His Majesty led Mo Xi to the rear hall of Vermilion Bird Palace.
There was a pool of Dream-Gathering Water there, capable of gathering the events of the past into reality and causing them to appear before the eyes of those watching.
His Majesty stopped by the pool. He looked at the reflections of himself and Mo Xi in the water, then slowly slipped the string of Bodhi Heavenly Beads from his wrist and held them in his hand, turning them between his fingers. The Bodhi beads had acquired a warm, smooth patina. He rolled them one by one beneath his fingers, and when he reached the seventh bead, he stopped.
“Mo Xi, I… although I chose to destroy the jade slips from the Imperial Historical Office, but…”
He closed his eyes and clenched his hand.
“But, please believe me. I never once thought of deceiving Gu Qing.”
“This Heavenly Bead that can restore his innocence—I have always carried it with me. If I can fulfill my promise within my lifetime, I will personally announce the truth to the people. But if I cannot defy Heaven’s will, then I will also leave this Heavenly Bead, which records the truth, behind in this world. When the time is right one day, future generations will naturally bring the pact made at the Golden Platform to light.”
The night wind rose, making the parasol leaves beside the pool rustle loudly.
“Then, even beneath the Nine Springs, I will finally have the face to meet the loyal and righteous.”
As he spoke, his fingertip touched the Heavenly Bead. Before long, the bead radiated a dazzling brilliance. A thread of silver-white memory drifted out from within it and fell into the Dream-Gathering Pool.
Ripples spread across the water, shattering the moonlight and frosty radiance reflected upon the pool. Immediately afterward, a faint, hazy cold mist began to spill outward from the Dream-Gathering Pool.
The cold mist gradually condensed into a scene, while faint voices emerged from deep within the thick fog, becoming clearer and clearer.
A pleasure house filled with the songs of swallows and orioles slowly unfolded before their eyes.
“The fragrance of the withered rose scatters with the wind behind the curtain; the cuckoo’s cries fade beneath a tree filled with red. Beneath the southern window, I dream upon a pillow of pear blossoms; my departing soul travels a thousand miles with you.”
The melody of the Shuangdiao Shuixianzi drifted leisurely from the stage of the flower house. The delicate voice of the young singer was like a suspended thread, wafting through the world of rouge and powder.
“The sun slants westward, and the flower shadows grow layer upon layer. The daylilies bloom with heartless splendor; the pomegranate blossoms open in luxuriance filled with resentment. They send sorrow into deeper concentration.”
The mist rising from the pool grew increasingly dense, enveloping the entire rear terrace of Vermilion Bird Palace in layers and layers, creating an illusion of jeweled rings and emerald ornaments.
Apricot Blossom Tower.
Mo Xi and His Majesty stood in the middle of the thick fog. Slowly, everything became incomparably clear.
Mo Xi discovered that he was once again seeing the scene from the Mirror of Time and Space.
This was eight years ago, on the eve of Gu Mang’s betrayal. Gu Mang was in a private room of the pleasure house, speaking with that mysterious man in black.
At the time, Mo Xi still did not know who the man in black was. Now that he thought about it, it was almost certainly His Majesty.
Sure enough, His Majesty walked to Mo Xi’s side. Looking at the black-robed man formed from the mist, he said, “This was the last time I met Gu Qing before his betrayal. At the time, he knew that he would soon have to leave, and his emotions were rather unstable. So I made an agreement with him that I would come to find him at midnight that night and take him to War Soul Mountain to see something.”
The dialogue in the illusion was exactly the same as what had appeared in the Mirror of Time and Space.
In the illusion, His Majesty, wrapped in a black robe, pushed a bundle toward Gu Mang and placed it on the table.
“I brought this for you. Go change into it.”
Gu Mang’s movements were also exactly the same. He raised his hand and lifted one corner of the bundle, but soon closed it again.
Gu Mang asked, “What does this mean?”
“If you are going to that place, you should make some preparations,” His Majesty said. “If I merely tell you about the situation there, I’m afraid you won’t believe me. Tonight, I’ll take you there to see it with your own eyes. Seeing is believing.”
The surrounding scene darkened.
When everything brightened once more, the scene within the thick fog had shifted to the foot of War Soul Mountain.
Gu Mang and His Majesty were both wearing black cloaks, concealing themselves tightly from head to toe.
