The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 10 – Part 2

Zhang Cuishan reflected that Tan Ruilai the Divine Lance, whose name commanded respect across four quarters, had been a celebrated figure in the wulin[^wulin] for close on forty years. If Yin Wushou were to force a confrontation at the Kaifeng[^kaifeng] yamen on his behalf, casualties on either side would have grave consequences. He said, "I have long admired Old Hero Tan of the Divine Lance. He is a man of honour. Hurry to Kaifeng and tell Big Brother Wushou to say no more to Old Hero Tan. If the two sides talk themselves into a corner and come to blows, I fear the outcome will not be well."

Yin Wulu smiled faintly. “You need not worry, sir. That old codger Tan would not dare fight Third Brother. Tell him not to meddle, and he will meekly obey.”

Zhang Cuishan said, “Is that so?” He thought to himself, How could Tan Ruilai the Divine Lance be so easily intimidated? The man himself might have grown old, but the Divine Lance Tan family of Kaifeng counted a score or more disciples of formidable skill among their ranks. They would not fear a single Yin Wushou.

Yin Wufu saw the doubt in Zhang Cuishan’s expression and said, “That old man Tan was beaten by Wushou twenty years ago, and we hold a piece of leverage over him besides. May you rest easy, sir.” With that, the two men saluted and took their leave.

Zhang Cuishan held the three small flags and hesitated a long while. He had meant to send the two men to learn of Wuji’s whereabouts, but to raise the matter with outsiders, he himself did not mind, yet it could not help but damage his Second Brother’s reputation. Slowly, he walked back to the bedchamber.

Yin Susu¹ leaned against the bed, scanning the gift list. She was deeply grateful for the affection her parents had shown her, and the thought of Wuji, wherever he might be at this hour, set her heart on fire again. She saw her husband enter with a clouded face and asked at once, “What is it?”

Zhang Cuishan said, “Those three, Wufu, Wulu and Wushou, what is their story?”

Though Yin Susu and her husband had been married ten years, she knew he disliked the Tianying Order², and so she had never spoken to him of her family or the Order’s affairs, nor had Zhang Cuishan ever asked. Hearing him inquire now, she said, “Those three were notorious bandits roaming the Yan-Zhao circuit a little over twenty years ago. They were surrounded by a host of skilled fighters and could see no way out. As it happened, my father passed by and saw them fighting to the death without yielding. He admired their spirit, and stepped in to save them. The three do not share a surname, nor are they brothers by blood. Grateful to my father for preserving their lives, they swore a solemn oath to serve him as bondsmen for the rest of their days. They cast aside their former names and called themselves Yin Wufu, Yin Wulu and Yin Wushou. When I was small I treated them with great courtesy and never dared regard them as mere servants. My father used to say that in martial skill and former renown, many a celebrated figure in the wulin³ could not match the three of them.”

Zhang Cuishan nodded. “I see.” He told her how the three had severed a man’s left arm and seized an armed escort’s banner.

Yin Susu frowned. “They meant well, but they did not reckon that the disciples of renowned righteous factions act on a different code from the unorthodox. Fifth Brother, this affair has only tangled you further in trouble. I… I truly do not know what to do.” She sighed and went on, “Once we have found Wuji, let us go back to Ice Fire Island⁴.”

They were speaking when Yin Liting’s voice called from outside the door, “Fifth Brother, come, take up the great brush and write a few birthday couplets.” He laughed. “Fifth Sister-in-law, do not blame me for stealing Fifth Brother away. Whose fault is it that he is called the Silver Hook Iron Brush?”

That afternoon, the six disciples oversaw the fire-servant Daoists and young acolytes in cleaning and arranging the Purple Cloud Hall⁵. In every hall and room they hung the birthday couplets written in Zhang Cuishan’s hand. Front to back, the whole place radiated a festive air.

The next morning, Song Yuanqiao and the rest had changed into freshly sewn cloth gowns and were about to help Yu Daiyan so that all seven might go together to wish their shifu⁶ a happy birthday, when a young Daoist came in and presented a visiting card. Song Yuanqiao took it. Zhang Songxi, sharp-eyed, read the inscription: He Taichong⁷, a humble student of the Kunlun School⁸, leads his disciples in wishing Zhang Sanfeng the Perfected One⁹ longevity equal to the Southern Mountain. He exclaimed, “The Kunlun zhangmen himself has come to wish our shifu happy birthday! When did he arrive in the Central Plains?”

