Dreaming of Zhou Gong

  Once Fen’s sleeping form was positioned above the trough, Hudan released her hold over him and let him drop into the water. Shocked into awareness, Fen screamed and floundered until he managed to fathom where he was and jump out of the trough. For a moment he stood shivering, bemused by how he’d got there. Then he solved the conundrum. ‘Hudan!’

  ‘Yes, Fen.’ Her close proximity in the darkness startled him to an about-face.

  ‘What kind of cruel joke is this?’ He controlled his shivers.

  ‘Oh, it’s not a joke,’ she informed him, ‘it’s a punishment.’

  ‘A punishment?’ he queried, warily. ‘What have I done to displease you?’

  ‘You know what you have done …’ Hudan said harshly, and Fen’s head sank into his shoulders and he began shivering again. ‘… and Shifu Yi knows also.’

  Fen’s head shot back up, and even in the moonlight Hudan could see his horrified expression.

  ‘You told her!’ He was deeply hurt by that notion, and so was Hudan.

  ‘She told me!’ Hudan’s voice conveyed her humiliation. ‘So know that your days here on Li Shan are numbered.’

  ‘Then I hope the Great Mother means to kill me this time.’ He took a seat on the side of the trough, clearly devastated. ‘I cannot live without this place,’ he said, and his voice dropped to a whisper, ‘I cannot live without her.’

  ‘You idiot!’ Hudan slapped him across the back of the head. ‘It was He Nuan, wasn’t it?’

  Fen turned his large brown eyes to Hudan, and they were filled with tears of sorrow. ‘It has always been He Nuan,’ he confessed. ‘I have waited a long time for her to see me, as I have always seen her.’

  ‘Ooh …’ Hudan was frustrated, but refrained from hitting him again. ‘Idiot! Was it worth your vocation? Worth giving up your family, home, your life for?’

  He nodded confidently.

  Hudan was completely baffled by his lack of regret. ‘I have fought so hard for your right to remain here on Li Shan, and then you commit the one truly forbidden act of our Order!’

  ‘We are permitted to pleasure ourselves.’ He stood to defend himself. ‘And I did nothing that Nuan could not have done to herself … except for the tongue thing —’

  ‘Fen!’ Hudan, shocked to her core, covered his mouth. ‘I don’t want to know. For goddess’ sake, the woman is old enough to be your mother!’ She shoved him backward in disgust.

  ‘Holy Tian, you don’t think she could be, do you?’ He was horrified by the notion.

  Hudan was inclined to let him suffer, but could not. ‘No, she was already with us when you were dropped off.’

  ‘Phew.’ He began breathing again, and Hudan was annoyed.

  ‘Well, if you had picked a girl anywhere near your own age, you wouldn’t have to wonder!’ Hudan vexed. ‘Still, good thing you didn’t or you’d be in several pieces by now.’

  ‘I should warn her.’ Fen made a move, but Hudan stopped him.

  ‘It’s over, and the matter is in Shifu Yi’s hands,’ she said pointedly. ‘You’ll not be allowed to see her again —’

  ‘Is she in trouble?’ Fen was clearly more concerned about his lover, than himself.

  ‘Forcing Shifu into a position where she must sacrifice her head gardener at festival time? I can’t imagine that is going to be a picnic,’ Hudan acknowledged. ‘But if Shifu doesn’t punish her for this, I surely will.’

  ‘No, Hudan, please, brother.’ He got down on his knees and begged.

  ‘I don’t understand you, Fen.’ She felt she was conversing with a complete stranger.

  ‘How could you understand, when you have never been in love?’ he appealed.

  ‘Nor will I be,’ Hudan insisted, ‘ever. It is not permitted!’ Hudan grabbed his arm and dragged him to his feet. ‘We are the servants of Tian, and have sexual union through the divine instruction of heaven only.’

  ‘Maybe this was the will of heaven,’ Fen reasoned, ‘or why would I feel so compelled?’

  ‘It is far more likely that this was a test,’ Hudan replied, ‘and you failed miserably.’

  ‘If that is the case, I am completely to blame.’ Fen appealed to her: ‘Please don’t punish Nuan for my shortcomings.’

  Hudan could only roll her eyes. ‘If you think she cares for you just as much, you are naive. She has preyed on you due to lack of choice!’

  ‘Take that back!’

