The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre Chapter 1 Part 5

On the day of Guo Xiang’s¹ sixteenth birthday, Yang Guo² had conceived a fanciful notion and sent invitations summoning people throughout the jianghu³ to gather at Xiangyang⁴ and celebrate her coming of age. Countless wulin masters from both the righteous and unorthodox paths rallied to the call, drawn by the weight of Yang Guo’s renown.

Regardless of whether they attended in person, all sent rare and precious gifts. The birthday present that Wuse⁵ the Chan Master had sent by messenger was this very pair of iron arhats.⁶ Within the bellies of these iron figures lay hidden mechanisms; once their springs were wound tight, they could exchange a dozen or so moves of Shaolin’s Arhat Fist⁷ between themselves. A monk of singular genius at Shaolin Temple had laboured for countless years over a century past to create them, and their craftsmanship was nothing short of wondrous.

Guo Xiang had found them amusing and kept them close at hand. Little did she imagine that today they would tumble from her robes, and thus reveal her identity to Wuse. The final Shaolin technique she had employed just now was one she had learnt from observing these iron arhats.

Wuse smiled and said, “Temple rules passed down through generations forbid me from inviting Second Miss Guo to visit within the monastery. I beg your forgiveness.”

Guo Xiang replied with quiet melancholy, “There is nothing to forgive. The matter I came to enquire about—I have asked it already.”

Wuse gestured toward Jueyuan⁸ and continued, “As for this shidi’s⁹ circumstances, I shall explain them to you in time. Let us do this: I shall escort you down the mountain, and we shall find a tavern where I may play the host and treat you to a proper meal. What say you?”

That Wuse held such high standing within Shaolin Temple yet would show such deference to a young maiden—offering personally to escort her down the mountain and entertain her with such courtesy—left the assembled monks secretly astonished.

Guo Xiang said, “The Master need not stand on ceremony. My strikes were ill-measured, and I have given offence to several of your reverend monks. Truly, I am sorry. I shall take my leave now; let us meet again when fate allows.”

With that she made a bow. The monks returned the courtesy as one. Guo Xiang bade farewell to Jueyuan, then offered apologies to the monks with whom she had exchanged blows, before turning and descending the slope.

Wuse smiled and said, “You may not wish me to escort you, yet escort you I shall. That year on your birthday, this old monk set fire to the Mongol army’s fodder and gunpowder stores at Nanyang¹⁰ on the orders of Yang daxia,¹¹ then returned directly to the temple without attending your celebration in Xiangyang. It has weighed upon my conscience ever since. Now that you have graced our humble monastery with your presence, if I do not escort you thirty li¹² hence, how could that be considered proper hospitality for an honoured guest?”

Seeing his earnest sincerity and delighting in his forthright manner of speech, Guo Xiang was pleased to forge a friendship beyond the bounds of age and station with this monk. She smiled faintly and said, “Then let us be off.”

The two descended the slope side by side. After they had passed the One Reed Pavilion,¹³ the sound of footsteps reached their ears from behind. Turning to look, they saw Zhang Junbao¹⁴ following at a distance, though he dared not draw near. Guo Xiang laughed and called out, “Brother Zhang, have you also come to see your guest off the mountain?”

Zhang Junbao’s face flushed crimson as he answered, “Yes.”

At that very moment, a monk came striding swiftly down from the mountain gate, deploying his full measure of qinggong¹⁵ in evident haste. Wuse’s brow furrowed as he said, “What is all this fuss about?”

The monk hastened to Wuse’s side, made obeisance, and spoke a few words in a low voice. Wuse’s countenance changed abruptly as he exclaimed, “Can such a thing be true?”

The monk replied, “The abbot requests the Head Seat’s presence to discuss the matter.”

Guo Xiang, observing the troubled expression upon Wuse’s face, knew that some pressing matter must have arisen within the temple. She said, “Venerable master, friendship between true companions lies in understanding of heart, not in empty courtesies. You have matters to attend to; pray return at once. Should we chance to meet again upon the roads of the jianghu, we may discuss martial arts and speak of what lies in our hearts. Would that not serve just as well?”

