Theyll never have existed at all? I said.
Its the kindest way, Emma, John said into his hands.
I was horrified. How often do you Celestials interfere with us like this? I said. You just make people not exist?
This will be the first time in history, my Lady, Gold said with remorse. There has never been a need for it in the past.
John dropped his hands, but didnt look up. There is some argument that the Mountain should not recruit humans if they are in danger from attack like this.
If there are no Disciples learning, then the Celestial loses its defence against the demon horde, Gold said. It wont happen, my Lord. All of Heaven needs your Disciples, they are the best.
But they died, John moaned.
Gold sat and rested his elbows on the table. I carried out your orders, my Lord. I went to the Western Palace and gathered the remaining Disciples. I told them that you felt they were in danger and that they should return home. I ordered them home.
Good.
I know what they did, John. Not a single one went. I gestured towards Gold. I bet they threatened to kill themselves if they were forced to return home.
John glanced at Gold.
Gold smiled slightly.
John leaned back and put his palms on the table. Not a single one?
Not a single one, my Lord. They would rather die than discontinue the training. They love the Arts more than their lives.
And thats why theyre on the Mountain, I said. Face it. Youre stuck with them.
John sighed with feeling.
I turned back to the lists. Lets look at the Masters. Most of the names had either an I or an S next to them. Many more of these were Chinese, but there were still some names from other nationalities there. I? I said.
Immortals, Gold said. S is for Shen.
Whats the difference?
I thought you did some research, John said without looking up from the list.
Cut it out, old man, I said. Whats the difference between an Immortal and a Shen?
Gold snorted with amusement.
Answer the goddamn question, I growled.
For our purposes, nothing; we just refer to them as the Celestial Masters, John said. Immortals are humans who have gained the Tao. We Shen have always been immortal; we are more like spirits than people. Most of the mortal human Masters on the Mountain didnt make it. There were some tremendous acts of valour witnessed that day. He glanced up. Gold.
My Lord?
Are the records being made? Gold nodded. My Lord.
Some of them attained the Tao and were Raised. It was a sight to see. But it will take them slightly longer to return.
I flipped through the list again. The Energy Master is a European woman?
Meredith was a missionarys daughter, John said. She lived in Hubei Province about three hundred years ago. She was incredibly talented at tai chi, so I took her to the Celestial Mountain to teach her. She is one of the most talented human energy workers I have ever seen. She married one of the Immortal Masters, Master Liu, and theyve been happy together for hundreds of years.
Id really like to meet her.
You already have. She was at the ceremony where everybody swore allegiance. I didnt introduce you; you seemed slightly overwhelmed to have gods bowing down before you and swearing allegiance and obedience.
I wasnt overwhelmed, I was drowning.
You were magnificent, Gold said. They are all extremely impressed with you.
They are looking forward to working with you as new Regent and Lady of the Mountain after I have gone, John said.
The shock hit me when he said that. I wasnt accustomed to it; it was still very new. I was to be their Master.
Are they very unhappy about an ordinary human woman taking over? I said.
Every single one of them is absolutely delighted that they wont have to do the job. Most of them have offered to come to the Earthly and continue your training after Im gone. But by that time you will probably be teaching them a thing or twoyou are exceptionally talented. A year with me is worth a lifetime with any other Master. Look at Leo.
They must miss your hand, without you there to teach for them, I said.
They were horrified when I married Michelle and decided to stay on the Earthly with her. Every time I went up there to rebuild my energy, they were waiting with a packed schedule. Eventually I told them to let me rest, so they sent students down here to learn instead. Remember, before the Attack? Young students would come down and stay in the two spare rooms here.
I nodded as he continued. Sometimes Id have so many that Id put them in the flat below us, which is always kept vacant. But I may rent it out now, until we can organise something. You cant leave a flat empty in Hong Kong for long, it becomes very musty.
A brilliant idea suddenly hit me out of the blue. John, how big is the block of flats in Happy Valley?
Bright Mansions? About twenty-five floors, eight flats to a floor, quite large for that area. Why?
What about the building in Wan Chai? How big is that?
About the same, my Lady, Gold said. Twenty-six floors. But most of the lower floors are vacant right now, with the economic downturn.
The one in North Point?
That ones quite small, only fifteen floors, two flats to a floor. Its very old, John said. I may demolish it eventually, but its not worth it right now.