  Hudan had never seen a look of such intensity on Fen’s face before.

  ‘You are implying she is a whore and she is —’

  ‘So! That was her profession before she came here.’

  This news came as some surprise to Fen. ‘That’s a lie.’

  ‘It is the truth,’ Hudan insisted, crushing him emotionally with her certainty. ‘And if her lust gets you killed, I will not be happy. You need to be more worried about what is going to happen to you!’

  ‘I am for Shifu’s fire at last.’ He sounded completely resigned to his fate.

  ‘Not if I have anything to do with it.’ Hudan was passionate, even if Fen wasn’t.

  He shook his head. ‘I told you, brother; I cannot live without her.’

  Hudan felt for him, and then realised he’d gently taken hold of her arm, which she immediately pulled from his grasp. ‘I guess you should have kept your tongue to yourself then.’ She flashed a smile and left him for her bed.

  The next morning after meditation, when Hudan and Fen were not speaking to each other, it was clear to everyone that something tense had transpired between them.

  ‘Enough.’ Huxin could not stand the silence over breakfast any longer. ‘What has happened?’ She looked at Hudan across the small table that the three of them occupied at every meal that was not an official occasion. Her brother completely ignored her and continued eating. So Huxin looked to Fen, whose head was hung in shame as he shrugged. ‘And where is He Nuan this morning?’ she queried more loudly, addressing the entire room to discover if the absence was relevant.

  An answer came from the far end of the dining hall where the kitchen was open to the rest of the room. ‘She left last night,’ Ling, the head cook, informed the room, and her statement sent whispers flying around the many full tables.

  ‘What!’ Fen had leapt to his feet and his protest startled everyone to silence, as he was normally so quiet and reserved.

  ‘Aha.’ Huxin was granted some clarity about the situation between Fen and Hudan.

  ‘How could she leave voluntarily?’ Fen asked, somewhat less as though his life depended upon the answer.

  ‘How would I know? I’m only the cook,’ old Ling barked. ‘Ask Shifu Yi!’

  Fen had gone pale and Hudan yanked him back into his seat.

  ‘Although He Nuan never really belonged here, nobody just leaves,’ Huxin said in a low voice, so that only the two brothers at her table could hear. She raised her eyebrows as if expecting some enlightenment from them.

  Both her brothers declined to respond, however.

  ‘So, I guess He Nuan has either been banished or butchered,’ Huxin added and this time her comment fetched a reaction.

  Fen was back on his feet and out the door. Hudan went straight after him, and Huxin playfully followed their lead.

  ‘Fen, I would not vex Shifu Yi about this right now,’ Hudan warned, as she trailed him through the covered walkways of the central courtyard. Thankfully, everyone was still at breakfast.

  ‘I must know what has really happened,’ he called back, staying one step ahead of her grasp.

  ‘You don’t need to know,’ Hudan stressed, and, sick of the pursuit, she employed her will over matter, whereupon Fen’s feet stuck to the stone beneath them and he was rendered immobile. ‘He Nuan is none of your concern,’ she said for Huxin’s benefit, as she was still with them, seeking answers.

  ‘If she is dead, then I wish to join her,’ he said honestly, much to Hudan’s distress and Huxin’s insight.

  ‘Come on,’ Huxin said. ‘You think I don’t kno
w our little brother has been getting a bit of slap and tickle.’ She extended her tongue and wriggled it about.

  ‘You told Shifu Yi,’ Fen exclaimed in horror.

  ‘Hell no,’ Huxin laughed. ‘The day I, or anyone, has to tell Shifu Yi what goes on under her own roof will be the day the walls of this house crumble. You think I do not sneak out for a little romp every now and again.’

  Both Hudan and Fen were shocked, but Huxin smiled. ‘Not with humans, of course.’ Huxin shrugged when the other two looked even more horrified. ‘But then it is my heavenly duty to do so, lest I be one of the last were-tiger in the land.’

  ‘Are you condoning what brother Fen has done?’ Hudan hissed quietly, almost panicking to learn that she alone among her siblings was virtuous in mind, body and spirit.

  Huxin rolled her eyes at Hudan and approached Fen, running her fingers through the black hair that fell, perfectly straight, to his shoulders.

