by Jin Yong
Xie Xun sent three punches in succession while he took two steps forward. Cheng Kun retreated two steps. He wanted to entice Xie Xun so that he would stumble on the broken pine tree. Xie Xun was about to chase Cheng Kun forward when Zhang Wuji called out, "Yifu, watch your steps!”
Xie Xun shivered; he stepped sideways to avoid the obstacle. But as he was hesitating, Cheng Kun seized the opportunity to launch his silent punch, aimed at Xie Xun’s chest. Cheng Kun suddenly sent out his force and Xie Xun fell backward. Cheng Kun raised his foot to kick Xie Xun’s skull. Xie Xun rolled away and quickly stood up. Blood trickled down from the corner of his mouth.
Cheng Kun stood motionless. His right palm stretched out slowly.
When Xie Xun fought Cheng Kun, he relied on his knowledge of Cheng Kun’s techniques, but also by listening to the wind to distinguish the direction. This time Cheng Kun stretched out his palm without using any particular technique, slowly reaching out toward Xie Xun’s face. Suddenly his palm struck Xie Xun’s shoulder. Xie Xun staggered a few steps and braced himself to stop.
A lot of the heroes on the side were not happy; they shouted one after another, "A sighted person fighting a blind, and still using this despicable trick!”
Cheng Kun paid no attention; he slowly raised his palm to strike again. Xie Xun focused his attention to listen. As he felt the enemy palm was coming, he raised his hand to block.
Seeing the yellow hair on Xie Xun’s head flutter, the corner of his mouth was daubed in blood, Zhang Wuji was very angry and anxious at the same time. He knew that if this kind of fight continued, Xie Xun would undoubtedly die under Cheng Kun’s hands. Yet if he stepped forward to lend a hand in this situation, even if he managed to kill Cheng Kun, his Yifu would certainly regret it for the rest of his life. Grabbing Zhao Min’s hand, he anxiously said, "Quickly think of a good way to help him.”
"Can you stealthily launch secret projectiles to blind that old thief’s eyes?” Zhao Min asked.
Zhang Wuji shook his head. "Yifu will not let me do such thing even if he has to die!” he said.
Meanwhile, he that saw Cheng Kun was slowly raising his palm again. Zhao Min suddenly shouted, "Chest!”
Xie Xun sent a jab straight out. Cheng Kun pulled back his palm without making any contact. Again and again he launched several slow attacks, but each time Zhao Min foiled his attacks by shouting his target. Seeing his tactic fail, Cheng Kun changed plan. He raised his palm slowly toward Xie Xun’s right shoulder.
"Right shoulder!” Zhao Min called out.
Cheng Kun’s left shoulder moved slightly. Zhang Wuji immediately understood his intention.
"Back!” he shouted.
When Xie Xun heard Zhao Min’s shout, he waved his right arm to block the palm threatening his right shoulder. To his surprise, Cheng Kun’s palm was an empty move; when he followed Zhao Min’s warning by moving his right arm, Cheng Kun’s left palm entered Xie Xun’s open defense. ‘Slap!’ His palm heavily struck Xie Xun’s back. Although Zhang Wuji’s warning came in time,
Cheng Kun’s palm was simply too swift. By the time Xie Xun heard the warning, it was already too late to change his move.
The crowd shouted in alarm. Xie Xun vomited a mouthful of blood, most of it sprayed onto Cheng Kun’s face.
"Ah!” Cheng Kun cried out while reaching up to wipe his face. Xie Xun rolled down on the ground. Suddenly they both screamed and disappeared together.
Turned out as soon as Xie Xun rolled down, he grabbed both of Cheng Kun’s legs and furiously pulled him down that both of them fell into the underground dungeon together.
The dungeon was filled with water reaching to their necks. It was also pitch black inside that Cheng Kun immediately became like a blind person. Hastily he leaped back to get away from the enemy, but the dungeon was very narrow that as he leaped, his back crashed heavily onto the rock wall.
He wanted to jump up, but his lower abdomen was struck by Xie Xun’s Qi Shang Quan. Severe pain rushed into his heart instantly.
Cheng Kun realized his injury was not light. If he continued leaping, he would be hit again. Thereupon he changed his tactic. He used the ‘xiao qin na shou’ [lit. little ‘grab and capture’ or grappling technique] to fight the enemy.
