Lv Sheng sprinted at full speed. His body was already transforming — even his face was gradually becoming muzzle-like and protruding. He ran desperately, stumbling and falling once along the way, scrambling back to his feet and running again, bursting into the garrison like the wind. The two star generals guarding the garrison either could not tell Lv Sheng and Kui Mulang apart, or had simply grown accustomed to the two of them alternately controlling the body — they made no move to block him. Lv Sheng half-tumbled and half-crawled his way into the garrison, and just as he reached the stone steps of the cave dwelling, he collapsed to the ground, raised his head toward the sky, let out a howl, and transformed before their eyes into an enormous wolf.
The enormous wolf shook its body, then shifted back into Lv Sheng’s form — but the bearing and expression had already become Kui Mulang’s.
Kui Mulang looked around with cold eyes. Finding himself at the steps of the cave dwelling, he slipped inside, cast a sweeping glance around the interior, and instantly exploded in fury.
“Lv Sheng — what were you doing out there again?”
Kui Mulang snarled.
A voice entirely different from Kui Mulang’s rose from his own mouth: “This is my body. Why should I not come out?”
“The last time you and I struck an agreement on this very matter,” Kui Mulang raged. “You were not to take arbitrary control of this body again. You are breaking our agreement!”
When Kui Mulang finished speaking, his mouth moved again and Lv Sheng’s voice rang out: “You said you would borrow my body for three years. Three years are now complete, and yet you continue to delay, refusing to restore my freedom. You broke your word first — and now you blame me?”
In the ancient garrison, beneath a sky thick with stars, Kui Mulang — or one might say Lv Sheng — stood beneath the open courtyard. One person, two different voices, talking to himself in fierce argument — a thoroughly eerie sight.
It was now Lv Sheng speaking: “Do you know what it feels like to have one’s three souls trapped in darkness? How is that any different from the dungeon of Dunhuang County’s jail? It is even more solitary, even more terrifying, even more tormenting. Do you understand what freedom means to a person? It is like a prisoner sentenced to three years — he suffers, he endures, he waits. At last the third year draws to its close. But just as the moment of release approaches, the jailer announces: three more years added to the sentence. Kui Mulang — when you struck our agreement, if you had said you would enslave me for my entire life, I would have had no hope to hold onto, and perhaps I would not have formed any expectation. But you once gave me hope — and now you demand I surrender to despair. There is nothing left that can restrain my heart’s drive toward freedom!”
As Lv Sheng spoke, the body was still controlled by Kui Mulang, and the face still bore Kui Mulang’s expression. Kui Mulang “listened” — or perhaps one might say spoke — while moving swiftly through the cave dwelling and garrison, examining various things.
“Just now I sat in meditation for a full hour. What did you do with my body while you controlled it?”
Kui Mulang asked.
“Went outside and walked around.”
Lv Sheng answered.
“That is all?”
Kui Mulang was suspicious.
“What else?”
Lv Sheng said.
“I did not know you had this sort of taste.”
Kui Mulang snorted coldly.
“If you had been imprisoned for three years, you too would have come to love this canopy of stars, the winds of every season, and this land of yellow sand with its rivers flowing through.”
Lv Sheng said.
Kui Mulang said nothing. His eyes flickered with disdain. Suddenly his nostrils flared and he began sniffing in every direction. In the midst of this sniffing, his mouth involuntarily opened and Lv Sheng’s voice came out: “Wanting to smell my scent? Why not transform into the Celestial Wolf? A human’s sense of smell is far inferior!”
“Silence!”
Kui Mulang pressed his lips tightly shut, permitting no further sound to escape.
“Hmm.”
Lv Sheng’s voice now emerged from his nostrils instead.
Kui Mulang was so infuriated that his temper flared, and he formed a hand seal and shouted: “Suppress!”
After a moment, Kui Mulang cautiously opened his mouth — Lv Sheng’s voice did not emerge again. He breathed a sigh of relief at last.
Kui Mulang sniffed his way out of the garrison, only to come face to face with Zhai Wen and Xuanzang walking toward him.
“Kui Mulang, are you feeling better?”
Zhai Wen asked with a smile.
Kui Mulang stared at her. “Where did you go just now? Why have you changed your clothes?”
“I was out walking with the Master.” Zhai Wen said. “It was a little cold outside, so I changed.”
Kui Mulang’s expression softened. He moved close to her and sniffed discreetly. Zhai Wen remained perfectly composed, feigning ignorance.
Kui Mulang then moved to stand before Xuanzang. “Master — what did you eat just now?”
“This poor monk grew hungry and asked Zhai Wen to have someone prepare buo tuo soup.”
Xuanzang had not expected Kui Mulang’s sense of smell to be so keen — he had already rinsed his mouth and washed his hands, yet it could still be detected.
“And goat’s milk.”
Kui Mulang said flatly. He glanced around in all directions, sniffing carefully at the air. Then suddenly he turned and walked toward the soldiers’ quarters.
Both Zhai Wen’s and Xuanzang’s expressions changed. Kui Mulang walked slowly, eyes half-closed, as though capturing an extremely faint trace in the air — yet his direction was remarkably precise.
