The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 37 – Part 6

Situ Qianzhong laughed, "I'd have thought a great lump like you'd be afraid of dying, yet you've not a scratch on you and you're still breathing. What's the sport in a bout like that?" Chang Jingzhi,[^changjingzhi] the fourth of the Kongtong School's Four Elders, snapped, "Wounding a drunkard like you would hardly need to warn you first." Situ Qianzhong said, "I'm only having a joke, Master Chang the Fourth. Why so much fire? Everyone knows the Kongtong School's Seven Wounds Fist[^qishangquan] kills without spilling blood. Did Kongjian,[^kongjian] the Divine Monk[^dashimonk] of Shaolin Monastery,[^shaolinorder] not perish beneath the Seven Wounds Fist? How can these old bones of mine compare to the Divine Monk Kongjian?" The heroes all thought, *This drunkard opens his mouth and wounds someone. He has offended the Kongtong School and slighted the Shaolin Order too. That he has rolled about the jianghu[^jianghu] and lived to see this great age is a marvel in itself.*

Zong Weixia¹ ignored him and spoke in a clear voice, “In my view, every School, every Guild, every Order should each nominate two masters to compete in turn. Whichever faction proves foremost in martial skill at the end shall have Xie daxia² and the Dragon-Slaying Dao³ to dispose of as he sees fit.” The heroes roared their approval, all declaring the scheme superb.

Zhang Wuji observed the Shaolin monks gathered behind Kongzhi. Most of them wore furrowed brows, plainly displeased. He thought, When Min-meimei was still in the Prince of Ruyang’s mansion,⁴ if Yuanzhen⁵ was not directly under her command, he must have served as a key counsellor to the Prince or to Wang Baobao, with channels of contact between them — though the Right Envoy⁶ was never made privy to it. Every scheme against the Ming Order⁷ and the heroes of the wulin must have been devised jointly by Min-meimei and Yuanzhen. That Zhao Min should now have seen through Yuanzhen’s treachery and exposed his plot to set the factions at one another’s throats is hardly surprising.

A middle-aged man with a fair face and a trimmed beard rose to his feet. He waved a gilt-decorated folding fan with an air of easy grace and said, “I find Zong the Second Xia’s proposal most reasonable. In our martial contests, though the intent is to stop short of harm, blade and fist have no eyes. Should a man suffer mishap, he must leave the rest to Heaven. Ha — fellow disciples of the same School, you need not step forward to issue challenges in revenge, ha, lest the quarrels tangle beyond all resolution.” The heroes agreed, calling it the proper way.

A sharp voice cut in. Situ Qianzhong said, “That fine young gentleman with all those ha’s in his speech — you must be Brother Ouyang of Hengyang prefecture in Hunan?” The man waved his fan twice and laughed, “I dare not deny it. You pay me a compliment and sting me in the same breath. An even exchange.” Situ Qianzhong said, “Brother Ouyang and I are a pair of lone ghosts and wild spirits, belonging to no Guild or School. I am a master of drink and you a master of lust. Let us two found a ‘Drunken Lust School’ — its two great masters side by side, taking on all the great masters under heaven. What say you?” The heroes roared with laughter. This ceaseless jesting of Situ Qianzhong’s had filled the assembly with mirth and eased no small measure of the hidden hostility that lurked beneath.

Peng Yingyu said to Zhang Wuji, “That fair-faced man is called Ouyang Muzhi.⁸ He keeps twelve concubines and, though his martial arts are strong, he rarely ventures into the jianghu. He spends his days surrounded by his beauties, lost in their tender delights.”

Ouyang Muzhi laughed, “If I joined forces with you, my fortune would not stretch to your drinking. Gentlemen, if we are to hold martial contests, we ought first to nominate a few arbiters of advanced years and high virtue, men the assembly trusts. Otherwise each side will claim the victory and the wrangling will never end.” Situ Qianzhong laughed, “You don’t know whether you’ve won or lost? Who is as shameless as you?”

Zong Weixia said, “It would indeed be well to appoint several arbiters. The Shaolin Order is our host, and Master⁹ Kongzhi is naturally one.” Situ Qianzhong pointed at Cannot Tell’s¹⁰ cloth bag and said, “I nominate Xia Zhou,¹¹ the Shandong daxia.”

Cannot Tell lifted the cloth bag and hurled it at Situ Qianzhong, laughing, “Here comes your arbiter!” Situ Qianzhong set aside his gourd and caught the bag, then tried to untie its cords. But Cannot Tell’s knot-work was a craft of its own, and the cords binding the bag’s mouth were wound from gold thread mixed with fish-bladder glue.¹² Try as he might, Situ Qianzhong could not loosen them. Cannot Tell laughed aloud, leapt forward, seized the bag in his left hand, swung it behind his back, took it in his right, and worked his ten fingers through a dozen twists. He carried it back to the front, and in the circuit behind his back and before his chest the knot came undone. He inverted the bag and gave it a shake, and Xia Zhou rolled out. Situ Qianzhong hastened forward and released his sealed acupoints.

