Living to Suffer

VI

They had arrived at the sect early, for the huai-meng ts’ao appeared only at the Hour of the Rat.They had to wait another twelve hours or so.

Naturally,Shen Liangsheng would not allow Ch’in Ching to roam freely in the sect, so heled him straight to his own quarters. He signalled with his arm, “Take a seat.”

SoCh’in Ching sat down.

“Havesome tea.”

SoCh’in Ching drank tea.

Aservant delivered their meal, and Shen Liangsheng invited again, “If you wouldexcuse the bland meal…”

SoCh’in Ching ate.

Thesethree utterances were all the communication they had until it came time to pickthe plant.

It wasnot that Shen-hufa­ was a poor host –although he had been on the road for days, he did not rest but instead sataccompanying Ch’in Ching.

Ch’inChing would stare at the tea cup but sometimes at the other man. When ShenLiangsheng noticed the gaze, he would look back at the doctor. After the silenteye contact, however, the one to look away in the end would always be Ch’inChing himself.

As expected, night time on Mount Fut’u wasparticularly eerie. The sorrowful hoots of the owls resonated near and far,sounding like the moans of wicked ghouls. Dressed in white, Shen Liangsheng ledthe way to the plants, and Ch’in Ching trailed behind the hufa, watching him tread onward without making the slightest noise.

“Yes?”Shen Liangsheng sensed the man behind darting forward and soon felt a handaround his own. Pausing for a split second, he glanced out of the corner of hiseye.

“Nothing.Just wanted to see if you were man or ghost.”

“So youare afraid of ghosts, Ch’in-taifu.”

“No, whywould I be? All ghosts were once man.”

“Isthat so?” Shen Liangsheng displayed no trace of mockery on his face but liftedhis left hand as he spoke – Ch’in Ching’s hand still firmly attached to it.

“Well,hiking at night can be a bit dangerous, can’t it?” Ch’in Ching laughednervously.

The mountain path was indeed steep and irregular, butit was not especially hazardous to trek. With a torch in one hand and the man’shand in the other, Ch’in Ching could still let his mind wander off while hepaid attention to the stone steps beneath.

ShenLiangsheng did not hold Ch’in Ching’s hand or pull away either, simply lettingthe doctor do as he pleased.

“ShenLiangsheng.”

After awhile, Ch’in Ching called his name out of nowhere.

“What?”

“Itseems I have been like this ever since I met you.”

“Likewhat?”

“Holdinga torch against the wind.”

“Howso?”

“Theflame burns my hand, yet I cannot let go.”

“Lettinggo of all mortal desires proves a difficult task.”

“It’sironic to hear you, the hufa of theHsing Sect, invoke the words of Buddha.”

“Thetruth requires no justification.”

“Thatis reasonable, indeed. But what if…”

Ch’inChing fell silent abruptly and did not continue. Shen Liangsheng did not demandclosure either, but after a few steps, he felt the man letting go of his hand.All that was left in the darkness was a flickering flame that illuminated onlya tiny s.p.a.ce ahead.

It was nearing the Hour of the Rat when they arrivedat the peak. No longer wavering, Ch’in Ching focused on catching any signs ofthe rare plant.

However,when the Hour of the Rat came, the black mountainside was instantly alight withthousands of fire-red plants, almost recreating the banks of the Yellow Springover which the Bridge of Helplessnessarched.

“Pfft.”Ch’in Ching immediately began working, placing a stalk into a box that had beencoated with some kind of herbal powder, but he still joked in meantime. “Nowonder you agreed so readily. I’d thought that there would be only a handful ofthem, but from what I see, your entire sect could very well survive off of huai-meng stir fry for three whole days.”

Unsurprisingly,Shen Liangsheng ignored his quips, only saying that he would escort him downthe mountain now that the business was finished.

“Do youknow of the story of the huai-meng ts’ao?”Ch’in Ching started casually, swinging his sack over his shoulder. “Legend hasit that holding its leaf enables one to test the auspiciousness of dreams. Thatis the first. Another source says that holding it enables one to dream of whatis on one’s mind. Maybe you should pick one and try it for yourself, Shen-hufa.”

