Laughing in the Wind Chapter 1 – Part 8

They rode hard without pause for the better part of the day, resting at a small roadside shop only past midday for some refreshment.

Lin Zhennan bade the shopkeeper prepare whatever dishes were to hand, and quickly. The man agreed and left. Yet after a long time, there was not a stir. Anxious to continue their journey, Lin Zhennan called out, “Shopkeeper, make haste!”

He repeated himself twice, but no one answered. Madam Lin joined in, “Shopkeeper, shopkeeper…”

There was still no response.

Madam Lin leapt to her feet, tore open her bundle, drew her golden dao, gripped it reversed in her hand, and rushed into the back room. The shopkeeper lay on the floor, while a woman, his wife from her looks, was slumped across the threshold. Madam Lin checked the man’s breath and found none, though his lips were still warm when her fingers brushed them.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhennan and his son had also drawn their jian and circled the shop. The small establishment stood alone, built against the mountainside. Nearby was a pine forest, and there were no neighbouring households. The three stood before the shop, sweeping their gazes in all directions, but saw nothing amiss.

Lin Zhennan held his jian horizontally before him and spoke in a ringing voice, “Friends of the Qingcheng School, Lin awaits death here. So please show yourselves!”

He called several times, but only echoes from the mountain valley answered him, “Show yourselves! Show yourselves!”

The lingering sound faded and silence returned. Nevertheless, they knew their mortal enemy lurked nearby, that this place had been chosen for the kill. Their hearts quailed, yet the knowledge that the end was imminent made them steel themselves. Lin Pingzhi shouted, “I, Lin Pingzhi, stand here! Come and kill me! Fetid bandits, cur-spawn, I knew you dare not show yourselves! Sneaking about is exactly what third-rate scum in the jianghu would do!”

Suddenly, a clear, ringing laughter sounded from within the pine forest. A blur of movement, and a figure stood before Lin Pingzhi. He had no time for a closer look, thrusting his jian in the move Straight Through to the Yellow Dragon,¹ aiming straight for the man’s chest. The man sidestepped to evade. Lin Pingzhi swept his jian horizontally. The man sneered and circled to Lin Pingzhi’s left. Lin Pingzhi’s left hand struck with a palm as he twisted his jian for another thrust.

Lin Zhennan and Madam Lin raised their weapons and were about to rush forth. However, seeing their son execute several moves in succession in an orderly and composed manner, unfazed despite the first confrontation with a formidable enemy, they took two paces back. They observed the enemy in black robes with a jian slung at his waist. He had a long face and appeared about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, his expression one of utter contempt.

Having pent up his fury for so long, Lin Pingzhi unleashed the Evil-Warding Swordplay, slashing sideways and thrusting straight, reckless and all-out without a care for his own life. The man’s hands remained bare and he merely dodged without counterattacking. After Lin Pingzhi had thrust over twenty moves, the man finally sneered, “The Evil-Warding Swordplay is nothing spectacular!”

With a sharp flick of his finger, Lin Pingzhi felt acute pain in his tiger’s mouth² and his jian clattered to the ground. The man kicked up, sending Lin Pingzhi tumbling head over heels several times.

Lin Zhennan and his wife stood shoulder to shoulder and shielded their son. Lin Zhennan asked, “May I know your esteemed name? Do you hail from the Qingcheng School?”

The man sneered. “With the Fuwei Armed Escort’s paltry skills, you’re not worthy to ask my name. However, since I’ve come for vengeance today, I must let you know: indeed, your grandsire³ is from the Qingcheng School.”

Lin Zhennan pointed his jian tip to the ground and placed his left hand on the back of his right, saying, “I have the utmost respect for Abbot Yu of Pine Wind Temple. Every year I dispatch escort captains to Qingcheng, never neglecting proper etiquette. This year, Abbot Yu even sent four disciples to Fuzhou. I wonder in what way we have offended you?”

The young man looked up at the sky and laughed mirthlessly. After a long pause, he finally said, “Indeed, my shifu dispatched four disciples to Fuzhou. I am one of them.”

Lin Zhennan said, “Why, that’s excellent. May I know your esteemed name?”

The young man seemed to consider the question below him, snorting again before he said, “My surname is Yu. My name is Renhao.”⁴

Lin Zhennan nodded and said, “‘Heroes and Champions,⁵ the Four Elites of Qingcheng’. So you are one of Pine Wind Temple’s top four disciples. No wonder your mastery of the Heart-Crushing Palm is so profound. Killing without leaving a trace. Impressive! Impressive! Hero Yu travelled such a great distance to visit, yet I failed to give a proper welcome. A grave discourtesy.”

