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 Chan Master Wuse⁵ 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 gifts at Shaolin Monastery had poured untold pains into them more than a century ago before they were finished at last, 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, “Monastery 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 an eating house where I may play the host and treat you to a proper meal. What say you?”

That Wuse held such high standing within Shaolin Monastery 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, “Great Master need not stand on ceremony. My strikes were ill-measured, and I have given offence to several of your Great 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 monastery 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 First 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 monastery. She said, “Venerable Chan 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 Big Brother,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 neigong.¹⁸ What has he to fear from them?”

Zhang Junbao drew a few steps closer and said, “The monastery’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 monastery and report to the abbot. That copy of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra was transcribed from the original palm-leaf text²³ that Patriarch²⁴ Bodhidharma²⁵ brought when he came east. The Head Seat of the Discipline Hall²⁶ 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 monastery. To be fitted with fetters whilst hauling water, and forbidden to utter a word. I have heard the Venerable Chan Masters of our monastery say that, though this is punishment, it in fact 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 shifus 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 monastery 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 monastery. 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 Kunlun Sages²⁷ shall come to receive instruction in them all.”

The brushstrokes were bold and vigorous. Guo Xiang asked, “Who are the Three Kunlun Sages?²⁸ 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 Kunlun Sages.”

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 Kunlun Sages 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 Monastery 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 contests of martial arts, we decline whenever we can. We who have left the world hold to neither rancour nor wrath, and 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 monastery, they are never content to leave without displaying some measure of their skills. The Arhat Hall²⁹ exists precisely to receive visiting martial artists.”

Guo Xiang laughed and said, “So the Great Monks’ appointed trade is fighting people.”

Wuse said with a rueful smile, “However strong an ordinary martial artist may be, the disciples of our hall can always deal with him, and there is no call for this old monk to take a hand. It was only because I saw today that your skills were out of the common run, Miss, that I came to try you myself.”

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 Arhat³⁰ 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 Monastery 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 monastery to discuss the matter.”

Guo Xiang understood his meaning at once and said, “You suspect that I am in league with these Three Kunlun Sages? That while I created a disturbance outside the monastery, 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 monastery. The abbot and my shidi Wuxiang³¹ 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.”

Wuse said, “Afraid? Of course I am not afraid. Since you have nothing to do with them, Miss, I need not trouble myself.”

Guo Xiang understood that he had meant it kindly. He had feared the Three Kunlun Sages might be friends of hers, so that when it came to blows he would be hedged about with scruples, dreading to give offence to a good friend. She said, “Master, if they come courteously to compare arts, then let it rest at that. If not, give them a thorough taste of hardship. 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 monastery 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 thirty feet 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 monastery, he would hardly possess such remarkable skill.”

Footnotes

1. 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. ↩

2. 杨过 — Yáng Guò. His name meaning “Yang Surpassing” or “Yang Repentance”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 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. ↩

4. 襄阳 — Xiāngyáng. Strategic fortress city that served as the Southern Song Dynasty’s military stronghold against Mongol invasion. Located in modern-day Hubei Province. See Wikipedia. ↩

5. 无色禅师 — Wúsè Chánshī. His name meaning “Formless” or “Colourless.” See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 罗汉 — luóhàn. Arhat, one who has attained enlightenment in Buddhism. In Chinese Buddhist tradition, there are typically eighteen or five hundred arhats venerated. See Wikipedia. ↩

7. 罗汉拳 — Luóhàn Quán. Literally Arhat Fist. One of Shaolin’s foundational fist techniques, named after the Buddhist arhats. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

9. 师弟 — shīdì. Male junior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Dì means younger brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 南阳 — Nányáng. Prefecture in Henan Province, strategically important during the Mongol-Song wars. See Wikipedia. ↩

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

12. 里 — lǐ. Traditional Chinese unit of distance, roughly equivalent to a third of a mile or half a kilometre. ↩

13. 一苇亭 — Yīwěi Tíng. Literally “One Reed Pavilion,” named after the legend that Bodhidharma crossed the Yangtze River on a single reed. Pavilion at the foot of Shaolin Mountain where visitors are received. ↩

14. 张君宝 — Zhāng Jūnbǎo. His name meaning “Zhang Sovereign Treasure”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 轻功 — qīnggōng. Literally qinggong. Ability to move with superhuman agility, and weightlessness through qi redistribution to leap over trees and roofs, and skip over water. See Wikipedia. ↩

16. 大哥哥 — dà gēge. Rendered here as Big Brother. Affectionate term Guo Xiang uses exclusively for Yang Guo, reflecting her deep admiration for him. ↩

17. 师父 — shīfù. Teacher or master responsible for technical instruction and moral guidance. Shī means teacher. Fù means father. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

18. 内功 — nèigōng. Literally internal skill. Practice of developing neili through breathing, meditation and qi cultivation. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

19. 楞伽经 — Lèngqié Jīng. Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, an important Mahayana Buddhist scripture particularly significant to Chan Buddhism. Said to have been brought to China by Bodhidharma himself. See Wikipedia. ↩

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

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

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

23. 贝叶经 — bèiyè jīng. Palm-leaf manuscripts. Ancient Buddhist texts written on processed palm leaves, the original medium for Indian Buddhist scriptures before paper. ↩

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

25. 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. ↩

26. 戒律堂首座 — Jièlǜ Táng Shǒuzuò. First Seat of the Discipline Hall is a senior monastic position responsible for enforcing monastic rules and discipline within a Buddhist temple. ↩

27. 昆仑三圣 — Kūnlún Sānshèng. Literally three Kunlun sages. ↩

28. 昆仑派 — Kūnlún Pài. Kunlun School, a major martial arts school based in the Kunlun Mountains of the northwest. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

29. 罗汉堂 — Luóhàn Táng. Literally arhat hall. One of Shaolin Monastery’s administrative halls overseeing martial affairs. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

30. 降龙罗汉 — Xiánglóng Luóhàn. Dragon-subduing Arhat, one of the eighteen arhats in Chinese Buddhist tradition, depicted in the act of subduing a dragon. See Wikipedia. ↩

31. 无相 — Wúxiàng. His name meaning “Without Appearance” or “Without Form.” See Wuxia Wiki. ↩