Mo Shenggu asked, “Did Madam He come as well?” He Taichong’s wife Ban Shuxian was his shijie, and her martial skill was said to rival the Kunlun zhangmen’s own.

Zhang Songxi said, “The card makes no mention of Madam He.”

Song Yuanqiao said, “This is no ordinary visitor. We should invite our shifu to receive him in person.” He hurried away to inform Zhang Sanfeng.

Zhang Sanfeng said, “I had heard the Iron Qin Master¹⁰ seldom ventures into the Central Plains. It speaks well of him that he remembered this old Daoist’s birthday.” He led his six disciples out to receive the guest.

He Taichong the Iron Qin Master¹⁰ was not yet very old. He wore a yellow robe, his bearing easy and unhurried, his countenance serene. He looked every inch the patriarch of a renowned orthodox school. Behind him stood eight male and female disciples, Xihuazi and Wei Siniang among them.

He Taichong bowed to Zhang Sanfeng and offered his congratulations. Zhang Sanfeng thanked him again and again, returning the salute with cupped hands. Song Yuanqiao and the other six knelt and kowtoted. He Taichong knelt in return and said, “The Six Xias of Wudang¹¹ are renowned throughout the world. How can I presume to receive such ceremony?”

Zhang Sanfeng had only just escorted He Taichong and his party into the main hall. Host and guest had taken their seats and tea was being served, when another young Daoist came in with a card and handed it to Song Yuanqiao. The Five Elders of Kongtong¹² had come, every one of them, to offer birthday congratulations.

Among the martial schools of this age, Shaolin and Wudang stood foremost in renown, with Kunlun and Emei¹³ following, and the Kongtong School¹² ranked below them still. The Five Elders of Kongtong, reckoned by seniority and standing, were no more than Song Yuanqiao’s equals. Yet Zhang Sanfeng was ever the most modest of men. He rose to his feet and said, “The Five Elders of Kongtong have come. Pray wait a moment, Brother He. This old Daoist must go out to receive my guests.”

He Taichong thought to himself, Figures like the Five Elders of Kongtong, a single disciple sent out to meet them would be quite enough.

Presently the Five Elders of Kongtong came in with their disciples. Then the Divine Fist School¹⁴, the Haisha School¹⁵, the Jujing Guild¹⁶, the Wushan Gang, and many more leaders of martial schools and guilds arrived one after another on the mountain to offer birthday congratulations. Song Yuanqiao and the others had expected no more than a day’s merry-making among their own master and disciples. They had never dreamt so many guests would come, and the six disciples, each entertaining a separate party, were quite overwhelmed. Zhang Sanfeng had always detested formal ceremony above all things. Every time a milestone birthday came round, his seventieth, eightieth, ninetieth, he had charged his disciples to disturb no one from outside. Who would have thought that on this hundredth birthday, the most honoured guests of the wulin would fill the mountain? By and by the Purple Cloud Hall did not have chairs enough for all the visitors. Song Yuanqiao could only send servants to fetch smooth round stones from the mountainside, which they set thick across the hall. The zhangmen of the various schools and the guild chiefs still had proper seats. The disciples and followers had to make do with the stones. When the tea bowls ran out, they served tea in rice bowls and vegetable dishes.

Zhang Songxi drew Zhang Cuishan aside into a side chamber. “Fifth Brother, have you noticed anything?”

Zhang Cuishan said, “They have come by prior arrangement. The moment they met one another, it was clear each already had his plan in hand. Some put on a show of surprise, but the more they tried to conceal it, the more they gave away.”

Zhang Songxi said, “Quite so. They have not genuinely come to wish our shifu happy birthday.”

Zhang Cuishan said, “Birthday congratulations in name. A tribunal in truth.”

Zhang Songxi said, “Not a tribunal for the Longmen Armed Escort¹⁷ affair. The deaths at Longmen could never have drawn He Taichong the Iron Qin Master out in person.”

