The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 23 – Part 4

The company reflected and found her words sensible, their spirits lifting, though of course they bowed and demurred in speech. When asked the names and lineages of the Eight Divine Archers, a tall fellow spoke, "I am Zhao Yishang,[^zhaoyishang] this is Qian Erbai,[^qianerbai] this is Sun Sanhui,[^sunsanhui] and this is Li Sicui.[^lisicui]" He pointed to the remaining four in turn: "This is Zhou Wushu,[^zhouwushu] this is Wu Liupo,[^wuliupo] this is Zheng Qimie,[^zhengqimie] and this is Wang Bashuai.[^wangbashuai]"

The Ming Order heroes were rendered speechless with amusement. The eight men’s surnames followed the order of the Hundred Family Surnames: Zhao, Qian, Sun, Li, Zhou, Wu, Zheng, Wang, which was strange enough, but their given names were each more inauspicious than the last. “Wang Bashuai,” meaning “Wang the Eighth in Decline,” was beyond anything they had imagined. Yet in the jianghu,¹ men often adopted false names to dodge calamity or evade enemies, and such eccentricities were commonplace. They asked no further.

Miss Zhao led the way herself, ushering the company into the great hall. Above the entrance hung a plaque bearing four characters: Green Willow Manor.² In the central hall hung a painting by Zhao Mengfu³ of the Eight Steeds, each horse in a different posture, every one spirited and wild-eyed. On the left wall hung a sheet of calligraphy, the text reading:

“A white rainbow flies from the seat,
A green snake roars within the sheath.
Kill, kill, frost upon the blade’s edge;
Round, round, the moon hangs at the navel.
The jian decides like clouds beyond the sky,
The jian charges like battle in the sun,
The jian pierces a sorcerer’s belly,
The jian brushes a traitor’s head.
Secretly it banishes ghosts and demons,
Do not merely startle wives and women.
Leave it to slay the dragon beneath the waves,
Do not test it on the dogs in the street.”

At the poem’s end, a line of small characters read: “Testing the Heavenly Sword by night. A divine object indeed! I transcribe miscellanies of sword-lore in its praise. Zhao Min of Bianliang.”

Zhang Wuji’s own calligraphy was poor, but he had practised under Zhu Jiuhen⁴ and could judge good writing when he saw it. The brushwork swept and crossed with a certain seductive elegance, plainly a woman’s hand. He knew at once it was the work of this Miss Zhao. Beyond medical texts he had read little, but this poem was not obscure, and its meaning came clear at first reading. He thought, So she is from Bianliang, and her given name is a single character: Min. He said aloud, “Miss Zhao excels in both civil and martial pursuits. I am impressed. So you are from a family of the old capital in the Central Plains.”

Miss Zhao smiled faintly. “Order Leader Zhang’s late father was nicknamed ‘Silver Hook, Iron Stroke,’ a master of calligraphy naturally. With such a heritage, I trust the Order Leader will favour me with a sample of his own brushwork before long.”

Zhang Wuji flushed at once. He had lost his father at ten and never learned the art from him. Afterward he had studied medicine and martial arts, and his knowledge of letters was thin indeed. “You ask me to write? That would be the death of me. I was unfortunate. My father passed away early, and I did not inherit his learning. I am deeply ashamed.”

As he spoke, estate hands brought tea. In cups the colour of sky after rain floated pale green Longjing⁵ leaves, their fragrance rising with the steam. The heroes exchanged secret glances. This place lay thousands of li⁶ from Jiangnan. How could fresh Longjing leaves be had here? This young lady was strange in every particular.

Zhao Min raised her cup and drank first, to show there was no ill intent. When the company had taken tea, she said, “You have travelled far to grace us with your presence. Our manor has offered only humble hospitality. I beg your forgiveness. You must be weary from the road. Please, this way, for wine and food.” She rose and led them through corridors and courtyards into a great garden.

The rockery within was ancient and rough-hewn, the streams and pools clear, the flowers few but elegant. Zhang Wuji could not fathom the garden’s deeper art, but Yang Xiao nodded inwardly, thinking the master of this place was no common taste, but one with mountains and valleys in his breast.

