The Zhu Father and Daughter (5)
"The merit of protecting Us and Jeong-won is great. A mere memorial reporting the plot is insufficient reward. What rests in the jade box… Attendant, what did the man from the Western Regions call it last time?"
"He named it the Gong-eun Snow Lotus Thread, Your Highness, and said it was the wellspring of all yin energy under heaven."
In that instant, thunderbolts detonated inside his skull. His entire body shuddered. Ecstasy erupted through him.
The Gong-eun Snow Lotus Thread. The fruit of the snow lotus said to grow somewhere in the Qomolangma range — the roof of the world. The fruit of the Gong-eun Snow Lotus, whose very season of ripening had never even been determined. In other words, a sacred relic of extreme yin. A treasure that transcended mere spiritual objects and was called a holy relic — the finest of all the things he sought.
Yes! Yes! This eunuch's life just hit the jackpot. The jackpot…!
But then—
"Your Highness! This servant Yi Gwak dares to speak. With the utmost reverence, this is truly excessive. I do not mean that it exceeds the merit of protecting Your Highness and the Princess."
Another self had been bounding through all the corners of heaven and earth inside his heart — and then old Master Yi Gwak opened his mouth.
"Jeonbu Jang Jinmyeong already possesses truly excessive internal power. He cannot fully digest the spiritual elixir Your Highness has already bestowed, and if he forces the matter he will fall into qi deviation. Moreover, should the Jeonbu cultivate the martial arts of us inner servants, the Gong-eun Snow Lotus Thread would be no different from poison."
The old master he had regarded with such fondness dumped a bucket of ice water over him.
The words were correct. A eunuch without yang essence taking an extreme-yin spiritual treasure? That was a story about freezing to death. But he wasn't actually a eunuch, was he.
Old Master, what do you think you're doing! Have you lost your— ha! I can digest it. I certainly can!
He was confident he could suck it dry down to the last drop. One Sunflower Manual had given him a new life, and another Sunflower Manual was blocking his new beginning. Some eunuchs couldn't even help their own kind, and here was one actively joining in to obstruct a fresh start. Last time he'd given medicine; this time he was giving the disease — was that it?
"What? Qi deviation! Is that so? We nearly committed a grave error. Qi deviation! Heavens…! This is the only spiritual elixir We possess."
"Bestowing the posts of Jeonbu and Commandant of the Palace Guard was already an unprecedented break with custom, Your Highness. The Gong-eun Snow Lotus Thread is a spiritual elixir of a thousand ages. Treasure it, I beg you."
He felt as if the lid of his skull were popping off. What the hell had the old man even come along for, if he was going to throw this kind of absurd wrench in the works?
As of today, we're done. Finished. It's been fun, and let's never see each other again.
He'd thought this was one of the better Grand Eunuchs. Looking at him now, the man was thoroughly rotten.
"Then what is to be done…? We find it a pity. Ah! That's it. Attendant, go and fetch the dagger."
The rage that had been boiling over subsided a little at Zhu Gaochi's words.
A dagger…? That's it? Hmm. Still, it's a substitute for the Gong-eun Snow Lotus Thread. It can't be an ordinary item, can it?
"This is a trophy seized from the barbarians of the previous dynasty. A divine weapon that slices through metal as though it were a radish. It will serve you well in self-defense."
"This servant is overwhelmed by Your Highness's boundless grace."
Jin Myeong received the short blade the attendant set down, his head still bowed. Overwhelmed by boundless grace, his ass.
Your Highness, the Sunflower Manual already slices through metal like a radish just fine.
It wasn't even a longsword or a saber — a short blade maybe one chi from tip to hilt. The disappointment was real. No doubt because he'd just had the Gong-eun Snow Lotus Thread dangled in front of his face. The very goal that had driven him into the palace had vanished before his eyes. How could he not feel it?
It was fortunate that Jin Myeong had been steeped in palace life to the bone. An ordinary man, unable to master his agitated temper, might well have committed a grave blunder.
"Will you draw it?"
"I dare not, Your Highness! How could I presume to unsheathe a blade in the imperial presence?"
"Very well. Jeonbu, continue to strive for the altars of state and the imperial house. We shall be watching you."
"This servant is overwhelmed by Your Highness's boundless grace, Your Highness."
The face of Jin Myeong, prostrate in kowtow, was thick with disappointment.
It was a pity, but there was nothing to be done. He'd even considered using Huanxu then and there to quietly make off with it — but the attending eunuchs and palace maids, and the imperial guards besides, would all drop dead. He couldn't let the innocent among them die.
What crime have those pitiful eunuchs and palace maids committed? Fellow eunuchs… no, fellow sufferers… anyway, I at least should look out for them.
He contented himself with having learned its whereabouts. Looking at it now, Dangyeong Hall was the vault. The rest could wait. From this moment on, he would lock onto Zhu Gaochi and not let go. From now on, shut up and Zhu Gaochi.
Good heavens. All creation. The Gong-eun Snow Lotus Thread.
That magnificent treasure… Elder Brother had it? Can I call him Elder Brother starting today? Elder Brother! Elder Brother Zhu Gaochi!
