The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 28 – Part 9

Zhang Wuji opened his eyes. “How have I become a dog biting Lü Dongbin,¹ failing to recognise a good heart? Do tell.”

Zhao Min laughed. “If I argue you into submission, what then?”

“You are fond of twisting reason to win a debate. I could never match you.”

“You have not even heard my argument, and already your heart wavers. You know full well I mean you well.”

Zhang Wuji spat. “Does such ‘good will’ exist in this world? You bite my hand, and instead of apologising, you daub poison on the wound. I would rather have less of your ‘good will,’ thank you.”

Zhao Min said, “Very well then, let me ask you: was the bite I gave you deeper, or was the bite that Miss Yin² received deeper?”

Zhang Wuji’s face flushed. “That… that happened long ago. Why bring it up?”

“I insist on bringing it up. I am asking you a question. Do not change the subject.”

Zhang Wuji said, “Even if I grant that my bite on Miss Yin was deeper, she had caught hold of me at the time. My martial arts were no match for hers, and I could not shake her off. A child panics and bites. You were no child, and I had not caught hold of you, had I? Nor did I compel you to come to Spirit Snake Island.³”

Zhao Min laughed. “Now that is strange. She caught you and wanted you to come to Spirit Snake Island, and you would not come even if you died for it. Yet now that no one has invited you, you come chasing after her all the same. People grow up, and everything changes.”

Zhang Wuji flushed again and said with a laugh, “You are the one who sent for me!”

Hearing this, Zhao Min blushed too, and a sweetness stirred in her heart. His words seemed to say: She sent for me, and I would not come even had I died for it. You sent for me, and here I am.

Neither spoke for a long while. Whenever their eyes met, both hastily looked away.

Zhao Min lowered her head and said softly, “Very well. I will tell you. You bit Miss Yin once, and after all this time she still cannot forget you. From the tone of her voice, I fear she will never forget you as long as she lives. So I bit you too, to make sure you would never forget me either.”

When Zhang Wuji heard this, he understood the depth of her meaning. His heart was moved, but he could find no words.

Zhao Min went on, “I saw the scars on the back of her hand. That bite of yours went deep. I thought, if you bit deep, she remembers deep. If I were to bite you hard in return, I could not bring myself to do it. But if I bit lightly, I feared you would forget me in time. So I thought and thought, and in the end I bit you first, then applied the Flesh-Rotting Ointment⁴ to make those tooth-marks rot a little deeper.”

Zhang Wuji found it amusing at first, then reflected that although her scheme was wildly inventive, it sprang in the end from deep affection for him. He sighed and said softly, “I do not blame you. Call me a dog biting Lü Dongbin, a wretch who cannot recognise a good heart. You treat me thus. There was no need for such lengths. I would never forget you regardless.”

Zhao Min had been brimming with tenderness, but at these words a sly, playful light returned to her eyes. She laughed. “You say ‘you treat me thus.’ Do you mean I treat you badly, or well? Young Master Zhang,⁵ I have treated you badly in many things. I have never treated you well in a single one.”

Zhang Wuji said, “Treat me a little better from now on, and that will do.” He took her left hand and raised it to his mouth, laughing. “I will bite hard too, so you will never forget me for as long as you live.”

A sudden wave of shyness seized Zhao Min. She wrenched her hand free and ran out of the cabin. She threw open the cabin door and nearly collided with Xiaozhao.⁶ Zhao Min started in alarm. Disaster! Did that little wretch hear everything I said to him? I would die of shame! Her face burned crimson, and she fled up onto the deck.

Xiaozhao came up to Zhang Wuji and said, “Order Leader,⁷ I saw Jinhua Popo⁸ and that ugly girl pass by that way. They were both carrying great sacks. I do not know what mischief they are up to.”

Zhang Wuji murmured an acknowledgement. His banter with Zhao Min had drifted into private territory, and now, suddenly confronted by Xiaozhao, he could not help a touch of embarrassment and a faint pang of guilt towards the young girl. He thought, In truth this little sister has been even kinder to me, yet I have never spoken to her so from the heart. After a moment’s hesitation he asked, “Were they heading for the hut on the hill to the north of the island?”

