The Sorceress' Revolt - Ko Biji's Story - Part 6 Chapter 2

 The Sorceress' Revolt

Author: Toriumi Jinzō

Translator: Ainikki the Archivist

Ko Biji's Story

Part Six: Master of Daoism

Chapter 2

    The next morning after the worship service was over, Tanshi, Ko Biji and Sei Koko resumed their transcription of the Heavenly Book. Ko Biji ground ink in a small bowl with a grim expression on her face. Sei Koko looked away from the scroll she was writing on, set aside her brush, and become lost in thought. Her mien was grave.

    "Sei Koko?" Tanshi asked. “Is something wrong?”

    "Hmmmm..." Sei Koko didn’t speak, but it looked like she wanted to.

    “If there’s a problem, we can help,” Tanshi said.

    “I can’t read any further than this,” Sei Koko said.

    “What?”

    “The characters are too blurry to decipher.”

    Tanshi frowned, anxious. “But I’ve been able to read more of the characters lately. What if we tried it like this?” he said, pointing to his paper.

    Ko Biji listened intently.

    Sei Koko interrupted Tanshi before he finished speaking. “No, from here on is just my extrapolations. We won’t be able to learn more with so many of the characters becoming blurred and unreadable.”

    “So, are we going to stop here?”

    “I can’t do that. All the hard work I’ve put in will be for nothing.”

    “Yes, I suppose that’s true…” Tanshi was stunned. So far, the transcription of the Heavenly Book only took up about half a scroll.

    Ko Biji stared at Tanshi from the side.

    Sei Koko looked at Tanshi. “I’m going to have you go to Hakūn-do Cave once more.”

Tanshi was astonished. “Eh, to Hakūn-do Cave?”

    Ko Biji’s face transformed in anger. When she spoke, she was practically shouting at her mother. “He won’t go.”

    Tanshi and Sei Koko turned their attention to Ko Biji . Her outburst was out of character, and her voice was unusually loud. Hatred burned in her eyes as she stood over her mother.

    This was the first time Ko Biji had ever openly resisted her mother’s will. For the briefest of moments, Sei Koko was confounded by this resistance, but then she remembered that she had the power here.

    “Be silent. This doesn’t concern you,” Sei Koko said.

    But Ko Biji was not intimidated. “Yes, it does. I brought Tanshi here.”

    Strange blue light flashed in Sei Koko’s enraged eyes. “Irrelevant. I gave the order that sent you to Hakūn-do Cave. There’s nothing wrong with me issuing orders to Tanshi, is there?”

    “If he goes back there, his life will be in danger,” Ko Biji said firmly.

    A cruel smile pulled at Sei Koko’s lips. “The gods are on his side. He’s escaped the cave safely twice. Surely he can manage a third time.”

    “The second time was pure luck! If he goes again, he’ll die!” Ko Biji wasn’t about to back down.

    Tanshi looked between Ko Biji and Sei Koko, dumbfounded. They’d never fought before. He believed Ko Biji: if he returned to Hakūn-do Cave, he would die for certain.

Ko Biji’s face flushed with rage. “Only those who have been there can understand how terrifying En Kō was.”

    Sei Koko had regained her composure. There wasn’t a trace of anger or cruelty in her tone as she turned calmly to Tanshi and said, “The decision is yours, of course.” The strange blue light had left her eyes. The discipline to school her emotions so thoroughly was rare among people.

    Tanshi knew he had to give an answer, but he didn’t say anything right away. He and Ko Biji had risked their lives to obtain the Heavenly Book—but he’d only managed to get a small part of it. If they didn’t get the rest of the book, then they would have to give up here.

    Going to Hakūn-do Cave again would mean almost certain death, though… and Sei Koko had given him the order to return even knowing that it would mean his demise. She was being horribly cruel about this. She’d even made her own daughter go to Hakūn-do Cave, with full knowledge of just how dangerous the place was.

