The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 16 – Part 7

Zhang Wuji lay where he was for two more days. One night a wolf came creeping and sniffing towards him. He struck it a single punch and killed it. The beast had failed to find food for itself, and instead became food for his belly.

Several days passed. The wound in his leg had mostly healed, and in another ten days or so he should be able to stand and walk again. He thought the village girl would not come back now, and it was a pity he did not even know her name. He wondered too, Why did her face grow uglier and uglier? He could not fathom it. He turned the question over for half a day, then gave up and fell into a drowsy sleep.

He was woken near midnight by the sound of footsteps crunching through snow in the distance. Several people, approaching together. He sat up at once and peered towards the sound. The new moon was a slender brow that night, and in its pale light he made out seven figures walking towards him. The foremost was supple of figure and graceful in her gait. It seemed to be the village girl. As the seven drew nearer he saw she was indeed the ugly-faced girl, but the six behind her had spread into a fan, as though to prevent her escape.

Zhang Wuji was faintly alarmed. Could her father and brothers have caught up with her?

The thought had barely formed before the girl and her six companions were close. What he saw next shook him far more. He recognised every one of the six. On the left were Wu Qingying,¹ Wu Lie² and Wei Bi;³ on the right the married couple He Taichong⁴ and Ban Shuxian;⁵ and on the far right a middle-aged woman whose features he dimly knew for Ding Minjun⁶ of the Emei Order.

Zhang Wuji was bewildered. How does she know all these people? Is she of the wulin after all? Has she seen through my disguise and led them here to capture me and force me to reveal my sworn father’s whereabouts? The more he thought, the more certain he became, and anger surged in him. You and I have no quarrel, yet you too would harm me! He considered, At present I cannot move my legs. Not one of these six is weak, and the village girl’s martial arts may be strong as well. I had best submit for now and promise to take them to my sworn father. Once my legs have healed, I will find a way to settle accounts with them.

Five years ago he would have flung his life away without a thought, and no threat or torture would have loosened his tongue. But he was older now, and his mind clearer. Since mastering the Nine Yang Manual⁷ his neigong had deepened greatly, and with it came a stillness that let him meet danger with a steady head. Only he had not expected the village girl to turn against him as well, and beneath his anger a pang of hurt crept in. He lay back on the ground, folded his arm beneath his head, and ignored the seven of them altogether.

The village girl walked to where he lay and gazed down at him for a long while. After a time she turned slowly away. He heard her sigh, so softly it was almost nothing, yet the sadness in it was beyond measure. He sneered inwardly. What wicked scheme are you hatching now? Why put on this pretence of pity?

Wei Bi flourished the jian in his hand and sneered, “You said that before you died you must see one person. I thought it would be some handsome young scholar, handsome as Pan An himself. So it turns out to be this ugly monster. Ha! How droll, how droll! You two are a match heaven made and earth paired.”

The village girl was not in the least offended. She said in an even voice, “That is right. Before I die, I want to look at him one last time. Because there is a question I must ask him plainly. Only when I have heard his answer can I close my eyes in peace.”

Zhang Wuji was utterly mystified. He could make no sense of what either of them meant.

The village girl turned to him and said, “I have a question for you. You must answer me honestly.”

Zhang Wuji said, “If it concerns my own affairs, I will tell you plainly. If it concerns someone else, it is not so easily said.” He expected the village girl to ask after Xie Xun’s whereabouts. He had already decided to play for time and keep his answers vague, leaving room to manoeuvre.

The village girl said, “What concern are other people’s affairs to me? I ask you this: that day you told me we were both alone in the world, with no home to go to, and that you were willing to keep me company. Were those words truly from your heart?”

Zhang Wuji was taken aback. He sat up at once and saw that sad look in her eyes again. He said, “They were. Truly.”

The village girl said, “And you truly do not mind my ugly face, and are willing to stay by my side all your days?”

Zhang Wuji was taken aback afresh. All your days were five words he had never once considered, but seeing her on the verge of tears filled him with compassion, and he said, “What does ugly or beautiful matter? It has never entered my heart. If you want my company for talk and laughter, then so long as you do not find me repulsive, I would be glad of it. But if you are trying to trick me into saying something…”

The village girl asked in a trembling voice, “Then you are willing to take me as your wife?”

Zhang Wuji’s whole body shook. For a long moment he could not speak, and managed only, “I… I have never thought… of taking a wife…”

The six, He Taichong and the rest, burst out laughing together. Wei Bi laughed, “Even this ugly bumpkin of a country oaf does not want you. We need not kill you. What flavour is there left in your life? You had best smash your head against a rock and be done with it.”

From the six men’s mockery and Wei Bi’s words, Zhang Wuji understood at once that the village girl and the six were not of the same party, and that Wei Bi and the others meant to kill her directly. Realising the village girl had not led them here to harm him, a warmth spread through his chest. He saw her lower her head. Tears fell from her, one drop after another, and plainly her grief was beyond bearing, though whether for her life about to end, for her disfigured face, or for the blade-edged scorn of Wei Bi’s words, he could not tell.

His heart was deeply stirred. He thought of his own life since the death of his father and mother: adrift and wandering, subjected to insult after insult. This village girl was frail and alone, younger than himself, with a fate more wretched still. For what reason had she come all this way to ask such a question? How could he let her weep and suffer humiliation? And besides, the very asking of it was an offer of her whole self. In all my life, who has ever cared for me as sincerely as this, besides my father and mother, my sworn father, my Grand Shifu, and my shibo and shishu? If I treat her well hereafter, and she treats me well in return, and we depend on each other for the rest of our days, what harm is there in that?

He saw her trembling, on the point of turning away. He reached out at once and took her right hand in his, and cried, “Miss, I am sincere and true in wishing to take you as my wife. I only hope you do not think me unworthy.”

