The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 18 – Part 9

Just then, several sharp notes from a conch horn came drifting from afar. It was precisely the Tianying Order's signal of alarm. Yin Yewang[^yinyewang] frowned and thought, *The Flood Water Banner and Blazing Fire Banner must be angry I did not go to the Sharp Gold Banner's aid, and trouble has broken out again. If I cannot kill this boy with a single palm, I have no time now to tangle with him. Better to borrow a blade and let him court death at Wei Yixiao's[^weiyixiao] hands.* He said aloud, "The Tianying Order has met with enemies. I must hasten back to deal with it. You go find Wei Yixiao alone. The man is fierce and cunning. When you meet him, strike first."

Zhang Wuji¹ said, “My skills are trifling. How could I defeat him? What enemies have come to attack you?”

Yin Yewang cocked his head to listen to the horn. “Indeed, the Flood Water, Blazing Fire, and Thick Earth banners of the Ming Order² have all arrived.”

Zhang Wuji said, “You are all one branch of the Ming Order. Why must you slaughter one another?”

Yin Yewang’s face darkened. “What does a child know? Meddling in other people’s business again!” He turned and ran back the way he had come.

Zhang Wuji thought, Zhu’er³ has fallen into the hands of that great demon Wei Yixiao. If he bites her throat and drinks her blood, what life will she have left? The thought made him all the more anxious. He drew a deep breath of zhenqi⁴ and broke into a run. Fortunately, though Wei Yixiao’s qinggong⁵ was superb, carrying a person in his arms meant he could not tread upon the sand without leaving a trace. A trail of footprints still marked the desert. Zhang Wuji made up his mind: When he rests, I will not rest. When he sleeps, I will not sleep. If I run for three days and three nights, I will catch up with him somehow.

Yet to run for three days and three nights beneath the blazing sun, amid the yellow sand, was no easy matter. By nightfall his mouth was dry and his lips cracked, and sweat poured from him like rain. Yet strange to say, his legs showed no sign of tiring. The Nine Yang Divine Skill⁶ he had been storing up for years was now trickling forth, drop by drop. The more exertion he spent, the more vigorous he became.

He drank his fill from a spring and kept running, following Wei Yixiao’s footprints without pause.

By the middle of the night, with the moon high overhead, Zhang Wuji was suddenly seized with dread. He feared that at any moment he might come upon Zhu’er’s corpse, drained dry of blood. Just then, he seemed to hear the faint sound of footsteps behind him. He looked back, but saw no one. He did not dare delay and ran on. At once the footsteps behind him returned.

He was greatly puzzled and looked back again. Still no one. He looked carefully. There were plainly three sets of footprints in the sand: Wei Yixiao’s, his own, and a third. Whose were those? He turned forward again. Before him lay only Wei Yixiao’s single trail. Then someone was following him, beyond doubt. Yet he could never see the man. Did the fellow possess some art of invisibility?

His mind full of questions, he ran on, and at once the footsteps behind him sounded again.

Zhang Wuji called out, “Who’s there?”

A voice behind him answered, “Who’s there?”

Zhang Wuji was startled. “Are you man or ghost?”

The voice echoed, “Are you man or ghost?”

Zhang Wuji whirled about with sudden speed. This time he caught a glimpse of the man’s shadow cast upon the ground and realised that someone of extraordinary swiftness had been hiding at his back. He cried, “Why are you following me?”

The man said, “Why are you following me?”

Zhang Wuji laughed. “How should I know? That is why I am asking you.”

The man said, “How should I know? That is why I am asking you.”

Zhang Wuji judged that the man seemed to bear him no great ill will. Otherwise, he had been trailing behind for so long and could have struck at any moment, taking Zhang Wuji’s life with ease. He said, “What is your name?”

The man said, “Cannot Tell.⁷”

Zhang Wuji said, “Why can you not tell?”

The man said, “Cannot Tell means cannot tell. What more is there to say? What is your name?”

Zhang Wuji said, “I… my name is Zeng ANiu.”

The man said, “What are you doing, running like a madman in the middle of the night?”

Zhang Wuji knew this was a man of extraordinary skill. He said, “A friend of mine has been taken by the Blue-Winged Bat King. I am going to rescue her.”

The man said, “You will not rescue her.”

Zhang Wuji said, “Why not?”

The man said, “The Green Winged Bat King’s martial arts are stronger than yours. You cannot beat him.”

Zhang Wuji said, “Even if I cannot beat him, I must fight him.”

The man said, “Very good. You have spirit. Is your friend a girl?”

Zhang Wuji said, “Yes. How did you know?”

The man said, “If she were not a girl, would a young man risk his life so willingly? Is she very beautiful?”

Zhang Wuji said, “She is extremely ugly!”

The man said, “And you? Are you ugly?”

Zhang Wuji said, “Come in front of me and you will see.”

The man said, “I do not want to look. Does the girl know martial arts?”

Zhang Wuji said, “She does. She is the daughter of Yin Yewang,⁸ a senior of the Tianying Order. She learnt her skills from Granny Gold Flower⁹ of Spirit Snake Island.¹⁰”

The man said, “No use chasing, then. Once Wei Yixiao has caught her, he will certainly not let her go.”

