The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 27 – Part 2

Zhao Min said, “What would you think if I died tomorrow? You would surely say: thank Heaven, this cunning, fierce enemy of mine is dead, and I am spared no small trouble from now on.”

Zhang Wuji cried aloud, “No, no! I do not wish you dead. I only wish you safe and well. The Bat King frightened you so, threatening to scar your face with dao marks. I was genuinely worried.” Zhao Min smiled sweetly, a blush rising to her cheeks, and lowered her head.

Zhang Wuji said, “Miss Zhao, do not trouble us any further. Release the masters of the six great schools, and let us all be friends in joy. Would that not be well?” Zhao Min said brightly, “Good! I have always wished for just that. You are the Ming Order zhangmen,¹ your word carries the weight of nine cauldrons. Go and tell them to submit to the court.² When my father memorialises the Emperor, each will receive a reward.”

Zhang Wuji shook his head slowly and said, “We Han people have one wish: for you Mongols to leave the lands of the Han.” Zhao Min rose abruptly and said, “What? You speak such seditious words? Is that not open rebellion?” Zhang Wuji said, “I am a rebel. Did you only realise it now?”

Zhao Min gazed at him for a long while. The anger and astonishment on her face faded gradually, giving way to tenderness and disappointment. At last she sat down again and said, “I have known it for a long time. But I needed to hear it from your own lips before I could believe it was truly, irrevocably so.” The words carried a note of profound bitterness.

Zhang Wuji’s nature was soft-hearted, and he could not bear her distress. The thought nearly burst from him: I will do as you say. But the notion vanished in an instant. He steadied his mind, yet could find no words to comfort her.

The two sat in silence for some time. Zhang Wuji said, “Miss Zhao, the night is deep. Let me escort you home.” Zhao Min said, “You will not sit with me a little longer?” Zhang Wuji hastened to say, “No! If you wish to drink and talk here, I will keep you company.” Zhao Min smiled faintly and said slowly, “Sometimes I think to myself: if I were not Mongol, nor a princess,³ but merely an ordinary Han girl like Miss Zhou, perhaps you would be kinder to me. Young Master Zhang, tell me: am I more beautiful, or is Miss Zhou more beautiful?”

Zhang Wuji had not expected such a question. He thought that foreign women were forthright and spoke without restraint. In the lamplight her beauty was overwhelming, and the words slipped out: “Naturally it is you.” Zhao Min was delighted. “You are not deceiving me?” Zhang Wuji said, “That is what I think, and it came out before I could lie.”

Zhao Min reached out her right hand and pressed it against the back of his. Her eyes were full of joy. “Young Master Zhang, do you like seeing me often? If I often invite you here to drink, would you come?”

The back of Zhang Wuji’s hand touched her soft, smooth palm. His heart stirred. He composed himself and said, “I cannot stay here much longer. In a few days I must go south.” Zhao Min said, “What will you do in the south?” Zhang Wuji sighed. “You would guess it even if I did not say. And if I spoke, it would only anger you…”

Zhao Min gazed out the window at the bright full moon and said suddenly, “You promised me three things. You have not forgotten, I hope?” Zhang Wuji said, “Of course I have not. Please tell me at once, and I shall do my utmost.” Zhao Min turned and looked directly at his face. “At present I have thought only of the first. I want you to accompany me to fetch the Dragon-Slaying Dao.⁴”

Zhang Wuji had long suspected that the three things she would ask must be exceedingly difficult. He had never imagined the first would be this enormous problem. Seeing his hesitation, Zhao Min said, “What? You refuse? The matter does not violate the way of xia,⁵ nor is it beyond your power.”

