The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 36 – Part 8

Kongzhi had mastered eleven of the Shaolin Order's Seventy-Two Supreme Skills;¹ Fan Yao prided himself that there was no martial art under heaven he had not glimpsed. Yet seeing Yang Xiao's divine skill carried to such a pitch, both could not help but silently acknowledge his superiority. Zhou Dian had long been at odds with Yang Xiao and had fought him several times. Watching now, his shame grew with every exchange. *That son of a turtle,² Yang Xiao, has been going easy on me all along. I always thought his martial arts were only a notch above mine, and that each time we clashed I lost a move or two through luck alone. To think I, Zhou Dian, am this far behind the son of a turtle.*

Yet no matter how Yang Xiao varied his tactics, Du’nan with his single black cord held both opponents at bay without yielding an inch. The onlookers saw white mist rising above Yin Tianzheng’s head and knew his neili³ had been driven to its utmost limit. His white cotton robe swelled slowly, the fabric filling with the current of his qi. With every step he took, a footprint was pressed into the earth. After nearly a shichen⁴ of combat, he had trodden a complete circuit beyond the three pines.

Suddenly Yin Tianzheng passed the Holy Fire Tablet⁵ from his right hand to his left, pressing down upon Du’nan’s black cord, and thrust his right palm forward in a Sky-Cleaving Palm.⁶ Du’nan raised his left hand, fingers clawing empty air, and closed them into a fist, then struck out with his own palm.

Kongwen, Kongzhi and the rest cried out together in astonishment, their voices full of awe and admiration. For Du’nan’s answering palm was the Mustard Mountain Palm,⁷ one of Shaolin’s Seventy-Two Supreme Skills. This palm-force was notoriously difficult to master, to say nothing of the years it demanded. Even once learned, each strike required the practitioner to settle his stance, gather his neili, and concentrate long minutes before the power could be coiled into his dantian.⁸ Yet here was Du’nan launching the Mustard Mountain Palm at a mere thought, and immediately after, his black cord whipping forth to strike at Yang Xiao once more.

But with the Mustard Mountain Palm engaged against Yin Tianzheng, the force upon his cord weakened by more than half. Du’nan compensated with cunning, making the black cord ripple and dance like a throng of writhing serpents, whilst Yang Xiao’s twin Holy Fire Tablets shifted and changed without end. More than half the onlookers turned to watch these two.

Yin Tianzheng gathered his qi and struck palm after palm, now stepping two paces forward, now retreating two. On the other side, Zhang Wuji fought two opponents alone, and the three exchanged moves of the most unremarkable kind. All their contention lay in neili alone. This contest, compared to Yin Tianzheng’s trial of strength against Du’nan or Yang Xiao’s contest of cunning, was in truth the more perilous. Once a man’s neili was forced down a wrong path by his opponent’s pressure, even if he did not die on the spot, he faced at best qi deviation⁹ and paralysis. But of this quieter warfare only those within it could feel the bitterness. However great an onlooker’s own skill, nothing in those three men’s exchanges betrayed what was truly at stake.

The sun had moved from the eastern sky to overhead, and now began to lean towards the west. Kongwen, Kongzhi, Fan Yao, Wei Yixiao and the other masters had by this time discerned the contours of victory and defeat. The white mist above Yin Tianzheng’s head grew thicker and thicker, whilst the needles on the great pine Du’jie sat upon shook and trembled without ceasing. Plainly, of the two elder monks, Du’jie was the lesser, and driven to this pass he had to lean against the pine and draw on the tree’s support to withstand Zhang Wuji’s Nine Yang Divine Skill.¹⁰ If Yin Tianzheng were to give out first, then the Ming Order had lost. If Du’jie faltered before him, then the Shaolin Order was beaten.

