Mandarin Duck Blades
Chapter 6

Translation by Jenxi Seow.

The sun’s rays grew more intense, the dense shade of the forest covered the ground, and the fragrance of flowers deepened. Xiao Zhonghui¹萧中慧 – Xiāo Zhōnghuì. was suddenly roused from her slumber by the distant chants of an escort agency.

“Valour and Honour! Valour and Honour!”

She yawned, her eyes still closed, as the sounds drew nearer steadily.

It was the escort team from Weixin Escort Agency approaching.

Zhou Weixin,²周威信 – Zhoū Weīxìn. the Iron Whip that Quells All Directions,³八方 – bāfāng. Literally eight directions, encompassing north, south, east, west, northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest. In Chinese culture and philosophy, it symbolises completeness, universality, and balance. It is often used to describe the entirety of space around a point, indicating something that extends or has influence in every direction. led his team toward the forest filled with the scent of jujube. Beyond this grove, the road to Hongdong County⁴洪洞 – hóngdòng. A county in the southwest of Shanxi Province. See Wikipedia. would be a straight and open path. With the radiant sun overhead, it seemed like a perfect day and there would be no cause for concern. Yet, an uneasy feeling made his hair stand. Each time the old blind man behind the escort team struck the ground with his iron staff, and Zhou’s heart skipped a beat.

Since they set off at first light, the old blind man had trailed behind the escort team. At first, no one paid much attention, but as their horses and carriages hastened, the blind man, curiously, kept pace. Zhou Weixin felt something was amiss and signalled to escorts Zhang and Zhan to whip the beasts into a gallop, quickly leaving the old man far behind.

He felt relieved, but the heavy carts soon slowed their pace. Before long, the faint tapping from behind indicated that the blind man had caught up again.

Such a display of skill left the entire escort team pale with shock. The blind man’s qinggong⁵轻功 – qīnggōng. Lightness skill. The ability to move swiftly and lightly. Qing means light. Gong means skill. See Wikipedia. was truly formidable. When the convoy slowed, the blind man did not hurry past but continued tapping his iron staff on the ground and maintained a distance of ten yards.

As a dense forest loomed ahead, and Zhou Weixin whispered, “Brother Zhang, make sure everyone stay alert. This old blind man is rather uncanny. As the saying goes, ‘Always be as vigilant as facing an enemy, as cautious as crossing a bridge.’”

Escort Zhang, still feeling full of his own heroism, having driven off the Four Xias of Mount Taiyue the previous day, thought to himself, “Even if his qinggong is commendable, what’s there to fear from an old blind man? Methinks you’re behaving taking a rat for a tiger.”

He bent down to pick up a small stone, and using the Flying Locust Stone flicking technique, he flung the stone at the blind man with a twist of his elbow and flick of his wrist. The stone whistled through the air. The blind man, without even lifting his head, raised his iron staff slightly and deflected the stone back with a clang. Escort Zhang cried out, “Ouch!”

The stone struck his forehead and drawing blood. The escort team fell into disarray.

Escort Zhang shouted, “Damn blind scum, it’s you or me who lives!”

He spurred his horse forward, raising his blade and swung his blade at the blind man’s shoulder. The blind man raised his staff to parry, deflecting Zhang’s blade upwards. Zhang felt his arm go numb and a dull pain throbbed in his tiger’s mouth.⁶虎口 – húkǒu. 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.

Escort Zhan shouted, “We’ve got a formidable foe here, form up and attack together!”

Though the others had witnessed the blind man’s martial prowess, he was just one person and blind at that. Even a skilled fighter was no match when outnumbered. Thus, eight escorts and guards surrounded him with swords and spears raised. The blind man seemed unconcerned at all. With a light sweep of his iron staff and a couple of deft jabs, he had knocked a guard to the ground in just a few moves.

From a distance, Zhou Weixin watched as the old blind man moved with deliberate calmness, seemingly unperturbed by the numerous opponents. Suddenly, the man’s eyelids flicked open, revealing eyes that gleamed with keen light—he was not blind at all! With a swift turn, the man kicked Escort Zhan, sending him tumbling.

Zhou Weixin was struck with terror, realising this man was far superior to Xiaoyaozi⁷逍遥子 – Xiāoyáozǐ. Literally the carefree wise man. Zi is a Chinese honorific used for a wise or learned man. Not to be confused with the Xiaoyaozi from Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. of the Four Xias of Taiyue,⁸太岳 – Tàiyuè. Taiyue is the ancient name of modern day Mount Tianzhu in Anqing, Anhui. See Wikipedia. and was a true master of exceptional skill. Remembering the gravity of his mission, he shouted, “Brother Zhang, seize this old blind man, but spare his life. I’ll go on ahead, and we’ll meet in Hongdong County.”