Zhang Cuishan said, “Ah, then all these men are here for Xie Xun, the Golden Haired Lion King!”

Zhang Songxi gave a cold smile. “They think rather meanly of the Wudang Order’s disciples. Even if they count on overwhelming us with numbers, do they suppose a man of Wudang would betray a friend? Fifth Brother, even if Xie Xun were truly a villain guilty of every crime, he is your sworn brother. His whereabouts shall not pass your lips.”

Zhang Cuishan said, “Fourth Brother is right. What do we do?”

Zhang Songxi considered a moment. “We stay alert, that is all. When brothers stand as one, their edge cuts through gold. The Seven Xias of Wudang have weathered worse storms than these. Shall we fear them?”

Though Yu Daiyan was now crippled, they still spoke of themselves as the Seven Xias of Wudang, and behind the seven brothers stood their shifu Zhang Sanfeng, whose martial cultivation surpassed all before him and none could rival in this age. Yet both men thought the same: their shifu was a hundred years old. A grave trial had fallen upon them, but the brothers must see to it themselves. They must not call upon their shifu to act, nor let him trouble his mind. Zhang Songxi spoke thus to hearten his shixiong, but in his own heart he knew the day’s business would prove most difficult, and how to preserve the honour of their shimen¹⁸ was no easy question.

In the main hall, Song Yuanqiao, Yu Lianzhou and Yin Liting entertained the guests with polite small talk. The three had long since seen that the visitors’ purpose was amiss, and each harboured private unease.

As they spoke, a young Daoist came in and announced, “Jingxuan Shitai¹⁹ of the Emei Order, leading five shidi and shimei, has come to wish our Grand Shifu a happy birthday.”

Song Yuanqiao and Yu Lianzhou both smiled and looked towards Yin Liting. At that moment Mo Shenggu was escorting eight or nine guests into the hall from outside. Zhang Songxi and Zhang Cuishan had just stepped out from the inner chamber. Hearing that Emei disciples had arrived, they too turned towards Yin Liting with smiles.

Yin Liting flushed crimson, his manner painfully shy.

Zhang Cuishan took his hand and said, laughing, “Come, come, you and I will go and greet our honoured guests.”

The two went out to meet them. Jingxuan Shitai was close on forty, tall of stature and fierce of bearing. Though a woman, she stood half a head above most men. Behind her five shidi and shimei, one was a lean man of thirty or so, two were nuns, among them Jingxu Shitai, whom Zhang Cuishan had met on a boat at sea, and the remaining two were young women in their early twenties. One wore a faint smile. The other, a fair-skinned, willowy beauty, kept her head bowed and fidgeted with the hem of her gown. That, of course, was Ji Xiaofu²⁰, Yin Liting’s betrothed, of the Golden Whip Ji family.

Zhang Cuishan stepped forward with proper greetings and accompanied the six into the hall. Yin Liting was painfully shy. He did not dare glance at Ji Xiaofu at all. But as they walked along the corridor and saw that everyone else had moved ahead, he could not help stealing a look. At that very instant Ji Xiaofu, her head still bowed, happened to cast a sidelong glance at him. Their eyes met.

Bei Jinyi²¹, Ji Xiaofu’s shimei, gave a loud cough.

Both flushed crimson and turned their heads away at the same instant. Bei Jinyi giggled and whispered, “Shijie, this Brother Yin is even shyer than you.”

Then, suddenly, Ji Xiaofu trembled. Her face went deathly pale, and tears gathered bright in her eyes.

Zhang Songxi had been weighing the balance of strength. Seeing the six Emei disciples arrive, he felt somewhat easier. He thought to himself, Miss Ji is Sixth Brother’s betrothed. If things come to blows later, the Emei Order may lend us a hand.

Visitors continued to arrive in a steady stream, and in a blink it was noon. The Purple Cloud Hall had made no preparations. How could they serve a banquet? The fire-servant Daoists could only send out each person a great bowl of white rice topped with green vegetables and tofu. The six Wudang disciples apologised again and again. But the guests, as they ate, kept glancing towards the hall entrance, as though waiting for someone.