Xia Zhou had sat stifled in the pitch-black bag for a long while. When suddenly the bright sun blazed upon his eyes and he saw the thousands of pairs of eyes in the square all fixed upon him, he was so mortified he wished to die. He turned and drew the short jian at his side and drove it towards his own chest.

Situ Qianzhong wrenched it from his hand and said, “Victory and defeat are the common lot of soldiers. Brother Xia, why take it so hard?”

A stocky, plump man in the crowd called out, “I doubt the xia in the bag has the standing to serve as arbiter. I nominate Old Master Sun of Changbai Mountain.” A middle-aged woman added, “The Twin Heroes of eastern Zhejiang¹³ have shaken the south with their fame. The two of them are upright and impartial — ideal arbiters.” The heroes called out one name after another, and in moments a dozen or more had been put forward, all men of considerable standing in the jianghu.

A middle-aged nun from the Emei Order said coldly, “What need of arbiters? There is no need at all.” Her voice was not loud, yet it entered every ear in the assembly with perfect clarity, a sign that her cultivation of neili¹⁴ was no trifling thing. Situ Qianzhong said, “May I ask this Shitai why there is no need?” The old nun said, “Two men fight. The one who lives has won. The one who dies has lost. The King of Hell is the arbiter.” At the cold, bleak words, a chill passed through every listener’s back.

Situ Qianzhong said, “We gather as martial friends, with no deep enmity between us. Why must every contest be judged by life and death? Buddhism takes compassion as its root. Does this Shitai not fear the Buddha’s displeasure?”

The nun said coldly, “When you speak with others, you may talk nonsense. Before the disciples of Emei, you will show some decorum.”

Situ Qianzhong picked up his gourd, poured a cup of wine, and laughed, “Tut tut tut! The Emei Order is fearsome indeed. You know the saying: a good man does not quarrel with a woman, and a good drunkard does not quarrel with a nun!” He raised the cup to his lips.

Two sharp whistles split the air. Two small prayer beads streaked towards him, one striking the cup, the other the gourd. A third followed, and struck him full in the chest. Three great detonations rang out. The gourd and cup shattered to powder, and a great hole was blasted through Situ Qianzhong’s chest. The force of the blasts hurled him backwards several dozen feet. His clothes caught fire at once. Xia Zhou rushed forward to beat out the flames, but Situ Qianzhong was already dead, a smile still upon his face. The prayer beads had flown and exploded with such swiftness that until the very instant of his death he had not so much as glimpsed the disaster upon him.

The sudden catastrophe struck like a thunderbolt from a cloudless sky. The assembly was not without men of wide experience, yet none had ever beheld so swift and savage a hidden weapon.

Zhou Dian cried, “Good Heaven! What manner of hidden weapon is that?” Yang Xiao said in a low voice, “I have heard that men of the Dashi kingdom¹⁵ in the Western Regions learnt from the Chinese the art of making gunpowder, and have crafted a hidden weapon called the Thunder-Fire Bomb.¹⁶ Within is concealed a fierce charge, propelled by a powerful spring mechanism. That nun, I think, was using just such a thing.”

Xia Zhou hoisted Situ Qianzhong’s charred remains upon his shoulder and spoke in a clear voice, “Though Brother Situ was sharp of tongue, he was playful by nature and kind at heart. In all his days he never committed an act that offended Heaven and outraged conscience. Today the heroes of the world are gathered here. Can any man among you name a single wicked deed he ever did?” The heroes were silent. Xia Zhou pointed at the nun and said, his voice thick with fury, “The Emei Order styles itself a renowned and righteous School of the xia, yet it employs so vile a hidden weapon. The wulin holds that the strong prevail, yet it cannot outrun the character li — reason. May I ask this Shitai her name?”

The nun said, “My name is Jingjia.¹⁷ What does the xia in the bag mean by waving his arms about?”

Xia Zhou said, his voice broken, “I, Xia, lack mastery of my art and suffered bitterly at the hands of the Ming Order’s demons. That is my own failing, and does not diminish a lifetime’s repute for chivalry. Jingjia Shitai, you are so ruthless — can you answer before Guo Xiang,¹⁸ Guo nüxia, the revered founder of your Order?”

At the mention of their founder’s dharma name, the Emei disciples rose as one.

Jingjia’s long brows rose sideways and she snapped, “Our founder’s dharma name — is it for the likes of you to bandy about?” Xia Zhou said, “You Emei disciples commit injustice after injustice and bring shame upon your founder’s name. Even Miejue Shitai,¹⁹ for all the ruthlessness of her heart and hand, never put the innocent to the sword beneath her blade. The likes of you slaughter the blameless, and your zhangmen²⁰ looks on and does nothing. Heh! Does the Emei Order still mean to stand in the jianghu?” Jingjia said, “One more half-sentence of nonsense and that drunkard shall be your example.” With righteous resolve burning in him, Xia Zhou strode forward three great steps and said, “If the Emei zhangmen does not cleanse her doors, the Emei Order shall be held in contempt by every hero under heaven.”