Xuanzang thought for a moment, then told Zhai Wen he was going to retire for the night. Kui Mulang paid him no mind. Xuanzang departed, rounding several corners before breaking into a swift run, arriving at the outer gate of Jade Gate Pass.
The pass had a gate tower with soldiers from Kui Mulang’s forces stationed above — but since his forces were few, no one patrolled within the walls. The concealed troop caves on both sides had long since crumbled into disrepair, and there was scarcely anyone about.
Xuanzang picked up a piece of limestone from nearby, and following Linghu Zhan’s instructions, drew a white circle on the wall, then waited with anxious tension. According to Linghu Zhan, if the spy who had infiltrated Jade Gate Pass was still alive, they would surely be keeping a close watch on Xuanzang’s every move — perhaps observing him even now from the shadows.
“So the Master is indeed sent by the Linghu clan!”
Suddenly a sigh arose from nearby.
Xuanzang spun around — and saw someone emerge from the shadows by the wall. It was the Registrar of Jade Gate Pass: Zhao Fu!
“So it is you?”
Xuanzang was equally surprised. He had not imagined that the Linghu clan’s informant had climbed to such a prominent position.
Zhao Fu seemed to read the question in Xuanzang’s expression. A look of feeling spread across his round, fleshy face: “Kui Mulang’s followers are either a band of horseback raiders or refugees from various tribes. Someone of merchant background like myself who can read and calculate — what is surprising about rising to the position of Registrar?”
Xuanzang considered this, and indeed it made sense.
“Master, you drew this signal pattern — is there something you need from me?”
Zhao Fu asked.
“I need you to divert Kui Mulang’s attention.”
Xuanzang said gravely.
Zhao Fu’s expression turned mocking. “Master, as you have seen, Kui Mulang and Lv Sheng are inseparable in one body. Why does the Master feel the need to intervene in their affairs?”
“I simply do not want Kui Mulang to discover Lv Sheng and Zhai Wen’s secret home.”
Xuanzang said.
Zhao Fu sighed and showed a hesitant expression. “Master, I am afraid I find this difficult to carry out. Kui Mulang is a true deity of the heavens — his senses are extraordinary. If he were to discover that I was behind it, I could not escape the consequences.”
“You have been stationed here in Jade Gate Pass for a year. I imagine you have long known that Zhai Wen is still alive?”
Xuanzang fixed his gaze on him. “Yet Linghu Zhan received not a single piece of information about this. Why?”
Zhao Fu smiled bitterly. “Of course I knew Zhai Wen was alive. But from the Linghu clan’s perspective — what purpose would it serve to relay this news that she lives? It would only stir up a needless storm. Master, Zhai Wen is a source of shame for both the Linghu and Zhai clans alike. Is it not better for her to quietly remain here, living anonymously in obscurity?”
“That may be so — but as a spy, are you not obliged to pass accurate intelligence to your principal? Whether to act on it is a decision for your principal to make, not one for you to make in his place!”
Xuanzang said calmly.
Zhao Fu suddenly fixed his gaze on Xuanzang, his expression darkening.
“So in this poor monk’s view,” Xuanzang continued, “you have in fact betrayed the Linghu clan — is that correct? Kui Mulang already knows your true identity, and so you went over to his side?”
Zhao Fu deflated like a punctured bladder and muttered: “I will not deceive the Master — I did betray the Linghu clan. But… Kui Mulang does not know my true identity. I went to serve Kui Mulang of my own free will.”
“Why?”
Xuanzang asked.
A fervent gleam came over Zhao Fu’s face. “Why? Master — when you encountered Kui Mulang, did you feel nothing? This is a true deity of the heavens! Has the mortal world ever seen a genuine god? Even the Son of Heaven merely styles himself as such — whether real or false, who can say? And yet before my very eyes there appeared a true, living god. A common mortal such as myself would not presume to hope that — like King Huainan ascending to immortality and all his household ascending with him — his chickens and dogs might rise to heaven as well. But to serve at the side of a true god day after day… this is a blessing the Zhao clan could not cultivate through a thousand or ten thousand years.”
Xuanzang stared at the frantic ardor in his expression. Slowly he felt he was beginning to understand.
Kui Mulang sniffed along the air with a cold expression, already moving into the soldiers’ quarters. Zhai Wen followed close behind, growing increasingly tense.
“Do you know whose scent I am following?”
Kui Mulang said. “Not yours. Not Xuanzang’s. My own.”
Zhai Wen’s face turned snow-white in an instant. “Kui Mulang — you believe Lv Sheng came here?”
“I only know that he did not seize my body merely to look at stars from the ramparts,” Kui Mulang said. “This man is hiding something.”
Kui Mulang drew ever closer to the beacon tower. The small courtyard was already in sight. Zhai Wen’s heart was nearly pounding out of her chest, her face filled with despair. Kui Mulang abruptly turned his head. Zhai Wen hurriedly composed herself and looked back at him with a smile.
“Your heart is beating very fast,” Kui Mulang said. “Is the chest pain troubling you again?”