This ‘xiao qin na shou’ was very effective to use in close combat in the darkness. It possessed an exquisite ability to adapt to changes in a marvelous and rapid way. Although the eyes could not see, the fingers, palms, arms and elbows could be used to detect the enemy, and then grabbed, clawed, hit, tore, poked, hooked or struck the enemy’s body.
Xie Xun gave a loud shout and also used the ‘xiao qin na shou’ to fight back.
The crowd only heard shouts coming out of the dungeon again and again, mixed with rapid noise of fists and palms collided with each other or with the opponent’s body, just like the noise of firecrackers. Large sheets of water splashed out of the dungeon. It appeared that the two men were attacking each other at full speed.
Zhang Wuji’s heart was thumping madly as he thought that if right this moment his Yifu met a dangerous situation, he would be helpless to render his assistance, since he obviously could not
jump into the dungeon to save his Yifu. In his anxiety, his back was wet with cold sweat.
Xie Xun had been blind for more than twenty years; his ability to distinguish shape from listening to the noise was very well trained. He was accustomed to rely on his ears instead of his eyes. On the other hand, Cheng Kun fought like a blind person amidst the splashing water; he hit and grabbed randomly, so the table was turned in that now he was at a disadvantage.
Cheng Kun panicked. He could not think of anything else except moving his arm rapidly like a gust of wind under a sudden downpour. He increased the speed of his ‘xiao qin na shou’ while using only killer moves with this thought in his mind, "I am going to stake everything I have; whatever happens, we must return to fighting above the ground.”
Step by step the crowd of heroes approached the dungeon. Their palms were wet with cold sweats, while their ears heard continuous shouting of Cheng Kun and Xie Xun from underground.
It seemed like victory and defeat had not been decided yet.
Suddenly Cheng Kun’s scream was heard from underground, followed by the two men jumping out of the dungeon together. Under the sunlight, everybody could see that both Cheng Kun and Xie Xun’s eyes were bleeding. The two men stood still, facing each other.
What happened was: during the fierce battle, with open arms Xie Xun’s palms struck down toward Cheng Kun. Cheng Kun was delighted. "Got you!” he shouted, while the two fingers of his right hand struck Xie Xun’s eyes. It was the move ‘shuang long qiang zhu’ [a pair of dragons fight over a pearl], which was quite common. However, because it was launched in the midst of ‘xiao qin na shou’, it carried an enormous power. He expected the opponent to lean sideways to evade, and then his left hand would sweep across the opponent head. He was certain the opponent’s vital ‘tai yang xue’ [sun acupoint, located on the temples] would be hit. Contrary to his expectation, Xie Xun neither evaded nor blocked his strike; he also shouted, "Got you!” with the same ‘shuang long qiang zhu’, his two fingers poked Cheng Kun’s eyes.
As soon as Cheng Kun’s fingers pierced Xie Xun’s eyes, like a flash of lightning a thought came into his mind, "Bad!” followed by stabbing pain as his own eyes were pierced by Xie Xun’s two fingers.
Both men suffered the same injury. However, Xie Xun had been blind for a long time. As he was pierced by Cheng Kun’s fingers, he only suffered some superficial wound. Cheng Kun, on the other hand, had turned blind.
With a cold laugh Xie Xun said, "Does it feel good, being a blind man?” With a loud shout he launched another punch.
Cheng Kun could not see anything; he was unable to evade. The ‘Qi Shang Quan’ hit him squarely on the chest. Xie Xun followed with a left hand punch. Cheng Kun staggered several steps backward until his back was against the broken pine tree; blood gushing out from his mouth.
Xie Xun stopped dead on his track; he had concentrated his power on the third punch, but right now it stopped midway. "I should have punched you thirteen times with the ‘Qi Shang Quan’; but your martial art skill is gone and you are blind, henceforth you have become a handicapped person and thus will not do wicked things on the earth anymore. You need not receive the remaining eleven punches.”
Seeing that Xie Xun achieved a total victory, Zhang Wuji and the others cheered. But suddenly Xie Xun sat on the ground; the bones on his entire body were cracking.
