Xuanzang, Li Chunfeng, and Lv Sheng stood atop the drum tower, listening as the sound of footsteps drew ever closer. Li Chunfeng let out a sigh. “Let me handle this.”

“Do not harm the life of Prefect Dugu.”

Xuanzang instructed.

Li Chunfeng smiled bitterly, walked to the stairwell, and carefully drew out a bamboo tube. He removed the stoppers from both ends, raised it to his lips, and blew gently. A faint mist of smoke drifted toward the staircase, after which Li Chunfeng quickly stepped aside. It was clear he held this substance in considerable wariness himself.

Before long, Dugu Da led a squad of armored soldiers armed with blades and crossbows up the staircase. The moment they entered the cloud of drifting smoke, every one of them began to show strange signs — each unsteady on his feet. They struggled their way up the stairs, their bodies growing increasingly rigid, their gazes increasingly blank.

Only then did Li Chunfeng walk over. Dugu Da and the others seemed to look straight through him, as though they had sunk into some kind of trance. Li Chunfeng drew out a fire-starter, blew it alight, and traced a strange symbol in the empty air before their eyes. The soldiers stared vacantly at the line of fire hanging in the void, their every gaze captured and drawn into it.

“Good. Stand here for a moment and await my command before descending.”

Li Chunfeng said.

Dugu Da and his men stood there in a stupor.

Li Chunfeng walked back to the parapet and spread his hands toward Xuanzang.

“That was soul-seizing sorcery, was it not?”

Xuanzang asked.

“A minor technique, nothing more.”

Li Chunfeng said, his expression rigid. “A transgression, a transgression — rather crude of me. I could have controlled it with far greater precision, but time was short, so I had no choice but to first drug them into insensibility. Now that no one will disturb us, if you wish to accuse me of something, Dharma Master, please speak plainly.”

The drum tower at that moment was an utterly eerie scene. Moonlight fell over it, casting everything in a hazy, shifting glow. Not far off stood eleven figures, still as corpses. And among the three people gathered here — friend or foe — it hung by a single thought. Within the very soul of one of them lurked a ferocious wolf on the verge of breaking free.

Xuanzang knew he was treading on a razor’s edge, and that a single misstep this night would mean dying here on the drum tower.

Xuanzang drew a long, deep breath and spoke with resolve: “In the seventh year of Wude, when I first came to know Lv Sheng, he was already a Rectifying Scholar of the Hall of Literary Studies. I had never asked about his appointments before that. However, Dharma Master Dao Yue had told me: Lv Sheng began as a Confucian scholar, then entered the楼观 Taoist sect on Mount Zhongnan to cultivate the Way. In the fourth year of Wude, he was recommended by Fu Yi and took a minor post at the Imperial Medical Bureau. That minor post was the post of Exorcism Instructor in the Department of Ritual Exorcism.”

Lv Sheng and Li Chunfeng looked at each other, their expressions strange.

“Lv Sheng’s time as Exorcism Instructor was brief, because the Department of Ritual Exorcism was established in the fourth year of Wude at the order of the Retired Emperor, by Yuan Tiangang and Sun Simiao. Once its founding was complete, Fu Yi recommended Lv Sheng as its first Instructor. However, the Retired Emperor soon discovered his outstanding medical skills and appointed him as a Medical Superintendent at the Imperial Medical Bureau. For this reason, that chapter of his life is not widely known — yet I happened to know it. Because in those days, Dharma Master Dao Yue had investigated his background thoroughly, precisely so that I might defeat him in the doctrinal debate.”

“But this still cannot prove that my coming to Dunhuang was to cooperate with him!”

Li Chunfeng fought on like a cornered beast.

Xuanzang said: “You both come from the Taoist sect at Mount Zhongnan, both were recommended to serve as Instructors in the Department of Ritual Exorcism, and both studied under Grand Master Yuan Tiangang. As fellow disciples of the same lineage, what do you say you came to Dunhuang for? Do not tell me it was to perform an exorcism and treat the ailments of an elderly Lady Yin.”

Xuanzang said evenly, “So, to return to the question just raised — the reason Lv Sheng was so startled by the phosphorescent fire was precisely because when he left Chang’an, Yuan Tiangang and Sun Simiao had not yet succeeded in developing it.”

Lv Sheng and Li Chunfeng both fell silent.

After a long while, Li Chunfeng smiled bitterly: “Dharma Master, the matters in between are not nearly as simple as you imagine. You have truly done me a wrong.”

“Is that so?”

Xuanzang smiled faintly. “Afterward I kept asking myself — why did Lv Sheng choose to stage that scene of being framed at Qingdun Garrison? It was only after meeting you, Li Chunfeng, that I understood: I had been made your substitute. Brother Lv, that performance was originally meant for Li Chunfeng to witness. Because Li Chunfeng is a court official, and you intended to use his voice to convey your grievances to the court. But after I appeared and relentlessly investigated your past, you realized I was better suited than Li Chunfeng. The reason for that, perhaps, is that my connection to His Majesty the Emperor is more direct. And so you shifted your focus from Li Chunfeng to me. You brought me along to Yumen Pass, so that I might observe Kuimu Wolf at close range. You had Zhai Wen take me to that small courtyard, and then appeared yourself, presenting the illusion that your body had been possessed by Kuimu Wolf — a single body housing two souls. Then, deliberately or not, you guided me to the Western Grottoes, where I witnessed the aristocratic clans secretly observing the heavens and constructing the astronomical observatory…”

“Why must you press so relentlessly, Dharma Master?”

Lv Sheng’s expression was cold and stern. “Since you know I am a man already at death’s door, can we not simply preserve the friendship of this lifetime? Why must we wound each other so, leaving us both bleeding raw, before I die?”

“Because I have seen the blood of the innocent.”

