Chapter 57
Mysterious ways
As summer ends, autumn settles between the borders of the Wei and Liang States. The trees begin to change their leaves from green to shades of red, yellow-orange, and brown.
The leaves start to quiver, while flowers bloom, replacing the absent leaves on the tree branches.
The cold wind turns the heat of the sun into a cool breeze, and the forests become moist with small drops of rain.
Yue Qi was trailing through the forest between the Wei and Liang borders when he suddenly bumped into a group of nomadic hunter-gatherers. He asked them, "Where are those flowers for?"
One of the children approached him and said, "We are going to offer them to the empty tomb."
Curious about the empty tomb, Yue Qi asked again, "May I join you?"
"No!" said their leader. "But you may, if you help us carry some of our loads."
Yue Qi, unarmed except for a few concealed weapons hidden in his peasant attire, smiled charmingly and helped an old man carry their baskets. Together, they continued on their way.
When they reached the site, Yue Qi tiptoed just to catch a glimpse of the cenotaph, where people were visiting and offering candles and incense.
He was curious about the name. Yue Qi couldn't come closer due to the flowers surrounding the cenotaph and the narrow path where only one person could walk at a time to offer candles and plum flowers.
Unable to come near, Yue Qi faking its ignorance and asked, "Who is this master that the common people are visiting? Is he an important figure?"
One of the hunters replied, "This is the cenotaph of the Fourth Young Master of the Yuwen household."
"What?" Yue Qi pretended not to hear clearly.
"Yes, you heard it right. I know what you're thinking; we had the same reaction as you at first," said the leader of the hunter-gatherers.
Still confused, Yue Qi asked, "The cenotaph is an empty tomb, but how did someone put it up here on the border?"
"As for who erected the cenotaph, it is unknown. We just saw it here one day."
Still puzzled about why people came so often to pay their respects, Yue Qi asked again, "Why do people keep coming here?"
"After his death, people from all over Chang'An, from small villages to large, came to the Yuwen household. They claimed to be the fruits of the Fourth Young Master's kindness. While he was alive, he secretly helped and saved them in their times of need."
Yue Qi, impressed, continued to listen to the stories.
"Because of his popularity, when he died, the Yuwen household banned any mention of his name or mourning rites for the young master after his final stand on the frozen lake."
An old woman, on the verge of sadness, continued, "Eventually, the Yuwen family disowned him because he was considered a disgrace to the entire Yuwen Clan for laying down his life for someone of humble blood."
"According to circulating rumors, he died defending a Yuwen maidservant. She later joined the King of Yanbei, only to turn her back on the Fourth Young Master. Now, she has betrayed the King of Yanbei again and married the 13th Prince of Wei. She's a gold-digger, chasing after one favor after another," the old woman bitterly explained.
Yue Qi, remaining silent, did not react. He knew that the circulating stories were untrue.
In reality, the rumors had served a purpose at the time, but not anymore. Despite being affected by them, Yue Qi knew that Yuwen Yue was still alive.
The stories about his impulsive actions on the frozen lake were not accurate. He had been there, putting his life on the line.
Another old woman, dressed in peasant clothes, added, "The Fourth Young Master of the Yuwen household inspired us with his story of love for the fortunate maidservant.
Though the end was tragic, I've always thought he was the most romantic among the cold masters of the Yuwen household. Although the heir to the Eyes of God was rarely seen in public, he had a soft spot for the small and poor. Yet he never showed his love while he was alive.
When he died, the love he had for the poor became even stronger. That's why people travel so far to offer incense at his empty tomb."
"And what about the Fourth Young Master's bodyguards?" Yue Qi cautiously probed, testing if any news of his comrades had survived.
"All of them are dead, except for one, if the rumors are true."
Yue Qi, knowing the truth, asked, "Do you know who this bodyguard is?"
"They say his name is Yue Liu."
Yue Qi silently confirmed that his name had already been crossed out from the book of the living. He was likely presumed dead after spending two years on Kong Sang Mountain.
He became a eunuch and taught at the orphan houses where Prince Xiao Ce had been secretly raising children from the victims of war.
A woman, wearing a maidservant's skirt, covered her face with an indigo scarf. With a bird on her shoulder, she passed by to offer incense and plum flowers at the cenotaph.
At first, Yue Qi did not see her face, but upon noticing the Yuwen parrot, he realized, as soon as the woman offered her candles and flowers, that it was Chu Qiao.
Yue Qi hid from the nomadic people to observe Chu Qiao. Afterward, he followed her until he discovered where Chu Qiao was residing.
A man in his late fifties was smoking outside one of the wooden houses. Yue Qi thought, "This is a strategic location, and it would be impossible for outsiders to camp here. This is the Liang royal guards' barracks, about twenty kilometers from Daoming Palace." How could Yue Qi not know?
