Weeping Blade Smile ep05 : The Legend of Wulin

03/23/2014
Weeping Blade Smile
Episode Five

"Valleys"




I am the Omnipotent Dreamer, Ching Eng.
And this is how my plans come to an end.

The pieces have moved as I have desired.

But not completely as I have planned.

Bai-Yan has not used the Beating Dog Stick to murder the Dashing Hawk.
But he has found both Detective Yi and Xu Rong Sai in the darkness.

The Frozen Needle has NOT found the warmth of the Wolf's heart.
But he has instead found the Golden Mask.

Such delightful tragedy.

Who are you, golden masked man whose robes are green.

Who are you who has taken Doctor Din's clothing.
Who are you who shall bring pain to a man dulled long by wine?

See my needle flying towards you.
You are too slow to avoid it.

Your mind wandering through prayers for peace.

Weeping Blade Smile ep04 : The Legend of Wulin

03/02/2014
Weeping Blade Smile
Episode Four

"Peaks"

I am the Omnipotent Dreamer, Ching Eng.
My plans are falling into place.

The governor has been dealt with.
The wicked Bai-Yan has been cornered, with his closest ally eternally at rest, and his loyal Eagle distracted by the well-timed exposure.  And the Rabid Dogs have   His role as Magistrate protects him from death, but even the Emperor shall stay his hand if the corruption is made to reveal himself.

Yue Fan and Xu Rui find love in the desolation.
The fires are lit.
The eagles are scattered.

And the Beating Dog Stick has been given to the one who will best serve my prediction.

And now, the Hawk descends.
The Wolf hunts for the Needle.
The Ravens are gathering.
All I need to do now is to...

Wait.

The Perceptive Dragon or the Crimson Fox.

Both remain islands upon this archipelago of relations.

Where should my ship take port?

Weeping Blade Smile ep03 : The Legend of Wulin

02/09/2014
Weeping Blade Smile
Episode Three

"Waves"

I am the Omnipotent Dreamer, Ching Eng.    Most of the time I am upon my charts too peer across the stars and see glimpses of events far and invisible.  Today, however, I took a morning jog during the darkness before dawn and sought to see if Xiao Bao had hoped to escape my notice of him.

I caught the weak strains of a scream uttering from the familial grounds of the Xiao family.

I registered them to be the dulcet tones of Xiao Cai, the mother of the woman I feel great emotions towards.  I leapt to the nearest tree and craned towards the window to see if she was in distress.  What I see instead is Xiao Shaih Lin and Xu Rong Sai speaking with her.    The doctor touches her arm as the beloved struggles to help her mother speak sense.  The doctor finds a needle and I wonder if the hyperactive unbalance I had caused her was too much.

When the needle Xiao Bao deflected flew out the window, I caught it, and returned it into the darkness without a thought.  I had thought I had thrown it harmlessly back into the room.  I realize I had mistakenly struck the effervescent Xiao Cai instead.  Foolish of me to have not checked properly.

I have no doubt they were reading the note I had returned to the bed pillow for them to find.  "Gotta catch some strays" the old man's note said.  Clearly it told me where to go.  I suspected that Bai-Yan had hoped to uncover the secret of the Rabid Dogs, given the recent death that had befallen the governor.  I knew, however, that is insecurities towards the Eagle Talons would be a concern worth arousing.  It took a simple forged missive carefully crafted to match the dead governor's own handwriting to throw the suggestion to him that the Eagle Talons were in the governor's mind to be dissolved, and the slight push towards the law office (an act I had foreseen to surely come to pass given the suggestions I had whispered to the Dong brothers when I chanced upon them at that Mountain Pass) thanks to the recent attempts at clan impersonation.

By the time I had arrived at the usual grounds of the Rabid Dogs, Bai-Yan would have found Sheling Ying and attempted to gain his favor of replacing Gallant Eagle.

I anticipate the act would instead backfire, with Gallant Eagle grasping more that Bai-Yan's corrupt nature would eventually sway him to attempt to win over the city.   This would mean -

Wait.
There is a new ripple in the lake I stir.
Someone...

Focus.

The intellectually seductive Yue Yi would be drawn to the governor's death.  And if things go as I hope, she would find the clues I had left behind that point to Bai-Yan's treachery.  She should find the brass tortoise dish that contains the gelatinous fungus.  She should notice the intense reaction Bai-Yan will present when the concoction is presented to him (though it is doubtful she would realize it was the same poison he had used to kill the governor who held the position he holds now).

I could imagine her academically honed lips dancing as she would state, "Not an auspicious week to bury the dead."

Again the ripples.  A counter-plan.
No... wait....

The confrontation should happen on the street.  The guards will be uncertain whether Yue Yi should be followed, or if Xiao Wei Long should be arrested.   The wine should-

My wave is broken.
The wine should have tasted of Bai-Yan's vintage.  Of the fruity red he had offered my two beloveds when they watched the staged battle I had prepared.  It should have been the final clue towards the magistrate.  But somehow, the wines had been switched.

Someone knows.

