Small Shen

by Kylie Chan

  ‘When, my Lord?’

  ‘I am planning to travel up there for a week on Monday. Michelle and Simone will accompany me; Leo and Monica will stay here, as usual.’

  Simone stopped moving the papers around and looked up at her father. ‘Mountain?’

  He smiled down at her. ‘Yes, Simone, we’re going to the Mountain.’

  She raised both arms in the air in triumph. ‘Yay!’

  Monica’s head appeared around the door. ‘There you are, you silly girl, let Daddy and Gold do their work.’

  ‘Gol!’ Simone squealed. She pointed at Gold. ‘Gol!’

  Monica came into the room and nodded as Xuan Wu passed the kicking Simone to her. ‘Sorry, sir.’

  ‘She is a welcome interruption,’ Xuan Wu said. ‘Gol is boring.’

  ‘Gol is boring!’ Simone said as Monica lowered her to the floor. Simone scuttled to Gold and poked him on the arm, then grinned up at him. ‘You’re boring!’

  ‘And you are very cute,’ Gold said down to her. ‘Want to see a magic trick?’

  Simone’s eyes went wide and she nodded.

  ‘Is that all, sir?’ Gold said.

  ‘Dismissed,’ Xuan Wu said.

  Gold disappeared.

  The next week they held a student intake and assessment while the Dark Lord was in retreat at the Mountain. Gold met Meredith and Liu at Dragon Tiger Platform outside the Dragon Tiger Palace. The platform was a large open area a hundred metres to a side, paved with slate-grey stone slabs.

  The palace at the top of the flights of stairs behind them served as an imposing backdrop while they reviewed the students who had been recently recruited. Gold and Meredith sat at tables and Meredith wore her formal Tai Chi Master outfit of a plain black cotton jacket and pants with white trim on the sleeves.

  Master Liu had changed out of his usual jeans and T-shirt and was wearing the full saffron-coloured robes of a Shaolin Master, carrying his preferred weapon — a simple hardwood staff. With his elderly appearance — bushy white brows, long beard, and completely bald head — he fitted the students’ preconceptions of a Martial Arts Master perfectly and he enjoyed intimidating them.

  The students had all been fitted with the Mountain uniform of a plain black cotton jacket and pants with traditional cloth toggles and loops. They were a mixture of all races and had come from all over the world — the Dark Lord’s scouts monitored martial arts schools and hand-picked those with the talent and attitude to join the ranks of Celestial practitioners. Some of them were demons who had turned and been tamed by Celestials, and some were Celestial denizens — Shen in human form — sent by their parents for training in the martial arts. They stood quietly in three rows of six, some of them still appearing unsure as to what they’d gotten themselves into.

  Liu strode up and down in front of the nervous novices, grinning with malice. ‘You are here because you are possibly the best of the best. We are going to test each of you in turn, and see if you have what it takes.’ He stopped, turned, and tapped the end of his staff on the ground next to him. ‘Any questions?’

  The novices were silent.

  ‘Very good. Move back and stand around the edge of the arena. We will see you one at a time, humans first.’

  As the disciples moved back, a young American of about twenty years hesitated.

  ‘Yes?’ Liu said.

  ‘Uh… Master…’ the student said, then, ‘Did you say humans first?’

  ‘That I did. Move back,’ Liu said.

  When all the students were standing around the edge of the platform, Liu moved to the middle and held out his hand. He swept a look around the students, then pointed at one who appeared to be only fourteen or fifteen years old; a small, slender boy. ‘You. First.’

  The student took three steps forward, his bony joints standing out within his Mountain uniform. He dropped to one knee and saluted Liu, then stood, confident, waiting.

  ‘You are Lee from Goat Village, yes?’ Meredith said, studying the papers in front of her and Gold.

  Lee saluted Meredith. ‘Yes, I am Lee from Goat Village, Master.’

  Meredith shifted the papers around. ‘Proceed.’

  Liu raised and dropped his outstretched hand, still holding his staff with the other. ‘Take this stone from my hand. Any way you wish.’

  Lee grinned, then his face went slack. He blurred for a moment, then disappeared.

  The other human students present gasped; even the Shen and demon students appeared shocked.

