Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain Chapter 4 – Part 3

Baoshu continued, "The longer he stayed away, the more uneasy I grew. But from the next room I could hear the lady softly singing a lullaby to the child, not a trace of worry for her husband. That struck me as odd.

“Near the fifth watch, when the cocks began to crow, Hu Yidao rode back. I rose at once. His mount had changed: he had ridden out on a grey horse and returned on a yellow one. The yellow horse galloped to the inn’s door, Hu Yidao leapt from the saddle in a single bound, and the horse staggered a few steps before collapsing to the ground, foaming at the mouth and dead. I went over to look. The beast was drenched in sweat from head to hoof. It had been ridden to death. From the look of things, he had ridden hard all night, though where to I could not guess. I thought to myself, Today he must fight the Golden-Faced Buddha again. Instead of resting well last night and gathering his strength for the bout, he goes and tires himself out all night long. A truly strange man.

“By then the lady had risen too and cooked another table of dishes. Hu Yidao did not go back to sleep at all. He tossed the baby up and down, playing with him. When it was fully light, the Golden-Faced Buddha arrived again, with Young Master Tian and the rest. The two drank three bowls of wine in silence, exchanged not a word, kicked back their benches, drew dao and jian and began to fight. They battled until dark. Then both sheathed their weapons and bowed. The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘Brother Hu, your strength was off today. Tomorrow I am afraid you will lose.’ Hu Yidao said, ‘That is not certain. I did not sleep last night. If I get a good night’s rest tonight, my strength will grow.’ The Golden-Faced Buddha said in surprise, ‘You did not sleep last night? That will not do.’

“Hu Yidao laughed. ‘Brother Miao, let me give you a gift.’ From his room he brought out a bundle and hurled it over. The Golden-Faced Buddha caught it, untied it and looked inside. It was a severed head, and beside the head lay seven golden darts. Guild Chief Fan glanced at the head and cried in alarm, ‘That is Shang Jianming of the Eight Trigrams Dao!’ The Golden-Faced Buddha picked up one of the darts and weighed it in his hand. It seemed heavy. Engraved on the dart were four characters: ‘Eight Trigrams School, Shang.’ He said, ‘Last night you rode all the way to Wuding County in Shandong?’ Hu Yidao laughed. ‘I rode five horses to death. At least I did not miss your appointment.’

“I was both astonished and afraid. I stared at Hu Yidao in a daze. From Cangzhou in Zhili to Wuding in Shandong is nearly three hundred li,¹ and in a single night he had ridden there and back and taken the head of a wulin magnate.² The man moved like a ghost.

“The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘What bladework did you use to kill him?’ Hu Yidao said, ‘His Eight Trigrams Dao skill was truly formidable. I caught his seven linked darts, then used the move “Soaring-Palm Su Qin Bearing Jian”³ to break his Twenty-Ninth Eight Trigrams Dao Technique, “Turning-Body Cleave the Mountain.”’ The Golden-Faced Buddha started. ‘Soaring-Palm Su Qin Bearing Jian? That is my Miao Family Swordplay!’ Hu Yidao laughed. ‘Just so. It is the gongfu I stole from you yesterday. I did not use my dao. I killed him with a jian.’

“The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘Good! You avenge the Miao family with Miao Family Swordplay. That shows your generosity.’ Hu Yidao said, ‘Your Miao Family Swordplay is unmatched under heaven. To kill him with that sword art was no difficulty at all. I merely saved you the trouble.’

“Only then did I understand. Hu Yidao was showing respect for the Golden-Faced Buddha at every turn. Shang Jianming had killed four members of the Miao family. Had Hu Yidao slain him with his own dao, would that not have shown Miao Family Swordplay inferior to the Eight Trigrams Dao, and even more inferior to the Hu Family Bladeworks?⁴ Yet that in a single day he could learn the Miao Family Swordplay’s finest move and use it to kill another renowned master: the depth of that gongfu could not but send a chill through a man. He waited until the day’s fight was done before producing the head. There was not the slightest hint of claiming credit or currying favour. The grandeur and candour of it were beyond measure, and his certainty that he could not be defeated was plain for all to see.

“By the time this thought occurred to me, Guild Chief Fan and Young Master Tian had long since arrived at the same conclusion. Their faces went white. They exchanged a glance, turned and walked away. The Golden-Faced Buddha looked at the child in the lady’s arms, then untied the yellow cloth from his back and spread it open. I wondered what strange object lay inside, and craned my neck for a look, but saw only a few ordinary garments. The Golden-Faced Buddha shook out the yellow cloth. Gazing at the seven characters embroidered upon it, he murmured, ‘Hmph. “He Who Has Fought All Under Heaven and Found No Equal.” Big talk!’ He took the child and wrapped the yellow cloth about him, then said to Hu Yidao, ‘Brother Hu, should anything befall you, do not worry. No one will dare bully this child.’ Hu Yidao was greatly pleased and thanked him again and again.