“Perhaps… it hasn’t quite healed yet!”
Zhai Wen said steadily.
Kui Mulang said nothing. He was about to continue toward the little courtyard when suddenly a scream rang out in the distance. He snapped around and stepped in front of Zhai Wen. A moment later Zhao Fu came running up in a breathless rush: “Kui Mulang, this is terrible — someone has been shot dead at the city gate!”
Both of Zhao Fu’s hands were drenched in blood. He stretched them out, his face etched with agitation. Kui Mulang turned away in disgust, then led Zhai Wen and Zhao Fu out of the soldiers’ quarters and down to the gate of Jade Gate Pass.
A crowd had already gathered below. Four star generals were circling about on guard. At a breach beside the gate, a soldier of the Jade Gate Pass garrison lay dead, an arrow embedded in his back. On the wall beside him was a white circle drawn in chalk.
Kui Mulang examined the body carefully, pulled out the arrow and examined it, then walked to the wall and ran his fingers over the chalk circle, frowning in silence.
Zhai Wen murmured: “Could it be that Lv Sheng came here?”
Kui Mulang opened both hands and sniffed at his fingers, then shook his head. “This circle was not drawn by him. Zhao Fu — how do you think this man died?”
Zhao Fu considered. “In my subordinate’s view, someone must have infiltrated Jade Gate Pass and was spotted by this soldier — who was then shot dead by the intruder.”
“This man was struck from behind.”
Kui Mulang shook his head.
Zhao Fu said: “Perhaps he spotted the intruder and turned to flee?”
“Why would he flee? The gate tower is full of men — he need only shout.”
Kui Mulang reflected aloud. “Where is Xuanzang?”
Zhao Fu’s expression tightened. “He returned to rest just now — along with his disciple and that young woman. I sent someone to check: all three are there and none have left.”
Kui Mulang shook his head helplessly. “The stench of blood has overwhelmed my nose. No need to make further trouble tonight — we’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
“Shall I dispatch men to guard your cave dwelling?”
Zhao Fu asked.
Kui Mulang let out a cold laugh. “No need. If he dares come looking for this master, that would be best of all.”
Kui Mulang swept his gaze slowly over the crowd. The bright moon slipped behind the clouds, and Jade Gate Pass fell into darkness. People’s faces were hidden in shadow. Even a god cannot see through the truth beneath a mortal face.
Sunlight fell upon Dunhuang City.
Inside Changle Temple, the monks’ morning prayers had ended, and the sound of bells and chimes rang through the air. Li Yan sat in a daze within that serene and distant sound, startled only when Wang Lishe knocked and entered.
“Lishe has come?”
Li Yan rubbed his weary face. “Bring him a seat.”
Wang Lishe knelt on the soft mat. “Your Highness, the situation has just been made clear. Wang Junke departed Dunhuang City before dawn, taking more than thirty riders and several large carts, heading in a northwest direction. His destination is unknown.”
“And what else?”
Li Yan asked.
“Last night, in the prefecture jail, they began applying torture to the principal agents of the Zhang clan’s commercial house,” Wang Lishe said in a low voice. “Wang Junke has stationed soldiers to seal off the prefecture jail — no one may enter or leave. Those outside can only hear the screams of interrogation continuing through the night. Whether confessions have been extracted is unknown.”
Li Yan drew a sharp breath. “Applying torture to the Zhang clan’s agents… what is Wang Junke trying to do? Does he not know that keeping the threat unspoken is the greatest form of pressure on the Zhang clan? If he actually extracts confessions, and the Zhang clan doesn’t act — Tang law is strict and severe. If they do act — wouldn’t that mean completely falling out with the Eight Great Clans?”
“Perhaps Wang Junke is precisely looking to fall out with the Dunhuang clans,” Wang Lishe guessed.
“Preposterous!”
Li Yan was incensed. “He came last night to urge this prince toward rebellion, and today he falls out with the Eight Great Clans — is this not undermining his own foundations?”
Li Yan’s brow furrowed in deep anxiety, and he seemed somewhat at a loss. “Lishe — what is your view of this matter? This prince has not slept a wink all night, tossing and turning in thought — and the more I think, the more frightened I become.”
Wang Lishe naturally knew which matter he meant. He hesitated for some time before saying softly: “Your Highness — when it comes to rebellion, your subordinate is frightened as well. But Wang Junke was right about one thing: as long as we do not wish to die, we are like an arrow nocked on the bowstring — we have no choice but to release it.”
“You see it the same way?”
Li Yan was somewhat surprised.
“I do,” Wang Lishe said with a bitter smile. “After you spoke last night, your subordinate also could not sleep. Your subordinate’s situation is different from others — I was born into your household as a hereditary bondservant. Under Tang law, when a master commits a crime, a bondservant who took no part still receives a punishment reduced by one degree. But for the great crime of rebellion — a reduction of one degree still means death by strangulation.”
“It is this prince who has implicated you.”
Li Yan sighed. “Then — shall we not rebel?”
“No — we rebel!”
Wang Lishe spoke each word with deliberate force.
