A Prophet - Chapter 20 (Part 2)
Chapter 2 - Military Statistics Chief Dai Li Decodes Japanese Feng Shui Intelligence
"How did the sir end up mixed up with bandits?" asked Dai Li with a puzzled expression at the Kuominate official residence.
"Ah, when Wuhan fell, my disciples and I all fled. Passing through a mountain hollow, we were ambushed by bandits, but we later became friends after crossing blows. They are righteous bandits who never kill ordinary, law-abiding folks."
"Heh," Dai Li chuckled. "Bandits are bandits all the same. Before the Battle of Wuhan, I asked the sir to head ahead to Chongqing, but you wouldn't agree, and there was nothing I could do. Later, when Wuhan fell, I lost all trace of you. I never expected we'd cross paths again by such a sheer coincidence. What fate!"
"Indeed," Ancestor said with a smile.
"This time, our bandit-suppression operation in the mountains yielded twelve sacks of silver ingots—quite the unexpected windfall. The Chairman is extremely pleased," Dai Li said.
"General Dai is blessed with good fortune that wards off all disaster," Ancestor chimed in.
"It's just that... that 'Double-Blade Heroine' is not the sir's lawful wife. Why did the sir go to such lengths to shield her? Could it truly be that even heroes struggle to pass the trial of a beauty's embrace?" Dai Li asked with a smile.
"General Dai is making fun of me. Zhu Jin was severely wounded at the time. In that moment, she wasn't the 'Double-Blade Heroine,' nor was she a bandit—she was simply an injured woman. Fearing the soldiers might take her life, I had no choice but to resort to that desperate measure. I trust the General will forgive my impropriety."
"A chivalrous heart and gentle tenderness—how righteous! I, Dai Li, built my career upon the word 'righteousness.' Back in the day in Shanghai when the Blue Shirts Society was just established, all three major triads in Shanghai gave this Dai a modicum of respect. What was that built on? Righteousness! However... I must say, Zhu Jin does possess quite a bit of charm. The sir might as well turn this pretense into reality. Otherwise, I can neither kill her nor release her. Isn't that putting me in a terribly difficult spot?"
Ancestor never expected Dai Li to back him into a corner like this. The situation back then had been critical, and he had been forced to invent a lie to protect Zhu Jin. Now, however, the matter had become a thorny mess. The Kuomintang had expended immense manpower and resources to capture one of the Four Great Vajras with great difficulty; if she were quietly released without a sound, he wouldn't be able to account for it to superiors or subordinates alike.
Ancestor spent the entire night tossing and turning, unable to sleep as he pondered the issue, before finally heading over to Zhu Jin's infirmary the next morning.
"Thank you so much for saving my life, sir," Zhu Jin said.
"Madam, you flatter me. It's just that... well... this act must be kept up... otherwise, it will be difficult for Madam to get out of this safely."
Zhu Jin smiled bitterly: "The commander is dead, and my heart has died with him. Sir, you needn't worry on my account. Whether they want to kill or dismember me, I accept my fate. It's just that... it's just that..."
As she spoke, tears rolled down Zhu Jin's cheeks.
"Just what?"
Zhu Jin touched her belly: "I am already carrying the commander's flesh and blood."
Hearing this, a myriad of emotions washed over Ancestor, and it was a long time before he spoke: "That is precisely why... Madam must make it out completely unscathed. When I spoke with Dai Li during the day, he proposed arranging a marriage between the two of us. That is the only way Madam can stay safe. I wonder how Madam feels about this arrangement?"
Zhu Jin looked at Ancestor, then touched her belly once more: "This... this wrongs you terribly, sir..." With those words, her tears spilled over again.
Ancestor remained silent, gazing up at the night sky as he stood rooted in place.
Ancestor was getting married—taking the widow of the bandit leader as his bride. All the section leaders were completely dumbfounded.
"Ancestor, there are plenty of pure maidens out there! If... if this gets spread around the underworld, I'm afraid it will damage Ancestor's reputation!" the Second Leader said, scratching his head.
Ancestor maintained a blank expression.
In private, the Third Leader remarked to the others: "I always thought there was something wrong with whatever Ancestor's got down there, which is why he never married. Seeing this today, I must have been completely wrong. Ancestor really has incredible self-control. After holding out for all these years—well, he can finally enjoy himself now. Heh."
The Second Leader shook his head: "Maybe I should go find a woman too..."
