Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain Chapter 8 – Part 1

These men traded one story for another, and pieced together, the doubts weighing on everyone’s minds were largely resolved. But hunger gnawed at them, and the more tea they drank, the emptier they grew.

Tao Baisui raised his voice. “Now the truth is out. The dao was handed to my son by Tian Guinong’s own hand. None of you can lay claim to it, can you?”

Liu Yuanhe smiled. “What Big Brother Tian handed to House Brother Tao was an empty iron box. If it’s the empty box you want, I’ve no objection. But the treasured dao? What share of that is yours?”

Yin Ji said, “That dao belongs to our Tianlong School’s Southern Branch. No doubt about it.”

Ruan Shizhong said, “That day, Tian shixiong never performed the dao-conferring ritual.¹ The dao still belongs to the Northern Branch.” The more they argued, the louder their voices grew.

Baoshu spoke up, his voice ringing clear: “All of you, what are you fighting over this dao for?”

The company fell silent. No one could find an answer.

Baoshu gave a cold smile. “Before today, you only knew this dao cut iron like mud and was sharp beyond compare. You didn’t yet know it was tied to a great treasure. Now someone’s spoken the truth, and every eye gleams, every heart schemes. But this old monk would ask: without the treasure map, what use is the dao alone?”

The company started. All eyes turned to the pearl hairpin at Miao Ruolan’s temple.²

Miao Ruolan was gentle and frail. To take the hairpin from her head needed only a hand’s reach. But every man among them remembered her father, whose name shook the world. Show her the slightest disrespect, and her father’s wrath would follow. Who dared face it? The hairpin trembled before their eyes, no more than a few feet away, yet not one man spoke first.

Liu Yuanhe cast a sweep of arrogant eyes across the company and walked to Miao Ruolan’s side. His right hand shot out and plucked the pearl hairpin from her hair. Miao Ruolan, ashamed and furious, turned pale. She stepped back twice. The company watched Liu Yuanhe’s audacity and could not hide their shock.

Liu Yuanhe said, “I act under imperial orders. What do I fear of some Miao daxia,³ some Yang daxia? Besides, the Golden-Faced Buddha,⁴ whether he lives or dies this moment —” He gave a low chuckle. “— that remains to be seen.”

The company cried out as one: “What do you mean?”

Liu Yuanhe smiled. “By my reckoning, even if the Golden-Faced Buddha still draws breath, eight parts in ten he’s now in chains, locked in the imperial prison.”

Miao Ruolan started violently. She forgot the shame of her stolen hairpin, thinking only of her father’s safety. “You — what are you saying about my father?”

Baoshu said, “Please, explain.”

Liu Yuanhe recalled how, on the way up the mountain, the monk had dragged him through the snow, leaving him wretched and dishevelled. But when he spoke of acting under imperial orders, Baoshu’s expression had changed. Now, questioned by the monk, his pride swelled. He could not resist revealing a great secret, to stake his stature before so many. So he asked, “Great Master Baoshu, let me ask you one thing first. Who is the master of this place?”

Half a day on the mountain, and still none of them knew. Liu Yuanhe’s question matched their thoughts exactly. All eyes turned to Baoshu, who smiled: “Since none of you will hide it any longer, this old monk need not keep his stinking riddles.⁵ The master of this place is surnamed Du, given name Ximeng,⁶ a name to reckon with in the wulin.”

The company exchanged glances, each turning the name over in his mind. Du Ximeng? Du Ximeng? None could place it.

Baoshu smiled faintly. “This old hero holds himself in high regard and does not mix with ordinary company. So although his martial skill is formidable, common folk have never heard his name. Yet among the first rank of the jianghu,⁷ all hold him in the highest esteem.” Lightly spoken, yet the words stung every man present. The plain meaning was that the rest of them were not worth knowing. Yin Ji, Ruan Shizhong and the rest bristled, but Miao Renfeng had addressed him as Brother Ximeng on that couplet, and they themselves could lay no claim to brotherhood with the Golden-Faced Buddha. Unpleasant as Baoshu’s words were, there was no gainsaying them.

Liu Yuanhe said, “When we climbed the mountain, the manor’s steward⁸ said, ‘My master has gone to Ningguta⁹ to invite the Golden-Faced Buddha, and has also sent word inviting Guild Chief Fan of the Xinghan Beggars’ Guild.’¹⁰ That story isn’t quite the whole truth. Guild Chief Fan was captured at Kaifeng in Henan, and I lent a small hand in it myself.”