Li Yan stared at him in astonishment. In Wang Lishe’s eyes he saw a gleam like that of a cornered beast.
“Your Highness has no choice now but to stake everything on this one desperate throw. Even at the risk of utter destruction for my entire clan, your subordinate will accompany Your Highness in rebellion to the very end!”
Wang Lishe said in a resolute voice. “Last night I studied the maps carefully and thought through Wang Junke’s plan at length — it is entirely feasible. Above all, with His Majesty on the verge of launching his campaign against the Eastern Turks, this is practically a heaven-sent opportunity. If we submit meekly, we will return to Chang’an to face death or demotion to the status of commoners. That being so, it is better to make one bold gamble and carve out a domain.”
“It is feasible?”
Li Yan murmured.
“It is feasible!”
Wang Lishe said.
“We rebel?”
Li Yan said.
“We rebel!”
Wang Lishe said.
“Then let us rebel!”
Li Yan said weakly, his voice heavy with bitterness. “With Wang Junke handling affairs here in Dunhuang, he should be able to manage. The critical matter on the Guazhou side is Dugu Da. I wonder whether Dugu Da will follow me?”
“Dugu Da was personally elevated by Your Highness from a low-ranking officer to the governorship of an entire prefecture. He should follow you. Let me return to Guazhou and sound out his intentions.”
Wang Lishe said.
“No — you do not carry sufficient weight.”
Li Yan was not confused about this. “This matter is of the gravest importance. This prince must go in person. Since we are resolved to rebel, Guazhou must be properly arranged. Go make the preparations — I am returning to Guazhou at once.”
Wang Lishe hesitated. “With Wang Junke gone just now, would our leaving like this appear too hasty? If it arouses suspicion…”
Li Yan thought for a moment: “Just say that this prince has agreed with Commissioner Wang on the date of the betrothal, and is returning to Guazhou to arrange for the young lord to come to Dunhuang to receive his bride. Hmm… speaking of the young lord — where is he?”
“The young lord…” Wang Lishe’s mouth fell open. “A few days ago the garrison deputy of Qingdun reported that Kui Mulang had abducted Master Xuanzang to Jade Gate Pass. The young lord… could he have followed the Master there?”
Li Yan’s face turned iron-grey. “That unfilial son! Does he truly think he has left the secular world and become a monk following Master Xuanzang? That Kui Mulang is ferociously cruel — if he were to come to any harm, would not my Li clan be left without an heir?”
At that moment, a personal attendant requested an audience at the door. It turned out to be Wang Junsheng. Li Yan quickly summoned him in.
Wang Junsheng bowed respectfully before Li Yan: “Greetings, Your Highness. My master the Commissioner says he has gone to Jade Gate Pass to bring back the young lord and the Twelfth Young Miss, and has charged this servant to tell Your Highness not to worry.”
Li Yan and Wang Lishe exchanged a glance, both feeling a sudden creeping sensation along their spines.
“Master — please recite no more.”
Li Chuo was at that moment urging Xuanzang. “The sun is growing fiercer by the minute.”
The sandy flats to the south of Jade Gate Pass had long been the burial ground for the garrison’s fallen soldiers. Since the Han dynasty, the soldiers who had died in battle or been brought back to rest at Jade Gate Pass numbered no fewer than tens of thousands. Long ago some may have had mounds of earth raised over them, but through a thousand years of wind and sand, however high those mounds might once have been, they had all been leveled without a trace.
Now a new grave had appeared in the sandy flats — the soldier shot dead the previous night, buried here. Xuanzang had never dreamed the night before that his act of pressing Zhao Fu to divert Kui Mulang would result in the killing of a soldier. He felt profound guilt, believing this soldier had died because of him.
After the soldier was buried, Xuanzang had been kneeling before the grave reciting sutras for the salvation of the dead for two full hours. Li Chuo and Yuzao stood nearby keeping him company — Yuzao with her mind elsewhere entirely, while Li Chuo had grown somewhat impatient.
“This poor monk erred — one life saved, one life taken.”
Xuanzang paused at last, his face full of sorrow. “The cunning and cruelty of the human heart — this poor monk has not looked clearly enough into it, and as a result has cost another person their life.”
Li Chuo was completely at a loss for what to do with this master of his. Xuanzang himself was so perceptive and clear-eyed that there was nothing Li Chuo could offer by way of consolation.
“Master Xuanzang —”
Just then Zhao Fu came running out from Jade Gate Pass. His build was stout, the sun was scorching, and after running a stretch he was already gasping for breath. “Kui Mulang summons you!”
Xuanzang turned and looked at him, but said nothing. He rose in silence and walked toward Jade Gate Pass.
Zhao Fu smiled apologetically as he fell into step: “I know the Master resents me — but Kui Mulang is what he is. His senses are extraordinary. Without striking from a distance, I could not have escaped his detection.”
“Could you not have set fire to an empty area to draw him away, rather than killing someone?”
Xuanzang said coldly.
“Things happened too quickly — where was I to find a firestarter?”
