Chapter 11 (2/2)
The king sat on his high throne and smiled at me, saying. “From today onwards, this zither shall be named Huan Die Qin.”
Then the rest of my tribal people and I knelt down, I heard the wors.h.i.+p and prayer my people have towards the king.
But when the king walked out of the hall, he stopped suddenly before my brother, Chi Mo. Chi Mo was kneeling on the ground with his head hanging low, not saying anything.
I saw the sudden change in the king’s expression; his eyes have countless of swirling snow, he turned around to look at my father. I saw the horror on my father’s face; an icy blue murderous aura could be seen on the king’s face, and I felt a heavy pressure smothered on my body. This was when I realized how insurmountable was the king’s power.
I heard my father’s hoa.r.s.e voice, saying lowly. “My king, I know what to do.”
I watched the king left the hall; wind filled his phoenix robe, flying lightly like a heron’s wings. The time when he left the grand hall, my brother fell onto the palace ground suddenly, his eyes were closed, his hair scattered down his robe and glistening white blood kept gus.h.i.+ng out from his mouth.
Father came over and carried him up, then left the hall. When he was at the door, he turned to me. “Die Che, from now onwards, you are the king of music sorcery tribe, you carries the fate of the entire tribe.”
After father left, everyone also left. I was the only one left at the centre of the hall, not knowing where should I go. I looked up at the high dome, tearing streaming down like rain.
From that day onwards, I have never seen my brother, Chi Mo, anymore.
From that day my brother left me onwards, I kept having the same endless dream, in the dream it’s full of Chi Mo’s smile, he was standing high up on the city wall in his white robe, imposing. He was waiting for me to come home, countless of flying birds gathered and dispersed in the sky just like those ever-changing clouds, feathers falling down, cherry blossom flowers blossoming, my brother’s robe flying in the wind. My brother was playing the zither, his fingers were dry yet agile, his music was broken and bright, like tearing sunrise. I always heard my brother talking to me, telling me his longing for a desperate, broken and selfless love. At the end of the dream, those dancing cherry blossom flowers turned red in a moment, fresh red like the sun melted in the water turning into the light and colour of an illusion. Then everything disappeared, my brother’s smile appeared and disappeared within the dissipating mist.
I always asked my father where did Chi Mo go, was he alright, why didn’t he come and see me.
My father would always stay silent; he would just point at the flying s...o...b..rds in the sky and said. “Die Che, you see those birds, so carefree.”
Suddenly I remembered the past, Chi Mo brought me to the snow fog forest to see the shadows of the flying birds, watching the shadows of the trees fell into his eyes that turned into creepily black. But time flew past so quickly and a hundred over years had pa.s.sed.
Thunders rumbled across the sky, just like the pounding drums resounded throughout the entire Snow Empire.
Chi Mo died at the age of 200 years old, that’s also then year when I became the king of my tribe at the age of 190.
I was the one who killed my brother, my beloved Chi Mo gege, the brother that has the scent of blooming flower, the brother that doted me the most, the brother who would say “As long as Die Che is around, I will not be lonely anymore.”.
One month after the disappearance of my brother, I had a dream, in the dream Chi Mo was locked underneath an altar, so dark and damp, he was being nailed on a wall, his head hanging low and his hair was covering his handsome face. I couldn’t see his face but I knew my brother must be very painful.
I went to look for my father, then my father told me about my brother’s stuff. My father’s narration was slow and illusory, just like a vague dream with clear feelings and when I woke up from the dream, I was already in tear.
My father told me Chi Mo’s mother was the woman that he loved the most; his mother has fire red pupil and flaming red long hair because she was from the Fire Tribe. The time when father married her, she possessed the face of a woman from the Ice Tribe, but when she was 200 years old that time, her hair and eyes turned fiery red all of a sudden.
Chi Mo’s mother gave birth to Chi Mo for the sake of my father, and the time when Chi Mo was born, she used the ice sword to cut open her stomach and countless of sparkling fire rolled down to the floor; Chi Mo appeared within the flame, looking so serene. Then the flames were put out gradually, Chi Mo’s hair and pupils changed back to the same colour as my father, but father knew the time when Chi Mo turned 200, he would revert back to the look of the Fire Tribe.
That day when the king walked past Chi Mo, he discovered that Chi Mo was the descendant of the Fire Tribe, so he instructed my father to make Chi Mo disappear, and to use the cruel punishment. So my brother was being nailed on the wall by five ice swords for fourteen days, and then letting him bleed to death slowly.
When I heard that, my tear couldn’t stop flowing down and I thought of my brother’s thin body.
I’ve finally got to see Chi Mo at the underground dark room underneath the altar; he was being nailed on the thick basalt walls with several ice swords, red blood was trickling down his pierced chest, spreading onto the icy floor. I saw his hair and pupils had become bright red like the flame.
I went to his feet and he leant forward to look at me, his hair was covering his face; he didn’t show any pain or resentment on his face, still so calm and grateful.
He said to me, “Die Che, you’ve already known everything right?”
I looked into his red eyes and nodded. “Yes, I know, xiao gege.”
