The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 31 – Part 6

Xie Xun waited until the last of the beggars had scattered, then said in a low voice, “Wuji, what did you make of it?” Zhang Wuji said, “With so many of the Beggars' Guild gathered here, they surely mean to do more than eat and drink their fill. I'd wager they'll meet again tonight in some secluded spot to discuss serious business.” Xie Xun nodded. “That is certainly so. The Beggars' Guild has always been hostile to our Order. They had a hand in burning Bright Peak,¹ and they once sent men to seize my Dragon-Slaying Dao. We must find out what they are plotting against us.”

The three went downstairs to settle the bill. The shopkeeper was so astonished he refused to take their money, no matter what they said. Zhang Wuji thought to himself, The Beggars’ Guild has so terrified the wineshops and eating houses in this town that no one dares charge them. That alone tells you how lawless they are.

They found a small inn to lodge in. Though the town was thick with Guild members, not one of them stayed at any inn, observing their long-standing custom, so there was no danger of running into Guild people at their lodgings. Xie Xun said, “Wuji, I am blind and would be worse than useless at gathering intelligence. Zhiruo’s martial arts are not high enough to be of help if she went with you. It will have to be you alone, I’m afraid.” Zhang Wuji said, “That is as it should be.” He rested a short while at the inn, then went out. He walked the main street from the south end to the north, yet did not see a single Guild disciple.

Zhang Wuji thought, In less than half a shichen² all the Guild men in town have vanished without trace. They can’t have gone far. He walked towards a dried-goods shop, glared, slammed his fist on the counter and barked, “Here, shopkeeper! Where have all my brothers gone?” The shophands, confronted with this ferocious demeanour, took him for some fearsome beggar of the Guild and were terrified. One of them, plucking up more courage than the rest, pointed north and said with an obsequious smile, “Your Guild friends have been filing northward one after another. Will my lord take a cup of tea?” Zhang Wuji barked, “No tea! What bloody tea would I want?” He turned and strode off to the north at a great pace, suppressing a smile.

He walked quickly out of the town and had not gone far when he saw shadows stirring in the long grass beside the road to his left. A Guild disciple rose, plainly meaning to challenge him. Zhang Wuji quickened his step and passed in a flash. The beggar rubbed his eyes, suspecting he had seen things, for a moment ago there had seemed to be someone there, and now in the blink of an eye the road was empty.

Zhang Wuji saw that the Guild had posted sentries along the road in strict formation. He unleashed his qinggong³ and sped north at full tilt. The sentries hidden behind trees, in the grass, among the hills and beside rocks all fell within his sight, and rather than hindering him they served as signposts guiding his way. After four or five li⁴ of running, he saw a sentinel every three paces and a post every five, the pickets growing ever denser. Their martial arts were modest, but in broad daylight it would not be easy to slip past them all. In the end he was forced to leave the main road and wound his way along circuitous paths.

Presently he saw a mountain path leading up to a large temple halfway up the slope, and he judged at once that the beggars must be gathering there. He drew breath and ran towards the north-east corner, then curved round to the west, bypassing the Guild’s pickets, until he reached the flank of the temple. On a plaque above the gate he read the four characters Maitreya Buddha Temple.⁵ The temple was solemn and imposing. The Ming Order had raised uprisings across the land under the rallying cry “The Maitreya Buddha has come into the world,” and sometimes called the Maitreya Buddha the Bright King, so when Zhang Wuji saw the Maitreya Buddha Temple he felt a kinship with the place.

He thought, There must be many of the Guild’s important men inside. If I mix with the crowd, they’ll spot me for certain. He looked about and saw in the courtyard before the main hall an ancient pine to the left and an old cypress to the right. The two trees stood tall and vigorous, rising well above the roof, their branches and leaves so thick that a man might well hide among them. He circled to the back of the temple, flew up onto the roof, crawled on his belly to the corner of the eaves and leapt lightly down into the crown of the pine. Peering out from behind a great branch, he breathed, A narrow escape! The whole interior of the hall lay open beneath him.