Xuanzang said in a heavy voice. “I came to Dunhuang in search of you, out of the friendship of those years past. I sought the truth of your grievances on your behalf, and piece by piece I uncovered the misdeeds of the Dunhuang aristocratic clans. Yet the truth is that in the war between you and the clans, you are all wrongdoers. You raise the banner of righteousness and hack at each other with your swords, yet you give not the slightest thought to the innocent bystanders caught in between. Tell me — once justice has been abandoned, what meaning remains in your vengeance? Once you have become a villain yourself, what worth does your ideal still hold?”

Lv Sheng erupted in fury, whirling to fix him with a glare: “Which of us is the wrongdoer? Those clans, by virtue of their ancestors’ merits, have suppressed men of common birth for hundreds, even thousands of years — monopolizing the path to office. How many scholars of humble origin have through the generations withered away and died in obscurity, ground down to rubble alongside the common clay? How many ordinary people have been exploited and crushed by them, reduced to the condition of slaves? And what have they brought? The chaos of the Western Jin, the Five Barbarians overrunning the heartland, the fall of the Central Plains, and hundreds of millions of people reduced to the level of livestock! Under the dominion of the great clans, dynasties changed hands like horses on a racecourse, and emperors were slaughtered like chickens and dogs. How much innocent blood was spilled in all of that?”

“They were evil and cared nothing for the common people. So, in order to seek justice for the common people, you also may care nothing for them — is that your reasoning?”

Xuanzang said.

“You—”

Lv Sheng stared at him in furious indignation. “Dharma Master, who in this world is truly innocent? In the ninth year of Wude, I suffered the combined suppression of eight great clans. The whole city cried out against me — no one would work in my household, no one would drive my carriage or tend my horses. Not a single shop in the East or West Markets would sell to me anything, from great things like salt and mung beans to small things like a needle and thread. Even when my father fell gravely ill, not a physician would come to examine him, and not a pharmacy would sell us medicine. My neighbors in the ward, the common people throughout the city — they all rallied behind the clans to drive us to extinction. Did I have any enmity with them? None. Did I have any grudge against them? None.”

A slow redness crept into Lv Sheng’s eyes: “That night, as the Dharma Master has investigated, my elderly father was critically ill. I drove him in a carriage to seek medical attention, only to be obstructed by the night watch soldiers, who refused to open the ward gates. I knelt in the pouring rain and kowtowed, begging them… I, the Chief Secretary of Western Shazhou, kneeling before a gatekeeping soldier! ‘The peerless scholar of Great Tang’ — ‘First Place in both examinations’ — in that moment, I had no dignity left, and I wanted none. I had no bottom line left, and I wanted none. For the sake of saving my father’s life, I was willing to compromise, willing to admit defeat, willing to live like a dog — yet they would not even give me that path to survival! And those innocent common people you speak of? They were draped over the courtyard walls in the rain, watching the spectacle! That night, my father breathed his last breath in the rain. He told me: the high bank becomes a valley, the deep gorge becomes a ridge; scholar and commoner become one, all beings are equal. Yet equality among all beings does not mean equality of character. Some people forge ahead and persevere; some people drift through life in a fog; some people keep only to themselves; some people become the instruments of evil. Dharma Master — do you ask me to discern and weigh each one individually, even as I cut down the aristocratic clans?”

As Lv Sheng spoke with such passionate, furious intensity, deep within his expression lay a vast, boundless grief.

Xuanzang was silent for a long time. At last he let out a soft sigh: “Such is the suffering of meeting what one despises in this world. Brother Lv, in truth I cannot blame you for this, because if I were in your place, I might not have done any better. The sutras I have read offer no teaching on how to resolve the suffering of hatred and resentment among all living beings in this world — and that is precisely why I seek to journey west, to travel to India in search of the Great Way. I do not know whether I can reach India, and I do not know where the true Great Way lies. But I know that the path you have walked is assuredly a crooked one.”

“Why are you so certain the path I have walked is crooked?”

Lv Sheng said with a cold laugh.

“Because you transformed yourself into Kuimu Wolf, carried out schemes and conspiracies, and harmed the pure and innocent. Neither the courts of the human world nor the tribunals of the underworld would acquit you.”

Xuanzang said. “Human beings cannot reach a beautiful end through evil means. Means are the road one must travel — and if your road is bent, you will inevitably end up going in the opposite direction of where you intend.”

Lv Sheng fell silent, and after a long moment finally said: “Dharma Master, many of the facts you just laid against me I will acknowledge. You are correct — digging up the ancestors’ graves was my doing. Luring the clans into studying the heavens was my doing. Breaching the Ding family dam and flooding the Western Grottoes was a plan I had laid three years ago. Even the abduction of Zhai Wen, and the killing of the night watch soldiers and ward captains at Chenghua Ward — these were all done according to my will. Yet Kuimu Wolf is truly not something I impersonated. He and I are genuinely two separate souls, because all these years I have known clearly what I myself have experienced. Day and night I have been imprisoned in an infinitesimally small, pitch-black space — alone and desolate. That anguish, day after day and year after year, is absolutely not a fabrication.”

Xuanzang stared at him in astonishment, not having expected him to still deny it at this point.

“And as for Li Chunfeng — he is indeed a fellow disciple of mine, though he is ten years my junior. When I was cultivating the Way on Mount Zhongnan, he was still just a boy. His father, Ziliegong, was my fellow disciple; we met a few times when he came to visit his father, but we were not close. I absolutely did not ask him to come to Dunhuang on my behalf.”

Lv Sheng said.

Li Chunfeng also smiled bitterly: “Dharma Master, I know you do not believe me. But as I explained to you very clearly, I came to Dunhuang because the Emperor dispatched me to investigate the truth of the matter. Given my official duties as a court official — could a single letter from my martial brother really prompt me to leave Chang’an with half the Department of Ritual Exorcism in tow?”

“Dharma Master,”

Lv Sheng said earnestly, “I swear by the name of my late father — I never impersonated Kuimu Wolf.”

Lv Sheng swore this solemn oath in the name of his deceased father, and Xuanzang was immediately taken aback.

Just then, the sound of footsteps rose from beneath the drum tower, and a voice called up from below: “The Prince requests Prefect Dugu’s presence!”

