Mandarin Duck Blades – Part 5

The fight threw the inn into chaos. Zhou Weixin¹ bellowed, “Everyone, don’t go out! Stay vigilant and guard our carriages. Beware of the enemy’s attempt to lure us away.”

Hearing that Xiao Zhonghui² thought, They are battling with their lives at stake. How could it be a feigned fight to lure you away? It’s a pity he doesn’t come out to have a look, or it would be a great opportunity to seize the blades.

When she turned back to the two figures, it was clear that the woman was tiring. She kept retreating while the man advanced relentlessly without any sign of easing up.

Her sense of chivalry swelled up and she thought, Such audacity and disrespect from this scoundrel, to barge into a lady’s room in the dead of the night and display such violence. How can I not stand up against such injustice?

She was about to rush forward to the woman’s aid, but changed her mind, thinking, Alas! If I intervene, I’ll inevitably reveal myself. If those escorts saw me, things would become tricky when I try to seize the blades.

She forced herself to suppress her anger. The sound of weapons clashing gradually subsided as the man and woman started trading curses instead. They spoke in the Southern Lu³ dialect and Xiao Zhonghui could only understand half of what they said.

After listening for a while, she grew restless and was about to return to her room when she heard a voice cry out as the wooden door of the eastern room swung open and a young scholar walked out. He raised his voice and said, “What are you two arguing about? Why reach for your weapons when reasoning with words can resolve your differences?”

As he spoke, he walked underneath the window where the man and woman were, seemingly to mediate. Xiao Zhonghui thought, Why would such a ferocious villain reason with you?

The clash of blades rang out once again and the child’s wailing grew louder. Suddenly, a pellet flew from the window and knocked the scholar’s hat to the ground with a snap. The scholar exclaimed, “Oh no! Alas!”

Then, he muttered to himself, “A blaze at the city gate spells disaster for the fish in the moat. A gentleman stands not beneath a precarious wall. Prudent self-preservation is paramount.”

Saying that, he sauntered back to his room.

Xiao Zhonghui found it amusing, yet she was also concerned for the woman. The brazen scoundrel was bound to take advantage of her. Just then, the fighting in the room had ceased, and a hush descended upon the inn immediately. Xiao Zhonghui pondered, Father often said that one must prioritise and weigh the importance of matters. Right now, securing the daos takes precedence. I have no choice but to tolerate the villain’s recklessness.

Returning to her room, she closed the door and laid on the heated bed⁴ to muse over the way to seize the precious daos, The escort convoy’s numbers are significant. How would I be able to deal with them alone? I should have rush back to Jinyang tonight to inform Father and have him muster his forces. But wouldn’t it be more splendid if I procured the blades through my own cunning and presented them to Father?

The thought of that delighted her and her dimple deepened on her left cheek. But what plan should she use? Her father trained her since young, so her martial arts abilities were quite formidable. Yet when it came to devising strategies, this Lady Xiao was not as adept. The number of tricks up her sleeves were so few that they were practically nonexistent.

She laid on the heated bed and racked her brain until her head hurt. Although she came up with half a dozen ideas, none were feasible upon closer examination. Her eyelids grew heavy and her vision blurred. In the quiet of the night, she suddenly heard a tapping that was drawing nearer. Someone was striking the stone slabs of the street with an iron staff, the unmistakable sound of a blind person approaching.

The tapping stopped abruptly when it reached the front of the inn, and the iron staff began to thump on the inn’s door. Then came the sound of the inn attendant opening the door, followed by him admonishing the visitor, whose aged voice pleaded for a room. The attendant demanded payment upfront, and the blind old man obliged but was short of two coins.

Words of refusal, pleading, and the attendant cursing reached Xiao Zhonghui’s ears.

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.⁵ 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.⁶ Thus, it would be better for you to deduct two coins from the total.”

Xiao Zhonghui 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 entire life he encountered silver flying towards him that he had to catch mid-air, and he was unaccustomed to it. The piece of silver struck his square in the chest with a dull thud. Silver was always welcome, of course, but being hit by it still stung a little, 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 blind old 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.⁷ This trivial matter is not worth mentioning. To be honest, I’m not the one who settled your room and meals. May I ask your esteemed name, old sir?”

The blind man said, “My lowly name is Zhuo Tianxiong.”⁸

Xiao Zhonghui found it amusing and thought, This blind old 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 dao⁹ 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 sense of chivalry.

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 murderous scoundrel, you’ve terrified the child! I… I…”

Xiao Zhonghui hastened after the voice. However, both the villain and the young woman possessed remarkable qinggong¹⁰ abilities. She pursued them for over a mile before arriving at a desolate graveyard, where she saw the two locked in fierce combat with their daos.

The villain, disadvantaged with the child in his arm, struck several blows to drive the woman back before swiftly placing the infant on a dark stone. Only then did he turn his dao back to attack.

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 single-handedly battling the Four Xias¹¹ of Taiyue,¹² and this battle with this 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,¹³ 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 sound and a blade struck from behind. Xiao Zhonghui, startled, retracted her blade in mid-strike to parry the blow. She executed the Turning Lion move¹⁴ 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,¹⁵ 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!”

Footnotes

1. 周威信 – Zhoū Weīxìn. ↩

2. 萧中慧 – Xiāo Zhōnghuì. ↩

3. 鲁南 – Lǔnán. Southern region of Shandong Province. Lu is the traditional abbreviation for Shandong, derived from the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period. ↩

4. 炕 – Kàng. A traditional Chinese bed or platform made of bricks or earth, commonly used in northern China. The kang is heated from within by a flue system connected to a stove, providing warmth during cold weather. See Wikipedia. ↩

5. 相公 – xiànggōng. A respectful term for a scholar or a learnt man. ↩

6. This 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. ↩

7. 袁冠南 – Yuán Guānnán. ↩

8. 卓天雄 – Zhuó Tiānxióng. ↩

9. 刀 – dāo. A single-edge sword used for slashing and chopping. See Wikipedia. ↩

10. 轻功 – qīnggōng. Literally lightness skill. The ability to move with superhuman agility, and weightlessness through qi redistribution to leap over trees and roofs, and skip over water. See Wikipedia. ↩

11. 侠 -Xiá. A person adept in martial arts and conducts in a chivalrous manner. ↩

12. 太岳 – Tàiyuè. Taiyue is the ancient name of modern day Tianzhu Mountain in Anqing, Anhui. See Wikipedia. ↩

13. 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. ↩

14. 狮子回首 – Shīzi huíshǒu. Literally lion turns its head, implying a quick and powerful turn to defend against an attack from behind. ↩

15. 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. ↩