The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 31 – Part 10

The Beggars' Guild heroes raised a great clamour, declaring they would slaughter Zhang Wuji the little lecher and help Song Qingshu win back his beloved wife.

Zhao Min leaned her lips to Zhang Wuji’s ear and whispered softly, “You little lecher, ten thousand sins unforgiven!”

The words were half-chiding, half-angry, at once a plea and a longing, spoken with infinite tenderness. Zhang Wuji felt his heart lurch. In an instant he was lost in a swirl of confused desire, deeply troubled. If she were not so treacherous and cruel, if she had not killed my cousin, I would certainly spend my whole life with her, caring for nothing else…

Song Qingshu was murmuring mumbled thanks to the beggars. Shi Huolong asked, “How did that lecher seduce the Tartar princess, then? Do you know?” He seemed most keen on the business of the princess’s seduction and wished to hear the details.

Song Qingshu said, “The particulars between them are not for an outsider to know. That day the little demoness led court warriors to Mount Wudang to cause trouble for my Grand Shifu.¹ But the moment she set eyes on that lecher, she withdrew at once, and the great disaster facing the Wudang Order was dispelled in an instant. My Third Shishu² Yu Daiyan had his broken bones set twenty years ago, also because the little demoness gave medicine to that lecher, through which his limbs were reconnected.”

The Law-Enforcing Elder said, “That’s the heart of it. The Wudang Order has always been a thorn in the court’s flesh. If the Tartar princess were not inflamed with illicit passion and had not lost her wits, she would never have given medicine to aid the enemy. So it seems that, although the little lecher is of crooked character, he still has some affection for his Grand Shifu and his uncle generation.”

Song Qingshu said, “I would say he has not entirely forgotten his roots.”

Chen Youliang said, “Report to the Guild Chief:³ having heard Brother Song’s account, your humble brother has a notion that could make the little lecher obey us hand and foot, and bring the entire Ming Order under the Guild’s command.”

Shi Huolong was delighted. “Brother Chen has such a wonderful scheme? Please, tell us at once.”

Chen Youliang said, “There are too many ears in this hall. Though they are all our own men, I still fear a leak.”

The voices in the main hall fell silent. Footsteps sounded as a dozen or more men walked out of the temple, leaving only the most senior leaders of the Guild. Chen Youliang said, “This matter must not leak by so much as a whisper. Brother Song, and you two Branch Masters, let us search the hall front and rear to make sure no one is eavesdropping.”

Two soft whistles sounded as the Staff Branch Master and the Bowl Branch Master were already on the roof. Chen Youliang and Song Qingshu searched thoroughly before and behind the hall, inspecting behind every painted idol, beside every curtain, inside every plaque, and up among the ancient pines and cypresses. The only place they left unchecked was the great drum and the bronze bell.

Inside the drum, Zhang Wuji silently admired Zhao Min’s quick wit. Of all the places in the hall, the great drum was indeed the only one that had escaped their search.

The four returned to the hall when their search was done. Chen Youliang said in a low voice, “This task must fall to Brother Song after all.”

Song Qingshu was startled. “Me?”

Chen Youliang said, “Indeed. Bowl Branch Master, I ask you to prepare several doses of Five Poisons Heart-Scattering Powder⁴ and entrust them to Brother Song, who will take them to Mount Wudang and slip the drug into Zhang Sanfeng⁵ and the Wudang heroes’ food and drink. We will wait below the mountain to receive them. Once it is done, we seize the Perfected One and the Wudang heroes in a single stroke, and use them as leverage. Why would Zhang Wuji the little wretch then refuse to obey the Guild?”

Shi Huolong clapped his hands and cried, “A fine scheme, a fine scheme!”

The Law-Enforcing Elder said, “The plan is sound. Our Guild’s Five Poisons Heart-Scattering Powder is fearsome indeed. To drug Zhang Wuji’s food and drink would be all but impossible, with the Ming Order’s defences so tight. But Brother Song is of the Wudang Order. To catch the Wudang heroes, as the saying goes, a thief within the house is hardest to guard against. It will be done so silently that neither gods nor ghosts will perceive it.”

Song Qingshu hesitated. “Well… well… You ask me to poison my own father. That is utterly out of the question.”

Chen Youliang said, “The Five Poisons Heart-Scattering Powder is a wondrous medicine of our Guild. It merely clouds the senses for a time. It does no harm to the body. Your honoured father, Song daxia, is a man of honour and chivalry. We have always held him in the greatest esteem. Not a hair of his head shall be harmed.”

Song Qingshu still would not agree. “I joined the Guild without my Grand Shifu’s or my father’s permission. When they learn of it, they will punish me severely, and I will not know how to defend myself. Still, the Guild follows the righteous path, and its purpose does not conflict with the Wudang Order’s principles, so it is not a grave sin. But to ask me to commit an act of unfilial defiance, that I simply dare not accept.”

Chen Youliang said, “Brother, you are not thinking clearly. Those who accomplish great deeds do not fuss over trifles. In ancient times, men set righteousness above their own kin. It has always been so. Moreover, our aim is to deal with the Ming Order. Seizing the Wudang heroes is merely a means to control that little lecher Zhang Wuji. When the six great schools besieged the Ming Order, did not the Wudang Order contribute its share?”

