Laughing in the Wind Chapter 1 – Part 7

Lin Pingzhi¹ wept for a time, then drifted into drowsy sleep. After the evening meal, he heard his father and mother speaking in low voices. Several escort guards had conceived the desperate scheme of digging a tunnel from the rear garden, passing beneath the bloody line ten paces away to escape. Otherwise, trapped within the Armed Escort, death was merely a question of when.

Madam Lin sneered, “If they wish to dig a tunnel, let them. Most likely… most likely… hmph!”

Both Lin Zhennan² and his son understood what she meant: they would most likely meet the same end as the five who had fled on horseback, merely hastening their deaths. Lin Zhennan pondered and said, “I shall see for myself. If this proves a way out, we should let everyone go.”

He went out briefly, then returned to the room and said, “They are only bold in speech, yet none dares to start digging.”

That evening all three retired early. Everyone throughout the Armed Escort had resigned themselves to fate and no one patrolled or kept watch.

Lin Pingzhi slept until midnight when a gentle tap on his shoulder startled him awake. He leapt up, reaching for the jian beneath his pillow, only to hear his mother say, “Pinger, it’s me. Your father went out ages ago and has not returned. Let’s go look for him.”

Lin Pingzhi was startled. “Where did Father go?”

Madam Lin replied, “I don’t know!”

With weapons in hand, the mother and son left the room, took a glimpse from outside the main hall and saw that lanterns and candles burnt bright within the room where over a dozen escort guards were gambling with dice. Having spent several days on edge, they felt that since they were powerless to change their fate, they might as well cast aside all thought of life and death.

Madam Lin gestured, then turned and continued on. Both mother and son searched everywhere but found no trace of Lin Zhennan. Their alarm grew with each moment, yet they dared not raise an outcry. With everyone already panicked, news of the Escort Chief’s disappearance would plunge them into utter chaos.

The two searched to the rear compound. Lin Pingzhi suddenly heard a soft click from the armoury on the left, and light shone through the window lattice. He sprang forward, poked a hole in the window paper with his finger, and peered inside. He called out, “Father, so you’re here!”

Lin Zhennan had been bent over facing the inner wall. He turned toward his son’s voice. Seeing his father’s face contorted in utter horror, Lin Pingzhi’s heart lurched. The joy on his face froze instantly, his mouth gaped but no sound came.

Madam Lin pushed open the door and rushed in. The floor was covered in blood. A stark naked man lay on three benches lined up in a row, his chest and abdomen cut open. She recognised it as the corpse of Captain Huo, who had ridden off with four other escort captains during the day, only to have his body brought back by the horse. Lin Pingzhi entered the armoury and closed the door behind him.

Lin Zhennan lifted a bloody heart from the dead man’s chest cavity and said, “The heart has been shattered into eight or nine pieces. It is indeed… it is indeed…”

Madam Lin finished, “It is indeed the Qingcheng School’s³ Heart-Crushing Palm!”⁴

Lin Zhennan nodded without a word.

Only then did Lin Pingzhi understand that his father was examining the dead to learn how each had perished.

Lin Zhennan put the heart back in its place and wrapped the corpse in oilcloth, then tossed it in a corner and washed the blood from his hands. After returning to the bedchamber with his wife and son, he said, “The enemy is an expert from the Qingcheng School. My dear, what do you say we should do?”

Lin Pingzhi said furiously, “This matter arose because of me. I shall go out again tomorrow and challenge him to a fight to the death. If I cannot prevail and am slain by him, then so be it.”

Lin Zhennan shook his head. “This person can shatter a heart into eight or nine pieces with a single palm strike, yet leave no visible mark on the body. His martial prowess is so formidable that he ranks among the elite within the Qingcheng School. If he wished to kill you, he would have done so long ago. I suspect our enemy harbours vicious intentions and would not be satisfied with a quick end to the three of us.”

Lin Pingzhi asked, “What does he intend?”

Lin Zhennan replied, “This cur is a cat toying with a mouse. He means to torment us to his heart’s content, to break our spirits with terror until we perish of fear itself. Only then will he be satisfied.”

Lin Pingzhi said angrily, “Hmph, this cur treats the Fuwei Armed Escort⁵ as nothing!”

Lin Zhennan said, “He treats the Fuwei Armed Escort with utter contempt indeed.”

