Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils Chapter 1 – Part 3

“Rong shidi!”¹ Zuo Zimu² cried.

Gong Guangjie³ ignored the marten as it darted from his left thigh to the right, and then to his buttock. He hurried to help the person up instead. The marten suddenly scampered to his crotch. He let out a loud shriek reached with his hands to grab the marten instinctively. The person fell down once again. “That’s enough torturing.”

The girl on the beam giggled. She let out along whistle. The marten leap out of Gong Guangjie’s underpants, up the wall and darted onto the beam back into the girl’s arms.

“Good marten!” She praised it and then held a small snake by the tail with two fingers. She dangled the snake and let it wriggle in front her pet. The marten held the snake with its front paws and started to eat the snake. All the snakes that the girl had on her hands were actually pet food. Duan Yu had never seen something like this before and he watched with keen interest. The marten finished the snake and went back into the leather pouch at the girl’s waist.

“Rong shishu,⁴ what… what’s wrong?” Gong Guangjie exclaimed as he helped the person up once more. Zuo Zimu rushed over. His shidi Rong Ziju’s⁵ eyes were wide open and his expression was one of bitter fury. However, he had ceased breathing. Zuo Zimu was startled and hastily massaged him, but he could not revive his shidi. Zuo Zimu knew that while Rong Ziju’s abilities were inferior to his, they were definitely superior to Gong Guangjie’s. Not only was he unable to avoid the collision, he died immediately after being hit. This meant that he had already been severely injured before he entered the arena. Zuo Zimu quickly removed Rong Ziju’s robes to examine his injuries. Eight words were written in black on his chest: “The Shennong Guild⁶ will exterminate Wuliang Sword School”.

The crowd cried out in unison. The words were etched deep in the flesh. They were neither written in ink, nor were they carved by a pointed object. They were actually written with a toxic substance that corroded deep into the flesh. Zuo Zimu was momentarily stunned. He flicked his sword angrily, causing it to hum deeply, and shouted, “We’ll see if it’s the Shennong Guild eliminating Wuliang Sword School or if it’s the other way round. What kind of a person would I be if I don’t avenge my shidi?”

He checked the other parts of Rong Ziju’s body and found no other signs of injury. “Guanghao! Guangjie! Go outside and check it out!”

Gan Guanghao⁷ and Gong Guangjie, the two eldest disciples, drew their swords and acknowledged their shifu’s command. The practice arena was thrown into chaos. Everyone did not bother about Duan Yu and the girl on the beam, but crowded around Rong Ziju’s corpse to discuss about the situation instead. This matter also involved the Wuliang Sword School’s Western Sect. Xin Shuangqing was ashen faced but remained silent. Mawu De said in a low voice, “Brother Zuo, how did your esteemed school developed a feud with the Shennong Guild?”

Zuo Zimu choked as he mourned the tragic death of his shidi. “It all started from gathering of herbs. Last autumn, four chiefs from Shennong Guild came to Jianhu Palace asking for permission to gather some herbs from the back of the mountain. Gathering herbs is a trivial matter. The Shennong Guild originally made a living out of gathering and selling herbs. Although there wasn’t any friendship to speak of between the guild and our school, there wasn’t any feud either. But Brother Mawu knows that we do not simply allow outsiders enter the back of the mountain. Even all of the dear friends present have never been to the rear side, not to mention mere acquaintances from the Shennong Guild. This is just a rule passed down from the founder of our school. It’s just that, as descendants, we dare not violate the rule. It is actually not a big deal…”

The girl on the beam placed the snakes in her hands into a bamboo basket on her waist. She reached into the front of her robes and produced a handful of melon seeds. She continued to swing her legs as she ate the seeds. Without warning, she flung a melon seed at Duan Yu, hitting him on the forehead. She laughed, “Hey, do you want to eat melon seeds? Get up here!”

“I can’t go up without a ladder.”

“That’s easy!” She removed a green silk sash from around her waist and lowered it. “Hold onto the sash. I’ll pull you up.”

“I’m heavy. You won’t be able to hoist me up,” Duan Yu said.The girl laughed again. “Just give it a try. It’s not as though you will fall to your death.”

Seeing the sash dangling before him, Duan Yu reached and held it. “Hang on tight!”

Duan Yu was gently lifted off the ground. She heaved a few times, hand over hand, and pulled him onto the beam. “That’s an interesting marten you have. It’s very obedient.”

The girl took the marten out of her pouch and held it out with both hands. The marten’s coat of fur was silky smooth and its red eyes shimmered as it looked at Duan Yu, who found it extremely adorable. “Is it okay for me to touch it?”

“Go ahead and touch,” the girl replied. Duan Yu extended his arm and gently stroked the marten’s back. It felt warm to touch. Suddenly, the marten snorted and darted back into the pouch. Duan Yu was caught off guard. He shied backwards instinctively and lost his balance. He almost fell off the beam. The girl grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him close to her side. “You really don’t know any martial arts. That’s strange.”

“What’s strange about that?”

“You don’t know any gongfu, yet you come here alone. You’re bound to be bullied by these wicked people. Why are you here?”

Duan Yu was about to reply when the sound of footsteps interrupted him. Gan Guanghao and Gong Guangjie rushed into the arena. Gong Guangjie had already worn his trousers but his upper torso was still naked. Their faces were filled with consternation as they strode up to Zuo Zimu. Gan Guanghao reported, “Shifu, the Shennong Guild has gathered on the mountain opposite us. They have posted guards along the mountain trail and claimed that no one is allowed to descend the mountain. Seeing that they outnumbered us, we didn’t dare to start a fight without your orders.”

Zuo Zimu said, “Hm. How many people did they bring?”

Gan Guanghao said, “Around seventy to eighty.”

