Chapter 27 Stone City

　　—To live toward death and face death without fear interprets the meaning of existence. Since one exists, one can only advance bravely without fear of hardship.

　　On the road back to the FireWorship Clan, Lian Shan found it inconceivable that the two clans, at the cost of only a little more than twenty men, had killed more than ten ferocious Stabbing Tigers. Lian Kui briefly recounted the course of the battle.

　　Lian Shan clicked his tongue: “Father, the ferocity of Stabbing Tigers is known to all. Even dozens of stout fellows against a single isolated tiger may not prevail. Your numbers were few; even with the Gongyou you numbered only thirty or forty. How could you possibly have been a match for more than ten of these extremely fierce beasts?”

　　Lian Kui still shuddered at the memory: “What you say is… is true. Apart from Gong… Gong Kang, the two mysterious figures from the Gong… Gongyou Clan were the… the key. Without them we would this time certainly have… have been in grave danger.”

　　Lian Xiang interjected: “Father, I was nearby and heard Gong Kang address those two as ‘celestial gods.’”

　　At the mere mention of Gong Kang Lian Kui’s anger flared: “You little… little girl, you will be the death of me! Why do you spend every day mixed up with that… that stinking brat? What exactly are you plotting?”

　　He had just seen Gong Kang and Lian Xiang run out of the forest together. Rumors had long reached his ears; at first he had refused to believe them, yet after witnessing the scene with his own eyes he could no longer deny the truth.

　　“What? Younger sister, are you certain Gong Kang called them ‘celestial gods’?”

　　“What celestial… gods? Gong… Gongdian told me they are… are deserters from the HeavenAbandoned Clan. Boy, do not interrupt—I am questioning your sister about Gong Kang.” In his anger Lian Kui’s speech actually became fluent.

　　Lian Kui simply did not believe the two were celestial gods, for upon the continent of Mu all celestial gods possessed three eyes. Even the halfdivine EagleGod Clan differed from ordinary humans by possessing wings for flight. Those two had neither a third eye nor wings.

　　“Father, why can I not be with Gong Kang?” Lian Xiang turned her head aside and spoke in a hurt tone.

　　“You shameless… shameless little girl! How can you be so… so without sense of shame—you… you…” Lian Kui nearly choked with rage.

　　“Father, do not be angry. Younger sister, say less for now; we shall speak of it when we return home.” Lian Shan hurried to mediate.

　　Lian Kui also knew that family scandals should not be aired in public. Rumors already circulated within the clan; a quarrel between father and daughter before so many subordinates would certainly spread and might make the situation still more unmanageable.

　　The FireWorship Clan was composed of the PhoenixBird Tribe, the Roc Tribe, the Goshawk Tribe, and the WhiteHarrier Tribe. Although both the FireWorship and Gongyou Clans were human, they had never intermarried.

　　Especially during the past decade or more, because of the issues of human sacrifice and labor service, the two great clans had long regarded each other with hostility. That his own daughter should wish to marry into the Gongyou Clan was more than Lian Kui could endure.

　　As chieftain of the PhoenixBird Tribe and at the same time overall leader of the FireWorship Clan, Lian Kui, for the sake of clan unity, necessarily sought to draw the other tribes closer; the most direct and effective method was intermarriage.

　　The chieftain of the Roc Tribe had already hinted more than once that he hoped for a marriage alliance, with his eldest son taking Lian Kui’s daughter as wife. Lian Kui had not immediately agreed, wishing first to sound out his daughter.

　　He doted greatly upon Lian Xiang. Her mother had died early; from childhood he had largely indulged her temperament. Lian Xiang refused to learn women’s work and preferred weapons; Lian Kui therefore engaged the finest martial masters of the clan to teach her.

　　Having now seen with his own eyes Lian Xiang and Gong Kang together, Lian Kui secretly resolved to accept the Roc Tribe’s marriage proposal as soon as possible.

　　The remaining members of the Gongyou Clan walked the return road in sorrow.

　　In the battle with the Stabbing Tigers their mounts had all been stampeded; fortunately the FireWorship Clan had given them eight camelhorses before parting.

　　On the return journey only Great Chieftain Gongdian rode one of the mounts. More than a dozen bags of tiger meat filled the remaining seven animals, so that everyone else had to walk.