Thousands of eyes, heroes and Emei disciples alike, turned to Zhou Zhiruo. They saw her nod slowly to Jingjia. Two thunderous detonations rang out. Jingjia’s Thunder-Fire Bombs burst from her hand, blasting holes in Xia Zhou’s chest and lower abdomen. His clothes caught fire. Yet he was so stubborn in death that his body stood upright and unbowed, and on his shoulder he still bore Situ Qianzhong’s corpse.

The heroes looked at one another, struck dumb with astonishment. After a long moment, several hundred voices rose in angry protest, railing at the Emei Order’s outrage.

Wei Yixiao and Cannot Tell exchanged a glance, nodded, and ran to the corpses of Xia Zhou and Situ Qianzhong. They knelt and bowed. Cannot Tell spoke in a clear voice, “Old Hero Xia, we two did not know your heroism and righteousness, and gave offence. We are ashamed before you.” They raised their palms and struck their own faces, pa-pa-pa-pa, several blows apiece, until both cheeks swelled red and raw. Then they beat out the flames upon the two corpses and carried them into the Ming Order’s timber pavilion.

Zhang Wuji watched Zhou Zhiruo turn so cruel, and his heart was heavy with grief.

Amid the uproar of the heroes, Zhou Zhiruo whispered several words in Song Qingshu’s ear. Song Qingshu nodded, walked slowly to the centre of the square, and spoke in a clear voice, “Today’s assembly of heroes was never a gathering for poetry and wine, for tuning zithers and strumming lutes, for debating letters and composing verse. Where blade and fist are drawn, death and injury cannot be guarded against. Old Hero Xia just now told us that Master Situ had committed no wicked deed in all his life, and blamed this Order’s Jingjia Shitai for taking innocent life. You heroes then raised a great clamour, as though dissatisfied with this Order. I should like to ask: must we first enquire into each man’s character and virtue before we may contest? Are the great sage and the worthy man immune from harm, whilst the vicious and the violent may be slaughtered at will?” The heroes fell silent, sensing his words were not without reason.

Song Qingshu continued, “If the Dragon-Slaying Dao belongs to the virtuous, why speak of ‘martial contest’ at all? We might as well travel to Qufu, to the temple of the Great Sage Confucius, and beg his descendants to receive it as a gift. But if the word at issue is wu — martial — then in the contest we heed only life and death and victory, and have no leisure to ask whether our opponent is innocent or guilty.”

Someone in the crowd called out, “Well said. Blade and jian have no eyes. We agreed there would be no vengeance sought.”

Footnotes

1. 宗维侠 – Zōng Wéixiá. An elder of the Kongtong School. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 大侠 – dàxiá. Lit. great xia. A title of respect for a renowned martial artist of outstanding chivalry. ↩

3. 屠龙刀 – Tú Lóng Dāo. The Dragon-Slaying Dao. A legendary blade said to confer supremacy over the wulin upon its possessor. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 汝阳王府 – Rǔyáng Wáng Fǔ. The mansion of the Prince of Ruyang, Zhao Min’s father. ↩

5. 圆真 – Yuánzhēn. The dharma name of Cheng Kun, a master schemer who infiltrated the Shaolin Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 右使 – yòushǐ. Right Envoy. A senior office of the Ming Order, held by Fan Yao. ↩

7. 明教 – Míng Jiào. The Ming Order. A revolutionary martial faction opposed to Yuan rule, led by Zhang Wuji. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 欧阳牧之 – Ōuyáng Mùzhī. A martial artist of Hengyang prefecture in Hunan. Known for his good looks and his twelve concubines. ↩

9. 大师 – dàshī. Lit. Great Master. An honorific title for a monk of high standing. ↩

10. 说不得 – Shuōbùdé. Known as Cannot Tell. A senior member of the Ming Order, whose weapon is a cloth bag in which he traps his foes. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 夏胄 – Xià Zhòu. Known as the Shandong daxia. A righteous martial artist of fierce temper. ↩

12. 鱼鳔 – yúbiào. Fish-bladder glue, a strong adhesive made from the membranes of fish bladders, used here to reinforce the bag’s cords. ↩

13. 浙东 – Zhè Dōng. Eastern Zhejiang, the coastal region of Zhejiang province. ↩

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

15. 大食国 – Dàshí Guó. The Dashi kingdom, the Chinese name for the Arab lands. In the Western Regions, their people had learnt the Chinese art of gunpowder and turned it to their own devices. ↩

16. 霹雳雷火弹 – Pīlì Léihuǒ Dàn. Thunder-Fire Bomb. A hidden weapon of fierce explosive charge, concealed within a small projectile and propelled by a spring mechanism. ↩

17. 静迦 – Jìngjiā. A nun of the Emei Order, whose prayer beads carry explosive Thunder-Fire Bombs. ↩

18. 郭襄 – Guō Xiāng. Honoured as Guo Nüxia. The founder of the Emei Order, daughter of Guo Jing and Huang Rong. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

19. 灭绝师太 – Mièjué Shītài. The late zhangmen of the Emei Order, renowned for her ruthlessness. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

20. 掌门 – zhǎngmén. The leader of a martial faction. ↩