The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 23 – Part 7

He had barely reached the crowd when a clear young woman's voice rang out from among them, "Metal Banner, attack towards the northeast! Flood Banner, swing round to the southwest and envelop them." It was Xiaozhao's voice. No sooner had her commands ceased than a white-bannered company of the Ming Order charged towards the northeast, while a black-bannered company circled wide to envelop the southwest. The Yuan soldiers split to meet them, when suddenly the Thick Earth Banner and the Giant Wood Banner, their yellow and green standards flying, burst forth from the centre side by side, like a yellow dragon and a green dragon uncoiling from their lair. The Yuan formation broke under the impact and at once fell into disarray, retreating some distance.

With several swift leaps Zhang Wuji was already before the ranks. The men saw their Order Leader return and raised a great cry, their spirits reborn. Zhang Wuji saw that Yin Tianzheng, Yang Xiao, Zhou Dian, and the chief and deputy banner-commanders of the Five Elements Banners were all seated in a ring upon the ground, while Xiaozhao stood on an earthen mound, waving a small banner and directing the defence. The men of the Five Elements Banners and the Heavenly Eagle Banner were all fighters of great skill, but with their leaders poisoned they had fallen into disorder until Xiaozhao, deploying the arts of the Eight Trigrams, had laid out their positions, and the Yuan soldiers had been unable to break through for all their efforts.

Xiaozhao called out gladly, “Order Leader, please take command.” Zhang Wuji replied, “I am no use. You command far better. Let me charge out and kill a few of their officers.” Several arrows came whistling towards him. He seized a long spear from one of the men, deflecting each arrow in turn, then with a thrust of his arm the spear flew forth like an arrow itself, piercing clean through the chest of a Yuan centurion and pinning him to the ground. The Yuan soldiers shouted loudly and fell back another several dozen paces.

Then came the deep moan of horns, and a dozen or more horsemen galloped up. Zhang Wuji saw at their head the “Eight Heroes of the Divine Arrow”¹ of Zhao Min’s retinue, and his brows drew together. He thought, Those eight are too strong with their bows. If they are allowed to loose arrows at will, our brothers will suffer grievously. I must strike first.

But the leader of the Eight Heroes of the Divine Arrow, Zhao Yishang,² was waving a short golden staff topped with a dragon’s head and calling out, “The mistress gives orders: withdraw at once.” The Yuan officers shouted commands in Mongolian, and the horsemen wheeled and galloped hard away.

Qian Erbai³ dismounted and approached Zhang Wuji, bearing a tray. He bowed and said, “My mistress asks the Order Leader to accept this as a keepsake.” Upon the tray lay a square of yellow brocade, and upon the brocade a golden box, exquisitely engraved. Zhang Wuji, fearing no trick, reached out and took it. Qian Erbai bowed once more, stepped back three paces, turned, mounted, and was gone.

Zhang Wuji handed the golden box to Xiaozhao without a glance. His thoughts were on the sickness of his companions, and he had no leisure to examine its contents. At once he drew the flower branch from his robe and bade them fetch clean water. He crushed the deep-purple rootlets and the small green bulbs, mixed them with water, and had them administered to Yin Tianzheng, Yang Xiao, and each of the banner-commanders of the Five Elements Banners. In that battle, all who had attended the feast in the Water Pavilion had been poisoned, save Zhang Wuji alone, whose Nine Yang Divine Skill⁴ rendered him proof against every venom. Only Yang Buhui, who had remained outside with Yin Liting, and Xiaozhao and the other servants who had eaten in the side hall, had escaped, for they had each secretly tested their food with a silver needle before touching it, as their Order Leader had ordered.

The antidote proved most efficacious. In less than half a shichen⁵ the company’s poison had dispersed. Though dizzy and weakened, they could stand, and at once asked how the poisoning had come about and what the antidote was.

Zhang Wuji sighed. “We took every precaution. I could surely have detected any poison in the wine and food. I did not reckon that the young mistress Zhao’s scheme was beyond all imagination. That narcissus-like flower is called the Drunken Immortal Spirit Lily,⁶ a flower most rare, yet in itself devoid of poison. The false Heavenly Reliant Sword was wrought of a timber from the ocean floor called Strange Ling Fragrant Wood,⁷ which too is in itself harmless. But when those two scents mingle, they form a deadly poison.”

Zhou Dian slapped his thigh and cried, “The fault is mine. Who told me to be curious and pull out that counterfeit Heavenly Reliant Sword to inspect the blasted thing?” Zhang Wuji said, “She had set her heart on this scheme. Even if you, Zhou xiong, had not touched the sword, she would have sent someone else to draw it and lay the poison. There was no guarding against that.” Zhou Dian said, “Come then! Let us ride back and burn Green Willow Manor to the ground!”