　　Of the twentyodd men who had set out to hunt the male tiger, only a handful now returned: Gongdian, Gong Yi, Yi Wu, Ge Wu, Ding Wen, Guard Captain Gao Hu, Dong Yifeng and Huamei, together with Gong Kang who had appeared midway.

　　Dong and Huamei still followed behind Gong Yi. Yi Wu, Ding Wen, and Gao Hu brought up the rear.

　　Having escaped death, the company reflected upon the uncertainty of life and talked as they walked.

　　Yi Wu and the other two quietly discussed the performance of Dong and Huamei in the battle, especially Huamei’s divine strength, considering that even the foremost warrior Gong Kang might not possess such power.

　　Gong Kang and Ge Wu walked side by side ahead; Ge Wu expressed thanks for Gong Kang’s earlier rescue.

　　Gong Kang laid a hand upon Ge Wu’s shoulder: “Brother, why so formal with me? You have lived in my household so many years that I have long regarded you as my own younger brother.”

　　Dong and Huamei also conversed in low voices.

　　Dong’s legs were still trembling: “Huamei, the first half of this hunt was uneventful; the second half was truly hairraising. Fortunately I brought the laser pistol, or I would already have left my bones here.”

　　“Professor Dong, it is entirely my fault for not protecting you properly.”

　　“What talk is that? Without you would I still be walking about? I truly must thank you for saving my life.”

　　“Professor Dong, there is no need for courtesy; my duty is to protect the safety of you humans. Yet I rather admire the humans of this planet—their survival is indeed not easy.”

　　“Mm. This planet is full of ferocious beasts; the combat power of a single Stabbing Tiger equals at least three male lions. Huamei, I have a question for you: what do you make of the camelhorse ridden by Chieftain Lian Kui of the FireWorship Clan?”

　　“That camelhorse was indeed special; it is the first time I have seen a horse that eats meat. I recall that the Classic of Mountains and Seas describes a horse that eats tigers, called the Bó. It is said to have a white body and black tail, a horn upon its head, and to devour tigers and leopards. Could the mount ridden by Lian Kui be the legendary Bó horse?”

　　“It seems nothing can defeat our Huamei. The Classic of Mountains and Seas is regarded as a work of the fantastic and supernatural; the animals recorded therein are generally considered fictional. Yet upon this planet we have discovered living Azure Dragons, phoenixes, and even the Bó horse.”

　　Huamei consulted the storage system once more: “Records of the Bó horse also appear in later literature. For example, the horse ridden by Duke Huan of Qi was called a ‘Bó horse’ and may have been a variety of the same creature.”

　　“What are you two talking about?” Gong Yi, walking ahead and noticing the low conversation, turned and asked in the native tongue.

　　Dong Yifeng happened to have many questions. Seeing Gong Yi initiate conversation, he asked Huamei to translate several inquiries.

　　The following is the substance of the dialogue between Dong and Gong Yi.

　　“Gong Yi, the Gongyou Clan took such great risks and paid so heavy a price this time solely to kill that male Stabbing Tiger and avenge the dead brothers. Yet in the end still more brothers died. Do you consider it worth while?”

　　“I consider it extremely worth while. The Nanyu Forest is so beautiful, yet filled with maneating beasts. The world is so fair, yet so cruel. Since reality cannot be changed, we can only adapt. Do you know upon what our hunter people have relied, generation after generation, to survive and continue under such harsh conditions?”

　　“Upon what?”

　　“Life or death—one of the two. ‘Live toward death; die and be reborn’ is the motto of our hunter people. Either become the hunter or become the hunted; there is no third choice. Whoever harms our hunters must die; blood debts must be repaid in blood. Even if only one of us remains, we will never yield.”

　　“That is somewhat similar to what Chen Tang of the Western Han said: ‘Whoever offends our great Han, though far away, must be punished.’ So many brothers died this time, yet I see little outward sorrow among the clan members.”

　　(The first half of the quotation proved untranslatable; Huamei rendered only the latter portion.)

　　“We are deeply sorrowful within; we simply do not display it. We have witnessed too many partings of life and death and have long regarded them lightly.” Gong Yi gazed up at the profound sky, his eyes full of loneliness.

　　“In this world our human race is as humble as a grain of dust, our strength extremely small. Every day many of us leave this world for the sake of the clan. Even my father, who holds the exalted position of clan chieftain, is at all times prepared to sacrifice himself for the clan’s interest.”

　　Gong Yi concluded: “So long as a thing is worth doing, that is enough; one need not look to the result.”

