by G R Matthews
The prey came along the trail, walking on four thin legs. A long neck connected the small tapered head with a body covered in golden brown hair. Its black eyes had no iris. Above the eyes, two large ears with tufts of white fur coating the inside. Either side of its thin mouth, two tusks jutted down and slightly outwards. It was, at most, half his size and despite the fearsome teeth it looked skittish. Ready to bolt.
Zhou flattened himself to the ground and continued to wait. Face on, the water deer was narrow bodied with more white fur on its underside and near its hooves. Every couple of steps it stopped, raised its head, ears twitching left and right, before moving on. He waited, holding his breath, as it came closer and closer.
He pounced. The deer raised itself on its hind legs preparing to twist, turn, leap and escape. Before it could complete the turn, his powerful jaws clamped down, hard around its neck, and his weight dragged it to the floor. The deer’s legs kicked and jerked, thumping into the muscles on his shoulder and flank. He ignored them and bit down harder. His sharp canine teeth punctured the deer’s flesh. Hot, salty blood flooded his mouth and he swallowed in greedy gulps. He exerted more and more pressure, compressing the deer’s windpipe, suffocating it. The kicks became weaker and the flow of blood slowed. Then the deer was still, but still he kept up the pressure. Making sure it was dead.
He raised his face from the fresh kill and roared his success to the forest.
* * *
*How was your meal, Hēi Bào?* Xióngmāo’s voice entered his mind as he sauntered out of the forest.
*Why do you call me that?* he asked.
*It is your name, your real name that is. All Wu eventually take the name of their animal. At least we do amongst ourselves. When we go amongst the normal people, over the years, we wear and discard different names,* she explained.
*Doesn’t that get confusing?* Zhou tilted his head to one side, looking at her.
*Why?* and there was a puzzled tone to the voice in his head.
*Well, what if there were two or three who had the same spirit?*
*Ah, you haven’t noticed, or Boqin has been remiss in his education. There is only one of each spirit, each animal. No one is quite sure why and it has been researched by many - you can read about it in the library scrolls,* Xióngmāo explained. *There is one more thing you need to learn today. Just as the Spirit gives us power in our world so we can give it power in this one.*
Zhou settled to the floor and began to clean the last of the deer’s blood from his fur. His long tongue sliding along his leg, saliva creating a reflective sheen as the fur flattened. *What is it?*
*We can travel in this world much faster than our own,* Xióngmāo began to explain. *The ancients believed that this was because our physical body is not present. Beyond that, they were not sure and no one has ever furthered their research. It is not easy to explain how we travel, much better to show you.* The panda lifted herself off her haunch and ambled over to stand beside him.
He rose in response. *How?*
*Watch and follow,* Xióngmāo said and an image formed in his head. A wide, still pond set in a calm, sunlit clearing. In the middle of the pond, a tall stone stood sentry over the water. *Now, go there, run into it.*
*I don’t know where it is. How can I run to it?* Zhou said.
*I didn’t say run to it, run into it. You passed through the void between the worlds to get here, Hēi Bào, it should be easy for you to go there. Watch.* She vanished.
Or rather, she appeared to. The scene in his mind remained clear. His whiskers sensed the wind of her passage. Her scent trail, weak and already dissipating, hung on the air leading towards the forest. He listened, but heard nothing of her going. In his mind, there was a change. The tranquil glade was no longer empty, a large panda walked out of the trees and rested by the water’s edge.
Zhou focused on the image and ran into it. The forest blurred before his eyes, rushing past faster than he could see and react to. He was aware of his legs moving beneath him and of force of the wind against his face, but where he should have been gasping for breath he was flowing through the forest without effort. Before he could dwell on the sensation, he felt himself slow and, padding out of the trees, he came to halt before the pond.
*That is incredible,* he said to Xióngmāo, who stared at him. He could swear that the panda wore a smile, but it was impossible to tell for sure.
*Rest a bit, then it is your turn to pick the place. I will follow you,* Xióngmāo said.