Zhang Wuji said, “Why?”

The man gave a snort. “You are a fool. You do not use your head. Who is Yin Yewang to Yin Tianzheng¹¹?”

Zhang Wuji said, “His son.”

The man said, “Between the White-Browed Eagle King and the Blue-Winged Bat King, whose martial arts are the higher?”

Zhang Wuji said, “I do not know. May I ask you, Senior, which is higher?”

The man said, “Each has his strengths. Now, which of the two holds the greater power?”

Zhang Wuji said, “The Eagle King is the Order Leader of the Tianying Order. Presumably his power is greater.”

The man said, “Correct. Therefore Wei Yixiao has seized Yin Tianzheng’s granddaughter. She is a prize he will not relinquish lightly. He means to hold her hostage and force Yin Tianzheng to yield.”

Zhang Wuji shook his head. “I fear that will not succeed. Yin Yewang is bent upon killing his own daughter.”

The man asked in surprise, “Why?”

Zhang Wuji then told him briefly how Zhu’er had killed her father’s favourite concubine and caused her own mother’s death.

When he had finished, the man clucked his tongue in admiration. “Remarkable, remarkable. A fine constitution and excellent stock indeed.”

Zhang Wuji asked, puzzled, “What fine constitution?”

The man said, “So young, and already she has killed her stepmother and brought about her own mother’s death. Add to that Granny Gold Flower’s training on Spirit Snake Island, and she is the sort of girl one cannot bear to see come to harm. Wei Yixiao will want to take her as his disciple.”

Zhang Wuji was startled. “How do you know that?”

The man said, “Wei Yixiao is a good friend of mine. Naturally I understand his thinking.”

Zhang Wuji stood frozen for an instant, then cried aloud, “This is bad!” He broke into a run. The man kept close at his back.

Zhang Wuji ran and asked, “Why are you following me?”

The man said, “My curiosity is aroused. I want to see the fun. Why are you still chasing Wei Yixiao?”

Zhang Wuji said urgently, “Zhu’er already has a touch of the devil in her. I absolutely cannot let her become Wei Yixiao’s disciple. If she too learns to drain men of their blood, what will become of her?”

The man said, “You are very fond of Zhu’er, then? Why do you care so much?”

Zhang Wuji sighed. “I do not know whether I am fond of her or not. Only… she is a little like my mother.”

The man said, “Ah. So your mother was an ugly one too. That means you cannot be much to look at yourself.”

Zhang Wuji said hotly, “My mother was very beautiful. Do not talk nonsense.”

The man said, “A pity, a pity.”

Zhang Wuji said, “What is there to pity?”

The man said, “You have spirit, this young man. You have mettle. You are not bad at all. Pity that very soon you will be a corpse with every drop of blood sucked from you.”

Zhang Wuji’s thoughts turned. He is not wrong. Even if I catch up with Wei Yixiao, how can I save Zhu’er? I will only be throwing away my own life for nothing. He said, “Senior, will you help me?”

The man said, “No. First, Wei Yixiao is a good friend of mine. Second, I cannot beat him either.”

Zhang Wuji said, “If Wei Yixiao is your good friend, why do you not persuade him?”

The man gave a long sigh. “What is the use of persuading? Wei Yixiao does not want to drink men’s blood himself. He has no choice. If he does not drink blood, he dies.”

Zhang Wuji was astonished. “No choice? How can that be?”

The man said, “When Wei Yixiao was cultivating his neigong,¹² he suffered a Qi Deviation.¹³ Ever since then, whenever he stirs his neili,¹⁴ he must drink human blood. Otherwise his whole body shakes with cold, and he freezes to death on the spot.”

Zhang Wuji mused, “Is that a damage to the Three Yin meridian channels?”

The man asked in surprise, “How do you know that?”

Zhang Wuji said, “I am only guessing. I do not know whether I am right.”

The man said, “Three times I have entered Changbai Mountain,¹⁵ seeking a fire toad to cure his illness. Three times in vain. The first time I actually saw the fire toad, but it was twenty feet away and I could not catch it. The second and third times, I did not even glimpse the creature. Once this present trouble is past, I shall have to go again.”

Zhang Wuji said, “Let me come with you, shall I?”

The man said, “Hmm. Your neili is sufficient, but your qinggong is wretched. Not a shred of accomplishment. We shall see.” He paused. “Tell me, why do you want to help catch the fire toad?”

Zhang Wuji said, “If you catch it, not only will Wei Yixiao’s illness be cured, but many lives will be saved. He will never need to drink human blood again. Ah, Senior, has he been running this long, stirring his neili? Is he forced to… will he have to drink Zhu’er’s blood?”

The man was taken aback. “That… he might. Though he wants to take Zhu’er as his disciple, once the chills seize him and his blood is about to freeze solid, at that point, I fear even his own daughter…”

Zhang Wuji grew more alarmed with every thought and ran as though his life depended on it.

Suddenly the man said, “Eh, what is that behind you?”

