by Jeremy Bai
There were two Mao Meis in the room, one of them young and very much alive, the other a withered corpse with sharp teeth bared in a vicious grin.
“Feed, my children,” said the corpse version of Mao Mei. “Feed to your hearts’ content!” Cackling, she leapt off of the chariot toward the nearest wedding guest, and before the man could react, she buried her fangs into the base of his neck.
The other reanimated corpses began to hop in different directions toward other wedding guests.
Thankfully, virtually everyone present was a martial hero of some sort or another, and most of them reacted quickly. Within moments, fierce fighting had broken out between the wedding guests and the reanimated corpses.
Meanwhile, the corpse version of Mao Mei remained latched to the neck of the initial victim, who was struggling to push her off.
At this point, Du Qian vaulted out of the chariot. “Sun Mai,” he shouted, “prepare the Encompassing Emerald! Everyone else, listen carefully. These jiangshi are immune to normal attacks. Hit them with fire or energy!”
With that, he leapt toward the corpse Mao Mei, pulling what appeared to be nothing more than a crude hemp rope out of his robe, the end of which had been tied into a noose. However, when he hurled it through the air toward Corpse Mao Mei, it began to glow with a faint violet light.
As for Sun Mai, he jumped out of the chariot and settled down cross-legged right in the middle of all the fighting. Closing his eyes, he clasped his hands together in front of him and began to meditate.
Corpse Mao Mei apparently sensed the noose flying toward her head. She dropped her victim, shoving him away from her and flying backward in an attempt to dodge the noose. However, she was just a moment too slow, and although the noose didn’t manage to settle around her neck, it snagged her right wrist.
Not hesitating for even a moment, Du Qian jerked on the violet rope, causing Corpse Mao Mei to spin through the air and slam into the ground only a meter in front of Sun Mai.
“This trick again?” Corpse Mao Mei said. “It didn’t work last time, and it won’t work this time either!”
Sun Mai’s eyes snapped open, sending bright green light spilling out into the room. “I’ve improved it a bit since our last encounter,” he said.
The green light began to spin around Corpse Mao Mei, who could only look on in shock as it formed something that looked like an enormous, illusory emerald, with her in the very middle. Letting out a screech, she violently kicked the emerald, but other than a thudding sound, it did nothing.
“This won’t work, you fools!” Corpse Mao Mei shrieked. “I wasn’t reanimated by some bungled ritual. I’m a servant of the Five Ghosts! I command power beyond your imagination! You can’t kill me!”
As she continued to rave, the illusory emerald began to shrink down. Sun Mai remained in place, his eyes glowing with brilliant green light as they remained fixed on Corpse Mao Mei. Seconds ticked by, and the emerald slowly shrank. Corpse Mao Mei began to scream. Incredible invisible forces were causing immense pressure, engulfing her from all directions, applying pressure that even her powerful undead body could not resist.
The pressure mounted, and her screams increased. She attempted to batter her way free from the emerald, but no amount of thrashing on her part produced a successful result. Her body began to twist and distort, and eventually one of her legs snapped. Then an arm was crushed, and her neck twisted at an unnatural angle. Soon her screams were reduced to muffled grunts. And then, after only about a minute had passed, she was crumpled into nothing more than a ball of flesh, crushed bone, and oozing black liquid.
Moments later, the emerald faded away, and the lump of flesh plopped to the ground. Sun Mai’s eyes returned to their normal color.
Du Qian didn’t hesitate, pulling out a burlap sack that seemed equally as ordinary as the hemp rope had. Dashing forward, he threw the sack over the lump of flesh and tied it closed with the hemp rope. As the knot was secured, a flash of violet light swept across the surface of the sack, after which it continued to look as ordinary and unimpressive as before.
It didn’t take long for the wedding guests to use a variety of fire and energy attacks to blast the other animated corpses to pieces.
From the moment the chariot had disappeared to the moment it had returned and fierce fighting had broken out to the moment that the fight ended, only a few short minutes had passed.
Now, eerie silence filled the entire wedding hall.
