The three of them were making record time down to the valley below. It wasn’t just the recent practice with their qinggong, though that was the biggest factor in Pengfei’s case. They also raced the coming storm, blowing in across the Tibetan Plateau from the southwest.

  The herd and the storehouse came into view. Horse galloped through the field and kicked up clouds of old snow when she ran across the patches that still remained on the ground. There were fewer now, weeks since the last snowfall despite the ever-present bone chilling cold. But the clouds on the horizon now promised a fresh coating of white powder.

  The deepening of winter was the main reason Pengfei was making the journey. He hadn’t known there would be a blizzard when he determined to go but it was just another reason to hurry on. He carried a patchwork of old coats in in his bag, stitched crudely into a horse blanket. Something to help the mare through the winter. Though, even from a distance, she seemed to be doing just fine.

  “How long until the weather reaches us?” Pengfei inquired as the trio slowed to a walk on their final approach.

  Neng looked to the sky critically. “By nightfall.”

  “We’re going to have to cuddle up for warmth tonight boys.” Nanxi hugged an arm around each of his companions and pulled them in close, then was shoved away a second later.

  “You’ll have better luck with the goats.” Pengfei quipped.

  Rebuffed, the jokester asked, “Will we be able to ride if there’s heavy snow? It’s the only reason I agreed to tag along.” He made a dramatic show of shivering in his coat.

  “Depends. But we still have plenty of daylight left. I’ll get you both up in the saddle at least once today.”

  Neng and Nanxi nodded appreciatively. They had voiced a desire to ride. And teaching them was the excuse Pengfei had used when lobbying the Sect Leader. The man had accepted the argument, shuffling names around so that Nanxi and Pengfei could join Neng’s herding shift. But Chen Hongzhang didn’t need to know that the lessons were just a plausible excuse. After the horse blanket was delivered, top priority would be a week of napping by a fire. There would be riding, of course, but nothing that resembled hard work.

  Horse spotted them as they reached level ground and ran to inspect. When she spotted Pengfei, she reared and neighed.

  “Nice to see you too! I’ve got something for you.”

  Pengfei stopped, withdrew the horse blanket from his bag and held it out in front if himself. The mount neighed suspiciously but allowed him to drape it over her back and slip iron toggles through loops of fabric to hold the thing in place.

  “I had to guess at the measurements, butI think it fits.” Pengfei nodded, satisfied at his handiwork. His craftsmanship was amateurish at best, but there it was. A thick imitation of a jacket tied around the animal’s midsection. Neck, legs and tail protruded through holes in the cloth.

  The mare bucked and whinnied but seemed to enjoy the clothing.

  “There you go.” Pengfei chuckled and reached out a hand to rub her neck. But the mare gave his fingers a quick nip and pranced away.

  “Fuck!” Pengfei screamed, clutching the abused digits to his belly, doubling over in pain.

  “Women. Am I right?” Nanxi commented dryly.

  “I have no idea actually.” Neng replied.

  ******************************************************************************

  The clouds had reached them, hanging ominously above but not yet releasing their torrent. Pengfei examined the sky while his unconcerned friends wielded their wooden training swords. A duel between Elder Weidao’s ‘Soaring Dragon in the Sky Swordplay’ and Elder Chen Zi’s ‘Silent and Scentless Swordstroke’, played out via their disciples.

  Neng’s style incorporated the qinggong of the sect heavily. He bounded lightly across the ground, lunging and slashing nimbly. His opponent stood more rooted, and to his credit, defended well for a time, occasionally moving with strangely elegant steps and strikes. But it did not hold.

  Neng made short work of Nanxi. A matter of talent and practice more than the difference in styles. Neng trained with Elder Weidao every day, whereas Nanxi had only attended a handful of lessons with his new master. And unenthusiastically at that.

  “Ugh, it’s useless.” Nanxi complained as he walked toward Pengfei and the fire at the conclusion of the match. “The movements are too flowery. More of a dance than a martial style. And Master Zi spends half our time together lecturing on Taoist sword rituals.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Don’t be a sore loser.” Neng chided.

  “Is it okay for me to watch you two sparring?” Pengfei asked. “Your masters aren’t going to scoop my eyes out, are they?”

  Neng shook his headed. “No, It’s fine to look, just not recommended to imitate. But even that is not forbidden. Anyone in the sect can go to the Scripture Hall and look at the manuals. There are no secret styles in Kunlun.”

  “That hasn’t been my experience…” Pengfei murmured.

  “You talking about your late night work with Elder Rulan?” Nanxi took a sip from a water skin and sat by the fire.

  “Yeah. Although, maybe it doesn’t count. It’s not a style from Kunlun.”

  “Come on, you’ve got to give us more than that.”

  “Stop prying into it.” Neng chastised Nanxi. “Do you want Elder Rulan to cut his tongue out?”

  “Is it fun at least? Learning anything useful?” Nanxi continued, unabashed.

  Pengfei threw a rock into the fire, then sat next to Nanxi, thinking of the ‘Arhat Fist’ manual that Chen Rulan had cruelly dangled in front of him.

  “I was so excited at first. I thought… I hoped he was going to change his mind and take me as his disciple. Teach me something. But it’s torture. A martial art I can read about but never speak of, never practice. Nowhere in the sect feels private enough to even try. Even out here,” Pengfei looked about the valley, “I feel like he would see me. And if I get caught….” He shuddered at the thought.

  “Just remember what you read. Someday the old bastard will be dead and you can do whatever you want.”

  “There’s no way I’ll remember everything. Anything. If I can’t practice it, those words and pictures will just drift away, out of my head. Shit, even if I could get away with it, I’d probably be doing most of it wrong. Just like when I was trying to learn neigong.”

