The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 37: None of the World's Heroes Could Withstand

A thousand heroes gather beneath Shaolin's eaves, each harbouring ambitions of glory, but the Ming Order's five banners speak a language louder than words, and a bride's cold smile cuts deeper than any blade.

In the blink of an eye, the auspicious day of the Double Ninth Festival arrived. Zhang Wuji¹ led the assembled heroes of the Ming Order² to the Shaolin Monastery.³ Before the main hall and behind it, in the east wing and the west wing, heroes and warriors from every quarter of the land were packed shoulder to shoulder. Among the martial folk gathered there, some bore bitter feuds with Xie Xun⁴ and had long schemed to kill him and avenge their losses. Some coveted the Dragon-Slaying Dao,⁵ nursing the wild hope of seizing the treasure-weapon and becoming supreme in the wulin. Some had private grudges between themselves and meant to seize the occasion to settle old accounts, but the majority had simply come to watch the spectacle. The Shaolin Monastery had dispatched over a hundred guest-monks to receive the visitors, guiding them to rest in various quarters throughout the temple.

From the Wudang Order,⁶ only Yu Lianzhou⁷ and Yin Liting⁸ had come. Zhang Wuji stepped forward to pay his respects and enquire after Zhang Sanfeng’s⁹ health. Yu Lianzhou whispered, “Have you heard any news of Qingshu and Chen Youliang?” Zhang Wuji briefly recounted what had passed since their parting, telling him that Chen Youliang had gone to Hanyang and placed himself under Xu Shouhui, the leader of two columns of the Red Turban rebels, but Song Qingshu’s¹⁰ whereabouts were unknown.

The reason Song Yuanqiao and Zhang Songxi had not come on this occasion was to remain on the mountain to protect their master and guard the temple, lest some treacherous scheme be set in motion. Yu Lianzhou went on to say that ever since Song Yuanqiao had heard with his own ears of his only son’s treasonous plot, grief and anxiety had consumed him. He had barely eaten, and his body had wasted to nearly half its former bulk. Yet he had concealed the matter from his master, not daring to speak of it for fear of adding to the old gentleman’s worries. Zhang Wuji said, “Let us only hope that Song shixiong¹¹ finds his way back from his error and repents swiftly, so that father and son may be reunited.” Yu Lianzhou replied, “Words to that effect are well enough, but that traitor murdered Seventh Brother Mo. He can absolutely not be forgiven.” His voice burned with hatred as he spoke.

In the shichen¹² that followed, heroes continued to stream in from every direction. The He-Sha Twins of Hejian and the swordsmen of the Qinghai School¹³ who had attacked the Vajra Demon-Subduing Circle that fateful day were all present. The Huashan School,¹⁴ the Kongtong School,¹⁵ and the Kunlun School¹⁶ had each sent their finest, but from the Emei Order¹⁷ not a single soul had come up the mountain.

Zhang Wuji dearly wished to see Zhou Zhiruo¹⁸ and explain to her the necessity that had constrained him, but whenever he imagined her expression, her gaze, his heart trembled with dread and deep shame. The Ming Order heroes were gathered in a side-hall of the west wing and did not mingle with the other heroes. The Ming Order had too many enemies: if foes met face to face, the assembly would degenerate into a free-for-all before it had even begun.

As the hour of Wu¹⁹ approached, the Shaolin guest-monks escorted the heroes to a great open plaza to the right of the mountain gate. It had originally been several hundred mu of vegetable gardens tended by the monks, but had now been flattened and covered with dozens of great timber pavilions. The heroes followed the monks’ guidance to their seats. The larger factions, with their many members, occupied a pavilion each. Smaller groups were seated together.

Peng Yingyu²⁰ reported to Zhang Wuji the origins of every notable person present. The assembly of heroes was truly a grand occasion, and many hermits who rarely ventured into the jianghu at all had now emerged. Peng Yingyu’s count revealed that, not counting the Ming Order, there were already over four thousand six hundred present. Zhang Wuji, Yang Xiao,²¹ and the rest saw that most of the assembly were more enemy than friend, and all felt deeply uneasy.

Once the guests were seated, the Shaolin monks emerged in groups, paying respects to the heroes in order of their generation-characters: Kong, Yuan, Hui, Fa, Xiang, Zhuang, until at last the divine monk Kongzhi²² appeared, followed by the nine elder monks of the Bodhidharma Hall.