He thought, “As the saying goes, ‘When faced with perils, one must avoid it; don‘t indulge in poetry if one isn‘t talented.’” Clenching his legs, he spurred his horse and galloped into the forest.

As he plunged into the forest, he saw a glint of a blade behind a large tree. Being an experienced veteran, he cursed inwardly, “So, the blind man isn’t a working alone, there are accomplices lying in wait here.”

He whipped his horse furiously to speed ahead but had only gone four or five yards when a figure darted out from behind a tree.

Zhou Weixin saw the person wielding a single dao and wearing a fierce expression. Without a word, he raised his hand and shot a dart at the person while charging forward on his steed. The person deflected the dart with his blade and cursed, “Who are you, using hidden weapons?”

Another person emerged and shouted, “You have hidden weapons, you think I don’t?”

She tensed a slingshot, and released near a dozen of pellets. Two struck the horse’s rump, causing it to buck and throw Zhou Weixin to the ground.

Zhou Weixin already had his whip in hand. He rolled on the ground and sprang up, only for another pellet to strike his wrist soundly, causing him to drop the iron whip. The two flanked him in a rush, both their daos pressed to his neck.

“Who are you?” one demanded.

The other asked, “Why are you using hidden weapons?”

Questions flew rapidly.

“Have you seen my child?”

“Did you see a young girl pass by?”

“Was the young girl carrying a child?”

Within moments, each person had asked seven or eight questions. Even if Zhou Weixin had ten mouths, he could not answer them all. The couple was Lin Yulong⁹林玉龙 – Lín Yùlóng and Ren Feiyan.¹⁰任飞燕 – Rèn Fēiyàn. Lin Yulong shouted at his wife, “Shut up, let me question him.”

Ren Feiyan retorted, “Why should I? You shut up, I’ll do the asking.”

The two begun arguing. Zhou Weixin, with two daos at his neck, feared that either of them might press down in a fit of rage, and head and body would go separate ways. As the jianghu saying goes, “You take your well-trodden path, I’ll go my challenging route.”

Then, he thought, “As the jianghu saying goes, ‘A clever man doesn’t fight against the odds, and a smiling face invites no harm.’”

So, he forced a smile and said, “No need to be anxious, let me get up and then we can talk.”
Lin Yulong bellowed, “Why should we let you up?”

Ren Feiyan noticed his right hand gripping his bundle tightly, as if it contained something very valuable, and shouted, “What’s that?”

Ever since Zhou Weixin received the pair of Mandarin Duck Blades from the viceroy, he had not forgotten the words “Mandarin Duck Blades” for a moment. His obsession was so intense that he even muttered the name in his sleep. Presently, with a steel blade pressed against his neck and the situation critical, Ren Feiyan’s insistent questions gave him no time to think. He blurted out instinctively, “Mandarin Duck Blades!”

Lin and Ren were both shocked when they heard this. Their left hands shot out in unison to grabbing at the bundle on Zhou Weixin‘s back. Zhou Weixin regretted it as soon as he spoke. In his desperate panic, a thought flashed through his mind, “As the jianghu saying goes, ‘When a desperate man fights, ten thousand cannot stop him.’ And they are just two.”

Ignoring the cold blade at his neck, he lunged forward in an attempt to roll away. However, the couple exerted their strength at the same time, yanking him up along with the bundle. Zhou Weixin had secured the precious blades to his back with a thin iron chain. Despite pulling with all their might, Lin and Ren were unable to break the chain.

The three of them became entangled in a struggle. Zhou Weixin swung fist backward, landing a solid punch on Lin Yulong’s face with a loud thud. Ren Feiyan flipped her blade and brought the hilt down hard on the back of Zhou Weixin’s neck. She asked, “Brother Long, are you in pain?”

Lin Yulong angrily replied, “Do you even need to ask? Of course it hurts.”

Ren Feiyan retorted furiously, “Ha! I was asking out of concern. Was that wrong?” The two started bickering again while they kept trying to seize the bundle.

Suddenly, a person emerged from the bushes, calling out, “Do you want the child?”

Lin and Ren looked up to see Xiao Zhonghui holding up their son high in both hands. Overjoyed, they immediately reached out to take him. Xiao Zhonghui handed over the child with her right hand, and swiftly slashed the bundle on Zhou Weixin’s back with the short dao in her left hand. With a quick movement, she reached in and drew a dao from the bundle with her right hand. The dark metal gleamed, exuding a chilling aura.

