The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 35: The Lion-Slaying Assembly, Who Shall Meet Disaster?

A gathering to slay the lion, who shall meet disaster?

The blow from Lu Zhangke’s¹ surprise palm strike had caught Zhang Wuji at the worst possible moment: he had been devoting his full power to redirecting the combined internal force of the eighteen foreign monks, his back completely undefended, his protective zhenqi² stripped away. The cold poison of the Xuanming Divine Palm³ surged into his body, and the injury was severe indeed. He sat cross-legged and circulated his Nine Yang⁴ zhenqi through his body three times, vomiting two mouthfuls of stagnant blood before the suffocating tightness in his chest eased somewhat. He opened his eyes to find Zhao Min’s face full of anguish.

Zhang Wuji said gently, “Miss Zhao, you have suffered so much on my account.”

Zhao Min replied, “And still you call me ‘Miss Zhao’? I am no longer a woman of the Court, nor a princess any more. In your heart… do you still think of me as a wicked little witch?”

Zhang Wuji rose slowly to his feet and said, “I have a question for you, and you must answer truthfully. The jian scars on my cousin Yin Li’s face, were they made by you?”

“No!”

“Were you the one who threw her into the sea?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Then who committed the atrocity?”

“I have no proof on hand, and I cannot tell you. Your internal injury is not yet healed. Too many questions will only disturb your heart. If solid evidence should emerge showing that I, Zhao Min, harmed Miss Yin, then without waiting for your hand, I would draw my blade across my own throat before your very eyes to atone.”

Her words were iron-clad, and Zhang Wuji could not help but believe her. After a long moment of silence, he said, “Then it must have been some hidden expert aboard that Persian Ming Order ship who used dark arts to stupefy us all in the dead of night, harmed my cousin, and made off with the Heavenly Jian and the Dragon-Slaying Dao.⁵ Once we have rescued my sworn father, we shall have to pay the Persians a visit and demand answers from Xiao Zhao.⁶”

Zhao Min pressed her lips together and smiled. “You are desperate to see Xiao Zhao again, so you invent pretexts. She is a thoroughly good person, and I would like to see her too, to thank her properly to her face.”

Zhang Wuji asked in surprise, “Thank her for what?”

Zhao Min said, “For telling me the truth. That evening when Xiao Zhao was about to part from us, she drew me aside and whispered, ‘Miss Zhao, I am going to Persia now, and I shall never be able to look after the Order Leader again. His martial arts are superb, but his heart is too kind. He is easily taken in by people. Please take care of him from now on. I know you are the one dearest to his heart, and he would rather give up his life than see you come to harm.’ Hearing her say that made me happy beyond measure. No one had ever spoken to me like that before. I had hoped it was so, but never knew if it could truly be. Xiao Zhao was the first to say it, and naturally my heart was filled with gratitude. I asked her, ‘How do you know?’ She said, ‘I know because I have watched with my own eyes. I have devoted myself to being the Order Leader’s little servant, to stay at his side forever. Even if he married you as his wife, I would still serve him the same way.’”

Zhang Wuji heard these words and felt a pang of sorrow rise in his chest. Before him appeared the petite, sweet, and lovely figure of Xiao Zhao. I wonder if she is safe in Persia?

Zhao Min continued, “That night, I was poisoned by the Ten-Fragrance Soft-Tendon Powder…”⁷

Zhang Wuji asked in astonishment, “You were poisoned by Ten-Fragrance Soft-Tendon Powder?”

“If I had not been poisoned, how could anyone have taken the Heavenly Jian from me and thrown me into the sea?”

“You too were thrown into the sea?”

Zhao Min nodded. “That night the seawater shocked me awake, and I swallowed mouthfuls of salt water. I vomited up a great deal of the poison and my head cleared somewhat. Fortunately I was a decent swimmer, so I did not drown, but my mind was in utter turmoil. I do not know how long I drifted before a fishing boat happened by and hauled me out. In my dazed state I could not direct them back to the island, and by the time the boat reached shore, I found myself back on the mainland. I asked the fishermen whether they knew where the island lay, but they could not say. Afterwards I fell seriously ill, and as soon as I was well enough to stand, I returned to the Prince’s mansion and sent out the naval fleet to search every island along the coast for you.”

Zhang Wuji listened, torn between pity and gratitude, and for a time could find no words.

Zhao Min gave a faint smile. “We should heal our injuries quickly and then make for Shaolin Monastery as soon as possible.”

Zhang Wuji asked in surprise, “Go to Shaolin? For what?”

“To rescue Xie Xun daxia,⁸ of course.”

Zhang Wuji started. “My sworn father is truly imprisoned at Shaolin?”

“I do not know the full twists and turns of the matter, but Xie Xun daxia is within Shaolin Monastery. That is beyond any doubt. Let me tell you: I had a sworn agent who became a monk inside Shaolin. It was he who risked his life to bring the news out.”

“Why did he risk his life?”

“In order to prove his report to me, that man managed to cut off a lock of Xie Xun daxia’s golden hair. But Shaolin’s surveillance of their prisoner was extremely tight. After he smuggled the hair out, he was discovered. He took two palm strikes, staggered far enough to thrust the hair into my hand, and not long after… he died.”

Zhang Wuji said, “Hmph! Terrifying.” Those three words, terrifying, might have referred to Zhao Min’s resourcefulness, to Cheng Kun’s⁹ ruthlessness, or to the peril of their situation as a whole. His turmoil stirred his injured breath, and he could not help vomiting another mouthful of blood. The Ming Order had also sent agents to spy on Shaolin, but the monastery sealed its gates so thoroughly that they had learned nothing.

