The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 19 – Part 4

Yuanzhen laughed. “Your demonic cult's Bright Peak,¹ with its seven peaks and thirteen cliffs. You count it an impregnable redoubt. Yet in the eyes of this Shaolin monk it is nothing but an open road, scarcely worth the walking. Every last one of you has fallen to my Phantom Shadow Finger.² Within three days you shall all depart for the Western Heaven, and that shall be no great undertaking. This poor monk shall now ascend to Sacred Fire Peak, bury several hundred jin³ of gunpowder beneath the earth, and then extinguish the Ming Order's sacred fire. The Tianying Order, the Five Elements Banners: the moment they see the blaze, they will come rushing to the rescue in great haste. One thunderous detonation, the powder buried underground will burst forth, and the invincible Ming Order shall vanish in smoke and flame. There is a verse to mark it: a Shaolin monk alone points the finger and destroys the Ming Order; seven demons of Bright Peak depart for the Western Heaven.”

Yang Xiao and the rest heard these words and were all seized with great alarm. The man plainly meant what he said. Their own deaths mattered little, but the Ming Order had been transmitted through thirty-three generations in the Central Plains. It seemed today it would be destroyed at the hands of this Shaolin monk.

Yuanzhen spoke with ever greater relish. “Among the Ming Order’s ranks, masters are as thick as clouds. Had you not turned upon each other and split into factions, how could disaster have overtaken you? Had the seven of you not been locked together in your contest of palm-force just now, this poor monk would have crept up Bright Peak in secret, and how could a single strike have sufficed? As the saying goes: ‘Heaven’s ruin may yet be survived; self-wrought ruin is beyond remedy.’ Ha! To think that the once-mighty Ming Order, the moment Yang Dingtian⁴ died, should have been reduced to such a state.”

Yang Xiao, Peng Yingyu, Zhou Dian and the rest, facing the catastrophe of death and the destruction of their Order, heard his words and thought back upon the events of the past thirty years. Each felt regret without limit, and thought, This venomous monk’s words are not wrong.

Zhou Dian cried aloud, “Yang Xiao, I, Zhou Dian, truly deserve to die! In the past I wronged you. You are not much to look at, but as Order Leader you would be better than no Order Leader at all, with the Ming Order torn apart and destroyed to the last man.” Yang Xiao smiled bitterly. “What virtue or talent have I to lead the Order? We were all in the wrong. We have made a wretched mess of things. Beneath the Nine Springs,⁵ not one of us will have the face to meet the successive leaders of the Ming Order who came before us.”

Yuanzhen laughed. “Your repentance comes too late. When Yang Dingtian held the title of Great Demon Lord, his arrogance was beyond measure. What a pity he died too soon and could not witness the Ming Order’s sorry end with his own eyes.”

Zhou Dian cursed furiously, “Bullshit! If Leader Yang were still alive, we would all follow his orders. Do you think a thieving bald-pate like you could have succeeded with a sneak attack?” Yuanzhen sneered, “Dead or alive, Yang Dingtian, I have ways of seeing him discredited and ruined…”

Suddenly there came a sharp clap, followed at once by a cry of pain. Yuanzhen’s back had taken a full palm-strike from Wei Yixiao.⁶ At that same instant, Yuanzhen countered with a finger-thrust of his own, striking Wei Yixiao squarely in the Tanzhong⁷ acupoint at the centre of his chest. The two men swayed, each stumbling backwards several steps.

The truth was that after Yuanzhen’s finger had struck him, though Wei Yixiao was gravely wounded, his neili⁸ surpassed the monk’s by a clear margin, and he was not utterly without the power to strike back. He had merely feigned unconsciousness, waiting until Yuanzhen, swollen with triumph and off his guard, let his defences fall completely, then erupted with a sudden assault. In that palm he had poured every last dreg of his strength, meaning to save the Ming Order from catastrophe and perish alongside the enemy. Yuanzhen, formidable as he was, still faced a man who was one of the Ming Order’s Four Guardian Kings, ranked alongside Yin Tianzheng and Xie Xun in fame. How could such a desperate blow be a trifling matter? The force of the Cold Ice Cotton Palm⁹ surged into Yuanzhen’s body. He felt his chest roil with nausea. Again and again he channelled his neili in an attempt to steady himself, but the world spun and he was on the verge of collapse. He had no choice but to sit cross-legged and drive his qi against the cold emanating from the palm.

Wei Yixiao, for his part, had taken two strikes of the Phantom Shadow Finger. He could not even hold his footing. He collapsed and at once could not move at all.

In that instant the great hall fell utterly silent. Eight supremely skilled fighters all lay stricken, and not one could advance half a step. Each drove his neili inward, hoping to recover the power of motion a moment sooner than the rest. For whichever side moved first, even by a breath, could kill the other. Anxiety consumed them all. They knew that the survival of the Ming Order and the lives of these eight hung upon the thinnest of threads. If Yuanzhen could move first, grievously wounded as he was, he could still raise a sword and despatch them one by one. If any one of the seven Ming Order men could stir first and kill Yuanzhen, then the Ming Order would be saved.

