Twin Blades of the Storm Dragon Chapter 1 – Part 1

As a sharp precious sword shatters a steel blade, dark intent breeds in a villain's heart upon hearing of fortune and bane

Yuanwu County¹ in Henan Province was near the Yellow River. Over a hundred years ago, during the Qing Dynasty, on a morning when cold rain fell through 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, lashing against travellers’ garments, the blows seeming heavy because it was laden with grit and sand.

A man riding a sturdy dun steed galloped to the riverbank. He reined in his mount and cast his gaze about, seemingly seeking a ferry to cross the river. However, the broad channel contained only surging murky waters with no ferry boat in sight. The man let out a sigh and turned his horse about, intending to head for a small town visible not far ahead.

His horse’s hooves splashed through the muddy road north-eastward for a short distance before he glimpsed another rider approaching on a black horse. The figure was indistinct through a veil of mist, but his heart lurched with alarm. He swung down from his horse, his large right hand closing around the handle of the dao tucked in his travel bundle, the blade half-drawn. He narrowed his eyes and peered for a closer look.

The rider proved to be a man of perhaps forty-odd years with a short black beard, wearing a broad straw hat and a black oilcloth cloak. Only then did the first man release his grip on the dao handle, his heart steadied as he let out a long breath. The black horse was upon him and its rider raised his whip to gesture ahead, calling out, “Any ferries over there?”

“None,” the man replied. “Not a single one! The rain and cold have made the ferrymen too idle to stir!”

The rider of the black horse laughed and said, “Then I shall simply have to rest here a day!”

He turned his horse around and seemed in no particular hurry.

The first man remounted his yellow horse. As he did, he noted that the black horse bore no luggage aside from a single sword with an iron scabbard blackened with rust. He wondered, What manner of man is this? A bodyguard or a martial arts instructor? Or perhaps he wanders the jianghu² making his living through darker trades?

Curiosity stirred within him and he fell alongside the stranger. The two horses plodded through the rain together, heading northeast. It was plain to each that the other was a seasoned wanderer of the jianghu, thus they struck up a conversation and exchanged names.

The rider of the black horse spoke with easy composure. “My surname is Chen, my given name Boyu.³ I hail from Xincai County.⁴ I was returning after visiting a friend in Baoding Prefecture.⁵ when I reached here yesterday. The rain kept me from crossing. Who would’ve thought the rain would persist today, and there are still no ferry to be found. I suppose I must wait out another half-day! Where do you hail from, my friend? What is your honourable surname? What is your trade? A bodyguard perhaps?”

When the rider of the dun horse heard this, he felt a jolt of surprise mingled with delight. He thought, Everyone in the jianghu has heard of the esteemed name of Chen Boyu the Iron Palm! He is one of Henan Province’s most renowned martial artist, and I have never had the fortune to meet him—to think I should encounter him here today!

He revealed his true name and raised his hands with his left palm over his right fist in salute,⁶ “Elder Brother Chen, I have long admired your great reputation! Meeting you here today is truly the fortune of three lifetimes. My humble name is Zhang Yanfeng.⁷ People call me Zhang San⁸ the Precious Blade. Have you perhaps heard of me, Elder Brother Chen? I’m an escort captain⁹ from the Guangda Armed Escort¹⁰ in Beijing.”

Saying that, he lifted his long, bronzed face and regarded the famous martial artist expectantly.

Chen Boyu pondered for a moment but could not seem to place the name. At last he said blandly, “So an escort captain from the capital—you must be a man of considerable fame and superior martial skills. Does your home happen to be in Xinyang Prefecture?¹¹ Are you also returning home?”

Hearing this, Zhang San felt his enthusiasm deflate. He thought, I had thought Chen Boyu would surely know of my reputation, but it seems he does not. At least he recognised my accent.

Zhang nodded and said, “Indeed, my home is in Xinyang Prefecture. I spend every year roaming abroad with little time to spare, so it has been over two years since I last been home. This time I finally managed to beg a month’s leave from the proprietor, 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 hand, they each sought out a room. Chen Boyu took the north chamber whilst Zhang San the west, with two or three rooms between them.

Upon entering his quarters, Zhang San stripped his drenched garments and immediately drew forth his pudao¹² from his travel bundle, laying it within arm’s reach. His nerves remained taut, as though some unseen peril lurked nearby.

The inn attendant brought tea and inquired about his meal preference, but Zhang San waved him away. His heart was heavy with anxiety and fear. He recalled his journey from Beijing with more than fifty taels of silver on his person—two full years’ wages—intending to spend a joyful Mid-Autumn Festival with his wife and children back home. Yet trouble had found him on the road, and the fault was entirely his own.

Zhang San had always been a man devoted to practising martial arts and avoided women and wine. But whilst travelling through Xingtai County,¹³ he encountered an old friend from the same trade, Qiang Erhu,¹⁴ who persuaded him to linger a day. They had several cups of wine before going to watch an outdoor opera in the Lu Clan Village. There, Zhang noticed a woman on the viewing platform—he could not have said whether she was plain or fair, only that she seemed to be wearing a pair of red embroidered shoes. In his drunken befuddlement, Zhang San had reached out to touch one of those shoe. That single thoughtless action brought great calamity crashing down upon his head.

The woman, it transpired, was none other than 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 brawny fellows. When they saw Zhang San molesting their patriarch’s wife, they were sized by fury and surrounded Zhang San, fists and staffs flying. Qiang Erhu also came running over to help.

Zhang San was fortunate that he had his blade with him. He swung his blade and cut down four or five men before fleing. He was unaware of how formidable Lu Yinsong the Iron Staff truly was, and had he made his way toward Henan without undue haste. Little did he know that people from Lu Clan Village had tailed him and sent word to Lu Yinsong.

