Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain Chapter 7 – Part 1

Tao Baisui cleared his throat and said, “When I was a young man, Guinong and I did business together, the kind that needs no capital…”

Everyone present knew he was of the greenwood,¹ the chief of the Yinma Creek Stockade,² but none had known that Tian Guinong too had been a bandit. They exchanged glances. Cao Yunqi shouted, “Bullshit! My shifu³ is a hero of the wulin. Don’t you slander his name with your lies!”

Tao Baisui’s voice went sharp. “What, a hero of the wulin cannot walk the dark roads? You look down on the heroes of the dark roads, but the heroes of the dark roads look down on the likes of you even more! We carved out our strongholds and lived by blade and spear, earning our rice with our own hands. How is that worse than guarding rich men’s houses, working as escorts or holding office, licking boots and harming the people? Your shifu’s character is a deal stronger than yours.”

Cao Yunqi rose, about to argue further. Tian Qingwen plucked at his sleeve and whispered, “Shixiong, stop. Let him speak.” Cao Yunqi’s face flushed crimson. He glared at Tao Baisui, then sat.

Tao Baisui raised his voice. “I, Tao Baisui, have been in the greenwood since I was a child, raiding houses and robbing travellers. I never hid it. A true man does what he does and owns it. What’s there to fear? I am no hypocrite. I play at no false hero. Damn it all! A man who does the deed yet won’t own up, and has the nerve to call himself a righteous gentleman!” Miao Ruolan,⁴ hearing his talk run off the road, said, “Uncle Tao,⁵ my father too says the greenwood holds its heroes and bold men, and no one would think slight of them. Please, tell us of Uncle Tian.” Tao Baisui pointed at Cao Yunqi’s nose. “You hear that? Miao daxia⁶ says the same. Are you a better man than Miao daxia?” Cao Yunqi gave a scornful “Pah!” and said nothing.

Tao Baisui’s anger eased a little. “When Guinong was young, he and I rode many great jobs together. I was always his second. Only after he married did he wash his hands of it. If he looked down on greenwood men, why would he betroth his only daughter to my son? Then again, his making that match with me may not have been from any good heart either. He wanted to stop my mouth. He wanted me to keep quiet about a great matter.”

“That day Guinong and Guild Chief Fan⁷ intercepted Hu Yidao⁸ and his wife on the road at Cangzhou,⁹ I was still serving as Guinong’s second. Hu Yidao hurled coin darts from his cart. Of those struck on their acupoints¹⁰ and brought down, one of them was I, Tao Baisui. Later, Madam Hu, from the rooftop, used a white silk cloth to snatch away daos and hurl men off the roof. Of those thrown down, one of them was I, Tao Baisui. Miao Renfeng¹¹ called us all cowards. One of those cowards was I, Tao Baisui. Only, in those days I wore no beard, my hair was not white, and my face looked nothing like it does now.”

“I was there and saw with my own eyes the deaths of Hu Yidao and his wife. Just as Miss Miao and Ping Asi¹² have said, what this monk Baoshu told you was lies. Miss Miao asked: if Miao daxia knew Hu Yidao was not his father’s killer, why did he still seek him for a duel? You must all be thinking that Baoshu bore malice and never passed those words on to Miao daxia.” That was exactly what everyone had been thinking, but with Baoshu present they could not show it.

Tao Baisui shook his head. “Wrong, wrong. Think about it. The bone-setter Yan Ji¹³ was a man of paltry skill in those days. How would he dare play tricks in front of Miao and Hu? He did go, just as Hu Yidao had charged him, to speak the three great matters, but Miao daxia did not hear them. When Yan Ji went to the great house, Miao daxia was out on business, and Tian Guinong received him in his stead. Yan Ji told Guinong everything, one by one. I was beside Guinong at the time, and heard it all. Guinong said to him: ‘I know it all. Go back. I will tell Miao daxia myself. No need to mention it again when you see him. If Hu Yidao asks, just say you told Miao daxia to his face. And tell him to buy three coffins, two large and one small, so the Elder Masters don’t have to spend more in the end.’ With that, he rewarded him thirty liang¹⁴ of silver. Given the silver, Yan Ji naturally obeyed.”

“The reason Miao daxia went again to seek Hu Yidao for a duel was that Guinong never once mentioned those three matters to him. Why not? You will all be guessing: Tian Guinong bore a grudge against Hu Yidao and wanted to borrow Miao daxia’s hand to kill him. That is only half right. Guinong did hope Hu Yidao would die. But he also hoped Hu Yidao’s hand would kill Miao daxia.”

