‘I’ll always remember Shao with great fondness myself.’ Hudan grinned up at Dan, and he responded likewise.
‘Do not start kissing again,’ Rhun objected. ‘We are on a roll, let’s keep the momentum going.’
Ji Song was brought forth as a nuggety old man of fifty-three, still dressed in battle armour that was splattered in blood.
‘I thought there was no more unrest in Zhou?’ Hudan queried Rhun as he released Song from his influence.
The king looked down at his attire, realising there was a misunderstanding. ‘I nearly had a nasty hunting accident … this blood belongs to dinner,’ he explained humbly, as he was finally forced to confront Hudan and Dan. ‘I owe you both an apology —’
‘You’ll have to save it.’ Rhun slapped Song on the back and, waving his hand repeatedly, urged Avery to be gone with the lot of them.
On their final return to the crystal cave, Fen Gong, aged sixty-one years of age, and Ling Hu — the albino spirit tiger — were waiting. The tigress had managed to defy her tiger lifespan, which should have ended half her lifetime ago, and she was still not on her last legs, though she moved at a slower pace these days, in tune with her keeper.
‘It seems the mission now has a pet,’ Rhun commented, and the tigress growled to object to his inference.
‘That is my daughter you are talking about!’ Shi warned the time lord, and even aged, Shi was a bigger man than Rhun.
‘Sorry, I meant to say, a new team member,’ the time lord awarded kindly. ‘She just sort of … followed us.’ He held up both hands to imply there was not much to be done about it.
‘Oh goodness,’ Fen cried with glee to see everyone, and Hudan especially. ‘Our big brother looks like a baby, Huxin!’
‘And you are an old man.’ Hudan was shocked to see their visibly time-worn forms; the years with her siblings that she had missed were painfully apparent.
‘He’s still cute though.’ Huxin pinched his cheek, proud of him. ‘And he had women chasing his marriage suit right to the end.’
Fen shook his head to deny it was even worth mentioning. ‘I have my life companion.’ He motioned back to Ling Hu.
‘I am worried about you, Fen,’ Song commented.
‘If I recall correctly, Zeven, you are the worry,’ Fen grinned. ‘And always were.’
Rhun let loose a loud whistle to draw everyone’s attention, and they fell quiet. ‘Finally … a moment’s bloody silence! Listen up —’
‘What the hell do you plan to do with a bunch of geriatrics like us?’ Song was baffled and impatient. ‘You should have killed me twenty years ago!’
‘Have you taught him nothing?’ Rhun referred the query to the captain.
‘I went through it with him many times,’ Dan sighed.
‘I know about changing causality, blah, blah, blah … I am just saying that most of us are a little past our prime.’ Song held up both palms in wonder.
‘I know you have questions,’ Rhun allowed, covering up the chariot with its reflective cloak. ‘And if you would be so kind as to all join hands, I’ll take you to the answers.’
‘Hey, that is cool!’ Song split from the huddle to check out the camouflage cover, and when Fen followed, Rhun threw his hands up in frustration.
‘Okay, you’ve got your team,’ Avery said to his brother in leaving, ‘but I want to be consulted before any of you set foot in any period of earth history again. Are we clear?’
‘Clear as vodka, bro!’ Rhun replied drily.
‘I want my wife back!’ Avery hissed, a little disturbed by his brother’s attitude.
‘I will stop Shyamal, and we will return to Kila, just as it was before this lot ever landed there,’ Rhun vowed to Avery in all seriousness.
‘Is there a plan?’ Song wondered. ‘A plan would be good about now.’
‘I actually thought the plan was to kill the reptilian during our lifetime here,’ Huxin said, wondering why they were not more concerned, as Rhun had restored her timekeeper memory when he’d picked her up.
‘When I returned here on the chariot for the second time,’ Rhun began, ‘I realised —’
‘I realised,’ Avery corrected his brother.
‘We realised,’ Rhun granted, ‘that we could not take out Dragonface without radically changing history. I had no idea he’d been so involved in events here on earth. And as bad as those events are, change them, and everything changes. We’ve learned a lot about our enemy through your interactions with the reptilian, and we’ve gained a far better understanding of what it is going to take to destroy our target without screwing up earth history or Kila’s future. You all have bodies functioning on this planet —’
‘Yeah, barely,’ Zeven complained.
