The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 14 – Part 8

Zhang Wuji looked towards He Taichong, hoping the man might put in a word on his behalf. To his dismay, He Taichong lowered his head and said not a syllable. Zhan Chun and Fifth Gu dared not speak either, for fear that a single word from them would turn Ban Shuxian's fury upon themselves, and that most of a pot of poisoned wine would be poured down their own throats. A chill settled over Zhang Wuji's heart. *These are the very people whose lives I saved, and now that I face peril, they stand by with folded arms, not even a word of intercession.* He said, “Miss Zhan, after I am dead, would you be so good as to take this little sister to Sitting and Forgetting Peak, to her father?” Zhan Chun looked to her shifu.¹ He Taichong nodded. Zhan Chun said, “Very well, I shall take her there.” But in her heart she thought, *The Kunlun Mountains stretch a thousand li.² How am I to know where Sitting and Forgetting Peak lies?*

Zhang Wuji heard her brush him off with a glib promise, not a shred of sincerity in it. He knew these people for the cold and calculating sort they were. More words would be wasted. He said with a cold smile, “The Kunlun School counts itself a renowned faction in the wulin,³ and this is what it amounts to. Mister He, give me the wine to drink!”

He Taichong heard this and flew into a rage. He needed to poison the boy to death as swiftly as possible, so that his wife’s anger might subside before she devised some further scheme to murder Fifth Gu. The fire was singeing his brows — he could only tend to what was before him. There was no time to concern himself with Xie Xun’s whereabouts. He lifted the better part of the pot of poisoned wine and poured it all down Zhang Wuji’s throat. Yang Buhui clutched the boy’s body in her arms and wailed.

Ban Shuxian gave a cold smile. “You may be a finer physician than anyone alive, but you shall not save yourself from this.” She reached out and pressed her fingers into the acupoints⁴ of Zhang Wuji’s shoulders, back, flanks and ribs, sealing each one anew. Then she reversed the hilt of her jian⁵ and struck two great acupoints on each of the four — He Taichong, Zhan Chun, Fifth Gu and Yang Buhui. “I shall return to release you in two shichen,”⁶ she said. While she sealed their acupoints, He Taichong and Zhan Chun did not so much as stir, not daring to dodge. Ban Shuxian turned to the maids and servants standing by. “All of you, out!” She was the last from the room. She drew the door shut behind her and departed with repeated cold laughter.

Once the poisoned wine reached his stomach, it was only moments before Zhang Wuji felt his belly twist with pain. He saw Ban Shuxian leave and close the door. If she has gone, he thought, I am not about to die this instant. He forced down the pain and drew upon his neili,⁷ using the method Xie Xun had taught him, first unblocking the acupoints sealed upon his own body. Then he plucked several hairs from his head, thrust them into his throat and tickled. His throat grew itchy. He retched with a great heave and vomited eight or nine parts in ten of the wine he had drunk. He Taichong, Zhan Chun and the rest watched in astonishment — the boy’s acupoints had been sealed, and yet he could still move.

He Taichong wished to reach out and stop him, but his own wife had sealed his acupoints. For all his formidable skill, there was nothing he could do but seethe in silent frustration. Zhang Wuji still felt pain in his belly, but he had searched his stomach and wrung his guts and could vomit no more. He decided he must first escape this peril, then find some means to purge the poison. He reached for Yang Buhui to unseal her acupoints. But Ban Shuxian’s Kunlun School method of sealing acupoints was a different discipline from any he had encountered. He tried and could not free her. The hour was desperate — there was no time to experiment with other unblocking techniques. He scooped her into his arms, pushed open the window and looked out. Seeing no one, he set Yang Buhui upon the sill outside.

Had He Taichong surged his zhenqi⁸ against the sealed acupoints, he might have broken free in half a shichen or so. But he saw that Zhang Wuji was about to flee. When his wife came to ask after them, there would be trouble enough. Besides, to let this Wudang brat escape bare-handed from the Three Sages Hall of the Kunlun School — and then broadcast to the jianghu⁹ the story of how He Taichong had repaid kindness with treachery — where would a grandmaster’s face be then? He must catch the boy and kill him, at whatever cost. He drew a deep breath and prepared to cry out a warning to his wife.

Zhang Wuji had foreseen as much. From inside his robe he produced a small black pill and pressed it between Fifth Gu’s lips. “This is an Arsenic-Crow Pill.¹⁰ In twelve shichen, Fifth Gu will die with her entrails torn and her heart split. I have left the antidote on a tree thirty li beyond this place, marked with a sign. In three shichen, Mister He may send someone to fetch it. Once taken, the deadly poison may yet be cured. But if I am caught and killed as I try to leave, then since it comes to the same thing in the end, one more companion in death is no great matter.”