“Miao daxia had snapped his sling and shamed him before all the world, giving him no face at all. I knew Guinong’s nature well. He was proud, competitive, and he kept score of every slight. Miao daxia had stripped his face in public, and the hatred he felt for Miao daxia was only deeper than the hatred he bore Hu Yidao. That day, Guinong gave me a box of ointment and told me to find a way to smear it on the dao and jian¹⁵ that Hu Yidao and Miao daxia would use in their duel. I will be honest. I neither wanted to do it, nor dared to. But I could not very well refuse. So I passed it to the bone-setter Yan Ji, and let him handle it.”

“Consider what gongfu¹⁶ Hu Yidao had. Had he taken some common poison, how would he have died on the spot? Yan Ji was only a village bone-setter then. What poison did he have, of the kind no jianghu¹⁷ expert could cure? What poison was it that struck Hu Yidao? That was the Tianlong School’s¹⁸ secret venom, unlike any other in the wulin. The Chasing-Fate Poison Dragon Awl¹⁹ that makes men of the jianghu pale at the name owes its dread name to this very poison. Later I heard that in Guinong’s box of ointment was mixed a drug from the ‘Poisoned Hand Medicine King,’²⁰ one that sealed the throat at the first touch of blood, truly deadly beyond compare.”

The others had been half believing, half doubting. Hearing this, they were convinced eight or nine parts in ten, and cast several glances at Ruan Shizhong, Cao Yunqi and the rest of the Tianlong disciples. Ruan and Cao seethed inside, but could not give voice to it.

Tao Baisui went on: “That day, the Tianlong Northern Branch’s turn at governing the school came to its end, and Tian Guinong chose the same day to seal his jian forever. He held a great feast and invited several hundred famous heroes of the jianghu. I was an old brother of his, and his kin by marriage besides, so naturally I arrived days ahead to help with the arrangements. By the Tianlong School’s rule, when the Northern Branch’s term expired, the school’s jian manual, the ancestral registers, and this treasured dao, the treasure that guards our school, all had to pass to the Southern Branch. Brother Yin, am I wrong?” Yin Ji nodded. Tao Baisui continued, “This Yin Ji, He Whose Might Shakes the South, the great moneyed man Yin, is zhangmen of the Tianlong School’s Southern Branch. He too arrived several days early. Whether Tian Guinong handed over the jian manual, the ancestral registers, and the treasured dao to you, as our founder’s rule demands, Brother Yin, tell the truth of it.”

Yin Ji rose. “Had Stronghold Master Tao not raised the matter, I would not have spoken of it to outsiders. But there are many strange turns in this affair, and if I keep silent, the knot will never be untied.”

“That day, after Tian shixiong had feasted his guests, he withdrew to the inner hall. By long-standing custom, he was to assemble the men of both branches, pay respects before the spirit tablets of the Storming King,²¹ the founding ancestor, and all past zhangmen, then hand the treasured dao to me. Instead, he went into his chamber and did not come out again.”

“I waited in growing anxiety until past midnight. The outside guests had long since dispersed. Then Qingwen niece came out from the inner chamber and told me that her father was unwell, and the handing-over would wait until the morrow. I found this most odd. Just moments before, Tian shixiong had been toasting his guests, and his face had shown not a trace of fatigue. How could he suddenly fall ill? Besides, the passing of the manual and the dao was no more than a ceremony before the ancestors, a matter of moments. Everything was prepared. Why wait for tomorrow? Could it be that Tian shixiong was unwilling to hand over the treasured dao, and was stalling on purpose?”

Ruan Shizhong broke in: “Yin shixiong, if you construe things so, you are wide of the mark. If you had gone that day only to receive the manual and the dao, Tian shixiong would have handed them over at once. But you invited many fighters from other schools to come with you. Plainly, you harboured no good intent.” Yin Ji laughed coldly. “Ha! What ill intent could I harbour?” Ruan Shizhong said, “You meant to wait until you held the registers and the dao, then force our two branches to merge under you, so you could become sole zhangmen. By then, Tian shixiong had already sealed his jian and could not fight. You had numbers on your side. You could do as you pleased, could you not?”