“After the Golden-Faced Buddha left, Hu Yidao ate his fill and only then went to sleep. When he lay down, his snoring was more earth-shaking than ever.

“By the second watch,⁵ suddenly came the sound of footsteps on the roof. Someone shouted, ‘Hu Yidao! Come out and face your death!’ Hu Yidao did not stir but went on snoring loudly. The shouting grew louder and more numerous. Hu Yidao seemed deaf. He slept on. I thought, For all his skill, the man is too careless. So many enemies have come, yet he suspects nothing. But strange to say, though Hu Yidao did not hear, the lady was plainly awake, and she merely hummed a soft song to the child, paying no heed to the clamour outside the window and on the roof, and making no move to wake her husband.

“Those men outside kept shouting but did not dare break in, while Hu Yidao went on snoring. Within and without, one sound answered the other, blending into a single din. They clamoured for half a shichen.⁶ Then the lady said softly, ‘Child, there are many wild dogs outside. They mean to bark all night and keep your father from sleeping, so that he loses to Uncle Miao tomorrow. Are those wild dogs not wicked?’ The child was only a few days old and could not speak, of course. He merely cooed. The lady said, ‘What a good child. You say the wild dogs are wicked too. Shall Mamma go and chase them away?’ The child cooed again. The lady said, ‘There, you agree. You do not disappoint your father and mother’s love for you.’ With her left arm she held the child. With her right hand she took a silk ribbon from beside the bed, pushed open the window and shot out with a soft rush.

“I was taken aback. I had not expected such a delicate-looking woman to possess such extraordinary qinggong.⁷ I hurried to the window and poked a hole in the lattice paper to peer out. On the roof stood twenty or thirty burly men of varying heights, each armed, shouting loudly. The lady flicked her right hand. A white silk ribbon shot forth like a long serpent, coiled around one man’s single-edged dao, wrenched it from his grip and let go. The man cried out, his dao flew from his hand, and he tumbled from the roof with a heavy thud upon the ground.

“The remaining men shouted and surged forward. In the moonlight the lady’s white silk ribbon was like a white dragon, spiralling and swooping, darting up and down. The sounds rang out without pause: clang, clang, aiya, aiya, thud, thud. In less than the time it takes to eat a meal, the silk ribbon had disarmed every one of those dozens of men, and they had all been flung from the roof. None dared fight on. They scrambled to their feet and fled. Some did not even dare mount their horses but abandoned them and ran. I stood there dumbfounded, my heart in my mouth. The lady kicked the weapons from the roof to the ground and left them where they lay, then went back inside to nurse the child. Hu Yidao snored on as though nothing had happened.

“The next morning the lady cooked the meals and ordered the serving boy to gather up the weapons and hang them, one by one, from the eaves. When the north wind blew, dao and jian, hammer and whip clattered against each other, ringing and clinking most pleasantly.

“After breakfast the Golden-Faced Buddha came again. He heard the sound, looked up and saw the weapons hanging from the eaves. He understood at once. He glared fiercely at the men who had followed him. They lowered their heads and dared not meet his eye. The Golden-Faced Buddha cursed, ‘Shameless! What manner of men are you? All of you, get lost!’ They dared not make a sound and stepped back. I thought, If the lady had wished to kill those men last night, it would have been as easy as turning her hand. Even to have struck them all senseless one by one would have been no difficulty at all. But that would have cost the Golden-Faced Buddha too much face.

“The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘Brother Hu, these good-for-nothings disturbed your sleep. Let us call a halt today. Get a good rest, and we will fight again tomorrow.’ Hu Yidao laughed. ‘It was my wife who dealt with them. I was asleep and knew nothing of it. Come on!’ He raised his dao and took up a guard.

“The Golden-Faced Buddha said to Lady Hu, ‘Many thanks, Sister-in-law, for sparing these men’s lives.’ The lady smiled. Hu Yidao and the Golden-Faced Buddha exchanged a few courtesies, then dao and jian crossed once more.

