Nature Unfettered, Flute Music at the Flying Waterfall

The people outside the cave had also seen the successive bursts of flame at first.

Shortly after the firelight vanished around the bend, they heard the flute music change, followed by that furious roar.

Shopkeeper Ma's expression changed a little.

"Old Zhong, given his heart and lungs, I believed he could make the trip in and out on one breath. But after shouting like that, can he still hold it?"

Zhong Jinqiu frowned too. "A roar means breathing out. To hold his breath again immediately after breathing out..."

Before he finished, Stronghold Chief Wu had already rushed inside, blowing his whistle.

Without the shrine-keeping granny's flute to interfere, a lone whistle no longer risked creating a confusing stimulus and could drive away the insects to some extent.

The moment Stronghold Chief Wu moved, Zhong Jinqiu followed close behind.

But the two had only charged about two hundred meters in when they saw a figure racing toward them.

Chu Tianshu sped along, his face flushed red, one hand gripping a person as though he were carrying a scarecrow.

The three hurried out of the cave.

"Keep away from me. There may still be some poisonous smoke on my clothes."

Chu Tianshu rattled off the warning, avoided the crowd, and ran several dozen meters away.

Now that he was out in the wind and exerting force through his body, the traces of smoke picked up deep in the cave should all have been blown and shaken away.

Chu Tianshu stopped and finally dared to take great gulps of air.

Stronghold Chief Wu came forward and saw Chu Tianshu set the person on the ground.

The old woman was unconscious, but once laid down, she still coughed twice.

Stronghold Chief Wu was startled. "She's alive?!"

In a stronghold, it was nothing unusual for someone to disagree with those making decisions, nor was it unusual for someone to keep those opinions bottled up.

But without a word, she had suddenly trampled the stronghold's rules and struck at a guest from the shadows.

She had also stolen the stronghold's treasure and intended to slip away.

Someone like that posed a considerable hidden danger, the sort any leader concerned with maintaining the stronghold's peace would loathe.

Who knew whether, one day, something else might happen to displease her, prompting her to strike at someone from the shadows again?

So when he agreed to let Chu Tianshu enter the cave alone,

Stronghold Chief Wu had already prepared himself to see the shrine keeper return as a corpse.

The situation inside the cave was so complicated and dangerous that Chu Tianshu did not even need to strike to kill.

If he was a little too heavy-handed when capturing her, left her in the cave, or failed to pay close enough attention on the way out, the poisonous insects could bite her to death.

But...

But Chu Tianshu had actually brought her out alive.

He had probably shifted her from side to side as he ran, so that even though she was unconscious and unable to move her limbs, the poisonous insects could not stay on her long enough to bite.

Stronghold Chief Wu looked a little dazed.

He had clearly developed considerable ill feeling toward the old woman and had prepared himself to see a corpse.

Yet now that he found the shrine keeper alive, something in his heart inexplicably eased.

His feelings were so complicated that even he could not say exactly how they had changed.

"She forced herself to play the flute and shook her own internal organs into injury. Her breathing became rapid, leaving her unable to defend herself. She must have inhaled quite a bit of poisonous fungal powder on the way out."

Chu Tianshu bent down and pressed lightly on the old woman's wrist. Her clenched fingers loosened, and he took the jade flute and handed it to Stronghold Chief Wu.

"The property is back with its rightful owner. You should see to treating her too."

Stronghold Chief Wu took the Rainbow Cloud Flute, truly at a loss for words for a moment. "But... isn't this what you wanted?"

Chu Tianshu smiled. "But you hadn't lent it to us yet, had you?"

Stronghold Chief Wu squatted down, took out a pill, and put it into the old woman's mouth. He seemed reluctant to raise his head as he asked, "Then what about her attempt to harm you?"

"At her age, after suffering this kind of injury to her internal organs and being poisoned by something that causes delirium by invading the brain, she won't be able to play those tunes that control Gu insects properly anymore."

Chu Tianshu turned toward the bamboo grove and spread his arms, seemingly intent only on taking in the wonderful air among the mountains and waters, no longer looking at the person on the ground.

"Besides, she trampled the rules of your own stronghold. Naturally, there'll be punishment for that, won't there?"

Stronghold Chief Wu's spirits lifted. He raised his head and declared, "Rest assured, we will certainly punish her!"

Having said that, he could not help feeling that something about this was familiar, and he turned to look at Cai Shanjun.

Cai Shanjun was smiling too. He was not looking at the stronghold chief, but at Chu Tianshu, then at the sun in the sky.

