With compass lost and rudder broken, one fears Kunlun;
What is there to say of dwelling in caves and nests?
Grasping a black-patterned cane of rattan and bamboo,
Knocking on the gates of heaven atop the peak of Lingshan.
The Kunlun Mountains on the border of Xinjiang stood like a heaven-supporting giant. Range after range stretched endlessly, covered in perpetual snow, blocking the trade route between Tibet and China. Since ancient times, few Tibetans had traveled this way, and the path was notorious as one of the most perilous in existence.
Today, a traveler crossed the Kunlun range and set foot on Tibetan soil. Turning his head to look back, the Kunlun Mountains were already behind him. Recalling the arduous journey he had just completed, he felt a surge of emotion and chanted a few lines of poetry aloud into the wind.
This traveler was named Gui Huasheng, a young man in his early twenties. He was the second son of Gui Zhongming, the leader of the Northern Wudang Sect and one of the Seven Swords of Mount Tianshan. Though he looked travel-worn and weary, it could not conceal his heroic and dashing spirit.
He laughed aloud:
"Grandmaster Huiming did not mean to frighten people, but to say that reaching the peak of Kunlun is reaching the gates of heaven is truly an exaggeration."
As it turned out, the two lines he had just chanted were from a poem inscribed at the highest peak of Kunlun by the founder of the Tianshan Sect—Grandmaster Huiming, a great eminent monk of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.
Gui Huasheng had inherited his family's martial arts and had been famous since childhood, being the most outstanding among his three brothers. By chance, a few years ago, he had lost to the fourth-generation successors of the Tianshan Sect, the couple Tang Xiaolan and Feng Ying. Since his father was one of the Seven Swords of Mount Tianshan and had deep roots with the Tianshan Sect, he could not swallow this bitter pill of defeat. Gui Huasheng decided to travel far and wide, associating with extraordinary masters and eccentric experts, determined to establish his own sect and revitalize his family's swordplay.
He turned his head to look back at Kunlun, then looked at the mountain peaks ahead of him. That was the Nyenchen Tanglha range, which stood as high as the Kunlun range. He laughed heartily:
"Beyond one high mountain, there is always another. When I went to Mount Tianshan, I thought it was unimaginably high. It seems the Kunlun and Nyenchen Tanglha mountains are not much lower than Tianshan. I hear that on the border of Tibet and Nepal lies the Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world. Truly, there are heavens beyond heavens, and people above people. For the past hundred years, the martial world has recognized the Tianshan Swordplay as the supreme, unrivaled style. Well, I don't believe it. Chan Master Huiming gathered the essence of a hundred schools to create the Tianshan Swordplay, but those hundred schools did not necessarily encompass all of Tibet, let alone the lands beyond China."
This thought flashed through his mind as he faced the towering mountains. In his heart, he yearned to cross the vast deserts, wander to the ends of the earth, behold exotic lands, and seek out peerless martial arts.
While lost in thought, he suddenly heard the distant sound of a horn blowing, echoing up to the heavens with a mournful tone. It was close to dusk; the setting sun cast its rays, and the blood-red clouds, combined with the sorrowful horn, made even the highly skilled and brave Gui Huasheng feel a sudden touch of apprehension.
Gui Huasheng followed the sound of the horn to a secluded valley. Inside, a crowd of people was blowing horns before a statue of a three-headed goddess—one head red, one white, and one black. Tibetan people were dancing around the statue.
Gui Huasheng had actually been born in Tibet and was familiar with many of the local customs. He had once learned some Tibetan from pilgrims and knew that this statue was of Sheduba, a guardian deity of Lamaism. Unless it was a major festival or an event of great importance, the Tibetans would not hold rituals before this statue. He paused to listen; the song they were singing was the Soul-Summoning Song. The lyrics meant:
"We pray to the noble Guardian Deity, out of compassion for these strangers far from home, please rescue their souls from the clutches of the demons, so that we may find peace of mind."
This chant was sung back and forth several times.
Gui Huasheng wondered in surprise, "Where did these strangers come from? Are they gravely ill or suffering some calamity that the Tibetans must summon the guardian deity to recall their souls?"
He knew that "soul-recalling" was useless. Since he carried golden medicine with him, he intended to go over and see if he could save them; saving a life was better than building a seven-story pagoda.
