EARTHLY DRAGON, SOARING PALM

by Derek Dorris

  地球之龙，飙升的棕榈

  Earthly Dragon, Soaring Palm

  By Derek Dorris

  Copyright © 2017 by Derek Dorris

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Derek Dorris

  Contents

  Prologue

  Leaving Baiyun Mountain

  Travelling Companions

  The First Gorge

  The Ten Greats

  The Third Gorge

  Ten Years of Planning

  Gongsum

  The Unfolding Triangle

  Night Raid on Gongsum

  The Story of Gilded Divinity

  Earthly Dragon

  Desecration at Mount Yiding

  The Road to Fangshen

  Distractions on the Road Back

  Siblings

  The Compound

  A Family’s Fate

  The Siege of Mount Song

  The Twelfth Day

  Nobody Left on Earthly Mountain

  Carnage at the Safe-House

  Ambush at the Meeting-Point

  Heroes and Villains Descend on Gongsum

  Bribes and Infiltrations

  The Great Contest

  Earthly Dragon, Soaring Palm

  The Head of the Snake

  Once in a Lifetime Personality

  Soaring Dragon

  Prologue

  The insects had fought a good fight and now it was over, their nine year old captor Bai Tengfei leaned contently on his elbows in the long summer grass. It was getting late and if he wasn’t home before nightfall, his mother would cause quite the stir. Yet he couldn’t take his eyes off the victorious cricket as it hopped down the hill towards the large clearing. Then something caught his attention. It was nothing more than a shadow yet it moved at great speed across the darkening clearing, straight under an ancient oak tree. Too quick to be a person, he thought—too small also. With added effort, he peered intently through the evening’s fading light but discerned nothing more mobile than the creeping shadow of night.

  Suddenly, from the other direction, he heard the sound of horse hooves. Sweeping his eyes to the other side of the clearing, he watched quietly as a large white horse trotted into view at a reserved pace. The rider was travelling alone. Dressed in a light blue gown and armed with a long sword strewn across his back, he cut a curious but intimidating figure beneath the dusking sky. Bai Tengfei didn't know it but, throughout the martial realm of Wulin, this lone rider was of some renown. Known as the “Virtueless Monk” to mark his own greatest failing, he was the senior guardian of the Earthly Dragon, a sect of ascetic martial artists who lived in seclusion on a remote mountain in the south of the country. For centuries they pursued martial arts in their purest form while resisting the temptation to use the overpowering internal energy that comes with its practice. It was a contradiction that lay at the heart of all kung fu and one he, his three grandmasters, and his seven martial brothers had committed their lives to resolving.

  Though he had been inactive in the martial world for some time, neither he nor any of the Earthly Dragon Guardians had been forgotten. Far from it, their kung fu was regarded as imperious and if anyone from that world saw him right now, his distinctive robes and long sword alone would be enough to set the river and lakelands of the Jianghu alight with chatter. This of course would be something he'd like to avoid and in the week and a half since he left Earthly Mountain, he had stayed off the main roads and bypassed even the smallest towns. After all, his journey had not been sanctioned by the three elders of his sect. In fact, in undertaking it, he was breaking their two cardinal rules. He had followed his ego and he had done so beyond the borders of their sacred mountain retreat.

  Across the clearing under the giant oak tree, an unusually small, seventy year old hunchback—known formerly as the “Powerless Monk”—watched the blue gowned monk ride into view. A notoriously vicious Wulin master of immense ability and poor hygiene, Yu Guo Wei had been expelled from the Earthly Dragon Sect over two decades earlier only to develop an obsession in metallurgy and chemicals. Combining this focus with his god-like Cotton Viper Kung Fu, he began to comb the Jianghu challenging and defeating masters of all kinds. His reliance on strength potions, poisons, and explosive powders of his own concoction earned him a ruthless win-at-all-costs reputation along with the sobriquet the “Divine Alchemist”. He was soon regarded as one of the ten great masters of his age.

