The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 19 – Part 7

Zhou Dian said, "It's that difficult?" The Iron Crown Adept replied, "If it were not so difficult, how could it be called the Ming Order's guardian art?" These martial arts masters of the Ming Order had long heard of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth[^qiankundanuoyi] and had always been drawn to it. Now that it was mentioned, even though they were in peril, they could not help but discuss it.

Peng Yingyu¹ said, “Left Messenger Yang, if your zhangmen² trained this divine skill to the fourth level, why did his face change colour?” His questions on matters beside the point had a deeper purpose. He knew that if Yuanzhen³ took a few more steps forward, they would each fall one by one to his hand. He had managed to draw the monk into conversation about the past, and should drag it out as long as possible. If even one of their Order’s seven masters could recover movement, he could hold Yuanzhen off for a time. Even if he could not win, something might change. It was better than waiting here to die with bound hands.

How could Yang Xiao⁴ not understand his intention? He said, “The principle of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth lies in reversing the interplay of hard and soft, of yin and yang. When the face shows blue or red, it is a sign that the blood within has sunk and the zhenqi⁵ has shifted. It is said that when one reaches the sixth level, the whole body can flash from red to blue at will. But upon reaching the seventh level, the transformation of yin and yang qi occurs without awareness, and there is no outward sign at all.”

Peng Yingyu, fearing Yuanzhen would grow impatient, asked him, “Great Master Yuanzhen, why exactly did our Zhang zhangmen pass away?”

Yuanzhen sneered, “After you were struck by my Phantom Yin Finger,⁶ I listened to the sound of your breathing and qi circulation, and knew that within two shichen⁷ you would be utterly unable to move. You wish to stall for time, to circulate your qi and free yourselves? Frankly, that will not be soon enough. You are all masters of the martial arts. Even with a grave wound, after circulating your inner breath for so long, you should have improved somewhat. Yet why do your bodies grow stiffer by the moment?”

Yang Xiao and Peng Yingyu had long considered this very point. But so long as a breath of life remained, they would not give up.

They heard Yuanzhen continue, “At that time I saw Yang Dingtian’s⁸ face changing, and I could not help but feel alarmed myself. My shimei knew his martial arts were supreme, that a single strike could kill us all. She said, ‘Dingtian, it is all my fault. Let Cheng shige leave the mountain. Any punishment, I will accept willingly.’ Yang Dingtian heard her words and shook his head. Slowly he said, ‘I won your body, but I could never win your heart.’ I saw his eyes stare fixedly, and suddenly two streams of blood flowed from them. His body went rigid, and he did not move at all. My shimei was greatly frightened. She cried, ‘Dingtian, Dingtian! What is wrong?’”

Though Yuanzhen’s voice was not loud as he spoke these words, yet in the still of the night, and thinking upon the terrible sight of Yang Dingtian’s bleeding eyes, all who heard could not but be shaken to the core.

Yuanzhen went on, “She called out many times, yet Yang Dingtian did not stir. My shimei took courage and went forward to take his hand, but it was already stiff. She felt for breath at his nostrils and found he was dead. I knew she felt guilt, and I comforted her, saying, ‘It seems he was practising a most difficult martial art, and suddenly suffered Qi Deviation.⁹ His zhenqi surged in reverse, beyond any cure.’ My shimei said, ‘It is true. He was practising the Ming Order’s peerless art, the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, at its most critical juncture, when he discovered you and me meeting in secret. Though I did not kill him with my own hand, yet he died because of me.’

“I was about to speak some words to comfort her, when suddenly she pointed behind me and cried, ‘Who’s there?’ I turned quickly, but saw no one. When I turned back again, I saw a dagger plunged into her chest. She had killed herself.