This was wholly beyond He Taichong’s expectations. After a moment’s thought, he said in a low voice, “Little brother, these Three Sages Hall grounds are no mere fishpond or tiger’s den, but two children such as you will not fight your way out.” Zhang Wuji knew the warning was no bluff. He said coldly, “Yet the poison of the Arsenic-Crow Pill now in Fifth Gu’s belly — at present there is no one but me who can cure it.” He Taichong said, “Very well. Unseal my acupoints and I shall escort you out myself.” The acupoints Ban Shuxian had sealed on He Taichong were the Fengchi and Jingmen. Zhang Wuji worked upon the Tianzhu, Huantiao, Dazhui and Shangqu points for a while, but to no effect at all.

At this, both men silently marvelled. Zhang Wuji thought, The Kunlun School’s art of sealing acupoints is truly formidable. Hu Xiansheng taught me seven methods for unblocking sealed points, and not one of them works on him. He Taichong was thinking instead: This lad knows so many strange and uncanny methods of unsealing acupoints. He is truly remarkable. Shijie¹¹ plainly sealed seven or eight points on his body, and yet not one of them held. The Wudang Order has made its name across the jianghu in recent years. That old Daoist Zhang Sanfeng’s skill is indeed beyond ordinary reach. That day on Mount Wudang, it was fortunate we did not come to blows with the Wudang folk, or we should have been put to shame. If a child so young is already this formidable, the elders and seniors must be ten times worse still. What he did not know was that Zhang Wuji’s art of unsealing his own acupoints had been taught by Xie Xun, and his skill at unblocking others had been taught by Hu Qingniu.¹² The Wudang Order had its own true talent that shook the wulin, but these two abilities of Zhang Wuji’s had nothing to do with the Wudang Order at all.

He Taichong, seeing that unsealing had failed, had another idea. “Bring the teapot over. Let me have a few mouthfuls of tea.” Zhang Wuji could not fathom why he should want tea at such a moment, but reasoned that the man dared do him no harm, for fear for his beloved concubine’s life. He lifted the teapot and held it to He Taichong’s lips. He Taichong drew a deep mouthful of tea into his cheeks, but did not swallow. Instead, he aimed it at the Qingleng Yuan acupoint in the hollow of his own elbow and spurted it out with force. A jet of water shot straight forth with a hissing sound, and at once the acupoints in his arm were unblocked.

From the moment Zhang Wuji had arrived at the Three Saints Hollow of the Kunlun Mountains, he had seen He Taichong troubled and anxious over Fifth Gu’s illness, cowed by his wife and doting upon his concubine, timid and cringing, like any common man of no spine. Now, for the first time, he glimpsed the man’s true martial power, and was greatly startled. The Kunlun School’s zhangmen possesses neili as deep as this? I took him for far less than he is. He is surely no weaker than Yu the Second Shibo,¹³ Jin Hua Popo, or Miejue Shitai.¹⁴ All this while I saw only his cowardice and pettiness. I did not imagine that, as head of the Kunlun School, he has prowess indeed beyond ordinary men. Had that jet of water struck me in the face or chest, I should have been dead on the spot.

He Taichong turned his right arm in several circles, then unsealed the acupoints in his own legs. “First give her the antidote, and I shall see you safely out of the valley.” Zhang Wuji shook his head. He Taichong said urgently, “I am the zhangmen of Kunlun. Would I break my word to a child? If the poison takes effect, what then?” Zhang Wuji said, “The poison will not take effect so soon.” He Taichong sighed. “Very well. Let us slip out quietly.” The pair leapt from the window. He Taichong brushed a fingertip lightly across Yang Buhui’s back, and at once her acupoints were freed — the touch so light, so supple, it was beyond description. Zhang Wuji was filled with admiration, and the look of it showed in his eyes. He Taichong understood. He gave a faint smile, took each child by the hand, and led them round to the rear garden of the Three Sages Hall, and out through a side gate.

The Three Sages Hall comprised nine courtyards in all, front to back. Beyond the rear garden’s side gate they followed a winding flower-lined path, and passed through still more halls and chambers. The buildings stretched on in unbroken succession, doors and gates layered upon one another. Without He Taichong to guide them, Zhang Wuji would have been lost at once. Even had no Kunlun disciple barred their way, breaking out by force alone would have been no certainty.

