by Jin Yong
The crowd of beggars angrily shouted, "Must not let them succeed!” "The Beggar Clan swears to fight to the death with the Devil Cult.” "If the Devil Cult rules the world, can our Clan’s brethrens live?” "Tartars must go, but there is no way we would let the Devil Cult’s Jiaozhu ascend to the throne.”
Zhang Wuji contemplated, "Who would have thought that while I was overseas for several months, the brethrens have done really great. The Beggar Clan is this apprehensive; apparently, it was not without any reason. The Beggar Clan people are numerous; there are many heroes and warriors among them; if we can join hands with them to fight the Yuan, then this important matter has a greater chance of success. Question is, how do I eradicate their suspicion, converting an enemy into a friend?”
Zhang Bo Longtou waited until the commotion somewhat subsided before continuing, "Shi Bangzhu has always lived peacefully in the ‘Lian Hua Shan Zhuang’ [Lotus Villa (a manor on the mountain)], and did not involve in the Jianghu for a long time; but with this kind of urgent matter, he does not have any choice but to preside over it personally. Also, with the Heaven’s blessing, our Clan’s eight-pouch Zhanglao [elder] Chen Youliang has made an acquaintance with a Wudang disciple and has obtained extremely important information.” Raising his voice he called out, "Chen Zhanglao!”
"Here!” a voice from behind the wall responded.
Two men appeared, walking hand-in-hand. One of them was about thirty years of age, with a swift and fierce expression; he was none other than Chen Youliang whose life was spared by Xie Xun on the Lingshe Island. The other was a 27, 28 year-old handsome man; he was none other than Song Yuanqiao’s son, Song Qingshu.
When he heard ‘Chen Youliang has made an acquaintance with a Wudang disciple’, Zhang Wuji assumed it was some ordinary disciple under his martial uncles; who would have thought that it was a Wudang’s disciple who could be regarded as the first among the third generation disciples? "How can Song Shige [martial (older) brother] get mixed up with the Beggar Clan?” he thought. Following which, he thought, "Wudang Pai and the Beggar Clan are both chivalrous organizations, they have a good relationship with each other, so I should not wonder.”
Chen Youliang and Song Qingshu saluted Shi Huolong first, and then they greeted the Chuan Gong Zhanglao and Zhi Fa Zhanglao, Zhang Bang Longtou and Zhang Bo Longtou, before finally turning to face the crowd of beggars and cupped their fists.
"Chen Zhanglao,” Zhang Bo Longtou said, "Please tell the details of this matter to the brethrens here.”
Taking Song Qingshu’s hand, Chen Youliang said, "Brothers, this is Song Qingshu, Song Shaoxia [young hero Song], he is Wudang Pai’s Song Yuanqiao, Song Daxia’s [great hero Song] son. In the future, Wudang Pai’s Zhangmen [Sect Leader] position will no doubt fall into his hand. That Devil Cult’s Jiaozhu, Zhang Wuji, can be considered Song Shaoxia’s Shidi [martial (younger) brother], therefore, I can say with confidence that Song Shaoxia understands the internal matters inside the Devil Cult like the back of his hands. Several months ago, Shong Shaoxia informed me that the Devil Cult’s big leader [da mo tou, lit. big devil-head] Jin Mao Shi Wang Xie Xun has arrived on the Lingshe Island of the East China Sea ...”
Zhi Fa Zhanglao interrupted, "The Wulin world has exhausted all efforts in trying to find the Jin Mao Shi Wang, but for dozens of years nobody knows his whereabouts. How did Song Shaoxia suddenly found out? The Old Man here wants to know.”
Zhang Wuji had always had this question lingered on his mind, "Zi Shan Long Wang has forced information from Wu Lie, father and daughter, on my Yifu’s location before taking him south to the Lingshe Island. This is a top-secret information. How did the Beggar Clan find out and hence send some people to the island to seize the Saber?" Xie Xun and he had discussed this matter over several times, but all along they could not find a plausible answer. Now listening to Zhi Fa Zhanglao’s question, he focused his attention even more.
He heard Chen Youliang say, "Due to Bangzhu’s good fortune, we struck a coincidence. On the Eastern Sea there is someone by the name of Jin Hua Popo. I don’t know how, but she knew Xie Xun’s whereabouts. This old granny is highly skilled in maritime and navigational skill. Unexpectedly, she managed to find the desolate island of the far north where Xie Xun lived, and took him to the Lingshe Island. On that Lingshe Island, there were two people, father and daughter, being held captives. Their names were Wu Lie and Wu Qingying; they are the descendants of Dali’s Southern Emperor’s school of martial arts. Taking advantage of Jin Hua Popo leaving the island to visit the Central Plains [zhong yuan], they killed the guard and escaped from the island. They met some danger in Shandong area; luckily Song Shaoxia saved them. After talking for some times, Song Shaoxia learned about Jin Mao Shi Wang’s whereabouts.”
