The Sorceress' Revolt
Author: Toriumi Jinzō
Translator: Ainikki the Archivist
Ko Biji's Story
Part Seven: The Pewter Staff
Spring had arrived at the foot of Yunmeng Mountain.
The familiar hut was still there. Everything was just as Tanshi and Ko Biji had left it. There was no sign of Ko Biji herself anywhere. There was no sign of anyone at all. The site was completely undisturbed.
Even though Tanshi hadn’t really expected anything, he was still disappointed. He lit a fire in the hut and warmed himself by it as he often had before, but he was alone.
Tanshi felt renewed living on the mountain again. He decided to stay there for awhile. He’d stocked up on food in a village along the way, and there were plenty of wild vegetables in season growing on the mountain. Some of the potatoes he’d planted were still there, underground. He had no worries about food.
At night, when he was in the hut, he felt as if Ko Biji was there sleeping next to him. He remembered the night he’d first embraced her in this same hut and missed her terribly.
Twenty days passed in this way, and Ko Biji did not return. Tanshi decided to climb up the mountain. He remembered the rock bridge. He had no real intention of going into Hakūn-do Cave, but he thought the rock bridge might be interesting to investigate. Ko Biji had found him when he’d fallen into the river there.
Tanshi’s feet guided him to the rock bridge easily. It was there, in the mist, just as it always been. He sensed the same evil aura emanating from the mist and fog. He’d almost agreed to return to cross this bridge for a third time. He would have, if Sei Koko hadn’t proved herself so treacherous and immoral. If she were here, would she be brave enough to cross the bridge? He wasn’t sure.
Tanshi wasn’t about to try his luck. Crossing over the bridge again would probably lead to his dismemberment or something equally awful.
The deciphering of the Heavenly Book was less than half-done, but that deciphered knowledge was in a little booklet that Tanshi carried over his heart. He regretted that Sei Koko had stolen the fair copy of the translation, but at least the knowledge wasn’t lost to him. He was determined to learn that knowledge and the best way to use it.
***
Meanwhile, En Kō stood in front of the Heavenly Book in Hakūn-do Cave. The halo of goddess Kyūten Genyo illuminated the cave behind him.
En Kō appeared troubled. “Tanshi’s luck seems to be going in the wrong direction,” he said. It was rare to see him so out of sorts. “He was lucky enough to steal the Book of Desires and Treasures, at least in part, but then luck or fortune turned on him. What a shame.” He scratched his forehead.
“You have sympathy for the mortal now, En Kō? You were so angry at him before,” Kyūten Genyo said.
“As I observed him, I began to feel pity for him. His copy of the Book of Desires and Treasures was stolen, and then Ko Biji was stolen away from him, too…”
“Eventually, he’ll be captured by the government’s soldiers or guardsmen and executed. It’s a tragedy.”
En Kō frowned severely.
“Oh? Nothing to say to that?” the goddess asked.
“If things continue in this way, humanity’s full potential will never be realized.”
“Tanshi is not the only human in the whole world, you know.”
“True, but—”
“—But what? Were you touched by Tanshi’s single-minded devotion?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Well, I’m certainly interested in what Tanshi is capable of. He is so obsessed with the knowledge of the book that he neglects everyone around him.”
“When I watch him, I feel like I can understand the way humans think and act,” En Kō said.
“That is the nature of Tanshi’s luck: his ability to explain and understand. If we help him now, we will destroy the natural order of things. Tanshi, like all humans, must understand the knowledge of the book on his own.”
“I know. It was a mistake for him to get his hands on the Book of Desires and Treasures and we can’t interfere. But I also feel like we should interfere,” En Kō said. His expression became speculative.
“I think I understand,” Kyūten Genyo said. “Right now, the Book of Desires and Treasures is useless to humanity. The bulk of its knowledge is in the hands of a woman who will only cause harm. The knowledge will be misused and cause trouble throughout the world. I fear this is a danger for whoever acquires the knowledge.”
“I don’t think that Tanshi would misuse the knowledge. He longs for immortality, and knowledge for its own sake,” En Kō said.
“Humans like to go beyond the bounds of moderation. That can lead to progress or decadence, depending on the human. Either way, the Book of Desires and Treasures is now changing Tanshi’s fate beyond our ability to predict.”
“Hmm. Perhaps you’re right.”
A ray of light shot out from the goddess’ halo and cleared the mist from the Book of Desires and Treasures. The inscription on the huge stone instantly vanished.
En Kō’s face twisted in regret. “Ah, it’s gone.”
“There’s no need for the rock bridge, either.”
“Eh, the rock bridge too?” En Kō sighed. “Then my work is done.”
“No, you still have an important job to do. You must observe Tanshi’s behavior. Through him, human potential will finally be fully realized. He is a catalyst. People of all kinds gather around him.”
En Kō’s eyes lit up. “That’s right. Much important work remains to be done. Please give me some advice, goddess.”
“You know that I cannot directly intervene.”
“What about indirect intervention?”
The goddess considered, then said, “Perhaps.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Oh, not much of anything. I’ll just create a highly coincidental set of circumstances. Yes.”
“Huh?” En Kō asked.