There had to be some logistical reason why this wouldnt work, but it was worth a try. People in Hong Kong usually only rent a place for a year at a time, they like the flexibility, I said. And most of the building in Wan Chai is already vacant. How about we move the Mountain down here?
Gold picked it up right away. The students can stay in Happy Valley and go to the Wan Chai building for training. It shouldnt take much to fix up the Hennessy Road building for trainingits already offices, Ill just have to remove some partitions. I could move the administration down here too. And the Bright Mansions apartments in Happy Valley would be perfect as student residences. It wont cost us anything except the loss of income from the rent, and frankly, my Lord, the way the economy is right now, it wont be much.
What about language? John said.
What about language? John said.
Language? I said.
Yes, that will be a problem, Gold said. Let me think about it.
On the Celestial Plane, language is irrelevant. All can communicate. That will not apply on the Earthly, and could result in problems, John said.
No, I can fix it, Gold said. Leave it with me. Im very good with Celestial Harmony, I should be able to work something out.
Is the building in Wan Chai zoned for that sort of thing? We dont want to draw the governments attention. John smiled at me. Have the ICAC breaking down the door.
Give it a rest, I said and grinned back.
Not an issue, Gold said. If it isnt, Ill just go into the government system and fix the zoning.
Youre a hacker? I said.
One of the best, Gold said proudly. Dont do it often, but when I do, I do a damn good job.
I glared at John. You said you werent involved in anything illegal, that you would never risk Simones happiness.
And I meant it. I am a creature of my word. I have not committed a single illegal act since I was Raised. The enthusiasm of my Retainers, however, he gestured towards Gold, is another matter entirely.
Gold ignored us. I cant think of any other reason why this shouldnt happen as Lady Emma has suggested. Its a brilliant plan.
Emma, you really are astounding, John said. Its a perfect solution. If the Turtle cant go to the Mountain, then the Mountain can come to the Turtle.
I laughed, but Gold was obviously horrified and made weird choking noises.
Go and start the arrangements, John said to Gold. Tell the Tiger well have those Disciples out of his fur in no time. Come back when youve started the process and well commence the rebuilding. Itll be much easier without any staff or students present, just a skeleton crew of guards. Oh. Emma.
My Lord. Gold disappeared. What, John?
I can finally have you teaching. You and Leo. We are fearfully short of junior Masters. You and Leo will be perfect. He can start them on hand-to-hand and weapons, and you can start them on energy work. The senior Masters are wasted teaching the basic stuff. This is excellent.
Dont be ridiculous. Ive been learning less than a year myself, and I have to look after Simone.
No, after Simone goes to school, youll have plenty of time, and by September this year youll be as good as any junior Master on the Mountain. John leapt up, obviously excited.
Wait a second! I shouted. You didnt even bother to ask me! Who the hell do you think you are?
John stopped halfway to the door and didnt move.
Well?
He spoke softly without turning towards me. For thousands of years others have been obeying my orders without question. I have precedence over nearly everybody in Creation. Ive developed a bad habit of expecting to be obeyed. He dropped his head and shook it, still turned away. I am so sorry, love.
You have precedence over nearly everybody? Dont you have any friends who are equal to you in precedence?
He turned back to me. The truth? No. The Jade Emperor is my master, I serve him. Apart from that, nobody.
All your friends have to obey you if you tell them to do something?
He gazed into my eyes. Yes. Even the other three Winds must obey me. I am their Sovereign. The White Tiger is my friend, but there is still a line there, and both of us are aware of it.
My heart twisted. It must be very lonely for you.
He snapped out of it and spoke with forced cheerfulness. My number is one, Emma. It is my nature to be alone. He went to the doorway and bellowed, Leo!
I winced. Cant you call him silently, John? Do you have to yell like that?
Leo immediately appeared in the doorway; he must have been in the hall. Keeps me on my toes, my Lady. He leaned against the doorframe with his arms folded across his chest. Shes your equal, he said to John. Shes more than a match for you. He gestured, palm-up, towards me. And she wont obey you if she chooses not to. Why dont you just ask her if she wants to teach?
John turned back to me. Will you join my Academy as Master and teach energy work for me?
Id be delighted.
Leo didnt move from the doorframe. See? That wasnt hard, was it? Now feel free to ask me.
Leo, when the Academy is up and running, you will teach the juniors weapons and hand-to-hand, and that is an order, John said with force.