The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 33 – Part 5

Branch Master Staff-Bearer¹ was a man of fiery temper. He strode forward and slapped the fake Guild Chief left and right, seven or eight heavy blows landing in rapid succession. The impostor's cheeks swelled red. He cried out, “It had nothing to do with me! It had nothing to do with me! It was Elder Chen... Elder Chen who told me to do it.”

The Law-Enforcing Elder² felt a chill at his heart and barked, “Where is Chen Youliang?” But Chen Youliang was already nowhere to be seen. The Elder guessed that the man had fled the moment he saw his scheme exposed. “Quick, go after him!” he ordered. Several Seven-Pouch³ disciples responded at once and raced out the door in pursuit.

Branch Master Staff-Bearer cursed, “You bastard! Who do you think you are, making me kowtow to you and call you Guild Chief?” He raised his great palm, broad as a fan, and was about to strike the man again.

The Law-Enforcing Elder hurriedly reached out and deflected his hand. “Brother Feng, do not be rash. If you strike him dead with one blow, we shall never learn anything.” He turned to the Yellow-Dressed Maiden⁴ and clasped his fists in a respectful salute. “Had not the young lady unravelled this man’s treachery, we should still be groping in the dark. Would the lady grant us her name? The entire Guild would be forever in her debt.”

The Yellow-Dressed Maiden smiled faintly. “I dwell in seclusion among the deep mountains and have never kept company with outsiders. A name would serve me no purpose. As for this little sister here, is there truly no one among you who recognises her?”

The beggars gazed at the child. Not one of them knew her. Suddenly the Skills-Transmitting Elder⁵ recalled something. He stepped forward and said, “She… she… her features bear a likeness to Guild Chief Shi’s lady… Could it be… could it be…”

The Yellow-Dressed Maiden said, “Indeed. Her name is Shi Hongshi,⁶ the only daughter of Guild Chief Shi Huolong.⁷ When the Guild Chief lay dying, he bade his wife take the child and bring the Dog-Beating Staff⁸ to seek me out, that I might avenge him.”

The Skills-Transmitting Elder cried in alarm, “Young lady, you say Guild Chief Shi has passed away? How… how did it happen to him?”

The Beggars’ Guild’s⁹ supreme art, the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms,¹⁰ had in the Northern Song been Twenty-Eight Palms. At that time the Guild Chief Xiao Feng¹¹ possessed martial arts unmatched in the world, yet because of his Khitan heritage he was driven from the Guild. Pruning the complex to the essential, he reduced the Twenty-Eight Palms by ten, creating the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, which his sworn brother Xu Zhu¹² of Lingjiu Palace transmitted in his stead, and so the art passed down through the generations. By the end of the Southern Song, though the then Guild Chief Yelu Qi¹³ had learned the full set through the instruction of his father-in-law Guo Jing, every Guild Chief thereafter, lacking so deep a foundation, mastered at most fourteen palms. Shi Huolong had learned twelve in all. Over twenty years ago, while practising the art with zealous intensity, his neili¹⁴ proved unequal to the task, and he fell afflicted with paralysis of the upper body, his arms unable to turn. Thereupon he and his wife withdrew into the deep mountains in search of medicines for his cure, entrusting the Guild’s affairs to the two Elders, Skills-Transmitting and Law-Enforcing, and the two Branch Masters, Staff-Bearer and Bowl-Bearer, to manage in joint counsel.

Yet the two Elders and two Branch Masters owed no mutual authority, each governing his own domain, while within the Guild the Dirty Clan and the Clean Clan¹⁵ had long nursed their mutual enmity. And so the Beggars’ Guild, vast as it was, fell ever further into decline. When the impostor Guild Chief had lately appeared of a sudden, the younger disciples had never laid eyes on the true Guild Chief, and for the Skills-Transmitting Elder and the rest, above twenty years had passed since they last saw Shi Huolong. The impostor’s features bore a striking resemblance to the man. Who could have guessed it was a fraud?

The Yellow-Dressed Maiden sighed. “Guild Chief Shi fell beneath the hand of Cheng Kun,¹⁶ the Hunyuan Thunder Hand.”

Zhang Wuji uttered an exclamation of surprise. He had seen Cheng Kun’s corpse lying on the ground with his own eyes atop Bright Peak.¹⁷ How could the man have gone on to kill Shi Huolong? Then it must have been before he ascended the Peak. “May I ask the young lady,” he said, “how long ago did Guild Chief Shi pass?”

The Yellow-Dressed Maiden replied, “On the sixth day of the tenth month last year, little over two months past.”

Zhang Wuji said, “That is most peculiar. How does the young lady know it was that old villain Cheng Kun who struck the blow?”

