Heaven's Golden Finger - Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Within minutes of Shun leaving him, the monsters guarding the tower stopped coming. Shirong wasn't sure if that meant there were no more or if they'd decided to regroup. Either way, at least it gave him a chance to catch his breath.
To be honest, Shirong yearned to race up the stairs and confront their enemy alone. Yearned to succumb to his old, childish, habits of assuming that he was invincible and immortal.
Doing so would be incredibly foolish. Dozens upon dozens of bad examples - from film to television to books to comics - proved that much. Attempting the fight alone might get him seriously injured, possibly killed. There were limits to the powers of a Golden Finger, given he actually had one.
Instead he waited, watching the ash swirl as Shun carried the sapling and stalk down to the dirt below. He'd no idea what those little things could do and no great fondness for trusting in prophecy. But it was all they had. The Revered Predecessor had been right about other things. Hopefully he was right about this.
Quite suddenly Shun burst out of the ash, snake form transforming as he rushed for the staircase. By the time he was at Shirong's side, he'd fully restored himself, clothes and all, swords out and ready. "Let's go."
Shirong didn't bother asking after the plants, just headed upwards, listening for signs of their enemy ahead. Nothing. Just a seemingly endless staircase leading them into darkness, with only the soft glow of Shirong's white sword to light their path.
"This is taking too long," Shun said suddenly.
It hadn't occurred to Shirong but Shun was right. They'd climbed a good five stories worth of steps and that tower hadn't been nearly this tall. "Have we been caught in a trap?"
"Probably." They slowed to a stop, looking back the way they came. Nothing but darkness. "Damnit, this is my fault. I should have expected something like this."
So should Shirong, for that matter. By now he'd seen enough to tell him what cultivational magic could do. "An array?"
"If so, we ran right into it." Shun closed his eyes, clearly focusing his senses. "Watch for attackers. I'm going to try looking for the thing."
Knowing Shun meant to use his cultivation to 'look', Shirong didn't question. Just set himself in place, listening closely and hearing nothing except his Shixiong's slow breaths.
Really, that silence should have been Shirong's first clue that something had changed. The battle outside the tower had been loud enough to echo through the windows. Now the racket was gone and there was nothing.
He paused. Corrected himself. There was a faint sound in the distance, coming from somewhere below them. A click. Then another click. Then another and another. Not footsteps. They were too irregular for that, as if the source were pausing to consider its next move.
The sound was familiar. Where had he heard it before? Shirong listened close and finally remembered. A dim and distant memory from his other life. Him lying warm and comfortable, one of a dozen children in the small orphanage. While in the room next door sounded the tip tip tapping of the nanny and the janitor playing weiqi.
There was a similar game - weicheng - in this life. The chips were square, not round, and there were different classes that affected how many tiles were needed for a 'kill'. In a way it bore a resemblance to chess, though the board was larger and the rules were closer to weiqi.
But who in the world would be playing such a game down there? The plants? That would be ridiculous. Not impossible, not in this world and time, but nonsensical even so. Surely the Revered Predecessor wouldn't have suggested they were needed for that?
"How is there more ash above us," Shun said suddenly, opening his eyes, expression tight and worried. "Another fire snake?"
Another? Shirong was about to ask what his Shixiong meant but a faint thread of melody, as if someone were humming echoed up from the darkness. Pirates of the Caribbean? How in the world could Pirates of the Caribbean be playing down there?
Oh, but wait. Meng Huang Shang had recognized his reference to Doctor Who, back when they first met. If anyone would know the theme of Pirates of the Caribbean, it'd be him. But why in the world would he be humming anything of the sort?
Shun tightened his lips. "I can't find the array," he admitted. "We're going to have to keep moving and deal with what comes."
"Wait. Let me think." Shirong had a feeling he shouldn't mention what he'd heard just now. No point in alerting the enemy. As Shun frowned at him he cudgeled his brain, trying to work out just what that melody might have to do with their situation. It didn't help that he'd been a small kid when the movies came out and barely remembered much beyond breaking his arm leaping off the orphanage balcony.
It hit him a moment later, mostly because of what Shun had said, rather than his actually remembering the song's exact source. There'd been a part of the film where the cast had had to turn a ship upside down in the water, based on the phrase "Up is down". And now the thing that'd been below them was above.
"Shun, will you trust me?"
"Eh?" A moment's thought. Then, "All right."
