The Heavenly Sword & the Dragon Sabre – Chapter 9 – Part 9

The young woman turned back suddenly, knelt upon the ground, and said in a low voice, “This humble woman owes her honour to the Wudang heroes. For the rest of my days, I shall never forget the great kindness of Zhang the Perfected One and you gentlemen.” Yu Lianzhou and the rest knew nothing of what had passed between them, but hearing her speak of a woman's honour, they did not press the matter and muttered a few modest words in reply. The young woman bowed several times, then went out through the door and was gone.

The six men of the Wufeng Dao School had scarcely departed when the door-curtain was thrust aside and a figure darted in, rushing forward to throw his arms around Zhang Cuishan.

Zhang Cuishan cried out in sheer delight, “Fourth Brother!” The man who had entered was none other than Zhang Songxi. When shixiong¹ met after so long, their joy was beyond measure. Zhang Cuishan said, “Fourth Brother, your resourcefulness is unmatched. To have turned the Wufeng Dao School from enemies into friends was no small feat.” Zhang Songxi laughed. “It was chance, nothing more. Your Fourth Brother can claim no credit.” He recounted what had passed.

It transpired that the comely young woman was born of the Wu family, the second daughter of the Wufeng Dao School’s zhangmen,² and her husband was Meng Zhenghong. The six of them had come together to Hubei to investigate Xie Xun’s whereabouts. On the road they had met a Branch Master of the Three Rivers Guild,³ who mentioned that Zhang Cuishan of the Wudang Order knew where Xie Xun lay hidden. Lady Wu, spoilt since childhood, had proposed they lay a trap and seize Zhang Cuishan by force to wring the truth from him. Meng Zhenghong had always feared his wife as a tiger fears nothing, yet this time he stood firm. He said the Wudang disciples were formidable men, and it would be better to approach them with courtesy. If they refused, they could devise another scheme. Lady Wu retorted, “Opportunity comes but once. If we let Zhang Cuishan reach Wudang Mountain and his shixiong join forces, with Zhang Sanfeng to shield them, how could we ever force the truth out?” The two quarrelled. The remaining four were all shidi and shizhi, and dared not take sides.

Lady Wu said in anger, “You coward! It is your own brother’s death we avenge, not mine. You call yourself a man, yet you have not the stomach for half a task. Even if Zhang Cuishan told you where Xie Xun lay, would you have the nerve to go after him? I married a coward, and that is my life’s misfortune.” Meng Zhenghong, long accustomed to yielding to his wilful wife, dared say no more. But when it came to Lady Wu’s plan, to drug Zhang Cuishan and his wife at an inn along the road and carry them off, that he would not countenance. In her fury, Lady Wu waited until her husband slept, then slipped away in the dead of night.

She meant to act alone, to learn Xie Xun’s whereabouts and shame her husband thereby. Little did she know that every move had been watched by a Branch Master of the Three Rivers Guild. Seeing her beauty, the man conceived a villain’s purpose and followed her in secret. When Lady Wu sought to drug someone, he drugged her first. The mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.⁴ Zhang Songxi had been watching the six of the Wufeng Dao School all along. Only when Lady Wu’s peril grew desperate did he step in, punishing the Branch Master of the Three Rivers Guild and driving him off. Zhang Songxi did not give his name, saying only that he was a disciple of the Wudang Order. Lady Wu, equal parts astonished and mortified, returned to her husband and told him all. Thus the Wudang Order had become the Wufeng Dao School’s great benefactor, and the couple had come together to kowtow their gratitude to Yu Lianzhou and the rest for the rescue. Zhang Songxi had waited until the six had gone before showing himself, so as to spare Lady Wu further shame.

Zhang Cuishan, having heard the tale, sighed. “To deal with the Three Rivers Guild’s degenerate was no great task. But Fourth Brother, in all you do, you leave a way open for the other side. To turn enemies into friends, that is most in keeping with Shifu’s heart.”

Zhang Songxi laughed. “Ten years apart, and the moment we meet you set a high hat on Fourth Brother’s head.”

That night the four shixiong shared their beds and talked until dawn. Zhang Songxi, for all his cunning, could guess nothing of the origins of the expert who had disguised himself as a Yuan soldier, seized Wuji, and wounded Yu Lianzhou.

At dawn Zhang Songxi and Yin Susu met. The five of them travelled slowly, lodging one more night upon the road before ascending Wudang Mountain.

Zhang Cuishan, returning after ten years to the place of his childhood, thought how soon he would see his shifu again, and meet his Eldest Brother, Third Brother, and Seventh Shidi. Though his wife was ill and his son lost, joy outweighed sorrow.

