The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 23 – Part 3

The newcomers proved a company of Yuan soldiers, some fifty or sixty strong, with over a hundred women roped together and dragged along behind. Most of the women had bound feet and could barely stand, let alone keep pace with the horses. When one stumbled and fell, the rope dragged her along the ground. All the women were Han Chinese, plainly common folk[^baixing] snatched from the villages nearby. Half of them had been stripped nearly bare, their clothes torn to rags, weeping and wailing in utter misery. Some of the soldiers carried wine jugs, half-drunk, while others swung whips at the women. These Mongol troopers had grown up on horseback and were expert with the whip. A lash would crack out and curl back, tearing away a great strip of cloth from a woman's body. The rest cheered and hooted with laughter.

The Mongols had occupied China for close on a century now, and always treated the Han as worse than cattle. But even so, such open daylight atrocities were rare. Every man of the Ming Order burned with fury, waiting only for Zhang Wuji’s order to charge and cut the soldiers down.

Just then they heard the young lord speak. “Wu Liupo,¹ go tell them to release those women. What do they think they’re doing, carrying on like this?” The voice was clear and bright, so soft and tender it might have been a woman’s.

A great fellow answered, “Yes, sir.” He untethered a yellow horse from a willow, leapt into the saddle, and galloped over. In Mongolian he shouted loudly, “Hey! Carrying on like this in broad daylight. Have you no officers to discipline you? Let those women go at once.”

From among the Yuan soldiers an officer rode out, a young woman cradled in the crook of his arm. He squinted at them through bleary eyes and laughed. “You death-seeking swine haven’t got enough to do, coming to meddle in your betters’ affairs?”

The hunter said coldly, “Bandits rise across the realm because your lot of soldiers care nothing for the people. You’d best mind your manners while you still can.”

The officer studied the party beneath the willows. A faint surprise stirred in him. Ordinary folk fled at the sight of soldiers and hid themselves quick enough. What manner of fools were these, that they dared meddle with government troops? Then his eye fell on the young lord’s headband, where two pearls the size of dragon’s eyes glowed with soft lustre. Greed seized him at once. He laughed loudly. “You pretty boy, come with me! I’ll see you live well!” With that he clapped his heels to his horse and charged straight at the young lord.

The young lord had watched the Yuan soldiers’ brutality with a composed face, showing no anger at all. But at this insult the delicate brows drew together. “Leave not a single one alive.”

The word “alive” had barely left those lips when a twang rang out. A feathered arrow shot forth and punched clean through the officer’s chest. It came from one of the hunters beside the young lord. The man’s speed in loosing the shaft, the force behind it, was already that of a first-rate fighter in the jianghu.² What common hunter could command such skill?

With a rapid thwack-thwack-thwack, a volley of arrows flew in quick succession. All eight hunters loosed at once, each shaft finding its mark at a hundred paces. Every arrow killed a Yuan soldier. The soldiers were taken utterly by surprise, but each man was trained to the bow. They shouted and fired back. The eight hunters wheeled their horses and charged in, one arrow, one soldier, one arrow, one soldier. In the space of a breath they had killed more than thirty. The rest saw which way the wind blew, sounded the retreat, abandoned the women, and fled. But the hunters rode swift horses and pursued like the wind. Eight arrows went out, eight soldiers fell. Before they had gone a single li,³ not one of the Yuan troops remained alive.

The young lord gathered up the reins and rode away without so much as a backward glance. In the blink of an eye he had ordered the slaughter of fifty-odd Yuan soldiers as though it were the most commonplace thing in the world. Zhou Dian called out, “Hey! Hey! Wait! I’ve something to ask you!” But the young lord took no notice and rode on, escorted by the eight hunters into the far distance.