Zhou dipped his head and lapped at the pond water. It was chill, refreshing and droplets of sparkling water flew off his tongue to land back in the pond. Tiny circular tsunamis racing across the surface, intersecting and interrupting each other. As the ripples cleared he saw the face of his wife and son looking back at him from the depths. Then they too faded away. His own face stared back at him, yellow and black eyes, black fur and white whiskers. What have I become? he wondered.
*Xióngmāo, there is somewhere I want to go.* Zhou stood and turned towards the north-west. *I am not sure how far away it is though.*
*The distance we can travel is dependent upon our store of Qi,* Xióngmāo said, *and today that is not a worry. We have been on the mountain for a long time, it is a natural store and supply of energy. Show me where we are going.*
Zhou let his focus relax. No longer gazing at the water and trees, but now looking much further away. The mountains, valleys and forests disappeared and the world became a blur of blue, but there, on the far horizon a different colour pierced his vision. A red pillar of flame reached up through the cerulean landscape. It was larger than he remembered and now, around its base, the fire was spreading outwards. He fixed the vision in his mind and then, holding it steady, pushed it out towards Xióngmāo.
*What is that?* she said in shock and surprise.
*I don’t know. The Emperor showed it to me. He thinks it is the cause of the problems in the north and the refugee crisis. No one he has ever sent to investigate has returned.*
*And you are suggesting that we go there?* Xióngmāo asked.
*Well, we are not in the real world are we? We should be safe.*
*Zhou, you have a lot to learn. There are things in the spirit world that can harm us. Larger animals, strange animals, beasts that have never existed in our world, there is much more here that you can imagine. If we are hurt here we can be hurt in our world too.*
Zhou’s head drooped. *If you think it is not safe then, I guess, we shouldn’t go.*
*However,* Xióngmāo said, *we have a duty to protect the land and, I suppose, it cannot do any harm to approach the edge. At least get a look at the land around it. We leave the moment I suspect a threat. Understand?*
*Of course. I have no wish to get hurt or killed.* His ears, high on his head, twitched and his tail curled around his flank.
*Then, let’s go,* and the panda blurred from view. Zhou took a deep breath and followed, passing over the land faster than any bird had ever flown.
* * *
The blue began to garner a tinge of red, turning from the purity of a bright primary to a purple progeny of its two parents. They descended from the last range of steep hills onto a plain of grass stretching endless into the distance, unbroken by any plant taller than a spindly shrub.
His breath came harder and slow. The distance they had travelled was beyond his reckoning and this was a land new to him. Far away, still over the horizon and still burning, the red flame looked only a little closer.
*Zhou, we must stop,* Xióngmāo said, an edge of fear in her voice.
He saw her slow further and matched her pace. Her paws touched the ground again and, instead of gliding across, they caught on some obstruction. She tripped and tumbled. Rolling over and over. Dust and ripped ribbons of grass flew into the air.
He tried to stop and felt something catch at his paws, seeking to trip him, but he bounded high into the air, twisting and landing on all fours facing in the opposite direction. He placed each paw with grea
t care as he padded over to the fallen panda.
*Are you ok?*
Xióngmāo groaned and pulled herself back to her feet. On her forehead a clump of white fur was turning red as blood matted it together.
*Zhou, something is very wrong here. Can you feel it? Like a force is pushing us away, resisting our movement across the land. I’ve never felt anything like this before.*
*Let me look at your head,* he said and Xióngmāo ducked, giving him a clear view of the wound. A ragged cut, about a finger’s length, but not deep. *Head wounds tend to bleed the most, but it doesn’t look too bad. I am not sure how to help you in this form.*
*I’ll be fine back on the mountain.* Zhou watched her. The great panda’s round, dark brown eyes focused far on the horizon. *Something here is corrupting the spirit energy. It makes me feel ill. We need to get back to the mountain. We need to talk to the others. This isn’t right.*
Zhou examined the grass near his paws. The green blades were rimmed with the expected blue glow of the spirit but at their centre, running up the stem, branching veins of red. They pulsed to a rapid beat. He saw them spread and grow, reaching outward towards the edge of the blades. Where they touched the blue, they corrupted, diseased, and the blue faded. He raised his gaze and stared at Xióngmāo. The spirit blue glowed from her, a beacon against a purple night, at her feet the red veins reached towards her but were beaten back. They shrivelled and died, but still more took their place and continued the assault on her energy.