Zhao Fu sighed. “Even so, I fear Kui Mulang is already suspicious of me. The arrow was of the kind commonly used within Jade Gate Pass — and Kui Mulang has not ordered an investigation. He likely suspects there is a traitor within his own ranks. I already feel deep unease at having betrayed Kui Mulang. The Master need not blame me further.”
Xuanzang said nothing more. The group returned together to the garrison, where they found Kui Mulang and Zhai Wen waiting at the garrison gate, four star generals standing to one side.
“The Master has come?”
Kui Mulang said flatly. “Walk with this master.”
“Kui Mulang, where do you wish to go?”
Zhai Wen asked.
Kui Mulang looked at her warmly, then suddenly drew from his sleeve a length of white silk. Zhai Wen’s face immediately changed, and Xuanzang himself was taken aback. Embroidered on the silk were two mandarin ducks playing in the water — it was the very length Zhai Wen kept hanging on the screen partition in her little room.
“The embroidery of these two mandarin ducks is exceptionally fine. I had no idea there was anyone within Jade Gate Pass with such skill at needlework,” Kui Mulang said with a smile. “As for where this embroiderer might be — why don’t we go and find out?”
Zhai Wen and Xuanzang exchanged a glance, both unsettled. Kui Mulang paid them no attention and walked directly ahead. The two had no choice but to follow. Yuzao, Li Chuo, Zhao Fu, and the others trailed behind, bewildered.
Kui Mulang pressed the silk to his face and breathed in deeply. He closed his eyes for a moment, then walked with precise direction toward the soldiers’ quarters. Zhai Wen followed in growing dread, silent the whole way. The soldiers’ quarters were not far from the garrison — fifty or sixty paces brought them into the area. Rounding a few rows of badly damaged buildings, they came to the courtyard below the beacon tower.
“Kui Mulang —”
Zhai Wen’s face had gone pale.
Kui Mulang smiled, and spoke each word with quiet precision: “Open the gate.”
Zhai Wen’s trembling hands slowly pushed open the timber gate. Kui Mulang walked into the courtyard, surveyed it in all directions, and said approvingly: “What a pleasant air of rural domesticity. Hmm — I smell buo tuo soup. Did the Master not eat a bowl last night? Surely not here?”
Xuanzang said nothing.
Kui Mulang walked to the door of the room, but did not push it open. He turned and asked: “Wen’er — tell me: what do women love?”
“That… depends on the person.”
Zhai Wen forced a smile.
“Could there be a woman who has no love for the Heavenly Court, no love for the vast earth — who remains unmoved even if all the treasures of the world were placed before her — and yet loves one crumbling little house?”
Kui Mulang asked.
Zhai Wen opened her mouth, not knowing how to answer.
Kui Mulang waited a moment, then shoved open the door with a single push. A simple yet warm interior appeared before the assembled onlookers. All except Xuanzang were puzzled, curiously examining the furnishings within. Kui Mulang moved slowly about the room, his face calm, yet carrying an undercurrent of sorrow, anger, and despair.
“Hmm — what fine wheat wine. I have never drunk wheat wine of such rich fragrance.” Kui Mulang opened the wine jar in the corner and sniffed it deeply. Then he sniffed the jar of grape juice as well. “Filtered many times, I imagine — the juice is clear as water. And this reed mat is woven very finely too.”
Despair filled Zhai Wen’s face.
Kui Mulang moved to stand before the eight-panel screen. “So it is Chang’an! I have never seen Chang’an — and yet looking at this painting, I feel as though the entire city stands before me. Ah — raising chickens, brewing wine, making paintings. This is truly the spirit of one who envies only the mandarin ducks, not the immortals. Only — why is there no qin?”
With a crack, Kui Mulang knocked the screen over, revealing the bedchamber beyond.
On the thick reed bed mat lay a bright red quilt embroidered with mandarin ducks, neatly folded. On the coat hook beside it hung several men’s and women’s robes — and among them, clearly visible, was the garment Zhai Wen had been wearing the night before.
Zhai Wen swayed on her feet, nearly falling. Kui Mulang did not spare her a glance. He said coldly: “Lv Sheng — come out and have a look.”
He formed a hand seal with one hand and pressed it to his own forehead. Suddenly Lv Sheng’s voice rose from his mouth: “This place… why are you here?”
Everyone present — save Zhao Fu, who was accustomed to such scenes — was thunderstruck, even Xuanzang himself, who had never before witnessed Lv Sheng making himself heard this way. Yuzao clapped a hand over her mouth, trembling violently.
Kui Mulang said nothing. He swept a slow gaze around the room. His mouth was already sounding Lv Sheng’s voice, and clearly Lv Sheng was seeing Zhai Wen and the others through Kui Mulang’s eyes — his voice filled with desperate panic: “Wen’er… Wen’er…”
Zhai Wen smiled a smile of sorrowful grief. “Silang — I’m sorry. I failed to protect our home.”
These words instantly ignited Kui Mulang’s fury. He did not dare touch Zhai Wen, but sent her flying to the ground with a ferocious kick and roared: “Your home? Who is it you love?”
“Kui Mulang — do not harm Wen’er!”