Notwanting to waste time chattering, Shen Liangsheng turned and began the descent,leaving behind only a curt reply.

“I havenaught on my mind.”

Ch’in Ching made his way back to his hut at aleisurely pace, and by then the chill had set in. Before he could enjoy somepeace and quiet, however, trouble came looking for him.

It mustbe noted that even the walls have ears. Ch’in Ching was the first man in recentdecades to come down from Mount Fut’u alive and well. Although it was not animportant event, some chianghu peoplecaught wind of the news and were curious as to whom this famous n.o.body was.

In actuality,the event that was important occurred on first day of the ninth month,coincidentally the day of shuangchiang.The entire Yichian Sect was killed over night, and the sect leader appeared tohave undergone severe torture and interrogation before death. His extremelydisfigured corpse was a sight which few could bear to witness. None but theHsing Sect was capable of such cruel ways.

Thestrange thing was that, although Yichian was generally recognized as a majorsect, it was hardly comparable to the truly powerful sects like Shaolin andWutang, and n.o.body had ever heard of any grudges between Yichian and the HsingSect. The eradication simply seemed made no sense.

Ch’inChing had heard of this matter on his way home and was fully aware of the cause.All he could do was silently exclaim, “Yüannieh!”He wrote to his shifu, but the replyhe received was only three words long, “Trouble not. Wait.”

Butafter all the waiting, it was none other than the victim who came to Ch’inChing’s doorstep.

Thatday, Ch’in Ching was practising calligraphy by the window when he felt hiscircles being breached, so he put his brush down and left the valley toinspect. What he saw in the enchanted maze was a young swordsman darting aboutlike a blind bat. He was dressed in white mourning clothes, and his eyes wereraw.

Sighingquietly, Ch’in Ching disabled the circle since he had a fairly good guess aboutthe ident.i.ty of the intruder. There were rumours throughout the chianghu that on the day of thema.s.sacre, the youngest son of the Yichian Sect leader was staying as a guest atMount K’ongt’ong and luckilyavoided the misfortune. This man must be he.

Theyoung mourner fell to his knees as soon as he spotted Ch’in Ching.

“I amnot worthy!” Ch’inChing quickly pulled the man to his feet. After a short conversation, hisprediction proved true; this man was indeed the sole survivor, the young masterof Yichian Sect.

Thevisitor did not waste effort on politesse and expressed his intentions honestly.He, too, had heard about a certain someone ascending Mount Fut’u. After askingaround, he found Ch’in Ching’s location and came to request the way to enterthe mountain.

Ch’inChing was honest as well and explained his connection with the mountain. Hethen asked in a soft voice, “Young master, now that you know I saved the hufa of the demonic sect, do you think Istill count a good man?”

Theyouth stared at the doctor with his bloodshot eyes before taking one step backand kneeling down once more.

“If Iwere to tell you the way into the mountain, the Hsing Sect would not let me offeasily.” Ch’in Ching tried to help the man up, but the man was intent onstaying on his knees. “And since I’m not a good man, why would I risk my ownlife to help you?”

“…”

“Evenif I do decide to help, you must realize the situation. You are merely goingthere…to die.”

“I mustfight to avenge this debt of blood!” The youth finally spoke. There were nosign of tears in his eyes, but his words were harrowing like a sword snappingin half, like a cuckoosinging with blood in its mouth. “I’d gladly give up my life!”

“I…”Moved, Ch’in Ching stepped towards the man and knelt down on one knee to lookin the man’s eyes. “If I may ask for your trust…” He paused because he knew he absolutelyshould not, under any circ.u.mstance, say the words he uttered next. “Couldyou…could you just wait a bit longer…If you can trust me, I promise I will giveyou justice in three months’ time.”

“Not thatI don’t trust you…” the youth croaked after maintaining eye contact in silencefor some time. “But I cannot wait. Not even a day longer.”

