Chapter 29 Sworn Brotherhood

　　—Open spears are easy to dodge; hidden arrows are hard to guard against. Heroes are easily brought down because petty men are always plotting behind their backs.

　　After the contest the wine tables were rearranged. Gong Kang drew Huamei to sit beside him.

　　“Young Master, as you know, I do not drink. If we compete in drinking, you will certainly win completely.”

　　“Haha, I accept the concession. At last I have managed to recover one bout. You are the first person who has made me lose with complete conviction; I admire you from the bottom of my heart. Yet this defeated general still has one presumptuous request that I hope you will grant.”

　　“Young Master, you are too modest. Please speak.”

　　“I feel as though we have known each other for a long time, and I greatly admire your martial skill. I wish to become sworn brothers of different surnames with you. What is your opinion?”

　　“Young Master, you honor me too highly. To become sworn brothers with you would be a blessing I have cultivated over many lifetimes.”

　　Huamei was a bionic robot created by humanity. In his world he existed solely to serve humans; never before had a human held him in such high regard. He was deeply moved.

　　At once, before the watching crowd, the two knelt before the statue of the Yellow Clan Celestial God.

　　“Celestial gods above, I, Gong Kang—”

　　“I, Huamei—”

　　“Today form a brotherhood with Huamei (Gong Kang). Before the celestial gods we swear: we do not seek to be born in the same year and month, only to die in the same year and month!”

　　They kowtowed and swore the oath of brotherhood. Gong Kang rose with a great laugh and pulled the stillkneeling Huamei to his feet: “Huamei, how old are you?”

　　“Young Master, you are certainly older than I; from now on you are my elder brother.”

　　Huamei’s words were not false. If they had truly traversed to a time at least ten thousand years earlier, then Gong Kang was more than ten thousand years older than Huamei.

　　“Today is truly wonderful—I have gained another younger brother.”

　　“I never expected to gain another adoptive son.” Great Chieftain Gongdian was also quite pleased. “Servants, set out the wine again and celebrate properly.”

　　Noise rose once more around the tables; cups and bowls clinked and most of the company were already halfdrunk.

　　The entertainers struck up an ancient clan melody. Gong Kang walked to the center of the hall, a pottery jar of wine in his left hand, the DragonFlame Sword drawn in his right, and began to dance.

　　He drank while chanting and dancing with the sword; at the brilliant passages the crowd cheered continuously.

　　The lyrics Gong Kang sang were as follows:

　　The affairs of this world are hard to foresee.

　　Since our lordstar fell,

　　This barren and savage land

　　Is walked by demons and monsters.

　　In troubled times the bones of the dead are many;

　　On cold nights there is no quilt for sleep.

　　A true man stands between heaven and earth

　　Holding a threefoot sword,

　　To cut down the petty men of the world,

　　Restore the bright order of the cosmos,

　　Establish unmatched merit,

　　And achieve earthshaking deeds.

　　His heroic spirit soars to the heavens;

　　Even in death the fragrance of a knight’s bones remains.

　　…

　　Listening to Gong Kang’s heroic chant, Dong Yifeng and Huamei silently raised their thumbs in praise: Gong Kang is truly a hero!

　　“Huamei, it seems the bionic robots produced by our twentyfirstcentury industrial design are still superior—they have made the killing machine Gong Kang of ten thousand years ago admire them from the bottom of his heart,” Dong teased in a low voice.

　　“Professor Dong, you do not know—I actually lost the contest.”

　　“Huamei, how can you say that? I saw no sign of defeat on your part; on the contrary, you held the upper hand throughout.”

　　“That was only appearance. In the contest just now both sides stopped at the first touch. Had it been a battlefield, the kick Gong Kang delivered would certainly have been at full strength; even my steel legs could not have withstood it.

　　“The punch with which I retrieved the situation was delivered with every ounce of force in an instant, yet by luck it only grazed Gong Kang’s left shoulder. The momentum merely caused him to fall; it could not have inflicted serious injury.