The Yellow-Dressed Maiden said, “Lady Shi relates that Guild Chief Shi exchanged twelve palms with an old man. The old man vomited blood and fled, but Guild Chief Shi was wounded in turn by the man’s palm-force. Guild Chief Shi knew his injuries beyond cure. He reckoned that within three days the old man’s vigour would return and he would come seeking trouble anew. At once he gave his lady instructions for after his death and named his enemy: the Hunyuan Thunder Hand, Cheng Kun. Guild Chief Shi’s paralysis of the arms had by then recovered nine parts in ten. He had received the true transmission of twelve of the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, and his martial arts stood among the foremost in the jianghu.¹⁸ Yet he spent every last ounce of his strength, finished all twelve palms, and still could not escape the enemy’s deadly hand.” At these words, the child Shi Hongshi burst into loud weeping.

The Skills-Transmitting Elder’s face darkened with grief and fury. He wiped Shi Hongshi’s tears with his grimy sleeve. “House Sister Shi, the Guild Chief’s vengeance is the vengeance of every one of the Guild’s tens of thousands of disciples. We shall take that Hunyuan Thunder Hand, Cheng Kun, and hack his corpse into ten thousand pieces to avenge our Guild Chief. Where is your mother at present?”

Shi Hongshi pointed at the Yellow-Dressed Maiden. “My mother is recuperating at Sister Yang’s home.” Only then did those present learn that the Yellow-Dressed Maiden’s surname was Yang, though what manner of person she might be, none could guess.

The Yellow-Dressed Maiden gave a soft sigh. “Lady Shi was struck by Cheng Kun’s Phantom Yin Finger.¹⁹ Her injuries are grave. She travelled a great distance to my humble abode, and when she arrived she was at her last gasp. Whether she shall recover… that too is hard to say.”

The Law-Enforcing Elder said with bitter hatred, “What enmity has this Cheng Kun with the old Guild Chief, that he should strike so foul a blow?”

The Yellow-Dressed Maiden said, “According to Lady Shi’s account of Guild Chief Shi’s dying words, he and this Cheng Kun had never so much as met. Enmity was out of the question. Even to the end, the Guild Chief himself did not know the reason. Lady Shi conjectures that most likely someone within the Beggars’ Guild had offended Cheng Kun in some way, and he took it out upon Guild Chief Shi.”

The Law-Enforcing Elder mused, “This Cheng Kun, to evade Xie Xun, vanished from the jianghu decades ago. No one knew where he had gone. How could a disciple of the Beggars’ Guild have fallen out with him? There must be some grave misunderstanding at the heart of this.”

Branch Master Bowl-Bearer,²⁰ who had been listening silently all along, now suddenly seized a curved dao and pressed it against the bald impostor’s neck. “What is your name? Why did you dare impersonate Guild Chief Shi? Speak quickly. If so much as half a word is false, hmph!” He tilted the dao sideways and sliced a chair clean in two, then pressed the blade back against the bald man’s throat.

The bald man was frightened out of his wits. “I… I… this humble fellow’s name is Toad Liu Ao.²¹ I was a bandit chief at Luan Shi Gang, a rocky hill in Xie County, Shanxi. That day I came down the mountain to ply a trade without capital, and I ran into Elder Chen Youliang, and also Elder Chen’s shifu…”

Zhang Wuji cut in, “Elder Chen’s shifu? Who is that?”

The bald man Liu Ao said, “His shifu is an old monk, thin of body, but his martial arts are fearsome indeed. What his dharma-name was, this humble fellow does not know.”

The Law-Enforcing Elder said thoughtfully, “Chen Youliang came from the Shaolin Order.²² His shifu was a high monk of Shaolin Monastery, dharma-name Yuanzhen,²³ who passed into nirvana long ago. What other shifu could he have?”

Zhang Wuji said, “Yuanzhen is none other than the Hunyuan Thunder Hand, Cheng Kun!” He then recounted in brief how Cheng Kun had taken the alias Yuanzhen, entered Shaolin Monastery and taken the divine monk Kongjian²⁴ as his master, how afterwards he had launched a surprise assault upon Bright Peak, only to be struck down by Yin Yewang, and how his corpse had afterwards vanished of a sudden.

Branch Master Bowl-Bearer said, “Most likely Cheng Kun did not die atop Bright Peak after all. He feigned death and slipped away in the confusion.”

Zhang Wuji said, “Precisely. Had he not gone on to fight Guild Chief Shi and slay so great a master, no one would have known Cheng Kun still walked the earth.”

Branch Master Bowl-Bearer turned again to Liu Ao. “You met Elder Chen and his shifu. Then what?”