Zhang Wuji was shocked, knowing that Xie Xun was using his own internal energy to destroy his own martial art skill. "Yifu,” he hastily said, "Don’t!” He rushed forward and stretching out his hand, using the Jiu Yang Shen Gong, he pressed Xie Xun’s back to stop him.
Xie Xun suddenly leaped up and fiercely punched his own chest; blood gushing out from his mouth.
Zhang Wuji busily reached out to support him, but he felt that Xie Xun’s hand was feeble. His martial art skill had definitely gone, and would be very difficult to recover.
Xie Xun pointed his finger toward Cheng Kun and said, "Cheng Kun, you murdered my entire family. Today I destroyed your eyes and wiped out your martial art skill. We are even now. Shifu, my martial art skill was taught by you. Today I willingly destroyed it; I am giving it back to you. From now on, there is no gratitude nor grudges between me and you. You will never see my face again and I also will never see your face.”
Cheng Kun pressed his hands on his eyes. He was groaning from the pain, but did not say anything. The crowd of heroes looked at each other; who would have thought that this battle between master and disciple would end up like this?
In a loud and clear voice Xie Xun said, "I, Xie Xun, have done much wickedness; I have never hoped I would live until today. If there is anyone among the heroes of the world whose family or martial brother died under the Old Xie’s hands, you are free to take the Old Xie’s life. Wuji, you must not stop them, nor you must avenge me in the future and thus adding to your Yifu’s guilt.”
Zhang Wuji consented with tears in his eyes.
Although there were quite a number of heroes who harbored deep enmity with Xie Xun, they all saw how Xie Xun had avenged his entire family only by destroying Cheng Kun’s martial art skill. However, Xie Xun’s own martial art was also gone. Therefore, if anybody went forward and stabbed him with a sword, or punched him with a fist, his action would be considered a hero or a warrior’s bad deed.
Suddenly a man stepped out from among the crowd. "Xie Xun,” he said, "My father, ‘Yan Ling Fei Tian Dao’ [The Wild-Goose-Plume-Flying-to-the-sky Saber] Qiu Lao Yingxiong [old hero Qiu] lost his life under your hands. I am here to avenge my Xian Fu [deceased father]!” Finished speaking, he walked toward Xie Xun.
"That’s right,” Xie Xun sadly said, "Your honorable father died under my hands. Qiu Xiong [brother Qiu], you may proceed.”
The man surnamed Qiu drew his saber and took two more steps closer.
Zhang Wuji could not think straight; if he did not act, his Yifu would lose his life under this man’s saber, but if he stopped this man, he was afraid that he would add to the agony his Yifu had to endure for the rest of his life. Much less, Yifu was blind and had lost his martial art skill; it was difficult to say whether Yifu would live a happy life or not. His body shook; he took two steps forward without intending to do so.
"Wuji,” Xie Xun roared, "If you stop anybody from exacting their revenge, you are being greatly
unfilial to me. After I die, go down into the dungeon and take a look. You will understand everything.”
The man surnamed Qiu lifted his saber in front of his chest. Suddenly tears started to flow down from his eyes. He spat on Xie Xun’s face and said with a choking voice, "My Xian Fu was a hero. If his spirit in Heaven saw me killing a blind man whose martial art skill has gone, he would be angry with me for being unworthy ...” ‘Clang!’ his saber fell to the ground. Covering up his face, he rushed back into the crowd.
Next, a middle-aged woman came out and said, "Xie Xun, I am here to avenge my husband, ‘Yin Yang Pan Guan’ [‘pan guan’ is a mythological judge of the underworld], Yin Dapeng.” Walking toward Xie Xun, she also spat on his face; then she walked away while crying loudly.
Seeing his Yifu was being humiliated in succession, outwardly, Zhang Wuji was standing unperturbed, but inwardly, his heart was like being sheared by a knife. The heroes and warriors of the Wulin world considered death lightly, but they would never take any insult. It was called ‘a warrior can be killed, but not disgraced.’ These two people’s spittle on Xie Xun’s face was the greatest insult, but he endured it patiently. It was clear that he acknowledged his sins in the past and that he was pained with regret, and thus he took the repentance seriously.
One by one people were coming out from the crowd; some slapped Xie Xun on the face, some kicked him, some opened their mouths in curses, but Xie Xun only sit with bowed head, enduring everything in silence. He did not withdraw, he did not even try to talk back.
