by Jin Yong
Suddenly Juming Wang grunted and tumbled down. Zhang Wuji reached down trying to grab him, but Liuyun Shi and Huiyue Shi’s pair of tablets came to block, while Miaofeng Shi scooped Juming Wang to bring him back to their own ship.
Qixin Wang and Cloud and Moon Emissaries were forced to face Zhang Wuji together; their coordination was not as when they were fighting with their own respective partners. After several more stances, they knew it was hard to score a victory. Three people successively let out a whistle and retreated to their ship.
After calming himself down, Zhang Wuji said, "These people definitely knew the Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi; but somehow their techniques are different, making it difficult for me to deal with.”
"Our Cult’s Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi originated from Persia,” Xie Xun said, "But after they passed it on to us several hundred years ago, they lost their own copy. So what they preserved, according to Taj-kis, was only some shallow and superficial knowledge. For that reason, they sent Taj-kis to the Brightness Peak to get the manual back.”
"Their martial art foundation really is superficial, so their knowledge is indeed only skin deep,” Zhang Wuji said, "But the way they use it was truly ingenious. Obviously, they knew something significant that was the key to their skill, which I have not penetrated through. Hmm, in the seventh level of the Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi, there are some passages I have not mastered yet; could it be the key?” While saying that, he sat down on the deck with his head between his hands, thinking hard. Xie Xun and the others did not dare to make any noise, for fear they would disturb his train of thought.
"Aiyo,” suddenly Xiao Zhao called out in alarm. Zhang Wuji looked up only to see Wind and Cloud, Three Emissaries, was taking someone to the presence of the eleven Precious Tree Kings. That person was a hunchback, with a walking stick in her hand; she was none other than Jin Hua Popo.
Zhihui Bao Shu Wang who was sitting on the second chair shouted her some questions. Jin Hua Popo leaned her head sideways and shouted back, "What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”
Zhihui Wang sneered; he stood up and reached out with his left hand, pulling the entire white hair from Jin Hua Popo’s head, exposing a clump of silky hair as black as crow. Jin Hua Popo turned her head sideways, trying to hide her face. But Zhihui Wang’s right hand reached out suddenly to peel a layer of skin from her face.
Zhang Wuji and the others could see clearly that what Zhihui Wang peeled was a human skin mask. Instantly Jin Hua Popo turned into a very beautiful woman, with creamy white skin, almond shaped eyes, and cheeks like peach. Her countenance was glowing; her beauty was truly indescribable.
As Taj-kis’ true appearance was exposed, she might as well throw away the walking stick, and she stood there smiling bitterly. Zhihui Wang asked her some questions again, and she replied in Persian. As those two people exchanged words, the countenances of the eleven Precious Tree Kings were getting more and more serious.
"Miss Xiao Zhao,” suddenly Zhao Min asked, "What are they talking about?”
With tears in her eyes Xiao Zhao said, "You are so smart, you knew everything; why didn’t you prevent Xie Laoye Zi from talking?”
Zhao Min was puzzled, "Prevent him from talking what?” she asked.
Xiao Zhao replied, "Initially, they did not know who Jin Hua Popo was. Later on, they found out that she is the Zi Shan Long Wang; but they had never guessed that Zi Shan Long Wang is the Holy
Maiden Taj-kis. Popo had made a great effort in concealing her identity from them. Xie Laoye Zi’s second condition was for them to release Sheng Nu Taj-kis; although his intention was good, he inadvertently revealed her secret to Zhihui Bao Shu Wang. Xie Laoyezi’s eyes cannot see, of course he did not know that Jin Hua Popo’s appearance was radically changed that nobody would recognize her. Miss Zhao, you can see everything clearly, could it be that you haven’t thought about it?”
In reality, when listening to Xie Xun’s story on the little boat, Zhao Min had early on guessed correctly that Jin Hua Popo was the Persian Ming Cult’s Holy Maiden Taj-kis, but she had never guessed that in the eyes of the Persian leaders, her true identity was by no means uncovered. She was about to open her mouth to retort back, but noticing that Xiao Zhao was speaking miserably, she vaguely guessed that Xiao Zhao must have had some unusual relationship with Jin Hua Popo. She did not have the heart to speak harshly and only said, "Xiao Zhao Meizi [(younger) sister, term of endearment], I certainly have not thought about it. If I had an ill-intention to harm Jin Hua Popo, let me die a horrible death.”