No sooner had he spoken than along the road they had come, black smoke was rising into the sky, and red flames flickered. It was the direction of Green Willow Manor.

The company exchanged glances, unable to speak. Each thought the same: This young mistress Zhao foresees every move. She knew that once we had taken the antidote we would surely go and burn the manor, so she set fire to it first. Young as she is, and a woman besides, she is a formidable foe indeed.

Zhou Dian slapped his thigh again and cried, “She’s burned the manor, so what? We still ride hard after her and run her down.” Yang Xiao said, “If she has burned even the manor, she has prepared for everything. I doubt we could overtake her.” Zhou Dian said, “Yang xiong, your martial arts are passable enough, but in strategy you are perhaps half a notch above Zhou Dian.” Yang Xiao laughed, “I dare not claim such. Zhou xiong’s calculations are marvellous. How could I compare?” Zhang Wuji laughed, “You need not be so modest. We have escaped without great harm, with only thirteen or fourteen brothers wounded by arrows. That is Heaven’s fortune. Let us be on our way.”

Upon the road the company asked Zhang Wuji how he had discerned the cause of the poisoning. Zhang Wuji said, “I recalled a passage in the Manual of Poisons: ‘When Strange Ling Fragrant Wood encounters a fragrance of the narcissus kind, it often casts men into a stupor lasting several days; the bulb of the flower, dissolved in water and drunk, provides the cure.’ The Drunken Immortal Spirit Lily is yet more potent than the common narcissus. That is why I ordered all of you not to practise your neili, for had the poison entered the meridians while you channelled your arts, it would have endangered your lives.”

Wei Yixiao said, “Who would have thought that little Xiaozhao would perform such a service? Had she not stepped forward at the critical moment and directed the defence with such skill, once the Mongol soldiers closed to short range we would have suffered terribly.” Yang Xiao had been convinced that Xiaozhao’s origins were suspicious and that she must prove a danger to the Ming Order. Only out of respect for the Order Leader had he tolerated her. But today she had become a great merit to the Order, entirely beyond his expectation, and he could not at once fathom the reason.

Along the way the company discussed the origins of Zhao Min, but none could find the least thread. Zhang Wuji concealed the manner of their escape from the pit, saying nothing of how he had tickled her feet to free them. Though his conscience was clear, he could not bring himself to speak of it before the company.

That evening they reached an inn early to rest. The bulk of the company lodged in temples and ancestral halls nearby. Xiaozhao brought a basin of water to Zhang Wuji’s room. Zhang Wuji said, “Little sister, you performed a great service today. You need not do such menial work for me any longer.” Xiaozhao smiled brightly. “I am glad to serve you. What menial work is it?” When he had washed, she brought out the golden box. “Who knows if it contains venomous creatures, poison, hidden darts, or some other trick?”

Zhang Wuji said, “True enough. We must be cautious.” He set the box upon the table and drew her well away, then took a copper coin and flung it at the box. It rang against the rim, and the lid sprang open. Nothing amiss appeared. He drew near and looked inside. The box contained a pearl flower, still trembling faintly. It was the very one he had plucked from Zhao Min’s hair. The two great pearls Zhao Min had removed had been restrung upon the golden wire. He stared at it, unable to guess her meaning.

Xiaozhao laughed, “Order Leader gege, this young mistress Zhao is very kind to you. She has sent someone expressly to deliver so precious a pearl flower.” Zhang Wuji said, “I am a man. What use have I for women’s jewellery? Little sister, you take it.” Xiaozhao waved her hands. “How could I? She sends it with such feeling. How dare I accept it?”

Zhang Wuji held the pearl flower between three fingers of his left hand and said, “There!” He flung it with a gesture neither light nor heavy, and it settled precisely in Xiaozhao’s hair, the golden pin touching none of her skin. Xiaozhao reached to take it down, but Zhang Wuji shook his head. “Little sister, will you not accept a small gift from me?” Xiaozhao’s cheeks flushed, and she said softly, “Then I thank you. I only fear the young mistress will be angry.”

Zhang Wuji said, “After the great service you did today, how could Left Messenger Yang and his daughter bear you any grudge?” Xiaozhao, brimming with happiness, said, “I was so anxious when you were so long away, and then the Tartars attacked, and I do not know how it was, but suddenly I found myself shouting orders. Thinking of it now, I am truly frightened. Please tell the gentlemen of the Five Elements Banners and the Heavenly Eagle Banner that Xiaozhao was bold and impertinent beyond measure, and beg them not to take offence.” Zhang Wuji smiled, “They are grateful to you. Why would they take offence?”

Within a few days they entered Henan. The realm was in turmoil. Heroes had risen on every side, and the Mongol patrols were stricter than ever. The Ming Order’s great company could not travel openly in a body, so they changed their dress and made their way in small groups to gather at the foot of Mount Song,⁸ whence they would ascend to Shaolin Monastery together. Wen Cangsong,⁹ banner-commander of the Giant Wood Banner, bore Zhang Wuji’s visiting card and entered Shaolin Monastery first.

