13

My Brother’s Keeper

Zhì Shēn was playing the flute in the emerald fields of the eastern realms. He had invited the King and Bride as he wanted to offer them the rendition of his latest melody. His brothers were also present to enjoy his music. Everyone was reclining on the soft grass, sipping on the pomegranate wine the Bride had brought along. There was a sweet mist that rose from the goblets as the fruit’s fragrance filled the air. Laughter and conversations filled the place before everyone settled to hear the new piece Zhì Shēn had prepared as an offering.

The tune he had put together was pastoral and melancholic. The power of the melody was fully awakened as Zhì Shēn played it with a true heart. The waves of music took form and created scenes of sheep in the pasture frolicking and lying in the midst of the guests. Birds, likewise, flew like mists emanating from his flute, brushing gently past those who sat amazed by the sights and sounds they were experiencing.

The King and his beloved were both enthralled by this beautiful offering. Everything the Tiānshǐ brought as gifts were special in one way or another, but what made Zhì Shēn’s gift unique was the spirit in which he offered it. This can best be described as pure and fragrant just like the perfumes and incenses that he and Pèi Zhōng used on Méiguī shān. There was no other motivation in his offering except that it brings joy to those who received his gift. His attitude was so pleasing that the King removed the hair stick he was wearing that day and passed it to his beloved as the music slowly faded.

‘Let him wear it,’ the King told her. The hair stick was carved by the King himself. It was made of black agarwood and had a lovely vine pattern on it. One end appeared like a crashing wave within which was a beautiful opalescent pearl that shone like a light when activated by the wearer.

The Bride made her way to Zhì Shēn and gently brushed his white, silky hair with her hand. The King’s hair stick looked striking in his tresses, perched on top of his hair bun with the rest of his hair falling down straight to his waist. There was no doubt that she and her beloved looked proudly upon Zhì Shēn with the joy known to parents when their children do well.

Even his brothers were happy for him and rejoiced in the good example he set. All, except one that is. Jiàn Shēng burnt with jealousy that he scarcely kept under wraps. While he could not be bothered about the gift the King had given his brother, he detested that the Bride touched Zhì Shēn. Nothing else mattered, not the innocence or the purity of the moment. He craved such touch for himself and seeing Zhì Shēn receive what he did not, made him green-eyed with covetousness.

While those present began conversing once again, he made his way towards the Bride who was now seated beside the King. He presented himself before them and took out a spectacular carving he had made from blue opal. It looked remarkably like the Bride in form and animation. It caused everyone to stop and look at its radiance and also the unfolding scene before them.

Unfortunately for Jiàn Shēng, his offering was now infused with the essence of his spirit, as it is with all offerings. A wisp of grey escaped from it with a tainted odor reeking of the jealousy threatening to overwhelm his heart. The King and his Bride noticed it.

She spoke up as gently and softly as possible, ‘Jiàn Shēng, put it away!’ She said it to protect him from the gaze of all the others present, for they had not yet seen the wisp that polluted his gift. She neither took it nor considered it lest it drew more attention.

Jiàn Shēng’s eyes grew enraged, and his countenance changed to one of humiliation as he was suddenly crestfallen. There was no hint of joy left in him. His reaction did not escape the notice of the King.

‘Come and sit beside me,’ the King told him. He did not want to but now was not the time to show any opposition, so he complied.

Meanwhile the Bride distracted others from what had transpired. ‘Let us head down to the lake where the flocks rest. There are new swans that love to swim there. They have feathers like glistening snow. Come!’ she told them as she led them away.

Jiàn Shēng sat sullenly beside the King, sipping on some wine and watching the merry group making their way down the path.

‘Why are you upset and downcast? If you do what is right, will your gift not be accepted? Leave this gift here along with your resentment, then go and be reconciled with your brother. This is the way to remedy the situation and return to the state of peace and joy,’ the King told him out of love and goodness towards him. The King was gracious and wanted to give him a chance to turn away from the wrong steps he had taken.

Jiàn Shēng arose and walked away, but he did not leave the gift behind nor his growing anger. He made his way down the path and saw the rest of the Tiānshǐ admiring the new swans that had made their way to the eastern realms. He spotted Zhì Shēn leaning in on one side of the Bride. His jealousy narrowed his gaze for if he had cared to look wider, he would have also seen Pèi Zhōng leaning in on her other side. They were after all fellow guardians on Méiguī shān and this role came naturally to them. Jiàn Shēng roughly elbowed his way towards the Bride’s side, even stepping on Zhì Shēn’s robe to get there.

