The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 21 – Part 3

Zhang Wuji bowed and replied, "Yes!" He thought to himself, *Yuanzhen must have been badly wounded when he took Wei the Bat King's Cold Ice Palm,[^weiyixiao] and my uncle's palm strike is no trifling matter either. That was why he killed him on the spot.* His uncle had avenged this bitter hatred for his godfather, and that could not be better. He walked to Yin Yewang's side and took his pulse. Knowing his life was not in danger, he felt relieved and said, "Many thanks, Senior!"

Kongxing¹ had been watching from the side, growing angrier by the moment. He shouted, “Boy, come here and give up your life!” His words crashed upon the ear like thunder. Zhang Wuji turned in surprise and asked, “What?” Kongxing cried, “You know full well that my shizhi Yuanzhen is dead, yet you pin all the blame on him. Such wicked cunning cannot be forgiven. I will break my vow against killing today. Will you take your own life, or must I do it for you?”

Zhang Wuji’s heart churned. Yuanzhen has been executed, and the chief culprit has received his due. That is cause for great rejoicing. But now there is no one left to testify, and the truth may never be made clear. What is to be done? He was still deliberating when Kongxing strode forward, his right hand clawing down towards Zhang Wuji’s crown. The claw extended straight from wrist to fingertips, the force behind it fierce beyond measure.

Yin Tianzheng² shouted, “It is the Dragon Claw Hand!³ Do not take it lightly!”

Zhang Wuji twisted aside and dodged with a light, drifting motion. Kongxing’s first claw missed, and his left hand followed at once with a second claw, the attack even swifter and more forceful than before. Zhang Wuji slanted left and evaded again. Kongxing’s hands alternated, the third claw, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, each issuing with a hiss of air. In the blink of an eye, the grey-robed monk seemed to have become a grey dragon, the dragon’s shadow filling the air, its claws striking in a frenzy, pressing Zhang Wuji so hard that no corner remained for escape. Suddenly came a sharp tearing sound as Zhang Wuji hurled himself sideways. His right sleeve was clutched in Kongxing’s hand, his right arm laid bare, revealing five long streaks of blood running down. Amid the Shaolin monks’ cries of approval, a young girl’s gasp of terror rang out.

Zhang Wuji looked towards the source of that cry and saw Xiaozhao’s⁴ face white with fright. She called, “Young Master, you…you must be careful!” Zhang Wuji’s heart stirred. This little girl truly cares for me.

Kongxing, having drawn blood, launched himself into the air and descended upon him again with fearsome momentum. This claw technique was extraordinarily swift and vicious, unlike anything Zhang Wuji had ever encountered. Finding no way to counter it at once, he could only leap backwards. That claw too missed its mark.

Kongxing’s Dragon Claw Hand came forth without pause, and Zhang Wuji in turn leapt backwards. The two faced each other, one striking forward, one springing away. Nine consecutive claws all struck empty air. Throughout, the distance between them never closed to less than two feet. Though Kongxing’s relentless assault left Zhang Wuji no opening to counter-attack, the difference in their qinggong⁵ was made plain to all. When Kongxing stepped forward in a rush, Zhang Wuji leapt back with equal ease. The difficulty between attacker and evader could not be more different, and try as he might, Kongxing could not close the gap. His footwork was, by his own admission, thoroughly defeated. Had Zhang Wuji merely turned and run a few paces, he would have left Kongxing far behind.

In truth, Zhang Wuji needed neither to turn nor to flee. Even retreating, he could have shaken off the attack. The reason he stayed within two or three feet of Kongxing, neither separating nor engaging, was that he was studying the mysteries hidden within the Dragon Claw Hand’s movements. By the thirty-seventh move, he saw Kongxing’s right hand dart forward, using once more the eighth technique, Seizing the Clouds. His thirty-eighth move brought both hands sweeping down from above. Though the angle had changed, the posture matched the twelfth technique, Snatching the Pearl. The names of these techniques Zhang Wuji could not know, but each posture he observed clearly and committed to memory.

The Dragon Claw Hand comprised but thirty-six moves, its essence lying in fierce ruthlessness rather than variety. In his middle years, Kongxing had faced several formidable foes, yet whenever he unleashed the Dragon Claw Hand, he had gained the upper hand at once, usually prevailing within the first twelve moves. From the thirteenth move onward, he had only ever practised in solitude. Never once in combat had he needed to go further. Now he had reached the thirty-sixth move and still could not subdue his opponent, a thing that had never happened to him before. By the thirty-seventh, he was driven to repeat an earlier technique, thinking, This brat is nothing more than nimble on his feet, dodging east and west. If we truly exchanged blows, he would not last twelve moves against my Dragon Claw Hand.

