Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain Chapter 4 – Part 2

When the crowd heard this, they all raised their heads and glanced at the couplet hanging in the hall, at the words "Bold Claims of Being Unrivalled Under Heaven" and "Miao Renfeng."

Baoshu said, “That seven-character epithet of Miao daxia’s¹ still strikes me as rather arrogant even now. When I saw him that night, I was naturally quite startled. He was extremely tall and thin, like a bamboo pole, his face sallow as wax, covered in the look of a sick man. His hands were huge, like tattered palm-leaf fans, spread flat on the table. I say they were like tattered palm-leaf fans because his hands had grown so thin that nothing remained but bone. At the time I did not know who he was. Only later did I learn he was the Golden-Faced Buddha, Miao Renfeng, Miao daxia.

“Hu Yidao was amusing himself with the child, paying no heed to the rest of us, as if he had not noticed so many people enter. Miao daxia said nothing either. His attendants poured wine of their own accord. Those several dozen men stared at Hu Yidao with wide eyes. He merely dipped wine and let the infant suck it. He dipped a drop, then tilted his head back and drank a bowl. Father and son were toasting each other. Fuck me sideways, have you ever seen such a thing? Heh, it is lucky Young Mistress Miao² is not here, otherwise this old monk would not dare swear, and how stifling that would be!

“My heart was pounding, and all I wanted was to flee that place of trouble. But how could I dare move a step? At that moment, had anyone so much as stirred, those dozens of blades would have come crashing down at once. Even if they had not aimed at me directly, a single glancing blow would have taken half my life.

“Hu Yidao and Miao daxia drank in silence, each of them downing more than ten bowls without so much as a glance at the other. Suddenly the lady in the inner chamber woke and called out, ‘Big Brother!’ At that very moment the baby burst into a great wail. Hu Yidao’s hand trembled. With a clatter his wine bowl fell to the ground and shattered. His face changed colour at once. He stood, holding the child. Miao daxia gave three cold laughs, ‘Heh, heh, heh,’ then turned and walked out. The crowd followed together. In moments the sound of hooves faded into the distance. I had fully expected a fierce fight was unavoidable. Who would have thought that with the baby’s cry, Miao daxia would leave so promptly? The innkeeper, the serving boys and I stared at one another, not understanding in the least.

“Hu Yidao carried the child into the chamber. The plank wall was thin, and we heard the lady ask, ‘Big Brother, who has come?’ Hu Yidao said, ‘A few petty thieves. Sleep well. Do not worry.’ The lady sighed. ‘Do not try to deceive me. The Golden-Faced Buddha has come.’ Hu Yidao said, ‘No. Do not let your imagination run wild.’ The lady said, ‘Then why does your voice shake? You are never like this.’

“Hu Yidao was silent. After a moment he said, ‘You have guessed it, then. I will not be afraid of him.’ The lady said, ‘Big Brother, you must not worry on my account, nor on the child’s. The moment your heart knows fear, you will lose to him.’ Hu Yidao heaved a long sigh. ‘I do not know why. I have never feared Heaven or earth in my life. But tonight, holding the child, when I saw the Golden-Faced Buddha enter, when he set his bundle on the table and his gaze flicked toward the baby, I broke out in a cold sweat all over. Little Sister, you are right. I am afraid of the Golden-Faced Buddha.’ The lady said, ‘You are not afraid for yourself. You are afraid he will harm me, that he will harm our child.’ Hu Yidao said, ‘I have heard that the Golden-Faced Buddha upholds xia³ and righteousness, and throughout the jianghu⁴ they call him Miao daxia. Surely he would not harm women and children?’ But as he spoke these words his voice trembled all the more, making plain that he was not half convinced himself. When I heard this, I suddenly felt sorry for him. I thought, The man wears a fierce face, yet his heart is full of fear.

“The lady said softly, ‘Big Brother, take the child and go home. Once I have recovered, I will come find you beyond the pass.’ Hu Yidao said, ‘Ai, how can that be done? If we must die, we die together.’ The lady sighed. ‘I wish I had not stopped you from coming south to challenge the Golden-Faced Buddha back then. Your heart would have been free of burden, and you would surely have beaten him.’ Hu Yidao laughed. ‘Meeting him today, I may not necessarily lose to him. His yellow bundle inscribed “He Who Has Fought All Under Heaven and Found No Equal” may yet change hands.’ Though he spoke with a smile, his voice trembled faintly, and even through the plank wall it could be heard.

