The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre Chapter 1 Part 4

Guo Xiang’s¹ sword moves shifted abruptly, darting east then west, slashing several strokes in quick succession. Zhang Junbao² watched from the side, transfixed, when suddenly he let out a gasp of surprise. This move was Thoroughfares in All Directions,³ the very technique Yang Guo⁴ had taught Zhang Junbao three years past atop the summit of Mount Hua. Guo Xiang had observed from the sidelines, and now she employed it herself. What Yang Guo had originally transmitted was a palm method; Guo Xiang had transformed it into swordplay, diminishing its power considerably, yet the strangeness of the technique was enough to secretly alarm Chan Master⁵ Wuse.⁶

By her reckoning, Guo Xiang had already executed five moves, yet Wuse could discern not a single thread of their origin. In his prime, he had roamed the jianghu⁷ far and wide, accumulating vast experience. For more than a decade since assuming his post as Chief Seat of the Arhat Hall,⁸ he had devoted himself to studying the martial arts of every school and faction, and comparing them against Shaolin’s techniques to learn from their strengths and remedy his own shortcomings. Thus he was confident that regardless of how formidable an opponent might be, he could identify their lineage within a handful of exchanges.

Seeing Guo Xiang’s youth, he had proposed a limit of ten moves, leaving himself considerable margin. Little did he know that Guo Xiang’s parents, shifu,⁹ and companions were all first-rate masters of the age, and she had plucked one technique from each of their repertoires and thrown them together in a haphazard medley, leaving Wuse’s eyes dazzled and utterly unable to name her school.

When the four strikes and eight forms of Thoroughfares in All Directions had passed, a thought stirred in Wuse’s mind, If I allow her to keep attacking, I fear her strange techniques will flow endlessly. Ten moves, even a hundred, and I may still discern nothing. Only if I press the attack will she be forced to counter with her own school’s martial arts.

He immediately twisted his upper body leftward and launched Double Ear-Piercing Strike,¹⁰ both fists with thumbs facing each other, describing twin arcs before colliding together.

Seeing the tremendous force behind his fists, Guo Xiang dared not block directly. With a twist of her body, she slipped through the gap between his palms. She had once heard that Yinggu¹¹ possessed a skill called Loach Skill¹²—a slippery body technique that could be employed when outmatched. She had asked Yinggu to instruct her briefly, and now she imitated it as best she could. Her neigong¹³ and body technique naturally fell far short of Yinggu’s, but Chan Master Wuse was not truly striking to kill, and he let her slip away unhindered.

“Impressive movement!” Wuse praised. “Now receive another move from me.”

His left palm circled upward, elbow bent before his chest, thumb pointing skyward—the very posture of Golden Oriole Alighting¹⁴ from the Shaolin boxing canon. He was one of Shaolin’s foremost martial scholars, and his status would not permit him to employ techniques of other schools, however many he had mastered. Each move, each form he executed was pure, orthodox Shaolin. The Shaolin fist tradition stood upright and dignified; though the forms appeared unremarkable, practised to perfection they wielded immense power.

As his left palm spiralled upward, Guo Xiang felt her entire upper body enveloped by the force of his palm. At once she reversed her sword hilt, using the blade as though it were a finger, and executed a move of One Yang Finger¹⁵ she had learned from Wu Xiuwen,¹⁶ stabbing directly at three acupoints¹⁷ on Wuse’s wrist: Wangu,¹⁸ Yanggu,¹⁹ and Yanglao.²⁰

Her understanding of One Yang Finger acupoint-striking was merely superficial, the merest scrap of knowledge, yet the technique of striking three acupoints with a single thrust was precisely the essence of the One Yang Finger art.