‘And you are all free of your historical responsibilities,’ Rhun concluded. ‘So, now we can focus on our purpose.’
‘I repeat, is there a plan?’ Song wasn’t feeling any more informed.
The time lord returned his brother’s wave goodbye and the lord Avery left them to it. ‘Telmo is waiting to answer all your questions,’ Rhun said impatiently. ‘If you would just humour me a moment and hold hands!’ he prompted.
Everyone joined the circle, and once they were holding each other’s hands, the time lord saw his team to their final destination at Bayan Har Shan. Ling Hu followed.
As they emerged from the light-field, Hudan and her companions were blinded by the glare of the midday sun hitting the snow around them — the sky above was azure for as far as the eye could see. The high plateau fronted up to a mountain bluff that had several cave openings up its face and one at the bottom. In the mouth of the lowest of these stood Yi Wu and a tiny little woman, only half her size, who Hudan recognised from her appearances during holy rites held on Li Shan.
‘Shifu Yi!’ Hudan made haste to address the pair … she was the only one young and energetic enough to run. She stopped before the women, looking at the one more unfamiliar as she knelt to address her. Her large indigo eyes were almost too piercing to look at. ‘Are you Dropa?’
‘That is the name of my clan,’ the woman granted kindly.
‘Then I believe this belongs to you?’ Hudan held out the Taiji staff with both her hands to complete her quest. ‘Taiji has served Zhou well.’
‘You have been a worthy guardian, Jiang Hudan, just as Telmo insisted you would be,’ the tiny woman said as she reclaimed her property, regarding the tool fondly.
‘Telmo?’ Song queried the announcement, whereupon Yi Wu shifted form into her younger male inner persona.
The king was repulsed. ‘Posing as a chick is really low! To think I actually found you attractive!’ Song shuddered at the thought now.
Fen, Shi and Huxin were also surprised to note his deception, and then doubly shocked to see Wu Geng surface from the cave beyond. The ex-prince of Shang was absolutely beaming with health and appeared more youthful and vibrant than he ever had in life. ‘You all finally made it!’ he exclaimed, pleased to see them. ‘Thirty years is quite a bit of waiting around, but I’ve learned a lot.’
‘Thirty years?’ Hudan looked him up and down. ‘But you look younger than when I last saw you.’
He grinned broadly, displaying a perfect set of white teeth. ‘The Dropa have a really wonderful genetic restoration program here. I highly recommend it.’
‘Absolutely, yes!’ Huxin exclaimed, ready to head inside the cave. ‘I shall have whatever you had.’
Shi and Fen were also pleasantly curious about Wu Geng’s boast. ‘No wonder Yi Wu never aged a day,’ Fen muttered to his brother-in-law as they trailed after Huxin, who was being aided inside by Wu Geng.
‘But who are the Dropa?’ Hudan asked the tiny woman, as she stood to follow the others.
‘My people crashed here about twenty thousand years ago,’ she began, and continued telling her story as she turned and walked alongside Hudan. ‘And the DNA of my people runs through you all, and through many others in the surrounding regions …’
/> When Dan moved to follow their party, he was annoyed to have Song delay him. ‘I really want to hear that account,’ he complained, but his resistance lessened when he saw how grim Song appeared.
‘Please,’ Song implored him, ‘I cannot carry this guilt any more. Please hear my apology, or I am going to burst or go mad!’
‘Song, I forgive your trespasses against me, truly.’ Dan lightly punched his shoulder, and smiled to reassure him. Yet the absolution only served to make Song appear more upset. ‘Does this have anything to do with Hudan’s cursed storm?’
‘Only in so far as the disaster served as a trigger for my epiphany,’ Song said, and looked Dan in the eyes. ‘And now that I have my timekeeper memory back in its entirety, more than ever I need to clear the way between us, captain.’ He swallowed hard on his regret.
‘To a large extent we’ve all been operating in the dark,’ Dan warranted, ‘but if it makes you feel better, go ahead and purge; I won’t stop you.’ He found a rock to lean against and got comfortable as he prepared himself to hear his pilot out.