After looking at the dead quietude in the man’s eyes,Ch’in Ching stood up and spoke in an undertone, “Wait patiently here. I willwrite down the route to the mountain and the key to the protective circles, butthese were the defensive formations when I visited. Only the heavens knowwhether they have been altered.”

Ch’inChing turned back into the valley and did not see the man behind him kowtow toexpress his grat.i.tude. He was contemplating the reality that some sought life whenthey could not live while others sought death when they could live. Perhaps aquick death really was better than living in pain and suffering day and night.

Ch’in Ching was not lying when he said that the HsingSect would not let him off easily, and the person who came was none other thanShen Liangsheng.

Unlikethe youth who was trapped, Shen Liangsheng was not hindered in the slightest bythe defensive circles. Ch’in Ching had just sensed an intrusion when amonstrous, murderous blast of energy ripped through his spells as though theywere merely cobweb. The next thing he knew, a white shadow resembling the whitewuch’angspirit materialized before him.

“It hasbeen a long time, Ch’in-taifu.”

“Well…ithasn’t been that long actually.”

“I wasnot aware that you had perfect memory.”

“Unfortunately,I have few talents, but I do have brains.”

“Do you?”Shen Liangsheng took a step forward, sword in hand. His face showed no emotion,but the air around him explicitly revealed his cold-blooded, savage intention.The temperature in the hut felt colder than winter itself. “I think not.”

“Whateveryou say.” Ch’in Ching knew he could not overpower the man, so he was merelywaiting for his death. If he died, Shen-hufawould spend his days moping in regret after they found the pages and learnedthat the doctor was the blood trigger they had been seeking all along. The nextviable vessel would not appear for at least another fifty years, so if he couldstill see from the underworld, he would be able to laugh about it for a fewdecades. It would mean his shifu’sefforts all these years had gone to waste, though.

Alittle impatience spoils the grand scheme – if his shifu knew that his one foolish move ruined the carefully plannedgame, he would probably be furious enough to breathe fire.

“Youare rather composed, Ch’in-taifu.”

“I begto differ.” Ch’in Ching understood the sneer in Shen Liangsheng’s voice. Theman was mocking his stupidity in not running and instead staying in his hutawaiting the reaper. “But where in this big, wide world could I possibly findrefuge?”

“Orperhaps you were wagering that I wouldn’t kill you?” Shen Liangsheng’s tone wasflat, but his actions were unforgiving. His sword shot forth, piercing through Ch’inChing’s right shoulder blade, but far from stopping, it kept flying until itpinned the doctor onto the wall.

“I…”Ch’in Ching’s vision went black for a moment from the pain, and he inhaled sharplyto finish the sentence. “I am no fortune teller. All bets are off. I hoped onlythat you would spare me a quick, painless death for old times’ sake.”

“Oh?But you’ve got your huai-meng ts’ao. Theaccounts have been settled. What old times’ sake is there to speak of?” ShenLiangsheng retorted coldly. Then he leaned in, as close as that day in the cave,their lips a hair’s breadth apart. “Think not so highly of yourself, Ch’inChing.”

“Whateveryou say.” Ch’in Ching repeated. He made as if to avoid Shen Liangsheng, butsadly the sword held him firmly in place, not allowing him any leeway. All theaction achieved was to tear further the wound on his shoulder. The sword likelysevered a major pathway. Blood welled out like a fountain and kept gushing.

“…”

“…”

As thesilence ensued, Ch’in Ching lowered his eyes. His breathing was shallow and hisface a sickly yellow. He was not on the verge of death but in excruciatingpain.

“Thisis to teach you a lesson. Do not poke your nose where you should not be poking,and conduct yourself accordingly.”

AfterShen Liangsheng spoke, he drew back and pulled out his sword, putting aconsiderate amount of force into the move. A b.l.o.o.d.y mist exploded and swirledaround in the air.

Throughthe light, crimson rain, Ch’in Ching seemed to wear no relief or joy on hisface. He only remained standing by leaning against the wall, and with his eyesdowncast, he said:

“Lessonlearnt.”