The six who fought understood the crux yet more keenly. Yin Tianzheng had traded over thirty palms with Du’nan and knew he could not prevail in the end. He thought, Today our purpose is to rescue Brother Xie. What are my own victory or defeat, my own honour or shame? Besides, to lose to a senior master of the Shaolin Order can hardly be called a stain upon the White-Browed Eagle King’s name. With each palm he exchanged, he withdrew half a step, and after ten-odd more he stood over ten feet from Du’nan.¹¹

But the Mustard Mountain Palm was among the Shaolin Order’s Seventy-Two Supreme Skills, and Du’nan had steeped himself in it for decades. Its power was not trifling. For every step Yin Tianzheng retreated, Du’nan’s palm-force followed and advanced, the strength undiminished by distance.

Yang Xiao thought, This Shaolin monk is truly formidable. However I shift my Tablet tactics, I cannot overcome him. White-Brow Yin bears the full strain alone. If this drags on, I fear he will not hold. He brought the two Holy Fire Tablets together, meaning to clamp the black cord between them and meet Du’nan force against force, to share Yin Tianzheng’s burden. But the instant the Tablets neared the cord, Du’nan’s wrist twitched. The cord’s tip shot straight up towards Yang Xiao’s face.

Yang Xiao’s thoughts moved like lightning. The Holy Fire Tablets left his hand, hurled at Du’nan’s chest, whilst his palms reversed and seized the cord’s tip. He wheeled about and with a technique called Dragging Nine Oxen by the Tail,¹² wrenched it outwards with all his strength.

Du’nan saw his weapon leave his hand and taken as a thrown dart, its force savage. His left elbow dropped to block the Tablet streaking at his chest, but the other Tablet veered sharply mid-flight and shot sideways towards Du’jie with a whistling cry. Of those six, Yang Xiao was the most calculating. The Tablet he had thrown at Du’nan was a feint. The one aimed at Du’jie carried the full force of his neili.

Du’jie was locked in all-out contest with Zhang Wuji and had seen Du’nan steadily gaining the upper hand against Yang Xiao and Yin Tianzheng. He never imagined Yang Xiao would suddenly launch so strange an attack, and in the flash of surprise the Holy Fire Tablet was already upon him. His composure wavered. He reached up with two fingers and caught the Tablet between them. But at that moment he was giving his whole attention to matching Zhang Wuji’s neili, and could not afford to divert strength. In an instant the pine he sheltered within began to shake without respite, and the needles fell in a shower like sudden rain from the sky.

Zhang Wuji sensed the great rift torn in his opponent’s defence. The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth¹³ excelled above all things in finding and exploiting gaps. The five strands of qi upon his fingertips hummed and darted forward. In moments a crackling sounded as Du’jie’s pine-branches began to snap and fall. Du’e saw the peril, rose in a flash, swayed slightly, and was already beside Du’jie. He laid his left hand upon his shixiong’s shoulder, and with Du’e’s aid Du’jie steadied once more.

On the other side, Du’nan, Yin Tianzheng and Yang Xiao had reached the point where each staked his true strength and life or death hung on an instant. Yang Xiao tugged at the cord’s end with all his might. Yin Tianzheng drove palm-force of mountain-splitting, monument-smashing force against Du’nan without pause. The two great masters, one pulling and one pressing, sent forces in direct opposition. Du’nan, caught between, bore fearful strain, yet still showed no sign of breaking.

The Ming Order heroes and Shaolin monks watching knew that when this combat ended, it would not merely decide victory and defeat. Of the six great masters, fully half risked dying on the spot. Across the vast mountain peak, not a sound stirred. Most of the heroes sweated through their clothes, each consumed with dread for his own side.

Then, in that hush where even the wind seemed to hold its breath, a low voice rose from a cell beneath the earth between the three pines. “Left Messenger Yang, Big Brother Yin, child Wuji. I, Xie Xun, have hands stained with blood. My death has long been deserved. Today you came to rescue me and contended with Shaolin Monastery’s three high monks. If either side suffers further harm, my sin is compounded. Child Wuji, lead our Order’s brothers away at once. Leave Shaolin Monastery. Otherwise I shall sever my own meridians this instant and spare the world more guilt on my account.” It was Xie Xun, speaking from his cell by the Lion’s Roar¹⁴ divine skill. Years ago on Wangpan Shan Island his Lion’s Roar had killed and stunned countless heroes of every faction. Though now he did not turn the skill to harm, and his voice was low, the drums of every onlooker’s ears still rang and buzzed, and they looked upon one another with ashen faces.

