The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 25: The Holy Fire Blazes Skyward

Fires raised to sear the sky, how bright they blaze!

The others, anxious for Zhang Wuji’s safety, abandoned the chase and crowded around him. Xiao Zhao’s eyes were brimming with tears, her distress greater than anyone’s. Zhang Wuji gave a faint smile and waved his right hand gently, signalling that he was unharmed. He set the Nine Yang Divine Skill¹ in motion within his body, driving out the yin-cold energy of the Xuanming Divine Palms.² Threads of white vapour rose ceaselessly from the crown of his head as though from a steamer. He unfastened the upper buttons of his robe, revealing a deep black palm-print on each flank beneath the ribs. Under the circulation of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, the two palm-marks shifted from black to purple, from purple to grey, and at last faded away entirely. In less than half a shichen³ the Xuanming palm-poison that had resisted years of effort to expel was now eradicated in a single bout.

He rose to his feet and said, “That exchange was perilous, but at least we have now unmasked our enemy’s identity.”

When the Twin Xuanming Elders had exchanged palm-strikes with Yang Xiao and Wei Yixiao, Zhang Wuji’s Nine Yang Divine Skill had already neutralised much of the force. The yin-poison in their palms was not even two-tenths of its usual potency. Even so, Yang Xiao and Wei Yixiao still had to sit in meditation and circulate their qi for the better part of a day before the venom was fully purged.

Zhang Wuji was concerned for his grandmaster’s injuries, but Zhang Sanfeng said, “The Fire-Worker ascetic monk’s internal skill was weak. His external arts are forceful, to be sure, but still no match for the Xuanming Divine Palm. My wound is of no consequence.” Zhang Wuji remained uneasy and circulated his own qi to assist his grandmaster’s recovery.

At this point Wu Jingcao, the Banner-Master of the Metal Banner, entered to report that the attackers had all withdrawn from the mountain. Yu Daiyan instructed the guest-receiving Daoists to prepare a vegetarian banquet in honour of their Ming Order guests. It was only at the feast that Zhang Wuji related to Zhang Sanfeng and Yu Daiyan the full story of his adventures since leaving Wudang. When he came to recount how he had practised the Nine Yang Manual,⁴ Zhang Sanfeng recalled the old days of Master Jueyuan and Guo Xiang, and sighed with deep feeling. Yet seeing his grandson famed throughout the jianghu after his triumph atop Bright Summit, the old master’s pride was tempered by the thought that Zhang Cuishan could not witness his son’s glory. Tears trickled down his venerable cheeks.

Zhang Sanfeng said, “That year, also in this Hall of the Three Pure Ones, I exchanged a palm-strike with that man. It was only because he was disguised as a Mongol officer at the time that I could not tell which of the two elders he was. I must confess with shame that even to this day, we cannot be certain of our enemy’s identity.” Yang Xiao said, “That young surnamed Zhao, whoever she may be, has even two masters of the Xuanming elders’ calibre willingly serving at her command.” The company ventured many conjectures, but none reached any conclusion.

Zhang Wuji said, “Our journey to Fire-Ice Island must be postponed. There are two urgent matters. First, we must seize the Black Jade Bone-Continuing Ointment to heal Third Uncle Yu and Sixth Uncle Yin. Second, we must learn the whereabouts of Eldest shixiong Song and the others. Both of these depend on that young lady surnamed Zhao.” Yu Daiyan said with a bitter smile, “I have been a cripple for twenty years. Even if a divine elixir truly existed, it could not cure me now. It is the rescue of Eldest shixiong and the treatment of Sixth Brother that matter most.”

Zhang Wuji said, “There is no time to lose. I ask Left Messenger Yang, Wei the Bat King, and Master Cannot Tell to accompany me down the mountain to track the enemy. Let each of the Five Elements Banners send a vice-banner-master to liaise with the Shaolin, Emei, Huashan, Kunlun, and Kongtong orders respectively, explain the situation and gather intelligence. I ask Grandfather and Uncle to journey south to the Yangtze and reorganise the Tianying Order’s adherents under the Ming Order’s banner. Adept Tieguan, Mister Zhou, Master Peng, and the Banner-Masters of the Five Elements shall remain at Wudang for the time being, acting under my Grandmaster Zhang Sanfeng the Perfected One⁵’s authority as a central reserve.”