The floor of the great hall was packed darkly with Guild members, three hundred and several score at the very least. They all faced inwards, so that when he landed in the pine not a soul was aware. Five rush cushions had been laid out in the hall, empty and waiting, plainly reserved for someone yet to arrive. Though three or four hundred men were assembled, not the slightest sound was to be heard, a world apart from the uproarious scramble for food and wine in the wineshop. He thought, The Beggars’ Guild has been famous for several hundred years. Though in recent times it has declined, something of its old discipline must still remain. The chaos in the wineshop is only their everyday manner. It seems the Guild’s elders govern its members with a stern hand indeed.

In the centre of the hall sat a statue of the Maitreya Buddha, his bare chest exposing a great belly, his mouth open wide in a smile, benign and amiable. As Zhang Wuji was taking in the scene, a voice rang out from the hall, “The Palm-Bowl Dragon Head arrives!” All the beggars rose as one. The nine-bag elder in the scholar’s guise, cradling a battered bowl, emerged with slow steps from behind the hall and took his place on the right. Another voice cried, “The Palm-Staff Dragon Head arrives!” The nine-bag elder built like a Zhou Cang,⁶ holding an iron staff aloft with both hands, strode out and stood on the left. The crier called, “The Law-Enforcement Elder arrives!” A thin, wizened old beggar walked out, holding a scrap of bamboo in his hand. His footwork was light, and when he moved not a speck of dust rose beneath him. Zhang Wuji thought, That man’s qinggong is formidable, surpassed only by Bat King Wei. Another voice called, “The Skills-Transmission Elder arrives!” This time the one who emerged was a white-bearded, white-haired old beggar, empty-handed, whose bearing and step betokened formidable martial arts.

The four old beggars moved four of the rush cushions towards the lower seats, leaving only the central cushion. They bowed deeply and said in unison, “We invite the Guild Chief to take his seat!” Zhang Wuji’s heart stirred. I have heard the Beggars’ Guild’s Chief is called Shi Huolong of the Golden Silver Palm.⁷ I wonder what manner of man he is.

All the beggars in the hall bowed. After a moment, footsteps sounded from behind the hall, and a great fellow strode out. The man was tall and broad-shouldered, powerful of build, his face suffused with a ruddy glow, looking every inch a grandee or wealthy magnate. He walked to the centre of the hall and stood with his hands on his hips. The beggars intoned as one, “Your seated disciples greet the Guild Chief.”

Shi Huolong, the Beggars’ Guild Chief, waved his right hand and said, “Enough! Are you lads all well?” The beggars replied, “We wish the Guild Chief good health.”

Only after Shi Huolong had seated himself on the central cushion did the rest take their places. Shi Huolong turned to the Palm-Bowl Dragon Head and said, “Brother Weng, tell the brothers about the Golden-Maned Lion King and the Dragon-Slaying Dao.”

When Zhang Wuji heard the words “Golden-Maned Lion King and the Dragon-Slaying Dao” his heart gave a great lurch, and he listened with his utmost attention.

The Palm-Bowl Dragon Head rose, bowed to the Guild Chief, then turned to the assembly and said, “Brothers, the demonic order and our Guild have been at war for sixty years, and the enmity between us runs deep. Of late the Ming Order has set up a new Order Leader, a certain Zhang Wuji. Men of our Guild took part in the siege of Bright Peak and saw this person with their own eyes: an ignorant youth. What can a milk-faced, unfledged whelp such as he achieve? How could he stand against Guild Chief Shi’s great talent and bold strategy?” The beggars roared their approval and clapped in unison, and Shi Huolong’s face glowed with satisfaction.