Chu Qiao lived in another wooden house that looked like a barracks. The man smoking, with his feet crisscrossed, sat in a chair, enjoying life as if there was nothing to worry about in the world.
Yue Qi sat for a while, drew a map, and settled into his spy location. He was about to leave when, suddenly, the smoking man was standing behind him.
With calm eyes and an expressionless face, the man looked at Yue Qi as if he were harmless. Yue Qi tried hard to recall where he had seen this face before.
"You have no idea who your father is…"
The man spoke in a low, gentle voice, without any hint of violence, even though he had caught Yue Qi spying on their barracks.
Caught in the act, Yue Qi couldn't react or say anything, but he didn't feel threatened. Trying to fake his way out, he said, "I'm lost in the woods. I came with the hunter-gatherers, visited the empty tomb, and now I can't find my way home."
"Some parts of that are true, but most of it is a cover-up," the man said, puffing his tobacco.
"I'll tell you what really happened. You followed her, and you're familiar with the bird."
Stunned by what the man said, Yue Qi asked, "Who are you?"
Suddenly, Master Xie Tai Shan drew his sword. Yue Qi, stunned again, said, "A dull sword?"
"Who said it's dull?"
Master Xie Tai Shan sat beside him and took out a triangular lime rock, beginning to sharpen the blade of his sword.
Yue Qi, never having felt fear like this before, asked, "Where's the animal you're going to butcher?"
"Did I say I'm going to butcher an animal?"
Master Xie's eyes remained calm and expressionless. Suddenly, Yue Qi remembered Yuwen Yue. This was the same expression his master had. Though Yue Qi didn't feel threatened, he experienced an irrational fear of the unknown, of the unpredictable moves of this master with the dull sword.
All of a sudden, a group of barbaric men surrounded them. Master Xie stood up and walked away from Yue Qi.
Yue Qi froze like ice, glued to his spot, and could only hear the sounds of blades and axes clashing, away from his sight. Taking the opportunity, Yue Qi fled the area to report to his master.
In the middle of the bloodbath, Master Xie noticed Yue Qi fleeing.
After severing the last neck without even glancing at his opponent, blood splattered across Master Xie's face. His fierce but calm eyes finally settled, restoring peace to the environment.
Occasionally, these lost barbaric men would attack this part of the Daoming Palace. But as long as Master Xie Tai Shan lived, he patrolled the border between Wei and Liang.
By his own prerogative, he often restricted anyone from walking this ground. Though this was the most vulnerable path, it was also the hardest to track and navigate. No one who came here survived, except for the lucky few like Yue Qi, Chu Qiao, and the old lady from Liang.
Master Xie Tai Shan loved nature and was a bird enthusiast. He had spent his entire life caring for various birds.
One of Master Xie's favorite birds is the Cangwu bird, or "parrot" as it's known to Westerners. In his own language, he called these parrots "Cangwu," with "Cang" meaning to conceal and "Wu" meaning a thing. Over time, these Cangwu birds, an intelligent species capable of mimicking human sounds thanks to their sharp memory, earned a reputation. Ironically, they only revealed things rather than concealing them.
This became a problem for Master Xie, as the birds exposed him to various attacks in the past instead of helping him hide. To solve this, he built large birdcages and crossbred them with other birds, creating mixed breeds. However, he intentionally preserved one purebred family of parrots. Unfortunately, he lost its male offspring, but upon seeing Chu Qiao, he suspected she had taken back the lost bird, the only male of its kind, while he was left with only the female, which he had kept from interbreeding with other species.
Reflecting on his past, Master Xie recalled the haunting events of his village's destruction. He and his distant cousin, a fellow Taichi master, were the only survivors when their small village near the northeastern Wei border was burned to the ground.
These small villages served as a hidden first line of defense against barbarian tribes, protecting the nomadic empire's herds, cattle, and especially their prized warhorses, bred on the cold plains.
The Great Summer Dynasty, never forgetting its nomadic roots, surrounded itself with blacksmiths and sword makers. These small community barriers acted as a strategic defense, handling tribal conflicts that didn't require the Emperor's direct attention.
Any barbaric men daring to step onto their land were met with fierce resistance, often losing their lives to the brutal villagers before even reaching the vast grasslands or the fortified walls of the Wei Empire.
Setting fire to one of these villages would immediately alert the Eyes of God through a mechanical communication system that ran underground.
This system would quickly notify the masters of the Eyes of God, allowing them to make wise decisions for the empire.
Master Xie, one of the best swordsmen and blade masters who had served Wei's brightest military officials, gave up his promising future to save a baby prince.
That night, after he bravely breached Yuwen Hao's courtyard, a mission that was essentially a one-way ticket to death, he awoke to a different world. Though he thought he had been reincarnated into another time and place, the truth was far stranger.
