Chapter 5: The Widow |
Shěn Lí’s search led her to the door of a small courtyard. She was trying to figure out how to enter when a sudden and loud squeak sounded. Shěn Lí bustled out of the way trying to hide as the door pushed open from the other side. A man dressed in uniform walked out holding a lantern. It seemed to be the same man from earlier.
“I’m going to work. Watch out for your sister and make sure she doesn’t run off to find some quack again.”
“OK. Be careful,” spoke the woman. She closed the door after he left, leaving the courtyard dark again.
Shěn Lí was anxious about finding a way inside when the woman came out again, this time with a cloak. “Da Lang, your cloak! It’s cold outside, be careful lest you catch a cold.”
While the two people were distracted, Shěn Lí snuck into the yard hopping from shadow to shadow and found the old soldier’s wife sitting by a window sewing. Shěn Lí thought the silhouette cast on the window looked rather lonely. She detected the strange scent from before the moment she entered the cottage, and upon looking around, saw that the wife’s bedroom door was cracked open just enough for her to poke her head inside.
From her vantage point, she could see a young man dressed in a bedraggled uniform watching the wife as she mended the article in her hands. He looked at her with a gentle expression full of love. Shěn Lí couldn't see him earlier in the daylight because of the profusion of yang energy, but now with the risen moon, she could see his shape clearly. It was his spirit that gave the woman that strange atmosphere earlier. Shěn Lí sighed. The woman didn’t need to go search for her husband, he was right there beside her, it was just that he was no longer alive.
His dark eyes turned crimson at her sigh. He turned in her direction and expelled a large amount of yin energy at her as he rushed forward. It happened so fast Shěn Lí didn’t have time to react. She flapped about uselessly with her featherless wings yelling, “Stop! Wait!” in her mind.
He rolled through her causing her to tumble backwards away from the door. She fell like a legless chicken rolling around helplessly, and only managed to stop after colliding with several clay pots.
“Stop! Stop it . . . cough!” Shěn Lí tried to shout through a fit of coughing.
“I’m here to help!”
He finally stopped, allowing Shěn Lí a chance to regain her breath. Just as she was about to speak, the front door was pulled wide open. It was the woman from the courtyard earlier. “How’d a bald chicken get in here?” The ruckus had alarmed her so she came over to investigate. She had only taken a couple of steps toward Shěn Lí when she was knocked out from behind. She fainted immediately and collapsed onto the floor.
“Why do you have to run around causing so much trouble?” - “How is it you’re here?” Both Xíng Yún and Shěn Lí spoke at the same time.
Xíng Yún tossed the stone in his hand to the side before answering. “I climbed the wall.” Then he stooped down to pick Shěn Lí up. “There’s a curfew at night you know. Let’s go back.”
“Wait!” Shěn Lí shook her wings in agitation. “Don’t you see him? He’s still there.”
Xíng Yún held her wings down, she was hitting him in the face with them and it was annoying. “See what?”
Shěn Lí gestured to the man. “He’s so big and you don’t see him?”
Xíng Yún frowned. “Do I look like a monk to you? I don’t have the ability to see ghosts. I’m a fortune teller. Hel-looo.” He tapped her lightly on the head.
Shěn Lí was surprised. Xíng Yún was so mysterious she that she couldn’t help but make assumptions about him. Thinking about the best way to explain, she said, “Earlier today I sensed something strange about the woman. At that time the sun was too strong and there was too much yang energy so I couldn’t really figure it out. But when I came tonight to investigate, I discovered the soldier’s ghost. He carried a strong obsession at the time of his death. He was rooted to the earth, unable to move forward and reincarnate because of this. He returned here, and has been watching over her ever since.”
Shěn Lí turned to the soldier and he nodded his head in confirmation. “You knew she would wait for you, that she wanted to find you right?” The man had a bitterly sad look on his face as he gazed at the faraway bedroom door. Shěn Lí prodded further. “Do you want her to know you’ve been here this whole time?”
The glimmer of hope in his eyes was unmistakable and his fierce stare seemed to ask if it was possible.
Shěn Lí nodded then pointed her chicken chin at Xíng Yún. “Xíng Yún, relay it.”