　　“Professor Dong, one man with a fractured leg unable to stand, the other essentially unharmed—superiority is obvious at a glance.”

　　At the table Ge Xiong and Gongdian were also conversing quietly.

　　“Great Chieftain, I heard from Ge Wu that old Lian Kui has invited you to go together to the capital. Does that mean the Green Clan celestial gods are willing to mediate the dispute over human sacrifices and labor service between our clan and the FireWorship Clan?”

　　“Correct. Lian Kui told me that the Green Clan celestial gods have already received the joint petition of our two clans and have ordered the EagleGod King to adjudicate the matters of sacrifices and labor.”

　　“So that is it. The Green Clan celestial gods do not intend to receive the Great Chieftain in person, but will have the halfdivine EagleGod Clan settle the dispute. It has been a long time since you last saw the Green Clan celestial gods, has it not?”

　　“Yes. The last time was after the War of the Gods, when the Green Clan celestial gods summoned every race and tribe to the capital for a great alliance. More than ten years have passed since I last beheld him.” Gongdian recalled the scene of that alliance—a grand gathering that marked the Green Clan’s complete control over the entire continent of Mu.

　　“Chieftain Ge Xiong, I must prepare some gifts to present to the celestial gods. They are fond of crystal; can the Bear Tribe supply some of the crystal mined at CrystalGathering Mountain as tribute?”

　　“Great Chieftain, that is no problem. Our Bear Tribe is also a member of the Gongyou Clan and ought to offer tribute. Yet do you believe the EagleGod King will reduce this year’s quotas of sacrifices and laborers for our two great human clans?”

　　“I have no certainty, but I feel we must make our attitude clear and, through him, convey to the celestial gods that the numbers of sacrifices and laborers cannot continue to increase year after year!”

　　“Indeed. We have already reached a critical juncture. The young people of our clan are increasingly unwilling to bear children; the population continues to decline and will one day vanish. When do you intend to depart?”

　　“Once I have returned and settled the affairs of the clan, I shall arrange a time with Lian Kui and set out.”

　　“Great Chieftain, I suggest it would be wiser to deliberate at length. In the War of the Gods so many claws and fangs of the Green Clan died at our hands that the enmity between both sides runs deep.”

　　Although Ge Xiong had long coveted the position of Great Chieftain, from the standpoint of the clan he still voiced his own opinion: “You are the lord of the Gongyou Clan and should remain in the Nanyu Forest rather than lightly travel north. Moreover the Green Clan celestial gods themselves will not appear this time; therefore I propose that an envoy be sent to the capital to pay homage to the EagleGod King.”

　　“Chieftain Ge Xiong, ‘Live toward death; die and be reborn’ is our clan motto. How can I refuse to go out of fear for my own life? Besides, it was I who once promised the Green Clan celestial gods the offerings of sacrifices and laborers; it should also be I who bring this matter to an end.

　　“If Heaven has eyes and I am fortunate enough to meet the celestial god in person, I shall certainly describe to him the hardships of our clan and hope that he will show mercy and grant us hunters a path to survival.”

　　Hearing this, Ge Xiong felt genuine admiration: “One who knows life and death yet still upholds great righteousness is a true hero! Great Chieftain, I offer you a bowl of wine.”

　　Stone City possessed eastern and western gates; its northern side backed against a great mountain called CrystalGathering Mountain. Within that mountain the Bear Tribe concealed a secret.

　　At that very moment the military adviser of the Bear Tribe, Qi Ming, was hidden inside the hollowed mountain, secretly training troops.

　　The mountain was rich in natural crystal. Long ago the human race had mined crystal here and presented it to the Yellow Clan Celestial Gods; hence the name “CrystalGathering Mountain.” The stone quarried from it had been used to build Stone City.

　　Ever since the Bear Tribe’s previous defeat in the struggle with the Dragon Tribe for dominance of the clan, Ge Xiong had endured hardship and concealed his strength, secretly drilling soldiers inside the caves of CrystalGathering Mountain in the hope of rising again.

