Daji observed the minister’s heart momentarily. ‘It looks fairly ordinary to me.’ She cast the organ aside. ‘Jizi,’ she called for him to rise, ‘will you carry out my orders without argument, or shall I find another minister who will? Jizi!’ She kicked him when he only trembled at her feet. ‘Lost your mind, old man?’
When a whimper was all she received in response, Daji called for the guards to throw Jizi in prison, and Bi Gan’s body in the pit, ‘Throw it in while it is still fresh,’ she added, bidding them to hurry it along. ‘Come to think of it …’ She eyeballed the surrounding guests and picked a man and woman at random. ‘Toss them in also, so there will be no complaints.’
‘No! Bi Gan deserves a decent burial! Not the pit!’ Jizi emerged from his shock to yell, as he was dragged away.
The young couple chosen to accompany Bi Gan to his grave had also begun to scream in horror and beg mercy, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. Daji returned to the gondola to join the emperor.
The horror in the minister’s voice urged Hudan to turn back to where Avery was observing events. ‘The pit?’
‘Dragonface … the other peril I need to make you aware of while we are here.’ The lord fell in behind the soldiers taking away the dead body of Bi Gan and the two screaming sacrifices.
As Hudan followed, her foreboding caused her to shudder.
It was the greatest of compliments to say an emperor had a Dragonface. This custom stemmed from the legend of the Jade Book.
‘Shun of Yu, who obtained the Jade Book from a cave and won heaven’s mandate, was said to have a Dragonface,’ Hudan mentioned, wondering if there was a connection.
‘Funny about that,’ Avery commented, as the soldiers came to a stop at a walled-off section of the garden. A thick wooden plank secured the entrance, and to pull it aside required two guards — these men waited where they were and the rest of the party entered the enclosure.
Both the guards and their hostages fell silent in trepidation once the heavy gate slammed closed and was bolted shut from the outside. On full alert, the men used their torches to check that the barren area was deserted, before they approached the large pit.
The lord’s response to her observation just now had Hudan perplexed. ‘Are you implying that Shun of Yu is still alive? That was over a thousand years ago.’
‘A cleverly written legend conceals the true burden of being emperor in this land,’ he said, arms folded as he observed the proceedings with calm disappointment. ‘Some rulers have been shrewd and learned how to control the curse that came with being named in the Jade Book.’
Hudan looked up and noted the large crisscrossing poles that caged in the top of the fortress containing the pit — whatever was in that dark abyss, the emperor clearly did not want it to escape the enclosure.
‘But, eventually, their descendants are always seduced by the power the curse vows to award them, not realising the cost will be their soul and hundreds of thousands of innocent lives.’
‘Then I will break this curse.’ Hudan approached the large pit alongside Avery, some distance from where the guards had placed their torches to carry out their orders.
After tossing Bi Gan’s body into the darkness of the pit, the couple who had been chosen to follow him, attempted to bribe the guards for their lives. ‘Anything you want,’ the man begged, ‘no one will know you let us go.’
From down in the pit came a slithering, scuttling sound, echoing along a tunnel and getting louder; something was approaching the opening in the ground before them.
‘Dragonface will know.’ The guard cued his men to toss in the victims, who fell, screaming. Then silence. ‘Let’s get out of here.’ The men turned and scampered for the gate.
From the pit, a huge lizard wearing armour leapt forth. Fast as lightning the creature grabbed a lagging guard by the leg and hauled him back into the pit.
Petrified, Hudan turned to her guide. ‘That is Dragonface?’
‘No,’ Avery replied, ‘that’s one of his minions. You cannot break this curse, Hudan, you must contain or destroy it.’
‘But what nature of creature was that?’ Even in her spirit form she didn’t want to pursue it.
‘Let’s find out, shall we?’ Avery took her hand, and although she wanted to withdraw, she was under the lord’s protection this night and was bound to him for the duration.