Gu Mang walked to the winding path leading up the mountain. Looking at the winding blue-stone path disappearing into the distance, he removed his hood and raised his head to gaze at the imposing mountain road.
His Majesty asked, “Not going up?”
Gu Mang said, “I was just thinking that soon I’ll have to leave this place, and my hands will be stained with the blood of Chonghua’s soldiers. In my heart…”
His Majesty interrupted him.
“The situation in Chonghua is already like this. You saw it yourself after the defeat at Phoenix Cry Mountain. You and your army were in dire straits. There were only those willing to kick you when you were down, and no one willing to offer help when you needed it.”
He saw that Gu Mang wanted to argue, so he added, “You don’t need to tell me that if Lord Xihe were here, he would stand on your side. Even if he did, it would be useless. You are an intelligent man. You should already understand very clearly that with your strength alone, you cannot change anything.”
Gu Mang: “…”
His Majesty said, “Things have reached this point. In this game of betraying your country, you have already made your move, and there is no turning back.”
As he spoke, in the desolate cold of the night, he raised his hand and took Gu Mang’s icy five fingers into his own.
Gu Mang turned his head to look at him and moved slightly, as though he intended to pull free, but in the end, he did not.
Watching the scene before him, the first time Mo Xi had seen this passage in the Mirror of Time and Space, he had thought that the man in black was from the Liao Kingdom. He had thought that the trembling in Gu Mang’s hand when it was held was because of his indecision.
But now that he knew the truth, his emotions were indescribably complicated.
The first complete sentence to emerge from his mind was unexpectedly:
“…Was it cold?”
His Majesty, standing beside him, froze for a moment.
“What?”
“His hand.” Mo Xi spoke softly. “Was it very cold back then?”
It had clearly already been eight years ago. In theory, no one could possibly remember such minute details from that time.
Yet after a moment of stunned silence, His Majesty understood.
He lowered his eyes.
“…Cold.”
“…”
“I’m sorry. I was the one who pushed him onto this dead-end road.”
Mo Xi said nothing.
Meanwhile, the His Majesty within the illusion was repeating the dialogue from the Mirror of Time and Space. He said to Gu Mang, “Marshal Gu, there is no way to carve out a path without getting both hands stained with blood. While you still have not taken an innocent life, go up War Soul Mountain one more time. After this, there will never be another chance.”
Gu Mang abruptly closed his eyes.
The night wind stirred the slightly disheveled hair at his temples. He remained silent for a long time before gently withdrawing his hand from His Majesty’s palm.
His fingertips were still trembling faintly. No one could warm those hands.
He said, “…Let’s go.”
Black robes billowed in the wind as His Majesty and Gu Mang climbed the winding path one after another.
In the Mirror of Time and Space, Mo Xi’s pursuit had ended here.
But this time was different.
This time, the thick fog gradually parted, its bleak forms shifting and transforming, and at last he saw what Gu Mang and His Majesty had actually gone to War Soul Mountain to see—
His Majesty and Gu Mang arrived before the barrier surrounding the forbidden grounds of War Soul Mountain.
His Majesty raised his hand and cut open his own palm, smearing the blood across the barrier’s formation of light.
The blood was instantly absorbed by the formation.
A vast, indistinct voice, as though rumbling up from deep within the earth, resounded:
“Yanzan’s merits carved in blue script.”
His Majesty answered:
“Old inscriptions remain upon the heroes’ tombs in the wilderness.”
Yanzan’s merits carved in blue script,
old inscriptions remain upon the heroes’ tombs in the wilderness.
Wasn’t this simple exchange of verse precisely the dream Gu Mang had carried throughout his entire life?
The moment Gu Mang heard those words, his eyes suddenly reddened.
Seeing this, His Majesty sighed and patted Gu Mang’s shoulder, saying softly, “There will be no one else here. Take off your cloak.”
Gu Mang therefore raised his hand and undid the cord fastening his cloak.
—Hidden beneath that cloak was, unexpectedly, a white military ceremonial mourning uniform with black trim…
“Let’s go.”
They passed through the barrier and entered the forbidden grounds of War Soul Mountain.
Even though Mo Xi had already had his suspicions and had prepared himself mentally, when he truly saw the scene within, his heart was still struck as though by a heavy blow.
The entire forbidden grounds of War Soul Mountain, half the slope of the mountain, was covered with rows upon rows of blue-green graves and tombstones.