Liu Ao trembled and said in a quavering voice, “That day Elder Chen kicked me to the ground and raised his jian to kill me. I kowtowed at once and begged for my life. Elder Chen looked me up and down, then suddenly said, ‘Shifu, this little thief looks rather like the man we saw the day before yesterday.’ His shifu shook his head. ‘Heh. The years do not fit. The nose is too flat, and he is bald besides.’ Elder Chen laughed. ‘This disciple has a way to make him fit.’ So he had me follow them to Xie County and stay at an inn. Elder Chen obtained some plaster and built up my nose. Then he had me don false white hair and disguise myself into this appearance. My lords, even had I the audacity of heaven itself, I would never have dared make sport of you gentlemen. But Elder Chen gave his orders, and I had no choice but to obey. Blast it all, my wretched life was in his hands. What else could I do? I have an eighty-year-old mother at home. I beg you, my lords, spare my life.” With that he fell to his knees and kowtowed as though pounding garlic.

The Skills-Transmitting Elder said in fury, “So the chief conspirator was that traitor Chen Youliang after all. He and his shifu nurtured ambitions to dominate the world. They murdered Guild Chief Shi, set this worthless little thief to impersonate him as their puppet, and then planned further to coerce the Ming Order and win over the three great Orders of Shaolin, Wudang and Emei. The scheme was cunning indeed, and their ambition boundless. Where is Song Qingshu?²⁵ Where has Song Qingshu gone?” All this while their attention had been fixed upon the Beggars’ Guild’s Guild Chief, the Yellow-Dressed Maiden, and Shi Hongshi. None had noticed Song Qingshu slip away, following in Chen Youliang’s footsteps, none could say when. Taken together with all else that had come to light, Chen Youliang’s entire conspiracy now lay fully exposed. The Skills-Transmitting Elder bowed deeply to the Yellow-Dressed Maiden. “The young lady has done our Guild a service beyond measure. The Beggars’ Guild knows not how to repay her.”

The Yellow-Dressed Maiden smiled faintly. “My forebears and the former leaders of your Guild share a deep and ancient bond. This small service is hardly worth mentioning. Do take good care of this young House Sister of the Shi family.” She bent in a courtesy, and a flash of yellow swept upwards. She had already alighted upon the roof.

The Skills-Transmitting Elder called out, “Young lady, pray stay a moment longer!”

The four girls in black and the four girls in white leapt up onto the roof together. The qin²⁶ plucked out its notes, the xiao²⁷ wept in answer. In moments the sound of qin and xiao drifted away into the distance. The melody was not yet finished, yet those who had played it were already gone. They had come as swiftly as they had departed, and all who watched felt a pang of wistful loss.

The Skills-Transmitting Elder took Shi Hongshi’s hand and said to Zhang Wuji, “Order Leader Zhang, pray step inside that we may speak further.” The beggars stood respectfully to either side and offered Zhang Wuji the place of honour. He entered the hall with the Skills-Transmitting Elder and the rest, and they were seated as guest and host. Zhou Zhiruo sat at his shoulder. After Zhang Wuji had enquired after the names of the Skills-Transmitting Elder, the Law-Enforcing Elder and the others, he said, “Elder Cao, if my sworn father, the Golden-Maned Lion King,²⁸ is indeed within your Guild, pray bring him forth that we may meet. If not, I should be grateful to learn of his whereabouts.”

The Skills-Transmitting Elder sighed. “That traitor Chen Youliang played his games and left the Beggars’ Guild shamed before the heroes of the world. I shall not conceal it from Order Leader Zhang. Xie daxia and this young lady Zhou were indeed invited by our combined efforts beyond the pass. We placed our Guild’s own sleeping-draught in their tea and rendered them unconscious. Then we escorted the two of them here. Chen Youliang said that through Xie daxia we would trace the Dragon-Slaying Dao,²⁹ while young lady Zhou was the lure to snare the Wudang Order and the Ming Order. Six evenings ago, Xie daxia suddenly struck dead the disciples of our Guild who kept watch over him and made his escape. The coffins of the beggars he slew still lie in the rear courtyard, unburied. If Order Leader Zhang does not believe me, pray come to the rear courtyard and inspect the matter yourself.”

Zhang Wuji found his words sincere, and in any case he himself had seen with his own eyes the corpses of the Guild’s disciples lying in that chamber that night. “If Elder Cao puts it so, how would I dare disbelieve?” He asked further, “From Lulong³⁰ all the way westward, contact signs were left bearing our cult’s signals. Yet when I traced them, they were not the work of our own brothers. I wonder if this matter has any connection with your Guild?”

The Skills-Transmitting Elder said, “It may well have been the doing of that rascal Chen Youliang. I confess with shame that I know nothing of it.”