"Hmm, so that’s how it is,” Zhi Fa Zhanglao nodded.
In his heart Zhang Wuji also said, "Hmm, so that’s how it is.” He further considered, "Wu Lie, father and daughter, are not upright people; in the past, along with Zhu Zhangling, they did a painstaking effort to cheat Yifu’s whereabouts from my mouth. But as luck has it, the information was passed on to Zi Shan Long Wang. Speaking about water skill and navigation technique, I am afraid not many people in the world who can surpass Zi Shan Long Wang. If not her, who in the world could have found the Binghuo Island on the boundless North Sea? Even if my father and mother were resurrected from the dead, they might not necessarily be able to do that. It was divine intervention indeed.”
Chen Youliang continued, "Xiongdi [brother, referring to himself] and Song Shaoxia have forged a life-and-death friendship. As soon as I learned this information, I coordinated with Ji and Zheng, two eighth-pouch zhanglao, accompanied by five seven-pouch disciples, we went to the Lingshe Island to capture Xie Xun and seize the Tulong Saber to be presented to Bangzhu. Unexpectedly, the Devil Cult also sent a large army of warriors to the Lingshe Island. Although we did our best to fight, in the end we were defeated; Ji Zhanglao and four of the seven-pouch disciples have fallen. On the detail of the battle on the Lingshe Island, I invite Zheng Zhanglao to report to Bangzhu.”
The maimed Zheng Zhanglao stood up from among the crowd and narrated the battle between the Beggar Clan and the Ming Cult on the Lingshe Island. He did not say that the Beggar Clan people surrounded the lone Xie Xun, but he mentioned how numerous the Ming Cult people were, and how brave their own people fight the enemy, and finally he told about how Chen Youliang had placed his own life at stake to save him and to uphold justice. He was speaking fervently that his spittle flew everywhere. He said Xie Xun was very impressed with Chen Youliang’s uprightness that he did not dare to fight him. As the crowd of beggars in the main hall listened to his story, they were excited, their countenances flushed and they cheered repeatedly.
"Chen Xiongdi is both brave and resourceful, as well as loyal [orig. ‘yi4 qi4’ - spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice/code of brotherhood]. A man like him is truly hard to come by,” Chuan Gong Zhanglao commented.
Chen Youliang bowed and said, "For the sake of following Bangzhu and Zhanglao’s instructions, for the sake of lifting our Clan’s principle of righteousness high, I am willing to go through fire or water. It was a trivial matter. I feel unworthy to receive Zheng Zhanglao’s compliments.”
Seeing his modesty and unwillingness to receive credit, the crowd of beggars praised him even more. On top of the tree, the more Zhang Wuji heard, the angrier he was; thinking that this man was despicable and shameless, he unexpectedly dared to go this far. It was obvious that he betrayed a friend to save his own life, but he became the hero who saved his friend instead. Only, his scheme was flawless that even Zheng Zhanglao was deceived. He was indeed a great villain.
Thinking of this, his heart turned sour, "This traitor’s deceit, even Yifu was deceived, even I was deceived,” he mused, "Only Zi Shan Long Wang and Miss Zhao were not deceived. Ay ... Miss Zhao is very intelligent; it’s a pity her character is .”
Zhi Fa Zhanglao stood up and coldly said, "Our Clan has this
many brothers harmed by the Devil
Cult, this blood debt is as deep as the ocean. Are we going to let it go?”
The crowd of beggars responded in such a clamor, "We must avenge Ji Zhanglao!” "Let’s go to the
Brightness Peak! Wipe out the Devil Cult!” "Slay Zhang Wuji, slay Xie Xun!” "Our Clan cannot coexist with the Devil Cult; we see one of them, we kill one of them, we see a pair of them, we kill a pair of them!” "Bangzhu, quickly issue an order to the Beggar Clan disciples under the heaven to raise our arms and fight the Devil Cult!”
"Bangzhu,” Zhi Fa Zhanglao said to Shi Huolong, "Seeking revenge is an urgent matter, please give us direction on how to proceed.”