Great Master Yideng’s²¹ One Yang Finger was renowned throughout the realm. Chan Master Wuse naturally recognised it. The instant Guo Xiang launched this move, his alarm was such that he hastily withdrew his hand and changed techniques. In truth, had Wuse not retreated and simply allowed her to strike all three acupoints, he would have immediately realised this One Yang Finger was not the genuine article. But in the midst of a full-force exchange, how could he risk his lifetime’s reputation on such a gamble? Moreover, since she could employ One Yang Finger, she must have considerable backing, and it would be prudent to settle matters amicably.

Guo Xiang smiled radiantly. “The great monk recognises danger when he sees it!”

Wuse snorted and struck out with Single Phoenix Greeting the Sun.²² This move spread both hands wide in a sweeping, elevated posture, and where his force reached, Guo Xiang found she could not maintain her grip on her short sword. It flew from her grasp and clattered to the ground. She knew perfectly well he would not truly strike to kill, and without the slightest alarm, she crossed her fists in a flowing, insubstantial pattern—the fifty-fourth form, Empty-Handed Marvel,²³ from the Seventy-Two Void Clarity Fist,²⁴ the crowning achievement of Zhou Botong the Old Wild Child.²⁵

This fist technique was of Zhou Botong’s own creation and had never spread through the jianghu. Though Wuse’s learning was vast, he did not recognise it. His palms traced twin arcs and he launched Deflecting Blossoms Seven Stars,²⁶ both palms swift as lightning, and in an instant had clamped down upon Guo Xiang’s palm. If she did not counter with neili,²⁷ her hand would bend backward and snap. This move, Deflecting Blossoms Seven Stars, seemed slow yet was swift, seemed light yet was heavy—fundamental Shaolin boxing elevated to the highest level, the posture of Entering Shaolin but with the intention and neili of Divine Transformation of Shaolin.

Guo Xiang’s palm was pinned. She thought, Surely you would not truly break my hand?

With a casual sweep, she executed Iron Fan Palm,²⁸ a palm-against-palm counterstrike she had learned from Wanyan Ping,²⁹ Wu Xiuwen’s wife. This was the signature technique passed down from Qiu Qianren³⁰ the Iron Palm Water Gliding.³¹ Among all palm methods of the jianghu, the Iron Palm was renowned as the most ferocious. Chan Master Wuse, a master of palm techniques, knew it well. Seeing this young woman suddenly unleash the Iron Palm Keep’s³² signature technique, he was taken aback. If he matched palm against palm, he was unwilling to injure her, yet he was equally unwilling to be struck himself. By nature generous and forthright, he saw that each of Guo Xiang’s moves was executed with proper form. It did not occur to him in the moment that a maiden not yet turned twenty could not possibly attain mastery of so many schools’ arts. He knew her neili was limited, yet he still hastily withdrew his palm and retreated about five feet.

Guo Xiang gave a sweet smile and said, “Here comes the tenth move. Tell me what school I belong to!”

Her left hand rose as she closed the distance, her right hand extending to hook beneath Wuse’s chin. Chan Master Wuse and the watching monks all let out involuntary cries of alarm. This move, Turning Back from the Sea of Suffering,³³ was authentic Shaolin—the genuine Arhat Fist³⁴—found in no other school. The technique’s intent was to press the left hand atop the opponent’s crown while the right hand hooked beneath the chin, then wrench the head around. At full force it would snap the neck; at lesser force it would dislocate the joint. It was a lethal killing technique.

Seeing her employ this move of Arhat Fist was like reciting the Confucian Classics before Confucius himself, or wielding an axe at Master Lu Ban’s³⁵ gate—it drew from Chan Master Wuse both exasperation and amusement. He had dismantled this boxing form to perfection decades ago. The moment he encountered it, he responded without conscious thought. Even asleep, he could likely counter it. He sidestepped, left hand sweeping across Guo Xiang’s body, right hand darting behind her neck in a flash. This was Grasping Mountains, Leaping Seas,³⁶ the definitive counter to Turning Back from the Sea of Suffering. Once both hands lifted, he could hoist her body clear off the ground. Guo Xiang could have followed with the Coiling Elbow form to press down upon his elbow, freeing herself while simultaneously pinning him, but Chan Master Wuse’s counter came with such blinding speed that in the blink of an eye her body was seized and her feet left the ground. She had lost.