“Suddenly the lady said, ‘Big Brother, promise me one thing.’ Hu Yidao said, ‘What?’ The lady said, ‘Let us tell the Golden-Faced Buddha everything plainly and see what he says. He styles himself daxia. Would he not listen to reason?’

“Hu Yidao said, ‘I have been drinking outside and thinking it over. More than a dozen feasible courses have passed through my mind. You have only just given birth. How can you go out? If I go myself, the moment I speak, it will deadlock. But if there is someone we can send, your idea might work.’ The lady thought for a while and said, ‘That doctor is quite capable, and glib of tongue. We might trouble him to go.’ Hu Yidao said, ‘The man is greedy for money and may not be reliable.’ Heh, that Hu Yidao was truly a bosom friend of this old monk. The lady said, ‘We will reward him handsomely.’ Ha! This old monk in his youth was indeed fond of wine and greedy for coin. I am not ashamed to admit it. The moment I heard the words ‘reward him handsomely’, I had already made up my mind: Through water or fire, I will go for him.

“The husband and wife conferred in low voices for a few words. Then Hu Yidao came out and called me into the chamber, saying, ‘Early tomorrow morning, someone will deliver a letter. Please follow him and carry my reply to the Golden-Faced Buddha, Miao daxia, the sallow-faced gentleman who came drinking just now.’ I thought the matter simple enough and agreed at once.

“The next day at first light, sure enough a man rode up and delivered a letter to Hu Yidao. I heard Hu Yidao read it aloud to his wife. It was Miao daxia challenging him to a duel, asking him to choose the day and place. Hu Yidao wrote a reply and handed it to me. I borrowed a horse from the innkeeper and followed the man. We rode south for more than thirty li.⁵ The man led me into a great house. Miao daxia, Guild Chief Fan and Young Master Tian were all inside, along with forty or fifty others: men, women, monks and Daoists alike.

“Young Master Tian read the letter and said, ‘There is no need to appoint another day. We will arrive tomorrow without fail.’ I said, ‘Does the young master have any further instructions?’ Young Master Tian said, ‘Go back and tell Hu Yidao to buy three coffins in advance, two large ones and one small, so that the gentlemen need not spend the money later.’ I returned to the inn and repeated these words to Hu Yidao and his wife. I expected them to curse loudly. Instead they exchanged a single glance and said nothing. They took turns holding the child, kissing and fondling him, as though knowing their death was near and counting every moment they could hold him as precious.

“That night I dreamed nothing but nightmares. First I dreamed Hu Yidao had killed Miao daxia. Then I dreamed Miao daxia had killed Hu Yidao. Then I dreamed both of them had killed me. In the middle of the night I was woken by strange sounds. Listening carefully, I realised it was Hu Yidao in the next room, weeping.

“I found it most peculiar. I thought, He looks like a proper man. A real man faces death without flinching. With the moment upon him, what is there to cry about? What a coward. But then I heard him sob, ‘Child, you are only three days old, and you will be an orphan without father or mother. Who will cherish you in the days to come? When you are hungry or cold, who will look after you? When someone bullies you, who will stand by your side?’

“At first I cursed him for a coward. But as I listened, my own heart grew sore. I thought, Fierce and rough as he is, he loves this child so tenderly. He wept for a while. Then his wife said, ‘Big Brother, do not grieve. If you truly die at the Golden-Faced Buddha’s hand, I will not kill myself. I will raise the child well.’ Hu Yidao was greatly cheered. ‘Little Sister, this is the one thing that weighs most heavily on my mind. If I die, how could you go on living? But now that you are willing to bear this burden, I have nothing left to fear. Ha! Everyone born into this world must die someday. To fight a thoroughly satisfying bout with the foremost master under heaven is a rare fortune indeed!’

