The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 32 – Part 7

Song Qingshu gave a snort and said, "Brother Chen, it is not that your brother here is ungrateful, or that I do not trust---" Before he could finish, Chen Youliang cut in, "You want to see Miss Zhou, don't you? That is easy enough. At present the Guild Chief and all the Elders are in Lulong, and Miss Zhou is with the company. Let us ride together to Lulong and meet her there. Once the business on Mount Wudang is settled, I shall arrange your wedding at once. You shall have your heart's desire, and spend the rest of your days grateful to Brother Chen. Ha!"

Song Qingshu said, “Very well. Let us go to Lulong. But Brother Chen, how did Miss Zhou come to… to join the Guild?”

Chen Youliang laughed. “That was the doing of the Dragon Head Brothers. That day the Palm-Staff Dragon Head¹ and the Palm-Bowl Dragon Head² were drinking at a wineshop when they spotted three strangers disguised as Guild disciples, mingling among the men. They had someone look into it, and one of the three turned out to be that exceedingly beautiful Miss Zhou. The Palm-Bowl Dragon Head sent men to fetch her. Rest easy, Miss Zhou is safe and sound, not a hair of her head harmed.” Zhang Wuji cursed inwardly: So that day at the wineshop, they saw through the disguises after all… Had my adoptive father not been blind, he would surely have spotted the deception. Alas, Zhiruo and I never noticed a thing. But is my adoptive father safe?

Yet in all Chen Youliang’s speech, he did not once mention Xie Xun. Instead he said, “Once you have married Miss Zhou, both the Emei Order and the Wudang Order will follow the Beggars’ Guild’s commands. Add the Ming Order to that, and what a mighty force we shall be! All we need do is crush the Mongols, and this splendid empire, heh, will need a new master.” As he spoke these words his manner brimmed with self-satisfaction. It was as though the Beggars’ Guild had already won the empire, and he, Chen Youliang, had already ascended the throne. The Palm-Bowl Dragon Head and Song Qingshu both joined him in dry, he-he-he laughter.

Chen Youliang said, “Let us be on our way. Brother Song, the Seventh Xia³ died nearby, did he not? The cave where the body was hidden should not be far from here. You fled this far, and suddenly your horse stumbled. Could the Seventh Xia’s vengeful spirit have risen up to stop you? Ha!” Song Qingshu made no reply. The three of them walked to their horses, mounted, and rode away.

Zhang Wuji waited until the three had ridden some distance, then hurried to release the acupoints⁴ of Song Yuanqiao and the other three. He prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, and said, “Shibo,⁵ Shishu,⁶ your nephew found himself under suspicion and could not clear his name. I have given offence. I beg Shibo and Shishu to punish me severely.”

Song Yuanqiao gave a long sigh. He looked up at the sky and said nothing, tears streaming down his face.

Yu Lianzhou hastened to raise Zhang Wuji from the ground, saying, “We wronged you earlier. The fault was ours. We are as flesh and blood, and there is no need to speak of it further. To think that Qingshu… Alas, had we not heard it with our own ears, who could have believed it?”

Song Yuanqiao drew his jian and said, “So it was Seventh Brother who stumbled upon that wretched cub… that wretched cub… peeping into the chambers of the Emei women swordsmen, and so pursued him to cleanse the shimen.⁷ Three Shidis,⁸ and Wuji, my child, let us pursue them at once. I shall slaughter that beast with my own hands.” With this he deployed his qinggong⁹ and darted after Song Qingshu at great speed.

Zhang Songxi called out, “Eldest Brother, come back! We should consider the matter at length.” But Song Yuanqiao paid no heed. He ran on, jian in hand.

Zhang Wuji set off in pursuit. With several swift leaps he overtook Song Yuanqiao and blocked his path, bowing deeply. “Eldest Shibo, Fourth Shibo has words for you. Eldest Brother Song was momentarily taken in by a scoundrel. In time he will surely see reason. If Eldest Shibo wishes to punish him, there is no great haste.”

Song Yuanqiao said, his voice breaking, “Seventh Brother… Seventh Brother… I have failed you.” He thought of how Zhang Cuishan had killed himself long ago out of guilt towards Yu Daiyan, and only now did he truly understand what his Fifth Brother had felt. He turned his jian and slashed it towards his own throat.

Zhang Wuji was greatly alarmed. He unleashed the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth¹⁰ and snatched the jian from Song Yuanqiao’s hand, but the tip grazed his neck all the same, leaving a long streak of blood. By now Yu Lianzhou and the others had caught up too. Seeing him attempt to cut his own throat, they all rushed to dissuade him.

