Twin Blades of the Storm Dragon Chapter 1 – Part 1

A sharp precious sword shatters a steel blade; a villain hears his fortune and dark intent breeds in his heart.

The Yuanwu County¹ in Henan Province was near the Yellow River. Over a hundred years ago, during the Qing Dynasty, on a morning of cold rain and bitter wind, the waters of the Yellow River gazed up at the vast heavens. The fields and forests on both banks were steeped in the deep colours of autumn. The wind carried rain as it blew, drumming against clothing, the blows seeming heavy because it was laden with sand and earth.

A man riding a sturdy dun steed galloped to the riverbank. He reined in his mount and swept his gaze in all directions, as though seeking a ferry to cross the river. However, the river contained only surging muddy waters with no ferry boat in sight. The man found himself sighing. He turned his horse about to head for a small town visible not far ahead.

His horse’s hooves splashed through the muddy road as they headed northeast, but a short distance later, he saw another rider on a black horse approaching. The person’s face was hidden by a veil of mist, but he immediately felt alarmed. Leaping from his horse, his large right hand grasped the handle of the blade tucked within his travel bundle about to draw the weapon. He kept his eyes on the black horse as it drew near.

The rider turned out to be a man of about forty with a short black beard, wearing a large straw hat and a black oilcloth cloak. The first man released his grip on the blade handle, his heart settling as he exhaled in relief. The black horse was upon him and its rider pointed ahead with his whip, asking, “Is there a ferry over there?”

The man replied, “No, not a single one! With the rain and cold, those ferry operators are too lazy to come out!”

The rider of the black horse smiled and said, “Then I suppose I’ll have to rest here for a day!”

He turned his horse around as though he had no urgent business.

The first man mounted his dun horse, noting that the black horse carried no luggage aside from a sword with an iron scabbard blackened with rust. He thought, “What sort of person is he? A bodyguard or a martial arts instructor? Or perhaps he wanders the jianghu² making his living through less honourable means?”

Puzzled, he followed the man. The two horses headed northeast together through the rain. Both had recognised each other as seasoned wanderers of the jianghu, thus they struck up a conversation by exchanging names.

The rider of the black horse was direct, saying: “My surname is Chen, given name Boyu.³ I hail from Xincai County⁴ and I’m on my way back after visiting a friend in Baoding Prefecture.⁵ I reached here yesterday, but couldn’t cross due to the rain. Who would’ve thought the rain would persist today, and there are still no ferry boats in the river. I suppose I’ll have to wait another half day! Where are you from, my friend? What is your honourable surname? What business do you usually conduct? A bodyguard perhaps?”

The rider of the dun horse was both startled and delighted. He thought, “Everyone in the jianghu has heard of the esteemed name of Chen Boyu the Iron Palm! He’s a famous martial artist from Henan Province. I’ve never met him before—who would’ve thought I’d encounter him here today!”

He revealed his true name and raised his hands with his left palm over his right fist,⁶ “Elder Brother Chen, I have long admired your great reputation! Meeting you here today is truly the fortune of three lifetimes. This younger brother is called Zhang Yanfeng.⁷ People call me Zhang the Third,⁸ of the Precious Blade. Elder Brother Chen, have you perhaps heard of me? I’m an escort captain⁹ from the Guangda Armed Escort¹⁰ in Beijing.”

Saying that, he raised his bronzed long face and looked at this famous martial artist.

Chen Boyu pondered for a moment but could not recall the name, so he replied with indifference, “So you’re an escort captain from Beijing—you must enjoy great renown and possess superior martial skills. Do you happen to be from Xinyang Prefecture?¹¹ Are you also returning home?”

Hearing this, Zhang the Third felt his enthusiasm deflate. He thought, “I assumed Chen Boyu is sure to have heard of my reputation, but it turns out he hasn’t. At least he recognised my accent.”

Zhang nodded and said, “Indeed, my home is in Xinyang Prefecture. I’m always roaming about with no spare time, so it’s been over two years since I’ve last been home. This time I finally managed to get a month’s leave from my employer, so I’m returning home for the Mid-Autumn Festival.”

Chen Boyu nodded.

Two horses reached the small town, and they entered an inn together. After handing their horses to the stable hands, they each found a room. Chen Boyu took the north room whilst Zhang the Third stayed in the west room, with two or three chambers separating them.

Upon entering his room, Zhang the Third removed his drenched clothing and immediately removed his pudao¹² from his travel bundle, placing it beside him. His nerves remained tense, as though some crisis lurked nearby.

The inn attendant brought tea and inquired about his meal preference, but Zhang the Third waved him away. His heart was filled with anxiety and fear as he recalled his journey from Beijing, carrying more than fifty taels of silver—two full years of wages—intending to spend a pleasant Mid-Autumn Festival with his wife and children back home. But he ran into trouble along the way, and the fault was his own.

