CHAPTER 1 - BORDER
There was a ‘General Hill’ near the small border town of Yanhui. Its name was imposing, but it was actually just a small mound, the peak of which anyone with a long neck could see past.
General Hill did not originally exist. Legends said that, when Daliang’s best Iron Cavalry from the three main Black Iron Camps marched on the northern expedition fourteen years ago, after pacifying the Eighteen Tribes of the Barbarians, they passed Yanhui town on their return journey to the capital and discarded their defective armours on that spot, turning it into a hill. Afterwards, sand accumulated, wind blew, and rain poured. Thus, General Hill was formed. General Hill was a barren mound. Whatever was planted there would never grow; not even wild grass was an exception. There was no shelter even if one wanted to commit adultery. The barren mound sat here in desolation. The elders said that it was because the Black Iron Camp had murdered too many people and their killing intent was overwhelming. As time went by, hooligans with nothing better to do fabricated a series of horror stories, which eventually caused no one to live there. It was dusk, yet there were two children, around ten years of age, who were running to the foot of General Hill. Of these two children, one was of a tall and thin build while the other one was short and plump; seeing them together was like seeing a bowl and a pair of chopsticks running. The tall one was dressed like a girl; without close inspection, no one would see that he was actually a boy. His nickname was Cao Niangzi*, because a fortune teller once said that his life was that of a girl and that he was born in the wrong body. Afraid that God would call him back to reincarnate him, his family was worried that he would not live a long life. Thus, they had been raising him as a girl. *曹娘子 Cao Niangzi; 娘子 Niang Zi means a maiden or a girl. The short and plump one was Butcher Ge’s youngest son. His nickname was Ge Pangxiao*. He was exactly the representation of his name as his whole body was covered in a sheen of oil. *葛胖小 Ge Pangxiao; Pang means fat and Xiao means small. The two of them cast their gaze around General Hill; however, due to the rumours about ghosts, neither dared to approach. Ge Pangxiao held onto a copper-coated ‘Qian Li Yan*’ and craned his neck in General Hill’s direction, muttering: “Say, the sun has set, but he has not returned yet. Big brother is really…what do you call it—hanging oneself to stay away from grains!” *lit. ‘Eye of a Thousand Mile’, a.k.a. telescope. Cao Niangzi: “It’s called going the extra mile. Stop spouting nonsense; hurry and pass the Qian Li Yan to me.” This fake girl often took the charade seriously. Unfortunately, there was something wrong with his approach, for he was unlike a gentle and elegant lady and was more like a shrew. He especially liked to pinch people with his pair of chicken claws. He extended his hand in pinching motion and Ge Pangxiao’s bouncy flesh started to ache. Swiftly, Ge Pangxiao passed the Qian Li Yan, exhorting: “You have to be careful. If you break it, my father will definitely grind me into pastry filling.” The so-called ‘Qian Li Yan’ was a copper cylinder with the pattern of ‘Five Bats*’ carved around it. Inside it was a piece of glazed glass that looked almost transparent. When raised to the eye, even a rabbit’s sex could be clearly seen from four miles away. *五蝠 means five bats. The ‘bat’ 蝠 Fu is regarded as a divine beast in Chinese culture. Since its pronunciation rhymes with ‘fortune’ 福 Fu, it is believed to be auspicious. The five fortunes 五福 Wu Fu are longevity, wealth, prosperity, peace and happiness, and many descendants. Ge Pangxiao’s telescope was relatively exquisite. It was passed down from his grandfather, who had worked as a scout before. Cao Niangzi enjoyed the new item for a moment and lifted it up to look at the stars: “It’s so clear.” Ge Pangxiao followed his gaze and pointed as he remarked: “I know that one. It’s an evening star, also called ‘Chang Geng’, just like my big brother’s name. Mister Shen taught it before, I remember it.” Cao Niangzi pouted: “Who is ‘your big brother’? Do you think he cares about you? Chasing after him so shamelessly and insisting to be his brother, look how low you have become… Aih, wait, have a look. Is that him?” Ge Pangxiao looked at the direction he was pointing, and indeed it was. He saw a youth carrying a sword, his head hanging low, slowly walking down General Hill. Ge Pangxiao, seemingly no longer afraid of ghosts, immediately rushed forward like a ball of lightning: “Big brother, big brother!” Running too fast, he tripped over something at the foot of General Hill and went rolling down. He rolled all the way to the youth’s feet. With a face full of dirt, Ge Pangxiao looked up. Without even bothering to stand up, he grinned and said: “Hehe, big brother, I have been waiting here for you the whole day.” That youth named Changgeng silently retreated, having narrowly avoided stepping on Ge Pangxiao’s foot. Every time he saw Ge Pangxiao, his heart always felt weird. He thought Butcher Ge of A Thousand Kills must have a pair of golden eyes: after all these years, he actually never mistook his son for a pig and butchered him. But Changgeng had a calm personality and a virtuous mouth, so no matter what he was thinking, he would never say anything hurtful. Changgeng