The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre Chapter 1 – Part 10

Guo Xiang was taken aback. “You are the Three Kunlun Sages? Then who are the other two?”

He Zudao¹ said, “The Three Kunlun Sages is but a single person. There have never been three. I made something of a name for myself in the Western Regions,² and friends there said I had achieved mastery in qin,³ jian, and weiqi,⁴ that I might be called a Sage of the Qin, a Sage of the Jian, and a Sage of Weiqi. As I have long dwelt among the Kunlun Mountains,⁵ they gave me the epithet Three Kunlun Sages. Yet I thought to myself: how could the word “sage” be so lightly assumed? Though others gilded my name with such praise, I could not accept it without question. Therefore I changed my own name to “Zudao”, so that spoken together it becomes “He Zudao of the Three Kunlun Sages”. Thus none can accuse me of arrogance.”

Guo Xiang⁶ clapped her hands and laughed. “So that is the truth of it! I had assumed that the Three Sages must be three people. Then who were those three old fellows just now?”

He Zudao said, “Them? They are disciples of the Shaolin Order.”⁷

Guo Xiang was even more surprised. “So those three old men are actually Shaolin disciples. Hm, their martial arts are indeed of the fierce and powerful school. Yes, yes. Was that not the Damo swordplay⁸ the red-faced elder was using? And the sickly yellow-faced one’s final assault, was that not the Weituo Demon-Subduing Jian?⁹ Only he added so many variations that I could not recognise it at once. But why have they come from the Western Regions?”

He Zudao said, “Thereby hangs a tale. Last spring, I was playing my qin atop Jingshen Peak¹⁰ in the Kunlun Mountains when I heard sounds of fighting outside my thatched hut. When I went out to look, I found two men grappling together, both already mortally wounded, yet still struggling with all their remaining strength. I called for them to stop, but neither would relent, so I pulled them apart. One rolled his eyes back and died at once. The other still clung to life. I carried him back into my hut and gave him a Shaoyang Pill,¹¹ treating him for half the day, but his injuries were too grave for even the miraculous elixir to save. As he lay dying, he said his name was Yin Kexi…”¹²

Guo Xiang gasped. “Then the one fighting him, was it Xiaoxiangzi?¹³ Tall and gaunt, with a face like a corpse?”

He Zudao looked at her in surprise. “Indeed. How do you know all this?”

Guo Xiang said, “I have encountered them before. Who would have thought those two rascals would finally kill each other in the end?”

He Zudao continued, “Yin Kexi said he had committed many evils in his life, and though he repented as death approached, it was already too late. He said that he and Xiaoxiangzi had stolen a scripture from the Shaolin Monastery,¹⁴ and the two of them had watched each other with mutual suspicion ever since. Neither dared let the other study it first, each fearing the other would master its techniques and then eliminate his rival to claim sole possession of the book. They ate at the same table and slept in the same bed, never parting for an instant, yet at every meal they feared poison, and at every sleep they dreaded assassination. Their nerves frayed and their dreams troubled, they also feared pursuit by the Shaolin monks, so they fled far into the Western Regions.

“By the time they reached Jingshen Peak, both were utterly exhausted. Each knew that continuing in such a manner would see them worn to death, so at last they came to blows. Yin Kexi said Xiaoxiangzi’s martial arts had originally surpassed his own. Yet though Xiaoxiangzi had struck the first blow with a palm strike, it was Yin Kexi who ultimately gained the upper hand. Only later did he realise that Xiaoxiangzi had suffered grave injuries at Mount Hua¹⁵ and had never fully recovered his vitality. Otherwise, and had the two not each had their own misgivings, they would never have lasted all the way to the Kunlun Mountains.”

Hearing this account, Guo Xiang imagined the two men’s terror-filled journey, clinging to each other in mutual torment, and could not help but feel a pang of pity. She sighed, “All that for a single scripture, was it truly worth such suffering?”

He Zudao said, “After telling me this, Yin Kexi was gasping for breath. His final request was that I come to the Shaolin Monastery to deliver a message to a monk named Jueyuan,¹⁶ saying that the scripture was hidden in oil. I found this most strange. What scripture could be hidden in oil? I wished to ask for more details, but he could no longer hold on and fell into a swoon. I thought to let him rest well and question him further when he woke, but from that sleep he never awoke. I wondered whether perhaps the scripture was wrapped in oilcloth, so I searched both bodies thoroughly, yet found no trace of it. Having been entrusted with a dying man’s wish, I am honour-bound to see it fulfilled. I had never set foot in the Central Plains, and this seemed a fine opportunity to see the land, so I came to the Shaolin Monastery.”

Guo Xiang asked, “Then why did you issue a challenge to the monastery, proposing to test your martial arts against theirs?”

He Zudao smiled faintly. “That matter arose from those three men. They are lay disciples of the Western Regions branch of the Shaolin Order. According to the wulin¹⁷ of the Western Regions, they belong to the “Tian” generation¹⁸ and are thus peers of the Shaolin Monastery’s Abbot, Chan Master¹⁹ Tianming.²⁰ It seems their patriarch once quarrelled with his fellow disciples and departed in anger for the Western Regions, where he founded the western branch of the Shaolin Order. Well, there is nothing remarkable in that. The Shaolin arts were brought from India to the Central Plains by Patriarch²¹ Damo,²² and from the Central Plains they spread to the Western Regions.”

