The Sorceress' Revolt -
Ko Eiji's Story
Author: Toriumi Jinzō
Translator: Ainikki the Archivist
Part Four: The Way of the Dragon Slayer
After traveling upstream by boat to Hubei Province, Tanshi headed north along the Jingxi Road toward Bianliang.
There was also a main road that went straight north, but he deliberately avoided it. He chose a slightly circuitous route to throw Ou Soku off his trail. He’d anticipated that Ou Soku would follow him and acted accordingly.
More than twenty years before, Tanshi had wandered along this road as aimless as a stray dog with no real understanding of where he was. Kei Kai, a young monk like himself, had picked him up and saved him from the searching eyes of imperial soldiers. Guangming Temple was along his route, so Tanshi decided to drop in on his old friend, the head priest Kei Kai. He stayed for a few days, catching up and drinking even when he didn’t care to. Kei Kai was gregarious and loved getting Tanshi drunk.
After leaving Guangming Temple, Tanshi traveled closer to Mt. Hua. Long ago, Imperial Guardsmen had attacked an estate on the eastern side of Mt. Hua where Tanshi and Ko Biji had been staying. They’d gotten separated during the attack. Tanshi had beaten several people to death with his pewter staff to effect his own escape. He never should have left Ko Biji behind. If they’d stayed together, his life would be very different now. She never would have fallen into Rai Ingyō’s hands. He had fled the estate on Mt. Hua without Ko Biji, and because of that, she had died. The regret of that decision gnawed at him every day.
He had searched for Ko Biji, of course. She’d been abducted by the sorcerer Chō Ran and taken to Bianliang. Tanshi had found her shortly before her untimely death.
“Tanshi. It’s been such a long time…” Ko Biji had said, dying.
“We’ll be together from now on,” Tanshi had told her.
“I will be reincarnated… I will be reincarnated as myself. Wait for me.”
Her last words never left Tanshi’s mind. Ko Biji had been reincarnated. Ryū Gen hadn’t wanted him to take this path, but nothing he could have said would have dissuaded Tanshi from looking for her.
His partings with Ryū Gen were always fractious things. He remembered meeting up with his old friend and teacher outside a corrupt provincial governor’s mansion. They’d fought together, but parted on bad terms. Tanshi had been seeking the Way of Shattering Earth, and Ryū Gen had thought that search pointless and reckless. Tanshi had ignored all of Ryū Gen’s good advice and rejected his invitation to travel together.
And now he was going to reject Ryū Gen’s advice again, and travel alone again. This made him uneasy, but he’d made his choice. He was going to find Ko Biji’s reincarnation on his own.
***
When Tanshi reached Bianliang, he witnessed the ruins of Ko Kō’s stores for himself. All the burned materials and debris had been cleared away, leaving only three empty lots behind. No one had touched these lots of land. They had burned and were considered bad luck for the next ten years.
Before the fire, Ko Biji’s reincarnation had lived here, above one of the shops. Tanshi wished he could have seen that.
Tanshi had mixed emotions as he gazed out at the fire-damaged lots. He had grieved Ko Biji; the idea that Ko Eiji was the same as her was unfamiliar and unwanted. Could two people have the same heart? If Ko Eiji was the reincarnation of Ko Biji, then who had Ko Biji been in her previous life? Tanshi believed that souls were immortal and continued to live on in different bodies after death. Could a soul have personality? Memories? If so, then Ko Eiji might be the same as Ko Biji in all the important ways. Maybe.
As a monk and a Buddhist, Tanshi had beliefs about reincarnation indoctrinated into him from a young age. Reincarnation was a basic, foundational belief in Buddhism. But Tanshi’s beliefs had been shaken before.
