The Sorceress Revolt - Ko Eiji's Story - Part 3 Chapter 1 by Translations by Ainikki / Anime Blog Tracker

The Sorceress Revolt - Ko Eiji's Story - Part 3 Chapter 1

.post p { margin:0 0 .75em; line-height:1.5em; text-indent:1.5em; } The Sorceress' Revolt - Ko Eiji's Story Author: Toriumi Jinzō Translator: Ainikki the Archivist Part Three: True Divine Immortal Spiritual Religion Chapter 1 Returning to the not-so-distant past for a moment, let us revisit poor Ko Eiji where she collapsed in the Fen River Valley during a rainstorm. Chō Itsu, a poor hunter, had been searching for prey since morning, but perhaps because of the cold that day, he had not been able to find so much as a single mouse stirring in the valley. As evening approached and he was about to return home, he spotted a fox hiding in the shade of a rocky mountain. It was a magnificent white fox. Its silvery white fur shone brightly in the dew and rain. “That is a fine animal,” Chō Itsu said. White foxes were considered to be auspicious. Their fur could be sold for a high price. The fox noticed Chō Itsu, shook to brush off water, and then fled towards the cliff. Chō Itsu quickly nocked an arrow on his bow and fired, but the fox dodged with a quick jump and kept running. Chō Itsu chased the fox to the top of the cliff, but the fox had disappeared. “Damn it.” He clicked his tongue and shook his head. Right next to him, a girl lay collapsed on the ground. She was drenched from the rain. Chō Itsu nocked his arrow and took aim. At that moment, the girl mumbled something in her delirium that he didn’t quite catch. “Xuanwu, god of the North Star. Xuanwu, god of the North Star…” “That wily fox… looks like it’s disguised itself as this girl.” Chō Itsu was about to shoot an arrow, but then he stopped himself. Was she a human girl, or a fox in disguise? Chō Itsu was unsure, but he didn’t want to risk killing the girl if he guessed wrong. He ended up carrying her on his back all the way to his home. Chō Itsu and his wife, Sen Shi, cared for the girl, who was suffering from a high fever. After about ten days, the girl recovered and was able to speak again. “I am Ko Eiji.” “No, you are a fox. Show your true identity quickly!” Chō Itsu was quite convinced that Ko Eiji was a fox in disguise, though his wife doubted this. Ko Eiji became something of a tourist attraction in the tiny village. Many people came to see Chō Itsu’s rescued fox girl. Some believed she was a fox just as much as Chō Itsu did and tried to test her or make her transform. “You’ve disguised yourself well. Show me your tail!” A young man who’d come to visit put his hand between Ko Eiji’s legs. *** One day, a large man with a shaved head came to Chō Itsu’s house to see the fox girl. He met Ko Eiji and said, “There’s no doubt about it: she is my brother’s daughter.” “Are you kidding? Are you trying to steal my fox?” Chō Itsu asked. “I could accuse you of the same thing,” the large man said. “Are you trying to steal my niece?” Ko Eiji stepped between the two men. “I’m not a fox, and I don’t have any relatives who look like you, sir. I believe you’re both mistaken.” “The fever seems to have made her touched in the head, but I’m willing to take her back to her family,” the large man said. “Oh? And do you know her name? You should, if you’re relatives.” “Of course I know it. Her name is Ko Eiji.” Chō Itsu and Sen Shi slumped in disappointment. So much for their tourist attraction. The large man probably was her relative, and they had no right to keep her from him. “I’ll pay you for caring for her. You saved her life, after all,” the large man said, removing a money pouch from his side and scattering coins carelessly on the table. Chō Itsu and his wife were shocked by the amount of money the man offered for Ko Eiji’s care. They had never seen so much before. The large man who had found Ko Eiji was Chō Ki in disguise. If Chō Itsu and his wife had resisted giving Ko Eiji up, he had instructions to burn them to death by fire magic. Chō Ki forced Ko Eiji, who was not fully recovered yet, onto a horse. They traveled quickly to Sei Koko’s teahouse in Wenshui. *** Thanks to the good medicine and careful tending given to her by Sei Koko, Ko Eiji became healthier than ever. She was able to forget many of the misfortunes she had suffered. Compared to the cold-heartedness of her relatives, the kindness of strangers touched Ko Eiji deeply. Her new clothes were fine and to her taste, and her accessories were extravagant. The food was also lavish. One day, Ko Eiji formally bowed down in front of Sei Koko with both hands pressed to the ground. “I will never forget your kindness. It’s about time for me to leave…” It wasn’t like Ko Eiji had any other place to go, but she felt guilty about relying on Sei Koko’s charity. She thought she might find employment in a store and then think about how she wanted to live from now on. She’d been prepared to die that night in the Fen River valley. Now she was alive, and had better prospects. She was prepared for whatever hardships might befall her. “There’s no need for that. You can stay here as long as you like,” Sei Koko said calmly. “I apologize if I have offended you.” “This was destined to happen.” “Destined?” Ko Eiji looked up at Sei Koko’s face. She couldn’t understand how any of what had happened to her was destined. “What do you mean?” “You are a child of Xuanwu, the god of the North Star.” Ko Eiji narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “And how do you know that?” “In a previous life…” Sei Koko looked Ko Eiji in the eyes. “Listen carefully, Ko Eiji. In your past life, I was your mother.” Ko Eiji’s eyes widened. “How do you know?” Sei Koko recounted the details of Ko Eiji’s reincarnation that had been revealed to her by the spirit of Empress Wu Zetian twenty-three years before. Ko Eiji had often heard about reincarnation, but this was the first time she had heard about her past life. She was confused, which was understandable. She’d always thought that after she died, her soul would leave her body and go to the afterlife. And in the afterlife, past lives weren’t remembered. Were they? Everything she’d been taught seemed wrong now. The six realms were a concept in Buddhism that represented different levels of existence or psychological states. The first was heaven, the realm of the gods. The second was asura, the realm of asuras, or demons of war. The third was the mortal realm, where humans lived. The mortal realm was the only one where Buddhas could appear. The animal realm was for grasping, lesser souls that were driven by only basic needs like hunger. The ghost realm was occupied by unquiet spirits who were never satisfied. The last realm was hell, a place of constant suffering and torment. 