  Yu Guo Wei had joined the Earthly Dragon Sect at the age of twenty-six, younger than any disciple in their then history. Possessed of the most peculiar mind the Earthly Dragon elders had ever come across, Yu Guo Wei didn't care about respect, honour, or reputation. It was the absence of such desires that had endeared him so completely to the elder monks. They took his mind to be the perfect vessel to receive their teachings but they had been fooled by the complexities of ego. For Yu Guo Wei, life was about power. He craved it. He would suffer pain for it, even humiliation. All he ever wanted was to be at the top of the highest mountain in whatever world he lived. And in the world of Wulin, Earthly Mountain was it. So he played the roles of dutiful disciple and later guardian monk well, all with the intention of rising to the top of the sect. But his burning ambition was eventually discovered and he was promptly expelled. He felt neither insult nor grudge and left without quarrel. If and when he returned, he would get satisfaction. And now, after two decades, he felt the time was right.

  Yu Guo Wei held the position of the Third Guardian when the man in blue, now approaching him, became an Earthly Dragon disciple. Known originally as Liu Qing, he was a mere boy of fifteen years of age, a full ten years younger than Yu Guo Wei had been when he took his vows. Within five years of the boy’s arrival, the Powerless Monk had reached the philosophical impasse that saw him leave Earthly Mountain but even by that point, it was clear that Liu Qing would be a shining light in the sect’s future.

  That Liu Qing remained at Earthly Mountain past his ten year apprenticeship didn't surprise Yu Guo Wei. Nobody in the sect's history had immediately re-entered the Jianghu without spending some years there as a guardian monk. However, that he spent nearly twenty years as a guardian did surprise him. Earthly Dragon disciples and their guardians would remain on Earthly Mountain until their external kung fu was perfect, until it could be practiced purely without any undue force or inner strength. This was contrary to the common practice of many current experts who funnelled gargantuan amounts of internal power into their external kung fu—a practice that made them immensely strong but ultimately slowed and blunted their kung fu into a series of bludgeoning attacks, the skill forsaken for an ugly victory.

  The Earthly Dragon Sect held central to their beliefs that no amount of internal strength could compete with pure external kung fu and so they built their entire being around the pursuit of just that. They fought strictly without the assistance of internal strength and would only rejoin Wulin when they could prevail against the world's greatest masters—relying on their external kung fu alone.

  That Earthly Dragon’s foremost guardian had yet to rejoin Wulin hinted to Yu Guo Wei what he wanted to believe. He just had to be sure. Stepping out from under the cover of the oak tree, the small hunchback stood defiantly under the dimming lig
ht and shadow of the clearing. “Welcome Brother.”

  The advancing horse stopped in its tracks. The sudden noise had seemed more like a cackle than a voice, its inherent malice reaching out from the shadows like a diseased hand. Yet the Virtueless Monk remained calm. Even in the dark, he could make out the small crumpled shape standing before him. He hadn't seen this person in a quarter of a century yet immediately knew who he was. There weren't many hunchbacks who radiated so much power and, besides, who else would know exactly how to lure him here? He urged his nervous mount forward while continuing to occupy the saddle with a strong air. “So it was you who left me that message—to lure me out?”

  “Ah, yes,” said Yu Guo Wei, a little surprised the monk figured it out so quickly. “I assure you the Red Willow has been roaming the north Jianghu for months now, making quite a name for herself too. As far as I know, she has no intention of forsaking her oath to you.”

  He noticed the monk showed no sign of embarrassment. A true Earthly Dragon master, he thought before swallowing dryly. This isn't going to be as easy as I expected.

  “I assume also you desire to see how far we've come,” the Virtueless Monk said as he brought his horse to a grateful halt. “Your ambitions haven't dissipated with age, Brother Wei.”

  “Whatever the reason, I would welcome some pointers from the First Guardian of Earthly Dragon.”

