I had only just left the sitting room when Uncle Qiu came out of his bedroom. He seemed puzzled to find himself back there.
He soon realized I must have rescued him. That surprised him, perhaps because he hadn't expected someone of my limited strength to get him out of danger.
I told him everything that had happened the night before. At the mention of the great snakes and the shadowy figures, his eyes grew grave.
He gave me a strange look. I couldn't tell what lay behind it, but I felt he knew much more than I did.
'Uncle Qiu, if you know anything, please tell me. I want to understand what's happening. It feels as though there's a mist in front of me, hiding everything ahead. If you can, tell me what I need to know.' I meant every word.
He shook his head. 'An, the time hasn't come. Knowing certain things too soon may do you no good. Some answers you'll have to find for yourself. For now, remember that those snakes mean you no harm. As for the shadowy figures, there's no need to go asking who they are. I doubt they'll attack you again for a while.'
He wouldn't tell me what lay behind it all. I understood that, as he said, it was for my own good.
Before your strength and cultivation had reached a certain level, knowing too much could do more than harm you. It could get you killed.
I was desperate to know, but Uncle Qiu wouldn't hurt me. All I could do was listen to him and leave it alone for now.
I knew only that these encounters had their causes, that somewhere beyond our sight, everything had already been destined.
What was meant to happen would happen in the end.
'If you can't tell me about that, Uncle Qiu, could you tell me more about Heiyao Mountain?'
This time he nodded and answered openly. 'There's no harm in that. They say the mountain's history goes back a very long way, as far as the Western Zhou dynasty. Great yao still roamed the world then. In the end, they're said to have all gathered in the mountain's deepest reaches. It's an uncanny place. Another realm may be hidden there, with many powerful yao kings inside.'
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My eyes widened.
Another realm, inside the mountain? Even among practitioners of the occult arts, the arts of space and time were the most intricate.
Many realms lay one over another in this world. Ordinary people lived only on the surface. Without some rare opportunity, they had no way to reach another layer.
Each realm was like a sheet of paper. One realm, one page; the whole world, a book.
I knew that many things were hidden in other realms. As far as I knew, the Kunlun Mountains held another such layer.
It was said that during the reign of King Zhou of the Shang dynasty, sages still dwelt among humankind. Their palaces stood there, and many immortals had come out of those mountains.
Those were beings of true power. They could all move mountains and fill seas.
Over time, they had ceased to appear in the realm where humans lived and withdrawn into another layer.
With enough skill, you could enter. But a sage's academy wasn't somewhere just anyone could walk into.
Even if you had the ability, you wouldn't dare disturb its master's peace.
Creating an entirely new realm was difficult. Sealing part of this world away from the human realm was easier.
But Uncle Qiu had said there was another realm inside Heiyao Mountain. That wasn't simply a space sealed off from ours. The two were different in nature.
'The fiercest great yao from almost every dynasty are imprisoned deep in the mountain. When a nation's destined fortune runs out and it nears its end, all manner of monstrous yao arise. They corrupt the court and prey on the people. Most possess immense spiritual power. Ordinary Celestial Masters and Daoist priests can't deal with them. But there's a story about a young man with a longsword. He drove them all into Heiyao Mountain and created a realm in which to imprison them. Deep inside the mountain, at the entrance to that realm, a longsword still stands planted in the ground. That sword alone holds every yao there in check. None dares enter the human world.'
His eyes flickered as he recounted that history. I listened in astonishment.
I was bewildered, and shocked.
And full of admiration.
One young man had driven all those yao kings into Heiyao Mountain.
More than that, he had created a realm of his own and made them stay there. He had left only his sword behind, and it was enough to keep every one of them in fear.
What power, what sheer resolve, did it take to do that?
And he had been a young man!
'The yao kings stay inside because of a single sword? But if new ones appear in every dynasty, how do they get into the mountain? Is that young man still alive? Has he survived all these thousands of years?'
I asked the questions that troubled me.
Uncle Qiu had said that whenever a dynasty was about to fall, a particularly vicious great yao appeared. Ordinary practitioners of the occult arts couldn't deal with such beings.
Even those I thought powerful now might be helpless before them. Yet every one had been driven into Heiyao Mountain.
Had the same young man done it all? How could he have lived so long?
'Yes.' Uncle Qiu nodded. 'The most recent reports of him are from China's Republican era. The Japanese had invaded, throwing the nation's destined fortune into turmoil. Many powerful great yao appeared. Among them was a roaming jiangshi.' His words startled me all over again.