Chapter 97 — The Song Beneath the Waters

The river-bearing beast carried them downriver for seven or eight hundred li before Shen Mu noticed a village built beside a temple on the bank. He started slightly — for there, perched on the worn plaque of the dilapidated temple, sat a little girl with three braids. He promptly had the beast halt along the shore, left the white fox on its back, and went ashore alone.

The villagers, he found, lived in comfort and contentment, each going peacefully about their business; several old women were just then on their way to burn incense at the temple, half a pig in hand as an offering.

When Shen Mu reached the temple gate, the little girl spied him and scrambled down in a fluster to hide inside. "Sang E, I saw you.

Why hide from me?

" Shen Mu said, smiling.

The girl came back out of the temple, grinning. "I wasn't hiding from you at all! I was waiting for you to come in and light incense, going on about how you'd been sickly since childhood with weak kidneys and all that, so then I could have a good laugh at you!

" Shen Mu did not know whether to laugh or cry. Glancing around, he saw that the temple had been kept spotless, without a speck of dust; only the incense burner in the courtyard still sent up its fragrance. He walked up to the enshrined statue: it was a little girl, her features just like Qi Xia'er, the form Sang E had taken. He circled behind the statue and found no bones, and only then did his heart settle.

Walking out, he asked curiously, "Why do you live here? " Sang E was smug with pride.

"I'm earning merit here! This village is under my protection. The villagers make offerings to me, and I drive off fierce beasts for them. Sometimes I haul up river water to irrigate their fields and bring rain; when the rain is too heavy I scatter the dark clouds for them; when there's no wind I conjure wind; when storms come I drive the wind away. In the old days I ran all over, catching people and beasts to eat, until that old bald thief caught me and suppressed me. Now I've made myself a Buddha and a patriarch right here in this temple — people to feed me offerings, and merit to earn on top of it! " Shen Mu laughed.

"Weren't you heading upstream?

How did you end up here? " "That day we broke the ice dam together, I wandered every which way and ran into monks from the Little Thunderclap Monastery. We fought, and since I couldn't beat them, I fled. I fled all the way here and hid in this temple — and as luck would have it, bandits came raiding, so I ate the bandits. When the villagers saw me, they took me for the temple's god manifesting its spirit, and offered up cattle and sheep and burned incense to me. Having accepted their gifts I felt a little embarrassed, so I began doing things for them. " Sang E hopped back onto the plaque and swung her bare feet.

"So they treated me even better, and I felt even more embarrassed — and that's how I came to settle down here. " Shen Mu laughed heartily.

"Goodness done without intending it is goodness still. You're on your way to Buddhahood.

" With that he turned and left. Sang E watched him go and murmured, "I don't want to become a monk anyway.

What fun is there in eating nothing but vegetables every day. . . " Shen Mu climbed back onto the river-bearing beast, and the great green-backed creature swam slowly out of the shallows, gathered speed, and headed downstream.

He looked back once at the old temple, where the little girl's braids swayed and swung as she received the villagers' incense and offerings.

The Yong River rolled on, its waters surging and foaming.

When they reached the docks of Jianglong City, Shen Mu and Xue Hu'er went ashore and entered the city. The city had already fallen into the hands of the Nether Demon Cult, and though Granny Zhu had not shown herself in the guise of Fu Yundi these past days, nothing untoward had happened here — after all, Fu Yundi often went into seclusion to cultivate. At the inn, Shen Mu summoned the innkeeper.

"Incense Master, is there a way to slip past the scrying mirrors and get into the Kingdom of Jingping? " The innkeeper said, "There are two passes into Jingping nearby: Yanbian and Mishui.

Both Yanbian Pass and Mishui Pass are heavily garrisoned, with scrying mirrors hung from their gate towers; any outcast of the Wastes will be revealed by them, and then either shot down or shipped off to the mines as a slave. Crossing over the mountains would be more perilous still. The Wastes and Jingping are joined by the God-Severing Mountains, perilous and dreadful to begin with — hardly even birds can cross them. And to guard against the mob of the Wastes, Jingping has planted Xuanji crossbows in ambush along those ranges; anyone who tries to cross will only be shot dead by the Xuanji crossbows. " Shen Mu frowned. "Is there truly no way into Jingping at all? " The innkeeper smiled. "Others may have none, but our Holy Cult has ways aplenty. Before the two lands opened trade, the cult smuggled goods, and to that end we secretly disabled two of the Xuanji crossbows in the God-Severing Mountains, crossing the range by way of the Barren Silence Ridge gorge and down into the Wastes.

Now that the Wastes and Jingping trade openly, that route has fallen into disuse, for entering Jingping has become far easier.

If you wish to enter Jingping, young master, you may go through Mishui Pass — many of the officers guarding it are our own people. " Shen Mu's expression stirred. The Nether Demon Cult's power was truly colossal — worthy of its standing as the foremost sect of the demonic path! He thought a moment. "Prepare maps of Jingping for me. I'll study them on the road — best to familiarize myself with the kingdom's mountains and rivers first. " "As you say.

" The innkeeper withdrew. Shen Mu and Xue Hu'er ate their supper, bathed, and retired for the night.

The next day the innkeeper brought a thick stack of documents: maps of the whole Kingdom of Jingping as well as detailed charts of its prefectures and counties. Shen Mu stowed the maps in his bundle.

"Who will take me to Mishui Pass?

" The innkeeper smiled.

"Set your mind at ease, young master. Your meal is ready — please eat. Once you reach the river, brothers of the Holy Cult will be there to guide you.

" After breakfast, Shen Mu and Xue Hu'er came to the Yong River, where a tower ship lay moored at the bank. A young woman in blue-green robes stood upon it and greeted them with graceful courtesy, saying in a gentle voice, "This humble one pays her respects to the young master.

Please, come aboard. " "No need for ceremony. " Shen Mu boarded with Xue Hu'er and asked the woman, "Can you truly take me into the city past the scrying mirrors, sister?

" The woman in blue smiled.

"I could hardly deceive the scrying mirrors myself. But I am Feng Xiuyun, a Thousand-Commander of Mishui Pass, charged with inspecting all who pass in and out of the gate.

I can naturally bring you into the city — and bring you out again as well. " Shen Mu was astonished: this girl looked scarcely grown, yet she was already a Thousand-Commander holding a frontier pass. "My thanks for the trouble, Sister Feng," he said at once.

Beneath the tower ship a great beast surfaced and bore it down the river. They traveled who knew how far; the river grew ever wider, and a mist began to rise from the water.

The moment the ship entered the mist, the beast towing it grew restless and uneasy, slowing little by little, as though something at the river's bottom filled it with dread. Feng Xiuyun said uneasily, "Why is the creature suddenly throwing a tantrum and refusing to pull?

" Xue Hu'er abruptly grew anxious too, and whispered, "Young master, I sense something drawing near us — a cold, baleful presence. .

.

" At that very moment Shen Mu dimly felt that something was watching him. Behind him the fish-dragon leapt out, opening its jaws to spit out half of the Chubao Sword.