Yu Renhao said coldly, “That Heart-Crushing Palm? Heh heh… You failed to welcome me, but your highly skilled, worthy son certainly did. He even killed my shifu’s beloved son. That can hardly be considered discourteous.”

Hearing this, a chill ran down Lin Zhennan’s spine. He had thought that if his son’s victim were an ordinary Qingcheng disciple, he might still be able to call upon influential figures in the wulin to mediate, offering apologies and making amends. There might still have been room for compromise. But this man turned out to be the biological son of Abbot Yu Canghai,⁶ of Pine Wind Temple. Apart from a fight to the death, there was no other way out. He swung his jian and threw back his head for a hearty laugh, then said, “How absurd. Young Hero Yu jests!”

Yu Renhao rolled his eyes and said haughtily, “Where is the jest?”

Lin Zhennan said, “I have long admired Abbot Yu’s divine martial abilities and strict household discipline. Everyone in the jianghu respects him. Yet the man my unworthy son killed by mistake was a scoundrel who molested a respectable maiden in a tavern. That my son was able to kill him meant his martial prowess was obviously mediocre. How could such a person be Abbot Yu’s son? Are you not jesting, Young Hero Yu?”

Yu Renhao’s face darkened. For a moment, he had no retort. Suddenly, a voice from within the pine forest spoke, “As the saying goes, ‘two fists are no match for four hands’. Young Escort Chief Lin led twenty-four escort captains of the Fuwei Armed Escort in that small wineshop to ambush my Yu shidi…”

As he spoke, he emerged. The man had a small head and features, waving a folding fan in his hand. He continued, “Had it been a fair fight, so be it. Even if the Fuwei Armed Escort outnumbered us, it would honestly have been useless as well. But Young Escort Chief Lin not only poisoned my Yu shidi’s wine, he also deployed seventeen types of poisoned hidden weapons. Heh heh, this turtle spawn was vicious indeed. We came with good intentions to pay our respects, never imagining anyone would launch such a treacherous surprise attack.”

Lin Zhennan said, “May I know your esteemed name?”

The man said, “I dare not presume. My humble name is Fang Renzhi.”⁷

Lin Pingzhi retrieved his jian and seethed on the side, waiting for his father to exchange the necessary formalities before leaping back into combat. Hearing Fang Renzhi spout such lies, he roared in fury, “Horseshit! I had no grievance with him, and had never even met him before, nor did I know he was from the Qingcheng School. Why would I harm him?”

Fang Renzhi wagged his head, saying, “Horseshit, horseshit! It stinks, it stinks! If you had no grievance against my Yu shidi, why then did you set an ambush with over thirty escort captains and scouts outside the small wineshop? My Yu shidi saw you molesting a respectable maiden, intervened to uphold justice, struck you down, taught you a lesson, and spared your life. Yet not only did you fail to show gratitude, why did you order those curs to gang up on my Yu shidi?”

Lin Pingzhi’s lungs almost burst with fury. He bellowed, “Turns out the Qingcheng School is full of shameless scoundrels who twist the truth!”

Fang Renzhi said with a grin, “Turtle spawn, you curse me!”

Lin Pingzhi demanded in anger, “So what if I curse you?”

Fang Renzhi nodded and said, “Curse away. It is of no consequence.”

Lin Pingzhi was stunned. The response was beyond his expectations. Suddenly, he heard a whoosh as someone lunged at him. Lin Pingzhi swept his left palm in haste to strike, but was still a fraction too slow. A heavy slap landed soundly across his right cheek. Stars burst before his eyes and he nearly fainted. Fang Renzhi delivered the slap with lightning speed and was back where he stood before Lin Pingzhi could blink. He rubbed his own right cheek, and said angrily, “Lad, how dare you strike me? It hurts, it hurts! Haha!”

Seeing her son humiliated, Madam Lin swung her dao and slashed at Fang Renzhi with the move Wildfire Burning Sky.⁸ Her attack was steady and powerful. Fang Renzhi dodged with a shift of his body and the dao swept down alongside his right arm, missing him by barely five inches. Startled, Fang Renzhi cursed, “Spirited wench!”

Not daring to underestimate her further, he drew his jian from his waist. When Madam Lin’s second slash came, he raised his jian to meet it.

Lin Zhennan raised his jian and said, “If the Qingcheng School wishes to exterminate Fuwei Armed Escort, it’s a simple matter. Yet right and wrong are judged in public within the wulin. Young Hero Yu, after you!”

Yu Renhao pressed his scabbard and his jian sprang free with a ring as he said, “Escort Chief Lin, after you.”