They descended into the darkness, and their light-bodies — undetectable to the living — illuminated a huge open grave on the floor of the cavity beneath. The immense pile of bones was a harrowing sight, for it denoted a loss of human life in numbers impossible for Hudan to fathom.
The fall into the pit was not deep enough to kill, but deep enough to maim. The couple who had been cast in alive lay writhing in pain from injuries sustained when rebounding off the jagged rocks on the way down. Five armour-clad lizards scampered over the large, unstable pile of bones and rotting corpses in order to reach their prey and lick the fresh blood from their wounds or slash a new cut to drink from. Another two of the lizard warriors were fighting over the captured guard, each wanting to stick a long metal implement into him. One warrior won out and carried out the deed while the victim was still alive: the creature bent its victim’s head forward and drove the metal spike into his brain. When the attacker began to suck furiously from the spike, Hudan was too repulsed to watch any more. The corpse of the late and great minister was left on the pile while the young couple were snatched up by the strongest of the creatures, who made off with them back down the passage which ran beneath the royal palace. The other predators retrieved their metal straw from the dead guard and loped off down the tunnel — the creatures moved with as much ease along the walls and roof of the passage as they did along the floor.
‘Are they human?’ Hudan was petrified, anchored to the spot. She had felt apprehensive about descending into the pit, but that foreboding had increased tenfold now.
‘No. They are earth native, but their ancestors were not.’ Avery began moving down the tunnel, and she was drawn along with him.
‘If their ancestors didn’t come from earth, then where did they come from?’
‘The sons of the sky brought them here.’ Hudan didn’t want to believe that Tian’s warriors would release such a horror on the people of the earth.
‘A good deduction, but no,’ Avery corrected. ‘It was our creators who brought them here, but unfortunately it has fallen to us to rid the earth of this particular Dragonface.’
‘How many of them are there?’ Hudan was further alarmed.
‘That is not the concern today,’ Avery replied, attempting to keep her focused. ‘This is the one that has been secretly controlling the dynasties of this land for centuries. These creatures have a hive mind and he is their leader.’
The tunnel ended at another deep pit, only there was firelight at the bottom of this one, and Hudan braced herself for more horror. Though she did not act upon the compulsion, every survival instinct she had was rebelling against their descent. Yet as harrowing as the truth promised to be, she knew there was a great advantage in knowing one’s enemy, and thus stayed her course.
The narrow pit ended in the centre of a huge throne room adorned with gold, treasures and all manner of luxury fit for an emperor. There was a large fire burning in the centre of the room and Hudan imagined it probably kept this chamber rather toasty. However, she could not feel the warmth of the blaze, only the bitter cold; for this chamber, in a spiritual sense, was damned; hence it felt as if the atmosphere of the place was sucking the life right out of her.
‘This would explain where the royal treasury has gone.’ Hudan boggled at the spoils. ‘What could these creatures possibly gain from hoarding such wealth?’
‘The satisfaction of watching their prey suffer,’ Avery responded.
The lizard warriors, carrying the moaning remains of Daji’s human offerings, were sprinting down the gentle curve of the dome-shaped chamber toward a stepped platform at one end of the room, wher
e a large throne, fashioned from polished human bones and crowned by several skulls, was located. Upon this throne Hudan saw the epicentre of all the horror, and he was the largest creature she’d ever seen standing on two legs.
‘Shun of Yu had a Dragonface,’ Hudan whispered, realising this discovery shed new light on the old legend. Dragonface was described as having a huge mouth, protruding brow ridges and eyes with double pupils — the perfect description of the creature she was now looking at. The legend was hinting that Shun of Yu did not have dragon features but had a dragon-like creature in his possession — thus the legend’s wording was cunning and misleading.
‘He is the reason you and the other Time — ah,’ the lord cut himself short, ‘um, and the other sons of the sky are incarnated on earth at this time … to bring this son-of-a-curse to justice.’
‘How?’ Hudan looked back to the cause of their woes, who had taken a particular interest in the naked female offering and she had just about passed out.
