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Mountains and Woods 1

Que in the Mountain

When I left, the willows danced in the winds. As I now return, the snow is falling.

   Three days before the winter solstice, overcast clouds pressed down on the zenith of the emperor’s capital, Anyang. The young king of Liang did not expect that the envoys of the three countries would arrive on the same day, as if they had arranged on the way, and he was caught off guard in a moment.

  This was the first big event he had hosted after his succession. In the next few days, the four countries would meet to discuss the rise and fall of the world and the thousand-year luck of the great powers of the Central Plains.

  Thinking of this, Emperor Bi Jie was so nervous that his hands were shaking and his palms were sweaty.

  In the evening, Bi Jie confirmed that the envoys from all the countries had arrived, and the officials had personally reported that they had greeted each of them and had settled down. So the young emperor breathed a sigh of relief, removed his crown and threw it aside, loosened his belt and hastily returned back to his harem.

  As the spring flowers were in full bloom and the twilight was sinking, the emperor could not help but think of that evening a year ago.

  His stern father had been hanging on his life for seven or eight years, and his older brother, who was overseeing the country as crown prince, had finally made it to the day when their father gave his last breath. Knowing full well what awaited him, he hid in the depths of Anyang Palace and shivered, like a prisoner waiting to be executed.

  But overnight, everything changed. The general, Shigeohito, led a large army and patiently waited until the Late king had breathed his last, then swooped in. He bloodied the court, and burned Prince Shang of Liang to death in the palace. Although the palace had been renovated and painted, Bi Jie still felt uneasy everytime he passed by, afraid that the prince’s ghost would appear from inside and stab him unguarded.

  Just like how Geng Yuan stabbed his mother, a sword sealed his throat.

  If his mother had not supported his brother as the emperor, she would not have died.

  ”Stand back.” Bi Jie instructed the court guards who were following behind him, slightly out of breath, and began to climb the mountain.

  The Anyang Palace, built on a mountain, was the summer palace of the Emperor of Jin four hundred years ago. With the prosperity of past Liang emperors, the Emperor of Jin, who shared the name of the common lord of the world, even gave the other palace to the Bi clan of the Liang country. The Bi clan exhausted all the power in the country to expand and renovate a glorious and unprecedented huge royal palace on An Mountain.

  The intricate buildings were erected on the rocks of the mountain, with piles and pillars nailed into the rocks and cliffs to support this gorgeous palace. The glazed tiles were overflowing with color, and the carved columns reflected the sunlight. Generations after generations, months after months and years after years, the status of the Great Liang Country circulated in the Central Plains, describing the place like a God’s heavenly palace that was nearly indestructible.

  But it was too tiring every time Bi Jie returned to the bedchamber, he had to personally climb such a long mountain road… Bi Jie raised his sleeve to wipe the sweat. It was also not good enough to let people carry. After all, as the ruler of a country, either in good or bad health, he would be discussed by the whole country.

  This time he heard a few zither sounds coming from the bedchamber. That was Geng Yuan playing the zither. When the sounds of the zither were heard, Bi Jie felt better.

  During the year, if Geng Yuan’s music did not accompany him to bed, the horrible appearance of the late emperor’s death, the sight of his brother being burnt to death in Huaqing Hall, covered with charred black skin and blooming with blood, and the tragic appearance of his birth mother’s neck spurting out blood like a slaughtered chicken, would all become a nightmare and prevent him from sleeping peacefully.

  ”What did you play today?” When Bi Jie returned to his bedchamber, he resumed his usual appearance, “Such high spirits.”

  But then he noticed another tall warrior sitting behind the curtain with Geng Yuan, and his heart jumped. When was this person here?

  He could not pretend to have not seen him, so he had to be polite and say “General”.

  He said in a deep voice: “I heard that your brother-in-law is here today, does my emperor want to see him?”