Chapter 77: A Momentous Event
It was only by a great miracle that no one in the wedding feast was seriously hurt. The reanimated corpses, or “jiangshi” as Du Qian had named them, fed on qi, not flesh. The handful of unfortunate guests who had been bitten were already beginning to recover, and other than some flesh wounds, everyone came out of the ordeal unscathed.
The wedding guests were sent away with the promise of further explanations after Bao and Sunan conferred with Sun Mai and Du Qian to get more details about what had occurred. After the bodies of the jiangshi were disposed of, the key leaders of the Dragon-Phoenix Sect remained behind in the hall with the chariot. Also present were Du Qian, Ruan the Flamingo, the Timeless Master, Sun Mai, and a few other top figures in the martial world such as the Scorpion Swordsman and the Purple Cavern Killer.
At first, everyone was entranced with the chariot, but a moment later, the Timeless Master asked the question that was on everyone’s mind.
“What happened?”
Du Qian shook his head and maintained silence.
Seeing that Du Qian didn’t feel like talking, Sun Mai began to explain. “When I told the chariot to go back to the moment when Xian Nu Shen created the world, I was trying to prove a point, or perhaps, be funny or dramatic. Little did I know that the chariot can truly travel through the streams of time.
“We did indeed go back to the moment when Xian Nu Shen created the world, and it was…” He trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words.
“Spectacular,” Du Qian said. “Terrifying. And…”
He and Sun Mai exchanged a glance.
“Incomprehensible,” Sun Mai said. “Du Qian and I still do not see eye to eye on everything, but I think that both of us now look at the world in a different way. Perhaps I will record some of what we saw in the thirteenth volume of my scripture.” He hesitated. “Or perhaps not. The knowledge we now possess could be very, very dangerous.”
The Timeless Master turned to look at the chariot. “If what you say is true, and this chariot can travel through the stream of time, then perhaps we could use it as a weapon in our war against—”
“No!” Du Qian and Sun Mai said.
“It’s too dangerous,” Du Qian said. “First of all, there is no such thing as a stream of time. There are many. Countless streams, intersecting, crossing, flowing together and apart constantly. The fact that Sun Mai and I made it back here is almost a miracle. Changes made in one stream of time can affect other streams and can even destroy them or the original stream. We have seen it with our own eyes. In the wrong hands, that chariot could be the undoing of the fabric of the universe, and in the right hands… well, even the hands of those with good intentions can slip and make mistakes. The chariot… it must be destroyed!”
“Du Qian, my brother,” Sun Mai said, “don’t forget what that person told us.”
Du Qian’s eyes flashed with intense light. “About the chariot being… infected?”
“Yes. Destroying it would be too dangerous. The best thing would be to cripple it somehow, then seal it away in a place that no one would ever find it.”
Du Qian nodded, then turned to Sunan and Bao. Clasping his hands formally, he said, “Dragon Sovereign. Phoenix Sovereign. Ruan and I created this chariot with the intention of providing you with another tool to fight the Demon Emperor. Instead, what we created is a deadly abomination. Please, I beg your forgiveness, and at the same time, implore you to allow me to be the one to fix the problem. I will find a way to disable the powers of the chariot, the
n seal it beyond the reach of mortal hands.”
However, not everyone in the room could be so easily convinced to abandon such a powerful weapon. The debate which followed lasted for many hours, during which time Sun Mai and Du Qian revealed some of the things they had seen on their journey and some of the terrors they had faced. Apparently a close bond had grown between the two scholars during their days traversing the streams of time, and although they still did not agree on all matters of philosophy, they were now close enough to consider each other friends.
In the end, everyone was convinced of the danger of keeping and using the chariot, even the Timeless Master. In fact, Li Buwei even claimed to know of the perfect place in which to seal the chariot, and he offered to help Du Qian and Ruan to go about burying it.
The following day, Du Qian, Ruan, and Li Buwei left. Afterward, more wedding festivities and formalities went on. Then the guests began to depart.
Within a few days, routines in the Dragon-Phoenix Sect were starting to return to normal.
