text: > go downwards
  (ya2 di3) Cliff base
  Not much can be seen from this vantage point. A thin veil of fog blocks the view out to sea. The waters below churn menacingly, the spume a milky white.
  
  The ledge here forms a small alcove, which is only a couple of metres across. It continues up the cliff face, where it vanishes from sight.
  
  Debris seems to get washed in here and collects on the rocky ledge.
  
  > examine the sea
  The sea is dark with mud stirred up from the bottom, and totally restless.
  
  > examine the debris
  The debris is a mess of rubbish, mainly wood pounded to pieces by the action of the sea on the rocks.
  
  > search it
  After a thorough search of the debris you uncover a sturdy bamboo stick, which you take.
  
  > Go upwards
  (ya2) Cliffs
  As you stand with your back to the cliff, the view ahead of you appears to be nothing but a blur fading from dark grey sea below, through to a light powder blue sky.
  
  A narrow path winds its way down the cliff face to the water level below, where a small alcove seems to collect debris, and upwards over the edge of the cliff to the bamboo forest.
  
  > Go south
  The soft bamboo-leaf floor covering changes to a cold, slimy rock floor as you enter the earth. The lighting becomes dull and subdued.
  
  (dong4 xue4) Rocky tidal cavern
  The air in the cave is cold and damp. A chill wind blowing inwards from the sea causes your eyes to sting in the salt-laden air. The tide chews at the jagged rocks which protrude from the ocean surface several yards out. Boulders being rolled under the surface make loud rumblings like distant thunder - they sound like they could smash anything. The water looks uninviting - the rocks threaten to dash the foolish swimmer to pieces. Behind you, to the north is a passageway leading up to the surface.
  
  A small cleft is visible in the rock next to the entrance.
  
  > Poke snake
  As you prod the snake with the stick, it decides to move. Being so close to the crevice it startles you, causing you to lose your grip on the stick which clatters down into the back of the cleft beyond your reach.
  
  The snake slithers off, apparently turning the corner and leaving the cave.
  
  > take the pebble
  Taken.
  
  > look at the cleft
  The cleft in the rock is a narrow horizontal slit, roughly two feet from the floor of the cavern. It measures roughly four or five inches high, by about two feet across.
  
  There does not appear to be anything in the cleft.
  
  > Skim pebble
  You suddenly have an irresistible urge, dating back to your childhood. The pebble skims across the surface of the lake, its path curving as though guided by the Dao, leaping several times until it clatters against the boulder, landing in the water with a 'plop'.
  
  The crane gives an undignified shriek at the sudden close disturbance and darts away through the trees to the south.
  
  > Go south
  (zhu2 lin2) Bamboo forest
  Wind whispers through the feathery branches of the bamboo forest surrounding you as warm sunlight showers down, gently filtered by the delicate leaves overhead. The soft ground is carpeted with slender browning leaves, occasionally stirred up by the cool breeze. Faint tracks run southeast and east, one also continues to the north up a bank, and another downwards into a small depression to the south. An impenetrable barrier of thorns lies to the west. How they got there after you passed that way last night is anyone's guess.
  
  The snake and crane are sitting at opposite ends of the clearing, apparently waiting for each other to move.
  
  > think
  What a good idea.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  some tea leaves
  a vine
  a cloth bag (being worn and open)
  a jade knife
  
  > Go east
  The bamboo trees begin to peter out, and the forest is replaced with slender, twisting cypresses.
  
  (shen2 dao4) Western end of spirit way
  Cypress trees form a straight avenue several feet wide, running from west to east. The path continues some distance to the east, where it terminates in an archway - and back into the forest to the west.
  
  A row of ornate animal statues flank each side of the paved path upon which you stand, apparently guarding the way from interlopers.
  
  > go east
  The avenue of cypress trees change back to bamboo midway down the path.
  
  (shen2 dao4) Eastern end of spirit way
  Cypress and bamboo trees form an avenue which ends to the east as the trees open out to form the entrance to a cemetery. The western end of the path continues through the elaborate archway. A tea bush grows out from a crack in the pavings.
  
  As you look around you feel a slight chill, noticing occasional movement from the corner of your eye. When you turn to face it, there is nothing to be seen.
  
  As you think, you begin to realize that the area surrounding the lake manifests a lot of Yang elements. The brightness, the warmth, clarity and creative aspects all point to it. There is an element of Yin, however, in the stillness of the lake and softness of the water.
  
  > go east
  As you attempt to enter the cemetery you hear a strange rustling sound, yet the leaves on the trees do not move. A strange mist begins to form in front of you, between yourself and the cemetery entrance.
  
  As you try to pass through it, it seems to solidify and darken at the points of contact. The solidified parts seem to form limbs which move to block your progress with rigid force. Each limb makes a strike at you, driving you back from the entrance.
  
  After several attempts at passing the strange apparition, you are forced to give up. The vapour fades back to nothing, leaving no trace.
  
  The old man must have come this way at some point in time - perhaps there is a way of learning whatever fighting principles he had learned from nature.
  
  You begin to get the idea that the cavern contains much Yin. It is dark, cold, destructive and murky - yet the motion and activity of the sea, along with the hardness of the rocks, embodies some part of Yang.
  
  > wait
  Time passes.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  You come to the understanding that the bamboo forest appears to be a balancing point between the Yin and Yang of the lake and cavern - and that there are elements of Yin within Yang, and vice versa. One cannot exist without the other.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  After witnessing the battle between the crane and snake, you begin to understand that it is possible for soft motion to overcome rigidity. The snake demonstrates this in its yielding style - as do the rocks and sea. The hardest stone can be worn by the motion of water, from its gentlest to its most fierce action.
  
  You begin to wonder if this philosophy can be used to overcome others in battle.
  
  > go to the east
  As you attempt to enter the cemetery you hear a strange rustling sound, yet the leaves on the trees do not move. A strange mist begins to form in front of you, between yourself and the cemetery entrance.
  
  As you try to pass through it, it seems to solidify and darken at the points of contact. The solidified parts seem to form limbs which move to block your progress with rigid force. Each limb makes a strike at you, driving you back from the entrance.
  
  As you attempt to fight the strange entity, you realize that the principle that you have learned from observing the crane and snake fight can be of use. You begin to parry the blows with gentle movements, allowing the force to move past you.
  
  After several moments of cunning feints and deflections, you manage to pass the entity, which fades away - leaving the pathway quiet once again, with the obstruction gone.
  
  The path ends, and the forest either side retreats to form a clearing.
  
  (si4 miao4 de fen2 chang2) Cemetery
  The dense trees form a nearly impenetrable wall around the cemetery grounds. In the centre of the clearing is a large mound, atop which stands a shrine or marker of some kind. Numerous smaller stones are dotted about. At the southern end of the cemetery stands a run-down looking pagoda. A path runs northward, apparently towards the mountains.
  
  > examine the mound
  The mound has a gentle slope, flattened at the top where the marker stands. It is approximately five feet high, by about twenty feet across at the bottom. Sparse, dry grass populates the bank, with a few longer tufts near the top.
  
  > examine the marker
  The stone is perched on top of the large mound, its sides a polished, shimmering black - possibly jet or some other stone that you do not recognise. Deeply chiseled characters stand out on the front of it, embossed with gold. Perhaps this person was revered by someone, had a wealthy family or was some other kind of important figure. The name, (wu3 jiu4 huo) Wu Jiu-Huo, is unfamiliar.
  
  At the base of the shrine is a tiny hole.
  
  > examine the hole
  You cannot tell how deep the hole is, but it is very small - about a quarter of an inch in diameter. Ashen smudges mark the surface of the stone just below it.