“Humans believe in miracles. You pushed Tanshi off the bridge, but he survived when he wasn’t meant to.”
En Kō scoffed. “Humans tend to believe that coincidences or delusions are miracles after the fact, only when everything works out for them.”
“Precisely. All we need to do is engineer a miracle on Tanshi’s behalf. Perhaps his luck will change.”
“I think I understand,” En Kō said. His expression brightened, and he smiled.
***
Black clouds rose from the top of Yunmeng Mountain and covered the sky. Rain fell in sheets. Tanshi took shelter under a large tree. The rainfall became heavier, and lightning split the sky.
Spring thunder roared.
The rain soon stopped, but the thunderstorm continued. It was dangerous to linger under such a large tree, so Tanshi decided to run out and find better shelter. As he ran past the rock bridge, he slipped and fell, landing with his palms flat on the muddy ground. He tried to rise and caught sight of something in front of him.
It was his pewter staff!
The ground was muddy; Tanshi struggled a little to regain his footing and get up. “I’m sure I left my pewter staff in Hakūn-do Cave… how did it get here? Maybe I didn’t forget it in the cave, but dropped it when I was running away?”
Tanshi thought about how many times his pewter staff had saved his life, and how much life-threatening peril he’d suffered without it.
Tanshi gave thanks to whatever gods might be listening, then stretched out his hands to the staff. He took hold of it carefully and gave the shaft a firm squeeze, as if trying to verify that it was real. “It was worth it,” Tanshi said. “Coming back to Yunmeng Mountain… this whole journey was worth it, just to get this staff back.”
He held the pewter staff close to his chest and started to cry. He set off back to the hut with the staff in his hand and took two or three steps. And then…
…an intense, bright light.
Lightning.
Tanshi gripped the pewter staff, which had been struck by lightning, and collapsed. He fell to earth, still clutching the staff, as thunder roared above his head.
Conscious but dazed, Tanshi examined himself for injuries and the staff for damage. He was unhurt, and the pewter staff seemed completely fine. It was unbelievable. He should have died from a direct lightning strike like that—the pewter staff’s finial and core were solid metal.
Tanshi stood up, quiet and humbled. The dark clouds overhead dissipated, revealing a small, weak sun.
“The pewter staff protected me, even from lightning,” Tanshi said in awe. “It really is a miracle.”
Everybody was aware that the world was around them, but they didn’t tend to think of themselves as being a part of the world. It was human nature to think about things in selfish ways. People made decisions and acted from a self-centered perspective… but what they thought of as free will might actually be an expression of divine will.
Tanshi was an ordinary person who believed in the power of his own will. He wasn’t aware of any divine will. The idea that he’d been blessed or influenced by any gods never crossed his mind.
Immediately after Tanshi left, the rock bridge was bathed in a beam of light from the heavens and vanished into nonexistence. The mysterious vortex of mist on the opposite side of the river also disappeared, leaving only ordinary mountain rocks behind.
***
A short time later, Tanshi returned to Guangming Temple.
“I’m glad you were able to return safely,” Kei Kai said when he returned. He was happy that Tanshi had made it back.
Kei Kai hadn’t been able to learn anything of Ko Biji’s current whereabouts while Tanshi was away. “He’s not an ordinary Daoist, to slip through our net. I smell something fishy. He must have an extremely powerful backer to stay hidden from us so long.” Kei Kai almost sounded like he admired the fire-breathing Daoist priest. “We do know that she’s still alive, and being held hostage by this Daoist. According to Ri Chū, he’ll be quite formidable as an opponent.”
Tanshi was angry at himself for fleeing from the estate on Mt. Hua alone. If he’d stayed and fought the strange Daoist, he might have won, and then he and Ko Biji would be together now. He was frustrated that he couldn’t go out and search for her himself, since he was still a wanted man. He wanted to practice martial arts in a safe, secluded place, so that when the time came for him to face the fire-breathing Daoist, he’d be ready.
“Combat training is a good idea,” Kei Kai said. “Ryū Gen’s situation is becoming a bit precarious. We can always use good fighters.” He muttered a little to himself, then said, “I know the perfect place where you can train. Even the imperial government and elite soldiers are afraid to go near it.”
“Where is this place?”
“Mt. Song.”
“The Shaolin Temple?”
“Yes. If you’re going to train, the Shaolin Temple is the best place for you. I’ll write to the head priest, Tenryū Sōjō. If anything happens, let me know right away and I’ll come fetch you.”
Tanshi nodded. “All right. I’ll train there.”
Tanshi had devoted much of his life to the mastery of Daoism, and at the Shaolin Temple he could learn martial arts as well. If he couldn’t search for Ko Biji, he would train so that he would be strong enough to save her from her abductor.
***
It was a sunny spring day when Tanshi began climbing Mt. Song. Tanshi stopped on the mountain path after a few hours, tapped his pewter staff on the ground and looked up at the mountain peaks. His face was covered in sweat. In the midst of the mountain forest greenery, he saw the pure white tower of the Shaolin Temple, so built so high that it pierced the sky. Behind it, Mt. Song cut jaggedly into the clear blue sky. The landscape was majestic and awe-inspiring: this was a fitting place for the birthplace of all martial arts.
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