Zhang Wuji knew that this expedition to Shaolin to demand satisfaction, though it sought to avoid bloodshed, might well end in violence. Should the Shaolin monks prove obstinate and take up arms, the Ming Order would have no choice but to fight in turn. He gave his orders accordingly: the leaders would enter the monastery first, while the Five Elements Banners and the companies of the Heavenly Eagle Banner waited in ambush on all sides. At the sound of his three long whistles they were to rush in to their aid. The companies received the order and dispersed to their positions.

Before long, an aged guest-receiving monk¹⁰ from the monastery came down the mountain with Wen Cangsong and said, “Our abbot and the Elders are in closed meditation and cannot receive visitors.” The company heard this and their faces changed.

Zhou Dian was furious. “This is the Order Leader of the Ming Order, come in person to pay his respects at Shaolin Monastery. The old monks refuse to see him? That is insufferable arrogance.” The guest-receiving monk kept his eyes cast down, his face a mask of sorrow, and said, “They do not receive you.”

Zhou Dian was enraged and reached to seize the monk by the robes. Cannot Tell raised a hand and deflected his arm, saying, “Zhou xiong, do not be reckless.” Peng Yingyu said, “If the abbot is in seclusion, then let us see the two divine monks Kongzhi and Kongxing instead.” The guest-receiving monk pressed his palms together and said coldly, “They do not receive you.” Peng Yingyu said, “Then the First Seat of the Damo Hall? The First Seat of the Arhat Hall?” The guest-receiving monk, still indifferent, said, “They do not receive you.”

Yin Tianzheng unleashed a thunderous roar, “Do they receive us or not?” His palms shot forth like a falling mountain, and with a great crash he drove a great pine beside the path clean in two. The upper half, branches, leaves, and three crows’ nests tumbling, crashed down with a rending sound. Only then did the guest-receiving monk show fear. “You have come from far. We would ordinarily receive you with ceremony, but the Elders are all in seclusion. Please come another time.” He pressed his palms together, bowed, and turned away.

Wei Yixiao’s form flickered and he was already before the monk. “What is the master’s dharma-name?” The guest-receiving monk said, “My dharma-name is not worth speaking.” Wei Yixiao laid a light hand upon his shoulder and tapped twice, smiling. “Very good, very good. You are fond of saying ‘do not receive,’ so you are the Divine Monk Who Does Not Receive, the shixiong of Kongjian the Divine Monk. I wonder, when the King of Hell summons the Buddha, does the Divine Monk Who Does Not Receive receive him or not?” The guest-receiving monk, at that tap, felt a cold qi shoot from his shoulder to his chest. At once his whole body shook with cold, his teeth chattering. He mastered himself with an effort and, brushing past Wei Yixiao, stumbled up the mountain, his limbs trembling without cease. Wei Yixiao said, “That fellow came to the Order with arts already learned. His neigong is not of the Shaolin line.”

Footnotes

1. 神箭八雄 – shénjiàn bā xióng. The Eight Heroes of the Divine Arrow. Eight elite archers in the service of Zhao Min. ↩

2. 赵一伤 – Zhào Yīshāng. Zhao Yishang. Leader of the Eight Heroes of the Divine Arrow. The name means “Zhao One Wound,” the first of a series of names bearing a self-deprecating numeral. ↩

3. 钱二败 – Qián Èrbài. Qian Erbai. The second of the eight. The name means “Qian Two Defeats.” ↩

4. 九阳神功 – Jiǔyáng Shéngōng. Literally Nine Yang Divine Skill. A legendary internal cultivation method emphasising pure yang energy, capable of granting extraordinary martial prowess. ↩

5. 时辰 – shíchén. A traditional unit of time, approximately two hours; the day was divided into twelve shichen. ↩

6. 醉仙灵芙 – zuìxiān língfú. The Drunken Immortal Spirit Lily. A rare flower of the narcissus kind, whose fragrance, when mingled with Strange Ling Fragrant Wood, produces a potent poison. ↩

7. 奇鲮香木 – qílíng xiāngmù. Strange Ling Fragrant Wood. A rare timber from the ocean floor, in itself harmless but deadly when its scent mingles with that of the Drunken Immortal Spirit Lily. ↩

8. 嵩山 – Sōngshān. Mount Song. One of the Five Sacred Mountains of China, in Henan province. The site of Shaolin Monastery. ↩

9. 闻苍松 – Wén Cāngsōng. Wen Cangsong. Banner-commander of the Giant Wood Banner of the Ming Order. ↩

10. 知客僧 – zhīkèsēng. A guest-receiving monk; the monk appointed to receive and attend to visitors at a monastery. ↩