Once clear of the Three Sages Hall, He Taichong took Yang Buhui in his left arm and seized Zhang Wuji by the hand with his right. He unfolded his qinggong¹⁵ and raced towards the north-west. Zhang Wuji, borne along by the man, felt his body light as though flying, each leap carrying him over ten feet. The wind rushed past his ears, and it was as if they soared through the air. His respect for He Taichong, and for the Kunlun School, grew another degree. Remembering that the poison in his belly had not yet been purged, he reached into his robe with his left hand, drew out two antidote pills and swallowed them. Only then was his mind at ease.

They had not gone far when a woman’s voice cried from behind: “He Taichong… He Taichong… Stop where you are…” The voice came upon the wind, seeming at once impossibly distant and close at their shoulder. It was Ban Shuxian.

He Taichong hesitated for an instant, then stopped. He sighed and said, “Little brother, you two run on. My wife is upon us. I can take you no further.” Zhang Wuji thought, The man is not altogether without decency. He said, “Mister He, you may go back. What I gave Fifth Gu to swallow was no poison, and no Arsenic-Crow Pill either. It was merely a Sangbei Pill,¹⁶ to soothe the throat and ease a cough. A few days ago, little sister Buhui had a cough, and I made it for her. I happened to have a few pills left on me. I gave you a fright, that is all.” He Taichong was alternately shocked, furious and relieved. “Truly it was not poison?” Zhang Wuji said, “I saved Fifth Gu with my own hands. How could I then poison her?”

Ban Shuxian’s voice came without ceasing: “He Taichong… He Taichong… Do you think you can run?” The sound was closer now.

The sole reason He Taichong had brought Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui to flee was fear that the poison in his beloved concubine might prove incurable. Now, learning that Fifth Gu had taken no poison at all, he knew he had been grossly deceived by this boy. His rage was beyond all bounds. Pa-pa-pa-pa — four slaps in swift succession. Zhang Wuji’s cheeks swelled at once, his mouth filled with blood.

Zhang Wuji bitterly rued his foolishness. What addled wits I have, to have told him the truth! Now both Buhui and I are done for. He saw a fifth slap coming and threw up the Wudang Long Fist’s defence called “The Dragon Turns Its Head in Retreat.” It was meant to meet the incoming palm and deflect it. Had Yu Lianzhou or one of his seniors executed the move, it would have carried fearsome force. But Zhang Wuji had learned nothing more than the merest surface of the Wudang Long Fist. How could he hope to fend off the palm of the Kunlun School’s zhangmen? He Taichong turned his body slightly, avoiding the counter, and struck Zhang Wuji squarely on the right eye with a resounding pa. The eye swelled shut at once. Zhang Wuji had long known that his skill was no match for this man. He let his arms hang at his sides and stood still, making no further resistance.

He Taichong did not stop merely because the boy had ceased to fight back. Left hand, right hand, the slaps fell without pause. He had not channelled neili into his palms, or a single strike would have killed him outright. Even so, every blow left Zhang Wuji dizzy and aching. He was well into his work when Ban Shuxian arrived with two disciples in tow. She stood to one side, cold-faced. Ban Shuxian, seeing that Zhang Wuji made no defence, found the sport wanting. “Try hitting the little girl,” she said. He Taichong, obedient as ever to his wife’s commands, struck Yang Buhui a slap across the face. Pa! Yang Buhui cried out in pain and wailed aloud. Zhang Wuji was furious. “Hit me if you must. Why bully a little girl?”

He Taichong took no notice and struck Yang Buhui again. Zhang Wuji leapt up and rammed his head into the man’s chest.

Ban Shuxian laughed coldly. “A pair of little children, and they still have loyalty between them. Not like a certain faithless wretch, without a shred of honour.”

He Taichong, stung by his wife’s taunt, went crimson. He seized Zhang Wuji by the nape of the neck and hurled him outwards, crying, “Little bastard — go find your mother and father!” He put true force behind the throw, aiming the boy’s skull at a great boulder by the mountainside.

Zhang Wuji flew through the air beyond his own control. In an instant his head would strike the rock and his brains would be dashed out.

Suddenly, from beside him, a surge of force came flying, drawing him aside, lifting his body upright and setting him gently on his feet some distance away. Zhang Wuji, his terror not yet spent, stood upon the ground and squinted through a pair of swollen eyes to one side. Five feet away stood a middle-aged scholar in a white cloth robe of coarse weave.