The First Leader burst into a wide grin: "What the hell are you two yapping about? Are your vulgar tastes anything Ancestor's refined palate could ever be fathomed by?"
The Fourth Leader listened quietly. Once again, a pain like a needle pricked his heart. He flicked his sleeve and walked off by himself.
The Sixth Leader followed right after him: "Fourth Brother!"
The Fourth Leader lifted his chin, gazing far off into the starry expanse of the firmament: "Ah... The silver candlelight and autumn light chill the painted screen, while a light gauze fan flutters against the fireflies. The courtyard steps at night are as cool as water, as I sit and watch the Cowherd and Weaver Girl stars." Once he finished reciting, hot tears streamed across his face.
"Fourth Brother," Little Liu patted Zhang Zizhan on the shoulder, then fished a pack of "Peacock" cigarettes from his inner pocket, "Have one. This was given by a tobacco merchant in Shanghai back when I was still with Ninth Master."
Zhang Zizhan had never smoked in his life, but at that moment, he took the cigarette. Little Liu lit it for him, and he coughed as he tried his best to draw in the smoke.
"Fourth Brother, Sixth Brother, what are you two chatting about?" The Fifth Leader, Zhang Qiling, walked over.
"Chatting about this incomprehensible life, these untranslatable winds and moons, and these unending, tangled truths of human affection..." The Fourth Leader let out a long sigh.
"What's wrong with him?" the Fifth Leader asked Little Liu with a bewildered look.
"Affection has since ancient times brought sorrow over parting, all the more so in the chilly, desolate autumn season..." The Fourth Leader heaved yet another sigh.
"You two go on and play your artsy games; I'm going to sleep," the Fifth Leader said, walking away looking utterly confused.
"Maybe... joining the 'River and Lake Sect' was a mistake..." the Fourth Leader suddenly blurted out.
"Shh—" Little Liu looked around vigilantly, "Fourth Brother, you can't just say things like that out loud!"
"Are we really upholding justice on behalf of heaven? Is there even such a thing as 'justice' left in this world? I keep wondering what the true meaning of life is. Fame, fortune, and high office? Wine, women, and riches? No matter how glorious a life one leads, meeting one's end in death is inescapable. Wealth and prestige cannot be brought into this life nor carried into the next. Just a few days ago, Hong Laohu was infinitely majestic, yet in a fleeting moment he became a ghost beneath a gun barrel. His wealth went to the Kuomintang, and his woman is being married off to someone else. If he has any spirit left down in the netherworld, what would he think of all this?"
"Fourth Brother, you're being far too pessimistic."
"They always say that a true man living in this world must not let his life go to waste, but what does it even mean to not waste it? The accomplishment of a single general is built upon ten thousand withered bones; a person's rise to fame and fortune is always accompanied by countless deaths. Sometimes I really envy the pastoral seclusion of 'the bright moon shining among the pines, and clear springs flowing over the stones.' Far away from slaughter, free of conspiracies, guarding a small family while watching the sun and moon wax and wane, listening to the summer rain and winter snow, and then slowly growing old—how truly happy that would be..."
"Fourth Brother, let me run through a boxing routine for you. Look at this set of 'Patriarch Crane Boxing'—it'll take your mind off things."
With that, Little Liu abruptly leaped into the air, executing a set of "Patriarch Crane Boxing" that whooshed through the air. When he finished and turned back around, the Fourth Leader was nowhere to be found: "Fourth Brother?"
"You keep practicing, I'm going to sleep," came the Fourth Leader's voice from afar.
"Sir, now that the personal matters are settled, let's talk about some official business." Dai Li pulled out a stack of telegrams. "These are some recently intercepted Japanese telegram codes. They involve a great many place names and Feng Shui terminology. There are very few people in the bureau who understand Feng Shui, so I'd like the sir to take a look."
Ancestor was taken aback. No wonder Dai Li was so insistent on playing matchmaker to get him married—he wanted to shackle him and trap him here to work for him!
Ancestor looked over the decoded strips one by one; they were disjointed and completely devoid of any discernible pattern.
Dai Li continued: "I've also brought in a few other masters from the Kuomintang-controlled areas. Starting tomorrow, the sir can work together with them to help the Military Statistics Bureau decode these telegrams. I have a lingering feeling that the devils are plotting something major..."
Ancestor nodded and said, "The Dragon Vein Map of China."
"What?" Dai Li was startled.
