(Day 138)

  The valley below the sect was awash in activity. The last of the snow was a thing of the past and the fields were green again. Laborers from Hotan toiled in the spring sun, constructing another storehouse needed for the additional feed. Something that could be used as a temporary stable if need be. The tents and wagons of the workers had formed a small village.

  One of the dormitories of Jin disciples had come down the mountain for riding lessons. In their spare time they socialized with the townsfolk, as best they could with the language barrier. Luckily, the builders knew what they were about, so Pengfei did not need to worry about finding a translator. The construction continued apace, without any need for management.

  So, Pengfei had nothing to distract him as the Tibetan tribesmen came passing through. The clan kept at a distance with their own herds. The trading in Hotan was done and they were headed back south to graze for the season. Maybe longer.

  Pema rode within a stone’s throw of him, but neither made a move toward the other. She didn’t even look in his direction. They hadn’t spoken since Pengfei learned of her engagement to the brothers, Chodak and Jigme. The days in Hotan had been awkward. Skirting around each other silently as the clan facilitated Kunlun’s purchase and transfer of horses.

  --I wonder if I’ll ever get to talk to her again. I wonder if I’ll ever get to see her again.--

  There was a constriction in his chest as he watched her across the field. The long braids mixed in with the rest of her flowing black hair. Her tanned skin more lovely than any of the vaunted ‘jade beauties’ he had seen in the Central Plains. She whooped and shouted, caring only for the animals. Urging sheep along, keeping the goats from mixing with those belonging to Kunlun.

  “This is probably the most crowded this place has been… ever.” Nanxi observed as he rode up.

  “I guess.”

  “Come on. Stop thinking about how badly you screwed things up with her. We’ve got some work to do.”

  Nanxi grabbed Pengfei’s reins and set off toward Kunlun’s encampment.

  “Hey!” Pengfei protested, trying to pull away, but Horse seemed to agree with his friend. She neighed and continued on her path, not taking heed of any of her rider’s exhortations. Apparently, she also thought he needed to stop moping. “Traitor.”

  He gave one last look back to Pema. In an hour, the Tibetan clan would be out of sight around the next bend in the valley. By the end of the day, they’d be in southern plateau.

  The disciples who had come down the mountain were living out of tents. The workers from Hotan would begin erecting a bunkhouse for them after their current project was finished. The boys all complained about their temporary accommodations, but none did so in front of Chen Mo. The decrepit head of the Veneration Hall was taking his turn to supervise the disciples, seeing that some semblance of order was kept. As loudly as the elder complained about the duty, he would tolerate no whining from the Jin generation.

  Nanxi took the initiative at the camp. He whistled and shouted as he rode his tawny brown mount between the tents.

  “Come on you lazy bastards, come and learn a thing or two!”

  The disciples jeered and hissed at Nanxi but made their way over to the paddock. A fenced enclosure containing several of the new horses. The boys turned expectantly to Pengfei once they had gathered around.

  --This … this is weird.--

  They looked at him as if he carried some kind of authority. And he did, at least for now. As if to confirm it, he was sitting above them all, high in the saddle as they milled about on the ground.

  --Don’t want to lay it on too thick. Don’t want to be a limp noodle either. --

  Pengfei tried to measure his tone before he spoke, sounding it out in his head. He thought it went alright when the words finally left his mouth.

  “Ahem…I’ve been working on these ten horses for the past week. Broken them in a bit. They only threw me off… two, maybe three, dozen times.” He gave his ass an exaggerated rub and flashed a self-deprecating smile, drawing a chuckle from the others. “They’re still skittish, so try to keep them calm as you put the saddles on them. Work in groups of three, take turns riding around the paddock. Let me or Nanxi know if you need help.”

  The crowd split into smaller groups and set to their task. Pengfei watched absent-mindedly, shooting glances over his shoulder to the Tibetan clan still passing through the valley. But he could not find Pema again.

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

  (Day 138 Continued)

  The training for those camping in the valley did not cease just because they were away from the sect proper, though it did look different. It could vary wildly from month to month, depending on which reluctant elder was sent down with them. Under Chen Mo, the majority of the free hours were spent on neigong training.

