Dreaming of Zhou Gong

by Traci Harding

  Dan shook his head to agree.

  ‘Whatever the meaning behind the dream we share, it could not be as pressing as this war and its repercussions. So can we not put the mysteries of the sons of the sky aside, until Ji Fa’s rule has been secured and our larger challenges are behind us?’ she appealed. ‘Issues of the heart baffle me, and undermine my confidence —’

  ‘I understand.’ Dan held up both palms, content in a weird kind of way.

  ‘No, I don’t think you do,’ Hudan averred, moving closer to him. ‘I feel more akin to you than to my own family.’ She could barely speak the words for the emotion choking her. ‘You are my best friend. I know that is not what you wish for, but it is the very highest honour I have to give.’

  Teary-eyed, Dan gently took hold of one of Hudan’s hands with both his own. Unaccustomed to being touched and as uncomfortable as it made her, Hudan did not pull away. ‘I will never have any greater aspiration than that,’ he said quietly.

  She found his pledge endearing, even though she knew it was a fib — even she could not make the same claim and be telling the whole truth. ‘Only you have the power to disarm me, my friend.’

  The lord closed his eyes to process her admission in his mind, seeming gratified and pained by it. ‘Like outside the storehouse?’ He opened his eyes as she squeezed his hand to confirm.

  ‘I have never truly been afraid of any challenge placed in my path, but I was more fearful of you in that moment than I am of Dragonface, Su Daji and the entire Shang army.’ It felt wonderful to be speaking the truth to him, rather than trying to hide behind a façade of indifference.

  ‘No, please.’ He was shocked. ‘If I have done anything to make you doubt my vow to your house —’

  ‘You have not,’ Hudan insisted. ‘Perhaps I should have said, I was afraid of myself more than of you.’

  A flash of astonished relief crossed his face, but was quickly swallowed by concern once more. ‘The Great Mother warned me before we left Li Shan that I could become a distraction to you, or be your greatest ally.’

  ‘Yi Wu told you that?’ The fact was confronting. ‘She knew.’ Hudan was rather devastated that the Great Mother had given her no such caution.

  ‘It was the main reason she agreed to my admission to your order, as she felt my vow to her would prevent any issue between us, and it has.’ The statement was as flat as his mood, but then he perked up. ‘I am resolved to be your ally, I promise you. The last thing I wish is to cause you any more distress. But I have been wanting to solve the conundrum of that dream for many years, so I naturally —’

  ‘Many years?’ Hudan queried. ‘How many?’

  Dan had a think about that. ‘For as long as I can remember, really,’ he replied with a shrug.

  ‘Me too.’ Hudan slipped her hand from his and took a seat beside him, rather overwhelmed by everything that had come to light.

  ‘Who is Hreen, do you think?’ Dan asked, which reminded Hudan that Tar-rin always mentioned him in the dream.

  ‘I asked the Lord of the Elements the same question, and he avoided it,’ Hudan advised. ‘But I suspect that he might be the dark-haired time lord I told you about.’

  ‘It would make sense that a lord of time would be aware of my spirit’s comings and goings throughout history.’

  ‘The Lord of the Elements claimed that you yourself possess the ability to tap into your previous and forthcoming lifetimes.’

  Dan was a little rattled by that assertion. ‘I’ve never heard of such an ability.’

  ‘Akashic memory, he called it.’

  ‘I have seen many other fragments of Lu Chen’s life,’ Dan mentioned.

  ‘I have seen very little,’ Hudan announced, ‘but then I was advised that you would remember more than me, because of your talent.’

  ‘Did your elemental lord mention why we remember our lifetime among them?’

  ‘No,’ Hudan was sorry to disappoint him, ‘although he did seem extremely proud that you were remembering your life as Lu Chen.’

  ‘But why should a memory of a past life have a bearing on a future quest?’

  ‘I have never understood it, either, and Shifu Yi will not explain,’ Hudan replied, frustrated by the mystery. ‘Yet, I cannot help but feel Dragonface has something to do with it.’

  ‘Do you think the Great Mother knows about him, um, it … them?’

  ‘I would stake my life on it,’ Hudan warranted. ‘What I don’t understand is why she did not forewarn us of the curse?’