  Liu stood silently, waiting. There wasn’t a sound except for the breeze whispering around them.

  Suddenly Liu swung his staff in a whirl of saffron, sweeping it low along the ground and striking Lee loudly. Lee appeared in front of him, on his back on the ground, gasping.

  ‘Good try,’ Liu said. He returned his staff to his side. ‘Up you get, and return to the group.’

  Lee picked himself up and shook his head. He returned, cowed, to the rest of the students.

  Liu turned to look at all the students, then pointed at the young American. ‘You next.’

  The American stepped forward. He had blond hair and freckles across his nose, and had obviously been working hard at the arts; he had a very solid muscular frame. He stood in front of Liu, fidgeting with nervousness.

  ‘Jensen from the US, correct?’ Meredith said.

  Jensen jumped, then quickly fell to one knee and saluted Liu and Meredith. ‘Apologies. Yes, I am Jensen, Masters.’

  ‘Up you get.’ Liu held out his hand. ‘Try to take the stone.’

  Jensen hesitated, studying the stone in Liu’s hand. Then he relaxed. ‘Even invisible, Lee couldn’t take the stone off you. There is no way I could take it.’

  ‘Of course there is,’ Liu said, friendly and jovial.

  Jensen’s face cleared. He bowed to Liu. ‘May I have that stone, sir?’

  ‘You certainly may.’ Liu dropped his hand to his side. ‘But I would like something in return.’

  ‘What is that, sir?’

  ‘Any martial arts set that you know. Anything at all. If you want to do a weapon set, there are weapons on the side in the rack. Or unarmed. It doesn’t matter.’

  Jensen saluted. ‘I only hope I am good enough to be taught by you.’

  ‘Of course you aren’t!’ Liu said, laughing. ‘If you were, you’d be a third year, not a novice. Now show me what you’ve got.’ He took three steps backward, then stopped again. He raised his hand, still holding the stone. ‘Oh, one other thing.’

  Jensen bowed slightly. ‘Sir?’

  ‘Don’t make it too long, boy, you’ll bore me to death.’

  The rest of the students tittered as Jensen grinned broadly and saluted Liu again. ‘Yes, sir!’ Jensen moved back a couple of paces, took a few deep breaths, and shook out his shoulders. Then he began to do a Chen-style tai chi set.

  ‘Oh, very nice,’ Meredith murmured next to Gold. ‘He’s been taught by Richard Bociano in San Diego. Good practitioner. Lucky kid.’

  ‘He moves his chi well,’ Gold said. ‘Good control.’

  ‘Definite Energy candidate, this one is mine,’ Meredith said softly with satisfaction, and scribbled on the papers in front of her. She nodded to Liu, obviously communicating silently.

  ‘Enough,’ Liu said, and Jensen stopped and saluted Liu.

  ‘My lovely wife would like to know why you chose a Chen-style tai chi set, when from your build and the way you move, it is obvious you have been trained in harder arts by Master Bociano in San Diego,’ Liu said.

  Jensen shot a quick, shocked look at Meredith, then pulled himself together. ‘Uh… I know a few different styles, but this one is the oldest, and I think the most pure. Master Bociano said that Chen style’s been handed down unchanged for hundreds of years.’

  ‘Your Master is correct,’ Liu said. ‘I’ve seen enough. Move back.’

  Liu pointed to the next student, and the student stepped forward, then stopped dead when a dragon landed lightly on the pavem
ent between him and Liu.

  The students backed away, intimidated. The dragon was fifteen metres long, with a green body and darker green fins and tail. It bowed slightly to Liu in dragon form and spoke in a warm human woman’s voice. ‘Master Liu. I apologise for this interruption. There is a demon prince on his way to the Mountain with a cohort of about fifty, many of whom are Snake Mother size. You should expect them to arrive here in the next ten minutes; they are riding fliers.’ The dragon looked around. ‘Where is the Dark Lord? I must inform him.’

  ‘The Dark Lord is in retreat,’ Meredith said, rising. ‘We can handle this, we are fully manned and able to take a threat as small as this. What is your honoured name?’

  The dragon dropped its head slightly. ‘My human name is Cynic.’ It winked at Gold.

  ‘Are you on duty for the Celestial? You’re not one of the academy’s dragons,’ Liu asked Cynic.