Xie Xun was even more remorseful; he did not say anything. But he had made a decision in his heart that even if he had to lose his life, he would save Taj-kis from danger.
Sobbing, Xiao Zhao said, "They blame Jin Hua Popo, saying that she got married and committed apostasy against the Cult, they ... they are going to burn her to death.”
"Xiao Zhao,” Zhang Wuji said, "Please don’t worry, as soon as there is an opportunity, I am going to go over and save Jin Hua Popo.” He was accustomed to call her ‘Popo’, but if he looked at Zi Shan Long Wang right now, even though she was middle-aged, but her gracefulness and beauty was not inferior to Zhao Min, Zhou Zhiruo, and the others; she even looked like Xiao Zhao’s elder sister.
"No, no,” Xiao Zhao said, "You cannot fight Eleven Bao Shu Wang, plus the Wind and Cloud Three Emissaries; don’t deliver your life in vain. Right now they are discussing how they are going to take the Pingdeng Wang back.”
"Humph!” Zhao Min hatefully said, "Even if they take Pingdeng Wang back, his face has already imprinted with these lines of characters; he will look so ugly.”
"What imprinted characters?” Zhang Wuji asked.
"That yellow bearded emissary’s Sheng Huo Ling struck his left cheek ...” Zhao Min said, "Ah, Xiao Zhao!” suddenly she remembered something. "Xiao Zhao Meizi,” she asked, "Do you know Persian characters?”
"I do,” Xiao Zhao replied.
"Come here and look,” Zhao Min said, "What is written on Pingdeng Wang’s face?”
Xiao Zhao came near Pingdeng Wang and leaned over his head; she saw his left cheek was swollen badly and three lines of Persian characters were imprinted on it. Turned out each one of the Sheng Huo Ling was engraved with characters. Miaofeng Shi had accidentally struck Pingdeng Wang, and the characters on the Sheng Huo Ling were transferred to his flesh. Only, the part where Sheng Huo Ling met the flesh was no more than two ‘cun’s wide and three ‘cun’s long [1 cun is approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm)], so the inscription was incomplete.
Xiao Zhao had followed Zhang Wuji into the secret passage of the Brightness Peak, and had memorized the Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi manual; although Zhang Wuji had never forbidden her, she had never trained it, but she knew the theory of this martial art by heart. When Zhang Wuji encountered a difficulty during training of the seventh level and he was forced to skip several lines, Xiao Zhao had memorized those lines well. Presently, looking at the characters on Pingdeng Wang’s face, she could not help from blurting out, "This is Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi theory!”
"Did you say Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi theory?” Zhang Wuji wondered.
"No, it’s not,” Xiao Zhao said, "At first, I thought it was it, but it’s not. Translated into Chinese, those lines mean: ‘reacting to the left is actually to the front, to the right is actually to the rear; three voids, seven solids, something exists out of nothing ...’ something, ‘the heaven square, the earth round ...’ and the next line is unreadable.”
Listening to these dozen or so characters, Zhang Wuji felt as if among the black clouds in the sky suddenly he saw a flash of lightning; but after the lightning passed, the sky was still dark. Nevertheless, this flash of lightning gave him hope, that in the midst of a five-‘li’ dense fog he could see a glimpse of a way out. His mouth muttered, "Reacting to the left is actually to the front, to the right is actually to the rear ...” He tried hard to integrate these cryptic lines with the Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi theory he already mastered. Several times did he think he see the conn
ection, each time it appeared right but actually was wrong; in the end everything was still dark to him.
"Gongzi, watch out!” suddenly he heard Xiao Zhao calling out, "They are issuing an order: the Three Win and Cloud Emissaries are to attack you, Qinxiu Wang, Zhen’E Wang, and Gongde Wang, three kings are to take Pingdeng Wang back.”
Xie Xun heaved the Pingdeng Wang and held him across his chest, while tossing the Tulong Dao to Zhang Wuji and said, "Just chop them up with this Saber.”
Zhao Min also took the Yitian Sword and handed it over to Zhou Zhiruo. This time they were on the same boat sharing the same fate; fighting a common enemy together was more important than their differences.
Zhang Wuji took the Tulong Saber, and absentmindedly inserted the Saber to his waist, while his mouth was still mumbling, "Three voids, seven solids, something exists out of nothing ...”
"Idiot!” Zhao Min anxiously said, "This is not the time to ponder some martial art theory; quickly prepare yourself to face the enemy.”