Song Yuanqiao and the rest studied the visitors carefully. Most of the zhangmen and guild chiefs held themselves in regard and had come without weapons, but many of their followers carried bulging bags that plainly concealed arms. Only the disciples of Emei, Kunlun, and Kongtong had come entirely empty-handed. Song Yuanqiao and the others each thought indignantly, You claim to have come to wish our shifu happy birthday, then why do you hide weapons on your persons?

They examined the birthday gifts as well. Most were peaches and longevity noodles and the like, bought in haste from the town at the foot of the mountain, carelessly procured, fitting neither Zhang Sanfeng’s standing as a grandmaster of the martial arts, nor the station of zhangmen and guild chiefs.

Only the Emei Order had brought gifts of real substance. Besides sixteen sets of precious jade, there was a great red brocade Daoist robe embroidered in gold thread with a hundred different characters for longevity. The labour that went into it was considerable. Jingxuan Shitai told Zhang Sanfeng, “This was sewn by the ten female disciples of Emei, working together.”

Zhang Sanfeng was greatly pleased. He laughed and said, “The sword and fist skills of the Emei nüxia²² are known throughout the world. Yet today you have come and embroidered this birthday robe for this old Daoist. How precious indeed!”

Footnotes

1. 殷素素 – Yīn Sùsù. Daughter of Yin Tianzheng, founder of the Tianying Order. Wife of Zhang Cuishan of the Wudang Order and mother of Zhang Wuji. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 天鹰教 – Tiānyīng Jiào. The Tianying Order, meaning “Heavenly Eagle Order.” A martial order founded by Yin Tianzheng, the White-Browed Eagle King. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 武林 – wǔlín. Literally martial forest. The community of martial artists and their schools, distinct from the broader jianghu. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 冰火岛 – Bīnghuǒ Dǎo. Ice Fire Island. A remote island where Zhang Cuishan and Yin Susu lived in exile. ↩

5. 紫霄宫 – Zǐxiāo Gōng. Purple Cloud Hall. The principal hall of the Wudang Order on Mount Wudang. ↩

6. 师父 – shīfù. Teacher responsible for technical instruction and moral guidance. Shī means teacher. Fù means father. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 何太冲 – Hé Tàichōng. Leader of the Kunlun School, known by the epithet Iron Qin Master. His wife Ban Shuxian is his shijie. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 昆仑派 – Kūnlún Pài. The Kunlun School, one of the major orthodox martial schools, based in the Kunlun Mountains of the Western Regions. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 真人 – zhēnrén. Literally “true person.” A Daoist honorific for one who has attained spiritual cultivation. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 铁琴先生 – Tiěqín Xiānshēng. The Iron Qin Master. He Taichong’s epithet, from his skill with the iron qin (a stringed instrument). See Wuxia Wiki. ↩ ↩²

11. 武当六侠 – Wǔdāng Liù Xiá. The Six Xias of Wudang. At this time Yu Daiyan is still paralysed, so the six disciples act in the name of the Seven Xias of Wudang. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 崆峒派 – Kōngtóng Pài. The Kongtong School, one of the five great orthodox martial schools, ranked below Shaolin, Wudang, Kunlun, and Emei. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩ ↩²

13. 峨嵋派 – Éméi Pài. The Emei Order, a Buddhist martial order founded by Guo Xiang on Mount Emei. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 神拳门 – Shénquán Mén. The Divine Fist School, a regional martial school. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 海沙派 – Hǎishā Pài. The Haisha School, a regional martial school. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 巨鲸帮 – Jùjīng Bāng. The Jujing Guild, meaning “Giant Whale Guild.” A martial guild. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 龙门镖局 – Lóngmén Biāojú. The Longmen Armed Escort. A prominent armed escort whose members were massacred, an affair connected to Xie Xun. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

18. 师门 – shīmén. The house of one’s shifu: the master, the fellow disciples, and the rules and obligations binding them. ↩

19. 师太 – shītài. Honorific title for a senior Buddhist nun. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

20. 纪晓芙 – Jǐ Xiǎofú. A disciple of the Emei Order, betrothed to Yin Liting of the Wudang Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

21. 贝锦仪 – Bèi Jǐnyí. A disciple of the Emei Order, shimei of Ji Xiaofu. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

22. 女侠 – nǚxiá. A title of respect for a woman skilled in the martial arts. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