    Tanshi desired the knowledge contained in the Heavenly Book, of course, but was it really worth his life? Ko Biji’s life? Sei Koko’s desire for the knowledge left him confounded. He could not understand it.

    “You will go to Hakūn-do Cave.” Sei Koko’s voice carried a tone of command again.

Ko Biji’s eyes were fixed on Tanshi , who remained silent.

    Tanshi bowed to Sei Koko . “I will go.”

    “Don’t go, Tanshi,” Ko Biji said.

    Tanshi couldn’t decipher the Heavenly Book without Sei Koko’s help. If he wanted to benefit from the book’s knowledge, he had no choice but to do as Sei Koko said. He couldn’t stop now, when he was so close to achieving the goal of his quest. Yes, he was afraid of Hakūn-do Cave, but he’d been afraid of it before, right before he’d gone in and made a tracing of the piece of the book he had. He thought that he could overcome his fear one more time. He felt a surge of determination. Tanshi wanted to believe in miracles. He wanted to think that miracles would happen for him.

    When Tanshi didn’t respond to Ko Biji, she left the room. Sei Koko watched her go with eyes like chips of ice.

    I’ve never seen Ko Biji go against her mother, or anyone, with such intensity. But if I succeed, then Ko Biji and Sei Koko will be able to live in peace and prosperity. Ko Biji … please, forgive me.

 

***

 

    That night, there was a blizzard out of season. Perhaps spring would come late this year; few people were saddened by the end of winter. The world outside was covered in white, and it lured Ko Biji’s wilder nature.

Ko Biji was crying in her room when the blizzard began. Her heart pounded and her head hurt horridly. I should never have brought him here. My mother is a terrible person. She’s trying to kill Tanshi.

    Sei Koko walked into the room, silent. Ko Biji noticed her, but kept her gaze fixed out the window at the storm.

    “Ko Biji,” Sei Koko said, her voice gentle and kind, “I’m saying this for your own good. Give up on Tanshi.”

    Ko Biji’s silence indicated her refusal.

“Your fate is sealed. Do not waste your short life.”

    Ko Biji faced her mother with defiance in the set of her shoulders. “What are you talking about?”

    “When I went to Yongxing to pray, Empress Wu Zetian told me that your life would be short.”

    Ko Biji laughed. “That’s stupid.” She dismissed her mother’s claim out of hand.

    “It’s true. You will die, and then be reincarnated.”

    Ko Biji gave her mother a patient, yet flensing smile. “Oh? And who will I be reincarnated as?”

    “Wu Zetian.”

    “And why would I reincarnate as Wu Zetian?”

    “You’ll understand that when you are reincarnated.”

    Ko Biji’s smile flashed off. “I don’t believe it. You’re delusional.”

    Her daughter’s flat refusal to believe her didn’t bother Sei Koko in the least. Her eyes were their usual color, and no blue light shone from them. Ko Biji had never been as angry in her life as she was today, but Sei Koko was entirely at ease.

    “Wu Zetian reminded me of my past. There is much in it that I have never related to anyone, including you. She knew it all. It is time you knew, as well.”

    “But… you never talk about the past,” Ko Biji said. She was surprised. She was expecting Sei Koko to treat her harshly and enforce obedience. She was prepared for a fight, not a civilized conversation. She was even a little disappointed that they weren’t fighting. Her anger needed somewhere to go.

    Sei Koko kept speaking calmly, unruffled. “When I was four years old, I was abandoned by the side of a filthy river in Ōmushū .”

    Ko Biji had never heard anything about her mother’s past before. Tears shone in her mother’s eyes as she told her story. Ko Biji did not let herself be moved and scowled at her.

    “I will never forget our hardships. There was a night like this in a snowstorm…. Who gave us a place to stay when we were covered in pure white snow? No one. I cried as I held you in my arms. You were crying, too, from the cold of the night as we tried to sleep outside. I hated all of the cruel unfeeling people in this world, and I swore that I would have my revenge someday.”