Li Chunfeng quickly went over to where Dugu Da and his squad of soldiers stood, and snapped his fingers with a sharp crack. The gazes of Dugu Da and his men gradually began to focus, and their eyes recovered their alertness.

“Turn around.”

Li Chunfeng said.

Dugu Da and his men turned around mechanically.

“Once you descend, you will forget what has happened. Tell the Prince that there is not a single person atop the drum tower, and that all is as it should be.”

Li Chunfeng said. “Go.”

Dugu Da led his ten armored soldiers woodenly down the stairs. At the stairwell, Dugu Da missed his footing, and tumbled down with a crash. Soldiers on the second floor immediately came running over, shouting: “What happened?”

By now the soldiers had fully come to their senses. They shook their heads and hastily helped Dugu Da to his feet.

“Prefect Dugu stumbled.”

The squad leader said. “There is no one up top — all is as it should be.”

“Prefect Dugu!”

That man called out loudly, “The Governor of Western Shazhou, His Excellency Wang, has arrived. The Prince requests your presence!”

Dugu Da, his head fully cleared by the fall, quickly got to his feet: “Move out!”

The soldiers formed up and descended, their footsteps rumbling away into the distance.

Li Chunfeng let out a breath of relief and returned to the battlement.

Xuanzang quickly pressed his palms together and bowed his head toward Lv Sheng in apology: “I would not dare — I would never dare to disturb Mr. Lv’s peace of mind.”

“Dharma Master,”

Li Chunfeng could not help saying, “Did you perhaps err somewhere in your reasoning?”

“Yes, I did indeed err.”

Xuanzang nodded in acknowledgment. “But there is one point of which I remain firmly convinced: this Kuimu Wolf is absolutely not a star deity descended from the heavens. If Brother Lv did not impersonate him, then there is only one other explanation — fugue disorder.”

The two men looked at each other in bewilderment. Li Chunfeng could not help saying: “You actually think he has fugue disorder?”

“Yes. Li Chunfeng, as you well know, fugue disorder is a rather rare ailment, also called soul-departure syndrome. Physicians hold that the liver stores the soul, and that if the liver is weakened and invaded by a malevolent force, one may feel as though one’s soul has scattered and left the body — as though one’s self has split into two persons, visible to oneself but not to others.”

Xuanzang frowned. “Li Chunfeng, you studied the Prohibition Classics — how does Grand Master Sun Simiao explain this?”

Li Chunfeng said helplessly: “Master Sun explains it in the Prohibition Classics as ghost possession: whenever a ghost or evil spirit afflicts a person, the afflicted may weep or wail, rage or laugh, sing or chant, call out the names of the deceased, and drive people to madness. Those who display such symptoms are said to be afflicted by ghost possession. However, if you wish to argue that Lv Sheng is suffering from fugue disorder, there are still quite a few points that do not add up.”

“Please elaborate.”

Xuanzang said. “I am no expert in medicine, and I ask Li Chunfeng to enlighten me.”

Li Chunfeng hesitated. But Lv Sheng spoke up: “Junior Disciple Li, I have already understood the Dharma Master’s compassionate intent. He has in fact been trying all along to help me find my way back to myself, which is why he has been examining all the possible explanations. Say what you will.”

Seeing that Lv Sheng had not denied his relationship with Li Chunfeng, Xuanzang felt a slight easing of the tension in his chest.

“If we set aside the supernatural aspects and consider this as ordinary ghost possession — or rather, fugue disorder — it does bear some resemblance to Senior Brother’s current condition.”

Li Chunfeng said. “Fugue disorder is in essence a splitting of one person into two. These two halves differ vastly in temperament, speech, and manner. Last year I encountered one such case: a man in Dunyi Ward in Chang’an fell into a dry well, and when he was rescued, he claimed to be a woman surnamed Zhou from the Kaihuang reign period of the former Sui dynasty — a woman who had been murdered and her corpse thrown into the well. That man’s voice had changed, becoming thin and high-pitched like a woman’s, and his movements and mannerisms had similarly transformed to resemble those of a woman. I made inquiries at the time and found that in the former Sui dynasty, there had indeed been a Zhou family in Dunyi Ward, and that their daughter had died young. The details the man described corresponded roughly with what I found.”

“Such a strange thing actually occurred?”

Xuanzang said in surprise. “And afterward?”

“Afterward I treated him for this malevolent affliction using the methods for evil illness in the Prohibition Classics, employing the Thirteen Ghost Needles to bring him through it, and in the end he was restored to his normal state.”

Li Chunfeng said. “When I later made inquiries, I learned that this person had had a discrepancy in his gender perception since childhood — he had grown all the way to the age of nine still believing himself to be a girl. Not far from his home was a dry well, and his neighbors in the ward had spoken of it since his childhood: a daughter of the Zhou family had been murdered by a villain and her body thrown into that well. After this man encountered a severe upheaval in his family, his mind became unsettled, and he fell into the well. When he woke, he believed himself to be that Zhou woman.”

“It does bear some resemblance to Brother Lv’s situation.”

Xuanzang frowned. “Then why do you still think there are many points of doubt in the theory that Lv Sheng is suffering from fugue disorder?”

“I have seen multiple cases of fugue disorder. Some claimed to be possessed by ghosts, some claimed to be an entirely different person, and some claimed to be the God of Mount Tai.”

Li Chunfeng said in a solemn voice. “But as I said just now — in every case of the afflicted person splitting into another identity, that alternate identity had an intimate connection to the patient’s own life. Take for instance that Chang’an man: the feminine divergence of his early years, and the story of the Zhou daughter he had heard as a child. As for Kuimu Wolf, however… I genuinely cannot see what connection he has to Senior Brother.”

“No, no — it is only that we have not yet investigated and found the connection. It is not that no connection exists. I once read a medical text in my early years — fragmentary and incomplete — that touched on fugue disorder, and it made quite a deep impression on me.”

Xuanzang recited:

All human emotions arise from likes and dislikes. When likes and dislikes become excessive, the vital energies accumulate unevenly. When there is uneven accumulation, there is dominance and subjugation, and the spirit and will are easily thrown into disorder.