That night, near the Omokpae lodgings, Hyundo, Palm King of the Carefree Pavilion, came to find Jin Myeong.
"Your countenance is radiant. I hear you accomplished a great deed. You did well, for a brat of such paltry skill."
"Was it you, Zhenren?"
Jin Myeong cut straight to the point. He had been turning it over in his mind ever since the discovery of the Huntian Fine-Mesh Killing Formation — who had changed a low-ranking eunuch's duty post to the Directorate of Astronomy in the dead of night.
Grand Director Zheng He was out at sea. The Brush-Holding Grand Eunuchs below him might have heard of the Crown Prince's progress from other eunuchs, but they almost certainly wouldn't know about him; he hadn't even met them yet. The Commander of the Brocade Guards was an even more obvious dead end — the man wouldn't know a eunuch named Jang Jinmyeong existed. And if Yi Gwak and Yun Bong hadn't been lying when they said they didn't know the reason, there was only one likely answer.
Hyundo of the Carefree Pavilion. A man who knew of his existence and his skill at more than a rough estimate, and who was very likely to have known of the Crown Prince's progress as well.
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"I mean, Zhenren, that you were the one who sent me to the Directorate of Astronomy today."
"Ahem! I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about. This old Daoist…"
Sure enough, Hyundo's expression grew conspicuously awkward. A Daoist of Hyundo's caliber could not lie well. If a Daoist lied well, that already meant he was no vessel of the Dao — it meant his path to enlightenment was doomed from the start. Someone skilled at deceit for the mere purpose of fooling others, or for purposes beyond that, mastering the pure laws and martial studies of the Daoist school and opening the Transcendent Realm? That was the kind of idle gossip that only came out of marketplace busybodies' mouths.
The principles of martial study followed the Dao and the Law that pierced through to the root. If one who had cultivated martial arts founded on Daoist scripture and Buddhist sutras harbored a heart that ran contrary to the root of those arts, then his achievement would inevitably be limited.
"You're saying it wasn't you? Fine, then. Let me see… a Daoist who has fully mastered the Ten-Step Brocade, neglecting the Dao and scooping animal dung in the Imperial Stables…"
"You insolent brat. Fine. This old Daoist did it. You've got sharp eyes, I'll give you that."
At a threat that wasn't quite a threat to expose his identity completely, Hyundo raised the white flag. To Jin Myeong's eyes, Hyundo had a pure quality about him. Well — if an eighty-year-old Daoist who had poured his entire life into Daoist scripture and martial study wasn't pure, who would be?
If Hyundo had been as sharp at calculating profit and loss as a man of the secular world, he wouldn't have stopped at merely testing Jin Myeong's martial arts last night. Who Jin Myeong was, what the root of his martial arts was, and so on — he would have grilled him thoroughly. In the eyes of ordinary people, that was common sense, wasn't it? Moreover, with that much martial power and that position, he could have involved himself in imperial affairs to any degree and advanced his own faction's interests. And yet the sight of him idling away as a sixth-rank Jeonbu in the Imperial Stables, reeking of animal dung, was proof enough.
Having extracted the old Daoist's surrender, Jin Myeong let a faint snort of laughter escape.
"As I thought. How do you intend to compensate me?"
"Compensate you for what? Word is already spreading that the Crown Prince raised your rank and even gave you a treasure."
"Does attaining the Dao mean you lose your conscience? His Highness settled the account for the merit of protecting him. You, Zhenren, need to compensate me for shoving me into a death trap."
"If this old Daoist hadn't sent you there, would you have gotten that opportunity? If anything, this old Daoist should be receiving compensation from you. A sixth-rank Jeonbu, no less? A eunuch brat whose blood hasn't even dried on his scalp, holding the same rank as this old Daoist — it beggars belief."
The sight of an old man and a youth a full sixty-year cycle apart clucking their tongues at each other's absurdity was rather comical.
"Yes, yes, as you say. A Daoist who has fully mastered the Ten-Step Brocade, neglecting the Dao in the Imperial Stables to meddle in the altars of state and court affairs…"
"Tch! You insolent brat, truly insolent. Talking back to your elder, word for word. What is it you want?"
"Before that — why did you send me there in the first place? Why me alone? Did you know the traitors would attack?"
"Brat! Ask one thing at a time. If I'd known the traitors would attack, this old Daoist would have gone himself. Would I have sent a weakling like you?"
"Then why did you send me?"
"The heavenly signs were oppressive, so I sent you. I sent you just in case. And sure enough, the heavenly signs this old Daoist read were correct. Heh heh heh!"
Hyundo gazed at the night sky with an air of empty serenity. Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, heaving a deep sigh, he looked every bit the enlightened Daoist. Jin Myeong, however, thought otherwise.
Heavenly signs? Heavenly signs, my foot. If you're going to peddle medicine, at least pick your customers.
Even if the man played at being an enlightened Daoist and invoked heavenly signs, Jin Myeong wasn't about to take it at face value.