  ‘No, my Lord, I was just coming up to the Mountain to visit my friend Gold when I passed the demons.’

  Bells began to ring in the four bell towers situated at the corners of the Mountain complex; each five hundred metres away from the other.

  ‘About time,’ Liu said. He nodded to Cynic. ‘Thank you, madam. I suggest you stay while we fend off this attack.’

  ‘Mind if I lend a claw?’ Cynic said, her eyes glittering.

  ‘Be my guest,’ Liu said.

  Cynic launched herself into the air, then shot upwards to hover about two hundred metres above the ground.

  Liu moved forward to speak to the students. ‘You will go with Gold. You will remain calm. The demons will not be able to breach the walls of Wudangshan; no demon ever has. You are safe, so what we really need is for you to stay out of the way.’ He gestured with one hand. ‘Gold, come and take these kids to the barracks and make sure they’re not in the way.’

  Gold stepped forward. ‘Please come with me.’

  ‘I want to help!’ Lee shouted as the rest of the students gathered around Gold. ‘I can fight, let me help!’

  ‘I’d like to help too,’ Jensen said, and a few of the other students chimed in to agree.

  ‘Quiet!’ Liu roared, and they all went silent. He dropped his voice, but could still be clearly heard. ‘If you can’t do as you’re told, you might as well go home now. I told you to go with Gold, and you’ll damn well do it or go home right now. Is that understood?’

  The students nodded, intimidated. ‘Good,’ Liu said. ‘Gold, take them to the central barracks, out of the way. This probably won’t take long if there’s only one cohort of demons. Can’t imagine why the demon prince is wasting his time.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ Gold said. ‘Stay together, if you get lost you’ll be in everybody’s way. Let’s go.’

  He led them to the barracks, a number of long halls nestled against the mountainside in one of the safer locations towards the back of the complex.

  ‘I wish we knew what was happening,’ Lee said as they walked single-file along a path beside one of the deeper gorges. ‘I’ve fought demons before, I know how to handle myself.’

  ‘You’ve fought demons before?’ Jensen asked.

  ‘Yeah, in Goat Village we train against small ones,’ Lee said.

  ‘You have a village full of goats?’

  ‘Nah,’ Lee said. ‘It’s one of the twelve animal villages. Goat Village is the home of the art of invisibility.’

  ‘In here,’ Gold said, and led them in to the mess hall. Inside, the tame demons who would normally be busy preparing lunch for the students were nowhere to be seen, and all the stoves were deserted. ‘Don’t go to the bathroom by yourselves, and if any of you sneak off and try to join the battle, Master Liu will probably kick you out of the academy so fast and so hard that your ass will be sore for a week.’ Gold searched the academy grounds for another stone to relay the events, but couldn’t find one. He contacted Cynic instead.

  How’s it going?

  They’re nearly here, they’re close to the southern wall. A very small band, I don’t know why they’re wasting their time, they’re all dead.

  Do you mind relaying for me? I have some green novices here who are itching to know what’s going on. Probably wouldn’t hurt them to see the real thing.

  Oh, my pleasure, just relay back some of the reactions, please!

  I never did get to thank you properly for helping out with Lady Michelle’s brother, Gold said wryly as they established the link.

  Why do you think I’m here? Cynic said with amusement. I’ve heard about you, little Stone Toy.

  Where did you hear me called that? Gold asked with astonishment.

  Oh, around. Why?

  About three hundred years ago, I wronged a Celestial and he was nicknamed the ‘Little Stone’s Toy’, Gold said ruefully. Looks like the nickname given to him has attached itself to me in the retellings.

  If you wronged someone, then it serves you right, Cynic said.

  I’ve made some monumental blunders in my long life, Gold said. One day I’ll have atoned for them all. Until then, I’m stuck serving the Dark Lord.

  The demons are here, I’ll establish the link for you. You must tell me the whole story later.

  ‘Everybody, gather round,’ Gold said. ‘I’m going to show you what’s happening out on the south wall.’

  The students, some holding tumblers of water, quickly gathered near Gold.

  Gold snapped open the link with Cynic and passed the image on to the students, who gasped. All of them were now floating with Cynic about twenty metres above Wudangshan’s south wall.