  “That would be fine.” The Virtueless Monk dismounted his horse calmly and walked towards the edge of the clearing. He removed his still sheathed sword from his back, placing it on the ground without any ceremony, and assumed the basic stance from his famous Seven Winds Form. This was his unique contribution to the Earthly Dragon Style, invented during his apprenticeship and mastered during his subsequent guardianship. And it was exactly what the Divine Alchemist was here to test.

  Yu Guo Wei knew the Seven Winds Form was entirely skill based. Not only was it completely devoid of internal power, it required very little physical strength to execute and relied almost entirely on momentum and structure. If any martial art could harness the egoless mentality of Earthly Dragon and be used purely against opponents of immense internal energy, it was this one. He just didn't know how far the Virtueless Monk had taken it in the last twenty-five years—had he perfected it or not? That he had yet to re-enter Wulin would suggest not.

  Yu Guo Wei assumed an advanced stance from his Cotton Viper Style, a stance he developed long after he left Earthly Mountain. Then, with a slow exhale, he began.

  The two men intercepted each other's attacks with attacks of their own. Hands fell on top of hands while feet probed for low exposure points. They cycled their way through their respective stances, jabbing, feinting, and withdrawing as they moved. In mere seconds, they were a blur of imperceptibly swift movements, the intensity of their conflict exploding as they bound, clashed, jumped, and smashed together.

  The Virtueless Monk invested nothing personal in this contest but his desire to achieve perfect form. He followed his years of lessons and training impeccably and attacked openings with a series of soft fists and palms. He darted left and surged right, evading and engaging in single actions and was soon breaking through Yu Guo Wei’s defence.

  For his part, the hunchback was stunned at the skill of this opponent. Why on earth had he not re-entered Wulin with kung fu like this? Yu Guo Wei's external skill, the Cotton Viper Style was nearly unparalleled in the martial world and there were few of the great masters who could prevail against it. Yet this blue robed monk was managing him with ease. He didn't need to see anymore. The Divine Alchemist began to increasingly funnel his internal energy into his strikes and though his movements slowed under the heavier power, he finally put his opponent on the back foot.

  The Virtueless Monk knew the time would come when he needed to defend against this hunchback’s immense internal power so he wasn't surprised when he felt the heavy blows on his arms and legs. He did as all Earthly Dragon masters did and breathed, using nothing but his pure external kung fu to defend and counter. For a while, it worked. Despite the raw power in his opponent’s attacks, his arms and legs continued to intercept, adapt, trap, and overcome them.

  At one point, Yu Guo Wei exploded into the air with unnatural speed and, describing a strange arc with his right leg, he attacked from above. The First Guardian had anticipated this and jumped back ten meters with a graceful evasion. Using one’s internal strength to fuel non-martial actions like running and jumping was not forbidden within his sect. However, once physical contact was re-established with his opponent, he would have to revert back to his pure external kung fu. Despite his powerful leap, the momentum of the hunchback’s own jump appeared to grow stronger with distance. As if he were flying at his prey, he continued to close on his target. The Virtueless Monk circled his right palm towards the sky and let out a loud whistle as he pushed off the ground. As he rose off the ground, he missed Yu Guo Wei’s attacking foot by millimetres. However, now his left arm was clear to attack and, driving his outstretched fingers at the Divine Alchemist, his left thumb made contact directly beneath the hunchback’s right jaw-line.

  The old alchemist’s head snapped backwards and he tumbled to the ground in agony—only to roll straight up and come right back at his adversary. Unleashing a barrage of fists and knees, he continued to funnel his awesome strength into his Cotton Viper Form. Though it wouldn’t be long before his internally driven attacks lost their renewed fluidity and accuracy, they eventually began to break through the First Guardian’s defences.

  Regardless of how quick and fluid he had remained throughout the fight, the Virtueless Monk inevitably began to buckle under the power of the Alchemist’s blows. It's still not good enough, he thought resignedly. Against profound levels of internal strength, my Seven Winds Form is still vulnerable.