The company cried, “Guild Chief Fan captured?”

Liu Yuanhe smiled. “It was Commander Saihetu¹¹ of the Imperial Guard who took him with his own hands. Now, Guild Chief Fan counts for something in the jianghu, but he wasn’t worth the Commander’s personal attention, was he? We took Guild Chief Fan and used him as a fragrant bait, to fish for a great golden turtle.¹² And that golden turtle — why, naturally, it’s Miao Renfeng. Manor Master Du wanted to invite Miao Renfeng to deal with what? The Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain?¹³ How could he invite him? By now Miao Renfeng has surely gone to Beijing, trying to rescue Guild Chief Fan. Heh heh. Commander Sai has spread an inescapable net in Beijing, waiting for Miao Renfeng to walk into it. If he hadn’t taken the bait, we’d have had no way to touch him. But he had to go to Beijing and play the saviour. As the saying goes: a woodpecker gnawing a bitter-yellow tree, asking for suffering.”¹⁴

When Miao Ruolan had parted from her father, he had indeed told her he had business in Beijing, and bid her go first to Jade Brush Peak,¹⁵ to stay at the Du family manor. Hearing Liu Yuanhe’s words now, she feared her father truly faced disaster, and her lovely face went white.

Liu Yuanhe, brimming with self-satisfaction, said, “Now we have the map, and we have the treasured dao. Excavate Li Zicheng’s treasure,¹⁶ present it to His Majesty,¹⁷ and every man here will earn rank and honours enough to ennoble his wife and shade his descendants.” He saw that some faces brightened while others hesitated. Men like Tao Baisui, he knew, valued gold over rank. So he added, “Think of it. The treasure piled high as a mountain. Even a handful pocketed along the way would see you fed and clothed for life. What’s not to like?”

The company roared approval. No dissent remained.

Tian Qingwen had been hiding in the inner chamber, consumed with shame. Hearing the cheers from the main hall, she knew they were no longer speaking of her disgrace. She slipped out quietly and stood by the door.

Liu Yuanhe plucked a single hair from his own head and threaded it slowly through the phoenix beak of the pearl hairpin. Following the technique he had once watched Miao Renfeng employ, he gave a gentle pull and flick. The phoenix head’s catch sprang open, and a paper ball fell out.

The company cried “Oh!” as one.

Liu Yuanhe opened the paper and spread it on the table. The others crowded around.

The paper was thin as a cicada’s wing, yet despite the long years, because it had been sealed within the hairpin, not a mark of age showed upon it. Upon it was painted a tall, sheer mountain peak, and beside the peak nine characters read: Behind Jade Brush Peak, Wulan Mountain,¹⁸ Liaodong.

Baoshu cried, “Aha! Can there truly be such a coincidence under heaven? The very place we stand is Wulan Mountain’s Jade Brush Peak!”

They studied the painted peak’s form. It was indeed identical to the snow peak they had climbed. Every one of them clicked his tongue in wonder. The three ancient pines they had seen at the cliff’s edge on the way up were drawn on the map in clear detail.

Baoshu said, “Old Hero Du must have learned news of the treasure, which is why he built his manor here. Otherwise, with the cold so brutal and the climb so punishing, why go to such trouble?”

Liu Yuanhe’s heart lurched. “Aiyah! That’s bad. His manor’s been here for years. Hasn’t he already carted the treasure off?”

Baoshu smiled. “Not necessarily. Lord Liu, think. If he’d already found where the treasure lay, he’d have left for other parts long ago. He wouldn’t still be living here.”

Liu Yuanhe slapped his thigh. “Right, right! Quick, to the back mountain!”

Baoshu pointed at Miao Ruolan. “What of Miss Miao here and the manor’s people?”

Liu Yuanhe turned. Steward Yu and all the manor servants had vanished, not one to be seen. Tian Qingwen stepped out from behind a door and said, “I don’t know how, but all the men and women of the manor have hidden themselves clean away.”

Liu Yuanhe snatched a dao and stepped before Miao Ruolan. “Everything we’ve said, she’s heard with her own ears. This root of trouble cannot be left alive.” He raised the dao, about to bring it down upon her head.

Suddenly a shadow flashed. Qiner leapt from behind her chair, seized Liu Yuanhe’s arm and sank her teeth into his wrist.