1 The soul was considered immortal, and that was where the idea of reincarnation came from. It would be nice to always be reincarnated as a fortunate and happy human, but if one was reborn as a cow or a pig, one was destined to be eaten. Repeating reincarnation without remaining in the afterlife was an anguish that no one desired. Escaping this anguish was liberation, and was the basis of the practice of Buddhism. *** Ko Eiji didn’t believe that she’d been reincarnated. Not at first. Her parents had burned to death, but they had raised her and she considered them to be her true parents. “Worldly parents are merely temporary parents. Parents who are connected to you by karma from a previous life are your real parents,” Sei Koko said. “Sei Koko, are you saying that I am the reincarnation of your daughter, Ko Biji?” “On the Obon Festival at the age of eighteen, my daughter was summoned by Empress Wu Zetian to the underworld.”2 “Why would Empress Wu Zetian summon an eighteen-year-old girl? Surely she was too young to die.” “Wu Zetian wanted to be reborn as a young woman. Everything you are now was prepared for in your previous life. When you reach that age, Wu Zetian’s will shall be revealed. Ko Eiji, accept your fate and find the greatest happiness a woman can have.” “How am I supposed to reveal Empress Wu Zetian’s will?” “You shall become her, here on earth.” Ko Biji shook her head. “No, no. I can’t believe it. It’s impossible.” “Why do you doubt?” Sei Koko shut the windows inside the room and had Ko Eiji kneel before Wu Zetian’s altar. The North Star, Ko Eiji’s constant god since childhood, twinkled in her mind’s eye. “Ask the spirit of the empress yourself, then.” Sei Koko transformed into Wu Zetian before Ko Eiji’s eyes. “You have heard much of my life, I am sure,” the empress said. Even Sei Koko’s voice was completely different. “I shall show you memories of the past.” Images of Empress Wu Zetian’s opulent life in the Imperial Palace were projected onto the wall. “In your previous life, you were among my favored children.” A Sei Koko spoke in Wu Zetian’s guise, the image of Ko Biji when she was alive appeared on the shrine’s wall. The image was an illusion, but it looked very real. Ko Eiji was rendered speechless by these vivid images. Sei Koko looked upon Ko Eiji with a gentle expression. She was herself again; Wu Zetian’s face and form faded away. “If you were not my reincarnated daughter, you would not be able to see the divine revelations. I heard rumors that you were treated like a fox by the people who found you, and that is what made me wonder if you were my daughter’s reincarnation. Ko Biji’s father was a fox, you see.” “Is that true?” “Yes. And you also have some connection to foxes. You are my daughter; there is no doubt about it.” Ko Eiji became a cautious believer in what Sei Koko said. Most of her life had been a happy and fortunate one, but the sudden death of her parents had plunged her into a life of misery. Praying to the god of the North Star that night in the Fen River valley had restored her good luck. For the first time in months, Ko Eiji was optimistic about the future. “I saw a woman on the night of the fire who told me to call upon the god of the North Star for help,” Ko Eiji said to Sei Koko. “As I stood alone in the river valley in the freezing rain, I prayed to Xuanwu and was saved.” “The woman you saw is Wu Zetian. You are under her protection. It is no coincidence that you were found by members of the True Divine Immortal Spiritual Religion.” Ko Eiji’s face flushed red with excitement. She was going to become an empress! She would need to enhance her beauty and pray for more good luck in the future. Who could imagine being blessed with the good fortune of becoming the empress of China? The only empress in China’s entire history was Wu Zetian; there had been no women rulers before or since. After Ko Eiji’s shock and confusion subsided, she grew excited by the prospect of an extraordinary future. “From now on, I, Sei Koko, will be your guardian and guide you. Leave everything to me.” Ko Eiji had no one in the world to rely on except Sei Koko. She bowed deeply and said, “Thank you very much.” How fast life could change! Ko Eiji had gone from being a poor orphan in the depths of despair to an empress-in-training, all thanks to Sei Koko’s fortuitous assistance. For her part, Sei Koko was gratified that her daughter’s incarnation treated her with true affection. As the days passed, the relationship between Sei Koko and Ko Biji became like the bond between a true mother and daughter. Translator's Notes 1 The six realms are depicted in the Wheel of Life, which is a visual representation of samsara, the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. In Buddhism, the six realms are generally taught to be real modes of existence. However, some forms of Buddhism, such as Mahāyāna, emphasize that they are more like symbolic of states of mind. ↩ 2 Obon (お盆) is an annual Buddhist festival for commemorating one's ancestors, whose spirits are believed to temporarily return to this world. ↩

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