“They fought until dark and still neither could claim victory. The Golden-Faced Buddha sheathed his jian. ‘Brother Hu, I shall not go back tonight. I should like to drink my fill with you and then share a bed and talk of martial arts.’ Hu Yidao laughed loudly. ‘Excellent, excellent! There is much in Brother Miao’s sword art I have yet to understand. Tonight would be a fine chance to learn.’ The Golden-Faced Buddha turned to Guild Chief Fan and Young Master Tian. ‘You may go. I am staying here tonight.’

“Guild Chief Fan was aghast. ‘Miao daxia, beware his treachery…’ The Golden-Faced Buddha said coldly, ‘I do as I wish. It is no concern of yours.’ Young Master Tian said, ‘Do not forget the feud over your slain father. Do not be an unfilial descendant.’ The Golden-Faced Buddha’s face darkened. Fan and Tian dared say no more and withdrew with their men.

“That night the two drank and discussed martial arts. The Golden-Faced Buddha explained the essence of Miao Family Swordplay,⁸ move by move, to Hu Yidao. Hu Yidao in turn laid bare the secrets of Hu Family Bladeworks, holding nothing back. The more they talked, the more they took to each other. This is what people call ‘regretting that they had not met sooner,’ is it not? Every few bowls of wine they would rise and practise a few moves, then sit down again to drink. What they discussed were the most profound skills. Though I listened with my ears wide open, naturally I understood not a word.

“Past midnight, Hu Yidao told the innkeeper to open a good room, and he and the Golden-Faced Buddha truly shared a single bed. I mused to myself, Two living men go in. Tomorrow one of them will be a corpse. But who will strike first? The Golden-Faced Buddha does not seem a treacherous man. This time he is in for it.

“Then another thought occurred to me. Hu Yidao was rough and bold, far less subtle than the Golden-Faced Buddha. Though their martial arts were evenly matched, in cunning and guile the Golden-Faced Buddha would surely have the edge. So the one who walked out alive tomorrow would presumably be the Golden-Faced Buddha, not Hu Yidao.

“My curiosity got the better of me. I crept to the window of their room to eavesdrop. By then they were no longer discussing martial arts, but strange tales and secret deeds from the jianghu,⁹ and things each had done in the past. Now the Golden-Faced Buddha would speak of a villain he had killed in some place, now Hu Yidao of a wretched man he had saved at some time. Whenever the tale reached a satisfying point, they would clap their hands and laugh aloud. I listened with my mouth hanging open. I thought, Hu Yidao is a fierce and violent man. It is no wonder he has done such things. But the Golden-Faced Buddha has ‘Buddha’ in his epithet, and he too kills without blinking.

“Towards the end, the Golden-Faced Buddha suddenly sighed. ‘A pity, a pity!’ Hu Yidao said, ‘A pity for what?’ The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘If your surname were not Hu, or mine were not Miao, the two of us would surely have become friends unto death. I, Miao Renfeng, have always thought highly of myself. But since meeting you, I am truly convinced. Ai. The world is vast, yet apart from Hu Yidao, Miao Renfeng has no one worth befriending.’ Hu Yidao said, ‘If I should die at your hands, you can keep my wife company from time to time. She is a heroine, far surpassing those cowardly friends of yours.’ The Golden-Faced Buddha said angrily, ‘Hmph. How are those fellows fit to be my friends?’

“Round and round they talked, yet never once did they touch on the feud between the older generations. Whenever one drew close to the subject, the other would steer the conversation elsewhere. That night neither of them slept, and they left me standing outside the window until dawn. The wind in the courtyard cut through my bones. My feet went numb with cold. At first light the Golden-Faced Buddha suddenly walked to the window and said with a cold laugh, ‘Hmph. Heard enough?’ There was a sharp crack. Hu Yidao said, ‘Brother Miao, the man is not so bad. Let him off.’ I felt something strike my head, and everything went black.

“When I came to, I was lying on my own kang. It was a long while before I realised what had happened. The Golden-Faced Buddha must have spotted me eavesdropping outside, opened the window and punched me. Had Hu Yidao not pleaded for me, my wretched life would have ended then and there. I climbed down from the kang. My head was thick and foggy. I held up a mirror to look. Half my face had turned purple, swollen more than an inch¹⁰ high. I was so startled that the mirror slipped from my hand and shattered on the floor.

“That day while the two fought in the hall, I dared not go out to watch again. Until now I had been hoping the Golden-Faced Buddha would win, but with the swelling on my face throbbing with pain, all I wanted now was for Hu Yidao to avenge me and hack a slash or two into Miao Renfeng. When it grew dark, I heard through the plank wall the Golden-Faced Buddha say, ‘Brother Hu, I had meant to share another night’s talk with you, but I fear Sister-in-law may blame me. If tomorrow we are still undecided, shall we talk another night?’ Hu Yidao laughed aloud. ‘Good, good.’