　　Hearing this, Dong and Huamei felt deep respect for the Gongyou Clan. Their conditions of survival were so harsh, yet by strength of will they preserved vitality and continued without end.

　　Upon this planet there existed beings honored as Creator Gods, together with all manner of wondrous races and ferocious beasts. Amid them the strength of the human race was as slight as dust; they were called “the lowly, cowardly human race.”

　　Yet the hunters of the Gongyou Clan feared no hardship, displayed indomitable will, dared to sacrifice, never yielded, and never admitted defeat. Perhaps it was precisely this fighting spirit that had sustained the human race upon this perilous world, allowing it to continue, to pass the flame from generation to generation, and to endure without end.

　　“For us the world in which we now live is like hell; to live means bitterness and pain. Even so, we must face it with a smile and with composure.”

　　“Death for a hunter may be a form of release. May the departed brothers follow our Yellow Clan Celestial Gods and ascend to heaven.” Gong Yi finally gazed at the distant afterglow of the sun and spoke slowly.

　　When Gongdian’s party reached the edge of the forest they were surprised to find Chieftain Ge Xiong of the Bear Tribe already waiting with his men.

　　After separating from the Great Chieftain, Gong Wei had immediately sent a skilled messenger northwest through the forest to the Bear Tribe, requesting Ge Xiong’s support for Clan Leader Gongdian.

　　Upon receiving the news Chieftain Ge Xiong of the Bear Tribe at once led more than a hundred skilled fighters and galloped northward through the forest to provide support.

　　They had been scouting within the forest when they finally discovered a confusion of footprints upon the ground at one place.

　　Among the prints were those of Stabbing Tigers and the scattered hoofmarks of camelhorses; bloodstains also remained. Following these signs they had come to the forest edge.

　　At that moment the howls of Stabbing Tigers had risen from the direction of FireWorship territory. Ge Xiong was about to lead his men forward when he was stopped by his military adviser Qi Ming.

　　Qi Ming stroked his goatlike beard; his voice was hoarse and gloomy: “Chieftain, on no account. First the Great Chieftain has already entered FireWorship territory without authorization—that is irregular enough. If we now rush in with so many men we shall inevitably cause unnecessary misunderstanding and only make matters worse.”

　　“Then what do you propose?”

　　“The howls of the Stabbing Tigers are so loud that they must already have alerted the FireWorship Clan; their forces will certainly be racing in this direction. The best course at present is to wait and observe.”

　　“Military adviser, simply wait here? What if the situation changes?”

　　“Judging by the howls, the Great Chieftain and his party cannot be far from our present position. Sending too many men would easily cause misunderstanding; better to dispatch a small party of scouts to slip secretly into FireWorship territory, ascertain the facts, and then decide the next step.”

　　“The military adviser speaks wisely.”

　　Ge Xiong first sent several agile scouts to infiltrate FireWorship territory and gather intelligence.

　　The first scout to return reported that the fighting had already ended and that Gongdian’s party was on the way back to the forest. Ge Xiong therefore decided to wait where he was.

　　By then the sun was setting. After Gongdian’s and Ge Xiong’s parties joined forces they decided to lodge that night with the Bear Tribe. Ge Xiong led out eight camelhorses so that the walkers might ride, and together they set out for the Bear Tribe.

　　The Bear Tribe lay in the northwest of the forest, not far from the forest edge. Being the closest to the FireWorship Clan, it was also a heavily garrisoned frontier position of the Gongyou Clan; its strength was not greatly inferior to that of the Dragon Tribe.

　　By the time they reached the city of the Bear Tribe night had already fallen.

　　Gongdian’s party rode the camelhorses and followed Ge Xiong through the gate. NightBright Flowers lined both sides of the streets, so that the city was not particularly dark.

　　By the light of the lamps Dong and Huamei noticed that this city differed markedly from Wangqiu: its buildings were essentially constructed of stone.

　　Gong Yi explained to the two: “This city is called Stone City; it was the earliest city established by our Yellow Clan Celestial Gods.”

　　Ge Wu, hearing this, interjected: “Gong Yi, if anyone is to introduce Stone City, no one is more suitable than I. In former times our Stone City was the political center of the Gongyou Clan. Later the Yellow Clan Celestial Gods developed a new city at Wangqiu, and the clan’s central city shifted there. In terms of historical depth, however, Stone City still holds precedence.”