The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 40 – Part 3

Zhou Zhiruo performs a prayer service for Yin Li's spirit. A mysterious face appears at the window, terrifying her. Zhang Wuji encounters the figure, a scarred girl who seems to be the supposedly dead Yin Li.

When Zhang Wuji caught sight of her, a faint surprise passed through him. The girl was none other than Zhou Zhiruo. Though he saw only her profile, he could already tell that her expression was troubled, her delicate brows drawn together in a deep frown as though weighed down by some heavy sorrow. He thought, I see. Today, when Zhiruo knelt before Great Master Kongwen,¹ she must have been begging him to perform a prayer service. No doubt she is repenting deeply for what she has done. Beneath her claws and beneath her jian, too many innocents have suffered. He fixed his gaze on the offering table and saw that at its centre stood a memorial tablet bearing seven characters in stark clarity: Spirit Tablet of Nüxia Yin Li.²

A wave of grief seized Zhang Wuji. He thought of his cousin’s cruel fate, of her single-minded devotion to him, and could not help but stand there as tears traced down his face.

Amid the tolling of bells and the clacking of wooden fish, Zhou Zhiruo bowed gracefully and whispered her prayers, her lips moving soundlessly. Zhang Wuji drew upon his divine skill and strained to listen. He caught fragments: Miss Yin… may your spirit rest in peace… do not trouble me any more… He leaned against the wall, his thoughts churning. Cousin was drowned in the sea by Zhiruo. That was a bitter end. But Zhiruo herself is tormented within, and the pain she suffers may be no less than cousin’s. Suddenly there rose in his mind the song he had heard the Ming Order³ devotees chant that day atop Bright Peak:⁴ Life holds little joy. Death holds little sorrow. Pity the people of this world, so burdened with grief. Pity the people of this world, so burdened with grief.

Zhou Zhiruo rose slowly. She turned slightly, her face toward the eastern end of the hall, and suddenly her expression changed utterly. She cried out, “You… you… you’re here again!” Her voice was sharp, drowning out every bell and chime in the great hall.

Zhang Wuji followed her gaze. The paper of the long windows had been torn, and through the hole a girl’s face peered in, a face covered with long, criss-crossing scars. Zhang Wuji’s whole body trembled with shock, and he could not suppress a startled cry.

The girl’s face was mottled with scars and bore none of its former swelling, yet beyond any doubt it was Yin Li,² who was dead! He wanted to step forward and call out, but his feet refused to obey him. They stood rooted to the floor. The face vanished, and a crash rang through the hall as Zhou Zhiruo fell backwards.

Only then did Zhang Wuji cast aside all thought of offending the Shaolin Order.⁵ He shouted, “Zhuer,⁶ Zhuer, is that you?” But no answer came. He steadied himself for a moment, then launched himself after the figure the way he had come. The cold moon hung low. Tree shadows covered the ground. The girl in black was gone. Though he had never believed in ghosts, the scene was such that a cold sweat broke over him. His heart lurched. He halted and said to himself, “It was her, it was her! No wonder the back looked so familiar. It was Zhuer. Could her spirit have known that the high monks of Shaolin were chanting sutras for her, and come to receive them? Could she have died unjustly, and truly linger as a ghost unable to pass on?”

The Shaolin monks, roused by the commotion, had already sent several to investigate. When they saw it was Zhang Wuji, they were all taken aback. An elder monk stepped forward and bowed. “We knew not that Order Leader Zhang would honour us with a night visit. Forgive our failure to welcome you properly.”

Zhang Wuji cupped his fists. “I would not presume.” He slipped past into the hall. Zhou Zhiruo lay with her eyes closed, her face drained of all colour, still unconscious. He hurried to her side, pressed hard on the acupoint at her philtrum, and worked the points along her back.

Zhou Zhiruo came slowly back to herself. The moment she saw Zhang Wuji, she threw herself into his arms and clung to him, crying, “There’s a ghost, a ghost!”