From his own mouth, Lv Sheng shouted in pain and fury.
The face was Kui Mulang’s — filled with rage and hatred — while the words from the mouth were filled with desperate anguish and frantic concern. Everyone who watched felt a chill creeping through their hearts.
Zhai Wen rose from the ground. Calmly she said: “The one I love is naturally Silang. I am his wife, joined by the command of our parents and through the words of a proper matchmaker. Who else would I love, if not him?”
“And what of me?”
Kui Mulang roared.
“You are simply someone who used demonic arts to forcibly separate a husband and wife,” Zhai Wen said. “Like a thief breaking into a home, seizing the house by force, and kidnapping my husband. I have only been willing to deal with you because I could not bear to see my husband suffer.”
“You ungrateful wretch!”
Kui Mulang screamed, snatching up the nearby clothes rack and beating Zhai Wen savagely, knocking her down and pummeling her without cease.
“Kui Mulang — stop!”
Lv Sheng shouted. “If you have the nerve, come at me!”
“Stop him!”
Xuanzang cried out and rushed forward, seizing the clothes rack.
Li Chuo and Yuzao also surged forward. The three of them pulled and grappled. Kui Mulang raised one palm — his open hand suddenly wreathed in black mist — and gave each of the three a light tap on the forehead. Xuanzang and the others immediately felt their vision swim with dizziness. They collapsed to the floor — still conscious, but unable to move.
Kui Mulang paid the three no mind and continued kicking Zhai Wen, grinding his teeth: “I am a true deity of the heavens. For love of you, I forsook the heavens and fell to become a divine creature of this mortal realm. I searched for you for more than a decade. We once pledged to pass a lifetime together in the mortal world. Yet why have you forgotten me? Why have you come to love another?”
“You have the wrong person.”
Zhai Wen was kicked and rolled across the floor, yet she was smiling. “I am no Pixiang handmaiden. I am Zhai Wen — Silang’s wife.”
“Your spirit body is undimmed — do you take me for a blind man?”
Kui Mulang said, and yet — inexplicably — his eyes filled with tears. “In the Heavenly Court’s vast solitude, across thousands upon thousands of years, we gazed at each other in loneliness from afar. We walked the celestial corridor holding hands, watching the endless stars fall into the deep sea. You said: let us go to the mortal world. You would rather be like a falling star, cherishing one brief moment of joy, than remain in this hopeless love. I listened to you. I defied the heavens and fell to the mortal world. In this mortal world there is not a single familiar face, not a single kindred spirit — everyone reveres me, fears me, forever making supplication to me, never knowing what I myself long for. I am just as alone and desolate in this mortal world. It is only because I found you that I cling to the mortal world, even though you wear the Heavenly Garment and I cannot even embrace you. And yet why — why have you changed?”
Zhai Wen struggled to pull herself upright and kneel on the floor. Blood stained the corner of her mouth. She looked at him with a desolate smile: “Ah, this mortal world — it is no different from the Heavenly Court in the end. The human heart is like a key — it can fit only one lock. My heart was given to Silang, and can hold no one else. I do not know what that Pixiang handmaiden was thinking. But I know this: once she was reborn as a mortal, she lived a mortal life. The memory of her divine past — all of it — became passing clouds, never to be recalled.”
“No —”
Kui Mulang let out a cry of despair and kicked her in the shoulder, sending her rolling over again. He was behaving like a madman. “You betrayed me! Lv Sheng — look! I am letting you out so you can watch me torment her. You love her, don’t you — then come and protect her! Look how much pain she is in. She is screaming. There is blood from her mouth. She is about to be kicked to death. Save her, Lv Sheng! You are heaven’s chosen, the peerless champion of the Great Tang, foremost warrior of the Wude era, the pride of Chang’an, renowned throughout the realm. Your ambitions are vast — to benefit all under heaven, to transform generations to come. How is it that you cannot even protect one woman?”
“Kui Mulang — stop!”
From Kui Mulang’s own mouth, Lv Sheng cried out in agonized fury: “You call yourself a heavenly deity — and you only dare raise your hand against a woman? If you are no coward, then come at me!”
Kui Mulang stopped abruptly and sneered: “You think I do not dare destroy your three souls? Lv Sheng — I have every means available to extinguish your three souls. I have simply refrained because of our agreement, unwilling to break my word. Today I summoned you out so you could watch me torment the one you love most — and then I will use the grinding force of heaven and earth to crush your three souls to nothing, leaving you unable to be reborn for all eternity!”
“Ha ha ha —”
Lv Sheng’s voice rose from his mouth in great laughter: “The word ‘love’ — you will never understand it. To have loved is enough — a single moment becomes eternity. Why must one insist on living a lifetime together in the mortal world?”
Kui Mulang stood stunned in thought, then suddenly clenched his teeth and intoned: “Good. Then I shall give you your moment of eternity.临兵斗者，皆 — warriors in formation, let all—”
In a sudden burst, Yuzao — drawing strength from no one knew where — let out a shout and leaped to her feet, snatching the straight blade from Zhao Fu’s side, and slashed it at Kui Mulang. Kui Mulang sidestepped in a flash, then struck her in the head with his elbow. Yuzao’s body had already gone limp and weak — she collapsed instantly to the floor. Yet she struggled to crawl to Zhai Wen’s side, the straight blade in hand, held before Zhai Wen in protection.
