Chapter 159 — The Blind Man's Twin Pupils

When I met him in Jingping, he had still not been beaten to death for a careless word.

I could not stomach his chatter, and feared above all to be entangled with him, so I up and left.

" Yet for all his words, he was for setting off at once for Loulan's Golden Palace, still anxious for Libationer Bashan's safety. Snow Fox and Ling Yuxiu had already packed their bundles, and Ling Yuxiu went to the home of the old granny and the old man and set down several gold ingots.

Their stay here had been but a single night, yet they had been cared for by several of the village elders, and the village's elders were all advanced in years with no young folk among them; leaving a little money might help them through their last days. Zaifu looked Ling Yuxiu over — plainly he did not remember this Seventh Princess — and laughed. "Not bad taste for a brat. The girl is not ill-favored.

" Ling Yuxiu summoned her courage, stepped forward, and bowed to him and to the blind elder, saying, "The Green Ox ran out this morning to graze, and has not yet returned.

" "Then let us go find him. " They came out of the village and saw a giant Green Ox cropping grass on the steppe, and as he cropped he wept a river of tears, muttering to himself, "Ever since I took up with the master, I have eaten greens and never once eaten grass; the master even made me a vegetable plot of several mu, and planted flowers for me besides. . . " Snow Fox ran up to him and said, "Ox-Two, stop crying.

Your master's master has come — your master is saved! " The Green Ox saw the blind elder and Zaifu with nothing left of him but his upper half, and his ox-face quivered; he had his doubts about these two's abilities.

They all climbed onto the ox's back, and Shen Mu said, "Green Ox, rest easy, they are formidable indeed. Let us make all speed to Loulan's Golden Palace and rescue Brother Bashan.

" The Green Ox had no choice but to set off at a run back the way they had come; on the ox's back Ling Yuxiu turned to look, and saw the little mountain village swallowed up in the mountain woods, no longer visible.

"Those elders said that beyond the frontier several Khans are slaughtering one another, each striking at the next — which shows that beyond the frontier, too, they feel the threat of Jingping's rise. " Ling Yuxiu steadied herself and said, "They wish to build a unified empire as well, to gather all their strength and stand against Jingping. This Khan of the Mandi Kingdom must be a lord of great ambition. If he unites the lands beyond the frontier, I fear Jingping will be in peril.

And now Jingping suffers one internal rebellion after another. .

. " Shen Mu nodded.

"There must be prompting from Loulan's Golden Palace behind it. The Golden Palace is holy ground, after all; if it backs the Mandi Khan, uniting the frontier would not be difficult.

My guess is that the Golden Palace hesitates somewhat, fearing to nurture another Jingping and lose its hold over the frontier. That is why the Mandi Kingdom has not yet unified the lands beyond it.

" Ling Yuxiu thought it over: indeed, that was the logic of it. Only, the three great holy grounds within Jingping's borders — the Daoist Sect, the Great Tingming Temple, and the Youmo Cult — gave Jingping no support; not only did they withhold support, but some of their sects fomented disorder.

And if the Mandi Kingdom won the Golden Palace's full backing, then it would have the strength to attack Jingping. The Green Ox ran on, and when he had run the better part of a day, the blind elder suddenly said, "Stop. " The Green Ox halted in haste, and the blind elder pointed toward the southwest and said, "Go that way. I see men fighting over there.

" The Green Ox was doubtful: the blind elder saw men fighting over there? How did he see it? Yet he did not presume to ask, and could only turn about and race southwest. Ling Yuxiu was doubtful too and looked to Shen Mu, and Shen Mu explained, "Blind Grandpa has the sharpest eyes in our village. " The blind elder looked exceedingly pleased with himself, and Ling Yuxiu looked at his "eyes" and saw that his sockets were empty, holding nothing at all, and wondered inwardly, "Why should a blind elder have the sharpest eyes?

What sense is there in that.

. .

" The Green Ox had not run far when suddenly, far off upon a peak, he saw blade-light crisscrossing; the distance was too great and he could make out only a faint gleam — and only then was he filled with admiration for the blind elder.

Ling Yuxiu was astonished and uncertain: "Is he truly a blind elder?

" Zaifu praised him too. "The blind elder's eyes are truly keen.

"