From the moment of his birth, Tanshi was raised to be a monk. This was perfectly normal and natural considering his circumstances; he’d been abandoned at a temple as an infant. Life at the temple wasn’t always easy for him; he’d chosen to leave temple life for this reason and because he was having doubts about his faith. He’d met Ryū Gen again during his travels and briefly thought he would have a different kind of life as a warrior or a Daoist magician, but he’d gone right back to being a monk after Ko Biji died. He didn’t have a temple to return to anymore. His sacred ground was the hut on Yunmeng Mountain and the area around it.
Tanshi’s beliefs were not the same as they’d been as a child in his home temple: a lifetime of wisdom and experience lay between. He dressed and equipped himself as a Buddhist monk, but he was not bound by Buddhist precepts for morality or behavior. He believed every person’s path through life was unique and never decided to follow a particular sect’s or school’s teachings.
As he’d grown older, Tanshi had sensed a disconnect between the practice of Buddhism and its various sects and temples. To him, Buddhism was based on the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha: the first Buddha, the first to be enlightened. Shakyamuni Buddha changed the way he preached depending on who he was preaching to. Shakyamuni didn’t write any prayers or sutras. Later disciples and Buddhist scholars created the legends of Shakyamuni Buddha, so works attributed to him were always written by someone else. From Tanshi’s perspective, a personal understanding of Shakyamuni Buddha’s teachings was the only requirement to be a Buddhist. Sects and temples were unnecessary.
Tanshi wandered around Bianliang until he came to a dark alley that he recognized. There was another vacant lot here; it looked just the same as it had more than twenty years ago. Tanshi had been standing in the alley next to the lot waiting for Ri Chū to report on Ko Biji’s whereabouts when a teenage boy had come running to him for help. Three scruffy ruffians chased after the boy, wanting to rob him of a precious necklace he wore. Tanshi, disguised as a merchant who sold steamed buns stuffed with red beans, had beaten the ruffians back with his staff. The boy had eaten a bun and told him, “Thank you! This tastes great, Egg Monk!” Egg Monk was the alias Tanshi had given to the boy at the time.
Tanshi had answered politely, of course. “May we meet again in better circumstances, young master,” he’d said, bowing his head.
“We will, if fate allows,” the boy had answered. “I’ll try to come here again when I can.”
Ri Chū had told Tanshi that the boy was fourteen-year-old Emperor Renzong, who’d escaped from the palace. At the time of their meeting, Tanshi hadn’t had any idea. The boy hadn’t told Tanshi his name.
Sometimes, Tanshi thought about that innocent boy and what had become of him. Did that child emperor ignore the plight of the poor and indulge in luxuries after he took power in the Imperial Palace? Perhaps. The idea saddened him.
Tanshi didn’t stay the night in Bianliang. He continued on his travels, going north along the road that led to Hedong.
***
Ou Soku followed Tanshi as he headed north. It was difficult to travel without knowing Tanshi’s route. He lost Tanshi’s trail multiple times, but that didn’t matter. He knew where Tanshi was going. All he needed to do was let his feet take him there.
At that time, there were no maps for travel. There were some line diagrams showing the outline of the main roads, but illustrated maps were highly valued despite their stylization and were very expensive. They marked historical sites, buildings, and famous gardens. There would have been signposts along the roads and byways, but aside from that, giving directions was largely done by word of mouth.
During his studies, Ou Soku had read the travelogues of his more renowned scholarly predecessors. Those travelogues often contained maps. He had some of those travelogues with him to reference on his journey, but even so, the distance between Yunmeng Mountain and Wenshui was something like five hundred miles (eight hundred kilometers). In the past, he’d planned out what way he would take to Bianliang so that he could take the final part of the civil service exam. After Bianliang, the geography was new and strange to him. He’d never thought he’d stray so far off the beaten path.
Ou Soku wasn’t lost. Following Tanshi was his goal. He was afire with ambition to become powerful. The thought of giving up never crossed his mind.
“Ou Soku, youth is the best time to lay the foundation for your dreams. Stick to the path you believe in. A man needs courage.”
Ryū Gen’s remembered words made Ou Soku feel fierce and brave.