Once the spirit and will have become biased, and a malevolent force then takes up residence within, a ghost is born from the heart. Therefore, one who has long held aversion will see what one detests; one who has long held admiration will see what one admires; one who has long harbored suspicion will see what one suspects; one who has long harbored dread will see what one dreads. This is not only so in illness — it is likewise so in dreams. Thus, when the will harbors things it detests and things it craves, the blood and vital energy become disturbed within, and it comes to resemble the work of ghosts and spirits.

When the upright energy is weak and the malevolent energy prevails, the Five Ghosts are born. One whose heart is clouded by fortune and misfortune — the spirit ghost seizes it. One whose heart is clouded by oaths and curses — the strange ghost seizes it. One whose heart is clouded by desire between men and women — the lustful ghost seizes it. One whose heart is clouded by hidden sorrow — the sunken ghost seizes it. One whose heart is clouded by unbridled abandon — the mad ghost seizes it. One whose heart is clouded by medicinal substances — the material ghost seizes it. In all such cases, the ghost is born from the heart; hence these conditions are truly difficult to resolve with medicine or needles alone, and cannot be treated without invocation ritual.

“These passages are the finest annotation I have encountered of fugue disorder.”

Xuanzang said. “Whenever a malevolent force afflicts someone, it is always because the spirit has lost its guard. When the upright energy is weak and the malevolent energy prevails, the Five Ghosts are born. Brother Lv carries hatred in his heart — yet he also carries love. You love this Great Tang, you love this world of men. You sat for all six disciplines of the examinations to test the merits and failings of selecting officials through the imperial examination system. You combed through the historical records, hoping to prescribe a remedy for a great and flourishing Tang dynasty. You and I — your adversary in debate — recognized each other as kindred spirits, precisely because we both carry dreams in our hearts. For the sake of your elderly father’s peaceful last years, you cast aside your brilliant future in Chang’an and came to Dunhuang to seek reconciliation with the aristocratic clans. Yet often, the deeper one loves a thing, the deeper the hatred it can breed. You suffered the suppression of the clans in Dunhuang; your father died in captivity; you were framed as a traitor and treasonous minister. This is what is meant by: when the will harbors things it detests and things it craves, the blood and vital energy become disturbed within, and it comes to resemble the work of ghosts and spirits. And so you split into two persons: the love in your heart was left to Lv Sheng, imprisoned in the dark for three years, while the hatred in your heart transformed into Kuimu Wolf — violent, ferocious, and malevolent, bringing chaos to the world of men.”

Li Chunfeng and Lv Sheng both listened in silence. Li Chunfeng had no counter to these words, and Lv Sheng stared, his mind adrift, at Guazhou City below and the increasingly great flames rising within it.

“So then,”

Li Chunfeng said, “the Dharma Master believes that Senior Brother’s soul has fractured. Does he himself truly not know?”

“He does not.”

Xuanzang shook his head. “Such is the nature of a single body housing two souls: neither one will ever realize that it is in fact the other’s shadow. One is the benevolent impulse, the other the malevolent impulse — one the sage, the other the demon. And the existence of the malevolent impulse is precisely the means by which the benevolent one deceives itself. Because the moral sense in his heart does not permit him to become such a person.”

“That is not me!”

Lv Sheng suddenly cried out in rage. “That Kuimu Wolf is real! If you refuse to believe me, I will summon him out here and now!”

“Senior Brother, do not!”

Li Chunfeng, knowing all too well what was at stake, moved quickly to stop him. Inwardly he cursed Xuanzang for recklessness — if Lv Sheng’s inner Kuimu Wolf were provoked into emerging, the destructive force unleashed would be beyond anyone’s control. To say nothing of whether Guazhou City would be drowned in blood, the two of them standing here would certainly meet their deaths.

“You are wrong, Dharma Master.”

Yet Lv Sheng did not erupt in blind rage. He fixed Xuanzang with a cold, piercing stare and said: “Whether I staged the impersonation deliberately or whether this is fugue disorder — your two theories may each seem airtight, yet you are wrong. Because I know: I was truly possessed, my body truly taken over by Kuimu Wolf.”

He slowly undid his outer robe, and then the inner garment beneath it. Xuanzang stood as if struck by lightning, utterly rooted to the spot in shock. On Lv Sheng’s body grew a dense covering of silver wolf fur. Except for his neck and the palms of his hands, his entire body was blanketed in wolf fur — the very form of a grey wolf.

“You… what is this?”

Xuanzang’s voice trembled, and for a moment he was lost in confusion. Had his reasoning truly been wrong after all? Had Lv Sheng truly had his body seized by a deity descended from the heavens?

“The Dharma Master is spoken of as one with the Celestial Eye — yet even he has illusions he cannot see through!”

Lv Sheng laughed loudly, and in that laughter rang a note of deep grief. “If the Dharma Master can truly unravel the mystery of Kuimu Wolf’s possession, I will submit to whatever you decide!”

Xuanzang stared at him blankly. Lv Sheng gave a cold laugh, turned, and walked away: “Tonight I had originally come to kill you. But the Dharma Master went to such pains to arrange this wedding-abduction — precisely to make me find my way back to my true heart. Since you still regard me as the close friend of those years past, I will spare you this once. Quickly leave Guazhou.”

Xuanzang called out loudly: “Are you going to take part in tonight’s armed uprising?”

Lv Sheng turned back: “Of course. I have spent years of painstaking effort plotting all of this, and success is within reach. How could I possibly miss it? Look down at the tower below — Li Qi and Wang Junke have encircled the city with their armies. There is no way you can alter the course of events now, which is precisely why I will spare you. Dharma Master — stop meddling in other people’s affairs.”

Lv Sheng suddenly leapt into the air, vaulting over the battlements. Xuanzang and Li Chunfeng rushed after him, only to see a dark shadow drift lightly down and land on a large tree in the distance, then spring away once more and vanish beyond layer upon layer of rooftops.

