The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre Chapter 3 Part 4

Then came the crack of roof tiles being pried loose overhead, and more poisoned salt showered down from above.

Yu Daiyan had witnessed the white-robed stranger and the Three Birds of Changbai suffer the effects of this poisoned salt. The white-robed man’s skill had been formidable indeed, yet the moment the salt touched him, he fled screaming in agony, clear proof of its lethality. With the poisoned salt filling the small temple, Yu Daiyan knew that in moments he would be contaminated.

In desperation, he drove several fists through the back of the statue and squeezed inside its belly. It was as though he had put on a thick outer coat of clay, and though the poisoned salt swirled thick through the air, it could no longer reach him.

From outside the temple came the loud deliberations of the Haisha School, “The mark hasn’t made a sound. He’s probably fainted.”

“That young mark has iron-hard hands and feet. Best wait a while longer. No need to rush.”

“What if he’s slipped away and isn’t even in the temple?”

Then someone bellowed, “Hey! You stubborn mark! Come out and surrender quietly!”

As the commotion continued, the thunder of hoofbeats approached from the distance, ten or more swift horses galloping toward them. From among the riders, a clear voice rang out, “Sun and moon shine bright, and the eagle soars to heaven!”

The Haisha School members outside the temple fell instantly silent. After a long pause, someone said in a trembling voice, “It’s the… the Tianying Order.¹ Everyone, run…”

Before he could finish, the hoofbeats had halted before the temple.

One of the Haisha men whispered, “Too late to run!”

Another voice bellowed, “Raise your hands above your heads! Anyone who throws poisoned salt dies first! You lot! Get in there and sweep all that salt out of the temple!”

This command clearly came from the newcomers.

Yu Daiyan heard footsteps as several men entered the temple. Hidden within the statue’s belly, he sensed a faint glow, and supposed the newcomers carried torches or lanterns. After a time, one of them spoke, “Everyone keep your hands above your heads. The first one to throw salt gets an arrow through the heart. You all know who we are now, don’t you?”

Several Haisha men answered in unison, “Yes, yes. You are friends from the Tianying Order.”

The man continued, “This is Hall Master Li² of the Tianying Order’s Celestial Market Hall. His lordship does not stir lightly, but today fortune smiles upon you. You get to behold him in person. Hall Master Li asks you where the Dragon-Slaying Dao is. Hand it over nicely, and his lordship in his great mercy shall spare all your lives.”

One of the Haisha men said, “He… he stole it. We came to recover it. Hall Master… Hall Master Li…”

The Tianying Order man said, “You there, where is the Dragon-Slaying Dao?”

This was clearly addressed to De Cheng, but De Cheng made no reply. A soft thud followed as a body struck the floor. Several voices cried out in alarm.

The Tianying Order man said, “This one’s dead. Search his body.”

There came the rustle of clothing and the rolling of a corpse. The Tianying Order man said, “Reporting to Hall Master Li: there is nothing unusual on his person.”

The leader of the Haisha men stammered, “Hall Master… Hall Master Li, this dao was clearly him… him who stole it. We would never dare conceal…”

His voice quavered with terror. From the sound of it, Hall Master Li’s threatening glare had shattered the man’s courage entirely.

Yu Daiyan thought, De Cheng had that dao in his hands. How can it have vanished?

The Tianying Order man said, “You claim he stole the dao, yet it is nowhere to be found. You must have hidden it away. Very well then. Whoever reveals the truth shall be spared by Hall Master Li. Only one of you will survive. Speak first and live.”

A hush fell over the temple. After a long moment, the Haisha leader said, “Hall Master Li, we truly do not know. This is something the Tianying Order desires. We would never dare keep it from you…”

Hall Master Li gave a cold snort but did not reply. His subordinate said, “Whoever speaks the truth first shall live.”

A long pause followed, and still none of the Haisha men spoke.

Suddenly one of them burst out, “We came to seize the dao but hadn’t even entered the temple when you arrived! It was you, the Tianying Order, who entered first. How could we have obtained the dao? If you insist on disbelieving us, then so be it. We die either way. Today I fight! And this dao is no property of the Tianying Order either. Such overbearing high-handedness. Look at the lot of you…”

Before he could finish, his voice cut off abruptly. He had clearly been silenced.

Another man spoke in a trembling voice, “A moment ago, a man of about thirty rescued this old fellow. His qinggong³ was remarkable. He has since vanished. The dao must have been taken by him.”

Hall Master Li said, “Search everyone!”

Several voices answered in unison. The rustle of cloth filled the temple as the Tianying Order members searched the salt smugglers. Hall Master Li said, “Most likely that man took it. Let us go!”

Footsteps sounded as the Tianying Order members filed out of the temple. Hoofbeats thundered away to the northeast, fading into the distance.