***
The area located to the east of the Yellow River had been called Hedong1 since ancient times. A fertile belt sandwiched between the Taihang and Lüliang mountain ranges to the east and west, the region had a few areas of flat land but was mostly comprised of low mountains and hills.
Hedong was a strategic location from a military perspective because it bordered the Khitan Empire to the north and Western Xia to the northwest. Taiyuan, an important trading city, was only a short way from Wenshui on foot. The border between China and the Khitan Empire was seventy-five miles (one hundred and twenty kilometers) to the north of Taiyuan.
Wenshui was also the birthplace of Wu Zetian. For Sei Koko, who had experience traveling through the lands to the north from a young age, Wenshui was the perfect location. It was close to a trade city and lay along a perfect escape route to a foreign land in case of emergency.
***
On the road to Shanxi Province, Ou Soku caught sight of Tanshi by chance. He was carrying a staff and wearing a large hat with a round top, just like when he’d left Yunmeng Mountain. The back of the hat was slightly torn.
Even though he knew Tanshi’s destination, Ou Soku was happy to confirm that he was going the right way. He was lucky that there were many inns and shops along the main road in this area. From here, Tanshi could take a boat and head upstream. It was only about a hundred and twenty-five miles (two hundred kilometers) to Wenshui now. By boat, reaching Wenshui would take three days at most.
Tanshi was traveling alone, so Ou Soku didn’t think he’d found Ko Biji’s reincarnation yet. He kept watch over Tanshi from outside the inn where the monk was staying. He wanted to see Tanshi leave and follow him at a distance.
Several days passed without Tanshi leaving the inn where he was staying.
Ou Soku became worried and visited the inn. “Did a monk stay here a few days ago?” he casually asked the maid.
“Oh, that tall monk? Yes, he left three days ago,” the maid said.
Ou Soku was stunned. Tanshi must have spotted him. Who knew how far ahead he was now. He booked passage on a ferry that morning, rushing the whole way. Boats moved fast, but Tanshi had a huge head start. He might already be in Wenshui.
***
Tanshi disembarked from the boat he’d taken upstream and took shelter for the night in a Buddhist temple just outside of Wenshui. He asked the elderly head priest about Mt. Zixia over a simple meal.
The old priest said, “I’ve never climbed it, but I’ve heard there are no houses there. I’ve also heard that there are ascetics who live in seclusion there, but the locals don’t go near it. There have been strange disappearances. About four years ago, a hunter climbed the mountain, encountered a spirit and was driven insane. He hasn’t been the same since.”
Tanshi thanked the old priest and went to bed early that night. The next morning, he left the temple early and traveled toward Mt. Zixia. On the way, he stopped by Huangze Temple, a Buddhist temple dedicated to Wu Zetian. It had been built in the village of her birth.
Tanshi had no grudge against Wu Zetian herself, but if her spirit were to side with Sei Koko, he couldn’t ignore that interference. It could also be argued that Wu Zetian had summoned Ko Biji’s spirit to the underworld, though Tanshi couldn’t prove that for certain.
Tanshi had heard about Sei Koko’s goals from Ko Biji when she was alive. Ko Biji had defied her mother and thwarted many of her plans.
“It’s ridiculous to believe that I’ll be reincarnated as Wu Zetian. My destiny is to live with Tanshi. I’ll protect him, and I won’t die.” That was what Ko Biji had said. But Ko Biji had died, and everything had turned out the way Sei Koko wanted. Wu Zetian had predicted that Ko Biji would have a short life. Sei Koko had made that prediction come true.
Tanshi prayed before a statue of Wu Zetian. It was a prayer of defiance.
“Wu Zetian… even if you are only a spirit, I will never forgive you if you support Sei Koko. If you are being punished by the gods, you should accept it. If you seize the body of Ko Biji’s reincarnation, I will risk my life to banish you back to the underworld.” Tanshi had already resolved to do that much moments after Ko Biji’s death. The strength of his conviction hadn’t changed.