Zhang Wuji knew his sworn father’s word was iron and he would never, for his own escape, let others come to harm. If they fought to the bitter end, Zhang Wuji himself might walk away unscathed, but his wai gong, Yang Xiao, Du’jie and Du’nan would surely not. He hesitated. Xie Xun’s voice rose again: “Wuji! Are you not gone yet?”

Zhang Wuji said, “Yes. I obey Father’s command.” He stepped back and said in a clear voice, “The three high monks’ martial art is divine and wondrous. Today the Ming Order lacks the power to break through. We shall return another day to receive instruction. Wai Gong, Left Messenger, let us cease!” With that he drew back his qi and flung the force Du’e and Du’jie had sent along their cords back whence it came.

Yang Xiao and Yin Tianzheng heard his command but were locked against Du’nan at full force and could not withdraw. To pull back their neili now would be to take Du’nan’s counter-stroke at once. Even Du’nan found he could not simply desist. Zhang Wuji strode before Yin Tianzheng, thrust out both palms and caught the palm-force Du’nan and Yin Tianzheng were pressing at him from left and right, then reached out with the Holy Fire Tablets and laid them across the centre of Du’nan’s cord. The cord was drawn taut between Yang Xiao and Du’nan like a bowstring about to sing. The instant Zhang Wuji’s Tablets touched it, the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth dissolved the fierce force pouring in from both ends. The cord went limp and fell to the ground. Yang Xiao, quick of hand, snatched it up.

Du’nan’s face changed. He opened his mouth to speak, but Yang Xiao came forward, cord held out in both palms, and said, “I return to the Great Master his weapon.”¹⁵ Du’jie understood his intent at once, picked up the Holy Fire Tablet lying beside him, and handed it back.

After that exchange the three Shaolin high monks had set aside their earlier arrogance. They knew that to fight on would mean ruin for both sides, and that the three of them could in truth claim no advantage. Du’e said, “This old monk has closed his gates for decades. To see once more the worthies of this generation fills me with gladness. Order Leader Zhang, your Order boasts talent in abundance, and you yourself stand above them all. I only pray you turn that matchless skill to the benefit of the common people and refrain from deeds that offend against Heaven.”

Zhang Wuji bowed and said, “I thank the Great Master for his instruction. Our Order would never dare act recklessly.”

Du’e said, “We three shall await Order Leader Zhang’s visit a third time.”

Zhang Wuji said, “I should not presume, but I shall certainly come again to receive instruction. Dharma King Xie is my sworn father, his grace equal to that of a birth-giving parent.”

Du’e sighed long and closed his eyes without a word.

Zhang Wuji led Yang Xiao and the rest to take their leave of Kongwen, Kongzhi and the others with cupped fists, then descended the mountain. Peng Yingyu sent forth the signal and recalled the Five Banners’ men. The Giant Wood and Thick Earth Banners had built a dozen-odd timber shelters five li¹⁶ from Shaolin Monastery, leaning against the mountainside, to lodge the gathered heroes.

Zhang Wuji sat in heavy silence, thinking that in all the Order no man’s martial arts surpassed Yang Xiao and his wai gong. Even were Fan Yao and Wei Yixiao swapped in, the result would be no better than today. Where in the world could he find one or two still greater masters to break this Vajra Demon-Subduing Circle?¹⁷

Peng Yingyu divined his thoughts and said, “Order Leader, have you forgotten Zhang the Perfected One?”¹⁸

Zhang Wuji hesitated. “If my Grand Shifu¹⁹ would come down the mountain to lend his aid, the two of us joining hands could certainly break the Vajra Demon-Subduing Circle. But that would gravely wound the amity between the Shaolin Order and the Wudang Order, and Grand Shifu may well refuse. Besides, Grand Shifu is past a hundred years. Though his martial cultivation has reached perfection, his body is aged. If harm should come to him, what then?”

