Mandarin Duck Blades – Part 3

“Gold slips away and pleasure fades in an instant.
Bankrupt yesterday and impoverished today.
Why should a man boast with empty pride?
Better to burn the turbans on our heads¹…”

As he sang, a young scholar shook the folding fan in his hand gently as he strolled into the woods. A page boy trailed behind him carrying a load of luggage on a shoulder pole.

Hua Jianying held a broken tooth with his fingers, and was filled with annoyance. He watched the scholar engrossed in enjoyment as he sauntered and hummed, singing about gold, silver.

He shot a look at Gai Yiming² and leapt forth, shouting, “Oi, scholar! What gibberish are you mumbling about? You’re giving us a headache. You better compensate us for that.”

Seeing the four, the scholar was stunned. He asked, “Pray tell, kind brothers, what compensation do you require?”

Gai Yiming said, “Pay the four of us for our headaches, of course. A hundred liang of silver each. That makes four hundred liang in total!”

The scholar stuck out his tongue and said, “That expensive? Even if His Majesty the Emperor had a headache, it wouldn’t cost this much silver to cure it.”

Gai Yiming said, “What’s so special about the ol’ Emperor? You dare compare us to the Emperor? This won’t do. Double up the four hundred. A total of eight hundred liang.”

The scholar said, “Kind brothers, it’s truly admirable that you’re even more distinguished than His Majesty the Emperor. Pray tell, kind brothers, what are your esteemed names, and where do you hail from?”

Gai Yiming said, “Hehe, my name is Gai Yiming. Known as Eight Steps Chasing Toad, Rivalling Zhuan Zhu, Treading Snow Without a Trace, Skimming Water with One Leg, and the Twin Daggers Renowned in Seven Provinces. Ranked fourth amongst the Four Xias³ of Taiyue.”⁴

The scholar cupped one hand in the other and said, “I’ve long admired you.”⁵

Turning to Hua Jianying,⁶ he asked, “How about this kind brother?”

Hua Jianying frowned and said, “Who has the time to claim brotherhood with a prick like you?”

Pushing the page boy aside, he lifted the basket the boy had been carrying and gave it a heft. The heavy weight gave him a surge of joy. He opened the basket and gasped loudly in disbelief to see it filled with old books. Chang Changfeng⁷ exclaimed, “Bah! It’s all junk.”

The scholar said hurriedly, “Kind brother, you’re mistaken! How could you deem books by sages and wise men worthless? As the saying goes, there are houses of gold within books.”⁸

Chang Changfeng said, “Gold in books? Even if these tattered books are sold at a copper coin a jin, no one would want them.”

Gai Yiming had already opened the luggage on the other end of the carrying pole. Aside from some bedding and clothing, there was not a single valuable item.

The Four Xias of Taiyue felt profound disappointment.

The scholar said, “I’m a travelling scholar in search of my mother. I’m honoured to have the great fortune of meeting four kind brothers. The name of the Four Xias of Taiyue⁴ must be renowned in the jianghu⁹ for aiding those in distress and upholding justice.”

Xiaoyaozi¹⁰ said, “Your words ring true indeed.”

The scholar said, “It is truly a fortune of three lifetimes for me to encounter such heroic xia as yourselves today. I happen to have a troubling matter at hand, and I seek the four daxia¹¹ to draw your dao in aid.”¹²

Xiaoyaozi said “Easy! As xiake,¹³ if we encounter those in distress and not offer our aid, we would bear the name of chivalry in vain.”

Gai Yiming said, “Who’s bullying you?”

The scholar said, “It’s a rather embarrassing matter. I’m afraid you four brothers would laugh at me.”

Hua Jiangying lit up and said, “Ah, your lover’s beauty led to a tyrant seizing her by force.”

The scholar shook his head, saying, “No, I don’t have a lover.”

Gai Yiming clapped and said, “Hmm, then it must be a wealthy man or corrupt official who has taken your wife.”

