Qin Mu stowed the gold ingot away. "Big fellow," he said, "train hard, and I'll come for you tomorrow. Don't go into that side hall—that fiend is devious!"
The demon ape nodded.
Qin Mu set out at once, and soon stood outside the Village of Broken Elders, where he saw two paper boats moored in the air at the gate, paper cranes alighting on the trees by the entrance. But boats and cranes were empty of people—they must have gone inside.
He walked in and found the old man who had spoken from the boat seated across from the Village Chief, saying: "I hear the craft of your Grandma Si is renowned, so I've come to ask whether the madam might cut out a few garments."
"And what manner of garments," the Chief asked, "and what sizes?"
"Burial shrouds. Nine in all, cut to the build of your villagers. I've also heard that Old Ma's carpentry is excellent, and I'd trouble him to make nine coffins as well, their lengths to match your statures."
Then he caught sight of Qin Mu approaching, showed surprise, and amended: "My mistake. Ten shrouds, then, and ten coffins. Qianqiu, pay the deposit."
Qianqiu stepped forward and waved a hand; a paper boat at the gate drifted over to land beside the Chief. Qin Mu saw at once that its goods were all of the most ill-omened sort: paper money, spirit ingots, candles, funeral staffs, and white banners!
The old man bade him moor the boat at the village gate: "This is the deposit. Dare I ask whether Grandma and Old Ma can have them done today? To be honest, I'm in a hurry."
The Cripple, the Mute, and the Herbalist had been busy at their trades, but of a sudden all fell silent. Grandma Si tottered over, smiling: "Ten shrouds, today? That's cutting it close, sir."
Old Ma came over, frosty: "I'm quick of hand; I can have the coffins done today. Will the old gentleman wait?"
The old man laughed: "It is indeed a rush, but you are masters of your crafts. Surely you can manage?"
Grandma Si glanced at the spirit ingots and candles, gave a cold laugh: "If you're in a hurry to wear them, they can be done now. As luck would have it, I bought some bolts of cloth a few days back."
The old man bowed: "I'll trouble the madam, then."
Grandma Si went in, carried out several bolts of cloth, and gave a toss—the bolts floated in midair, and a pair of scissors flew of its own accord from her basket, snipping up in the air, and before long the garment shapes took form. Then silver needles flew out, threading themselves and flitting about, until the shrouds were all sewn up fine.
Old Ma, meanwhile, walked to the riverbank where the willows grew thick, green qi flying out between his fingers and circling round the great trees, until in short order the fat trunks were hewn into whitewood coffins that flew over and landed at the village gate.
Grandma Si's garments were done too; the old woman waved lightly, sending each shroud to lie upon a coffin. Old Ma strode over, chill as ice: "You've brought plenty of money, so I'll throw in two more at no charge—twelve coffins, tailored to your measurements. Lie down and I warrant they'll not be a thumb's length too long nor a hair too short! Satisfied, old gentleman?"
Grandma Si laughed: "And the old woman here tossed in two extra shrouds free of charge as well, and I promise they'll fit."
The old man grinned: "Satisfied, quite satisfied."
Qin Mu saw the air had turned strange and eerie, and secretly counted—these robed men and the old man together came to exactly twelve!
The Herbalist came over, face dark but voice soft: "Old gentleman, your accent has the ring of the Southern Borderlands."
"We are indeed from the Southern Borderlands, from the Li River," smiled the old man.
The Cripple shuffled over, all smiles: "There's a Li River Sect down on the Li River—a great sect by the water, full of high masters. They say its master is Mu Beifeng, able to cut a river's flow with a single reach."
The old man demurred: "Hardly, hardly. I am that Mu Beifeng. My sect is a small one scraping a living off the river. I've five junior brothers, and by the kindness of fellow practitioners I've been lumped with them as the Five Elders of the Li River."
Qin Mu's heart skipped and his face changed. Were the Five Elders not the very five old men who had died at Grandma Si's hands? Could this Mu Beifeng have come at the head of his men to avenge them? He had asked for ten coffins and ten shrouds, plainly prepared for every soul in the village—kill the villagers, dress them in shrouds, lay them in coffins, bury them on the spot, and burn spirit ingots and candles! And these paper boats and cranes were likewise readied for the village's dead!
Mu Beifeng turned the thumb ring on his finger: "Two years ago the imperial court pardoned us, and the State Preceptor himself came with the imperial edict to my sect. Within the burning of an incense stick I submitted heart and soul, accepted the edict, and thanked His Majesty's boundless grace. By their regard, they made me Prefecture Governor of the Five Miao Prefecture in the Southern Borderlands, a second-rank post; and the Five Elders Deputy Commanders of the Miao defense, third-rank posts. We were ever free spirits, and though we took official rank, we still love to roam."
The Village Chief smiled: "Yankang is a nation disguised as a sect—with the Emperor aided by the State Preceptor of Yankang, the first man under the gods, its fortunes have flourished. It has subdued many sects and sent their disciples into the army, opening its borders. Brother Mu was always unbound; officialdom binds one to the law of the court, so it's natural you'd find it hard to get used to."
"That is so," Mu Beifeng said. "And so my five junior brothers, stirred from their rest, wished to wander out—they took the Li River Five into the Great Ruins. The Five are their disciples, of a little skill, meant to be tempered with an outing."
The Blind One limped over on a length of bamboo: "The Five Elders went into the Great Ruins tempering themselves, and took disciples along? The Great Ruins are full of peril—I'm worried for them."
Mu Beifeng sighed: "Indeed. Far too dangerous, and everywhere lurk fierce, bloodthirsty sorts. They had been gone two months, and when no word returned I knew something had gone wrong; so I searched along their path and found where my five junior brothers met their end. They died miserably. From the wounds on their shattered bones, their killer was a master of the Heavenly Demon Cult, short of stature, about Grandma Si's height."
He shook his head, and went on: "Afterward I found where their disciples died, a gorge, the bodies torn up by beasts. From the wounds on their bones, the killer was a young martial artist, about the age of this lad here. I'd heard there's a tailor and a carpenter in your village, so I came to order shrouds and coffins for the murderers, to wait for the day I put them inside."
A touch of pride showed on his face: "Though I'm an official of the court, I've long been a man of the mountains and am not used to courtly form. So I've come by the customs of the jianghu, to settle the score myself. Qianqiu."
So saying, the old man shut his mouth. From behind him a young martial artist stepped forward and fixed his eyes on Qin Mu—the very man who had asked directions from the air and tossed him the gold ingot. "My Junior Brother Qu was beaten to death by a wooden staff in knife arts. Young friend, you carry a knife on your back—would you show me your knife arts and spar with me?"
Qin Mu hesitated, and looked to Grandma Si and the others.
Grandma Si could not hold back: "Mu'er, the folk of the Southern Borderlands are fierce, striking to kill without a moment's mercy. He asks you to draw your blade, so show him—"
"Enough!" the Village Chief barked. "He came by the rules—he hasn't leaned on the court or the State Preceptor of Yankang to crush us, so we can't break the rules either. No one is to offer Qin Mu a word of guidance, and no one is to help."
His gaze turned thorny, his voice cold as he looked at Qin Mu: "Qin Mu, the coffin and shroud are right there. If you show mercy and give way, one of those coffins is yours! Either he dies, or you die. He's challenging you—what are you standing there for? Go."