The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 34: The Bride's Fair Hands Tear the Crimson Gown

The bride's fair hands tear the crimson gown.

The following morning, Zhang Wuji, Zhou Zhiruo, and Han Lin’er mounted the fine steeds that the Beggars’ Guild’s wealthy patron had gifted them and rode westward along the main road.

Han Lin’er was exceedingly deferential toward their Order Leader, not daring to ride abreast of him but following well behind, pouring water and serving tea like a menial servant. Zhang Wuji felt uncomfortable about this and said, “Brother Han, though you are a brother under my command in the Order, I respect you as a man. In matters of duty you follow my orders, but in daily life let us treat each other as equals, like brothers and friends.”

Han Lin’er was greatly alarmed and replied, “Your subordinate harbours nothing but the deepest devotion for our Order Leader. To speak of treating me as an equal, how could I ever be worthy of such honour? I have had no opportunity to be in your presence these many days. To be allowed to serve you and Miss Zhou today is the greatest fortune of my life.”

Zhou Zhiruo smiled gently and said, “I am not your Order Leader, so you need not be so formal with me.”

Han Lin’er replied, “Miss Zhou is like a celestial maiden. For someone like me merely to exchange a few words with you is a blessing earned in a previous life. Please forgive my coarse speech.”

Zhou Zhiruo found his sincerity touching. The reverence in his eyes was as though he regarded her as an immortal maiden or heavenly goddess. She knew well that her own beauty was uncommon, and young men who encountered her invariably found their hearts stirred, but to be worshipped as thoroughly as Han Lin’er prostrated himself was something she had never before encountered. A young girl’s heart could not help but be pleased.

Zhang Wuji asked her what had happened when the Beggars’ Guild captured her. Zhou Zhiruo told him that not long after he had left the inn that day, the serving boy had brought in tea. She and her sworn father had each taken a few sips when suddenly she felt dizzy. Her sworn father had said, “Careful, we’ve been drugged!” She had tried to go out and fetch two bowls of clean water to drink as an antidote, but before she could draw her jian, six or seven Beggars’ Guild disciples had rushed into the room. She had fainted on the spot, and both she and her sworn father were sent to Lulong and imprisoned separately.

Zhang Wuji said, “I gave it some thought last night. If our sworn father has truly been captured by Cheng Kun, we might go to the capital to gather intelligence. The capital is where people from all corners gather, and it is not far from here. I imagine that Wei the Bat King likely has some leads on the matter.”

Zhou Zhiruo pressed her lips together and smiled. “You want to go to the capital, do you? Is it really Wei Yixiao you want to see?”

Zhang Wuji understood the implication behind her words and felt his face grow warm. “It’s not certain I’ll find Wei the Bat King at all. But if I can run into Left Messenger Yang, Right Messenger Fan, or Peng the Monk, they might be able to help me think of some plan.”

Zhou Zhiruo smiled. “There is someone with miraculous cunning and boundless resourcefulness. Go find her in the capital. She’ll give you far better advice than Yang the Left Messenger, Fan the Right Messenger, and Peng the Monk put together. None of them could match that young lady in cleverness.”

Zhang Wuji had not dared to mention his encounter with Zhao Min. Now that she alluded to it so delicately, he could not help but look sheepish. “You keep thinking about Miss Zhao. Whenever you’re in a good mood, you tease me.”

Zhou Zhiruo laughed. “The one who can’t stop thinking about her, whether that’s me or someone else, you ought to know. You act guilty as a thief. Do you think I can’t see what’s in your heart?”

Zhang Wuji reflected that he and Zhou Zhiruo had already pledged themselves to grow old together, to share life and death with unswerving devotion. He ought not to keep anything from her. “Zhiruo, there is something I must tell you. Please don’t be angry.”

Zhou Zhiruo said, “If I should be angry, I will be angry. If I shouldn’t, I won’t.”

Zhang Wuji found himself at a loss for words. He had sworn a solemn oath to her: he would kill Zhao Min to avenge their cousin Yin Li. Yet after meeting Zhao Min again, not only had he not killed her, he had spent the night in the wilderness with her, ridden side by side with her. The whole affair was exceedingly difficult to explain. He was no good at deception. Shame rose in him, and it showed plainly on his face.

While he hesitated, their horses had galloped into a small town. Seeing that it was growing late, they found a modest inn for the night. After supper, he applied tuina to the acupoints on her back once more. Although the method for releasing sealed acupoints was not the correct one, so much time had passed since the points had been struck that after the massage restored circulation, the blocked points opened of their own accord. He reflected inwardly, That acupoint-sealing technique was most peculiar. I fear it was not the work of any of the Beggars’ Guild elders. Otherwise someone would have come forward to release her points at the banquet yesterday. Could it have been Cheng Kun again? He asked, “Who sealed your acupoints?”

Zhou Zhiruo said, “It was a tall, thin old monk. I didn’t know who he was at the time, but from what was said at the banquet yesterday, it must have been Cheng Kun.”

Zhang Wuji said bitterly, “So it is that villain!”

