BAF 45 - Kai Lung;s Golden Hours, page 16
part #45 of Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series
“In such cases my attitude has invaribly been one of sympathetic unconcern,” declared Shen Yi. “The weight of tolerant impartiality thus thrown into the balance equally on either side produces an atmosphere of absolute poise that cannot fail to give full play to the decision of the destinies.”
“But if this attitude is maintained on your part how can the proposal progress to a definite issue?” inquired Chang Tao.
“So far, it never has so progressed,” admitted Shen Yi. “None of the worthy and hard-striving young men—any of whom I should have been overjoyed to greet as a son-in-law had my inopportune sense of impartiality permitted it—has yet returned from the trial to claim the reward.”
“Even the Classics become obscure in the dark. Clear your throat of all doubtfulness, O Shen Yi, and speak to a definite end.”
“That duty devolves upon this person, O would-be propounder of involved questions,” interposed Melodious Vision. Her voice was more musical than a stand of hanging jewels touched by a rod of jade, and each word fell like a separate pearl. “He who ignores the Usages must expect to find the Usages ignored. Since the day when K’ung-tsz framed the Ceremonies much water has passed beneath the Seven Terraced Bridge, and that which has overflowed can never be picked up again. It is no longer enough that you should come and thereby I must go; that you should speak and I be silent; that you should beckon and I meekly obey. Inspired by the uprisen sisterhood of the outer barbarian lands, we of the inner chambers of the Illimitable Kingdom demand the right to express ourselves freely on every occasion and on every subject, whether the matter involved is one that we understand or not.”
“Your clear-cut words will carry far,” said Chang Tao deferentially, and, indeed, Melodious Vision’s voice had imperceptibly assumed a penetrating quality that justified the remark. “Yet is it fitting that beings so superior in every way should be swayed by the example of those who are necessarily uncivilised and rude?”
“Even a mole may instruct a philosopher in the art of digging,” replied the maiden, with graceful tolerance. “Thus among these uncouth tribes it is the custom, when a valiant youth would enlarge his face in the eyes of a maiden, that he should encounter forth and slay dragons, to the imperishable glory of her name. By this beneficent habit not only are the feeble and inept automatically disposed of, but the difficulty of choosing one from among a company of suitors, all apparendy possessing the same superficial attributes, is materially lightened.”
“The system may be advantageous in those dark regions,” admitted Chang Tao reluctantly, “but it must prove unsatisfactory in our more favoured land.”
“In what detail?” demanded the maiden, pausing in her attitude of assured superiority.
“By the essential drawback that whereas in those neglected outer parts there really are no dragons, here there really are. Thus—”
“Doubtless there are barbarian maidens for those who prefer to encounter barbarian dragons then,” exclaimed Melodious Vision, with a very elaborately sustained air of no-concern.
“Doubtless,” assented Chang Tao mildly. “Yet having set forth in the direction of a specific Vision it is this person’s intention to pursue it to an ultimate end.”
“The quiet duck puts his foot on the unobservant worm,” murmured Shen Yi, with delicate encouragement, adding: “This one casts a more definite shadow than those before.”
“Yet,” continued the maiden, “to all, my unbending word is this: he who would return for approval must encounter difficulties, overcome dangers and conquer dragons. Those who do not adventure on the quest will pass outward from this person’s mind.”
“And those who do will certainly Pass Upward from their own bodies,” ran the essence of the youth’s inner thoughts. Yet the network of her unevadable power and presence was upon him; he acquiescently replied:
“It is accepted. On such an errand difficulties and dangers will not require any especial search. Yet how many dragons slain will suffice to win approval?”
“Crocodile-eyed one!” exclaimed Melodious Vision, surprised into wrathfulness. “How many—” Here she withdrew in abrupt vehemence.
“Your progress has been rapid and profound,” remarked Shen Yi, as, with flattering attention, he accompanied Chang Tao some part of the way towards the door. “Never before has that one been known to leave a remark unsaid; I do not altogether despair of seeing her married yet. As regards the encounter with the dragon—well, in the case of the one whispering in your ear there was the revered mother of the one whom he sought. After all, a dragon is soon done with—one way or the other.”