*I think you’re right, let’s go,* he said. His ears twitched and nose wrinkled as new sounds and smells drifted on the air. *Something’s coming. More than one.*
Zhou turned towards the sound and moved to stand next to Xióngmāo. Across the plains four, five, maybe even six new shapes moved towards them. As they closed, Zhou began to pick out details, four tall legs, sleek and strong bodies, long faces and manes of hair running down their backs.
*Horses, I think,* he said and continued to watch, *and they are not slowing.*
*I can’t sense them,* Xióngmāo said, raising a paw to wipe the blood from her face, licking it clean.
The horses sped across the grassland and circled the pair. Zhou turned round, trying to keep an eye on all of them. It was impossible. Xióngmāo and he moved to stand back to back as the horses began to close the circle. Zhou growled, low in his chest, baring his teeth and the horses slowed to stop. They all faced inward at the panther and panda.
Now they were stationary, Zhou took the chance to examine them. He felt his lips pull back and a snarl welled up in his throat as he took in the claws that replaced their hooves and the sharp stalactites of teeth that stabbed down from their upper lips. More than that, they did not glow with the blue he had come to expect, but with the red of the flame.
*What are they?* he asked.
*I don’t know, but they do not look friendly. Let’s get ready to get out of here. Fix the mountain in your mind,* Xióngmāo responded.
Zhou tried to speak to one of the horse creatures, but something blocked his thought. The horse flicked its head as if swatting away a persistent fly. He sensed rather than saw the signal the creatures exchanged and was already calling out to Xióngmāo when they attacked.
He ducked under the first clawed hoof and retaliated with a swipe of his own. A second horse charged in and he was forced to back away or be trampled. The creature in front of him reared up and attempted to bring both hooves down onto him. If they struck, the force and weight of the horse was sure to break his spine. Zhou slid to the side avoiding the descending hooves and used the brief moment of time to check on Xióngmāo. She was deep in battle with two more of the horse creatures, rearing up to swipe at them her own fearsome paws, keeping them at bay.
Zhou pounced forward, racing along the flank of the horse and scoring a hit on its rear leg. The creature let out a high-pitched scream and turned on him. He carried on running, putting space between him and his three opponents. Pulling them away from Xióngmāo. His claws tore at the grass and dirt as he tried to turn.
He drew in a large breath and let it back out again in a loud roar. The three horses put their heads down and charged him. The horses’ hooves hit the ground in a staccato rhythm and despite asynchronicity of their gait he could admire their grace in motion.
His own muscles contracted and released their stored energy. He sped towards them on a collision course. Hind legs drove forward, crossing over his front legs as they dug into the soft earth, gaining purchase and pushing him onwards. His spine flexed and bent, compressing his body as the rear legs touched down. All the power in those, his strongest muscles, bore down through the bones and tendons. Fore legs left the ground and, spine straightening, reached forward with outstretched paws. He flew over the ground, weightless and fast.
The horses were larger but less agile. As they came together, he gathered his strength and jumped as high as he could between two of the onrushing beasts. He let his front claws rake down their flanks, eliciting more high pitched whines from them.
Zhou hit the ground without faltering in his stride and saw that Xióngmāo was in trouble. Two beasts were flailing at her, their clawed hooves slicing at the flesh on her fore-arms as she batted them away. Her flanks were streaked with red and she was dragging her left rear leg. He barrelled into the horse on Xióngmāo’s right, claws raking and teeth flashing towards its neck. Bright red blood sprayed in an arc from the creature’s flesh. It fell to the ground kicking and screaming in pain. Zhou turned sharply and lunged for its neck, clamping his jaws around the horse’s windpipe and crushing it with all his strength.