Seeing a traveler approach, the Tibetans were greatly surprised. An elder stepped forward, holding the skull of a sacrificial animal filled with emerald-green wine, flecked with a few drops of bright red blood. This was a Tibetan ritual for welcoming strangers. The wine, brewed from highland barley, was called Tangtang wine, and it tasted spicy with a hint of bitterness. Gui Huasheng drained it in one gulp. The elder said:
"Please forgive us, honored guest. It is not that we are late in welcoming you, but there are two people here whose souls have been snatched away in the Devil's City. We fear the evil energy will harm you, so please leave quickly."
Gui Huasheng was extremely astonished:
"What is the Devil's City?"
Suddenly, a great storm arose. The elder pointed with a trembling hand:
"Look! That is the Devil's City!"
Gui Huasheng looked in the direction he pointed. Amidst the purple clouds, the silhouette of a city complete with houses and Buddhist pagodas loomed indistinctly. The mirage appeared only for a brief moment before vanishing. The Tibetans and the elder bowed their heads and prostrated themselves in deep reverence.
Gui Huasheng found it amusing; it was nothing more than a mirage, a phenomenon often encountered at sea or in the desert.
Although Gui Huasheng could not use science to explain the cause of the mirage (the phenomenon of "desert oases" or "mirages" is a natural optical phenomenon that occurs when light is bent, creating images of distant objects in the sky), he had spent some time in the Xinjiang desert and was no stranger to it.
The elder squinted his eyes and, seeing Gui Huasheng standing there blankly without bowing, said in a panic:
"The Devil's City has appeared! If you do not kneel and beg for mercy, even Xieduba will not be able to protect you."
Gui Huasheng was about to advise him not to worry about it when a violent gale swept in. The wind carried bizarre sounds—the rumbling of war drums, the cries of birds and howling of apes, the shouts of soldiers, and weeping... so many sounds echoing together, filling everyone with dread.
The wind blew so fiercely that sand flew and rocks rolled. The three-headed statue of Xieduba swayed precariously before crashing to the ground and shattering.
The Tibetans screamed in terror and scattered in all directions amidst the blinding yellow sand. Xieduba was their great guardian deity; the shattering of his statue was an ominous sign, proving that the guardian had been defeated by the Demon King. How could they not be terrified?
The storm raged violently, and flying rocks darkened the sky. Gui Huasheng was blown so hard he almost fell. He thought to himself, "This wind is truly immense, and the sounds within it are extraordinarily bizarre. The Tibetans say this wind blows from the Devil's City; no wonder they believe it is conjured by demons."
The gale came quickly and went just as fast. In moments, the wind died down, leaving the sacrificial offerings scattered all over the ground. Two figures lay stretched out on the earth. They wore Han clothing—they were the very two people whose souls the Tibetans had been trying to recall just moments ago.
Gui Huasheng unfastened the waterskin at his side and poured water to wash their faces. As the water washed away the sand, Gui Huasheng beheld two familiar faces, much to his surprise.
One was a heavily bearded man of about forty, and the other was a youth of about thirteen or fourteen with a face as delicate as a celestial boy. Gui Huasheng gasped in shock:
"This is Tang Ling, the adopted son of Tang Saihua!"
Tang Saihua was the daughter of Third Master Tang, from the renowned hidden weapons family of Sichuan. Her husband was Wang Ao, who had served as the Chief Constable for the Governor of Henan and was killed by the Tianshan Heroine, Feng Lin (please refer to the novel *Three Heroines of the Jianghu*). Tang Saihua had no children of her own, so she adopted Tang Ling as her foster son, loving him like her own flesh and blood and treating him as her most precious treasure. The strangest thing was that although the Tang family of Sichuan had been close friends with Gui Huasheng for generations, neither Third Master Tang nor Tang Saihua had ever been heard mentioning the child's background. Tang Ling was a clever and quick-witted child whom everyone adored. When Gui Huasheng had stayed as a guest at the Tang residence, he had even taught the boy some martial arts.
The bearded giant beside him was no stranger either; he was once a trusted martial artist under the command of Nian Gengyao, the General of the West. Among Nian Gengyao's subordinates, Ge Denglong's martial arts were not considered the best, but he was well-versed in military strategy and highly resourceful. Thus, Nian Gengyao treated him with far greater respect than ordinary martial artists.