“Listening to these words, I thought him truly an extraordinary man. I heard him laugh for a while, then suddenly sigh. ‘Little Sister, a blade cuts, the neck pains for a moment, and all is finished. Dying is easy. Living is hard for you. After I am gone, I will know nothing, feel nothing. But you must grieve day and night. Ai, I truly cannot bear to leave you.’ The lady said, ‘When I look at the child, it will be as if I look at you. When he grows up, I will tell him to follow your example: whatever corrupt officials or local tyrants or wicked bullies he meets, one stroke of the dao.’ Hu Yidao said, ‘You think nothing I have done in my life was wrong? You want the child to follow me in everything?’ The lady said, ‘None of it was wrong. Let the child follow all your good example.’ Hu Yidao said, ‘Good. Whether I live or die, I have lived this life with nothing to shame me before Heaven and earth. Give this iron box to the child when he passes his sixteenth birthday.’

“I peeped through the crack in the door. The lady held the child. Hu Yidao took an iron box from his travel bag. It was this very box. But at that time the Storming King’s military dao⁶ was in the hands of the Tian family of the Tianlong School, not inside the box.

“What was inside the box, then? You must be asking. At the time I too was full of doubt. But Hu Yidao did not open the box, and naturally I had no way to see.

“After giving these instructions, his mind free of all burden, he lay down and at once fell asleep. In moments his snoring was loud as cannon fire. I knew there was nothing more to hear and tried to close my eyes. But that snoring next door was so fierce, how could I sleep? I thought, This young wife of his is beautiful beyond compare, like a flower, like jade. Yet she married a rough and ugly fellow like Hu Yidao. That alone is strange. That she should love him so devotedly passes all understanding.

“The next day, before dawn, the lady came out and instructed the serving boy to slaughter a pig and a sheep, and to kill chickens and ducks as well. She would cook the dishes herself. I said, ‘You have not yet completed your three postpartum days.⁷ You must not overexert yourself, or you will suffer backache and bone pain for years to come.’ She smiled. ‘I have enough trouble before me now. Why worry about later?’ Hu Yidao saw how hard she worked and also urged her to rest. The lady only smiled at him and went on cooking. Hu Yidao said, ‘Good. Let me eat your marvellous cooking one more time, and die without regret.’ Only then did I understand. She knew the moment of parting was at hand, and was determined to cook one last meal for her husband.

“By broad daylight the lady had prepared twenty or thirty dishes and filled a table. Hu Yidao had the serving boy bring dozens of jin⁸ of wine and drank his fill. The lady sat beside him holding the child, pouring his wine and laying dishes before him, and her face even wore a smile.

“Hu Yidao drank seven or eight bowls of baijiu⁹ in one breath and tore off several pieces of mutton with his hands. Then came the sound of hooves beyond the door, drawing steadily nearer. Hu Yidao and the lady exchanged a glance and smiled. On both their faces was a look of reluctant parting. Hu Yidao said, ‘Go inside now. When the child grows up, remember to tell him: “Your father bids you be harder and more ruthless of heart.” That one sentence, and no more.’ The lady nodded. ‘Let me see what the Golden-Faced Buddha looks like.’

“Soon the sound of hooves halted outside. The Golden-Faced Buddha, Guild Chief Fan and Young Master Tian led those same several dozen men inside. Hu Yidao did not even raise his head. ‘Eat,’ he said. The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘Good!’ and sat opposite him, reaching for his wine bowl. Young Master Tian hastily stretched out a hand to block him. ‘Miao daxia, be wary. There may be something amiss in the wine or meat.’ The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘I have long known Hu Yidao is an iron-boned true man, open and aboveboard. How could he scheme against me in the dark?’ He raised the bowl, tilted his head back and drained it in one draught, then picked up a piece of chicken. The manner in which he ate was considerably more refined than Hu Yidao’s.

“The Lady Hu gazed at the Golden-Faced Buddha for several moments, then sighed and said to Hu Yidao, ‘Big Brother, among all the heroes under heaven, truly there is no second man your equal save this Miao daxia. He places his trust in you utterly. Such magnanimity exists in only you two in this age.’ Hu Yidao laughed. ‘Little Sister, you are a heroine yourself. You count as one too.’ The lady turned to the Golden-Faced Buddha. ‘Miao daxia, you are a true man and a true hero. Your name is not borne in vain. If my husband dies at your hand, he will not have died in vain. And if my husband kills you, it will not tarnish your lifelong renown. Come. I toast you a bowl.’ With that she filled two bowls, and drank one herself first.