The sound of clattering hooves forced him to retreat before the horse was dead, but at least it was out of the fight.
*Xióngmāo, we have to go, we can’t fight them all.* He directed the thought towards her and accompanied it with the image of their mountain home.
They fled. Slow progress at first, the red sapping their speed. As soon as they touched the pure blue of the spirit, their pace increased.
Chapter 6
Haung walked along the pristine paths of the Holy City, past immaculately trimmed herbs and bushes, past elegantly shaped trees and flower beds of every colour. Compared to the bustling, crowded and scruffy city of his birth, the Holy City was a paradise. Outside the walls and in the city proper it was different. Close to the walls and certainly on the main thoroughfare from the gates the houses were large and well maintained, the businesses exclusive and the road well patrolled. But move away from those and the city revealed itself to be just like Yaart.
There were areas of rich housing and backstreets of crushing poverty. Inns, brothels and shops lined narrow streets. In the poor areas, these were advertised by hanging signs and crude pictures to indicate the pleasures within. In the richer areas, the same services were on offer, but no signs or pictures enticed the pleasure seeker to enter. You either knew they were there or you were too poor to buy their services. Discreet guards stood outside the doors of the more adventurous of establishments, filtering out those who were known and could afford to spend their time within, from those who could not. If you were lucky enough and had the money to spare, then a visit to the theatre district to see the Pear Garden’s, the most eminent of all the acting schools in the Empire, production of ‘The tale of the Pipa’ was a night that no one should miss. Haung smiled at the memory. He and Jiao had sat amongst the wealthy, enjoying the play. A gift from the Emperor himself.
His modest home, an officer’s house in the military area of the royal city, came into view as he rounded the last, neat corner. He returned the nod of a passing functionary and, after a few more steps was at his door. It swung open on silent hinges and he entered, heading straight for the bedroom where he slumped onto the soft mattress and let out a groan.
“What’s wrong?” Jiao’s voice came to him from the kitchen.
“He’s a monster.” Haung covered his eyes with both palms.
“Da.” The high pitch squeal was follo
wed by the sound of fast moving feet.
“Now, wait a ... oof,” Haung grunted as the boy flung himself onto his tired father.
“Da.”
Haung folded his arms around his son and hugged him tight. “Hello, son. Have you been a good boy for mummy today?”
“Da,” the little boy said.
“Who is a monster?” Jiao asked.
“Shifu, he just doesn’t stop. Run over there, stop, now stand in horse stance for an hour then run again. Over and over.”
“Da,” his son said, pulling at his hand.
“Let your father have some food first.” Jiao pointed to the corner of the room where a multitude of scattered toys littered the floor. “Haung, you knew what you were signing up for when you agreed to be trained.”
Haung smiled at his son as the small boy sulked over to his toys, sat down and started to throw one after the other across the floor. “I know, but I didn’t expect it to be this intense. I mean, the training in Yaart was long and tiring. This is something else. Nothing is quite good enough. I get one stance right and he tells me I should have learned it weeks ago. And in sparring, I still can’t get near him. Not with sword, staff or unarmed. For an old man, he moves quickly.”
“That’s why the Emperor brought you here. To be trained by the best.” Jiao waggled a finger in admonishment at her son. “You might as well stop moaning and just get on with it.”
“Moaning?” Haung reached and hooked an arm around his wife’s small waist. “Give me a chance, I’ll show you moaning.”
* * *
“When you are ready,” Shifu said.
Haung took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He repeated the action twice more, then knelt on the hard slabs at the very bottom of a long staircase. Placing closed fists on the ground he stretched his legs out behind and raised his body. In this position, supported only by knuckles and toes, he began to climb the stairs. One hand on the stair, bare knuckles scraping on the rough stone, he shifted his opposing foot forward. Next hand on the following stair and the other foot moving.
