Mandarin Duck Blades
Chapter 5

Translation by Jenxi Seow.

The more she listened, the more she pitied the blind man. She sat up, took a small silver ingot from her bundle, and stepped out of the door, only to see the scholar gesticulating as he argued with the inn attendant. Though he preferred prudent self-preservation, it appeared he could not help meddling in others’ affairs.

He said, “Brother attendant, respecting our elders and helping the poor are virtues. If he’s short of two coins, just cover it for him and be done with it.”

The inn attendant retorted, “You make it sound so nice, young gentleman.¹相公 – xiànggōng. A respectful term for a scholar or a learned man. Since you’re so kind, why don’t you cover it for him then?”

“You’re wrong once again,” the scholar replied, “I’m a traveller with limited funds, and this esteemed inn’s prices are exorbitant. If I were to spend carelessly, I’d soon find myself in the same predicament as Confucius when he was besieged in Chen and Cai.²This refers to a historical event where Confucius and his disciples were besieged between the states of Chen and Cai, enduring great hardship. The story is used metaphorically to describe a situation of extreme difficulty or deprivation. Thus, it would be better for you to deduct two coins from the total.”

Xiao Zhonghui³萧中慧 – Xiāo Zhōnghuì. chuckled and called out, “Hey, brother attendant, I’ll cover the cost. Catch!”

The inn attendant looked up to see a glint as a piece of silver shot towards him. He reached out hastily to catch it. His hands, well-practiced in receiving silver, rarely missed. However, this was the first time in his life he encountered silver flying towards him, and he was unaccustomed to it. The piece of silver struck his chest with a thud. Although it was just silver, it was painful when it hit him, and he could not help but let out a yelp.

The scholar said, “Look, even a young lady like her is so kind at heart. You’re a disgrace to men, brother attendant. You fall far short.”

Xiao Zhonghui glanced at him and saw his handsome face with beautiful eyes and striking arched eyebrows. His features radiated a heroic aura that made her heart skip a beat.

She lowered her head hastily.

The old blind man said, “Thank you for your kindness, sir. You paid for my room and meals. I am truly grateful. May I have the esteemed name of my benefactor? I will keep it in mind and repay you in the future.”

The scholar said, “My humble name is Yuan Guannan.⁴袁冠南 – Yuán Guānnán. This is a trivial matter. Why even bother mentioning it? What is your esteemed name, elderly sir?”

The blind man said, “My lowly name is Zhuo Tianxiong.”⁵卓天雄 – Zhuó Tiānxióng.

Xiao Zhonghui found it amusing and thought, “This old blind man is blind at heart too. I was the one who gave the silver, yet he thanks someone else.”

When she suddenly heard the name Zhuo Tianxiong, her heart jolted. “I seem to have heard of this name. Father and First Mother mentioned this name in whispers the other day. I happened to pass by First Mother’s door, and they stopped talking the moment they saw me. But maybe it’s just a common name, or even more likely, different characters with the same pronunciation. Why would my father know this blind old man?”

Yuan Guannan accompanied Zhuo Tianxiong as they followed the inn attendant to the inner courtyard. When they passed by Xiao Zhonghui, Yuan Guannan suddenly bowed deeply and said, “Miss, did you bring a lot of silver with you?”

Xiao Zhonghui was not expecting him to speak to her. She blushed and fumbled to curtsy in return. She managed to ask, “Why?”

Yuan Guannan said, “Seeing how generous you are, I wish to borrow a few taels for travel expenses!”

Xiao Zhonghui was even more surprised by his direct request to borrow money. She became even more embarrassed and flushed a deeper shade of red. She stood stunned, not knowing how to respond, and turned away. The scholar said, “Well, since you’re unwilling to lend, that’s fine too. I’ll try my luck with someone else!”

With that, he bowed again and returned to his room.

Xiao Zhonghui’s heart pounded, and she was struggled to calm herself down. Suddenly, the sound of weapons clashing and shouting erupted from the room once more.

The window burst open with a loud crash, and a burly man wielding a dao⁶刀 – dāo. A single-edge sword used for slashing and chopping. See Wikipedia. leapt out with an infant in his left arm. A dishevelled young woman followed after him as she brandished a dao and shouting, “Give me back my child! Where are you taking him?”

The two of them charged out of the room one after another. Seeing the young woman’s face filled with panic, Xiao Zhonghui could no longer suppress her anger.

“This villain has abducted her child,” she thought. “Such a vile deed cannot go unchallenged!”

She hurried back to her room to grab her twin daos and rushed out.