Zhang Wuji turned his head to look. In an instant everything went black. His whole body was engulfed by something enormous. He was lifted clean off the ground, suspended inside what seemed to be a cloth sack. The man had picked him up. He stretched out his hands to tear the bag open, but the material was neither silk nor leather. It was extraordinarily tough. To the touch it felt like coarse cloth, but however hard he pulled, it did not give in the slightest.

The man lifted the bag and hurled it to the ground with a laugh. “If you can get out of my bag, I will acknowledge your skill.”

Zhang Wuji channelled his neili and thrust outward with both hands, but the bag was soft and yielded to every push, absorbing his force. He drew back his right foot and kicked hard. A dull sound rang out. The bag bulged outward slightly, then no more. However he pulled, pushed, tugged, tore, rolled, or rammed, the sack remained stubbornly inert, dead to every force he applied.

The man laughed. “Have you had enough?”

Zhang Wuji said, “I have had enough!”

The man asked again, “Have you truly had enough of me?”

Zhang Wuji said, “I have truly and willingly had enough of you, Senior. Your bag is most remarkable!”

The man chuckled. “Very good, very good!” He slapped him through the bag upon the rear with a sharp crack, and laughed. “Boy, stay obediently inside my Universe One Qi Bag.¹⁶ I am taking you somewhere fine. If you say a single word and someone discovers us, I cannot save you.”

Zhang Wuji said, “Where are you taking me?”

The man laughed. “You have already fallen into my Universe One Qi Bag. Can you escape if I want your life? Keep still and say nothing, and there will be advantage in it for you.”

Zhang Wuji thought the reasoning fair enough and stopped struggling.

The man said, “That you can get into my bag is your good fortune.” He hoisted the bag onto his shoulder and set off at a run.

Zhang Wuji said, “What about Zhu’er?”

The man said, “How should I know? If you nag once more, I will shake you right out of this bag.”

Zhang Wuji thought, That is exactly what I want. But he dared not speak aloud. He could only sense that the man’s footwork was extraordinarily swift.

The man travelled for several shichen.¹⁷ Inside the bag, Zhang Wuji gradually began to feel the heat. He knew it must be daytime, the sun beating upon the cloth. After a while, he sensed that the man was climbing steadily upwards, as though ascending a mountain. Once they began the ascent, another two shichen passed. By now a sharp chill had settled over Zhang Wuji’s body. He thought, We must have reached a very high peak. Snow on the summit. That is why it is so cold.

Suddenly his body took flight. He was startled and could not help crying out.

His cry had not yet ended when he felt the sack jerk to a halt. The man had landed. Only then did Zhang Wuji understand: the fellow had just leapt across some great distance with him inside the bag. He reasoned that they must be on the perilous cliff of some towering peak. The man had carried him in leaps across rock slick with ice and snow. A single misstep, and they would both have been dashed to pieces.

The thought had barely formed when the man leapt again. On and on he bounded, sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes near, sometimes far. Zhang Wuji, sealed in the bag without the faintest gleam of light, could not see a thing. Yet from the motion alone he could divine that the terrain must be fearsomely treacherous.

Footnotes

1. 张无忌 – Zhāng Wújì. Protagonist. Son of Zhang Cuishan and Yin Susu. Currently using the alias Zeng ANiu. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 明教 – Míng Jiào. The Ming Order. A revolutionary organisation opposing Yuan rule. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 蛛儿 – Zhū’ér. Daughter of Yin Yewang. Practitioner of the Thousand Spider Ten Thousand Poison Hand. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 真气 – zhēnqì. Refined qi from internal cultivation. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 轻功 – qīnggōng. The lightness skill. Martial arts technique for agility and weightlessness. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 九阳神功 – Jiǔyáng Shéngōng. Literally Nine Yang Divine Skill. A legendary internal cultivation method emphasising pure yang energy. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 说不得 – Shuōbùdé. Literally “Cannot Tell.” One of the Ming Order’s Five Unbound Adepts. Known for carrying a sturdy cloth bag. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 殷野王 – Yīn Yěwáng. Son of Yin Tianzheng and father of Zhu’er. A senior figure in the Tianying Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 金花婆婆 – Jīnhuā Pópó. Granny Gold Flower. Mistress of Spirit Snake Island and teacher of Zhu’er. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 灵蛇岛 – Língshé Dǎo. Spirit Snake Island. The island stronghold of Granny Gold Flower. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 殷天正 – Yīn Tiānzhèng. The White-Browed Eagle King. Founder and Order Leader of the Tianying Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 内功 – nèigōng. Internal cultivation. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 走火入魔 – zǒuhuǒrùmó. Qi Deviation. A catastrophic error in internal cultivation that causes lasting damage. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 内力 – nèilì. Internal force. The kinetic manifestation of qi. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 长白山 – Chángbái Shān. Changbai Mountain. A mountain range on the border between China and Korea, home to rare creatures including the legendary fire toad. ↩

16. 乾坤一气袋 – Qiánkūn Yīqì Dài. The Universe One Qi Bag. Cannot Tell’s signature weapon: an extraordinarily tough cloth sack that absorbs all force applied within it. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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