Wuse replied with evident pleasure, “Small wonder that Yang daxia holds you in such high regard. Truly you are a heroic xia among your peers, a figure of gallant bearing among women. This old monk counts you as a friend.”

Guo Xiang smiled faintly and said, “You are a friend of my dagege,¹⁶ and so have long been a dear friend of mine as well.”

The two exchanged courtesies and parted ways. Wuse turned back toward the mountain gate.

Guo Xiang followed the path down the mountain, with Zhang Junbao trailing five or six paces behind, not daring to walk abreast of her. Guo Xiang asked, “Brother Zhang, why do they make such trouble for your shifu?¹⁷ Your shifu possesses such profound neigong¹⁸—what has he to fear from them?”

Zhang Junbao drew a few steps closer and said, “The temple’s disciplinary rules are stringent. Any monk who transgresses must submit to punishment. It is not that they deliberately persecute shifu.”

Guo Xiang said with some wonder, “Your shifu is an upright and honourable man. There is no one in the world so good as he. What transgression could he possibly have committed? He must be suffering punishment in another’s stead, or else some matter has been wrongly judged.”

Zhang Junbao sighed and said, “The cause of this affair is something you already know of, Miss. It all stems from that copy of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra.”¹⁹

Guo Xiang exclaimed, “Ah, the scripture stolen by Xiaoxiangzi²⁰ and Yin Kexi?”²¹

Zhang Junbao replied, “Indeed. That day upon the summit of Mount Hua,²² I received guidance from Yang daxia and personally searched those two villains from head to foot. Yet once we descended from Huashan, we could find no further trace of them. Shifu and I had no choice but to return to the temple and report to the abbot. That copy of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra was transcribed from the original palm-leaf text²³ that Patriarch Bodhidharma²⁴ brought when he came east. The Head Seat of the Discipline Hall²⁵ holds shifu accountable for careless stewardship that led to the loss of this priceless treasure. The severe punishment he received was nothing less than he deserved.”

Guo Xiang heaved a sigh and said, “That is nothing but ill fortune. How can it be called deserving of punishment?”

She was but a few years older than Zhang Junbao, yet she conducted herself every bit like an elder sister. She asked further, “And because of this matter, they punish your shifu by forbidding him to speak?”

Zhang Junbao replied, “This is a disciplinary rule passed down through the generations of our temple. To be fitted with fetters whilst hauling water, forbidden to utter a word—though it is punishment, the elder masters of the temple say it also brings great benefit to the one punished. When a man does not speak, his cultivation advances more readily, and hauling water in fetters also strengthens the body.”

Guo Xiang laughed and said, “If that is so, then your shifu is not being punished at all, but rather cultivating his skills. It seems I was meddling needlessly.”

Zhang Junbao hastened to say, “Miss, your kind intentions are deeply appreciated by both shifu and myself. We shall never forget them.”

Guo Xiang gave a soft sigh, thinking to herself, Yet there are others who have long since forgotten me entirely.

From within the woods came the bray of a donkey; her grey mount was grazing amongst the trees. Guo Xiang said, “Brother Zhang, you need not escort me further.”

She gave a sharp whistle, summoning the grey donkey to her side. Zhang Junbao was reluctant to part, yet could think of nothing to say.

Guo Xiang placed the pair of iron arhats in his hands and said, “These are for you.”

Zhang Junbao started in surprise, not daring to reach out and accept them. He stammered, “These… these…”

Guo Xiang said, “I said they are for you, so take them.”

Zhang Junbao said, “I… I…”

Guo Xiang pressed the iron arhats into his hands and vaulted onto the donkey’s back in a single bound.

Suddenly, from the stone steps upon the slope, a voice called out, “Second Miss Guo, pray tarry a moment!”

It was Wuse, who had once again emerged from the temple gate. Guo Xiang thought, This old monk is overly punctilious. Why must he insist on escorting me?

Wuse moved with great swiftness, and in but a moment stood before her. He addressed Zhang Junbao, “Return to the temple. Do not wander about the mountain.”

Zhang Junbao bowed in acknowledgement, cast one lingering gaze at Guo Xiang, then made his way up the mountain.