The scholar said shaking his head, “That’s not it either. How could I have a wife if I’m not married?”

Chang Changfeng was starting to be impatient. He exclaimed, “What is it, then? Just give it to me straight and clear.”

The scholar said, “Fine, I’ll tell you, but don’t take offence, four great xia.”

Although the Four Xias of Taiyue call themselves xia, no one had ever addressed them with such reverence in the jianghu and kept referring to them as great xia. Hearing the profound respect in the scholar’s words, they puffed up their chests and said in unison, “Speak quickly, speak quickly. Whatever problem you face, we the Four Xias of Taiyue will help you deal with it.”

The scholar bowed deeply at each person present, and then said, “I’ve wander the jianghu and pass through your noble lands with a shamefully empty purse having spent all my savings. I can only humbly beseech the Four Xias of Taiyue to lend me a few dozen silver liang. I hereby thank the four xias in advance for your immense righteousness and famed kindness.”

Hearing this, the four xias frowned and found themselves unable to utter a word. They had originally intended to rob the scholar, but his speech had unexpectedly left them unable to gracefully back out.

Chang Changfeng the Twin Palms of Slab-splitting thumped his chest and proclaimed, “A true man wouldn’t hesitate to be stabbed on both sides for a friend. What more a mere dozens of silver liang? Big brother, third brother, fourth brother. Come, take out your money. I have—”

He reached into the bosom of his robes and found himself grasping at nothing. His pocket was completely empty without even a single copper coin.

Fortunately, Hua Jiangying and Gai Yiming still had a few spare silver liang on them that they took out and handed to the scholar. The scholar bowed deeply in gratitude and thanked them profusely. He said. “I’ll never forget this favour . I’ll definitely repay your kindness should we meet again amidst the mountains and rivers.”

Saying this, he took his page boy by the hand and strode out of the woods.

Upon exiting the woods, he burst into laughter and said to the page boy, “You can have these silver liang!”

The page boy tidied the luggage that the four had rummaged through and took out an old book. Blinding gold light shone under the sun. There were thin gold leaves pressed between the book pages. He laughed as he said, “Young sir told them that there’s gold within the book, yet they refused to believe.”

Although the Four Xias of Taiyue failed to steal the chicken and lost some grain in the process,¹⁴ they still felt rather pleased with performing a chivalrous deed. Gai Yiming said, “This scholar roams the lands and would surely spread the good word about us Four Xias of Taiyue…”

Before he could finish, the sound of bells rang out suddenly and rapid hoofbeats of a horse came from afar to the south. The Four Xias had long wandered the jianghu and knew a thing or two about the art of listening to the wind to discern sounds. Xiaoyaozi said, “Brothers, judging from the crisp sound of the horse’s hooves, it must be a fine steed. We’ll seize the horse first and talk after. Even if there are no treasures, the mount would also serve as a gift.”

Gai Yiming said, “Big brother, your insights are profound and your words sensible.”

He removed his belt hurriedly and said, “Quick, take off your belts and make a trip rope.”

They tied the four belts together and were going to stretch it between two trees when the horse galloped into the woods.

Seeing the four of them crouched and pulling on the rope, the rider reined in the horse and asked, “What are you doing?”

Gai Yiming said, “Setting up the trip rope…”

As soon as he spoke, he realised his mistake and turned sharply, only to see a beautiful young woman on the horse. He felt a larger part of his apprehension dissipate at the sight. The maiden asked, “Why are you setting up a trip rope?”

Gai Yiming straightened and dusted off his hands, saying, “To trip your horse, of course! Fine, now that you know, we don’t even need the rope. Get off the horse and leave the horse. And you may go unharmed. We the Four Xias of Taiyue might be criminals, but we have always robbed only wealth and never virtue. We guard our prize integrity and have a resounding reputation. When the Four Xias of Taiyue encounter beautiful young ladies, we naturally present ourselves as righteous gentlemen and won’t even spare an extra glance.”