Suddenly Yin Tianzheng rose to his feet, laughing loudly. “If Zhang the Perfected One will come down the mountain, success is certain! Splendid, splendid!” He gave a dry chuckle, opened his mouth wide, and his voice cracked and went hoarse.

The heroes saw his face full of laughter and him standing bolt upright, and thought it strange. Yang Xiao said, “Brother Yin, do you think Zhang the Perfected One will descend to fight?” He asked twice. Yin Tianzheng did not answer. He did not move at all.

Zhang Wuji was seized with dread. He reached out and laid fingers upon Yin Tianzheng’s pulse. His heart-meridian had already stopped. He was dead. That day on Bright Peak, fighting the combined might of the six great factions alone, he had strained himself to the breaking point and his primal qi was gravely wounded. In the bitter struggle against Du’nan just now he had spent every last shred of strength. Added to his years, the lamp had simply guttered out.

Zhang Wuji clasped his body and cried, “Wai Gong!” Yin Yewang rushed forward and wailed with his face to the sky. The heroes, moved by the bond of fellowship, could not help but weep. When the word went out, many of the Ming Order’s men who had once served under the Tianying Order banner wailed until the valley rang.

Footnotes

1. 少林七十二绝技 – Shàolín Qīshí’èr Juéjì. Shaolin Order’s complete martial system covering all combat categories. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 龟儿子 – guī’érzi. Literally son of a turtle. A common insult in the jianghu. ↩

3. 内力 – nèilì. Internal force; the kinetic manifestation of qi cultivated through neigong. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

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

5. 圣火令 – Shènghuǒ Lìng. The Holy Fire Tablets, twelve golden tablets of the Ming Order and symbols of supreme authority. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 劈空掌 – Pīkōng Zhǎng. Literally Sky-Cleaving Palm. A palm-strike that projects force through the air. ↩

7. 须弥山掌 – Xūmí Shān Zhǎng. Literally Mustard Mountain Palm. One of Shaolin Order’s Seventy-Two Supreme Skills, notoriously difficult to master. ↩

8. 丹田 – dāntián. The body’s central energy centre, located below the navel. ↩

9. 走火入魔 – zǒuhuǒrùmó. Qi deviation; a catastrophic derangement of neili caused by cultivation gone wrong. ↩

10. 九阳神功 – Jiǔyáng Shéngōng. Literally Nine Yang Divine Skill. A legendary internal cultivation method emphasising pure yang energy. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 丈 – zhàng. Roughly ten feet. Here over ten feet. ↩

12. 倒曳九牛尾 – Dào Yè Jiǔ Niú Wěi. Literally dragging nine oxen by the tail backwards. A technique of tremendous pulling force. ↩

13. 乾坤大挪移 – Qiánkūn Dà Nuóyí. The supreme secret art of the Ming Order, capable of redirecting force, reversing qi flow, and manipulating the trajectory of attacks. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 狮子吼 – Shīzi Hǒu. Literally Lion’s Roar. A martial art that projects the voice with devastating neili, capable of stunning or killing those nearby. ↩

15. 大师 – dàshī. Great Master; a respectful form of address for a senior monk. ↩

16. 里 – lǐ. A Chinese li, roughly one-third of a mile or 500 metres. ↩

17. 金刚伏魔圈 – Jīngāng Fúmó Quān. The Vajra Demon-Subduing Circle; the three Shaolin elders’ formation, anchored in the three pines. ↩

18. 真人 – zhēnrén. Perfected One; a Daoist honorific of the highest rank, here applied to Zhang Sanfeng. ↩

19. 太师父 – tàishīfù. Grand Shifu; one’s shifu’s shifu, two rungs up the lineage. ↩