The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 2 – Part 3

Something flashed before Wanyan Honglie’s eyes, and there was a Daoist striding up the stairs with an enormous bronze vat held up on one hand. When he looked properly, his heart thumped wildly with fright. The Daoist was none other than Qiu Chuji, the Changchunzi.¹

Wanyan Honglie had been sent by his Imperial Father² on a mission to the Song court. His task was to cultivate Song officials in secret, so that when the day of invasion came, they would serve as inside men. The Song envoy Wang Daoqian,³ who had accompanied him south from the Central Capital, was a man who fawned on power and coveted heavy bribes. He had already secretly thrown in his lot with the Jin. In Lin’an he had been running errands and making introductions on Wanyan Honglie’s behalf, until, without warning, Wang Daoqian was killed by a Daoist, his heart and severed head gone to who knew where. Wanyan Honglie had been shaken. Terrified that the Daoist had uncovered his conspiracy, he had gathered his personal retainers and, led by the constables of the Lin’an prefecture, set out in person to hunt the assassin down. The pursuit led them to Niu Family Village,⁴ where he ran into Qiu Chuji. The Daoist’s martial prowess was formidable. Before Wanyan Honglie could so much as lift a hand, Qiu Chuji struck him in the shoulder with a throwing dart.⁵ The constables and retainers he had brought with him were killed to the last man. If Wanyan Honglie had not slipped away early in the melee, and if Bao Xiruo⁶ had not rescued him besides, a Jin prince would have ended his days in that small village.

Wanyan Honglie steadied himself. The Daoist’s gaze merely swept across his face before settling, with rapt attention, on Jiaomu and the seven men beside him. He had plainly not recognised him. Wanyan Honglie reasoned that on that day he had barely leaned out from the crowd before a feathered dart sent him sprawling. The Daoist could not have seen his face clearly. The thought eased him somewhat. Then he looked again at the great bronze vat the man was holding up, and received a far greater shock.

The bronze vat was a common sight in temples, used for burning paper money and written prayers. It was over four feet in diameter and must have weighed a good two hundred jin⁷ on its own. The fragrance of wine spilling from it told that it was filled with fine liquor, adding the weight of the liquid to the bronze. Yet Qiu Chuji held it as though it cost him no particular effort. With every step he took the floorboards creaked and cracked. Downstairs all was confusion by now. The proprietor, the serving lads, the cooks, the odd-job men and the drinkers were all fleeing into the street, afraid the floor would give way under him and come crashing down to kill someone.

The monk Jiaomu said coldly, “Brother Daoist, you honour us with your visit, but why have you brought along our humble temple’s vat for burning incense and paper? Let me introduce you to the Seven Xias of Jiangnan!”⁸

Qiu Chuji raised his left hand in salute. “When I called at your temple just now, the brothers there told me that the Great Master had invited me to meet him at the Drunken Immortal Wineshop.⁹ I reckoned the Great Master must have invited some good friends along, and so he has. I have long heard of the renown of the Seven Xias of Jiangnan. To meet you today fulfils the wish of a lifetime.”

Jiaomu said to the seven, “This is Daoist Elder Qiu of the Quanzhen Order,¹⁰ the Changchunzi, whose name you have all long revered.” He turned back to Qiu Chuji. “And this is the head of the Seven Xias, Ke Zhen’e the Flying Bat, Ke daxia.”¹¹ He held out his palm towards the blind man, then introduced the rest in turn.

Wanyan Honglie, close by, listened with care, committing each name to memory. The second was that filthy, penniless scholar who had stolen his silver, the Swift-Handed Scholar, Zhu Cong.¹² The squat horseman who had come to the wineshop first was the Divine Horse King, Han Baoju,¹³ third in seniority. The countryman with the pole-load of firewood was fourth, the Southern Woodcutter, Nan Xiren.¹⁴ Fifth was the great, broad-built fellow with a butcher’s bearing, the Laughing Buddha, Zhang Asheng.¹⁵ The young man dressed as a petty merchant was surnamed Quan, given name Jinfa,¹⁶ and his nickname was the Hidden Xia of the Busy City.¹⁷ The fisher girl was the Yue Maiden Swordswoman, Han Xiaoying,¹⁸ youngest of the Seven Xias.

As Jiaomu made the introductions, Qiu Chuji nodded to each in turn, his right hand holding up the bronze vat all the while, as though it did not tire him in the least.

Down below, seeing that nothing was happening for the moment, a few bold souls crept up to gawk.

