Listening to Rain

Chapter 7 - Two Weeks Later

Chapter 7

Two Weeks Later

The Thunder Peninsula, Lingnan Region

For the last two weeks, the rapid current had drawn the skiff ever southward. Following Shun's charts, they had found the underground chamber below the Mountain of Nine Doubts and a wooden skiff. Tanzong continued his rigorous meditation schedule. He also assisted Li in the translation of the inscriptions in Sage-King Shun's Channel Charts for this route. When time permitted, he practiced as much as possible on the small skiff with his father's sword, Flying Dragon. Li Wei, meanwhile, recorded his observations of stone formations, waterfalls, colored lights, plant and aquatic life that occurred along their underground river route as he kept track of their progress. The phosphorescent glow of the walls provided an eerie light for his record keeping.

Since there wasn't any division between day and night under the earth, Li Wei set up his portable water clock to track the passage of time. According to his observations of both time and location, as indicated by the charts, he figured they should be nearing the end of the first leg of the journey. When he checked the Channel Charts, he saw that the entry under the Thunder Peninsula exit read, "Thunder Lord Marker."

Li Wei looked over the side of the skiff further ahead. A stalagmite rose out of the dim blue-green phosphorescence that permeated the channel and reached to the stony ceiling of their underground vault. From a distance, the stone formation had a huge crow-like shape.

"Thunder lords," Li Wei mumbled to himself. His eyes began to flutter uncontrollably and he reached for the Yellow Gourd Studio.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Li, Tanzong was in the grip of another "vision." This last meditation session had started with the familiar sense of a shadow brushing against his mind. He quickly chanted the protective mantra he'd been given: Om gate gate pãragate pãrasamgate bodhi svãhã. Then he tried to let go and let his mind flow wherever it sought. He had been taught that this should thus cut off further mental stimuli, which could be feeding the "vision."

I sense the now familiar presence, as if a shadow has brushed my mind. This time, I am standing in a dense jungle. It is night and the moon above is weaving in and out of the clouds revealing a heavy mist that permeates the thick, lush foliage. Will the presence reveal itself? It circles me. There, off to my right, the two burning stars moving round me. The creature's eyes! They've stopped. It watches me! No sound issues forth from my mouth, I cannot scream though a terror rises within me. I must break free. The light returns! Everything around me dissolves! And now my consciousness...

.

"What! Brother Li!" gasped Tanzong, eyes flashing open from his "meditation." Li Wei was doubly startled. Tanzong drenched in sweat, rose and moved to the stern with Li. He quickly composed himself.

"Judging from your likely consultation with the Yellow Gourd Studio, it must be another point of scholarship, eh, brother Li?" said Tanzong trying to present a calm and casual air.

Li whisked down another sip, took a long look at Tanzong, and then repeated, "Thunder lords, elder brother."

Finishing the third sip, he pointed to the bird-shaped form that was taking clearer shape. The skiff drew toward it.

Bathed in its own reddish glow, the form appeared off the starboard side of their skiff. Closer up, it almost looked human, but where a nose and mouth should have been a long sharp beak protruded and short goat-like horns projected from the top of its skull; the arms were bat-like wings ending in clawed hands, and the legs were long and thin, ending in extended, curved talons. The skiff seemed to slow, as it passed the cruel form.