Dreaming of Zhou Gong Page 4

  ‘The Great Mother expects your visit will last a few days, for she has much to discuss with the candidate,’ and she tipped her head respectfully to the Xibo, although she was not required to do so.

  Jiang Hudan was a highly adept Wu and even if he were emperor, she would still be Ji Fa’s equal. This was how balance had been maintained in the days of the great Yellow Emperor: men ruled the earth, but women ruled the heavens. It was also clear that Jiang Hudan knew exactly who was who.

  ‘Yi Wu of Li Shan hopes this will be pleasing to her guests,’ Hudan continued.

  ‘My time is at the Great Mother’s disposal.’ Ji Fa found his tongue, and bowed his head to their hostess, before turning to his son. ‘Run and tell the men I shall return in a few days, or send you back with a message if I am to be delayed longer.’

  Song hesitated, frowning. ‘Do not leave without me.’ Clearly the lad thought this might be a ploy to be rid of him.

  ‘I cannot send you back with a message, if you are not with us,’ the Xibo said patiently. ‘Now, please run, and let us not keep legends waiting!’

  Their hostess was amused by their banter, watching Song run off as fast as his legs would carry him.

  ‘Thirteen years on this earth and they think they know everything,’ Fa looked back at the lady in white.

  ‘We were no different,’ Dan commented. Despite the young heir challenging him at times, Dan thought a questioning nature was healthy, and not insulting.

  ‘Only in your case, Dan, you did know everything,’ the Xibo said, embarrassing him with the extravagant compliment.

  ‘I am far from all-knowing —’ Dan began to say, feeling more like a blind idiot than an esteemed scholar in the present company.

  ‘The wisest man in the land, so we hear,’ Jiang Hudan said in an aside to the Xibo, only compounding Dan’s embarrassment — he could feel his cheeks burning bright red.

  ‘Truly, I still have so much more to learn.’ He bowed his head a little to hide the heat in his face, quietly thanking Tian for the cover of night.

  ‘As do we all,’ Jiang said graciously. ‘My Shifu has prepared a feast to welcome you to our house and a demonstration to give you a greater insight into our order. Yi Wu vows that tonight you will dine in heaven.’

  ‘Heaven is somewhere I should very much like to dine.’ Fa looked at Dan, not too sure how he felt about Jiang’s claim.

  ‘That sounds splendid,’ Dan replied. ‘Shall we climb aboard whilst we await my nephew?’

  ‘Follow me.’ Hudan turned and led them onto the ferry where her eight hooded brothers stood at attention. When they were aboard, Ji Song appeared, racing along the dock. He jumped into the ferry to join Dan and his father.

  ‘Please be seated,’ Hudan instructed, as the barge began to move off into the darkness beyond the torchlight of its own accord. The Xibo and his son found the gentle, steady glide of the boat off-putting and quickly sat down before they fell down. Ji Dan, however, waited for Jiang Hudan to take a seat at the bow, and took a seat close by her.

  ‘Jiang Hudan, I have made an observation I would like to ask about?’ he politely requested.

  ‘I am here to answer any question you may have, Ji Dan. Tell me of your observation.’

  ‘I sense there is a very strong energy around you,’ he began somewhat awkwardly, as he’d never broached supernatural topics with anyone before now, despite a very keen desire to do so. However, in his world Ji Dan was already the greatest authority on the subject. ‘I was wondering if it is this energy that you somehow harness and use to propel our vessel forward?’

  ‘Always the thinker, Ji Dan … you are supposed to be in awe of the ways of heaven! How are we to impress you if you figure out all our tricks?’

  ‘Such a feat is far more than a trick,’ he insisted.

  ‘That is very true,’ she concurred. ‘The control of chi energy, a discipline known as Dao Yin, has taken many years of study to master, and I still have much to learn.’

  ‘But it is something you mastered, not something you were born with?’ he queried, most curious, and as he could not see his hostess’ face clearly, he hoped he was not causing offence by asking.

  ‘A little of both, I expect,’ she replied.

  ‘I see.’ Dan was deflated, as he’d hoped he might be able to be taught this art. ‘Well, I very much envy you this gift.’