"Hold on tight, then." Before Shun could change his mind, Shirong grabbed him around the waist and leapt down the open center of the stairway. If he was wrong, hopefully the ash below would cushion their fall.
As they dropped to the floor of a huge stone chamber with a familiar feel to it, Shirong knew he was right.
It only took a moment to realize where they were. The Demon Realm. The stones were the same strange pale blue-veined things from their brief visit to Shun's mother's palace. The same faint scent filled the breeze, wafting in from the wide open windows surrounding the chamber.
There was a cage off to one side, just big enough for two people and a weicheng board. A quick glance told Shirong they'd found both the Revered Predecessor and Meng Huang Shang. No surprise they looked closely related. Meng Huang Shang had said Zhan Kui was his son, after all. No surprise Meng Huang Shang looked more like Zhan Kui's son; he was just the sort of God to insist on seeming younger than everyone around him.
Before Shirong could rise and rush to the cage, a soft voice said, "Clever boys. But what good is it going to do you, attacking me in my stronghold, at your level and without allies?"
Shirong and Shun rose in unison. Turned to face their enemy in unison. Spoke in unison. "Qiong Lou."
"Unfilial brats." Their former Sect Master approached, gazing at them with pure fury. A sword as tall as himself appeared in one hand, a whip of pure chaos in the other. "I'm your master."
"Not anymore," Master Zhan Kui pointed out, setting a tile on the board as he did. "I've already ordered you removed from Leifeng's rolls."
"I raised you!" Qiong Lou snapped, pointing at Shirong. "You belong to me."
Now there was a lie if ever Shirong heard one. "You taught me to be a fool. Spoiled me. Gave me what I wanted. But never what I needed. You didn't raise me and you were never intended to."
A scoff. "Such is life. I made you useful to me, at least." He turned his attention on Shun. "How does it feel? Knowing your salvation comes from the one who ruined your childhood?"
Shirong tensed, but Shun shrugged off the question quickly. "The one who ruined my childhood was you, Qiong Lou. Teaching Shirong and everyone else to loathe me. Teaching me to loathe myself."
"Because you are loathsome, half-breed. That boy beside you is the only one who wants you. Are you looking forward to it? To the day he subdues you and makes you his?"
Shirong flushed at the implication. He couldn't even imagine such a thing. Or, rather, it wasn't what he wanted to imagine. "That's not...."
"Someone misinterprets prophecy," Master Zhan Kui murmured.
"They always do, son. That's why prophecy is so hard to get right."
"Silence!" The chaos lash struck the cage, shaking it but leaving its prisoners undisturbed.
Ignoring the order, Master Zhan Kui continued, "I distinctly remember saying pacify. Not subdue."
"No doubt he mistook it for quell."
Was this really the time for a linguistics discussion? Shirong took a deep breath, drawing his swords and channeling his qi. "Shixiong?"
"Agreed," Shun said crisply. "Fight."
With that, they launched themselves at their enemy, blades striking in near perfect unison. Chaos fire flashed from Qiong Lou's sword, nearly enveloping Shun in a cloud of black lightning. Shun's own Movement responded, crackling around him in a wild array of fireworks.
At the same time Qiong Lou's lash snapped towards Shirong, who dodged and twisted, using everything he'd learned to keep himself just out of harm's way. Blocking the lash with his white blade, he was relieved to see it melt away at his weapon's touch.
With a roar of fury, Qiong Lou restored his whip and struck faster, almost too fast for Shirong. Forced back, he rolled across the floor and wished he'd trained harder. He especially wished it when he failed to evade and found himself flung towards the window. If the cage hadn't suddenly shifted position, landing in his path, he would have been thrown outside.
As Shirong clung to the cage and struggled to get to his feet, Shun struck at their enemy, swords clanging against each other rapidly. The pair dodged back and forth, their movements too fast for Shirong's eyes. Too fast for him to come to Shun's aid for that matter. He'd never be able to catch up.
"Did you pay attention to my message?" Master Zhan Kui asked.
Message. Oh, yes. That was right. The one about the plants. But how was that supposed to help them here? The plants were back at the base of the tower, hopefully growing.... Shirong stopped himself. Growth. Hadn't he just established his own Movement?
He glanced upwards, towards the center of the ceiling. There. That was the hole they'd fallen through. And if the hole was there, then the tower surely was up there as well. Upside down or no didn't matter. All he needed to do was make those plants grow.