Wuse waited until he had gone some distance, then drew a sheet of paper from his sleeve and said, “Second Miss Guo, do you perchance know who wrote this?”

Guo Xiang dismounted and took the paper. She saw it was a sheet of fine stationery, the ink still glistening wet, bearing two lines of characters: “The martial arts of the Shaolin Order have dominated the Central Plains and Western Regions for many a year. In ten days’ time, the Three Saints of Kunlun²⁶ shall come to receive instruction in them all.”

The brushstrokes were bold and vigorous. Guo Xiang asked, “Who are the Three Saints of Kunlun?²⁷ These three certainly have no shortage of audacity.”

Wuse said, “So you do not know them either.”

Guo Xiang shook her head. “I do not. I have never even heard my father or mother speak the name Three Saints of Kunlun.”

Wuse said, “Therein lies the strangeness of it.”

Guo Xiang asked, “What is so strange?”

Wuse replied, “Miss, you and I have become fast friends at first meeting, so I may speak to you plainly. Do you know where this paper was found?”

Guo Xiang said, “Did the Three Saints of Kunlun send someone to deliver it?”

Wuse said, “Had someone delivered it, there would be nothing strange about that. As the saying goes, a tall tree catches the wind. For centuries our Shaolin Temple has been acclaimed as the foremost orthodox school of martial learning. Thus we are constantly challenged by masters who come seeking to test their skills. Each time a martial artist arrives, we receive him with all courtesy. When it comes to comparing martial prowess, we decline whenever we can. We who renounced the world to cultivate freedom from anger and desire; we must not strive to outdo others. Were we to fight every day, how could we call ourselves disciples of the Buddha?”

Guo Xiang nodded and said, “That is reasonable enough.”

Wuse continued, “Yet when martial artists have come all the way to our temple, they are never content to leave without displaying some measure of their skills. The Arhat Hall²⁸ exists precisely to receive visiting martial artists. When I saw that your skills were formidable, Miss, I came myself to test them. Otherwise, the disciples of our hall are generally able to handle matters.”

Guo Xiang laughed and said, “You think rather highly of me.”

Wuse said, “See how I have strayed from the point. In truth, this paper was taken from the hand of the Dragon-subduing Arhat²⁹ statue in the Arhat Hall.”

Guo Xiang exclaimed in wonder, “Who placed it in the arhat’s hand?”

Wuse scratched his head and said, “That is precisely what we do not know. Our Shaolin Temple has over a thousand monks. If someone infiltrated the monastery, how could no one have seen them? The Arhat Hall has eight disciples on permanent rotation, maintaining watch day and night without cease. Just now someone noticed this paper and reported it urgently to the abbot. We all found it exceedingly strange, which is why I was summoned back to the temple to discuss the matter.”

Guo Xiang understood his meaning at once and said, “You suspect that I am in league with these Three Saints of Kunlun? That while I created a disturbance outside the temple, those three slipped into the Arhat Hall to leave this paper. Is that it?"”

Wuse said, “Having met you, Miss, I naturally harbour no such suspicions. Yet it is also a singular coincidence that this paper appeared in the Arhat Hall the moment you departed from the temple. The abbot and my shidi Wuxiang³⁰ and the others cannot help but harbour mistaken doubts about you.”

Guo Xiang said, “I do not know these three fellows. Master, what have you to fear? If they dare to come, simply give them a proper contest. The tone of this message is exceedingly arrogant! What does ‘receive instruction in them all’ mean? Do they imagine that Shaolin’s seventy-two supreme arts can all be ‘received’ by these three fellows?”

As she spoke, a thought suddenly struck her. She said, “Perhaps someone within the temple is in collusion with them and secretly placed this paper. There is nothing strange about that.”

Wuse said, “We had considered that possibility as well, yet it surely cannot be so. The fingers of the Dragon-subduing Arhat are more than three zhang³¹ above the ground. Ordinarily, when we dust the Buddha images, we must erect scaffolding. For someone to leap to such a height, their qinggong must be exceedingly rare. Even if there were a traitor within the temple, he would hardly possess such remarkable skill.”