The young woman said, “You’ve already looked at me seven or eight times, yet you say you won’t spare an extra glance?”

Gai Yiming stammered as he said, “That doesn’t count—I didn’t meant it… I was just looking casually without intent! We the Four Xias of Taiyue would never bully a lone woman and tarnish our reputation.”

The young woman smiled charmingly and said, “Aren’t you bullying me by making me leave my horse here?”

Gai Yiming stammered as he said, “Well, there’s… a logic to that.”

Xiaoyaozi said, “We’re not bullying you, just your mount. What does it matter to an animal?”

The horse had an imposing stature and a sleek, lustrous coat that made it look majestic. Moreover, the gold bridle and silver bells on it were already of considerable value. He grew more fond of it the more he looked at it.

Gai Yiming said, “Indeed. We, the Four Xias of Taiyue, are staunch heroes in the jianghu and would never make life difficult for women and children. You only need to leave your mount and we won’t touch a hair on your head. I’m the Eight Steps Chasing Toad, Rivalling Zhuan Zhu, Treading Snow Without a Trace…”

The young woman covered her ears with her hands and said curtly, “Enough. Enough. You don’t know who I am. And I don’t know who you are either. Right?”

Gai Yiming exclaimed, “That’s right! So what if we don’t know?”

The maiden smiled and said, “Since we’re strangers, Father can’t find fault me if I offend you. Ho! Such daring bandits, I’ll take on all four of you at once!”

There was a blur before the four and the maiden was brandishing a pair of daos.¹⁵ Her attacks were as swift as the wind. She spurred her horse to charge forward. She leaned down and cut the trip rope with the dao in her right hand, while the dao in her left hand slashed downwards on the top of Gai Yiming’s head.

Gai Yiming shouted, “A real man doesn’t fight a woman! Why resort to violence…”

With a flash of light, the long dao was slashing toward his face. He hurriedly raised his steel piercer to block. The weapons clashed with a clang. He felt a powerful binding force on the maiden’s dao. With a push and then a pull, he lost his grip on his weapon and it flew from his grasp in an instant, arcing high into the air for several dozen feet before impaling itself in the bough of a towering tree.

Hua Jianying and Chang Changfeng both rushed forward from the sides. The maiden had the higher ground on her horse. She slashed at both sides with her dao. Hua and Chang barely able to cope with her attacks. The young woman was intrigued to see the stone slab in Chang Changfeng’s hands. She asked, “Hey, big fellow, what are you holding?”

Chang Changfeng said, “This is the unique weapon of Chang the Second Xia.¹⁶ It’s not among the eighteen types of weapons in the wulin.¹⁷ Its techniques are extraordinary. Ah oh… Ow!”

The maiden had flipped her long dao and slapped his wrist with the back of the dao. Chang Changfeng winced in pain and his unique weapon slipped from his hands. By sheer misfortune and remarkable coincidence, it smashed onto the very same toe that was already swollen from the earlier mishap.

Seeing the situation turning unfavour able, Xiaoyaozi advanced with his dry pipe raised to flank her. His pipe was made of exquisite iron and he wielded it with technique of a judge’s brush strokes. He struck to seal and strike her acupoints.¹⁸ However, he was not very accurate when identifying the acupoints, missing by a hair’s breadth but erring by inches.¹⁹

The young girl was amused and exposed an opening on purpose, allowing him to tap on her left leg with his pipe. She felt a slight sting and exclaimed, “Feeble fellow, what acupoint did you hit?”

Xiaoyaozi said, “This is the Zhongdu point.²⁰ Striking it causes numbness”

The maiden laughed, “This isn’t the Zhongdu point. You’re off by two inches to the left.”

Xiaoyaozi was taken aback. He said, “Off to the left? It can’t be.”