It was very strange and startling behavior for it was alien to the person everyone knew him to be. Gone was the playful and mischievous mannerisms that distinguished him.

Once he was beside her, he took her right hand in his and placed his gift in her open palm. ‘I made great effort to find and make this and you rejected it without even looking at it! Please, take this token!’ he said, hoping for some form of redemption that would lift his spirit from the earlier embarrassment.

She could no longer cover his further humiliation due to his self-exposure. ‘Jiàn Shēng,’ she began. At the same instant, an unpleasant odor rose in a mist from his offering and this time, everyone saw and smelled it at once. As they turned away in revulsion, he looked shocked.

‘How did I miss this unholy mist?’ he wondered silently as his face grew ashen.

‘It is polluted,’ the Bride informed him.

‘Why was there a different mist that rose from his gift?’ Jiàn Shēng asked as he pointed towards Zhì Shēn.

The Bride did not desire to compare the two but since he had asked her, she had no choice but to give him the reason.

‘His gift was offered with a pure spirit,’ she said.

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Zhì Shēn was looking at Jiàn Shēng intently wondering why he was behaving as he was. The latter caught his stare and was further angered, ‘Miserable Zhì Shēn! It is all because of you! She never even considered my gift on your account. And here you are again trying to stay by her side!’ Jiàn Shēng’s thoughts were a chaotic sea within him.

The Bride continued, ‘Did not the King send you here to talk with your brother? Well, go talk with him. We will leave first,’ she said as she placed his gift back in his hand and gestured for the rest to follow her. All that remained was the deafening and awkward silence between the two brothers.

Jiàn Shēng should have sincerely apologized to Zhì Shēn for the jealous outburst, taking into further consideration that the latter was the host. Once reconciled in private, they could have moved back into the public sphere and that would have been the end of it. However, Jiàn Shēng was aggrieved and felt himself to be the victim.

‘You have caused me to be shamed before all!’ he said indignantly to Zhì Shēn.

‘Brother, it is you who brought it upon yourself,’ Zhì Shēn replied.

‘It is you who was vying for her attention!’ Jiàn Shēng pressed on, totally disregarding his brother’s words.

‘Is this what it is about?’ Zhì Shēn asked as the truth dawned on him concerning the dissonance his brother had suddenly exhibited.

‘You are not worthy of her! Not even a single touch,’ Jiàn Shēng fumed.

‘So, do you think you are worthy of her?’ Zhì Shēn questioned him. ‘Turn away from this madness Jiàn Shēng. It is not too late. I saw you with the Red Phoenix in the northern realms. Do you think your acts will stay hidden? What will happen when the King learns of this? The shame you felt today will be nothing compared to that exposure,’ he said in hopes of helping Jiàn Shēng see the error of his ways.

Jiàn Shēng was momentarily shocked. He had been careless. He thought he was alone in the northern realms that day. He felt a deep sense of loneliness as the Bride was not there with him. He took out the Red Phoenix and asked it to take her form again. He knew that it was a counterfeit image, but it was enough for the moment. He had drawn it into an intimate embrace and kissed it passionately as if the Bride herself was in his arms.

Unknown to him, Zhì Shēn had gone there to gather a kind of moss that grew on the ice. Wáng Léi had grown fond of its sweet taste. In addition, he wanted to gather some fresh, cool fragrance rising from the ice pools so he could condense them for use in his dwelling. What he saw his brother doing with the Red Phoenix shocked him. He meant to talk with him about the matter after that day, as he was hosting the gathering.

Jiàn Shēng’s shock quickly turned to deeper rage, ‘I knew it! You told them about it and that is why she did not take my gift!’ he bellowed.

‘No! I did not…,’ the words barely left Zhì Shēn’s mouth before he was hit with great violence on his head by his furious brother. While the hit could not kill the former, it definitely stunned him. This was the first time intentional violence was used in the heavens and hence, Zhì Shēn was not guarded against it. This was nothing like a fun duel. Jiàn Shēng was out to harm his brother out of misguided anger.

The force of the strike caused Zhì Shēn to trip over and a gash opened on his head. A golden stream floated outwards onto the snow. This was the blood of the Tiānshǐ made from the dust of Dàshān. The wound started to heal instantaneously but before the gash closed, Zhì Shēn noticed something.