Before she finished speaking, Qinxiu, Zhen’E, and Gongde, three kings had already jumped over with their palms extended to attack Xie Xun. They were afraid to injure Pingdeng Wang, hence they did not dare to use weapons. They were hoping that by attacking with their palms and fists, they might have a chance of snatching him back as soon as one man managed to get hold of Pingdeng Wang’s body.
Zhou Zhiruo was standing by next to Xie Xun; each time the situation was critical, she would hack down her sword to Pingdeng Wang; forcing Qinxiu Wang, Zhen’E Wang, and Gongde Wang, diverting their attack toward Zhou Zhiruo to prevent her sword from harming Pingdeng Wang.
On the other battlefront, Zhang Wuji was fighting the Wind and Cloud Three Emissaries. These four people fought cautiously; each side had suffered some hard beating from their opponents, nobody dared to be careless. After fighting for several stances, Huiyue Shi’s tablet came down to strike; according to basic martial art principle, this move should strike Zhang Wuji’s left shoulder. Who would have thought that the Sheng Huo Ling changed its course halfway; it made a very strange turn and ‘slap!’ it hit the back of Zhang Wuji’s neck.
Zhang Wuji felt a burst of severe pain, but it was as if his mind was as bright as snow. "Reacting to the left is actually to the front, to the right is actually to the rear, that’s right, that’s right!” he shouted excitedly. In this short period of time, he suddenly realized that the Wind and Cloud Three Emissaries’ martial art was based on the first level of the Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi; only the Sheng Huo Ling was inscribed with the marvelous, almost fantastic, variations on the usage of these stances. His mind was churning, and straightaway he understood the four lines of secret Xiao Zhao uttered earlier. Only he had not been able to penetrate the secret of ‘the heaven square, the earth round’ part. He thought he had to take a look at the inscription on the Sheng Huo Ling to thoroughly understand the essence of the Persian martial art.
Suddenly he let out a clear whistle and his pair of hands, using the ‘three voids, seven solids’, reached out to grab two Sheng Huo Ling from Huiyue Shi’s hands; while with ‘something exists out of nothing’ he took away the two Sheng Huo Ling from Liuyun Shi’s hands. While the two of them were still in shock, Zhang Wuji had put the four Sheng Huo Ling into his bosom, and then separately grabbed them by the back of their necks and threw them back into their ship.
Amidst the shouting yelling of the Persians, Miaofeng Shi turned his body around trying to escape. By this time Zhang Wuji had understood clearly the basic principle of his opponents’ martial art. His comprehension of the details was somewhat limited, but Miaofeng Shi’s martial art had lost its mystery in his eyes. Once his right hand reached out, he grabbed Miaofeng Shi’s left foot and pulled him back from midair. With one hand on the Sheng Huo Ling in Miaofeng Shi’s hand, Zhang Wuji lifted up Miaofeng Shi’s body and smashed him toward the top of Zhen’E Wang’s head with the other hand.
The three kings were shocked; making hand signals to each other, they hurriedly leaped back to their ship. Zhang Wuji sealed Miaofeng Shi’s acupoint and threw him down near his foot.
This victory of his came so quickly that in a blink of an eye from being under-handed he suddenly gained an upper hand. Zhao Min and the others were no less surprised and they all asked him how he did it.
Zhang Wuji laughed and said, "We might still be in trouble if not of mistakes arising out of chance that Pingdeng Wang suffered this mishap. Xiao Zhao, translate the inscriptions on these six Sheng Huo Ling for me; quick, quick!”
They looked at the Sheng Huo Ling, and noticed that they were neither made of metal nor jade, but of very hard substance. The size of six of them varied, some were big, some were small, some were long and some were short. The surface seemed translucent, but also seemed opaque. There seemed to be a faint image of blazing fire dancing around inside the tablet, but actually it was a reflection of the ambient light on the tablets, on which color fluctuated. Each one of the Sheng Huo Ling was inscribed with a lot of Persian characters; to translate them would take a lot of time, not to mention Zhang Wuji would have to interpret their very profound meaning. But he realized that if he wanted them to survive this current situation, then he had to understand the essence of the Persian sect’s martial art.
"Miss Zhou,” he said toward Zhou Zhiruo, "Please place your Yitian Sword on Pingdeng Wang’s neck. Yifu, please place your Tulong Saber on Miaofeng Shi’s neck. We have to buy as much time as possible.” Xie Xun and Zhou Zhiruo nodded their compliance.