Kongzhi stepped to the centre of the plaza, pressed his palms together in greeting, intoned a Buddhist invocation, and said, “Today, the Shaolin Order is deeply honoured by the presence of so many heroes of the world. It is only unfortunate that our abbot, Kongwen shixiong, has been suddenly taken ill and cannot meet so many distinguished guests. He has charged me to convey his sincerest apologies.”

Zhang Wuji found this somewhat strange. “When Master Kongwen came to mourn at my grandfather’s funeral, his face showed no sign of illness whatsoever: he was vigorous and alert. A man of such profound internal cultivation cannot simply fall ill overnight. Could he have been wounded?” He looked about but could see neither Yuanzhen²³ nor Chen Youliang. He wondered, That night I exposed Yuanzhen’s treachery before the three high monks Du’e and the others. Has the monastery dealt with the matter? Could Master Kongwen’s sudden illness be connected?

In the final years of the Southern Song, Guo Jing and Huang Rong had successively hosted great assemblies of heroes at Dashenguan and Xiangyang to devise plans against the Mongol invasion. Nearly a century had passed since then, and only now had such a gathering come again, a affair of the first magnitude in the jianghu. But with the host suddenly fallen ill, the heroes could not help but feel dispirited.

Kongzhi continued, “Xie Xun the Golden-Haired Lion King has wrought havoc upon the wulin, his sins deep and heavy. Fortune has delivered him into our Order’s hands, but the Shaolin Order does not presume to act alone. We have respectfully invited those of weightiest reputation in the wulin to deliberate together on his disposition.” His face had always been creased with a perpetual sorrow, and now his words carried even less spirit. Having finished, he pressed his palms together and withdrew.

From the southeast corner rose a man of imposing build, his beard a mingled black and white that streamed in the wind. His eyes swept the assembly, bright and piercing, his bearing full of authority. Peng Yingyu told Zhang Wuji this was Old Fist Master Xia Zhou²⁴ of Shandong. His voice boomed like a great bell: “This Xie Xun has committed countless atrocities, and your Order has done the wulin a great service by capturing him. Masters Kongwen and Kongzhi are too modest. A villain like this should be killed at once. Why ask anyone else’s opinion? Since today is an assembly of the world’s heroes, let us call this the Lion-Slaying Assembly.²⁵ Let us slice this Xie Xun to death by slow process, each man eat a mouthful of his flesh, drink a cup of his blood, to avenge the innocent friends who died at his hands. Would that not be satisfaction?” His own brother had been killed by Xie Xun, and for decades the venom of that hatred had festered in his heart. At his words, several hundred around him echoed the sentiment, urging that Xie Xun be executed without delay.

Amid the clamour, a cold, sibilant voice spoke, “Xie Xun is the Ming Order’s Protector King. If the Shaolin Order weren’t afraid of offending the Ming Order, they’d have killed him long ago. Why invite everyone here to share the blame? I say, Brother Xia, you’re getting muddled in your old age. Let me give you a piece of brotherly advice: look to your own safety.” The words were delivered in a tone at once sardonic and sinister, yet they reached every ear in the plaza with crystalline clarity. Everyone turned toward the voice, but could see no one. Evidently the speaker was short of stature and had not risen from his seat, hidden somewhere in the crowd where none could spot him.

Xia Zhou bellowed, “Is that you, Brother Situ, ‘Drunkard Who Never Dies’? That Xie Xun has the blood of my brother on his hands. A true man takes responsibility for his own deeds. I ask the Shaolin monks to bring him out, and I’ll kill him with my own blade. If the demons of the demonic cult come looking for trouble, let them come at me, Xia of Shandong!”

The man in the crowd laughed coldly again. “Brother Xia, everyone in the jianghu knows that the Dragon-Slaying Dao, the weapon that makes its wielder supreme, fell into Xie Xun’s hands. If the Shaolin Order has Xie Xun, surely they have the Dao too? Killing Xie Xun is the sideshow. Brandishing the Dao is the main event. I say, Master Kongzhi, stop putting on airs. Bring out the Dragon-Slaying Dao and let everyone have a look. That’s the real business. Your Shaolin Order has been the head of the wulin for a thousand years: with the Dao you’re not excessive, without it you’re not diminished. Either way, supreme you remain.”

Peng Yingyu whispered to Zhang Wuji, “That man is called Situ Qianzhong,²⁶ ‘Drunkard Who Never Dies.’ He is a man who mocks the world and cares nothing for convention. He takes no master, accepts no disciples, belongs to no faction or guild. He has rarely fought anyone in his life, and no one knows the depth of his skill. He speaks in cold sarcasm and cutting mockery, yet his words often strike precisely home.”