Had Zhang Wuji, Wei Yixiao⁴ and the rest exerted their qinggong⁵ they might well have overtaken those horses and questioned the young lord. But the eight hunters’ divine marksmanship and their righteous hatred of the Yuan troops had won the Ming Order company’s deep respect. They would not offend them without cause. The cultists fell to discussing the matter, but none could guess at the nine strangers’ identity. Yang Xiao said, “That young lord is plainly a woman in man’s clothing. Yet those eight experts, dressed as hunters, are most deferential towards her. Their archery is so masterful that I cannot place them in any Central Plains school.”

By now Yang Buhui and the Thick Earth Banner cultists had gone over to comfort the rescued women. Asking after their circumstances, they learned the women were villagers from the nearby towns. They took the silver and valuables from the Yuan soldiers’ corpses and distributed them among the women, directing each one to find her way home by the side paths.

In the days that followed, the cultists spoke of little else but the nine who had annihilated the Yuan soldiers with arrows. A fellow-feeling grew among them, a longing to befriend such as these.

Zhou Dian said to Yang Xiao, “Brother Yang, your daughter is a beauty, certainly. But compared with that young lady in man’s clothes, she doesn’t hold a candle.”

Yang Xiao said, “True. If those eight were willing to join our Order, their rank should stand above the Five Unbound Adepts.”

Zhou Dian was furious. “Bollocks! What’s so impressive about a bit of horseback archery? Tell them to try it against me.”

Yang Xiao mused, “Against you, Brother Zhou, they would of course fall short. But in martial skill they seemed half a grade above Brother Leng Qian.” Of the Five Unbound Adepts, Leng Qian’s kung fu stood first. Everyone knew it.

Yang Xiao and Zhou Dian had long been at odds. Though open strife had ceased, Zhou Dian seized any excuse to trade barbs. Now, hearing Yang Xiao rate the eight hunters above Leng Qian, plainly demoting the Five Unbound Adepts, his anger flared the hotter. He opened his mouth to retort, but Peng Yingyu smiled and said, “Brother Zhou, you’ve been taken in by our Left Messenger again. He meant to provoke you.”

Zhou Dian burst out laughing. “I won’t be provoked, then! What are you going to do about it?” But presently he was loudly criticising Yang Xiao’s horsemanship instead. The cultists exchanged amused glances.

Yin Liting, under Zhang Wuji’s treatment each day, had regained full consciousness. He spoke of how, after descending Bright Peak, his mind had been so troubled that he had lost his way in the desert. The further he wandered, the more lost he became, stumbling through the Gobi for eight or nine days. By the time he found the old road, he had lost all contact with his Wudang Order shixiong.⁶ Then, that very day, five Shaolin monks had confronted him. Without a word, they had attacked. All five were extremely skilled. Yin Liting had managed to fell two of them, but outnumbered as he was, he had at last been gravely wounded. He said the five monks’ martial arts were unmistakably Shaolin, though he had not seen them at Bright Peak. They must be reinforcements. Why they had attacked him so savagely, he could not imagine. He had spoken courteously to them and even announced his own name. They could not have mistaken him for someone else.

Along the way Yang Buhui tended him with the utmost care. She knew her parents owed him a great debt, and seeing him in such a plight, her compassion stirred deeply.

That evening the party passed Yongdeng⁷ and pressed on towards Jiangchengzi⁸ for the night. They were riding briskly when they heard the beat of hooves ahead. Two riders came along the highroad side by side. When they were a hundred feet away, both dismounted, led their horses to the roadside, and waited in an attitude of deep respect. They were dressed as hunters, two of the Eight Heroes of the Divine Arrow. The Ming Order company was overjoyed and dismounted to greet them.

The two men approached Zhang Wuji and bowed. One spoke clearly, “My mistress admires the Ming Order’s Zhang the Order Leader for his righteousness and heroism, and all you heroes for your valour. She has charged me to invite you to our manor to rest your horses, as a token of her esteem.”

Zhang Wuji returned the courtesy. “We would not dare presume. May I ask your mistress’s name?”

