Gods 065: Mirror Image
One of the Zhou’s officers discovers that his powers aren’t so unique after all.
Transcript
Welcome to the Chinese Lore Podcast, where I retell classic Chinese stories in English. This is episode 65 of Investiture of the Gods.
Last time, we saw Jiang Ziya and company sack Sweet Dreams Pass. We then jumped over to join Flying Tiger in his siege on Green Dragon Pass. That campaign was going well, as the Zhou army quickly killed four enemy lieutenants and wounded the Shang pass commander Qiu (1) Yin (3). Qiu Yin came back, though, to seek revenge against Huang Tianxiang (1,4), one of Flying Tiger’s sons. But Huang Tianxiang tricked Qiu Yin into exposing himself, and landed a blow on his chest with a silver-plated staff. The blow was so hard that Qiu Yin spat out blood and almost fell off his horse. Qiu Yin quickly fell back inside his pass and did not dare to come out.
Qiu Yin’s injury was so severe that he couldn’t stop coughing up blood. And even after he took his magic pills, it still took him longer than normal to recover. While he was laid up, Qiu Yin seethed with hatred for Huang Tiangxiang.
The next day, the Zhou forces launched a siege on Green Dragon Pass. Qiu Yin, despite his injury, went to the top of the walls to oversee the defense. Green Dragon Pass was a major defensive checkpoint for the Shang kingdom, so its walls were tall and thick, and its moat was deep, making it difficult to sac. The Zhou forces besieged the pass for three days in a row, but could not make any headway. Eventually, Flying Tiger pulled his forces back, and only then was Qiu Yin able to return to his office.
As he sat in his office, Qiu Yin was filled with worries. Suddenly, he got word that his provisions officer, Chen (2) Qi (2), had arrived. Chen Qi came in to report and asked how the fight had been going.
“Jiang Ziya sent a detachment of his army here to besiege the pass,” Qiu Yin told him. “He was worried that I would cut off his grain supply route. I’ve been fighting against them for days. But their officers are fierce fighters. Deng Jiugong killed my lieutenants, and Huang Tianxiang is a tough foe. He stabbed me, shot me, and hit me with a staff. If I catch that traitor, I’m going to cut him to pieces to appease my hatred!”
Chen Qi said, “Commander, don’t worry. Let me go capture him and avenge you.”
The next day, Chen Qi led his own troops and rode out to the enemy camp atop his fiery golden-eyed horse and wielding his Monster Subduing Club. When Flying Tiger asked who would go meet him, Deng Jiugong promptly volunteered and went out.
“Who are you?” Deng Jiugong asked his foe.
“I am provisions officer Chen Qi. What are you?!”
“I am Deng Jiugong, a lieutenant in the Zhou’s Eastern Expedition Army. Qiu Yin has already been beaten and is hiding. Why are you coming to die in his place?”
Chen Qi roared with laughter and scoffed, “I view scoundrels like you as nothing more than grass. What skills do you have?!”
As he spoke, he galloped toward Deng Jiugong and attacked. Deng Jiugong raised his saber and they traded blows for 30 some bouts. Deng Jiugong was masterful with the saber, and Chen Qi was wielding a short weapon, so he was put on the defensive. So Chen Qi suddenly raised his club to signal for his troops to join him. His 3,000 crack troops, all wielding hooks and ropes, surged forward as if they were about to apprehend someone. This confounded Deng Jiugong, since he was winning the fight.
But what Deng Jiugong did not realize was that Chen Qi was — surprise — a sorcerer. He suddenly opened his mouth and sprayed a gust of yellow breath. This magical breath could scatter mortals’ souls. And sure enough, as soon as Deng Jiugong saw the breadth, he couldn’t stay in his saddle and fell to the ground. Chen Qi’s soldiers rushed forward and captured him alive, taking him back into the pass.