Seven or eight voices in the crowd took up the cry: “He speaks truth. Let the Shaolin Order produce the Dragon-Slaying Dao and show it to us all.”

Kongzhi said slowly, “The Dragon-Slaying Dao is not in our monastery. In all my life I have never laid eyes on it, and I do not know whether such a blade truly exists.” The moment the words left his mouth, the plaza erupted in murmurs. The assembled heroes had all assumed this assembly must concern the Dragon-Slaying Dao in some vital way, and now Kongzhi flatly denied even having it. No one had expected this.

Footnotes

1. 张无忌 – Zhāng Wújì. His name meaning “Without Envy” or “No Misgivings.” Son of Zhang Cuishan and Yin Susu, and the protagonist of the tale. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 明教 – Míngjiào. Also known as Manichaeism, a dualistic religion of Persian origin that became the backbone of several rebel movements in Chinese history. In the wuxia tradition, it serves as the organising force against the Mongol Yuan dynasty. ↩

3. 少林派 – Shàolín Pài. Shaolin Order, the martial arts tradition originating from Shaolin Monastery. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 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. ↩

5. 屠龙刀 – Túlóng Dāo. Literally dragon-slaying dao. Legendary blade said to confer supremacy over the wulin, and the prize of the Slaying-the-Lion Assembly. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 武当山 – Wǔdāng Shān. Sacred Daoist mountain in Hubei Province, headquarters of the Wudang Order. See Wikipedia. ↩

7. 俞莲舟 – Yú Liánzhōu. His name meaning “Lotus Boat.” Second of the Seven Xias of Wudang. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 殷梨亭 – Yīn Lítíng. The sixth of the Seven Xias of Wudang, who fell in love with Ji Xiaofu. After her death, his consuming desire for revenge against Yang Xiao drove him to devise this suicidal sword technique. ↩

9. 张三丰 – Zhāng Sānfēng. His name meaning “Three Peaks.” Legendary founder of the Wudang Order and creator of taijiquan; Zhang Wuji’s grandshifu. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 宋青书 – Sòng Qīngshū. His name meaning “Green Book.” Son of Song Yuanqiao, eldest of the Seven Xias of Wudang, and once the most promising of the Wudang third generation. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 师兄 – shīxiōng. Male senior. Both apprenticed to the same shifu. Shī means teacher. Xiōng means older brother. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 时辰 – shíchén. Traditional Chinese unit of time equal to two hours; the day was divided into twelve shichen. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 青海 – Qīnghǎi. Qinghai Province in northwestern China, a high-altitude region on the Tibetan Plateau. See Wikipedia. ↩

14. 华山 – Huáshān. Literally splendid mountain. One of China’s Five Sacred Mountains, the Western Great Mountain located in Huayin, Shaanxi Province. See Wikipedia. ↩

15. 崆峒派 – Kōngtóng Pài. Kongtong School, one of the six great factions, seated on Mount Kongtong in Gansu and known above all for the Seven Injuries Fist. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 昆仑派 – Kūnlún Pài. Kunlun School, a major martial arts school based in the Kunlun Mountains of the northwest. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

17. 峨嵋 – Éméi. One of China’s Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains, home to the Emei Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

18. 周芷若 – Zhōu Zhǐruò. Her name from two fragrant plants, angelica and pollia. Girl Zhang Wuji met briefly aboard a riverboat. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

19. 午时 – Wǔshí. Hour of Wu, corresponding to 11 am to 1 pm. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

20. 彭莹玉 – Péng Yíngyù. “Monk Peng,” a monk of the Ming Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

21. 杨逍 – Yáng Xiāo. His name meaning “Free and Unfettered.” The Left Messenger of the Brightness in the Ming Order, and Yang Buhui’s father. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

22. 空智 – Kōngzhì. His name meaning “Empty Wisdom,” a Buddhist dharma name. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

23. 圆真 – Yuánzhēn. His dharma name meaning “Complete Truth.” The monastic identity taken by Cheng Kun on entering the Shaolin Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

24. 夏胄 – Xià Zhòu. His name meaning “Helmet” or “Scion.” An independent fist master of Shandong whose brother was killed by Xie Xun. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

25. 屠狮大会 – Túshī Dàhuì. Literally lion-slaying great assembly. Name Xia Zhou coins for this gathering, playing on Xie Xun’s epithet of the Golden-Haired Lion King. ↩

26. 司徒千钟 – Sītú Qiānzhōng. His name meaning “A Thousand Goblets,” a boast of his drinking. Independent martial artist known in the jianghu for his sarcastic wit. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