“Brother Lv — I am sorry to you. I will protect her…”
Yuzao stared at Kui Mulang and murmured.
“You are —”
Lv Sheng’s voice sounded from Kui Mulang’s mouth. He seemed not to recognize Yuzao.
“Fish swim among the waterweeds, their heads are graceful and fine. There is a girl with graceful cheeks — how joyful to raise a cup of wine.”
Yuzao’s arms could barely hold the blade steady, yet she spoke the lines with a smile.
“That is ‘Yu Zao’ — a poem from the Book of Songs,” said Lv Sheng’s voice, a note of puzzlement in it. “Yet the original reads: ‘The king dwells in Hao — how joyful to raise a cup of wine.’ Why has one line been changed?”
“Because you changed it for me!”
Yuzao said through tears. “You said my cheeks were round and full, like a big-headed fish. You called me ‘big-headed fish,’ and said: ‘Big-headed fish — let’s drink together!'”
Lv Sheng’s voice was struck with sudden recognition: “Ah — you are the Twelfth Young Miss. Yuzao! It has been four or five years since we last met — you have truly grown up.”
“Even the smallest girl will grow up in time.”
A look of joy spread across Yuzao’s face. “Three years ago I came to Dunhuang. I swore to search to the ends of the desert until I found you. And now, at last — I have truly found you, Brother Lv.”
Lv Sheng’s voice was full of quiet anguish: “Why put yourself through this?”
“I do not feel it is painful,” said Yuzao, tears falling in a steady stream. “As Zhai Wen said — the human heart is like a key, it can fit only one lock. My heart was given to you. However bitter, it is a kind of joy.”
From Kui Mulang’s mouth came a long silence. Perhaps Lv Sheng had been struck speechless, and even Kui Mulang wore an expression of stunned bewilderment. Zhai Wen herself was deeply startled, and studied this young woman with a long, measuring gaze. As for Li Chuo, standing to one side, his face was a mask of confusion and quiet anguish. The look in his eyes as he watched Yuzao was that of a man watching beautiful bubbles he had cradled in his hands shatter one by one, until nothing remained.
Kui Mulang shook his head: “No wonder you have opposed me again and again — even intercepting my star generals. So it is because you fell in love with Lv Sheng.”
“Yes,” said Yuzao, fixing her gaze on Kui Mulang. “If you kill him, I will kill you.”
“On your own?”
Kui Mulang sneered.
“With my father.”
Yuzao said.
Kui Mulang’s sneer faded. Wang Junke’s martial prowess was exceptional, and he commanded a great army — even a deity of the heavens would need to be wary.
“Then why did you give me that length of mandarin duck silk?” Kui Mulang said. “Surely you knew it would enrage me and force me to kill Lv Sheng?”
At these words everyone was shaken. All eyes turned to Yuzao.
A look of desolate grief crossed Yuzao’s face. The night before, in order to protect Xuanzang, she had quietly followed Xuanzang and Zhai Wen to the outside of the courtyard, and had witnessed everything from beginning to end. Above all, the moment she laid eyes on Lv Sheng, she had broken apart entirely. She had long since prepared herself for the possibility that Lv Sheng might be dead — but the true reality turned out to be far more cruel. Lv Sheng was not dead, yet his body had been seized by a divine being. More than that: the remnant soul that remained was so deeply, unshakably in love with Zhai Wen — a love that defied even death.
And what of herself? Yuzao suddenly felt that the years of devoted longing and searching had been nothing but a cruel joke.
That night she crouched among the woodpile and wept for a very long time. Slowly a feeling of resentment and jealousy welled up within her. As though guided by some unseen force, after Xuanzang and the others had left, Yuzao returned to the room, took the silk with the mandarin ducks, and early the next morning, secretly placed it in Kui Mulang’s hands.
“Why did you do this?”
Lv Sheng’s voice rose, tinged with anger.
Yuzao wept, her eyes fixed with deep longing on Lv Sheng’s face — though it was Kui Mulang at that moment — and did not answer him. Instead she turned to Zhai Wen, and said slowly: “You had already broken off the engagement — so on what grounds did you become Brother Lv’s wife? Having become Kui Mulang’s companion, on what grounds do you still hold onto Brother Lv?”
Zhai Wen stared at her, and suddenly felt a wave of warmth. She slowly smoothed the tangled hair from Yuzao’s forehead: “Little Twelfth Miss — this is the first time you and I have met, yet one glance tells me you are a good girl. As for me and Silang — whether he is dead or alive, we have no future together. How I wish Silang could still be alive — alive as a normal person. If that were so, I could step aside and give him to you.”
Yuzao was startled: “Do you truly think this?”
“Yes,” Zhai Wen nodded sincerely. “All of this tangled fate has its roots in the marriage bond between him and me. Though I have never regretted it — if I could live it over again, I would rather he find a good-natured girl from a respectable family, marry her, have children, and spend his life in pursuit of his dreams.”
