The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 21 – Part 8

Ban Shuxian leaned close and hissed at Xihuazi, "Walk away! Haven't you lost enough face?"[^banshuxian] Xihuazi replied, "Yes!" But he did not move a step. Ban Shuxian flared, "I told you to walk away. Did you hear me?" Xihuazi answered, "Yes! Yes! Shifu, yes!" His tone was deference itself, yet still he did not stir. Ban Shuxian was furious, thinking, *Why won't this wretch do as he's told?* The truth was that Zhang Wuji's acupoint-striking technique had been extraordinarily swift. Ban Shuxian's eyes were sharp, but she had never imagined his force could travel through a pliant object. The light touch of the plum branch was no different from a Judge's Brush[^panguanbi] tapping acupoint after acupoint. She reached out and shoved Xihuazi hard on the shoulder, barking, "Stand over there and stop disgracing us!"

Xihuazi said, “Yes, Shifu, yes!” His body glided sideways several feet, yet his hands and feet did not shift a single joint of their posture. He looked like a stone statue someone had pushed. Only then did Ban Shuxian and He Taichong realise that he had been struck motionless by Zhang Wuji without any of them noticing. They were secretly aghast. He Taichong reached over to Xihuazi’s waist and flanks, kneading and pressing several times in an attempt to release the sealed acupoints. But when his neili¹ entered the other’s body, Xihuazi remained as still as ever.

Zhang Wuji pointed at Yang Buhui,² the girl beside Yang Xiao, and said, “Six years ago, your people sealed this little girl’s acupoints and forced poison wine down her throat. I could not unseal her then. Today your disciple is in exactly the same plight. Our two schools’ acupoint-striking methods differ, which is nothing to wonder at.”

When the onlookers heard this, their eyes all turned to Yang Buhui. She was now no more than a young girl. Six years ago she must have been even smaller. That He Taichong and his wife, with the standing of a school leader and his consort, should have bullied so small a child was a sorry loss of dignity.

Ban Shuxian saw the strange looks and thought, What good is it to rake up old business? She thrust her jian³ straight at Zhang Wuji’s brow. The wife led and the husband followed: He Taichong’s jian aimed at Zhang Wuji’s back, and the Tall and Short Elders of the Huashan School⁴ joined in their assault.

Zhang Wuji’s body swayed, and he darted out from between the blades. The plum branch brushed across He Taichong’s face. He Taichong angled his jian at Zhang Wuji’s waist. Zhang Wuji’s left index finger flicked towards the Short Elder’s dao,⁵ and the plum branch swept at He Taichong’s jian. He Taichong turned his blade slightly, its edge aligned to slice at the plum branch, thinking, No matter how high your martial arts, a wooden branch cannot withstand a single cut of my edge. Yet Zhang Wuji’s plum branch turned in turn, settling flat along the jian’s edge. A soft, gentle force pushed out, and He Taichong’s jian was swept wide. With a clang, it happened to parry the Tall Elder’s dao chopping in.

The Tall Elder shouted, “Ha! He Taichong, are you turning your blade against an ally?” He Taichong’s face flushed faintly. He could not admit that his own swordplay had been drawn off course by the enemy’s neili, so he merely snapped, “Nonsense!” He slashed fiercely at Zhang Wuji.

With He Taichong attacking, Ban Shuxian was perfectly placed on Zhang Wuji’s line of retreat, whilst the Tall and Short Elders unleashed the Reverse Two Instruments Dao Technique.⁶ Though the Two Instruments Swordplay⁷ and the Reverse Two Instruments Dao Technique ran in opposite directions, both sprang from the Eight Trigrams⁸ and returned to them. They could be said to take different roads yet arrive at the same destination. Within a few moves the four grew more and more fluent, the twin dao and twin jian fitting together with the tightest coordination.

Zhang Wuji saw that when the forward and reverse systems linked, yin and yang supporting each other, there was not the slightest flaw. Several times he faced perilous strikes. Had he held a blade in his hand, he might have channelled force to shatter the opponents’ weapons. But he had been overconfident, carrying nothing but a plum branch. Suddenly the Short Elder’s steel dao curled up from ground level. Zhang Wuji dodged aside, and Ban Shuxian’s jian shot out. “Got you!” she cried, thrusting at his thigh and ripping a tear in his trouser leg.

Zhang Wuji reversed his fingers and stabbed, but He Taichong’s jian was already upon him, while the Tall and Short Elders’ dao split between upper and lower lines. For a moment he could not hold out. An idea came to him, and he slipped behind Xihuazi. Ban Shuxian pursued with a jian thrust so fierce, driven with such force, that it might have killed Zhang Wuji outright. Where was the sportsmanship of a martial contest? Zhang Wuji ducked behind Xihuazi. Ban Shuxian’s thrust nearly struck her own disciple. She wrenched it aside at the last instant, but Xihuazi let out a yelp of alarm. When He Taichong attacked from the left, Zhang Wuji again used Xihuazi’s body as cover.