    This much of Sei Koko’s story was true. Even as a child, she’d longed for a warm house, nice clothes, and delicious food. Her experiences in life made all those longings into mean-spirited lies.

    But those things were not lies. Ko Biji and Sei Koko were comfortable now, from a material standpoint. The fact that Sei Koko was not satisfied was the problem. She seemed like a woman possessed—like she’d gotten some terrible idea in her head from a malicious spirit or demon. As Sei Koko related what Wu Zetian had told her, Ko Biji was completely stunned. Never in her wildest imaginings had she thought that her mother’s ambition was to take revenge against the world. Ko Biji had thought that her ultimate goal was to become a prominent religious figure and make lots of money. And if that were true, Ko Biji could understand her, and even forgive the deceptions that came with such a life. She’d seen her mother endure so much. Her mother had suffered so much for her sake.

    Even so, Ko Biji couldn’t forgive her mother for sacrificing people. She wouldn’t overlook the death of Tanshi, who she loved.

    “You can no longer defy fate… but you have a great destiny ahead of you. Don’t waste your time lamenting grandchildren you will never have,” Sei Koko said, still perfectly calm. “You must not let sorrow mark you. It will only hasten your fate.” She related the rest of the prophecy that Wu Zetian had told her, though she left out the part about taking over the world. She decided not to tell Ko Biji about that until she was actually reincarnated, when those details would be relevant. Ko Biji already didn’t trust her, and she feared to be disbelieved further.

    Ko Biji believed that the details of her mother’s past were true, and those details answered many questions she’d had since childhood. Her mother was wise and knowledgeable about many things: Daoism, geography, and ancient languages were her specialties. Even so, Ko Biji believed that reincarnation was pure nonsense.

    “I will not be reincarnated. I will not die yet. I can’t let you send Tanshi back to Hakūn-do Cave.”

    “It is no longer possible for you to live freely. You must leave everything to fate.”

    Ko Biji squared her shoulders and faced her mother head-on. “My destiny is to live with Tanshi . I’ll protect him.” This was a direct challenge to Sei Koko .

    Sei Koko smiled fearlessly. "Tanshi is going to Hakūn-do Cave. How will you protect him then?”

    She accepted her daughter’s challenge easily. Sei Koko wasn’t concerned. She left the room, feeling safe in the knowledge that fate would intervene in the ways she’d been told by Wu Zetian.

 

***

 

Five days later around noon, Sei Koko’s attendant asked for a brief meeting. “Lord Yang Chun says that the new temple is ready,” the attendant said. “He will hand it over into your possession today.”

    “I see. Send a few people to help get everything set up,” Sei Koko said.

    Ko Biji overheard her mother and the attendant speaking from the hallway. She inferred from context that the new temple would be opened for worship services soon. Her eyes sparkled with lively interest as she eavesdropped.

    Sei Koko dressed herself for a short journey, then entered the hall. As she left, Ko Biji heard her call out to someone and say, “I’m sorry, but I’m leaving and I’m already late.” Then she was gone.

    Fifteen minutes or so later, Ko Biji entered her mother’s private rooms alone. She didn’t stay in there for very long. A few moments later, she cut through her mother’s rooms into the hall where she, Tanshi and Sei Koko deciphered the text of the Heavenly Book.

    Tanshi was there, working alone on the transcription.

    Ko Biji looked down at him with a conflicted expression. “When are you leaving?” she asked.

    “The day after tomorrow, in the morning. Um…”

    He was about to say more, but Ko Biji cut him off. “I have a favor to ask you.”

    “If you’re going to ask me not to go… I can’t promise that,” Tanshi said.

    Ko Biji shook her head, then sat down in front of him. “I have something important to tell you. Listen.” Her eyes were serious, and her face was set in stern lines.

    Tanshi stared at her like he’d never seen her before. Ko Biji was never so serious. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

    Ko Biji’s shoulders trembled finely as she began to speak.