Yuzao said nothing, her expression vacant and dazed.
Zhai Wen let out a sigh: “But now I find myself saying those same words to you. I would rather you find a good man from a respectable family — marry him, have children, live freely and happily through your life. Forget Lv Sheng. Forget this love. For the entanglement between me and Silang — the love, the suffering, the agony — is something that causes even me unbearable pain. I cannot bear the thought of a good young woman like you being drawn into this, and losing the best years of her life.”
“Losing the best years… I first saw him when I was thirteen years old. My life has been lost since that day.”
Yuzao gazed at Lv Sheng — Kui Mulang though it was in that moment — with tender, lingering eyes. “But Madam Zhai, I thank you still for saying these words to me. I believe you are a good person. It is I who wronged you. Since I harmed you first, I must repay you with my life if need be!”
Yuzao leaned on the blade and struggled to stand, planting herself in front of Zhai Wen, the sword raised toward Kui Mulang: “If you wish to harm her, then let us fight to the death!”
Xuanzang struggled to his feet and stepped silently forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Yuzao. He spoke no words, but his intent was unmistakable — he would stand with Yuzao through life and death. Li Chuo, seeing this, also made himself get up and shuffled dazedly forward.
Yuzao said under her breath: “Why are you getting involved in this?”
“I don’t know,” Li Chuo said, bewildered. “My father told me no one in this world is worth giving your life for. But… I only want to stand in front of you.”
Yuzao let out a quiet sigh, said nothing, and fixed her resolute gaze on Kui Mulang.
“Yuzao — you and the Master should leave now!”
Lv Sheng’s voice issued from Kui Mulang’s mouth. “I do not resent you anymore. This is the love trial my wife and I must face — you need not sacrifice yourself for us —”
Kui Mulang’s expression darkened. He formed a hand seal and pressed it to his own forehead. Lv Sheng’s voice cut off abruptly. Kui Mulang lowered his hand and extended it again — his fingers beginning to slowly transform. Sharp wolf claws emerged, gleaming with a dark luster.
“Whoever I kill — as long as it causes you pain — this master will be satisfied.”
Kui Mulang was about to sweep his wolf claws forward when suddenly Zhai Wen seized a pair of scissors from the bed mat and pressed them to her own throat.
“This has nothing to do with them,” Zhai Wen said. “Let them go.”
Everyone froze. Kui Mulang let out a cold laugh. “You think you can move faster than me?”
Zhai Wen laughed coldly in return. “You think you can touch me?”
Kui Mulang froze. Remembering the Heavenly Garment she wore, he could not help but let out a howl of fury.
Zhai Wen said nothing further. She pressed the scissors against her own neck and walked out of the main hall. Xuanzang pulled Yuzao and Li Chuo along and hurried after her. Kui Mulang seethed with helpless rage, but dared not make a reckless move.
In this manner they made their way to the east gate of Jade Gate Pass. Zhai Wen ordered Zhao Fu to fetch three horses. Zhao Fu glanced at Kui Mulang, and seeing his face expressionless, had no choice but to run and bring the horses.
“Master — please mount and go quickly.”
Zhai Wen said.
“And you?”
Xuanzang asked with concern.
Zhai Wen said with a desolate smile: “This Jade Gate Pass is not a city — it is the prison of my life, following me like a shadow. I was born within it, and I will be buried within it. Whether I leave or stay — what difference does it make?”
“Zhai Wen,” Yuzao said urgently, “but if you don’t leave, he will torment you again!”
“If I leave with you and return to Dunhuang — can I escape being tormented?”
Zhai Wen smiled.
Yuzao had no answer to that.
“Go — mount your horses!”
Xuanzang made the decision at once, urging both of them to mount.
Yuzao wheeled her horse around. She looked at Kui Mulang’s face — though the soul within was different, that was the face she had longed for day and night, had searched the whole desert to find.
Zhai Wen reached out and gave her horse’s hindquarters a hard slap. The horse let out a long neigh and galloped away at full speed. Xuanzang pressed his palms together in a single bow of farewell, then rode off with Li Chuo.
Kui Mulang paid them no mind. He only stared at Zhai Wen without a word. Zhai Wen stood equally motionless, scissors pressed to her own throat. The figures of Xuanzang and the others disappeared into the horizon of the vast desert — and still she did not move.
“How long do you intend to carry on like this?”
Kui Mulang asked.
“I am not carrying on.”
Zhai Wen said calmly.
“In truth, I know you will not take your own life,” Kui Mulang said. “Because you cannot bear to leave Lv Sheng behind.”
Zhai Wen’s arm went suddenly rigid.
Kui Mulang let out a howl. Inside Jade Gate Pass the thunder of iron hooves began to shake the ground. Fifteen star generals led an iron cavalry of over a hundred riders sweeping out of the gates. At the front rode an empty horse. Kui Mulang vaulted into the saddle and led the cavalry rolling off into the distance.
Outside Jade Gate Pass, only Zhai Wen remained — scissors in hand, standing there in a daze.