Ke Zhen’e said, “Folk call us seven brothers the Seven Eccentrics of Jiangnan. We are freaks, nothing more, and ‘Seven Xias’ is more than we dare claim. We brothers have long revered the name of the Seven Zis of Quanzhen,¹⁹ and having always heard how chivalrous the Changchunzi is, we admire him all the more. Great Master Jiaomu here is the most warm-hearted and generous of men. I don’t know how he can have offended you unawares, Daoist Elder. If you think well enough of us seven, let us be your peacemakers. One of you is a monk and the other a Daoist, and you pray to different gods, but you have both left the household life, and you are both of the same wulin.²⁰ How would it be if we all put the past behind us and drank a cup together?”

Qiu Chuji said, “This humble Daoist and Great Master Jiaomu have never met, and there is no grudge between us. As long as he hands over two people, I will come to Fahua Chan Monastery another day bearing rods on my back to beg his pardon.”²¹

“What two persons?” Ke Zhen’e asked.

“Two friends of mine,” Qiu Chuji said, “were wronged by the authorities and by Jin soldiers, and died unjust and tragic deaths. The widows they left behind have no one to depend on. Tell me, Ke daxia, ought I to take an interest, or not?”

At this, the cup of wine in Wanyan Honglie’s hand shook, and some of the wine slopped out.

Ke Zhen’e said, “Never mind the widows of your friends, Daoist Elder. Even for complete strangers, once we knew of it, we should be bound to look after them as best we could. That is a duty no one may refuse.”

Qiu Chuji said loudly, “Just so! That is why I want Great Master Jiaomu to hand over these two poor, unfortunate women! He is a monk, so why has he taken two widows into his temple, and why will he not give them up? You seven are chivalrous men. Judge the rights of this for yourselves!”

At these words not only Jiaomu and the Seven Eccentrics of Jiangnan were taken aback. Wanyan Honglie, looking on, was privately astonished too. He thought, Can it be that he doesn’t mean the wives of Yang and Guo, but somebody else?

Jiaomu’s face had always been sallow. Now anger drove the yellow to black. For a moment he could not find his words. “You… you… talk nonsense… nonsense…”

Qiu Chuji was furious. “You are a man of name in the wulin, and you dare do such wickedness!” With a thrust of his right hand, he sent the bronze vat flying towards Jiaomu, several hundred jin of metal and wine alike.

Jiaomu leapt aside.

The men who had crept upstairs to watch were scared out of their wits. They shoved and stumbled, tumbling down the stairs one after another.

The Laughing Buddha, Zhang Asheng, reckoned that heavy as the vat was, he could certainly catch it. He sprang forward a step, circulated his neili²² into both arms and shouted, “Good!” As the vat came at him he summoned his strength into both arms and caught it by the bottom, the muscles of his shoulders and back bunching up, and held it. Then he straightened his arms and lifted the bronze vat high above his head. But he had pushed down too hard with his feet. With a loud crack his left foot went through the floorboards, and downstairs the crowd started shouting again. Zhang Asheng took two steps forward, arms slightly bent, and with a move called Push Open the Window, Send Off the Moon,²³ hurled the vat back at Qiu Chuji.

Qiu Chuji caught it with his right hand and laughed. “The Seven Eccentrics of Jiangnan live up to their name!” His expression darkened at once. He turned on Jiaomu. “What has become of those two women? You’ve taken two women and hidden them in your temple by force. What are you up to? You thieving monk, if you have touched a single hair of theirs, I’ll break your bones and scatter your ashes, and burn your Fahua Monastery to the ground!”

Zhu Cong fanned himself and wagged his head. “Great Master Jiaomu is a monk of high virtue. How could he do anything so shameful? The Daoist Elder must have been misled by some rogue’s lies. Preposterous in the extreme, and by no means to be believed.”

“I saw it with my own eyes,” Qiu Chuji said angrily. “How could it be false?”

The Seven Eccentrics of Jiangnan were all taken aback.

Jiaomu said, “Even if you have come to Jiangnan to make your name and show your might, why must you ruin my good name… You… you… go and ask around Jiaxing Prefecture.²⁴ Is Jiaomu the monk the kind of man to do such wickedness?”

Qiu Chuji gave a cold laugh. “Well, well. You’ve called in helpers and mean to win by weight of numbers. I’ve taken this matter in hand, and I certainly won’t let you off. Hiding respectable women in a pure Buddhist house is bad enough, and the husbands of these two women were the sons of loyal men, cruelly done to death.”

Ke Zhen’e said, “The Daoist Elder says Great Master Jiaomu has hidden those two women, and the Great Master says he has not. Let us all go to Fahua Monastery and see for ourselves. Right and wrong will become clear at once. My eyes may be blind, but other men’s eyes are not.”