The Palm-Bowl Dragon Head continued, “Yet since the Ming Order installed its new Order Leader, what was once a fractured body, tearing itself apart, has been transformed at a stroke into a grave threat to our Guild. Over the past year, the demon chiefs of the Order have risen in arms across the land. In the Huai and Sishui regions there are Han Shantong and Zhu Yuanzhang, and in the Two Lakes region there is Xu Shouhui and his fellows. They have defeated the Yuan army time and again and seized much territory, so that one may say they have grown into a real power. Zhu Yuanzhang above all commands a mighty host, enjoys the people’s favour, and his name carries great weight indeed. If they were truly to accomplish their purpose and drive out the Tartars and take the empire, then our Guild’s tens of thousands of brothers would all be left without a place to bury their bones.”

The beggars were furious and cried out, “We must never let them succeed!” “The Beggars’ Guild will fight the demonic order to the death!” “If the Ming Order takes the empire, what hope of life is left for the Guild’s brothers?” “The Tartars must be fought, but the demonic order’s leader must never be allowed to sit on the Dragon Throne!”

Zhang Wuji thought, I never imagined that in the months I have been across the sea, my brothers would have done so well. The Guild’s anxiety is not without cause. The Guild numbers many men, and among them is no shortage of heroes. If we could join hands with them against the Yuan, our great enterprise would be the easier to accomplish. But how am I to put aside our old quarrel and turn enemies into friends?

The Palm-Bowl Dragon Head waited until the beggars’ clamour had somewhat subsided, then said, “Guild Chief Shi has long been in retirement at Lotus Mountain Manor and has not troubled himself with the jianghu⁸ for some time. But when a matter of this gravity arises, none but he can take the helm. It is also Heaven’s blessing upon our Guild that eight-bag Elder Chen Youliang has made the acquaintance of a Wudang disciple and obtained intelligence of the utmost importance.” He raised his voice and called, “Elder Chen!”

From behind a wall a voice answered, “Here!” Two men emerged hand in hand. One was some thirty years old, fierce and hard of look. It was Chen Youliang, the very man Xie Xun had spared on Lingshe Island.⁹ The other was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, handsome of face. It was Song Yuanqiao’s son, Song Qingshu.

When Zhang Wuji first heard “Chen Youliang has made the acquaintance of a Wudang disciple,” he supposed it must be some ordinary disciple of one of his shibo¹⁰ or shishu¹¹, and never imagined it would be the foremost disciple of Wudang’s third generation. He thought, How has Song shige¹² come to be mixing with the Beggars’ Guild? Then he thought further, The Wudang Order and the Beggars’ Guild are both of the righteous path. It is no wonder they are on good terms.

Chen Youliang and Song Qingshu first paid their respects to Shi Huolong, then bowed to the Skills-Transmission Elder and the Law-Enforcement Elder, and to the Palm-Staff Dragon Head and the Palm-Bowl Dragon Head. They then clasped their fists in a circle to the assembled beggars. The Palm-Bowl Dragon Head said, “Elder Chen, tell the brothers the whole of this matter, from beginning to end.”

Chen Youliang, still holding Song Qingshu’s hand, said, “Brothers, this young xia Song Qingshu is the son of Song Yuanqiao the great xia of the Wudang Order, and the future zhangmen¹³ of the Wudang Order, beyond question. The Ming Order’s Order Leader Zhang Wuji may be said to be young xia Song’s shidi. Some months ago, young xia Song told me that the Ming Order’s great demon chief, the Golden-Maned Lion King Xie Xun, had arrived at Lingshe Island in the Eastern Sea.” The Law-Enforcement Elder broke in, “In the wulin¹⁴ men have left no stone unturned in search of the Golden-Maned Lion King, yet for twenty years no trace of him has been found. How is it that young xia Song should suddenly know his whereabouts? This old one would be glad to hear the explanation.”

A doubt had long been gnawing at Zhang Wuji. The Purple-Blossom Dragon Queen learned my sworn father’s whereabouts from Wu Lie and his daughter, and went to bring him south to Lingshe Island. The matter should have been kept most secret. How then did the Beggars’ Guild come to learn of it and send men to the island to seize the dao? He and Xie Xun had pondered the question several times and could never fathom it. Now that the Law-Enforcement Elder was asking, he listened all the more keenly.

