The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 20 – Part 7

Zhang Wuji watched Yin Tianzheng and Song Yuanqiao, and felt as though he were back on Ice Fire Island[^icefire] watching his father and mother spar. His parents rarely practised martial arts on the island, and when they did, it was always for his benefit. Now, as his grandfather's white robe flew through the air, it seemed to take on his mother's form, whilst Song Yuanqiao,[^song] in his blue-green gown, graceful and free, reminded him of his father in his prime. Hot tears filled his eyes. He wanted to cry out: "Father, Mother, are you well?"

When he had first watched Yin Tianzheng fight Zhang Songxi¹ and Mo Shenggu,² he had been too anxious for his kinsmen’s safety to pay close attention to their techniques. Now, seeing the two combatants duelling from a great distance, he knew there was no danger of death or serious injury, only a contest of skill. He settled down to observe them properly. After a while, as their exchanges grew ever swifter, he grew more bewildered rather than less. “Grandfather and Song Shibo³ are both first-rank masters of the wulin.⁴ Yet their moves are riddled with openings. If Grandfather’s fist had drifted half a foot to the left, it would have struck Song Shibo square in the chest. If Song Shibo’s grab had come a moment later, he would have caught Grandfather’s left arm clean. Are they holding back on purpose? It doesn’t look like it.”

In truth, although Yin Tianzheng and Song Yuanqiao were duelling at a distance, neither gave an inch in their techniques. Since Zhang Wuji had mastered the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth,⁵ his understanding of the martial arts had risen a level above both of them. Yet it was not that Yin Tianzheng and Song Yuanqiao’s moves contained many flaws. Zhang Wuji did not realise that his own judgement was shaped by the Nine Yang Divine Skill.⁶ The counters he imagined could defeat an opponent were often beyond the reach of ordinary practitioners, not because they were superior to Yin Tianzheng or Song Yuanqiao’s skill, but because they demanded a foundation of neili⁷ that normal martial artists simply did not possess. It was as though a bird circling overhead watched a lion and a tiger lock claws below and thought, “Why not fly higher and swoop? Victory would be certain.” The bird did not know that, fierce as lion and tiger were among the beasts, they had no power of flight. Zhang Wuji’s knowledge was not yet broad enough to grasp the reason.

Suddenly Song Yuanqiao changed his approach. His palms fluttered like drifting cotton or falling snow, soft and without force, the Wudang Order’s Soft Palm.⁸ Yin Tianzheng gave a shout and threw a punch. One fought with ultimate softness, the other with ultimate hardness, and each displayed his art to the full.

When they reached a critical moment, Song Yuanqiao thrust out his left palm, then suddenly his right palm, though it came afterwards, arrived first, followed by the left palm angling through from behind to strike again. Yin Tianzheng found the upper three routes of his body entirely enclosed by his opponent’s palm-shadows. He roared and unleashed both fists in “Ding-Jia Cleaving the Mountain”⁹ and drove them out with all his force. The two men’s palms and fists hung frozen in the air between them, locked and motionless. At this point, with nothing but neili to contest, there was no other path. They stood over ten feet apart,¹⁰ their four arms extended towards one another in a phantom struggle. The sight was strange, yet had they closed to fight in earnest, they would have reached the most perilous juncture of all.

Song Yuanqiao smiled faintly, drew back his palms and leapt away. “Senior, your fistwork is exquisite. I am humbled.”

Yin Tianzheng lowered his fists. “The Wudang Order’s fist methods truly stand above all others, past and present.”

They had agreed not to contest neili, and having reached this impasse, neither could press further. The bout ended in a draw.

Among the Wudang Order, Yu Lianzhou¹¹ and Yin Liting,¹² two great fighters, had not yet taken the field. Yin Tianzheng’s cheeks were flushed, and wisps of steam rose from the crown of his head. The bout had not greatly drained his neili, but his opponent had been so formidable that he had taxed himself to the limit. He was clearly spent. Either of the two Wudang xias who stepped forward now could topple him at once and claim the honour of “defeating the White-Browed Eagle King.”¹³ Yu Lianzhou and Yin Liting exchanged a glance and both shook their heads, thinking the same thing: to strike a man when he was down would be a victory unworthy of the name.