Later, Nian Gengyao's achievements overshadowed his master, leading the Yongzheng Emperor to demote him to a gatekeeper in Hangzhou, and he was eventually executed. When Nian Gengyao was demoted, his close associates and subordinates scattered in all directions. It was assumed that Ge Denglong had done the same, but instead, he vanished without a trace. Everyone believed he had simply fled like a monkey when the tree falls, and thought nothing of it. Unexpectedly, Gui Huasheng had now run into Ge Denglong here in Tibet, and moreover, he was traveling with Tang Saihua's foster son.
This was truly hard to believe. How could Tang Saihua bear to let Tang Ling travel all the way to distant Tibet with a former subordinate of Nian Gengyao? Gui Huasheng knew that the Tang family had always stayed out of worldly affairs and had absolutely no connection to Nian Gengyao. How could a young boy like Tang Ling even know Ge Denglong? If he had run away from home, where would he get the courage to come all this way? And how could he bear to leave his foster mother worrying about him day and night?
Even stranger, how did both of them end up unconscious in this desert, to the point where the local Tibetans had to perform a soul-summoning ritual for them?
Gui Huasheng examined their bodies thoroughly. Neither of them had any injuries, and their pulses were normal. It did not look like their acupoints had been sealed by a master, yet their faces were slightly flushed, as if they were drunk. Regardless, they remained unconscious, and even a great master of martial arts like Gui Huasheng could not fathom the cause.
Having tried every method to no avail, Gui Huasheng suddenly thought, *Why don't I try the Tianshan Snow Lotus?*
The Tianshan Snow Lotus could neutralize all kinds of poison. Back when he was roaming Xinjiang, Gui Huasheng had gone to great lengths to obtain three snow lotuses from the northern peak of Mount Tianshan. When in bloom, this flower was as large as a bowl and as brilliant as a cloud; once picked, its petals closed and shrank to the size of a fist. As soon as Gui Huasheng took the flower out, a delicate fragrance instantly wafted through the air.
Gui Huasheng held the snow lotus close to their noses. After a short while, their breathing gradually steadied. Ge Denglong was the first to wake. Seeing Gui Huasheng with his hand on his sword, staring down at him with a furrowed brow, he asked in bewilderment:
– Who are you? Where is this?
Gui Huasheng let out a cold snort:
– Once this child wakes up, I will question you.
A moment later, Tang Ling also woke up. The moment he saw Gui Huasheng, he cried out in joy:
– Uncle Gui, is this the Devil's Town?
Slightly taken aback, Gui Huasheng asked:
– What is the Devil's Town?
But as soon as he spoke, his face darkened and his voice turned stern:
– Tang Ling, be quiet and wait!
Then, turning to Ge Denglong, he barked:
– How dare you! To have the audacity to kidnap a child of the Tang family!
By now, Ge Denglong had composed himself. Hearing Tang Ling's cry, he also recognized Gui Huasheng. Throwing his head back, he laughed and said:
"What a true hero, speaking up when seeing injustice, yet you accuse me without distinguishing black from white. Why don't you ask that child if I kidnapped him?"
Tang Ling quickly chimed in:
"No, Uncle Gui, I went with him."
Gui Huasheng was stunned.
"Why did you sneak away from your mother to go with him? Do you even know who he is?"
Tang Ling replied:
"He is Uncle Ge Denglong."
As for why he had run away from the Tang family, the boy did not answer. Gui Huasheng saw that he did not avoid his gaze; he seemed to have serious business to attend to, showing none of the typical behavior of a child.
Gui Huasheng felt a pang of suspicion, unable to fathom how Ge Denglong had managed to deceive this clever child. Placing his hand on the hilt of his sword, he said:
"Hand the boy over to me, and come back with me to the Tang family to beg for forgiveness!"
Tang Ling hurriedly said:
"No, I followed him of my own free will. Please do not make things difficult for Uncle Ge."
Ignoring the boy, Gui Huasheng turned to Ge Denglong and said:
"I don't care how you bewitched him. If you do not hand him over to me, we will settle this according to the rules of the jianghu."
Ge Denglong said calmly:
"I am no match for you; I know my own limits well."
Years ago, when Nian Gengyao marched his troops into Qinghai, Gui Huasheng had killed several of Nian's top martial artists to save a local chieftain. Ge Denglong knew this very well, which was why he absolutely refused to fight Gui Huasheng. Gui Huasheng said:
"Fine, then hand the child over to me at once!"
Ge Denglong replied:
"No, I cannot hand him over to you."
