Stratagem Twenty-One 金蝉脱壳: The Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell
- The Thirty-Six Stratagems, Ancient Chinese Proverbs and Military Text
Autumn scrambled down the mountain, slipping and sliding over ground strewn with fallen leaves. The moonlight dimly shone through the sparse canopy and Autumn didn’t notice patches of berries or a startled night owl, focusing only on the ground ahead. She wasn't sure when her captors would start tracking her or how far they would follow. She didn’t even know how many hours of darkness she had left. The only thing she knew for sure was whatever danger lay ahead, it could not be worse than being skinned by Princess Ling.
When her hindlegs began to cramp, Autumn forced herself to stop and drink from a mountain stream, soaking her aching paws in the icy water. Alternating between trotting and scurrying, Autumn continued north. As the sky began to brighten, Autumn stumbled upon a deer trail and, following it, she began to climb uphill.
As the morning light broke through the woods, the leaves beneath her feet turned from a carpet of golden ginkgo and crimson maple leaves to a thick mat of pine needles. Autumn wasn't sure how far she had traveled but these woods were unlike any she had ever been in.
Autumn yawned as she walked on the ledge of a ravine. In her exhaustion, her front right paw missed the path and landed on empty air. The ground under her gave out and she tumbled head over paws down a steep slope, bounced on a hard rock, then rolled through leaf litter, snapping the twigs beneath her. Briefly she was airborne. Then she landed on something wonderfully soft.
Autumn raised her head and looked around, wide eyed. She had landed on a flat boulder covered in a thick layer of moss at the bottom of a chasm so deep that the leaf-strewn slope she had rolled through was nowhere to be seen. Rays of light shone down on massive ferns around her while glittering dew drops hung like diamonds from spider webs all around.
Autumn tried to stand back up. Her front legs cooperated but her back legs gave out. The grueling all-night sprint had taken every drop of her energy. Even if Princess Ling were to appear in front of her now, Autumn could run no further. She crawled a bit to her right, concealing herself under some fern leaves and immediately fell asleep.
The sound of dripping water woke Autumn. She pawed at her face and felt cold wetness on her nose before opening her eyes. The rays of light around her had shifted. Autumn realized the sun must be setting, she had slept almost the whole day. She considered what to do next. There was so much she didn’t know. Was the hunting party searching for her still? Were they close by? Should she hide here or run some more?
She inhaled, realizing there was no guaranteed right decision. Whatever she did, it would be taking a risk. She had traveled further than Prince Jin had suggested, reaching the red maple woods and then leaving them behind. This cave was secluded and kept her safe while she slept today. Her best chance at survival might be hiding here. Out in the open, there was a greater chance of being seen in addition to the risk of encountering other dangers.
Autumn stood up and shook her fur, which felt oddly itchy, as if she had picked up burly seeds. Biting her hindquarters, she couldn’t see anything strange on her coat. She arched her back stretching out the muscles that had cramped the night before, grateful for the coolness of the moss. She felt strangely satiated even though she had not eaten all day, but she was thirsty. Knowing finding water would be harder in the dark, Autumn jumped down from the boulder and began to walk along the bottom of the cliff.
After a few minutes, she felt cold air rushing out of a gap in the huge granite boulders on her left. There were plenty of caves near her home. She realized that there must be a cavern behind the stones and she was standing at the entrance.
Her ears perked up, but there were no sounds that indicated a current occupant. She inhaled deeply and was met with the dusky smell of damp earth and the freshness of cool water. Swishing her tail back and forth a few times, Autumn decided to check it out. She walked forward carefully, flattened her ears and crawled on her belly as she passed through the opening. The damp earth beneath her was chilly and wet.
After a few steps she was just able to stand up. Everything ahead was pitch black and it was hard to see what was ahead, even with her sensitive night vision. She wondered if she made the right choice to come inside. and of course, the den she grew up in was always dark. But there she was always surrounded by the noise of her mama and sisters as well as the creatures who lived close by. The tawny owl could always be relied upon to hoot at the most inopportune time. A crow was usually on hand to laugh at your mistakes. But here, the silence was eerie.