helped Ge Pangxiao up with a big-brotherly way and even patted away the dirt on him: “There’s no need to run. Be attentive and don’t fall. You’re looking for me?” Ge Pangxiao: “Big brother Changgeng, your father and his men will return tomorrow. Since we don’t have class, come with us to scramble for goose grubs, alright? We will definitely beat those Li monkeys until they pee themselves!” Changgeng’s father was Xu Baihu*—not his biological father. *Chief Xu had a Baihu rank; a low ranking soldier who led about a hundred men. When he was around three years old, Changgeng followed his widowed mother to this town to seek refuge with relatives; who knew their relatives had moved away, rendering their trip futile. Coincidentally, Chief Xu, a Yanhui soldier whose wife had passed away early on with no children, had taken a liking to Xiuniang and married her. Chief Xu had taken his men out of the town to collect tributes from the Barbarians. His estimated return would be within these two days. The border town was poor; the children had no snacks. Every time the soldiers came back with the tributes, they would also bring along some Barbarians’ cheese and jerkies. They would scatter them at the roadside, attracting a scramble of children and hence, it was ‘scrambling for goose grubs’. Since it was a ‘scramble, a bunch of kids would inevitably fight. As long as no one was seriously hurt, the adults would not get involved. The kids even formed groups for the fight as if it was serious business. For this kind of thing, whoever managed to invite Changgeng into their gang would definitely win. Changgeng had been practising martial arts diligently since he was young—there were plenty of military households at the border, so children who practised martial arts were similarly plentiful. However, practising martial arts was not an easy feat, and most of them joined in thoughtlessly, only to learn it sloppily. Changgeng was the only one who had been going to General Hill to practice alone ever since he started practising swordsmanship; with many years of continuous practice, his perseverance was astonishing. Now, Changgeng was almost fourteen, he could already single-handedly lift a heavy sword of approximately thirty kilograms. Although he knew it in his heart and never involved himself in any fights, those kids somehow feared him a little. Changgeng listened but did not take it to heart, he laughed, “I’m already at this age. What am I picking goose grubs for?” Ge Pangxiao persisted and said: “I have already told Mister Shen and he even nodded, saying we can have a few days of vacation.” Changgeng walked leisurely with his hands behind his back, the heavy sword hitting his leg occasionally, ignoring Ge Pangxiao’s words. Studying and practising swordsmanship were up to him; it had nothing to do with whether or not Mister Shen gave him a holiday. Ge Pangxiao: “Besides Mister Shen said he is going to change medication for Uncle Shiliu, so he might be travelling faraway to buy medicinal herbs and will not be at home. You have nowhere else to go, so go with us. What is so fun about practising swordsmanship every day?” Changgeng finally took notice of his words. He stopped in his tracks, asking: “Didn’t Shiliu just come back from Changyang Pass? Why is he sick again?” Ge Pangxiao: “Ah… Seems like it, he has never been well anyway.” “Then I’ll go have a look.” Changgeng waved his hand towards the two little followers, “Hurry and go home. It’s late already. If you miss dinner, your father will beat you again.” Ge Pangxiao: “Aih, big brother, that…” Changgeng was not interested in listening to his ‘this’ and ‘that’. A boy at his age, a year’s difference was a year’s difference; their heights and thoughts were too different. Changgeng could no longer play with Ge Pangxiao and the others. He, with his height and long legs, left just like that. Little fatty had run for naught and did not manage to invite him. He let out a disappointed sigh, turned around, and glared at Cao Niangzi: “You should have said something, ah!” Cao Niangzi’s cheeks were red, his gaze scattered. That pretentious, superior way he acted towards Ge Pangxiao had long dissipated. Like a maiden in love, he grasped his chest: “Even my big brother Changgeng’s way of walking is better looking than anyone.” Ge Pangxiao: “…” There’s no way I’m taking this good-for-nothing along anymore. The ‘Mister Shen’ and ‘Uncle Shiliu’ that Ge Pangxiao mentioned were a pair of brothers who had quite a fate with Changgeng. Two years ago, when Changgeng was still a child, he went out of the town alone to play. He accidentally lost his way and found himself surrounded by a pack of wolves. He was close to being taken away when, luckily, the Shen brothers travelled through. Using some medicinal powder, Mister Shen chased away those hungry wolves, saving the boy’s life. Both brothers went on to reside in Yanhui town. Chief Xu rented them a courtyard as a token of gratitude for saving Changgeng’s life, free of charge. The elder brother, called Shen Yi, was a failed scholar. Although he was not old, he had long given up on becoming an officer and had chosen to stay as a hermit at this place where not even birds shat. The neighbours all called him ‘Mister Shen’ courteously. Other than being a hermit, Mister Shen was also a physician, a ghost-writer, a teacher and a ‘Chang Bi Shi*’ along with other