White Horse Neighing in the West Wind #19

That youth crumpled slowly, and died without another word. There was not a single wound on his body. The demon had killed a mere horse last night, but today he had murdered a strong young man.

Nobody dared to stay longer after such a turn of events. Furthermore, Su Lu’ke and the others had said that there were no treasures in the labyrinth, not even a gold or silver ingot. If it were not dark, they would all have sped off home.

The next day, as soon as there was a glimmer of sunrise, everyone set off for home with much hubbub.

Li Wenxiu had carefully examined the dead horse the previous day. Now upon looking at the dead youth, all her suspicions were confirmed. To herself she said, “These were not done by a demon!” Suddenly, someone behind her said in a trembling voice, “It was a demon, a demon! A’xiu, this is scarier than an evil demon, we must leave at once.” She had not realized that old man Ji had come and stood behind her.

Li Wenxiu sighed, “All right, let us go then!” Suddenly they heard Su Pu shout, “A’man, A’man, where are you?” Shocked, Che Erku answered, “Wasn’t A’man with you?” He started to shout as well: “A’man, A’man! We’re leaving!” and ran about looking for his daughter.

Su Pu shouted A’man’s name as he raced up a little hill and looked around. He suddenly spotted a floral scarf on the path going west which resembled that of A’man’s. He immediately rushed over and picked it up. It was A’man’s! He was extraordinarily worried, crying out, “A’man has been captured by the demon!” At this point, most of their fellow tribespeople had left, taking with them Luo Tuo, Sang Si’er and the other youth’s corpses. Only five people - Su Lu’ke, Che Erku, Su Pu, Li Wenxiu and old man Ji - were left. Su Lu’ke and the others heard Su Pu’s cries and went over to investigate.

Su Lu’ke cried, “Su Pu, Su Pu, you foolish little thing, come back quickly, aren’t you afraid of death?” As he saw his son moving further and further away, his love for his son defeated the fear of the evil demon, so he started to chase him. Che Erku was shocked for a moment, calling, “A’man, A’man!” and followed them.

Old man Ji shook his head, “A’xiu, let us go back.” Li Wenxiu answered, “No, Grandfather Ji, I must go and save them.” Old man Ji said, “You won’t be able to defeat the evil demon.” Li Wenxiu replied, “It’s not a demon, it’s a person.” Old man Ji suddenly stretched out his left and and gripped Li Wenxiu’s arm tightly. In a trembling voice he said, “A’xiu, even if it is a person, he’s still more terrifying than an evil demon. Listen to me, let’s return and go far far away. We are Hans, we shouldn’t live in the Muslim Region anymore; let you and I return to the Central Plains.”

Li Wenxiu saw that Su Pu and the others were running further and further away. Anxious, she exerted some force and tried to shake herself free. But although old man Ji was aged, the strength of his arm was extraordinary. She exerted more and more force but was unable to escape his grip, so she yelled, “Let me go! Su Pu will be killed by him!” Old man Ji saw that her face was reddened and her expression, highly anxious, and sighed. Releasing her arm, he said softly, “You are prepared to risk everything, just for this Kazak youth!” Once Li Wenxiu’s arm was released, she immediately turned and raced off, and did not hear what old man Ji had said.

She sped to the labyrinth in one breath, only to see Su Pu shaking his long blade, loudly yelling, “Damnable evil demon, you’ve killed A’man, kill me too! A’man’s dead, I don’t wish to live either! I am Su Pu, come out and fight with me! Are you afraid?” He turned the door rings, but in his state of high anxiety, no amount of his turning would open the door.

Su Lu’ke was at the side calling out, “Su Pu, you foolish little thing, don’t go inside!” How would Su Pu be willing to listen? At the sight of his devotedness, Li Wenxiu felt a pang of envy, and loudly said, “A’man is not dead!” Su Pu suddenly heard this, and his mind cleared immediately. He turned and asked, “A’man’s not dead? How do…… do you know?” Li Wenxiu said, “It is not a evil demon in the labyrinth but a person!” Su Pu, Su Lu’ke and Che Erku chorused, “But it’s obviously an evil ghost, how can it be a person?” Li Wenxiu explained, “The person disguised himself. He used extremely tiny and highly poisonous projectiles to shoot the horse and youth, and the wounds could not be seen easily. He walked on stilts and hid this using a long robe. That was why he left no footprints on the sand, was so tall and walked so quickly.” Nevertheless, there were two more lines she did not say aloud, “I know who this person is, because I recognize the way he releases projectiles. I have already found wounds caused by the projectiles on the bodies of the horse and the youth.”

These explanations were logical, but it was difficult for the others to accept them immediately. At this point, old man Ji reached them, and slowly said, “I know it’s an extremely powerful evil demon inside, so everyone should not enter the labyrinth, so as not to lose their lives needlessly. I am a old man, mark my words.” Su Pu said, “Even if it is an evil demon, even if it is a person, I will still go and rescue A’man.” He hoped that the evil demon was really a person in disguise as Li Wenxiu had described, then he would have a greater chance to rescue A’man. He turned the door rings again, and this time, the doors opened.

