A Prophet - Chapter 2 (Part 4)

Chapter 4 - Grandfather Enters the Path

Zhang Dancheng was utterly shocked when he heard this. He hurried to fetch the Heaven and Earth Society's genealogy records, tracing them all the way back to the Yongzheng era. Sure enough, everything matched precisely as Grandfather had said, and every single name lined up. Zhang Dancheng was dumbfounded. Tracing it down this way, the generational character "Dan" that he carried fell right after the character "Guan." He was one generation junior to Grandfather—Grandfather was actually his grand-master uncle! While ordinary families placed great importance on generational seniority, criminal underworld strongholds valued it even more. Zhang Dancheng had essentially imprisoned his own elder, and on top of that, he had killed two men who belonged to his uncle's generation. If word of this ever leaked out, he would no longer be able to show his face in the rivers and lakes. At this thought, cold sweat broke out all over Zhang Dancheng. "What should we do, Master?" Tu Yiming asked. Zhang Dancheng pondered for a long time, let out a long sigh, and said, "What a monstrous sin, what a monstrous sin." Grandfather hadn't paid too much attention to the matter; hearing Tu Yiming mention the Heaven and Earth Society had simply stirred a sense of familiarity, prompting him to recount his family history. After Tu Yiming left, he had stood there in a daze, wondering what would happen next. Suddenly, the dungeon door swung open, followed by a rush of rapid footsteps as Zhang Dancheng led Zhou Zhenlong, Tu Yiming, and several other foot-soldiers into the cell.

Grandfather took one look and was startled: they were all stripped to the waist, with gleaming broadswords tucked into their backs. Before Grandfather could even speak, they all dropped to their knees with a heavy thud. "'Jiangxiang Sect' - Lizilian Stronghold's Thirteenth Generation Master Zhang Dancheng pays respects to Grand-Master Uncle! This junior had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai, committing a monstrous crime. Today, I specifically bring all my disciples to surrender and await judgment. Please, Grand-Master Uncle, execute clan law! Danicheng offers his neck to expiate his crimes!" Zhang Dancheng lowered his head, stretched out his neck, and held his broadsword up before Grandfather. Grandfather was stunned, his mind racing at lightning speed as it suddenly dawned on him: they were all descendants of the Heaven and Earth Society, and his own generation seniority was undoubtedly higher than theirs! For a moment, Grandfather didn't know what to say, nor did he know what to do. The dungeon fell into absolute silence. After a long while, Grandfather hurried forward to help Zhang Dancheng up. After all, the man was around seventy years old and kneeling there bare-chested; Grandfather couldn't bear to watch. Zhang Dancheng refused to get up no matter what, insisting, "This is a grave crime, unforgivable. Cut off my head to comfort the spirits of the two elders in heaven!" Filled with a myriad of conflicting emotions and remembering his younger brother and sister, tears welled up in Grandfather's eyes. He wept silently for a long time; under such circumstances, how could he possibly bring himself to strike? "Old sir, please rise. When will the cycle of vengeance ever end?" Zhang Dancheng raised his head and said to Grandfather, "Grand-Master Uncle is benevolent and righteous. Counting this time, you have saved my life twice. Capital punishment may be spared, but the crime cannot go unpunished." With that, he laid his left hand across a wooden stool, raised his blade in his right hand, and with a crisp crack, hacked off his own little finger. Crimson blood immediately spurted out. "Master!" Zhou Zhenlong, Tu Yiming, and the others knelt and crowded around Zhang Dancheng. Zhang Dancheng picked up his severed finger, held it high, and declared to those around him, "Do as I do." Zhou Zhenlong and Tu Yiming exchanged glances, then laid their own fingers across the wooden stool. With a flash of steel blades, two more severed fingers hit the ground. The remaining foot-soldiers looked at each other, gritted their teeth, and hacked off their fingers as well. Lords and subjects, fathers and sons—Grandfather was deeply shaken by this strict adherence to moral and familial hierarchy. Weeping, he helped Zhang Dancheng to his feet and said, "Everyone get up. As I said before, when will the cycle of vengeance ever end? Let us write off everything that has happened." Zhou Zhenlong cried, "Indeed, we are family after all." Zhang Dancheng commanded, "Quickly send word to prepare a banquet; I shall drink heartily with my Grand-Master Uncle."

