The Sorceress' Revolt
Author: Toriumi Jinzō
Translator: Ainikki the Archivist
Ko Biji's Story
Part Four: The Heavenly Book
Chapter 4
Ko Biji's mother was named Ko. She spent
Ko Biji's childhood wandering with her daughter in tow. She said she was a
Daoist priestess, but that was a self-proclaimed title; she belonged to no
temple and possessed no real credentials. She created charms to keep away
evil spirits, practiced divination, and made elixirs that lessened hunger.
It was unclear where she'd acquired such knowledge.
Camping out in the wilderness was normal
for Ko Biji and her mother. It was during this time of travel that Ko
Biji's wild nature awakened.
***
In those days, people would go to Daoist
temples to ward off evil spirits, diseases, and disasters, or they would
go to monks or Daoists that were near to where they lived. Daoist priests
performed exorcisms and received prayers. There were many kinds of Daoist
organizations. Some Daoists lived in sects that practiced specific rituals
and taught a set of beliefs: some sects were large, some small. Other
Daoists preferred independence to sect life and traveled widely. And of
course, there were false Daoists--people who took up the trappings of
Daoism to sell dubious amulets and trinkets, or who performed fake
ceremonies and exorcisms.
Ko Biji and her mother were false Daoists.
Daoist monks of this period tied their
hair into a topknot worn high on the crown of the head. Their standard
uniform was blue and sleeveless, and their legs were protected by socks as
thick as shin guards. Their shoes were made of cloth, if they wore
them.
Daoists could be male or female, and the
uniform was much the same for each gender. Because the hair was
gathered on top of the head for men and women, the female hairstyle was
called a "woman's crown."
There were Daoists that drank heavily and
took wives, but this was becoming less common due to the comparative
strictness of Buddhism. Buddhism influenced Daoism, and vice versa.
Ko Biji didn't know her father. She'd
never met him. Once, when she was eight years old, she asked her mother
who her father was.
"Your father is a fox," her mother
answered. She said nothing else.
Ko Biji's mother rarely spoke of the past,
even after her daughter grew up. Ko Biji sensed a darkness in her mother's
history and didn't press her on it. She'd spent her life at her mother's
side, watching her struggles. She had no desire to add to them.
Ko taught her daughter to fight, though
her practice of fighting techniques was primitive at best. Her knowledge,
however, was second to none. She had to have practiced elsewhere to gain
her proficiency, but not even Ko Biji knew where her mother could have
done this. Ko's mastery over sacred texts and her ability to learn awed Ko
Biji.
Last spring, Ko was asked to move to Mt.
Hua in Shaanxi Province to transcribe Sanskrit characters for a wealthy
patron, Yan Shun. Mt. Hua was one of the Five Sacred Mountains of the
Daoists. Ko changed her name to Sei Koko and lived in the western part of
Yan Shun's estate. That was when she'd ordered Ko Biji to remain near
Yunmeng Mountain, and when their plan to take the Heavenly Book began to
take shape.
Every Daoist had some desire for divine
knowledge; the Heavenly Book would be a temptation for any one of them.
Sei Koko's desire for it went beyond the ordinary. She sent her daughter
to Yunmeng Mountain, even though demons were said to live there. She was
not the first to seek the Heavenly Book by any means; people had come in
search of it for over thirteen hundred years.
Tanshi considered Ko Biji's mother
arrogant and unfeeling for putting her child in danger for her own
ambitions. The mother and her child living in the wilderness had his
compassion, but when Ko became Sei Koko, his compassion and understanding
ended. He felt sorry for Ko Biji, who had followed her mother's orders and
come to Yunmeng Mountain despite knowing the risks.
"Ko Biji... do you believe that your
mother can read the Heavenly Book?" Tanshi asked.
"I do not know for certain, but she is
familiar with many ancient scripts," Ko Biji said.
Sei Koko had never seen the Heavenly Book,
so she wouldn't know that it was written in strange characters. Was it
even possible to decipher the Heavenly Book? Tanshi had his doubts...
though what purpose did the Heavenly Book have, if not to be read? Why
start rumors and encourage people to find it if it was essentially
useless?
Tanshi was desperate for understanding.
"I'm going to Mt. Hua." He was out of other options.
"What?"
"I can't just sit here and expect things
to work out. I have to do something."
"I'm scared for you if you do."
"Scared?"
Ko Biji should take the Heavenly Book and
return home to her mother, but she hadn't and likely wouldn't. She was
off-script, uncertain of what to do herself.
"What are you afraid of?" Tanshi asked.
She didn't answer.
"We can bring the Heavenly Book to your
mother," Tanshi said. "I'm sure she won't be mad at you, as long as you
have the book."
Ko Biji hesitated, her mouth setting in a
grim line. "I don't want you to meet my mother."
"You don't want to go to your mother, and
you don't want me to go to Mt. Hua. Are you telling me to give up, then?"
"I sense something ominous in your path. I
cannot explain it."
Tanshi smiled. Ko Biji had a tendency to
overthink things. "The Heavenly Book isn't a bad thing. It's knowledge.
Knowledge is good or bad depending on how it's used."
"It doesn't matter to me anymore. I'm just
happy that you're here, and alive."
"It still matters to me," Tanshi said. "I
risked my life for it. I gave up being a monk."
Ko Biji regarded him with a curious stare.
"Ever since I was a kid, I was bullied for
saying that I was born from an egg. And it doesn't really matter at this
point, whether I was born from an egg or not. When I was young, I wanted
to be stronger than everyone else to stop the bullying. That's still what
I want."
Ko Biji said nothing.
"I no longer believe that the poor and the
meek will be saved by the gods or the Buddha. I have no choice but to
survive by relying on my own strength. I believe in the power of the Way
of Shattering Earth. I think that if I master it, I'll be saved from a
painful and meaningless death."
Ko Biji shook her head violently. "You
have no need for such hideous strength. It is fine to stay as you are, as
long as we can remain together."
"We'll be together forever anyway."
"We will?"
"I'll go wherever you go," Tanshi said.
"So don't worry, Ko Biji." He sounded earnest, and also like he was trying
to persuade her against her better judgment.
Ko Biji realized that there would be no
changing Tanshi's mind on this. Deciphering the Heavenly Book was now
Tanshi's primary goal, and there was nothing more important than that.
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