"The Dragon Vein Map of China. General, listen to me explain in detail..." Ancestor gave Dai Li a thorough account of the secret behind the Japanese corpse-driving squads, along with the analytical conclusions he had reached alongside Liu Congyun and Hong Laohu.
Upon hearing this, Dai Li was shaken to his core. He said, "Are you saying that aside from strategic necessities, the devils' offensive also takes Feng Shui into consideration?"
"It must be so! Bombarding the Laojun Temple and tying down Ox Head Mountain—those are all Feng Shui warfare!" Ancestor said with absolute certainty.
"Mm!" Dai Li nodded. "That makes sense. Two battlefields: one is the gunfire-filled war of smoke and lead, and the other is the silent, soundless war of Feng Shui. Truly ruthless, truly vicious!"
"Can the sir tell me in a single sentence, clearly and plainly, what a 'Dragon Vein' is?" Dai Li suddenly asked.
Ancestor pondered for a moment before replying: "A Dragon Vein is the underlying framework of the mountains. The soil is the dragon's flesh, the stones are the dragon's bones, and the vegetation is the dragon's hair. Mountain ranges have their comings and goings; this is referred to as tracing the source and course of the dragon."
"Brilliant! And how do you discuss them in plains where there are no mountains?" Dai Li asked again.
"In plains, they are discussed based on the terrain and buildings, looking at the surface undulations of the ground. No place on earth's surface is completely flat; there are always elevations and depressions."
"Makes sense! Where is the best Dragon Vein of all?"
"The human heart. When people's hearts are good, everywhere you look is a good Dragon Vein! A good person in a dangerous place can turn misfortune into good fortune, whereas a wicked person in an auspicious place will run into obstacles at every turn!" Ancestor answered.
"Does the sir also believe in religion?" Hearing this, Dai Li posed a counter-question.
"Believe in religion?" Ancestor was puzzled.
"The sir just transitioned from discussing Feng Shui to speaking of the human heart, which carries a distinctly Buddhist flavor. That's why I asked." Dai Li explained.
"Oh, I've only occasionally dabbled in it. I've never taken refuge in Buddhism, nor have I ever shaved my head to become a monk," Ancestor said.
"I am placing this in your hands, sir. I truly hope you can decode the Japanese Dragon Vein cipher. To save the common people of China—that is the greatest form of compassion!" Dai Li said, bowing deeply.
Ancestor thought to himself: Everyone has two sides. Even the best of people have flaws, and even the worst of people have a decent side. Whether Military Statistics chief Dai Li is doing this for his own promotion and fortune or for the interests of the Chinese nation doesn't matter right now. Working together to thwart the Japanese conspiracy is the ultimate objective of all Chinese people!
"Since ancient times, China has passed down the legend of three major Dragon Veins. The Northern Dragon enters Shanxi from the Yin Mountains and Helan Mountains, originates at Taiyuan, crosses the sea, and ends there; the Middle Dragon enters the Guanzhong plain from Minshan, and reaches the sea via the Qin Mountains; the Southern Dragon enters the sea from Yunnan, Guizhou, and Hunan all the way to Fujian and Zhejiang. But does the General know where ancient texts record the birthplace of these three Dragon Veins to be?" Ancestor asked.
"Where?"
"Mount Kunlun."
"Mount Kunlun?"
"Mount Kunlun is the ancestor of all mountains and the source of all Dragon Veins! It stands ten thousand feet high, with the Queen Mother's Jasper Pool above and waters too light to even float a goose feather below. Since ancient times, it has borne the titles of 'The Capital of the Yellow Emperor' and 'The Gate of a Hundred Beasts'..."
Hearing this, Dai Li suddenly interrupted Ancestor: "Sir, take a quick look at the telegrams! The word 'Kunlun' appears in them multiple times!"
Ancestor leaned over to inspect them closely. Sure enough, in the fragmented code, the characters for "Kunlun" appeared repeatedly. Ancestor cried out in alarm, "Are the Japanese planning to occupy Mount Kunlun?"
"Hmm... Probably not. With an elevation of several thousand miles, towering heights, arduous paths, snow-capped peaks, and utter desolation, the devils wouldn't be stupid enough to disregard conventional tactics purely for the sake of Feng Shui." As the head of Military Statistics, Dai Li remained quite level-headed.
"Allow me to ponder this further." Ancestor nodded.
Over the next several days, Ancestor and several other Feng Shui masters worked together on the decoding. During that time, they consulted over a hundred ancient texts on Feng Shui that Dai Li had gathered, yet they still remained entirely without a clue.