It was already midnight, the Tzu hour. The steward woke the cook, stoked the massive stoves, and soon cooked chicken and stewed goose, quickly spreading a lavish banquet. Zhang Dancheng invited Grandfather to take the seat of honor, taking the right-hand seat himself, while Zhou Zhenlong sat on the left and Tu Yiming sat below. Only then did Grandfather dare to reveal his true family background. When he spoke of the warlords assassinating his entire family, sparks practically flew from Zhang Dancheng's eyes. "The bastards! Those warlords are cut from the exact same cloth as the Manchu Qing!" After three rounds of drinks, Zhang Dancheng let out a sigh and asked, "What are Grand-Master Uncle's plans for the future?" This question left Grandfather stumped. Previously, his mind had been entirely consumed by avenging his younger siblings. Now that this grudge had been resolved, the next step was to exact a great vengeance for his parents. But to go after the warlords right now was completely impossible, and he didn't know how to respond. Seeing Grandfather remain silent, Zhang Dancheng asked, "Why doesn't Grand-Master Uncle remain at the stronghold?"

Grandfather was startled. Remain at the stronghold? Become a con artist? A swindler? Zhang Dancheng said, "To be frank with Grand-Master Uncle, the very first time I laid eyes on you, I knew you were a man of extraordinary ambition, possessing both courage and strategy. I am old. In a few years, I will be seventy-three. Seventy-three and eighty-four—even if King Yama doesn't summon you, you go yourself. I have managed this stronghold for decades, yet I have run it into such a dismal state. How can I possibly show my face to the Founding Ancestor when I die? Ah... Back in the day, how imposing was I, Zhang Dancheng? In those times, there was Zhang Dancheng in the east, Duan Jinshan in the west, Qiao Wumei in the south, and Kang Shaohua in the north. The four great strongholds echoed one another from afar, Qing nobility bowed obediently, and heroes of the rivers and lakes vied to follow us. Who could have foreseen that I would bungle an operation? As a result, not only did I turn myself into a half-man, half-woman yin-yang person, but I also dragged the brothers of the other strongholds down with me. Ah..." Hearing this, Zhou Zhenlong and Tu Yiming were overcome with melancholy. "Master." Zhang Dancheng continued, "Zhenlong, Yiming, you have followed me for a very long time, utterly loyal and true. I don't have many years left to live, and the stronghold must have someone to manage it. The ancestral foundation must not be severed in my hands. After the Fourth Dam Master rebelled, my heart grew even heavier, and now there is no one left... Zhenlong is magnanimous and honest, his character grounded, but he is far too lenient. A womanish heart can never command the bigger picture, and it will only bring disaster upon himself in the end. Yiming possesses peerless martial prowess, but lacks strategic vision; his actions are far too impulsive, making him ill-suited to anchor the stronghold. Your master worries day and night over his final arrangements. It is difficult, truly difficult." Shame surfaced on the faces of Zhou Zhenlong and Tu Yiming. "Master."

Zhang Dancheng went on, "Grand-Master Uncle, today this junior makes a request before my two disciples: I beg you to stay. No matter what, we are family. After my death, you shall take charge of the stronghold, assisted by Zhenlong and Yiming. What is your will?" Before Grandfather could even speak, Zhou Zhenlong and Tu Yiming chimed in together, "We will strictly obey Master's teachings and pledge our utmost loyalty!" Grandfather felt lost, his thoughts in absolute chaos. Putting everything else aside, simply hearing Zhang Dancheng address him repeatedly as "Grand-Master Uncle" sent a chill down his spine. In feudal society, plenty of nephews were old enough to look after uncles, but for such an age disparity combined with high seniority to actually befall him took some getting used to. "Let me consider it. Furthermore... the old sir is much older than me; just call me by my name, otherwise—" "No, no! Before we didn't know, so any form of address would do. But now that we know, if I were to address you carelessly, wouldn't that be a heinous act of treason?" Grandfather was left speechless. Grandfather spent a full three days pondering over it. He thought of his parents, his younger brother and sister who had died at the hands of this very stronghold, and yet now he was being asked to join this organization. How would the spirits of his loved ones view this from heaven? If he refused to join, where would he go? His home was gone. If he returned to his ancestral roots, this place was home, and Zhang Dancheng's sincerity was so absolute—how could he refuse? Yet, this was still not the righteous path; it was swindling. He had studied the Four Books and Five Classics since childhood, constantly taught in the ways of ritual, duty, integrity, and shame. Although the Jiangxiang Sect originated from the Heaven and Earth Society, it had long since lost the Way... Just as he was deep in thought, Tu Yiming arrived. Tu Yiming was a rough-hewn man, but his words always hit the nail on the head. His few remarks helped Grandfather reach his final decision: "Weren't you asking what the Way is? Inheriting Master's supreme position—that is the Way. Right now, the entire community of con artists has lost the Way, and it takes someone to steer them back. Your own younger brother and sister died, but have you ever considered how many more innocent people will be killed, how many more innocent people will be swindled, and how many more sins these con artists will commit if this stronghold is seized by conscienceless scoundrels? The revival of the Great Way depends entirely on you!"