He could not yet fathom the principles of the two opposing systems, nor think out a way to break them. All he could do was circle and dodge around Xihuazi, using the Kunlun disciple as a temporary shield against dao and jian, thinking to himself, Zhang Wuji, Zhang Wuji, you’ve been making far too light of the heroes of the world. ‘The proud shall surely fall.’ From now on, you’d best remember that lesson well. Who knows whether there are no martial arts greater than the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth,⁹ no neili more profound than the Nine Yang Divine Skill?¹⁰ You must remember: beyond the sky there is another sky, and above every man, another man!

Laughter broke out on all sides. Xihuazi stood rooted like a clay idol or a wooden puppet, whilst Zhang Wuji ducked and leapt about him. Whenever the four opponents’ dao and jian passed within an inch of Xihuazi’s body, the Kunlun disciple would cry out in alarm, “Eh!” “Ah!” “Aiya!” and yet could not move a muscle. It was exceedingly perilous and exceedingly comic. Zhang Wuji had never been taught by a high master, and his dismantling of techniques depended on meeting each move as it came. Fortunately the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth was wondrous, and with the Nine Yang Divine Skill as its foundation, body movements that ought to have been impossible suddenly became possible.

Ban Shuxian’s fury boiled over. Several times she had had clear chances to wound Zhang Wuji beneath her jian, but Xihuazi kept getting between them, hampering her. She wished she could cleave him in two, but they were shifu and disciple after all, and she could not bring herself to strike. The Tall Elder of the Huashan School called out, “Madam He, if you won’t strike, I will!” Ban Shuxian retorted angrily, “Since when do I answer to you?” The Tall Elder swung his dao in a wide arc straight at Xihuazi’s waist.

Zhang Wuji thought, This is bad. If that blow landed true, not only would he lose a shield, but Xihuazi would die in his place. A death on his conscience would only breed more trouble. His left sleeve flicked out, and a blast of wind deflected the Tall Elder’s dao.

The Short Elder whipped his dao towards Zhang Wuji’s neck. Zhang Wuji dodged to the right. The Short Elder’s dao did not change course but slashed down at Xihuazi’s shoulder, as though he could not check his momentum and had no choice but to cut into the disciple’s body. Yet his mouth cried, “Brother Xihua, look out!” He knew that if he killed Xihuazi, the Kunlun School would become a bitter enemy. By pretending to have no choice, he could shift the blame later. Zhang Wuji spun and struck a palm straight at the Short Elder’s chest. The Short Elder’s breath caught. He pushed out with his left palm, but the dao in his right hand still chopped at Xihuazi. Suddenly their palms collided, and the Short Elder staggered back, nearly falling.

Xihuazi had seen Zhang Wuji twice reach out to protect him, and he was silently grateful. He thought, If I escape with my life today, I will not let matters rest with these two thieves from the Huashan School.

He Taichong and Ban Shuxian saw Zhang Wuji shielding Xihuazi, and both thought the same thing, The brat has one more thing to worry about. That will tie his hands and feet all the more. They felt no gratitude for his rescue of the disciple, and their jian techniques grew ever more fierce and ruthless. The Tall and Short Elders likewise quickened their dao work. They all knew it was extremely difficult to harm Zhang Wuji directly, but if they attacked Xihuazi and drew Zhang Wuji to save him, gaps would appear in his movement. Thus guest became host, and the two steel dao turned more often towards Xihuazi than towards Zhang Wuji.

The masters of the Shaolin,¹¹ Wudang¹² and Emei¹³ Orders who watched shook their heads in silence, feeling a twinge of shame. They thought that if the four killed this young man under such circumstances, even they themselves would feel guilty.

The longer Zhang Wuji fought, the worse his position grew. He thought, If I cannot beat them, I may as well give my own life. But why drag this Adept into it with me? He drove back the Tall Elder with a palm, and his right hand trembled the plum branch, already releasing Xihuazi’s sealed acupoints.

Just then the Short Elder’s dao chopped once more at Xihuazi’s lower body. Zhang Wuji kicked at his wrist. As the Short Elder drew back his hand, he did not expect Xihuazi’s acupoints to have been released. Suddenly, with a solid thud, a punch landed square on the Short Elder’s bridge of the nose. Blood gushed at once. The Short Elder’s martial arts were far superior to Xihuazi’s, but how could he have guessed that the man who had stood stock-still for so long would abruptly become active? The change was so sudden he could not dodge in time. The onlookers roared with laughter.

Ban Shuxian suppressed a smile and said, “Xihua, get down from here!” Xihuazi replied, “Yes! That Tall wretch still owes me a punch!” He threw a fist at the Tall Elder. The Short Elder’s left fist rose in a feint, his dao slashed through empty air, and with a crack his left elbow smashed into Xihuazi’s chest. These three linked moves were the Huashan School’s supreme technique. Xihuazi swayed several times, a sweetness rose in his throat, and he spat a mouthful of blood.