A group of Liang soldiers, along with their vice commander, found his nearly lifeless body in a forest. Dressed in disguise and not in his official Wei soldier uniform, Xie Tai Shan was mistaken for dead.
One of the Liang soldiers took pity on him and brought him to the vice commander, a man who followed the Dao (the Way) and believed in helping others. The vice commander decided to save Xie Tai Shan, reasoning that someday he could contribute to the common good and teach his men a valuable lesson about not leaving someone in need behind.
Just when Master Xie thought his life was over, it flourished under the protection of Liang. He was taken to the Liang capital, where he witnessed its rise to glory. He saw the construction of Daoming Palace, its enormous courtyards, and the Li Garden, one of the most beautiful gardens, also known as the Pear Garden.
He was also invited to join the state examinations held annually by the Liang Emperor, where he met foreign scholars and dignitaries, including Japanese princes, Turkish and Indian scholars, and others from neighboring countries.
Southern Liang became known as a center of beauty, poetry, and culture, attracting foreigners who were not permitted to enter the conservative Great Summer Dynasty. These foreigners came to enjoy the arts, culture, and treasures of the Tang Dynasty.
Master Xie had never appreciated life more than during his time at Daoming Palace, under the rule of Emperor Tang of Southern Liang.
Eventually, his swordsmanship skills were discovered, and the Emperor passed a decree incorporating Jian swordsmanship into the Liang Imperial Army, strengthening the eight prefectures surrounding the empire.
The Southern Liang Empire followed the Imperial state government, but the Emperor also developed a central and regional government, creating a semi-democratic atmosphere. In reality, however, all power still lay in the hands of the Emperor, with guidance from the prime minister.
After 25 years of service, Master Xie retired and requested a piece of land, which was granted by the Emperor's seal.
He retreated to a secluded area on the Liang border, close to his homeland, a land he had not crossed since that fateful night when he narrowly escaped death.
It was already afternoon when Master Xie, back to his smoking habit, sat in his favorite chair, thinking of Yue Qi, a lost nephew from his distant cousin, the renowned Taichi master, who was the mother of Yue Qi and his six brothers.
Master Xie had met Yue Qi's father when he traveled to Liang as an envoy for the Japanese royal prince, who came to study fine arts, poetry, theater, and architecture.
Yue Qi's father, a Japanese assassin and spy, never returned to his Chinese wife and six children after taking Yue Qi with him to Japan.
Years later, the father and son met Master Xie again. To Master Xie's delight, he saw young Yue Qi, but soon discovered that Yue Qi's father had been forced to take a Japanese wife as a gift from his lord. They had another son, whom they named Zuo Zong.
Yue Qi had been given a Japanese name, Zuo Shan, and was too young to remember his Chinese mother, the Taichi master, and Master Xie's distant cousin. The only two survivors from the small village that had been destroyed by fire had their childhood memories together, but nothing more to linger on as a happy memory.
After that meeting, Master Xie never heard from Yue Qi's father again, nor did he see Yue Qi until now.
As he sat smoking, Master Xie's thoughts wandered back to his golden childhood. He recalled a past love, a girl who possessed the power of TaiChi. As he trained to master the sword, she trained to master the wind.
Later, he learned that after his father took her to the Woolong Mountains, she returned to their village as the wife of a foreigner and the mother of seven sons.
Master Xie's heart ached. The girl who had captured his heart had quietly settled into married life, and he had missed his chance to confess his unrequited love.
Meanwhile, Yue Qi was running through the woods toward Xue Fu Street when suddenly a black ninja set a trap that caught Yue Qi's foot, leaving him hanging upside down, swinging back and forth.
The black ninja, his face covered except for his calm eyes, looked at Yue Qi, who knew his life wasn't in danger.
Pressed for time, Yue Qi tried to deceive him, saying, "What do you want from me?"
As he reached into his dress for the map, his jade pendant accidentally dropped.
The black ninja walked toward the pendant to pick it up. In a moment of panic, Yue Qi angrily shouted, "Don't even think about touching it!"
The black ninja paused, thinking to himself, "If he's the one, he'll pass this test."
The ninja then threw a star dart to cut the rope. Yue Qi, using the star dart, swung himself toward a tree branch like Tarzan.
He landed on the branch, using the star dart to cut the rope from his foot.
Meanwhile, the black ninja, distracted for a moment, continued walking toward the pendant.
Yue Qi, losing his temper, issued a second warning: "You clearly don't understand when a warning has been given."
Peng!
The black ninja became temporarily deaf, and Yue Qi stabbed him in the chest with the star dart.
The black ninja, feeling the sharp pain, began to speak, saying, "I agree to disagree." He then passed out, still holding the jade pendant in his hand.
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