Before leaving, Sun Mai sat down with Sunan as promised, to discuss martial arts.
“I didn’t spend as much time recently on my scriptures as I’d hoped,” Sun Mai explained, running his hand over his freshly shaven head. “However, I gained much enlightenment when it comes to kung fu. To some extent, we’ve long since identified the four major branches of martial arts, some of which we’ve already begun to describe using Classical Fei. I believe that we should officially codify those four branches into four disciplines: qinggong, the arts of lightness; dianxue, the skill of manipulating pressure points; neigong, the internal martial arts; and waijia, the external martial arts.”
Sunan looked up in thought. “Yes, it makes sense. My Dragon Cleaves the Clouds would be waijia, an external use of martial arts. Your Sword of the Scholar draws upon internal energy and would be considered neigong. Bao’s Phoenix Torment is obviously dianxue, and the Flight of the Phoenix developed by Liu Jiahui is qinggong.”
Sun Mai nodded. Pulling out a bamboo scroll, he handed it to Sunan. “Remember this?”
Sunan took it and looked at the title. “Wu-Sunan, the Ultimate Fighting System.” He chuckled, unrolling the scroll to examine the contents. “It already seems so simplistic.”
“In some ways, yes,” Sun Mai replied with a faint smile. “But there are still profound truths in there that even later generations of martial artists may benefit from. Sunan, in the coming months and years, I plan to focus solely on my scripture. However, it occurred to me that it might be worthwhile to begin recording the various martial arts techniques that are being invented. In the past, we codified your original martial arts routine into Wu-Sunan. It would probably benefit posterity to do the same with all of the Golden Dragon and Pure Phoenix moves that have become common. And even some of the rarer techniques.”
Sunan nodded, rolling the Wu-Sunan scroll back up. “It’s a good idea. I’ll talk with Bao about it. Unfortunately, with both you and Du Qian gone, we will now be short a scholar.”
Sun Mai chuckled. “I’ll tell you what. One of my apprentices is particularly bright when it comes to martial arts. I’ll leave Shisan behind for the time being, and he can help with the effort. There’s something else important that I need to mention to you, something that I realized during an extended session of deep meditation. We already know that each breakthrough leads to a higher level of martial arts. Including your first breakthrough in the Huang Mountains, how many have you experienced throughout the years?”
Sunan didn’t even need to think to provide the answer. “Six.”
“So, you’re in the sixth level. As for me, I’ve experienced eight breakthroughs.”
Sunan’s eyes widened. “Eight?”
“Yes. And I’m on the verge of a ninth. What I can tell you is that the seventh breakthrough is a watershed, and when it happens, new doors are opened up in your mind and heart, doors that you are currently unaware even exist. The inner workings of qi become clearer, and you also come to understand how your actions affect the world around you. The concept of karma is an old one, but with the profound mastery of martial arts that comes with the seventh breakthrough, it becomes something far more tangible.
“I believe that the term profound master is an appropriate title for one who has made that seventh breakthrough. Although I personally don’t feel the need to be addressed in such a way, I imagine that soon more disciples of the Dragon-Phoenix Sect will reach that level of power, and I suggest you consider using it.”
Sunan was a bit taken aback. “Of course. But… I can’t help but wonder how many breakthroughs are possible.”
“I don’t know. I suspect many. And considering the levels of power I’ve already achieved with eight breakthroughs, it wouldn’t surprise me if I could eventually use my understanding of qi cultivation to live forever.”
Sunan’s jaw dropped. “Like an immortal?”
“If such beings exist, then yes. Another thing, Sunan, a piece of advice, or perhaps a warning. Fortresses in cliffs and palaces in mountains might seem to be places of safety, but we live in a world of magic and superhuman martial arts. Such places are not invincibly secure. Please be careful, and don’t get complacent up here on the top of Zun Shan.”
With that, Sun Mai rose to leave.
Sunan also stood up. “Oh, by the way, I got some news.”
Sun Mai raised an eyebrow expectantly.