“After the Golden-Faced Buddha left, the lady poured a bowl of wine and handed it to Hu Yidao. ‘Congratulations, Big Brother.’ Hu Yidao took the bowl and drained it in one gulp. ‘Congratulations for what?’ The lady said, ‘Tomorrow you can defeat the Golden-Faced Buddha.’ Hu Yidao was taken aback. ‘I exchanged several thousand moves with him and could not find the slightest flaw. How can I defeat him tomorrow?’ The lady smiled. ‘I have spotted a fault. Child, it is your father who has truly fought all under heaven and found no equal.’ Those last words were addressed to the baby.

“Hu Yidao asked eagerly, ‘What fault? How is it I did not see it?’ The lady said, ‘The fault is on his back. You fight him face to face, so naturally you cannot see it.’ Hu Yidao was silent, considering. The lady went on, ‘You have fought him four days now. I watched his sword work closely. His defences were indeed airtight, without the faintest opening. I watched in fear and alarm, thinking, If this goes on, sooner or later you will lose concentration and make a slip, while he will always stand beyond defeat. But today in the afternoon I finally found his fault. Among his sword moves, which do you think are the most formidable?’ Hu Yidao said, ‘There are many. “Washing Jian, Embrace the Moon,” “Facing-Gate Leg, Reverse-Cleave Mount Hua,” “Lift the Jian, White Crane Spreads Its Wings,” “Soaring-Palm Su Qin Bearing Jian”…’ The lady said, ‘The fault lies in “Lift the Jian, White Crane Spreads Its Wings.”’ Hu Yidao said, ‘That move uses attack as defence. Hard yet supple, and deadly sharp.’ The lady said, ‘Big Brother, when you use moves like “Threading-Hand Hidden Dao,” “Advancing-Step Chain Dao” and “Coiling-Body Pluck-Heart Dao,” he sometimes counters with “Lift the Jian, White Crane Spreads Its Wings.” But before he unleashes that move, his back always gives a little shrug, as though he were slightly ticklish.’

“Hu Yidao said in surprise, ‘Truly?’ The lady said, ‘Today he used it twice. Each time his back shrugged before the move. Tomorrow during the bout, the moment I see his back shrug, I will cough at once. You strike before he can complete the move. Rush in first with the “Eight Directions Hidden Dao Stance” and press hard. He will have no choice but to sheathe his jian and concede.’ Hu Yidao was delighted. ‘A marvellous plan!’ Hearing their words, I should have gone to warn the Golden-Faced Buddha, to tell him to be on his guard. But I touched the swelling on my face and thought, He punched me and used such heavy force. If he loses, he deserves it.

“The next day was the fifth day of duelling. The swelling on my face had gone down somewhat, and I stood to the side to watch again. That morning the lady did not cough, so I supposed the Golden-Faced Buddha had not used that move. At midday, when they stopped to eat, the lady poured wine for her husband and gave him several meaningful glances. I could see plainly from the side: she was telling him to lure the Golden-Faced Buddha into using that move, so as to seize the chance and win. Hu Yidao shook his head, as though his heart could not bring itself to do it. The lady pointed at the child, then set the baby down hard on the bench. The child began to wail. I understood her meaning: If you lose the fight, the child will have no father, and will suffer all his days. Hearing the baby cry, Hu Yidao slowly nodded.

“In the afternoon the two engaged again, exchanging dozens of moves. Hu Yidao hacked fiercely several times, and then came a single soft cough from the lady. Hu Yidao’s brow creased. Instead of pressing forward, he stepped back. Sure enough, the Golden-Faced Buddha launched the move ‘Lift the Jian, White Crane Spreads Its Wings.’ I did not know the move myself, but the night before, when Hu Yidao and his wife were planning the scheme, the lady had demonstrated it several times. I thought, The lady’s eye is sharp indeed. Had Hu Yidao followed her plan, he would have won there and then. But at the last moment he held back. Either he could not bring himself to harm the Golden-Faced Buddha out of the admiration one great fighter feels for another, or he thought that with someone aiding him from the sidelines, victory would not be honourable. Suddenly I recalled what Hu Yidao had told his wife to say to the child when he grew up: to be ruthless, to be hard-hearted. It seemed that fierce as Hu Yidao looked, his heart was soft, and when the moment came, he could not bring himself to strike.

