Lady Jin lowered her sword. She knew all humans had two souls: the hun and the p’o. Upon the death of a human being, the hun soul rose into the Heavens, while the p’o soul stayed with the body. If everything went well, such as proper burial and respect for the dead, then the p’o soul journeyed to the Yellow Springs to join the other p’o souls already there.
“Who else is after the sword?” Lady Jin asked.
“A mad man named Hao,” Mountain Lady said.
“No! Not him again,” Nu said. “He should be dead. How could he have gotten away from those vampires and other things in the cursed city?”
“All I know is he came to me a day before you showed up and wanted me to take him to the sword,” Mountain Lady said. “I refused and he said he would return with an army to force me.”
“Looks like he may have made an army” Lady Jin sheathed her bloodless sword.
“I wonder where the rest of them are,” Nu said. “They were together the last time we saw them.”
“A scout maybe,” Lady Jin said. “We’ll soon see more of them. Please lead the way, Mountain Lady.”
The two female warriors followed the sorceress and her strange mount up the mountain.
Can I trust her? Lady Jin wondered. She did help me through some dark times in my suicidal past, but why did she do it? Did she want me in her debt?
The lower part of the mountain was covered in trees, but as they rode higher the trees thinned. As the trees disappeared it grew colder, until snow lay on the ground. Lady Jin was happy they had some old winter clothes stuffed into one of Nu’s saddlebags, and Lady Jin had some rags in one of her saddlebags.
“Our boots are only thick enough for the autumn weather that’s just beginning below,” Lady Jin said. “Let’s tear up these old rags and wrap several of them around our feet to keep warm.”
“Yes, mistress.” Nu happily grabbed some of the rags. Nu glanced over at Mountain Lady. “Why doesn’t this bother her? She is barely dressed as if the cold won’t harm her. Is she using some sort of magic? Why doesn’t she share?”
“It’s her mountain, Nu,” Lady Jin said. “She probably walks or rides up and down it all the time.
They stopped and the three women shoveled a clearing in the snow. Lady Jin got a fire going with some kindling and Nu chopped some limbs from a couple of trees that would be dryer than what was on the ground. Once the fire was going, Mountain Lady cooked some mushrooms and water chestnuts in a pot she had brought.
Lady Jin smiled at the luscious smell coming from the pot, but turned to look at the horses, and saw Mountain Lady’s mount eating a dead mountain goat. Their horses just stood there as if they could tell what was happing nearby. Nu was watching the same thing and the girl wasn’t smiling. She looked frightened and angry.
Lady Jin watched as Nu scooted over to be hip-to-hip with Lady Jin.
“Are you sure we can trust her?” Nu whispered in Lady Jin’s ear. “You called her an old friend.”
“Yes, she is an old friend of mine,” Lady Jin whispered back into Nu’s ear. “But I never said I trusted her completely. Of course that’s true of all my friends.”
“Oh,” Nu replied and sniffed back something.
Lady Jin smiled. She messed up Nu’s hair. “Brat.”
Nu smiled and elbowed her teacher.
“It should get worse as we head further up the mountain,” Mountain Lady said. “Your horses won’t be able to come with us. The other mountain spirits won’t allow it.”
“How—” Nu spoke up.
“My friend there will take them back to my cave,” Mountain Lady said. “Don’t worry, he won’t eat them. He promised. They’ll be fine.”
“Thank you, Mountain Lady,” Lady Jin said. “Let’s collect the supplies to keep them in backpacks to carry the rest of the way.”
“Yes, Mistress,” Nu said. Once they were near the horses and away from Mountain lady Nu added. “She sneaked up on you didn’t she, mistress?”
“Yes.” Lady Jin filled her backpack.
“Magic? Like Hao?”
“Maybe, Nu,” Lady Jin said and stopped. “But this is natural magic. Mountain magic. Different from what Hao used. Still, it does worry me too.”
Nu nodded.