Upon reaching the mountain, they saw eight fine horses tied outside the guan,⁵ their saddles and tassels resplendent, plainly not the mount’s own beasts. Zhang Songxi said, “There are guests in the guan. Let us not present ourselves yet. We shall enter by the side gate.” Zhang Cuishan, supporting his wife, went in through the side gate. The Daoist priests and serving boys of the guan, seeing Zhang Cuishan return unharmed, were overjoyed. Zhang Cuishan was minded to pay respects to his shifu at once, but the Daoist boy who attended Zhang Sanfeng said the Perfected One had not yet emerged from seclusion. Zhang Cuishan could only kowtow outside the door of his shifu’s meditation chamber, then went to see Yu Daiyan.

The Daoist boy who tended Yu Daiyan whispered, “Third Shibo is asleep. Shall I wake him?” Zhang Cuishan waved his hand and entered the room on tiptoe. Yu Daiyan lay with his eyes closed, his face deathly pale, his cheeks sunken. Ten years ago this had been a vigorous, strapping fellow, brimming with fire and vigour. Now he was a wretched invalid, barely breathing. Zhang Cuishan watched for a time, and could not help but weep.

He stood by the bed for a long while, then wiped his tears and went out, asking the young Daoist boy, “Where are my Eldest Shixiong and Seventh Shidi?” The boy said, “They are receiving guests in the main hall.” Zhang Cuishan went to the rear hall to wait for his Eldest Brother and Seventh Shidi, but a long time passed and the guests showed no sign of leaving. Zhang Cuishan asked the Daoist priest who brought tea, “Who are the guests?” The priest said, “They seem to be armed escort men.”

Yin Liting, deeply attached to this shixiong of his after so long apart, had scarcely left his side before he returned to keep him company. Hearing him enquire about the visitors, he said, “They are three Escort Chiefs:⁶ Qi Tianbiao, Escort Chief of the Huju Armed Escort of Jinling; Yun He, Escort Chief of the Jinyang Armed Escort of Taiyuan; and Gong Jiujia, Escort Chief of the Yanyun Armed Escort of Dadu.”

Zhang Cuishan started slightly. “These three Escort Chiefs have come together? Ten years ago, these three were the most skilled and most renowned among every armed escort under heaven. Is it still so today? What brings them all to the mountain at once?” Yin Liting laughed. “I daresay some great escort has been lost, and the men who robbed it are too dangerous for these three to face, so they have come to beg Eldest Brother’s help. Fifth Brother, in recent years Eldest Brother has grown ever more fond of playing the good Samaritan. When the jianghu⁷ meets some knotty crisis, they often ask Eldest Brother to intervene.” Zhang Cuishan smiled. “Eldest Brother has the face of a Buddha and the heart to match. When people ask him for aid, he never refuses. Ten years apart, I wonder if Eldest Brother has aged?” The thought of seeing his Eldest Brother again was too much to resist. “Sixth Brother, let me slip behind the screen and have a look at Eldest Brother and Seventh Brother.” He walked behind the screen and peered out cautiously.

Song Yuanqiao and Mo Shenggu sat in the host’s seats below, receiving the guests. Song Yuanqiao wore Daoist robes, his expression serene and mild as ever. His face had changed little in ten years, save for a trace of grey at the temples, though his body had grown stout, no doubt the stoutness of middle age. Song Yuanqiao had not taken vows, but since his shifu was a Daoist priest and he lived in a Daoist guan, he often dressed as a Daoist on Wudang Mountain, changing into layman’s clothes only when he descended. Mo Shenggu, however, had grown into a great, strapping man. Though only twenty-odd years of age, his face was covered in a thick beard, and he looked older even than Zhang Cuishan.

They heard Mo Shenggu say in a great booming voice, “Whatever my Eldest Shixiong says is so. He says one, it is one. He says two, it is two. With the name Song Yuanqiao behind it, can you three not trust him?” Zhang Cuishan thought to himself, “Seventh Brother’s rough-and-ready manner has not changed a bit. What is he quarrelling about now?” He turned his gaze to the guests’ seats. All three men were around fifty years of age. One bore an imposing air; one was tall and thin, his face gaunt; and the third, who sat at the lowest place, looked like an invalid, withered and dried up. Behind the three stood five men with hands at their sides, no doubt their disciples. The tall, thin man was saying, “Since Song daxia⁸ speaks thus, how dare we disbelieve? But we know not when Zhang the Fifth Xia will return. Might you give us a firm date?”

Zhang Cuishan started. These three have come for me. They must be here to ask about my sworn brother’s whereabouts. He heard Mo Shenggu say, “We seven shixiong, though our skills are modest, have never shrunk from any righteous deed. We are grateful that the jianghu has honoured us with the name Seven Xias of Wudang. Those four words, to speak frankly, we hardly deserve…” Zhang Cuishan thought, Ten years apart, and Seventh Brother has grown so glib. Before, if anyone asked him a question, his face would go red for ages before he could answer a word. In ten years, everyone but Third Brother and me has improved by leaps and bounds.