"Heavenly signs? Fine, heavenly signs. But weren't the elders of the Carefree Pavilion supposed to protect only His Majesty the Emperor?"
"Ahem! You brat, is the Crown Prince not the next Emperor? And this old Daoist, ahem! has a connection with the little Zhu…"
"The li— Princess Gaheung? Why the Princess?"
"Anyway, that's how it is. You brat, you sure ask a lot of questions! I don't particularly like you, but with that face and that martial skill, you ought to become an attendant eunuch, shouldn't you? You castrated yourself with some purpose in mind. It wouldn't hurt to catch the next Emperor's eye, would it?"
At last Jin Myeong grasped Hyundo's purpose. Whatever the story with Ju Jeong-won was, just as he'd thought at the time — the old man had wanted him to encounter Zhu Gaochi's party.
So that was the goal. Become that little Ju Jeong-won's attendant eunuch. He sent me so I'd make the Crown Prince's acquaintance. Is this purity, or is this cunning?
There was no pretext for sending a eunuch who hadn't even finished basic training to appear naturally before the Crown Prince. So he'd rushed it by merely changing the observation duty post. That much, at least, had a justification.
"And so?"
"In three months, become the Princess's attendant eunuch. Even if you refuse, I intend to use my own hands — but."
I was going to do that anyway, you cunning Daoist.
From Jin Myeong's perspective, it was a proposal he could have asked for. The old man was going to handle what he needed to do for him. How grateful was that? But there was no need to show his own cards, so Jin Myeong played dumb without a flicker.
"For free? Where there's a going, there must be a coming. This incident, and even if I do as you ask, Zhenren — I intend to receive proper payment for the value."
"A young brat, and such greed. Speak what you want."
Hyundo shook his head as if throwing up both hands and both feet.
"I'll tell you later. One for this incident, and one for becoming an attendant eunuch. Two in total."
"If you ask me to involve myself directly in court affairs, to transmit Wudang's martial arts, or any other request this old Daoist cannot grant — I refuse."
"Very well. But promise me you will not refuse a request you can grant. Swear it to the True Martial Great Emperor."
"You insolent brat! Have you spent your whole life being deceived?"
In the end, Hyundo had been caught in his own scheme. But from Hyundo's position, there was no choice. For him to personally watch over Ju Jeong-won would violate his pact with the masters of the Carefree Pavilion.
Cunning Daoist. You've been hooked. Flap! Flap! Quite the fresh catch, quite fresh.
Jin Myeong inwardly cheered. Just that morning he'd been on pins and needles, worrying Zhu Gaochi might catch his scent. Now the situation had reversed, and things were unfolding smoothly besides — he even felt a thrill.
While Jin Myeong was savoring his satisfaction, Hyundo made a salute toward the north, which the True Martial Great Emperor symbolized.
"I swear upon the True Martial Great Emperor of the North."
"Two favors shall be granted — one for this incident, one for the attendant's post."
"A request this old Daoist can grant, I shall not refuse."
"Satisfied now? How can a young brat be so cunning. It feels exactly like dealing with those wily old heretics."
"Good. And… separate from the requests, would you take a look at this?"
Jin Myeong drew from his robes the short blade Zhu Gaochi had given him. The only explanation he'd received was that it was sharp enough to slice through metal like a radish.
"What is it?"
"A short blade bestowed by His Highness the Crown Prince."
"A short blade?"
"He said it was a trophy taken from the barbarians of the previous dynasty. I wondered if it might be something special."
"Is that so? Let me see. This humble Daoist's knowledge of exotic artifacts is not particularly deep, but. Hmm? This…?"
Hyundo's eyes narrowed as he took the dagger. Had he recognized the blade's true identity?
"The True Yin… Divine Blade…?"
Hyundo recalled an anecdote from long, long ago — something that had passed between the orthodox martial world of the Central Plains and Kublai, Shizu of the Yuan.
Some seven hundred li west of Hefei, at an inn in Wuhan of Huguang Province, a group of martial artists could be seen wearing robes of deep navy embroidered with white wave patterns. The martial artists of the Hainan Sect — the only sect on Hainan Island, and a great faction counted among the foremost of the orthodox martial world — intended to spend the night in a rear courtyard pavilion of the inn.
"Sect Leader, you summoned me."
Nam Yeonghak, head first-generation disciple of the Hainan Sect, came to Geum Jong-mu's room. Two elders who had accompanied Geum Jong-mu sat within.
"What are the disciples doing?"
"They are cultivating their inner arts."
The martial artists of the Hainan Sect, including the middle-aged Nam Yeonghak, generally had copper-toned faces — a natural result of a lifetime spent under Hainan Island's sun and sea wind. And as martial artists who pursued the fast sword, they had lean, agile builds.
"Well done. At this Heaven's Response Banquet, we must seize one of the Nine Factions, no matter what."
"The disciples will make it so, Sect Leader."
"I worry about the second generation. If only that one hadn't turned out that way."
"That is already in the past."
Geum Jong-mu, Nam Yeonghak, and the two elders thought of the disciple they had expelled a year ago. A disciple who had possessed exceptional talent for the sword of Hainan.