By rights the seven should have held the advantage, outnumbering their foe. But the Five Unbound Adepts’ neigong was shallower, and a single strike of the Phantom Shadow Finger had stripped them of all power. Yang Xiao and Wei Yixiao, both deep in internal cultivation, had each taken two fingers. The Cold Ice Cotton Palm and the Phantom Shadow Finger were so evenly matched that neither could gain the upper hand. Yet Wei Yixiao had struck his palm whilst already wounded, whereas Yuanzhen’s first finger-thrust had found him unhurt. By the reckoning of attrition, it seemed more likely that Yuanzhen would recover the power to move first.

Yang Xiao and the others were inwardly anguished. But the circulation of neili would not be hurried. The more anxious and restless the mind, the greater the risk of a dangerous deviation. Every one of them was a master of internal cultivation. How could they not understand this? Leng Qian and the rest breathed and exhaled several times, knowing they could not overtake Yuanzhen. They could only hope that some subordinate of Yang Xiao’s on Bright Peak might walk into the hall. Even if but a single Ming Order cultist were to walk in, though he knew not a shred of martial arts, a gentle tap with a wooden stick would be enough to kill Yuanzhen.

But they waited a long while, and beyond the hall there was not the faintest sound. It was now the dead of night. The Order’s cultists above were either posted at their sentry stations or lay sleeping in their quarters. Without Yang Xiao’s summons, who would dare enter the Council Hall unbidden? As for the pages who attended Yang Xiao, one had been drained of blood by Wei Yixiao and lay dead. The rest had scattered in terror, their souls fled. Even had Yang Xiao rung the summoning bell, which he had not, it was doubtful that any of them would dare set foot in this hall and approach the Blood-Sucking Demon King.

Zhang Wuji lay hidden inside the cloth sack. Though he could see nothing, he had heard every word, every turn of events, with perfect clarity. Now he heard only silence, and knew that within that silence lurked a deadly peril. After a while he heard Cannot Tell¹⁰ say, “Hey, little friend in the cloth sack, you must save us.” Zhang Wuji asked, “How am I meant to save you?”

Yuanzhen was just then coaxing a thread of zhenqi¹¹ from his dantian¹² back into flow, and the sensation was gradually easing. Suddenly he heard a voice issue from the cloth sack. The shock was tremendous. His zhenqi reversed course at once and his whole body shook violently. Since slipping into the Council Hall his sole purpose had been to strike at Wei Yixiao, Yang Xiao and the other masters, and he had had no leisure to examine a cloth sack lying on the ground that showed no sign of anything unusual. Now, hearing someone speak from inside it, he drew a sharp breath and thought, My life is done for!

Cannot Tell said, “The mouth of this sack is sealed with a Thousand-Fold Binding.¹³ No one but myself can untie it. But you may stand up.” Zhang Wuji said, “Very well,” and rose from within the sack.

Cannot Tell said, “Little brother, you risked your own life to save the lives of several dozen brothers of the Sharp Gold Banner. Your courage and righteousness are the admiration of all. Now the lives of us few depend upon you as well. I ask you to walk over there and strike that venomous monk a single punch or palm, and kill him.” Zhang Wuji was silent for a long while and did not answer. Cannot Tell said, “This venomous monk took advantage of our weakness and struck from ambush. You heard his despicable words with your own ears. If you do not kill him, every man, woman and child among the tens of thousands of the Ming Order will be murdered to the last. To kill him is an act of great courage and great righteousness.” Zhang Wuji still hesitated and did not reply.

Yuanzhen said, “At this moment I cannot move so much as a finger. If you come over and strike me dead, will the heroes of the world not laugh at you?” Zhou Dian raged, “You stinking bald-pated thief! Your Shaolin Order calls itself a righteous faction, yet you sneak up like a common burglar to strike from ambush. Do you think the heroes of the world will not laugh at that?”

Zhang Wuji took one step towards Yuanzhen, then stopped, and said, “Great Master Cannot Tell, the rights and wrongs between your honoured Order and the six great schools, I am in no position to judge them. I am most willing to lend you aid, but I do not wish to harm this Shaolin monk.”

Peng Yingyu said, “Little brother, you do not know. If you do not kill him now, the moment this monk recovers his neili he will certainly harm you too.” Yuanzhen laughed. “I bear no grudge against this young benefactor. How could I harm him at random? Moreover, this young benefactor is not of the demonic cult. It seems he was captured by the Cloth-Sack Monk and brought up the mountain in ill faith. You of the demonic cult commit every evil under heaven. What good could you possibly do for him?”

Both sides were gasping for breath, and every word was spoken with the utmost difficulty. Yet each strained to weave their pleas, hoping to sway Zhang Wuji’s heart.

