White Horse Neighing in the West Wind #17

On the eighth day, the seven of them followed the footsteps into a mountain range. The terrain was rocky and rugged, and it was becoming more and more difficult to advance further. Fortunately the footprints were extremely obvious in the snow. The slopes were perilous and the paths uneven. Actually, there was no path at all, and they were merely following the footprints of people travelling into the mountains before them. They saw that the journey ahead seemed to go on forever, and the two sets of footprints in the snow seemed to descend all the way into hell.

Sang Si’er said, “There isn’t even half a drop of water in this area of the desert; the Han bandit won’t turn up here.” Su Lu’ke said loudly, “If he has escaped to the labyrinth, we will pursue chase him all the way there. We will catch this evil bandit even if it means pursuing him to the ends of the world.” The Kazaks passed this down from generation to generation: that there was a labyrinth situated in the Great Gobi, and it contained countless treasures. However, because nobody knew the way to the labyrinth, and losing one’s way in the desert was no laughing matter, nobody ever dared to risk their lives searching for it. But now they had the map, the snow in the desert would not disappear for another twenty to thirty days, and they had strong reinforcements backing them, so what could they be afraid of? Su Lu’ke had always claimed to be the best warrior in the pastures. He only hoped that Che Erku would display weakness, beat a hasty retreat and not continue the pursuit. But Che Erku did not display any sign of fear at all.

Li Wenxiu said, “Yes, let’s go take a look together, and see if the Gao Chang Labyrinth really exists. She thought that since her parents had perished for it, if she could find the labyrinth, she could consider it as fulfilling their last wishes.

A’man said, “The elders in our tribe all said that the treasures in Gao Chang Labyrinth would be enough to ensure that the thousands living north and south of Tianshan to lead happy lives forever. But they have been saying that for hundreds of years, but nobody has found it yet.” Su Pu joyfully said, “If we manage to find it, then everyone’ll be able to lead happy lives, wouldn’t that be great?” A’man replied, “Aren’t our current lives happy?” Su Pu scratched his head and laughed, “Very happy, very happy.” He really could not think of anything which would be able to make his current life happier.

Su Lu’ke and Che Erku saw that there was danger closing in on all four sides, and they already had goosebumps all over. But both of them did not cease their squabbling. Su Lu’ke said, “Che Erku, you’re trembling all over, it won’t be amusing if you suffer a nervous breakdown. Why not stay here and wait for me, if we find the treasure, we’ll certainly give you a share.” Che Erku replied, “Now you’re pretending to be a hero, just wait till the evil demons appear! Then we’ll see who’ll be the first to escape, you or your son?” Che Erku retorted, “Exactly, we father and son will still have the energy to escape after seeing the evil demons; we won’t be like you, who will kneel on the ground trembling.” The duo kept arguing, never departing from the topic of evil demons. After walking for a while more, they were completely surrounded by total darkness. Su Pu said, “Eh, let’s rest here for tonight and continue tomorrow!” Before Su Lu’ke could respond, Che Erku laughed, “Very good, you father and son can rest here, so that you won’t have to risk any danger. A’man, follow Father, Luo Tuo, Sang Si’er, we are not afraid of demons, let’s go!” Su Lu’ke spat a mouthful of saliva to the ground loudly and was the first to proceed on. Li Wenxiu saw that they were each trying to antagonize the other, and since neither was willing to back down, she had no choice but to follow them. Meanwhile A’man was so exhausted that she could barely stand. Su Pu and Sang Si’er picked some withered branches and made them into torches. The seven of them followed the footsteps in the forest. Walking in this frightening forest in the dead of the night made all of them extremely jumpy. Occasionally, a nocturnal bird would call, or accumulated snow would fall off a branch, give them huge shocks. The curious thing was that there was actually a path in the forest, and even though it was overgrown with tall grass, traces of this ancient path could still be made out vaguely.

The seven of them had been walking in the forest for quite a while, when A’man suddenly cried out, “Oh no, something’s wrong!” Su Pu hurriedly asked, “What happened?” Pointing to a gleaming silver bangle at the side of the path in front, she said, “Look, this was the bangle I dropped earlier.” The bangle lay some two to three zhang in front of the septet, and none of them could figure out how it had somehow appeared here. A’man said, “I’d dropped my bangle and thought that I could only look for it on our way back; how could it have appeared here?” Che Erku advised, “Examine it carefully to see if it is really yours.” A’man did not dare pick it up, so Su Pu went forward to do so. Without waiting for A’man‘s confirmation, he immediately recognized it, “There’s not a doubt; it’s hers!” As he spoke he handed the bangle to her.

A’man did not dare receive it. In a trembling voice she said, “Throw…… throw it on the ground, I don’t want it anymore.” Su Pu asked, “Don’t tell me it really is evil demons playing tricks?” All seven of them had strange expressions in the firelight.

After quite a while, Li Wenxiu said, “Perhaps it’s something worse than evil demons: we’re walking the path we’ve already walked on. We’ve trod here previously.” In a flash everyone recalled that infamous legend: a traveller in the desert had lost his way. After walking for some time, he suddenly found footsteps. Jubilant, he followed them, not knowing they were but his own. So he merely walked a path that he had previously trodden, going around in circles, walking till he died.