#
The three of them continued up the cold mountain, the freezing wind chilling their bones, or at least Lady Jin and One-eyed Nu’s mortal bones. Once the sun went down, Lady Jin and Nu started another campfire, but before they got it going, three figures walked through the windy barren landscape of the mountain. Each one was dressed in leather infantry armor and carried pole arms. As they neared, Lady Jin could tell their weapons weren’t spears, but the ko. The ko has a head similar to spears, but the head is turned at a 90 degree angle so the warrior doesn’t stab at their enemy, but hooks the enemy’s ankle to trip them and brings the spike down on their chest once they’ve fallen. Like the spear, it was a common weapon on the battlefield.
“It’s them!” Mountain Lady leveled her spear point at one of the dead men. “This is their first assault! Prepare yourselves!”
Lady Jin drew her sword and heard Nu do the same. Instead of going for her ankle, Lady Jin’s attacker swung his ko blade up at her armpit. Lady Jin dodged the move and counterattacked with a thrust, but the butt end of his weapon deflected her blade. She tried to grab the long handle of his weapon, but he was too fast. He spun the weapon around with the speed and skill of a vanguard infantry soldier. These were the elite soldiers used in the front lines by certain generals to dazzle and frighten the enemies’ troops. He performed a bizarre cartwheel over her head that ended with the butt of his weapon hitting her in the back, just missing the kidneys. He tried to impel her in the face with the head of his weapon. Lady Jin blocked with an elbow in a rotted eyeball. The eyeball dropped to the ground, but the one-eyed dead soldier continued attacking her. “You are an excellent and honorable warrior woman,” he said. “But I am one of Lord Dou’s Blue Tigers! The greatest vanguard warriors of Chu!”
“That idiot Dou has been dead for centuries!” Lady Jin shouted back. “And the same is true of you, fool!”
“Damn you, bitch!”
He gave a vicious sidekick. Lady Jin fell backwards and landed on her butt, the wind knocked out of her body. Do I still have my sword? Breathe…Air… Where’s my sword? Lady Jin blocked the weapon with her foot. Rolled to the left to get away. She rose to her knee. He attacked with a kick to her ribs. Lady Jin caught his kick with her arms. She could feel the pain of kick in ribs, but it could have been worse. Lady Jin pushed him backwards; he went down. She was on top of him repeatedly slamming palm and elbow strikes into him. Lady Jin found her sword. Lady Jin hacked off his head.
He crumbled to dust.
Lady Jin was breathing hard. She wiped her nose wondering if it was snot or blood.
“What did you mean by...” Nu asked the Mountain Lady.
“There’s more coming, young one,” Mountain Lady said. “I can feel them.”
“Feel them?”
“My mountain feels them as they march upon it,” Mountain Lady said. “I feel the mountain just as I feel my own body.”
The mountain lady wouldn’t say anything more and when Nu looked at her teacher for an answer she received a shrug of uncertainly in response.
“Are they nearby?” Lady Jin said. “How close are they?”
“They’re here.” Mountain Lady pointed down at the snow.
“Where?”
“I don’t s—” The snow on the ground moved as if pushed by an invisible foot or hand and creating a tiny trench in the whiteness. Nu shut her mouth.
Soon dozens more trenches were being made in the snow.
“What is that?” Nu drew her sword. She looked at Lady Jin and then at the strange mountain lady. She pointed at the trenches approaching like an invisible enemy.
“A different enemy,” Mountain Lady said. “But they are not dead.”
“They’re not ghosts,” Nu scre
amed. “But they are invisible!
“Are you so sure?” Mountain Lady said.
The trenches circled the three women as if something was watching them. Tiny hairs on the back of Lady Jin’s neck rose up. Something was going to happen.
Something like a mouse-sized human being crawled onto the toes of Nu’s boot and then a second one appeared.
“Nu!” Lady Jin shouted. “On your boot! They’re small not invisible. Beware!”
Around thirty, four-to-six inch creatures popped out of the snow near Lady Jin’s left boot and threw little spears at her. The spears were tiny, but the creatures had focused their evil little red eyes at a tendon behind her knee. Enough of the spears got through her leather pants that the tendon was partly cut. Lady Jin fell, but she caught herself. She slashed down with her sword; the blade cut through the tiny ranks of attackers. Little heads, arms, and other body parts flew as her blade circled back and slashed through them around.