  Dan bit his lip, as he eyed off the weather. ‘We are no so far afield from Li Shan, you know …’

  The notion of sidetracking was appealing. ‘That would put us a day behind the rest of our party. I could attempt to psychically relocate us to the House of Yi Wu.’

  ‘You should not risk draining your chi again —’ Dan suppressed a grin and bit his tongue a moment, before suggesting. ‘Better to be late at the armies’ rallying point and better to take the carriage … Ji Fa will not cross the Huang He without us.’

  They stared at each other as they weighed up their options, and Hudan gave the deciding nod. ‘Even if we learn nothing, we shall be no worse off.’

  With a nod to concur and a gratified smile, Dan exited into the rain, with the aim of getting them to Li Shan before noon.

  Shifu Yi was sincerely surprised to be greeting them that afternoon. ‘Should you not be marching to Mengjin with Ji Fa?’ Yi Wu asked from her cushioned chair. ‘Or have the people of the East run to our rain, and the war is over?’

  ‘If only our victory was to be so easy,’ Hudan replied, as she knelt beside Ji Dan in their Shifu’s presence.

  ‘You sound troubled, Jiang Hudan. Yet, you have done this house proud since your departure. What has happened that is so very grave?’ Yi Wu asked, and gave Dan a thoughtful look.

  Hudan knew what the Great Mother was thinking and was quick to divert her. ‘What do you know about Dragonface and the Jade Book?’

  Yi Wu’s face paled, and she motioned for them both to rise. ‘You have seen the reptilian and his minions?’

  ‘During the yin rite, the lord of the elemental realms spirited me to Zi Shou’s capital at Yin, so that I should witness the lewdness and torture taking place.’ Hudan felt sickened by the memory. ‘And I swear to you, I thought I had been brought forth to one of the lowest levels in diyu.’

  Both Dan and the Great Mother were grieved to hear her recount the experience, as Hudan physically shuddered to recall it.

  ‘There is a great walled pit in the gardens at Yin that contains uncountable skeletal remains of our country’s men, women and children. These are the remains of the lucky ones who perish in the fall into the pit. But, should you survive …’ Hudan stared at her Shifu, filled with trepidation. ‘Dragonface has a device that sucks the life out of you … and if you are female, he’ll defile you first.’

  ‘Brother Hudan, I’m sorry …’ Dan was horrified that she’d borne witness to such terrible sights.

  ‘This creature, Dragonface, is double brother Dan’s height. He stimulates the victim’s fear and pain, and then feeds on it by sucking the vital fluids straight out of his victim’s brain.’

  ‘Come …’ Yi Wu rose to escort her student to a seat, as it was plain that Hudan had been traumatised by what she had witnessed and was going into delayed shock.

  ‘Please,’ Hudan resisted the move. ‘I do not wish to rest, I need answers!’

  ‘And you shall have them,’ Yi Wu advised sternly. ‘Once you have both eaten.’

  ‘There is no time,’ Hudan objected as she was plonked onto a cushion by her Shifu and Dan.

  ‘Oh, but there is.’ Yi Wu seated herself, while Dan poured Hudan a glass of water from the pitcher on the table close by him. He passed the refreshment to the Great Mother, who in turn offered it to Hudan. ‘It is clear to me that your energy has been severely diminished by your recent trials. A week’s recuperation under my care should have you good as new and able to psyc
hically relocate your physical form to the mustering point at Mengjin before Ji Fa even arrives.’

  Hudan drew a deeply relieved breath. ‘You are very wise, Great Mother.’ Spending a week in isolation on Li Shan was a dream come true — nothing would heal her faster.

  ‘And me?’ Dan queried the sudden change in plans.

  ‘You shall leave first thing tomorrow to catch up with Ji Fa and advise him that brother Hudan will be awaiting him at Mengjin,’ she instructed.

  ‘As you wish, Shifu.’ Dan poured himself a glass of water to hide his disappointment, but if Hudan failed to notice his changed mood, the Great Mother certainly sensed it. A break from each other for a week might be exactly what they both needed to regain their perspective.

  The Great Mother left Dan and Hudan to eat their meal in her private audience chamber.