When Deng Jiugong came to, he found himself bound and hustled into the main hall, where Qiu Yin was seated. Deng Jiugong cursed aloud, “You scoundrels! You used sorcery to capture me! Even in death I will not submit! Since I fell into your hands, there’s only death for me. I couldn’t eat your flesh or drink your blood in life, but I will haunt you as a ghost!”
Qiu Yin was irate and ordered his men to execute Deng Jiugong, which they promptly carried out. Soon, word arrived in the Zhou camp that Deng Jiugong’s head was hanging atop the walls of Green Dragon Pass. Flying Tiger was stunned and deeply saddened by the loss of a talented general.
Meanwhile, after celebrating his victory, Chen Qi came back out the next day to demand battle again. This time, Tai (4) Luan (2), Deng Jiugong’s lieutenant, was enraged and asked for permission to avenge his former commander. Flying Tiger gave him the ok, so Tai Luan rode out and started trading blows with Chen Qi without a word. After 20 bouts, Chen Qi again raised his club and signaled for his troops to charge forward. And again, he opened his mouth, and again, Tai Luan fell off his horse and was captured alive.
This time, though, Qiu Yin decided to hold off on the beheading. Instead, he had Tai Luan locked up for now, to be sent to the capital later once he had captured other Zhou generals. The next day, Chen Qi again went to demand battle. This time, Flying Tiger’s three sons: Huang Tianlu (1,4), Huang Tianjue (1,2), and the aforementioned Huang Tianxiang (1,4), volunteered to answer the challenge. So Flying Tiger told them to be careful and sent them out.
When the three brothers announced themselves to Chen Qi, he secretly rejoiced, thinking to himself, “I was just looking to capture this family of traitors, and now they have offered themselves up!”
And so he didn’t bother with any verbal jousting, and just charged right at the brothers, who raised their spears and took him on. Now, we know from the previous battles that Chen Qi wasn’t actually that great a fighter, and before long, he took a stab in the right leg. Chen Qi now galloped away, with Huang Tianlu hot in pursuit.
But even though he was wounded, Chen Qi still could muster his sorcery. So he once again let loose his yellow breadth, and Huang Tianlu promptly fell off his horse and got captured alive, whereupon Qiu Yin also had him locked up.
The two remaining Huang brothers returned to the Zhou camp and told their father what happened, and Flying Tiger was further troubled. He sent scouts to go see if his son’s head was hanging on the pass walls. To his relief, it was not.
Meanwhile, even though Chen Qi captured another enemy officer, he was wounded from that day’s fight. So the next day, while he tended to his injury, Qiu Yin had recovered enough from his that he was ready to go seek some revenge. He didn’t even bother wearing a helmet. Instead, he just wore a gold ring on his head like a monk and rode out to the Zhou camp, demanding to fight Huang Tianxiang, the man who had wounded him previously.
Flying Tiger tried to dissuade his son from answering the challenge, but Huang Tianxiang insisted on meeting his foe. So he rode out and shouted, “Qiu Yin, I’m going to capture you today for sure!” and stabbed at his foe. Qiu Yin raised his own spear to counter, and the two circled each other and engaged in a dogged fight.
Before long, Huang Tianxiang was gaining the upper hand. Qiu Yin couldn’t hold his own, so he parried a blow and turned and fled toward the pass. Huang Tianxiang gave chase, but suddenly, a white beam of light shot out from Qiu Yin’s head. As the light split into smaller beams, they revealed a large red pearl that spun in the air.
“Huang Tiangxiang, take a look at my treasure!” Qiu Yin shouted.
Huang Tianxiang looked up at the pearl and immediately felt faint. Before he could recover, Qiu Yin’s soldiers had swarmed forward, pulled him off his horse, tied him up, and rushed him into the pass.
Qiu Yin now sat down in his main hall and ordered his men to bring in Huang Tianxiang, who had regained consciousness by now. Huang Tianxiang was fuming and shouted, “Qiu Yin, you scum! You’re not a real man, resorting to sorcery to beat me! My death matters little, and it will be in service of my country. When Commander Jiang arrives, you will end up in pieces! Since you’ve captured me, just kill me quick. I will turn into a ghost and haunt you!”