  He had two choices. He could end the duel by admitting defeat or continue fighting and suffer serious injury. Of course, a third option was to fall back on his own not unsubstantial internal energy but that would betray his sect’s central oath. As such, he stood back and attempted to admit defeat but, to his amazement, Yu Guo Wei didn't even pause for breath. He maintained his attacks and even began to add more power to them.

  As the Virtueless Monk retreated, he kicked off the ground and shot powerfully upwards. He leapt high and landed comfortably on an upper branch of the nearby oak tree. From the swaying branch he shouted downward, “I concede defeat. What are your intentions?”

  “To obliterate your sect’s entire leadership and start again under my banner. Haven't I made that clear?”

  Though possessed of tenacious malice, Yu Guo Wei was now tiring and was growing concerned that he might not be able to keep this up much longer. He really is a lot better than I anticipated, he thought. What chance now against the entire guardianship?

  The Virtueless Monk knew there was no use in talking further with this madman. He kicked across to another branch then tried to make it to the next tree only to feel a force of hot air coming from underneath him. Yu Guo Wei had launched a projectile of some sort. The monk leapt up to kick the flying object away but when his foot made contact with it, his ears rang and a burning pain surged up his leg. Falling the entire length of the tree, the wind was knocked out of him as he hit the ground.

  Lying there with an acrid smell in his nostrils and a horrible sticky sensation in his leg, the Virtueless Monk knew enough to deduce he had been defeated by some form of explosive projectile. Another vile weapon to add to his repertoire, he thought. However, he still wasn't worried. After today's bout, it was clear that Yu Guo Wei would have to train for many more years before he could take on the entire Earthly Dragon Sect. In this battle, the Divine Alchemist was victorious but only after the expenditure of gargantuan effort.

  From a short distance away, on top of the nearby hilltop, the young Bai Tengfei had watched the entire duel entranced. In the Virtueless Monk, he had witnessed as close to a perfect external kung fu style as anyone had ever seen, a style that would
go on to affect his waking thoughts and dreams alike for the rest of his life. Unable to move, he watched with a hazy horror as the horrible hunchback stood over the crippled monk with the clear intention of sending his foot down on his neck.

  As Yu Guo Wei's foot hovered, the Virtueless Monk lay in regret at his inability to complete his life's work. He had so much hope for it. Of course, he was unaware that, only meters away, his final demonstration of the Seven Winds Form had planted a seed in the mind of a young boy that was already sprouting. A seed that would ensure both it and the fate of the Earthly Dragon would eventually come full circle. It would take half a century and involve the boy’s future son and grandson but it would happen.

  Leaving Baiyun Mountain

  He had always liked wrestling with his friends—his real friends—among whom winning or losing had yet to truly matter. There was a simple contentment to be found in the pure body mechanics of it, unsullied by anything deeper—anything broader. That was then.

  There was something different to this confrontation. Maybe it was just that—this was a genuine confrontation. Inexplicably, for the first time, winning did matter. And that's all he could think about. His thoughts were like manacles to his body and so they led him nowhere. And then at last, some space emerged, albeit behind him, like he had the opportunity to back up. And he did.

  "Okay, you win, I give up," Bai Feng shrieked.

  The tough village kid seemed to tower above him. Ferocious in his arrogance and newly won reputation, he screamed at his defeated opponent with relish, "Kowtow to me three times and only then will I let you give up!"

  Numbed by the hazy shock of defeat, Bai Feng complied without thinking. His fear became horror as he realised what he was doing. The world had reframed itself around him. Both knees on the ground, he leaned his unhurt hand on the soft dirt and glanced at his fellow disciples. Was it shame, contempt, or one of those feelings neither he nor they could yet articulate? The lower tiers of their pecking order already occupied, determined previously by his modestly asserted place above them, there now seemed nowhere for him to stand. Thinking was still difficult. And then his face felt the final blow—the stamping of his opponent’s foot.