  The young emperor of Liang was slightly disturbed by the fact that the four kingdoms had met, and the messenger sent by Zheng was none other than Zheng’s general Zilu, his own uncle.

  Bi Jie thought twice, “Do you mind if… I meet my uncle before the alliance? Why don’t you sit behind the screen and listen?”

  ”Yes.” Chong Wen replied.

  After a period of silence, Bi Jie thought about it and said, “How about I not meet him tonight. It’s not too late to meet again tomorrow. There’s always time to catch up.”

  This time Chong Wen replied, “My emperor has grown up a lot.”

  Bi Jie didn’t say much, sat behind the case, flipping through Minister Zuo’s memorials submitted a few days back, he casted glances at Chong Wen from time to time. At this moment, Geng Yuan, the zither master, was concentrating on polishing the sword, while Chong Wen’s eyes were watching the sunset outside his bedchamber.

  He remembered the year he first met him, when the famous general led a thousand horsemen out of the Great Wall and killed the wind warriors who had plundered Liang, Dai and Yong.

  In the autumn when he returned from his victory, he had not yet reached the age of maturity, and Bi Jie was only twelve years old.

  That day, he stood on tiptoe and looked towards Chong Wen, who also caught a glimpse of him inadvertently. In front of the civil and military officials, he came over and touched his head as a sign of intimacy.

  In that year, Chong Wen’s martial prowess was remarkable, and he was like a giant sword with a sharp edge. As long as he was there, no one in the world would dare to wage a war against Liang.

  In the following years, Chong Wen went on several expeditions, and after three major battles across four years, the northern Yong Kingdom, which had been hostile to Liang, was greatly wounded and suppressed, and no longer had the strength to fight for the Central Plains. Chong Wen has since established the reputation of the world’s military god. But humans would always get old, and so did the famous “God of War”.

Chong Wen was getting old, and now he has reached the age of confusion when he counts his fingers. The sharpness of the past has been curtailed, and there were a few strands of white frost between his temples. He looked more weathered than the well-bred civil officials.

  But with the dynasty of the Great Liang country, there was not the slightest doubt that he could still lead the army and fight the war.

  Such a great general should be loyal to the royal family, yet he stood on his side. The General did not hesitate to launch a coup to support him to the throne as king… This made Bi Jie really puzzled.

  The actual fact is, the older brother, Prince Bishang, should be more liked by Chong Wen.

Chong Wen simply needed to speak to influence the Late King’s decision. Furthermore, Prince Shang only wanted to unify the Central Plains and dominate the world, so wouldn’t he and Chong Wen be the best partners?

  The night when he was buried in the fire, his elder brother was still wailing and begging for mercy from Chong Wen, as he could not understand what he had done wrong.

  Bi Jie knew that Chong Wen did not like his uncle, Zi Lu, who was a general in Zheng.

  Although Zi Lu was involved in the alliance of the four kingdoms, the strongest link between his maternal uncle’s family and the royal family of Liang had been mercilessly severed by Chong Wen and Geng Yuan in the bloodbath a year ago.

 His uncle must not have believed the nonsense reported by the envoy that his mother was killed by his brother, and must have guessed that it was a murder.

 However, as the group now has a united goal and must meet the allied forces to deal with Yong, personal grudges have to be cast aside for now.

  Once the alliance succeeds and troops are sent to destroy the northern state of Yong, Zheng, who borders Liang, will become Chong Wen’s next enemy, and then the two important generals of the state will have the chance to meet each other.

  ”Northern Yong is a land of foreign barbarians, just like the wolves in packs in Lingzhou.” When the sun went down, Chong Wen finally said, “This alliance is very important, and it will set up my emperor’s great career for thousands of years.”

  ”Well.” Bi Jie replied, “Exactly, when I think of the alliance tomorrow, I still… feel like I am in a dream. It’s too fast. Everything is happening too fast. The emperor’s initial intention to destroy Yong state was supposed to take another ten or twenty years…”

 Upon hearing those words, Chong Wen rose. His tall figure met the last rays of daylight as he came to the high platform outside the bedchamber and said, “Your Majesty.”