This meant he would have to confront Sei Koko again.
As Tanshi climbed a narrow path up the mountain, he remembered everything that had passed between him and Sei Koko before and frowned deeply. “Brother Ryū Gen, I’m sorry for deceiving you. I am a monk, but even the Buddha said that lies are expedient sometimes. He used lies to teach, and such deceptions did not close the heavens to him.” He bowed his head.
The path led deep into a dense forest. Tanshi looked around himself and noticed Ou Soku following. Reckless as usual, Tanshi thought. He was worried about the young man. He knew that Ou Soku had trailed him all this way. He’d hoped that Ou Soku would give up before getting this far.
***
Ou Soku wasn’t the kind of person to give up. When he’d arrived in the city of Wenshui, he’d decided to stay near the city gates to avoid spending too much time inside the city itself and potentially running into Tanshi. It was easy to bribe the gate guards so that they’d tell him if they saw Tanshi pass through.
Guards and soldiers were poor. Prefectural and provincial governors delayed their salaries or reduced them with plausible excuses. There were many malicious prefectural governors who unilaterally decided that guards and soldiers were in dereliction of duty and did not pay them a single coin. Such poor compensation for guards and soldiers was seen everywhere.
Please, let me have made it in time, Ou Soku prayed internally. If Tanshi were to climb Mount Zixia before him and find Ko Biji’s reincarnation, Ou Soku would be too late to accomplish his goal. He had no idea how far ahead of him Tanshi was now.
He described Tanshi to a few guards who’d agreed to help for money, then waited.
On the morning of the third day after Ou Soku had arrived in Wenshui, he received a call from a guard stationed at the west gate.
“He was tall for a wandering monk. He was wearing a torn hat and wasn’t carrying anything with him aside from a pewter staff. He just left, not even an hour ago.”
“Thank you,” Ou Soku told the guard. He gave the man some extra money. The guard was pleased, and so was he. He’d made it in time to follow Tanshi. He wasn’t too late after all.
Ou Soku traveled to the foot of Mt. Zixia. He knew which direction to go, but got lost on the mountain path. Impatience made him shake all over. Suddenly, he remembered something and smiled. He removed his mace and used the iron ball to determine which way was south based on the way the Vermilion Bird faced. From there, he was able to pick out the correct direction to go. He picked up the pace as he entered a deep mountain forest. That was when he caught sight of Tanshi.
Tanshi stopped dead, a stern look on his face.
A faint mist spread through the trees. They were close to the peak of Mt. Zixia, which was clear at the moment. The mist wasn’t natural; even Ou Soku could sense that. This was sorcery of some kind.
This same kind of mist had concealed the way to Hakūn-do Cave on Yunmeng Mountain, so Tanshi had no problem seeing through it. It was illusory—not truly present. All it was meant to do was to confuse his senses.
Ou Soku watched as Tanshi closed his eyes and breathed. He shifted slightly, and Ou Soku felt rather than saw a presence moving to attack.
Tanshi leaped high in to the air, thrusting his pewter staff down. He stood on air for a few seconds, his staff piercing the soft ground—and the attacker. It was a sorcerer, bloody now and retching. Vomit stained the sorcerer’s face as well as blood.
In less than five seconds, the sorcerer stopped moving. Was he dead?
Tanshi came back to earth slowly and stood over the sorcerer with a sad frown. He placed his palms together and prayed: “Namu Amida Butsu…”2
Tanshi hated killing. The sorcerer had attacked too quickly for him to moderate his force.
Ou Soku watched silently as Tanshi prayed for the sorcerer’s soul.
1 河東 Hedong literally means "river east," i.e., east of the Yellow River. ↩
2 南無阿弥陀仏 Namu Amida Butsu: "Homage to Amida Buddha" or "I take refuge in Amida Buddha." Also known as the Nembutsu. Tanshi also recited this prayer over Seki, an itinerant monk and the first person he ever killed. ↩
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