by Jin Yong
Feng Li's guard was ready to leap into battle, but they could not penetrate into the sword net formed by the Wu swordmen.
The maiden moved between the six swordmen. Her long sleeves and long belt waved in the wind beautifully. Then the cries of pain came from one after another Wu swordmen as their swords dropped to the ground. The fight was over. Each of the Wu swordmen lost an eye. Some lost the right eye. Some lost the left eye.
The maiden pulled back her bamboo stick and said "You killed my goat. Now compensate me."
The Wu swordmen were angry and scared. Some were roaring in fury. Some were shivering in fear. These eight were battle-hardened veterans. Ordinarily they would not lose control of their demeanor even if someone cut of both of their hands, but what happened to them was so beyond their comprehension that they had not idea how they should act.
The maiden said "If you don't compensate me for my goat, I will take your other eye." The Wu swordmen jumped back involuntarily.
Feng Li said "Lady, I will give you one hundred goats, but let these eight men leave."
The maiden smiled "You're a nice man. I don't want one hundred goats. I only want one."
Feng Li said to the guard "Accompany the ambassadors from the Great Kingdom back to the palace. Summon the physicians to treat their wounds." The eight Wu swordmen left crestfallen, like cocks who had lost a fight.
Feng Li walked toward the maiden and said "Lady, what is your respected surname?" The maiden said "What did you say?" He rephrased the question "What is your name?" The maiden said "Oh, my name is Ah Ching. What is yours?"
Feng Li smiled and thought "So she is just a simple country girl unversed in courtly manners. Yet she learned this godlike sword skill. I only have to learn who her master is, then I can invite her teacher to train Yueh warriors. Wu will not be able to stand against us." His heart warmed as he realized that he's closer to bring Si Shi back. Then he said "I am called Feng Li. Lady, why don't you have a meal in my home?" Ah Ching said "No, I have to herd the goats to pasture." Feng Li said "I have a large lawn in my home. Your goats can feed there, then I will compensate you with ten fat goats."
Ah Ching clapped her hands together and laughed "You have a big lawn? Good, but I don't want any goat from you. You didn't kill this goat." She knelt to the ground and petted the dead goat. Then she said sadly "Old White, bad man killed you. I can't save you this time."
Feng Li ordered his guard "Sew the body back together and bury it next to this lady's house."
Ah Ching stood up. Her face was stained by tears, but her eyes was happy. "Feng Li, you won't let them eat Old White?"
Feng Li said "Of course not. That's your Old White. No one is permitted to eat him."
Ah Ching sighed "You are nice. I always hate to let other people kill my goats so they can eat the meat, but mother said that unless we sell our goat, we will not have money for rice."
Feng Li said "From today on, I will ask people to send your mother rice and good clothes. You don't have to sell your goats anymore."
Ah Ching became happy and embraced Feng Li "You are a good man."
Feng Li held her hand, afraid that she might disappear like some immortal from legend. The goats followed them back to his mansion.
As Ah Ching herded her goats into the mansion she said "Your house is so large! How can you live here alone?"
Feng Li smiled "Yes, I think this house is too big for me. Why don't you come live here with your mother? Who else do you have in your family?"
Ah Ching said "Just me and my mom. I don't know if my mom wants to come. She always says that I shouldn't talk to strange man, but you are a good man. You won't harm us."
Feng Li told Ah Ching to leave the goats in the garden and ordered his servants to pick out the best snacks for Ah Ching. The servants watched in shock as the goats devoured the expensive flowers in the garden. They were even more shocked when they observed their master watching the destruction with a happy smile.
Ah Ching ate the pastries and drank the tea. Feng Li talked with and discovered that she's innocent of the intrigues of the world. Finally he asked "Ah Ching, who taught you sword skills?"
Ah Ching's large, clear eyes opened wider and said "Sword skill? No one ever taught me anything."
Feng Li said "The way you used that bamboo stick. That's sword skill. Who taught that?"
Ah Ching shook her head "No one. I always knew how to play with the bamboo stick."
Feng Li saw that she was too innocent to lie and thought "Did heaven finally send down a miracle?" He asked again "Do you know how to play with this bamboo since you're a child?"
