Chapter 17 BullHeads I

　　—Sometimes the course of history is controlled by petty men. Better to offend a gentleman than a petty man.

　　When Yang Zhiyuan opened his eyes once more, darkness surrounded him and his head throbbed with pain.

　　“What day is this?” he wondered.

　　The events of that day seemed a nightmare.

　　After speaking with Su Ziqi he had relaxed somewhat, knowing the five had reached their destination safely and would lodge overnight with the native tribe.

　　Upon learning that Su Ziqi’s party had encountered extraterrestrials, Bao Mingkai had been unable to contain his regret; his intestines turned green with remorse that his injured foot prevented him from personally witnessing a historic discovery for humanity.

　　While Yang repaired the ship’s instruments, Bao Mingkai limped back and forth on his crutch, muttering continually about going out to meet the aliens, irritating Yang.

　　“Professor Bao, your foot is not yet healed. Can you not rest a while? As the saying goes, fortune and misfortune are interdependent. Perhaps Heaven is preventing you from going out. I rather think remaining aboard the Kuafu is safest; danger lurks outside.”

　　Despite the words, in the depths of Yang’s heart he too envied Su Ziqi’s party.

　　After all, the discovery of extraterrestrial life in the vast universe was of epochmaking significance; missing the chance to witness history left a measure of regret in anyone.

　　Bao limped to the geneticanalysis instrument and tapped it: “What use is this apparatus emptyhanded? I have come for nothing. The remains in the Martian lava chamber oxidized to dust; no DNA could be extracted. Now even the aliens upon this planet I cannot examine.”

　　“Professor Bao, is DNA analysis so important?”

　　“Of course. By comparing DNA one can determine the differences between the aliens of this planet and terrestrial humans—crucial for exploring the origin of humanity.”

　　Yang considered, then said: “That is easily arranged. Night has fallen; tomorrow morning I shall contact Professor Su and have her obtain some tissue samples or hair from the aliens for your experiments. That solves it.”

　　If alien hair could truly be obtained, research could proceed whether or not he met the aliens himself. Bao’s heart eased considerably and he returned to his cabin to rest.

　　Seeing the old scholar depart, Yang exhaled in relief and prepared to concentrate on the instrument panel. At that moment First Officer Zhou Ke returned to the cockpit from repairing the engines below.

　　“Captain Yang, Engines Two and Three are severely damaged. Engine One has only just been restored enough to function. Do we depart for Earth tomorrow?”

　　“With only Engine One warp flight is impossible, yet escaping this planet’s gravity is more than sufficient. Once the professors outside return tomorrow, we go home.”

　　Deep night fell; each returned to his cabin to sleep.

　　The pain in his big toe, linked to the heart, kept Bao Mingkai tossing and turning through the night.

　　Only toward dawn did he begin to feel drowsy. Just as sleep approached he was startled awake by a deep rumbling. Opening his eyes he found darkness all around; the entire bed was shaking.

　　“What is happening?” Bao staggered, limping toward the cockpit hall.

　　Yang and Zhou had also been awakened; they too reached the cockpit and sat in the pilots’ seats in bewilderment, not knowing what was occurring.

　　Through the observation windows all was black; nothing could be seen.

　　Yang activated the exterior monitors; the screens remained black. Though he could not discern conditions outside, he sensed that the ship was being drawn by something and was flying through the air.

　　“What on earth is this?” Yang was about to start the ship when he suddenly found his limbs no longer obeyed him. Though his mind remained clear, an invisible force bound him firmly to the seat; he could not move.

　　A soldier by training, Yang possessed iron will. He exerted every ounce of mental strength against the force controlling him, yet the harder he resisted the stronger the force became.

　　Large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead; his entire back was soaked. Never had he experienced anything like this—it was as though he suffered sleep paralysis.

　　The force grew ever more powerful, pressing the breath from him. At last his vision went black and he lost consciousness.

　　When Yang next awoke he found himself lying upon cold ground.

　　Darkness surrounded him. He felt for the light device on his wrist, only to discover he was clad solely in undergarments; the spacesuit had vanished.

　　He rose and groped forward step by step, eyes struggling to adapt. His hand encountered something hard and icy—a stone wall.

　　Continuing, he found a corner of the wall and what seemed an iron door. He pounded upon it and shouted: “Is anyone there? First Officer Zhou, Professor Bao—where are you?”

　　“Captain Yang, you are awake? We are in the next cell,” came Professor Bao’s voice from beside him.

　　From a little farther away Zhou’s voice also sounded: “Captain, are you all right? We have heard nothing from you and have been worried.”

　　“Professor Bao, First Officer Zhou—what is going on?”

　　“Hush, hush, Captain—keep your voice down or you will draw the BullHeads and get another beating.”