“The Golden-Faced Buddha seemed a man of few words. His brows rose slightly and he said, ‘Good!’ taking the bowl. Guild Chief Fan had been standing to the side with a dark face all this while. Now he stepped forward and cried, ‘Miao daxia, beware. Of all poisons, a woman’s heart is most deadly.’ The Golden-Faced Buddha frowned and ignored him, drinking the wine on his own. The lady rose to her feet holding the child and said, ‘Miao daxia, if you have anything weighing on your mind, tell me first. Otherwise, should you suffer a misstep and fall to my husband, these friends of yours, heh, may not be able to see anything done for you.’

“The Golden-Faced Buddha considered briefly, then said, ‘Four years ago I had business in Lingnan¹⁰ and a man came to my house, claiming to be Shang Jianming of Wuding County in Shandong.’¹¹ The lady said, ‘Mm. The man is a disciple of Wang Weiyang, who shakes the north of the Yellow River. A skilled hand of the Eight Trigrams School,¹² expert in both the Eight Trigrams Palm and the Eight Trigrams Dao.’ The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘Correct. He heard I had an epithet called “He Who Has Fought All Under Heaven and Found No Equal” and took offence. He came to my door seeking a duel. Unfortunately I was not at home. He exchanged words with my two younger brothers, and before long they were fighting. To my horror, he used killing moves and struck both my brothers and my younger sister dead with heavy blows. In a duel there is winning and losing. My siblings’ skill was not deep enough, and if they died at his hands, so be it. But he also killed my sister-in-law, who knew nothing of martial arts, with a single palm strike.’ The lady said, ‘The man was monstrous. You should have gone after him.’ The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘My two brothers were no weak fighters. Since Shang Jianming had such skill, he was surely a formidable foe. The Miao and Hu families have a feud of generations. With Hu Yidao’s affair unsettled, I could not risk my life lightly. So for four years I have never gone to Wuding in Shandong.’ The lady said, ‘Leave this matter to us.’ The Golden-Faced Buddha nodded, rose, drew his jian and said, ‘Hu Yidao, come.’

“Hu Yidao went on eating meat and paid him no heed. The lady said, ‘Miao daxia, though my husband’s skill is great, he may not necessarily defeat you.’ The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘Ah, I forgot. Hu Yidao, have you anything weighing on your mind?’ Hu Yidao wiped his mouth and stood. ‘If you kill me, this child will surely come seeking revenge one day. Look after him well.’ I thought to myself, As the saying goes, cut the grass and grub up the roots. If the Golden-Faced Buddha killed Hu Yidao, how would he spare his wife and child? Yet he is afraid the Golden-Faced Buddha might forget and takes the trouble to mention it. Who would have thought the Golden-Faced Buddha would say, ‘Set your mind at rest. If you should unfortunately fall, I will treat this child as my own son.’

“Guild Chief Fan and Young Master Tian stood to one side frowning, their expressions showing great impatience. I too was secretly puzzled. Judging by the demeanour of Hu Yidao and his wife towards the Golden-Faced Buddha, the mutual respect and trust they showed, they might have been the closest of friends. Where was the deadly enmity?

“Even as I thought this, Hu Yidao drew his dao from his waist. A cold gleam flashed. ‘Good friend, you go first!’ he cried. The Golden-Faced Buddha’s jian shifted lightly, and he said, ‘I shall learn from you!’ He feinted two moves. Young Master Tian called out, ‘Miao daxia, no need for courtesy. Attack!’ The Golden-Faced Buddha suddenly withdrew his jian and turned. ‘Everyone, please leave the hall!’ Young Master Tian had been rebuffed. Seeing the gravity in his expression, he dared not disobey, and withdrew with Guild Chief Fan and the rest to watch from the doorway.

“Hu Yidao cried, ‘Good. I attack!’ He stepped forward and brought his dao down in a fierce overhead chop.

