Qin's Moon: Yang Shi's Long Song

On the third day after Yan Lingji woke up, Han Fei came to find Yang Hui.

That afternoon, Yang Hui was washing his gray cloth shirt by the well in the backyard of Zilan Pavilion. It was stained with rust, frost, and a chill that had seeped into the fabric after he returned from the dungeon; he had to soak it three times to remove the stains. Han Fei walked over from the corridor carrying a pot of wine, but without a cup, as if he already knew Yang Hui wouldn't drink.

"You promised me something." Han Fei sat down on the stone stool next to him, placing the wine jug on his lap. "The person is awake now, able to sit and drink porridge. Now tell me—what does that 'reform' you mentioned look like?"

Yang Hui wrung out his clothes and hung them on a bamboo pole to dry, then washed his hands in a basin. He shook the water off his hands and sat down on a stone stool opposite Han Fei. A well separated the two of them, its rim covered with a thin layer of moss.

Yang Hui said, "Your law is correct. The path of 'rule of law' is fundamentally correct."

Han Fei waited for him to continue.

"But your law is only written on paper right now," Yang Hui looked at him, "it can't be put into practice."

How can I write it down in the ground?

"You first need the 'strength' to implement it. Where does your strength come from? The Korean court is in Ji Wuye's hands, the officials are in Ji Wuye's hands, the soldiers are in Ji Wuye's hands. No matter how well your laws are written, a single secret letter from him can render all your new policies useless."

Han Fei did not deny it. He looked down at the wine pot for a while, then said, "So the first step in what you called 'how to reform' is to eliminate Ji Wuye?"

"It's not just Ji Wuye," Yang Hui said, "it's the entire 'Nightfall.' Ji Wuye, the Blood-Clad Marquis, and the net beneath them. If that net isn't broken, your laws will be crushed once they enter the court. You have to lift that net before you can inscribe the laws into the ground."

Han Fei thought for a moment. He scrutinized Yang Hui's expression, as if trying to read from his calm face whether he was exaggerating. Then he said, "What will you use to lift it? Just you and that sword?"

"I know someone," Yang Hui said. "He's my senior brother. His name is Gai Nie."

Han Fei raised an eyebrow. "Gai Nie."

"You know him?"

"I've heard of him." Han Fei picked up the wine jug, weighed it in his hand, and said, "Sword Saint Gai Nie, the sole inheritor of the Vertical Sword Technique. Legend has it that he single-handedly guarded a pass, and 30,000 men outside couldn't even set foot inside. If he were to come to Xinzheng..."

"He will come."

Are you sure?

"I've already sent word," Yang Hui said. "Before I left Guigu, my master gave me a letter. Gai Nie has been traveling for the past few years, his whereabouts are uncertain, but my master knows where to find him. The letter has already been sent; he should arrive in Xinzheng in about half a month."

Han Fei looked at Yang Hui, a slow smile spreading across his lips—not a smile, but the expression of "I'm starting to believe." "You planned it all out before you left Ghost Valley. Save me, find Han Fei, lift the veil of night, summon Gai Nie. You set up the chessboard the moment you descended the mountain."

Yang Hui neither said yes nor no. He simply said, "Someone will overturn Ji Wuye's chair for you. Whether your law can be written into the ground after that is your business."

Han Fei remained silent for a few moments. Then he asked an unplanned question: "And what about you? After you overturn this chair, where are you going?"

Yang Hui paused for a moment. He hadn't expected Han Fei to ask this question at this juncture. He thought for a moment and said, "I originally intended to destroy Qin."

Han Fei nearly dropped the wine jug in his hand. He smiled—not the kind of smile that says, "I think you're joking," but the kind that says, "You've stunned me, but I don't know what expression to make." He placed the wine jug back on his lap and gave Yang Hui a serious look.

"Destroy Qin."

"Um."

"You mean the word 'annihilate'?"

"yes."

Han Fei remained silent for a long time. Then he stood up, walked to the well, and looked down at his reflection in the water. The water was still, and the person in the reflection wore a faded white robe, his hair slightly ruffled by the wind. Looking at the reflection, he said, "I can't help you with your plan to destroy Qin. I can help you overthrow Ji Wuye, but destroying Qin is another matter."

"I know."

"Then why did you lift the chair for me first?"

Yang Hui watched Han Fei's retreating figure and said, "Because after overturning the chair, the legal system you wrote can be tested in Han. If it succeeds, when we build a new state after destroying Qin, I won't need to start from scratch."

Han Fei turned around. He looked at Yang Hui as if he were looking at someone his age who had surpassed him. He suddenly smiled—not the kind of "stunned" smile he had given before, but a different kind: as if he had finally seen the next move in a game of chess he had been playing for a long time.

"You," Han Fei said, waving the wine jug at him, "I wish I had met you two years earlier."

"I was in the mountains a couple of years ago."

"That's true." Han Fei turned and walked down the corridor, then turned back after a couple of steps. "You just said you were looking for Gai Nie. Are you looking for him to fight Ji Wuye?"

Not entirely.

"And for what else?"

Yang Hui stood up, straightened the gray cloth shirt hanging on the bamboo clothesline, and said, "My second senior brother might also come. He's behind my eldest senior brother. After he arrives—there won't be just one person flipping the table."

Han Fei stood under the eaves, watching him. Sunlight streamed into the courtyard, and the moss by the well gleamed a damp green in the light. Yang Hui stood beside the bamboo pole, his sleeves rolled up, water droplets still clinging to his arms. Han Fei looked at him for a moment, then smiled, and didn't ask again, "Who is Second Senior Brother?"

"More than half a month," Han Fei said. "What should we do before your senior brother arrives?"

Yang Hui thought for a moment. "Make preparations. You write your things, I'll practice my sword. As for Zi Nu—have her set up the covert network."

"Setting up the concealed wiring will take time."

"There was just enough before Gai Nie arrived."

Han Fei nodded. He turned and walked away. When he reached the end of the corridor, he held up the wine jug behind him and waved it casually. He didn't turn around, and he didn't speak. It was as if he were saying, "My next move on the chessboard is over."

Yang Hui stood by the well, watching him disappear down the corridor. Then he turned to look at the room where Yan Lingji lived. The window was open, and no one was inside. He saw her back as she sat by the window, turned to the side, combing her hair. She combed very slowly, pausing as her fingers ran through the ends of her hair, as if confirming, "My hair is real, and it's still on my head."

Yang Hui took the gray cloth shirt, folded it neatly, placed it on the stone stool, and then walked into the main hall of Zilanxuan.

Zi Nu was wiping glasses behind the counter. She glanced at him and asked, "Han Fei is gone?"

"They're gone."

"What did you make him do?"

"Write something."

Zi Nu turned the cup upside down to check for water stains on the rim, then put it down. "He's quietest when he's writing. Don't disturb him then."

"knew."

Yang Hui went upstairs. He entered his room at the end of the corridor—a room Zi Nu had prepared for him. It wasn't large, but it had a table, a window, and a bed. He sat down and took out the bamboo scroll of celestial secrets from his robes, unfolding it and spreading it on the table. He stared at the cinnabar characters for a long time.

Before Gai Nie arrived, he had one more thing to do. He was going to use the Heavenly Secrets Technique—not to look at the future, but to look at the "past." He wanted to see where Yan Ling Ji had gone after he left that dilapidated temple ten years ago. He wanted to know who had brought her out of the ruins of Baiyue and who had sent her to the dungeon in Xinzheng.

This information isn't needed now, but it will be useful later.

He closed his eyes and placed his hand on the bamboo slip.

One year.

Another year.