‘Don’t you dare!’ The huge warrior slapped her face hard, and coming around to see the creature leering over her, she screamed in terror. ‘That’s the spirit.’ He threw her body forward over the arm of his throne, and she coughed blood, which his minions rushed to lick up.
‘Time to leave.’ Avery began pulling Hudan’s light-body out of there.
‘What is he going to do to her?’ Hudan became hysterical as she was hauled back up the tunnels. She knew the answer, and the realisation was so revolting that she felt ashamed. How could any human being condemn another to such horror?
When Hudan finally stopped reeling from repulsion and shock, she found herself sitting quietly in a huge hall of records.
‘I am sorry you had to see that,’ the lord said, addressing her directly, ‘but someone needed to.’
‘Yes, they did.’ The last thing on Hudan’s mind was her own wellbeing. Ji Fa and his brothers knew something of the emperor’s cruelty, but could not imagine the horrors awaiting them at Yin. ‘You said earlier that some emperors throughout history had managed to control the curse of the Jade Book — how did they do it?’
‘That’s what you need to find out,’ Avery stated.
‘You don’t know?’ Hudan was under the impression that the lord knew everything.
‘I never inhabited the earth plane during the time in question, so I cannot help you.’ He was apologetic.
‘There must be some action we can take!’ Hudan could not allow this challenge to delay the attack on the Shang — people were suffering, it had to stop!
‘Sending Tian’s omen to Ji Fa might be a good start,’ suggested Avery.
The lord’s words sent a frightening jolt of awareness shooting through her body, because the omen in Ji Fa’s oracle had taken the form of the Shang’s sole remaining minister of note. ‘Weizi.’
Avery motioned her over to a desk in the corner, where the minister had fallen asleep at his work. Hudan rushed over to the sleeping man. ‘He has no idea what has happened, or that they will be coming for him too. Weizi was the last remaining minister of note, and Su Daji was looking for someone to carry out her orders to slaughter all white tigers and declare war on Zhou.’ She looked at Avery for help. ‘What should I do?’
‘What can a disembodied spirit do?’ he asked, in challenge.
Hudan was encouraged to be creative. She understood his implication, although she had never attempted to possess another body before. She warily moved her light-body into alignment with the minister’s physical form, and feeling the weight of the sleeping body bearing down on her being, she was excited to be able to make him sit up and take a soft-tipped brush in hand. The scholar had been writing on a stretched piece of silk prior to falling asleep, and on it Hudan wrote her missive: ‘Su Daji has killed Bi Gan and imprisoned Jizi. Take your family and flee to Zhou!’
As Hudan withdrew from the minister’s body, Weizi’s head dropping back onto the desk served to wake him.
When he read the missive, written in large red characters before him, he was startled. ‘No!’ Fearful that Su Daji would see it, he poured ink all over the silk, obscuring the message. The minister backed away, petrified to the point of tears, looking warily about him — no doubt wondering about his muse. ‘I cannot believe that my brother would do this to close family.’
The sound of armoured guards were heard approaching the room, and the scholar froze in fear.
‘He’s going to be seized.’ Hudan, frustrated, flew back into Weizi’s form, and aligning herself with it, she used her chi energy to expand his lightness of being and as he began to float off the floor, Weizi whimpered in horror. ‘Hush!’ She thought, and to her delight the minister fell silent, as his body came to rest flat against the ceiling facing downwards. ‘Don’t make a sound,’ she thought as the guards entered the room — there were only a couple of bronze lamps burning low in the huge area, so it was quite dark.
‘Who are you?’
Hudan heard her captive wonder, but she did not dare answer before the guards had completed their search and left. ‘I am Shanyu Jiang Hudan —’
He gasped in recognition, which was the very reason Hudan had waited to answer his query. ‘You are allied to Ji Fa,’ he added as his body floated toward the open window.
‘I am here to ensure you and your family are delivered safely to him.’
‘Are you now?’ objected Avery from the sidelines.
‘Why am I so honoured?’ The minister refrained from squirming as he was floated down to pass through the open window.