Ah Ching said "No. When I was thirteen, Grandpa White came to ride my goats. I wouldn't let him and beat him off with my bamboo stick. He returned with a bamboo stick. I then fought with him. At first, he always score hits on me and I can't score hits on him. I play this everyday. Now, I score hits on him most of the time and he can't score hits on me. He isn't coming back as often now."
Feng thought he finally hit something and said "Where does this Grandpa White live? Can you take me to him?"
Ah Ching said "He lives in the mountains. You can't find him. He usually comes and find me. I never tried to find him."
Feng Li said "I want to meet him. Is there a way?"
Ah Ching said "Hmm. You can follow me to pasture. We will wait for him on the mountain side. I don't know when he'll show though." She sighed "I haven't seen him for a while now."
Feng Li said to himself "This is for Yi Kwan and the kingdom of Yueh. A little goat herding won't hurt." so he said "Good, I'll accompany you and wait for Grandpa White." He thought "Grandpa White must be the sword sage who taught this girl. He must have loved her youth and innocence, so he used play to teach her. He could make a young girl into the such a great master, then he could make our warriors destroy Wu.
After the meal, Feng Li followed her to mountain pastures to her goats. His subordinates didn't understand the reason. They were all baffled. Day after day, Feng Li went with Ah Ching to herd goat and sang songs, waiting for Grandpa White.
On the fifth day, Wen Chung came to Feng Li's mansion and saw a very worried chamberlain. He asked "I haven't seen Minister Feng for a few days now. The King is worried and ordered to me to visit. Did Minister Feng come down sick?"
The chamberlain said "Minister Feng is healthy, but…but…"
"But?"
"Minister Wen is the best friend of Miister Feng. You can say things to him that are not appropriate for us to say. Why don't you try to talk some sense into him?"
Wen Chung was baffled "Sense? What's wrong with Minister Feng?"
"Minister Feng fell love with that little shepherdess. Every morning he leaves with her and don't return until after sundown. He won't permit any guards following him. He will not be bothered even when I have urgent affairs."
Wen Chung laughed and thought "When Brother Feng was living in the kingdom of Chuh, everyone called him Feng the Crazy. He never does things like other people."
At that time, Feng Li was sitting on a mountain side grassland and telling Ah Ching the story of the goddess Hsiang Fei. Ah Ching was sitting close by his side and listened to him intent, her large bright eyese never left his face. Suddenly she said "Hsiang Fei is really that beautiful?"
Feng Li said "Her eyes are clearer and brighter than the water in this mountain stream…"
Ah Ching said "Does she have fish in her eyes?"
Feng Li continued "Her skin is like the clouds, but fairer."
Ah Ching said "Are there birds flying in those clouds?"
Feng Li continued obliviously "Her lips are softer than the petal of this flower and redder. Her lips are moist, even more than the dews on this petal. When Hsiang Fei stands next to the river, the beauty of her reflection made all the riverside flowers wilt in shame. Even fish dare not swim in water for fear of rumpling her reflection. When her white hand is dipped into the river, it was so soft that it could almost melt into the water…"
Ah Ching said "You saw her, didn't you. How else can you describe her so clearly?"
Feng Li said "I saw her. I saw her very, very clearly."
Of course, he was referring to Si Shi, not the goddess Hsiang Fei.
He looked at the north. His eyes looked beyond a wide, roaring river. Is the beauty in the royal palace of Wu. Is she with King Fu Chai? Is she thinking about me?
Ah Ching said "Feng Li! Your beard is strange, can I touch it?"
Feng Li thought "Is she weeping, or laughing?"
Ah Ching said "Feng Li, you have two strands of white beard, just like my goats."
Feng Li thought "When we're separated, she wept on my shoulder. Her tear soaked half of my robe. I never washed that robe. My tears were mingled with hers on that robe."
Ah Ching said "Feng Li. Can I pull out one of your beard? I will pull gently. You won't feel a thing."
Feng Li thought "She said she loved riding in a boat and float with the currents. After I take her back, I will not be a court minister anymore. I will ride a boat with her, floating in rivers and lakes, for the rest of my life."