Shi Huolong frowned and said, "This ... mmm, this is indeed our Clan’s important matter. Hmm, hmm ... it needs further consideration. Tell the seven-pouch disciples and under to withdraw momentarily, let us discuss this matter carefully.”
"Yes!” Zhi Fa Zhanglao complied. Turning around he shouted, "Hear Bangzhu’s order: seven-pouch disciples and under to leave the main hall and wait outside the temple.”
The crowd shouted their obedience; they bowed down to Shi Huolong, and went out the temple gate. Only eight-pouch elders and the leaders remained in the main hall.
Chen Youliang moved one step forward, bowed down and said, "Reporting to Bangzhu: this Song Qingshu, Song Xiongdi has rendered a great service to our Clan. I am asking Bangzhu’s benevolence to allow him be a part of our Clan, and to confer to him a position commensurate to his skill and status, so that he would be able to contribute even greater service to our Clan in the future.”
"This, apparently, has not ...” Song Qingzhu said. He only said the word ‘not’ when Chen Youliang cast him a sharp glance. Song Qingshu noticed his expression and immediately lowered his head and did not continue.
"Very well,” Shi Huolong said, "Song Qingshu is admitted into our Clan. For the time being, I give him the rank of six-pouch disciple, under the eight-pouch elder Chen Youliang’s command. He must abide by our Clan’s laws and regulations, doing his utmost for our Clan’s benefit. His merit will be rewarded and his crime will be punished.”
Song Qingshu’s eyes showed resentment, but he strived to restrain himself. Moving forward he knelt down in front of Shi Huolong and said, "Disciple Song Qingshu pays his respect to Bangzhu.
Many thanks for Bangzhu’s kindness in bestowing the six-pouch disciple position to me.” After that, he also paid his respect to the various elders.
"Song Xiongdi,” Zhi Fa Zhanglao said, "Since you are part of our Clan, you are subjected to our Clan’s rules and regulations. Someday, even though you become the Wudang Pai Zhang Men [Sect Leader of Wudang Sect], you will still have to follow our Clan’s order. Do you understand this?” His manner of speaking was very serious.
"Yes,” Song Qingshu replied.
Zhi Fa Zhanglao continued, "Although our Clan and Wudang Pai both follow the same chivalrous way, our approaches are not the same. Since someday the Wudang Sect Leader position will certainly fall into your hands, why did you want to become part of our Clan? You must answer this question truthfully.”
Song Qingshu cast a sidelong glance toward Chen Youliang before answering, "Chen Zhanglao has shown an utmost benevolence toward me, I admire his conduct very much; therefore, I will be satisfied to follow his leadership.”
Cheng Youliang laughed and said, "There are no outsiders here, I don’t see any problem for you to say it. After the Sect Leader of Emei Pai, Miejue Shitai passed away, the newly-appointed Sect Leader is a young and good-looking lady by the name of Zhou Zhiruo. This lady and Song Xiongdi are childhood friends; apparently they are betrothed to each other. Who would have thought that the Devil Cult’s big devil-head Zhang Wuji appeared and stole her heart away, and took her overseas? Obviously, Song Xiongdi was furious and came to me for advice. I vow to help my brother taking that Zhou girl back.”
The more Wuji heard it, the angrier he was; thinking in his heart, "This man spoke nonsense; when did such thing ever happen?” He wanted to jump down into the main hall to confront him, but in the end decided to restrain his rage and keep on listening.
Shi Huolong laughed aloud and said, "It’s always hard for a hero to resist a beauty. I am not surprised. One is the Wudang Sect Leader, the other is Emei Sect Leader; not only a match in social position and economic status, but also the man highly skilled, the woman beautiful. This is a perfect match indeed.”
Zhi Fa Zhanglao asked again, "Since Song Xiongdi has this grievance, why don’t you ask Zhang Sanfeng Zhenren [lit. true/real man - a respectable term to address a Taoist priest] and Song Daxia [great hero Song] to mediate?”
Chen Youliang replied, "Song Xiongdi told me: that little thief Zhang Wuji is Wudang Pai’s Zhang Cuishan’s son. Zhang Sanfeng has always been very fond of Zhang Cuishan. For that reason, Wudang Pai is in a good term with the Devil Cult lately. Zhang Sanfeng and Song Daxia are not willing to offend the Devil Cult. Presently, in the Wulin world of the Central Plains, our Clan is the only one who stands against the Devil Cult; furthermore, we are the only one who has enough power to resist those devils.”