Zhang Wuji was sorely torn. He had heard with his own ears that this monk Yuanzhen had struck by ambush, a thoroughly unscrupulous act. But to walk over and strike him dead went against his nature. Moreover, once that palm fell, he would stand forever on the side of the Ming Order, an enemy of the six great schools. His Grand Shifu,¹⁴ his shibo and shishu, Zhou Zhiruo, all would become his enemies. He thought further, The Ming Order has always been considered by the wulin¹⁵ to be a heterodox and demonic cult. Wei Yixiao drinking men’s blood, my sworn father slaughtering the innocent, there is much that is wrong with them. Grand Shifu warned me earnestly years ago never to associate with the demonic cult, lest I suffer ruin all my days. My own father, because he wed a mother who belonged to the Ming Order, took his own life atop Wudang Mountain. And this Yuanzhen is the disciple of Divine Monk Kongjian.¹⁶ Great Master Kongjian endured thirteen blows of the Seven Injuries Fist¹⁷ willingly, hoping to reform my sworn father, and died beneath it instead. Such great benevolence and such self-sacrificing compassion are without parallel in the wulin through the ages. How could I strike his disciple?

Cannot Tell was urging and exhorting him still. Zhang Wuji said, “Great Master Cannot Tell, pray teach me a way in which I need not harm this Great Monk, and yet he cannot harm you either. I shall certainly do as you ask.”

Cannot Tell thought to himself, The present situation demands that one side perish and the other prevail. How can both be preserved? Either Yuanzhen dies, or we are undone. He was still hesitating, weighing his answer, when Peng Yingyu said, “Little brother, your heart is a benevolent one, and most admirable. I ask only that you extend your finger and press it gently against the Yutang¹⁸ acupoint on Yuanzhen’s chest. That shall cause him no harm. It will merely prevent him from channeling his neili for several shichen.¹⁹ We shall send men to carry him down Bright Peak, and not a hair of his head shall be harmed. Do you know where the Yutang acupoint lies?”

Zhang Wuji was deeply versed in medicine and knew that a light press upon the Yutang acupoint could indeed temporarily block the ascent of zhenqi from the dantian without harming the body. He said, “I know.” But Yuanzhen spoke at once, “Young Benefactor, you must not fall into their trap. You press my acupoints, and though that is harmless enough, the moment their neili returns they will come to kill me. How will you stop them?”

Zhou Dian cursed, “Your stinking dog-bollocks! We said we would not harm you, so naturally we will not harm you. When has a sworn word of the Five Unbound Adepts of the Ming Order ever been broken?”

Footnotes

1. 光明顶 – Guāngmíng Dǐng. Bright Peak. The summit headquarters of the Ming Order atop the Kunlun Mountains. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 幻阴指 – Huànyīn Zhǐ. Phantom Shadow Finger. A finger technique of terrifying subtlety, channelling a yin-cold force that paralyses the victim’s meridians. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 斤 – jīn. A unit of mass, roughly 590 grams in the Ming period. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 阳顶天 – Yáng Dǐngtiān. The previous leader of the Ming Order, who vanished under mysterious circumstances many years ago. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 九泉 – jiǔquán. The Nine Springs. A poetic term for the underworld, the realm of the dead. ↩

6. 韦一笑 – Wéi Yīxiào. Known as the Green Winged Bat King. A supreme master of the Ming Order and one of its Four Guardian Kings. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 膻中 – tánzhōng. The Tanzhong acupoint, located at the centre of the chest between the nipples. A vital acupoint governing the flow of qi. ↩

8. 内力 – nèilì. Internal force. The kinetic manifestation of qi cultivated through neigong, stored in the dantian and circulated through the jingmai. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 寒冰绵掌 – Hánbīng Miánzhǎng. Cold Ice Cotton Palm. Wei Yixiao’s signature technique, which channels a bone-piercing cold into the opponent’s meridians through palm-contact. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 说不得 – Shuōbùdé. Known as the Cloth-Sack Monk (布袋和尚). One of the Five Unbound Adepts, famed for carrying enemies inside a giant cloth sack. His name means literally “cannot tell.” See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 真气 – zhēnqì. True qi. The refined qi produced by internal cultivation, circulating through the meridians and sustaining the body’s defensive and offensive power. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 丹田 – dāntián. The field of elixir. The body’s principal energy centre, situated below the navel, where neili is stored. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 千缠百结 – qiān chán bǎi jié. Thousand-Fold Binding. An intricate knotting technique used to seal the mouth of Cannot Tell’s cloth sack, impossible for anyone but the owner to undo. ↩

14. 师父 – shīfù. Teacher and lineage father. Shī means teacher. Fù means father. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 武林 – wǔlín. The martial forest. The community of martial artists and their factions, distinct from but overlapping with the jianghu. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 空见 – Kōngjiàn. Divine Monk Kongjian, a venerable elder of the Shaolin Order renowned for his compassion and martial prowess. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 七伤拳 – Qīshāng Quán. Seven Injuries Fist. A devastating fist technique of the Kongtong School that damages the user’s own organs with each strike. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

18. 玉堂 – Yùtáng. The Yutang acupoint, located on the chest. A press here temporarily blocks the upward flow of zhenqi from the dantian without causing injury. ↩

19. 时辰 – shíchén. A traditional Chinese unit of time, equal to approximately two hours. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