Song Qingshu said, “If I were to do this, I would have a guilty conscience for one, and be spat upon by ten thousand men in the jianghu⁶ for another. How could I still show my face between Heaven and earth?”

Chen Youliang said, “After you administer the drug, you can feign unconsciousness yourself. We will bind you and lock you up alongside your Grand Shifu, your honoured father, and your uncle generation. No one will suspect you. Apart from the seven of us in this hall, who else in the world could know? We would admire you as a hero capable of bearing great burdens. Who would laugh at you?”

Song Qingshu was silent for a long while. Then he faltered, “The Guild Chief and Brother Chen command it. How would I dare refuse? Besides, I am newly joined to the Guild and should seize the chance to earn merit, devoting my utmost. Yet a man born into the world holds filial piety and loyalty as his foundation. To scheme against my own father, that I simply cannot do.”

Among men of the jianghu, the word “filial” has always been held in the deepest reverence. The beggars, hearing him speak thus, felt it awkward to press him further.

Chen Youliang suddenly sneered. “To defy one’s seniors is a great taboo among us men of the jianghu. I understand that well, without needing Brother Song to tell me. But I wonder, how does Song Qingshu address Mo the Seventh Xia?⁷ Is his rank higher, or yours?”

Song Qingshu did not speak. After a long silence, he suddenly said, “Very well. Since the Guild Chief and the others command it, I shall obey your orders. But you must all promise me this: not a hair of my father’s head shall be harmed, nor the slightest indignity done to him. Otherwise, I would rather see myself ruined than commit this unfilial act.”

Shi Huolong, Chen Youliang, and the rest were all greatly pleased. Chen Youliang said, “That is the most natural thing in the world. Brother Song addresses us as brothers, and Song daxia is our elder besides. Even if Brother Song had not raised the matter, we would show him the courtesy due a senior.”

Zhang Wuji was puzzled. Song shige⁸ refused until Chen Youliang mentioned Mo the Seventh Shushu, and then he dared refuse no longer. There must be something strange at the bottom of it. I shall have to ask Mo the Seventh Shushu in person to learn the truth.

The Law-Enforcing Elder and Chen Youliang lowered their voices to discuss how the Guild heroes would ascend the mountain to provide support after Zhang Sanfeng, Song Yuanqiao and the others had been drugged. Whenever Chen Youliang spoke, Shi Huolong would say, “Excellent, excellent! A fine scheme!”

The Bowl Branch Master said, “If the Five Poisons Heart-Scattering Powder is to be used against the Wudang Order, it must be prepared in great quantity. It is the depth of winter at present, and the five poisons lie dormant beneath the earth. Your humble brother must travel to the foot of Changbai Mountain⁹ to dig them up for the mixture. The five poisons dug from beneath the ice and snow will carry no perceptible toxicity. They will not be detected when consumed. Against masters of the highest order, such poisons are the most effective.”

The Law-Enforcing Elder said, “Brother Chen and Brother Song will accompany the Bowl Branch Master to Changbai Mountain to prepare the drug. The rest of us will head south first. Today is the sixteenth of the twelfth month. We shall gather at Laohekou¹⁰ in one month’s time.” He added, “Han Lin’er has fallen into our hands and is of great use. Let the Staff Branch Master keep him under close watch, lest the Ming Order attempt a rescue. We shall travel in separate groups, so as not to alert the enemy.”

The men took their leave of the Guild Chief in turn. The Bowl Branch Master, Chen Youliang, and Song Qingshu set out northward first. In moments, the Beggars’ Guild throng that had filled the Maitreya Temple front and rear had scattered to the last man.

Footnotes

1. 太师父 – tàishīfù. Grand Shifu. One’s shifu’s shifu, two rungs above on the lineage ladder. ↩

2. 师叔 – shīshū. Junior lineage uncle. The shidi of one’s shifu. Shī means teacher. Shū means father’s younger brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 帮主 – bāngzhǔ. Guild Chief. The leader of the Beggars’ Guild. ↩

4. 五毒失心散 – Wǔdú Shīxīn Sǎn. Five Poisons Heart-Scattering Powder. A poison of the Beggars’ Guild, brewed from the five venomous creatures. It clouds the victim’s senses without causing lasting harm. ↩

5. 真人 – zhēnrén. Lit. Perfected One. An honorific title for a Daoist who has attained spiritual perfection. Zhang Sanfeng bears this title. ↩

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

7. 莫七侠 – Mò Qī Xiá. Mo the Seventh Xia. Mo Shenggu, the seventh and youngest of the Seven Xias of Wudang. ↩

8. 师哥 – shīgē. Male senior fellow disciple, the colloquial form of shixiong. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Gē means older brother. ↩

9. 长白山 – Chángbái Shān. Changbai Mountain. A mountain range on the border between China and Korea, famous for its ginseng and medicinal herbs. ↩

10. 老河口 – Lǎohékǒu. Laohekou. A town in northwestern Hubei, at the confluence of the Han River and its tributaries. ↩