Xiao Zhao took the six Sheng Huo Ling, and picked the shortest one, an unremarkable blackish green tablet with the least characters inscribed on it, and she started translating it. Zhang Wuji
listened attentively, but he did not understand even a single sentence. He pondered deeply but still could not make any sense of what he heard, and could not help but feeling very anxious.
"Xiao Zhao Meizi,” Zhao Min said, "Why don’t you read the Sheng Huoling that struck Pingdeng Wang.”
Her words had reminded Xiao Zhao; she busily checked the inscriptions on the other tablets, and found it to be the second longest. She translated it immediately, and this time Zhang Wuji could actually understand 70, 80% of it. Once she was finished, she took the longest one and translated it. Zhang Wuji only heard several sentences when he happily said, "Xiao Zhao, these six Sheng Huo Ling, the longer ones contain the shallowest sentences. The one you just read was the rudimentary theory of their martial art.”
Actually, the six tablets of Sheng Huo Ling were cast by the Persian ‘Shan Zhong Lao Ren’ [the Old Man of the Mountain], in which he engraved the essence of his lifetime martial art achievement. These six Sheng Huo Ling entered the Central Earth at the same time as the Manichaeism, and they became the symbol of authority of the Cult Leader of the Ming Cult. After a long time, nobody within the Ming Cult of the Central Earth understood Persian writing. Decades ago, the Sheng Huo Ling was stolen by the Beggar Clan. It went through many hands before finally acquired by a Persian merchant, and found its way to the Persian Ming Cult.
The Persian Central Cult diligently studied the writing for dozens of years, and as a result, the leaders of the Cult had enjoyed a tremendous advancement in their martial art skills. However, the martial art contained in these tablets were too broad and deep, so that even Dasheng Bao Shu Wang who was the first among the kings only managed to master 30, 40% of the entire skill set.
As for the Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi manual, it was originally the Ming Cult’s ‘hu jiao shen gong’ [divine skill to protect the cult]; but due to its extraordinary features, it was not a skill an average person would be able to master. The Persian Ming Cult stipulated that its Cult Leader must be a virgin maiden, and for hundreds of years, the position was held by women with mediocre skill; therefore, the transfer of the manual to the successive generation was very limited, while the Central Earth Ming Cult still preserved the manual in its entirety. The Persian Ming Cult only mastered less than 10% of the original Qian Kun Da Nuo
Yi. By combining it with the 20, 30% of the Sheng Huo Ling’s martial art, they developed a set of strange stances, forming a brand new branch of martial art skill.
Zhang Wuji sat cross-legged on the bow, while Xiao Zhao translated the inscriptions on the Sheng Huo Ling line by line. Actually, the martial art contained in these Sheng Huo Ling was very exquisite, but by mastering one set of skill well, it would be easier to learn ten thousand sets of skill; as all kinds of skills, although they use different and unique approach, are basically developed to reach a common goal. Zhang Wuji had already possessed a profound knowledge of the Jiu Yang Shen Gong and Qian Kun Da Nuo Yi, as well as the principle of Wudang Pai’s Taijiquan. Although the martial art of Sheng Huo Ling was strange, even greatly broad and profound, it was nothing more than another unorthodox sect’s martial art, which had not attained the pinnacle of its perfection yet; after all, it was still far inferior to the aforementioned three martial art skills.
After Xiao Zhao finished translating the six Sheng Huo Ling, Zhang Wuji felt that he only remembered 70, 80% of it, and understood only 50, 60%; nevertheless, he was confident that he had understood thoroughly the martial art of the Precious Tree Kings and the Wind and Cloud Three Emissaries.
Time slowly passed. Forgetting everything else, Zhang Wuji wholeheartedly pondered over the martial art he had just learned; but Zhao Min and Zhou Zhiruo, who observed the enemy’s movement, were getting more and more anxious. They saw Taj-kis’ hands and feet were shackled, while the eleven Precious Tree Kings convened in private; then the eleven kings took off their long robes and changed into soft armors, while the people around them presented eleven strange-looking weapons. They saw the ships around them were full of Persians with their bows drawn and the arrows were aimed at them. They saw around a dozen Persians with hatchets in their hands plung into the water, waiting for their chiefs’ command to sink their ship. Suddenly they heard Dasheng Bao Shu Wang, who was sitting among the kings shout; from all the ships the drums thundered and the bugles sounded.