He Taichong’s left palm settled on Xihuazi’s lower back. His palm force pushed out, sending the large man flying level for dozens of feet, and then he said to the Short Elder, “A fine ‘Three Divine Peaks of Mount Hua’!” whilst his jian hissed towards Zhang Wuji. He sent the disciple away with his palm, taunted with his mouth, and attacked with his jian, dealing with three opponents at once, all with effortless grace.

The Tall and Short Elders said no more, but concentrated on attacking Zhang Wuji. Now, though the four still harboured mutual suspicions, with Xihuazi gone the four men’s dao and jian techniques once again fitted together seamlessly, attacking and supporting in turn, waxing and waning in concert. The four became a single supreme fighter with eight hands and eight feet, their techniques shifting and changing without end.

The Reverse Two Instruments dao and sword arts of the Huashan and Kunlun Schools were deduced from China’s own He Map and Luo Shu,¹⁴ and the Eight Trigrams positions of Fuxi¹⁵ and King Wen.¹⁶ Their subtleties and profundities, if studied to their utmost, arguably surpassed even the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth of the Western Regions. But the principles of the Changes are deep, and He Taichong and Ban Shuxian and the Tall and Short Elders had mastered only two or three tenths of them. Otherwise they would have won long ago. Even so, Zhang Wuji, for all his astonishing, profound neili and the wondrous excellence of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, found it hard to display his skill. This fierce bout set every onlooker’s heart pounding. He Taichong and Ban Shuxian’s jian hummed and hissed, their jianqi criss-crossing, whilst the Tall and Short Elders swung their dao in gusts, the steel flashing. The four pressed in step by step.

Zhang Wuji knew that if he wanted to break out, it would not be difficult. With his qinggong¹⁷ not one of the four could catch him. But although escape was easy for him alone, to break the siege of the Ming Order¹⁸ was out of the question. His only course was to defend tightly, wearying his opponents until they tired, then waiting for his chance to attack. But all four of his adversaries possessed long-enduring neili. The twin dao and twin jian wove a curtain of light, enclosing him thickly on every side. Zhang Wuji had no choice but to struggle on.

Though He Taichong and the others held the upper hand, each felt far from pleased. With their standing, even a one-on-one bout, let alone four against one, fought to three hundred moves without finishing off a junior like this young man, was already a grievous loss of face. Fortunately Zhang Wuji had already defeated the divine monk Kongxing, so no one dared underestimate him. Otherwise they would have been ashamed beyond bearing. The four noticed that Zhang Wuji’s counter-attacks were growing fewer, yet they still could not harm him. All four were veterans of great battles, and the longer they fought, the more cautious they became. They showed not a trace of impatience, steadying themselves, refusing to press forward for glory’s sake.

Among the watching elders and worthies of the various schools, some pointed and commented, using the five combatants’ techniques and footwork to instruct their own disciples.

Footnotes

1. 内力 – nèilì. Internal force. The kinetic manifestation of qi cultivated through neigong. ↩

2. 杨不悔 – Yáng Bùhuǐ. Daughter of Yang Xiao and Ji Xiaofu. Her name means “no regret.” See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 剑 – jiàn. A straight, double-edged Chinese sword. ↩

4. 华山派 – Huàshān Pài. The Huashan School, a martial school based on Mount Hua. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 刀 – dāo. A curved, single-edged Chinese blade. ↩

6. 反两仪刀法 – Fǎn Liǎngyí Dāofǎ. The Reverse Two Instruments Dao Technique. A Huashan School dao art derived from the Eight Trigrams, running in reverse to the Two Instruments Swordplay of the Kunlun School. ↩

7. 两仪剑法 – Liǎngyí Jiànfǎ. The Two Instruments Swordplay. A Kunlun School sword art derived from the Eight Trigrams. ↩

8. 八卦 – bāguà. The Eight Trigrams, a fundamental concept in Chinese cosmology and martial arts, representing eight fundamental principles of reality. ↩

9. 乾坤大挪移 – Qiánkūn Dà Nuóyí. The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth. The supreme secret art of the Ming Order, capable of redirecting force and reversing qi flow. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

11. 少林派 – Shàolín Pài. The Shaolin Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 武当派 – Wǔdāng Pài. The Wudang Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 峨嵋派 – Éméi Pài. The Emei Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 河图洛书 – Hé Tú Luò Shū. The He Map and Luo Shu, two mythical diagrams from ancient Chinese cosmology said to have revealed the principles of the Eight Trigrams and the foundation of Chinese civilisation. ↩

15. 伏羲 – Fúxī. A mythical sovereign of ancient China credited with creating the Eight Trigrams. ↩

16. 文王 – Wén Wáng. King Wen of Zhou, who allegedly expanded the Eight Trigrams into sixty-four hexagrams. ↩

17. 轻功 – qīnggōng. Martial arts technique for enhancing agility and movement, enabling extraordinary feats of lightness and speed. ↩

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