　　“BullHeads? Where are we?”

　　At that moment hurried footsteps approached from the end of a nearby passage, accompanied by several curses in a language completely unintelligible to him.

　　The footsteps halted before the iron door Yang had found. With a clang the door opened; a fiercelooking brute holding a torch stood in the entrance. Yang stared and froze on the spot.

　　It was a strange creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man, fully two meters tall. Its face was identical to the Bull Demon King of Journey to the West.

　　The BullHead monster waved its left hand; two more BullHead creatures carrying clubs rushed from behind and struck Yang. He managed a few moments of resistance before being beaten to the ground and losing consciousness once more.

　　After the clan council concluded, Chieftain Ge Xiong of the Bear Tribe, accompanied by more than forty personal guards, rode camelhorses on the road back to the Bear Tribe. Ge Xiong and his military adviser Qi Ming rode at the head of the column.

　　Qi Ming’s face was veiled; his voice was hoarse and carried a sinister tone.

　　It was said that once while hunting Ge Xiong had encountered Qi Ming dying in the forest—unconscious, his face disfigured by knife scars. Ge Xiong ordered physicians to save him.

　　Upon recovering, Qi Ming claimed to be of the Dragon Tribe, pursued by enemies, forced to flee, and lost in the forest until he collapsed from hunger and thirst.

　　In gratitude he thereafter served Ge Xiong devotedly. Because of his quick mind and considerable wisdom he offered many useful stratagems and was later promoted to military adviser.

　　The previous night Ge Xiong had returned late from drinking. As he stepped into the posthouse he saw Qi Ming dozing in a chair.

　　“This fellow is still awake,” Ge Xiong muttered, tiptoeing toward his room.

　　“My lord, you have returned,” came Qi Ming’s hoarse voice from behind.

　　“Even in sleep the military adviser sees everything clearly,” Ge Xiong joked.

　　He gave Qi Ming a rough account of the clan council and the encounter with the humanclan celestial gods, then yawned: “We depart for the tribe early tomorrow. Military adviser, it is late; let us each retire.”

　　Upon hearing of the humanclan celestial gods’ visit to the Gongyou Clan, Qi Ming’s eyes lit with excitement: “My lord, your opportunity has arrived.”

　　“Oh? Explain.” Since the defeat in the war with the Dragon Tribe, Ge Xiong had been secretly training troops and waiting for a chance to rise again.

　　“If I am not mistaken, these humanclan celestial gods are enemies of the Green Clan gods. You will not be able to leave tomorrow morning; Gongdian will summon you to another council. My advice is this: no matter what Gongdian and the others say tomorrow, support the Dragon Tribe.”

　　“Why? Has the military adviser not always urged me to stand against the Dragon Tribe?”

　　“Heaven’s secrets must not be revealed. Simply follow my counsel.” Qi Ming stroked his goatlike beard.

　　In the peaceful afternoon forest the quiet path carried only the sound of their horses’ hooves, occasionally mixed with bird calls. Wangqiu City had already vanished among the mountain ridges behind them.

　　“The military adviser guessed correctly: these celestial gods are indeed enemies of the Green Clan; their conveyance has already been seized by the Green Clan. Yet why did you have me support Gongdian? After the meeting that fellow Xin Biao even mocked me, saying the sun must have risen in the west today.” Ge Xiong greatly admired Qi Ming’s foresight.

　　“My lord, this is a heavensent opportunity; your great talent and ambition are about to be realized.”

　　“How so?”

　　“The hypocrites of the Dragon Tribe always overestimate themselves and stand selfrighteously on the side of socalled justice, offering those celestial gods protection. Early this morning I received a carrierpigeon message from a spy in the capital: envoys of the BullHead Clan will soon visit both the Gongyou and FireWorship human clans.”

　　“Oh? Envoys from the capital? Surely not again about human sacrifices and labor service?”

　　“Besides that, the envoys certainly have another purpose. There is no wall that does not let wind through. The Green Clan’s intelligence network is extremely formidable. I believe the moment those humanclan celestial gods set foot in the Dragon Tribe the Green Clan gods already knew; otherwise they would not have located their conveyance so quickly.”

　　“Is that so? This is most unfavorable. Defying and deceiving the celestial gods is a grave crime; the gods will send BullHead armies to punish us.”

　　“My lord, while the world remains so calm your talent, ambition, and grand designs will be difficult to realize. Only when chaos returns will opportunity arise!”

　　“There is sense in that. For many years our Bear Tribe has trained troops precisely while waiting for opportunity. This time Gongdian has angered the Green Clan gods; we can fish in troubled waters, seize victory amid chaos. In the future the Gongyou Clan will belong to our Bear Tribe.”