“No. The two of them went north, but they did not go up the hill. They seemed to be arguing about something. Jinhua Popo looked very angry.”

Zhang Wuji walked to the stern of the ship. In the distance he could see Zhao Min standing gracefully at the bow, her gaze fixed on the sea, never turning back. The waves slapped against the hull with a rhythmic crash, and his heart rose and fell like the swell, unable to find peace. He waited a long, long time, until the sun had sunk beneath the western waves and the trees and peaks of the island grew dim and hazy in the gathering dusk, before he went back inside the cabin.

After Zhang Wuji had eaten his evening meal, he said to Zhao Min and Xiaozhao, “I am going to visit my sworn father.⁹ You two stay in the cabin. The more of us there are, the more likely Jinhua Popo will notice.”

Zhao Min said, “Then wait for another watch,¹⁰ at least. Wait until it is fully dark before you go.”

Zhang Wuji said, “Very well.” He was consumed with anxiety for his sworn father, his heart churning like boiling water. That one watch felt unendurably long. At last, when all around was pitch black, he rose to his feet, gave Zhao Min and Xiaozhao a faint smile, and walked towards the cabin door.

Zhao Min unclasped the Heavenly Jian¹¹ from her waist. “Young Master Zhang, take this jian for your protection.”

Zhang Wuji hesitated. “Better that you keep it.”

“No.” Zhao Min’s voice was firm. “I am worried about this errand of yours.”

“Worried about what?”

“I cannot say exactly. Jinhua Popo is inscrutable. Chen Youliang¹² is full of cunning schemes. And there is no knowing whether your sworn father will believe that you are truly his ‘Wuji.’ Besides, this island is called ‘Spirit Snake.’ Who knows what venomous creatures may lurk here? Not to mention…” She stopped.

“Not to mention what?”

Zhao Min raised her own hand to her lips and made a biting gesture, then giggled, her face flushing red. Zhang Wuji knew she was speaking of his cousin Yin Li.¹³ He waved his hand and walked out of the cabin.

Zhao Min called after him, “Catch!” She hurled the Heavenly Jian towards him. Zhang Wuji caught it by the scabbard, and his heart stirred anew: She trusts me so completely that she will lend me even the Heavenly Jian.

He thrust the jian into his sash, gathered his neili¹⁴ and sprinted towards the peak in the north of the island. Mindful of Zhao Min’s warning about venomous creatures hiding in the undergrowth, he set foot only on bare rock. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he had reached the foot of the peak. He looked up. The thatched hut on the summit was dark and silent, with no light showing. Has my sworn father gone to sleep? But then he remembered: His eyes are blind. What use would a lamp be to him?

At that moment, faint voices drifted from the mountainside to his left. He crouched low and moved towards the sound, but it faded away.

A keen north wind swept in, setting the grass and trees rustling. Zhang Wuji used the cover of the wind to advance swiftly. Forty or fifty feet ahead, he heard Jinhua Popo’s voice, lowered to a hoarse whisper: “Why delay any longer? What are you dawdling for?”

Yin Li said, “Popo, what you are doing… it seems… it seems wrong to betray an old friend. Xie daxia¹⁵ has known you for decades. He trusted you enough to leave Ice Fire Island¹⁶ and return to the Central Plains.”

Jinhua Popo gave a cold laugh. “He trusted me? What a laughable notion. If he trusted me, why would he not lend me the dao? He returned to the Central Plains only to search for his adopted son. What is that to me?”

In the darkness, Jinhua Popo’s hunched figure was dimly visible. Then came a light metallic clink, a spark of metal striking stone. A moment later, another clink. Zhang Wuji was deeply puzzled, but feared detection if he crept closer to see clearly.

Yin Li said, “Popo, if you want his treasured dao, challenge him openly. That would at least be a hero’s conduct. If word of what you are doing now gets out, will not the brave men of the world laugh at you? Miejue Shitai¹⁷ is already dead. What use is the Dragon-Slaying Dao¹⁸ to you?”