The two Wudang xias would not take advantage of a man in extremity, but others present were not all so scrupulous. From among the Kongtong School a short, wizened elder leapt forward, the very man who had bawled for the Ming Order’s ancestral tablets to be burned. He landed lightly before Yin Tianzheng and said, “I, surnamed Tang, will have a little sport with you, old Yin!” His tone was openly contemptuous.

Yin Tianzheng shot him a dark look and snorted inwardly. “In ordinary times, what are the Five Elders of Kongtong to me? But the tiger fallen into the plain is mocked by dogs,¹⁴ and if my lifelong renown is to end at the hands of the Seven Xias of Wudang, so be it. But I will not let you, Tang Wenliang,¹⁵ build your name on my ruin!” His joints ached and his bones felt soft. All he wanted was to lie down on the ground and never rise again. Yet a surge of pride rose in his chest. The two white brows that hung down his face suddenly bristled upright. “Attack!”

Tang Wenliang saw that Yin Tianzheng had exhausted eight or nine parts of his neili in ten. A few exchanges would do. Without so much as laying a finger on him, the old man would collapse on his own. He crossed his palms, darted behind Yin Tianzheng, and drove a fist at the small of his back. Yin Tianzheng twisted sideways and hooked backwards. Tang Wenliang was already leaping clear, his footwork extraordinarily nimble. He bounded about like an ape, never still, shifting forward and back, left and right. They exchanged several moves, when suddenly darkness swam before Yin Tianzheng’s eyes and a faint sweetness rose in his throat. A great mouthful of blood surged from his lips. He could no longer hold himself upright, and sank to the ground.

Tang Wenliang was delighted. He shouted, “Yin Tianzheng, today you die beneath my fist!”

Zhang Wuji saw Tang Wenliang spring into the air to strike from above and was about to fly to his grandfather’s aid, when he noticed Yin Tianzheng’s right hand turn over in a gesture of exquisite precision, the perfect counter to an attack from above. Given the positions the two men held, Tang Wenliang had no means of saving himself. Sure enough, two sharp cracks rang out: both of Tang Wenliang’s arms were snapped by the Eagle Claw Capturing Hand.¹⁶ Another two cracks followed, and both his thigh bones broke. He crashed to the ground several feet away, his four limbs shattered, unable to move. The onlookers, seeing that even at the edge of death Yin Tianzheng retained such ferocity, were filled with awe.

The Third Elder of the Five Elders of Kongtong had been so devastatingly defeated, and every member of the Kongtong School burned with shame. Tang Wenliang lay on the ground, yet because he was so close to Yin Tianzheng, not one of them dared step forward to drag him back.

After a while, a tall, stooped elder from among the Kongtong School strode out with heavy steps. His right foot kicked up a stone, which flew straight at Yin Tianzheng. “White-Browed old fool,” he bellowed, “I, surnamed Zong, have an old account to settle with you!” This was Zong Weixia,¹⁷ the Second Elder of the Five Elders of Kongtong. His “old account” suggested he had suffered at Yin Tianzheng’s hands before.

The stone struck Yin Tianzheng’s temple with a dull thud. Blood flowed at once. The spectators started. Zong Weixia had kicked the stone without expecting to hit him, and had not known that Yin Tianzheng was half-conscious and unable to dodge. In this state, Zong Weixia need only have tapped him with a finger to end his life.

Zong Weixia raised his arm and stepped forward. From the Wudang Order a figure emerged in a coarse-cloth gown, plain of bearing, Yu Lianzhou the Second Xia. His form flickered, and he placed himself between Zong Weixia and Yin Tianzheng. “Brother Zong, Order Leader Yin is gravely wounded. To strike him now would be a victory without honour. Let me spare you the trouble. He has long-standing grievances with our humble Order. Leave him to me.”