  ‘But we are all born with such gifts,’ Jiang Hudan replied kindly. ‘Is that not right, my brothers?’

  ‘Shi!’ they replied in the affirmative, and either began to float upward into the misty night sky, or bound across the water, barely disturbing the surface with their contact. Some vanished completely! And from among those of the Wu who had scampered off across the water, the sound of a tiger’s growl echoed back and startled them.

  ‘Tian preserve us!’ Fa was on his feet, and Song was gasping in wonder.

  ‘I don’t believe it!’ The young heir was astonished. ‘Jiang Huxin was on the boat with us?’

  ‘I did tell you she was close.’ Only Jiang Hudan was left on the barge with their royal party. She turned her attention back to Dan, who could not wipe the astonished grin off his face. ‘You see, Ji Dan, all of us have talent, but only some can pursue a lifestyle that allows the development of our full potential. Human beings are capable of so much more than just multiplying and making war.’

  ‘I have always had faith that it was so,’ Dan granted, ‘but before today I have seen very little evidence to support that hope. But I wonder, and I wish to cause no offence in asking, whether —’

  ‘Are men born with such gifts, or is it only women?’ Jiang Hudan guessed.

  ‘Yes,’ he agreed, ‘that was my very question.’

  ‘The simple answer is yes. However,’ she was quick to add, ‘it is rare that male psychic talent is discovered, and even if it is, it is even more rarely nurtured.’

  ‘Why is that?’ Song wanted to know.

  Dan knew the reason. ‘In the hands of a man such power would be dangerous.’

  ‘Where women are creators, men tend to be destructive. They think with their heads and love with their hearts.’

  ‘Well, how else should we do it?’ Song was perplexed.

  ‘We should love with our head, our mind, and think with our heart,’ Dan surmised, and Jiang Hudan nodded.

  ‘That is a rare man, indeed,’ she conceded, ‘and even if, when a boy starts his training, he is committed to Tian, by the time he grows to manhood he is easily distracted and led astray.’ There was a real annoyance in her tone, that made Dan think she was speaking from experience, but he dared not pry.

  ‘Daji is a woman who does not seem to comply with your perfect scheme of things,’ Song was quick to point out.

  ‘The emperor’s witch is the perfect example of what happens when a daughter of heaven attempts to live among men, on earth.’ Jiang Hudan was civil and patient with the Xibo’s heir. ‘That is why Wu lead a cloistered life.’

  ‘Well, father told me what lies in store for us this night and I, for one, can hardly wait to see your demonstration.’ Song’s claim that he did not fear the Wu was obviously holding firm. Like Dan, Song was an adventurer. Dan sought knowledge, while Song sought the thrill of the unknown.

  ‘It promises to be quite something,’ Ji Fa said. He was still reserved, but more curious now.

  The steam from the water thinned suddenly and the full moon lit a rock face in front of their barge. This caused a brief panic as they were headed straight for it.

  ‘Please duck your heads,’ Hudan told them as she bent her torso flat into her lap. When the vessel was set to pass under a small opening at the base of the cliff, all her company was quick to do likewise. The barge passed through a low rocky tunnel and entered a high cave that harboured another dock, at the end of which were lit torches. Torches also burned each side of the entrance to a stairway that led up through the rock at the other end of the jetty.

  Their hostess disembarked the vessel in
one slow, graceful bound and stood on the jetty. ‘My brothers await you in the temple of Tian,’ she said as the three guests climbed onto the dock in the clumsy, regular fashion. ‘Please follow me.’

  Jiang Hudan turned and proceeded down the jetty and up the steep incline of the stairway.

  The peace of the warm cavern, heated by the steamy water within it, enveloped Dan and he felt like he could relax for the first time in an age. His instincts for danger were sharp, but he felt nothing other than harmony within these walls. He couldn’t help but note the raised iron gate at the base of the stairs as he passed beneath it. Once he had ascended the long flight of stairs that cut through the mountain he also spied the large metal grate that was presently open at the top. If under attack, the base gate could be raised and, once the enemy battalions scaled the stairs, they would find themselves confined between the grated trapdoor and the lowered iron gate at the bottom of the stairs. The large cauldrons that sat either side of the grating would be filled with oil, heated and then tipped, pouring the scorching hot contents through the bars of the trapdoor and down the steep stairs. The oil would be set alight, effectively burning the caged enemy alive.

