The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 39 – Part 4

Kongzhi saw that his shixiong Kongwen, like Fan Yao and Yan Yuan, had his brows and beard singed, his face and hands covered in blisters from the flames, and knew at once how perilous the situation had been. He bowed deeply to Fan Yao and Yan Yuan in thanks, saying, “Benefactor Fan, this old monk was discourteous and rash before. I beg your forgiveness. As for the duel at Wan'an Temple in Dadu, I dare not keep that appointment.” Among the men of the jianghu,¹ to break a sworn engagement to fight was a hundred thousand times more shameful than admitting defeat in a contest. Yet Kongzhi was so grateful to Fan Yao for risking everything to save his shixiong that he chose to dishonour himself rather than owe the debt unpaid. The two men had long admired each other, and after this trial their regard deepened into the closest friendship.

What had in fact occurred was this. Cheng Kun had laid his plans with meticulous care. On the eve of the Heroes’ Assembly he had taken Kongwen by surprise and sealed his acupoints,² imprisoning him in Damo Hall. The hall had been filled with saltpetre, sulphur, firewood and other kindling, and his trusted men were posted as guards. Kongzhi was coerced into obeying every command, on threat of setting the fire at once and burning Kongwen to death. But events had conspired against him. Nothing unfolded as he had foreseen, and in the wake of total ruin he issued his final order, commanding his men to set the blaze. It was his last move on the board, the burning of the boats and the scuttling of the bridge. His hope was that while the heroes and the monks were consumed with fighting the fire, his men could slip away in the confusion and spirit him down the mountain. He had not counted on Yang Xiao, who several days before the main body of Ming Order fighters reached Shaoshi Mountain had ordered the Thick Earth Banner to dig tunnels beneath the monastery.³ The intention had been to rescue Xie Xun, but Xie Xun was not held within the monastery at all. The men of the Thick Earth Banner searched everywhere without finding him, and in the time they had they took the opportunity to scrape away the inscriptions on the backs of the sixteen arhat statues.

Later, when Zhang Wuji and Zhou Zhiruo had attacked the Diamond-Subduing Demon Circle⁴ together and Cheng Kun had revealed himself, breaking with Kongzhi before the assembled heroes, Zhao Min and Yang Xiao had seen through the deception. The two of them took counsel and sent Fan Yao at the head of the Flood Water and Thick Earth Banners into the monastery to rescue Kongwen. But Cheng Kun’s preparations were thorough and pitiless. Inside and outside Damo Hall, saltpetre, sulphur and oily kindling were piled in quantity. Once ignited, the hall was ablaze in moments, and five men of the Thick Earth Banner perished in the flames. Fan Yao and Yan Yuan broke through the smoke and fire to drag Kongwen out, but all three were so scorched that their brows and beards were gone, and had they not escaped through the tunnels they would surely have been consumed. Damo Hall and several neighbouring monks’ quarters were destroyed, but fortunately the fire did not spread. The Great Hero Hall, the Sutra Library, the Arhat Hall and other vital buildings escaped unscathed.

Kongwen and Kongzhi conferred briefly, then issued a decree ordering all of Cheng Kun’s partisans confined to the rear hall to await judgement. Cheng Kun had sojourned in Shaolin Monastery for many years and had gathered no small following of disciples and adherents, but with their ringleader bound and the abbot safe, the partisans saw that all was lost. Not one dared resist. Under the escort of the Arhat Hall’s chief and the monks he marshalled, they were marched down the mountain with their heads hanging.

Zhang Wuji walked to Xie Xun’s side and called out, “Godfather!” His voice broke, and the tears came down like rain. Xie Xun laughed, “Foolish boy! Your godfather has been enlightened by the instruction of three eminent monks, and attained a thorough understanding at last. The sins of my whole life have been dissolved, one by one. You ought to rejoice on my behalf. What is there to grieve over? What is there to regret in the loss of my martial arts? Would I use them for wickedness in the future?”

Zhang Wuji could find no answer. The ache in his heart was too much, and he called out again, “Godfather!”