“The Golden-Faced Buddha sidestepped. His jian traced a circle, the point quivering as it darted towards his opponent’s right flank. Hu Yidao said, ‘My dao is a treasured dao. Be careful.’ As he spoke he swung his dao at the jian’s blade. The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘Much obliged!’ A flick of his wrist, and the blade had already dodged clear. I have watched men fight with blades in Cangzhou for years and seen no end of it. But I had never seen speed like theirs. In merely seven or eight exchanges, my palms were slick with cold sweat.

“After a few more exchanges, their weapons suddenly met with a ringing clash, and the Golden-Faced Buddha’s jian was severed in two. He showed not a trace of fear. Casting aside the broken jian, he prepared to fight bare-handed. Hu Yidao leapt from the circle. ‘Change to another jian!’ The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘No matter!’ But Young Master Tian had already offered his own jian. The Golden-Faced Buddha considered briefly. ‘I cannot beat your single dao bare-handed. I had better use a jian.’ He took the jian, and the two resumed. I thought, In Cangzhou, when young men duel and plainly lose, they will not concede but must find words to save face. This Golden-Faced Buddha, who styles himself He Who Has Fought All Under Heaven and Found No Equal, has not lost a move yet but has already lost heart in words. How strange. Only later did I understand. Both were first-rate masters under heaven. After those exchanges, each already admired the other. Naturally neither dared take the other lightly.

“By now the two circled each other at a distance, then suddenly darted in to exchange one or two moves before leaping apart just as swiftly. After more than ten such rounds, the Golden-Faced Buddha suddenly thrust his jian at Hu Yidao’s head and neck. The strike came with fierce speed, and it seemed impossible to dodge. Hu Yidao rolled along the ground and flung his dao upward. With a ring, he severed the jian once more. He leapt to his feet at once and said, ‘I beg your pardon. It is not that I boast of my weapon’s sharpness. Your move was simply too formidable. Nothing else could have broken it.’

“The Golden-Faced Buddha nodded. ‘No matter.’ Young Master Tian offered another jian. The Golden-Faced Buddha took it. Hu Yidao said, ‘Here. Lend me a dao. My dao is too sharp. Neither of us can show our true skill.’ Young Master Tian was delighted and at once took a dao from one of the attendants and handed it over. Hu Yidao laid his own dao on the table and weighed the borrowed one in his hand. The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘Too light, is it not?’ He laid his jian across, pinched the point between his right thumb and forefinger, and with a snap broke off the tip. The finger strength was truly extraordinary. I was secretly alarmed. Then I heard Hu Yidao laugh. ‘Miao Renfeng, you will not take so much as a hair’s breadth of advantage over anyone. You truly deserve the word xia.’

“The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘I dare not claim it. There is one thing I must make plain to you.’ Hu Yidao said, ‘Speak.’ The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘I have long known your martial arts are superb, and Miao Renfeng may not be your match. But when I spread the seven words “He Who Has Fought All Under Heaven and Found No Equal” throughout the jianghu, it was not from ignorance or shameless arrogance…’ Hu Yidao waved a hand and cut him off. ‘I have long known your true intent. You wished to fight me but could not find me. So you spread those seven words to provoke me into crossing the pass.’ He gave a faint, bitter smile. ‘Now I have crossed the pass. If you defeat me, those seven words will match the reality and may serve you well. Attack!’

When the crowd heard this, at last they understood the true meaning of Miao Renfeng’s seven-character epithet.

They heard Baoshu continue: “After these words, dao and jian flashed, and the two were locked in combat once more. This time their weapons were evenly matched, and each displayed the full extent of his lifelong skill. For the first two hundred moves and more, neither gained the slightest advantage. Then Hu Yidao seemed gradually to be losing ground. His entire bladework shifted to defence, and the faces of Fan, Tian and the rest brightened with joy. His defence was impenetrably tight. Though the Golden-Faced Buddha attacked from every direction in unbroken succession, he could not breach it by so much as a hair. Suddenly Hu Yidao’s bladework changed. Every strike became a hard, direct chop. The Golden-Faced Buddha swept across the hall, his jian thrusting and striking with equal agility.