Mo Shenggu continued, “Yet since we bear this name, and honour our revered shifu’s strict teaching, we dare not stray half a step from the right. Zhang the Fifth is one of our seven brothers. He is gentle and mild of temper; of the seven of us, he has the finest disposition. You insist on slandering him for the murder of the Longmen Armed Escort’s entire household. That is sheer nonsense!” Zhang Cuishan’s heart went cold. It is about Du Dajin and the Longmen Armed Escort. I have heard that south of the Great River, every armed escort follows the Huju Armed Escort of Jinling as its leader. They must have heard of my return from overseas, and so the Huju Armed Escort has gathered the Escort Chiefs of Jinyang and Yanyun to come and demand justice.

The imposing man said, “The Seven Xias of Wudang bear a shining name. Who in the wulin⁹ does not honour them? Mo the Seventh Xia need not praise himself. We have long heard your fame, and it thundered in our ears.”

Mo Shenggu, hearing the mockery in his words, his face changing colour, said, “Escort Chief Qi, if you have something to say, say it plainly.”

The imposing man was indeed Qi Tianbiao, Escort Chief of the Huju Armed Escort. He said in a clear voice, “The Seven Xias of Wudang say one, it is one. They say two, it is two. But does that mean the high monks of the Shaolin Order are wont to tell lies? A Shaolin monk saw with his own eyes that every soul of the Longmen Armed Escort in Lin’an, high and low, was slain by the hand of Zhang Cuishan, Zhang the Fifth Xia.” When he said “Zhang the Fifth Xia,” he drew out the word xia at great length, plainly dripping with mockery.

Yin Liting, listening, was filled with fury. This man was mocking his Fifth Brother. It was worse than three slaps across his own face. He was about to go out and confront him, when Zhang Cuishan caught hold of him and shook his head. Yin Liting, seeing his face full of pain and anguish, could not understand, and thought, Fifth Brother’s forbearance has grown greater still. No wonder Shifu praises him so often.

Mo Shenggu rose to his feet and said loudly, “Do not think that because my Fifth Brother has not yet returned to the mountain, even if he were here, his answer would be the same. Mo and Zhang Cuishan share life and death. His affair is my affair. You three, without distinguishing right from wrong, insist on slandering my Fifth Brother for the murder of the Longmen Armed Escort’s household. Very well! Count it all as Mo’s doing. If you three wish to avenge the Longmen Armed Escort, come at Mo. My Fifth Brother is not here. Mo Shenggu is Zhang Cuishan, and Zhang Cuishan is Mo Shenggu. Let me tell you plainly: Mo’s kung fu and cunning are far beneath my Fifth Brother’s. You have found me instead. Count yourselves lucky.”

Qi Tianbiao flew into a rage and sprang to his feet. “Today I, Qi, have come to Wudang Mountain to make a fool of myself. Every man of martial learning under heaven will laugh at me for brandishing my axe at Lu Ban’s door,¹⁰ overestimating myself so shamefully. Yet Du Dajin and his brothers have been dead these ten years, their grievance unavenged, and I, Qi, cannot swallow this anger. Since the Wudang Order has slain seventy-odd souls of the Longmen Armed Escort, what harm in adding one more, me, Qi Tianbiao? If you add the ninety-odd souls of the Huju Armed Escort of Jinling besides, it is all the same! Today I shall stain Wudang Mountain with my blood, and die with purpose. When we came up the mountain, out of respect for Zhang the Perfected One’s virtue and prestige, we dared not carry weapons. Then I, Qi, shall die beneath the Seventh Xia Mo’s fists.” With that, he strode into the centre of the hall.

Footnotes

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

2. 掌门 – zhǎngmén. The head of a martial school or sect. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 三江帮 – Sānjiāng Bāng. The Three Rivers Guild. A martial gang from the south, engaged in the pursuit of Xie Xun. ↩

4. 螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后 – tángláng bǔ chán, huángquè zài hòu. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. A proverb warning that one who schemes against another may himself fall prey to a third. ↩

5. 观 – guàn. A Daoist temple or monastery. ↩

6. 镖头 – biāotóu. An escort captain, a team leader in an armed escort. ↩

7. 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. ↩

8. 大侠 – dàxiá. A title of respect for a renowned martial artist. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 武林 – wǔlín. Literally martial forest. The community of martial artists and their affairs. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 班门弄斧 – bān mén nòng fǔ. Literally to brandish one’s axe before Lu Ban. Lu Ban was a master carpenter of ancient China. The phrase means to display one’s meagre skills before an expert, and so make a fool of oneself. ↩