by Ino Lee
Li concentrated and reached toward it. Slowly, the spot grew larger and the outline of a sleek white hawk could be seen.
Grabbing a hold of his sword, Li held out his weapon horizontally by the sheath. The hawk promptly landed on it, gripping it with sharp claws. Attached to its foot was a note, which Li untied and read.
A few seconds passed.
His eyes widened and his face went pale.
“What is it?” Tengfei asked. “Don’t tell me the northern wall’s collapsed.”
“No, something else.” He read the note again.
“What?”
“Their grand scheme. I must leave at once, I’m afraid. I will have to leave the wall to you tonight.”
“Why? What’s happened?”
“The day has come,” he said.
Tengfei looked confused. Li handed him the note, then looked away toward the opposite horizon.
“It’s finally happened.”
9
KAI HAD NEVER walked so far in his life. It was noon already and he had only now just awoken. He moved slowly and worked the life back into his tired muscles, weary from a long night’s hike and sleep on an uncomfortable surface. They had pushed through the entire night without stopping except for brief rests, fearful that the Koon Gee were close behind.
With only the light of the moon and stars to guide their way, Wong ushered them forward even though it was difficult to see. Kai found it curious how he could navigate through complete darkness with such ease. Many times they came across patches of earth where the moonlight failed to penetrate the forest canopy, but instead of feeling their way through as one would expect, Wong just picked him up and carried Kai through as if it were day. At one point, he saw his eyes shimmering like a cat’s.
Always, a wary ear was cast behind them for signs of trouble, but none came. And when they had escaped the night without confrontation, they rolled out blankets by a tree and fell asleep. They slept through the morning and woke up with the sun high overhead.
“Tired?” Wong said.
Kai nodded.
“Hungry?”
Another nod. He rubbed the weariness away from his eyes and looked over at what Wong was eating. Laid out on a piece of parchment was an assortment of dried fruit and squid.
He made a face.
“I know, but try some. It’ll give you strength. We have a long way to go.”
Kai reluctantly obliged. He was starving anyway and probably would have eaten anything. He fingered a couple pieces of unrecognizable fruit before picking one up and popping it into his mouth. It was sweeter than he expected and the sensation seemed to wake him up further.
“I’m going to scout for a little while, but I’ll be back soon. Eat.”
“Okay,” Kai said, focusing on his meal.
Instead of walking away, Wong eyed the tree they were sitting under and sprang onto its trunk. He quickly scurried up its branches and disappeared from view.
Kai blinked to make sure what he saw actually happened. Strange, he thought. Like a squirrel.
He shrugged his shoulders and focused on his food again, contemplating eating the wrinkled purplish thing in his hand. He did, and decided he wouldn’t mind another. He drank deeply from a container of water and decided he should probably try to conserve it, even though their long hikes left him parched. Next, he tried a piece of dried squid and marveled at how chewy it was.
After finishing his meal, he repacked their bags, finding nothing else to do. He looked up at the tree again to see if he could spot Wong but saw nothing. Where had he gone? The forest loomed large around him and seemed to engulf him with its vastness. He noted how quiet everything was and it made him feel alone.
Leaves crunched behind him.
He spun around to see something moving toward him, but it was just Wong, walking leisurely back to the campsite. He looked back up at the tree and squinted, wondering how he managed to get down behind him without him knowing.
“You packed. Good, we need to get moving. How was breakfast?”
“Chewy.”
Wong fumbled with a couple of items on the ground.
“How did you get down?” Kai finally asked.
“I jumped.”
“But how did you get over there?” he said, pointing.
“I jumped across trees.”
“Why?”
“To get a better view. See if anybody was following.”
“Did you see anything?”
“No. But I know where we can find water. We could use some.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
Wong grinned. He picked up their belongings and nudged Kai forward. The view from the treetops allowed him to regain his bearings and point them in the right direction. Perhaps now they could distance themselves further from the squad that ambushed them earlier. In fact, he was surprised they had not already caught up to them and attacked—they were not traveling extremely fast. The fact that they hadn’t posed a myriad of possibilities: they could be waiting for the right time to strike, gathering forces, or Wong was giving them too much credit and they were just more unorganized than he thought. Whatever the reason, it didn’t change their plans to reach Guilin and the House of Han. They could only press on.
Kai thought about how much easier it was to walk during the day than at night. And then he thought about how much easier it was to travel by horse than by foot. He looked back and wondered what had become of their faithful steed.
“Do you think the horse is okay?”
“Yes. He’s probably frolicking in a field somewhere, eating grass and sipping sake.”
Kai ignored his comment. “Do you think he went back to the road?”
Wong understood what he was worried about. “No. I think he’s fine. I think he’s far away. It would be impossible for the Koon Gee to find a lone horse in the forest.”
Kai thought about it longer and wondered if Wong was telling him the truth.