Yin Ji’s face reddened slightly. “The Tianlong School’s division into Northern and Southern branches was always a temporary arrangement. When Tian shixiong first became Northern Branch zhangmen, did he not want to absorb the Southern Branch himself? Even if I wished to unite the two and shine our school brighter, that is a fine thing, is it not? Better than you, Ruan shixiong, squeezing out Yunqi at every turn, so you could make yourself zhangmen?”

The company heard them lay bare their own ugly business. Each man had been nursing private designs. All but the Tianlong men listened with grins, savouring every word.

Miao Ruolan, who cared nothing for these feuds of school and branch, asked softly, “What happened next?”

Yin Ji said, “I returned to my quarters and conferred with my Southern Branch shidi.²² They all said Tian shixiong must have some scheme, and we could not let ourselves be played for fools. They pushed me to discover the truth. I went to Tian shixiong’s bedchamber to inquire after his health. Qingwen niece stood at the door, her eyes red from weeping, and said, ‘Father has fallen asleep. Please go back, Uncle Yin. Thank you for your concern.’ I saw something was off. If Tian shixiong were truly unwell, it was no grievous sickness. There was no call for such weeping. There was certainly something strange afoot. So I went back to my room, waited half a shichen,²³ changed my clothes, and went to Tian shixiong’s door again to ‘inquire after his health’…”

Ruan Shizhong slapped the table with his palm and barked, “Ha! Inquire after his health! Does one inquire from outside the door?”

Yin Ji sneered. “Even if I was eavesdropping, so what? I hid outside the window. I heard Tian shixiong say: ‘Stop pressing me. Today I sealed my jian before the eyes of every hero in the jianghu. I have already handed the Northern Branch zhangmen’s seat to Yunqi. How can I change it now? You press me to pass the seat to you, but it is too late for that.’ Then I heard Ruan Shizhong here, Ruan shixiong, say: ‘How would I dare press shixiong? But consider: Yunqi and Qingwen have done this thing together. They have even had a child. Such debauchery, such violation of our school’s prohibitions! Who among our school, high and low, could still obey him?’”

As Yin Ji spoke these words, they heard a thud. Tian Qingwen toppled backwards with her chair, unconscious. Tao Zian drew his dao and brought it down towards Cao Yunqi’s head. Cao Yunqi had no weapon in hand and could only raise his chair to block. Tao Baisui, hearing that his son’s betrothed had done so foul a thing, roared with fury and raised his own chair, bringing it down at Cao Yunqi’s head. The Tianlong men had until then stood together against outsiders, but now that five of their own had torn away all pretence, not one stepped forward to help Cao Yunqi. With a crack, Cao Yunqi took Tao Baisui’s chair full on the back. The hall erupted into chaos.

Miao Ruolan cried, “Stop fighting, everyone! Please, sit down!” There was a command in her voice that none could resist. Tao Zian paused and drew back his dao. Tao Baisui, still wild with rage, swung his chair again. Tao Zian caught the chair his father had swung, and said, “Father, let us hold off for now. Let the gentlemen here judge what is right and what is wrong.” Tao Baisui heard the sense in his son’s words and stayed his hand.

Miao Ruolan said, “Qiner,²⁴ help Miss Tian to the inner room to rest.” By then Tian Qingwen had come slowly round, her face ashen, her head bowed. She walked into the inner hall on her own. Everyone’s eyes turned to Yin Ji, waiting for him to continue.

Yin Ji said, “I heard Tian shixiong give a long sigh and say: ‘Sin, sin! Retribution, retribution!’ He said it over and over, ‘sin’ and ‘retribution’, without stopping. After a good while he said, ‘This matter waits until tomorrow. Go. Send Zian to me. I have words for him.’”

Yin Ji glanced at the two Taos, then went on: “Ruan shixiong was still pressing his case when Tian shixiong struck the bed and snapped, ‘Are you trying to hound me to death?’ Only then did Ruan shixiong fall silent and push open the door to leave. I heard them speaking of their own family’s shame, nothing to do with our Southern Branch, and I feared Ruan shixiong might come out and catch me there, putting everyone in an awkward position. So I hurried back to my own room.”

Ruan Shizhong said coldly, “That night, when Tian shixiong and I had finished speaking, I came out and caught a shadow flick past. I called out, ‘What mangy cur is lurking there?’ No answer. I took it for an actual cur. Turns out it was Yin shixiong. My apologies, then.” He gave Yin Ji a mock bow. The courtesy was plain apology, but the words were pure insult. Yin Ji’s expression shifted, but his self-discipline was good. He returned the bow with a thin smile. “What is not known is not offence. No harm done.”