The sunlight lent the governor, who was no longer young, a few more traces of vitality. He narrowed his eyes, looking to be in a very good mood, though it was unclear just what he was smiling about.

Stronghold Chief Wu fell silent for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

"Grand Governor."

He walked over, step by step, and held out the Rainbow Cloud Flute to Cai Shanjun.

"All three trials are over. We lost every one of them. The Rainbow Cloud Flute is yours, as agreed."

Cai Shanjun looked back and smiled. "Once I return to Kunming, I will choose an auspicious day to return this treasure, along with a gift of thanks!"

Stronghold Chief Wu closed his eyes, then suddenly said, "Grand Governor, if you want to cross the river, what do you think of Wu Tugu and Wu Zewa's strength and courage?"

"And A Bang has learned her Gu arts well. Could the three of them lend you a hand?"

Cai Shanjun hurriedly said, "With Wu Tugu's build, he'd better sit this journey out. If he's interested in the future, you can let him join the army."

"Zewa and A Bang..."

He swept his gaze over them and pondered briefly. "Zewa is exceptionally fierce and brave. His every movement bears the hallmarks of a Miao warrior. He can join the army in the future too."

"A Bang, hmm, she's innocent and spirited. Let's leave that for another day."

Among the people of Wu Clan Stronghold, those who were truly quick-witted and seasoned were, conversely, not particularly proficient in the stronghold's secret arts. At most, they were good at gathering information.

As for someone like Wu Zewa, he was capable in other respects, but having mastered the stronghold's arts, he bore their distinctive character more and more, making him stand out from people elsewhere.

If they brought such people along, they would likely attract frequent attention before even reaching the crossing. Cai Shanjun and the others might be noticed along with them, their movements exposed, and find themselves repeatedly surrounded, attacked, and intercepted.

In the entire stronghold, Stronghold Chief Wu was currently the only one whose ancestral skills were sufficiently refined and whose bearing, speech, and conduct had become so well-rounded and adaptable that he could disguise himself and conceal his tracks at will.

Shopkeeper Ma interjected, "We don't need more hands for now, but I saw some fine cinnabar in the mountains, and earlier I caught sight of cinnabar designs on some of your households' jars. How about giving me a good supply of it?"

Stronghold Chief Wu said heartily, "Not only do we have cinnabar, we also have top-grade spell paper here. It should work well as talisman paper for you."

He looked at Chu Tianshu. "Our Wu Clan Stronghold's saber-forging is also worthy of praise. I'm a fine bladesmith myself, and I've built up quite a collection over the years."

"Let me take you all to pick out some good weapons."

Chu Tianshu looked back and smiled. "We'll probably rest here a few more days. There's no hurry to choose weapons right now. We can talk about it tonight."

Zhong Jinqiu was rather tempted too. Though they had to conceal their movements on the road, making it impossible for him to carry a truly superior great spear-and the stronghold might not even have one-spear and sword shared the same principles, and he was equally skilled with the sword.

If there were a long, narrow-bladed saber, he could use it as a sword. He was quite confident he could conceal a sword while traveling.

Stronghold Chief Wu nodded in agreement, then said solemnly to Cai Shanjun, "I am more and more convinced that you will succeed in returning to Kunming, and that you will remain an enlightened ruler who protects the people of Yi Province and holds his ground in these troubled times."

"The shrine-keeping granny simply doesn't understand. What our ancestors' wisdom hoped for most was that their descendants could read the situation and place their stakes accordingly, so they could carry on more successfully. People are what matter most."

"Treasure, after all, is only a tool for people to use."

The stronghold chief escorted them all the way back to their lodgings before leading the others away.

Holding the jade flute, Cai Shanjun stood in the corridor and said, "When that roar of yours came out, even I nearly thought the granny would end up worse off."

"Did it sound especially full of killing intent?"

Chu Tianshu walked over and stretched. "I was brought up with certain values, so I have a scale in my heart. Some people haven't tipped it that far."

"But there are others who, from what I know alone, have already been accomplices to every kind of evil, destroyed who knows how many children's families, and still wanted to get us under their thumb and silence us afterward. Heh, beating them to death once and shooting them afterward still wouldn't be enough!"

After saying this, he seemed to chew something over, his fingers and wrists moving freely.

Lately, he had constantly been pondering the mysteries of Toad Art Palm Thunder. While eating, while drinking water, whenever he had a little time to spare, his thoughts would drift in that direction unbidden.