Zhang Wuji was overjoyed. “Yu Er Bo¹⁸ is kindest to my mother of all of them. He must be protecting Grandfather for her sake.” His heart swelled with gratitude.

Zong Weixia replied, “What do you mean, gravely wounded? This old fraud is past master at playing dead. If it hadn’t been for his tricks just now, how would Third Brother Tang have fallen into his trap? Yu the Second Xia, your Order has a grudge against him, but I too have an account with this old fool. Let me land three punches to clear the air!”

Yu Lianzhou did not wish to see Yin Tianzheng, a hero for all his life, cut down like this. He thought also of Zhang Cuishan and Yin Susu, and said, “Brother Zong, your Seven Injury Fist¹⁹ is renowned throughout the world. In Order Leader Yin’s present state, how could he survive three punches from you?”

“Very well!” Zong Weixia snapped. “He broke Third Brother Tang’s four limbs. I will break his four limbs in return. An eye for an eye, swift repayment!” Seeing Yu Lianzhou still hesitate, he raised his voice: “Yu the Second Xia, before the six great schools came west to these regions, we swore an oath. Are you breaking it now to shield a demon cult chief?”

Yu Lianzhou sighed. “For the moment, do as you wish. When we return to the Central Plains, I shall have the honour of testing Brother Zong’s Seven Injury Fist in person.”

Zong Weixia’s heart stirred. “Why is this man surnamed Yu so determined to protect him?” He certainly feared the Wudang Order, but under the gaze of so many onlookers he could not afford to show weakness. “Right and reason govern all things under heaven,” he said coldly. “However strong the Wudang Order may be, it cannot bully others by force of arms.” His words carried a pointed implication that reached as far as Zhang Sanfeng himself.²⁰

Song Yuanqiao spoke up. “Second Brother, let it be.”

Yu Lianzhou called out clearly, “A fine hero! A brave man!” And stepped back.

The six words, “a fine hero, a brave man,” might have been praise for Yin Tianzheng, or mockery of Zong Weixia. Zong Weixia, unwilling to provoke a lasting quarrel with the Wudang Order, pretended not to hear. As Yu Lianzhou withdrew, he walked towards Yin Tianzheng.

Great Master Kongzhi²¹ of the Shaolin Order raised his voice and issued orders: “Brethren of the Huashan School and the Kongtong School, root out and destroy every last remnant of the demon cult upon this field. Wudang Order, search from west to east. Emei Order, search from east to west. Let not a single cultist escape. Kunlun School, kindle the fires and burn the demon cult’s lair to the ground.” Having assigned the five schools their tasks, he pressed his palms together. “Sons of Shaolin, take up your dharma instruments and chant the sutra of passage for the heroes of the six schools who have given their lives today, and for the cultists who have died. Let us ease their suffering and dissolve their grudges.”

Everyone had expected Yin Tianzheng to perish beneath Zong Weixia’s fist, whereupon the six schools’ great campaign to wipe out the demon cult would be complete.

At this moment, every member of the Ming Order and the Tianying Order knew that their final hour had come. The faithful dragged themselves to their feet, all who were not so gravely wounded as to be unable to move, and sat cross-legged, fingers spread wide, hands raised before their chests in the posture of leaping flames. Then, following Yang Xiao,²² they chanted the Ming Order’s scripture:

Burn my mortal frame, the sacred fire blazes high.
Why joy in living? Why fear to die?
Do good, destroy evil, for the light alone.
Joy and sorrow alike return to dust and stone.
All for the people, no thought of self.
Pity the world, so deep in grief!
Pity the world, so deep in grief!

From Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao²³ and Cannot Tell²⁴ of the Ming Order down, and from Yin Tianzheng, Li Tianyuan²⁵ of the Tianying Order down, to the kitchen hands and the menial servants, every face was solemn. They chanted aloud, without a tremor, as though death and the destruction of their Order meant nothing.