Zhang Wuji said, “This is most strange. Do not be afraid. So many high monks are here. They will surely resolve this matter.”

Zhou Zhiruo had always been composed and steady. Only because her terror was so extreme did she embrace him before so many eyes. Hearing his words, she flushed and released him at once, rising to her feet. But she trembled without ceasing and gripped his hand, too frightened to let go.

Zhang Wuji exchanged formal greetings with Kongwen and told him of the figure who had been peering in from outside. Kongwen and the monks had seen nothing, but the window paper was freshly torn and the hole remained.

Zhou Zhiruo said, “Wuji gege… Order Leader Zhang, what I saw, it was truly her.”

Zhang Wuji nodded.

Zhou Zhiruo’s voice shook. “You… you… who did you see?”

“It was Miss Yin, my cousin Yin Li.”

Zhou Zhiruo gave a low cry and fainted again. This time Zhang Wuji held her hand, so she did not fall. She lay senseless for a moment, then revived.

Zhang Wuji said, “I saw cousin. But… she was a person, not a ghost!”

“She was not a ghost?”

“I followed her all the way here to Shaolin Monastery. She walked as any living person walks. She can’t be a spirit.” These words were meant only to comfort Zhou Zhiruo. In his own heart, he was far from certain.

Zhou Zhiruo asked, “You truly saw her walking normally? She was definitely not a ghost?”

Zhang Wuji recalled following the girl in black all the way to Shaolin Monastery, and then seeing her crouched at the long window, peering into the hall. Every movement had been that of a girl trained in martial arts, nothing at all uncanny. He said to Kongwen, “Abbot, there is a matter I do not understand, and I would ask your guidance. After a person dies, is there truly a ghost?”

Kongwen considered for a long while. “The affairs of the unseen world are hard to speak of.”

Zhang Wuji said, “Then why does the Abbot perform earnest rites to deliver the wandering dead?”

Kongwen said, “Good, good. The dead do not need delivering. When a person dies, their karma remains. Good is rewarded with good; evil is rewarded with evil. The rites we perform are for the peace of mind of the living. It is the living we deliver.”

Zhang Wuji understood at once. He cupped his fists. “Many thanks for the teaching. I have caused disturbance in the deep of night and am most abashed. I beg the Abbot’s forgiveness.”

Kongwen smiled. “Order Leader Zhang is a great benefactor of our Order. Time and again you have saved us from disaster. There is no need for courtesy.”

Zhang Wuji took his leave of the monks and said to Zhou Zhiruo, “Let us go.”

Zhou Zhiruo hesitated. She did not dare leave the Buddha hall.

Zhang Wuji did not press her. He cupped his fists. “Then let us part here.” He walked out of the hall.

Zhou Zhiruo watched his retreating figure. Suddenly she called, “Wuji gege, are you still coming for me? I… I’ll go with you.” She leapt to his side, and the two of them walked out of the monastery gate together.

Once they were a good distance from Shaolin Monastery, Zhou Zhiruo drew close to Zhang Wuji and took his hand. He knew she was afraid. He held her soft, smooth palm. A faint fragrance drifted from her, and he could not but be moved.

They walked in silence for a while. Then Zhou Zhiruo sighed a long, slow breath. “Wuji gege, the first time we met was in the Han River.⁷ Zhang Sanfeng rescued us. If I had known then that so much suffering lay ahead, I might as well have drowned in the Han River there and then. It would have been cleaner.”

Zhang Wuji did not answer. Instead he hummed softly, Life holds little joy. Death holds little sorrow. Pity the people of this world, so burdened with grief.

Zhou Zhiruo heard the words of the song, and her hand trembled where it held his.