They walked the remainder of the afternoon quickly and efficiently. The forests in the region seemed never-ending; an even distribution of trees could be seen in every direction, their slender trunks and light green leaves blending together in a uniform pattern. They had been traveling for hours now, and the forest here looked exactly like it did when they first set out. Occasionally, cool breezes swept through the leaves and set the forest abuzz. It was peaceful during the day, with the constancy of nature putting one’s mind at ease.
Kai considered his fate and what was expected of him. So far, all he had thought about was the village he left, his mother and father, and a new life at the temple. His life had changed so abruptly that he hadn’t thought about what it truly meant. But now, in the still of the forest, he questioned what was really expected of him. What made him so important that the full fury of the Koon Gee rained down upon him? Was he really going to rid the land of evil? How could he do this when he could hardly pick up a sword and swing it?
“Will you teach me how to fight?” he asked.
“You’ll learn that at the temple.”
“Will you teach me at the temple?”
Wong appreciated the sentiment but was hesitant to answer. “I can teach you some things. But there’s a lot of things others can teach you.”
“Like what? Why can’t you teach me?”
“Because I can’t teach you everything.”
Kai frowned.
“It’s not just about fighting,” Wong said. “There are things for you to learn besides swinging a sword. Things that require discipline and balance. It’s hard work and not always fun. I may not be very good at teaching it.”
“Then why do I have to learn it?”
“Because it will make you stronger.”
“How?”
“When you gain control of your inner chi, its fire will make you
more than you are. You can harness it to fight with your hands or your mind—sometimes both.”
“What do you mean, its fire?”
“You ask a lot of questions.”
“I want to know.”
Wong laughed. “Where is a good monk when you need one? How do I explain this?” He took a deep breath and began again. “Chi is life energy and the creation force behind all things. Its energy is the whole of your mind, body, and spirit. It can heal you and make you stronger. The monks at the temple will help you realize and channel this.”
Kai looked up at Wong and said, “I know that already. They tell us that in school.” He huffed. “What do you mean fire?”
“Oh. Chi flows more strongly in some people than it does in others. When it reaches a certain level, the chi energy spills from your very being like fire. That is chi fire.”
“And then they glow?”
Wong was amused by the simplicity of his explanation.
“Yes. I guess they do.”
“How do I do that?”
“With training. And then one day it will just happen.”
“How?”
“It depends. Some achieve it while meditating. It hits you with a sudden clarity, like your mind has just been awakened from a deep slumber. The difference is like night and day.”
“How did it happen to you?”
“During a fight when I was surrounded by demons.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. They were everywhere, hacking at me with their weapons, attacking me from every angle. I dodged and parried and held them off as best I could. But when I lost hope and thought I was going to die, something happened. I no longer struggled to keep up. I saw every blade in slow motion as it came to me and I fought back with new strength. It was a long time ago, but that was the first time.”
Kai took a moment to think about it. “I wish I had chi fire,” he finally said. “So I could fight too.”
“Are you so sure that you don’t have it? Lo-shur don’t mark just anyone.”
“Me?” Kai said, “I . . . I don’t think so.”
Wong raised his eyebrows quizzically.
Kai frowned in confusion. He pondered this as he walked without saying more. Wong was just glad he stopped asking questions.
They traveled for the remainder of the day and into the night. Wong continued to teach Kai about chi and the world around him. He taught him about the temple, the great dragons that lived in the forbidden mountains, and the different creatures that made up the Koon Gee. He even talked in detail about his weapons, which seemed to interest Kai the most. Kai, for his part, pretended not to know anything about them.
A great samurai had passed his sword down to Wong long ago. Its quality was unrivaled, except of course for the Sword of Shaolin. Kai learned how some of the throwing blades were designed to curve when thrown at the right angles, and how others were made to travel straight and fast. The feathered projectiles on his belt were poison darts and could kill a man if pricked. Kai was secretly relieved he had not played with them earlier.
When Wong brought out his staff, Kai grew silent in anticipation. Of all his weapons, the mystical staff, the Dragon Arm, was his favorite. It was called the Dragon Arm because the chi of a dragon was bonded inside of it, and when the Weapons Master wielded it, he considered it an extension of his arm. It was long enough to keep his enemies at bay yet short enough that it could be easily handled. When held at different points, it could be used for a variety of attacks; grasping the staff in the center allowed him to spin the staff and attack with both ends, while grasping it at one end allowed him to generate long and powerful strokes. Runes along the side marked the weapon as his own and connected him to it. When used in battle, the weapon would draw on his chi energy and change in form according to his will. On the rooftop against the ninjas several days before, he fattened its ends to create a dual-edged long mace. And in desperate times, the spirit of the dragon could even be called upon.
Kai was fascinated. “Will I get something?”
“Like a weapon?”
“Yeah.”
“In time.”
“What time?”
“When you’re ready.”
“But there are dagwais now.”
“I’ll handle the dagwais. You just look out for them. Okay?”
Kai frowned. “Okay.”