Great Master Kongzhi pressed his palms together. “Amitabha. Virtuous indeed. Virtuous indeed.”

Yu Lianzhou thought to himself, “These words of scripture must be what the cult’s faithful chant before death. They do not speak of their own end, but pity the world for its sorrows. That is the heart of true courage and great compassion. The man who founded the Ming Order must have been someone extraordinary. It is a pity that in later generations it became a wellspring of wickedness.”

Footnotes

1. 张松溪 – Zhāng Sōngxī. The Fourth Xia of the Seven Xias of Wudang, noted for his intelligence. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 莫声谷 – Mò Shēnggǔ. The Seventh and youngest Xia of the Seven Xias of Wudang, hot-tempered. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 师伯 – shībó. Senior lineage uncle. The shixiong or shijie of one’s shifu. Shī means teacher. Bó means father’s elder brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

5. 乾坤大挪移 – Qiánkūn Dà Nuóyí. The supreme secret art of the Ming Order, capable of redirecting force, reversing qi flow, and manipulating the trajectory of attacks. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 九阳神功 – Jiǔyáng Shéngōng. A legendary internal cultivation method emphasising pure yang energy, granting extraordinary martial prowess. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 内力 – nèilì. Internal force. The kinetic manifestation of qi cultivated through neigong. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 绵掌 – Miánzhǎng. The Wudang Order’s Soft Palm technique, characterised by continuous, flowing movements that appear gentle but conceal devastating force. ↩

9. 丁甲开山 – Dīngjiǎ Kāishān. A powerful dual-fist technique of the Kongtong School, named after the Ding-Jia heavenly stems. ↩

10. 丈 – zhàng. A traditional Chinese unit of length, approximately ten feet. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 俞莲舟 – Yú Liánzhōu. The Second Xia of the Seven Xias of Wudang, the most skilled in martial arts among the seven. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 殷梨亭 – Yīn Lítíng. The Sixth Xia of the Seven Xias of Wudang, once betrothed to Ji Xiaofu. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 白眉鹰王 – Báiméi Yīngwáng. The epithet of Yin Tianzheng, founder and leader of the Tianying Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. A Chinese proverb: 虎落平阳被犬欺 — a tiger driven from the mountains is bullied by dogs. ↩

15. 唐文亮 – Táng Wénliàng. The Third Elder of the Five Elders of Kongtong School. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 鹰爪擒拿手 – Yīngzhǎo Qínnáshǒu. The Eagle Claw Capturing Hand, the signature technique of the Tianying Order, modelled on the grip of an eagle’s talons. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 宗维侠 – Zōng Wéixiá. The Second Elder of the Five Elders of Kongtong School, master of the Seven Injury Fist. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

18. 俞二伯 – Yú Èr Bó. “Yu, the Second Uncle.” An honourific form of address for Yu Lianzhou, reckoned second among the Wudang brotherhood. ↩

19. 七伤拳 – Qīshāng Quán. The Kongtong School’s signature fist technique, which damages both the opponent and the user unless the practitioner’s neili is supremely refined. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

20. 张三丰 – Zhāng Sānfēng. Founder and leader of the Wudang Order, formerly Zhang Junbao. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

21. 空智 – Kōngzhì. A senior monk of the Shaolin Order, hot-tempered but formidable in martial arts. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

22. 杨逍 – Yáng Xiāo. The Bright Left Messenger of the Ming Order, acting leader in Yang Dingtian’s absence and adviser to Zhang Wuji. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

23. 韦一笑 – Wéi Yīxiào. The Green Winged Bat King of the Ming Order’s Four Guardian Kings, renowned for his qinggong. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

24. 说不得 – Shuōbùdé. The Monk with the Sack, one of the Five Unbound Adepts of the Ming Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

25. 李天垣 – Lǐ Tiānyuán. Leader of Heaven Hall of the Tianying Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