Zhang the Third was originally a good fellow dedicated to practising martial arts and avoided women and wine. But whilst travelling through Xingtai County,¹³ he encountered his colleague Qiang Erhu,¹⁴ who persuaded him to stay for a day. They drank several cups of wine and went to watch an outdoor opera in the Lu Village, where Zhang spotted a woman on the viewing platform. He had not seen whether she was beautiful or plain—he only noticed she seemed to be wearing red embroidered shoes. In his drunken confusion, Zhang the Third lost all sense and reached out to touch the woman’s embroidered shoe—one thoughtless action brought great calamity crashing down upon.

The woman turned out to be the wife of the Lu clan patriarch, who was serving in the Zhangde Prefecture¹⁵ office—the renowned Lu Yinsong¹⁶ the Iron Staff. Many from the Lu clan were also watching the opera, most of them young strong men. When they saw Zhang the Third molesting their patriarch’s wife, they were enraged and surrounded Zhang the Third. As fists and staffs rained down, Qiang Erhu also rushed over to help.

Zhang the Third was fortunate that he had his blade with him and managed to wound a handful of people with it before fleeing. He was unaware of how formidable Lu Yinsong the Iron Staff was, so he made his way toward Henan without haste. Little did he know that people from Lu Village had tailed him and sent word to Lu Yinsong.

When Zhang the Third reached Zhang Prefecture, Lu Yinsong intercepted him. After exchanging over ten moves, Zhang realised that Lu Yinsong’s iron staff was truly fearsome and his blade was no match at all. So he spurred his horse and fled. He knew Lu Yinsong would not let him off and was definitely in pursuit. Now that he was unable to cross the river, he was filled with anxiety and fear. He touched the handle of his precious blade—which was actually not very sharp despite its name—and frowned.

He thought, “If Lu Yinsong catches up with me again, I’m finished. Even if I don’t die, I’ll suffer grave injury. I make a living wandering the jianghu. If I suffer such a humiliation, how can I still show my face in the jianghu?”

Just then, he thought of Chen Boyu whom he had just met. “Chen Boyu’s martial arts were sure to be far superior to Lu Yinsong’s. If I could befriend him and cross the river together, then he would never stand by and watch if someone were to attack me.”

With this thought, Zhang the Third’s bronzed long face brightened, and he hurried from his room to the north chamber to find Chen Boyu the Iron Palm.

The rain still had not stopped. Chen Boyu was wiping rainwater from his sword handle with a handkerchief in his room. When Zhang the Third entered, Chen Boyu smiled and said, “Please, take a seat.”

Zhang the Third smiled in return as he nodded, but his attention was fixed on the sword. The blade was dark-green, as though covered with rust, yet both edges were extremely thin and appeared rather sharp. Zhang the Third said, “Elder Brother Chen, you’ve been using this sword for many years, haven’t you? It needs some polishing.”

Chen Boyu said, “You probably don’t recognise this sword. It’s a legendary sword capable of cutting through metal—one of a pair. Paired swords are usually male and female, but this pair are brothers. One is the Rain-soaring Azure Dragon,¹⁷ the other Wind-calling White Dragon.¹⁸ The azure is the elder brother, the white the younger. The one I hold is the Rain-soaring Azure Dragon that has accompanied me for fifteen years.”

As Chen Boyu spoke, he looked at Zhang the Third whilst wiping the precious sword, his manner dripping with boastfulness. Yet Zhang the Third could not see what made this sword special. Chen Boyu continued, “Brother, you go by the name Zhang the Third of the Precious Blade—you must possess a legendary blade as well.”

Zhang the Third felt himself flushing and said, “Zhang the Third of the Previous Blade is a name others gave me. I have a good blade, but it can’t cut through copper or iron.”

Chen Boyu said, “Bring it here and let me have a look!”

Zhang the Third returned to his room and picked up his thick-backed, thin-edged sabre¹⁹ that gleamed brilliantly. He thought, He wants to have a look? Let him then! Sharpness aside, it’s certainly much more beautiful than his Azure Dragon sword.

He fetched it to the north room and handed it to Chen Boyu, saying, “This is a gift from my friend for defeating the brothers—Cao Quanhu²⁰ and Cao ²¹Quanbao—with my bare fists in Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong,²² and saving my friend’s life. My friend paid a hundred and eighty taels of silver to have it forged. I’ve wielded it through Zhangjiakou,²³ and fought Jiao Tieta.²⁴ I single-handedly fought over thirty bandits with only this blade in the Taihang Mountains.²⁵ The day before yesterday, in Zhangde Prefecture…”

He was too embarrassed to continue. He had taken a blow from Lu Yinsong’s iron staff the day before yesterday in Zhangde Prefecture.¹⁵ If his reflexes were not quick enough to block with this blade, his head would have been shattered and he would not be standing there talking.