Liu Yuanhe, caught off guard, winced at the pain. The dao hit the floor with a clang. Qiner cursed: “You damned villain! If you harm so much as a single hair on the young lady’s head, when my master climbs this mountain he’ll rip your sinews and flay your skin. And no one here will escape the reckoning.”

Liu Yuanhe blazed with rage and lashed out with a backfist at Qiner’s face. Xiong Yuanxian threw out his right arm and blocked the blow. “Shixiong,¹⁹ the treasure comes first. No need to take more lives!” Xiong Yuanxian had spent his life in the armed escort trade and was timid and cautious by nature, steady where his shixiong, turned Imperial Guard, killed commoners without a thought. Hearing Qiner’s words, he considered: harm Miao Ruolan, and if her father slipped the net, the disaster would fall on all their heads.

Yin Ji shared his thinking and said, “Liu shixiong, let’s go find the treasure.”

Liu Yuanhe glared. He pointed at Miao Ruolan. “What do we do with this girl?”

Baoshu stepped forward with a smile, his wide sleeve stirring. Two fingers darted out, one striking the Tiantu²⁰ acupoint at her throat, the other the Shentong²¹ acupoint at her back. Miao Ruolan went limp, slumped in her chair, shame and panic burning inside her, yet unable to utter a word. Qiner, thinking he had harmed her lady, threw caution to the wind and grabbed the monk’s hand, meaning to bite him savagely. Baoshu let her drag his right hand to her mouth. His fingers trembled and struck the Yingxiang²² acupoint beside her nose and the Dicang²³ acupoint beside her mouth. Qiner shuddered and collapsed to the ground.

Tian Qingwen said, “It wouldn’t look right to leave the Miao girl sitting here.” She bent and lifted her. “My, so light — as if she’d no bones in her.” She carried her to the east wing.

The east wing had been Manor Master Du’s guest quarters. Bed, curtains, table and desk, every furnishing of daily life was in order, and the appointments were fine. Tian Qingwen shut the door, removed Miao Ruolan’s shoes, socks and outer robe, leaving only her inner garments, then wrapped her in a quilt and drew down the silken curtain. Since the age of seven or eight, Miao Ruolan had never undressed before another. Even though the person before her was a woman, her face flushed crimson. Tian Qingwen regarded her and laughed, “Afraid I’ll look? Little sister, you’re so lovely even I find my heart stirring.” She gathered up Miao Ruolan’s clothes and carried them to the main hall. “I’ve taken all her clothes off. Even when the hour passes and the acupoints release, she won’t be able to walk.” The company roared with laughter.

Baoshu said, “Let us all have a look. How, exactly, does one find the treasure from this dao?” He drew an iron box from his robe, opened the lid, and lifted the dao free. One hand held the sheath, the other the hilt. With a ring of steel, the blade slid out. A blue light flooded the hall, and a cold struck through to the bone. He shivered. The company cried out as one.

He set the dao on the table and the others crowded around. Beyond being sharp beyond compare, the blade showed nothing unusual. They turned to the ox-hide sheath. On one side, fourteen characters of military command were carved.²⁴ On the other were the four characters Heaven’s Mandate, Righteous Cause.²⁵ Beside them, scratched with some sharp implement, was a pattern of two dragons fighting over a pearl. The carving must have been done in haste, and it was crude and ugly. The two dragons, one large, one small, were shapeless and misshapen, more like caterpillars than dragons. But the pearl they fought over was a ruby, set into the leather of the sheath, bright and lustrous, its treasure-light dazzling the eye. A genuine rarity.

Cao Yunqi picked up the sheath and studied it. “What’s so strange about that?”

Baoshu said, “These two creatures must have some connection with the treasure. We’ll go to the back mountain and see.” He reached out his hand. “Give it here.”

Cao Yunqi ignored him. He slid the dao back into the sheath and dashed out the door.

Baoshu shouted, “What are you doing?” and gave chase.

Outside, Cao Yunqi was already sprinting, dao in hand. Baoshu’s right hand flicked, and an iron prayer bead flew true, striking his right shoulder blade. Cao Yunqi’s arm went numb. His fingers failed him, and the treasured dao slid into the snow with a hiss. Baoshu strode forward and picked it up. Cao Yunqi dared not contest him further. He stepped aside and watched as Baoshu and Liu Yuanhe, one holding the dao, the other the map, walked side by side towards the back of the mountain. The rest of the company streamed out of the gate behind them.