This martial art, which had evolved from Taiji Fist, had a very different flavor from Tongbei Fist. It contained insights into guiding one's innate nature and releasing or restraining force at will.

At rest like a gentle breeze, in motion like a raging fire; drinking water only after sweating and expending strength; what went out and what came in; different responses to different situations; killing and not killing.

Experiencing these things in life firsthand was like practicing the fist art too. Chewing them over brought great rewards and endless subtleties.

Cai Shanjun saw him like this and seemed to sense something. He praised him, saying, "You've become absorbed in it."

Since ancient times, those who studied or practiced martial arts extensively had not necessarily become absorbed. Only when they could connect what they had learned to everything they encountered, and put that learning to use, could they be said to practice what they knew and truly be absorbed.

It was like masters of calligraphy and painting who practiced with a brush or a tree branch, on paper or on walls, at the dinner table, and even traced characters on their lapels with their fingers as they lay down to sleep.

The worn holes in their lapels were all crisscrossed traces of characters. Only such people could be called absorbed, and they were certain to achieve something.

Cai Shanjun said leisurely, "To be angry yet unable to act with courage is helplessness, a pity. To be angry and able to act with courage is good, but such a person may easily go too far. One fears that indiscriminate killing someday may also harm them. It gives one pause."

"To be angry, yet clear-minded and courageous..."

The pads of his left fingers brushed across a row of flute holes. He said with a ringing laugh, "These magnificent rivers and mountains, the music of the Rainbow Cloud Flute-they should be played for you."

A subtle change came over Cai Shanjun.

Chu Tianshu turned to look. In his perception, the figure holding the flute seemed to grow a little indistinct, as though wreathed in colorless clouds and rosy mists.

Even the poison in Cai Shanjun's body seemed to lose its aim because of that indistinctness, unable to find where it should take effect.

The damage and pressure inflicted on his body by the accumulated poison immediately eased.

Seeing Cai Shanjun lift the flute to his lips,

Chu Tianshu suddenly asked, "That granny could play a tune that affected the internal organs. Can you play it too?"

"If you can control it well enough not to hurt yourself, that tune would be perfect for helping me train. Silver needles, flute music, and fist techniques, all three working together..."

Cai Shanjun's expression froze for a moment, and he had to interrupt him. "Let's talk about that later. For now, let me play a simple, pure piece of music, all right?"

Chu Tianshu quieted down and raised a hand.

Cai Shanjun's flute music gradually rose and fell over the water, lingering through the great mountains. His eyes were half-closed, and a faint, cool luster showed on his face.

Chu Tianshu listened, as did the people in several nearby rooms.

Zhong Jinqiu's hand, holding a bowl of oil tea, stopped in midair, while Shopkeeper Ma spread out talisman paper.

Old Yu stood in his room holding a saber, silently watching a glint of cold light at its tip, while Little Huo wiped his spear.

Suddenly, drums began to thump in the stronghold, as though someone were answering the melody. Others began humming a lovely song.

At last, a sound came from the direction of the waterfall, its timbre at times like a flute, at times like a xiao, and at times like a sheng.

As soon as that sound reached them, the other sounds in the stronghold fell silent, and more people came to their doorways to look toward the waterfall.

In the council hall, the stronghold chief and several others also hurried to their feet and went to the entrance.

In the surrounding mountains, the mountain god who had taken the form of a divine ox was gone, no longer there to answer the Miao people's worship.

But within Flying Waterfall Cave, that enormous cavern reaching from the mountain's belly straight down into the earth, a wondrous spirit still lingered after a thousand years.

The older villagers had already knelt behind their thresholds, hands clasped before their chests, their eyes filled with excitement as they whispered, "Cave God Lady..."

Chu Tianshu looked in surprise toward the distant mountain waterfall.

When the piece ended, he could not help asking, "Is there really a Cave God Lady?"

When he had heard the legend earlier, he had felt that whatever was in the cavern was no kindly sort, perhaps much like the Five Rampancies.

But this piece seemed to be answering Cai Shanjun.

"Who knows?"

Cai Shanjun gave no definite answer. Looking toward the waterfall, he said gently, "If there really is a Cave God Lady, she probably knows we've obtained the flute and will soon be leaving, so she's..."

"Seeing us off?" Chu Tianshu asked.

Cai Shanjun gazed at the waterfall for a long time, then swept the jade flute through the air.

"She's blessing us, that we may hoist our sails and cleave the waves on our journey!"