When the girl heard these words, a brilliant light sprang into her eyes at once. She said softly, “Aniu gege,⁸ you are not deceiving me?”

Zhang Wuji said, “Of course I am not deceiving you. From this day forward I will do my utmost to cherish you and care for you. No matter how many people trouble you, no matter how formidable anyone may be who tries to harm you, I would rather give up my own life than let you come to injury. I will make your heart happy, and let you forget all the suffering of the past.”

The girl sat down beside him and leaned against him. She took his other hand in hers and said gently, “If you are willing to treat me so, I am truly happy.” She closed her eyes and said, “Say it again for me. I want to remember every single word. Say it now. How will you treat me?”

Zhang Wuji saw she was overjoyed, and his own heart warmed. Holding her two small hands in his, he felt them soft and smooth, tender as silk. He said, “I will make your heart happy, and let you forget the suffering of the past. No matter how many people harm you or trouble you, I would rather give up my own life than let you come to injury.”

The village girl’s face broke into a sweet smile. She leaned against his chest and said softly, “Before, I asked you to come with me, and not only would you not, but you hit me and cursed me and bit me… Now you say such things to me. I am truly happy.”

When Zhang Wuji heard these words, his heart went cold at once. The village girl had her eyes closed as she listened to him speak, but in her mind she was imagining him as the beloved of her heart.

He felt her body stiffen. She opened her eyes and glanced at him, and her expression changed at once to disappointment and anger, then softened into something like guilt and tenderness. She composed herself and said, “Aniu gege, you are willing to take me as your wife. A woman as ugly as me, and you do not find her repulsive. I am grateful. But years ago my heart already belonged to someone else. Even then he would not look at me. Seeing me now in this state, he would not spare me so much as a glance. That cruel, short-lived little wretch…” She cursed him as a cruel, short-lived little wretch, yet even in the cursing there was a longing that could not let go.

Wu Qingying said coldly, “He has agreed to marry you. The love-words are finished. You can stand up now, can you not?”

The village girl rose slowly to her feet and said to Zhang Wuji, “Aniu gege, I am about to die. Even if I do not die, I can never marry you. But I very much liked the words you spoke to me just now. Do not be angry with me. When you have leisure, think of me for a while.” The words were spoken gently, sweetly. Zhang Wuji could not help a pang of sadness.

Ban Shuxian’s hoarse voice rang out. “We have granted your wish and let you see this man one last time. You too should keep your word, and tell us where that person is.”

The village girl said, “Very well. I know that person once hid in his home.” She raised her hand and pointed at Wu Lie.

Wu Lie’s face changed. He gave a snort and said, “Nonsense… rubbish!”

Wei Bi said furiously, “Speak the truth! Who ordered you to kill my cousin?”

Zhang Wuji was horrified. “Kill… Miss Zhu Jiuzhen?”

Wei Bi glared at him. “You know Miss Zhu Jiuzhen?”

Zhang Wuji said, “The Twin Beauties of the Snow Ridge,⁹ who has not heard of them?”

A faint smile touched the corner of Wu Qingying’s mouth. She said loudly to the village girl, “You there! Who was it who ordered you, in the end?”

The village girl said, “Those who ordered me to kill Zhu Jiuzhen were He Taichong and his wife of the Kunlun School, and Miejue Shitai¹⁰ of the Emei Order.”

Wu Lie roared, “You dare try to sow discord between us! What good will it do you?” With the roar came a palm-strike, the force of it whipping snow from the ground in a cloud. The village girl sidestepped with a strange, twisting movement.

Zhang Wuji’s mind was in turmoil. She… she is truly of the wulin after all. She went and killed Zhu Jiuzhen, and that was for my sake. I said I had been deceived by Miss Zhu and torn to pieces by her hounds, but I never asked her to kill anyone. I thought her temper was strange because her face had grown ugly and her family had suffered some change. I never imagined she would kill people at the drop of a hat.

Wei Bi and Wu Qingying attacked from left and right, jian flashing. The village girl dodged east and darted west, evading nothing but the force of Wu Lie’s mighty palm-strikes. Then suddenly her slender waist twisted and she was at Wu Qingying’s side. A sharp crack rang out as she slapped her across the face. Her left hand shot out and seized Wu Qingying’s jian. Wu Lie and Wei Bi cried out in alarm and rushed to help. The village girl’s jian trembled. “Take that!” A line of blood appeared across Wu Qingying’s face. Wu Qingying screamed and fell backwards. The wound was slight, but she prized her beauty above all things, and at the sting on her cheek her courage failed her utterly.

Footnotes

1. 武青婴 – Wǔ Qīngyīng. Her name meaning “Green Infant”. ↩

2. 武烈 – Wǔ Liè. His name meaning “Martial Fierce”. ↩

3. 卫璧 – Wèi Bì. His name meaning “Guard Jade-Disc”. ↩

4. 何太冲 – Hé Tàichōng. His name meaning “Grand Void”. Zhangmen of the Kunlun School. ↩

5. 班淑娴 – Bān Shūxián. Her name meaning “Refined and Graceful”. ↩

6. 丁敏君 – Dīng Mǐnjūn. Her name meaning “Quick and Virtuous”. ↩

7. 九阳真经 – Jiǔyáng Zhēnjīng. The Nine Yang Manual, a legendary martial arts scripture whose complete practice grants extraordinary neili. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 哥哥 – gēge. Elder brother; a term of affectionate address. ↩

9. 雪岭双姝 – Xuělǐng Shuāngshū. Literally Twin Beauties of the Snow Ridge. The title given to Zhu Jiuzhen and Wu Qingying by the wulin of the Kunlun region. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 师太 – shītài. Honorific title for a senior Buddhist nun. ↩