In this manner, more than thirty people came out one by one to humiliate Xie Xun. Finally, a Taoist priest with long beard stepped out. He bowed and said, "Pin Dao [lit. impoverished Daoist -referring to self] Taixu Zi [Translator’s note: I am not an expert in Daoism, but it seems to me that many Taoist priest used ‘Zi’ (lit. son or male child) as the last part (suffix?) of their title. Remember the Seven Quanzhen priests? Anyway, this priest’s name means ‘great emptiness’]. My two Shixiong lost their lives under Xie Daxia’s fists. Looking at Xie Daxia’s character today, Pin Dao is deeply ashamed. Pin Dao’s sword has also killed innumerable warriors, both from the black and white worlds. If I came to you to seek revenge, other people would also come to me to seek revenge.” Having said that, he drew his sword, his left hand reached up and plucked the blade of the sword with his fingers. ‘Clang!’ the sword broke into two. He tossed the broken sword to the ground, saluted Xie Xun, turned around and left.
The crowd of heroes broke into soft murmurs. This Taixu Zi was not very well known in the Jianghu, yet his martial art skill was actually superb. However, what was harder to come by was his broadmindedness; his ability to rebuke himself.
After he left, it seemed like no one else would come out to make things difficult for Xie Xun. To everybody’s surprise, while they were still talking among themselves, a middle-aged nun stepped out from among the Emei Pai’s crowd. She walked toward Xie Xun and said, "To avenge my husband’s murder, I also will resolve it by spitting on you!” As soon as she said that, she opened her mouth and spat toward Xie Xun’s forehead. Who would have thought that this spittle carried a strong gust of wind? Turned out it was not spittle, but a date stone steel nail.
Xie Xun heard the difference in the sound of the wind. He smiled bitterly, but did not evade at all.
He thought, "If I die right now, it can be considered already too late.”
Suddenly a yellow shadow flashed by. The lady in yellow dashed forward. Her sleeve swished, and the date stone nail was rolled inside the sleeve. "How must we address Shitai by your Buddhist title?” she asked sternly.
As the nun saw her attack fail, a slightly frightened expression appeared on her face. "I am called Jing Zhao [lit. still/calm/quiet illumination],” she said.
"Hmm, Jing Zhao, Jing Zhao ...” the lady in yellow said, "Before you left home to become a nun, what was your husband’s name? How did he die under Xie Daxia’s hands?”
Jing Zhao angrily said, "What does it have to do with you? Why do you meddle in other people’s business?”
The lady in yellow replied, "Xie Daxia repents from his former sins. If anybody wanted to avenge his father, brother, martial family or friends, even if he is cut into thousand pieces, Xie Daxia would accept his fate willingly; other people have no right to interfere. But if there are people with malicious intention, trying to fish in the muddled wat
er, trying to kill him to shut his mouth, then it becomes everybody’s business.”
Jing Zhao said, "Between Xie Xun and I, there are no grudges and no enmity; why would I want to kill him to shut his ...” The last word ‘mouth’ had not come out of her mouth when she suddenly realized she had blundered. She stopped abruptly. Her face turned deathly pale; and she could not help but cast a glance toward Zhou Zhiruo.
"That’s right,” the lady in yellow said, "You have no grudges and no enmity with Xie Daxia, then why did you want to kill him to shut his mouth? Humph, among the twelve Emei Pai’s ‘Jing’ generation nuns, Jing Xuan, Jing Xu, Jing Kong, Jing Hui, Jing Jia, and Jing Zhao, are all virgins when they left home. Where did the husband come from?”
Without saying anything, Jing Zhao turned around and walked away.
"Do you think it’s this easy to walk away just like that?” the lady in yellow barked.
Rushing two steps forward, her palm reached out to grab her shoulder. Jing Zhao turned her shoulder to evade. The lady in yellow’s right index finger pierced toward her waist, followed by a kick to hit the ‘huan tiao xue’ [‘hop the loop’ acupoint] on her thigh. Jing Zhao grunted and fell down to the ground.
"Miss Zhou,” in a cold voice the lady in yellow said, "This ploy of killing someone to shut his mouth is very cruel.”