“I too spent seven or eight years studying the single-dao arts under my shifu, and I know the dao is divided into five positions: Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Kin and Master.¹³ The dao’s back is Heaven, the dao’s edge is Earth, the centre of the hilt is Sovereign, the guard is Kin, and the pommel is Master. Of these five, Heaven and Earth are paramount. Watching Hu Yidao’s bladework, his Heaven and Earth positions were used with supernatural mastery, but the Sovereign, Kin and Master positions too served for attack and defence. At times the Golden-Faced Buddha’s jian would strike from some wholly unexpected angle, and a block with dao-back or dao-edge could not possibly meet it. Yet Hu Yidao would suddenly reverse the dao and strike the jian’s blade with the hilt, forcing his foe to change moves. As for the six-character formula of Spread, Sweep, Hook, Chop, Hack and Cleave, its variations were more unpredictable still.

“As for jian arts, I knew little of them at that time. But Hu Yidao’s bladework was so extraordinary, and the Golden-Faced Buddha still fought him to a standstill, so he too must have been supremely skilled. Dao, jian and spear are the three great weapons of the martial arts. The saying goes: ‘The dao is like a fierce tiger, the jian like a dancing phoenix, the spear like a roaming dragon.’ The dao wielder was indeed like a tiger descending the mountain, and the jian wielder truly like a phoenix in flight, one hard, one soft, each with his own mastery, and neither able to overcome the other. At first I could still follow the moves and stances. But before long my head spun and I feared I would collapse on the spot, so I had to turn my head away.

“All I could hear was the whistling of dao and jian cleaving the air, and now and then the ring of steel on steel. I glanced at Hu Yidao’s wife. Her expression was calm, without a trace of anxiety for her husband’s safety.

“When I turned back to Hu Yidao, I saw he had grown ever calmer as the fight wore on, a smile on his face, as though certain of victory. The Golden-Faced Buddha’s sallow face revealed nothing, neither tension nor discouragement. Hu Yidao pressed forward move by move, and the Golden-Faced Buddha was forced back step by step. Guild Chief Fan and Young Master Tian looked graver and graver. I thought, Could the Golden-Faced Buddha be about to lose to Hu Yidao?

“Suddenly came a series of sharp cracks. Young Master Tian had drawn a sling and was firing a volley of pellets at Hu Yidao’s upper, middle and lower body. Hu Yidao laughed loudly and cast his dao to the ground. The Golden-Faced Buddha’s face darkened. His jian flashed, deflecting every pellet, and he leapt to Young Master Tian’s side, snatched the sling from his hand and snapped it in two with a single crack. He flung the pieces far out the door and said in a low voice, ‘Out!’ I was puzzled. The man was trying to help for fear you would lose, yet you treat him so. Young Master Tian’s face flushed purple. He glared at the Golden-Faced Buddha and stormed out.

“The Golden-Faced Buddha picked up the dao and tossed it to Hu Yidao. ‘Let us continue.’ Hu Yidao caught it and, in one flowing motion, swung the dao out. The dao and jian met with a ring. They fought for a while. Seeing that the sun had passed midday, Hu Yidao called out, ‘I am hungry. Will you eat?’ The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘Good. A little.’ The two sat at the table and ate as though no one else were present. Hu Yidao devoured his food. In one breath he ate seven or eight steamed buns, a whole chicken and half a leg of mutton. The Golden-Faced Buddha ate only two chicken legs. Hu Yidao laughed. ‘You eat too little. Is my wife’s cooking not to your liking?’ The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘It is excellent. Sister-in-law Hu, my thanks.’ He picked up a large piece of mutton and ate it.

“When they had eaten, the two wiped their mouths and fought again. Soon both unleashed their qinggong¹⁴ and raced about the hall. Do not be fooled by Hu Yidao’s burly frame. His advances, retreats and dodges were extraordinarily nimble. The Golden-Faced Buddha had long arms and long legs and was naturally no slower. This bout of leaping and striking was even more dazzling to behold. Suddenly I heard a cry. Hu Yidao’s left foot slipped and he went down on one knee. This was a perfect opening for the Golden-Faced Buddha. A single downward strike would have been impossible to evade. Yet the Golden-Faced Buddha leapt backwards. ‘You stepped on a pellet. Be careful!’ Hu Yidao’s knee had not yet touched the ground before he was on his feet again. ‘Indeed.’ With his left hand he picked up the pellet and flicked it with his middle finger. With a soft hiss it flew straight out the door.