  ‘The demons are approaching from the south,’ Cynic said, enjoying her commentator role. ‘There is a single demon prince, and a cohort of very large demons — some of them bigger than level fifty. You have all learned the levels and strengths of Hell’s demons?’

  ‘They have a rudimentary knowledge, I think they’ve attended one or two classes in basic Demon studies,’ Gold said.

  ‘Two,’ Jensen said, as if from a million miles away. ‘Didn’t think I’d see one up close for a while.’

  ‘Don’t worry, all in due time,’ Gold said.

  ‘Ah! I see them,’ Cynic said. She used her dragon vision and homed in on the approaching demons. They rode large fliers — demons with four legs, wings, and glowing red eyes. The demon soldiers were in True Form; roughly human-shaped, but their skin was black or red with scales, bulging eyes, and tusks. They all wore armour and carried swords.

  ‘No Snake Mothers today,’ Cynic said. ‘But these are big enough to provide the Masters of Wudangshan with some entertainment.’

  I would like to know why this demon prince is throwing these obviously powerful demons to their deaths, Liu said into everybody’s heads. So I would appreciate at least two or three of these taken alive for questioning.

  What about the prince? someone said.

  One less demon prince in the world isn’t something I would lose sleep over.

  The south gate of Wudangshan was made of shining black stone with the image of an enormous red phoenix carved into it. The doors slid soundlessly apart, disappearing into the walls, and a group of about thirty black-clad warriors emerged with a single standard bearer in the middle of them. The standard was a black flag on a long pole arm, with the seven stars of the Big Dipper the only insignia on it.

  The warriors moved forward down the steep hillside below the wall, and the south gate closed behind them.

  ‘They appear to be young — are they students?’ Cynic said, sharing her voice with the watching students.

  ‘Yes,’ Gold said. ‘I recognise them, they are Master Liu’s third year Weapons class. They’d normally be doing some theory revision right now, obviously he’s decided to give them a bit of practical.’

  ‘Cool,’ Jensen said softly.

  Cynic’s dragon view swept over the wall, and a group of black-clad archers could be seen at the top.

  ‘And on the wall?’ Cynic said.

  Those are mine, Meredith said into the
ir heads. They are fourth year Energy Work students, who have been doing some chi bow in the last three weeks.

  One of the archers on the wall grinned up at Cynic and waved, and a few of the watching novices chuckled.

  ‘Oh, that’s my fourth year mentor, Enrico Sentoza,’ one of the students said.

  ‘Hi, Frannie!’ Enrico called up to Cynic. ‘I hear you’re watching!’

  ‘Hi, Rico!’ the student called back to Gold.

  ‘Heads up!’ Meredith said sharply, and the student turned back, nocking his bow. ‘Incoming!’

  The fifty or so demons riding the fliers landed down the hill from the waiting Wudang students, who drew their weapons. Most held swords, but a few carried different weapons of the arts, including poleaxes and staves. The demons dismounted from the fliers, who pulled themselves back into the air and swept towards the students on the wall.

  The archers on the wall loosed arrows at the flying demons. Each arrow had a glowing ball of chi on the point which made the demons explode on contact.

  The ground-based demons advanced swiftly on the Wudang students and they hit each other with an audible clash of weapons. Liu moved among the students, giving direction and occasionally assisting them as they battled the demons. The students didn’t have much difficulty, outclassing the demons easily.

  The fliers swooped over the wall, attempting to rake their claws over the archers, but with each swoop the archers took out about ten of them without being touched themselves. Another group of students ran into the bastion behind the wall and attacked the fliers with blasts of glowing golden chi energy.

  ‘This is a walkover,’ Cynic said. ‘I wonder why they bothered.’

  A student appeared in the doorway of the mess hall. ‘I got lost! Is this where we’re supposed to be?’

  Gold turned and saw that the student was a demon, dressed as a student of the academy. The demon must have been at least level seventy, easily able to destroy Gold.

  Help, Master Liu, he said. The prince is here at the mess hall, and it’s way too big for me to take.

  Gold faced the demon. ‘Get back, kids, that’s a big demon.’ He generated a large ball of chi and prepared to do his best to hold the demon off until someone skilled enough to destroy it turned up.