Raising the pipe, he prepared to strike again. The young woman slashed downwards and knocked his pipe to the ground. Transferring both daos to her right hand, she grabbed his collar with her left hand. At a gentle tap of the horse’s flank with the tips of her feet, the horse let out a long neigh and shot out of the woods.

With her seizing him by the nape of his neck, Xiaoyaozi found his whole body paralysed and his limbs went limp. He could only surrender and allowed himself to be captured. The remaining three of the Four Xias of Taiyue cried out, “The wind is rising! The wind is rising!”²¹

They sprinted at a frantic speed in pursuit.

Footnotes

1. 醉后赠从甥高镇 — Zuì hòu zèng cóng shēng Gāo Zhèn. After getting drunk, I presenting a gift to nephew Gao Zhen*. Poem by the Tang poet Li Bai. See Baidu Baike (Chinese). ↩

2. 盖一鸣 — Gài Yīmíng. Literally “Gai One Sound” or “Gai One Cry”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 侠 — xiá. Person adept in the martial arts who acts with chivalry and upholds the right. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 太岳 — Tàiyuè. The Taiyue Mountains (太岳山, also 霍山), a range in central Shanxi, south of Jinyang (modern Taiyuan). See Wuxia Wiki. ↩ ↩²

5. 久仰 — jiǔyǎng. This is a courtesy phrase used when meeting someone for the first time. Literal translation is “long admired” and it means having heard of someone and have been looking forward to meet for a long time. ↩

6. 花剑影 — Huā Jiànyǐng. Literally “Flower Jian Shadow”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 常长风 — Cháng Chángfēng. Literally “Constant Long Wind” or “Long Wind”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 书中自有黄金屋 — shū zhōng zì yǒu huáng jīn wū. Literally within books there is a house of gold. Proverb urging diligent study; the next sentence plays on the literal wording. Proverb comes from the poem《劝学诗》(Literally Poem Exhorting Studying) by Emperor Zhenzhong of Song. See Wiktionary. ↩

9. 江湖 — jiānghú. Literally rivers and lakes. Itinerant world beyond settled society and official reach, holding not only martial artists but the trades that travel with them, including pedlars, physicians, fortune-tellers, entertainers, boatmen, beggars, outlaws and the like. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 逍遥子 — Xiāoyáozǐ. Literally the carefree wise man. Zi is a Chinese honorific used for a wise or learnt man. Not to be confused with the Xiaoyaozi from Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. ↩

11. 大侠 — dàxiá. Literally great xia. Title of the highest honour for a chivalrous martial hero. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. An idiom that means to intervene in injustice. See Wiktionary. ↩

13. 侠客 — xiákè. Literally guest or travelling xia. Refers to the wandering, unattached side of the xia ideal: one who arrives, sets a wrong right, and moves on, owing nothing to any household or master. Kè means guest or traveller. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 偷鸡不着蚀把米 — Tōujī Bùzháo Shí Bǎ Mǐ. Proverb meaning to attempt to gain an advantage only to end up worse off than before. See Wiktionary. ↩

15. 刀 — dāo. Single-edged blade used for slashing and chopping. See Wikipedia. ↩

16. 常二侠 — Cháng èrxiá. This refers to Chang Changfeng’s position as the second of the Four Xias of Taiyue. ↩

17. 武林 — wǔlín. Literally martial forest. Those who actually practise, teach or study martial arts. 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. ↩

18. 穴道 — xuédào. Specific points on the body that can be struck to disable movement or cause various effects. These points are used in both traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts. See Wikipedia. ↩

19. An idiom that means a minimal deviation resulted in wide divergence. ↩

20. 中渎穴 — zhōngdù xuè. Middle Ditch point in the Gallbladder Meridian. See Wikipedia. ↩

21. 风紧 — fēngjǐn. Literally the wind is rising. Phrase is often used metaphorically to indicate that a situation is becoming tense or dangerous. ↩