Chapter Three: Sunny Spots of Greenery
A garden is nothing more than nature forced to obey humanity's will. It is said that nature waits patiently for its chance to seek revenge on humanity for all the wrongs it has suffered. Hear now the tale of how the five worthies charged with building the Great Khan Kubilai's summer palace imposed their will upon a forest with barely the power to resist. The tale begin in this way ....
The focus of the labourers' efforts this week is the Glade of Permeating Fragrance. The five worthies are determined to complete the garden if for no other reason than to finally put the incident of Lady Spider behind them. After a day of break-breaking effort clearing the glade, digging drainage trenches and garden beds in preparation for a selection of aromatic and decorative plants, the shock that comes with the dawn is almost too much for Mei-Lan-Dai to bear.
"Mistress," cries the chief planter bursting in on the morning project management meeting. "All our work from yesterday has been undone. The drainage trenches have been filled in, the scrub re-planted and growing, and the garden beds un-ploughed. It must be magic!"
The five worthies rush to examine the scene and find everyhting as the chief planter described. Other than some minor disruption, there is little evidence that any work was performed here yesterday. Sung Il Tran sets a guard on the area and Baiju Gan demands of the workers the names of those who did this. Xiao Lin-yu estimates the size of the workforce required to undo yesterday's work. Tumen Subei tests the air for the presence of spirits. She need not have bothered as all can feel a supernatural presence in the would-be glade. There is a dreadful power here.
Tumen Subei begins a ritual to summon the spirit of the glade. Soon, the vines begin to move and wave in the air although there is no breeze to stir them. The leaves of the tree rustle as whispering secrets to each other. Branches, leaves and other debris from the glade's floor rise up from the ground and take the form of a man some twenty feet tall.
"Who dares summon Song-Mei, guardian of the glade?" it bellows. "What business do such petty _animals_ have with him?"
Song-Mei interrupts the humble apologies the five worthies offer in the spirit's honour.
"What do you call this place? You animals have a habit of naming things yourself rather than trying to learn a thing's name for itself."
On hearing that they call it the Glade of Permeating Fragrance, the forest spirit snorts in derision.
"Permeating Fragrance? More like the Stench of Corruption. I know one of you is not what it seems. How can we respect such liars. I see no reason to do what you say. Leave my realm alone or the plant world will no longer remain passive. My people demand an annual blood sacrifice of an eight year old human for all the harm you have inflicted upon us and in return we will mold ourselves into whatever shape you desire so that you need not hack at us with axes and shears again. "
Three of the five worthies -- all but Tumen Subei and Baiju Gan -- denounce the forest spirit's demands as obscene and refuse. None notice the other two leave the glade and ride for the savage village of Chogyal.
"Then you have chosen war!" shouts the forest spirit. Vines and leafy tendrils snake out and wrap around Xiao Lin-yu and Sung Il Tran. Mei-Lan-Dai and the soldiers hack at the attacking weeds and drag the forest's prey to safety.
Tran orders the soliders to form a human barrier around the glade and to start clearing a fire break between the glade and the rest of the forest in case they need to resort to fire. One squad he orders to collect all the lamp oil in the summer palace and funnel it into gourds for throwing. The necks of the gourds are sealed with rags.
In the village of Chogyal, Subei seeks out the abattoir with the wall of skulls while Baiju Gan corners the headman in his rude stone hovel.
"You killed on of my men," he says, poking the headman in the chest. "Dorban Qi was to be your slave not your dinner. I demand one of your people in return. I demand an eight year old child for me to sacrifice."
"We only have one and we were planning to sacrifice her ourselves," the headman sighs. "You take her and we will sacrifice others in her place. Let's hope that our savage god will accept quanity rather than quality."
At the abattoir, Tumen Subei examines the wall of skulls in varying states of decay and decomposition. In the abattoir, a family tends ceremonial knives and other blades with obvious religious purposes. An eight year old girl plays with her dolls on the floor of the abattoir and talks with Tumen Subei.
"I'm to be sacrificed. My parents are very proud of me for being chosen."
"What is your god's name?" asks Subei.
"I won't know until after the ceremony," she says and Tumen Subei nods knowingly.
Baiju Gan storms into the abattoir followed by the headman and sweeps up the girl. The headman consoles the family as Tumen Subei and Baiju Gan ride from the village with the girl.
At the glade, Xiao Lin-yu takes a torch and thrusts it at one of the bushes. The glade shivers in pain and the forest spirit roars his displeasure. At this signal, Sung Il Tran orders his soldiers to light the rag-stoppered gourds and throw them into the glade. The gourds burst. The oil burns. The forest now a-blaze screams in rage and pain.
Tumen Subei and Baiju Gan, carrying the girl, leap the flames and land in the centre of the forest glade. Before anyone can stop them, Baiju Gan draws his knife across the girl's throat. Her streaming blood wets the floor of the glade and the legs of the forest spirt.
"Your sacrifice is acceptable to me," says the forest spirit. "Put out the flames and we are yours to command."
"Not yet," says Tumen Subei, who immediately begins the ritual to summon the girl's spirit from the other world. The girl's spirit whispers to her the true name of the forest spirit and armed with this weapon Tumen Subei and Baiju Gan command the forest spirit to kneel before them and depart this realm.
With bare moments to spare, they escape the flames, leaping to the safety of the firebreak. They are immediately surrounded by soldiers under the wrathful gaze of Xiao Lin-yu, Mei-Lan-Dai and Sung Il Tran. The chief planter shakes his head, saddened by such destruction of the forest.
Sung Il Tran orders Baiju Gan arrested for treason and murder. He's held in his quarters under heavy guard. Sung Il Tran discusses the matter with other three worthies. He suggests that since Baiju Gan acted against the law and specifically against them, the Great Khan's agents, that he should be tried for teason and murder. In order to achieve a fair judgement, Sung Il Tran recommends that the three women decide Baiju Gan's fate: innocent or guilty. Two fo the women vote him innocent. One woman votes him guilty. Sung Il Tran, acting as an officer of the court, abstains. Based on this verdict, Baiju Gan is released from custody.
... and from that moment on, regardless of the amount of effort devoted to maintaining and improving the appearance of the Glade of Permeating Fragrance, the only odour which permeated it was the stench of burning and ashes. Even though the five worthies had defeated thier natural enemy they had lost a little of themselves in the process.