I spy Xiao Shah Lin, travelling by carriage that bears the phoenix colors.   She is like a rising sun. A soaring flame.  A.. man.  There is a man talking to her.  There is a familiarity in his motions.  A jut of the hip.  An occasional wipe of the lower lip.  He knows her.  Desires her.   But she.. does not recognize him?  This man.
I do not know him.  He is not part of my plans.

He is not...

"Not an auspicious week to bury the dead."

Xu Rui.

The man claims to be Xu Rui.  But he appears nothing as the Xu Rui we have all met.  Has Xu Rong Sai been playing us for fools?  I cannot stand this.  I must interfere.

***

"Balance must be restored. Even if today is a day of falsehoods. It is the truest truths that hide behind lies."

The words are painful and clear.
I lightfoot among them, chatter like friends, but soon the more painful words arrive.

I depart.

***

There is a letter.
It was hidden within the scarf.

"I will commit myself to the rocks, and if i live,
then the Ancestors judge me right."

The man lives.
The Ancestors choose him over me.

But Xiao Wei Long has arrived and the anger shows with each step.
He demands for the Frozen Needle and I realize he means someone has stolen it from its hiding place.
And it was not me.

***

I am certain now.
Someone has broken my waves.
The ripples still dance around me.

I must find who plays this game.
I must throw myself to the rocks.

May the Ancestors judge me right.

Weeping Blade Smile ep02 : Legends of the Wulin

10/13/2013
Weeping Blade Smile
Episode Two

"Water Chestnuts, Bird's Nests and Pheasant"

I am the Omnipotent Dreamer, Ching Eng.
Upon my charts I trace the lines of Destiny and see the entanglements that are to shape the flow of the world.  I see two elders discussing over tea the fate of their daughter.  I see how they wish to the strings of happiness of my beloved Xiao Shiah Lin to the detestable Bai-Yan.    I see how the yang of Governor Yang Sung yearns for the yin of Yue Fan, but his attempts to know her are confused by Gallant Eagle and Vigilant Hawk's confusion over which woman the rotund official desires.  I see the former lieutenant of the Rabid Dogs hunt for the trail of their wayward master.   His questions lead him to the Xu Clan, where a small temple is watched over by Xu Tan Nu, whose Priestly affairs are practiced when the husband is away.  This visitation would most likely be witnessed by Bai-Yan, who would remember the significance of the ivory comb he had left in the drunken man's possession.

Today is a sweet day for poison.

That much I am certain.  Xiao Shiah Lin is destined to cross paths with me again.  Just as the Vigilant Hawk will be tasked to hunt himself.  

I visit Dong Wang, the prisoner of the Eagle Talons, and easily gain access by sharing with them a wine softened with sleeping herbs.  The man admits to me his actions were meant to humiliate the Xu Clan after he and his brother were bested by Xu Rui on the Mountain Pass.    When I inquire about his appearance, he admits that he was advised by Man In Green Robes to the whereabouts of a Doctor Din.  The Doctor, it was said, was to give him the benefit of the Flesh-Shaping Technique.

The Governor writes a letter to invite Xiao Shiah Lin to his home.  I must subtly urge the others to reconsider the invitation.   I must prevent her from being there when he enjoys the fruits of my labors.

How do I draw the others in?   Perhaps it would be best to start with the Doctor.  And the Flesh-Shaping itself.  That would be the answer to the question puzzling Xu Rong Sai, who would soon come to visit the Xiao Clan to ask my beloved's mother, Xiao Cai, his questions regarding medicine.  There are precious few to ask about such techniques, and Xiao Cai may be the closest one he shall consider.

This would require, however, a more active part for me to bring Xiao Wei Long and Zi Ying to the same household.  Xiao Wei Long will be drawn by the smell of wine, and Dong Long would be the perfect lure for the Frozen Wolf.  The two chasing each other should draw Zi Ying's attention as the Vigilant Hawk's sight will surely capture their movements in the city.  If things go well, this would then draw Yue Yi into the web as well, as their sounds are sure to reach her sensitive ears.

All gathered, the need for hospitality would force Xiao Cai to invite all to a dinner.  And in that dinner, Xiao Shiah Lin would be far to preoccupied to reconsider the Governor's invitation.

Jasmine.  Yue Yin still smells as fragrant as before.  And Xiao Cai is surely to serve Xiao Shaih Lin's wedding wine to celebrate XIao Wei Long's return.  This would emotionally hurt my beloved enough for me to sweep in and comfort her.

"Tonight is a good night for truth to reveal itself," Yue Yi predicts and I agree.  Tonight is indeed a night of truths.

The dinner.  My beloved's cooking is marvelous.   There are snippets of conversation but I am lost in the deluge of flavors that usurp my focus.   The first dish invigorates the senses.  Awakens the tongue for the flavors to come.  The second dish seduces the palate.   Yue Yi touches my arm to warm me the soup is hot.  I feel my skin afire.  Are my longings for her still alive?  The third dish reveals richer and thicker spices mingling among the meat.  Xiao Wei Long and Xu Rong Sai seem preoccupied over something.  The details elude me.  Xiao Cai mutters something about her husband having been abudcted.  The Rabid Dogs are lose.  Yue Yi is hired to locate the man posing as Frozen Wolf.  I turn to Vigilant Hawk but find myself unable to say anything out of confusion.  Xiao Shiah Lin?  Yue Yi?

