The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 7, Part 3: Who Sends the Ice Boat to the Fairy Land

Part 3

The two had long been eating raw food and were desperate for fire. No sooner said than done, they spent two full days twisting a rope over a hundred zhang¹ long, then dried it for another day. On the fourth day, they set out for the volcano’s mouth. Though it seemed close from afar, the journey was over forty li.² As they walked, the heat grew ever more intense. First they shed their sealskin coats, then even their single-layer shirts became unbearable. After another li or so, their mouths were dry, their tongues parched, and the sweat running off them everywhere. Not a single tree or blade of grass remained. All around was bare, scorched yellow rock.

Zhang Cuishan carried the long rope on his shoulder. He glanced at Yin Susu and saw that the tips of her long hair had curled from the heat. His heart ached for her. “Wait here for me. Let me go alone.” Yin Susu scolded, “If you say such things again, I won’t speak to you! At worst we have no fire and eat raw meat for the rest of our lives. What does it matter?” Zhang Cuishan smiled faintly.

Another li or so, and both were gasping like oxen. Though Zhang Cuishan’s neili was profound, the steam had driven golden sparks dancing before his eyes, and his skull rang with a buzzing sound. “Very well, we will cast the rope up from here. If it does not catch fire, then… then…” Yin Susu laughed, “Then heaven means for us to be a pair of wild savages, eating raw flesh and drinking blood…” She swayed as she spoke, nearly fainting, and grabbed Zhang Cuishan’s shoulder to steady herself. Zhang Cuishan picked up a stone from the ground, tied it to one end of the long rope, drew breath, ran forward several zhang, and with a shout hurled it with all his might.

The stone flew like an arrow, pulling the rope taut in a straight line, and fell far away. But though the spot dozens of zhang ahead was much hotter than where they stood, it was still far from the volcano’s mouth, and might not be enough to ignite the rope’s end. They waited a long while, the heat so intense their eyes felt ready to burst, yet not a wisp of smoke rose from the rope. Zhang Cuishan sighed. “The ancients drilled wood for fire, struck flint for fire, all manner of methods. Let us go back and try again slowly. This rope-casting method will not work.”

Yin Susu said, “Though this method failed, the rope is thoroughly dried. Let us find some flint and try striking sparks with the jian.” Zhang Cuishan said, “Good idea.” He pulled the rope back, unravelled the end, and teased it into fine threads. All around the volcano lay flint stones. He picked one up, struck it with the flat of his jian, and several sparks flew onto the rope threads. After a dozen or so attempts, at last it caught fire. The two embraced and shouted for joy. The scorched long rope served as a ready-made torch. Each held one and returned triumphantly to the bear cave. Yin Susu piled up firewood and kindled the flame.

With fire at last, everything became manageable: melting ice for water, roasting meat for food. Since their ship had been destroyed, they had not eaten a single hot meal. When they bit into the first mouthful of richly fragrant bear meat, they nearly swallowed their tongues along with it.

That night in the bear cave, flower-scented air drifted and firelight played on the walls. Only now, since their marriage, did they truly know the joy of the bridal chamber.

The next morning, Zhang Cuishan came out of the cave and gazed into the distance, his heart expansive and carefree, when suddenly he saw a tall figure standing on the rocks by the distant shore.

Who was it but Xie Xun? Zhang Cuishan’s shock was beyond measure. He had hoped that after all their trials, he and Yin Susu could settle peacefully on this island. Who would have thought this demon would come as well? For a moment he stood frozen as a stone statue, not daring to move. He saw Xie Xun stumbling, swaying as he walked inland. Truly, since losing his sight, he had been unable to fish or hunt seals, and had starved until now. He had gone only a few zhang when he stumbled and fell face-first to the ground.

Zhang Cuishan turned back into the cave. Yin Susu said softly, “Fifth Brother… you…” but seeing the gravity on his face, she swallowed her words. Zhang Cuishan whispered, “That Xie has come too!” Yin Susu was startled. “Did he see you?” Then she remembered Xie Xun was blind, and her alarm lessened. “Two of us with good eyes, and we cannot deal with one blind man?” Zhang Cuishan nodded. “He has fainted from hunger.” Yin Susu said, “Let us go look.” She tore four strips of cloth from her sleeve, stuffed two into Zhang Cuishan’s ears and two into her own, then took her longsword in her right hand and held several silver needles in her left. Together they walked out of the cave.