He sulked for a few more minutes and then began talking about all the weapons he wanted to own, which included almost everything in Wong’s stash.
Even though they talked at leisure and travel had gone by without incident, Kai noticed that Wong had grown increasingly tense. He climbed trees more often now, always explaining that he needed to make sure they were going in the right direction, but Kai knew he was looking behind them more often than he looked ahead.
Evening arrived. They slept again by the trunk of a large tree.
Before they went to sleep, Wong set up a clever defense around them. He took a piece of string made from a silk strand of the Yaje worm and connected it to a series of branches stuck low to the ground, creating a circular perimeter. He then tied both ends of the strand to a trigger stick with a metal trinket hanging off it. If anything disturbed the string along the perimeter, the stick would shake and the trinket would ring, alerting them of intruders.
Kai examined it and felt a little better about falling asleep.
“Is it strong enough?” he said, pointing at the thin strand.
“Yeah. Yaje silk is very strong. It can’t be snapped by hand. You have to cut it.”
Much of Wong’s clothing was made from the silk. It was durable, lightweight, heat resistant, and easy to clean. It was also rare and expensive, as obtaining silk from the Yaje worm was difficult to do because they could only be found in the mountains of the dragons. Fortunately, Wong was one of the few humans who ever dared to venture there.
Shortly before daybreak, he woke up to the sound of the ringing bell. He grabbed his sword and looked around, but the forest was quiet. Nothing moved.
He heard a sudden shift in the leaves to the right. Wong stealthily approached the source of the disturbance and pounced.
A frightened lemur darted up into the trees.
“Figures,” he said.
He listened and looked around for several more minutes and then went promptly back to sleep.
The next morning Kai woke up and thought for a second that he was safe back at home. He remembered waking up to his mother’s breakfasts and thought he could smell it, but as he opened his eyes and the haze of sleep began to dissipate, the sight of trees and the open sky above came into view. He was no longer just plain Kai of Dailan. He was Kai, future destroyer of the Koon Gee. Kai, the hunted.
He turned his head and saw a cloth full of dried squid and fruit. This was indeed not his mother’s breakfast. He closed his eyes again and sighed.
“If you like, there’s still half a moon cake left,” Wong said.
Kai’s eyes darted back open and his face brightened.
“We reach the Stone Forest by day’s end. There’s a lake there. Clean water and fresh fish.”
Kai sat up and yawned, then looked around.
“Where’s the moon cake?” he asked.
Wong offered the cake wrapped in a piece of cloth.
“You have to eat everything though. Not just the cake.”
“Okay.”
While he ate, Wong sat away in a meditative state, clearing his mind and channeling his energy. Kai could almost feel the energy emanating from him like it was a tangible thing. On the floor nearby was the discarded bandage from his injured shoulder, which made Kai wonder if Wong was well again. He thought back to their discussion about chi and grew curious.
Wong felt Kai’s presence and opened his eyes. Kai stood directly in front, hunched over and examining him.
“What are you doing?” Kai asked.
“Meditating. It helps me connect with my inner chi.”
“Did it fix your shoulder?”
“Almost. Sit down.”
Kai sat.
“Now close your eyes and meditate.”
“About what?”
“About nothing. Don’t think. Clear your mind and listen to nature. Hear every leaf rustle and sway in the wind. Listen to the wind itself. If you listen long enough, you will begin to understand the energies that surround you, and ultimately, the energy within yourself.”
Wong was pleasantly surprised by his haphazard lesson and was sure the monks could not have done a better job, but when he looked up he knew his lesson had gone terribly awry.
“Kai you’re trying to hard. You look constipated.”
“You said listen to everything!”
“Yeah, but relax first. Clear your thoughts and enjoy the sounds of nature. Don’t try to listen to it—let it come to you. Hear a couple things at first and then slowly let more in.”
Kai breathed deeply and his face lightened.
“Good. Relax. Be at peace and keep your breath steady.”
After a few more moments, when Kai looked like he was finally getting the hang of it, Wong said, “I’m going to get up now and scout. Continue meditating. You’re doing great.”
He climbed a tree and left to survey the area.
Kai sat alone at the bottom of the tree with his eyes still closed. He had stopped thinking and cleared his mind, but did not feel any different. He sat for a while and grew frustrated, not quite understanding what was supposed to happen.
A thought popped into his head and he decided to go back to what he was familiar with—he imagined himself fishing on the riverbed back in Dailan. He cleared his mind like he did when his hand dangled in the water and the world opened up around him. Instead of feeling the water flow through his fingertips, he felt the air brush past his face and drift through the trees.
The creak of a branch could be heard high above him. It was Wong—he moved and jumped onto another tree. Kai did not understand how he knew this, but he heard it, and almost felt as if he could see it. He followed Wong with his mind as he jumped from tree to tree in the distance until he finally came down and back to him. When he opened his eyes, Wong was standing there just as he had pictured.
