A Pact Above the Flames

Cai Shanjun gazed at the clan chief.

"If a treasure that can be used to resolve disputes and protect lives can only be enshrined in the ancestral hall, then what was the point of Cave God Lady allowing me to bring it out?"

The clan chief said, displeased, "Even if it really is to resolve disputes and protect lives, it should only be used when our stronghold faces danger. That's no reason to let someone else borrow it so readily."

"But when danger really is upon us, will there still be time to stop it?"

Cai Shanjun asked in return, then suddenly brought up a subject that seemed to belong to the distant past.

"In the early Qing dynasty, the Manchu Qing ordered the collection of treasures of great significance from across the land, to flaunt imperial power and demonstrate their control over the territory."

"As it happened, some Miao strongholds had submitted early and wanted to use the Manchu Qing's authority to become the chief leaders of the many Miao strongholds. The peculiarities of Wu Clan Stronghold became what they offered up."

"They claimed there was treasure in the cave, and that Wu Clan Stronghold had the treasure map. Over the course of it all, Wu Clan Stronghold suffered enormous losses. In the end, the stronghold assassinated the leaders of those hostile strongholds, went to great lengths to bribe the local officials, and even had women from the stronghold give themselves as concubines before the matter was finally laid to rest."

The clan chief asked in puzzlement, "Why are you telling me all this?"

"Today, the situation under heaven is changing ever more violently, and foreign powers are watching for an opportunity, just as they did at the end of the Ming. The foreigners are a vast force, and their appetite will be far more insatiable than that of the Manchu Qing when they first entered the pass."

Cai Shanjun spoke unhurriedly, setting it all out. "And among the foreigners, there has always been a consensus: they believe that everything mysterious means treasure."

"Back then, they dug extensively into all manner of mysterious legends on the Snowy Plateau. They even incited monks and nobles, seeking to make the entire Snowy Plateau throw in its lot with them, a treasure land from which they could extract what they wanted more easily."

"I personally sent a great army to the plateau to curb their rampant arrogance. And the president at the time still had lofty ambitions and was equally determined not to let them succeed."

"But the president now relies more and more heavily on foreign powers and is no longer what he once was. The foreigners have nearly occupied all of Jiaozhi, and they will inevitably reach their fingers into Yi Province in the future."

"If we still don't strike back and let the president do as he pleases with our Yi Province, when the foreigners invade, how will places like yours, with mysterious legends and deeds recorded in historical sources, escape their murderous hands?"

The clan chief fell into deep thought.

No one in the hall spoke or even moved. Only Chu Tianshu drank his tea in silence.

After a long while, the clan chief spoke again. "The things you're talking about-the foreigners, the president-are still too far removed from us, after all."

"Are they really far removed?"

Cai Shanjun smiled gently. "Your stronghold isn't truly cut off from news of the outside world. You actively seek it out."

"So, clan chief, you should know that Cai Shanjun, who left the stronghold more than ten years ago, became the grand governor of Yi Province and was strongly urged by the president to come to the capital."

"And now that man is sitting in front of you again."

He raised his right hand and gestured at the distance between them.

"We're less than one zhang apart, aren't we?"

The clan chief suddenly turned his head, braced one hand on his knee, and scrutinized Cai Shanjun.

In that moment, he looked less like a clan chief and more like the chief of a stronghold.

Stronghold Chief Wu.

"I do know what's happening outside. That's exactly why, with a great figure like you appearing before me in such a fallen state, I dare not make any decision at all."

Stronghold Chief Wu stood up. "You've been reduced to this state. If we lend you a flute, will that necessarily help you return and take power again?"

"And if you can't return, does that mean Yi Province has no other great ruler who can see the situation clearly, fulfill a ruler's duties, accept support from civil and military officials, and in turn protect the people of this land?"

Cai Shanjun answered without hesitation, "Of course Yi Province has other talented people!"