　　Under the commands of the standardbearers the soldiers practiced formation changes in perfect unison; another group practiced combat. Qi Ming watched, stroking his goatlike beard and nodding continually. Beside him stood a young man—his assistant, Little Stone.

　　Little Stone’s surname was Shi and his given name Lei; he was sixteen this year. His father had died early; his mother was a wetnurse in Chieftain Ge Xiong’s residence, so he had grown up in the chieftain’s household. Qi Ming, finding him clever, had kept him at his side for various auxiliary tasks.

　　“Will the lord not come tonight?” Qi Ming asked Little Stone.

　　Little Stone was sharpeyed and quickwitted: “Military adviser, tonight the chieftain is entertaining Great Chieftain Gongdian and his party.”

　　“Gongdian? Humph!” Qi Ming gave two cold laughs.

　　Had his face not been veiled, Little Stone would certainly have seen Qi Ming’s ferocious expression.

　　At that moment Qi Ming’s thoughts returned to the past. His original name had been Zhang Lin; he had once worked under High Priest Fang Mu.

　　One year the humansacrifice combat tournament was held upon Gongyou territory. High Priest Fang Mu recommended Zhang Lin to Gongdian to take charge of receiving the FireWorship guests.

　　Zhang Lin’s outstanding organizational and reception skills won Lian Kui’s praise. Lian Kui regarded him highly and considered him a rare talent.

　　On the night the tournament was drawing to a close, Lian Kui came from the posthouse bearing gold and meat to visit Zhang Lin’s home, hoping to win him over and offering him the position of High Priest of the FireWorship Clan.

　　Zhang Lin politely declined Lian Kui’s request, refusing the gold and accepting only a token portion of the meat.

　　Who could have foreseen that at midnight Zhang Lin’s entire family of four would be reported to the authorities by High Priest Fang Mu and arrested on the charge of “secretly colluding with a foreign clan”?

　　Zhang Lin’s exceptional ability had long aroused Fang Mu’s jealousy. Fang Mu repeatedly assigned him the most difficult tasks in the hope of finding a pretext against him, while also placing spies to watch him around the clock.

　　The news of Lian Kui’s midnight visit to Zhang Lin’s residence reached Fang Mu that very night; Fang Mu immediately reported to Gongdian that Zhang Lin was plotting to defect. The guards of Wangqiu seized Zhang Lin’s family and threw them into prison.

　　Gongdian, occupied with official business, had no time to investigate personally and accepted Fang Mu’s onesided account, ordering the entire family beheaded.

　　The prison warden Hu An was a friend of Zhang Lin and deeply sympathetic to his plight. On the night before the execution he substituted a condemned prisoner who resembled Zhang Lin.

　　The next day, unexpectedly, Fang Mu himself arrived to supervise the execution. When the identity was verified and Zhang Lin was found to have escaped, notices were posted throughout the city ordering his arrest.

　　In order to flee Wangqiu, Zhang Lin ruthlessly disfigured his own face with a knife and swallowed live coals, destroying his vocal cords; by this means he finally slipped out of the city.

　　Once outside the walls, the disfigured and voiceless Zhang Lin gazed at the remains of his family hanging upon the city gate, ground his steellike teeth, and secretly vowed that he would have his revenge.

　　On the road of flight he collapsed from exhaustion and was rescued by the passing Chieftain Ge Xiong of the Bear Tribe. When asked his name he casually changed it to “Qi Ming.”

　　Thereafter Qi Ming settled in the Bear Tribe. Possessing genuine talent, he was valued by Ge Xiong and thrived.

　　Qi Ming was skilled at reading hearts. Detecting that Ge Xiong harbored ambitions and still nursed resentment over the earlier defeat by the Dragon Tribe, he promptly encouraged Ge Xiong to train troops in secret so that, when the time was ripe, he might rise again against the Dragon Tribe, seize dominance of the Gongyou Clan, and at the same time avenge the slaughter of his own family.

　　Watching the welldrilled soldiers, Qi Ming silently vowed: “Gongdian, Fang Mu—one day I shall settle the full account with you!”