Baoshu said, “Lord Liu, this old monk was rude just now. Please don’t take offence.”

Liu Yuanhe, pleased at the apology, said, “Your martial skill is formidable, Great Master. I admire it greatly. I hope to call on you again.”

Baoshu said, “I dare not.”

They walked some distance and reached the cliff’s edge. Before them, open sky. No path led further across the peak. In every direction lay white snow, vast and blinding. They knew the treasure lay within Jade Brush Peak, but the mountain was enormous, sealed in ice and snow, without the faintest mark to guide them. Where to begin? To strip the peak of ice and snow would tax a thousand men for a year or more, and tomorrow the snow would fall again. Du Ximeng had lived on the peak for decades. He must have toiled day and night, every scheme and stratagem, and still failed. Finding the treasure, plainly, was no easy matter.

The company stood at the cliff’s edge, looking this way and that, at a loss.

Tian Qingwen suddenly pointed at a small chain of ridges below the peak. “Look!”

They followed her finger. Nothing unusual met their eyes.

Tian Qingwen said, “Everyone — look at the shape of those ridges. Don’t they resemble the pattern on the military dao?”

The words struck them alert. They studied the ridge line carefully: one chain running from south-west to north-east, another from due south to north. Where the two chains met sat a short, round peak.

Baoshu lifted the sheath. He looked at it, then at the mountain ridges. The ridges’ bearing and position matched the twin-dragon carving on the sheath exactly. The round peak lay precisely where the ruby sat. He cried out: “Right, right! The treasure must be inside that round peak!”

Liu Yuanhe said, “Quick, let’s go down!”

Now all intent on the treasure, the company worked as one, suspicion set aside. Each tore a strip from his robe and wrapped it round his hands, then gripped the thick rope and slid down the peak. Liu Yuanhe went first, and Yin Ji last. Yin Ji, once down, thought to cut the rope behind him and be rid of the risk. But the others were already far ahead, and fear that he would miss his share of the treasure stilled his hand. He dared not linger. He employed his qinggong²⁶ and raced after them.

From Jade Brush Peak, the round peak had seemed close at hand. But across the flat ground, the distance was no short journey — some twenty li.²⁷ The company’s qinggong was all they needed, and in less than half a shichen²⁸ they had reached the round peak. Only Zheng Sanniang, her leg wounded, fell far behind.

They circled the round peak, searching this way and that for the treasure’s hiding place.

Tao Zian suddenly pointed left. “Who’s that?”

His voice was urgent. They all looked. A grey-white figure was racing across the snow, its speed past describing. In the blink of an eye, the white shadow was already sprinting towards Jade Brush Peak.

Baoshu blurted: “The Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain! Hu Yidao’s son — so formidable!” His face had gone grey. Plainly, a heavy worry had seized him.

He was still lost in thought when Tian Qingwen let out a piercing scream. He whipped round. Where the round peak’s slope had been, a hole had opened. Tian Qingwen was gone.

Tao Zian and Cao Yunqi had been at Tian Qingwen’s side all along. Seeing her vanish, they both cried, “Sister Qing!” and leapt to rescue her.

Tao Baisui seized his son’s arm. “What are you doing?”

Tao Zian shook free. He and Cao Yunqi plunged in together.

But the hole proved shallow. Both landed on top of Tian Qingwen. All three shrieked. Those above could not help but laugh, and reached down to pull them out.

Baoshu said, “The treasure may lie within this hole. Miss Tian, what did you see below?”

Tian Qingwen, rubbing the places where she had struck the rock, grumbled: “Pitch black. Couldn’t see a thing.”

Baoshu leapt down and lit a huozhezi.²⁹ The hole was barely ten feet across, its walls hard rock and ancient ice. Nothing else unusual. He had to spring back up.

Suddenly Zhou Yunyang and Zheng Sanniang cried out and sank into snow-holes on the east and south sides. Ruan Shizhong and Xiong Yuanxian dragged the two out, one each. It became clear that the round peak was honeycombed with holes all around. Fearing a fall into some deep and deadly pit, no one dared take another step. All stood still.