As if Qiu Yin wasn’t already pissed off at Huang Tianxiang, those words only stoked his rage even more. He roared, “You traitor! How dare you insult me? You shot me with an arrow, beat me with a staff, and stabbed me with a spear. I hope you were happy about that. Now that you’ve been captured, instead of begging for your life, you’re hurling insults?!”
Huang Tianxiang glowered and roared back, “Traitor! It kills me that I couldn’t run my spear through your lungs, crush your skull with my staff, or put an arrow through your heart so as to demonstrate my loyalty! Since I was unfortunate enough to be captured, I expect to die. No need for all these words and putting on all this air!”
Qiu Yin was further incensed, and he now granted Huang Tianxiang’s death wish. He barked to his men, “Cut off his head first, and then hang his corpse from the commander tower!”
Moments later, Flying Tiger saw a scout rush into his camp and report, “Your fourth son was captured by Qiu Yin and beheaded. His corpse is hanging from the command tower.”
Flying Tiger let out a loud cry and collapsed to the ground. When his men helped him up, he wept aloud and lamented, “Of my four sons, I have already lost three of them before the Martial King had even met up with the other nobles!”
With these recent setbacks, Flying Tiger now had no choice but to send an urgent dispatch to the main Zhou army at Sishui Pass, asking Jiang Ziya for help. When Jiang Ziya read the message, he was shocked.
“What a pity to have lost Deng Jiugong and Huang Tianxiang!” he exclaimed.
As he mourned, he saw Deng Jiugong’s daughter, Deng Chanyu, come into the tent in tears, asking for permission to go avenge her father. Jiang Ziya consented, and sent Nezha to accompany her. Nezha was delighted with the assignment and immediately set off. Now, since he was traveling by his wind-and-fire wheels, he could go much faster, so he went on ahead, while Deng Chanyu followed with the army.
Nezha soon arrived at the Zhou camp in front of Green Dragon Pass. He went in to see Flying Tiger, who told him, “I came here on the commander’s orders, but I lost several battles, my son was killed, and Deng Jiugong also lost his life to sorcery. I am waiting to answer for my failure. I’m so glad you’re here.”
Nezha consoled him, “Your son was loyal and courageous. He sacrificed his life for the country and his name will live on through the ages. So he did not squander all that you had taught him.”
The next day, Nezha went out to the foot of the pass to demand battle. There, he saw Huang Tianxiang’s body, still hanging from the command tower, and Nezha was enraged.
“When I capture Qiu Yin, I will do the same to him!” he fumed. He then shouted to the top of the walls, “Go tell Qiu Yin to go wash his neck and prepare to die!”
Now, Qiu Yin was feeling pretty cocky after his victory the other day, so he again came out, dressed like a monk. He saw someone approaching atop a pair of flaming wheels, so he asked, “Are you Nezha?!”
“You scoundrel!” Nezha shot back. “Huang Tianxiang and you were enemies only because you each served the opposing side in a war. You could’ve just cut off his head. Why did you have to expose his body to the elements like this?! When I capture you, I’m going to cut you to pieces and stuff your corpse into a wine jar to avenge him!”
And so Nezha raised his fiery spear and charged. Qiu Yin traded blows with him for about 30 exchanges and then turned and rode away. As Nezha pursued, Qiu Yin again pulled out his sorcery. He unleashed his red pearl and shouted, “Nezha, look at my treasure!”
But of course, as we all know by now, these little low-level soul-scattering macguffins had no effect on Nezha since he was made of lotus. Nezha looked up, shrugged, and laughed, “You ignorant scoundrel! It’s just a red pearl. So what if I looked at it?!”
Qiu Yin was stunned, and he had no choice but to come back and fight Nezha again. But Nezha now unleashed his Universal Ring, which struck Qiu Yin in the shoulder and broke a few bones. Qiu Yin fled while leaning on his saddle, just making it back inside his pass while Nezha returned to camp in victory.