EPILOGUE
THE METAL-BANDED COFFER
The year of the Duke of Zhou’s death, before the autumn harvest, a fierce wind blew, battling with thunder. The grain was bent low, and even great trees were uprooted. The eastern state of Zhou was in terror.
When Ji Song was told that the misfortune was a curse sent from heaven to repay his ill-respect of Zhou Gong, his animosity toward his deceased uncle only increased. Fen Gong, who had fled to Haojing in the wake of Song’s decree to hunt Zhou Gong to his death, had been dragged back to Chengzhou by the king to assist with the calamity now afflicting the East.
When Fen Gong was brought before the king and his queen, the Grand Protector, Shao Gong Shi, accompanied him. In the twelve years that Song had known Fen Gong, he’d never seen him appear so fiercely hostile. Ji Song’s most trusted advisors knelt before him, but clearly it brought them no joy to do so.
‘My uncle has conspired with the spirit of your sister, Jiang Hudan, to bring this curse down upon Zhou,’ the king stated.
‘If that is what our majesty truly believes in his heart is the truth,’ Fen replied, ‘then I predict the curse of heaven will last long.’
‘What are you implying?’ Hui Ru asked, taking offence at his tone.
‘I am implying …’ Fen raised his baleful sights to view the young royals, ‘that you are both deluded!’
‘Fen?’ Shi cautioned from beside him, and Hui Ru stood, insulted.
‘I will have your head for —’
‘Then take it,’ Fen Gong said, defiantly, ‘but I will have my say first! How can you, in good conscience, sit upon the throne in this heavenly city, having destroyed the selfless visionary who put you both where you are?’
‘I did not bring you here to be lectured, Fen Gong,’ the king warned, then descended the stairs to confront him. ‘I want to know what must be done to counter this hex. Are you going to tell me, or shall I have the wife of the protector dragged before me for questioning?’
Shi stood rigidly, provoked by the threat, but Fen placed a pacifying hand on Shi’s shoulder and then turned to the king. ‘I know exactly what must be done, majesty,’ he said.
‘I knew I could rely on you, Fen Gong.’ The king retreated to a less threatening distance.
‘We shall find the solution at Haojing,’ Fen concluded.
‘At Haojing!’ Both the king and Shi were alarmed at the news. The king disliked this as the ancestral capital was a week’s journey away, and Shi’s concern was that Haojing was where his family presently resided and he didn’t want them embroiled in the family feud.
Ji Song’s eyes narrowed. ‘You had best not be toying with me, Fen Gong.’
‘When your majesty has shown no mercy to a man of such greatness as Zhou Gong, I realise that I am of far less worth.’
The reply got both the king and queen fuming. ‘Do you wish to keep your tongue?’ Hu Rui seethed.
‘At least until you cease to need my advice,’ Fen replied tartly.
‘Show the respect due to your king, or I promise to sever some body part and you won’t be needing it any more.’ She glared down at him, and Fen held his tongue, though his look of disdain did not alter.
The king’s friendship with Fen Gong was the one casualty from his battle with Zhou Gong that he truly regretted. It hurt him personally that Fen Gong was more loyal to his controlling uncle than he was to himself, but he hoped their friendship would recover given time.
Before they set off on the final leg of the journey to Haojing, Ji Song made it clear to Fen that he wished to waste no time in addressing the curse as soon as they reached their destination. Fen Gong confidently assured Song that there would be no need for delay.
Once inside the courtyard at Haojing, Fen dismounted and did not even greet Huxin before heading toward the Ji family storehouse. Zhou Cheng followed him, and Shi cast a cautioning look in his wife’s direction as he kept pace with his companions.
‘Why are we here?’ The king was feeling uneasy. He’d never ventured into the family storehouse, as he had no interest in old texts or relics that were not war- or weapons-related.
‘All will be clear soon enough.’ Fen knocked, and when the hatch opened, Fen rattled off the list of names that was Dan’s entry code.
‘My lord!’ Heng exclaimed. ‘I feared I would be forgotten now the great Zhou Gong has departed this earth.’
Hearing his uncle referred to in this way yet again was starting to vex Ji Song, to the amusement of Fen Gong.
‘I have our majesty in my company,’ he informed the custodian, ‘and the Grand Protector also has business to attend here this night.’
