Empire of Dragons (44 page)

The flowers of the red lotus blossomed in the pond; they were the symbol and emblem of the sect of monks who lived there. The bottom of the pond was an artful mix of grey and white pebbles, and it was populated by marvellous red, blue and iridescent green fish.

That natural perfection, fruit of the most sophisticated artifice, gave him a sense of profound peace on one hand, but on the other a strange excitation, a thrill that he could feel under his skin. The garden’s natural terrace overlooked the jutting face of the cliff, and from there he could see the river bend and beyond it an expanse of forests and marshes from which flocks of birds took wing at dawn, passing in front of the disc of sun, which was immersed in the dense cloud of vapours that rose from the wetlands.

Once, from his room, he saw Yun Shan strolling in that enchanted garden, enveloped in a gown of light blue silk that gracefully sheathed her body. He watched her passing among the flowered branches as though she were ethereal, as light and vaporous as a cloud.

He would have liked to speak with her, to look into her eyes to see if they were still burning with the light that had enraptured him that day. But he knew that the garden was a shelter of the spirit, and that its delights had to be savoured alone, in solitude. It was a taste of the hereafter in which those extraordinary beings prepared their souls for undisturbed happiness, for the life without end.

T
HE DAY CAME
in which Metellus began to learn the secrets of the ancient arts of combat which Master Mo had taught his followers: both those who had chosen the righteous path and those who had fallen away from it.

‘You’ll learn to move like me,’ Dan Qing told him, ‘like the Flying Foxes. But you can even surpass them if you are convinced, if you are certain of the road you must take.’

‘
Tao
. . .’ said Metellus.

‘A philosophy, more than mere physical discipline. A deep conviction, a leap of faith, of the mind. We call it
Go Ti
.

‘You will move in harmony with nature, perceive its breath, let it run through your body. There is nothing that you cannot achieve. But you must not strain convulsively towards the goal. You must allow yourself to be transported by the current of life, by the energy of the cosmos that flows through a blade of grass as it does through your body, through a grain of sand or through the stars that pulse in the eternity of the sky. You will have to learn meditation, as I have learned it from my master, Wangzi. And you must forget everything that you learned in your country, because what you knew led you to defeat and to the massacre of your men.’

‘There’s one thing I won’t forget,’ replied Metellus. ‘The force which pushed the valour of my men beyond every limit. The courage that can lead a man to sacrifice his very life because of his faith in the values handed down to him.’

‘If that’s what you want, may it be thus. Perhaps it is only by remembering the sacrifice of your comrades that you will be able to fight the demon who destroyed them and hope to defeat him. But you can unite your destiny with ours, learn a different life, a world that you’ve never even imagined, a civilization built on an unparalleled intensity of thought. I’m not saying that you’ll attain truth – truth always flees from us like the horizon from the weary traveller. But you’ll live your life with the maximum intensity that a human being is capable of. Do you want to learn all this, Xiong Ying? Will you join us and fight our battle?’

‘I will,’ replied Metellus.

‘Then thus it shall be. But on one condition. You must promise me on your honour that what you learn will never leave our realm.’

‘This I promise,’ said Metellus. ‘But how will you convince me that you are less blameworthy than your enemy? That his cruelty is not the consequence of your cruelty, of your unrestrained thirst for power? In your search for perfect harmony between the force of the body and that of the spirit, have you perhaps forgotten that none of this makes any sense without virtue? If you give me an explanation, I will accept it because I am your friend, and friendship, like love, does not observe propriety.’

Dan Qing looked deep into his eyes and smiled. ‘You are starting to think and talk like the Chinese, Xiong Ying . . . but I’m afraid there’s not a single word that I could tell you at this moment that would be capable of convincing you. At that time I was too young to resist the corruptive force of power. I reacted to what I felt was a threat in an extreme way, but in the atmosphere of supreme authority, it seemed completely normal. A wise measure, even, a way to protect the dynasty from disorder and from disruptive forces.

‘It is only now that I have fully realized the suffering I caused by brutally destroying the love of two adolescents, shattering the utmost harmony of a universal emotion with the utmost violence. At times I wonder if it is not for this reason that our land has been mortally wounded, split into three separate warring bodies. But all I can do now is to try to repair the damage by rebuilding the country. By fighting without sparing my strength and without fleeing from any danger, and by healing the wound that I myself inflicted on Yun Shan’s heart. I think she loves you.’