Xuanzang gazed bitterly at his retreating silhouette and was silent for a long while. “Li Chunfeng, you should go as well. I thank you for your companionship through these recent days. I am about to chant sutras at the gates of hell.”

Li Chunfeng looked at the monk before him with a complex expression and suddenly recalled a line: Until hell is empty, I vow not to become a Buddha. Until all living beings are saved, I will not attain enlightenment.

Below the drum tower, hoofbeats rang out in urgent succession. Wang Junke led five hundred Dunhuang soldiers galloping forward, leaping from their mounts when they drew near and charging straight to the bridal carriage. He wrenched open the split and broken door panel, and at the sight of the utterly shattered wedding carriage, his whole body began to tremble.

Li Qi and Dugu Da exchanged a glance, neither knowing what to say.

Niu Jinda walked over and clapped Wang Junke on the shoulder: “Brother Xuan, take heart. We will get your niece back sooner or later.”

Wang Junke looked at Niu Jinda’s broad and steadfast face, and for a moment his expression drifted. Wang Junke, given name Xuan, styled Junke — “Brother Xuan” was the name his old brotherhood from Wagangzhai had called him, a name he had not heard in many years.

“Old Niu, my daughter… my daughter…”

Wang Junke’s voice choked with grief. He had not hesitated to push his own daughter into the vortex of an armed revolt for the sake of his ambitions, and had imagined himself capable of facing any sacrifice — yet now that Yuzao had truly come to harm, he felt a pain that cut to the very marrow of his heart.

“I know, I know.”

Niu Jinda offered comfort. “Little Twelve has grown up before my eyes as well. Old Niu here will give everything I have to help you bring her back. Whoever dares to harm your niece — our forces will tear him out by the roots, and blood will be answered with blood.”

Wang Junke looked at Niu Jinda with a complex expression, and suddenly his mind was flooded with images of the two of them fighting shoulder to shoulder through the chaos of the late Sui. Yet now, by a cruel twist of fate, they had become mortal enemies.

He let out a silent sigh, looked around at their surroundings, then exchanged a glance with Li Qi. The two of them walked to a secluded corner; the others, knowing their cue, tactfully withdrew.

Beads of cold sweat broke out on Wang Junke’s forehead: “Your Highness, there is no time to lose. We must act.”

Li Qi understood his concern, yet hesitated: “This place is open on all sides, and there are Niu Jinda’s fifty personal guards nearby. If anything goes wrong, I fear he may slip away.”

“This hidden enemy is completely unpredictable — we have no idea what he intends to do. If we let this drag on, I fear something unexpected will arise.”

Wang Junke’s expression turned fierce. “What if he leaks word to Niu Jinda?”

Li Qi was startled as well. That possibility was far too great. For the mysterious figure, it would be effortless.

The two exchanged a look and drew a deep breath in unison. They were just about to give the order when suddenly, from atop the drum tower, there rang out a great, resonant toll of a bell — “Boom!”

Then two more — “Boom, boom!” — and the sound rolled out low and deep over the silent expanse of Suoyang Street, buzzing in every eardrum, shaking the whole of Guazhou City. The bright moon seemed to shatter; the stars in the sky trembled as if they might scatter and fall.

Everyone was startled. They all looked up at once. There, beneath the bright moon and above the dark of night, a human figure stood atop the high drum tower by the battlement. It appeared to be a monk, his wide robe billowing in the night wind.

The monk pressed his palms together and called out in a clear, ringing voice: “The fruit of this life is the seed of the last; the fruit of the life to come is what this life cultivates. If in this life you hear the teaching and plant no fruit, the fruit in the orchard will certainly be beyond your reach. Prince of Linjiang — I, the humble monk Xuanzang, make bold to request an audience.”

At these words, the crowd on the street seemed frozen in place, fallen utterly silent. Most of those present had taken part in the pursuit of Xuanzang during the day, and no one had expected this monk to have such audacity — to appear before an army at a moment like this.

“Shoot him dead!”

Dugu Da flew into a rage. Xuanzang was someone he had admired and recommended to Li Qi, and yet the man had chosen to oppose him at every turn — this infuriated him to no end.

The soldiers all drew their bows. The creaking, straining sound of bowstrings being pulled taut rang out one after another. Xuanzang did not flinch or dodge; he simply stood in stillness atop the parapet.

Dugu Da raised his arm, just about to give the command, when Li Qi pressed down on it: “Bring him here.”

Dugu Da had no choice but to comply, and immediately led a squad of soldiers up the drum tower. Xuanzang offered no resistance and followed Dugu Da back down. Out on the long street, spears and pikes stood dense as a forest, with bows and crossbows trained on him from all around. With a face of perfect composure, Xuanzang passed through layer upon layer of armed formations and came to stand before Li Qi and Wang Junke.

Li Qi narrowed his eyes: “Tonight’s affair with Kuimu Wolf abducting the bride — was that your doing?”

“It was.”

Xuanzang said.

“Where is my daughter?”

Wang Junke demanded angrily.

“Outside the gates of hell.”

Xuanzang said. “This Guazhou City is on the verge of falling into a hell of blood and fire. I wish to ferry people across — and naturally I ferry first those closest within reach.”

“You treacherous monk — stop talking nonsense!”

Wang Junke barked. “Someone — seize him!”

Xuanzang suddenly opened his eyes wide and roared: “Li Qi, Wang Junke intends to rebel! You soldiers of Great Tang — do not follow him into treason!”

The soldiers who had been about to step forward were startled into a flinch, and all stood frozen.

Xuanzang did not shrink back at all. He fixed Niu Jinda with his gaze and bellowed: “Niu Jinda — tonight’s trap was laid for you! Run — now!”

Wang Junke snatched a long broad sword from one of his personal guards and swung it at Xuanzang.

“Brother Xuan, hold!”

Niu Jinda was taken aback. He pulled a spear from one of the soldiers and, swift as lightning, flicked it at the shaft of Wang Junke’s blade.