She said in a low voice, “Zhang Sanfeng sent me to the Emei Order,⁸ no doubt for my own good. But if the Old Master had let me join the Wudang Order⁹ instead, everything today would surely have been very different. Ah… how well my shifu¹⁰ treated me, after all. But… but she forced me to take those poisoned vows. She made me hate the Ming Order. She made me hate you, harm you. And yet in my heart… in truth… I love you…”

Zhang Wuji heard the sincerity in her words and was moved. He knew she had her own difficulties. Most of the cruel things she had done were carried out under Miejue Shitai’s¹¹ dying commands. Seeing her so frightened, his tenderness for her deepened.

The evening wind blew along the mountain path. It was late autumn. The night was clear and dewy. With a beautiful girl pouring out her heart beside him, Zhang Wuji could not help but feel his pulse quicken, especially when he recalled how, on the island, he had tended her poison and their bare skin had touched. In the past she had been both his benefactress and his betrothed. His heart was bewildered.

Zhou Zhiruo said, “Wuji gege, that day at Haozhou you were about to marry me. Why did you follow Miss Zhao the moment she called for you? Do you truly love her so deeply?”

“I have been meaning to tell you about that. Let us sit down.” He pointed to a large rock by the path.

Zhou Zhiruo said, “No, not now. My heart is in such turmoil I cannot take it in. Let us walk a while first, and then you can tell me.”

Zhang Wuji nodded, and let her lead him by the hand wherever she wished. She took him along a narrow trail. After four or five li¹² she said, “There, now tell me.” She came to a rock before a thicket of bushes, and the two sat down side by side.

Zhang Wuji told her everything: how Zhao Min had held Xie Xun’s¹³ handful of yellow hair, and how that had left him no choice but to go. Zhou Zhiruo listened to the end and sat silent for a long while.

Zhang Wuji said, “Zhiruo, do you blame me?”

Zhou Zhiruo sobbed, “I have done so many wrong things. I have only myself to blame. How could I blame you? But, Wuji gege, in my heart, truly and honestly, I have always cared for you with all my heart.”

Zhang Wuji stroked her shoulder gently and said softly, “I know. In this world, things go awry in ways no one can foresee. You need not grieve too deeply.”

Footnotes

1. 空闻 – Kōngwén. A senior monk of the Shaolin Order, versed in Buddhist rites. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

2. 殷离 – Yīn Lí. Zhang Wuji’s cousin, also known as Zhu’er (Spider Girl). Daughter of Yin Yewang. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩ ↩²

3. 明教 – Míng Jiào. The Ming Order, a heterodox martial order whose devotees chant this song. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

4. 光明顶 – Guāngmíng Dǐng. Lit. Bright Peak. The mountain headquarters of the Ming Order, site of the great battle where six factions besieged the Order. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 少林派 – Shàolín Pài. The Shaolin Order, the foremost orthodox faction of the wulin. Its monastery sits on Mount Shaoshi. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 蛛儿 – Zhū’ér. Lit. Spider Girl. Yin Li’s nickname, from the spider-themed Thousand Spiders Ten Thousand Poisons Hand she practised. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 汉水 – Hàn Shuǐ. The Han River, where as children Zhou Zhiruo fed the ailing Zhang Wuji on a boat. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

8. 峨嵋派 – Éméi Pài. The Emei Order, founded by Guo Xiang on Mount Emei. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 武当派 – Wǔdāng Pài. The Wudang Order, founded by Zhang Sanfeng on Mount Wudang. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 师父 – shīfù. Teacher and lineage father. Shī means teacher. Fù means father. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 灭绝师太 – Mièjué Shītài. Dharma-name meaning Extinction. Zhangmen of the Emei Order. 师太 (shītài) is an honorific for a senior Buddhist nun. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 里 – lǐ. A Chinese unit of distance, approximately one-third of a mile or five hundred metres. ↩

13. 谢逊 – Xiè Xùn. Zhang Wuji’s sworn uncle, the Golden-Haired Lion King of the Ming Order’s Four Divine Kings. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