Yu Daiyan had no wish to be drawn into this senseless affair and meant to wait until the Haisha men had gone before emerging. But he waited a long while, and not a sound came from the temple. The Haisha members seemed to have vanished all at once. He crept out from behind the statue and peered about. By the light of a still-burning torch on the ground, he saw more than twenty salt smugglers standing perfectly still, their faces dark and hideous. Some clutched wooden ladles filled with poisoned salt, though they had not had time to fling it. He supposed that every one of them had been struck on the acupoints.

He thought, I have heard that the Tianying Order is a rising power in Jiangnan. These Haisha men are no easy marks themselves, yet against the Tianying Order they were bound hand and foot. Truly, it takes one villain to grind down another.

He pressed a finger against the Huagai acupoint⁴ of the nearest man, intending to release his sealed meridians. But at his touch he found the body stiff as wood. He felt for a breath beneath the man’s nose: nothing. The man was already dead: he had been struck upon a fatal acupoint. One by one he examined the others. All twenty-odd burly smugglers had perished.

Yu Daiyan’s unease deepened. The Tianying Order struck without a sound. What a sinister and uncanny technique.

He surveyed the poisoned salt scattered across the floor and thought, Sooner or later, some innocent will wander in here and come to grief. Cleaning up the salt and disposing of the bodies would be no small task. Better to burn this temple down and prevent further calamity.

More than twenty corpses stood rigid throughout the hall, a grotesque and eerie sight. Near the altar, a single body lay face-down, a great pool of blood staining its back. Curious, Yu Daiyan grasped the corpse by the collar to lift it for a closer look. As he did, his body tilted forward slightly: the corpse was inexplicably heavy. An ordinary frame, yet why should it weigh so much?

He raised the body for inspection and saw a long gash across its back. Reaching into the wound, his fingers met cold metal. He drew forth a dao, weighing at least a hundred jin,⁵ the very weapon men had laid down their lives to possess, the Dragon-Slaying Dao.

In a flash, he understood: De Cheng, in his death throes, had fallen forward with dao in hand. The dao, angled ahead, had plunged into the back of a Haisha smuggler. So heavy and so sharp was the weapon that a single fall had driven it hilt-deep into the body. When the Tianying Order searched the corpses, they had failed to notice.

Yu Daiyan tore the altar cloth from its table and wiped the blood from the dao. Leaning upon it, he gazed about in bewilderment.

Whether this dao is truly the supreme treasure of the wulin is difficult to say. It seems more like an ill-omened object. De Cheng the Haidongqing and all these Haisha smugglers have thrown away their lives for it. I had best take it to shifu and let him decide what to do.

He picked up the torch from the ground and held it to the altar hangings. As flames licked upward and spread, he strode out of the temple.

By the roaring firelight, he examined the Dragon-Slaying Dao closely. Its surface was dark and dull, neither steel nor iron. He could not tell what material had forged it. Earlier, the Three Birds of Changbai had stoked a fierce blaze to temper it, yet the dao had emerged utterly unmarred. A remarkable object indeed.

Another thought occurred to him: A dao this heavy, how could anyone wield it in combat? Lord Guan, peerless in strength, bore a Green Dragon Crescent Dao weighing only eighty-one jin, and that was a two-handed polearm.

He wrapped the dao in cloth, and before the flames that marked De Cheng’s burial site, he offered a silent prayer, Old De, I do not covet this dao. But it is an object of rare wonder, and should it fall into wicked hands, it will surely bring calamity upon the realm. My shifu is just and impartial. He will know what to do.

He shouldered the bundle and set off northward at a swift pace. In less than half a shichen,⁶ he reached the riverbank. Starlight and moonlight glimmered upon the water, scattering like countless fallen stars. He scanned the darkness but saw no vessels anywhere. Following the current eastward, he walked the time it takes to finish a meal before spotting lantern light ahead. A fishing boat sat several dozen feet from shore, nets cast for the night’s catch.

Yu Daiyan called out, “Brother fisherman! Might you ferry me across? I shall pay you well.”

The fishing boat was far away, and the man aboard seemed not to hear. Yu Daiyan drew a deep breath and let his voice ring out.

Before long, a small boat came drifting downstream toward the bank. The boatman called, “Does the gentleman wish to cross?”

Yu Daiyan said gladly, “Indeed! Many thanks for your trouble.”

The boatman rowed closer and said, “Please come aboard.”

Yu Daiyan leapt onto the boat. The prow dipped sharply beneath him.

The boatman started. “So heavy! What are you carrying, sir?”

Yu Daiyan laughed. “Nothing at all. I am simply heavy-boned. Cast off!”

The boat raised its sail and, running with wind and current, cut northeast across the river at remarkable speed. A li⁷ or so out, distant thunder rumbled, growing louder and louder.

Yu Daiyan said, “Boatman, is rain coming?”