‘What are you saying, Dan Qing?’

‘Yes, I believe she loves you. That’s why she stays away from you . . . because she fears you. She fears abandoning herself to an emotion that will once again be denied her. I’m telling you this because it will be Yun Shan who will train you. She will be your teacher and your unrelenting adversary in fencing and the martial arts. Take care, for she may strike you much harder than necessary. But you must understand that we have no choice. I’m afraid that neither I nor Yun Shan can defeat Wei, because neither of us is truly capable of hating him. As you have said, I am to blame for part of his cruelty and his fury. And Yun Shan . . . loved him with the innocent, perhaps unconscious, love of a young girl, and she would not be able to kill him even now with a staunch heart and a steady hand. Only you are capable of defeating him and of restoring the harmony of this country.’

‘In the West, in Taqin Guo, the harmony of the land has been shattered as well, by a chain of brutal crimes that has broken my heart. Who will save my country?’

‘Don’t think of that now, Xiong Ying. Now you must keep the promise you just made to me and to your comrades, butchered so mercilessly by those monsters. I will try to get information about your country for you. I swear it. Only then can you make your decision.’

‘So be it, Dan Qing,’ replied Metellus. ‘Let’s begin now. I can’t wait any longer.’

T
HE SPRING PASSED
, and the summer, in continuous and exhausting sessions. The masters who took turns in training him were increasingly swifter and more expert and harsher in their blows. Only when they had profoundly transformed him, and he was capable of sensing the intentions of his adversary before he sprang to the attack, was he brought to the great
palaestra
where the duels were held. It was the first morning of winter of that year of the Dragon, the third day of the second month.

The relentless drum roll that filled that huge room immersed in semi-darkness died away and a shrill cry burst out all at once. A kick struck him full on the left shoulder and sent him rolling to the ground.

‘Defend yourself !’ shouted Yun Shan. ‘If I had wanted to, I could have killed you! Defend yourself !’ she shouted again as her foot flashed through the air.

He fell again and tumbled between Dan Qing’s feet.

‘You must forget she is a woman!’ he told Metellus. ‘She is not a woman: she is an adversary who can kill you. Remember when you used your two swords? You have to use your hands like you used your swords, understand? It’s the only way to beat her.’

‘Let’s get down to work now,’ said Yun Shan, and she lunged forward, her hands stretched out taut and ready to strike.

But Metellus was already back on his feet and he’d understood. He had to put into practice the art he’d been taught by these saintly monks to avoid being wounded by the sword. His naked hands were his weapons. And they darted through the air now, faster and faster: parrying, thrusting, slashing, jabbing.

But Yun Shan had more surprises. She suddenly dropped to the ground and swiped at him with her foot. Metellus was down again.

Dan Qing was very close now. ‘You still fight like a barbarian. The force of the spirit is much stronger than that of the body. Watch!’

Under Metellus’s astonished eyes, Dan Qing put his hands to the floor, kept his head down and stretched his body up, stiff as a rod. He detached one hand from the floor and remained supported by the other. Metellus couldn’t believe his eyes as Dan Qing began to lift one finger after another of the hand still on the floor, until his entire weight rested on his index finger, rigid as a steel bar.

‘Teach me,’ he said. ‘Teach me
Go Ti
.’

Dan Qing returned to a standing position. ‘This is our most powerful weapon, our most precious secret. No barbarian has ever been instructed at this level of knowledge. Give me a reason why I should do so.’

‘Because I’m your friend,’ said Metellus. ‘Because by binding my destiny to yours I lost my comrades. Because I want to avenge them and bring peace to their spirits by killing Wei with my own hands.’

‘Will you still insist on judging me?’ asked Dan Qing.

‘No, I won’t.’

‘And you, sister?’

Yun Shan bowed her head, still breathing fast and said, ‘Nor will I, brother.’

‘Remember,’ said Metellus then, ‘now it seems that I am the needy one, but there will come a time, when you are ready to reclaim your throne, that I will have many things to teach you and your men, things unknown to you that may well decide the fate of the battle.’