Gui Huasheng grew furious:
"To think you are a man of some renown in the jianghu—are you afraid of death?"
Ge Denglong threw his head back and laughed:
"If I feared death, I would not have gone through so much hardship to bring this child to Tibet. I do not fear death; I only fear that if I die, there will be no one left to help him!"
Gui Huasheng scolded:
"Nonsense! He has his adoptive mother to care for him. Why should you worry?"
His hand moved to draw his sword, ready to strike. Tang Ling intervened:
"Uncle Gui, if you care for me, please do not make things difficult for Uncle Ge!"
Gui Huasheng asked:
"Why?"
Tang Ling replied:
"I must go with Uncle Ge. If you kill him, who can I rely on?"
Gui Huasheng let out an "oh," stared intently at Tang Ling, and asked:
"You are thirteen or fourteen this year, aren't you? Why are you still acting like an ignorant child? Have Lord Tang and your adoptive mother not treated you well enough? Why do you not repay their kindness in raising you?"
Tang Ling's eyes welled with tears. He did not want to speak, but fearing that Gui Huasheng would kill Ge Denglong, his eyes darted around before he whispered:
"No, I am not a descendant of the Tang family!"
Gui Huasheng grew angry:
"You were raised by the Tang family from childhood! You could not repay your adoptive mother's kindness even in a lifetime!"
Tang Ling cried out:
"But what about my biological father?"
Gui Huasheng's heart stirred:
"Who is he?"
Tang Ling replied proudly:
"My biological father is the great general who commanded a million-strong army, General Nian!"
Gui Huasheng was utterly astonished. He had never imagined that Tang Saihua's adoptive son was actually the biological son of Nian Gengyao. He heard Tang Ling continue:
"I will never forget my adoptive mother's kindness in raising me, but as a son, I cannot fail to avenge my father's grievances."
Years ago, Nian Gengyao had helped Yongzheng wage war in all directions, aiding a tyrant in his wickedness, which made righteous heroes everywhere gnash their teeth in hatred. Later, he was executed by Yongzheng, who in turn was assassinated by Lu Siniang—both events bringing great satisfaction to the people. Gui Huasheng raised an eyebrow slightly and asked:
"Well, what vengeance do you wish to exact?"
Tang Ling wiped away his tears and said loudly,
"The feud for my parents' death is irreconcilable under heaven. Could my father have died in vain?"
Gui Huasheng thought to himself, *Indeed, your father deserved to die!*
The words reached the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back down. *Nian Gengyao was guilty, but this child is innocent. In the future, he will understand what kind of man his father was, but he is still too young now. If I speak the truth, how could he bear it!*
With this thought, he sighed, smiled, and asked,
"How do you wish to seek vengeance?"
His hostility toward Gui Huasheng softening, Tang Ling said,
"Uncle Ge told me that Tibet is beyond the reach of the Qing dynasty. If we establish a foundation here, we can raise an army in the future. If we win, we rule; if we lose, we still have a stronghold to retreat to."
Tang Ling spoke fluently and coherently, his heroic spirit and imposing manner no different from his father's in the past.
Gui Huasheng thought to himself, *He is indeed worthy of being Nian Gengyao's son, and Ge Denglong is truly worthy of being Nian Gengyao's trusted strategist, to have planned so deeply. I cannot ignore this matter!*
With that in mind, he said gently to Tang Ling,
"You have great ambition, but you must distinguish clearly between good and evil."
Tang Ling asked,
"What is good and what is evil? Please tell me, Uncle."
Gui Huasheng said,
"Right now, you have been affected by the poison incense and need to sleep. Once you wake up, I will tell you."
Having said this, he tapped the boy's sleeping acupoint, then turned around and said to Ge Denglong in a stern voice,
"How bold of you! Leading a young child down a path of ruin—this crime is worse than arson and murder!"
Ge Denglong said,
"I am helping him avenge his father. What is wrong with that?"
Gui Huasheng said,
"As for that Nian Gengyao, everyone in the country wanted him dead. Why do you want to avenge him?"
Ge Denglong said,
"It would be one thing if someone else had killed Nian Gengyao, but Yongzheng was supported and brought to power by Nian Gengyao's own hands! If I do not avenge General Nian, how can I appease the resentment in my heart? Furthermore, when General Nian was alive, he treated me with great respect, and I shall repay him with loyalty. I do not care what others say about him."
