SHEN ZECHUAN ENTERED the Temple of Guilt on a rare sunny day in Qudu. White snow blanketed the tiles of the palace roofs, the green plum blossoms of late winter set against vermilion walls. Sunlight shone on the eaves of the prison building, casting a stark border between light and shadow on the ground before his feet.
He had scarcely recovered from his illness and was practically skin and bone. When he opened his eyes in the sunlight, any dreams of his first fifteen years scattered like ashes in the freezing wind.
Ge Qingqing preceded him down the stairs, then turned back and said, "It's getting late."
Supporting himself against the pillars, Shen Zechuan made his way slowly down to the wagon. He'd grown unaccustomed to being exposed under the sun, but it didn't scare him. Any lingering childishness in his features had been crushed by the pallor of illness; his face was studiously blank.
Over at the temple, Ji Lei waited at the entrance with Xiaofuzi hovering at his side. As he looked up at the ancient architecture, Xiaofuzi marveled, "What a curious place. It doesn't seem like a prison at all."
"I see you don't know its history," said Ji Lei. "The Temple of Guilt was originally a place for the royal family to offer incense. It used to house an imperial decree penned in the Guangcheng Emperor's own hand. In its heyday, eminent monks from all over the country assembled here. Those great meetings of minds were the talk of their time."
"Why has there been no mention of it in recent years?" Xiaofuzi eyed the magnificent entrance. "It's rather run down. Repairs haven't been done for years, have they?"
Ji Lei thought a moment. "Twenty at least. At the time, the condemned crown prince instigated the Eight Great Battalions to stage a coup. After their defeat, he retreated to this temple and fought like a cornered beast, eventually slitting his own throat and spilling his blood across the Buddha statues. The late emperor never set foot here again. He stripped the temple of its original name and redubbed it the Temple of Guilt."
"Twenty years!" Xiaofuzi clutched his throat in exaggerated surprise. "I wasn't even born! Your Excellency had just joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard then, hadn't you?"
Rather than answer, Ji Lei snapped, "Why is he not here yet?" as he peered down the road behind them.
The stone tablet at the temple's entrance was engraved with the word Zhaozui—Revelation of Guilt. Xiaofuzi approached it, still curious. "But how have I never heard of anyone being locked inside it?"
Ji Lei's irritation was plain. "Only court officials with ties to the condemned crown prince were imprisoned here. Most of them saw their entire clans executed before being beheaded themselves; survivors of the incident were few and far between. It's been twenty years; who would remember?!"
The prison wagon rolled up to the entrance.
"He's here, Your Excellency." Ge Qingqing bowed to Ji Lei.
"Send him in." Ji Lei turned to Shen Zechuan as he passed. "After this farewell, I doubt we'll meet again. His Majesty has been generous. Spend the rest of your sorry life reflecting on the grace extended to you."
Shen Zechuan acted as if he hadn't heard. He stepped forward and over the threshold. As the peeling vermilion doors ground closed behind him, the young man stood in the gloom of the temple and looked placidly back at Ji Lei.
Profoundly irked, Ji Lei was ready to lose his temper when he saw a serene smile spread across Shen Zechuan's face.
He's gone mad. The thought came to Ji Lei unbidden, even before he heard Shen Zechuan call out, "Lord Ji." His voice was very calm. "We will meet again."
The doors shut with a heavy thud, stirring up a cloud of dust. Xiaofuzi covered his nose and coughed as he stepped back. Ji Lei, however, stood frozen in place.
When he finally returned to his senses, it seemed Xiaofuzi had already called to him several times. He swiftly mounted his horse and turned so his back was warmed by the sun.
"Good riddance!" he managed, too late.
Xiao Chiye was riding through the city streets when he crossed paths with Ji Lei. Reining his horse to a halt, he laughed boisterously. "Lao-Ji, aren't you on duty in the palace?"
"I had to oversee that dirty bastard's imprisonment at the temple, so I'm only now rushing to the palace." Ji Lei cast a covetous glance at Xiao Chiye's battle steed. "What an excellent horse, Er-gongzi! I hear you train them yourself?"
"I had some free time." Xiao Chiye cracked the riding crop in the air, and his circling gyrfalcon swooped down to his shoulder. "Falconry and playing with horses are all the talents I have."
"Once you've assumed your duties in the new year, you'll have more than enough on your plate," Ji Lei said. "The rising star of Qudu! I'm not on duty tomorrow—how about we go for a drink to celebrate?"
"Count me out unless it's fine wine," said Xiao Chiye.
Ji Lei laughed aloud. "Of course it's fine wine! Who would presume to invite the second young master without it? I'll call at your manor later to invite you. Would the Heir of Libei join the fun?"
