Chapter 31 Gongkong II

　　—A secret hidden in the heart is like darkness hidden in the night; when dawn arrives it will ultimately have nowhere to hide.

　　The five camelhorses continued climbing the mountain and before long reached the halfway point. There two figures stood, as though they had been waiting a long while.

　　The foremost was a man in a gray cloak, his hair graywhite, lean and vigorous, a snowwhite beard floating upon his chest—an appearance of transcendent immortality.

　　Behind him stood another, also whitehaired and whitebearded, muscular, a scar running across his left eye; he too wore a gray cloak.

　　The immortallooking elder, seeing Gongkong bound upon the camelhorse, was rather displeased: “Great Master Tianyouzi ordered you to invite the Third Young Master; he did not order you to bind him and bring him.”

　　Gongkong was taken down; the cloth covering his eyes and the gag in his mouth were removed, yet his hands remained bound.

　　At that moment Gongkong’s consciousness returned from the eagle to his own body. He looked back at the four who had brought him up the mountain and saw that their faces were now masked.

　　“Even if you wear masks I know one of you is that traitor—the man I have always respectfully called ‘Old Man’!” he thought angrily.

　　“Third Young Master, we have been discourteous. This old man is named Xuanjizi; this is Xuejizi.” The elder pointed to the scarred man behind him.

　　“Welcome to the Immortal Valley of Qiongling in the Misty Mountains. By order of Great Master Tianyouzi we respectfully invite the Third Young Master to be a guest of our Tianyou Clan.”

　　“Tianyou Clan?” Gongkong asked.

　　“The same people your Gongyou Clan calls the ‘HeavenAbandoned Clan’ or the ‘Sorcerer Clan.’”

　　Gongkong had previously heard the history of the HeavenAbandoned Clan from Gongdian. Originally they too had belonged to the Gongyou Clan; later, because they abandoned the worship and faith of the Yellow Clan Celestial Gods, they were forsaken by both the gods and the clan and fled into the mountains, thereafter called the “HeavenAbandoned Clan” by the world.

　　“Third Young Master, this way please!”

　　“May I… not go with you?”

　　Xuanjizi led the way, then suddenly turned; his eyes emitted a sharp light and fixed directly upon Gongkong.

　　Gongkong did not wish to advance, yet for reasons unknown, after being stared at by Xuanjizi his legs began to move forward of their own accord.

　　“Damn it—these HeavenAbandoned people really do possess magic!” He was inwardly shocked and involuntarily followed Xuanjizi up the mountain. Xuejizi walked closely behind to prevent any escape.

　　Ahead the path consisted only of steps; one could only proceed on foot.

　　“I say, old man, our Gongyou Clan and the Tianyou Clan have never had dealings and have always kept to our own affairs. Why have you seized me and brought me here this time?” Gongkong shouted as he walked, struggling against his own will. He clearly did not wish to go forward, yet something seemed to be pulling him onward.

　　“You will know when you meet our Great Master Tianyouzi.” Xuanjizi was rather surprised that his art had not completely controlled Gongkong. His lips were tightly sealed; he refused to reveal any details.

　　At the end of the steps a cave entrance suddenly appeared; above it were written four large characters: “Qiongling Immortal Cave.”

　　Entering the cave, the space abruptly opened into a hall in which stood an enormous statue.

　　Gongkong looked carefully and saw that it was a statue of the Yellow Clan Celestial God. Upon the table before the statue were arrayed flowers, fruits, and other glittering offerings.

　　“Did they not abandon the worship and faith of the Yellow Clan Celestial Gods? Why is the reality the opposite?” Gongkong wondered.

　　Going deeper they discovered countless caves of various sizes. Along the way they passed many members of the HeavenAbandoned Clan. Whenever these cavedwellers saw Xuanjizi they would pause in their work and bow slightly to him with great respect.

　　Gongkong carefully observed every member of the HeavenAbandoned Clan he met and thought to himself: “So the HeavenAbandoned Clan lives here. I had heard they were monsters rejected by the gods who practiced magic, yet looking at them now, every face is kindly—they are simply ordinary humans.”

　　Xuanjizi stopped before an inconspicuous cave door and was about to knock.

　　From within came the voice of an elderly woman: “No need to knock; come straight in.”

　　Xuanjizi pushed the door open and Gongkong followed closely behind.

　　The furnishings inside the cave were extremely simple; apart from a few necessary daily utensils there was nothing luxurious.

　　Upon a bamboo chair sat a blind old woman crosslegged. She wore a white cloak; her face was as pale as the cloak itself, bloodless, aged and extremely frail.

　　“Is this the ‘Great Master Tianyouzi’ of whom Xuanjizi spoke?” Gongkong wondered.

　　Upon entering, Xuanjizi bowed to the old woman: “Great Master, the person has been brought.”

　　“I know. Third Young Master, please be seated at once.”

　　The old woman then turned her “gaze” toward Xuanjizi and the other and appeared to say something to them. Yet Gongkong heard nothing and found it rather strange, thinking: “Can they speak by sign language?”

　　Xuanjizi and the other nodded, withdrew from the cave, and closed the door.

　　“Damn it—since I am here I might as well make the best of it. I want to see what tricks you are playing. Do you intend to eat me?” At this thought Gongkong swept away his earlier gloom, put on his trademark grin, and sprawled casually upon the bamboo chair beside him.

　　The old woman sat upright upon her bamboo chair and said slowly: “You are our honored guest; the way they treated you was far too discourteous.”

　　No sooner had the words left her mouth than the ropes binding Gongkong’s hands inexplicably snapped, leaving the ruffianfaced Gongkong staring in openmouthed astonishment.