Gui Huasheng thought to himself, *Even Cao Cao has his kindred spirits. This saying is indeed true.*
After a moment's thought, he said,
"Yongzheng has already been killed by Lu Siniang. Your vengeance is already complete!"
Ge Denglong said,
"Though Yongzheng is dead, this land still belongs to the Aisin Gioro clan!"
Gui Huasheng said in a solemn voice,
"Very well. I did not expect a trusted warrior of Nian Gengyao to think like a righteous hero of the jianghu! Excellent. If it is to expel the Tartars and avenge the Han race, I will not interfere. But first, you must return this child to his foster mother. When he grows up, let him choose his own path. Do you agree?"
Ge Denglong pondered for a moment, then replied,
"Very well. You saved both of our lives today, so I also owe you a debt of gratitude."
In truth, Ge Denglong's motive for resolving to rebel against the Qing was very different from that of the righteous heroes of the jianghu. He wanted to use the name of Nian Gengyao's son to rally people to serve his own ambitions. Tang Ling was naturally intelligent and quick-witted, a person capable of pursuing imperial ambitions, which was why Ge Denglong had spared no effort in scheming to lure the child away from the Tang family.
Gui Huasheng misjudged Ge Denglong's character, thinking to himself, *With Nian Gengyao dead, his former subordinates could not flee fast enough. Yet, unexpectedly, there is this fool who, though blindly loyal, still possesses an unyielding manly spirit.*
Seeing that Ge Denglong had agreed, Gui Huasheng said happily,
"A gentleman's word..."
Ge Denglong finished the phrase,
"...cannot be overtaken by a team of four horses!"
Gui Huasheng laughed heartily:
"Fine, I believe you! Take him back to the Tang Clan. I will write a letter to Second Master Tang, asking them not to blame you."
With that, he found a piece of sheepskin among the cluttered belongings left behind by the Tibetans and used his sword to etch a letter onto it. Ge Tenglong carefully tucked the letter into the innermost lining of his robe, already scheming another plan in his heart.
Gui Huasheng was about to wake Tang Ling up when he thought of something. He paused and asked, "Just now, you two mentioned the Devil City. What is that? And why were you both poisoned?"
Ge Tenglong replied, "I have scouted that Devil City several times. The first few times, I didn't dare get close and only looked down from the opposite mountain. This time, I got a bit closer, but unexpectedly, a strange gust of wind blew over, and we fell unconscious."
Gui Huasheng asked in surprise, "Does that Devil City really exist?"
Ge Tenglong said, "The Tibetans here all talk about the legends of the Devil City. I think there might be some extraordinary person living there. Looking down from that mountain, I've seen cooking smoke rising a few times, and those eerie sounds are simply terrifying!"
Gui Huasheng muttered, "I've heard them."
He still felt a lingering sense of dread from the bizarre sounds in the wind. Hearing Ge Tenglong mention cooking smoke now only deepened his suspicion. He asked, "Did you see a devil city in the mountains with your own eyes?"
Ge Tenglong replied, "Last night, we ventured into the valley and caught a faint glimpse of a pointed tower on the mountain peak. Before we could get a clear look, a fierce wind swept in. There was a strange fragrance in the wind, and we fell into a deep sleep, only waking up when you arrived!"
Gui Huasheng thought to himself, *It seems there are many strange occurrences in the Devil City. I must go and take a look.*
With that thought, he released Tang Ling's acupoints. Tang Ling woke up, and seeing Gui Huasheng standing opposite Ge Tenglong with a relaxed, no longer hostile expression, he smiled and said, "Have you two uncles made peace?"
Ge Tenglong said, "I never had any grudge against your Uncle Gui. Now that we've cleared things up, why would he make things difficult for us?"
He deliberately emphasized the word "us," wanting to plant the idea in Tang Ling's mind that only he shared a close bond with him, implicitly casting Gui Huasheng as an outsider.
(Modern psychology has a method called "suggestion." Ge Tenglong did not know of it, but the tactic he used on Tang Ling was precisely this method.)
Tang Ling said, "Uncle Gui, you are so kind. You won't stop me from avenging my father, will you?"
Gui Huasheng raised his eyebrows slightly and said slowly, "Right and wrong, good and evil, are not easily distinguished. What is good for you may not be good for others. To know if what you want to do is right, you must look at it from many angles. Very well, now that I understand your situation, go back and ask your mother and Lord Tang. You are naturally clever; in a few years, you will surely understand everything."