In the waterside pavilion two tables of banquet had been laid. Zhao Min invited Zhang Wuji and the others to seat. Zhao Yishang, Qian Erbai, and the remaining Eight Divine Archers attended the Ming Order rank-and-file in a side hall. Yin Liting could not rise, and Yang Buhui fed him in a side chamber.

Zhao Min poured a great cup of wine and drained it in one draught. “This is Shaoxing nüzhen⁷ wine, aged eighteen years. Pray tell me how you find it?” Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, Yin Tianzheng and the rest, though they judged this Miss Zhao a righteous figure who opposed the court’s soldiers, remained cautious. They examined the wine-pot and cups for any irregularity, and saw that Zhao Min had drunk the first cup herself. Only then did they set aside their suspicions and eat and drink freely. The Ming Order’s rule had once been “eating vegetables and serving the demon,” forbidding wine and meat. But since the removal of the main altar to the Kunlun Mountains, these dietary prohibitions had been lifted. In the Western Regions, vegetables were scarce and dearer than beef or mutton. The climate too was bitter-cold, and those whose neili⁸ was even slightly weak could not endure without oils and wine.

Around the pavilion, in the pool, grew seven or eight clumps of flowers resembling narcissus, though larger, their petals white, their fragrance subtle and refined. The heroes sat amid clear scent and fine wine, the breeze carrying perfume, and were greatly at ease.

Miss Zhao proved a brilliant conversationalist. She spoke of martial anecdotes from the various Central Plains factions, and many were tales even Yin Tianzheng and his son had never heard. She allowed the Shaolin, Emei, and Kunlun schools little praise, but when Zhang Sanfeng and the Seven Xias of Wudang⁹ were mentioned she extolled them to the skies. She heaped commendation too upon the martial arts of the Ming Order’s great heroes, her remarks seeming offhand, yet every word of praise or commendation struck precisely home. The heroes were both delighted and impressed, but when asked of her own lineage and training, Zhao Min merely smiled and would not answer, turning the talk elsewhere.

After several rounds of wine, Zhao Min drained each cup as it came, her bearing most bold. At every new dish she was first to take her chopsticks. A flush rose to her cheeks, a slight wine-tint suffusing her face, her beauty the more radiant for it. Normally a woman’s beauty is either gentle and refined, or lush and wanton. This Miss Zhao, amid surpassing loveliness, bore a third part martial bearing, a third part heroic air, and at the same time a dignified grace that commanded respect, so that men dared not look too long.

Zhang Wuji said, “Miss Zhao, we are deeply grateful for your generous hospitality. I have a question I would ask, but dare not speak it.” Zhao Min said, “Order Leader Zhang, why stand on ceremony? We who walk the jianghu say, ‘Within the four seas, all are brothers.’ If you do not disdain me, then count me your friend. Whatever you wish to ask, I shall answer fully.”

Zhang Wuji said, “Then I shall ask: from where did you obtain this Heavenly Sword?”

Zhao Min smiled faintly, unfastened the Heavenly Sword from her waist, and laid it on the table. “Since I met you all, your eyes have burned towards this jian without resting. May I ask the reason?”

Zhang Wuji said, “To speak plainly, this sword once belonged to Miejue Shitai,¹⁰ zhangmen¹¹ of the Emei Order. Many of our cult’s brothers have lost their lives beneath it. I myself was once pierced through the chest by this very blade and nearly died. That is why all eyes are upon it.”

Zhao Min said, “Order Leader Zhang’s divine skill is unmatched. It is said you used the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth¹² to wrest this sword from Miejue Shitai’s hands. How then were you wounded by it? It is also said the one who struck you was a young woman disciple of the Emei Order, whose martial arts were merely mediocre. I find this most puzzling.” As she spoke, her bright eyes fixed upon Zhang Wuji’s face without blinking, and at the corner of her mouth lingered a half-smile.

Zhang Wuji flushed. How does she know such detail? He said, “The attack came too suddenly. I was off my guard, and so suffered the mishap.”

Zhao Min smiled. “That Zhou Zhiruo, that Sister Zhou, must be exceedingly beautiful, mustn’t she?”

Zhang Wuji’s face burned the redder. “You mock me.” He raised his cup to hide his embarrassment with a sip of wine, but his left hand trembled, and a few drops spilled onto his robe.