The man said, “My mistress’s family name is Zhao. Her given name I would not presume to speak.” The company heard him plainly acknowledge that the young lord was a woman in man’s dress, which showed the sincerity of their welcome. They were pleased.

Zhang Wuji said, “Ever since we witnessed your divine archery, we have spoken of it daily without ceasing. To be honoured with your invitation is a fortune beyond measure. I only fear we would prove an inconvenience.”

The man said, “You are heroes without peer in this age. My mistress has long admired you in her heart. Now that you pass through our humble patch, how could she not offer three cups of wine and a poor traveller’s hospitality?”

Zhang Wuji had wished to make the acquaintance of these heroes, and to learn the story of the Heavenly Jian. He said, “In that case, it would be rude to refuse. We shall gladly visit your honourable manor.”

The two men were delighted. They mounted and rode ahead to lead the way. They had not gone a li before two more riders appeared ahead, dismounting from afar to wait, again two of the Eight Heroes of the Divine Arrow. Another li on, the remaining four of the Eight Heroes came to meet them, all mounted together. The Ming Order company saw the courtesy shown them and were heartily pleased.

They followed a broad road of blue-flagged stone until a great manor appeared before them. A stream ran all around the walls, and the banks were thick with willows. To find such a Jiangnan⁹ landscape in the dry lands of Ganliang refreshed every breast. The great gate stood open, the drawbridge lowered. The young lady surnamed Zhao awaited them at the entrance, still dressed as a man, in a pale green gown.

She stepped forward and bowed. “The heroes of the Ming Order have graced Green Willow Manor¹⁰ with their presence today. Our humble abode is honoured a hundredfold. Order Leader Zhang, please enter! Left Messenger Yang, please enter! Esteemed Senior Yin, please enter! Bat King Wei, please enter…” She knew every one of the Ming Order company by name, without introduction, calling out each title in turn. Moreover, she placed the rank of every man correctly, from the highest to the lowest, including the order of the Five Unbound Adepts and the Five Banners. The company stared in astonishment.

Zhou Dian could not contain himself. “Young lady, how do you know our names? Do you possess the gift of prophecy?”

The young lady smiled. “The heroes of the Ming Order are famed throughout the jianghu. Who has not heard of you? After the battle at Bright Peak, when Order Leader Zhang awe-struck the six great schools with his peerless divine skill, the news has spread across the wulin. You journey east towards the Central Plains. Along every mile of the road, countless friends of the jianghu will admire and welcome you.¹¹ I am not the only one who does so.”

Footnotes

1. 吴六破 – Wú Liùpò. One of the Eight Divine Archers in Zhao Min’s service. His name means “Wu Sixth Destruction.” ↩

2. 江湖 – jiānghú. Lit. rivers and lakes. The itinerant world beyond settled society and official reach, holding not only martial artists but the trades that travel with them. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 里 – lǐ. Traditional Chinese unit of distance, approximately one-third of a mile or 500 metres. ↩

4. 韦一笑 – Wéi Yīxiào. The Green Winged Bat King, one of the Ming Order’s four Guardian Kings. Renowned for his qinggong. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 轻功 – qīnggōng. Lit. light skill. The martial art of nimble movement, enabling practitioners to scale walls, cross rooftops, and traverse great distances with extraordinary speed. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 师兄 – shīxiōng. Male senior fellow disciple of the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Xiōng means older brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 永登 – Yǒngdēng. A county in Gansu province, on the road from the Western Regions towards the Central Plains. ↩

8. 江城子 – Jiāngchéngzǐ. A town along the road in Gansu. ↩

9. 江南 – Jiāngnán. Lit. “south of the river.” The region south of the lower Yangtze, famed for its waterways, gardens and willow-shaded landscapes. ↩

10. 绿柳庄 – Lǜliǔ Zhuāng. Lit. “Green Willow Manor.” Zhao Min’s estate. ↩

11. 武林 – wǔlín. Lit. martial forest. The community of martial artists and their schools, guilds, and orders; distinct from the broader jianghu. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