“The Golden-Faced Buddha cried, ‘Watch the jian!’ and charged forward. The two rolled and tumbled, fighting on until dusk, exchanging no one knew how many moves, and still neither could claim victory. The Golden-Faced Buddha leapt clear. ‘Brother Hu, your martial arts are superb. I admire them greatly. Shall we fight by lamplight, or settle it tomorrow?’ Hu Yidao laughed. ‘Grant me one more day of life.’ The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘I dare not!’ He stepped back three paces, extended his jian and performed the move ‘Crimson Phoenix Greets the Sun,’ then turned and walked away. Though ‘Crimson Phoenix Greets the Sun’ was a sword move, performed after three paces of retreat it became a salute of respect. Hu Yidao raised his dao and pointed it slanting upwards in the move ‘Homage to the Northern Dipper,’ likewise a gesture of deference. When they first fought they had struggled for each other’s lives. But after a full day of combat, mutual admiration had grown between them, and at parting they both used the most respectful courtesies of the wulin.¹⁵

“After his foe had gone, Hu Yidao ate his fill, mounted his horse and galloped away. I thought he must be riding south to the great house to spy on the enemy’s movements, perhaps to launch a surprise attack. If he could wound the Golden-Faced Buddha, not one of the rest would be his match. My heart was full of the urge to warn Young Master Tian, to tell him to be on his guard. But I was afraid of running into Hu Yidao, and dared not go out.

“That night, though there was no one snoring in the next room, I still could not sleep soundly. I kept my ears alert for the sound of Hu Yidao’s returning hooves. But I watched until midnight and heard nothing. I thought, A fast horse at full gallop can reach the great house to the south and return in less than one shichen.¹⁶ Could he have been discovered by the Golden-Faced Buddha? Could he have been overwhelmed by numbers and lost his life?”

Footnotes

1. 苗大侠 – Miáo Dàxiá. Miao Renfeng, honoured as Miao daxia. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 小姐 – xiǎojiě. Young lady, here referring to Miao Ruolan. ↩

3. 侠 – xiá. A martial hero who lives by a code of righteousness and chivalry. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 江湖 – jiānghú. Literally rivers and lakes. The itinerant world beyond settled society and official reach. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 里 – lǐ. A Chinese unit of distance, approximately 500 metres or one-third of a mile. ↩

6. 闯王军刀 – Chuǎngwáng jūndāo. The military dao of Li Zicheng, the rebel leader who briefly overthrew the Ming dynasty, known as the Storming King (闯王). See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 三朝 – sān zhāo. The traditional three-day postpartum rest period in Chinese custom. ↩

8. 斤 – jīn. A Chinese unit of weight, approximately 590 grams in the late Qing dynasty. ↩

9. 白酒 – báijiǔ. Literally ‘white wine.’ A strong distilled spirit, typically 40–60% alcohol. ↩

10. 岭南 – Lǐngnán. The region south of the Nanling Mountains, encompassing modern Guangdong and Guangxi. ↩

11. 商剑鳴 – Shāng Jiànmíng. An Eight Trigrams School fighter from Wuding, Shandong, skilled in its palm and dao arts. ↩

12. 八卦门 – Bāguà Mén. The Eight Trigrams School, a martial arts lineage based on the theory of the Eight Trigrams. ↩

13. 单刀五位 – Dāndāo Wǔ Wèi. The five positions of single-dao theory: Heaven (back), Earth (edge), Sovereign (hilt centre), Kin (guard), Master (pommel). A traditional classification in northern dao arts. ↩

14. 轻功 – qīnggōng. The martial art of agility and aerial movement. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 武林 – wǔlín. The martial forest, the community of martial artists. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 时辰 – shíchén. A traditional Chinese unit of time, equal to two hours. ↩