Xíng Yún sighed in frustration. “Huh? Stupid chicken. You want me to do some kind of communication dance with a ghost? What kind of language is that? Who would even believe it? Seriously, think it through here.” He put Shěn Lí down and then gathered up several stones, laying them in an array on the floor. With another sigh he said, “Since we’ve already intervened, we might as well do our best. Just don’t go regretting it afterwards.”
Shěn Lí waited quietly while Xíng Yún worked. He quickly withdrew from the array after using his finger to draw out a word in the center. “Tell him to float to the word in the center.”
The soldier did so and immediately the word lit up as if infused with light. The stones quickly followed suit, and soon the soldier’s body became the central focus. The man gained a clear silhouette not long after. Xíng Yún laughed and said, “Chicken, go get the ma’am and tell her that her husband is back.” He could now see the soldier’s form in the center.
Shěn Lí pecked relentlessly at the door of the bedroom where she had seen the old wife sitting. Frowning, the old wife got up and opened the door. “It’s so noisy tonight. I didn’t get much done with my sewing either . . .” Her voiced faded away as she looked up. A light shone in her eyes, it was a mixture of excitement, relief, and amazement. She staggered forward quietly whispering, “San Lang.”
The man was equally helpless, not daring to move. He could only watch her as she awkwardly clenched and unclenched her hands not knowing what to do with them. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. She understood though. The words he wanted to say were “My Lady.” The last time she was called by this endearment was over fifteen years ago.
Her rheumy eyes filled with unshed tears as she spoke, “You . . . you’re finally back.” She was stunned with joy. Her wrinkled face broke out in a childish smile as she hurried the last few steps forward, but stopped just shy of touching him.
She trembled touching her hair then her face. “Here you are and I have nothing prepared for you, not even rice. It’s been so many years . . .” Her voice cracked as a sob wracked her body. “Where have you been all these years. Do you know how long I’ve waited for you? Do you know everyone thinks I’ve gone crazy? Even I thought I was crazy. I almost stopped waiting. I didn’t know if you were dead or alive. I couldn’t find a trace of you anywhere. I sewed clothes with nowhere to send. I wrote letters with no one to read. Where have you been hiding this whole time?!” She couldn’t stop her tears from falling and her voice from rising as she spoke.
The ray of light seemed to unwind time for them. Standing there the wrinkles on her face smoothened, a becoming flush rose to her cheeks, and the lines that marked a harsh life left her face, revealing a beautiful youthful woman. Her husband also looked like a young man in the prime of his life, about to set out on his first military engagement. It was as though the fifteen years apart never existed, as though he never died on the battlefield.
The man’s face showed a deep sadness. He reached out to touch her face.
On the side, Xíng Yún raised his finger to his lips and bit hard enough to draw blood. He held the blood over the array and let it drop. This action caused the array to surround the couple with a dazzling amount of light.
The hand that should not have been corporeal touched the woman’s face. The body that should not have had tangible form pulled the other close to him in an embrace. Shěn Lí was shocked as she watched. “This array . . . to be able to connect life and death, upturn Heaven, it is so powerful.” She gazed at Xíng Yún a bit awkwardly, unsure how he was able to accomplish such a feat.
“The array isn’t going to hold for long. Finish what you came to do quickly.”
Shěn Lí was surprised to hear this from Xíng Yún. It seemed he knew what she wanted to do. She had a vague guess that the woman was possessed by a ghost because of her obsession. She just hadn’t expected the soldier’s spirit to be so rooted as well. Since they were entwined for so long, it was inevitable that the woman’s life would be affected by his presence. This was dangerous in its own way.
She initially wanted the spirit to leave the woman, but now . . .
After waiting for Shěn Lí and seeing her not make a move, Xíng Yún spoke again, “Why don’t you let them decide.” Shěn Lí glanced at him. He continued with, “These two are just ordinary people without access to the Way. They don’t understand how an imbalance in the Tao can affect them.[notes] Since this has already happened, why not just tell them everything and let them decide where they want to go?”
Shěn Lí opened her mouth, but still couldn’t say anything. She wanted them to have more time together, even if only for a while. Xíng Yún sighed. This chicken! He addressed the couple standing in the array as he spoke. “The two of you are from different worlds, but you’ve stayed together for over a decade already. Brother, if you continue to stay with her like this you will siphon away her life force and she won’t have many more years left to live.”