  Bi Jie put down his memo and also stood up after him, coming behind Chong Wen.

  ”Look at this scene before your eyes.” Chong Wen said, “The time has come.”

  Bi Jie looked out from the high platform, and outside Anyang City in the twilight, there were nearly 400,000 cavalry and infantry of Liang, and around 10,000 guards of the envoys from various countries coming to the alliance, camping outside the city in unison.

  Look at Anyang city, 200,000 households lights flashing, under the sky, which other city is richer than Anyang? Even four hundred years ago, when Emperor Jin Wen commanded the world, it was not as good as the present. This is the real country of the Son of Heaven!

  ”This is the wish of the emperor and the common people,” said Chong Wen. I would carry this banner of kingship for you, and send an army to the west to sweep away all our opponents. This is a beginning, far from an end, and the last general will fight for you until every inch of the world is yours; until everyone who lives on every inch of the land worships you as the emperor.”

  Bi Jie’s heart was overwhelmed and he was speechless for a moment, looking at Chong Wen in a daze.

  ”But before the great work is done,” Chong Wen said lightly, “You must not be burdened by indecisions. I will excuse myself now.”

  The General bowed at Bi Jie and left the palace with his cloak like a fire cloud under the sunset.

  Bi Jie was silent for a moment, sighed softly without thinking, and returned to the case to fret.

  ”It’s time to turn on the lights.” Geng Yuan was reminded of the darkness.

  Bi Jie said, “If you are not in a hurry, let me stay like this for a while longer.”

  Geng Yuan replied, “A blind man like me does not need a lamp, so naturally there is no hurry.”

  Geng Yuan had a black strip of cloth between his eyebrows. The zither player had been blind for as long as Bi Jie had met him. He played the zither so well that Bi Jie thought that whenever the zither in his hands made a sound, all the birds in the sky would stop; when the strings moved, all the water in the world would freeze.

  It was said that when a zither master reaches the highest level of skill, he can communicate with heaven and earth; but after listening to Geng Yuan’s music, Bi Jie realized that the true pinnacle of music is to bring back the time that has long passed for him.

  When did he meet Geng Yuan?

  Strange to say, the young king of Liang today especially likes to reminisce about the past, reminisce about rewinds, reminisce about Geng Yuan, reminisce about everyone…

  Just like the night before he became the emperor, he tossed and turned and couldn’t help but to think about the beginning of the past and bits and pieces of his childhood.

  After tomorrow, he will become the leader of the four countries alliance, raise the golden sword granted to the alliance leader by Emperor Jin, and issue a call for a crusade towards the Yong country. Just like what the masses believe, the Liang country was about to take the first step in unifying the Central Plains. This made him exceptionally sentimental tonight.

  The sound of the zither gently sounded, tinkling several times, Bi Jie glanced at the figure in the darkness. The moonlight was spilling into the bedchamber like flowing water. Geng Yuan, with his zither sound, was capable enough to spread his name across like Chong Wen’s fame.

  But this blind zither master was willing to stay in the deep palace, playing only for him, who was once an unpopular prince.

  Seven years ago, when Bi Jie left the palace on his way to Shoushui City, the sound of a clear man singing caught his attention — Geng Yuan was draped in hair, a white cloth was covering his eyebrows and blood was seeping out of the cloth, as if he had not yet lost his eyes. He was playing and singing “Wei Feng”: “From the east of the Bo, the first like a flying puff. Is there no anointing, who is suitable for the appearance?” 

  In that year, Yong and Liang fought repeatedly, and the area around Zhaoshui was hit by a three-years drought, with famine and starvation widespread. Geng Yuan, sitting in a black robe in the middle of the wilderness with dry grass, sang this song about missing his wife, which moved the heart of 14-year-old Bi Jie.