Zhou Zhiruo found the inn foul and musty. “Let us go outside for a walk and get the blood circulating.”

Zhang Wuji agreed. Taking her hand, he walked to the edge of town.

The setting sun hung over the western mountains, and the evening clouds were the colour of blood. They strolled for a while, then sat beneath a great tree, watching the sun slowly sink and twilight creep in from all sides. Zhang Wuji summoned his courage and told her everything: how he had encountered Zhao Min at the Maitreya Temple, how he had discovered Mo Shenggu’s corpse, how he had reunited with Song Yuanqiao and the others, and how he had been led in circles across northern Hebei following the Ming Order’s flame markers. When he finished, he took both her hands in his.

“Zhiruo, you are my wife not yet wed. We are as one. I will keep nothing from you. Miss Zhao insisted on seeing my sworn father again, saying she had a few urgent questions to ask him. I grew suspicious at the time, and thinking back now, the more I recall it, the more frightened I become.” His voice trembled on the last words.

Zhou Zhiruo asked, “What are you afraid of?”

Zhang Wuji felt that the small hands in his own were cold as ice and trembling faintly. He said, “I remembered that my sworn father suffers from bouts of madness. When an attack comes, he knows no one. Years ago, during a severe episode, he tried to strangle my mother. She shot out his eyes because of that. When I was born, he tried to kill my mother and father, but he heard my crying and came to his senses. I’m afraid… I’m truly afraid…”

Zhou Zhiruo asked, “Afraid of what?”

Zhang Wuji sighed. “I ought not to say this, but I am genuinely worried that my cousin Yin Li was… was… killed by my sworn father.”

Zhou Zhiruo leapt to her feet, her voice shaking. “Xie daxia is a righteous and noble man. He has always been kind to us juniors. How could he kill Miss Yin?”

Zhang Wuji said, “I am only guessing, of course. It may be entirely wrong. But even if my cousin truly died at my sworn father’s hand, it was his old illness flaring up, like a terrible nightmare. It was not his true intention. Alas, all the blame for this ought to be laid at Cheng Kun’s door, that villain.”

Zhou Zhiruo was lost in thought for a long while. Then she shook her head. “No, no! We were all poisoned by the Ten Fragrance Softening Sinew Powder.¹ Was that also the work of your sworn father? Where would he obtain such a poison? A man whose mind suddenly goes haywire and kills someone, that is not so strange. But how could he have the presence of mind to drug food and drink with such careful deliberation?”

Zhang Wuji felt as though a thick fog had settled before his eyes, without the faintest glimmer of light. Zhou Zhiruo said coldly, “Wuji gege, you are searching desperately for ways to excuse and absolve Miss Zhao.”

Zhang Wuji said, “If Miss Zhao were truly the culprit, she would be hiding from my sworn father, not insisting on seeing him to ask urgent questions.”

Zhou Zhiruo sneered. “That young lady is matchless in cunning. If she wanted to clear her own name, do you think she couldn’t devise some clever scheme?” Her voice suddenly softened. She leaned against him and said, “Wuji gege, you are the most honest, straightforward man in the world. When it comes to cleverness and strategy, how could you possibly be a match for Miss Zhao?”

Zhang Wuji sighed, feeling that her words carried considerable truth. He put his arm gently around her supple shoulders and said softly, “Zhiruo, I feel that the world is full of nothing but troubles. Even those closest to me, like my sworn father, arouse my suspicion. In all the affairs I have encountered, everything is a blur. I cannot tell what is true, and I cannot manage what must be done. I only wish that once the great task of driving out the Tartars is accomplished, you and I could retire to the deep mountains and share a life of peace, never troubling ourselves with worldly affairs again.”

Zhou Zhiruo said, “You are the Order Leader of the Ming Order. If Heaven grants our wish and the Tartar horde is truly driven out, all the great affairs of the empire will rest in the Ming Order’s hands. How could they allow you to retire and enjoy peace?”

Zhang Wuji said, “I lack the ability to serve as Order Leader, and I have no desire for the position. Besides, the previous Order Leader left a solemn injunction: our Order members must not become officials, rule provinces, or claim the title of emperor. Even if we drive out the Tartars, the Ming Order must remain in the countryside, guarding the nation and protecting the people. We must never seize the reins of power for ourselves. When the empire is at peace, the leadership of this Order must pass to someone of truly exceptional wisdom and virtue.”

Zhou Zhiruo said, “Does the Ming Order truly have such a rule? If the future emperor and government prove corrupt, will the Ming Order rise in rebellion again and start over? I think that rule ought to be revised. You are still young, and your abilities may be insufficient now, but can you not learn? Moreover, I am the head of the Emei Order, with a heavy burden on my shoulders. When my shifu entrusted me with the iron ring of leadership, she charged me to greatly expand our school. Even if you can retire to the mountains, I have no such fortune.”

Footnotes

1. 十香软筋散 – Shíxiāng Ruǎnjīn Sǎn. Literally ten fragrance softening sinew powder. A potent odourless, tasteless poison that saps neili and renders martial artists powerless. ↩