By now Zhang Wuji had seen all thirty-six moves of the Dragon Claw Hand. The technique itself contained no flaw, but the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth⁶ could create an opening in any adversary’s fist technique. He hesitated, however. Even now, taking his life would be no difficulty. But the Shaolin Order is renowned throughout the jianghu,⁷ and this Great Master Kongxing is one of the three great elders of Shaolin Monastery. Were I to defeat him before all the heroes of the world, where would the Shaolin Order’s face be? Yet to make him retreat without a show of force is beyond me. His skill far surpasses even the Kongtong elders. Just as he was weighing this dilemma, Kongxing shouted, “Boy, you are running for your life, not fighting a match!”

Zhang Wuji replied, “If we are to fight…” Seizing the moment when Zhang Wuji’s mouth was open and his neili⁸ uneven, Kongxing launched two fierce claws. Zhang Wuji drifted aside, his words flowing on without interruption, “…I am willing. But if I defeat you, Great Master, what then?” These three sentences were delivered without the slightest pause between them. Had one closed one’s eyes and listened, the tone would have been as calm as though he were seated at ease, and no one would have believed that between these words he had already dodged five swift attacks.

Kongxing said, “Your qinggong is indeed superb, but to defeat me in hand-to-hand combat, do not dream of it.” Zhang Wuji replied, “In a contest of martial skill, who can foresee the outcome? I am far younger than you, Great Master. My skill may be inferior, but in strength I hold the advantage.” Kongxing said sternly, “If I lose to you in hand-to-hand combat, kill me or wound me as you will.” Zhang Wuji said, “I would not presume! Should I lose, I submit myself to the Great Master’s judgement without a single word of protest. But if by fortune I win even half a move, I ask only that the Shaolin Order withdraw from Bright Peak.” Kongxing said, “The Shaolin Order’s affairs are decided by my shixiong,⁹ not by me alone. I do not believe this Dragon Claw Hand cannot deal with a brat like you.”

Zhang Wuji’s mind was made up. He said, “The Shaolin Order’s Dragon Claw Hand thirty-six moves contain not the slightest flaw. It is the supreme art among all seizing techniques in the world. It is only that the Great Master’s execution contains one small imperfection.” Kongxing snapped, “Very well! If you can break my Dragon Claw Hand, I shall return to Shaolin Monastery at once and never set foot beyond its gates for the rest of my life!” Zhang Wuji said, “Firstly, I dare not presume. Secondly, there is no need.”

As the two spoke, the cheers of the onlookers rang like thunder, growing louder and louder. For though both men talked as they fought, their hands and footwork never ceased. The pace only grew ever faster, yet the tone of their voices remained as measured as ordinary conversation, without the slightest break or gasp for breath. When Kongxing said “Your qinggong is indeed superb,” he had already launched two swift claws. At “but to defeat me in hand-to-hand combat,” his left hand’s five fingers clawed down in a rush. At “do not dream of it,” his voice carried fierce authority, his hands trembling as he unleashed three rapid techniques. The two fought and spoke at once, and the crowd’s cheers could never drown their words.

At the moment Zhang Wuji spoke the words “there is no need,” his form rose abruptly into the air, spinning rapidly, circling four times, each revolution carrying him higher still. Then with one more turn he alighted lightly, several dozen feet away.

The spectators watched, dazzled and spellbound. Had they not seen it with their own eyes that day, they would never have believed such qinggong could exist in the world. Wei Yixiao the Green-Winged Bat King, who had always considered his own qinggong peerless, could not help but sigh in awe.

As Zhang Wuji’s feet touched the ground, Kongxing had already darted before him. He did not press his advantage but called, “Shall we begin?” Zhang Wuji said, “Good. Great Master, please make the first move.” Kongxing asked, “Will you not keep retreating?” Zhang Wuji smiled faintly. “If I retreat half a step more, I shall count myself beaten.”