Hearing this, Tang Ling felt frustrated. Half-understanding and half-confused, he asked loudly, "After all that talk, do you still want me to return to the Tang Clan?"
Ge Tenglong secretly winked at him and said, "Ling'er, your Uncle Gui has good intentions. Let us leave quickly. Follow me, and you certainly won't go astray."
Gui Huasheng watched Ge Tenglong lead Tang Ling down the mountainside. As their figures gradually receded, his heart stirred slightly, feeling that leaving Tang Ling to Ge Tenglong was not quite right. However, he was traveling through Tibet and it was inconvenient to bring the boy along. Since Ge Tenglong had agreed to take him back to the Tang Clan, he had no choice but to let the two of them depart.
Gui Huasheng rested for a moment, ate some dry rations, and waited until the moon rose before heading toward the Devil City.
After crossing a grassland, there was a desert. This desert was only about ten miles wide, and it took just over an hour to cross. Ahead lay another grassland. By midnight, the Nianqing Tanggula Mountains were already before his eyes. The mouth of the valley was shaped like a megaphone. Gui Huasheng stepped inside, cast his gaze around, and saw glaciers interwoven like dancing silver dragons, emitting a faint blue light in the darkness of the night. The wind carried a strange fragrance that smelled like wine. Feeling drowsy, Gui Huasheng quickly took out some Tianshan snow lotus, took a few deep breaths of its scent, and then quietly pressed forward. The sound of the wind grew louder and louder, and the bizarre noises from the daytime rode the wind once more. It sounded like tens of thousands of horses galloping together, the grand yet tragic clash of a thousand armies meeting the enemy, and wailing cries... all blended together like a discordant symphony. The more one listened, the more heart-stopping it became. Covering his ears, Gui Huasheng climbed up the steep cliff. The moonlight clearly illuminated countless honeycomb-like holes. Suddenly, Gui Huasheng realized that those bizarre sounds seemed to be coming from right beneath his feet.
Gui Huasheng suddenly understood and smiled to himself, "So the strange sounds in the wind originate from here!"
When he was still in Tianshan, he had also heard this kind of sound underground. At first, he had been puzzled, but later he learned that the Tianshan mountain range had many massive ice mountains. Earthquakes would cause rocks to collapse, burying the ice mountains beneath them. As the ice mountains slowly melted, they left hollow spaces beneath the rocks. Coupled with the movement of underground glaciers, the air and water flowing through these empty spaces created sounds—sometimes resembling music, sometimes like footsteps. Anyone hearing these sounds for the first time would be frightened out of their wits.
Gui Huasheng carefully examined the stone honeycombs on the mountain and pressed his ear against them to listen. The stone holes varied in size and shape, and the sounds emanating from them differed accordingly. These stone holes were formed by wind and sand erosion. The mouth of the valley was narrow and long. When the wind and sand blew in, they were obstructed by the cliffs, resulting in this phenomenon. Ancient desert dwellers lacked modern geological knowledge and did not dare to investigate for themselves, so it was no wonder they believed these were the sounds of demons and ghosts.
Yet, Gui Huasheng still harbored some doubts, thinking to himself, "The movement of underground glaciers and the wind blowing through the crevices in the rocks creating strange sounds is naturally nothing to be feared. But in the eyes of the Tibetans, this is clearly a bizarre place, both perilous and desolate. Why would someone insist on hiding here? What are they concealing?"
He also thought of the legend of the Devil's City born from these strange phenomena. Was there truly a city hidden within these mountains?
By now, the wind had died down. Gui Huasheng continued his climb, crossing several peaks. The path was treacherous, but it indeed led to a whole new world. Ruined structures lay everywhere, including the remains of temples and watchtowers... It was clearly the ruins of an ancient city. Most peculiarly, the broken tiles had been swept to one side, as if someone had cleared them away not long ago.
After passing through these ruins, he looked up toward the summit, only to find an even stranger sight. Atop the peak stood an intact white pagoda, about ten zhang high. Beside the white pagoda were two rows of rooms with circular roofs shaped like lotus flowers. These buildings were completely different from Tibetan architecture, and they shimmered with a faint luster, built from some unknown material. Upon closer inspection, Gui Huasheng realized that this pagoda had been built recently, rather than being an ancient structure. Naturally, Gui Huasheng did not believe in the "Devil's City," but the atmosphere here was indeed incredibly mysterious.