“Back when we made our escape from Daolu, much of the city burned to the ground. Including the Heavenly Meat Palace. But it’s been rebuilt. Perhaps one day we can go back and have some spicy prawns together.”
Sun Mai looked at him for a long moment, then threw his head back and laughed. “Absolutely, my brother. Absolutely.”
***
Eventually, life in the Dragon-Phoenix Sect returned to normal. The squads that had been assigned to duty outside of the sect returned to their posts, and those that remained behind focused on training.
Unrest was building within the empire. After the theft of the Zhizhu Coral, the Demon Emperor was forced to resort to even more harsh and brutal crackdowns to keep the populace under control. Things might have been worse were it not for the increasingly large-scale conflicts with the nomadic tribes from the Yangu Plains and the Chai Yun. They were now united in unprecedented fashion and were raiding with a ferocity the likes of which was unheard of in the history of Qi Xien.
The resistance against the Demon Emperor being coordinated by the Timeless Master continued, but with the increased vigilance of the Lions of Peace and other military and government forces, it was more difficult to do anything safely.
There were even some casualties when missions went wrong.
However, passions were running high, making it easy to find new recruits, and overall, the Dragon-Phoenix Sect was growing in number.
The most momentous event, however, was one that no one in the Dragon-Phoenix Sect knew about. One evening, in the middle of the thirteenth lunar month, Bao brought wonderful news to Sunan.
“I’m pregnant.”
Chapter 78: More Names
Sunan laughed with more joy than he ever had in his life. He stepped forward and embraced Bao, who also started laughing, although it only took a moment for her laughter to turn into tears.
“I don’t even know how to be a parent…” she murmured.
“It’s easy,” he said. “You feed them. Change their swaddling. And let them sleep. No challenge at all! Let’s go make an announcement. Everyone in the sect is going to be thrilled.”
“No, let’s wait,” she said. “For safety’s sake…” She could only imagine what might happen if the Demon Emperor and his forces learned that she was with child, and thus more vulnerable than ever.
As it turned out, it only took a week for an event to occur which completely reinforced Bao’s fears. It was with a grim face that Wang Tian brought news from the heart of the empire, in the form of a single sheet of crumpled paper.
“Look at th
is,” he said, carefully flattening the piece of paper. “It’s a letter from the Demon Emperor himself, to the magistrate of Yu Zhing. It’s a miracle that the Eyes of the Phoenix were able to get this.”
Magistrate Li,
The time has come to deploy the three assassin squads you have been training. Send them to kill the leaders of the Dragon-Phoenix Sect, Sunan and Bao. They are holed up in a fortress on Zun Shan, a place not easily reached by armies or infiltrators. I am sending this letter with my newly appointed Bone General, Geng Long, who will give further instructions on how to carry out the mission. The assassin squads from Xuanlu will also join the mission. Furthermore, I have come to suspect that this Sunan and Bao have kidnapped my Love General. If you find any clue regarding her whereabouts, you will be rewarded handsomely.
The King of the Pure Ones
A meeting was held shortly after. Present were Sunan and Bao, as well as Wang Tian, Mao Yun, and Li Runfa.
Although everyone was indeed thrilled to hear of Bao’s pregnancy, they were equally perturbed that assassins were being deployed specifically to target Sunan and Bao.
“I don’t feel safe here,” Bao said.
Li Runfa drummed his fingers on the table but didn’t say anything.
“This is surely the safest place to be,” Mao Yun said. “Surrounded by friends and guards.”
“And spies,” Li Runfa said. “I’m currently aware of five infiltrators, but there could be more. And considering that most recruiting goes on outside of the headquarters, it’s becoming more and more difficult to screen the newcomers.”
“If you know who the infiltrators are, why not just expel them?”
“It’s not the ones I know about that worry me.”
Wang Tian reached into the folds of his garment and pulled out a map of Qi Xien, something that all Eyes of the Phoenix carried with them. Unfolding it and laying it out onto the table, he said, “If you left Zun Shan, where would you go? Perhaps Zhe Valley? The Scorpion Swordsman would probably be willing to take you in.”