Footnotes

1. 掌棒龙头 – zhǎngbàng lóngtou. Branch Master Staff-Bearer. One of the four senior officers of the Beggars’ Guild, bearing the staff as emblem of rank. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 执法长老 – zhífǎ zhǎnglǎo. Law-Enforcing Elder. One of the two senior Elders of the Beggars’ Guild, responsible for discipline. ↩

3. 七袋弟子 – qīdài dìzi. Seven-Pouch disciples. The Beggars’ Guild ranks its members by the number of pouches worn at the belt; seven pouches denotes senior rank. ↩

4. 黄衫女子 – huángshān nǚzǐ. The Yellow-Dressed Maiden. A mysterious woman of extraordinary martial arts who dwells in seclusion. Her identity remains unknown. ↩

5. 传功长老 – chuángōng zhǎnglǎo. Skills-Transmitting Elder. One of the two senior Elders of the Beggars’ Guild, responsible for transmitting martial arts to disciples. ↩

6. 史红石 – Shǐ Hóngshí. The only daughter of Guild Chief Shi Huolong. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 史火龙 – Shǐ Huǒlóng. Guild Chief of the Beggars’ Guild. Master of twelve of the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms. Murdered by Cheng Kun. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 打狗棒 – dǎgǒu bàng. Dog-Beating Staff. The emblem of the Beggars’ Guild Chief, passed down through the generations, used in conjunction with the Dog-Beating Staff Technique. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 丐帮 – gài bāng. Beggars’ Guild. The largest martial organisation in the jianghu, renowned for its members’ loyalty and righteousness. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 降龙十八掌 – Xiánglóng Shíbāzhāng. Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms. The supreme martial art of the Beggars’ Guild, originally Twenty-Eight Palms reduced by the legendary Guild Chief Xiao Feng. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 萧峰 – Xiāo Fēng. The legendary Guild Chief of the Beggars’ Guild during the Northern Song. Of Khitan descent, he reduced the Twenty-Eight Palms to Eighteen. A central figure in Demi-Gods & Semi-Devils. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 虚竹 – Xū Zhú. Xu Zhu, sworn brother of Xiao Feng and later leader of Lingjiu Palace. He transmitted the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms on Xiao Feng’s behalf. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 耶律齐 – Yēlǜ Qí. Guild Chief of the Beggars’ Guild during the Southern Song. He learned the full Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms from his father-in-law Guo Jing. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

15. 净衣派 – jìngyī pài. Clean Clan. One of the two factions within the Beggars’ Guild, opposing the Dirty Clan. The Clean Clan favoured members who bathed and wore clean garments; the Dirty Clan insisted on traditional beggar’s rags. ↩

16. 成昆 – Chéng Kūn. Cheng Kun, known by his epithet the Hunyuan Thunder Hand. A master of treachery and martial arts, whose schemes set much of the story in motion. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 光明顶 – Guāngmíng Dǐng. Bright Peak. The sacred summit of the Ming Order, site of the great assembly where the martial orders were ambushed. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

18. 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. ↩

19. 幻阴指 – Huànyīn Zhǐ. Phantom Yin Finger. A lethal acupoint-striking technique employed by Cheng Kun. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

20. 掌钵龙头 – zhǎngbō lóngtou. Branch Master Bowl-Bearer. One of the four senior officers of the Beggars’ Guild, bearing the bowl as emblem of rank. ↩

21. 刘敖 – Liú Áo. Liu Ao, nicknamed Toad for his bald head. A bandit chief forced by Chen Youliang to impersonate Guild Chief Shi Huolong. ↩

22. 少林派 – Shàolín Pài. Shaolin Order. One of the foremost orthodox martial Orders, based at Shaolin Monastery. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

23. 圆真 – Yuánzhēn. Yuanzhen. The dharma-name Cheng Kun assumed when he entered Shaolin Monastery as a monk. ↩

24. 空见 – Kōngjiàn. Kongjian. A divine monk of Shaolin Monastery, Cheng Kun’s unwilling master. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

25. 宋青书 – Sòng Qīngshū. Song Qingshu. The son of Song Yuanqiao, eldest of the Seven Xias of Wudang. A prodigy who fell into disgrace. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

26. 琴 – qín. A seven-stringed zither, the most ancient of Chinese stringed instruments, associated with the literati. ↩

27. 箫 – xiāo. A vertical end-blown flute, valued for its mellow and melancholy tone. ↩

28. 金毛狮王 – Jīnmáo Shī Wáng. Golden-Maned Lion King. The epithet of Xie Xun, one of the four Guardian Kings of the Ming Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

29. 屠龙刀 – Túlóng Dāo. Dragon-Slaying Dao. The legendary weapon whose possession was said to grant supremacy over the jianghu. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

30. 卢龙 – Lúlóng. Lulong. A town in Hebei, in the north-east of the Yuan realm. ↩