THE TWO OF THEM turned to see Murong Lian saunter out of the shadows, clothes aflutter and pipe in hand.
In addition to the gravestones at the mountain's summit, there were also eight jade statues, each as tall as ten men, carved in the likeness of the seven sovereigns and one extraordinary guoshi since Chonghua's founding. Murong Lian had been skulking behind one of these sculptures without attracting the notice of either Mo Xi or Gu Mang.
Mo Xi glared at Murong Lian. "Wangshu-Jun do you really have nothing better to do?" He asked flatly.
"This lord came to pay respects to my late fater. Afterward, I found myself wanting to gaze upon this majestic scenery while I contemplated the ephemeral nature of life. Thus, I paused here to admire the mountains, the rivers, and the drifting clouds."
Murong Lian narrowed his eyes and took a drag on his pipe. He slowly exhaled. "Does Xihe-jun think I would listen to such a ridiculous conversation otherwise? I want to atone," he snickered. "I'm going to laugh myself sick."
He stepped onto the jade-plank path, one spotless white silk shoe after another, and strode over to Mo Xi and Gu Mang. He gaze was full of undisguised malice as he looked Gu Mang up and down. "Sweetheart, don't you know what kind of trash you were?"
Gu Mang's serenity was infuriating. "I know," he said. "I am a traitor."
Murong Lian blew a ring of smoke and scoffed, sneer unchanging. "On, so you do know. I thought after living it up at Xihe Manor for so long, you might've forgotten your place and status."
With a single long stride, Mo Xi stepped between Murong Lian and Gu Mang, his face impassive as ever. "Murong Lian, know your bounds."
Murong Lian let out a sinister laugh. "What, I can't even scold the dog I raised anymore?"
"He belongs to me now," Mo Xi made no effort to soften his tone.
Murong Lian's facade of indifference, thin as a cicada's wing, sloughed away in an instant, "You don't have to say it—I can tell you think he belongs here. Only the people of Chonghua may bow at the graves of our heroes buried on Warrior Soul Mountain." Murong Lian swooped in close to Mo Xi, eyes glinting and teeth gritted. "So, Xihe-jun, tell me the truth—you still see him as your brother, don't you? If we are to fraternize with our enemies so, why don't we roll out a red carpet and invite the King of Liao to tour the tombs of our fallen heroes while we toss flowers and light firecrackers?"
Mo Xi had ignored Murong Lian's gibes, but Gu Mang spoke up. "I came to apologize."
Murong Lian looked as if he'd heard a brilliant joke. "Apologize?"
Gu Mang thought he hadn't explained himself clearly enough. "I came to apologize to them—" He turned to look at the lofty gravestones. "To apologize for my crimes."
This time, Murong Lian really did burst out laughing. The tassels on his pipe swayed with his cackling, each guffaw louder than the one before. "Ha ha ha—apologize for your crimes? Your crimes ?"
He stared at Gu Mang with the sly eyes of a fox. His laughter hadn't yet faded, but viciousness had already risen in his gaze. The overlapping mirth and malice made his pale face seem extraordinarily malevolent. "How will you apologize? How can you apologize? Don't make yourself ridiculous, Gu Mang. Do you think stumbling to your knees at the grave of Mo Xi's father, bowing once or twice and burning some paper counts as apologizing? Chonghua's heroes can't bear such an insult!"
"Murong Lian!" Mo Xi snapped.
"What, are others not allowed to speak to him? I can't even berate him a little?" Murong Lian spun around to glare at Mo Xi. "Little Fireball, we both lost our fathers young. How deficient Wangshu Manor must be in your eyes, that you dare order me around like this. Your old man and mine are both lying on this mountain. Maybe you don't mind that he's here, but I do. As is my right!"
Murong Lian jabbed a vicious finger in Gu Mang's direction. "Look at him! How can he speak of apology with that carefree expression!"
Without warning, Gu Mang walked right up to Murong Lian, stepping around Mo Xi. "I didn't say that was my apology. I'm not smart, but I know that's far from enough."
"Bullshit!" Murong Lian snapped. "You're not dumb, no—you're far too clever. You pretended to be obedient and resigned at Luomei Pavilion, but now that you're in our General Mo's hands, you start faking remorse and come here to burn a few sheets of paper money for sympathy. Gu Mang, are the spirits of Chonghua's valiant martyrs so cheap? Do you think a couple sheets of paper money can write off your sins? Do you think all the descendants of Chonghua's heroes are as easily appeased as your Xihe-jun?"