Zuo Zimu laughed coldly, “They want to eliminate Wuliang Sword School with only seventy to eighty persons? I doubt it’s that easy.”

“They shot a message over using an arrow. The casing of the message was had words that were exceedingly disrespectful.” Gong Guangjie presented the letter to his shifu. Zuo Zimu looked at the envelope. It was marked with the words: “Addressed to Zuo Zimu.”

He did not take the letter, instead he said, “Open it and have a look.”

“Yes!” Gong Guangjie tore open the envelope and took out the letter. The girl whispered into Duan Yu’s ear, “The wicked man who hit you is going to die.”

“Why?” Duan Yu asked. The girl explained softly, “The envelope and the letter are covered with poison.”

“How can it be so powerful?”

Gong Guangjie started reading the letter, “The Shennong Guild addresses Zuo… the person listening to this”—he did not dare to address his shifu by name,⁸ thus he glossed over the words “Zimu” after he read the word “Zuo”—“Within two hours, all of you are to break your right arm, destroy all weapons and leave Jianhu Palace. Or else, everyone will be slaughtered.”

Xin Shuangqing, head of the Wuliang Sword School’s Western sect, sneered, “Who do the Shennong Guild think they are to make such a daring boast?”

Gong Guangjie suddenly collapsed. Gan Guanghao was standing beside him. He cried out as he reached out to help him up, “Shidi!”

Zuo Zimu took two steps forward and blocked Gan Guanghao with his arm. He exhaled slightly and shoved him, making the latter stagger back by three steps. He yelled, “Don’t touch him, there’s might be poison!”

The muscles on Gong Guangjie’s face twitched uncontrollably and the hand holding the letter turned black. His feet jerked a few times and then he was dead. It had taken less than the time needed for a meal for two elites of the Wuliang Sword School’s Eastern Sect to die consecutively. Everyone present was dumbstruck.

“Are you also from the Shennong Guild?” Duan Yu whispered. The girl spat. “Pfft! I’m not. What are you blabbering about?”

“Then how did you know that the letter is poisoned?”

“This method of applying poison is very rudimentary. It is easy to spot. These kinds of stupid tricks can only harm ignorant fools.” The girl laughed. Everyone in the arena heard her words. They looked up to see her cracking melon seeds and swinging her legs. Zuo Zimu looked at the letter in Gong Guangjie’s hand but did not spot anything amiss. Tilting his head for a closer look, he could see the faint shine of phosphorous on both the envelope and the letter. A cold shiver ran down his spine. He turned to the girl and asked politely, “May I have your name, miss?”

“My name. I can’t tell you that. It’s called a secret.”To hear those words at that moment, Zuo Zimu was furious. However, he forced himself to refrain from lashing out. “If that’s the case, then who’s your father? Who’s your shifu?”

“Haha! I won’t be tricked by you. If I were to tell you who my father is, then you would know my surname. And since you know my surname, you can find out my name. My mother is my shifu. As for my mother’s name, all the more I can’t tell you.”

Zuo Zimu could tell from her accent that she was undoubtedly a local from Yunnan. He thought, “Among the Yunnan wulin,⁹ which qinggong experts could possibly be her parents?”

She had yet to strike any moves, so he was unable to guess based on the style of her martial arts. He said, “Please come down here, miss. Let’s discuss a solution for the situation. The Shennong Guild said that no one is allowed to descend the mountain. Even you would be killed.”

The girl laughed. “They won’t kill me. The Shennong Guild will only kill those from Wuliang Sword School. I heard about it on my travels, hence I rushed here to watch. Long-bearded old man, your swordsmanship is not bad, but you don’t know how to use poison. You’re no match for the Shennong Guild.”

Her words rung true and highlighted the weakness of Wuliang Sword School. If they were to compete based on real martial arts, with both the Eastern and Western Sects of Wuliang Sword School and the eight experts invited to witness the contest, they would definitely defeat the Shennong Guild. But if it were to boil down to the use of poisons, all of them had no knowledge of using poisons. Her tone sounded like she was taking pleasure out of other’s misfortune. It was as though the more casualties Wuliang Sword School incurred, the happier she would be. Zuo Zimu snorted, “What did you hear about on your travels, miss?”

He was used to order others around with simple gestures. Others had to give a proper answer even if he asked a casual question. Instead of replying, the girl asked, “Do you want to eat melon seeds?”

His face darkened slightly. Had the enemy not been right at their doorstep, he would have blown his top. Barely restraining his fury, he replied, “I don’t!”

“What kind of melon seeds are those? Sweet olive, rose or pine nut flavoured?” Duan Yu interrupted. The girl said, “Huh! You mean there so many variants of melon seeds? I have no idea. Mother fried these melon seeds with the gall bladders of snakes. Eating them regularly improves your eyesight. Try some.”

She grabbed a handful and stuffed them into Duan Yu’s hands. “If you’re not used to the taste, you might find them slightly bitter. They are actually really tasty.”

Footnotes

1. 师弟 – Shīdì. Shi means teacher. Dì means younger brother. Junior under the same master. ↩

2. 左子穆 – Zuǒ Zǐmù. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 公广杰 – Gōng Guǎngjié. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 师叔 – Shīshu. Male junior of one’s shifu. Shi means teacher. Shu refers to someone younger than one’s father. In this case it is to refer someone junior to one’s shifu. ↩

5. 容子矩 – Róng Zíjǔ. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 神农帮 – Shénnóng Bāng. Shen means god. Nong means farming or farmer. Shennong is the legendary god of farming, also known as the Divine Farmer. See Wikipedia. ↩

7. 干光豪 – Gān Guāngháo. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. In Chinese culture, it is extremely rude for a junior to address a senior by name, especially the full name. ↩

9. 武林 – Wǔlín. Martial arts community. ↩