He said, “Die Che, don’t be sad. I’ve never hated father but I liked you more. I’m already very lucky to be able to come to this world. Please take care of father and everyone in the tribe.”
The time when I went there, the third ice sword pierced through his chest, I could hear the sound of the b.l.o.o.d.y flesh, heavy like viscous magma gurgling down.
I saw his brows knitting tightly together and it made my heart hurt.
Chi Mo looked at me and said, “Die Che, don’t be sad. There’re still two more icicles. Then I will be able to sleep.”
“Gege, why must the king be so cruel to you? I don’t approve.” I said.
Then I walked over and summoned the sword, piercing it through his throat.
Chi Mo lowered his head; his hair covering my face and his tear fell onto my eyes. I heard his raspy voice in his throat and he said. “Die Che, why are you so silly? Why did you break the Code?”
I replied, “Ge, how can I see you suffer like this?”
Chi Mo’s blood streamed down the ice sword and then towards my robe, dying my entire music sorcery robe.
Because I went against the king’s punishment order by killing Chi Mo, the king was furious with me. When I looked into my father’s eyes, I could only see sorrow and pity, I walked over to hug him and wrinkles on his face spread like fast-growing vines.
He said, “What are you going to do?”
I said, “Father, I’ve prepared not to be the king of the music sorcery tribe anymore. I will leave this palace and find a place to retreat, spending the rest of my life there.”
My father didn’t say anything; I only heard the cry of the flying bird in the sky. I looked up and remembered those falling grey feathers and the eyes of Chi Mo, a flash of sadness, attractive and alluring.
The time when I was preparing to leave the palace, I met a lady at the bottom of the huge city wall. She told me her name was Yuan Ji and she asked me whether I was willing to see if my feelings towards Chi Mo could touch the heart of the wall of sigh. I turned around to see the palace of my tribe, feeling it was so insignificant like a crystal garden.
Yuan Ji said, “That’s right. It is a crystal garden.”
I turned away suddenly and asked her. “How did you know what I’m thinking about?”
Yuan Ji didn’t answer me. She said, “I know you are a musician with strong spiritual power, are you willing to take a look at the legendary wall of sigh?”
I lowered my head and thought about it. I’ve realized there’s nothing in Ren Xue Cheng that I couldn’t bear to part with and so I nodded.
The moment when I nodded, I saw countless of flowers blooming in the surrounding air, countless of flower spirits. That wasn’t an illusion because I saw Yuan Ji’s finger moving and the magic she used.
The time when I left Ren Xue Cheng, my mind has numerous pictures emerging out, I saw my brother standing in the middle of the snow smiling down at me; I saw the shadows of the flying birds in his eyes like the colour of the night sky, the disillusionment in his eyes; I saw Chi Mo standing at the city gate waiting for me to come back and his eyes sparkled like the stars in the sky, the colour of the flower spirits running around his robe; I saw my brother sitting on the highest city wall playing his zither waiting for me to come home with wind blowing his hair and his robe was always so clean and elegant; I saw my brother being nailed on the wall, his tear falling onto my face and also his blue robe, the big water stains on his robe were like blooming lotuses…
—
Thunder rumbled behind my back, it was so loud as if the entire city has collapsed.
I looked up and smelled the scent of flowers blooming everywhere. The spirits of the flowers.
Xiao gege, xiao gege, my beloved Chi Mo has finally disappeared before my eyes.
“Ge, please forgive me. I have to leave, leave this troubled palace, leave this illusion city that buried my happy times. Perhaps at the end of the sky, I would see your soul and that time, please smile at me, just like the bright smile that torn the sun, so that I could end my crying with a smile, and then let me hear you sing freely.”
—
Because Xing Gui has been sleeping, so we couldn’t hit the road to continue with our journey. Because ahead of us was the territory of the North Guardian, Xing Zhou’s territory; without Xing Gui, every step we took was an unpredictable purgatory.
Zong Tian Xuan Wu shrine was at the highest point of a snow mountain; we could still see it just by standing at the territory of the South Guardian, that white majestic palace was like the sharpest three spines sword stretching towards the pale blue sky, so strange yet gorgeous. During those few nights when Xing Gui was sleeping deeply, we could see the stars above Zong Tian shrine, they were changing their positions in accordance to a very strange trajectory. Occasionally the shrine would emit a dazzling white light and they would form a huge hexagram when the white lights shone onto the dark sky. It was like the mark on the middle of both Xing Jiu and Xing Gui’s eyebrows.
Xing Gui woke up suddenly three days after her coma, but she went back to sleep instantly, in the moment when she was awake, white blood kept gus.h.i.+ng out from her mouth and she grabbed Huang Tuo’s robe with a painful expression, saying, “Bring me… back… to…. Po Tian… Shrine…” Then she slipped back to sleep, never woke up again.
Once we brought Xing Gui back to the ruined Po Tian Shrine, she began to wake up, still feeling weak like all her spiritual power was being drained. Huang Tuo kept her within the white enchantment, and then Xing Gui started to get better day by day.
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