The Golden Flute Chapter 34

A most excellent and commendable attitude. Indeed, no matter how clever a person is, there will be times when they are utterly helpless, and when effort and endeavor are no longer useful, the best path is truly to surrender everything to Heaven without doubt, completely. The wise ones speak truly that the ultimate end of everything in this world lies within the power of Heaven. If Heaven wills a person to die, even if that person hides in an ant hole, death will surely still come to fetch them. Conversely, if Heaven wills a person to live, even if a thousand dangers surround them, there will surely be a way for that person to be saved. Kwee Seng was nearly unconscious because his breath was constricted, his head was spinning, and his spirit felt like it was floating away. However brave he was, the catastrophe he faced made him feel horror, imagining what would greet his body, which would surely be smashed to pieces upon the ravine floor.

It felt too long that he waited, too long that death toyed with him, not reaching out immediately. Oh Heaven, he whispered, why must Your servant endure such terrifying torment before dying? Suddenly...

"Splaasshh!!"

His body slammed into the extremely cold water.

As a martial arts expert whose skill was already extremely high, Kwee Seng's body immediately reacted, moving to twist and lessen the impact of the water. Yet, he still felt how the skin on his back seemed to crack, aching, stinging, and burning. Fortunately for him, the water was deep enough that when his body sank, he quickly kicked downwards and his body resurfaced. It was still pitch black there, and suddenly Kwee Seng felt a chill and was startled because his body was being dragged by an incredibly strong current. Again, he surrendered himself to Heaven. That one time Heaven had saved him, this was a good omen, he thought. He only moved his limbs to prevent his body from sinking. The water current was unbelievably strong; his body was spun around until his head became dizzy. Once again, fear gripped his heart.

He was spinning; this meant he was caught in a strong whirlpool. His suspicion was correct; the faster he spun, the faster he was suddenly sucked underwater, unable to resist! Kwee Seng was ready. He took a sufficient breath, and when he was underwater, he moved his limbs vigorously, succeeding in freeing himself from the whirlpool below, which was not as strong as the one above. Now his body was being carried away by the current, and when he moved his legs to surface again, his heart rejoiced to see that he was now being carried by a narrow river with a strong current, but which was no longer so dark that he could see. To the left and right were high cliffs, perhaps five hundred meters high, mountain rock cliffs that were green, gleaming, and smoothly slick. However, the small river turned out to be quite deep; otherwise, the strong current would surely have smashed him against the rocks.

Since there was no place to land, squeezed between high cliffs, Kwee Seng was forced to let himself drift. He drifted for about fifteen minutes and suddenly he let out a startled cry, his face pale and his heart filled with dread. How could his heart not be terrified seeing that not far ahead, the water crashed into another equally high cliff, and apparently the water entered a tunnel within the cliff! What was the solution? Landing was impossible; the cliffs on the left and right were high and slick, and the cliff ahead was the same. Resisting the current was impossible! Disaster, he thought, this time I will be smashed to pieces by the current against the cliff ahead! However, he refused to surrender to death so easily as long as he could still strive.

He quickly took a deep breath until it filled his chest cavity, then he dove as deep as possible. This endeavor saved him from the clutches of death. The upper part of the current broke apart, slamming into the cliff, but the lower part, with extraordinary speed, pierced into a hole about two meters in diameter. If only this tunnel inside the mountain's belly had been too long, Kwee Seng's life would certainly not have been saved. He was dragged by the extremely fast current; he merely held his breath and closed his eyes, exerting his *sin-kang* as much as possible because his body began to bump against rocks. If he were not a highly tempered individual, his bones would surely have been crushed.

But this torment of nature was too severe, and he was almost unconscious when suddenly he saw bright light above. Quickly he moved his aching legs, and his body shot upwards. He was still inside an enormous tunnel, a long, terrifying cave. Water flowed in the middle of the tunnel; now the water was widening and becoming shallower. Above hung rocks that tapered like great spears, the walls gleaming green, struck by sunlight that penetrated from somewhere. Because the water was very shallow, his weakened body finally snagged on a rock. Kwee Seng groaned, his head spinning, his body aching all over,

weak, and his right hand was stiff and paralyzed due to the poison needle still lodged in his right shoulder.