Ban Shuxian and He Taichong stared at each other in alarm. When had this man arrived? From what direction? They had not sensed him in the least. Even had he been crouching behind the boulder all along, how could the pair of them, with their combined skill, have failed to detect his presence? He Taichong, only moments before, had hurled Zhang Wuji at the boulder with a throw carrying three or four hundred jin¹⁷ of force at the very least. The scholar had merely flicked his long sleeve and dissolved it, drawing the boy aside as though it were nothing. His martial art must be surpassingly high. He appeared to be some fifty years of age, his features handsome and refined, save that the corners of his brows drooped slightly and several deep lines ran from the edges of his mouth, lending him an air of weary melancholy. He neither spoke nor stirred. His expression was remote, as though his mind were far away, lost in thought upon some matter.

He Taichong coughed and said, “Who might you be, sir? Why do you thrust yourself into the Kunlun School’s affairs?” The scholar replied in an even tone, “You must be the Iron Zither Master and Madam He. I am Yang Xiao.”¹⁸

The moment the two words Yang Xiao left his lips, He Taichong, Ban Shuxian and Zhang Wuji all cried out Ah! in unison — though in Zhang Wuji’s cry there was delight, and in the cry of the He couple, fury and alarm in equal measure.

A pair of Kunlun female disciples drew their jian with twin whispers of steel and reversed the hilts, presenting them to their shifu and shimu.¹⁹ He Taichong held his jian across his belly, settling into the stance called Snow Embraces the Blue Bridge.²⁰ Ban Shuxian’s sword-tip slanted towards the ground in the posture called Rustling Autumn Leaves.²¹ Both were among the most profound techniques of the Kunlun School’s swordplay, deceptively light and effortless in appearance, yet each concealing seven or eight savage follow-up strokes. Both had already channelled neili into their right arms. A single flick of the wrist and the gleam of their blades would lengthen, and in an instant they could strike seven or eight vital points upon the enemy. Now, facing a foe of this calibre, they had brought to bear the full sum of their life’s study.

Footnotes

1. 师父 – shīfù. Teacher responsible for technical instruction and moral guidance. Shī means teacher. Fù means father. ↩

2. 里 – lǐ. A Chinese unit of distance, approximately 500 metres or one-third of a mile. ↩

3. 武林 – wǔlín. Literally martial forest. The community of martial artists and their factions. ↩

4. 穴位 – xuéwèi. Specific points on the body through which qi flows, used in traditional medicine and martial arts. ↩

5. 剑 – jiàn. A straight, double-edged sword. ↩

6. 时辰 – shíchén. A traditional Chinese unit of time, equivalent to two hours. The day was divided into twelve shichen. ↩

7. 内力 – nèilì. Internal force. The kinetic manifestation of qi cultivated through neigong. ↩

8. 真气 – zhēnqì. True qi. Refined qi produced through internal cultivation. ↩

9. 江湖 – jiānghú. Literally rivers and lakes. The community of martial artists and their factions; the martial world. ↩

10. 砒鸠丸 – Pījiū Wán. Arsenic-Crow Pill. A fictitious deadly poison, named after arsenic (砒) and the crow (鸠), both associated with toxicity in Chinese tradition. ↩

11. 师姐 – shījiě. Female senior fellow disciple. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Jiě means older sister. ↩

12. 胡青牛 – Hú Qīngniú. His name meaning “Green Ox”. ↩

13. 师伯 – shībó. Senior lineage uncle. The shixiong or shijie of one’s shifu. Shī means teacher. Bó means father’s elder brother. ↩

14. 灭绝师太 – Mièjué Shītài. Her dharma name Mièjué meaning “Extinction”. ↩

15. 轻功 – qīnggōng. Lightness skill. Martial art of agility and levitation. ↩

16. 桑贝丸 – Sāngbèi Wán. Sangbei Pill. A medicinal pill made from mulberry (桑) and fritillaria (贝), used to soothe the throat and ease coughing. ↩

17. 斤 – jīn. A Chinese unit of weight, approximately 590 grams in the Ming Dynasty. ↩

18. 杨逍 – Yáng Xiāo. His name meaning “Carefree”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

19. 师母 – shīmǔ. The wife of one’s shifu. Shī means teacher. Mǔ means mother. ↩

20. 雪拥蓝桥 – Xuě Yōng Lán Qiáo. Snow Embraces the Blue Bridge. A defensive stance from the Kunlun School’s swordplay, named after a classical poem by Han Yu. ↩

21. 木叶萧萧 – Mù Yè Xiāoxiāo. Rustling Autumn Leaves. A stance from the Kunlun School’s swordplay, evoking the sound of falling leaves. ↩