The boatman laughed. “That’s the Qiantang’s⁸ night tide. Ride the bore and we’ll reach the far bank in no time.”

Yu Daiyan gazed eastward and saw a white line rolling toward them across the horizon. The roar of the tide swelled ever louder, like the thunder of ten thousand cavalry. Waves surged and churned. In the distance, a wall of water hurtled forward. He thought, Such majesty between heaven and earth. A sight worth all my toils.

As he watched, a sailing vessel came riding the crest of the wave, its white sail emblazoned with a great black eagle, wings spread wide as though swooping to strike. The words ‘Tianying Order’ flashed through his mind, and he tensed in readiness.

Without warning, the boatman sprang from his post and plunged into the river, vanishing in an instant. The small boat, left rudderless, was caught by the tide and spun wildly about. Yu Daiyan started and scrambled aft to take the tiller. At that very instant the black-eagle ship struck the little boat square on with a crash. Its prow was sheathed in hard iron, and that single blow stove a great hole in the small boat’s bow, through which the tide came pouring in. Yu Daiyan was at once alarmed and enraged. Treacherous Tianying Order! So this boatman was one of yours all along, luring me here!

He saw that the small boat was doomed and leapt high, aiming for the prow of the oncoming vessel.

At that very moment, a great wave surged beneath the sailing ship, lifting it a full ten feet higher. Yu Daiyan hung suspended in mid-air as the ship rose, his trajectory now carrying him toward the hull rather than the deck. In desperation, he gulped a breath and slapped his left palm against the ship’s side. Borrowing the force, he whipped both arms upward and executed the qinggong technique Ladder Cloud Stride,⁹ soaring another ten feet higher before finally landing on the prow.

The cabin doors were shut fast. Not a soul was in sight. Yu Daiyan called out, “Are you friends of the Tianying Order?”

He called twice, but no one answered. He reached out to push open the cabin door. His fingers met ice-cold metal. The door was forged of steel and would not budge. Yu Daiyan channelled his strength into both arms and bellowed as he thrust forward with both palms. With a sharp crack, the door remained sealed, but the hinges connecting it to the hull gave way. The door swayed. He followed with a kick, and it hung half-open, half-closed.

From within the cabin, a voice spoke, “The Wudang Order’s Ladder Cloud Stride qinggong and Mountain-Shaking Palm,¹⁰ truly your reputation is well earned. Yu the Third Xia, please leave the Dragon-Slaying Dao on deck, and we shall ferry you across.”

The words were courteous enough, yet the tone dripped with arrogance, as though issuing commands.

Yu Daiyan thought, How do they know my name?

The voice continued, “Yu the Third Xia, you wonder how we know your name, do you not? It is hardly a mystery. The Ladder Cloud Stride qinggong and the Mountain-Shaking Palm: who but a Wudang master could execute them so superbly? That Yu the Third Xia has come to Jiangnan, yet we of the Tianying Order, as hosts of this region, have failed to welcome you along the way. For that, we beg your forbearance.”

Yu Daiyan found the question awkward to answer and said instead, “Your honourable name, sir? Come out and show yourself.”

The man said, “The Tianying Order has neither kinship nor quarrel with your school. Better that we do not meet. Please leave the Dragon-Slaying Dao on the deck, and we shall see you across at once.”

Footnotes

1. 天鹰教 – Tiānyīng Jiào. Tianying Order, founded by Yin Tianzheng the White-Browed Eagle King. 教 here is the order’s own neutral name for itself; “Cult” is the orthodox schools’ derogatory register and is not the sect’s name. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 李堂主 – Lǐ Tángzhǔ. Ranking officer within the Tianying Order, commanding the Celestial Market Hall (天市堂 – Tiānshì Táng). Celestial Market is one of the three enclosures of the Chinese sky, alongside Purple Forbidden and Supreme Palace. ↩

3. 轻功 – qīnggōng. Literally qinggong. Ability to move with superhuman agility, and weightlessness through qi redistribution to leap over trees and roofs, and skip over water. See Wikipedia. ↩

4. 华盖穴 – Huàgài Xué. Acupoint on the chest along the Conception Vessel meridian, commonly targeted to immobilise opponents. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 斤 – jīn. Traditional Chinese unit of weight, approximately 500 grams or 1.1 pounds. Four hundred jin would be roughly 440 pounds or 200 kilograms. ↩

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

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

8. 钱塘江 – Qiántáng Jiāng. Qiantang River, famous for its tidal bore. Flows through modern-day Hangzhou. See Wikipedia. ↩

9. 梯云纵 – Tīyún Zòng. Literally ladder to the clouds. Signature qinggong technique of the Wudang Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 震山掌 – zhèn shān zhǎng. Literally mountain-shaking palm. Powerful palm technique of the Wudang Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