Ballad of Ten Thousand Gu

Prologue

[Notes]

The Gu in the title refers to a venom-based poison. The traditional preparation of the gu poison involves sealing several venomous creatures (e.g., centipede, snake, scorpion) inside a closed container, where they devour one another to concentrate their toxins into a single survivor.
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[Prologue]

That day, he came to look for me.

At that time, the air was humid from the rain which drizzled, and I was playing the pipa within the bamboo house. The melody was sorrowful and tragic, startling the surrounding ants which scattered away. In spite of the demonic tune which I wove, that man’s face was a picture of calmness as he walked towards me.

His hair was jet-black, his robes white as snow. Imprinted onto the center of his forehead was a blood red serpentine figure. He looked at me, his gaze as pellucid as a pond of backwater, devoid of a flicker of emotion.

Behind him followed a young lady, her face hidden beneath the large hat she wore. Hanging around the sides of her hat was a sheet of white linen which fell to her knees, concealing her entire person from view. Unconsciously, I could not help but glance at her, thinking to myself that she must be a stunning woman beneath her veil.

‘I came, to seek your help in finding a person.’ At last, the man spoke, his voice as icy as his person.

I chanced a glance at him even as I continued to play my pipa, my head remaining bowed. ‘The Master of Destiny does not accept requests in locating a missing person. Please leave. I will not see you out.’

‘She came to look for you three years ago,’ he continued, his gaze penetrating.

My fingers, which had been fiddling with the strings of the pipa, jerked. Finally, I raised my head and asked, ‘Who are you looking for?’

‘My disciple,’ said the man, the first trace of emotion underlining his voice, as though he could no longer suppress that blazing emotion tormenting his heart. ‘Su Bai.’

***

I remember the person named Su Bai, for she had left a deep impression on my mind.

She was my first customer, and remained to date the only person whose request I had never managed to fulfil.

I first met her three years ago. Back then, the countries Great Yue and Southern Zhao were in the midst of a war, and I was an apprentice following my master, the most renowned Master of Destiny, in the battlefield. That day, because I had used the stones in determining the direction of the wind, my master expelled me from the sect in a fit of rage. As a result, when night fell, I had no choice but to roast sweet potatoes a distance away from the camp barracks so as to not starve to death.

It was there where Su Bai first appeared.

A moment after I had roasted my sweet potatoes, she suddenly landed on the grounds from the trees above.

She knelt, extending a slender hand towards me as she said, ‘Give one to me.’

I was a kind-hearted and generous person, and after I took in the massive python measuring the girth of two men behind her, I handed her a sweet potato. After that, the both of us sat facing the other as we ate the sweet potatoes in silence.

When we were done, she handed me a bamboo tube filled with water, before asking curiously, ‘I heard that you are the disciple of the Master of Destiny. Will you also become a Master of Destiny?’

‘What do you want?’ I was puzzled.

She lowered her head and picked up a tree branch, fiddling with the bonfire. A moment later, she smiled, her eyes curving into crescent-shaped moons. ‘I wish to have a dream, after I die.’

‘What happened?’ Curiously, I moved closer to her.

She did not notice, and continued to prod at the bonfire with the branches.

At last, she said, ‘I am a Gu Master, but I am also a Han Chinese. My name is Su Bai.’