"My elder brother doesn't think much of that kind of fun," Xiao Chiye said, rubbing his thumb ring. "Why? Is my company not enough?"
"I certainly didn't say that!" Ji Lei said in a rush. "That settles it then, Er-gongzi."
Nodding in agreement, Xiao Chiye spurred his horse to leave. But at the last minute, he seemed to recall something. "How did that little bastard look? Can he walk?"
"He can walk," Ji Lei replied, "but from what I saw, the kid's never going to be nimble. How many survive a flogging like that without lasting injuries? He's lucky he can even stand."
Xiao Chiye rode away without asking more.
When evening fell, the temple attendant brought Shen Zechuan his meal. He left the food untouched. With an oil lamp in hand, he made a round along the small corridors at the sides of the main hall.
Dust had long settled on every surface, and several of the side rooms had fallen into complete disrepair, doors and windows crumbling from rot. After sighting several skeletons that looked like they might topple at the slightest breeze, he returned to the main hall, having found no other living creature.
The Buddha statue at the center of the hall had collapsed, but the incense altar was durable despite its age. The space beneath it was just right. Shen Zechuan draped a tattered curtain over its surface and lay down under the altar table fully clothed. The cold from the floor made his legs ache. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he closed his eyes and counted out the hours.
Fine snow started to fall in the latter half of the night. Shen Zechuan heard an owl hoot twice and sat up, lifting aside the fabric just in time to see Ji Gang step through the door.
"Eat first." Ji Gang opened the cloth bundle he had brought. "Then we'll train. This place is too drafty; it's freezing in here. I'm worried you'll catch a cold if you fall asleep."
Shen Zechuan looked down at the roasted chicken wrapped in oil paper. "One should abstain from meat when recovering from injuries. You have it, Shifu."
"Bullshit! This is the time to fill your stomach," Ji Gang said as he tore off pieces of chicken for him. "Shifu likes the chicken butt; even at home it was my favorite. Save that part for me."
"I'll follow your lead," Shen Zechuan said, "and eat whatever you eat."
Ji Gang glanced at him and laughed. "Brat."
In the end, master and disciple split the roast chicken between them. Ji Gang seemed to have grown a mouth of iron teeth; he chewed even the bones to pieces. Handing his drinking gourd to Shen Zechuan, he said, "Drink some wine if the cold becomes too bitter to bear, but not too much; sip in moderation, like your brother did."
Over these last days, they had never mentioned Zhongbo, Duanzhou, or even the Chashi Sinkhole. Hua Pingting and Ji Mu were the unspoken wounds shared by both master and disciple. Each thought they had hidden their grief, not realizing the blood had already soaked through their bandages, and that their pain was mutual.
Shen Zechuan took a sip and handed it back.
Ji Gang didn't take it. "I quit. Shifu doesn't drink anymore."
Silence filled the hall. Without the barrier of the long-rotted door, powdery snow fell before their eyes, the only scenery in the endless night.
"What are you thinking about, spacing out like that?" Ji Gang asked.
"Shifu," Shen Zechuan began.
"Spit it out."
"I'm sorry."
After a long silence, Ji Gang said, "It's not your fault."
Shen Zechuan curled his hand into a fist. He stared fixedly at the snow, as if tears would fall if he so much as blinked. "Did you look for us at Chashi?" he asked, his voice tight.
Ji Gang slowly leaned back against the altar, submerging his body in shadow. He seemed to be searching for his own voice. After an interval, he answered. "I did. I found him."
He found him.
In that deep pit of snow, Ji Gang had found his son covered in arrows. He had jumped into the sinkhole, stepping over thick piles of corpses, and dug out Ji Mu's body.
Ji Mu was only twenty-three, freshly promoted to squad leader in the Duanzhou Garrison Troops. His armor was new. The day he put it on, Hua Pingting had tucked a protective talisman beneath the chainmail. When Ji Gang found him, he was frozen purple, packed in the mud with his fellow soldiers.
Shen Zechuan raised his head slightly. "I'm sorry, Shifu."
Ji Gang was old. He scratched his white hair and said, "He's the elder brother, isn't he? It's what he should have done. None of it was your fault."
The snow piled in drifts outside the hall.
Ji Gang drew his limbs in, hugging himself. "No one could have known those Biansha bastards would come. He's a soldier; charging to the front lines is his job. I taught him to fight, and knowing his temperament, he would rather die than run. He never could bear to see others suffer, so how…how could he run away? It's neither your fault nor his, Chuan-er. Shifu is the one to blame. I drank too much. Your shiniang scolded me all those years, but I never quit. When the horsemen came, I couldn't even put up a fight. I'm old and ruined, and became useless long ago."