Gui Huasheng, highly skilled and immensely brave, stepped forward. As the thick fragrance drifted toward him on the night breeze, his heart quickened slightly despite having the Tianshan snow lotus to protect him. Beside the pagoda grew many varieties of exotic flowers, their pink, white, and blue blossoms interwoven, appearing even more beautiful under the pale moonlight. Holding two petals of the snow lotus in his mouth, he stepped inside, realizing that the strange scent in the wind originated from here. As he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
Gui Huasheng hid within the flower bushes and looked out, spotting a black-clothed warrior with a goatee leading two lamas in white kasayas toward him. The warrior was of imposing stature and had an unusual appearance, looking unlike a Tibetan.
The two white-robed lamas surprised Gui Huasheng even more. Tibetan lamas were divided into sects. Before the Qing army entered the Shanhai Pass, the Red Sect lamas held power and were the most widespread. Once the Qing dynasty established its footing in the Central Plains, they revered the Yellow Sect lamas as the state religion. The Red Sect suffered a complete defeat but still survived in Tibet. As for the White Sect, their leader was the Dharma King, whose status was equal to that of the Red Sect during the Ming dynasty. Emperor Chengzu of Ming had enfeoffed him as the Guanding State Master, granting him authority over the three regions of Tibet until the end of Emperor Chongzhen's reign. It was only when the leaders of the Yellow Sect—the Fifth Dalai Lama and the Fourth Panchen Lama—borrowed the military force of Güshi Khan, leader of the Khoshut Mongols of Qinghai, that they overthrew the ruling position of the White Sect's Dharma King in Tibet. The White Sect was expelled from Tibet and fled to Qinghai, relying on the power of Hodan Khan, not daring to return for over a hundred years.
(*) Guanding (Abhiseka): Literally meaning "pouring water on the head," this is a religious ritual performed during solemn ceremonies. In Vajrayana Buddhism, the term "guanding" refers to rituals in which a Guru empowers a disciple to practice a Tantra. In Tibetan Buddhism, the term "empowerment" is often used.
Tibetan lamas were distinguished by the color of their robes, so these two were naturally lamas of the White Sect. Gui Huasheng was puzzled, thinking to himself, "The White Sect and the Yellow Sect are as incompatible as fire and water. Why do these two White Sect lamas dare to sneak here?"
The black-clothed warrior spoke:
"Our prince heard that the Dharma King's envoy has graced us with his presence, so he came here to welcome you. Several chieftains are also on their way. Haha, this is truly a rare opportunity!"
Gui Huasheng could not make heads or tails of this, thinking, "Where did this prince come from? If he is the son of the Tibetan King, why didn't they meet in Lhasa? What is he doing in this godforsaken place?"
The black-clothed warrior's words were full of confidence, which only deepened Gui Huasheng's suspicion.
The two white-robed lamas muttered to each other for a moment. By this time, they had reached the mountainside, and their words were no longer audible. After a while, Gui Huasheng poked his head out, but they had already vanished from sight. Suddenly, another white-robed lama came rushing over. Just as he approached the flower bushes, he collapsed to the ground and lay motionless, seemingly having fainted.
Gui Huasheng was startled, then it dawned on him. "Of course! Those two lamas had the antidote, but this one didn't, so he was knocked out by the scent of the flowers." But why didn't he have the antidote, and why was there no one to guide him? Gui Huasheng could not figure this out.
Gui Huasheng leaped out and saw that the lama's face was flushed red as if he were drunk, similar to the condition of Tang Ling and Ge Tenglong. He thought to himself, "Ge Tenglong was poisoned as soon as he entered the valley, yet this man made it all the way here before collapsing. His inner strength is remarkably profound!"
He immediately plucked two petals of the Tianshan snow lotus and placed them into the man's mouth. A moment later, the white-robed lama sprang up and shouted angrily in Tibetan:
"Hmph! What kind of sorcery did you use?"
As he spoke, the man threw a punch. Gui Huasheng swung his palm to deflect it. Feeling the extraordinary power behind his opponent's strike, he was just about to speak up and clarify the situation.
At that moment, the white-robed lama saw clearly that Gui Huasheng was Han. Startled, he pulled back his second punch mid-strike and demanded:
"Who are you?"