The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 18 – Part 5

A man from the Flood Water Banner[^hongshuiqi] cried out again, "Banner Chief Tang[^tangqishi] of the Flood Water Banner commands: the situation favours the enemy. Sharp Gold Banner,[^ruijinqi] withdraw at once. Another day we shall avenge Banner Chief Zhuang." Several men from the Sharp Gold Banner cried in unison, "We beg the Flood Water Banner to withdraw first. Avenge us in time to come. Every brother of the Sharp Gold Banner lives and dies with Banner Chief Zhuang."

The black flag of the Flood Water Banner rose suddenly in their ranks. A voice like thunder cried, “Brothers of the Sharp Gold Banner, the Flood Water Banner shall avenge you to the last.” Some seventy-odd men still remained in the Sharp Gold Banner. They cried as one, “Many thanks, Banner Chief Tang.” The Flood Water Banner’s standards churned and the formation withdrew westward in good order. The Huashan School¹ and Kongtong School² saw that the enemy’s retreat was disciplined, and that the rearguard of twenty-odd men carried round tubes of gleaming gold, and none could tell what sorcery lay in them, so neither gave chase. Instead they turned back and pressed the attack on the Sharp Gold Banner from both flanks.

By then the shape of the battle was set. The Kunlun School,³ Emei Order,⁴ Wudang Order,⁵ Huashan School, and Kongtong School had surrounded the Ming Order’s Sharp Gold Banner. Wudang had sent only two men. The other four schools had committed their finest. The Banner Chief of the Sharp Gold Banner was dead and the remnant leaderless, and of course they could not prevail. Yet every man under the banner was so steadfast in loyalty that they would have died rather than retreat, resolved to follow Zhuang Zheng⁶ in death.

Yin Liting⁷ had killed several cult members and felt the victory sat uneasily on him. He called out in a loud voice, “Men of the demonic cult,⁸ hear me: the only road before you leads to death. Cast down your weapons and surrender, and your lives shall be spared.” The Vice Banner Chief laughed aloud. “You think too little of the men of our Ming Order. Banner Chief Zhuang is dead. Why would we wish to live on?” Yin Liting called, “Friends of the Kunlun, Emei, Huashan, and Kongtong schools, all of you step back ten paces. Let these fiends⁹ surrender.” The four schools withdrew separately.

But Miejue Shitai¹⁰ burned with hatred for the demonic cult and would not relent. She swung her jian¹¹ and slew without pause. Wherever the Heavenly Jian¹² passed, jian snapped and dao broke, limbs were severed and heads flew. The Emei disciples saw that their shifu¹³ would not retreat. Those who had fallen back charged forward again to fight, until it became a battle of the Emei Order alone against the Sharp Gold Banner. Some sixty-odd cultists still remained under the banner, and among them over twenty capable fighters. Under the command of the Vice Banner Chief Wu Jingcao,¹⁴ they held off the thirty-odd Emei disciples, outnumbering them two to one, and might have gained the upper hand with ease. But the Heavenly Jian in Shitai’s hands was too keen by far, and her swordsmanship too ferocious. Wherever that green frost passed, none could stand. In the space of a breath, seven or eight more men fell beneath her blade.

Zhang Wuji¹⁵ could not bear to watch. He said to Zhu’er,¹⁶ “Let us go.” He reached out to unseal her acupoints,¹⁷ but though he pressed and kneaded at her back and waist, Zhu’er felt only a numb ache and the acupoints remained sealed shut. He understood at last that Shitai’s neili¹⁸ was so deep that her lightest touch had driven force clear into the marrow of the points. His method of unsealing was correct, but it was not work that could be done in a moment. He sighed and turned his head. The Sharp Gold Banner’s men had lost every weapon to breakage. They stood bare-handed, surrounded on all sides by the Kunlun, Huashan, and Kongtong schools, and showed no thought of flight. Instead they fought the Emei disciples with empty hands.

Though Shitai loathed the demonic cult, she was zhangmen¹⁹ of a great school and would not stoop to butchery of unarmed men. Her left hand’s fingers darted out one after another while her feet moved like drifting cloud and flowing water. In moments she had sealed the acupoints of fifty-odd men of the Sharp Gold Banner. Some stood frozen as though carved from wood. Others had their arms and legs half-raised, caught mid-motion, unable to stir a muscle. The onlookers saw Shitai display such extraordinary skill and broke into cries of admiration. The Emei disciples had ceased their killing too.

