Living to Suffer 活受罪

CHAPTER 1

I

As he faded in and out of consciousness, Shen Liangsheng caught the sound of rain hitting an umbrella. Showers in the summertime were swift and heavy, and when the droplets hit the canopy, they were like booming war drums rousing him out of his dreamlike state.

The first thing he saw after his eyes blinked open was the underside of an oil-paper umbrella painted with yellow reeds. The art was realistic and conveyed the plant's submission to the elements.

He heard someone saying, "This rain will not last long. It should be ceasing soon," and immediately tried to reach for his sword. Ch'in Ching, who was holding the umbrella and watching him, noticed the man's twitching fingers. He leaned in closer.

There were no signs of human activity in these deserted hills other than the two of them. The heavily wounded Shen Liangsheng had come upon this abandoned shrine and attempted to enter in order to escape the rain and tend to his injuries. Unfortunately, his body gave out before he could do so, and he collapsed at the entrance.

The t'uti[1] shrine had long ago been abandoned and was so deteriorated the door had caved in and was lying askew in the mud. Shen Liangsheng had tripped on it, fallen on its wooden boards and lost consciousness for about half the time of a burned incense stick.[2]

The blood flow was too profuse to be washed away by the rain. The scarlet seeped into the boards and welled up again with the rainwater from the cracks in the wood. Rich and fresh, it was not unlike a new coat of vermillion paint on the bottom of a coffin.

Seeing this pitiful man hovering between life and death, Ch'in Ching was hesitant but still asked frankly, "What is your name? It'd be easier to erect a tombstone for you if you die."

While Ch'in Ching was speaking, Shen Liangsheng was calling upon his core ch'i.[3]Every pathway in his body was in pain as though a thousand blades were grinding against his insides, and he could not make a sound.

Receiving no response, Ch'in Ching assumed that the man did not want to end his life here, so he nodded and remarked, "Indeed, it is better to stay alive than not."

Although he was in excruciating pain, Shen Liangsheng did not want to pass out again, so he forced himself to stay conscious and made eye contact with Ch'in Ching.

Ch'in Ching looked back at the man and saw no signs that the man desired rescue, nor did he find any pride or stubbornness. The man's eyes were cold and still like icy ponds reflecting his silhouette - half-bent, holding an umbrella with one hand and scratching his head with the other, all while staring intently, almost dumbly, back at the man.

Ch'in Ching coughed and straightened his back wanting to recover his image as a dignified and otherworldly figure, but even he himself wanted to laugh at the attempt, which led him to cough once more before speaking in a serious tone. "I inspected your pulse earlier. With the internal and external wounds, you are essentially on your last breath, but worry not, I am not one to leave a patient in need. Only if I were to move you...I'm afraid you might not survive the trip. What say you?"

As the hufa[4] of an esoteric sect, Shen Liangsheng had an extraordinary pulse and ch'i. He knew that his injuries were not as severe as the man thought and that it actually would be difficult for him to die even if he were to lie here and be rained on for another day and night, let alone from being moved.