Editor: Marcia
The prequel to TDDUP
IV
The temperature had yet to drop as lich’iu[1]
passed, and it came time again for Ch’in Ching’s quarterly suffering.
His
inborn heart condition did not prevent him from functioning normally, merely
limiting him to weaker forms of martial arts and a minimal level of neikung. However, four times each year,
at the turn of the seasons, it was as though two masters were battling to their
deaths within Ch’in Ching’s heart, paying no mind to whether Ch’in-taifu’s mortal organ could withstand
such a duel.
As the
saying goes, a healer cannot heal himself. Ch’in Ching’s shifu[2] had some expertise
in medicine, and Ch’in Ching excelled even further in the field. But neither of
them could do anything about this strange disease. Not only were painkilling
herbs ineffective, the pain would tear Ch’in Ching from his slumber even when
his sleeping points[3] were
sealed with silver needles.
Ch’in Ching
had been following his shifu,
visiting all the mysterious and unknown corners of the land, until four years ago
when they came upon a certain medicinal spring hidden in the mountains. During
those changes of season when his heart began to ache, he would enter the spring
and the pain would become more bearable.
Ch’in Ching still recalled the conversation with his shifu four years ago as he lay soaking in
the pool, oblivious to night and day.
“If you
ask me, you should not have found this delightful treasure for me. Before, I
had to suffer four times a year, so living meant nothing good to me. A quicker
death meant a quicker reincarnation. But now that you’ve found such a place, I
might just start to cherish my life and fear death.”
“Are
those words true?”
“Which
ones? Cherish life and fear death? Certainly.”
“Nay,
the previous ones. You said there was nothing good about living.”
“…”
“Hengsu,
lie not to thyself.”
“…”
“I wish
for your total consent. If not, I will not force you.”
“Are
those words true?”
“…”
“This
is what you call ‘the apple does not fall far from the tree,’ Shifu. Lie not to thyself.”
A deep rumble of thunder sounded from the horizon, and
immediately, rain began pouring down in buckets. Soaking in the spring, Ch’in
Ching had his eyes closed while resting his head on a hand. Suddenly, the cold
rain ceased to hit his head. He blinked open his eyes to find Shifu on one of his expected quarterly visits. The man
stood by the pool with an umbrella, dressed in black, the same old ethereal figure.
“I have
been most disrespectful, Shifu. I
lost the umbrella you painted for me last time.”
“It is
of no concern. I can simply paint another one for you.”
“Could
you paint a fan this time?”
“The
weather is becoming colder. You will not be an embarrassment and wave around a
fan in winter.”
“Hah.”
“…Hengsu,
two months ago an intruder entered the Shaolin[4]
Treasure Pagoda.”
“Mhm.”
“The
abbot had made preparations. Skilled persons of Wutang[5],
Songshan[6],
O-mei[7],
and Ch’ing-ch’eng[8] had
gathered in the pagoda and created powerful formations.”
“And
the results?”
“Within
an ace of victory.”
“I
see.”
“Huisheng-tashi[9]
channeled all his cultivation into one ultimate strike, but not even that could
end the life of the intruder.”
“And
what of the tashi?”
“Gone
to meet his maker.”
“…”
“Hengsu…the
identity of the intruder…”
“I’ve
got an idea.”
“…News
came one month ago that the hufa of
the Hsing Sect had returned safely.”
“I
know. It was I who saved him.”
Ch’in Ching witnessed a rare display of speechlessness
from his shifu and chuckled aloud.
“How
comes it that you did not foresee it this time, Shifu? I thought your divinations had already reached a
supernatural level.”
“…So be
it. All is predestined. Heaven’s will–”
“Heaven’s
will shall not be violated. Say, could you tell me something new for once?”
“…”
“You
shouldn’t linger on that thought. Let us discuss the key issue. Is the Hsing
Sect in possession of the last two pages?”
“They
should not be. That the pages were in Shaolin was a lie to begin with. ‘Tis a
pity however…”
“No
need for pity now. It is fine that they have not obtained the pages. I have
plans of my own.”