Gu Mang looked at him, gaze unfaltering. "I don't."
"Then you never should have come, you bastard!" Murong Lian suddenly hooked his pipe around the back of Gu Mang's neck. Gu Mang shuddered as the scalding metal pressed into his skin, but he didn't struggle free, as though he'd steeled himself against it. His pristine blue eyes fixed wordlessly on Murong Lian's face. Ash fell into his loose lapels, the sparks leaving burns on his
exposed skin.
Gu Mang didn't flinch, but Mo Xi couldn't stand to watch any longer. Whether it was because of Gu Mang or the solemnity of the heroes' tombs, he had no desire to see Murong Lian carry on with this farce. He grabbed Murong Lian's arm and lifted the pipe away from Gu Mang's neck.
The skin beneath was blistered and raw, but Murong Lian was yet unsatisfied. "Mo Xi, let fucking go of me!" he snarled.
"Murong Lian, you plan to throw a fit on Warrior Soul Mountain?"
"You're the one who brought a traitor here to offend generations of Chonghua's martyrs! And you have the nerve to tell me off?"
"He came to apologize!"
"Only to your dad! Did he apologize to any other? Did he kneel before any other? What kind of apology is this? He's just sucking up to you so you'll let him off easy; I can see he's already gotten what he wants. And what do you plan next? Will you ask His Imperial Majesty to reward him for his newfound contrition? Have you any idea what he's ploting?!"
It was no rare thing for such fury to lead to physical violence. Murong Lian was certainly trying to get a rise out of Mo Xi, yet to avoid coming to blows atop Warrior Soul Mountain, Mo Xi silently endured his taunts. When Gu Mang saw Murong Lian goad Mo Xi, he stepped forward to try to get between them. Unexpectedly, Murong Lian whipped around and slapped Gu Mang across the face with an audible crack.
The red lotus sigil on Gu Mang's neck glowed to life, but he suppressed the spell. He had heard the conversation between Mo Xi and Murong Lian; he understood that it would be wrong to brandish weapons or shed blood here.
Murong Lian wasn't satisfied with one slap. The sight of Gu Mang's face filled him with indescribable frustration and disgust; he delivered a vicious kick to Gu Mang's chest.
Caught unawares, Gu Mang crumpled onto the steps and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Gu Mang!" Mo Xi cried out sharply.
Gu Mang brusquely swiped at the blood on his mouth and looked up at Murong Lian. A bestial savagery gathered in his eyes, but he determinedly restrained himself. Heaving to catch his breath, he lowered his eyes and pushed away Mo Xi's outstretched hand. He used his sleeve to wipe the blood from the steps.
Murong Lian narrowed his eyes, his fingertips trembling from anger. "What are you doing now ?"
"This place shouldn't...get dirty."
Gu Mang lifted his head. "I said I wanted to apologize for my crimes. It's the truth. I said I wouldn't betray anyone ever again, and that's the truth as well."
Murong Lian said nothing.
"I didn't lie." Gu Mang's bloodstained lips parted. "Everything I said as I knelt here today was true."
Those limpid blue eyes were so clean and so clear that Murong Lian couldn't help taking a step back. Under his sleeve, he fiddled with the sapphire colored ring on his thumb as his shuddering became more and more
uncontrollable. As if determined to ignore some emotion that threatened to
overcome him, Murong Lian paused for a moment and suddenly gritted his teeth. "Fine. You want to apologize for your crimes, to kowtow, to start anew—is that right?"
"Yes" Gu Mang replied firmly.
Murong Lian looked up and took a deep breath. When he gazed back at Gu Mang, his eyes shone with an indefinable light. Hidden within his sleeve, his fingers tightened around his thumb until that sapphire-blue ring dug into the flesh of his palm.
"Kneel before eyery single gravestone in the cemetery, regardless of when they were erected or whether they died because of you. With each kowtow, say "the traitor Gu Mang deserves to die ten thousand deaths."
Murong Lian bent his smoke-scented lips to Gu Mang's ear. He said softly, "Only after you've knelt at every single grave on the mountain will you hhave the barest of rights to claim sincerity in apologizing to the departed souls."