His disheveled hair covered his face; his soaking wet clothes were a mess, torn here and there. He gathered his strength to stand up. It turned out the water was only thigh-deep. As he crawled to the side, the water became shallower, but he fell several times, his feet snagging on rocks. The water was extremely clear, but Kwee Seng's vision was dark, his mind extremely clouded. He did not know that not far from there stood an old woman, a grandmother, watching him with full attention. This grandmother was small and thin, her face extremely old and full of wrinkles, her clothes clean but full of patches. The grandmother's eyes were bright, clear, and shining.

"How strange that a human carried by the Current of Death could arrive here still alive!"

The grandmother spoke full of astonishment, but she immediately stepped forward, her movements quick and agile, when she saw Kwee Seng groan deeply and tumble down onto the riverbank, no longer moving because he had fainted.

It was extremely surprising and astonishing how that frail, thin old grandmother, after checking Kwee Seng's pulse, lifted Kwee Seng's body as if lifting a baby, so easily and lightly, then carried Kwee Seng's body to an underground room not far from the river, through a winding tunnel. Carefully, the grandmother laid Kwee Seng's body down on a stone bed, then examined his body once more. She let out a startled sound when she saw that Kwee Seng's right shoulder was black.

"Aihhh, how cruel the person who used a poisoned needle!"

She exclaimed, quickly taking medicine from a corner where there was a stone table and cabinet, then she used a knife to tear the skin of Kwee Seng's shoulder, removing the black needle lodged there. With several massages around the shoulder, she drew out black blood and affixed a stone that was white and extremely light, about the size of a fist. Strangely enough, that light white stone instantly turned black and heavy, and apparently the blood around the wound had been sucked out by the stone!

After washing the stone and drying it again over a fire, the grandmother once more used the miraculous stone to suck out the blood. This was done up to five times; only after the stone's color turned red did she stop, using powdered medicine poured into the wound and bandaging it with a piece of silk cloth, which seemed to be a sash. The mental stress and physical suffering experienced by Kwee Seng were indeed severe, so much so that after seemingly returning from the grave, released from the terrifying grip of death, he remained unconscious for three days and three nights after collapsing. He did not know how his wounds were diligently treated by an old grandmother, nor did he know how every day the grandmother watched over and cared for him day and night, sleeping while sitting cross-legged near the stone bed.

On the fourth day, very early in the morning, Kwee Seng awoke from his faint. He felt his body aching and weak. When he opened his eyes, he saw a rough stone ceiling. His gaze traced the stone wall which was full of writings—more accurately, carvings—because the wall was covered in inscribed characters. The characters were delicate and beautiful, clearly reflecting a woman's handwriting, and at a glance he knew that the writings were extremely beautiful poems, though they contained an outpouring of sorrowful heart. When he realized he was lying on a stone bed inside a cave-like stone "room," Kwee Seng remembered and quickly sat up. At that moment, he saw a grandmother sitting cross-legged on the floor, near the stone bed.

"Your body is still weak, you still need to rest longer. Lie down, I will cook fish and vegetables for you."

The voice was extremely gentle, measured, and courteous.

Kwee Seng stared in surprise. This grandmother was clearly no ordinary person. But besides this, the grandmother displayed the characteristics of a highly educated person, someone who understood etiquette and courtesy, completely different from the demeanor of *kang-ouw* people; she was fit to be a grandmother accustomed to living in a royal palace! When he felt his shoulder ache and glanced at it, seeing that his shoulder was bandaged, and there was no stiffness or itching—a sign that the poison's effect had vanished—Kwee Seng knew that this grandmother was his savior. Quickly he got down from the bed, groaning because he almost stumbled due to his body's weakness, then he was forced to kneel because the grandmother remained seated cross-legged.

"*Locianpwe* (Venerable Elder) has graciously provided aid to me, a suffering young man. I, Kwee Seng, will never forget this kindness."

The grandmother laughed and used the back of her right hand to cover her mouth, a gesture typical of a polite woman who would never laugh openly in front of anyone. Then her gentle voice was heard again, using the style of language typically employed by nobles,

"Mutual aid knows neither old nor young, and I did not intend to save you; rather, it is you who came and needed my help. That water is called the *Arus Maut*; any living creature dragged into this Earthly Hell would surely be lifeless. But you were dragged in while still alive. Ahhh, I wonder which demon sent you to come and keep me company!"

"Forgive me, *Locianpwe*, I do not think it was a demon you meant. Surely it was Heaven that protected me..."

"Too long ago I entrusted my fate to Heaven, too much did this heart plead, too often did this mouth speak, but the evidence.... Ah, if there is a Heaven, it cares nothing for me...."