A Pawn’s Passage

Qi Xuansu once again came to Mount Suzuka. The difference was that last time, he had come sneaking around. When he reached Anno County, he summoned Master Wan, stirred up chaos, and essentially rampaged his way through.

This time, Qi Xuansu arrived in a grand manner, riding a flying ship to Mount Suzuka. The Daoist Order had completely secured control of the skies, leaving the Sonno-joi faction powerless to resist.

Mount Suzuka had changed drastically. The villages and towns at the foot of the mountain had been converted into military camps. Suzuka Gozen remained in her shrine, still recovering from injuries and unable to leave the mountain for the time being. Qi Xuansu first paid her a visit, taking the chance to ask about the matter of demonic fire. True to her centuries of experience, Suzuka Gozen did know certain inside information.

In the shrine's backyard was a man-made pond, its banks lined with river stones, directly facing the outer veranda of the shrine.

The veranda was supported by wooden posts about 30 centimeters above the ground, with eaves overhead to shelter from rain.

The two sat together on the veranda.

Qi Xuansu sat in the Central Plains manner. He did not remove his shoes and sat cross-legged with his hands resting upon his knees. Since Suzuka Gozen's robe was loose and its neckline was rather low, Qi Xuansu kept his gaze straight ahead at the pond in the distance, upright and solemn.

Suzuka Gozen's posture was far more casual and unrestrained, neither kneeling in the Fenglin style nor sitting cross-legged. Instead, she folded her left leg beneath her, bent her right knee upward, braced the ground behind her with her left hand, and rested her right wrist upon her raised knee, looking like a free-spirited, bold Jianghu heroine. After all, she had once been the great bandit Tate Eboshi, and many habits were etched in her bones, unchanged even after becoming Suzuka Gozen.

Between them sat a teapot and two teacups. To be served tea personally by Suzuka Gozen was an honor few in Fenglin could claim. Qi Xuansu, however, was something of an exception. Even Madam Qi, who was also a Pseudo-Immortal, had once baked him mooncakes.

Qi Xuansu held the teacup in his hands without drinking. "Aobozu said there is a demonic fire beneath Mount Fuyo. Since Himiko-no-Mikoto also symbolizes fire, is there any connection between the two?"

Suzuka Gozen sipped her tea. "Himiko-no-Mikoto first appeared 1,500 years ago, the same time as the third-generation Heavenly Preceptor of the Central Plains. Do you know what that means?"

Since the Zhang family was to become Qi Xuansu's future in-laws, he was quite familiar with their history.

The Third Heavenly Preceptor was the grandson of the Ancestral Heavenly Preceptor and one of only three Heavenly Preceptors with special honorific titles, known as the Lineage Master. Historical records state that the Lineage Master's mother was an extraordinary figure. She was youthful in appearance, fond of health practices, and versed in ghostly arts. Accounts of Himiko likewise described her as one who practiced such arts. Hence, Qi Xuansu concluded that Himiko's fire-wielding technique was actually the True Samadhi Fire.

Qi Xuansu said, "Leaving aside the merits and faults of the Lineage Master, the reason he was able to dominate Shuzhou was mainly due to the legacy of the two Heavenly Preceptors before him. Since Himiko lived in the same era as the Lineage Master, this means she was not the earliest deity of Fenglin. I'm guessing that she, too, was a mortal in the beginning. But through her position as queen, she gathered immense incense power and ultimately became a deity. Her descendants inherited her divine authority and royal power, respectively. That was how the Tenmon Sect and the royal family of Fenglin came about."

Suzuka Gozen nodded. "Exactly. Himiko was not the first generation of deities in Fenglin. Before her, there were two generations of gods. The first generation was called the Betsuten-shin, or the Separate Heavenly Deities, and there were five of them in total. The second generation was known as the Kamiyo Nanayo, or the Seven Generations of the Age of the Gods, seven of them in all. These twelve represent the creation of heaven, earth, and all things. The last two among them were the parents of the Three Great Kami.

"By now, the first generation Betsuten-shin and the second generation Kamiyo Nanayo have long since passed, either ascended and departed the mortal realm, or perished and fallen. Yet I suspect that the succession among these three generations was not a peaceful transfer. They have probably gone through several great wars, and some deities may even have been forcibly suppressed."

Qi Xuansu was taken aback.

If the parents of Himiko and her two brothers were deities, then Himiko was not a mere mortal at all. She would have been a descendant of Immortals, born with a talent far surpassing ordinary people like Zhang Wushou, the Heavenly Preceptor. As long as she accumulated sufficient incense power, becoming a deity herself would not have been difficult.

But Qi Xuansu did not rashly voice this thought. Instead, he asked, "How did Himiko become queen?"

Suzuka Gozen replied, "The Central Plains have their myths of the splitting of heaven and earth. Fenglin has a similar legend, though far less grand. It merely explains how Fenglin was formed. They say that in the beginning, Fenglin floated upon the boundless sea, unstable and adrift. Thus, the gods commanded Izanagi and Izanami to stabilize and shape it. Standing upon the Floating Bridge of Heaven, the two gods dipped the Heavenly Jeweled Spear bestowed by the other gods into the sea, stirring the waters. When they raised the spear again, Fenglin finally took form.