　　“What is going on? Have I encountered a ghost?” He truly could not imagine why the ropes had suddenly broken.

　　Opposite him the old woman sat steadily without even raising a hand, yet Gongkong faintly sensed that a breeze had just passed beside him, as though something stood before him—yet the naked eye could see nothing.

　　“Had this old one not been advanced in years, weak and ailing, unable to travel far, I would certainly have gone myself to the edge of the forest to receive you and bring you to our Tianyou Clan.” Accompanied by several violent coughs, the old woman struck her own chest.

　　“Old woman, why have you bound this young master and brought him here? Have you taken a fancy to me and wish to make me your soninlaw? Let me tell you—I am already a married man.” Gongkong suppressed his surprise and asked with a grin.

　　His purpose in speaking thus was merely to gain time. While talking he used the corner of his eye to observe the furnishings of the cave, looking for anything that might serve as a weapon, intending to seize the old woman and escape.

　　Though the old woman was blind, she seemed to perceive everything.

　　“Third Young Master, you need not think of escape, nor entertain any notion of kidnapping me. We have invited you as a guest and harbor no hostility. It is only that my people misunderstood my intention and bound you, treating you with discourtesy; I beg your forbearance.”

　　Gongkong’s thoughts having been laid bare, he felt somewhat embarrassed: “Old woman, I… I never thought such a thing. You are not a beauty—why would I kidnap you?”

　　“Third Young Master, this old one knows your background and also knows that your nature is not bad; you merely put on this ruffianly appearance in ordinary times to conceal your true character. Yet you probably do not know the origin of our Tianyou Clan.”

　　“My background? What do you know?” No sooner had the words left Gongkong’s mouth than another strange thing occurred: the yellow headcloth wrapped about his head inexplicably fell to the ground.

　　This was the first time since the day of his birth that Gongkong’s yellow headcloth had been removed in the presence of a stranger, for that headcloth concealed his secret.

　　At that moment it felt to Gongkong as though his undergarments had been stripped away; he was both ashamed and panicked, and hastily covered his forehead with both hands.

　　“You… how did you know?”

　　Gongkong’s heart surged like a tide. How had this old woman learned the secret he had hidden for so many years? Today he had truly met a living ghost.

　　“This old one pays respects to the Young Lord!” At that moment the old woman was extremely agitated; she actually rose trembling upon her two legs and prostrated herself before Gongkong.

　　“This… this is far too great an honor.” Gongkong was startled once more. Though he usually appeared a ruffian, he still understood the principle of respecting the aged. Especially seeing someone of such advanced years about to kneel before a junior, he hurriedly stepped forward, raised the old woman, and helped her sit again upon the bamboo chair.

　　At that moment Gongkong’s forehead was exposed; upon it there was a conspicuous fine seam.

　　Since birth his head had been wrapped in the yellow cloth; even within the Gongyou Clan his secret was known to at most two or three people.

　　Now the old woman was already weeping freely, her voice somewhat choked, and she began to recount the history of the human race and the origin of the Tianyou Clan.

　　Originally the people of the Tianyou Clan had always been the human servants within the Gongyou Clan who specially attended the Yellow Clan Celestial Gods.

　　At the beginning of remote antiquity the human race had been created by the Yellow Clan and Black Clan celestial gods. In the act of creation the Yellow and Black Clan gods were required to adhere strictly to the “Laws of Creation” established among the celestial gods, namely to impose limitations upon the abilities, lifespan, and every other aspect of the created beings.

　　The leaders of the Yellow and Black Clan gods could not bear that so perfect a creation as the human race should possess so many defects; therefore, during the process of creation, they secretly left a key within the human brain.

　　So long as humans were willing to cultivate, they could use that key to open the back door and obtain abilities possessed only by the celestial gods.

　　Many years later, contradictions among the celestial gods grew numerous and conflicts intensified. The leader of the Yellow Clan celestial gods foresaw that he himself would meet with misfortune in the War of the Gods and therefore began secretly to teach the method of opening the key to the human servants who attended him.

　　Later, in order not to attract attention and at the same time to provide these cultivating humans with a place for concentrated practice, the leader of the Yellow Clan celestial gods used the pretext that these humans had shown him disrespect and deliberately expelled them from the Gongyou Clan.

　　Thereafter these cultivating humans were called the “HeavenAbandoned Clan” by the Gongyou Clan, yet they themselves called themselves the “Tianyou Clan.”

　　In the end the Tianyou Clan wandered to the Misty Mountains and practiced cultivation within the caves upon the mountain peaks.

　　The War of the Gods lasted many years. At a critical juncture the chieftain of the Tianyou Clan, Tianyouzi, together with Xuanjizi, had secretly come to pay homage to the leader of the Yellow Clan celestial gods, hoping to join the war and serve the Yellow Clan gods.

　　Recalling this, the old woman’s emotions gradually grew agitated: “The great leader of the Yellow Clan celestial gods received me in person and said to me: ‘The future is already determined; I shall be defeated and killed. Your cultivation is incomplete; even if you join the war it will be of no avail. Why needlessly cause more living beings to suffer?’

　　“The leader of the Yellow Clan celestial gods continued: ‘My death is of no consequence. I still have a son, born of a human woman; I have already entrusted him to the Gongyou Clan to raise. When he comes of age I hope you will assist him; then even in death I shall rest easy.’” At this point the old woman’s entire body trembled uncontrollably.

　　“The scene of that day is still vivid before my eyes; regrettably the present is already a different world.”

　　After hearing the old woman’s account Gongkong’s eyes were already filled with tears; his thoughts returned to the past.