  To sit and admire the tranquillity of the misty mountainside beyond the open windows was a vast contrast to their recent trials and travels. Here on Li Shan it was hard to believe that the entire land was not at peace. But from what Hudan had reported of the Shang capital at Yin, it seemed nothing could be further from the truth and she had been through infinitely more of an ordeal during her spiritual retreat after the yin rite than he could have possibly imagined. As Hudan had, however, only just calmed down from discussing that subject, Dan did not think it wise to raise the topic again.

  ‘Does our Shifu ever eat?’ Dan asked cordially, as Hudan had gone very quiet.

  ‘No.’ She forced a smile, seeming thankful for the light conversation. ‘Yi Wu has reached a state of Xian, and needs only water and the divine light of her own chi to sustain her … although she is very found of her tea, as you know.’

  ‘How old is she?’ Dan asked, curious about Yi Wu. As Hudan appeared somewhat taken aback by the question, he decided he should outline what he knew already. ‘My grandfather was said to be the only man to have seen the Great Mother and lived to tell of it and on more than one occasion. He spoke of her as a beautiful contemporary who never aged a day!’

  ‘I have heard Yi Wu speak of her time in the service of the Yellow Emperor,’ Hudan offered, and Dan felt she must be joking.

  ‘That would make her over fifteen hundred years old,’ he said, thinking it was an extravagant claim.

  ‘I am actually much older.’ The Great Mother drew their attention to her presence in the room. ‘We are all eternal, but I am in complete alignment with my spirit and you are not, as yet.’ She came and sat at the table with them as Dan consumed his last dumpling and pushed his plate aside.

  ‘That sustenance was most needed, Shifu Yi, I thank you.’ He was embarrassed to have been caught out inquiring after her age, as for most women it was a taboo subject.

  ‘You are most welcome.’ She smiled graciously.

  Hudan had pushed aside her half-eaten meal and looked to the Great Mother expectantly. ‘Please tell us what you know about the Jade Book. Does it belong to Dragonface?’

  ‘No,’ Yi Wu replied calmly. ‘It originally belonged to the Yellow Emperor —’

  ‘Huang Di, the first name listed in the Jade Book,’ Dan noted, having read the book more thoroughly than Hudan.

  ‘Yes,’ Yi Wu replied, confirming his observation. ‘The Jade Book was stolen from his summer palace by the creature who later became known as Dragonface. The reptilian then used the text to locate and control every ruler who came after.’

  ‘As you theorised,’ Hudan commented, awarding Dan his due, but he was still puzzled.

  ‘Then how did the treasure end up in the Ji family storehouse?’ he wondered.

  ‘The Jade Book was stolen during the rule of Huang Di’s great-grandson, Di Ku, and it was from his grandfather, Shaohao that the Ji family are descended. The book was then recovered by Shun of Yu, who banished me from royal service.’

  ‘But how did Shun of Yu deal with the curse of Dragonface and become such a beloved ruler? His reign lasted one hundred years.’

  ‘An unnaturally long amount of time for any mortal ruler, don’t you think?’ their Shifu pointed out. ‘Dragonface and his ilk have the ability to shapeshift and assume the form of those they have killed. But I suspect it is not comfortable for them to maintain the disguise and thus it is more convenient to control our emperors rather than assume their role.’

  ‘How do you know this?’ Hudan was dismayed. It would be very easy for the creature to slip through their fingers.

  ‘We have been forced to deal with his like during our lifetimes on this earth, both past and future.’

  ‘What?’ Hudan had clearly never heard her Shifu speak this way.

  Yi Wu nodded to confirm they’d heard her correctly. ‘Dragonface is older than I am, and is extremely intelligent. He originated during the time of the forefathers of the sons of the sky, and he has seen the rise and fall of many a great civilisation. In the case of our lands, since the time of Shun of Yu it has been the case that the more obliging a ruler was to Dragonface the more information he would garner from the creature and the greater the advancements that would be seen during that emperor’s reign. I was later to surmise that the emperors who died quickly, before ascending to the throne or just after, were those who attempted to oppose the curse of being named in the Jade Book.’

  Hudan was appearing decidedly ill suddenly.

  ‘Are you feeling poorly?’ Dan asked, having expected the meal would perk her up a little.

  ‘I am fine,’ she muttered, her troubled gaze resting upon the Great Mother, who shook her head slightly.