Footnotes

1. 授刀之礼 – shòu dāo zhī lǐ. A formal ceremony in which a master or elder passes a treasured weapon to a successor, conferring legitimacy and authority over the weapon’s lineage. ↩

2. 珠钗 – zhū chāi. A hairpin set with pearls or gems, worn to secure the hair. ↩

3. 大侠 – dàxiá. A title of respect for a renowned martial artist. ↩

4. 金面佛 – Jīnmiàn Fó. “The Golden-Faced Buddha.” The epithet of Miao Renfeng, a descendant of one of Li Zicheng’s four bodyguards. ↩

5. 臭关子 – chòu guānzi. Lit. “stinking riddle.” A colloquial expression for a teasing mystery or hold-back. ↩

6. 杜希孟 – Dù Xīmèng. Owner of the manor on Jade Brush Peak. A man of considerable martial skill who holds himself apart from ordinary company. ↩

7. 江湖 – jiānghú. Lit. “rivers and lakes.” The itinerant world beyond settled society and official reach, holding not only martial artists but the trades that travel with them. ↩

8. 于管家 – Yú Guǎnjiā. Steward Yu, the head servant of Du Ximeng’s manor. ↩

9. 宁古塔 – Nínggǔtǎ. A remote region in northeastern Manchuria, used as a place of exile during the Qing dynasty. ↩

10. 兴汉丐帮 – Xīnghàn Gàibāng. The Xinghan Beggars’ Guild. Xinghan means “Rise Han,” suggesting a Han-restoration sentiment. ↩

11. 赛总管 – Sài Zǒngguǎn. Saihetu, Commander of the Imperial Guard (御前侍卫总管). ↩

12. 金鳌 – jīn áo. A great golden sea-turtle, a figure for a prize of immense value. Used here as a metaphor for Miao Renfeng — the true quarry behind the bait. ↩

13. 雪山飞狐 – Xuěshān Fēihú. “Flying Fox of the Snowy Mountain.” The epithet of Hu Fei, the novel’s protagonist. ↩

14. 啄木鸟啃黄连树，自讨苦吃 – zhuómùniǎo kěn huánglián shù, zì tǎo kǔ chī. A Chinese proverb: “A woodpecker gnawing a bitter-yellow tree — asking for suffering.” The bitter-yellow tree (huánglián) is so named for its intense bitterness; a bird that chooses to gnaw it brings pain upon itself. ↩

15. 玉笔峰 – Yùbǐ Fēng. “Jade Brush Peak.” The snow peak where Du Ximeng’s manor stands. ↩

16. 李自成的宝藏 – Lǐ Zìchéng de bǎozàng. The legendary treasure of Li Zicheng (李自成, 1606–1645), the peasant rebel leader who toppled the Ming dynasty in 1644 and briefly established the Shun dynasty before being defeated by the Qing. ↩

17. 圣上 – shèngshàng. “His Majesty.” A reverent term for the reigning emperor. ↩

18. 乌兰山 – Wūlán Shān. “Wulan Mountain.” Wulan means “red” in Mongolian. The mountain range in Liaodong where Li Zicheng’s treasure is said to be hidden. ↩

19. 师兄 – shīxiōng. Senior fellow disciple, apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Xiōng means older brother. ↩

20. 天突 – Tiāntū. An acupoint at the base of the throat, on the Conception Vessel. In dianxue, striking it can render the victim unable to speak or breathe freely. ↩

21. 神通 – Shéntōng. An acupoint on the back, along the spine. In dianxue, striking it can cause whole-body weakness. ↩

22. 迎香 – Yíngxiāng. An acupoint beside the nostrils. In dianxue, striking it can numb the face and disable the sense of smell. ↩

23. 地仓 – Dìcāng. An acupoint at the corner of the mouth. In dianxue, striking it can lock the jaw. ↩

24. 十四字军令 – shísì zì jūnlìng. A fourteen-character military order, carved into the ox-hide sheath of Li Zicheng’s treasured dao. ↩

25. 奉天倡义 – Fèngtiān Chāngyì. “Heaven’s Mandate, Righteous Cause.” The motto of Li Zicheng’s Shun regime, claiming Heaven’s authority for the rebellion. Carved on the other face of the dao’s sheath, opposite the military order. ↩

26. 轻功 – qīnggōng. Lightness skill. The martial art of moving with extraordinary speed and agility, of running across snow and scaling walls as if gravity were a suggestion. ↩

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

28. 时辰 – shíchén. A traditional Chinese unit of time, equal to two hours. The day was divided into twelve shichen. ↩

29. 火折子 – huǒzhézi. A tinder tube: rolled paper or fibre treated with saltpetre, kept smouldering in a tube and revived with a puff of breath. ↩