As Autumn padded forward, ducking occasionally when the ceiling of the tunnel was low, her ears picked up a sound. She froze, then realized it was the echo of water droplets falling into a pool. Following the sound, she walked ahead. The path turned and suddenly she could see a faint glow ahead.
Autumn caught her breath as the narrow tunnel she was following opened up, becoming a large cavern. She looked around in wonder. The space was big enough to house a herd of deer and tall enough for a bamboo grove. Crystal stalactites hung from the ceiling and glowed pale white. Their light reflected in a pool of dark water below, disturbed periodically by drops of water.
Autumn walked forward and felt her toes sink into soft mud. Backing up she shook her right front paw ruefully. Careful! She thought to herself. Not knowing when she might eat again, she must not waste her energy on drying her fur.
Walking around the pool, Autumn could see that the stalactites above her were lit up by a ray of light from far above. This cavern must have been created when huge rocks piled up to form the mountain. That’s why there was fresh air and water here.
Finally, Autumn allowed herself to relax. With the narrow entrance, she could rest easily here without worrying about anything bigger than herself coming in. Now that she felt safe, Autumn thought back on what had occurred the day before.
The young god who had caught her in his sleeve, Prince Jin, he must’ve seen her before the tree branch broke. He was trying to hide her from the very start. But the goddess, what had they called her? Princess Jing? No, Princess Ling. She must’ve seen something too and that was why she asked to see Autumn afterwards. Autumn whipped her tail in annoyance. If only he had let her run off when he caught the bees, Princess Ling would never have seen her fur up close and none of this would be necessary!
Stolen novel; please report.
Autumn sighed. It was true that Prince Jin was very kind to catch her, and in the end, he did manage to set her free. Once she gets back home, this would be an amazing tale for her to share with her siblings. She laughed in soft yips. Oh, how her mama will scold her for searching for honey so far away from their territory! And everyone else, would they even believe her? To encounter young gods and goddesses? To be fed food from the table of the gods? To find a secret cavern? It all sounded fantastical… and she was living through it!
Autumn felt the itchiness in her fur again. She scratched herself, annoyed at the discomfort. It ran along her spine and made her think about Prince Jin running his finger down her back. She wondered about the warmth she had felt at that moment.
As she thought about it, she felt her itchiness change into a warmth that spread throughout her limbs. There was a pleasant strain in her muscles, like when she was stretching, even though she hadn’t moved.
Autumn suddenly shivered. She felt the chill of the damp floor through her hands.
Looking down, she yelled in surprise. Her furry, padded paws were now human hands. Where red fur had been, there was now pale golden skin, black claws became neatly trimmed fingernails. She looked down and realized she was wearing maroon robes and black pants. Her back paws were not cold because they were covered in something. She tried to sit up and immediately fell back down on all fours again, unfamiliar with how to use this new body.
What did Prince Jin do to me? Autumn thought indignantly. She believed him when he said he wanted to help her! And… And he cursed her with a human body instead! She wanted to scream. Realizing she could try, she opened her mouth, and a human yell emerged from her throat.
Oh this is rich! He had apparently thought of everything!
Feeling cold without the protection of her thick fur, Autumn crawled to a wall and used her hands and arms to slowly pull herself up. By leaning most of her weight against the wall, she was able to rise to her feet, albeit unsteadily. Looking around in wonder, she marveled at how far off the ground she was. This must be why gods and humans were always acting as if they ruled everything, she thought to herself. I would think highly of myself too if I looked down on everything all the time.
Curious about her appearance, Autumn walked toward the pool holding onto the wall to keep her balance. She looked down at her reflection in the still water. She saw a young boy, his hair tied up in a knot on top of his head with a maroon ribbon wrapped around it. The boy had on a robe in the same shade of maroon and a black belt, heavily embroidered. She also had on black pants and a pair of black leather boots. Autumn looked down at the robe and admired the decorative embroidery which resembled leaves in the forest.
Before Autumn could check to see if the embroidery extended to the back of her robes, she felt pressure build up around her. Confused, she backed up against the wall as dozens of green vines appeared on the ground and circled around one another to form a large wreath. The vines glowed and then an old man with wispy white hair and beard appeared in the center. He wore a patchy moss green jacket and pants so worn down the edges were fraying. His toes peaked out from wooden sandals, and he held a pipe in one hand. He must be the local earth god, Autumn realized.
