Chapter 10 - In the Land of the Rising Suhn

As he fell into the raging waters, Li Kang noticed that time seemed to slow down. Or is it my reaction time that is speeding up, he thought to himself. His ki energy circulating vigorously in his ki channels, Li Kang reached out for a rock protruding from the river. He could see a massive waterfall just ten feet away from where he clutched the rock. He tried to haul himself up but the water slimed stone proved to be too slippery and he was jettisoned from his precarious position to go careening away down the waterfall.

Breathing deeply to focus his ki, Li Kang relaxed and reoriented himself so that he was facing the rock face behind the waterfall as he fell. Even with his bone tempered body, not weaker than a stage 3 bone tempering cultivator, he knew that he would not survive the drop to the bottom.

Survive, Li Kang thought to himself. Beaten down by the falling water, his hands scrabbled at the rocky cliff face. Suddenly, his hands caught on a ledge. Still battered by the water, he managed to haul himself up and lay down on his back, coughing up water and taking great heaving breaths. His journey over the waterfall was reminiscent of Longmen. (Translator's Note: go fuck yourself. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longmen_(mythology)#:~:text=According%20to%20tradition%2C%20a%20carp,be%20transformed%20into%20a%20dragon).

When he was able, he sat up and assessed his situation. He was seated on a smooth rock ledge about 6 feet deep and 8 feet wide behind the prodigious waterfall. The Suhn Clan river valley was a good 500 feet or so below him. He examined the ledge itself. It was perfectly flat and level, and appeared to have been carved by stonemasons. But for what reason would the Suhn Clan carve this large ledge behind the waterfall? He thought to himself.

That's when Li Kang noticed the irregularities on the stone wall behind him. The cliff face had been inscribed with different symbols in two vertical rows. He recognized the symbols as the ancient regional language from the fallen Lo Chang Dynasty which had occupied the river valley thousands of years prior to the Suhn Clan's arrival. Ah so this predates the Suhn Clan.

He opened up Elder Guansho's book to find some information that might help him escape his predicament. "I should really be calling him Master Guansho since I'm overusing the hell out of this cheat item book he gave me," Li Kang reflected.

He opened up Master Guansho's book to find some information that might help him escape his predicament. Flipping through the index he found the entry on the Lo Chang Dynasty. He skimmed until he found what he needed.

…The Lo Chang Dynasty calligraphy scholars were far more advanced than what we have today in modern times. It is said that they could imbue their characters with ki energy to create hidden entrances, traps, and even indoor plumbing….

Excellent, thought Li Kang. This must be a hidden door right here on the cliff face! Also, what the hell is indoor plumbing? Setting the latter mystery aside for the time being, he studied the characters knowing that one wrong move might set off a trap or even collapse the platform and kill him. The characters for bird, flight, and sky were in the left column. The right column had open, secret, and kill. Li Kang thought for a moment and then activated his ki sight. There was a faint residual energy on the symbols which allowed him to track the density of how many times they had been pressed. 

He followed this quickly and pressed them: sky, bird, flight, kill, secret, open. The stone face began to emit a grinding noise and the ponderous stone door began to reveal itself. Soon there was an entrance that Li Kang could fit inside, and he strode powerfully into the cavern.

He found himself in a small room with only a single water basin in the center, and a stone tablet with a message written in the same dialect as the symbols on the wall. It said: 'All you who enter here, cleanse the blood from your hands and the blood from your spirit.'

Li Kang considered for a moment and used his ki sight to analyze the water in the basin. It appeared to be normal water. The basin, however, was giving off an extremely powerful ki signature. What could the riddle mean? He thought.

There was a door beyond but it appeared to be blocked by an invisible ki barrier. In a stroke of inspiration, Li Kang ignored the riddle and drew the dagger of avarice. He walked over and stabbed the ki force field. Sure enough, the ki energy began to drain from the force field into the dagger. Before it could enter his ki channels he started reverse cycling to block them off from the foreign energy. After the issues he'd had with the spirit carp earlier, he had no desire to allow the foreign ki into his body, even if there was a chance that it was compatible. 

After he had destroyed the barrier in this way, he passed through to another chamber. This one had an identical basin and a stone tablet with another riddle on it. Not even bothering to read the riddle this time, Li Kang repeated the process on the next force field. After going through another six chambers in this way, he reached a spacious circular chamber with a high domed ceiling. Waterfalls created a circle around the exterior and a lectern held a single golden tablet in the middle of the room. He analyzed the room and found a shockingly powerful energy radiating from the tablet. 

"Is that tablet a heavenly treasure as well?" He couldn't believe his good luck. After carefully checking for traps he advanced on the lectern. The golden tablet was within reach now. As soon as he reached out and touched it a deep voice boomed.

"The successor of the Lo Chang Dynasty has arrived! Welcome my son. It is I, Lo Chang Gao, Emperor and Supreme Ruler of the Lo Chang River Valley and Surrounding Regions. Kneel now and receive my inheritance."

Quickly realizing that the voice was coming from the tablet, Li Kang knelt on the floor, holding the tablet in front of him. He certainly was not the heir of this dynasty but he wasn't about to make any sudden moves while holding such a rare and powerful artifact. If he played his cards right he could walk away with the inheritance of this great emperor!

"Good. What is your name, boy?"

"Lo Chang Kang," Li Kang replied confidently, holding his breath as he waited to see if the tablet would call him out. Instead, it glowed with golden light and began infusing his ki channels with power. Suddenly, the golden power flipped and began rapidly draining his ki.

Damn, so it was a trap after all, he thought. Thinking fast, Li Kang drew the dagger of avarice and plunged it into the golden tablet. Instantly, the draining effect stopped. The tablet turned to a dull stone color and then crumbled in his hands. Below his feet, the ground rumbled as the circular room started to descend. Li Kang could hear powerful machinery at work as what he now knew to be a platform slowly sank deeper into the mountain.

The voice sounded out again. "The bearer of the Dagger of Avarice returns at last, true heir to the Lo Chang Dynasty." The floor rumbled again as it reached the bottom and revealed a grand doorway cut into the stone. Li Kang strode through into the darkness.