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain on his chin. Ah Ching pulled out a strand of his beard. She laughed prettily. Suddenly the laugh was cut off and she said "You're here again!"
A green shadow flashed as Ah Ching shot forward. A green blur and a white blur was moving quickly around each other.
Feng Li cried gladly "Grandpa White's here!" It's a while before the two combatants slowed down enough for him to get a good look. Then he got a great surprise.
The one fighting Ah Ching wasn't human. It was a white ape.
The white ape, too, was holding a bamboo stick. The white ape performed intricate sword forms. The whooshing sound of the stick signaled the great strength it put into each form. But everytime he attack, Ah Ching was always able to block or redirect each blow and counterattack using even more intricate sword forms.
When Ah Ching fought the Wu swordmen, the forms she used were minimal. Only now Feng Li witnessed the vast skill Ah Ching wielded. He was no expert in swords, but he had looked at the Yueh swordmen train for many years. Now, he realized that the best swordmen of Yueh were but children playing with toys when compared to Ah Ching and Grandpa.
The white ape's attacks sped up faster and faster. Ah Ching slowed down instead. She stood still, but each time she thrusted with her bamboo stick, the white ape was forced to jump back.
Ah Ching forced the white ape three steps, then she pulled back her stick and stood still. The white ape held his stick in two hands and jumped to attack. Feng Li saw the strength of the attack and cried out "Watch out!" Ah Ching's stick moved too fast to be seen. There were two muffled sounds of impact, then the white ape's bamboo stick dropped to the ground. The white ape howed and jumped up to a tree. Then it leaped away. The howl was intense, but became muter as the it went farther away. The howl reverberated long after the white ape was gone.
Ah Ching turned back and sighed "Grandpa broke both of his arms. Now he won't come play with me anymore."
Feng Li said "You broke his arms?"
Ah Ching nodded " Grandpa is very angry today. Three times, he tried to leap over and kill you."
Feng Li said in surprise "Kill me? Why?"
Ah Ching shook her head "I don't know."
Feng Li became scared in secret "If Ah Ching didn't stop it, that white ape can kill me, easy as blowing away a pile of ash!"
The next morning, Ah Ching faced twenty of the best swordmen of Yueh alone. Feng Li knew that Ah Ching could not teach other people how to use the sword the way she did, so the only way was for the Yueh swordmen to imitate her.
The problem was no Yueh swordmen could last three passes from her.Whenever Ah Ching's bamboo stick moved, her opponent either lost his sword, or got stabbed in some delicate area.
The next day, she defeated thirty swordmen. The third day, thirty more lost.
The fourth day, Feng Li went to ask her for another lesson, but he could not find her. He went to her home, but the house was empty. Feng Li sent hundreds of his servants and guards into the mountains to look for her, but no one could find any trace of her.
The eighty Yueh swordmen didn't learn the true sword skill from Ah Ching, but they saw the smallest portion of the ultimate sword skill. All the swordmen now knew the true height sword skill could go. The eighty swordmen tried to teach the small portion they could understand to their comrades. Even this pale shadow of a pale shadow of the ultimate skill was enough, Yueh swordmen became invincible.
King Kou Chiang ordered Hsieh Chu to forge thousands of sharp swords.
Three years later, Kou Chiang attacked Wu. The armies of Yueh and Wu met next to a lake. Five thousand Yueh swordmen marched forward. Wu swordmen met them. Yueh swords flashed and the Wu army was shattered.
King Fu Chai retreated to Yu Hong Mountain. The army of Yueh followed. The second battle ensued. The Wu army was again defeated. Fu Chai committed suicide in order to avoid the cruel fate Kou Chiang had in store for him. Yueh took the capital of Wu.
Feng Li led one thousand swordmen and rushed to King Fu Chai's resort palace. That was where Si Shi lived. He ran into the palace, shouting "Yi Kwan! Yi Kwan!"
He ran past a long corridor, his footstep echoed clearly. The corridor was hollow underneath. Si Shi walked lightly, the rhythm of her steps was more enchanting than any music. Fu Chai built this palace, this corridor in order to listen to the melody of her footsteps.