Li Wenxiu said, “I will go with you.” Su Pu turned, his heart filling with gratitude, and advised, “Hero Li, you’d better not go in, it’s very dangerous.” Li Wenxiu insisted, “It is all right, with my company, it will not be dangerous.” Su Pu’s eyes filled with hot tears, and said in a trembling voice, “Thank you, thank you very much.” Li Wenxiu thought, “You’re only so grateful to me just because of A’man.” Turning to old man Ji she said, “Grandfather Ji, you wait for me here.” Old man Ji replied, “No! I will accompany you in; that…… that man is extremely vicious.” Li Wenxiu said, “You’re advanced in your years, and do not know martial arts, just wait for me outside. I won’t be in any danger.” Old man Ji explained, “You don’t know that it is extremely dangerous. I want to take care of you.” Unable to persuade him otherwise, she thought, “How can you take care of me? I think it is more of the other way around.” The five of them lighted torches, and went into the labyrinth using the path trod previously.

They walked round and round for a long time. Su Pu continuously yelled, “A’man, A’man, where are you?” He did not get any response. Li Wenxiu thought, “This should scare him off.” Aloud she said, “Let’s all shout loudly together, that large batches of people and horses are here to save her. We might be able to scare that evil man off.” Su Lu’ke, Che Erku and Su Pu shouted as she told them to, “A’man, A’man, don’t be afraid, our reinforcements are here to save you!” The rooms in the labyrinth were empty, and the sounds echoed in all four directions.

After walking a while more, they suddenly heard a woman shriek loudly. It sounded like A’man. Su Pu ran in the direction of the sound. Pushing open a door, he saw A’man crouched in the corner of the room, her hands tied behind her back. Both of them were surprised and overjoyed to see each other, and cried out in delight.

Su Pu rushed to untie her binds, asking, “Where’s that evil demon?” A’man replied, “He’s not a demon, it’s a person. He was still here just now, but after hearing your voices, he wanted to escape with me, but I struggled with all my might. He heard that there were many of you, he hastily escaped.” Su Pu sighed in relief, then asked, “What…… what kind of person is he? Why did he capture you?” A’man said, “He blindfolded me all the way here. It was also extremely dark in the labyrinth so I never got to see his face.” Su Pu turned to look at Li Wenxiu, his eyes brimming with gratitude.

A’man turned to Che Erku and said, “Father, this person said his name is Waerlaqi, do you know……” Before she could finish, Che Erku and Su Lu’ke cried out in unison, “Waerlaqi!” That they said his name together clearly demonstrated that not only did they know Waerlaqi, they were also very familiar with him.

Che Erku said, “This person is Waerlaqi? That can’t possibly be. He said himself that he was called Waerlaqi? Did you hear wrongly?” A’man replied, “He said he knew my mother.” Su Lu’ke said, “Then it must be true, it’s the real Waerlaqi.” Che Erku muttered, “He knew your mother? He’s Waerlaqi? How…… how could he have become a demon in the labyrinth?” A’man said, “He’s not a demon, he’s a person. He said he liked my mother from young, but my mother was blind and married my father, a great bastard…… Ayo, Father, don’t get angry, it was said by that bad man.” Su Lu’ke laughed uproariously and said, “Waerlaqi is a bad man, but this sentence is perfectly right, your father is indeed a great bast……” Che Erku sent his fist over. Su Lu’ke laughed and avoided it, continuing, “Waerlaqi competed with your father for your mother, but lost. He is not a good man. He took a knife and tried to kill your father in the middle of the night. See, there’s a scar next to his ear. That was caused by Waerlaqi.” Everyone turned to look at Che Erku, and saw that he did indeed have a long scar next to his left ear. Everyone had seen this scar a long time ago, but did not know how he had gotten it.

A’man held her father’s hand, and gently said, “Father, were you seriously injured then?” Che Erku replied, “Although your father was ambushed by him, I still managed to defeat him. I threw him on the ground and tied him up.” As he spoke this, his voice filled with pride, and continued, “The next day, the headman gathered all the tribesmen and announced that this bad man was to be exiled from our tribe, and disallowed from ever returning; if he returned secretly, he would be put to death. Thus we have not seen him since then. What was this fellow hiding in the labyrinth for? How were you captured by him?” A’man recounted, “This morning, just before daybreak, I woke up and went to the forest to urinate. Who knows that that bad man was hiding there, and he suddenly leapt over and pressed my mouth shut. Then he carried me here. He said that since he could not have my mother, he wanted me to replace her instead. I begged him to let me return, and said that since my mum didn’t like him, I wouldn’t like him either. He said, ‘Like it or not, you are mine now. None of those timid little Kazaks will dare to enter the labyrinth and rescue you.’ He was wrong; Father, Uncle Su Lu’ke, you are all heroes, and Hero Li, Su Pu and Grandfather Ji are all here, fortunately you all came to save me.”