But Wang Junke suddenly changed his attack; the broad sword swept around toward Niu Jinda. Niu Jinda was greatly alarmed — it was too late to change his defense again. He raised the spear shaft upright; with a resounding clang, the blade struck the shaft and split it in two, yet the force of the sword still did not diminish. Niu Jinda wrenched himself backward in a great lurch. With a tearing sound, the broad sword sliced across the leather armor on his chest, ripping it open in a great gash as easily as tearing paper. Blood streamed from his chest, but Niu Jinda had at least managed to dodge what would have been a chest-cleaving blow.

“General!”

Niu Xi and the others only now reacted, surging forward together to shield Niu Jinda.

“Hear my order, all soldiers!”

Li Qi bellowed. “Niu Jinda has conspired with the Turks, and this Xuanzang is the spy working as his go-between. By imperial command — arrest Niu Jinda!”

The thousand-strong personal guard troops of Li Qi and Wang Junke immediately surged forward in great strides, roaring as they advanced, weaving and interlocking into formation, surrounding Niu Jinda and Xuanzang’s group in a tight encirclement.

The clan leaders standing nearby — Linghu Demao, Zhai Chang, Zhang Bi, and the others — were all left speechless. Zhai Shu quickly drew his saber and moved to shield the clan heads behind him.

Niu Jinda’s face was ashen. He called out: “Bring me my double-edged lance!”

Niu Xi and the others quickly brought over a spear of a zhang and eight chi in length. This lance had been seized by Niu Jinda from the household of a Sui dynasty military clan during the chaos of the late Sui, and it was of excellent craftsmanship: the shaft was made from the heartwood of superior mulberry, peeled into strips of even thickness, then bonded with fish-glue. These thin strips alone had been soaked in oil for a full year until they would neither warp nor crack. Once bonded, the exterior was then wrapped with hemp cord. After the hemp cord dried, raw lacquer was applied, and over that, a layer of kudzu cloth. Over the kudzu cloth, more raw lacquer — one layer dried before another was applied. In this way the shaft had both elasticity and rigidity; a sword strike against it would ring out like metal, yet it would not break or split.

Niu Jinda’s lance was moreover a double-bladed one, with a lance-tip one chi and six cun in length mounted at both the front end and the rear end of the shaft. Such a lance was extremely difficult to wield — the slightest carelessness and one could injure oneself — yet in mounted formation it could thrust and strike to left and right alike, and its power was immense. Heroic warriors of extraordinary strength such as Gongsun Zan of the Three Kingdoms era, Ran Min of the Sixteen Kingdoms era, and Yang Kan of the Southern Liang had all wielded this kind of double-bladed lance.

With the double-bladed lance in hand, Niu Jinda reached out and drew Xuanzang gently behind him: “Dharma Master, please stand behind me.”

Niu Xi and the others quickly moved to shield Xuanzang. Niu Jinda swept out his long lance, and the surrounding soldiers fell back on all sides, instantly clearing a space of two to three zhang in diameter. Only Wang Junke stood there with his broad sword in hand, proud and motionless in the center of the cleared ground.

“Your Highness Prince of Linjiang, Your Excellency Wang,”

Niu Jinda looked coldly at the two men. “To slander me in such a fashion — do you not truly intend to rebel?”

“Niu Jinda!”

Li Qi denounced him in fury. “The one plotting rebellion is you! I received secret intelligence long ago that you have been conspiring with the Turks, intending to act in concert with them from within — to breach Guazhou! His Majesty has issued a secret order commanding me to arrest you. Lay down your weapons!”

“Whether I am plotting rebellion — I know perfectly well myself!”

Niu Jinda clenched his teeth. “What I cannot fathom is this: you are a Prince of the Second Rank, imperial blood and bone — how much has the Great Tang and His Majesty bestowed upon you? Why would you choose to rebel? And you—!”

Wang Junke said nothing, staring at him with cold eyes.

Niu Jinda leveled his long lance at him, his voice filled with anguished indignation: “You and I are comrades of over ten years from our days on Wagang Mountain — how many times did we share life and death together? When in those years we followed Qin Shubao and surrendered to His Majesty at the front line between two armies, and then fought alongside him to carve out this magnificent empire — we were set to enjoy wealth and honor forever. Why would you choose to bring ruin upon yourself?”

“The one bringing ruin upon himself is you.”

Wang Junke’s eyes had gone red, and tears almost flowed as he said with a sigh, “His Highness showed me His Majesty’s secret edict — the evidence against you is ironclad. What is there left to argue? Old Niu, think of the heroes of Wagang. Shan Xiong, who refused to mend his ways, was killed by His Majesty. Wang Bodang, who remained loyal unto death to Li Mi, was killed as well. Luo Shixin died in battle at Mingzhou. Pei Xingyuan was executed in Luoyang. Of all those who remain today — how many are left? We are brothers. I truly cannot bear to kill you. If you will only lay down your weapons and surrender, I will do everything in my power to ensure you are not put to death.”

“You… you are shameless!”

Niu Jinda was no match for Wang Junke in argument and could only tremble with rage.

“Then do not blame me for showing no mercy with my blade!”

Wang Junke let out a great shout and charged forward with his sword. Niu Jinda shook out his long lance — clang clang clang — and the sound of weapons clashing rang out dense as a downpour of rain. Wang Junke’s broad sword was powerful and heavy; the long lance’s killing range was great and elusive. Wang Junke could not bring down Niu Jinda in short order, and Niu Jinda could not drive Wang Junke back so much as half a step. The two fell into a deadlock.

“Soldiers, kill the traitors!”

Li Qi waved his hand, and Dugu Da and Wang Lishe led their troops swarming forward.

Niu Jinda’s long lance shook and thrust like a rain of pear blossoms; seven or eight soldiers were run through on the spot from more than a zhang away. But the surging troops also blocked Wang Junke’s sword, infuriating him into ordering them back.

