Chapter 129 — Legend

The Great Shaman went on: "At that time not a single soul among the Wu Tribe agreed with the Maiden of the Wu's course; all knew that once she went, she would likely never return. But her resolve was firm, and in the end she went—accompanied only by seven of the bravest warriors of the Wu Tribe. Thus the eight of them entered the savage hundred thousand wild mountains."

"All along the way they cut through thorns and brambles, slaying untold monsters, and on the sixth day they came at last before the ancient cave where the beast demon dwelt. Then the Maiden of the Wu made a decision no one expected: she bade the other seven wait outside the cave, and she alone would enter.

The seven warriors would not consent, of course, but the Maiden of the Wu's will was firm beyond measure, and she said plainly that for them to enter would be of no use and would only encumber her. In the end the seven warriors had no choice but to agree."

"After the Maiden of the Wu entered the ancient cave, no word of her ever came again. The seven warriors waited outside the cave two full days and nights, until at last two of them could bear it no longer and wished to rush in and seek her. But the other five held that they should keep waiting and obey the Maiden of the Wu's command.

Thus the seven warriors fell to quarreling among themselves, and in the end those two did enter the ancient cave—and from that moment no word of them either ever came again."

"So it went until the fifth day, when the remaining five warriors were beginning to lose heart, and the Maiden of the Wu came staggering out of the ancient cave as if by a miracle. By then she seemed wholly drained of blood, her face frightful in its pallor. But in their great joy the five warriors never noticed this. The Maiden of the Wu called the five warriors to her and gave each of them a vessel gleaming bright and brimming with uncanny shamanic power, and told them that these five sacred vessels she had refined from the beast demon's own body after slaying it. But the beast demon was a monster of the age, born of the most vicious and malevolent qi between heaven and earth; its body might perish, but its soul would not scatter."

"The five warriors turned pale with horror, and the Maiden of the Wu said further: so long as these five sacred vessels did not return to this ancient cave, the beast demon could never come back to life. Having said this, her body trembled without cease, and suddenly blood flowed from all seven of her orifices. The five warriors were greatly shocked, and with her last strength the Maiden of the Wu charged them to guard these five sacred vessels forever, the whole Wu Tribe together, and never let the beast demon revive—for otherwise would come the doom of the Wu Tribe and of the world. And she herself would guard outside this ancient cave forever, using her own soul to suppress all demon things and lock them within the cave. Having barely spoken these words, the Maiden of the Wu could hold on no longer, and so passed away standing upright; and a moment later her body, facing the depths of the ancient cave, turned to stone!"

The Great Shaman's voice slowly sank and faded.

In the firelight everyone's face wore a strange look, an indescribable expression. After a long while Xiao Bai let out a long breath. "What a Maiden! But, Great Shaman, why have you told us this story?"

The Great Shaman's back seemed bent beneath an invisible burden, desolate beyond words. He did not answer Xiao Bai's question; instead, as though to himself, he went on: "After the five warriors had wept and grieved, they returned to the Wu Tribe. Though the Maiden of the Wu had died untimely, the beast demon, that foe without equal in the Wu Tribe's history, was at last suppressed within that ancient cave, and amid their sorrow the people of the Wu Tribe felt a measure of joy and relief. But just then, the five warriors, whose renown had soared upon their return from slaying the demon, fell to fighting among themselves over the leadership of the Wu Tribe."

"What is most to be lamented is this: each generation's Maiden of the Wu was appointed by the Maiden of the previous generation, and this Maiden had left no instruction behind—and at that moment all five warriors had forgotten to ask. Thus the Wu Tribe, long prosperous and mighty, gradually split apart amid the five warriors' quarreling, and the people each took up the cause of one or another of them, until at last they divided into the five tribes of the Southern Border as they are today—Miao, Li, Zhuang, Tu, and Gaoshan—and the five crucial sacred vessels were held by the five tribes each."

As this ancient yet breathtaking tale finally drew to its close, Ming Li drew a deep breath and, gazing at the Great Shaman's back, said slowly, "Senior, you have said so much—can it be that you wish me to help recover the Miao Tribe's sacred vessel?"