He issued these orders at the banquet table with casual authority. Yin Tianzheng, Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, and the others rose one by one and bowed to receive their commands.

Zhang Sanfeng had at first doubted that so young a man could command such a company of heroes. Now, watching him give orders while Yin Tianzheng and the other great figures of the jianghu obeyed each without hesitation, he was deeply pleased. He thought to himself, That he can learn my Tai Chi Fist and Tai Chi Swordplay is merely a consequence of his strong internal foundation and sharp understanding, remarkable enough, yet not the rarest thing. But that he can restrain the Ming Order and the Tianying Order, great demons of the wulin, and lead them onto the righteous path, that is a truly extraordinary achievement. Ah, Cuishan has an heir. Cuishan has an heir! The thought brought an involuntary smile as he stroked his beard.

Zhang Wuji and Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, and Cannot Tell ate a hasty meal, then took their leave of Zhang Sanfeng and descended the mountain to track Zhao Min’s movements. Yin Tianzheng and the others escorted them to the mountain’s edge. Yang Buhui, however, lingered at her father’s side, reluctant to part, and walked on with him for another li⁶ or more. Yang Xiao said, “Buhui, go back now. Look after Sixth Uncle Yin.” Yang Buhui answered, “Yes.” But her eyes were fixed on Zhang Wuji. Suddenly her cheeks flushed, and she said in a low voice, “Wuji gege, I have a few words I must say to you.”

Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, and Cannot Tell exchanged amused glances, thinking, They grew up together, those two, childhood sweethearts, as it were. She must have some private things to say. They quickened their pace and soon vanished into the distance.

Yang Buhui said, “Wuji gege, come here.” She took his hand and led him to a great boulder at the mountainside, where they sat down.

Zhang Wuji was perplexed. Buhui and I have been close since childhood, our bond unlike any other. Yet since our reunion after so long apart, she has been cold and distant. What can she have to say now? Suddenly, images crowded upon his mind: Xiao Zhao’s winsome, endearing face, Zhou Zhiruo’s clear and delicate features, Zhu’er’s slender, fragile silhouette, and even Zhao Min’s expression, that half-angry, half-smiling look.

Yang Buhui had not yet spoken, but her face was already flushed. She lowered her head and was silent for a long while. At last she said, “Wuji gege, when my mother died, she entrusted me to your care, didn’t she?”

Zhang Wuji said, “Yes.”

Yang Buhui said, “You carried me thousands of li from Huaibei to my father in the Western Regions. You faced death at every turn, endured every hardship, and more than once risked your own life in my place. A great debt of gratitude need not be spoken aloud. I have carried it deep in my heart and never once mentioned it to you.”

Zhang Wuji said, “What was there to mention? If I had not travelled with you to the Western Regions, I would never have had those encounters. I daresay I would have died of the poison long ago.”

Yang Buhui said, “No, no! You are kind and true. Danger always turns to fortune for you. Wuji gege, I lost my mother when I was small. Father loves me dearly, but there are things I dare not say to him. You are our Order Leader, yet in my heart I have always thought of you as an elder brother. That day on Bright Summit, when I saw you return unharmed, the joy I felt was beyond words. Only I was too shy to tell you to your face. You’re not angry with me?”

Zhang Wuji said, “Angry? Of course not.”

Yang Buhui continued, “I was very cruel to Xiao Zhao, harsh and merciless. Perhaps you disapproved. But my mother died so horribly that since then my heart has hardened against anyone who seems wicked. Later, when I saw how well Xiao Zhao treated you, I stopped hating her. Wuji gege, you rather like her, don’t you?”

Zhang Wuji smiled. “That little Xiao Zhao is certainly rather peculiar, but I don’t believe she is a bad person.”

The sun was sinking to the west by then, and the autumn breeze brushed their faces with a warmth like gentle intoxication. Zhang Wuji gazed at a green hill half a li away, where several willow trees swayed mid-slope, their leaves dancing in the wind with lithe, graceful motion. He turned his head and found Yang Buhui looking at him with tenderness in her eyes, her gaze soft and brimming.