Xie Xun walked to where Du’e sat, knelt and said, “This disciple is heavy with sin and transgression. I beg the abbot to take me in and grant me the tonsure.” Before Kongwen could answer, Du’e said, “Come here. I, the old monk, will take you as my disciple.” Xie Xun said, “I dare not aspire to such fortune.” Were he to take Kongwen as his shifu, he would be a disciple of the Yuan generation, but if he took Du’e as his shifu, he would be ranked in the Kong generation alongside Kongwen and Kongzhi. Du’e cried, “Ha! Kong is emptiness, and so is yuan. The mark of self and the mark of other, how muddled you are!”⁵

Xie Xun started, and understood at once. Master and disciple, seniority and dharma names, all were illusion in the Buddhist teaching. He answered in a gatha:⁶ “Master is emptiness, disciple is emptiness. No sin, no karma, no virtue, no merit!” Du’e laughed aloud, “Well said, well said! You enter my school, and you shall still be called Xie Xun. Do you understand?” Xie Xun said, “This disciple understands. The Xie Xun of cow dung is also an illusion. If the body itself is nothing, how much more a name?” Xie Xun was a man of letters and martial accomplishment alike, well read in the hundred schools of thought, and now, touched by Du’e’s instruction, he grasped the essence of the Buddhist teaching in a single moment. From that day he entered the Buddhist gate, and in time became a monk of great virtue and renown.

Du’e said, “Go, go! Now that you have glimpsed the truth, do not fall again into delusion.” He took Xie Xun by the hand and, together with Dujie and Dunan, descended the mountain at a slow pace. Kongwen, Kongzhi, Zhang Wuji and all the rest bowed low to see them off. The Golden-Haired Lion King had been famous throughout the jianghu thirty years before, and had done countless earth-shaking deeds. Now he had avenged his great wrong, and yet entered the empty gate. Not a hero present failed to sigh. Zhang Wuji felt both joy and sorrow.

Kongwen addressed the assembly, “The presence of so many heroes in our humble monastery is a source of shame, I confess. A treachery arose within our walls, and we have been grievously remiss in our hospitality. For that I am deeply sorry. You heroes are scattered across the four quarters of the realm, and today we have met. Who knows when we shall gather again? Please, come inside the monastery and rest.”

The heroes descended the mountain and entered the monastery, where a vegetarian feast was laid out for them. The monks performed a dharma service to honour the heroes who had lost their lives at the Assembly, and the assembled fighters made their offerings and paid their respects one by one. Afterward the Shaolin Order set about purging the monastery of Yuanzhen and his conspirators, under the direction of Kongwen and Kongzhi. Zhang Wuji and the others considered the matter nothing to do with outsiders, and did not involve themselves.

With the great business surrounding Xie Xun concluded, Zhang Wuji remembered the words of the Yellow Dress Maiden. He asked Li Tianyuan to lead the Tianying Order fighters under his command, with Peng Yingyu in support, to sail to the nameless island and retrieve the Dragon Sabre and the Heaven-Reliant Sword. The Tianying Order had deep ties to the Dragon Sabre, and Zhang Wuji’s choice of Li Tianyuan for the task carried the weight of remembrance for his grandfather and his late mother. When Zhang Wuji had left the island, he had written detailed instructions marking its position, and he now gave Li Tianyuan and Peng Yingyu a brief account of the island’s geography. The spot where the weapons were buried, he reasoned, must be the cave where Zhou Zhiruo had slept each night. Li Tianyuan and Peng Yingyu accepted the order gladly and set out.

After Zhang Wuji had eaten his vegetarian meal, he was in the west wing conversing with Shi Hongshi and the elders of the Beggars’ Guild on the affairs of the Guild, when a messenger from the Ming Order arrived to report, “Order Leader, the Fourth Xia of Wudang, Zhang, has arrived. He says it is urgent.”

Zhang Wuji started. Could something have befallen his Grand Shifu? He hurried out at once to the Great Hero Hall, where he prostrated himself before Zhang Songxi.⁷ Seeing that his expression was composed, his relief was immediate, and he asked, “Is Grand Shifu well?” Zhang Songxi said, “Master is in good health. I received word at the foot of Wudang Mountain that twenty thousand Yuan cavalry are marching on Shaolin Monastery. Their intention is plainly to strike at the Heroes’ Assembly, so I rode through the night to bring warning.” Zhang Wuji said, “We must go at once and inform the abbot.”

The two of them went together to the rear courtyard and told Kongwen. Kongwen considered the matter, saying, “This is a grave development. We should deliberate with all the heroes.” He ordered the monastery bell struck, summoning the entire assembly to the Great Hero Hall. At the news, the heroes broke into murmured discussion at once.