The moment Zhang San arrived at Pengde Prefecture, Lu Yinsong intercepted him. After exchanging over ten moves, Zhang realised that Lu Yinsong’s iron staff was truly fearsome and his precious blade was no match at all. So he spurred his horse into flight. He knew Lu Yinsong would not let the matter rest and was surely pursuing him even now. With him was unable to cross the river, his heart knotted with anxiety and dread. He fingered the handle of his so-called “precious” blade—sharp despite its name—and furrowed his brow.

He thought, If Lu Yinsong catches up with me again, I am done for. Even if I don’t die, I’ll be maimed. As one who makes a living wandering the jianghu, if I fall here, 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 must far surpass to Lu Yinsong’s. If I could befriend him and cross the river in his company, then surely he would not stand by and watch should someone attack me.

At this thought, Zhang San’s long, bronzed face brightened. He hurried from his room to the north chamber to seek out Chen Boyu the Iron Palm.

The rain still had not yet ceased. Chen Boyu sat in his room, wiping rainwater from his sword handle with a cloth. When Zhang San entered, Chen Boyu smiled and said, “Please, sit.”

Zhang San smiled in return as he nodded, but his eyes went at once to the sword. The blade was dark-green, as though covered with rust, yet both edges were honed thin and looked rather sharp. Zhang San said, “Elder Brother Chen, this sword has seen many years of service, hasn’t it? It could do with a polish.”

Chen Boyu said, “You probably don’t recognise this sword. It’s a legendary blade capable of cutting through iron and steel—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-Singing White Dragon.¹⁸ The azure is the elder, the white the younger. The one I hold is the Rain-Soaring Azure Dragon that has been at my side for fifteen years.”

As Chen Boyu spoke, his eyes remained fixed on Zhang San while his hand caressed the precious sword, his manner dripping with unmistakable pride. Yet Zhang San could not discern what made this sword so special. Chen Boyu continued, “Brother, you go by the sobriquet Zhang San the Precious Blade—surely you must possess a legendary blade as well.”

Zhang San felt himself flushing and said, “Zhang San the Precious Blade is a name others gave me. My blade is decent enough, but it can’t cut through copper or cleave iron.”

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

Zhang San returned to his room and took up his thick-skinned, thin-edged pudao with a gleam that dazzled the eye. He thought, He wants to have a look? Let him then! Sharpness aside, it’s certainly much more beautiful than that Azure Dragon sword of his.

He fetched it to the north room and handed it to Chen Boyu, saying, “This is a gift from my friend. I defeated the Cao brothers—Cao Quanhu¹⁹ and Cao Quanbao²⁰—with my bare fists in Yanzhou Prefecture of Shandong²¹ and saved my friend’s life. He spent a hundred and eighty taels of silver to have this blade forged and presented to me. With it, I’ve fought my way through Zhangjiakou²² and bested Jiao Tieta.²³ I single-handedly took on over thirty bandits with this blade alone in the Taihang Mountains.²⁴ The day before yesterday, in Zhangde Prefecture…”

He found 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 Had his reflexes not been quick enough to block with this blade, his head would have been shattered and he would not be speaking now.

But Chen Boyu paid no attention to his boastful tales of past glories. He was absorbed in examining the pudao, hefting it in his hand, flicking the blade with his finger. Then, he picked up his own sword and returned the blade to Zhang San. Rising with a smile, he said, “May I test it? Your blade is pretty good, but I suspect it cannot match the sharpness of this sword. Come! Shall we let them clash against each other?”

Zhang San hesitated, thinking, If his sword were indeed legendary and broke my blade, I’ll have lost face along with my dao!

He was about to shake his head when Chen Boyu swept his legendary sword at the pudao. With a resounding clang, Zhang San’s prized pudao was shared clean in two. Chen Boyu burst into delighted laughter. When his mirth subsided, he clapped Zhang San on the shoulder and said, “My apologies! My apologies! I was too presumptuous. I shall certainly have a fine blade forged and sent to your residence in Xinyang Prefecture!”¹¹

With his precious blade destroyed, Zhang San flung the remaining half he held in his hand to the ground. His long face turned purple with rage, and he yearned to seize Chen Boyu and trash him then and there. But he dared not raise a hand. Swallowing his anger, he feigned nonchalance and said with a wave of his hand, “What’s this worth? Elder Brother Chen, you think too little of Zhang San if you imagine I’d be troubled by such a trifle!”

Chen Boyu was nigh apologetic and said hurriedly, “I have a bad habit—whenever I see a fine weapon, I cannot resist testing it against with my sword. We’ve only just met, I really shouldn’t have acted so!”

Zhang San smiled as he said, “Why be so polite? Though this is our first meeting, I’ve long admired your great name, Elder Brother. I simply didn’t know you possess such a legendary sword. Well then, from now on I shall be called merely Zhang San—I can no longer claim the title of Precious Blade!”

The more magnanimous Zhang San appeared, the more ashamed Chen Boyu became. After many more apologies, he called for the innkeeper to lay out wine, and the two men drank heartily in the room. Both had large appetites for liquor, and they drank until deeply intoxicated, their conversation flowing with such ease they seemed to have become the closest of friends. Outside the window, rain continued its soft patter.

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. Literally embraced fist. Left palm over right fist used in the jianghu to show respect. ↩

7. 张雁峰 – Zhāng Yànfēng. ↩

8. 张三 – Zhāng Sān. Literally Zhang Three or Third. A common way to refer to someone’s by their surname followed by their position in the family or household. ↩

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. 曹全虎 – Cáo Quánhǔ. ↩

20. 曹全豹 – Cáo Quánbào. ↩

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

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

23. 焦铁塔 – Jiāo Tiětǎ. ↩

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