‘Majesty! And my lord!’ Heng unbolted the door immediately.
Fen bade Shi escort the king downstairs, whilst he ascended with Heng to the upper storage room to advise of their requirements.
When the count returned with two coffers, the king was sorely deflated. ‘How is reading going stop the storm in the East?’
Fen held out to the king the more ornate of the two coffers. ‘Trust me.’
‘I recognise this —’ The king frowned as he accepted the container from his advisor.
‘It is your father’s last will and testament,’ Fen told him, ‘but it is most unlike the altered article that you know, which at Zhou Gong’s request was penned by Jiang Taigong the night your father died. This document is Zhou Wu Wang’s true will, penned by Jiang Taigong at your father’s request, over a year before his death.’
‘Zhou Gong changed my father’s will!’ Ji Song was furious and Shi was shocked out of his wits.
‘How do you know this?’ Ji Song demanded, as he opened the coffer.
‘I bore witness to the event,’ he admitted proudly, although the king’s rage intensified.
‘I knew it. Xian was meant to be regent all along!’ The king laid out the document to read in the lamplight, but as he did, his rage gradually turned to bemusement. ‘This cannot be …’ The king looked up from his reading, disillusioned.
‘What is it?’ Shi ventured to ask.
The answer was painful to articulate. ‘My father wanted Dan to be king.’ Song was distressed as he thought back over the events that had transpired in the wake of Zhou Wu Wang’s death. ‘Zhou Gong could have had the crown; he could have had his chance with the goddess,’ he realised, looking at Fen in bewilderment. ‘Why?’ Tears rimmed the young king’s eyes, as he felt the bitter sting of regret.
‘Because it was the will of heaven,’ Fen Gong advised. ‘I can show you Zhou Gong’s divinations on the matter.’
‘Heng!’ The king called for the storeman.
‘Yes, majesty.’ He came forward from the shadows and bowed.
‘Do you confirm Fen Gong’s account of events?’
‘Yes,’ Heng said with certainty, ‘this truly happened. But the Duke of Zhou ordered us not to speak of it while he was still living.’
The kin
g held the text and wept. ‘There is no further need for divination,’ he said. ‘The Duke of Zhou served the royal house with assiduous effort, but I, young and foolish, understood nothing. It is now that heaven has moved in its awesomeness to bring the virtue of the Duke of Zhou to light.’
‘Zhou Gong once told me that he wished to be laid to rest in Chengzhou,’ Fen enlightened the king. ‘This was to make it clear that he would never depart from you, majesty.’
The revelation further fuelled the king’s grieving. ‘I had not planned to pay homage to Zhou Gong Dan anywhere, but to let his memory slip from history as though he’d never existed.’ Song clenched his jaw, determined. ‘But I shall build a memorial for the duke alongside the tomb of King Wen. This will demonstrate that I never presumed to treat the Duke of Zhou as a subject.’
Both his advisors were smiling at him now, and nodding their heads to second his decision. ‘That shall be pleasing to heaven,’ Fen warranted.
‘What is in there?’ After receiving such a shock from the first coffer, Ji Song was hesitant to ask after the second one that Fen was holding.
‘This is a parting gift from Zhou Gong to you, majesty.’ Fen passed the item to Song, who was too shattered to bring himself to read the missive at present.
‘I shall cherish this,’ the king assured Fen, although he could barely speak, he was so choked with emotion. ‘Thank you for having the courage to set me straight. You have been a true friend to Zhou Gong, to Zhou, and to your king this day. It is clear to me now why heaven has seen fit to punish me, and the path to redemption is now obvious.’
With the king’s change of heart, a reverse wind blew across eastern Zhou, the grain was blown upright again and the people of the state replanted the trees that had been toppled. In the end, there was a bountiful harvest that year.
A memorial to Zhou Gong was erected beside that of the king’s late father, hailing him as Yuán Shèng — ‘The First Sage’. All the duke’s proposals on governance passed into law, and Ji Song finally conceded that the holder of the mandate ruled via the divinations of heaven, as Zhou Gong had always contended, feeling the Duke of Zhou’s point had been vindicated during the final clash. Had Song only taken a moment to consult the Book of Changes before banishing his uncle, Zhou might never have been cursed, and he might still have kept his most loyal advisor.