“Ha. Yang Dingtian said, ‘I won your body, but I could never win your heart.’ I won my shimei’s heart, but in the end could never win her person. She was the one I most honoured and most loved in all my life. Had Yang Dingtian not meddled between us, how could our perfect match have come to so tragic an end? Had Yang Dingtian not become zhangmen of the demon cult, my shimei would never have married a man twenty years her senior. Yang Dingtian is dead, and I cannot reach him. But the demon cult still runs rampant in the world. At that time I pointed at the corpses of Yang Dingtian and my shimei, and swore an oath: ‘I, Cheng Kun,¹⁰ swear to exhaust every means to overthrow the Ming Order. When the great work is accomplished, I shall come before you two and cut my own throat in thanks.’ Ha ha. Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao,¹¹ you will be dead within moments, and I, Cheng Kun, shall not live much longer either. But I shall cut my throat with my wish fulfilled and a joyful heart. That is ten thousand times better than your lot. Through all these years, not a moment has passed when I was not planning the cult’s destruction. Alas. I, Cheng Kun, have had a life of misfortune. My beloved wife was taken from me, and my only beloved disciple hates me to the bone…”

Zhang Wuji¹² heard him mention Xie Xun¹³ and listened with still greater focus. His will having become singular, the Nine Yang zhenqi within him grew all the more abundant. It was as if every part of his limbs and bones would burst from the swelling, and every hair on his head seemed to have grown several times larger.

He heard Yuanzhen continue, “After I left Bright Peak,¹⁴ I returned to the Central Plains and went to seek out my long-absent disciple, Xie Xun. Who knew that, upon talking with him, he had become one of the Ming Order’s four Guardian Kings? Though I had stayed on Bright Peak, my heart was wholly on my shimei, and I paid no heed to your cult’s affairs. My shimei never spoke to me of Order matters either. My disciple Xie Xun held high position in the Ming Order, yet I only learned of it when he himself mentioned it. He urged me still to join the cult, speaking of joining hearts and strength to drive out the Tartars. My anger was no small thing. But then I thought again: the Ming Order has deep roots and long history. Its masters are as clouds. With my strength alone, there is no way I could destroy it. Let alone one man. Even if all the heroes of the wulin¹⁵ joined hands, they might not prevail. The only hope was to sow discord from within, to make them slaughter one another, to let them destroy themselves.”

When Yang Xiao and the others heard this, they could not but feel a chill of dread. Through all these years, none of them had known a great enemy lurked beside them, bent on the Ming Order’s ruin. In their struggle for the zhangmen’s seat, the Order had fallen into chaos. Yuanzhen’s words were like a blow upon the crown of the head, waking them to the truth.

They heard him say again, “I concealed my purpose, saying only that the matter was grave and must be considered at length. After some days, I pretended to be drunk, and attempted to violate my disciple Xie Xun’s wife. Seizing the chance, I killed his parents, his wife, and his children, the entire family. I knew that after this, he would hate me to the bone and seek revenge. If he could not find me, he would act without restraint, committing atrocities at will. Ha ha. No one knows a disciple like his master. Axun was fine in every way: his literary talent, his martial arts were both extraordinary. Only he was rash and easily angered, unable to think carefully through cause and consequence…”

Zhang Wuji, hearing this, could not contain his fury. He thought, So all of sworn father’s misfortunes were arranged in secret by Cheng Kun. He was not overcome by drink. It was a deliberate conspiracy.

They heard Yuanzhen say with an air of triumph, “Xie Xun slaughtered heroes of the jianghu¹⁶ at random, leaving my name everywhere, hoping to force me into the open. Ha ha. Did I step forward? If you would have others not know, you must yourself do nothing. Xie Xun made countless enemies. These blood-debts would at last be tallied to the Ming Order’s account. When he killed, if danger arose, I would rescue him from the shadows. He was the killing blade in my hand. How could I let him be destroyed by others? Your cult has made enemies enough on the outside. Add to that the masters competing for the zhangmen’s seat, the ceaseless strife within. They fell precisely into my scheme. Xie Xun punched to death the Shaolin divine monk Kongjian,¹⁷ maimed the five elders of the Kongtong School, wounded and killed countless masters of various schools on Wangpan Mountain,¹⁸ and even harmed his old friend Yin Tianzheng’s¹⁹ altars in the Tianying Order.²⁰ Good disciple, good disciple. Not in vain did I once devote myself to teaching you such fine martial arts!”

