White Horse Neighing in the West Wind #22

Li Wenxiu asked, “Master, what happened to that bandit Chen Dahai? We pursued him all the way, but saw two sets of footprints in the snow. Was the other set yours?” Waerlaqi replied, “That’s right, it was mine. After I was hit by the poisoned needles fired by this traitor Ma Jiajun, my body was extremely weak, and I spent more than a decade recovering in a cave. I thought my life was over, but I did not know that you would come and save me, and help me remove the needles. After I had recovered, I often went to the Kazak area in the middle of the night to check things out. I wanted to kill Che Erku, kill the tribal chief who had exiled me. But I did not poison the well just because of you. That stormy night, I was on guard outside your house. I saw you capture Chen Dahai and find the map of the Gao Chang Labyrinth. Once Chen Dahai escaped, I followed him, all the way to the labyrinth. I punched the back of his head, making him faint, and locked him the labyrinth. The previous afternoon, I took that handkerchief map from his bosom, and pulled out ten over threads, and replaced it in his bosom. I then blindfolded him, and tied him to the back of a horse, and chased it far far away.” Li Wenxiu could not have thought that such a ruthless person would have spared someone’s life, so she asked, “Why did you pull out the threads from the map?”

Waerlaqi laughed dryly for a while, and looked extremely pleased with himself, “He did not know that I pulled out the threads. Once ten over threads are missing from the map, the labyrinth can no longer be found. This evil bandit would likely meet up with the others, and attempt to locate the labyrinth using the map. They are going to go round and round in the Great Gobi, and will never be able to return to the grasslands. These bandits are going to die of thirst in the desert, one by one. Until their deaths, they’ll still be thinking of finding the labyrinth and striking it rich. Haha, heh heh, interesting, interesting!” When she thought of the horrifying situation of a group of people, parched by heat, walking round in circles in a desert which had not a drop of water for miles, she could not help but gasp softly. Even though this gang of bandits had harmed her parents and were her sworn enemies, she could not help but feel upset at the punishment that had befallen them. If she had the chance to meet them, would she tell them: “This map is wrong?” She more than likely would. But Huo Yuanlong, Chen Dahai and the others would surely disbelieve her. They would surely be full of thoughts about striking it rich, going in big rounds in the desert, until they died of thirst, one by one. They would still believe that they were making their way towards the labyrinth, because Chen Dahai had been to the labyrinth personally, by following this map, so it could not be wrong. The labyrinth was filled with countless pearls and treasures; everyone said so, how could that be wrong? Waerlaqi laughed continuously, “Actually, there isn’t even a piece of gold the size of a finger in this labyrinth. All the items hidden inside this place are all widely available in the Central Plains. Tables, chairs, beds, canopies, many, many books, weiqi sets, seven-stringed qins, stoves, bowls and plates, pots…… there is everything but precious treasures. Where there are Han people, these items are all over the place, but these Hans are willing to sacrifice their lives to locate such things, heh heh, it’s completely laughable.”

Li Wenxiu had entered the labyrinth twice, and had seen countless items of daily use. The air in the Muslim Regions was very dry, so although a long time had passed, all the items had not decomposed. She had walked all over the halls and rooms, but there were no treasures. She commented, “The myths people pass down are mostly untrustworthy; although this labyrinth is big, there are no treasures. Ai, even my father and mother sacrificed their lives needlessly for this.” Waerlaqi said, “I saw two stone plaques in the labyrinth, and on them were carved the story behind the building of this labyrinth. It was actually built during the reign of Tang Taizong.” Li Wenxiu did not know who Tang Taizong was, so Waerlaqi explained, in bits and pieces, how the labyrinth came into existence.

It turned out that this area was where the kingdom of Gao Chang was located during the Tang Dynasty.

At that time, Gao Chang was a large country in the Western Region – rich in produce and mighty in power. During the reign of Tang Taizong, the king of Gao Chang was called Qu Wentai, who pledged allegiance to the Tang. The Tang sent envoys to Gao Chang, wanting them to adhere to Han customs. To the envoys Qu Wentai declared, “The eagle soars in the sky, the pheasant lies in the shrubs; the cat wanders the hall, the mouse chews in the nest. Each has its own place, so why can’t they live as they like?” What he meant was: “Although you may be fierce eagles flying in the sky, we are wild chickens hiding in the grass; although you are cats stalking the halls, we are tiny mice squeaking in our holes – and there is nothing you can do about it. We should each live our lives, why must we be forced to follow the rules and customs of you Han people?” When Tang Taizong heard this, he flew into a rage. Concluding that they were uncivilized and had rejected his beneficial influences, he sent his great general Hou Junji to invade them.