  He and Hudan could easily pass as blood sisters. They had the same chiselled features, pitch-black hair, ebony eyes and slim form that made them appear as beautiful and regal as princesses. Yet Huxin, although Hudan’s birth twin, could not have been more different. They were equal in height and slim of form, but Huxin had the rounded face of a cheeky waif and a mane of long, golden brown waves that hung to her waist and matched her eyes which were the colour of dark, amber jewels.

  ‘It was bound to happen,’ Huxin stated, ‘but look on the bright side, Fen.’

  ‘There is a bright side?’ he queried, on the verge of losing his mind.

  Huxin nodded. ‘If Shifu has truly banished He Nuan, then perhaps she will show mercy and banish you, too, then you may get your wish to be together.’

  ‘Oh, my heavens!’ Fen’s mood lifted considerably having been thrown a thread of hope. ‘You’re right, brother Huxin.’ He threw his arms around her and hugged her with delight.

  ‘Don’t encourage his wanton desires!’ Hudan was disgusted with them both.

  ‘Why not?’ Huxin replied. ‘Fen deserves a happy life, just like anyone. More than most!’ she concluded, proud of him, and received another squeeze from their little brother in appreciation of her support.

  ‘Do you really think Shifu might have a happier plan for us?’ he beseeched Huxin, who began to nod.

  ‘All Shifu has in mind for you at present is a prize place upon the ceremonial fire,’ Hudan said sombrely, bringing them back into the realm of reality. ‘She made me vow you would not go missing this year and would present when you were called for.’

  When all the joy and positivity had fled from their brother once more, Huxin was very annoyed. ‘Way to go, brother.’

  ‘Fen is my charge!’ Hudan was surprised that no one seemed to be considering this fact. ‘He has shamed me in the eyes of our Shifu.’

  Again Huxin rolled her eyes. ‘I doubt very much Fen’s actions have left the shadow of a stain upon your perfect life of sacrifice to Tian.’

  ‘Why do you mock my aspiring to greatness?’ Hudan asked, offended, as Huxin did this often.

  ‘I’m just saying,’ Huxin retorted, ‘that it is unreasonable to expect everyone to be as perfect as you.’

  Hudan knew Huxin was right. It was more her pride than her concern for Fen, that was driving her anger. ‘The point I am trying to make is … if Fen storms off and starts demanding information from Shifu, she will be less inclined to be lenient on him. Do not tempt fate … just wait until she summons you.’

  ‘So you forgive me, brother Hudan?’ Fen ventured to ask.

  ‘No,’ she replied, ‘I’m just less mad at you.’

  ‘Less mad enough to allow me my feet back?’ he requested, and then added by way of an inducement: ‘Or we will all be late for Dao Yin.’

  Satisfied that he was not going to do anything rash, Hudan let go of her hold over her little brother and Fen was grateful to be back in control of his body.

  ‘To your lessons then,’ she prompted as he grinned thankfully at her.

  ‘Thank you, my brothers,’ he bowed as he withdrew. ‘Your support means everything.’ He quickly turned to make his way to class, leaving Hudan gaping and Huxin giggling in his wake.

  ‘If he thinks I am going to support him setting up house with a whore twice his age —’

  Huxin thumped Hudan’s arm quite hard. ‘Oh, lighten up, brother. He’s in love.’

  ‘The ultimate excuse to forget one’s duty and honour, I’m sure.’ Hudan was dark about the whole affair. ‘And if you think He Nuan wasn’t using our brother as a means to escape the cloistered life, you’re as deluded as he is!’ Hudan stormed off, leaving her sister musing on the truth of Hudan’s statement.

  2

  THE JI FAMILY

  In the hour of the dog, five days after his first dialogue with the Wu, Ji Dan had his soldiers light the torches on the jetty extending out over the steamy waters of the thermal lake, in the foothills of Li Shan. He then ordered all the men to withdraw a good distance, make camp and await further instructions.

  For Ji Dan the evening was alive with great expectation, but his brother, the Xibo, he’d never seen so nervous.

  ‘We are not going into battle.’ Dan felt it needed saying. ‘For once we are in search of wisdom, not destruction.’

  ‘You know me, Dan,’ Ji Fa replied. ‘Anything of this world I can deal with. But events and creatures otherworldly?’ He twitched his head, not so confident. ‘What if they bewitch us all? Who will run Zhou? They will, probably!’