  After another bland meal of dry rations, the thirty-odd disciples sat with crossed legs on the grass, or on small mats they had brought with them. Elder Mo wandered through their ranks as they circulated, meditated. It was like the Veneration Hall had come down the mountain with them.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  --…So…boring….--

  It was a struggle to stay awake, but Chen Mo was always there to kick the sides of a dozing disciple. Pengfei pinched himself as needed, preferring his own care to the elder’s. And he was somewhat motivated, trying to make up for his deficiency of internal energy compared to his peers. All the same, he was grateful when the session ended.

  “Enough. To bed with you.” The old Taoist called. He turned and shuffled off into the darkness, going who-knows-where, not bothering to ensure the disciples made it to their tents. Which suited Pengfei perfectly.

  The boy walked slowly with the tired but chattering crowd, slipping between and around the rows of tents that looked like they belonged in a military compound. He meandered through the little canvas village, waving and calling ‘good night’ as friends and acquaintances crawled into their own little huts. When he reached the back, he crouched low and waddled as quickly as he could away from the Kunlun encampment.

  He straightened up when he felt like he’d be unnoticed. Didn’t bother hiding himself as he passed the workers from Hotan and their campfire. Some called out to him in foreign words as he passed and Pengfei responded casually, not worried about being reported.

  Once he was out of earshot of the builders, Pengfei put his fingers to his lips and whistled. Waited a minute, then whistled again.

  --Where is sh- oh shit!--

  Horse startled him with a sudden approach out of the darkness, going from a full gallop to a dead-stop in a body-length, throwing up dirt and stones with a whinny.

  “You scared the shit out of me!”

  She was devoid of saddle, but Pengfei pulled out a bridle and reins he had awkwardly stuffed into his robes, the most he could carry without drawing attention. The mare nipped at her ungrateful rider as he fitted them, but Pengfei pulled his fingers back just in time, then reached again for a shoulder. He pushed himself up onto the mount’s back and they were off in the next moment.

  The first several minutes were frantic. Even after a full day of riding, the mare still wanted to run at top speed. Pengfei doubted he could stay astride without a saddle, even with his consummate skill, if Horse took off as she liked. But within a few minutes she stopped chomping at her bit. And in an hour she was keeping a gentle rhythm at a walk.

  Pengfei felt comfortable enough to circulate his internal energy. Not the neigong he had been practicing just a while ago with the others. Instead, he focused on his qinggong skills. It was a recent idea.

  He couldn’t hope to match the rest of the Jin generation on foot. It was probably the same for most of his peers in the Wulin. But after her lucky encounter with the Thousand-Year Ginseng, Horse was faster than just about anything that trod the land. Only a true master would be able to outpace her.

  Of course, carrying a rider would slow her down. But Pengfei had a plan for that.

  He moved the qi inside his lower dantian, in the pattern that Chen Ji had shown him. The pattern detailed in the manual for ‘Three Twists of the Dragon in the Clouds’. It was what gave the lightness technique its lightness. He felt his balance and weight shift inside himself until it seemed like he’d be able to stand on a blade of grass without bending it. In reality, he was not that skillful but the sensation was nonetheless heady.

  --I hope it’s enough for Horse to notice a difference. If we ride like this maybe she’ll have a little more speed, a little more stamina.--

  He focused on the skill, and the night faded into the background. The li passed by. And soon their destination was in view.

  They passed through the narrows in the valley where the Mountain King had leapt for them. Pengfei gave a quick, nervous, glance upward but saw nothing. Heard nothing. So he looked ahead to a black slit in the ridge. The canyon where he had fought the man-in-black. Guoyu.

  They naturally came to a stop. Horse neighed sedately and Pengfei rubbed her neck, lost in thought.

  A whistle from behind took both mount and rider by surprise. Horse wheeled around and Pengfei raised his hands reflexively, still holding the reins.

  Nanxi held up his own hands in faux surrender. He approached on his usual horse, fully saddled.

  “What are you doing here! I nearly pissed myself.” Pengfei complained, but relaxed and dropped his fists.

  “If you’re that skittish, maybe you should pay more attention.”

  “Yeah…fair enough. Where did you come from?”

  “Same as you. I followed when I saw you sneak off. Took me a while to get my kit together though. I just caught up. What are you doing out here?”

  Pengfei turned to look back toward the canyon. The snow that had fallen in the winter and the white caps of the mountains had begun to thaw. Now, the icy waters were trickling through the high rock walls and what had been a dry streambed only a month ago was coming to life. Soon, a real torrent would be coursing through the canyon and joining the river that flowed in the valley.