‘With your word, Ji Fa can put a stop to this madness, before every good soul in the land has had his spirit damned or broken.’
Hudan did not set him down until the minister was on his doorstep. ‘Be quick and be quiet,’ she cautioned ahead of giving him back control of his form.
Weizi staggered briefly, and regaining his equilibrium, he rushed inside.
Hudan was feeling satisfied to have gotten their omen this far, but the journey to Zhou would take weeks with a family in tow, and was bound to be perilous.
‘Hudan?’ Avery cautioned her against her intent.
‘I need to accompany him,’ Hudan concluded.
‘Then return to your physical form and teleport yourself to his side,’ he suggested. ‘You are now aware of his appearance, so it should not prove too difficult.’
‘My physical form will be weak once I return to it. The minister could be unprotected for days,’ she argued. ‘But my spirit form is strong and more versatile.’
The lord was shaking his head. ‘You cannot expect to vacate your physical form for weeks. It will wither and die, and now is not your time.’
‘My brother Fen will ensure my body remains healthy enough for me to reinhabit,’ she appealed desperately.
‘But then your recovery could take weeks, you may never fully recover!’ Avery implored her to see reason.
‘If Weizi does not make it to Haojing, there will be no reason for me to recover!’
The lord was still shaking his head to deny her request, but Hudan was not going to take no for an answer.
At the first hint of light in the sky, his eyelids wavered open; even with so little sleep his senses were sharp as a razor. The rain was still falling but had eased to a sprinkle, and it was pure joy to awaken completely drenched. His wound was itching and leaning over to give it a lick, Shi was startled to feel skin against his tongue and cheek, instead of fur. Huh? I must have transformed in my sleep. He glanced aside expecting to find the white tiger, Baihu — who he’d learned the night before was really the legendary tigress, Jiang Huxin — but in the tiger’s place was the naked form of the mysterious Wu who’d captured his human heart.
‘Seriously?’ he exhaled in a whisper, as he silently sprang to his feet. She is like me! The shock discovery sent pangs of joy and horror shooting through his being. Here was his perfect mate, yet she was a Wu of the House of Li Shan and a vestal of Tian, whose favours were intended for an emperor only!
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Shi raised his eyes to heaven, hoping Tian would not judge him too harshly. Dear Lord, how was I to know? It certainly explained how Jiang Hudan could have a sister who was a tiger. I swear I never suspected, and if I had, I would never have … His mind got lost in the memories of their playful romp the previous evening and he could not honestly regret what they had done. Shi hoped his deception did not cause the legend any strife, but she had certainly not seemed particularly concerned about her virtue last night. Still, she was under the impression I was a tiger. As a human being, this woman had not been as interested in him.
His beautiful distraction gave a pleasured groan and she began to stir — the sound of her human voice was as arousing as her roar.
What if she wakes and sees that I am a man and not the beast she took me for? No one knew Shi’s secret bar their deceased father, and he’d advised Shi repeatedly to never tell anyone, lest his brothers banished him from his family or hunted him down for sport.
Yesterday she suspected that the white tiger had been sent from heaven … he silently considered it was better that she continue to believe that he was one of Tian’s own. Accordingly, Shi returned to his animal form to flee the scene of his transgression, vowing to never again interfere in the affairs of heaven.
Dawn was harder to detect than usual, as heavy cloud and drizzle obscured the presence of the sun’s light. But once Dan could clearly see Fen playing on his dizi, his patience ran out and he stood.
Fen’s tune ended abruptly as he quickly moved to stand between Dan and the wet, blackened pile of wood at the top of the jinzita.
‘It is dawn,’ Dan emphasised, soaked through and too weary to fight or delay any longer.
‘We must await Ji Fa’s word.’ Fen motioned into the distance, where Dan could see that the guards at the periphery had parted and Ji Fa, Ji Song and He Nuan were proceeding toward them. The approaching party were joined by the tigress, who entered via the guard wall to the west. When Ji Fa spotted Dan, he waved him on. ‘Go ahead!’