“Little shits!” Lady Jin caught one as it tried to crawl up her knee. She squeezed her hand and the thing squealed, “Kaaatchettu!” Its blood poured threw her fingers. The survivors turned to run.
Nu screamed, “It’s in my hair!”
Lady Jin flung the dead creature at the living one in Nu’s hair, thus knocking it off her. The fallen creature wobbled itself back to its feet and shook a little fist at them. Three more showed up and started ripping bits off the dead creature, and gulping them down.
“Cannibals!” Lady Jin said. “They’re cannibals too. What are they?”
“Monsters!” Nu stomped on one and chopped down on another. After that there seemed to be no more around. Most of the little bodies had been carried off by their surviving fellows.
“They have left,” Mountain Lady said. “They’ve returned to their underground burrows to find their dead.”
“What are they?” Lady Jin said.
“Magical rodents created by a very moronic wizard over a thousand years ago,” Mountain Lady said. “Most stay up in the cold north and hunt baby reindeer. I think that strange wizard Hao brought them. Here they’re only good for spying on people. Disgusting creatures.”
“Mistress, your leg,” Nu shouted. “You’re bleeding.”
“I know.” Lady Jin clutched the tendon to keep the blood from flowing out.
“Here, I will stop the bleeding,” Mountain Lady laid down her bloody spear and squatted above Lady Jin’s leg. Her fingertips glided over the pant leg as if feeling the damage through them. Next she gripped on the meridian spots nearby, leaned forward and thrust her tongue into the wound. Strange sounds came from her beak as it melded around Lady Jin’s wound almost as a human mouth would. “Eeerrooo!” Suddenly the beak came away from the wound. The tongue remained within the wound, but the sound had stopped.
Chapter ten
“The last battle is near,” Mountain Lady said. “If you look above, you will see the green dragon pointing the way to a cave. We will find Hao and what is left of his forces there. Come.”
Mountain Lady picked up her spear threw it towards the cave opening. The spear landed on ledge above. She walked along a narrow path that looked like steps up the side of the mountain. They watched her go.
“What do we do, mistress?” Nu nervously leaned from one foot to the other.
“Try to keep up with her, Nu.” Lady Jin swung her leg to check her knee. It felt just fine. “Come on.”
Nu mumbled and hit her right thigh, but she followed her mistress anyway. They journeyed up the steps that began to look like they had been made of green jade. The green steps led to the cave opening. As they neared it, a door made of green jade appeared in its front. Mountain Lady retrieved her spear. She poked at the jade door with her spear.
“Well,” Mountain Lady said. “It looks like your friend Hao doesn’t want us to enter his cave. That’s not very nice.”
“He’s not our friend,” Nu said.
“Yes, I know.” Mountain Lady raised her hands over her hand and let out a scream. The green dragon flew down with a giant black turtle clutched in its massive talons. The dragon tossed the turtle at the jade door and the black turtle burst through it. Jade, pebbles, and rock tumbled to the ground; smoke and dust flew through the air.
“Thank you, my friends,” Mountain Lady said.
Lady Jin mumbled something.
“What did you say, mistress?” Nu asked.
“What? Oh…” Lady Jin said. “I was thinking about what I have seen with the Mountain Lady today. A white tiger, green dragon, and a black turtle—plus she looks like a red bird-woman.”
“So?”
“Not sure,” Lady Jin said. “But this is getting interesting, Nu.”
“I don’t recall being bored, mistress.”
The green dragon flew away with the black turtle. They disappeared into the sunshine. Lady Jin looked away and back at Mountain Lady and found the birdlike woman climbing over the debris. Mountain Lady waved at her to follow. Were they hidden by the sun? Lady Jin wondered. Does this have something to do with the old story of the sun and her sons?
“Come on, Nu.” Lady Jin stomped her cold feet. “White, red, green and black.”
“Okay, mistress. But what does that mean?” Nu stomped a foot out of anger as well as cold before taking off after the other two women.
Within the cave was darkness that was barely broken by the sun shining in from its opening. Lady Jin stopped as she bumped into Mountain Lady’s spear handle, and Nu held still behind her teacher.
