生道) is reserved for people whose sins in life warrant them being transformed into a different animal.↩
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