Lin Pingzhi said, “Perhaps he fears Father’s seventy-two forms of the Evil-Warding Swordplay.⁶ Otherwise, why does he not dare engage in open combat, striking instead only when people are unprepared, attacking them from the shadows?”

Lin Zhennan shook his head and said, “Pinger, your father’s Evil-Warding Swordplay is enough to deal with common bandits, but this person’s Heart-Crushing Palm mastery far surpasses mine. I… I have never admitted inferiority to anyone, yet when I beheld Captain Huo’s heart… ah!”

Seeing his father’s dejected expression, so unlike his usual demeanour, Lin Pingzhi dared say no more.

Madam Lin said, “Since the enemy is so formidable, a true man knows when to yield and when to stand firm. Let us avoid him for now.”

Lin Zhennan nodded and said, “That is what I was thinking.”

Madam Lin continued, “Let us depart for Luoyang⁷ this very night. Since we now know who the enemy is, a junzi’s⁸ revenge can wait ten years.”

Lin Zhennan said, “Indeed! Your father has friends throughout the realm and will surely be able to give us a plan. Pack up some valuables and we leave at once.”

Lin Pingzhi said, “After we’re gone, there’s no one to look after all the people we leave behind in the Armed Escort. What becomes of them?”

Lin Zhennan said, “The enemy has no grievance with them. Once we depart, the rest of the Armed Escort will be safe.”

Lin Pingzhi thought, Father’s words ring true. The enemy has killed so many in the Armed Escort, but I alone am the reason. Once I leave, the enemy will certainly not trouble these uninvolved escort guards and scouts.

He returned to his own room to pack. Thinking the enemy might burn the Armed Escort to ashes, he looked at each article of clothing and treasured possession. He could not bear to part with this, nor could he leave that behind. Yet after amassing two large bundles, he still felt he was leaving too much behind.

He picked up a jade horse from the desk with his left hand, and with his right rolled up a leopard skin, stripped from a leopard he had killed with his own hands. With the bundles on his back, he went to his parents’ room.

Madam Lin could not help but burst into laughter at the sight, saying, “We’re fleeing for our lives, not relocating the household. Why bring all this junk?”

Lin Zhennan sighed and shook his head as he thought, We might be a martial family, but our son has been raised in comfort and privilege. Save for his martial arts training, he’s no different from any spoiled young master of a wealthy family. Confronted with sudden grave peril today and forced to respond in haste, he can’t be blamed for this.

Tender affection welled within him and he said, “Your maternal grandfather’s household lacks for nothing. No need to bring so many things. We need only to take ample gold and silver, along with some valuable jewellery. From here to Jiangxi,⁹ Hunan,¹⁰ and Hubei¹¹ we have branch offices. Do we need to fear begging for food on the way? The lighter our packs, the better. Every ounce lighter on the body means an ounce more agility in combat.”

Lin Pingzhi set down his bundles helplessly.

Madam Lin asked, “Shall we ride out through the main gate openly, or slip out through the back gate in stealth?”

Lin Zhennan seated himself in the great armchair, closed his eyes, and puffed vigorously on his pipe. After a long while, he opened his eyes and said, “Pinger, inform everyone in the Armed Escort to gather their belongings and depart together at daybreak. Have the bookkeeper distribute silver to everyone. Once this plague has passed, all may return.”

“Yes!” Lin Pingzhi replied. He found it strange that his father had suddenly changed his mind again.

Madam Lin asked, “You mean for everyone to scatter at once? Who will watch over the Armed Escort?”

Lin Zhennan said, “There is no need to. Who would dare enter this haunted house? Besides, once the three of us leave, won’t the others leave as well?”

Lin Pingzhi left the room to spread the word, and the entire Armed Escort fell into immediate chaos.

Lin Zhennan waited until his son had gone before saying, “My dear, my son and I shall change into scout’s clothing while you disguise yourself as a maidservant. At daybreak, when over a hundred people scatter in all directions, no matter how formidable the enemy’s martial abilities, they number only one or two. Whom will they pursue?”

Madam Lin clapped her hands in approval. “An excellent stratagem!”