  Neng nodded in agreement as the first snowflakes began to fall. Still light and wispy. He checked the pot of rice that Pengfei had set on the fire, left it to cook a while longer and sat again. The three lounged quietly until Pengfei apologized after an awkward silence stretched too long.

  “Sorry for whining. We were supposed to come down here and have some fun. Now, I’m complaining, there’s a fucking blizzard coming in, Horse is,” he waved at the mare, still prancing in her new cover, not allowing anyone to approach. “well, Horse is being Horse. It looks like it’s going to be a bust.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s nice just to have a break from the elders.” Neng reassured him, but Pengfei was having none of it.

  “Don’t lie. You love training with Elder Weidao. I bet you’re just itching to get back up there for you next lesson.”

  “Not me.” Nanxi said. “I, for one, am happy to be here. You’re the most entertaining thing to happen here in years. A spoiled brat from a mysterious family, fleeing to the sect all alone. And now a little bit of inter-sect intrigue. A forbidden martial arts manual. It’s like watching a play. Do you have any other secrets you can regale us with, Pengfei?”

  Neng chuckled, and Nanxi prodded Pengfei with his elbow jokingly, but the boy was staring into the fire. Pensive. Horse neighed in the background.

  “Secrets…” he said to himself, his mind drifting away, unbidden. Back to a canyon down the valley.

  “Pengfei?” Neng called, his voice coming muted to Pengfei’s ears.

  A struggle. A death. A cold night and a flight from danger.

  “I killed a guy a few months ago.”

  Neng and Nanxi looked at each other then to Pengfei, speaking in unison. “Bullshit.”

  ******************************************************************************

  Pengfei told the tale. His trip down to the valley, scouting for horse pasture. Coming upon the canyon, finding the dead body. Encountering Guoyu. His friends took in the story with increasing disbelief.

  The Thousand Year Ginseng and the Mountain King pushed them over the edge.

  “A magical elixir and a spirit beast? You’re so full of it.”

  But Neng was not as dismissive. He looked toward Horse, who had approached the fire with the twilight, sniffing curiously at the pot. “She does seem bigger.”

  “No, that’s – “, Nanxi began but caught sight of the mare and stopped short. Regardless of that slight evidence before him, he shook his head. “…that’s… no, no. Show me a body. Show me a giant fucking leopard. Show me some proof.”

  They all turned to look down the valley where the proof was waiting.

  Ten minutes later, Horse was saddled. Pengfei rode while Neng and Nanxi ran beside. Fresh snow crunched beneath shoe and hoof alike.

  There was argument that it was too late in the day. That the weather could worsen at any time. Logic would have them wait at least until the morning. But Nanxi would not be dissuaded. To Pengfei’s surprise, Neng was just as adamant.

  Horse nickered beneath him as the group pressed on.

  “I don’t know what you’re so happy about. You look ridiculous.” Pengfei crabbed. He was slightly offended that his friends didn’t believe him. Annoyed that they had forced this nighttime expedition. Foolish for going along with it. Scared at the prospect of what they would find. He vented it all on the mare, wearing her odd little coat under her saddle.

  Still, she conveyed him faithfully to the canyon. The horse never flagged, happy to keep a lightning pace until he pulled back on the reins coming through the narrows in the valley. Where the Mountain King had made its leap for them.

  The other two noticed her stamina as well, both examining her as they caught up and walked by her side. They hypothesized as Pengfei scanned the ridgeline for mythical predators.

  “Maybe she’s reached the ‘return to youth’. Gone back to her days as a young filly.”

  “No. Not even the Thousand Year Ginseng can take you that far in one shot.” Neng contradicted. “Besides, she still has grey in her coat.”

  “Maybe the ‘realm beyond fire and ice’. She doesn’t seem to mind the cold much.” Nanxi leaned in and rubbed Horse’s neck.

  “Maybe. She’s definitely taller.”

  “Will you two shut up?” Pengfei hissed at them. “Are you trying to get us eaten?!”

  They sniggered but obeyed.

  Pengfei turned his attention back to the front. The canyon was a black slice in the barren rock of the eastern ridge, growing taller with every step taken. Was there a shadow looming in the darkness, or just in his imagination?

  --I shouldn’t have told them. We shouldn’t be here.--

  It wasn’t just the fear. It was the guilt too. He had lost some sleep over his first kill. Some, but not much. But he’d also been keeping a healthy distance from the corpse.

  That distance evaporated despite his anxieties. They were there, at the mouth of the canyon. Pengfei dismounted, his cloth shoes providing little comfort from the layer of the white that now covered the earth. Snow was falling faster, even coating the canyon floor.

  “Well, where is he?” Nanxi looked to the ground, while Neng examined the upper reaches of the rock walls, as if more appreciative of the natural formations than the intrigue they pursued.

  Pengfei didn’t answer. He pushed past his friends, drawn forward and dreading it at the same time. His steps slowed as he approached the ledge of the small drop. He saw Guoyu’s face, peaking just above it, as he held his bow taut. The arrow loosed. Pengfei recalled the grisly result. A man sputtering his last breath, choking up blood as he pleaded for help.

  Neng and Nanxi joined him at the ledge. They all looked downward together. Beneath, a mound of snow in the shape of a body, hiding all the morbid details of what lay just a hair’s breadth beneath. The shaft of an arrow protruding upward.

  “Fuck me…” Nanxi muttered.

  “That’s enough. Let’s get out of here.” Pengfei spoke quietly, then turned back toward the mouth of the canyon.