In such a manner Chang Tao set forth to encounter dragons, well assured that difficulties and dangers would accompany him on either side. In this latter detail he was inspired, but as the great light faded and the sky-lantem rose in interminable succession, while the unconquerable. li ever stretched before his expectant feet, the essential part of the undertaking began to assume a dubious facet. In the valleys and fertile places he learned that creatures of this part now chiefly inhabited the higher fastnesses, such regions being more congenial to their wild and intractable natures. When, however, after many laborious marches he reached the upper peaks of pathless mountains the scanty crag-dwellers did not vary in their assertion that the dragons had for some time past forsaken those heights for the more settled profusion of the plains. Formerly, in both places they had been plentiful, and all those whom Chang Tao questioned spoke openly of many encounters between their immediate forefathers and such Beings.
It was in the downcast frame of mind to which the delays in accomplishing his mission gave rise that Chang Tao found himself walking side by side with one who bore the appearance of an affluent merchant. The northem-ward way was remote and solitary, but seeing that the stranger carried no outward arms Chang Tao greeted him suitably and presently spoke of the difficulty of meeting dragons, or of discovering their retreats from the dwellers in that region.
“In such delicate matters those who know don’t talk, and those who talk don’t know,” replied the other sympathetically. “Yet for what purpose should one who would pass as a pacific student seek to encounter dragons?”
“For a sufficient private reason it is necessary that I should kill a certain number,” replied Chang Tao freely. “Thus their absence involves me in much ill-spared delay.”
At this avowal the stranger’s looks .became more sombre, and he breathed inwards several times between his formidable teeth before he made reply.
“This is doubdess your angle, but there is equally another; nor is it well to ignore the saying, ‘Should you miss the tiger be assured that he will not miss you,’” he remarked at length. “Have you sufficiently considered the eventuality of a dragon killing you?”
“It is no less aptly said, ’To be bora is in the course of nature, but to die is according to the decree of destiny.’”
“That is a two-edged weapon, and the dragon may be the first to apply it.”
“In that case this person will fall back upon the point of the adage, ‘It is better to die two years too soon than to live one year too long,’” replied Chang Tao. “Should he fail in the adventure and thus lose all hope of Melodious Vision, of the house of Shen, there will be no further object in prolonging a wearisome career.”
“You speak of Melodious Vision, she being of the house of Shen,” said the stranger, regarding his companion with an added scrutiny. “Is the unmentioned part of her father’s honourable name Yi, and is his agreeable house so positioned that it fronts upon a summer-seat domed with red copper?”
“The description is exact,” admitted Chang Tao. “Have you then, in the course of your many-sided travels, passed that way?”
“It is not unknown to me,” replied the other briefly. “Learn now how incautious has been your speech, and how narrowly you have avoided the exact fate of which I warned you. The one speaking to you is in reality a powerful dragon, his name being Pe-lung, from the circumstance that the northern limits are within his sway. Had it not been for a chance reference you would certainly have been struck dead at the parting of our ways.”
“If this is so it admittedly puts a new face upon the matter,” agreed Chang Tao. “Yet how can reliance be spontaneously placed upon so incredible a claim? You are a man of moderate cast, neither diffident nor austere, and with no unnatural attributes. All the dragons with which history is concerned possess a long body and a scaly skin, and have, moreover, the power of breathing fire at win.”
“That is easily put to the test.” No sooner had Pe-lung uttered these words than he faded, and in his place appeared a formidable monster possessing all the terror-inspiring characteristics of his kind. Yet in spite of his treelike eyebrows, fiercely moving whiskers and fire-breathing jaws, his voice was mild and pacific as he continued: “What further proof can be required? Assuredly, the self-opinionated spirit in which you conduct your quest will bring you no nearer to a desired end.”