Yang Xiao said coldly, “So even your shifu Kongjian the divine monk was killed by your wicked schemes!”

Yuanzhen laughed, “I bowed before Kongjian as master. Was it in sincerity? He received a few kowtows from me, and gave his life in return. He did not come out behind, ha ha, ha ha!”

Amid Yuanzhen’s loud laughter, Zhang Wuji’s rage grew to madness. He felt a sudden roaring in his ears, and fainted. But in moments he woke again. He had endured countless slights and humiliations in his life, and borne them with equanimity. But to think that his sworn father, such a fine, iron-strong man, had been reduced by Cheng Kun’s conspiracies and schemes to the ruin of his family, the shattering of his name, blindness in both eyes, waiting alone on a barren island for death. Such a debt of hatred, how could it go unavenged? His fury surged upward, and the Nine Yang zhenqi that filled his body drove all the more fiercely. The zhenqi, exhaled but unable to escape, caused the Heaven-and-Earth Unity Qi Bag²¹ to swell gradually. Yang Xiao and the rest were all intent on Yuanzhen’s words, and none noticed the bag had begun to change.

They heard Yuanzhen ask, “Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, Peng the Monk, Zhou Dian, have you nothing more to say?” Yang Xiao sighed, “Things being as they are, what is there to say? Great Master Yuanzhen, can you spare my daughter’s life? Her mother was Ji Xiaofu²² of the Emei Order,²³ of a renowned and righteous house. She has not yet entered our Ming Order.”

Yuanzhen said, “To nurture a tiger is to court disaster. To cut grass, one must dig up the roots.” With that he stepped forward, raised his palm, and slowly brought it down toward Yang Xiao’s head. Zhang Wuji, within the bag, heard the crisis and cared nothing for the fire that consumed his body. Listening to the sound and knowing the position, he leapt forward and stood before Yuanzhen. His left palm swept back, blocking the strike through the bag.

Yuanzhen had only just recovered the power of movement, his vital energy not yet restored. Blocked thus by Zhang Wuji, his body swayed and he stepped back. He cried, “You brat! You…” He steadied himself and struck forward at the bag. This palm could not reach Zhang Wuji’s body, but rebounded from the swollen bag, driving him back two steps. He was greatly startled, not understanding why.

By now Zhang Wuji’s mouth was dry and his tongue parched, his head swimming. The Nine Yang zhenqi within him had swollen to the point of bursting. If the Heaven-and-Earth Unity Qi Bag broke first, he could break free. Otherwise he could not contain the ferocious zhenqi within him. His skin would split inch by inch, and he would be burnt to cinders.

Yuanzhen, seeing the bag was strange, stepped forward twice more and struck again. The bag rebounded once more, and he retreated another step. But the bag too was pushed by his palm-force, and toppled like a great ball, rolling several times across the ground. Zhang Wuji, inside the bag, tumbled head over heels without cease, his chest tight with air. He strained his belly, seeking to exhale his zhenqi. But the bag by now was itself so swollen with qi that exhaling even one breath grew ever harder. Yuanzhen followed with three punches and two kicks, all rebounded by the qi within the bag. Zhang Wuji felt nothing of it within. Had Yuanzhen’s blows truly struck Zhang Wuji’s body, in his present state of qi overflowing, Yuanzhen’s hands and feet would have been gravely injured.

Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, and the other five, all seven, saw this strange sight and were struck dumb with astonishment. The Heaven-and-Earth Unity Qi Bag was Cannot Tell’s²⁴ possession, yet even he could not fathom how it had swollen to a ball, nor knew whether Zhang Wuji lived or died within.

Yuanzhen drew a dagger from his waist and struck fiercely at the bag. But where the blade met the cloth, it only sank inward and did not pierce. The bag’s material was wondrous: neither silk nor leather, neither cotton nor cloth, but a strange thing of Heaven and Earth. Nor was Yuanzhen’s dagger a treasured blade. He stabbed several times, but how could it avail? Seeing that neither palm nor blade would serve, Yuanzhen thought, Why trouble myself with this brat? He swung his right foot and kicked hard. The great bag rolled swiftly toward the hall’s door.