Lin Zhennan thought, I have long heard that the Qingcheng School’s Pine Wind Swordplay⁹ combines strength and agility, possessing both the vigour of pine and the lightness of wind. I must seize the initiative to have any hope of victory.

Without further courtesy, he pointed his jian tip down, then swept it horizontally in the move All Evils Retreat¹⁰ from the Evil-Warding Swordplay. Seeing the ferocity of the attack, Yu Renhao sidestepped to evade. Before Lin Zhennan’s first move had fully extended, he followed with his second move, Zhong Kui¹¹ Gouges Eyes,¹² thrusting his jian tip at his opponent’s eyes. Yu Renhao leapt backward. Lin Zhennan’s third thrust followed immediately. Yu Renhao raised his jian to block and both men’s arms shook from the resounding clash.

Lin Zhennan thought, Turns out the famed prowess of the Qingcheng School is nothing special. With this meagre skill, how could you possibly deliver that devastating Heart-Crushing Palm? Impossible. Powerful reinforcements are most likely waiting in reserve.

The thought sent a chill through him. Yu Renhao’s jian circled and shot forward in a flurry of silver flickers as his jian tip stabbed at seven different positions. Lin Zhennan’s counters came equally swiftly as he pressed his fierce attack. The two men advanced and retreated in rapid succession. After over twenty exchanges, neither could gain the upper hand.

Meanwhile, Madam Lin encountered repeated close shaves in her duel with Fang Renzhi. Her golden dao was unable to keep up with her opponent’s swift swordplay.

Seeing his mother at a grave disadvantage, Lin Pingzhi raised his jian and rushed at Fang Renzhi, bringing it down toward the latter’s head. Fang Renzhi sidestepped to dodge. Lin Pingzhi, in a madman-like frenzy, lunged again. Suddenly something caught his foot and he stumbled, crashing to the ground. A voice said, “Lie down!”

A heavy foot stomped on him and he felt something sharp pressed against his back. All he could see was the dusty ground, but he heard his mother shriek, “Spare him! Spare him!”

Then he heard Fang Renzhi shout, “You lie down too.”

Whilst Lin Pingzhi and his mother were both engaging Fang Renzhi, someone had crept up from behind, swept out a foot to trip Lin Pingzhi, then drawn a dagger against his back. Madam Lin was already outmatched, and her panic and confusion made her bladework even more sloppy. Fang Renzhi’s elbow struck out, sending her tumbling. He rushed forward and sealed both their acupoints. The man who had tripped Lin Pingzhi was none other than Jia who had fought the two escort captains outside the small wineshop in Fuzhou.

Seeing his wife and son subdued by the enemy, Lin Zhennan grew alarmed. He launched a fierce flurry of attacks. Yu Renhao let out a long laugh and executed several moves to seize the initiative. Lin Zhennan’s heart lurched, thinking, Why is this person using my Evil-Warding Swordplay?

Yu Renhao laughed and said, “How is my Evil-Warding Swordplay?”

Lin Zhennan stammered, “You… you… how do you come to use the Evil-Warding…”

Fang Renzhi laughed and said, “What is so special about your Evil-Warding Swordplay? I know it too!”

His jian flashed, executing three moves in succession: All Evils Retreat, Zhong Kui Gouges Eyes, and Flying Swallow Through Willows¹³. All three were from the Evil-Warding Swordplay.

In that instant, Lin Zhennan seemed to behold the most terrifying sight in the world. He had never imagined his opponents could wield his family’s hereditary supreme art. In his bewildered dismay, his fighting spirit evaporated at once. Yu Renhao shouted, “Take this!”

The jian pierced Lin Zhennan’s right knee. His kneecap went numb and his right leg buckled. He leapt up immediately, but Yu Renhao’s jian rose and stopped at his chest. Jia Renda¹⁴ cheered loudly, “Yu shidi, excellent use of Shooting Star Chases the Moon!”¹⁵

This move was also from the Evil-Warding Swordplay.

Lin Zhennan gave a long sigh and cast down his jian, saying, “You… you… wield the Evil-Warding Swordplay… give us a quick end!”

His back went numb. Fang Renzhi had struck his acupoint with the jian pommel. He heard Fang say, “Hmph! Nothing in this world comes that easy! By my ancestors! You Lin turtle spawn, turtle whore, and turtle whelp. You three will come with me to meet my shifu.”

Jia Renda seized Lin Pingzhi by the back with one hand and hauled him up, then struck two heavy slaps across the face. He cursed, “You little wretch! Starting today, your grandsire will beat you eighteen times daily, all the way to Mount Qingcheng in Sichuan. I’ll slap you till that huadan¹⁶ face of yours becomes a painted opera mask!”