"But if I don't return, they will never react so early, so quickly, or so promptly, nor make up their minds. If they could, I wouldn't have been the first grand governor of the Great Han Military Government!"

Cai Shanjun's words were calm, and his expression was composed.

He was as still as a god's statue in a temple, one that had chanced to come into the mortal world and might depart it at any moment.

But he had not yet gone, and he still shone with a dazzling radiance.

"I was but a rustic from the mountains, like mud or stone, crude and ordinary, tilling the land south of the colorful clouds. I rose with the times and changed with the winds and clouds."

"Now the winds and clouds have not yet passed, and the future is undecided. Only at this moment..."

Cai Shanjun said, "If not me, who?"

The entire hall fell silent. Everyone was looking at Cai Shanjun.

Chu Tianshu put down his teacup too.

This patient plainly could not use the slightest bit of his cultivation now, yet he still seemed to possess something subtler than Mind Power and grander than Mind Power.

Perhaps one did not need to be a cultivator to possess it; ordinary people could have it too, yet only in the most extraordinary people could it stand out so clearly.

Was this the spirit of a hero?

The history books always seemed to contain things that, by ordinary reasoning, could not have come to pass, and could only be attributed to the spirit of great heroes.

"Precisely because it's you."

Stronghold Chief Wu's eyes shone as he stared at the man. "Precisely because it's you, even though you've fallen to this state, I still dare not make any decision lightly."

"Then let us trust in the wisdom of our ancestors!"

Stronghold Chief Wu walked over to the great six-legged iron cauldron in the center of the hall, took a handful of powder from the sachet at his waist, scattered it over the wood, and drew a short knife.

The blade and sheath struck together with a clang, sending sparks showering down.

The powder burst into flame at once. The firewood, which should have taken quite a while to catch, was enveloped in flames in the blink of an eye and began to burn as well.

"There are only two things we of Wu Clan Stronghold must always uphold."

"Worship of Cave God Lady and respect for warriors."

Stronghold Chief Wu rolled up one sleeve and held his hand over the iron cauldron. He spread his five fingers as if to seize the flames, then slowly clenched them into a fist in the intense heat. There was no sign of a burn; his skin merely began to redden.

"I became stronghold chief by climbing through fire barefoot and being the bravest that year."

"Today, I lack the courage to make this decision, and you have already earned Cave God Lady's approval."

"Then, according to our ancestors' rules, we'll set three trials. Since outsiders have come to borrow the treasure, we'll see whether your people can win these three contests!"

Stronghold Chief Wu swept his gaze over the gathering and burst out laughing.

"Which of you will grasp my fist in the fire and seal this pact?"

Cai Shanjun rose to his feet without hesitation.

Wu Tugu suddenly said, "There's something wrong with your body now, isn't there? If you can't use spells, it won't count unless you can hold your grip steady when you put your hand in the fire. One of your companions can do it instead..."

Cai Shanjun smiled at his kindness. "People don't all need spells to endure the pain of the flames."

He had already walked to the cauldron and reached toward the fist in the roaring fire.

A figure suddenly appeared beside him and also reached into the flames.

The man made almost no sound as he approached, and his hand did not move particularly fast when he reached out.

But as he grasped Stronghold Chief Wu's fist, the man spread his fingers, his knuckles jutting out like bamboo joints, and suddenly closed his hand around it.

Bang!!

That hand abruptly gripped Stronghold Chief Wu's fist. Compressed air burst outward, forcing an opening in the surrounding flames.

On the firewood below, the powder directly beneath that spot was blown clear in a circle.

When the flames rose again, they were noticeably lower in that spot.

Cai Shanjun had not reacted in time. His outstretched hand happened to land on the other two just then.

"You may not be afraid of pain, but my patient can't harm his own body."

Chu Tianshu stood there, speaking quickly and clearly.

"The pact is sealed!"

Three hands lay together, sealing the agreement for the trials with the mountains outside the hall and the flames within as witnesses.