Tears dripped onto the drinking gourd. Shen Zechuan gripped it tight and said nothing.
"Old and ruined." A grinning head suddenly poked out from behind the Buddha statue. "Old and ruined!"
"Who's there?!" Ji Gang bellowed, springing up like a leopard.
The unkempt man slowly emerged from his hiding spot as he parroted Ji Gang. "Who, who!"
That voice was distinctive; Ji Gang pushed Shen Zechuan back down and rasped in astonishment, "Grand Mentor Qi!"
The man shrank back immediately. Kicking the Buddha, he yelled, "No! I'm not the grand mentor!"
Ji Gang ran behind the statue in pursuit, Shen Zechuan right behind him. When Ji Gang saw the man about to crawl through a hole in the wall, he pounced and grabbed him by the ankle. The old man squealed like a stuck pig.
"Your Highness!" he screamed. "Run, Your Highness!"
Shen Zechuan covered the man's mouth and helped Ji Gang carry him back. "Shifu, who is this?"
"You're too young to have known of him." Ji Gang's voice was unsteady as he held the man down. "This is wonderful, Grand Mentor Qi! You're alive! And Lord Zhou? Is Lord Zhou here too?"
Grand Mentor Qi was short in stature and thin as a rail. Too frail to land a proper kick, he resorted to glaring at them as he hissed, "He's dead, dead! I'm dead. His Highness is dead. Everyone is dead!"
"Grand Mentor, it's me, Ji Gang," Ji Gang said, voice heavy. "The vice commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Ji Gang!"
Still badly shaken, Grand Mentor Qi hesitantly craned his neck to examine Ji Gang. "You're not Ji Gang. You're an evil spirit!"
"Grand Mentor!" Ji Gang cried sorrowfully. "In the twenty-third year of Yongyi, I escorted you into the capital. This very temple is where His Highness the Crown Prince met and welcomed you. Have you forgotten this too?"
Grand Mentor Qi's eyes glistened. "They killed the crown prince—His Highness!" He sobbed, "Ji Gang, Lord Ji! Take His Highness away! The Eastern Palace has become a target of all. What crime has His Highness committed?!"
Ji Gang dejectedly loosened his grip. "Grand Mentor…in the twenty-ninth year, Ji Lei sold his soul to the enemy, and I was cast out of Qudu. These twenty years, I've wandered the world. I took a wife and fathered a child in Zhongbo's Duanzhou."
"Even if His Highness is gone, the imperial grandson still lives!" The grand mentor stared at him blankly. "Take him away. You, take him away!"
Ji Gang closed his eyes. "In the thirtieth year of Yongyi, the crown prince slit his own throat in this very hall. No one from the Eastern Palace survived."
The grand mentor leaned back and muttered, "Yes, that's right." He began to sob like a child. "How did it come to this?"
"A parting like clouds adrift, ten years like flowing water passed.12 Who would guess that we should meet again, in this life, under such circumstances?" Ji Gang said. The events of the night had exhausted him.
Grand Mentor Qi turned and covered his face. "Did they lock you up too? Let us all be locked up! Let them slaughter all men of learning in the world."
"My disciple is being punished on his father's behalf," Ji Gang said.
"On his father's behalf… Well, good," Grand Mentor Qi said. "Who is his father? Did he also anger His Majesty?"
"Last year, Shen Wei's troops were routed in battle," Ji Gang sighed.
To his surprise, the grand mentor whipped his head around at the name Shen Wei. He scrambled like a beast toward Shen Zechuan. "This…is Shen Wei's son?"
Ji Gang sensed something was amiss. But before he could move, Grand Mentor Qi lunged at Shen Zechuan, clawing at him with wizened fingers as he howled, "Shen Wei! Shen Wei killed His Highness!"
Sharp-eyed and agile even after illness, Shen Zechuan caught Grand Mentor Qi's wrists before he could do any damage. Ji Gang sprang up to restrain the old man once again. "Grand Mentor! Do you want my disciple to die today for the same reason as the imperial grandson? No matter what crimes Shen Wei committed, what does it have to do with my disciple?!"
"If he's the son of Shen Wei…" There was a quiver in the grand mentor's voice; he panted heavily, "Shen Wei…"
Without releasing the grand mentor from his grasp, Ji Gang dropped to his knees in a kowtow. "He was born the son of Shen Wei, but he became the son of Ji Gang. If I've uttered a word of falsehood tonight, may I die a terrible death! Grand Mentor, do you intend to kill my son?"