Zhao Min smiled. “I cannot hold my wine. Another cup and I shall behave improperly, and already I know not what I say. I shall go within and change my robe. I shall return in a moment. Pray make yourselves at ease, and stand on no ceremony.” She rose, imitated a man’s circular bow, and left the pavilion, passing through flowers and willows until she was gone. The Heavenly Sword remained flat upon the table, untouched.

The attendant servants continued to bring dishes. The heroes ate no more, and waited long, but Zhao Min did not return. Zhou Dian said, “She’s left her precious sword here. She trusts us, at least.” He picked up the sword, weighing it in his hand. Suddenly he cried, “Eh? Why is it so light?” He gripped the hilt and drew the blade.

The moment the sword left its sheath, the whole company rose to their feet in astonishment. Where was the Heavenly Sword, that cut through metal and jade with unmatched keenness? This was a wooden jian. A faint fragrance reached their noses. The blade was pale yellow, and proved to be carved of sandalwood.

Zhou Dian stood at a loss. He returned the wooden sword to its sheath and muttered, “Yang… Left Messenger Yang, what… what is this contrivance?” Though he and Yang Xiao bickered constantly, in truth he admired the man’s judgement. Now, faced with a puzzle, he could not help but turn to him.

Yang Xiao’s face was grave. In a low voice he said, “Order Leader, this Miss Zhao harbours no good intent. We are in danger. We must leave at once.”

Zhou Dian said, “Why fear her? If she dares anything, with so many of us here, we can rout her utterly.”

Yang Xiao said, “Since entering this Green Willow Manor, I have felt strangeness at every turn. It seems orthodox yet is not, seems unorthodox yet is not. I cannot fathom what game is afoot. Why remain here and be manipulated at every step?”

Zhang Wuji nodded. “Left Messenger Yang speaks well. We have finished our meal. Let us take our leave.” He rose from his seat.

Iron Crown Adept said, “And the true whereabouts of the Heavenly Sword? Will the Order Leader not pursue the matter?”

Peng Yingyu said, “In my view, Miss Zhao has laid a false trail. She surely has some purpose. Even if we do not seek her, she will seek us.”

Zhang Wuji said, “Agreed. We have business on hand and must not multiply complications. Hereafter we shall wait at our ease and see clearly before acting.”

The company left the pavilion and returned to the great hall, bidding the servants inform Miss Zhao that they thanked her for the sumptuous feast and now took their leave.

Zhao Min came out in haste, having changed into a pale yellow silk robe, which made her appear the more dashing and ethereal, her countenance luminous. “We have barely met. Why depart so soon? Is my hospitality too poor?”

Zhang Wuji said, “We are grateful for your generous gift. How could we speak of ‘poor’? We are bound by worldly affairs and cannot linger. When next we meet, I shall seek your instruction.”

The corner of Zhao Min’s mouth held that half-smile as she escorted them to the manor gates. The Eight Divine Archers stood respectfully along the path, bowing to see the guests away.

Footnotes

1. 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. ↩

2. 绿柳山庄 – Lǜliǔ Shānzhuāng. Lit. Green Willow Mountain Manor. Zhao Min’s estate. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 赵孟頫 – Zhào Mènfǔ. A renowned painter and calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty (1254–1322), a descendant of the Song imperial house. ↩

4. 朱九真 – Zhū Jiǔzhēn. A young woman of Zhu Jiuhen on Zhu Changling’s estate, from whom Zhang Wuji learned calligraphy in his youth. ↩

5. 龙井 – Lóngjǐng. Dragon Well tea, a famous green tea from Hangzhou, Jiangnan. ↩

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

7. 女贞酒 – nǚzhēn jiǔ. A rice wine brewed in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, named after the female-privet tree. Aged versions were among the finest wines in the south. ↩

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

9. 武当七侠 – Wǔdāng Qī Xiá. The Seven Xias of Wudang, Zhang Sanfeng’s seven senior disciples: Song Yuanqiao, Yu Lianzhou, Yu Daiyan, Zhang Songxi, Zhang Cuishan, Yin Liting, and Mo Shenggu. ↩

10. 灭绝师太 – Mièjué Shītài. The iron-willed zhangmen of the Emei Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 掌门 – zhǎngmén. The head of a martial school or order. ↩

12. 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. ↩