“…”
“Shifu?”
“Do not
tire of my wordiness, Hengsu… I simply want to ask you one more time, have you
any resentment?”
“So
what if I do?”
“…”
“Shifu, I’ve long forgotten words of
hypocrisy.
Ch’in
Ching let his smile fade and straightened his pose and expression.
“For the
land, for humanity, I have no resentment.”
After lich’iu
came chungch’iu[10].
Ch’in Ching had no family other than his shifu,
so the festivities were of little interest to him. Rather his dice hand was
itching for some long-awaited action. Seeing that litung[11] was still some fortnights
away, he hopped on a boat to Chinling[12]
and dove head first into the largest gambling house in town, staying from dusk
to dawn. By the time he stepped out of the establishment, his steps were wobbly
and his eye bags dark.
The
only game that Ch’in Ching played was sic
bo.[13]
Simple and painless, one could win big or lose everything, and the delight was
all in the transition between those two extremes.
Ch’in
Ching had never concerned himself with money. When he became swept up by the
game, he went all in, betting and losing all of his silver. He made a ‘tsk-tsk’ sound without appearing very
troubled at all and ambled out of the gambling house empty-handed.
Only
when he left did he realize he might not even be able to pay for the boat ride
home. Then he took a look at himself – a blue cotton robe that was faded white
from numerous washings and a plain old peachwood hairpin – and found nothing he
could even pawn for money.
Searching
himself all over, he dug out a few pieces of copper. Although it was not
sufficient for the boat, it was for a few hearty shaoping.[14]
He thought Chinling was not terribly far from his dwelling, a three day walk,
and he could pick some wild fruits for sustenance along the way. With that, he
began his trip with the shaoping in
hand, strolling towards the city gates.
The state roads were safe, but that route was longer.
After half a day of walking, Ch’in Ching turned onto a tiny path cutting
through the hills. With the sky dimming, it became prime time for monetary and
sexual harassment.
Perhaps
the heavens knew Ch’in Ching was lacking in both departments and did not send
any bandits or lechers his way. However, karma did send trouble his way, of an
origin even Ch’in Ching had forgotten.
Ch’in
Ching eyed the three assailants before him. They looked somewhat familiar, but
he could not recall the time he had last met them.
“My
friends…could it be that I had the honour of saving an adversary of yours?”
“A
damnable honour, all right!” The bulky man who was the least familiar to Ch’in
Ching spat in disgust at the lack of shame displayed. “You simple-minded lad,
you held a candle to the devil!”
“So you
come looking for trouble with the doctor instead of the actual villain…” Ch’in
Ching sighed. Thinking this trip was going to be one of relaxation, he did not
even bring the soft sword that he received as a gift from his shifu, so he picked up a dead tree
branch from the ground. “After you.”
Although Ch’in Ching had a much higher mastery of
medicine and circles and formations compared to the art of the sword, he was
considered strong amongst the second-raters. If not for his heart condition and
its subsequent restriction on his neikung,
he might have had more luck with climbing the ranks of the chianghu.
Using
the opponent’s force against him, turning solid into hollow, Ch’in Ching
appeared rather at ease with the dried branch, but regardless of his success
against swords and knives, he could not defend against concealed weapons – poor
neikung equaled poor ch’ingkung. Even though his eyes
recognized the threat, his feet could not react quickly enough.
The
girl who looked the most familiar threw a handful of caltrops, two of which
Ch’in Ching deflected, two of which he evaded and two of which hit him. He
dropped his stance and surrendered. “M’lady, if you have vented your anger, I
believe it is time to let me go. I, Ch’in, promise to ask for their full name,
their patzu,[15]
whether they are betrothed before I save anybody else in future!”
The girl did not hold a great grudge, and Ch’in Ching
had learnt his lesson. Although the girl was thin-skinned and disliked his
tongue-in-cheek comments, she did not bother to stoop to his level and left with
her gang after shooting him a deadly glare.