The god and Autumn locked gaze with each other, both surprised.
“Who are you?” he asked.
Autumn opened her mouth and found she could speak.
“I’m Autumn. And who are you?”
It was an impertinent response. Autumn knew her mama would have cuffed her for speaking in this manner to Grandpa Fu, their local land god. But wasn’t the whole point of this disguise that she wouldn’t be treated as a little fox?
Her bluff seemed to work. The god tilted his head in a nod. “I’m Old Man Lu, the Earth God of the Northern Woods. What are you doing on my land?”
Autumn considered telling him the truth, but would a local earth god want to help her hide from the heavenly gods? She could apologize and leave, but she needed a place to hide and this cavern was perfect. She thought about the richly decorated clothing of the hunting party from yesterday, and how she was dressed now. Maybe Prince Jin’s gift of disguise could be used to her advantage after all.
Autumn bowed. “Greetings Old Man Lu. I’m a servant of Princess Ling. She is considering visiting the Northern Woods and I’m entrusted with scouting the area ahead of her visit.”
Old Man Lu’s eyes widened. He fell to his knees and kowtowed several times then laid with his head lowered to the floor. As Autumn suspected, Princess Ling’s reputation preceded her.
“Princess Ling’s beauty and intelligence are renowned. This lowly one would offer our local specialty for her servant to sample and welcome her wondrous presence to our humble land.”
Autumn smiled in what she hoped was an appropriate manner.
“A sampling would be greatly appreciated. I will stay here for a few days to understand the climate before I return. Please see to it that I’m not disturbed.”
“Of course. Of course.” Old Man Lu got up and bowed deeply. He waved his arm, a tray of food appeared – sweet fall berries and fragrant roasted pine nuts. Then in a swirl of emerald light he was gone.
Autumn cheered at the sight of the food. She ate as much as she could even though she wasn’t hungry. You never know how long you might have to wait before your next meal. After she was done, Autumn realized the light in the cave was almost gone and it was hard for her to see.
Laughing softly, Autumn thought, maybe I shouldn't be so confident about the superiority of gods or humans. Their eyesight is not nearly as good as those of a fox. As soon as she thought this, she felt she could see better, as if her eyes were shifting back to those of a fox. Well then, Autumn thought, I kind of wish I had my old fur back as well! At this thought, her body rushed toward the ground. She opened her mouth to yell, but a soft yip escaped. She was back to her fox form.
She shook her thick fur, which had been growing in for the winter, in delight. No wonder some people wanted a coat made out of it. Feeling wonderfully warm, full and tired, she lay down on the cave floor, placing her cheek on her front legs.
The trick Prince Jin had granted to her was useful indeed! Autumn grinned as she snuggled down to sleep. Her family will doubt their own eyes when they see her transform. As Autumn drifted off to sleep, another thought floated across her mind. What had Princess Ling done to cause such fear in Old Man Lu?
Autumn stayed in the cave for three days. True to his word, Old Man Lu left her alone.
Experimenting, Autumn learned that she could transform at will from human to fox and fox to human. However, after four transformations in a row, she needed a full night of sleep to recover before she could transform again. Her human form was always that of a boy and she could not modify the body or clothing.
On the morning of the fourth day, Autumn crawled out of the tunnel and walked back to the boulder she had landed on. The pine nuts and berries from the local earth god were long gone. Although she had been starving, she resisted the temptation to summon Old Man Lu. Being thinner made it easier for her to crawl back through the tunnel anyways.
Standing on the mossy ledge, Autumn enjoyed the sunshine for the first time in days. The air was cool and crisp, a beautiful fall morning. Autumn felt alert and hungry, a good way to start a journey. She looked back at the gap in the rocks which was the entrance to the cavern. It had kept her safe during a time of great need, but she hoped she never had to return.
Autumn transformed into a boy so she could use hands to grip roots and ferns to climb up the side of the ravine, onto the leafy slope from whence she had fallen.
Looking around to make sure she was still alone, Autumn transformed back to her fox form. With a swish of her tail, she leaped up the leafy slope to the trail she had been following and began her journey back the way she came only four days earlier.
