The Sorceress' Revolt
Author: Toriumi Jinzō
Translator: Ainikki the Archivist
Ko Biji's Story
Part Four: The Heavenly Book
The two left the hut and set out for Mount
Hua. They passed through Hubei Province on the Jingxi South Road, headed
further north, and continued their journey west along the Yellow River
from Luoyang in Henan Province. They overshot their mark and had to get on
the Jinxi North Road to course-correct.
When they had traveled for about twenty
days, Mount Hua appeared in the distance, only a few days' travel away.
About twenty days had passed since they'd left the environs of Yunmeng
Mountain. They were in Henan Province, approaching the city of Sanmenxia.
The city was named for the steep, deep gorge that split in three
directions in the middle of the mountains. Because of the gorge, travel
from Sanmenxia was treacherous and difficult. There were two rocky islands
at the bottom of the gorge, with the Yellow River flowing between them.
The cliffs towering on the sides of the gorge were rough and uneven,
appearing as if they'd been crushed into shape by the movements of an
enormous serpent.
Sanmenxia had a rich history. During the
Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 - c. 256 BCE), Sanmenxia was part of the
State of Western Guo. Guo moved its capital from modern-day Baoji to
Shangyang, which was next to Sanmenxia. The move lent the city great
political importance. Archaeological finds have revealed mass chariot
graves and the bronzeware of Western Guo State rulers. A portion of the
road has been declared a heritage site, since the city was a significant
stop on the Silk Road.
The Yellow River split in three in the
gorge, and the tributaries were named Jinmon (The Gateway of Man), Kimon
(The Gateway of Devils), and Shinmon (The Gateway of Gods). Only Jinmon
was deep enough to allow boats passage; the other two tributaries were too
shallow and violent.
Tanshi and Ko Biji entered Sanmexia from
the northeast: an unlucky direction, since it was the same way Kimon
flowed. It was autumn, and the sky was sunny and cloudless. Tanshi's monk
outfit was stained from travel and Ko Biji's brilliant red cloak drew many
eyes. Tanshi had lost his pewter staff in Hakūn-do Cave. He carried a new
staff made from the thick, straight branch of an oak tree. Less a weapon
than a cane, Tanshi was nevertheless grateful for it as he and Ko Biji
trekked through the mountains. Ko Biji disliked the usual uniform of
Daoists and dressed herself as a young lady from a reputable family.
Tanshi understood her will in this; who could look at Ko Biji and
insist that she wear ill-fitting street clothing?
There was a line of travelers entering the
city, and by the time it was Tanshi and Ko Biji's turn, the sun was
getting low in the sky. Since this was an important city for trade and
government, gate inspections were quite strict. People streamed in and out
of the gate, passing by lines of stern city guards wielding spears.
Just as Tanshi and Ko Biji were about to
enter the gate, two guards stopped them. One was as thin as a rail, the
other as obese as a panda bear. "Hm, a monk? Halt, and wait for a moment,"
the panda-man called out.
Tanshi and Ko Biji remained calm, but
exchanged reflexive glances. Tanshi had never been stopped by gate guards
before, maybe because he was dressed as a monk or maybe because he
appeared strong. Sanmenxia's reputation for strictness at the gates was
thus proven.
The thin man, thin as a kappa1, looked
over Tanshi and Ko Biji with a critical stare. "All travelers are to be
questioned," he said.
Ko Biji and Tanshi looked at each other
again. Questions? What kind of questions?
"Where are you going?" the thin guard
asked.
"We're headed for Mount Hua," Tanshi
said.
The guard who was as burly as a panda bear
stared at Ko Biji. "Both of you?" he asked. "This woman is traveling with
you?"
"Yes."
"What is your name?"
"Um, uh, F-Funayama is my name," Tanshi
said.
"Funayama?"
"You two are married?" the large guard
asked.
"No, we're acquaintances," Tanshi said.
The guard grinned. "I see. It's not like a
monk can take a wife, right?"
The thin guard stared at Tanshi as if he
were trying to see right through him. "Are monks allowed to have female
'acquaintances?'" he asked.
The large guard leered at his companion.
"She's too good for a monk, anyhow." He chuckled.
Ko Biji gave the guard a flensing stare.
"We are simple travelers, just passing through," she said. "All we want is
to continue our journey."
"You're traveling together, yes. Is the
monk some kind of bodyguard?" The thin guard fixed his full attention on
Tanshi. "You know, I've heard some reports of salt smugglers moving
through the area of late. One set of smugglers had a monk working with
them, if the rumors can be believed."
Tanshi froze in horror. Not only was Ryū
Gen wanted by the authorities, but he was, too? The look that Ko
Biji gave him expressed her resolve. They might have to fight, and that
glance let Tanshi know that she was ready, if it came to it.
Other travelers were watching from a
polite distance. Among them was a muscular man in his prime who looked
like a Daoist. He carried nothing but a gourd for water at his waist, but
there was a strange glint in his eyes.
The thin guard clenched his jaw. "Let's go
to the checkpoint to examine these two further. I'm sure they won't cause
trouble."
The large guard seized Ko Biji's arm with
a wide smile. "You're right. We'll need to do a cavity search. That might
take awhile, heh."
Ko Biji caught Tanshi's eye and nodded.
They couldn't take the time to be detained, and these two guards were too
dangerous to risk cooperation.
Ko Biji's leg snapped out, kicking the
large guard squarely in the crotch. The guard fell and rolled onto his
back, clutching his abused manly bits in agony.
The thin guard raised his spear at Tanshi.
"Huh. Never thought we'd catch you here," he said.
Tanshi caught the spear on his oak staff,
staggering the thin guard. While the guard was off-balance, Tanshi punched
him in the gut. He fell to earth beside the other guard, crawling and
trying to get to his feet.