Meanwhile, back in the main Zhou camp outside Sishui Pass, the provisions officer Tuxing Sun arrived with the latest shipment of grain. After checking in, he looked around the command tent and did not see his wife, Deng Chanyu. So he asked, and the officer Wu (3) Ji (2) told him, “Flying Tiger sent a request for reinforcements. His letter said your father-in-law was killed in battle, so your wife went to avenge him.”
This grieved Tuxing Sun greatly. He quickly requested the assignment to escort the next shipment of provisions to Green Dragon Pass. After a few days, he arrived at the pass and went to see Flying Tiger, who told him, “Dengn Jiugong was killed by sorcery. Two of my sons were captured, and one of them, Huang Tiangxiang, was executed and his body is being exposed on the command tower. Today, Nezha wounded Qiu Yin, but that scoundrel managed to get away.”
Tuxing Sun now suggested, “Tonight, let me go steal Huang Tianxiang’s body so that he may be buried. And then tomorrow, we’ll capture Qiu Yin and get revenge.”
He then went to see his wife Deng Chanyu. When night rolled around, Tuxing Sun used his earth-traveling powers to sneak into the pass. He snuck around and found where Huang Tianlu and Tai Luan were being held prisoner. He waited until 9 p.m. and all was quiet, and then he approached them and whispered to Huang Tianlu, “Hey, don’t worry. I’m here. We’ll sack the pass soon.”
Recognizing Tuxing Sun’s voice, Huang Tianlu was delighted and replied, “Hurry up!”
“Of course!” Tuxing Sun said.
He then snuck over to the command tower, cut down Huang Tianxiang’s corpse, and lowered it outside the pass, whereupon one of Flying Tiger’s sworn brothers recovered it.
When Flying Tiger saw his son’s remains, he again wept aloud, lamenting, “You were so young and you have sacrificed yourself for the state! What a pity!”
He now ordered that the body be placed in a coffin. He then thought to himself, “Of my four sons, I have lost three of them already. Why don’t I send my last son, Huang Tianjue, to escort his brother’s remains back to Western Qi and have him stay there to tend to my father. That way, it ensures that our family line will go on, and it will also fulfill both my filial duties and my responsibility to the state.”
And so he sent his third son back to Western Qi. Meanwhile, inside the pass, Qiu Yin got up the next day and was told that someone had stolen Huang Tianxiang’s body the night before. That news troubled Qiu Yin and enraged Chen Qi, who suggested, “Let me go out there and recapture his corpse so you can get revenge!”
So Chen Qi rode out with his troops, and this time, Tuxing Sun came out with his wife Deng Chanyu to face him.
“You scoundrel!” Tuxing Sun cursed. “You used sorcery to kill my father-in-law. I will have it out with you! I’m going to capture you to avenge him!”
Chen Qi, however, roared with mocking laughter. “You all are like dead wood. What can you accomplish? It would dirty my hand to kill you!”
Nonetheless, he was going to try to do just that, as he rode forward and attacked. Tuxing Sun raised his staff and countered. After a few bouts, Chen Qi was getting frustrated by how hard it was to try to hit this nimble, dwarfish foe. So he raised his staff again to summon his troops and shot out his yellow breadth. Tuxing Sun immediately fell to the ground and was captured.
But while Chen Qi was busy tending to this, he forgot about Deng Chanyu. Seeing her husband get captured, she quickly hurled one of her trademark pebbles, and it struck him in the mouth, bludgeoning his lips and knocking out a few teeth. Chen Qi turned and fled while covering his face, but before he got very far, he felt another pebble striking him, this time squarely in the back. So despite capturing Tuxing Sun, Chen Qi slinked back into camp with a bloodied lip.
For his part, when Tuxing Sun came to and saw himself bound, he chuckled and said, “Well, this is fun.”
When Qiu Yin saw Chen Qi come back with a bloodied and bruised face, he asked what happened.
“I was capturing this scoundrel, but a whore on the enemy’s side hit me in the face with a pebble, and then hit me again in the back; that’s why I had to retreat,” Chen Qi replied.