Some of the stones already had names carved into them, painted over with delicate golden lacquer. Others still bore no inscriptions at all.
But the vast expanse spread across the mountain, gathered together in one place, looked almost as though the heroic souls of the underworld had returned, gathering noisily at the mountain summit.
Gu Mang stood stunned for a long time.
Then, as though afraid that the slightest step might shatter a beautiful dream, he cautiously moved forward several paces.
Slowly, his caution became stumbling.
He staggered closer.
When he saw the inscription on the first tombstone, tears burst from his eyes.
“…”
He raised his hand and caressed the gleaming golden inscription carved upon the tombstone. Tears streamed down his face.
“…You’re home.”
Then he knelt down.
A sob slowly emerged from his throat. He curled up in grief before that unfinished field of graves and tombstones, bowing his head again and again to the seventy thousand comrades he had left behind at Phoenix Cry Mountain.
“You’re home…”
His Majesty stood beside him.
After a long while, he placed a hand upon Gu Mang’s shoulder.
“This forbidden ground is the first promise I have fulfilled to you. Seventy thousand tombstones. I personally carved every single name, and I personally raised every single grave. Marshal Gu, with you and me planning together, I believe that one day, the forbidden grounds of War Soul Mountain will no longer be forbidden.”
Gu Mang did not speak again.
Wearing his military mourning robes, white hemp binding his hair, he sobbed as he bowed once, and then again.
There were no living people left in his eyes.
In his eyes, there were only his brothers who had been scattered and lost to death.
Seeing him like this, His Majesty no longer disturbed him and simply remained beside him, watching.
After a very long time, Gu Mang staggeringly rose to his feet.
He clasped his hands together and bowed once more before the graves. With his hands pressed against the center of his forehead, he murmured something under his breath.
His Majesty asked, “Is there anything else you want me to do?”
Gu Mang closed his eyes.
After a long silence, his eyes moist, he said, “…If possible… I… still have three things I would like to ask Your Majesty to permit.”
“Tell me.”
Gu Mang’s fingertips rubbed over the golden inscription on the tombstone, slowly sliding downward.
“…First, if I truly cannot return… please, Your Majesty, do not erect a tombstone or grave for me on War Soul Mountain. I am going to the Liao Kingdom as a spy. I am destined to have my hands stained with the blood of my comrades. Whether I was forced to do it or whether there were hidden circumstances, the people I kill will still be people I killed. I have no face to be buried alongside them.”
His Majesty seemed deeply unsettled by what he said.
“But—”
“Please let me finish.”
“…”
“Second, Lord Xihe is kind by nature. Though he is one of the honored nobles, he has a very close personal friendship with me and has already offended countless old ministers and founding generals because of it. After I betray Chonghua, he will certainly refuse to believe it. He may even act impulsively and defiantly. No matter what happens, please do not reveal the truth to him. And please understand his grief. Do not hold him accountable.”
When Mo Xi heard this, he could no longer hold back his tears.
They burst from his eyes.
He could not help but step forward, looking at the Gu Mang within the illusion—the upright figure in military uniform, his expression solemn—and murmur:
“Gu Mang…”
Eight years ago, Gu Mang’s reflection could hear nothing.
He stood amid the biting mountain wind, his clothes fluttering in the breeze.
He was not going to his death, but it was even more solemn than going to his death.
And now, he was giving His Majesty one matter after another concerning what should be done after his death.
“The third.”
After saying those two words, Gu Mang fell silent.
He lowered his eyes and raised his hands, looking at his own palms.
After a long while, he said softly, “…Third, I want to take advantage of the fact that my hands are still clean and play a soul-summoning song for them.”
“But, Your Majesty, I only have a little suona that isn’t fit for a formal occasion. Could you lend me one of your divine weapons?”
After saying this, he raised his head.
The clear breeze stirred the fine strands of hair across his forehead. Beneath the moonlight, he looked at His Majesty with yearning.
Chonghua’s soul-summoning songs for fallen heroes were usually performed by ritual officials using divine weapons.
But there was no way Gu Mang could hope for ritual officials to come and comfort his brothers.
The only recognition he could ask for was from the man standing before him.
“With a heart this sincere, how could I possibly refuse you?”
As His Majesty spoke, a jade-green bamboo flute appeared in his palm.
He handed the bamboo flute to Gu Mang.
Gu Mang thanked him and accepted the flute with both hands.