She went to fetch two sets of filthy scout’s garments. When Lin Pingzhi returned, she had father and son change into them. She put on blue cotton clothing and wrapped her head in a blue floral scarf. Apart from her complexion being somewhat too fair, she looked exactly like a rough maidservant. Lin Pingzhi found the stench of the clothes unbearable and was most unwilling to wear them, yet he had no choice.

At dawn, Lin Zhennan ordered the main gate opened and addressed the assembled crowd, “My fortune has turned ill this year, and plague-spirits infest the Armed Escort. Everyone must take refuge for a time. Brothers, if you still wish to remain in the escort business, please proceed to Hangzhou¹² Prefecture or Nanchang¹³ Prefecture and present yourselves at our Zhejiang¹⁴ or Jiangxi branches. Captain Liu and Captain Yi will not treat you poorly. Let us be off!”

Thereupon over a hundred people mounted their horses in the courtyard and surged out through the main gate.

Lin Zhennan locked the main gate. With a shout, a dozen riders charged across the bloody line. With strength in numbers, everyone’s fear had diminished considerably. All felt that the sooner they left the Armed Escort, the safer they would be. Hooves thundered as they galloped toward the north gate. Most had no particular plan and simply followed when they saw others head north.

At a street corner, Lin Zhennan made a signal for his wife and son to stay behind. He said in a low voice, “Let them go north. We head south.”

Madam Lin asked, “We’re going to Luoyang. Why south?”

Lin Zhennan said, “The enemy expects us to go to Luoyang and will surely lie in wait outside the north gate. We’ll go south instead and then make a great circle northward, leaving the curs to intercept empty air.”

Lin Pingzhi said, “Father!”

Lin Zhennan asked, “What is it?”

Lin Pingzhi replied, “I still wish to go out the north gate. This cur has killed so many of ours. If I don’t fight him to the death, how can I swallow this bitter outrage?”

Madam Lin said, “This great enmity must certainly be avenged, but with your meagre skills, can you withstand their Heart-Crushing Palm?”

Lin Pingzhi was filled with resentment, saying, “At worst, I’ll end up like Captain Huo, with my heart shattered by a palm strike. So be it.”

Lin Zhennan’s face turned ashen. “If three generations of the Lin Clan indulged in such reckless bravado, the Fuwei Armed Escort would have collapsed long ago without needing anyone to challenge us.”

Lin Pingzhi dared say no more and followed his parents as they headed south. After leaving the city, they turned southwest, crossed the Min River,¹⁵ and arrived at Nanyu.¹⁶

Footnotes

1. 林平之 — Lín Píngzhī. His name meaning “Lin Level-minded” or “Lin Fair and just”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 林震南 — Lín Zhènnán. His name meaning “Lin Quells the South.” See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 青城派 — qīngchéngpài. Martial arts school based on Daoist teachings. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 摧心掌 — Cuīxīn Zhǎng. Literally heart-shattering palm. Qingcheng School secret art. Those struck by this palm technique die with their hearts shattered into eight or nine pieces. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 福威镖局 — Fúwēi Biāo Jú. Fuwei is literally prosperity and might. Armed escort was a security company that guarded valuable goods and people in ancient China. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 辟邪剑法 — Bìxié jiàn fǎ. Literally evil-warding swordplay. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 洛阳 — Luòyáng. City in Henan Province, historically one of the four great ancient capitals of China. See Wikipedia. ↩

8. 君子 — jūnzǐ. Literally noble man. Confucian ideal of the morally cultivated man. Often mistakenly translated as “gentleman”. See Wikipedia. ↩

9. 江西 — Jiāngxī. Province in Southeast China. See Wikipedia. ↩

10. 湖南 — Húnán. Province in Central China. See Wikipedia. ↩

11. 湖北 — Húběi. Province in Central China. See Wikipedia. ↩

12. 杭州 — Hángzhōu. City in Zhejiang Province, capital of Zhejiang. See Wikipedia. ↩

13. 南昌 — Nánchāng. City in Jiangxi Province, capital of Jiangxi. See Wikipedia. ↩

14. 浙江 — Zhèjiāng. Province on the east coast of China. See Wikipedia. ↩

15. 闽江 — Mǐnjiāng. Min River, the largest river in Fujian Province, flowing through Fuzhou. See Wikipedia. ↩

16. 南屿 — Nányǔ. Town in Fujian Province, located southwest of Fuzhou. ↩