Zhang Songxi said, “Eldest Brother, Qingshu has committed an act of monstrous rebellion. No one in the Wudang Order can abide it. But cleansing the shimen is a small matter. The restoration of the realm is a great one. We must not let the small undo the great.” Song Yuanqiao’s eyes blazed with anger. “You… you say cleansing the shimen is small? I… I have sired a son so unfilial…” Zhang Songxi said, “From what Chen Youliang said, the Beggars’ Guild means to use Qingshu to harm Shifu and the rest of us, to coerce the wulin¹¹ and seize the empire. Shifu’s safety is the first concern of our shimen. The fortune of the wulin and all its people is a greater one still. Qingshu has done many unrighteous deeds. Sooner or later he will face their reckoning. Let us discuss what matters most.” When Zhang Songxi mentioned Shifu, Song Yuanqiao thrust his jian back into its sheath with a bitter look and said, “My mind is in turmoil. I shall listen to Fourth Brother.” Yin Liting took out wound salve¹² and applied it to the cut on his neck.

Zhang Songxi said, “Since the Beggars’ Guild plots against Shifu, and Shifu is as yet unaware, we must ride back to Mount Wudang day and night. Though Chen Youliang says he means to act through Qingshu, a treacherous man like him is full of schemes. He may strike earlier than expected. Our foremost duty now is to protect Shifu’s person. Shifu is advanced in years. If there were another false report from a Shaolin monk, we disciples could never atone for it.” As he spoke he glared at Zhao Min, who stood some distance away, still furious at her for having sent someone to harm Zhang Sanfeng.

A cold sweat broke out on Song Yuanqiao’s back. He said, his voice trembling, “You are right, you are right. I was so eager to pursue and kill my own son that I put Shifu’s safety out of my mind. I deserve to die. I have confused the weighty with the trivial. I am so angry I cannot think straight.” He called out repeatedly, “Quick, quick! Let us go!”

Zhang Songxi turned to Zhang Wuji and said, “Wuji, the rescue of Miss Zhou, that task falls to you. When it is done, I hope you will visit us at Mount Wudang.” Zhang Wuji said, “I shall follow Shibo’s instructions.” Zhang Songxi lowered his voice and said, “That young lady Zhao has the heart of a wolf and a jackal. You must be extremely careful. Song Qingshu is a warning from the cart ahead.¹³ A true man, a hero, must never be led astray by beauty.” Zhang Wuji blushed and nodded.

Four of the Seven Xias of Wudang and Zhang Wuji laid Mo Shenggu’s body in a temporary grave behind a great rock, marking the spot so they could return later and move him to Mount Wudang. The five of them knelt and wept bitterly. Then Song Yuanqiao and the other three set off ahead.

Zhao Min walked slowly over to Zhang Wuji and said, “Your Fourth Shibo told you to be careful, not to be led astray by this demon girl¹⁴ of mine. Song Qingshu is a warning from the cart ahead. Is that so?” Zhang Wuji’s face flushed and his manner grew embarrassed. “How did you know? Do you have ears that catch every whisper?” Zhao Min gave a snort and said, “I tell you this: when Song daxia¹⁵ and the others reflect on it afterwards, they will not blame Song Qingshu’s unnatural heart. They will blame Miss Zhou instead, a beauty who brings ruin, who destroyed a young xia¹⁶ of the Wudang Order.” Zhang Wuji thought that might well happen, but said aloud, “Song shibo and the others are men of reason and principle. They would not blame someone without cause.”

Zhao Min smiled coldly. “The more a man considers himself a gentleman, the more he blames others without cause.” She paused, then laughed. “Go and rescue your Miss Zhou quickly. If she falls into Song Qingshu’s hands, you will be in trouble.” Zhang Wuji blushed again and said, sheepish, “Why would I be in trouble?”

Footnotes

1. 掌棒龙头 – zhǎngbàng lóngtóu. The Palm-Staff Dragon Head, a senior officer of the Beggars’ Guild. ↩

2. 掌钵龙头 – zhǎngbō lóngtóu. The Palm-Bowl Dragon Head, a senior officer of the Beggars’ Guild. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 莫七侠 – Mò Qī Xiá. Mo the Seventh Xia, i.e. Mo Shenggu, the seventh of the Seven Xias of Wudang. ↩

4. 穴道 – xuédào. Acupoints through which qi flows; in martial arts, striking them can disable or kill. ↩

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

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

7. 师门 – shīmén. The house of one’s shifu: the master, the fellow disciples, and the rules and obligations binding them. ↩

8. 师弟 – shīdì. Male junior fellow disciple. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Dì means younger brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 轻功 – qīnggōng. Lightness skill. Martial art of agile movement and aerial mobility. ↩

10. 乾坤大挪移 – Qiánkūn Dà Nuóyí. The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, the supreme secret art of the Ming Order, capable of redirecting force and reversing qi flow. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 武林 – wǔlín. The martial forest. The community of martial artists and their world. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 金创药 – jīnchuāng yào. Wound salve. A haemostatic powder applied to cuts and blade wounds. ↩

13. 前车之鉴 – qián chē zhī jiàn. Lit. the warning of the cart ahead. A proverb meaning to learn from the mistakes of others. ↩

14. 妖女 – yāonǚ. Demon girl. A derogatory term for a woman deemed wicked or seductive. ↩

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

16. 侠 – xiá. A martial hero who upholds the code of xia. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