Jinhua Popo flew into a rage. She straightened her body and said fiercely, “Little wretch! Who saved your life from your father’s palm all those years ago? Now that you have grown up, you defy your Popo’s orders! That Xie Xun¹⁹ is no kin of yours, no friend. Why are you so hell-bent on shielding him? Let me hear your reasoning.” Her tone was stern, though her voice remained low, as though afraid that Xie Xun atop the peak might hear, though in truth the summit was very far from where they stood, and unless she transmitted her words with neili, however loudly she shouted he would not have heard.

Yin Li flung the sack she held to the ground. It landed with a loud metallic clatter, and she stepped back three paces.

Jinhua Popo said fiercely, “What is this? Your feathers are grown, and now you mean to fly away, is that it?” Even in the darkness Zhang Wuji could see her bright eyes, cold as lightning, terrible in their authority.

Yin Li said, “Popo, I would never forget the great debt I owe you for saving my life and teaching me my martial arts. But Xie daxia… he is… he is his sworn father.”

Jinhua Popo gave a dry laugh. “There never was a more foolish girl in this world! That Zhang boy fell into an abyss a hundred thousand feet deep in the Western Regions, as you heard Wu Lie²⁰ and Wu Qingying²¹ say so yourself. Yet you still cannot let go. You went so far as to capture them and subject them to thorough interrogation. They told you everything plainly. Was there any falsehood in it? By now that Zhang boy’s bones have turned to ash, and still you cannot forget him.”

Yin Li said, “Popo, I cannot cast him from my heart. Perhaps this is what you call… what you call a karmic debt from a former life.”

Jinhua Popo sighed. “Even if that boy had not refused to come to Spirit Snake Island with us back then, and had actually married you, he would be dead all the same. What then? It is just as well he died early. If he were still alive now and saw what you look like, how could he love you? You would have to watch with your own eyes as he fell in love with another woman. How would that feel?” Her tone had grown much gentler by the end.

Footnotes

1. 吕洞宾 – Lǚ Dòngbīn. Lü Dongbin. One of the Eight Immortals of Daoist legend, known for his benevolence. The phrase “a dog biting Lü Dongbin” means failing to recognise a benefactor. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 殷姑娘 – Yīn Gūniang. Miss Yin. A polite form of address for Yin Li. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 灵蛇岛 – Língshé Dǎo. Spirit Snake Island. The island where much of the action takes place, named for its venomous serpents. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 去腐消肌膏 – Qùfǔ Xiāojī Gāo. Flesh-Rotting Ointment. A corrosive salve used in external medicine to dissolve dead flesh. ↩

5. 公子 – gōngzǐ. Young master. A polite form of address for a young man of good family. ↩

6. 小昭 – Xiǎozhāo. Xiaozhao. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 教主 – jiàozhǔ. The leader of a martial or religious Order. Here Zhang Wuji is addressed as Master of the Ming Order. ↩

8. 金花婆婆 – Jīnhuā Pópó. Jinhua Popo. “Golden Flower Granny.” See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 义父 – yìfù. Sworn father. A man who has taken a child as his own by oath rather than by blood. ↩

10. 更次 – gēngcì. A watch; one of the five divisions of the night, each roughly two hours. ↩

11. 倚天剑 – Yǐtiān Jiàn. The Heavenly Jian. One of the two legendary weapons forged from the Heavy Iron Sword, said to contain the secrets of martial supremacy. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 陈友谅 – Chén Yǒuliàng. Chen Youliang. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 殷离 – Yīn Lí. Yin Li. Also known as Zhu’er. Daughter of Yin Yewang and cousin of Zhang Wuji. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

15. 大侠 – dàxiá. A title of respect for a renowned martial artist of outstanding virtue. Suffix, lowercase, after the name. ↩

16. 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. ↩

17. 灭绝师太 – Mièjué Shītài. Miejue Shitai. The zhangmen of Emei Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

18. 屠龙刀 – Túlóng Dāo. The Dragon-Slaying Dao. The other of the two legendary weapons forged from the Heavy Iron Sword, said to contain the secret to overthrowing the Yuan Dynasty. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

19. 谢逊 – Xiè Xùn. Xie Xun. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

20. 武烈 – Wǔ Liè. Wu Lie. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

21. 武青婴 – Wǔ Qīngyīng. Wu Qingying. Daughter of Wu Lie. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