She heard the young woman berating in the distance, “Put the child down at once! It’s the dead of the night, you’re frightening him! You wretched fiend, you’ve terrified the child! I… I…”

Xiao Zhonghui hastened after the voice. However, both the villain and the young woman possessed remarkable qinggong⁷轻功 – qīnggōng. Lightness skill. The ability to move swiftly and lightly. Qing means light. Gong means skill. See Wikipedia. skills. She pursued them for over a mile before she saw the two locked in fierce combat with their daos.

The villain, disadvantaged with the child in his arm, swiftly placed the infant on a dark stone. He brandished his dao and attacked.

Xiao Zhonghui halted and stood observing the villain’s martial prowess. His formidable strength and ferocious dao technique forced the young woman to retreat. From the looks of it, she was on the brink of being struck down by his blade.

Xiao Zhonghui leapt forward with her daos raised and shouted, “Stop at once, villain!”

With a feint of the shorter blade in her right hand, she thrust the long blade in her left at the villain’s chest.

Seeing Xiao Zhongnui charging in, the young woman was momentarily stunned. Her concern for her child spurred her to rush over and pick him up. The villain raised his dao to block and demanded, “Who are you?”

Xiao Zhonghui gave a cold smile and said, “A maiden who fights for justice.”

She slashed with her blade. Apart from sparring with her father and seniors, her first real fight was against the Four Xias⁸侠 -Xiá. A person adept in martial arts and conducts in a chivalrous manner. of Taiyue,⁹太岳 – Tàiyuè. Taiyue is the ancient name of modern day Mount Tianzhu in Anqing, Anhui. See Wikipedia. and this battle with the villain is her second. His martial skills were far superior to the Four Xias. His moves were unpredictable, his single dao spinning and dancing while his left palm unleashed occasional powerful strikes.

Xiao Zhonghui shouted, “Such arrogance, you vile fiend!”

Her left blade struck in a flurry. Suddenly, she executed the Dividing Flowers Brushing Willows technique,¹⁰分花拂柳式 – Fēnhuā fúliǔ shì. Literally dividing flowers and brushing willows, implying swift and elegant sword movements to confuse or outmaneuver the opponent. her long dao spinning rapidly. The villain, startled, sidestepped to dodge.

Xiao Zhonghui cried out, “Fall!”

Her short blade cut across, finding purchase on the villain’s left leg. He bellowed in agony and fell to one knee, yet he defiantly raised his blade to strike back. Xiao Zhonghui’s twin daos descended in unison, forcing him to block with a horizontal blade. She swept her leg, knocking him to the ground, and stabbed at his right leg with her short blade.

Suddenly, there was a whistling soundand a blade struck from behind. Xiao Zhonghui, startled, retracted her blade in mid-strike to parry the blow. She executed the Turning Lion move¹¹狮子回首 – Shīzi huíshǒu. Literally lion turns its head, implying a quick and powerful turn to defend against an attack from behind. impeccably. The blades met with a resounding clash, sending a shower of sparks into the darkness.

Her shock deepened when she realised the assailant was none other than the young woman with the infant in an arm. The young woman’s initial blow was parried, but she swiftly followed with another strike.

Xiao Zhonghui recognised the technique Yaksha Probing the Sea,¹²夜叉探海 – Yèchā tànhǎi. Literally yaksha explores the sea, implying a fierce and aggressive move aiming to strike the opponent with little regard for personal safety. Yaksha is a mythical demon-like creature in Chinese and Indian mythology. See Wikipedia. a reckless manoeuvre intended to harm the opponent even if it meant endangering oneself. She blocked swiftly with her short blade and exclaimed, “Have you lost your mind, woman?”

The young woman retorted, “You’re the one who’s lost your mind!”

Her dao flashed at an angle and slid along Xiao Zhonghui’s long blade towards its hilt. Then, with deft precision, she used the momentum to guide it towards the latter’s fingers. Xiao Zhonghui was startled. The young woman lacked the villain’s strength but her swordsmanship was far more cunning.

The villain, having bandaged his leg wound, raised his blade to flank her. The two of them took turns attacking and parrying with relentless ferocity. Xiao Zhonghui cursed silently, “So these two set a trap to ensnare me.”

Although her swordsmanship was exquisite, she lacked the seasoned experience of actual combat. Flanked in the desolate midnight graveyard, with the possibility of more hidden foes, a twinge of fear crept into her heart.

As she fought, she cried out, “I have no quarrel with you, why set this cruel trap to harm me?”

The villain cursed, “I don’t even know you. You wretched wench slashed me for no reason.”

“What path do you walk, to wound without discerning right from wrong?” The young woman added. She asked the villain, “Brother Long, how fares your leg?”

Her voice brimmed with concern. The villain replied, “Damn it, it hurts terribly.”

