Inside JinShan Temple

A dull, rhythmic drumming sound slowly pierced through Xuxian's consciousness. It was a soothing sound, the soft splashing of rain; but as his eyes opened he jerked convulsively as his muscles twitched into motion again with a painful suddenness after having his acupoints sealed for so long.

With a gasp, he scrambled up, looking around with wild eyes. Where was he? What had happened? Susu--Fahai--

His frightened eyes scanned the unfamiliar surroundings. It seemed like an old temple, now abandoned. The broad red pillars were faded almost to pink, and the tattered edges of the curtains were so long they looked like tassels. Ancient writings covered the walls, obscured by dust so they were barely legible.

Xuxian ran to the great wooden doors. The brass hoops of the door were not fastened by a lock, and he pushed eagerly at them, only to be thrown backwards. A strong pressure pushed back against his hands when he tried to force the doors open, and finally he fell back, giving up. Fahai must have set some spell of sorts...

For of course Fahai had locked him here. His last memory--he winced as it flashed across his mind--had been the blood staining the white snake's sides, and hearing a great splash in the lake.

"Is anyone there!" he shouted helplessly, glancing around. The rain pattered peacefully away in the background, oblivious to him.

"Please!"

He pummelled the door. "Please let me out. Fahai, you're there, aren't you? Tell me, what happened to Susu? Where is she? Let me out. Let me out!"

His voice broke into a furious shout that rang giddily against the temple walls.

Xuxian was losing control. A dizzying storm of emotions lashed him into a frenzy. "Fahai, you killed her, didn't you? Is that why you can't face me now? Answer me, monk. If you have the guts then tell me so to my face. Why are you locking me up here? Why did you take me away, why not let me die together with her since you must kill her? Kill me as well, I wish you would! Call yourself a monk," he panted, his eyes shining with rage, "but look at your actions!"

Fahai's voice cut him short, and Xuxian fell back, startled, looking about wildly.

"Calm yourself, Physician Xu. This anger and hysteria will only harm you."

"Come out," he cried fiercely. "Don't hide in the shadows. Unless you're too ashamed to face me. Come out, Fahai!"

Recklessly, he swung around, scanning the temple for a second entrance.

There was a creak of groaning boards and the doors yawned open, letting in a flood of light that half-blinded Xuxian. He squinted and made out the figure of the monk standing in the entrance.

Fahai looked tired. His worn robes were spattered with rain and droplets gleamed on his bare head. The string of wooden beads hung quietly from his neck but Xuxian shuddered as he looked at them, remembering how much agony they had inflicted on Suzhen.

"Where am I?" Xuxian demanded.

The monk sighed. "You are in Jinshan Temple. I brought you here to keep you safe."

"Safe?" repeated Xuxian bitterly. "From Susu?"

Fahai ignored him. "You are to meditate on your wrongs here until you find enlightenment. She has led you astray and if I were to let you out now you would only return to her."

A glimmer of hope sparked in Xuxian. "Susu--then she--" he faltered

Fahai bit his lip. "She is not dead," he said flatly. "I should have killed her, but I was at the end of my strength. It was all I could do to bring you here. I left her falling into the lake. She might be dead now from her wounds," he continued calmly, "or then again, she might still be alive. I do not know. It does not matter. She has learnt her lesson at any rate. And if she has not, and tries to come to you, I will lock her inside the Leifeng pagoda to reflect on herself."

Xuxian's legs gave way and he sat down woodenly on the floor. "You do not know," he repeated listlessly. "How am I to survive, not even knowing whether she's alive or dead? She might be dying now, for all I know."

He lifted eyes that burned with anguish. "You are cruel," he said simply, with the quiet despair of someone who has accepted their helplessness. "Do you know that? You mean well, but you don't know what pain you are inflicting--you do not know what it is to suffer."

Fahai felt his breath constrict him. He, not know what it meant to suffer? Sudden anger flared within him and his fingers twitched with a mad urge to strike the physician dead. How dare he. How dare he say that. Fahai, of all people. Had he not suffered--horribly, unbearably, every night, for so many years?

Aghast at the intensity of his anger, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, instinctively murmuring "Amitabha" as he quashed the dark feelings seething within him.

"You are frightened and distressed," he said, speaking gently, but he was disturbingly aware that he was speaking more for himself than to Xuxian. "It is only natural that you react with anger. But when you have had time to calm down and reflect you will realize that you were wrong. I will leave you now. Rest assured, I will bring you food and drink. I have no intention of making you suffer."

The last few words carried a tinge of bitterness which surprised him, even though he thought he had regained his control. Unsettled, Fahai bowed and stepped back even as Xuxian ran forward.

"Wait--" Xuxian cried, only to find himself facing the unyielding doors once more as they clapped shut after the monk. Frustrated, he seized the door handles and shook them like a madman.

Fahai's voice floated in from the outside. "I have sealed the doors with a spell that someone like you cannot possibly break. I advise you not to waste your time and energy trying to escape."

He turned away, shaking the rain off from him in an impatient gesture.