With a casual flick, it proved to be an excellent blade, severing the iron chains as though they were threads. Xiao Zhonghui grabbed the bundle, leapt onto Zhou Weixin’s mount, and rode off. She executed these moves with remarkable speed and precision, like a falcon swooping down on a rabbit.

She pulled the reins and shouted, “Go!”

But the horse’s hooves seemed firmly rooted to the ground and did not move. Xiao Zhonghui lifted her leg to kick the horse’s belly, but both her knees went numb suddenly. She cried out silently, “Not good!”

Just as she was about to leap off the horse, it was already too late. Someone struck her acupoints, leaving her frozen atop the horse, unable to move at all.

A figure emerged from under the horse’s belly. It was the old blind man. Somehow, he had managed to escape from the skirmish with the escort team and had caught up to hide under the horse. With a swift motion, he snatched the pair of Mandarin Duck Blades from Xiao Zhonghui’s hands.

Ren Feiyan quickly placed her child on the ground and drew her blade to engage him. Lin Yulong followed and flanked him. The blind man raised the unsheathed long Mandarin Duck Blade to block, and with two sharp clangs, both Lin and Ren’s daos were broken at once. The couple stood dumbfounded for a moment. Before they could react, they felt a numbness in their waist acupoints. Their major acupoints had been struck, rendering them immobile.

Zhou Weixin, fierce like a crazed tiger, shouted, “Blind wretch! It’s you or me who lives!”

He snatched his iron whip from the ground and executed the move Sweeping Across an Army¹¹横扫千军 – héngsǎo qiānjūn. Literally sweeping across a thousand-strong army. from the Eighteen Whips of Huyan,¹²呼延十八鞭 – Hūyán shíbā giān. Literally Huyan’s Eighteen Whips. A martial arts technique named after a person with the surname Huyan. unleashing a horizontal strike at the blind man. To his surprise, the blind man did not dodge, but raised the long Mandarin Duck Blade and stabbed forward. The move was aimed neither at the iron whip nor at Zhou Weixin’s chest.

Instead, he thrusted it into the scabbard within the bundle. Then, he swung the dao sideways along with the scabbard. He wielded the blade and sheath as if they formed an iron whip, and the move he used was identical—Sweeping Across an Army from the Eighteen Whips of Huyan. The scabbard struck the iron whip in mid-air and Zhou Weixin’s sixteen-pound weapon stopped moving immediately and was unable to advance even a hair’s breadth. His reputation as the Iron Whip that Quells All Directions appeared an empty boast.

As the blade and whip came into brief contact, the blind man’s inner energy jolted the iron whip from his grip, sending it flying. The move Iron Whip Flying in All Directions¹³铁鞭飞八方 – Tiěbiān fēi bāfāng. Literally Iron whip flying in all directions. split Zhou Weixin’s tiger’s mouth and left him with a bloodied palm. The blind man rolled his white eyes and sneered, “You haven’t learnt the last move of the Eighteen Whips of Huyan, have you?”

Zhou Weixin was shocked to the core.

Although the Eighteen Whips of Huyan was named such, only seventeen moves had been passed down. His shifu once said that the final move was called Breaking Ten Spears with One Whip.¹⁴一鞭断十枪 – yī biān duàn shí qiāng. Literally one whip breaking ten spears. When the Northern Song¹⁵The Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127). See Wikipedia. general Huyan Zan¹⁶呼延赞 – Hūyán Zàn. A military general in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty. See Wikipedia. was surrounded by enemies, he shattered ten spears with a single iron whip. This whip technique relied not on moves, but only on inner energy. Only his shibo¹⁷师伯 – shībó. Shixiong, elder fellow disciple, of one’s shifu. Shi means teacher. Bo literally means elder uncle.This places the person on the same generation as one’s shifu. possessed such an amazing cultivation.

Zhou Weixin had never met his shibo. He only knew he was an imperial guard in the Qing court, the leader of the Seven Greats of the Imperial Court. He had always resided within the depths of the Forbidden Palace and never ventured out. Hence, he never had the honour to meet him.

A thought struck him, and he asked with a trembling voice, “Is… is your esteemed surname Zhuo?”

The blind man replied, “Indeed.”

Surprised and overjoyed, Zhou Weixin prostrated himself on the ground and said, “Disciple Zhou Weixin pays his respects to Zhuo shibo.”