  ‘Do you both know something I do not?’

  ‘No,’ Hudan looked back at Dan to reassure him. ‘I was just thinking it a shame that our good-hearted rulers never stand a chance.’

  ‘We shall change that, starting with Ji Fa.’ He was confident, and Hudan forced a smile to agree.

  ‘So what happened to the Jade Book after Shun of Yu passed?’ Dan endeavoured to steer the conversation back to the matter at hand.

  ‘During the last, dark days of the Xia dynasty,’ Yi Wu recounted, ‘when the people rebelled — under circumstances very similar to those unfolding as we speak — I supported the rebellion of Cheng Tang, and my price was the return of the Jade Book to my safekeeping.’

  ‘Return?’ Dan quoted her. ‘You had been its keeper before?’

  ‘Huang Di entrusted it to me, as I was the author.’

  Hudan and Dan both gasped at once. ‘You were?’

  The Great Mother nodded. ‘It wasn’t until I went to claim the treasure back that I confronted the creature who had stolen the Jade Book from me and used it to curse our land.’ Shifu Yi appeared embittered by the fact. ‘I meant only to establish a clear line of rulership and avoid much of the bloodshed I had seen during my travels through time …’

  Were his eyes playing tricks on him? For Dan could see the ghostly imprint of an old man interpenetrating the Great Mother’s much younger form, then he watched in amazement as the spirit of the old man regressed into a youth, younger, and very fair — akin to the sons of the sky.

  ‘What is it?’ Yi Wu queried his distraction.

  ‘I’m sure it is nothing.’ Dan gave his eyes a rub, but the impression of the young man was still as clear as Yi Wu herself. ‘I mean no offence, Great Mother, but I see both the spirit of an old man and one much younger in you.’ He felt rather silly stating the observation. ‘And they appear to my eyes like sons of the sky.’

  ‘Really?’ Hudan was diverted, excited for Dan.

  Yi Wu was smiling broadly, as was the young male spirit within her. ‘Hello, Lucian.’

  The mention of the name made both Hudan and Dan gasp.

  ‘You are one of them?’ Dan concluded, and Hudan was surprised again when her Shifu nodded.

  ‘I was wondering how long it would take for your talent to develop to the point where you might perceive me,’ Yi Wu and her young male inner-spirit stated calmly.

  It was then Dan recognised the young man from one of his dreams ‘Th
ey call you Tel Mo.’

  ‘And Taliesin in the life before that. We have had many lives, and faced many a peril, together.’

  Dan looked at Hudan, who was completely astounded, and then back to the young male spirit speaking through Yi Wu. ‘Why are you here?’

  ‘To guide you, as I have been,’ their Shifu advised, ‘until we could locate the whereabouts of the reptilian we came here to deal with. Not even I realised that Dragonface was back influencing the emperors … I should have known better.’

  ‘But you have confronted the creature before and obviously triumphed,’ Hudan pointed out; otherwise her Shifu would not be here.

  ‘Dragonface has no supernatural power of his own, but he has dabbled in the dark arts and has come to know many demons by name, having personally created more than a few hateful entities during his time on this earth. I suspect this knowledge, and his ability to shapeshift, aided him to escape my wrath, but I had not heard of, or seen him, in the seven hundred years since.’

  ‘Pardon me, Shifu, but that still does not explain how the Jade Book ended up in our family storehouse?’

  ‘There was a time when your grandfather was being encouraged to lead an uprising against the Shang. I was very fond of Ji Danfu and, having written the Jade Book, I knew the quest would be fruitless, so I gave the Jade Book to him and the Ji family to convince Danfu to desist and to help guide the long rule of your family so that the Zhou dynasty would eventually rule.’

  Stunned, and minds on information overload, Hudan and Dan paused from their interrogation to think. But there was also something Hudan had to know.

  ‘Great Mother,’ Hudan said hesitatingly, formulating her query carefully. ‘Brother Dan and I have had the same dream about our time among the sons of the sky, and we wonder why it is so sensual and personal in nature?’

  Dan looked at Hudan, grateful for her tenacity and asking the question he could not ask without seeming untoward.

  ‘You think Tian is trying to test you?’ their Shifu posed, whereby they both nodded. ‘It is simply the last memory you both share of that lifetime.’