He heard Chen Youliang say, “By the Guild Chief’s boundless fortune, the pieces fell together most happily. In the Eastern Sea there is an old woman called Golden Flower Granny. Somehow or other she learned where Xie Xun was hiding. The old woman grew up at sea and knows navigation well. Remarkably, she found the far-northern deserted island where Xie Xun dwelt and brought him to Lingshe Island. On Lingshe Island there were a father and daughter held prisoner, named Wu Lie and Wu Qingying, descendants of the martial tradition of the Duan clan of Dali.¹⁵ While Golden Flower Granny was away in the Central Plains, the two seized their chance, killed their guards and escaped. They met with danger in Shandong, and were fortunate enough to be saved by young xia Song. When they recounted the whole chain of events, young xia Song at last learned where the Golden-Maned Lion King lay hid.”

The Law-Enforcement Elder nodded. “I see. So that is how it came about.” Zhang Wuji was thinking the same thing. So that is how it came about. He thought further, Wu Lie and his daughter are no upright folk. In former days Zhu Changling and they laid an elaborate trap to trick my sworn father’s whereabouts from me. Yet it was only because of that that the Purple-Blossom Dragon Queen was able to learn where my sworn father was. In all the world today, when it comes to skill in the water and the art of navigation, I fear few could surpass the Purple-Blossom Dragon Queen. Had she not taken up the quest, who in the vast expanse of the northern sea could have found Ice Fire Island?¹⁶ Even if my own father and mother were returned to life, they might not have succeeded. It seems that in the silence of things, Heaven has its own design.

Footnotes

1. 光明顶 – Guānmíng Dǐng. Bright Peak, the sacred summit and de facto stronghold of the Ming Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

3. 轻功 – qīnggōng. Lightness skill, the martial art of movement, agility and aerial balance. ↩

4. 里 – lǐ. A Chinese distance of roughly a third of a mile, or some five hundred metres. ↩

5. 弥勒佛庙 – Mílè Fó Miào. Maitreya Buddha Temple. The Maitreya Buddha is the future Buddha prophesied to appear in the world; the Ming Order’s uprisings often invoked the prophecy “The Maitreya Buddha has come into the world” as a rallying cry. ↩

6. 周仓 – Zhōu Cāng. A stocky, fearsome warrior of the Three Kingdoms period, famed as the loyal armour-bearer of Guan Yu. ↩

7. 史火龙 – Shǐ Huǒlóng. Shi Huolong, the present Guild Chief of the Beggars’ Guild, known by the epithet Golden Silver Palm. He rarely appears in the jianghu. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 江湖 – jiānghú. Literally rivers and lakes. The itinerant world beyond settled society and official reach, holding not only martial artists but the trades that travel with them. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 灵蛇岛 – Língshé Dǎo. Lingshe Island, an island in the Eastern Sea. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 师伯 – shībó. Senior lineage uncle. The shixiong or shijie of one’s shifu. Shī means teacher. Bó means father’s elder brother. ↩

11. 师叔 – shīshū. Junior lineage uncle. The shidi or shimei of one’s shifu. Shī means teacher. Shū means father’s younger brother. ↩

12. 师哥 – shīgē. The colloquial form of shixiong; male senior fellow disciple of the same shifu. ↩

13. 掌门 – zhǎngmén. The head of a martial school or order. ↩

14. 武林 – wǔlín. The martial forest; the community of martial artists. ↩

15. 大理段家 – Dàlǐ Duàn Jiā. The Duan clan of Dali, a martial lineage based in the old kingdom of Dali in modern Yunnan. ↩

16. 冰火岛 – Bīnghuǒ Dǎo. Ice Fire Island, the remote northern island where Zhang Cuishan, Yin Susu and Xie Xun once lived, and where Zhang Wuji was born. ↩