The other six echoed him in unison.

Qiu Chuji said coldly, “Search the temple? I have searched it inside and out. I saw that woman walk in with my own eyes, and yet she was gone. With no other course left to me, I can only demand that the monk hand them over.”

“Then those two women can’t be human,” said Zhu Cong.

Qiu Chuji stared. “What?”

Zhu Cong said, deadpan, “They are fairies. Either they know how to make themselves invisible, or they’ve escaped by sinking into the earth!”

The other six could not quite suppress their smiles.

Qiu Chuji said angrily, “Very well. So you’re making fun of me. The Seven Eccentrics of Jiangnan have made up their minds to side with the monk today, is that it?”

Ke Zhen’e said sternly, “Our skills are meagre. To a master of the Quanzhen Order, they are hardly worth a laugh. But we seven brothers have a small name in Jiangnan. Those who know us will say this much: the Seven Eccentrics of Jiangnan may be mad, but they are not the kind who cling to life for fear of death. We do not bully others. Nor will we let others bully us.”

“The Seven Xias of Jiangnan have a good name. I have long been aware of it,” Qiu Chuji said. “This matter does not concern you. Do not wade into troubled water. Let me settle things with the monk on my own. And now I must beg to take my leave. Monk, come with me.” He reached out with his left hand to seize Jiaomu’s wrist.

Jiaomu swept his wrist sideways and deflected the grip.

The Divine Horse King, Han Baoju, saw the two of them come to blows. “Daoist,” he bellowed, “do you deal in reason or not?”

“What of it, Third Master Han?” said Qiu Chuji.

“We trust Great Master Jiaomu. If he says no, then it’s no. He is as brave a man as any in the wulin, true as iron. Would a man like that tell lies to deceive anyone?”

“He won’t lie, so I suppose Qiu would lie for no reason to wrong him?” said Qiu Chuji. “I saw that woman go into his temple with my own eyes. If I’ve mistaken her, I’ll dig out these peepers of mine and give them to you. I’m after this monk, and that’s settled. And you seven are set on meddling, is that it?”

The Seven Eccentrics of Jiangnan answered as one, “That’s right.”

Footnotes

1. 丘处机 — Qiū Chǔjī. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 父皇 — fùhuáng. Literally father emperor. A prince’s formal reference to his father the sovereign. ↩

3. 王道乾 — Wáng Dàoqián. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 牛家村 — Niújiā Cūn. Literally Niu Family Village. A village outside Lin’an. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 甩手箭 — shuǎishǒujiàn. Literally flung-hand arrow. A small dart thrown with a flick of the hand. ↩

6. 包惜弱 — Bāo Xīruò. Her name meaning “cherishing the weak”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 斤 — jīn. A unit of weight, about 590 grams in the Song dynasty. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 江南七侠 — Jiāngnán Qī Xiá. Literally seven xia of Jiangnan. ↩

9. 醉仙楼 — Zuìxiān Lóu. The Drunken Immortal Wineshop, on the shore of South Lake in Jiaxing. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 全真教 — Quánzhēn Jiào. Literally complete truth order. Daoist martial-monastic order founded by Wang Chongyang, one of the most influential orthodox factions. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 柯镇恶 — Kē Zhèn’è. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 朱聪 — Zhū Cōng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 韩宝驹 — Hán Bǎojū. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 南希仁 — Nán Xīrén. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 张阿生 — Zhāng Āshēng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 全金发 — Quán Jīnfā. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 闹市侠隐 — Nàoshì Xiáyǐn. Literally the xia hidden in the busy market. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

18. 韩小莹 — Hán Xiǎoyíng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

19. 全真七子 — Quánzhēn Qīzǐ. Literally the seven zi of Quanzhen, zi being an honorific for a master. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

20. 武林 — wǔlín. Literally martial forest. Those who actually practise, teach or study martial arts. The wulin sits inside the jianghu and is narrower than it: every member of the wulin belongs to the jianghu, but a pedlar or physician of the jianghu who never trained is no part of the wulin. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

21. 法华寺 — Fǎhuá Sì. Literally Dharma Blossom Monastery. A Buddhist monastery in Jiaxing. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

22. 内力 — nèilì. Literally internal force. The kinetic manifestation of cultivated qi. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

23. 推窗送月 — Tuīchuāng Sòng Yuè. Literally pushing open the window to send off the moon. A two-armed pushing throw. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

24. 嘉兴府 — Jiāxīng fǔ. Administrative division in Southern Song. Modern day Jiaxing and Haining in Zhejiang province. See Wikipedia. ↩