Zhi Fa Zhanglao nodded. "That’s true,” he said, "Only by destroying the Devil Cult and slaughtering that fellow Zhang Wuji Song Xiongdi’s desire will be satisfied and his grievance compensated only by destroying the Devil Cult and slaughtering that person Zhang Wuji.”
From his hiding place on the tree, Zhang Wuji recalled how in the Western Region’s desert and on the Brightness Peak, Song Qingshu’s treatment toward Zhou Zhiruo had always been rather strange. Only now did Zhang Wuji realize that Song Qingshu had a deep feeling toward her. Yet he was still astonished over what had happened, "A Wudang disciple wants to join the Beggar Clan; this is not right, especially without reporting to Tai Shifu and Song Shibo [martial (older) uncle] first. He is betraying his own school, betraying his own father, for a woman’s sake; wouldn’t he make a very big mistake? Besides, Zhiruo loves me very much, although Song Qingshu received the Beggar Clan’s help, how can he force her to follow him? Song Dage [big brother Song] has made a name for himself in the Jianghu, he holds the reputation as the up-and coming leader of Wudang Pai. How can he make such a blunder?”
He heard Chen Youliang say, "Reporting to Bangzhu: in Dadou [grand capital, modern day Beijing] disciple has captured an important figure from the Devil Cult. This man might be crucial to our Clan’s great endeavor; asking Bangzhu to give your verdict.”
Shi Huolong was delighted, "Bring him in,” he said.
Chen Youliang clapped three times, "Bring that devil head in,” he said.
From the back of the hall came four beggars with unsheathed weapons in their hands, dragging a man whose hands were tied behind his back. Zhang Wuji saw that he was a young man in his early twenties; his face looked very familiar. He remembered he had seen this man during the Ming Cult great assembly on the Butterfly Valley, but he did not remember that man’s name. That man looked furious; when he walked passed Chen Youliang, he suddenly spat on his face. Chen Youliang quickly dodged while striking that man’s cheek with the back of his palm, causing that man’s cheek to immediately swell.
The beggar behind him pushed him down and shouted, "Kneel down and kowtow in Bangzhu’s presence!”
That man coughed and spat thick spittle toward Shi Huolong’s face.
The distance between that man and Shi Huolong was very close, to begin with, plus, he spat with all his might. Although Shi Huolong hastily ducked, he was not able to evade. ‘Splat!’ the spittle landed on his forehead.
Chen Youliang’s leg swept away and kicked that man down, while he blocked in front of Shi Huolong. Pointing his finger to him, Chen Youliang barked, "Daring crazy disciple! Are you bored of your life?”
That man shot back, "Since I have fallen into your hand, your master does not hope to go home alive!”
As Chen Youliang blocked, Shi Huolong had the opportunity to wipe the spittle from his forehead. Chen Youlian
g moved two steps backward and said, "Reporting to Bangzhu: this fellow is a top ranking expert within the Devil Cult; his martial art skill level appears to be above the four Protector Kings. We must not look down on him.”
Listening to him, Zhang Wuji was astonished, but he immediately understood; Chen Youliang was deliberately exaggerating that man’s martial art to give face to his Clan Leader. Shi Huolong was the Clan Leader of the Beggar Clan, but surprisingly he was not able to evade this spittle attack, which was highly unlikely. Furthermore, after receiving such insult, his face did not show any indignation, but he appeared to be somewhat frightened and was at a loss.
"Chen Xiongdi,” Zhi Fa Zhanglao asked, "Who is this man?” "His name is Han Lin’er,” Chen Youliang replied, "The son of Han Shantong.”
Zhang Wuji nodded his head silently, "That’s right. During the general assembly in the Butterfly Valley, he was always following his father around and did not speak to me at all, no wonder I did not remember his name.”
"Ah,” Zhi Fa Zhanglao was delighted, "He is Han Shantong’s son. Chen Xiongdi, your contribution is even greater. Reporting to Bangzhu: for the past several years, Han Shantong has repeatedly defeated the Yuan army, establishing for himself a great fame for his military prowess. The generals under his command, Zhu Yuanzhang, Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and the others, are all important leaders within the Devil Cult. By capturing this fellow, we can use him as hostage, so that we won’t have to worry about Han Shantong not listening to our Clan.”
Han Lin’er opened his mouth in swearing and cursing, "In your mother’s dream! What kind of hero is my Father? How could he submit to your shameless coercing? My Father only listen to Zhang Jiaozhu’s order. Your Beggar Clan wants to contend for supremacy against my Ming Cult? You are overestimating your own capabilities too much! Your stinky Beggar Clan Bangzhu is not even fit to carry our Zhang Jiaozhu.”