‘Oh no! He has cast the entombing enchantment and left,’ Zhì Shēn said. This was a powerful blocking move that was used in duels. Once trapped in it, either the original caster of the enchantment or another person who knew how to undo it, had to break in from the outside. The shield cast was like a thousand broken shards of ice mirrors. It totally surrounded the person in all directions including beneath their feet, so they could not dig their way out.

The enchantment had not yet fully encased Zhì Shēn. He quickly took some of his golden blood and using his index finger, he moved it out of the enchantment. By then he was fully healed, and the shield closed completely.

The smell of his blood and the disturbance within him caused his beloved Wáng Léi to get there with great speed. Seeing his master entombed, Wáng Léi tried everything he could to break through the shield, but he did not know how to do so. The shield was so strong that not even Zhì Shēn's voice could pass through it. Even if he told Wáng Léi through his thoughts how to break the shield, it was no use as the bull had yet to grow, lacking the power to take it down alone.

Meanwhile, Jiàn Shēng returned to the pasture where the rest were. He ought to have reconciled and walked in with his brother. Seeing that this was not the case and knowing in his spirit what had happened, the King asked him, ‘Jiàn Shēng, where is your brother?’ The King did not want to know Zhì Shēn’s location. He was seeking an answer as to why the two had not walked in together after mending their relationship.

Jiàn Shēng nonchalantly replied, ‘How am I to know? I am not my brother’s keeper.’

Just then, a streak of golden light shone upwards like a beacon and the faintest of sounds was heard emanating from it. After a short while of pondering over his predicament, Zhì Shēn realized he was wearing the black agarwood hair stick the King had given him earlier. The pearl in its design could be activated by the wearer. Since it was crafted by the King himself, its light could break through the shield when used appropriately. Zhì Shēn pointed it upward to where his little trickle of golden blood was floating overhead, and he activated its light. This was what everyone witnessed from a distance.

‘What have you done?’ the King stated firmly. ‘Look, your brother’s blood calls out from where you entombed him.’

Everyone quickly made their way to where Zhì Shēn stood. Wáng Léi was snorting and stomping on the ground furiously as he prepared for yet another assault on the shield. With one word, the King broke the enchantment and freed Zhì Shēn much to Wáng Léi’s relief. The Tiānshǐ marveled that Zhì Shēn looked calm and unperturbed. There was not a hint of anger on or within him.

The King turned his attention on Jiàn Shēng as did all the others. ‘Are you still hesitating to do what is right at this moment?’ he asked the latter.

Seeing that all eyes were on him and not wanting to lose favor with the Bride who looked at him with deep sadness, Jiàn Shēng quickly walked towards his brother and bowed before him with outstretched and clasped hands.

‘I am very sorry Zhì Shēn for what I did earlier. I was wrong for being angry with you and entombing you in a fit of rage. Please forgive me,’ he said earnestly.

Zhì Shēn smiled and embraced his brother heartily, having forgiven him. He hoped this was behind them for good. He decided to talk with him about the Red Phoenix at a more opportune time.

Jiàn Shēng felt very embarrassed and turned towards the King. ‘How will I face my brothers after this day? What surety do I have that they will not look down on me or do to me what I foolishly did to Zhì Shēn?’ he asked.

The King thought for a moment and then stretched his index finger towards Jiàn Shēng. He inscribed a sign on his forehead which looked like a wavy downward stroke that started broad and tapered down into a very thin, sword-like straight line. It was a quarter of the size of his forehead and through it, his golden blood shone as it moved within his inner being. It was the symbol for connection in the heavenly realms. Everyone knew that just like how each tent peg was important in holding down a tent, so each living being was connected in the fabric of life and had their place in it.

‘When others see this sign, they will remember not to do to you as you did. When you have fully cast out and conquered what is plaguing you within, this sign will disappear. You will bear a crown in its place with all the power that will come with such rulership. Until then, each of your brothers here will be your keepers, reminding you to turn back from folly and claim your crown,’ the King declared.

All those gathered cheered for and encouraged Jiàn Shēng to assure him of their continued love and presence. They would not abandon him nor look down on him for they were all connected. When one falls, all fall. When one rises, all rise.

That night, Jiàn Shēng looked at himself in the mirror with loathing. He tried hard to erase the mark on his forehead. If there was an easier way to be rid of it, he would not hesitate to try it. Returning to what was once him, seemed too impossible since it meant giving up the woman he loved. He paced to and fro all night trying everything he could to remove the sign.

‘I do not need my brothers to be my keepers! I only need her,’ he said resolutely as he failed in yet another attempt to remove the sign.