Along the entire length of the northern side of that long street, no one on either side could intervene. Both weapons had a long reach, and together they had cleared half the street. Niu Jinda held the northern flank of the street alone. On the southern side, troops shouted as they charged forward; Niu Xi led his fifty mounted cavalry to form a human wall around Xuanzang, spears and pikes dense as a thicket. The two sides thrust and stabbed at each other from a distance, and the scene was one of terrible carnage.

Linghu Demao, Zhai Chang, and the other clan heads stood far to the rear of the military formation, their faces ashen but their mouths sealed.

Their mood that night had been one of dizzying reversals, their minds completely overwhelmed by a dizzying succession of changing circumstances. Originally they had followed Wang Junke’s army eastward to Guazhou, but not long after leaving Dunhuang, they had in effect been placed under soft confinement by Wang Junke. A premonition had already taken root in the hearts of Linghu Demao and the others — something had gone terribly wrong.

Sure enough, here on this street, Li Qi and Wang Junke were moving to arrest Niu Jinda and had brazenly risen in rebellion. The clan heads were on the verge of tears; every one of them understood clearly that having both contributed money and provisions to Wang Junke and accompanied him on his march, they were in the eyes of the court unambiguously complicit in treason.

Zhai Shu stepped forward and said in a low voice: “Clan heads — what should we do?”

Linghu Demao said coldly: “Tonight’s situation is treacherous and obscure. We take no part on either side.”

“Indeed!”

Zhai Chang agreed. “Whoever wins and whoever loses — neutrality is our best option.”

“You two elders are confused!”

Zhai Shu, heedless of propriety, said urgently, “With all your wisdom, you can surely see clearly — this is Prince of Linjiang and Wang Junke in open rebellion! We are subjects of Great Tang. When confronted with a border general’s treachery, how can we remain neutral?”

“Who says it is not Niu Jinda who is rebelling?”

Yin Shixiong said coldly. “To rush in without a clear picture — that is not the action of a wise man.”

Zhai Shu gave a cold laugh: “Niu Jinda — rebelling? Would he have come here completely unprepared and allowed himself to be cornered like this? Would he have left all four hundred of his mounted cavalry outside in the outer city? You are all my elders, and measured deliberation is appropriate — but one must still be able to tell right from wrong.”

“Are you saying I cannot tell right from wrong?”

Yin Shixiong blazed with fury.

“I am not speaking of you alone!”

Zhai Shu did not yield an inch. “Who is committing treason — I believe every elder here knows in his heart. Before this, we were in effect held in soft confinement by Wang Junke within the army. As for what he intended to do — can any of the clan heads truly claim they had no inkling? To remain neutral at this moment — I say it is to protect your own skins.”

The clan heads looked at each other in silence.

“Shu’er,”

Zhai Chang said gently, “what you say may well be right, yet where we stand now is within Guazhou City, and within and without the city are His Highness and Wang Junke’s forces of ten thousand men. Niu Jinda is no more than a cornered beast. Even if we join in, we cannot change anything. The best strategy at present is to remain calm and bide our time, acting when the moment presents itself.”

“Father!”

Zhai Shu was still unwilling to yield. “If they succeed in their rebellion tonight, we will have no opportunity left. The money and provisions for Wang Junke’s campaign were funded by us; we marched out with him to Guazhou. In the eyes of the court, the lightest charge we can expect is complicity in treason.”

“What you say is not wrong, but—”

Zhang Bi said in a firm voice. “If we act now, we will only be cut down by His Highness like vegetables on a chopping board. We have in effect already become hostages, and can only play along and bide our time. As for the court — you need not worry on that account. Whether it is our Zhang clan or your Zhai clan, or the Linghu and Yin clans, we are not without people in the court. When the time comes, we will find occasion to render meritorious service and give the court an explanation.”

Zhai Shu looked with sorrow at the assembled elders: “You are all clan heads of the aristocracy. I ask only one question: without the court, where would the aristocracy be? With whom does the aristocracy govern the realm? We have been rooted in Dunhuang for seven hundred years, drawing on the resources of this land and these people. When all is said and done, can we not even protect those very people of ours? I am a border officer of the court, eating the court’s salary and drinking from this land’s water. I cannot stand by in silence watching treason unfold before my eyes.”

Zhai Shu strode forward. Zhai Chang cried out in alarm: “Shu’er — what are you going to do?”

“To repay our lord on the battlefield — to take up a sword and die for him!”

Zhai Shu turned back.

“Foolish!”

Zhai Chang was furious beyond measure. “You are the son I value most — how can you be so obstinate? As members of an aristocratic clan, our most important duty is not loyalty to the court, but the preservation of our family! If you offend His Highness the Prince, where does that leave the Zhai clan?”

“Father, the preservation of our family is your concern. But I — I am an officer of Great Tang!”

Zhai Shu said, each word deliberate. “In this time of national peril, I want to show the court that the men of the aristocracy are not all cowards.”

“Kill the traitors!”

With a great shout, Zhai Shu snatched a broad sword from one of the soldiers nearby and charged into the battle from behind the southern flank of troops.

Zhai Chang watched with tears streaming down his face as his son threw himself toward the flames like a moth. He suddenly bellowed: “Clan heads! If Dunhuang falls, where does our foundation lie?”

Linghu Demao stared grimly and looked at the assembled men: “Gentlemen — another moment of life-or-death choice for the aristocracy has arrived. There is no time for careful deliberation. I will say only this: my third brother currently serves in the court. The Linghu clan will never betray the court.”

Yin Shixiong stamped his foot: “To hell with it — I’m done thinking! My Yin family has acknowledged kinship with Consort Yin and Vice Minister Yin. I’m throwing the dice.”

Zhang Bi let out a sigh: “Six years ago, Zhang Hu committed rebellion. My Zhang clan has already reached an agreement with the court, and we cannot break faith a second time.”

Suo Yong smiled placidly: “Since all of you have resolved to die here, I will die alongside you. In any case, no matter who controls Dunhuang, they cannot do without us aristocrats. Since the clan will suffer no lasting harm — why should I spare my own life?”