Zhang Wuji thought, The Dragon-Slaying Dao is in my sworn father’s hands. That is known throughout the jianghu.⁶ There is no point concealing it from her. So he said, “The Dragon-Slaying Dao belongs to my sworn father, Golden-Haired Lion King Xie daxia.⁷ How could I betray my sworn father and take the dao for you?” Zhao Min said, “I am not asking you to steal it, or rob it, or trick it away. I do not truly want to keep the dao. I only want you to borrow it from your sworn father, let me look at it for one shichen,⁸ and return it at once. You are sworn father and sworn son. Will he not lend it to you for a single shichen? To look at it, neither to keep nor to use for profit or harm: how does that violate the way of xia?” Zhang Wuji said, “The dao is famous, but there is little to see. It is merely rather heavy and rather sharp.”

Zhao Min said, “What does the saying go? Supreme in the wulin,⁹ the Dragon-Slaying Dao. Command the realm, and none dare disobey. Were the Heavenly Jian not forth, who could rival it? The Heavenly Jian is in my hands. I must see what the Dragon-Slaying Dao looks like. If you are uneasy, you may stand beside me while I look. With your skill, I could never seize it and refuse to return it.”

Zhang Wuji pondered, After rescuing the masters of the six great schools, I intended to go at once to welcome back my sworn father and ask him to take up the burden of zhangmen. Miss Zhao says she will borrow the dao for one shichen. Though I cannot be sure she has no scheme, if I remain vigilant I doubt she can wrest it away. Moreover, sworn father said the Dragon-Slaying Dao conceals a great secret of supreme martial skill. He had the dao in hand before his eyes went blind, yet with all his wit he could never fathom it. How could this young lady accomplish anything in a single shichen? Besides, I have not seen sworn father in ten years. Perhaps on the lonely island he has already unravelled the dao’s secret.

Seeing him silent and hesitating, Zhao Min smiled. “If you refuse, so be it. I shall set you another task instead, one far more difficult.”

Zhang Wuji knew this woman’s schemes were endless. If she set a different challenge, he would surely be unable to fulfil it. He said hastily, “Very well. I agree to borrow the Dragon-Slaying Dao for you. But let us be clear: you may look at it for one shichen. If you mean to seize it, I will not let the matter rest.” Zhao Min laughed. “Of course. I cannot even wield a dao. What would I want with something so heavy? Even if you presented it to me with the utmost reverence, I would not want it. When will you set out?” Zhang Wuji said, “In the next few days.” Zhao Min said, “That could not be better. I will prepare. When you are ready to leave, come and fetch me.”

Zhang Wuji was startled. “You are coming too?” Zhao Min said, “Of course. I hear your sworn father is on a lonely island overseas, very far away. If he refuses to return, would you have me make you travel ten thousand li¹⁰ to borrow the dao, let me glance at it for a shichen, then travel ten thousand li to return it, and ten thousand li more to come back? There is no such logic under heaven.”

Zhang Wuji thought of the perilous waves of the northern sea. In the vast ocean, finding Ice Fire Island¹¹ at all would be uncertain enough. To make the journey four times without error was beyond any confidence. She was right. Sworn father had lived on Ice Fire Island for twenty years. He might well be unwilling to return to the Central Plains in his declining years. He said, “The sea is merciless in its storms. Why risk it?” Zhao Min said, “If you can risk it, why can I not?” Zhang Wuji hesitated. “Will your father permit you to go?” Zhao Min said, “My father charged me to command the heroes of the jianghu. These years I have travelled east and west, and he has never interfered.”

When Zhang Wuji heard the words my father charged me to command the heroes of the jianghu, something stirred in him. If I go to Ice Fire Island to welcome sworn father, I cannot know when I will return. If this is her scheme to lure the tiger from the mountain, and in my absence she moves in force against the Order, I must guard against it. But if I take her with me, her subordinates will hesitate, and my rear will be secure. Deep within, another thought stirred: to sail ten thousand li of wind and wave beside her, to travel the vast sea together. That was a pleasure beyond measure. Though many concerns remained, his heart stirred, and he nodded. “Very well. When I set out, I will come and fetch you…”

Before he had finished speaking, a ruddy glare flashed outside the window, followed by a great uproar, borne faintly from afar.