Upon hearing this news, Qu Wentai told his officials, “The Great Tang is seven thousand li away from us. In the middle is an enormous desert of two thousand li, which is barren of both water and grass. With cold winds that cut and hot winds that burn, how can they send a massive army over? If they invade us, the more soldiers they have, the more food they’ll need. As long as their army numbers below thirty thousand, there is no need to fear. We don’t need to expend too much energy and just need to guard our capital city tightly. After twenty days, the Tang soldiers will have finished their supplies and should retreat accordingly.” He knew that the Tang army was formidable, and thus conceived of the plan to only defend and not attack. He also gathered a large group of people to build a labyrinth in an extremely secret location, so that they would have somewhere to hide just in case the city fell. At that time, Gao Chang was a prosperous and powerful nation, so many of the skilled craftsmen of the Western Region were gathered there. The labyrinth’s winding passages were completely fantastical in their construction, and many of the country’s rare treasures were hidden inside. Qu Wentai thought, “Even if the Tang army enters the labyrinth, they may not be able to find me.”

Hou Junji had learnt the art of war from Li Jing, and was adept at military strategies. Brimming with confidence throughout the entire journey, his army swept through the great desert easily. When Qu Wentai learnt that the large Tang army was coming, he was so overcome by worry and apprehension that he did not know what to do, and thus died of fright. His son Qu Zhisheng succeeded him as king. Hou Junji led his troops and attacked their way to the capital city. There were a series of successive battles, and the Gao Chang army suffered great losses each time. The Tang had a type of tall carriage, ten zhang in height, which was specially used for attacking cities. As this weapon was high up like a bird’s nest, it was called the “nest carriage”. The nest carriages were pushed next to the city, and the soldiers standing on top had a good vantage point from which to hurl rocks and shoot arrows. The Gao Chang army found it difficult to fight back. Before Qu Zhisheng could escape into the labyrinth, the capital fell, and he was forced to surrender. The kingdom of Gao Chang, which had been founded by Qu Jia and then gone through nine successors, lasted for one hundred and thirty-four years, before meeting its demise in the fourteenth year of Tang Taizong’s reign.

Hou Junji captured Ju Zhisheng, his entourage of officials and great heroes, and brought them back to Chang’an. In addition, he had also taken all the treasures in the labyrinth. Tang Taizong stated that Gao Chang had resisted sinicization, and did not understand the goodness of the cultural relics and attire from a superior country. Thus, he bestowed large amounts of books, clothes, utensils, music instruments and other items on the kingdom. But in private, the Gao Chang people commented, “Wild chickens cannot fly like eagles, and tiny mice cannot meow like cats. No matter how good you Han people’s things are, we Gao Chang savages will not like them.” So they took all the items that Tang Taizong had sent, which included books, relics, numerous utensils and statues of Buddha, Confucius and Taishang Laojun, and placed them in the labyrinth without a second glance.

Over a thousand years, the shifting sands of the desert and the abundant growth of trees had made this secret ancient labyrinth even more obscure. Without a map, nobody would be able to find it. The Kazakhs who currently lived in the area were completely unrelated to the Gao Chang people of antiquity.

During the time he spent in the Central Plains, Waerlaqi had learnt both the literary and martial arts. He had read Han books widely, and was thus well versed in Tang Dynasty historical incidents. Although Li Wenxiu was of Han origin, she was ignorant of such topics, and felt no interest in learning more. Hearing Waerlaqi’s breathing grow weaker, she said, “Master, you’d better rest and not talk any more. This Han emperor was really meddlesome. Just let other people live the way they want, why force it? Ai, you are often unable to get what you truly like in your heart. As for what others insist on giving you – even if it is very very good, if I do not like it, no matter what, I will still not like it.”

Waerlaqi whispered, “A’xiu, I…… I am very lonely. Nobody has ever spent so much time talking to me. Are you willing…… willing to stay with me?” Li Wenxiu reassured, “Master, I will stay with you here.” Waerlaqi answered, “I am going to die soon. After I am gone, you will leave, and never return again.” Overcome by deep grief and desolation, Li Wenxiu could not find the right words to reply. Gently, she held her master’s left hand with her right, and sensed it growing colder and colder.

Waerlaqi continued, “I want you to stay here with me forever, and never leave my side……” As he spoke, he slowly raised his right hand. Clasped between his thumb and forefinger were two poisoned needles. He thought, “Once these two needles give you a little prick, you will stay in the labyrinth with me forever and never leave me again.” Softly he said, “A’xiu, you are both pretty and gentle, and a really good girl. Stay with me forever. I have been very lonely all my life, no one ever bothered about me…… A’xiu, you are very obedient, a very good child……”

The two poisoned needles gradually moved closer and closer to Li Wenxiu. But in the darkness, she saw nothing.

Waerlaqi thought, “My hand has no more energy left, so I have to prick her slowly. If I am fast and she gives me a push, I won’t be able to prick her anymore.” The needles edged towards her cheek – merely two chi away, then only one chi away…… 　　 Li Wenxiu, thoroughly oblivious to the fact that the needles were no more than seven or eight inches from her, queried, “Master, was A’man’s mother very beautiful?”