Murong Lian straightened and glanced at Mo Xi. Then, as if he never expected Mo Xi to agree, he turned back to Gu Mang. "But you belong to Xihe-jun now, so I can't give you orders. It all depends on how regretful you really are."
Gu Mang didn't hesitate for a moment. He got to his feet, the brilliant sunlight illuminating the reddened skin of his cheek and the blood staining the corner of his mouth. "I'll do it."
I said I meant it. Once I've decided on something, I'll never turn back.
It was hard to gauge whether malice or shock was more prominent on Murong Lian's face at Gu Mang's swift reply. Or perhaps it was some secret feeling, unfathomable to anyone but himself, that lurked within his expression.Murong Lian's eyes flashed as he whispered, "You'd better not have second thoughts. There are tens of thousands of graves here. Three full days and nights may not be enough to kneel to them all."
"Whether it's four days and four nights, or ten days and ten nights, I'Il do it" Gu Mang replied. He turned to glance at Mo Xi. "I want to...show you my heart."
Mo Xi's hands had long since clenched into fists, but he held his tongue.He knew Gu Mang too well, and he knew that look in his eyes. Blocking his way would be like barring a wild beast from blood—there was no way Gu Mang would obey.
Furthermore, Murong Lian wasn't wrong. Even minor mistakes had their consequences. And the sins Gu Mang carried amounted to battlefields strewn with corpses and endless trails of blood.
Still, Mo Xi murmured hoarsely, "Gu Mang, think it through carefully. Even if you do this, no one will forgive you. It doesn't matter if you kneel for three days and three nights or ten days and ten nights. Even if you die kowtowing on this mountain, you will be a criminal in Chonghua. Nothing will change."
"I want to show you my heart," Gu Mang repeated.
Mo Xi felt as though a boulder had rammed into his chest, Hearing Gu Mang say these words a second time, he suddenly understood. Gu Mang had never imagined his crimes and betrayals would be written off. He had known long since that nothing of those could be erased. He just wanted to live differently; he just felt that the way he was had been wrong. He just—he just wanted...
"After you see it, if you're willing to trust me, will you teach me what to do? This time, I don't want to walk the wrong path."
Mo Xi couldn't say a word—his heart ached so fiercely he nearly crumpled to his knees. Braced against the cold mountain wind, his face was deathly pale, his blood like ice. He looked at Gu Mang's upturned face, so naive and ignorant.
After a long pause, he heard someone speak in a voice so rough that he only realized belatedly that it was his own. "Don't be foolish, Gu Mang," he sighed. "There's no path forward for you."
Gu Mang's eyes widened.
Murong Lian went pale, "Mo Xi-don't tell.."
But Mo Xi didn't listen. He felt as if his heart was being cut open and his throat was raw and bloody, but still he spoke, enunciating each word with such cold cruelty.
"No path remains for you. His Imperial Majesty gave you the death sentence. The sole reason you're still breathing now is to keep you available for use in black magic experiments."
"Mo Xi!" Murong Lian shouted furiously. "Why are you telling him this? Are you crazy?"
"What do you want? For him to atone with his whole heart, just so you can tell him on his dying day that all he did was useless?"
Murong Lian fell silent.
Mo Xi turned back toward Gu Mang. "Since you want to do it, then I'lI tell you the truth. It could be tomorrow or next year, but in the end, you will die. No matter what you do, you'll never earn a chance to start anew."
Gu Mang said nothing. His wide-eyed gaze slowly drifted downward and his long lashes lowered, casting a tracery of delicate shadow over his ocean-blue eyes. Just as Murong Lian and Mo Xi both thought he would drop the matter, he said, "I understand."
The wind whistled past like the wailing of war drums, like the weeping of the dead.
"But it doesn't matter," Gu Mang continued. "Even if I could start over again for just one day, if I could live properly for just one day—I still think that would be the right thing to do." When he looked up, he resembled once more the passionate youth from the past, who charged headlong even into the face of death.
"I'll go as far as I can," said Gu Mang. "If I die tomorrow, then I'll have been a good person for a day. If I die next year, then I'll have been a good person for a year. This is the last thing I can do."
This is the last redemption I can ask for, after years of wandering lost.