Zhao Min went to the window and looked out. Alarmed, she cried, “Aiya! The pagoda at Wan’an Temple¹² is on fire! Master Bitter Dhūta,¹³ Master Bitter Dhūta, come quickly!” She called several times, but Bitter Dhūta did not appear. She went to the outer hall and found no sign of him. When she asked the innkeeper, he said the head monk had left as soon as he arrived, without stopping, and was long gone. Zhao Min was greatly puzzled. She thought of that strange, cryptic smile of his earlier, and a blush rose to her face. She stole a glance at Zhang Wuji with her head lowered.

Zhang Wuji saw the flames burning ever higher. He feared his Grand Shibo¹⁴ and the others had not recovered their neili¹⁵ and might be burned to death in the tall pagoda. He said, “Miss Zhao, forgive me for leaving!” The words were barely spoken before he had rushed out. Zhao Min called, “Wait! I will come with you.” But by the time she reached the door, Zhang Wuji was already gone, a vanishing speck beyond the dust.

Lu Zhangke,¹⁶ seeing that Bitter Dhūta had been called away by the princess, was greatly reassured. He at once took Han Ji¹⁷ on his back and went to the room of his disciple Wuwang Apu.¹⁸ The pagoda at Wan’an Temple had thirteen storeys and stood a hundred and thirty feet tall. The top three storeys enshrined Buddhist statues, sutras, and relics, and were not meant for habitation. Wuwang Apu was the chief steward of the tall pagoda and occupied the tenth storey, from which he could survey the surroundings and command the entire scene.

Footnotes

1. 掌门 – zhǎngmén. The leader of a martial Order or School. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 朝廷 – cháotíng. The imperial court; here, the Yuan Dynasty court. ↩

3. 郡主 – jùnzhǔ. A princess of the first rank, daughter of a prince. ↩

4. 屠龙刀 – Túlóng Dāo. The Dragon-Slaying Dao. The dao that slays dragons. Forged by Guo Jing and Huang Rong from Yang Guo’s Heavy Iron Sword. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 侠 – xiá. A martial hero who upholds justice and protects the weak. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 江湖 – jiānghú. Literally rivers and lakes. The itinerant world beyond settled society and official reach. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 谢逊 – Xiè Xùn. Xie Xun, the Golden Haired Lion King, one of the Four Guardian Kings of the Ming Order. Zhang Wuji’s sworn father. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 时辰 – shíchén. A two-hour period; the traditional Chinese day is divided into twelve shichen. ↩

9. 武林 – wǔlín. The martial forest; the community of martial artists. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 里 – lǐ. Approximately five hundred metres or one-third of a mile. ↩

11. 冰火岛 – Bīnghuǒ Dǎo. Ice Fire Island. The remote volcanic island where Xie Xun, Zhang Cuishan, and Yin Susu were stranded for ten years. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 万安寺 – Wàn’ān Sì. Wan’an Temple. A temple in Dadu (modern Beijing) with a tall pagoda. ↩

13. 苦头陀 – Kǔtóutuó. Bitter Dhūta. The bitter ascetic monk; a disguise assumed by Fan Yao, the Bright Right Messenger of the Ming Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 师伯 – shībó. The shixiong or shijie of one’s shifu; a senior lineage uncle. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 内力 – nèilì. Internal force; the kinetic manifestation of qi cultivated through neigong. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 鹿杖客 – Lù Zhàngkè. Lu Zhangke. One of the two Xuanming Elders, wielding a deer-antler staff. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 韩姬 – Hán Jī. Han Ji. A woman kept by Lu Zhangke. ↩

18. 乌旺阿普 – Wū Wàng Āpǔ. Wuwang Apu. A disciple of Lu Zhangke and chief steward of the Wan’an Temple pagoda. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