Zhao Min said anxiously, “If I had known your injury was this grave, and that you would work yourself into such a state, I would never have told you.”

Zhang Wuji sat down, leaning against a mountain rock, trying to still his mind and rest. But concern overwhelmed him, and he could not compose himself. “The divine monk Kongjian of Shaolin¹⁰ was killed by my sworn father’s Seven Injuries Fist.¹¹ For over twenty years, every monk and lay disciple at Shaolin has sworn to avenge him. And Cheng Kun is himself a Shaolin monk. If my sworn father has fallen into their hands, how can he still be alive?”

“Do not be so hasty. There is one thing that may save Xie Xun daxia’s life.”

“What is that?”

“The Dragon-Slaying Dao.”

In a flash Zhang Wuji understood. The Dragon-Slaying Dao was called “Supreme in the Wulin,” and the Shaolin Order had led the wulin for centuries. Naturally they coveted this treasure above all else. For the sake of obtaining it, they would certainly not kill Xie Xun lightly. Humiliating him, however, would be unavoidable.

Zhao Min went on, “I think the rescue must be yours and mine alone. The Ming Order’s heroes are many, but if they launch a full-scale assault on Shaolin, the losses on both sides would be enormous. If Shaolin finds itself unable to hold back the Order’s attack and realises it cannot keep Xie Xun daxia, they may resort to the worst option: killing him outright.”

Zhang Wuji was grateful for the thoroughness of her thinking. “Min-meizi,¹² you are right.”

It was the first time Zhao Min had heard him call her Min-meizi, and an ineffable sweetness flooded her heart. But in the same breath she thought of her father’s love, her brother’s devotion, all swept away like water flowing east, and sorrow seized her once more. Zhang Wuji divined her thoughts but could find no words of comfort. He could only think: She has entrusted her life to me. How can I ever repay such depth of feeling? And Zhiruo and I have a marriage bond. How can I betray it? Alas. For now, rescuing my sworn father must come first. These matters of the heart must wait. He forced himself to stand. “Let us go.”

Zhao Min saw that his face was ashen grey and knew his injury was grave indeed. Her delicate brows drew together, and she murmured, “My father loves me and dotes on me. That much is fine. But I fear my brother will not be so forgiving. Within two shichen, if he can find a pretext to slip away from Father, he will send men to capture us both.”

Zhang Wuji nodded, thinking of Wang Baobao’s¹³ decisiveness and ruthlessness. The man would not give up so easily. Both of them were badly injured. The road west to Shaolin would be fraught with peril at every step. For a moment he felt lost.

Zhao Min said, “We must leave this dangerous place at once. Once we reach the foot of the mountain, we can decide our next move.”

Zhang Wuji nodded and stumbled towards their horses. He tried to mount, but a searing pain in his chest made it impossible. Zhao Min braced herself, gritted her teeth, and pushed him up onto the saddle with all the strength her right arm could muster, but the effort tore at her own wound, where the dagger had pierced her, and fresh blood seeped out. She struggled up behind him. Once it had been Zhang Wuji who supported her. Now the roles were reversed. They sat gasping for a while before urging the horses forward, the second mount following loose behind.

Footnotes

1. 鹿杖客 – Lùzhàngkè. Literally “Deer-Staff Guest.” One of the two assassins serving the Yuan Court, wielder of the Deer-Staff Palm and master of the Xuanming Divine Palm. ↩

2. 真气 – zhēnqì. Literally zhenqi. Qi refined through neigong. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 玄冥神掌 – Xuánmíng Shén Zhǎng. Xuanming Divine Palm. Xuanming is the ancient deity of winter and the dark waters; the palm inflicts a deadly, penetrating cold. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 九阳神功 – Jiǔyáng Shéngōng. Literally Nine Yang Divine Skill. Legendary internal cultivation method emphasising pure yang energy, capable of granting extraordinary martial prowess. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. The Heavenly Jian (倚天剑, Yǐtiān Jiàn) and the Dragon-Slaying Dao (屠龙刀, Túlóng Dāo) – the two legendary weapons whose rivalry gives the novel its title. ↩

6. 小昭 – Xiǎozhāo. Zhao Min’s former rival in affection, who became the chief disciple of the Persian Ming Order and departed for Persia at the end of Chapter 30. ↩

7. 十香软筋散 – Shíxiāng Ruǎnjīn Sǎn. Literally ten-fragrance tendon-softening powder. Poison devised by the western lamas in Zhao Min’s service. Colourless, odourless, and tasteless, it causes total loss of internal power. Second dose after the first is invariably fatal. ↩

8. 谢逊 – Xiè Xùn. His name meaning “Modest” or “Yielding.” His courtesy name Tuisi (退思) meaning “Retreat and Reflect.” One of the Four Dharma Kings of the Ming Order, bearing the epithet the Golden-Haired Lion King. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 成昆 – Chéng Kūn. Mastermind behind much of the story’s suffering, who took monastic vows at Shaolin under the dharma name Yuanzhen (圆真). ↩

10. 空见 – Kōngjiàn. Divine monk of the Shaolin Order, foremost among the Four Divine Monks known as ‘Divine Monks: Seeing, Hearing, Wisdom, and Nature’ (神僧见闻智性). See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 七伤拳 – Qīshāng Quán. Seven Injury Fist. Devastating fist technique of the Kongtong School that channels seven different types of force in a single strike, each damaging a different internal organ. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 敏妹子 – Mǐn mèizi. Affectionate form of address, literally “younger sister Min.” ↩

13. 王保保 – Wáng Bǎobǎo. Zhao Min’s elder brother (adoptive), a powerful and ruthless Mongol military commander. ↩