Xiao Zhonghui asked in astonishment, “Aren’t you two out to harm me?”

The young woman replied, “What is it that you want, being so aggressive and overbearing because you think your skills are superior? I disagree. Such utter shamelessness.”

Xiao Zhonghui boiled with anger, her grip tightening on her weapons. “I saw you suffer at the hands of this villain, and came to lend a hand. Yet it turns out you’re just pretending a fight.”

The young woman said, “Who’s pretending to fight? It’s quite normal for husband and wife to quarrel. Why are you meddling?”

Xiao Zhonghui was shocked and stammered, “You… you’re a married couple?”

Xiao Zhonghui leapt backwards instantly, her mind whirling with this new information. The burly man said, “What’s the matter? A man and a woman living in the same room and having borne a child. Are we not husband and wife?”

Xiao Zhonghui asked in surprise, “The child is your son?”

The young woman replied, “He’s the father. I’m the mother. Is that a problem for you? He’s Lin Yulong.¹³林玉龙 – Lín Yùlóng I’m Ren Feiyan.¹⁴任飞燕 – Rèn Fēiyàn. What more do you want to know?”

As she spoke, she raised her blade in preparation to strike again.

Xiao Zhonghui said, “If you’re husband and wife, why do you fight and curse each other, and cross blades?”

Ren Feiyan sneered, “Haha, young maiden, you’ll understand when you marry. If husband and wife don’t fight, are they truly a couple? There’s a saying, ‘Fighting at the head of the bed, making up at the foot of the bed.’¹⁵床头打架床尾和 – chuáng tóu dǎjià chuáng wěi hé. A Chinese idiom that literally means fighting at the head of the bed and reconciling at the foot. It is used to illustrate that conficts between couples are common and temporary, and they will make up quickly. Have you ever seen a married couple that doesn’t quarrel?”

Xiao Zhonghui blurted, “My father and mother never quarrelled or fought.”

Clutching his wounded leg, Lin Yulong spat, “Damn it, what manner of husband and wife is that? Surely their path strays from virtue! Oof, ouch… ”

Hearing her husband’s groans of pain, Ren Feiyan set down her child hastily to check his wound, her concern genuine—proof that they were truly a loving couple. Lin Yulong continued cursing under his breath, “Damn it, if they don’t bicker or draw blades, what manner of husband and wife are they?”

Xiao Zhonghui paused and thought, “Hey, he’s slandering my parents!”

Fury rose in her chest and she was tempted to teach him a lesson again. However, she knew she could not prevail when outnumbered. Seeing the infant wailing incessantly on the stone, she turned to gather the babe and fled with swift steps.

Having bound her husband’s wound, Ren Feiyan turned to find their child gone. She exclaimed, “Where’s our son?”

Lin Yulong leapt to his feet with a cry and said, “That wretched wench took him!”

Ren Feiyan said, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Lin Yulong retorted, “You were the one holding him. Why did you lay him down?’

Ren Feiyan darted forward in rage and struck him soundly across the face and yelled, “I was tending to your wound! Fool!”

Lin Yulong retaliated with a punch and cursed, “You can’t even take care of our son. Who needs your aid?”

Ren Feiyan said, “Brute, go get our son back. We’ll settle this later.”

With that, she darted off in pursuit. Lin Yulong said, “Indeed, reclaiming our son is paramount. Wretched woman, you can’t even take care of your own child. What good are you for?”

He followed in pursuit.

Xiao Zhonghui hid herself behind a great tree, her hand pressed against the child’s mouth to stifle his cries. She was secretly amused watching Lin and Ren bicker as they gave chase.

Suddenly, she felt a warmth on her body and looked down to find her clothes soaked. The child had relieved himself. She was quite vexed and patted the child gently as she chided, “You should have said so if you needed to take a piss!”

The child was less than a year old, how could he speak? Her gentle pat made him wail loudly.

Xiao Zhonghui’s heart softened and she soothed the child in soft tones, “There, there. Dear child.”

After a while, the baby closed his eyes and fell asleep. Xiao Zhonghui looked at his chubby face, rosy cheeks, and found his silly appearance endearing. She found herself feeling fond of him and thought, “I better return him to his parents. They’ve already had a good fright.”

Seeing the couple head north, she decided against returning to the inn and followed them northward.

After traveling more than ten miles, dawn broke but she had yet to catch sight of the couple. As daylight fully emerged, she found herself in a dense forest, filled with melodious birdsong and the fragrance of wildflowers.

Seeing the tranquil scenery and feeling the weariness of a sleepless night, Xiao Zhonghui chose a soft patch of grass to rest. She looked down at the child sleeping soundly in her arms and soon drifted into slumber herself.