  ‘Nice defences,’ Ji Fa noted as they walked through the open courtyard of the cloister. ‘No wonder they have been left in peace.’

  Dan smiled at this, pleased to see his brother had found his sense of humour.

  ‘I hear music, and singing!’ Song pursued Jiang Hudan, who was still moving straight ahead.

  Dan and the Xibo pricked their ears and, upon hearing a beautiful melody being woven between voices, bells and bamboo flute, they picked up their pace as they were already moving toward the music.

  ‘If heaven has a sound, I believe we are hearing it,’ Dan commented to his brother.

  They left the central courtyard and, up a few more stairs, entered a long hall that had large double doors flung open at each end, like a tunnel through the main house. The walls were washed red, and two green dragons, one on each side of the walkway, were depicted fleeing in the opposite direction from them.

  ‘The Green Dragon of the East,’ Dan commented to his brother. It was the symbol of the Shang and the emperor whose capital lay in the direction toward which the dragons were fleeing. ‘What are the dragons running from, I wonder?’

  The dragons’ tails extended down the long hallway and ended at a garden courtyard, where many torches and candles burned, highlighting the magnificent statues of warrior women and white tigers, the beautiful colours of the exquisite blooms and plants, the pools and water features.

  ‘This is beyond belief,’ the Xibo said in an aside to Dan.

  ‘Heaven,’ Dan agreed, his senses swimming from the sweet smell of burning oils. He thought it interesting that the Green Dragons were depicted fleeing from the garden of paradise; a perfect portrayal of the prophecy they were here to ask about.

  The euphonious choir of women’s voices was much closer now and the tone of their song sent a deep vibration rippling through Dan’s being — his heart felt to be tearing open, as if he’d just fallen in love, and the intensity of the emotion moistened his eyes. He looked aside to his brother to see the Xibo flick a tear from his cheek.

  ‘The music is very moving.’ When Fa spoke, his voice was choked with emotion, and he held a hand over his heart. ‘It is a long, long time since my being has been stirred by joy and beauty, instead of pain and suffering.’

  ‘It seems to me now, that it is exactly what heaven is,’ Dan said. ‘We have yet to even reach the celebration and already I know this will be the most memorable night of my life.’

  The Xibo and Dan reached Song, who had come to a stop in front of a fountain featuring a beautiful statue of a half-naked woman with tiger’s ears and a tail, holding a babe in one arm and a tiger cub in the other. ‘I think I want to live here,’ the lad uttered, awed by the intense beauty he was experiencing.

  ‘Well, for the next two days, you get that wish,’ his father granted.

  ‘Provided none of your flights of fancy get us expelled from here prematurely,’ Dan interposed.

  ‘You’ve seen what they can do … do you think me mad, Uncle?’ Song had found his respect for these women suddenly, and Dan was most relieved to note it.

  ‘I have a feeling that we haven’t seen the half of it,’ Dan speculated.

  At the far end of the courtyard, Jiang Hudan had scaled a set of candlelit stairs cut into the mountain which rose to a height twice that of the courtyard walls. She was awaiting them patiently at the top, but what lay beyond her they could not see.

  They watched Song sprint double-time up to the top and Dan felt old as he began ascending the steps.

  ‘Very glad we decided against wearing armour,’ the Xibo commented halfway up — they were both fit men, but the steep stairs were murder on the legs.

  ‘It is becoming painfully clear why they learn to float,’ Dan grinned.

  As they neared the top of the stairway, a beautiful white temple, round in shape and pillared around the exterior, came into view. The structure itself was not very large and appeared nowhere near big enough to house the choir they were hearing. Yet the holy dwelling was an impressive sight in the light of the full moon, for it glowed with splendour.

  ‘How on earth did all this get built?’ Fa said quietly to his brother, as they trailed Jiang Hudan and Song across a plateau to the stairs of the temple.