Lin Pingzhi spat at him in a fit of wild rage. The two were barely a foot apart and Jia Renda could not dodge in time. The spittle splattered right on his nose. Jia Renda was furious, hurling him violently to the ground and raised a foot to stomp on his back. Fang Renzhi laughed and said, “Enough, enough! If you kick him to death, how do we answer shifu? This boy is as delicate as a maiden. He can’t take your beating.”

Jia Renda was mediocre in martial arts and despicable in character. His shifu had always disliked him, and none of his fellow disciples thought much of him either. Hearing Fang Renzhi’s words, he dared kick no more. Instead, he spat repeatedly upon Lin Pingzhi to vent his anger.

Fang and Yu hauled the Lin family into the shop and threw them on the ground. Fang Renzhi said, “Let us eat a meal before we depart. Jia shidi, be so kind as to cook.”

Jia Renda replied, “Right.”

Yu Renhao said, “Fang shige, we must prevent these three from escaping. The old man’s skills are passable. You must devise a method.”

Fang Renzhi laughed and said, “Easy! After we eat, we shall sever the tendons in their hands, thread rope through the shoulder blades of these three turtles, and string them together like crabs. I guarantee they won’t escape.”

Lin Pingzhi cursed furiously, “Kill the three of us if you have any courage! Using such vile methods, that is the behaviour of the lowest scum!”

Fang Renzhi said with a grin, “Curse me once more, you little bastard, and I shall fetch some cow dung or dog shit to stuff in your mouth.”

The threat proved effective. Though rage nearly made Lin Pingzhi faint, he shut his mouth at once and dared not utter another curse.

Fang Renzhi laughed and said, “Yu shidi, shifu taught us these seventy-two forms of the Evil-Warding Swordplay, and we brothers executed them pretty well. Escort Chief Lin saw them and immediately lost his wits, his whole body went limp. Escort Chief Lin, I wager what you’re thinking right now is: how does the Qingcheng School know my Lin clan’s Evil-Warding Swordplay? Am I right?”

At that moment Lin Zhennan was indeed thinking, How does the Qingcheng School know my Lin clan’s Evil-Warding Swordplay?

Footnotes

1. 直捣黄龙 — Zhídǎo Huánglóng. Literally straight through to the yellow dragon. Sword technique from the Evil-Warding Swordplay. ↩

2. 虎口 — hǔkǒu. Literally tiger’s mouth. It is used in martial arts and traditional Chinese medicine to refer to the area between the thumb and index finger, also known as the purlicue. ↩

3. 老子 — lǎozi. Literally old master or father. Commonly used as a crude first-person pronoun by ruffians to assert dominance or superiority. ↩

4. 于人豪 — Yú Rénháo. His name meaning “Yu Hero Among Men” or “Yu Paragon of Mankind”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 英雄豪杰 — Yīngxióng Háojié. Literally heroes and champions. Collective name of Yu Canghai’s four foremost disciples, whose given names (Renying, Renxiong, Renhao, Renjie) together spell out the phrase. ↩

6. 余沧海 — Yú Cānghǎi. His name meaning “Yu Vast Sea”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 方人智 — Fāng Rénzhì. His name meaning “Fang Human Wisdom” or “Fang Worldly Wit”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 野火烧天 — Yěhuǒ Shāotiān. Literally wildfire burning sky. Blade technique from the Golden Dao Bladework. ↩

9. 松风剑法 — Sōngfēng Jiànfǎ. Literally pine wind swordplay. Sword technique of the Qingcheng School that combines strength and agility. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 群邪辟易 — Qúnxié Bìyì. Literally all evils retreat. Sword technique from the Evil-Warding Swordplay. ↩

11. 钟馗 — Zhōng Kuí. Deity in Chinese mythology known for vanquishing demons and evil spirits. See Wikipedia. ↩

12. 钟馗抉目 — Zhōng Kuí Jué Mù. Literally Zhong Kui gouges eyes. Sword technique from the Evil-Warding Swordplay. ↩

13. 飞燕穿柳 — Fēiyàn Chuān Liǔ. Literally flying swallow through willows. Sword technique from the Evil-Warding Swordplay. ↩

14. 贾人达 — Jiǎ Réndá. His name meaning “Jia Human Attainment” or “Jia Worldly Success”. ↩

15. 流星赶月 — Liúxīng Gǎn Yuè. Literally shooting star chases the moon. Sword technique from the Evil-Warding Swordplay. ↩

16. 花旦 — huā dàn. Lively, vivacious young female role in Chinese opera, noted for delicate beauty. See Wikipedia. ↩