None of them wished to believe what Li Wenxiu had said, but A’man had indeed dropped the bangle quite some time ago. After walking for such a long time, the bangle now appeared in the path in front. There could be no doubt that they had been walking in a circle, taking a path previously trodden. In the darkness of the night, in addition to extreme exhaustion, nobody had distinguished whether the footprints on the path were made by only two people or if there were seven more sets added on. Luo Tuo took a few steps forward. Illuminating the footprints in the snow with his torch, he called out, “There are many footprints here; they’re ours!” His voice was filled with fear. The seven of them could only look at each other. Su Lu’ke and Che Erku quickly ceased bragging about their abilities and ridiculing the other.

Li Wenxiu said, “We were following the footsteps of that bandit and someone else, and if they were going around in circles, that means they will walk back here again. Let us rest here, and see if they come.” At this point, everyone agreed with her words. So they swept away the snow accumulated on the path, spread the rugs out, and sat down. Luo Tuo and Sang Si’er built a bonfire, and the seven of them sat around it. Nobody could sleep, but nobody wanted to talk either. They were waiting for Chen Dahai and the other person to arrive, but were also afraid that they would really appear. If the two of them had been going around in circles, there could be little doubt that the seven of them had done the same.

They waited and waited, and suddenly, footsteps were heard.

The septet heard the footsteps, and leapt up in unison, only to hear them cease abruptly. In this extremely brief time, they could all hear the thumping of their hearts. Suddenly the footsteps rang out again, but they were moving away in the northwestern direction. Just at this moment, a strong wind blew, blowing a large amount of snow from the ground onto the bonfire. The bonfire immediately went out, and darkness surrounded them.

Su Lu’ke, Li Wenxiu and the others pulled their swords out of their scabbards with resounding swishes. A’man gave a panicked cry and fell into Su Pu’s arms. The blades reflected rays of light from the snow. The footsteps went further and further away, and could not be heard eventually.

Nothing unusual occurred in the forest until daybreak. In the morning, when the first ray of sunshine streamed through the leaves, everyone was reenergized, and began to follow the path again. After a while, A’man noticed that a few of the tree branches on the left had been bent and broken, and called out, “Look over here!” Su Pu pushed aside some trees, and spotted two sets of footprints on the ground. Joyfully he cried, “They’ve gone on from here!” A’man said, “That bandit must’ve read the map wrongly, gone in a circle and passed this place again. He gave us a real fright last night!” Su Lu’ke laughed heartily, “Ah yes, the timorous ones in Che Erku’s family trembled the whole night. Whereas the heroes in Su Lu’ke’s family hoped that the demons would appear so they could pull the demons’ ears and look at them more clearly.” Che Erku did not give him a glance, and appeared to not have heard. Suddenly, he stretched his hand backwards and grabbed Su Lu’ke ear. Su Lu’ke gave a loud cry, and landed a heavy punch on Che Erku’s back.

Che Erku gave a jerk, and the hand grabbing Su Lu’ke ear did not let go. Su Lu’ke ear began to bleed profusely. If Che Erku used more strength, he would probably pull Su Lu’ke’s ear off.

Li Wenxiu saw that these two men were already in their forties but continued to antangonize each other like urchins, half in seriousness and half in jest, amusing her greatly. Su Lu’ke and Che Erku exchanged more blows before separating. One had a bruised nose and the other, swollen eyes.

The two of them argued as they continued making their way forward.

By this time, the road was bumpy and winding, making it hard to progress. Every so often, they had to make their way past a col, or squeeze into a cave. Without the footprints in the snow leading the way, they would have had great difficulty finding it. Li Wenxiu thought, “This labyrinth is indeed in the most secret of places; without the map, how could it be found?” They journeyed until the afternoon. Most of them had not slept a wink the previous night, and were all exhausted. Only Li Wenxiu, whose neigong had taken root quite deeply, remained energetic. Su Pu said, “Father, A’man can’t move any more, let’s take a rest!” Before Su Lu’ke could reply, Che Erku, who was at the head, loudly cried, “Ah!” Su Lu’ke rushed forward, turned past a row of trees, only to see two huge iron doors set in the mountain opposite. The doors, spotted with rust, were obviously items with a long history.

The septet cried jubilantly, “The Gao Chang Labyrinth!” They rushed towards it. Su Lu’ke used some strength to push the doors, but they remained steadfastly closed. Che Erku said, “That bandit must have barred it from inside.” A’man scrutinized the area surrounding the iron doors for any possible hidden contraptions, but the doors were set so perfectly in stone that they seemed almost natural. A’man pulled the rings on the doors and turned them left, but the doors refused to budge. Nobody knew how long this labyrinth had been built. Even though it was dry in the desert, the iron door had begun to rust, and any hidden contraptions would probably be faulty. Yet when she turned the rings left again, they were loose, so she turned them a few more times. Su Lu’ke and Che Erku were pushing the door with all their might, so when the doors suddenly opened inwards, both of them were taken by surprise and fell inside. They were shocked for a moment, but then got up laughing merrily.