Among the Ming Order, Yang Xiao,¹⁰ Wei Yixiao, Leng Qian, Zhou Dian, Cannot Tell,¹¹ and from the Tianying Order,¹² Yin Tianzheng, Yin Yewang, Li Tianyuan. These men could not move, but their eyes and ears were unimpeded. Hearing Zhang Wuji’s words, they were privately startled. Each was a man of wide experience. They could see that Kongxing’s Dragon Claw Hand was matchlessly fierce. Even to receive a single move from him would be no easy matter. Zhang Wuji’s skill was extraordinary, but even if he could win, it would surely take a hundred moves or more of attack and defence, evasion and advance. How could he manage it without retreating half a step? All felt the words were over-bold.

They heard Kongxing say, “There is no need to! Victory must be won fairly, and defeat must be accepted with a willing heart.” No sooner were the words spoken than he cried, “Receive this!” His left hand feinted while his right drove forward with whistling force, aiming straight for Zhang Wuji’s left shoulder, the Quepen acupoint.¹³ It was precisely the technique Seizing the Clouds.

Seeing his left hand stir, Zhang Wuji already knew the move that was coming. He too feinted with his left hand while his right shot straight for Kongxing’s Quepen acupoint. The two used precisely the same technique, without the slightest difference. In truth, Zhang Wuji had learned it from him, but by striking after yet arriving first, he had seized the advantage in that sliver of a moment. Kongxing’s fingers were still two inches from Zhang Wuji’s shoulder when Zhang Wuji’s five fingers had already caught at Kongxing’s Quepen acupoint. Kongxing felt a numbness at the acupoint, his right hand losing all its strength. But Zhang Wuji’s fingers did not press. They drew back at once.

Kongxing froze. Both hands shot forth together in the technique Snatching the Pearl, aiming for Zhang Wuji’s left and right Taiyang acupoints.¹⁴ Once again, Zhang Wuji struck after yet arrived first, his own hands reaching out to seize Kongxing’s left and right Taiyang acupoints. The Taiyang acupoint is of supreme importance. In a duel between masters of internal cultivation, a touch there meant instant death, beyond any saving. But Zhang Wuji’s fingers merely brushed Kongxing’s temples and then circled away, shifting into the Dragon Claw Hand’s seventeenth technique, Scooping the Moon, and feinted empty-handed at Kongxing’s Fengfu acupoint at the rear of his skull.¹⁵

Kongxing had been stunned when his temples were brushed. Now, seeing the Scooping the Moon technique deployed, his astonishment was beyond words. He leapt back five feet and cried, “You…how have you stolen my Shaolin Order’s Dragon Claw Hand?”

Footnotes

1. 空性 – Kōngxìng. A senior monk of Shaolin Monastery. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 殷天正 – Yīn Tiānzhèng. His name meaning “Heavenly Upright.” See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 龙爪手 – Lóngzhuǎ Shǒu. Literally dragon claw hand. A Shaolin Monastery seizing technique of thirty-six moves, prized for its ferocity and ruthlessness. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 小昭 – Xiǎozhāo. Her name meaning “Bright Dawn.” See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 轻功 – qīnggōng. Lightness skill. The martial art of making the body light and nimble, enabling extraordinary leaps, swift movement across surfaces, and near-silent footing. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 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. ↩

7. 江湖 – jiānghú. Literally rivers and lakes. The itinerant world beyond settled society and official reach, holding not only martial artists but the trades that travel with them, including pedlars, physicians, fortune-tellers, entertainers, boatmen, beggars, outlaws and the like. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 内力 – nèilì. Internal force. The kinetic manifestation of qi cultivated through neigong; the power behind martial techniques. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 师兄 – shīxiōng. Male senior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Xiōng means older brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 杨逍 – Yáng Xiāo. His name meaning “Carefree.” See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 说不得 – Shuōbùdé. Literally “cannot tell.” See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 天鹰教 – Tiānyīng Jiào. The Tianying Order, meaning Heavenly Eagle Order. Founded by Yin Tianzheng after his exile from the Ming Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 穴道 – xuédào. Acupoints are points along the body’s jingmai where qi gathers and may be manipulated, whether for healing or for combat. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 太阳穴 – Tàiyáng Xué. The temple acupoint, one of the most vulnerable points on the head. A strike here can prove fatal. ↩

15. 风府穴 – Fēngfǔ Xué. The Wind Mansion acupoint, located at the base of the skull where it meets the neck. A critical point in both medicine and martial arts. ↩