Ch’in
Ching found a tree to sit against while appreciating how proper the pupils of
the orthodox sects were. They might have been a little arrogant, but they knew
the boundaries. The concealed weapons had not been coated with poison, only
with monkshood extract and one extra ingredient, orange jessamine. It was an
anesthetic that also reduced swelling and hastened the healing process of
flesh.
But
coincidentally and unfortunately, the harmless orange jessamine spelled
disaster for him.
“Hail to you, Ch’in Ching.”
As daylight faded away, the orange jessamine began
reacting with the medicines Ch’in Ching had been taking since an early age, and
his temperature spiked. In his feverish state, he heard a familiar voice greeting
him and answered wryly, “What a coincidence, Shen-hufa.”
“Many days have passed. Have you decided what it is
that you desire?”
“Shen-hufa, I know no action of mine can
escape your eyes. But I won’t die here even if you leave me be. You will get
nothing out of this.”
“You
overthink, Ch’in-taifu.”
“Hah…What
I do think is that the heavens must have taken pity on my craven self…” Ch’in
Ching opened his eyes and looked at Shen Liangsheng smilingly. “Too afraid to
go to that hellish place to find you, but still wanting to see you again… And
lo and behold, the mountain cometh to me.”[16]
“The yin pass is in your hands. I had to come
to you sooner or later, so no need for impatience.”
“Indeed…”
Ch’in Ching chuckled softly before closing his eyes again. “Then let us talk
after my sleep.”
Author’s
comment:
Shen-hufa is twenty-six, not a small number.
Other parts of him are not small either.
I
appreciate the comment “waiting for the continuation.” The truth is this story
is just for self-entertainment purposes, to fight the loneliness when I get
bored. I almost wanted to drop this because nobody was reading and I have no
time to be all wistful and lonely. Thank you to the madam up there. Seeing the
word “waiting” made me realize I do want to finish writing this.
There’s
someone waiting, and although it’s for a lame story, it’s still heart-warming.
Therefore
I decided to say a few more words to express my gratitude – unlike the
bottled-up Shen-hufa whose habits are
not good for the mind and body -.-
PS. I
said I’d write smut, but it’s been 14k characters and the uke has only been
able to entertain himself. How sad orz
[4] A fictional sect based on
the real Shaolin Monastery.
[5] A fictional sect based on
Mt. Songshan like Shaolin but on a different peak.
[6] A fictional sect based on
the real Wudang Monastery.
[7] A fictional sect based on
the real Emei Monastery.
[8] A fictional sect based on
the real Qingcheng Monastery.
[10] Mid-autumn, or more
commonly the Mid-Autumn Festival
[12] An old name for
Nanking/Nanjing.
[14] A baked flatbread.
[15] Literally ‘eight characters,’ an East Asian concept of
one’s birth hour, date, month and year, each represented by two characters,
affecting one’s destiny. It is similar to the idea of fortunetelling based on
horoscope or zodiac.
[16] This is wordplay based on the expression “The mountain
cometh not to me, and I shall go to it.” The expression itself comes from the
Islamic tale of Mohammed summoning a mountain that entered the Chinese language
through the Muslim Hui minority. A related expression in English is “If
Mohammed will not go to the mountain, the mountain must come to Mohammed.”
Caltrops thrown by the assailants
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Further reading:
Further reading:
Chinese solar terms
Some acupuncture points to induce sleep
Sic bo
Shaoping
Four Pillars of Destiny and patzu (bazi)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Some acupuncture points to induce sleep
Sic bo
Shaoping
Four Pillars of Destiny and patzu (bazi)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
ayszhang: Thanks for reading :D
If you enjoy my work and would like to help a brother out, please consider pledging a dollar or two on Patreon here. I will be posting extra goodies and sneak previews of chapters and projects there.
If you enjoy my work and would like to help a brother out, please consider pledging a dollar or two on Patreon here. I will be posting extra goodies and sneak previews of chapters and projects there.
Living to Suffer by ayszhang is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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