But Chen Boyu was not listening to his boastful tales of past glories. He was absorbed in examining the pudao, hefting it in his hand, and flicking the blade. Then, he picked up his own sword and returned the blade to Zhang the Third. Rising with a smile, he said, “May I test it? Your blade is pretty good, but I reckon it is probably no match for this sword’s sharpness. Come! Shall we test them against each other?”

Zhang the Third hesitated, thinking, If his sword were indeed legendary and broke my blade, I’ll lose all face!

He was about to shake his head when Chen Boyu suddenly swung his legendary sword at the pudao. With a resounding clang, Zhang the Third’s precious blade was cut in two. Chen Boyu burst into hearty laughter with delight. Then, he patted Zhang the Third’s shoulder and said, “My apologies! My apologies! I was too presumptuous. I’ll definitely have a good blade forged and sent to your residence in Xinyang Prefecture!”¹¹

With his prized blade destroyed, Zhang the Third flung the remaining half he held in his hand to the ground. His long face turned purple with rage, and he yearned to brawl with Chen Boyu immediately. But he did not dare to, so he swallowed his anger and feigned nonchalance, saying with a wave of his hand, “What’s this worth? Elder Brother Chen, you think too little of Zhang the Third!”

Chen Boyu was nigh apologetic and said hurriedly, I have a bad habit—whenever I see a fine weapon, I want to test it with my sword. Since we’ve only just met, I really shouldn’t have done this!”

Zhang the Third smiled as he said, “Why be so polite? Though we’ve just met, I’ve long admired your great name, Elder Brother. I just didn’t know you had such a legendary sword. Well then, from now on I will be merely Zhang the Third—I can no longer claim the title of Precious Blade!”

The more generous Zhang the Third was, the more ashamed Chen Boyu felt. After many more apologies, he called for the innkeeper to serve wine, and the two men drank heartily in the room. Both had large appetites for alcohol, and they drank until deeply intoxicated, their conversation flowing so well they seemed to have become the closest of friends. Outside the window, rain continued to fall softly.

Footnotes

1. 原武 – Yuánwǔ. Located in modern day Yuanyang County (原阳县), Henan Province. See Wikipedia. ↩

2. 江湖 – jiānghú. Literally rivers and lakes. The world of martial arts. A sub-society involving all who are related to the martial arts scene. See jianghu. ↩

3. 陈伯煜 – Chén Bóyù. ↩

4. 新蔡 – Xīncài. County in Henan Provine. See Wikipedia. ↩

5. 保定 – Bǎodìng. Modern day Baoding city, Hebei Province. See Wikipedia. ↩

6. 抱拳 – bàoquán. A formal salute to show respect between martial artists. ↩

7. 张雁峰 – Zhāng Yànfēng. ↩

8. 张三 – Zhāng Sān. “Zhang the Third” was a common way to refer to the third son or someone whose given name was forgotten. ↩

9. 镖头 – Biāotóu. Ranked escort in an armed escort. ↩

10. 广达 – Guǎngdá. Literally vast arrival. Meaning far-reaching or extensive coverage, suggesting the agency’s wide operational range. ↩

11. 信阳 – Xìnyáng. Modern day Xinyang city, Henan Province. See Wikipedia. ↩ ↩²

12. 扑刀 – pǔdāo. Single-edged infantry weapon with a long handle. See Wikipedia. ↩

13. 邢台 – Xíngtái. Xingtai County, Hebei Province. See Wikipedia. ↩

14. 强二虎 – Qiáng Èrhǔ. ↩

15. 彰德 – Zhāngdé. Historical prefecture, modern-day Anyang, Henan Province. See Wikipedia. ↩ ↩²

16. 鲁荫松 – Lǔ Yìnsōng. ↩

17. 苍龙腾雨 – Cānglóng téng yǔ. Literally azure dragon soaring through rain. ↩

18. 白龙吟风 – Báilóng yín fēng. Literally white dragon singing in wind. ↩

19. 扑刀 – pūdāo. A type of Chinese sabre with a thick spine and thin cutting edge. ↩

20. 曹全虎 – Cáo Quánhǔ. ↩

21. 曹全豹 – Cáo Quánbào. ↩

22. 兖州 — Yǎnzhōu. Yanzhou Prefecture in Shandong Province. Modern-day Jining city area. See Wikipedia. ↩

23. 张家口 – Zhāngjiākǒu. A city in Hebei Province, historically an important trading post. See Wikipedia ↩

24. 焦铁塔 – Jiāo Tiětǎ. ↩

25. 太行山 – Tàiháng shān. The Taihang Mountains, a major mountain range in northern China. ↩