When they were seven or eight zhang from Xie Xun, Zhang Cuishan saw how wretched he looked, starved and bedraggled, and his heart softened. He called aloud, “Senior Xie, would you like some food?” At the sudden sound of a human voice joy flashed across Xie Xun’s face, but when he knew it for Zhang Cuishan’s, the shadow came down over his features again. After a long pause, he nodded. Zhang Cuishan went back into the cave and fetched a large piece of leftover cooked bear meat from the previous night. “Please catch!” He threw it from afar. Xie Xun propped himself up, listened to the wind, and caught it. He took a slow bite.

Zhang Cuishan saw this mighty warrior, once vigorous as a living dragon, reduced by hunger to such weakness, and could not help but feel pity. Yin Susu, however, was thinking something else: “Fifth Brother is too kind a fool. Let him starve to death. Wouldn’t that be clean? If we save him now, we will have endless trouble later. Our lives may yet be lost at his hands.” But she had sworn an oath, and was determined to follow Zhang Cuishan in doing good. Though the thought of not saving him arose in her heart, she did not speak it aloud.

Xie Xun ate half the bear meat, then lay face-down and fell into a deep sleep. Zhang Cuishan lit a fire beside him.

Xie Xun slept for more than a shichen³ before waking. “What place is this?” Zhang and Yin sat beside him. Seeing him sit up and speak, they each removed the cloth from their right ears so they could hear him, but kept their right hands within inches of their ears, ready to plug them again at the first sign of trouble. The cloth in their left ears they did not remove. Zhang Cuishan said, “This is a deserted island in the far north.” Xie Xun grunted. In an instant, countless thoughts surged through his mind. He sat in a daze for a moment, then said, “So we cannot go back!” Zhang Cuishan said, “That depends on heaven’s will.” Xie Xun cursed, “What heaven? Dog heaven, thief heaven, robber heaven!” He groped his way onto a rock and began gnawing at bear meat again. “What do you mean to do with me?”

Zhang Cuishan looked at Yin Susu, waiting for her to speak. Yin Susu, however, made a gesture: everything was up to him.

Zhang Cuishan considered a moment, then said aloud, “Senior Xie, my wife and I…” Xie Xun nodded. “Ah, you are married now.” Yin Susu blushed, but looked rather pleased. “You were the matchmaker, Senior. We must thank you for bringing us together.” Xie Xun grunted. “And what of you two?” Zhang Cuishan said, “We blinded you, and we are deeply sorry. But what is done is done. A thousand apologies are useless. Since heaven means for us to share this island, and we may never return to the Central Plains in this life, we two shall care for you for the rest of your days.”

Xie Xun nodded and sighed. “There is nothing else for it.” Zhang Cuishan said, “My wife and I are deeply devoted, and we shall live or die together. If your madness flares again and you harm either one of us, the other cannot live alone.” Xie Xun said, “You mean to tell me, if you two die, then I, blind as I am, cannot survive on this deserted island either?” Zhang Cuishan said, “Exactly!” Xie Xun said, “If that is so, why do you still have cloth stuffed in your left ears?”

Zhang Cuishan and Yin Susu looked at each other and smiled. They removed the cloth from their left ears as well, but both were inwardly alarmed: “Though this man is blind, his hearing is so keen he can almost use his ears as eyes. Add to that his cunning intelligence, his ability to foresee events as though divine. Were we not on this strange island at the world’s end, he would not necessarily need us to care for him.”

Zhang Cuishan asked Xie Xun to name the island. Xie Xun said, “This island has ten-thousand-year-old ice and an eternally burning volcanic cave. Let us call it Ice and Fire Island.”

From that day on, the three lived together on Ice and Fire Island, and all was peaceful. Half a li from the bear cave was another, smaller cave. Zhang and Yin fitted it out as living quarters for Xie Xun. When they were not fishing or hunting, they fired pottery to make bowls, piled earth to build a stove, and gradually acquired the necessities of daily life.

Xie Xun never troubled them, but held the Dragon-Slaying Dao in his hands, lost in thought. Zhang and Yin sometimes felt sorry for him and urged him not to exhaust himself pondering the dao’s secrets. Xie Xun said, “Do I not know that even if I discover the dao’s secret, what use is it on this deserted island? But with nothing to do, how shall I pass the days?” The two found his reasoning sound and urged him no more.