At the other end of the corridor, music came, like the sound of a happy mandolin, like the clear sound of a zither. A soft voice said "Shao Bo, is that really you?"
Feng Li felt blood rushing upward from his chest and shouted "It's I. It's I. I have come for you." His own voice seemed like the voice of a stranger, speaking from far away. He ran forward with uneven steps.
The music came down the corridor, a soft body entered his embrace.
The spring night was meltingly warm. Flower fragrance floated through the curtains, entering the chambers of the resort palace. Feng Li and Si Shi talked about their longing for each other.
Suddenly the sound goat penetrated into their awareness.
Feng LI said "You can't forget you homeland? You have goats here?"
Si Shi shook her head. She wondered about the goats, but she couldn't think of anything else in the presence of the man she loved. She held Feng Li's hand, and fiery blood flowed faster through their arteries.
Suddenly, the voice of a woman sounded "Feng Li! Bring out you Si Shi. I'll kill her!"
Feng Li stood up. Si Shi felt his palm suddenly turning cold. Feng Li recognized Ah Ching's voice. Her voice came from outside of the resort palace.
Feng Li was fearful and puzzled. "Why does she want to kill Yi Kwan? Yi Kwan had never wronged her." Then he understood "She's not really a simple village girl. She always liked me." The understanding only made him more fearful.
He had gone through many, many difficult decisions as well as dangerous situations. The fear he felt when he was trapped with Kou Chiang in a Wu siege was far less than what he felt now. Si Shi felt his palm trembbling and covered with cold sweat.
Feng Li was not afraid of his own death. He feared for Si Shi.
Feng Li pulled himself under control and said "I will go see this person." He released Si Shi's hand and walked out of the palace.
Eighteen swordmen followed him. They all heard Ah Ching's cry. They were baffled and curious. Feng Li oly saw the clear moonlight outside, but no one was visible. He cried out loudly "Lady Ah Ching, please come here. We have things to talk about." But he heard no reply. He waited, but Ah Ching did not come. He ordered one thousand armored soldiers and one thousand elite swordmen to be moved to the resort palace.
He returned to Si Shi and held her hands again. He didn't say anything. He was planning as he never planned before "Should I let one of the servant maids pretending to be Si Shi and let Ah Ching kill her? Should I commit suicide before Ah Ching so she will spare Si Shi? Shoul
d I order two thousand archers surrounding this place and shoot Ah Ching full of arrows if she tries to force her way in?" Every plan he had was flawed. He also didn't want to kill Ah Ching, who had made the destruction of Wu possible. He stared at Shi Si. Suddenly he felt warmth in his heart "It's good that we'll die this way. At least we spend sometime together before we die together."
Hours passed. Si Shi felt that Feng's hand became warmer. He lost his fear and began to smile.
The rising sun cast its rays through the window.
Suddenly the the sound of a fight came from outside the palace door. Then the incessant sound of weapons dropping to the ground. The sound drew closer and closer, like a giant serpent worming its way into the palace. Then the sound of dropping weapons came from the walkways just outside the room they were in. Two thousand warriors were not enough to stop Ah Ching.
Ah Ching's voice said "Feng Li, where are you?"
Feng Li said calmly "Ah Ching, I'm here."
Before he even finished the word "here", the curtain parted and a green shadow came flying in. Ah Ching, dressed in her usual green stood before them. She pointed her bamboo stick at Si Shi. She stared at the face of Shi Si, the killing rage on face gradually disappeared, replaced with disappointment and self-pity, then it changed to surprise, admiration and finally worship. She whispered "There…there really is such beauty under heaven! Feng Li, she is even more…more beautiful than you described." Her slender waist turned. With a cry, she flew up through the window. The cry went farther and farther until its reverberation was left.
The surviving guards ran inside the room. One of them bowed "Minister, are you all right?" Feng Li merely dismissed them with a wave of his hand. Then he held Si Shi's hand and said "Let's change into the clothes of commners. We'll go rowing a boat upon Lake Tai and never return to this place."