Tao Zian said, “Good. Now it is my turn. Since everyone’s masks are off, I… I need hide nothing more. I… I…” His throat closed. His feeling overwhelmed him, and he could not go on. Two lines of tears ran down his face.

Seeing so fine a young hero show weakness before strangers stirred pity in the company. The glances they cast at Cao Yunqi carried no small measure of anger and blame. Tao Baisui barked, “What use is this spinelessness? Even a true man cannot be sure of a virtuous wife and a dutiful son. Luckily this bride has not yet entered our door. The shame does not reach the Tao family’s name.”

Tao Zian wiped his tears with his sleeve, steadied himself, and began: “Every other time I went to the Tians’… to Uncle Tian’s²⁵ home…”

Cao Yunqi heard him hesitate and, instead of ‘yuefu’,²⁶ call Tian Guinong ‘Uncle.’ He was secretly pleased: “Hmph, the brat is angry. He will not own Sister Qing as his wife. Just what I hoped for.”

“Sister Qing always blushed and slipped away when others were around, and would not speak with me. But when we were alone, the two of us would always talk warmly. Each time I brought her some little trinket, she always had something for me in return: an embroidered pouch, a waistcoat. There was never a time she did not have something…”

Cao Yunqi’s face darkened by degrees. “So there was all that too, and they kept it well hidden from me.”

Footnotes

1. 绿林 – lǜlín. Literally green forest, or greenwood. Term for outlaws and bandits who dwell in the wilds. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 饮马川山寨 – Yǐnmǎ Chuān Shānzhài. The Yinma Creek Stockade, Tao Baisui’s bandit fastness. ↩

3. 师父 – shīfu. Master; one’s martial arts teacher. ↩

4. 苗若兰 – Miáo Ruòlán. Daughter of Miao Renfeng. ↩

5. In the jianghu, a child addresses his elder’s sworn brothers or close allies as ‘Uncle.’ ↩

6. 大侠 – dàxiá. ‘Great hero’; a title of high respect for a martial artist of renowned skill and honour. ↩

7. 范帮主 – Fàn Bāngzhǔ. Guild Chief Fan, head of the Xinghan Beggars’ Guild and of the Fan family. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 胡一刀 – Hú Yīdāo. ‘Hu One-Blade.’ A legendary hero of Liaodong, father of Hu Fei. ↩

9. 沧州 – Cāngzhōu. A city in Hebei province. ↩

10. 穴道 – xuédào. Acupoints; vital points on the meridians, which a strike can seal. ↩

11. 苗人凤 – Miáo Rénfèng. ‘The Golden-Faced Buddha.’ A peerless martial artist, Miao Ruolan’s father. ↩

12. 平阿四 – Píng Āsì. Hu Fei’s foster father, who raised him after Hu Yidao’s death. ↩

13. 阎基 – Yán Jī. A bone-setter (跌打医生) who later became the monk Baoshu. ↩

14. 两 – liǎng. A Chinese unit of weight, approximately 37 grams. Used as currency in silver. ↩

15. 剑 – jiàn. A straight, double-edged sword. ↩

16. 功夫 – gōngfu. Martial arts skill; also written kung fu. ↩

17. 江湖 – jiānghú. The martial world; the itinerant world beyond settled society and official reach. ↩

18. 天龙门 – Tiānlóng Mén. The Tianlong School, a martial school divided into Northern and Southern branches. ↩

19. 追命毒龙锥 – Zhuīmìng Dúlóng Zhuī. ‘Chasing-Fate Poison Dragon Awl.’ A Tianlong School hidden weapon: small cone-shaped darts coated in lethal venom. ↩

20. 毒手药王 – Dúshǒu Yàowáng. ‘Poisoned Hand Medicine King.’ A title for a master of poisons and medicines. ↩

21. 闯王 – Chuǎng Wáng. The Storming King, title of Li Zicheng (1606–1645), who led the rebellion that overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644. ↩

22. 师弟 – shīdì. A fellow disciple of junior seniority. ↩

23. 时辰 – shíchén. A traditional Chinese unit of time, approximately two hours. ↩

24. 琴儿 – Qín’ér. Miao Ruolan’s maid. The name means “little qin,” after the stringed instrument. ↩

25. 伯父 – bófù. Father’s elder brother; also a respectful address to a man of one’s father’s generation. ↩

26. 岳父 – yuèfù. Father-in-law: a man’s wife’s father, or here the father of his betrothed. ↩