Reaching out with his qi, hoping they weren't too far from the things, Shirong drew on his Movement and sent it flowing towards the waiting plants.
For a moment he feared he'd fail. For a moment he feared he wasn't strong enough. But Shun was in danger, in no way Qiong Lou's match. Shirong forced himself. Pushed himself. And suddenly felt two small lives reach back to him, reaching upwards and growing.
And growing.
And growing.
Until they drove their way straight into Qiong Lou's lair.
The golden bamboo arrived first, a gleaming spear striking down and almost knocking Qiong Lou to the ground. He cut at it, raging incoherently, but his blade barely scratched its hardened surface. A moment later the silverleaf tree appeared, branches spreading with wild abandon.
Shirong kept his will on the plants, encouraging their growth. He was dizzy, aching with the effort, unwilling to stop as long as Shun was in danger. The bamboo twisted and speared at Qiong Lou. The silverleaf slammed into the demon, wrapping its branches around him, thrusting its twigs into every inch of exposed skin.
"LET ME GO YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Qiong Lou's whip struck Shirong again but this time he clung to the bars of the cage and would not be moved. The branches tightened on his enemy, drawing blood.
By now Shirong could feel everything the plants he encouraged did. Could feel Shun slithering through the branches, sheltering there Could feel Qiong Lou's struggles. Could feel his sword cutting at the tree's branches, only to make room for more and more. Could feel the demon's chaos fire trying to consume the bamboo, only to be channeled down through the plant's core.
He fought to maintain control, sensing more plants through the first two. Yes. That was it. That was how he'd win. He reached out, grasping at the rest, feeling Jingling forest in the far distance. Felt it growing closer, tightening its web around Qiong Lou's stronghold.
"NO NO NO NO NO NO!" Qiong Lou's screams were fainter. Weaker. He'd put so much power into blocking the forest outside that he'd none left to block these plants. He struggled wildly but every movement just made things worse. Until, immobile at last, he could do nothing to stop the bamboo as it twisted and curved, slowly and inexorably burying itself straight through his heart.
Qiong Lou's body transformed, becoming a demonic beast like the one the false Priest Housu had become. He struggled again, almost breaking free of his imprisonment. The bamboo, twisted beyond its ability to bend, cracked. And at the same time, Qiong Lou howled, "I'LL DESTROY...." His voice broke off a moment later, as Shun slithered through the branches, finding his way to the center. A sudden snap and he buried his fangs in Qiong Lou's wing-flap.
Silvery flesh turned grey, spreading through Qiong Lou's huge body. Grey flesh darkened to the color of a bruise. Bruised flesh turned black. Black flesh rotted away to nothing but a stinking husk that Shun still struggled to bite into.
"So fast," Shirong whispered. "So much."
"Twenty years of anger. Twenty years of hurt. Bottled up and contained. No surprise his poison's so strong." Meng Huang Shang broke the cage and walked to the tree branches. "Enough," he murmured. "You've done your part."
The tree drew back, letting Shun slide to the floor, still wrapped around the rotting remains of their enemy. Behind Shirong, Master Zhan said, "And only his chosen one can pacify his rage."
His chosen one? Shirong almost turned to ask the Revered Predecessor what that meant. Except he could see Shun's wild eyes and knew he was so caught up in his fury over what Qiong Lou had done to him and done to his mother that he could only struggle to destroy what was already dead.
Shirong moved forward, hands wide, staring up worriedly at his Shixiong. "Shun. Shixiong. It's over. He's dead. You don't need to fight him anymore."
The snake hissed, or tried to. No easy feat given Shun's fangs were still buried in that rotting mass. Shirong didn't hesitate. "Please, Shixiong. Beloved. It'd done. It's over. We're safe." He reached out, risking the resentful poison harming him the way it had its target. "I love you, Shun. Please come back to me."
For a terrifying moment Shirong feared he'd failed. Then, in a startling flash, Shun's snake body transformed, becoming himself once more, long hair falling forward to hide his naked body. He stood, staring silent, eyes wide, tears streaming.
Then he collapsed, landing quiet in Shirong's arms.
Little Character Theater
Shun: No one. No. One. Is subduing me.
Shirong: That's all right, Shixiong. I volunteer for that part.
Qiong Lou: What?
Shirong: What?
Shun: Never mind him. He's hopeless.