Dawn was near when the Tianying Order’s²⁰ three companies appeared, advancing from the southeast, east, and north in shadowy formation. They halted a hundred-odd feet away, plainly watching from a distance, neither advancing nor retreating.

Zhu’er said, “Brother Niu, let us go at once. If we fall into the Tianying Order’s hands, we are undone.” Yet Zhang Wuji felt towards the Tianying Order a closeness he could not name. It was his mother’s faction. Whenever he thought of his mother, he thought too: I shall never see Mama again. But when might I meet Waigong and Uncle one day? Now the Tianying Order’s men were close at hand, and he wished only to see whether Waigong or his Uncle were among them. He had no mind to leave.

Song Qingshu²¹ stepped forward and said to Shitai, “Shitai, let us dispatch the Sharp Gold Banner swiftly and turn to deal with the Tianying Order, before trouble catches us from behind.” Shitai nodded.

The rising sun cast a hazy glow upon Shitai’s tall figure, throwing a long shadow behind her. In her majesty there was something desolate, something terrible. She wished to break the cult’s spirit and would not put them to the sword so easily. She cried in a fierce voice, “Men of the demonic cult, hear me: whoever wishes to live need only beg for mercy, and the road lies open.”

A long silence. Then came a sound of heh-heh, ha-ha, ho-ho, rising without end. The men of the Ming Order laughed together, their voices ringing loud.

Shitai said angrily, “What is there to laugh at?” Wu Jingcao, the Vice Banner Chief of the Sharp Gold Banner, spoke in a clear voice, “We swore to live and die with Banner Chief Zhuang. Kill us quickly.” Shitai gave a cold snort. “Very well. You still play at being a hero and a brave man at a time like this? You would die easily? It shall not be so quick.” Her jian trembled once, and his right arm fell.

Wu Jingcao laughed. His expression did not change. “The Ming Order acts in Heaven’s name, to save the world and succour the people. In life and death we remain the same. Old nun, give up your dream of making us kneel and surrender.”

Shitai’s fury grew. Three strokes in swift succession, and three more cultists lost their arms. She asked the fifth, “Do you beg for mercy?” The man cursed, “Stuff your old nun’s arse!”

Jingxuan²² darted forward, her jian flashing, and severed the man’s right arm. She cried, “Leave this demon to your disciple.” She asked several more in turn, and not one of the Ming Order’s men yielded. Jingxuan’s hand grew soft. She turned and said, “Shifu, these fiends are stubborn beyond reason,” meaning to beg their shifu for mercy on their behalf. Shitai took no notice. “First cut off each man’s right arm. If they still defy us, then the left.” Jingxuan had no choice but to sever several more arms.

Zhang Wuji could contain himself no longer. He leapt from the sled and threw himself before Jingxuan, crying, “Stop!” Jingxuan started and stepped back. Zhang Wuji cried in a loud voice, “Such cruelty, such barbarity. Are you not ashamed?”

Everyone saw suddenly a ragged, wretched-looking boy step forward, and all were taken aback. But when they heard him challenge Jingxuan in such righteous terms, even the renowned masters of the various schools could not but feel the force of his bearing.

Jingxuan gave a long laugh. “Demons and outsiders,²³ every man may slay them. What is cruel or not cruel about that?” Zhang Wuji said, “These men each hold honour above life and meet death unflinching. They are iron-wrought heroes and brave men. How can you call them demons and outsiders?” Jingxuan said, “Are the followers of the demonic cult not demons and outsiders? The Green Winged Bat King²⁴ sucked blood and slew men, and murdered our shijie²⁵ and shidi.²⁶ You saw it with your own eyes. If that is not a fiend, what is?” Zhang Wuji said, “If some men of the demonic cult do evil, do all of them do evil? And among the orthodox schools, does no one do evil? You speak of killing. The Green Winged Bat King slew only two. You have slain ten times as many. He kills with his teeth. Your shifu kills with the Heavenly Jian. The killing is the same. Where is the difference between good and evil?”

Jingxuan flew into a rage. “You wretched boy. You dare compare my shifu to a fiend?” She struck out with a palm at his face. Zhang Wuji twisted aside to dodge. Jingxuan was the senior disciple of the Emei Order, and her martial arts had truly inherited her shifu’s teaching. The palm to his face was a feint. As Zhang Wuji dodged, her left leg flew out and kicked him in the chest.