Several months passed in a flash. One day, the husband and wife walked hand-in-hand to the northern part of the island. The island was in truth vast, stretching northward without end. After twenty-odd li, they came to a dense forest of ancient trees, their shadows so thick they blotted out the sky. Zhang Cuishan wished to explore the forest, but Yin Susu grew timid. “Perhaps there are strange things within. Let us go back.”

Zhang Cuishan found it odd. “Susu has always been curious. Why has she become so listless lately, with no interest in anything?” The thought struck him, and he asked, “How are you? Is something wrong?” Yin Susu’s face flushed crimson. “Nothing.” Zhang Cuishan saw her strange expression and pressed her for answers. Yin Susu said, half-smiling, “Heaven sees we are too lonely, and is sending another person to join us, to make things lively.” Zhang Cuishan was stunned, then overjoyed. “You are with child?” Yin Susu hurriedly said, “Keep your voice down. Don’t let anyone hear!” Having said this, she could not help but laugh. The forest was silent and deserted. Where else was there anyone to hear?

The weather was changing. The days grew shorter and the nights longer, until at last there were little more than two shichen of daylight each day, and the cold became intense. Yin Susu, heavy with pregnancy, felt weary and sluggish, but still forced herself to cook and mend.

One evening, her ten months nearly complete, a fire burned in the bear cave as the husband and wife sat together talking. Yin Susu said, “Do you think we will have a boy or a girl?” Zhang Cuishan said, “A girl will be like you, a boy like me. Either is fine.” Yin Susu said, “No, I prefer a boy. You must give him a name first!”

Zhang Cuishan said, “Hmm,” and for a long while after that said nothing at all. Yin Susu said, “What is on your mind these days? You seem distracted.” Zhang Cuishan said, “Nothing. I suppose I am so happy about becoming a father that I am muddle-headed.”

These words were spoken in jest, but between his brows and at the corners of his eyes, a faint shadow of worry lingered. Yin Susu said softly, “Fifth Brother, if you hide things from me, it only makes me more anxious. Have you noticed something wrong?”

Zhang Cuishan sighed. “I hope I am being overly suspicious. But Senior Xie’s demeanour these past few days is… not right.” Yin Susu cried, “Ah! I noticed it too. His face grows fiercer by the day. He seems about to go mad again.” Zhang Cuishan nodded. “I think it is because he cannot fathom the Dragon-Slaying Dao’s secret, and so his heart is troubled.” Yin Susu’s eyes filled with tears. “If it were just the two of us, we could fight him to the death. That would be nothing. But… but…”

Zhang Cuishan put his arm around her shoulder and comforted her, “You are right. Now that we have a child, we cannot risk our lives against him. If he behaves himself, well and good. But if he turns violent, we shall have to kill him. Blind as he is, he cannot prevail against us.”

Ever since Yin Susu had become pregnant, she had suddenly grown compassionate. When she was a girl, she had killed dozens of people in a single breath without a second thought. Now she could not bear to kill even a wild beast. Once, Zhang Cuishan had caught a doe, and a fawn followed them all the way back to the bear cave. Yin Susu insisted he release the mother, preferring to eat wild fruit and endure hunger for two days. Now, hearing Zhang Cuishan speak of killing Xie Xun, she could not help but tremble.

She was nestled against Zhang Cuishan, and slight as the tremor was, he felt it at once. He smiled at her gently and said, “Let us hope he does not go mad. But we must not harbour harmful intent, only guard against harm.” Yin Susu said, “True. If he really does go mad, how shall we stop him? Perhaps we can put something in his food, see if we can find some poison… No, no, he may not go mad at all. Perhaps we are only imagining things.”

Zhang Cuishan said, “I have a plan. From tomorrow, we will move into the inner cave, and in the outer cave we will dig a deep pit, covering it with fur and soft earth.” Yin Susu said, “The plan is good enough, but you must go out hunting every day. If he turns violent while you are away…” Zhang Cuishan said, “I can escape alone. If I see the situation is bad, I will flee up the steep cliffs. Blind as he is, how can he chase me?”

Footnotes

1. 丈 – zhàng. Traditional Chinese unit of length, approximately 3.33 metres or 10.9 feet. ↩

2. 里 – lǐ. Traditional Chinese unit of distance, approximately 500 metres or a third of a mile. ↩

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