Qiu Yin now ordered his men to bring in the new prisoner. The guards brought Tuxing Sun into the hall. Seeing this midget, Qiu Yin turned to Chen Qi and scoffed, “What’s the point of capturing this thing?” He then told the guards, “Take him outside and execute him.”
So the guards took him to the top of the wall, but just as they were about to cut off his head, Tuxing Sun twisted his body and disappeared without a trace. The guards were stunned, and so was Qiu Yin when they reported this to him.
“The Zhou camp has such uncommon men in their ranks,” he said. “No wonder all the previous campaigns against Western Qi had failed. This might be the man who stole Huang Tianxiang’s body. Alert all our men to be on guard tonight.”
Meanwhile, Tuxing Sun returned to camp and was talking with Flying Tiger about how to sack the pass when word came that the No. 3 provisions officer, Zheng (4) Lun (2), had arrived. They summoned him in, and Zheng Lun paid his respects and said, “I have delivered provisions as Commander Jiang ordered.”
“Thank you, general. This will be added to the record of merits,” Flying Tiger said.
“It’s all for the good of the state,” Zheng Lun replied.
He then asked Tuxing Sun what he was doing there, and Tuxing Sun explained, “There’s a man named Chen (2) Qi (2) at Green Dragon Pass. He’s got the same powers as you do. He captured my father-in-law and killed him, so I came here on Commander Jiang’s orders to help. The only difference between you and him is that he opens his mouth and a gust of yellow breath comes out that knocks people out, whereas you breathe out a gust of white air from your nostrils. I think his is easier. He captured me yesterday, but I escaped.”
“What?!” Zheng Lun exclaimed. “When my master taught me my powers, he said they were one of a kind. How can there be another with similar powers here? I must face him and see for myself.”
Meanwhile, inside the pass, Chen Qi took some magic pills for the wound that he suffered from Deng Chanyu’s pebble. The next day, he rode out demanding to fight Deng Chanyu. When scouts reported this to the command tent, Zheng Lun volunteered to go. But Flying Tiger said, “Your top priority is to deliver provisions, not to fight on the battlefield. I worry Commander Jiang would take exception to this.”
“As long as it serves the country, what harm could it do?” Zheng Lun retorted.
So Flying Tiger relented, and Zheng Lun rode out on his golden-eyed horse with his Demon-Taming Staff and his 3,000 Black Raven Troops. Across the way, he saw that Chen Qi also rode on a golden-eyed horse, also wielded a Demon-Subduing Staff, and also had his own special troops all wearing yellow and all carrying hooks and ropes like his own special forces.
All this made Zheng Lun curious and suspicious. He rode out and shouted, “Who are you?!”
“I am Provisions Officer Chen Qi. Who are you?”
“I am Provisions Officer Zheng Lun. I heard that you have special powers, so I came to face you.”
And with that, Zheng Lun charged and attacked, and Chen Qi countered. They were quite evenly matched, and they glowered and gnashed their teeth as they traded blows while Flying Tiger and company watched from under their banners.
After this went on for a while, Zheng Lun thought to himself, “If this man really does have powers, then I should stage a preemptive strike.”
So he suddenly pointed his staff skyward, and his Black Raven Troops surged forward. Seeing this, Chen Qi did likewise and his own troops also charged forward. And now, Zheng Lun shot out two beams of white light from his nostrils, while Chen Qi blew out a gust of yellow breath from his mouth. Simultaneously, both of them fell out of their saddles. So instead of trying to capture the enemy general, their respective troops just rescued their own general, helped him back on his horse, and fell back.
When Zheng Lun returned to camp, he was greeted with a chorus of mocking laughter from Tuxing Sun and others as they teased him. Zheng Lun sighed and said, “Turns out there’s someone with powers like mine. I must duke it out with him tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Chen Qi returned to the pass and informed his commander Qiu Yin about what happened. At the same time, Qiu Yin got word that Sweet Dreams Pass had fallen, and the news made him even more troubled.