  He brought Geng Yuan back to the palace and asked him to play it for his brother and ministers. But the song did not stop the war from continuing until Chong Wen returned to the court and Liang defeated Beiyong, stopping the war with war and achieving the first victory.

  Geng Yuan lived in the palace for seven years, Bi Jie got used to his songs. Tthere was a time when he was worried that Geng Yuan would not escape his fate if he was sentenced to death, so he planned to send Geny Yuan far away as soon as possible.

  ”You are right, we will all die one day. If you go first, I will come after.” When Geng Yuan heard this, he simply replied, “But it won’t be at the hands of your brother.”

  If Geng Yuan had not been blind, he would have been famous for being one of the most beautiful men in Anyang and even in the world. Bi Jie often thought of his fair complexion, heroic eyebrows, high and perfect nose, clear lips, and long, slender fingers for playing the zither. If one day he could remove the black cloth to reveal his brilliant star-like eyes, Bi Jie wondered how many people would fall in love with him.

  Even if his eyes were covered with black cloth, the moonlight shining on his face revealed the curvature of his mouth and the bridge of his nose. The mysterious and unpredictable beauty was enough to rival the famous beauty of men from all over the world.

  But Bi Jie never thought that he would use a sword. When he drew the long, dark sword, the sky and earth seemed to change color. The moment he held the sword in his hand, with his long and lean figure, it was as if he had changed into a different person.

  It seems that Chong Wen saw through all this early, so the night of the palace, the only one guarding Bi Jie was Geng Yuan.

  That night was also the first time Bi Jie saw him using his sword – the prince sent nearly two hundred well-trained soldiers to kill him, a powerless prince, and a blind Qin master.

  Geng Yuan then, on cloud nine, drew the heavy black sword he now held in his hand from under the zither and stood guard in front of the door.

  The blood stained the inside and outside of the bedchamber and gradually spread out, but Geng Yuan’s slim black robe remained unstained by blood. It was not until the distant fire light reflected the night, the wind came to the prince’s screams, Geng Yuan sat down again, said in a deep voice: “Now, you are the emperor of Liang.”

  Bi Jie never figured out how old Geng Yuan really was. Be it seven years ago or seven years later, he still looked the same. Geng Yuan stayed in the palace most of the time, and occasionally left the palace for a trip. Bi Jie sent someone to follow him from afar, and the report from his subordinates was that this blind man went to the same private house in Anyang City every time, and a woman and a child lived in the private house.

  ”Why me?” Bi Jie rubbed his temples and sighed softly in the darkness again.

  The palace maid came into the bedchamber to light the lamp, and Geng Yuan replied in this last darkness, “Because you are the most suitable.”

  He was a person who was easily saddened by spring and autumn. Minister Zuo thought that he was “compassionate”, which was perhaps the reason why he was the “most suitable” according to Chong Wen. The first thing he said was that the officials had not said a word. Once the elder brother succeeded the throne, there would be a change of power in the state of Liang, and a military general like Chong Wen would be more difficult to manage.

  As Chong Wen always said, isn’t a military general’s life enough? This life is only to build a thousand years of immortal hegemony for the Great Liang.

  ”Go to bed early.” Geng Yuan put the sword into the bottom of the zither and said lightly, “Tomorrow will be a big day for the world, a day that will be noted in history.”

  ”Will you accompany me tomorrow?” Bi Jie asked.

  ”Yes.” Geng Yuan said.

  Although there should be no assassins at this meeting of the four kingdoms, and there was no need for this martial arts master to protect himself, Bi Jie wanted to have Geng Yuan with him.

  This blind man, who said very little, had accompanied him for seven years, watching him grow from an ignorant prince to the emperor of Liang today.

  On such a day, it would be a regret for the young Liang King if Geng Yuan was absent.

  He wanted to listen to his zither for the rest of his life, until the day they both grow old and leave this world.

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