He raised his eyes and looked out, as though he wanted to engrave each and every one of the seventy thousand tombstones of War Soul Mountain into his heart.
Beneath the hidden pines and bright moon, he pressed the bamboo flute to his lips, closed his eyes, and began to play.
“Once, young men took up their swords and marched away;
their green blood sank into the sands, their bones unable to return.
Last year, these remains still wore faces like jade;
only last night, these bodies were laughing and talking.
You left behind your loyal hearts, and I shall answer them with mine;
you left behind your mighty spirit, and I shall carry it onward.
On the day the heroic souls return to their homeland,
there will be no place beneath Heaven without green mountains…”
The song ended.
Gu Mang lowered the bamboo flute, his eyes moist.
He turned and returned the flute to His Majesty, then knelt once more before the forest of tombstones.
After a long silence, he lowered his head and choked out softly,
“Your Majesty, I’m leaving very soon. I don’t know whether I’ll be able to return, and I don’t know when I’ll be able to return.”
“Gu Qing…”
“When I’m gone, please come and look in on them for me… You don’t need to burn too much paper money or gold foil. Just… just bring a few more jars of good wine, and bring along a few more simple dishes.”
By the end, he was already sobbing uncontrollably.
“When they followed me, their military provisions were always insufficient. When they saw the rations given to other armies, they would often joke with me and tell me…”
He pressed his forehead against the cold tombstone, tears falling like beads from a broken string.
“They said they were hungry… They wanted to have a proper meal.”
His Majesty: “…”
“For all these years, although I never said anything, I heard it all. There were always people saying that we wanted to seize power… that we wanted to overturn the world… that we were insatiably greedy, that we harbored the ambitions of wolves…”
Gu Mang slowly raised his head.
“But Your Majesty, do you know? Their greatest ambition, their so-called wolfish ambition, was actually nothing more than wanting to eat one full meal…”
In the illusion, His Majesty wore a face-covering mask, and no one knew what expression he had worn when he heard those words at the time.
Yet Mo Xi could see His Majesty as he was now.
Even after all these years, when he heard Gu Mang say those words again, the pain and dimness in His Majesty’s eyes still deepened.
“Come and see them more often for me. Bring them more provisions.”
His Majesty said, “…Gu Qing, rest assured. I will definitely do it.”
“Can there be wine, too?”
“I will bring the finest wine in Chonghua to your men.”
“Burnt-blade liquor is enough. They’re used to being poor. If the wine is too good, they won’t have the heart to drink it.”
“…All right.”
Gu Mang made no further requests.
He knelt among the mountain forest, looking up blankly at his brothers who had become nothing more than names upon stone.
For a long time, he did not move.
His Majesty within the illusion gave a soft sigh.
He raised his hand, but instead of dispersing the jade-green bamboo flute, he brought it back to his lips and played another soul-summoning melody.
The flute’s notes drifted leisurely through the air.
The moon was pale, the wind clear.
Amid that sorrowful yet solemn melody, everything on War Soul Mountain gradually faded away.
All the mist and illusion dispersed at this moment.
Yet the bamboo flute, filled with such profound emotion, seemed to pass through reality and illusion alike, arriving from the foot of War Soul Mountain eight years ago.
The mist faded, but the lingering notes remained, circling beneath the rafters.
After a long while, upon the terrace of Vermilion Bird Palace, His Majesty once again arranged the Heavenly Bead properly.
Then he looked up at the bright moon between the clouds and said softly,
“Little Fireball.”
“…”
“For these eight years, I have worn this bracelet every moment, guarding this secret. Whenever I felt I could no longer endure it, I would recreate this memory and watch it again.”
“Each time I watched it, I would engrave it into my heart once more. This path is not one I am walking alone, nor am I walking it for myself alone. It has been eight years. Day and night, I have never forgotten. I have not dared to forget.”
His Majesty raised his hand and caressed the Heavenly Beads around his wrist, speaking softly.
“I am not made of stone or iron. It is only because… being a person upon the Nine Heavens is like being imprisoned…”
By the end, his voice was choked with emotion.
“In truth, how could I ever not know that I have wronged Gu Qing… wronged you as well…”
No one spoke again.
The old tree beside the courtyard rustled softly, cicadas chirping through the night.
Upon the terrace of Vermilion Bird Palace, Mo Xi and His Majesty silently looked at one another.
Both wore expressions of profound sorrow, their eyes wet with tears.