He Zudao continued, “These three heard of my epithet Three Kunlun Sages and wished to test themselves against me. All along the way they proclaimed that Shaolin martial arts were unrivalled under heaven, that I might call myself Sage of the Qin and Sage of Weiqi if I pleased, but the title Jian Sage they would not countenance. I must be made to give up that name. I could be Two Sages, but never Three. As it happened, I had just encountered Yin Kexi, so I thought I might as well combine both matters into one journey. I sent word arranging to meet them at the Shaolin Monastery, then set out for the Central Plains. Those three venerable gentlemen are swift travellers indeed. They arrived practically on my heels.”

Guo Xiang laughed. “So that is how it all unfolded. I had guessed quite wrong. Those three old fellows must be back at the monastery by now. I wonder what they are saying.”

He Zudao said, “I bear no acquaintance with the Shaolin monks, nor any grudge. I set the appointment for ten days hence to allow these three elders time to arrive before we began. Now that the contest is concluded, let us go up together so I may deliver my message, and then we shall descend the mountain.”

Guo Xiang frowned. “The monks have such rigid rules. They forbid women from entering the monastery.”

He Zudao scoffed. “Bah! What nonsense rules are those? Let us simply barge in. Surely they will not kill us for it?”

Though Guo Xiang loved adventure, she had already befriended Chan Master Wuse²³ and bore no ill will toward the Shaolin Monastery.

She shook her head with a smile. “I shall wait for you outside the mountain gate. You go in and deliver your message. It will save us no end of trouble.”

He Zudao nodded. “Very well. I did not finish the piece earlier. When I return, I shall play it through properly for you to hear.”

Footnotes

1. 何足道 — Hé Zúdào. His name meaning “What Is There to Speak of?” or “Not Worth Mentioning.” 何 is both his surname and the word what, so the full name also reads “what is there worthy of note about the Three Kunlun Sages?” See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 西域 — Xīyù. Literally western regions. Frontier territories west of Yumen Pass, encompassing the lands beyond China proper where various ethnic groups and small kingdoms existed. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 琴 — qín. Seven-stringed zither, the most revered of Chinese classical instruments, associated with scholars and sages. See Wikipedia. ↩

4. 围棋 — wéiqí. Literally encircling chess. Ancient Chinese strategy board game known in the West as Go, played on a 19×19 grid. See Wikipedia. ↩

5. 昆仑山 — Kūnlún Shān. Kunlun Mountains, a great range in western China. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 郭襄 — Guō Xiāng. Younger daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong, known as the Little Eastern Heretic; founder of the Emei Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 少林派 — Shàolín Pài. Shaolin Order, the martial arts tradition originating from Shaolin Monastery. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 达摩剑法 — Dámó Jiànfǎ. Literally Bodhidharma swordplay. Shaolin sword technique characterised by power and directness. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 韦驮伏魔剑 — Wéituó Fúmó Jiàn. Literally Weituo demon-subduing sword. Shaolin sword technique. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 敬神峰 — Jìngshén Fēng. Jingshen Peak, a peak in the Kunlun Mountains. ↩

11. 少阳丹 — Shǎoyáng Dān. Literally lesser yang pill. Restorative elixir used in Chinese medicine and martial arts cultivation. ↩

12. 尹克西 — Yǐn Kèxī. Yin Kexi, a Persian merchant and martial artist. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 潇湘子 — Xiāoxiāngzǐ. Xiaoxiangzi, a martial artist known for his corpse-like appearance. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 少林寺 — Shàolín Sì. Shaolin Monastery. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 华山 — Huáshān. Literally splendid mountain. One of China’s Five Sacred Mountains, the Western Great Mountain located in Huayin, Shaanxi Province. See Wikipedia. ↩

16. 觉远 — Juéyuǎn. His name meaning “Awakened Distance” or “Far-reaching Enlightenment”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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. 天字辈 — Tiān zìbèi. Literally “Tian” character generation. Naming-generation system where disciples share a common character in their religious names. ↩

19. 禅师 — Chánshī. Literally Chan master. Buddhist monastic title denoting one accomplished in Chan (Zen) practice. Use as prefix: “Chan Master Name.” ↩

20. 天鸣 — Tiānmíng. His name meaning “Heavenly Sound” or “Sky’s Cry.” The abbot of Shaolin Monastery. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

21. 祖师 — zǔshī. Literally ancestral master. Founder of a school, the source of a lineage rather than a rung on it. ↩

22. 达摩祖师 — Dámó Zǔshī. Bodhidharma, the legendary Buddhist monk who brought Chan Buddhism to China and is credited with founding the Shaolin martial arts tradition. See Wikipedia. ↩

23. 无色禅师 — Wúsè Chánshī. His name meaning “Formless” or “Colourless.” Chan Master Wuse was a senior monk of Shaolin Monastery. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