She whispered, “Wuji gege, do you think Father and Mother wronged… Yin… Sixth Uncle Yin?”

Zhang Wuji said, “Those are matters of the past. There is no point in speaking of them.”

Yang Buhui said, “No. To other people, it was long ago. Even I am nearly ten… years old. But Sixth Uncle Yin… Yin… he never forgot Mother. When he was gravely wounded, day and night in delirium, he kept calling: ‘Xiaofu! Sister Xiaofu!’ He said, ‘Sister Xiaofu, don’t leave me. My hands and feet are broken. I am a cripple. I beg you, don’t leave me. Don’t abandon me.’ “ Her voice broke, tears filling her eyes, her agitation plain.

Zhang Wuji said, “Sixth Uncle was delirious. His words cannot be taken as meaning.”

Yang Buhui said, “No! You don’t understand, but I do. When he later regained consciousness and looked at me, his eyes held the very same look, still begging me not to leave him, though he did not speak the words aloud.”

Zhang Wuji sighed. He knew well that this sixth uncle of his, though strong in martial arts, was soft by nature. Even as a child he had seen him weep over small sorrows. Ji Xiaofu’s death had struck him hardest of all, and now with all his limbs shattered, it was no wonder he was beset by fear and unease. Zhang Wuji said, “I shall devote every effort to seizing the Black Jade Bone-Continuing Ointment and healing Third Uncle and Sixth Uncle.”

Yang Buhui said, “Sixth Uncle Yin looks at me that way, and the more I think about it, the more I feel that Father and Mother wronged him, and the more I pity him. Wuji gege, I have already given my word to… to Sixth Uncle Yin. Whether his hands and feet heal fully or he remains disabled for life, I will stay with him always. I will never leave him.” As she spoke, tears ran down her face, but her expression was radiant, equal parts shy and joyful.

Zhang Wuji was startled. He had never imagined she would pledge herself to Yin Liting. For a moment he could not speak, and managed only: “You… you…”

Yang Buhui said, “I told him firmly and without reservation: I will follow him for life. If he can never move from his bed, then I will sit by his bedside for life, serving his meals and telling him stories to pass the time.”

Zhang Wuji said, “But you…”

Yang Buhui cut in: “I did not agree on impulse. I thought about it for a long time on the journey. It is not only that he cannot do without me. I cannot do without him either. If he dies of his injuries, I will not go on living. When he is with me, he stares at me so intently… nothing could make me happier. Wuji gege, when I was little I told you everything. If I wanted a baked flatbread, I told you. If I saw a sugar figure at a fair and thought it pretty, I told you. We had no money to buy one, so you sneaked off in the middle of the night and stole one for me. Do you remember?”

Zhang Wuji recalled those days of travelling west together, two children dependent on each other, and his heart ached. He said softly, “I remember.”

Yang Buhui pressed his hand and said, “You gave me that sugar figure. I couldn’t bear to eat it, but as I carried it along the road, the sun melted it away. I was so heartbroken I cried without stopping. You said you would find me another one, but you never found one like it again. Later you bought me a bigger, finer sugar figure, but I refused it, and cried all the harder. You were quite cross and scolded me for being disobedient. Do you remember?”

Zhang Wuji smiled. “Did I scold you? I don’t recall. But I was always kind to you in my heart.”

Footnotes

1. 九阳神功 – Jiǔyáng Shéngōng. Literally Nine Yang Divine Skill. Legendary internal cultivation method emphasising pure yang energy, capable of granting extraordinary martial prowess. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 玄冥神掌 – Xuánmíng Shén Zhǎng. Xuanming Divine Palm. Xuanming is the ancient deity of winter and the dark waters; the palm inflicts a deadly, penetrating cold. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 时辰 – shíchén. Traditional Chinese unit of time equal to two hours; the day was divided into twelve shichen. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 九阳真经 – Jiǔyáng Zhēnjīng. Literally Nine Yang True Scripture. Legendary internal cultivation manual hidden within the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, emphasising yang energy and balanced development. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 真人 – zhēnrén. Literally “true person.” Daoist honorific title for one who has attained perfection in the Way. ↩

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