Fan Renjie and Song Chengtao both gave a resolute nod. Zhai Chang was overcome with joy and moved to tears, bowing in all directions. The men summoned their retinue guards — some forty or fifty of them in total — and these elite retainers took up their blades and bows, forming up in a neat line.

Linghu Demao pointed toward the battle and roared: “Tonight we live or die. Give your lives to tell His Highness that not all the aristocracy are cowards!”

More than forty men let out a furious battle cry and charged forward after Zhai Shu with their battle shouts.

Not far away, Dugu Da blazed with fury but knew he could not afford to kill the clan heads; he ordered the Guazhou troops to rush forward in a mass, raining blows down on them with the shafts of their spears. Linghu Demao, Zhai Chang, and the others were beaten bloody and knocked to the ground, and were all tied up.

By now Zhai Shu had made contact with the Guazhou troops. With this group of elite retainers joining the fray, they instantly formed a thick, dense wedge that drove into the Guazhou formation. The Guazhou troops had not anticipated anyone coming at them from behind; Zhai Shu’s heavy broad sword cleared the way before him, and all who stood in his path had their limbs shattered and their heads rolling. He carved straight through the military formation by sheer force.

Niu Xi called out: “Who comes to our aid?”

“Zhai Shu, Garrison Commander of Ziting in Western Shazhou!”

Zhai Shu called back, and ordered the aristocratic retainers: “Hold this side — I go to the aid of Prefect Niu.”

“A true hero!”

Niu Xi and the others opened a passage to let Zhai Shu through.

As he passed by Xuanzang, Xuanzang pressed his palms together and bowed in salute; Zhai Shu clasped his fist in return, not a word spoken, and charged with his broad sword toward Wang Junke.

Even in the midst of ferocious combat with Wang Junke, Niu Jinda kept watch in all directions. When he saw Zhai Shu approaching, he laughed heartily: “A true hero! The Zhai clan of Dunhuang — their reputation is well deserved!”

“I will tie down his sword — you press straight forward!”

Zhai Shu said simply, hurling himself at Wang Junke with his blade.

“Presumptuous wretch!”

Wang Junke scoffed, unleashing a flurry of chopping strikes. Zhai Shu raised his blade to parry — clang, clang, clang — three great crashes as the two broad swords collided, deafeningly loud.

Zhai Shu felt his arms go numb, his chest and abdomen roiling with surging blood and vital energy, and almost lost his grip on the sword hilt. Wang Junke’s broad sword wheeled and flew, its force immense, its angles treacherous and unexpected. After three or four exchanges, Zhai Shu could no longer hold his ground and fell back step by step — yet he clenched his teeth and held on.

“Excellent swordsmanship!”

Niu Jinda laughed heartily. The blades of his double-bladed lance thrust out from unexpected angles above and below, to left and right; each time Zhai Shu was unable to defend himself, a lance blade flashed out like lightning to drive at Wang Junke’s vital points. Wang Junke was thrown into sudden disarray. In the short term he could not dispose of Zhai Shu, and yet once Zhai Shu showed an opening, Niu Jinda’s long lance would come thrusting through. He was hard pressed on all sides, and the two men’s combined assault drove him back step by step.

“Archers!”

Li Qi cried out. “Release!”

Wang Junke was pinned down by Niu Jinda and Zhai Shu and could not bring his archers to bear. At a wave of Dugu Da’s command flag, a company of archers and crossbowmen fell into formation and moved forward from the southern side; Wang Lishe immediately disengaged the spearmen from Niu Xi’s men, and the archers formed up — front rank kneeling, rear rank standing — a hundred men almost filling the full width of the street. In the combined light of the moon and torches, the arrowheads of the crossbow bolts glittered in a dense, flickering mass.

Niu Jinda’s mounted cavalry had come to a banquet, and had not brought large shields or other such equipment. In an instant they were trapped in a desperate situation.

Niu Xi called out: “Comrades — we are officers of Great Tang. Is it worthy to die for our country?”

“It is!”

Dozens of voices replied as one.

Niu Xi stepped forward and sang in a loud voice: “Receiving our orders we depart from the sovereign; together we march against the rebel ministers. All sing the Battle of Qin King and celebrate the people of a peaceful age.”

It was one of the battle songs of Great Tang — the “Qin King Breaks the Battle Lines” that Lv Sheng had composed in those years: “The imperial wind spreads across the four seas; for a thousand years the waters of virtue run clear. The war garments are needed no longer — today we declare our deeds accomplished.”

The mounted cavalry all joined in the singing together. Nine more men immediately stepped forward and took their places shoulder to shoulder with Niu Xi, packed so close together they were almost pressed against one another, filling the width of half of Suoyang Street. They laid the spears and pikes in their hands horizontally across their chests, ten spear shafts forming a single row, each shaft held by three or four men.

“Release!”

Dugu Da gave the order.

“Twang twang twang—”

More than a hundred crossbow bolts flew like a swarm of locusts, striking the front-rank mounted cavalry. The cavalry were clad in Bright-Armor plate, which was extremely hard, yet at such close range it could not withstand the massed crossbow volley; every single bolt punched clean through the armor and embedded itself in flesh and bone.

The bolts were loosed in rapid succession — twang twang twang. In an instant, Niu Xi and the nine mounted cavalry with him were riddled with well over a hundred bolts between them; each man had been shot until he resembled a porcupine, and all had long since breathed their last. Yet not one bolt had been able to break through their bodies’ defense to harm the comrades behind them.

The mounted cavalry standing behind them sang the “Qin King Breaks the Battle Lines” with tears streaming down their faces, and without a moment’s hesitation drove their spears one by one into the back-armor of the fallen — with the other end planted in the ground. In this way, Niu Xi and his men, though dead, did not fall. With their bodies, they had built for their comrades a wall of flesh and blood.

This passage is drawn from the Classified Canon of Medicine — Invocation Ritual, composed by the Ming dynasty physician Zhang Jiebin. Descriptions of dissociative disorders from before the Sui and Tang periods are extremely scarce; later writings have been cited of necessity. Additionally, the terms “invocation ritual” and “exorcism technique” differ only in name.