Dan Qing smiled. ‘Why didn’t you save your emperor, then? I saw him on his knees before his enemy. Have you forgotten?’

‘It was deceit that defeated us,’ shouted Metellus, beside himself. ‘Not valour! I don’t need you, or your secrets. I will regain my strength on my own, I’ll find that demon and I’ll kill him like a dog. And if I have to die, I will.’ Indomitable passion burned in his eyes.

Yun Shan approached him. Dan Qing regarded him in silence. In the Roman’s gaze, the prince could see, and perhaps even understand, the virtue of that barbarian.

‘Follow me,’ he said.

A
BLADE OF LIGHT
carved out their profiles as they sat face to face on their heels. Metellus was no longer uncomfortable in that position, as he had been when he first attempted it in Daruma’s tent at the oasis of Khaboras. They remained like this in silence for an indefinite time, as the light slowly waned away. Until the darkness was total.

And more time passed, in the absence of sound, in the dearth of light. Metellus no longer needed references; he felt complete within himself. He knew also that he was alone now and he didn’t need to reach out his hand to be able to tell that the space in front of him was empty.

Dan Qing’s voice rang out, seemingly miles away: ‘Where is your spirit, Xiong Ying?’

‘It’s here, within me,’ he answered.

‘Where?’ a voice reverberated again. A different voice, which sounded much like Yun Shan’s. At that same instant, a ray of light spilled in from above. Within the cone of light was a monk dressed in black with a red band on his arm who moved like lightning, striking Metellus’s side.

‘No!’ Dan Qing’s voice sounded again. ‘It’s in your side, there, where the blow has fallen. Beware! Be careful!’

The ray of light went out. The figure disappeared.

‘Where is your spirit, Xiong Ying?’ cried out Dan Qing again.

‘You said that Yun Shan would be training me!’ shouted back Metellus.

‘She has indeed! She is behind everything you’ve done. You may not see her, but it is she who sets you against your adversaries. Or perhaps she is your adversary. Beware!’

Metellus thrust his hands out to ward off the threat, whatever direction it was coming from. Another ray flashed in the dark, another figure suddenly appeared and struck him hard from behind.

Metellus fell.

The ray was extinguished.

‘Try to remember, Xiong Ying! It’s night-time, you’re a young recruit, you’re on guard. Where will the enemy’s arrow come from? Careful! Careful! Your instinct will tell you. Follow your
tao
, there!’

A third ray revealed another assailant.

‘Remember, Xiong Ying!’ rang out Dan Qing’s voice once again. ‘Remember: clay is shaped to make a vase, but it is the emptiness inside that makes the vase what it is!’

Hands darted like claws, but Metellus’s arms fended off the blow, just as quickly. The adversary disappeared.

A whistle, two dull thuds. Two
gladii
plunged into the ground at a short distance from each other. Only the polished edges of their blades were visible. Metellus had just enough time to seize them before two adversaries appeared. A dim glow illuminated the limited area of combat, although its source was not evident. The two were armed with long Chinese swords, decorated with fine engravings.

The drum started up a pounding roll and the assailants were upon him with cleaving blows.

Metellus spun round with feline force, parrying then thrusting his
gladii
, their flinty power contrasting with the sinuous flexibility of the slender Chinese swords, which intertwined like steel serpents. All at once the four blades collided over the combatants’ heads in an inextricable clash, jammed one against the other by the unrelenting strength of the arms wielding them. A brighter shaft of light lit up their tips.

Metellus’s two adversaries broke away abruptly, blades shrieking, and they melted back into the darkness.

The light went out and flared again elsewhere. A cone of white light flooded the floor and at its centre was Yun Shan, brandishing Tip of Ice. An intermittent flashing began as if an unknown mechanism were screening the light and then releasing it in a rhythm so quick that the image was shattered, splintered into indistinct fragments. Yun Shan broke free of that whirlwind and pounced at him like a tiger, blade outstretched. The fight burst into flame: the swords were tongues of fire, screeching against each other, steel biting into steel, blades gleaming like the eyes of the combatants, sudden flashes of wild energy. The swords blazed in that white light like burning meteors sparking. Clanking steel tore through the silence of that immense, bare room with its pulsating lights.