Fan Xiliang's hands were as raw as his feet, too bloody to bleed any more, frozen and covered with scabs from endless days of digging.

His friend, Lin-Chuen, had been the first to die on the long march and dozens more died each day, only adding to Xiliang's agony and leaving him more alone each day.

Now only Poh-Chung, his new-found friend, stood by him. The other men were from other villages, and their languages weren't the same, but Poh-Chung was barely able to speak any longer. He hadn't eaten in three days, and his skeletal body consisted of little more than stubby fingers, broken toes and bruises that would no longer heal. Fan Xiliang had deteriorated, as well, but his soul still lived, longing to be with Meng Jiangnu.

"Come, eat! Enjoy your repast," Ju-Yi laughed as he slopped the captives' daily ration of soup into each man's tiny wooden bowl. "Be strong and someday you will go home!" Someday, Ju-Yi thought as his guffaws replaced the cold night air with an iciness it had never heard before.

"The fools believe me when I tell them they'll be home soon-little do they know their home is death. I don't think they care anymore. Look deep into their eyes, their souls are gone, and yet the Emperor's Wall has barely been started. Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi will have to find more laborers if he wants to finish in this lifetime."

"Be careful! This wall is sacred; it hears and sees everything we do. If the emperor learns of your treachery, he'll force you to labor beside the convicts and when he's done, he'll flay you alive." Ju-Yi quivered inside but he knew better than show his fear in front of his men. He turned his back and walked quickly toward the slaves, whipping them as he progressed down the line, "Eat quickly, eat quickly, you have work to do, and you must get your rest-you must rest-you must rest."

Poh-Chung was unable to finish his meal. His bowl lay beside him for a short moment and then Xiliang lifted it to his lips and drank his friend's last meal, but Poh Chung didn't complain. He was dead.

"Another body, we have another body here. Drag it to the pit and lay it beside the others. Rotting corpses don't make strong foundations; bury it inside the tunnel by the wall. Let the bodies rot in peace."

Xiliang dragged body after body into the myriad of caverns and tunnels along the banks of the river, which were steps from the new section of this great wall, but he didn't have time to examine the cavern, to see its ancient origin or realize it was created by the gods. All he could do was drag the bodies and bury the dead, heaping bodies end-to-end, filling the tunnel from wall-to-wall and from floor-to-the top of the tunnel. When Xiliang finished, he said a short prayer to the gods, thanking them for his life and his family and praying for a time when he could rejoin them. Then he left the dead. He was useless to help them in life; he knew he was just as useless to them now.

That night, moments before he fell asleep, in those few moments when his mind became his own again, Fan Xiliang thought of Meng Jiangnu and pleaded with the gods to see her once more. I want to touch her and caress her skin; I want to hold her in my arms all night long. I want to- Xiliang was unable to finish his prayer and sleep overcame him as he lay propped against the wall, collapsed in a short night's slumber, knowing the morning would bring double duty now that his friend, Poh-Chung, was dead.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Now that the men were gone and the children were hungry, Meng Jiangnu's village was no longer quiet. The soldiers had swept all the rice from the fields and the fleas cried out in agony, unable to feed on the laborers' blood.

The merchant, Jiawu, heard the rumor that the captive laborers building the wall were dying and there was no hope they would ever return. I must tell the elders. They will decide what to do. But rumors, like fireflies in an August sky, have no boundaries, and soon the entire village knew the truth: their men would die building the emperor's wall and Fan Xiliang would die unless someone was brave enough to rescue him.

"The ditches are filled with corpses."

"Two-thirds of the men are dead."

"Great yellow dragons guard the emperor's wall; it's impossible to go near them."

None of the words frightened Meng Jiangnu even though she had dreamt that she heard her husband's voice screaming in the night, she believed the gods had come to her, encouraging her to save her husband.


She
a soul without body
floating at the end of the valley
alone in the place that once held her happiness
now awaits your return.

The eagles screeched
and then the goddess visited
to warn about the skeletons
heaped against the wall
but she believed
that next year
when the flowers blossomed
he would return,
holding his half of the jade butterfly
as their mutual promise of love
stoutly in his hand.

Two thousand years later
her body changed to rock
salt without head,
she stands forever
watching,
waiting for him,
waiting for him,
knowing and loving
until the end of time.

Kuan Yin, the goddess of Mercy and Compassion, came to visit the graves of the dead. She stood silently and wept before enshrouding them in glory. Then she tugged the lanterns down from the sky, the stars she had placed in the firmament, and emblazed them into the roof of the cave to provide eternal light for the dead, until they would be reborn, as she erected a gold door and sealed it, protecting them from the emperor's men. Here they will sleep until men no longer practice slavery. Here they will sleep until they are reborn as free men before being resurrected to continue their fate. Kuan Yin wrote instructions on the door, knowing she would outlast their souls and be there for their reincarnated. She created a ramp, a passageway to lead souls from life to death, and then she nodded her head and snapped her fingers and sealed the cavern with a massive earthquake. They shall bury no more dead in my cavern and these men will lie in peace until it's time for them to be reborn. Once this door is opened, all my powers will be revealed, these dead shall be resurrected, and my power will enable them to go anywhere they choose and be free forevermore.


On to Chapter Seventeen
The Last Free Soul
Back to Chapter Fifteen
The River is Wide, The River is Deep
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