“Stop,” Mountain Lady said, within the darkness. “Wait here, both of you, I will call up fire to the torches along the walls so that you may see.”
Lady Jin gripped her sword handle, but agreed. In time light appeared. Soon burning torches could be seen on the walls. In the center of the room was a round pool of water with a stream pouring from the ceiling. And only now did Lady Jin hear water hit the pool below with a splash of naked power.
Mountain Lady waved them over to the pool and they followed. After Lady Jin stopped beside her she noticed the dark opening on the other side of the pool.
“Before we go any further you and your student must undergo seven days of purification in this magical pool.”
“Seven days?” Nu shouted. “That’s insan—”
“Nu, stop,” Lady Jin said.
“He’ll get away,” Nu said. “We don’t have time for this magic crap!”
“Shut up!” Lady Jin backhanded Nu in the face.
Nu retreated holding her bruised cheek and forcing back tears.
“I think we may need this,” Lady Jin looked at Mountain Lady as the strange woman with feathers and beak set down her spear and removed her small amount of clothing.
“Undress yourselves.” Mountain Lady stepped into the pool.
Lady Jin removed her coat and unbuckled her sword/knife belt, which dropped with a tinkling sound. She looked at Nu who stood nervously watching and doing nothing.
“Come on, Nu,” Lady Jin said, gently. “It will be okay. I think it will work for right now this isn’t about sword fighting.”
Nu smiled shyly and began to remove her clothing. The two of them helped each other off with their almost-frozen boots. Lady Jin tossed her smelly undergarments to the floor and stepped to the edge of the pool. She felt the chill throughout her naked body—from her toes and strong legs through her genitals and belly up to her nipples and head. The pool gave off a heat causing her body to beat with desire and memories of sex with various men in her past. She felt the sexual pulse in her toes and her hips as her strong legs seemed about to melt beneath her. Her genitals burned in anger and her nipples seemed to quiver with a desire of their own, but somehow she found a way to calmly step into the pool without jumping. Once the strange water touched her body she moaned over and over as if in orgasmic ecstasy. As she came out of it she realized that Nu was moaning shamelessly like a common whore—as she must have done herself. Lady Jin found Mountain Lady smiling at her.
&n
bsp; “Don’t feel ashamed,” Mountain Lady said. “Its perfectly natural to have feelings like that when you get into the pool for the first time. You cannot be pure, until you have spent your desires.”
“What?” Nu said.
“What do we do now?” Lady Jin rested her bottom on the pool floor.
“We stay for seven days,” Mountain Lady said.
“How?” Nu sat beside Lady Jin.
“Hush, little one,” Mountain Lady said from where she sat. “Just try to relax.”
The three sat together in the pool, though they moved around little during those days. Mountain Lady told stories of people that lived long ago, but whose adventures had now been forgotten.
On the third day Nu screamed, cursed, and struck at Mountain Lady, who grabbed the girl and dunked her. Afterwards she cried nonstop, until the forth day ended. Lady Jin suddenly did the same thing happened on the fifth day and in turn was dunked by Mountain Lady. Lady Jin cried until the sixth day ended and on the seventh day they all sat quietly.
On the eighth day Mountain Lady got out of the pool. “You are ready for the rest of the journey.”
It was a statement of fact and not a question.
#
Lady Jin, ever the swordswoman, picked up her sword pulled it out of its sheath before getting dressed. The blade still looked good after several days of neglect, but she could tell that it had been neglected. Lady Jin felt guilty for the neglect. A warrior polishes and sharpens her weapons. All her teachers had taught her this most important rule. Lady Jin had pounded the same attitude into Nu. Lady Jin was proud to see Nu doing the same with her own sword. Lady Jin got dressed. Afterwards she sat with her sword to polish the blade and check its sharpness. Did it need sharpening?
Lady Jin found her unstrung bow and arrows safe and dry in a bag in her backpack. Nearby Mountain Lady sat quietly with her eyes shut, while Lady Jin and Nu worked on their weapons. They decided to leave the backpacks behind in the first room.
Evil Wizard Hao: A Lady Jin and One-eyed Nu novel Page 6