  Dan was amused by his brother’s fears. ‘An imperial appointment requires an emperor’s courage. If the Wu wanted to kill you, they would kill you in your bed with no witnesses, not on their holy mountain. They have as much to gain by joining forces with us, as we do with them … we have a common enemy.’

  Fa nodded, liking his brother’s reasoning, but he was only partially set at ease by it.

  ‘I am not afraid of the Wu,’ Ji Song, the Xibo’s young heir, announced. When Song had discovered his father’s intention to visit the mysterious Wu of Li Shan, he had insisted on accompanying him.

  ‘Are you not?’ Fa was impressed with his boy’s steely countenance.

  ‘I have had dreams about them,’ Song said, ‘the maidens of Tian who are vestals belonging to the emperor alone.’ He grinned and his father laughed — his uncle did not.

  ‘Well, no one could accuse you of not having a vivid imagination,’ Dan responded.

  ‘Or a one-track mind,’ the Xibo added jovially.

  ‘It was a vision, not a dream, Uncle,’ Song assured him in all seriousness, the cocky grin never leaving his face.

  ‘And I suppose in this vision the Wu were young and of unsurpassed beauty?’ Dan challenged the reality of the lad’s premonition.

  ‘They were,’ Song stated surely, ‘for they are immortal and forever virtuous, despite any sexual relations they might be called upon by Tian to have with their emperor.’

  Dan found Song’s ideas rather more vivid than expected. ‘Where on earth have you been getting your information?’

  ‘From my visions, of course,’ Song replied.

  ‘Well, I’d be very careful of assuming anything about the Wu that you might take for granted with the women of your court. They will not answer to you or any man, only to heaven,’ Dan said seriously. He did not want to cause any offence when they met the Wu.

  ‘Well, who do you think sent me the vision?’ Song challenged, and the sound of rippling water drove their conversation to a whisper.

  ‘Do and say nothing that might bring their wrath upon us,’ Dan cautioned Song more sternly. ‘You do not need to fear them, but you need to show respect. If you are not sincere, they will know it.’

  ‘Your uncle is the wisest man I know next to Jiang Taigong,’ Fa instructed his son. ‘Heed his words, now and always.’

  ‘Even when I am emperor?’ Song asked, not entirely happy to get such advice.

  ‘Especially then.’

  The Xibo and Dan turned
to face the incoming ferry and, much to their amazement, the vessel, carrying nine hooded figures — eight in black and one in white — glided to the dock of its own accord and stopped alongside the steps without any of its occupants flinching from their standing pose.

  The hooded figure in white came forth onto the dock to greet them. ‘The House of Yi Wu Li Shan bids welcome to the noble warriors of Zhou.’ The white hood slid off the wearer’s head onto her shoulders without any physical movement on her part, and Dan was not the only one stunned by the beauty of the Great Mother’s messenger; his brother and nephew were equally enchanted. ‘I am Jiang Hudan —’

  When Song gasped, her eyes turned his way. ‘You are a legend,’ he said by way of explanation, his eyes scanning the vessel they were about to board.

  ‘You are wondering where my famous tiger sister is at present?’ the lady asked, as if able to read the lad’s mind. He nodded, and Jiang Hudan grinned. ‘She is very close,’ she teased, ‘and although you cannot see her, she definitely has her eye on you, Ji Song.’

  Song gulped, and both Dan and the Xibo had to suppress their amusement. ‘How did you know who I was?’ he asked.

  ‘I have seen you all whilst in trance,’ she explained. When her eyes looked Dan’s way before she looked across to the Xibo, he wondered if this meant she had foreseen something of his future also, or whether she was confused as to which one of them was Ji Fa?

  ‘You were the one who made the prophecy about the downfall of the Shang?’ Dan voiced what he suddenly suspected.

  ‘I was,’ she confessed, and clearly the weight of that responsibility hung heavy on her young shoulders, yet she bore the fact with pride nonetheless.

  Jiang Hudan was easily ten years Ji Dan’s junior, and she was as fragile as a lotus flower to look at, yet her demeanour was as forceful as the fiercest warrior. She was exactly as her legend described — beautiful, dauntless and mysterious. There was a power that emanated from her that left Dan feeling like he was on the threshold of a greater awareness. Even Song could feel it, as he was sincerely humbled and awed by her presence.