  “I took care of them already.” Nanxi declared.

  “What?”

  “The bodies. That’s why you came out here, right?”

  Pengfei nodded solemnly. “Yeah… Soon, more people will be riding around the valley. Exploring. Not to mention Neng.”

  The relationship with the other disciple had been strained for the past month, since their brief exchange on the practice ground in the sect above. No further arguments, but no reconciliation either. Pengfei had come down to the valley shortly after the incident, but now he was due to return.

  --If we have another spat, maybe Neng would…--

  Pengfei shook his head and returned to the more immediate issue. “What did you do with them?”

  “Moved them deeper into the canyon. Out of the streambed and into a little nook. Piled some rocks on top. No one will find them unless they know where to look.”

  Pengfei sighed deeply. “Nanxi, I owe you so –“

  “Please.” Nanxi waved off the gratitude. “They were just bones at that point. Like moving rocks around. But I still burned some Joss paper, did a sword ritual. It was an opportunity to use some of the things Elder Zhi taught me.”

  “Hah.” Pengfei laughed weakly. “Your master is making a proper Taoist out of you.”

  They chuckled, the gravity of the place slowly fading.

  “Come on. I’ve wasted enough of your night.” Pengfei announced than urged Horse south, back towards the camp.

  “It’s fine. You know, half the reason I came was to try and see – “

  A roar sounded from above them on the ridgeline. Deep and thunderous. Nanxi’s horse startled, whipping left and right for the origin of the sound, but not looking up to the true source, high above. Pengfei grabbed the bridle of the spooked animal and held tight to keep his friend from being thrown. Thankfully, Horse was more composed. She bayed once, loudly, but then held her ground and shivered quietly.

  “Don’t. Move.” Pengfei urgently whispered to everything with ears. “Don’t. Run.”

  He looked up slowly, not wanting to see what he knew was there.

  “I thought you were full of shit. It’s even bigger than you described!” Nanxi hissed at him, following his gaze.

  An enormous beast was standing on top of the ridge, lit from behind by the moon. A shape against the sky, at first indiscernible from the rock except for its movement. It descended the cliff, moving in great leaps and long strides, practically running straight down the rock.

  “Satisfied?!” Pengfei asked sarcastically.

  “Yep. We should go now!” Nanxi pleaded.

  “No! Chen Ji said not –“

  “Who cares what the old bat said!”

  “Running almost got me eaten last time! Just stay still!”

  Pengfei rubbed Horse’s neck soothingly, whispering to her like a restless child. The animal’s trembling matched his own but she held her place. Through some miracle, Nanxi’s mount remained motionless as well, even as the Mountain King bounded across the valley towards them at an incredible clip.

  A cloud passed in front of the moon and the world went black. They lost all trace of the approaching leopard as its mottled form was consumed by the night. A predator, made to disappear into the dull grey tones of the mountains, given even more cover than it needed.

  Seconds passed where the two young men could hear nothing except their own breathing and the wind.

  --I should just close my eyes and wait for this to be over… one way or the other.--

  He knew there was nothing to be done against the beast. If he looked, he would only see death coming with a gaping jaw and sharp teeth. But his eyes searched the darkness nonetheless.

  Seconds became a minute and then two.

  “There!” Nanxi whispered, without daring to point. But Pengfei still found the bright eyes. They glinted against what little light was left to them.

  The cloud cover passed, the moon returned, and suddenly there he was. The head that held those gleaming eyes was low to the ground, suspended by a powerful neck. Muscles rippled beneath black and grey fur.

  Silent since that first roar, but now another growl came. So low that it was imperceptible at first, but soon the air vibrated with it.

  Pengfei swallowed dryly and darted a quick glance to Nanxi, whose chin was receding backwards into his neck and squinting his eyes against what he was seeing.

  Horse took one shaking step backwards, then Pengfei grabbed a handful of mane and pulled against her motion.

  “Hold. Still.” he forced through his teeth.

  Time crept slowly on. So long, that a curious desperation overrode Nanxi’s common sense.

  “How …long… do we… do this?”

  Pengfei took in the snow leopard. Larger than any of its kind had a right to be. There was only one logical answer to Nanxi’s question.

  “As long as he wants”