“The lady pinched the child’s arm hard. The baby wailed. Amid the clash of dao and jian came the child’s cries, and then a soft ‘hei’, another light cough from the lady. Hu Yidao stepped forward. The Eight Directions Hidden Dao Stance. Flashes of steel sealed every avenue of the Golden-Faced Buddha’s sword work.

“It seemed the Golden-Faced Buddha could not parry. His ‘Lift the Jian, White Crane Spreads Its Wings’ was only half completed. By that sword technique, his right hand thrusts the jian diagonally while his left arm sweeps upward, like a white crane throwing open its wings. But Hu Yidao had seized the initiative. The Golden-Faced Buddha’s arms were just beginning to extend when Hu Yidao struck twice in a linked chain, left and right. Would the Golden-Faced Buddha’s pair of arms not be delivering themselves straight onto the dao to be hewn off?

“Yet the Golden-Faced Buddha’s martial arts were truly beyond the reach of ordinary men. In that instant of peril, he bent both arms inward, and the point of his jian suddenly drove towards his own breast. Hu Yidao was aghast. He thought the Golden-Faced Buddha, having lost the bout, meant to kill himself with his own jian. He cried, ‘Brother Miao, no!’

“He did not know that the Golden-Faced Buddha had broken off the tip of his jian on the very first day of fighting. The point was blunt. Drawing a breath of neili¹¹ to his breast, he let the jian strike his body and spring back. The move was doubly devastating. First, the change was so sudden and strange that no one could have anticipated it. Second, Hu Yidao was so intent on urging him not to kill himself that he never imagined the Golden-Faced Buddha would turn the moment into a strike of his own. The Golden-Faced Buddha suddenly released his grip. The jian sprang free, and the pommel flew out and struck Hu Yidao squarely on the breast, on the acupoint¹² ‘Shen Cang.’

“The Shen Cang acupoint is one of the body’s great points. Struck by a jian-tip, Hu Yidao collapsed at once, his body gone limp. The Golden-Faced Buddha caught him and cried, ‘I beg your pardon!’ Hu Yidao laughed. ‘Brother Miao, your sword art is beyond the reckoning of ghosts and gods. I am impressed, impressed.’ The Golden-Faced Buddha said, ‘But for Brother Hu’s concern for me, how could that move have succeeded?’ The two sat at the table and drained three bowls of spirits in one breath. Hu Yidao gave a laugh, raised his dao, drew it across his own throat, and a gush of blood spurted from his neck. He fell forward upon the table and died.

“I was frozen with shock. I looked at the lady. Her face showed no grief. She said only, ‘Miao daxia, please wait a moment. Let me nurse the child once more, so that he is full.’ She went into the room. After the time it takes to eat a meal, she came out again, pressed a deep kiss upon the child’s face and said, ‘He has eaten his fill and fallen asleep.’ She handed the child to the Golden-Faced Buddha. ‘I had promised my Big Brother that I would raise the child with my own hands. But in these five days I have seen with my own eyes that Miao daxia is a man whose heart is open as the sun, whose righteousness weighs as heavy as a mountain. Since you have undertaken to look after the child, I shall take a little ease and spare myself twenty years of hardship.’ With that she bowed several times to the Golden-Faced Buddha, took up Hu Yidao’s dao, and drew it across her own throat. Husband and wife sat side by side on the same bench. The lady took Hu Yidao’s hand. Her body slowly went limp, and she fell upon her husband, and did not move again. I could not bear to watch. I turned my head. In the Golden-Faced Buddha’s arms the child slept soundly, and on his little face there seemed to linger the faintest trace of a smile.”

Footnotes

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

2. 武林 – wǔlín. Lit. “martial forest.” The community of martial artists, distinct from the broader jianghu. ↩

3. 苏秦背剑 – Sū Qín Bèi Jiàn. Lit. ‘Su Qin Bears the Sword on His Back.’ A named sword-move in which the blade is drawn up behind the body. Su Qin was a Warring States diplomat famed for his eloquence. ↩

4. 胡家刀法 – Hú Jiā Dāofǎ. The Hu family’s ancestral bladework. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 二更 – Èr Gēng. The second watch, roughly 9 to 11 p.m. ↩

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

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

8. 苗家剑法 – Miáo Jiā Jiànfǎ. The Miao family’s ancestral sword technique. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

10. 寸 – cùn. A Chinese unit of length, approximately 3.3 centimetres or 1.3 inches. ↩

11. 内力 – nèilì. Internal power, the kinetic manifestation of qi cultivated through neigong. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 穴道 – xuédào. The acupoints through which qi flows; in martial arts, striking or sealing them can immobilise or injure. ↩