"Later, these two gods united and gave birth to many deities. Yet today's Three Great Kami were not the eldest daughter and son, but rather the youngest, called the Three Noble Children. During the division of authority, the Three Noble Children took power. Himiko became the queen of Fenglin, fulfilling the role of high priestess and holding divine authority, while her brothers wielded political and military power, fulfilling the role of emperors."

Qi Xuansu pondered for a moment. "This was before they became deities. After they ascended, they changed from the Three Noble Children into the Three Great Kami, huh? So where did their father go?"

Suzuka Gozen chuckled, her tone edged with mockery. "That is precisely the falsehood in myth. If the father bestowed the titles, then where did the father go? Did he die? Did he ascend and depart the mortal realm? There should be an explanation. Yet in the records of the Tenmon Sect, it is merely said he retired and withdrew from the world. After that, there is no trace of him at all. Many even believe that the Three Great Kami were the true creators of the world, wholly ignorant of the existence of the twelve deities who came before them."

Qi Xuansu remarked, "It sounds like a cliché tale of usurpation and power seizure."

"Gods all start from being human, step by step, and the methods they use are the same old tricks, no different at all." Suzuka Gozen set down her teacup. "The Kamiyo Nanayo replaced the first-generation Betsuten-shin. After the other five of the Kamiyo Nanayo either passed away or fell, the youngest—Izanagi and Izanami—became the final victors. When Izanami died unexpectedly, Izanagi became the sole god. He then crowned the Three Noble Children, letting them rule Fenglin in his stead as divine heirs.

"In the course of ruling Fenglin, the Three Noble Children accumulated immense incense power. With divine blood in their veins, they too finally became deities. Then Izanagi withdrew, and the Three Noble Children became the Three Great Kami, founding the Tenmon Sect. The royal family are their descendants. The Tenmon Sect proclaimed that the Three Great Kami were the supreme gods, while their parents and siblings were all pushed aside. Does this not strike you as strange?

"Such actions are no different from those who kill their fathers and brothers to seize power. Fenglin has always had a tradition of the lower overthrowing the one in higher power. So where did this tradition come from? In my opinion, the conduct of those above directly influences those below."

Qi Xuansu mused, "Do you mean that after becoming gods, the Three Noble Children joined forces to kill Izanagi and seize the highest authority? But what I don't understand is, on what grounds could they dare overthrow their own father?"

Suzuka Gozen replied calmly, "It is not so hard to grasp. Let me give you an example. In the Central Plains, there was once a young emperor who lacked strength yet desired the throne; he sought help from outside, ceding the sixteen prefectures and paying vast tribute each year. In the end, he got what he wished and was formally enthroned as emperor. The principle is the same everywhere, in all ages."

Suzuka Gozen was well-read in history.

Qi Xuansu sighed. "If one wants to rebel against one's father and replace him, yet lacks the strength, then one must find a foster father. But who could that have been? Surely not the Daoist Order. At that time, the Daoist Order had already been defeated by the Confucian School. The Zhengyi Sect, who held Shuzhou, soon surrendered. The Taiping Sect plotted the Yellow Turban Uprising, yet they were still suppressed. At that moment, most of the Confucian School's energy was spent on internal strife and crushing the Daoist Order. At most, they could offer verbal support. I doubt they could intervene in Fenglin's affairs."

Suzuka Gozen said, "Indeed. When Himiko was still a mortal queen, she considered seeking aid from the then-orthodox Confucian School. But the Confucian School was too embroiled in internal strife, merely granting her an empty title without any real support. This matter is also recorded in Central Plains history books. So if not the Confucian School nor the Daoist Order, who else could it have been? Surely not the distant Holy Court, right?"

Qi Xuansu was slightly startled. "Among the Three Religions, that leaves only the Buddhist Sect. Did Himiko receive aid from the Buddhists?"

Suzuka Gozen replied, "Buddhism entered Fenglin quite early. I know that during the Qi Dynasty, the Buddhist monks crossed over six times. At that time, Fenglin's Buddhist Sect was chaotic and unregulated, so they invited the Central Plains monks to come and teach discipline. From this, we can infer that Buddhism had reached Fenglin even before the Qi Dynasty.

"Moreover, before the rise of the Sonno-joi faction, there was a long period of Shinbutsu-shugo, the fusion of gods and Buddhas. The various deities of the Tenmon Sect were matched one-to-one with Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In that era, Himiko was regarded as the incarnation of Vairocana in Fenglin."

Qi Xuansu said, "That makes sense, then. With Buddhist support, the Three Noble Children defeated their father, Izanagi, and became the Three Great Kami. The eldest among them, Himiko, deemed herself the incarnation of the Vairocana, while Buddhism smoothly entered Fenglin and became the state religion for a time. This was not unlike that child emperor story."

Qi Xuansu then returned to the earlier subject. "If this conjecture holds true, then the evil god suppressed beneath Mount Fuyo..."

Suzuka Gozen added, "They say daughters resemble their fathers. Himiko excelled at wielding fire, so from whom do you think she inherited such a divine ability?"