  ‘No one seems to know how long the House of Yi Wu has been on Li Shan,’ Dan advised. ‘I scoured the land for information, but the local peasants proved to be the best source … they say that it has always been here. Since the time of the Yellow Emperor.’

  ‘But that’s well over a thousand years!’ Fa emphasised in a whisper.

  ‘They also say that the House of Yi Wu Li Shan,’ Dan continued, ‘cannot always be found here on earth, as it drifts between the earth realm and heaven. The Great Mother is said to manifest her house on earth only when the land is in great peril.’

  The Xibo stopped to look at his brother and gauge if he was serious.

  Dan nodded and raised his eyebrows. ‘It seems to be a commonly held belief in these parts. And one of many myths about the Wu that will work to our favour if tonight goes well.’

  Fa bit his lip and nodded, conceding Dan’s point.

  As they joined Jiang Hudan at the temple’s large double doors — painted gold and inset with a white tiger motif — the music fell silent, creating a dramatic effect.

  ‘Before we enter the temple of Tian …’ Hudan waylaid them outside the closed doors, ‘… Shifu Yi has asked me to stress that the Ji family have our greatest respect and you have nothing to fear within these walls. The mistress of this house hopes you will feel at ease to enjoy the experience and hospitality of the House of Yi Wu Li Shan.’

  ‘We are greatly honoured by such heavenly favour,’ the Xibo replied, his tone somewhere between apprehensive and humbly intrigued.

  As Jiang Hudan turned back to face the double tiger doors, a cacophony of tiny bells sounded. The doors parted and the voices again rose to weave harmonious awe-inspiring notes.

  Shock began vibrating through Dan’s entire being as he realised the inside of the temple was much larger than the outside had suggested, and he had to resist the urge to run outside and double-check that his eyes had not deceived him. His brother was wide-eyed as was his young son, and all were completely lost for words.

  Echoing the external design, inside the temple of Tian were pillars, this time set around a large central circular pool where the ceiling was open to the clear night sky. Where they entered was candlelit, but the far side of the temple had only natural light at present. The moonlight streamed through the open centre of the temple and hit the water so that it sparkled around the throne on the far side of the pool. Upon the throne sat a veiled woman dressed in sparkling silver and white. This was Yi Wu, the Great Mother, and it was she who led the choir of young women in song. Her initiates stood to either side of her
on the stairs that descended into the pool. None of the Wu initiates were veiled and all were beautiful — just as Song had claimed they would be. Although not all the women were young, they appeared youthful and alive! Their song had no words, simply long harmonious notes, akin to the flute, weaving beautifully through their melody.

  On this side of the pool, a candlelit table was laden with covered platters and surrounded by cushions, and Jiang Hudan directed their party to be seated behind it, facing the pool and the Great Mother. The youngest initiates of the order stood at attention at each end of the table, waiting to serve their guests.

  Dan was actually quite thankful to take a seat, as his head was swimming from the mellifluous sounds echoing around the high chamber.

  Once they were comfortable, Jiang Hudan joined her brothers and took the position to the right side of the Great Mother’s throne. The young Wu rushed to remove the covers from the platters of food on the table, and to pour the warm wine, before quickly dispersing. The song came to an end and the Great Mother spoke through her veil to them.

  ‘It is my great pleasure to finally welcome you, Ji Fa, Ji Dan and Ji Song, to the temple of Heaven,’ she began. ‘I have been anticipating your visit for some time, for it is seen that we have a long and historic future association. I expect that you have many questions and, over the next few days, myself and my initiates will endeavour to answer them. But this evening is for celebration and demonstration. You know what earthly warriors are capable of, so now please relax, eat, drink and allow us to show you what the warriors of Tian can do.’

  With a clap of her hands, drummers positioned behind the Great Mother and her choir began pounding out a beat.

  More of the Wu entered the temple from the side and converged on the pool. They were dressed in white trousers and long-sleeved jackets that crossed and were belted at the waist. Their shin-high boots were of black leather and were bound with criss-crossing laces to the lower leg. Astonishingly, their feet did not break the surface of the water; it was as if a transparent barrier lay between them and the pool. Clearly, this was not the case as the front row of the choir behind stood knee-deep in the water.