“Yet this will!” exclaimed Chang Tao, and suddenly drawing his reliable sword he drove it through the middle part of the dragon’s body. So expertly was the thrust weighted that the point of the weapon protruded on the other side and scarred the earth. Instead of falling lifeless to the ground, however, the Being continued to regard its assailant with benignant composure, whereupon the youth withdrew the blade and drove it through again, five or six times more. As this produced no effect beyond rendering the edge of the weapon unfit for further use, and almost paralysing the sinews of his own right arm, Chang Tao threw away the sword and sat down in the road in order to recall his breath. When he raised his head again the dragon had disappeared and Pe-lung stood there as before.
“Fortunately it is possible to take a broad-minded view of your uncourteous action, owing to your sense of the fitnesses being for the time in abeyance through allegiance to so engaging a maiden as Melodious Vision,” said Pe-lung in a voice not devoid of reproach. “Had you but confided in me more fully I should certainly have cautioned you in time. As it is, you have ended by notching your otherwise capable weapon beyond repair and seriously damaging the scanty cloak I wear”—indicating the numerous rents that marred his dress of costly fur. “No wonder dejection sits upon your downcast brow.”
“Your priceless robe is a matter of profuse regret and my self-esteem can only be restored by your accepting in its place this threadbare one of mine. My rust-eaten sword is unworthy of your second thought. But certainly neither of these two details is the real reason of my dark despair.”
“Disclose yourself more openly,” urged Pe-lung.
“I now plainly recognise the futility of my well-intentioned quest. Obviously it is impossible to kill a dragon, and I am thus the sport either of Melodious Vision’s deliberate ridicule or of my own ill-arranged presumption.”
“Set your mind at rest upon that score: each blow was competently struck and convincingly fatal. You may quite fittingly claim to have slain half-a-dozen dragons at the least—none of the legendary champions of the past has done more.”
“Yet how can so arrogant a claim be held, seeing that you stand before me in the unimpaired state of an ordinary existence?”
“The explanation is simple and assuring. It is, in reality, very easy to kill a dragon, but it is impossible to keep him dead. The reason for this is that the Five Essential Constituents of fire, water, earth, wood and metal are blended in our bodies in the Sublime or Indivisible proportion. Thus although it is not difficult by extreme violence to disturb the harmonious balance of the Constituents, and so bring about the effect of no-existence, they at once retranquillise again, and all effect of the ill usage is spontaneously repaired.”
“That is certainly a logical solution, but it stands in doubtful stead when applied to the familiar requirements of life; nor is it probable that one so acute-witted as Melodious Vision would greet the claim with an acquiescent face,” replied Chang Tao. “Not unnaturally is it said, ‘He who kills tigers does not wear rat-skin sleeves.’ It would be one thing to make a boast of having slain six dragons; it would be quite another to be bidden to bring in their tails.”
“That is a difficulty which must be considered,” admitted Pe-lung, “but a path round it will inevitably be found. In the meantime night is beginning to encircle us, and many dark Powers will be freed and resort to these inaccessible slopes. Accompany me, therefore, to my bankrupt hovel, where you will be safe until you care to resume your journey.”
To this agreeable proposal Chang Tao at once assented. The way was long and laborious, “For,” remarked Pe-lung, “in an ordinary course I should fly there in a single breath of time; but to seize an honoured guest by the body-cloth and thus transfer him over the side of a mountain is toilsome to the one and humiliating to the other.”
To beguile the time he spoke freely of the hardships of his lot.
“We dragons are frequently objects of envy at the hands of the undiscriminating, but the few superficial privileges we enjoy are heavily balanced by the exacting scope of our duties. Thus tonight it is my degraded task to divert the course of the river flowing below us, so as to overwhelm the misguided town of Yang, wherein dwells a sordid outcast who has reviled the Sacred Claw. In order to do this properly it will be my distressing part to lie across the bed of the stream, my head resting upon one bank and my tail upon the other, and so remain throughout the rigour of the night.”