How does the heart choose which death to permit and which happiness to embrace?

News reaches the people.  The Governor is dead.

My predictions remain true.
More so when I make sure they happen.

Weeping Blade Smile ep01 : Legends of the Wulin

09/22/2013
Weeping Blade Smile
Episode One

"Hidden Dragons Amidst the Fog of Day"

Legends of the Wulin

I am the Omnipotent Dreamer, Ching Eng.
Upon my charts I peer across the stars and see glimpses of events far and invisible.  I see how one rainy dark night, the Rabid Dogs surrounded a carriage bound for home.  The great cruel bandit Wei Long fought against the dynamic couple of Yue: Yue Yan and Yue Lan Yu, whose mastery of the Dragon Fangs was without equal.  Many say that night the Rabid Dogs failed to capture the Yue Clan and the carriage escaped into the night, but my charts speak otherwise.  Instead, I see a moment of passion born from Wei Long's gaze when his eyes met those of Yue Yan's.  I see the two daughters learning at a young age the need for the Warrior's Arts.  I see an unspoken debt to be claimed at a later date.  I see love.

I see the Governor Yang Sung, whose opulence threatens my respect, calling forth the Eagle Talons to stand before him.  The acts of banditry throughout the Province have raised the alarm of many of the wealthy.  The alarm has distressed the most the Magistrate Bai-Yan who has come to gain Imperial support.  I foresee this month is when he shall conduct business with the Eagle Talons, and set Gallant Eagle - the Clan's most vibrant leader - against Sheling Ying - the Clan's most vigilant hawk.  The Magistrate showers the Governor with much happiness, and thus happiness shall flow back towards him.

I see the Rabid Dogs sniffing the air for the trail that has gone cold.  The passage of Water clouds the presence of Metal.  The shadow of  the moon eclipses the burning Fire.  Jai-Min Xu, lieutenant of the Rabid Dogs, hungers for Justice.  The irony of which I cannot ignore.

I see Xu Tan Nu, mother of Xu Rong Sai and Xu Rui, ever faithful and devoted, offering prayers to the  Heavens.  She senses the ebb and flow of fortune and subtly attempts to lure it towards her sons.  The sight is unclear here.  There are things I cannot see.  But what I am certain of is this:  Xu Tan Nu is a daoist priest of great influence.  I can sense she can unravel the world the way a butterfly can start a storm.

I see Yue Fan, younger sister of Yue Yi - the Scholarly Detective - confused on how to handle matters of the heart.  I see her visiting the matchmaker Xiao Shiah Lin and learning about the teachings offered by the Resplendent Phoenix Society.  I see her visiting the matchmaker that fated day when the Rabid Dogs descend upon the matchmaker's caravan.  A little too early and the caravan would have taken a different route.  A little to late and Yue Fan would have lent her Warrior prowess to fight against the Dog.  But fates would require the Dog to face the Courtier alone.  And the horses to flee with the present from Bai-Yan left undelivered.  But yes, Yue Fan is ready to meet her match: Xu Rui.  And I agree with the Courtier, the match is a perfect fit.

From this even, the Magistrate Bai-Yan would find himself alit by Xiao Shiah Lin's apologies.  It is upon this moment that he falls for her beauty, the same beauty that has captivated me.    Xiao Shiah Lin matched me to Yue Yi, and I admit she captivated me with her genius.  But after twenty seven hours of joyful discourse, my hand upon her cheek was an unwelcome touch.  My name to take hers was an unthinkable suggestion.  

Yue Yi lacked the Fire to match my Water.  Yue Yi lacked the Earth which would welcome my Metal.  Yue Yi is my past.    Xiao Shiah Lin, I shall have you.

I see the events that transpire at the courtyard, as the man I have paid to pretend to be Xu Shen Kang fulfills his duty.  The Dong Brothers have long sought an opportunity to avenge themselves from the humiliation they suffered at the hands of Xu Rui.    I had them seek the great works of the Doctor Din.  And his mastery of the Flesh Sculpting Treatment was certain to give him the appearance he needed.

I foresee the event captivating the Magistrate Bai-Yan, who today is to confess his admiration for Xiao Shiah Lin - a confession she is to find offense towards.    And the unnamed shadow that hunts the Magistrate's sins shall take a step to warn him and his compatriots that their end is near.  I foresee the Dong brothers having a chance to face with the Xu Clan in time.  And of...

Xiao Shiah Lin.  She is here.

I shall come to say her name.  To greet her with a pleasant smile.
To touch her face.

*

Xiao Shian Lin shows Bai-Yan favor.
My charts are all mistaken.

My predictions are all wrong.

I must draw a new set and study.