"Ko Biji, we have to run."
There was no time to think. Several other
guards rushed out of the checkpoint the instant they noticed their
comrades were down.
The thin guard rallied, raising himself up
and shouting: "The monk is a wanted man! Don't let him get away!"
There was no way for Tanshi and Ko Biji to
flee now. Ko Biji took a low defensive stance. With her back to the
burning sun as it set, Ko Biji opened her arms in invitation to the
attackers.
"Ko Biji!" Tanshi was stunned at her
boldness. There was no way a single unarmed woman could win against
several armed guards.
"They plan to fight us!" one of the guards
shouted.
"I won’t show mercy, even to women," one
called back.
The guards readied their
spears.
Ko Biji moved like light, taking a silent
leap and hanging in the air for a moment with her leg raised high. At the
same time, one of the guards collapsed to the ground, vomiting blood.
The other guards closed in faster after
that. Ko Biji didn't move or make a sound, suspended in midair with her
leg outstretched.
"Got her," one of the guards spat. He
stabbed at her with his spear, but she moved out of the way, gliding on
the wind as smoothly as a butterfly.
Another guard collapsed, moving like a sea
urchin along the rocky ground. Tanshi punched him in the head and he went
still.
A cloud of butterflies obscured Ko Biji's
form, then flew out in all directions around her. She reappeared, still in
midair, and split into three. The guards gaped open-mouthed in wonder and
confusion.
"A sorceress!"
"Which one is the real one?"
The real Ko Biji kicked down toward the
earth and knocked three guards in the face as she descended, crying out to
make her blows stronger. Her duplicates landed to either side of her, also
fighting.
The guards' eyes were dazzled and they
couldn't tell what was real. They retreated by slow steps, panicking.
Eventually, only the real Ko Biji remained
on the battlefield.
Tanshi was fascinated by the sight of all
this. It wasn't until he came to his senses that he remembered to fight
with his oaken staff. His heart wasn't in this fight, and his new weapon
wasn't as effective at dealing blows as the pewter staff that he'd left
behind at Hakūn-do Cave. The staff was light and easy to wield, but a blow
from it wasn't enough to fell an enemy. Tanshi stopped swinging his staff
around, since that did little, and focused on thrusting the ends into
vital areas. The weapon still wasn't very effective, but thrusting did
work better than slashing and swinging.
The guards were in disarray from Ko Biji's
display of magic, and they were easy to take down when they were
distracted. If this was all they had to deal with, Ko Biji and Tanshi
could fight their way out... but there were more guards coming. A
prolonged fight was not in their favor.
"Run!" Tanshi called to Ko Biji.
Tanshi and Ko Biji ran down the street and
into an alleyway lined with shops.
"Don't let them get away!" The stunned,
downed guards staggered to their feet and gave chase.
The suspicious-looking man
stared after Ko Biji and Tanshi as they ran through the maze of alleyways
in Sanmenxia. They cut through a field and ran toward a wooded area. The
guards were too slow to keep up and eventually gave up chasing the
fugitives. The man followed Tanshi and Ko Biji to the edge of
the woods and kept going, muttering in frustration, "Why do they have to
run so fast?"
The sun listed toward the western horizon
as Tanshi and Ko Biji fled to the west wall of Sanmexia. They took shelter
in a farm equipment shed. Wooden boxes and straw bundles were neatly
arranged on shelves in the shed. The bundles were labeled for shipping.
There were no workers around at this hour; some had left behind neat piles
of potatoes and melons that would probably be packed up the next day.
Tanshi and Ko Biji built up a small fire outside and roasted some potatoes
for dinner.
"You're strong, Ko Biji," Tanshi said.
"I haven't had to be that violent in a
long time," she said. "It's somewhat liberating."
"I was really surprised when you split
your body like that. What technique is that?"
"Technique? Oh, it wasn't that."
"What?"
"The sunset tricked their eyes and made an
optical illusion. All I needed to do was move quickly from side to side,
and that made it look like there was more than one of me."
"And the disappearance of your body
doubles happened when the optical illusion wore off?"
"Yes." She shrugged. "All I needed to do
was keep my back to the light and make sure the sun was in their eyes.
Simple."
"You learned that from your mother,
right?"
"Yes. It took me five years to learn." Ko
Biji knew many self-defensive arts, since she had to travel on her own.
"My mother knows far more than I do. But the Heavenly Book is probably
full of great knowledge for us to use. I wonder what it says."
"Me, too."
Tanshi focused on his goal. He still
didn't know if it was possible to decipher the Heavenly Book. He didn't
know if Ko Biji's mother would be friendly to him, either. He
supposed that he would find out soon enough.
"Traveling in the daytime will be
dangerous now that they're looking for us," Tanshi said.
"Then we'll travel at night."
"Are foxes nocturnal?"
"They are. If you can't keep your eyes
open, little bird, I'll lead the way and keep you awake." Her tone was
more cheerful than it had been since they'd left the environs of Yunmeng
Mountain.
Ko Biji hadn't wanted to leave the hut to
travel to Mount Hua. Tanshi had persuaded her to come with him. The fact
that they were able to fight through the dangerous checkpoint together and
escape successfully had put her at ease. They had fought together now, and
that increased the trust they shared.
"Let's go to sleep now," Tanshi
said.
"All right."
Ko Biji approached Tanshi and lay down
next to him. That was getting to be something of a habit. The autumn
evening faded into night.
Translator's Notes
1 河童: Kappa, "river-child," is a reptiloid god with similarities to yōkai (demonic spirits) found in traditional Japanese folklore. They are typically depicted as green, human-like beings with webbed hands and feet and turtle-like carapaces on their backs. Their diminutive size is likely what the description of the gate guard is referencing here. ↩
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