The man turned to look at Xíng Yún. The woman clenched her fist and whispered, “You’ve been here with me this whole time? You . . .” She gazed at the man’s clothes and his appearance that hadn’t changed in years. She spoke as though mesmerized. “So that’s what happened . . .”
“If you continue to stay here, not only will you harm her physically, but you will also prevent her from ever finding peace.” Xíng Yún spoke in a quiet flat voice. “Brother, it is your decision whether to stay or leave, but eventually the two of you will be together, after all death comes for everyone.”
The man turned and looked at his wife. The light in the array was dimming and his figure was becoming transparent. She too was returning to her original appearance, with a haggard face lined with wrinkles, as though her previous youthful look was nothing but a mere illusion. She became slightly panicked when she could no longer feel his hand on her cheek. In the end the man nodded his head, showing his intention to leave.
It was a good result, but Shěn Lí’s heart felt restless.
Xíng Yún interrupted her thoughts, “I can purify his soul, but I don’t have enough energy to guide him on the path of reincarnation. Can you do that part?”
“Uh, yes. Of course.” Oftentimes after a battle with the enemy crushed and the uprising quelled, Shěn Lí would assist in guiding the spirits of those who fell. “There’s no need for a purification array though.” The method she wanted to use wouldn’t fail no matter how injured the caster was. It was a method she used often to send the brothers who fell in battle onwards.
“Take your coat off Xíng Yún.”
Although he didn’t know why she wanted him to do so, he obeyed without questioning. Shěn Lí walked into the coat and wore it around herself like an oversized magnificent robe. A golden light shone through her naked body and encompassed her completely underneath the coat. Xíng Yún closed his eyes for a brief moment against the glare. When he opened them again, he saw that she had taken human form and was now several steps closer to the array.
Xíng Yún’s coat was very big on her so she had to brace her feet wide apart to maintain her balance. It didn’t slow her down though. She stood straight and tall, slowly moving forward with a heroic air.
“By my name will I guide you to the river.” Shěn Lí drew several symbols in the air before waving her hand toward the man. The imprint of her palm could be seen on his forehead and the glow of light slowly spread. It grew to completely encompass him in its brilliance, blending and merging with his entity until the two became one. Then just as quickly, his light started to fade. His form lingered momentarily near his wife, before completely dissipating away like dust settling on the ground.
“Ah.. ah . . .” His wife whimpered. Her hands trembled as she reached out to him, but all she grasped was emptiness. It seemed his bond with her was finally broken.
The only sounds left was that of her sobbing. “Madam. He left so you would be at peace. Do you understand his intentions?” Shěn Lí held her hand as she spoke.
“I understand . . .” She was silent for a moment, lost in thought. “I do. I heard the song he used to sing when he would walk around the village too. It was a beautiful song.” She smiled reminiscing. “I know he wants me to be at peace.” Her tears kept falling like a steady stream as Shěn Lí slowly led her back to her room.
The woman was exhausted and fell asleep easily. Shěn Lí observed her for a while before leaving. Most of the qi she absorbed earlier in the day was nearly depleted, making her feel a little dizzy and unstable on her feet. Xíng Yún reached over and gathered her in his arms for support. It felt nice. But before she could thank him her heart thundered and her world grew larger before her eyes. Within the space of a few seconds her body shrank back to its original beast form.
“Satisfied?”
Shěn Lí knew he was referring to the couple they just helped. “This result, since it involved a death, no ending is ever going to be satisfactory.” Shěn Lí shook her head.
“You seem to feel strongly about this.”
“I’ve watched too many souls die on the battlefield. I don’t know if I advised her correctly or wrongly, whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, but if it were me that passed on, I’d want my loved one to forget about me and carry on. Hope for a past that can never be is hope made in vain, only by moving forward can a life be properly lived.”
Xíng Yún glanced down with a complex look on his face. He laughed out loud, “Silly chicken. Living in the present is what living is all about.”
Shěn Lí blinked at that, then shifted to get into a more comfortable position. “You’re right. Let’s go back.”
“Mm right, let’s go back home.”
Xíng Yún pushed open the courtyard gates and began the walk home.
The two were tired and did not notice a caped silhouette move out from the shadows. This person walked into the cottage and knelt down by the lady who was hit by the rock earlier. She got up woozily muttering, “An immortal! A celestial being! They were definitely divine somehow!”
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