By now the bag had swollen into a great round ball. It struck the door and bounced back, hurtling toward Yuanzhen. Seeing the force of its approach, he raised both palms and struck hard to thrust the great ball away. With a thunderous crash, fragments of cloth flew in all directions. The Heaven-and-Earth Unity Qi Bag, swollen within by Zhang Wuji’s Nine Yang zhenqi and struck without by Yuanzhen’s palm-force, the two forces colliding, the bag exploded at once into shards.

Yuanzhen, Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, Cannot Tell, and the rest all felt a wave of searing heat rush toward them. And there, standing in their midst, was a young man in tattered clothes, his face full of bewilderment.

Footnotes

1. 彭莹玉 – Péng Yíngyù. Known as Peng the Monk. One of the Ming Order’s Five Unbound Adepts. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 掌门 – zhǎngmén. The leader of a martial Order or School. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 圆真 – Yuánzhēn. The dharma name of Cheng Kun, taken after he became a monk at Shaolin Monastery. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 杨逍 – Yáng Xiāo. Known as the Bright Left Messenger. Former acting leader of the Ming Order and adviser to Zhang Wuji. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 真气 – zhēnqì. Refined qi produced through internal cultivation. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 幻阴指 – Huànyīn Zhǐ. Phantom Yin Finger. A sinister acupoint-striking technique devised by Cheng Kun, which paralyses the victim by reversing their qi flow. ↩

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

8. 阳顶天 – Yáng Dǐngtiān. The former zhangmen of the Ming Order, who died suddenly while practising the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 走火入魔 – zǒuhuǒrùmó. Qi Deviation. A dangerous condition arising when internal cultivation goes awry, causing qi to surge in reverse and inflict grave injury or madness. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 成昆 – Chéng Kūn. A martial artist whose beloved was taken by Yang Dingtian. He took monastic vows as Yuanzhen and devoted his life to destroying the Ming Order through conspiracy. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 韦一笑 – Wéi Yīxiào. Known as the Green-Winged Bat King. One of the Ming Order’s four Guardian Kings, famed for his qinggong. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 张无忌 – Zhāng Wújì. Son of Zhang Cuishan and Yin Susu. Protagonist of this tale. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 谢逊 – Xiè Xùn. Known as the Golden-Haired Lion King. One of the Ming Order’s four Guardian Kings and Zhang Wuji’s sworn father. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 光明顶 – Guāngmíng Dǐng. Bright Peak. The mountain headquarters of the Ming Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 武林 – wǔlín. Lit. martial forest. The community of martial artists and their affairs. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 江湖 – jiānghú. Lit. rivers and lakes. The itinerant world of martial artists beyond settled society. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 空见 – Kōngjiàn. One of Shaolin Monastery’s Four Holy Monks, renowned for his invincible protective zhenqi. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

18. 王盘山 – Wángpán Shān. Wangpan Mountain. The site of a gathering where various martial schools contended for the Dragon-Slaying Dao. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

19. 殷天正 – Yīn Tiānzhèng. Known as the White-Browed Eagle King. Founder of the Tianying Order and one of the Ming Order’s four Guardian Kings. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

20. 天鹰教 – Tiānyīng Jiào. The Tianying Order, meaning Heavenly Eagle Order. A martial Order founded by Yin Tianzheng after breaking from the Ming Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

21. 乾坤一气袋 – Qiánkūn Yīqì Dài. The Heaven-and-Earth Unity Qi Bag. A strange bag made of an unknown material, capable of containing and rebounding internal qi. ↩

22. 纪晓芙 – Jǐ Xiǎofú. A disciple of the Emei Order who bore Yang Xiao’s daughter, Yang Buhui. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

24. 说不得 – Shuōbùdé. Known as Cannot Tell, or the Monk with the Sack. One of the Ming Order’s Five Unbound Adepts. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