Chapter 13 Contradiction

　　—Contradiction is everywhere; opposition follows like a shadow. Contradiction, opposition, and even war drive the wheel of history relentlessly forward.

　　After the banquet ended and night had deepened, the chieftains of the other tribes of the Gongyou Clan remained overnight in Wangqiu City.

　　The Great Chieftain Gongdian’s wife, Yu Jiao, was the daughter of Chieftain Yu Yong of the Wolf Tribe. Father and daughter had not seen each other for some time; Yu Jiao took her father’s hand and spoke of household matters, arranging a room for him in the inner city that night.

　　Chieftain Ge Xiong of the Bear Tribe had once provoked war, contending with the Dragon Tribe for the position of Great Chieftain, only to suffer a crushing defeat. After the war he had sent his younger son Ge Wu to the Dragon Tribe as a hostage.

　　That evening, once the banquet concluded, Ge Xiong and his son Ge Wu found a quiet tavern in the outer city and talked while eating.

　　Ge Xiong’s gaze upon his son was full of tenderness: “Ge Wu, has the Gong family treated you well?”

　　“Father, I get along very well with them; they are kind to me.”

　　“That is good. I have worried greatly about your situation. After all, it was our tribe that initiated the conflict, and in the end we were the losers.”

　　“Father, about the matter I mentioned last time—when will you raise it with the Great Chieftain?”

　　“What matter?”

　　“The matter between me and Gong Jie.”

　　“You little rascal—so that is what you meant. Your father has been busy with affairs of state and completely forgot. The next suitable opportunity I shall propose marriage on your behalf to the Gongyou Clan.”

　　“Father, do not forget next time.”

　　Ge Xiong took a sip of wine and scolded angrily: “You little bastard, while you are still young you should think of great undertakings, not spend all day on romantic attachments.”

　　Seeing his father angry, Ge Wu hurriedly changed the subject: “Father, I understand. But do you not find it strange? These ‘celestial gods’ today not only look exactly like us, but there is even a peculiar one who needs neither food nor drink and never feels hunger.”

　　“Indeed. The world of the celestial gods is beyond the comprehension of ordinary mortals such as ourselves. The Dragon Tribe is clearly trying to win these ‘celestial gods’ over for their own use. Yet this is a doubleedged sword; mishandled, it may cut the wielder.”

　　“Father, what do you mean by ‘doubleedged sword’? Your son does not understand.”

　　“You little fool, you do not even grasp that? I came to the Dragon Tribe today precisely to discuss the annual humansacrifice combat tournament with the FireWorship Clan. The High Priest prayed upon the pyramid platform to the Yellow Clan Celestial God, seeking victory for our clan.

　　“The contest between the Gongyou Clan and the FireWorship Clan is about to begin once more. We have also accumulated more than twenty years of grievances with the BullHead Clan. The situation is like a volcanic crater on the verge of eruption; war may break out at any moment.

　　“You mean that if war comes we might rely on these humanclan celestial gods?”

　　Ge Xiong gave Ge Wu a meaningful look and continued: “Exactly. If we had our own celestial gods supporting us from behind, we would stand firm. Unfortunately our Yellow Clan Celestial Gods have long since fallen. At this critical juncture these celestial gods have descended upon our clan; Gongdian clearly intends to draw them close—leaning on a great tree for cool shade.

　　“Yet, my boy, you must understand that the Green Clan Celestial Gods and the EagleGod Clan are not to be trifled with. Are these socalled humanclan celestial gods friend or foe to the Green Clan? If they are enemies, we may suffer the consequences instead.”

　　“Father, I do not think these celestial gods will remain long in our clan.”

　　“All the better if they leave. My boy, you must continue to remain undercover in the Dragon Tribe. Report any movements of Gongdian and the others to me at once.”

　　“Yes, Father. Why have I not seen Master Qi?”

　　“He has already settled with the guards in the posthouse.”

　　“Father, will you not lodge at the posthouse tonight?”

　　“There is no hurry about lodging. I have ordered the attendants to stay at the posthouse first. Later I still need to cultivate goodwill with the other tribal chieftains—drink a little wine together. We must win over more chieftains; these are investments of feeling that may prove useful later.”

　　Ge Xiong drained his bowl, stood, and said: “That old fellow Kong Xiaotian is certainly off visiting the brothels again; Yu Yong has gone to his daughter’s place; Fang Mu spends all day muttering mysterious nonsense. I had better look for Xin Biao.”

　　In a treehouse, Chieftain Kong Xiaotian of the Tiger Tribe was together with his longtime mistress Bai Xue.

　　Bai Xue possessed a certain beauty and, at first glance, closely resembled the Great Chieftain’s wife Yu Jiao.

　　Years earlier Kong Xiaotian had been captivated by the beauty of Yu Jiao, the foremost beauty of the clan and only daughter of Chieftain Yu Yong of the Wolf Tribe. He had his father Kong Bufan formally propose marriage in the name of the Tiger Tribe, only to find that Great Chieftain Gong Chang was simultaneously proposing on behalf of his son Gongdian.

　　The Gongyou Clan was a loose alliance of five tribes; the strongest, the Dragon Tribe, customarily supplied the Great Chieftain. Yet for his son’s happiness Kong Bufan refused to yield to Gong Chang.

　　Both the Dragon and Tiger Tribes were stronger than the Wolf Tribe. Yu Yong wished to offend neither, but he had only one daughter; under pressure he decided upon a martial contest for her hand.

　　Yu Jiao painted a peacock upon a screen and required Gongdian and Kong Xiaotian to compete by archery; whoever struck the peacock’s eye would win her.

　　Hitting the eye of a peacock at a hundred paces was exceedingly difficult. Gongdian struck it with a single arrow and claimed the beauty. Kong Xiaotian was left with deep regret.

　　Kong Xiaotian’s interest in Bai Xue stemmed precisely from her resemblance to Yu Jiao. Yu Jiao favored long yellow silk skirts; Kong Xiaotian had Bai Xue wear identical garments.

　　Bai Xue knew the story of Kong Xiaotian and Yu Jiao and imitated her in every particular, achieving a nearperfect likeness that deeply pleased him. He kept her exclusively; no other patron was permitted to touch her.

　　In the deep night a figure stood before the window of a treehouse in the outer city. No light burned within.

　　The figure tied a letter to the leg of a carrier pigeon, released it, and watched as the bird flew toward the boundless darkness of the north. The figure himself melted into the darkness.