With casual ease, Chan Master Wuse had subdued Guo Xiang. A thought struck him: Drat! I was so intent on winning that I forgot to identify her school and lineage. In those ten moves she employed ten different martial arts—how am I to explain that? Surely I cannot claim she belongs to Shaolin!

Guo Xiang struggled and cried, “Release me!”

Only then did he hear a soft clatter as something fell from her person. Guo Xiang called again, “Old monk, will you not let me go?”

Chan Master Wuse regarded all beings as equal; to him there was no distinction between male and female, and he treated horses, cattle, pigs, and dogs with the same respect. He smiled and said, “Fear not, young lady. This old monk shall certainly release you.”

So saying, his hands gave a gentle push, and he tossed her over twenty feet distant.

Though subdued, Guo Xiang had lasted ten moves without Chan Master Wuse identifying her school. He was about to concede defeat when his gaze fell to a dark shape on the ground. A pair of small iron-cast arhats.

Guo Xiang landed steadily and said, “Great monk, you have lost, have you not?”

Wuse raised his head, his face beaming with delight, and laughed. “How could I lose? I know that your honourable father is the daxia³⁷ Guo Jing,³⁸ and your honourable mother is the nüxia³⁹ Huang Rong.⁴⁰ Your grandfather is Master Huang⁴¹ of Peach Blossom Island.⁴² Second Miss Guo’s fragrant name contains the character for Xiangyang.⁴³ Your honourable father’s martial arts draw from the Seven Eccentrics of Jiangnan,⁴⁴ Peach Blossom Island, the Nine-Fingered Divine Beggar,⁴⁵ and the Quanzhen Order⁴⁶—each school’s finest. Second Miss Guo’s⁴⁷ distinguished lineage shows in her extraordinary skill.”

This speech left Guo Xiang utterly dumbstruck. For a long while she could say nothing, thinking, This old monk is truly uncanny. My ten moves were a jumbled mess, yet he still recognised me.

Seeing her dazed expression, Chan Master Wuse smiled and picked up the pair of small iron arhats. “Second Miss Guo, this old monk cannot deceive a child. I recognised you entirely through these iron arhats.”

Guo Xiang’s bewilderment gave way to sudden understanding. “Ah, you are Chan Master Wuse! You sent me these iron arhats as a birthday gift, so naturally you recognise them. Forgive my earlier discourtesy.”

She sank into a graceful curtsey. Wuse returned the bow with a smile, murmuring, “I dare not presume, I dare not presume!”

Guo Xiang said, “Venerable Master, have you seen my Elder Brother and Elder Sister Long? I came to your revered monastery hoping to meet you and enquire after their whereabouts. Ah, you would not know—the Elder Brother and Elder Sister Long I speak of are none other than Yang Guo—Yang daxia—and his wife.”

Wuse replied, “Several years past, the Yang daxia spent a few days as a guest at our humble monastery. He and this old monk got on remarkably well. Later, when he defended Xiangyang against the enemy, I answered his summons and rendered what small service I could. I wonder where he might be now?”

Each wished to learn of Yang Guo’s whereabouts. Each asked the other, yet neither could answer.

After a long pause, Guo Xiang said, “So you do not know where my Elder Brother has gone either. Does anyone know?”

Her thoughts settled, and she continued, “You are a good friend of my Elder Brother’s—no wonder your martial arts are so formidable. Hm, Venerable Master, I have carried your birthday gift close to my person all this time. I hold you in great esteem and gratitude, and meeting you today in person allows me to express my thanks properly.”

Wuse laughed. “Truly we have come to know each other through combat. When you see your Elder Brother Yang, do not tell him this old monk bullied a child.”

Guo Xiang gazed toward the distant mountain peaks and murmured to herself, “When shall I ever see him again?”