As they approached the cloudy pinnacle whereon was situated the dragon’s cave, one came forth at a distance to meet them. As she drew nearer, alternating emotions from time to time swayed Chang Tao’s mind. From beneath a well-ruled eyebrow Pe-lung continued to observe him closely.
“Fuh-sang, the unattractive daughter of my dwindling line,” remarked the former person, with refined indifference. “I have rendered you invisible, and she, as her custom is, would advance to greet me.”
“But this enchanting apparition is Melodious Vision!” exclaimed Chang Tao. “What new bewilderment is here?”
“Since you have thus expressed yourself, I will now throw off the mask and reveal fully why I have hitherto spared your life, and for what purpose I have brought you to these barren heights,” replied Pe-lung. “In the past Shen Yi provoked the Deities, and to mark their displeasure it was decided to take away his she-child and to substitute for it one of demoniac birth. To this end Fuh-sang, being of like age, was moulded to its counterpart, and an attendant gnome was dispatched with her secretly to make the change. Becoming overwhelmed with the fumes of rice-spirit, until then unknown to his simple taste, this clay-brained earth-pig left the two she-children alone for a space while he slept. Discovering each other to be the creature of another part, they battled together and tore from one another the signs of recognition. When the untrustworthy gnome recovered from his stupor he saw what he had done, but being terror-driven he took up one of the she-children at a venture and returned with a pliant tale. It was not until a few moons ago that while in a close extremity he confessed his crime. Meanwhile Shen Yi had made his peace with those Above and the order being revoked the she-children had been exchanged again. Thus the matter rests.”
“Which, then, of the twain is she inherent of your house and which Melodious Vision?” demanded Chang Tao in some concern. “The matter can assuredly not rest thus.”
“That,” replied Pe-lung affably, “it will be your engaging task to unravel, and to this end will be your opportunity of closely watching Fuh-sang’s unsuspecting movements in my absence through the night.”
“Yet how should I, to whom the way of either maiden is as yet no more than the title-page of a many-volumed book, succeed where the father native to one has failed?”
“Because in your case the incentive will be deeper. Destined, as you doubtless are, to espouse Melodious Vision, the Forces connected with marriage and the like will certainly endeavour to inspire you. This person admittedly has no desire to nurture one who should prove to be of merely human seed, but your objection to propagating a race of dragonets turns on a keener edge. Added to this, a not unnatural disinclination to be dropped from so great a height as this into so deep and rocky a valley as that will conceivably add wings to your usually nimble-footed mind.”
While speaking to Chang Tao in this encouraging strain, Pe-lung was also conversing suitably with Fuh-sang, who had by this time joined them, warning her of his absence until the dawn, and the like. When he had completed his instruction he stroked her face affectionately, greeted Chang Tao with a short but appropriate farewell, and changing his form projected himself downwards into the darkness of the valley below. Recognising that the situation into which he had been drawn possessed no other outlet, Chang Tao followed Fuh-sang on her backward path, and with her passed unsuspected into the dragon’s cave.
Early as was Pe-lung’s return on the following morning, Chang Tao stood on a rocky eminence to greet him, and the outline of his face, though not altogether clear of doubt, was by no means hopeless. Pe-lung still retained the impressive form of a gigantic dragon as he cleft the Middle Air, shining and iridescent, each beat of his majestic wings being as a roll of thunder and the skittering of sand and water from his crepitant scales leaving blights and rainstorms in his wake. When he saw Chang Tao he drove an earthward angle and alighting near at hand considerately changed into the semblance of an affluent merchant as he approached.
“Greeting,” he remarked cheerfully. “Did you find your early rice?”
“It has sufficed,” replied Chang Tao. “How is your own incomparable stomach?”
Pe-lung pointed to the empty bed of the deflected river and moved his head from side to side as one who draws an analogy to his own condition. “But of your more pressing enterprise,” he continued, with sympathetic concern: “have you persevered to a fruitful end, or will it be necessary—?” And with tactful feeling he indicated the gesture of propelling an antagonist over the side of a precipice rather than allude to the disagreeable contingency in spoken words.