These words struck straight at Grandfather's heartstrings. The revival of the Great Way—suppressing evil energy, uplifting benevolent energy, restoring the moral righteousness of robbing the rich to aid the poor upheld by the Five Ancestors of the Hongmen, and turning the con artists from beasts back into human beings—perhaps this was the very Way he had been searching for. Grandfather finally joined the ranks of the con artists. Passing through the forest of blades, drinking the rooster-blood wine, first bowing to heaven as father and earth as mother, Grandfather entered the Path. The Buddhist Verse states: "In all your dealings do no wrongful deed, three feet above your head the gods take heed; good and evil will be rewarded in the end, it is only a matter of coming sooner or later." Five years later, Zhang Dancheng passed away. His final years were plagued by the torment of illness, but he was ultimately attended by those who cared for him, with Grandfather by his side. The day he passed was the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month. The disease had ravaged him until he was completely unrecognizable—emaciated as a withered branch, his abdomen sunken, two rows of ribs protruding, and his head unable to lift as if his neck were broken. He could only rely on Grandfather to feed him water with a small spoon. That evening during the Hai hour, he slipped into a coma, taking three exhales to every single inhale—expelling far more breath than he took in. Occasionally, he would prop up his arms as though pushing something away or struggling free. At the moment of death, a single tear tracked down the corner of his eye. Grandfather knew that passing away without leaving descendants was the most desolate fate of all. He had always yearned for a child; in his prime, he had been consumed by the trade of swindling, and by the time he actually wanted a child, his testicles had been severed, stripping away his masculine dignity right along with them.

In his final moments, he experienced a brief surge of returning vitality. Gripping Grandfather's hand tightly, he managed to squeeze out two feeble words, weak and faint, but Grandfather heard them clearly: "Retribution." Zhang Dancheng was gone, and Grandfather "ascended the throne." Over those five years, he had mastered every skill required of a true con artist. Moreover, he possessed qualities ordinary con artists lacked: extraordinary wisdom, exceptional courage, and above all, deeply ingrained benevolence that made him an unparalleled Grand Master Uncle from the inside out. Following Zhang Dancheng's departure, Zhou Zhenlong also grew disillusioned with the mortal world. Having followed Zhang Dancheng for over thirty years through countless storms and hardships, he felt the time had come for him to leave as well. Zhou Zhenlong requested permission from Grandfather to leave the stronghold. Grandfather asked where he planned to go—not out of a desire to stop him, but out of concern that he was aging and had no one to look after him. Zhou Zhenlong replied that he had already decided on a destination and would let Grandfather know in the future. Grandfather pressed no further. Before his departure, Grandfather prepared a large sum of gold and silver for him, but Zhou Zhenlong refused it all, asking instead that Grandfather distribute all his belongings to the surrounding poor. And thus, he left alone, solitary and unaccompanied. Tu Yiming did not leave; he had always regarded the stronghold as his home. His "flying nail" technique had long since been passed down to Grandfather, and now he spent his free time drinking tea with Grandfather, occasionally sparring in dart-throwing with Grandfather deliberately yielding to keep him happy. After taking command of the stronghold, Grandfather executed a massive administrative reshuffle, abolishing the centuries-old stronghold hierarchy system and establishing a brand-new reward and punishment framework.

Because Grandfather pioneered a fresh era for the Jiangxiang Sect, with a conduct and demeanor closely resembling the original Five Ancestors of the Hongmen, some foot-soldiers suggested addressing the new leader as "Grandfather"—a title carrying both deep respect and warm affection. Thus, the title of Grandfather was born. Meanwhile, word arrived from Wang Yazhiqiao's camp that the warlord who had originally ordered the assassination of Grandfather's entire family had perished in an internal factional struggle, reportedly struck by seven bullets—one to the head and six to the chest.

At the end of that year, Grandfather took several foot-soldiers and returned to his hometown. Upon inquiring, he learned that after the assassins left, it was the local villagers who had helped bury his family's corpses. Led by a neighbor, Grandfather came to that burial plot; his entire family was interred in that single large pit. Left unattended for years, the graveyard had grown thick with wild artemisia. Grandfather knelt down, gazing up at the sky, his face streaming with tears. After completing the memorial rites, the villagers all invited Grandfather to their homes for New Year's Eve dinner, but he declined. He gave the villagers some money and returned to his own home instead, where the foot-soldiers had already swept away the dust during the day, leaving the house much cleaner.

Sitting in the empty house, Grandfather's thoughts surged like a rising tide. His father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, older brother, younger brother, and younger sister—the voices and faces of his beloved family members churned through his mind. The winter night was cold and desolate, marking the crossing of the years on New Year's Eve. In the distance came the rhythmic crackle of firecrackers, with every household filled with joy and celebration as they bade farewell to the old year and welcomed the new. Grandfather stepped out of the house, stood in the courtyard, and looked up at the firmament. The fireworks blooming along the horizon decorated his lonely world, plunging him into an endless sea of melancholy.