There came a crack and a smash. Jingxuan’s left leg snapped. Her body flew backwards and landed thirty-odd feet away. The truth was that when Zhang Wuji’s chest received the blow, the Nine Yang Divine Skill²⁷ within him stirred of its own accord and threw up a resistance. His own technique was of course far inferior to Jingxuan’s, but the power of the Nine Yang Divine Skill was this: the greater the force that struck him, the heavier the rebound. Jingxuan’s kick had been no different from kicking herself. Fortunately she had meant no more than to teach him a lesson and had used only half her strength, else the internal injury would have been grave indeed.

Zhang Wuji said contritely, “I beg your pardon.” He rushed forward to help her up. Jingxuan raged, “Get away, get away!” Zhang Wuji said, “Very well.” He withdrew. Two Emei disciples hastened forward to raise their shijie.

Footnotes

1. 华山派 – Huàshān Pài. The Huashan School, one of the six major orthodox factions. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 崆峒派 – Kōngtóng Pài. The Kongtong School, one of the six major orthodox factions. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 昆仑派 – Kūnlún Pài. The Kunlun School, one of the six major orthodox factions, led by He Taichong and Ban Shuxian. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 峨嵋派 – Éméi Pài. The Emei Order, founded by Guo Xiang on Mount Emei. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 武当派 – Wǔdāng Pài. The Wudang Order, founded by Zhang Sanfeng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 庄铮 – Zhuāng Zhēng. Banner Chief of the Sharp Gold Banner of the Ming Order, renowned for his immense strength and wolf-toothed mace. ↩

7. 殷梨亭 – Yīn Lítíng. The sixth of the Seven Xias of Wudang. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 明教 – Míng Jiào. The Ming Order, a revolutionary cult opposing Yuan rule. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 妖邪 – yāoxié. Fiends. The orthodox schools’ term for the unrighteous and demonic. ↩

10. 灭绝师太 – Mièjué Shītài. Her dharma-name, meaning “Extinction” or “Annihilation”. Zhangmen of the Emei Order. 师太 (shītài) is an honorific for a senior Buddhist nun. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 剑 – jiàn. A straight, double-edged sword. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 倚天剑 – Yǐtiān Jiàn. The Heavenly Jian; the name’s literal sense is ‘heaven-reliant’. One of the two supreme weapons of the jianghu, forged with the Dragon-Slaying Dao from meteoric iron. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 师父 – shīfù. Teacher and lineage father. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 吴劲草 – Wú Jìngcǎo. Vice Banner Chief of the Sharp Gold Banner of the Ming Order. ↩

15. 张无忌 – Zhāng Wújì. Protagonist of the story, son of Zhang Cuishan and Yin Susu. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 蛛儿 – Zhū’ér. Nickname of Yin Li, granddaughter of Yin Tianzheng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 穴 – xué. Acupoints. Points on the body’s meridians through which qi flows; can be sealed or struck in martial arts. ↩

18. 内力 – nèilì. Internal force, the kinetic manifestation of qi cultivated through neigong. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

19. 掌门 – zhǎngmén. The head of a school or faction. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

20. 天鹰教 – Tiānyīng Jiào. The Tianying Order, a branch of the Ming Order led by Yin Tianzheng, the White-Browed Eagle King. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

21. 宋青书 – Sòng Qīngshū. Son of Song Yuanqiao and the most promising disciple of the third Wudang generation. Known by the epithet Jade-Faced Mengchang. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

22. 静玄 – Jìngxuán. Senior disciple of the Emei Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

23. 邪魔外道 – xiémó wàidào. Demons and outsiders. A Buddhist set phrase for the unorthodox and evil. ↩

24. 韦一笑 – Wéi Yīxiào. The Green Winged Bat King, one of the four Guardian Kings of the Ming Order, renowned for his matchless qinggong. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

25. 师姐 – shījiě. Female senior fellow disciple of the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Jiě means older sister. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

26. 师弟 – shīdì. Male junior fellow disciple of the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Dì means younger brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

27. 九阳神功 – Jiǔyáng Shéngōng. Literally Nine Yang Divine Skill. A legendary internal cultivation method emphasising pure yang energy, capable of granting extraordinary martial prowess. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