occupations. He was incredibly talented. He could treat wounds and even act as a midwife to horses in labour. During the day, he would open up private classes and teach a bunch of children reading, enabling them to recognize words. At night, after shooing away his pupils, he would roll up his sleeves to fix steam and fire engines, armours, and various puppets to subsidise house appliances. So much for a hermit. *Chang Bi Shi 长臂师 in the story is an occupation similar to a mechanic. It literally means ‘Long Arm Master’ Mister Shen could do anything, he could earn money and manage the household; even his cooking was extraordinary. He was tremendously capable. Due to that, his brother had nothing else to do other than dedicating himself to being a loser—Mister Shen’s younger brother was called ‘Shen Shiliu’. Rumour had it that he was born with a weak body. His family feared that he would not grow up well, so they did not name him. Since he was born on the sixteenth of the first month, ‘Shiliu*’ it was. *Shi Liu 十六: sixteen Shen Shiliu did not study and did not work the whole day. He did not even know to pick up a fallen oil jug and no one had ever seen him pick a pail up. All he did was either go for a leisure walk or indulge himself in liquor. He was very lazy and talentless, almost having no merit. Other than his good looks. He was so good looking that even the oldest man in the town testified to it, saying that he had never seen such a neat man in his almost ninety years of life. Unfortunately, the good looks were of no use—Shen Shiliu had fallen gravely ill when he was little, burning terribly with fever. His eyes were damaged: he could not see anything beyond two feet; at ten steps’ distance, he could not even distinguish between male and female. He was also deaf: communicating with him relied on yelling. Neighbours, who went past their door, even with a wall separating them, could still hear the polite Mister Shen yelling his throat out like a mad dog every day. All in all, Shen Shiliu was a sickly man who was blind and deaf. Based on his conditions, he was supposed to live the wealthy life of a beautiful man. Unfortunately, other than the poor, there were only the poorer in such a small border town. Even if a deity were to descend, no one would be able to afford the expenses. In accordance with local traditions, if there was no way to repay someone, they would recognize each other as family. If the one you were indebted to had children or grandchildren, then you would acknowledge their children or grandchildren as if they were yours. If the person had no descendant, you would be acknowledged as their child or grandchild. The Shen brothers saved Changgeng from the wolf’s mouth. It was a debt of life; hence, Changgeng naturally took one of them as his foster father. Mister Shen, who studied so much that it damaged his brain, insisted that it was not appropriate and never accepted the honour. On the other hand, his brother, Shiliu, was so ecstatic that he called Changgeng ‘son’ on the spot. Thus, Shen Shiliu, that thug, gained a huge advantage—if one day this lazy and sickly man became poverty-stricken, Changgeng would have to care for him until death. Changgeng walked the familiar path that took past his own yard, took a sharp turn at the corner, and arrived at the residence of Mister Shen. The Shen family had two bachelors. Not even a hen was there. Naturally, there was no need to avoid anyone. Changgeng had always been so casual that the never bothered to knock on the door. Once he stepped into the yard, a medicinal odour carried by the wind blew towards him. Mister Shen was brewing medicinal herbs in the yard with a frown. He was a scholarly young man dressed in a worn robe. He was not old, but he always frowned, emitting a certain chill from his smoke-scented body. The sound of xun* resonated from within the house. The player’s thin and tall shadow was reflected on the paper window by the dim light. Clearly lacking talent, there was no way to discern the notes. Sometimes, there were one or two notes that failed to produce any sound. The melody wavered, emanating a sense of isolation and weariness. *A Chinese egg-shaped aero-phone To call it music would be an overstatement. Changgeng listened half-heartedly, thinking that if he had to compliment it, then he could only say it was decent enough for a funeral. Upon hearing his footsteps, Shen Yi smiled at Changgeng, then shouted towards the house: “Dear ancestor, please grant us mercy. You are going to rush our piss out. Changgeng is here!” The one who was blowing the xun seemed to turn a deaf ear. However, with those ears of his, he probably had not heard anything at all. Mister Shen’s face turned sour. Changgeng listened on and felt that the player’s breathing was still energetic; it didn’t seem like he was ill. Half of his heart was relieved. He asked: “I heard from Ge Pangxiao that Mister is changing Shiliu’s medication. What happened to him?” Mister Shen examined the colour of the boiling medicinal soup as he replied in displeasure: “Nothing. It’s the season changing. He has different medicine for different seasons due to his fragile body. This sickly man sure is tough to serve—right, you came at a good time. I’m not sure where he got it, but he said he got a plaything for you. He even thought of having it delivered to you early tomorrow morning. Go have a look.” |