The next day, Zheng Lun came to the pass to demand battle, and Chen Qi went out to meet him and said, “Zheng Lun, let’s both agree to not use our powers and just fight with our martial skills to see who’s better.”
And so they went at it again, and again were evenly matched. After a whole day of battle, they returned to their respective side without a winner. In the Zhou camp, Flying Tiger and his officers were again discussing how to sack the pass. Lotus boy Nezha said, “Since Tuxing Sun is here as well, why don’t I go into the pass first tonight, open the gates and lower the drawbridge. They will be caught off guard. That’s the best way to sack the pass.”
Flying Tiger agreed, and so the operation was a go.
That night, the Shang commander Qiu Yin was in the pass, writing a letter to King Zhou to request reinforcements. Around 7 p.m., Tuxing Sun snuck into the pass first and quietly released the prisoners Huang Tianlu (1,4) and Tai (4) Luan (2). Then, around 9 p.m., Nezha took to the air on his fire wheels and soared over the walls and started hurling his golden brick from the command tower, scattering the guards at the gate and breaking the chains that held up the drawbridge.
From outside, the Zhou army let out a mighty roar and poured into the pass. Drums rolled and heaven and earth seemed to churn amid the cries of battle. The pass fell into chaos as the residents inside all fled for their lives.
When Tuxing Sun heard the cries outside, he and Huang Tianlu and Tai Luan fought their way out from inside the enemy’s headquarters. Qiu Yin had not gone to bed yet, so when he heard the commotion, he hurriedly mounted his horse and rode out with spear in hand. Amid the flames, he saw Flying Tiger charging in while Nezha was soaring through the air. They and other Zhou officers surrounded Qiu Yin. At the same time, Flying Tiger’s son Huang Tianlu charged out from inside Qiu Yin’s own headquarters while Tuxing Sun snuck in and swung his staff at Qiu Yin’s horse’s legs.
All this was too much for Qiu Yin, and in a momentary lapse, he allowed Tuxing Sun’s staff to strike his horse’s leg. The horse’s front legs gave out, sending Qiu Yin tumbling to the ground. Flying Tiger raised his spear to strike, but in the blink of an eye, Qiu Yin had vanished into the ground.
Meanwhile, Zheng Lun charged into the city as well and ran smack dab into his doppelganger Chen Qi and the two squared off again in the night. Soon, Zheng Lun was joined by his fellow officers. Nezha hurled his Universal Ring and struck Chen Qi on the arm. As Chen Qi staggered, Flying Tiger skewered him in the abdomen, killing him instantly.
When morning came, Flying Tiger regrouped his forces and assessed the night’s effort. The pass was theirs, and only the enemy commander Qiu Yin had managed to flee. Flying Tiger now posted notices to put the civilians’ minds at ease. He checked the roll of the resident population and left an officer in charge of the pass. All this done, he set out to rejoin the main Zhou army at Sishui Pass. Nezha went on ahead to announce the victory, while Tuxing Sun went back to escorting provisions.
When Jiang Ziya received Nezha’s report, he was delighted and told his officers, “I wanted to take those two passes first to protect my supply route. If the enemy cut off our supplies, we would be stuck and under attack from front and back. That’s no way to win a war. Fortunately, we have no worries now.”
While everyone complimented his strategy, Flying Tiger arrived. Jiang Ziya congratulated him, but also lamented the loss of the officers Deng Jiugong and Huang Tianxiang. Nonetheless, they celebrated their victories, and the next day Jiang Ziya dispatched a letter into Sishui Pass to demand battle.
To see how long Sishui Pass can hold out, tune in to the next episode of the Chinese Lore Podcast. Thanks for listening!
Music in This Episode
- “Sao Meo” by Doug Maxwell / Zac Zinger
- “Ravines” by Elphnt (from YouTube audio library)
- “The Quiet Aftermath by Sir Cubworth (from YouTube audio library)
- “Dark Toys” by SYBS (from YouTube audio library)