Kongwen said, “Heroes all, it seems the court has learned of our gathering here and assumes our purpose is treason against the dynasty, so they have sent troops to suppress us. Every one of us possesses martial skill, and we have no fear of the Tartars. Let soldiers come, and generals will meet them. Let water rise, and earth will hold it back. What is there to worry about…” He had not finished speaking before several of the heroes were already cheering. Kongwen continued, “But we men of the jianghu are accustomed to fighting alone, and our contests are matters of blade, fist, neili or hidden weapons. This kind of battle on horseback and on foot, with long spears and great halberds, is not our forte. In this old monk’s view, would it not be better for the heroes to disperse?” The heroes exchanged glances and said nothing.

Before the silence could settle, the sound of hooves came urgently from outside the monastery gate. Two riders galloped hard towards the entrance, pulling up sharply at the threshold. Two men appeared, ushered in by a receiving monk, and the heroes recognised their clothing at once as Ming Order fighters. The two walked to where Zhang Wuji stood, bowed, and one reported, “Report to the Order Leader: the Tartar vanguard numbers five thousand, marching on Shaolin Monastery. Their words are that the monks inside are raising a rebellion, and they mean to flatten the monastery to the ground. Anyone who is bald…” He hesitated. Kongwen smiled gently, “You mean to say ‘bald monks’, do you not? There is no need to be delicate about it. Go on.” The man said, “Many senior monks have already been killed by the Tartar soldiers along the way. The Tartars say, ‘Bald heads are no good, and hairy heads are no good either. Anyone found carrying a weapon will be put to the sword.’”

A clamour broke out among the heroes. Many cried, “If we do not fight the Tartars to the death, we are unworthy to be called descendants of the Yellow Emperor.” Although the Song Dynasty had fallen almost a hundred years before, the men of the grasslands and forests had always regarded the Mongol soldiery as barbarians and refused to submit to their rule. At the news that the Mongol army was at the gate, their blood ran hot and every man rose to his feet.

Zhang Wuji spoke in a clear, ringing voice, “Heroes all, today is the day for men to slay the enemy and serve their country. The Heroes’ Assembly at Shaolin Monastery shall be famous for a thousand years!” The Great Hero Hall erupted in cheers and shouts.

Zhang Wuji said, “Even if we wished to withdraw and make peace, we no longer can. I ask Abbot Kongwen to issue the commands. The Ming Order, high and low, will follow his orders to the last.” Kongwen said, “What words are these, Order Leader Zhang? The monks of our humble order may have learned a little fist work, but we know nothing of marching and fighting wars. In recent years the Ming Order has accomplished great things. Who in the jianghu has not heard of it? Only the Ming Order has the strength to stand against the Tartar host. We must look to Order Leader Zhang to take command, to lead the heroes of the realm and deal with the Tartars.”

Zhang Wuji was about to defer once more, but the heroes were already cheering loudly. Though Zhang Wuji was young and could not command the authority of years, the strength of his martial arts had been plain to all in his battle against the three Shaolin monks moments before. Moreover, the various armies of the Ming Order under Zhu Yuanzhang, Xu Shouhui and others had risen in rebellion across the Huai and Si rivers, in Henan and Hubei, taking city after city, their power growing by the day. The Five Elements Banners had displayed their skill in massed combat on the plaza earlier that day, a kind of fighting no other school or guild could match. The heroes of every faction and guild thought the same thought: if anyone was to bear this burden, it could only be the Ming Order.

Footnotes

1. 江湖 – jiānghú. Literally rivers and lakes. The itinerant world beyond settled society and official reach, holding not only martial artists but the trades that travel with them. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 穴道 – xuédào. The vital points along the body’s meridians where qi may be sealed or struck. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 地道 – dìdào. Subterranean passages dug by the Thick Earth Banner, one of the Five Elements Banners of the Ming Order, specialised in tunnel warfare. ↩

4. 金刚伏魔圈 – Jīngāng Fúmó Quān. The Diamond-Subduing Demon Circle. A formation of three monks whose combined neili forms an almost impenetrable defence. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 空固是空，圆亦是空，我相人相，好不懵懂 – Kōng gù shì kōng, yuán yì shì kōng, wǒ xiàng rén xiàng, hǎo bù měngdǒng. Kong is indeed emptiness, and yuan is also emptiness. The mark of self and the mark of other, how very muddled! Du’e plays on Xie Xun’s assumption that generational rank and dharma names carry fixed substance, when all such distinctions are themselves empty in Buddhist teaching. ↩

6. 偈 – jì. A gatha. A verse in Buddhist scripture, usually expressing a point of doctrine or realisation. ↩

7. 张四侠 – Zhāng Sì Xiá. Zhang the Fourth Xia. Zhang Songxi, the fourth of the Seven Xias of Wudang. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