The Sorceress' Revolt
Author: Toriumi Jinzō
Translator: Ainikki the Archivist
Ko Biji's Story
Part Eight: The Eunuch
The forest of Mt. Song was dyed red by the setting sun. Although it was early summer, the mountain air was cold. When Tanshi came out of Daruma Cave, Ryou came to greet him.
“The high priest calls for you.”
“I wonder what that’s about…” Tanshi had taken instruction from Tenryū Sōjō earlier in the day and couldn’t guess why the man wanted to see him again so soon. He went down the mountain and entered the high priest’s champers, bowing. He was shocked to see that the high priest had a guest sitting across from him, drinking.
“Master Ryū Gen!”
“That’s my name, don’t wear it out.” Ryū Gen grinned and lifted his cup. He was more tan than he’d been when Tanshi had last seen him.
“Y-you seem to be doing well?” Tanshi felt a surge of joy and bowed his head once more. “I was worried, but I am glad to see you safe.”
“Thank you for your help last time,” Ryū Gen said.
“Think nothing of it. The monk Kei Kai assisted me when I needed it, and I’m grateful.”
“Were you surprised that he was a fake monk?” Ryū Gen asked. His way of speaking had always been blunt.
“No, not really. He does a fine job as the head priest of his own temple.”
Ryū Gen smiled brightly.
Tanshi hadn’t thought that Tenryū Sōjō was a supporter of Ryū Gen and the salt smugglers, but Ryū Gen’s network of contacts included him and the rest of the leadership on Mt. Song.
“Ri Chū came by and told me about you, sometimes,” Ryū Gen said.
Tanshi was confused for a moment. Ri Chū must have mentioned Ko Biji as well.
Tenryū Sōjō laughed loudly. “Well, sit down, lad.”
Tanshi sat down next to Ryū Gen, appearing shy.
Ryū Gen handed him a bowl of rice wine. “Drink. Let’s be friends again.”
Tanshi gave him a lopsided smile. He hadn’t forgotten their awkward separation or the circumstances that had led to it. He was nostalgic for better times, before the fight, before he’d killed the prefectural governor.
He accepted the bowl from Ryū Gen and drank it all in one gulp.
Tenryū Sōjō nodded. “Good, good.”
Tanshi returned the bowl to Ryū Gen and poured him a drink.
Tenryū Sōjō turned to him with a grave expression. “Lord Ryū Gen has come to pick you up,” he said.
“To pick me up?”
Tanshi glanced over at Ryū Gen, who was drinking in silence.
“I’m banishing you from here, as of today.”
“Um, please wait, I’m not ready yet…”
Ryū Gen gave Tanshi a stern look, then asked, “Tanshi are you planning to go back to being a monk now?”
“No, I will not return to being a monk.”
“Then are you still trying to learn the Way of Shattering Earth?”
Tanshi didn’t want to fight with Ryū Gen again about the same things as before. He looked down at his hands.
“If you don’t want to return to being a monk, come with me,” Ryū Gen said.
“But…” Tanshi couldn’t say that all of his training was for saving Ko Biji. “I still want to continue my training.”
“You can train with me.”
“No, it’s safer to hide here.”
Tenryū Sōjō laughed again.
“Sir?” Tanshi asked.
“You would be much safer beside Lord Ryū Gen than here,” Tenryū Sōjō said.
“I’ll take you away from here, then.”
“Not right now,” Tanshi said. It would mean another fight, another awkward separation, but he didn’t see any other way around it.
“We have to get out of here quickly, Tanshi,” Ryū Gen said. There was an uncharacteristic harshness to his tone.
Tanshi didn’t say anything. He could only save Ko Biji if he trained more. His enemy was a powerful Daoist with fire magic. He wasn’t ready to face someone like that yet and win decisively.
“Would you leave if you knew where Ko Biji is?” Ryū Gen asked.
“What? You know where she is?”
Ryū Gen nodded. He had found out where Ko Biji was; that was what Ri Chū’s last message to him was about.
Tenryū Sōjō chuckled at Ryū Gen and Tanshi as they stared at each other.
“So you see, Tanshi?” Ryū Gen said. “We have to leave.”
Tanshi smiled, almost moved to tears. Ryū Gen had found Ko Biji and kept him safe all this time. He didn’t want to think about what that cost—in resources, in time, in care. They truly were sworn brothers, despite their long separation.
Ryū Gen bared his teeth fiercely. “What were you training for, it not to save her? C’mon. Let’s go.”
“Yes. Let’s.”
***
Kei Kai was clever, and so were the people who worked with him. They became suspicious of the large number of Imperial Guardsmen and the special cavalry forces heading to the capital and secretly followed them.
Ri Chū found Ko Biji when she left one of the carriages and was escorted away by National Guardsmen. He reported his findings to Kei Kai immediately, and then Ryū Gen came to Mt. Song to reunite with Tanshi.
That night, Ryū Gen stayed at the Shaolin Temple. Tanshi and Ryū Gen sat side-by-side and talked for a long time. Ryū Gen and the salt smugglers were planning to assassinate Rai Ingyō, who was the mastermind behind the faction of the Imperial Court that wanted to crush the salt smugglers into dust. By itself, assassinating Rai Ingyō would not stop the salt smugglers from being persecuted, but it would slow their enemies down and show the Imperial Court that they were a force to be reckoned with.
Their plan had already been leaked, so Rai Ingyō would be heavily guarded, but they weren’t about to give up. Preparations progressed; salt smugglers infiltrated Bianliang and waited for orders. Tanshi remembered Kei Kai telling him about “something big” that Ryū Gen was planning—this was what it was. And it was big. Assassinating Rai Ingyō was a direct challenge to the Imperial Court and the Emperor’s authority.
Ryū Gen’s goal was to assassinate Rai Ingyō. Tanshi’s goal was to rescue Ko Biji. Though their objectives were different, they’d be targeting the same place. The elite Imperial Guardsmen protecting the area were formidable opponents on their own, to say nothing of Chō Ran and his mastery over fire.
From Ryū Gen’s perspective, Tanshi was something of a liability: he couldn’t move openly and risked death if he was caught by the government. Despite that, Ryū Gen didn’t even think about leaving him behind. He was aware that Chō Ran was now Rai Ingyō’s bodyguard; his own allies in the Imperial Court revealed much to him. Not everyone supported what Rai Ingyō was doing, and those who opposed the eunuch’s policies were often sympathetic to the salt smugglers. Many officials from Qingliu harbored a deep resentment towards Rai Ingyō.
To reach Bianliang safely, Tanshi and Ryū Gen infiltrated the backstage area of a touring dance troupe and got into costume. The troupe was heading to the capital.
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