by Derek Dorris
No, he thought, this is bad news no matter which way we cut it. If Wangchuk Drup is mixed up in this Qui action, then it can tip the balance. The Qui have numbers and are organised behind a brilliant general. We've always had the edge when it came to top level martial artists and it has been the world of Wulin that has kept the Qui at bay up until now. But Wangchuk Drup and these eight warriors, four or five of whom are masters in their own right, gives them a certain degree of protection from the types of threat we pose. This is a potential ground shift. Knowing that neutralising this group right now was beyond his ability, Xun Da made a silent retreat, returning to Gongsum as quickly as he could.
* * *
Making it back to the city around midday, he headed straight for the inn where his master was staying. But as he suspected, the Majestic Wanderer had yet to return from the night before. The landlady laughed nervously not knowing what to say about her eccentric guest but Xun Da was used to it and paid his bill to alleviate any fears she had about him not coming back. He told her to hold the room and decided to check in on Wu Chen and Li Jing.
The two martial brothers had been living on the outskirts of Gongsum posing as money lenders for the previous six months and had managed to put the majority of usury agents out of business by lending money freely with nothing but token degrees of interest. In the beginning, a few of their competitors came calling but Wu Chen and Li Jing made short work of them and despite the roughness of the trade, nobody else messed with them from then onwards.
Working on the fringes of legality ensured the two men heard everything that was going on in the city and its hinterland from rumours to gossip, to well hidden truths. They amassed a wealth of information which they reported back to Xun Da and other Plum Tree Brotherhood seniors who stopped by from time to time. As the Qui had turned its attention towards Gongsum, they sent out more and more spies and infiltrators who by their very nature would either ask unusual questions or agitate the locals into demanding more from their government officials. Yet, thanks to their network of information, the two brothers had most of them pegged. Of course, Li Jing took it for granted that the best spies and infiltrators were operating much more subtly.
So they watched everything and they were good at it. Even Wu Chen who was hot-tempered by nature had curbed much of his impulsiveness in favour of more measured action while Li Jing’s intelligence made him a natural for that type of work. Xun Da liked them both very much and valued them even more. There were lower members of the Brotherhood scattered throughout the city working menial jobs and some holding low profile positions within the city's local government. But Xun Da had them all report to Li Jing and Wu Chen who in turn reported to him.
The brothers worked out of a small room to the side of a restaurant which suited Wu Chen just fine. He had always loved his food and so, as he turned the corner, Xun Da was not surprised to see him sitting at a table eating a rather large lunch. “Brother Chen, it’s good to see you.”
Xun Da was only slightly older than Wu Chen and Li Jing but both held him in such high regard, that they treated him as a senior. “Senior Brother, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Please sit down and eat,” Wu Chen replied eagerly. Xun Da was more than hungry so he ordered a large bowl of noodles and fried vegetables.
“I think I know what you want to speak to me about,” Xun Da spoke quietly. “I was there last night when you tackled that spy dressed as a peddler.”
Wu Chen showed no surprise yet he blushed nonetheless.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t come to your help but the effort you made in apprehending him left him completely unguarded against me following him. Thank you.”
“What is there to be thankful for?” Wu Chen mumbled. “I didn’t know I was helping you. We noticed him sneaking around the inn we had reserved for Master Wong and gave chase. I merely let him go out of uselessness.”
Xun Da just smiled and began eating the food as it was delivered.
But Wu Chen was unable to wait until Xun Da sated his hunger. “So what did you find out?” Knowing very little fazed Xun Da, Wu Chen froze when he saw his reaction to that question.
Xun Da placed his chopsticks down as concern spread across his face. “That Wangchuk Drup fellow and his cronies from the incident at Earthly Mountain are behind these most recent rumblings.”
Wu Chen’s mind flashed back to the mistreatment he suffered at the hands of that ugly warlord and his friends, cringing with both rage and trepidation alike.
“It appears the Qui have changed tactics,” Xun Da continued. “They've recruited these masters to fight fire with fire. Wipe the Brotherhood out and the Liu Empire is the Qui’s for the taking. This is what Rui’In has clearly determined and with that fierce Yarlese on the loose, he may be right.”
“But surely he can’t rival your Master?”
Xun Da frowned. “I would never have thought so but he has developed his kung fu to near miraculous levels in the last ten years while Master Wong has taken his usual casual approach to his training. That said my master’s ability is unfathomable so I would still count on him to deal with Wangchuk Drup in a one-on-one contest. The real problem is these other warriors who he has recruited. With the exception of the three Yarlese disciples, it seems not one of them has spent the intervening years idly. The Lin couple’s Circling Swords now rivals anyone’s sword art while Han Liang’s Jade Arm Style is said to be as devious as it is vicious. Ten years ago, I could handle all three of them by myself but, now, I’m not so sure. With Priest Hou and that Sing Yi fellow adding yet more support not to mention Wangchuk Drup’s disciples, I’d be easily outmatched. My master and I are simply not enough to handle this raiding party.”
“So what do we do?” Feeling slightly useless, Wu Chen was turned right off his lunch.
“We need help,” Xun Da said flatly. “If we could get even one more of the true grandmasters behind us, we would prevail. I'm sure of it. The problem is they're an eccentric bunch. Even the Reverend Tai—who always stands up for righteousness—has thus far remained aloof from the conflict with the Qui.”
“Why? Isn't it clear that the Qui are a scourge?”
“Of course, but worldly matters are just that. The monks of Shaolin have abstained from the politics of power leaving it to us to figure out. Plus the Liu Dynasty has been responsible for many wrongdoings all by itself and our officials aren't worth a spit in the sand. Backing them is like choosing one evil over another.”
“But it's the people who should matter and they're the ones suffering. These grandmasters... they're so respected yet…”
Xun Da simply smiled. He understood Wu Chen’s frustration but he had more important things on his mind than the inconvenient quirks of genius.
Wu Chen could see he was deep in thought. Without interrupting him, he signalled to one of the local kids playing outside to go get Li Jing. He would be better able to help in matters like this. Arriving within minutes, he and Xun Da exchanged pleasantries and then they briefed him on the situation. Xun Da respected this man's intelligence above everyone else’s. He was a fine fighter but he was extremely perceptive and had often steered Xun Da towards the right decision in times like this. This time would prove no different.
Li Jing listened quietly, his eyes closed in thought. After a time, he opened those eyes and said three words.
“The Blue Lady.”
The Unfolding Triangle
“The Blue Lady is a notoriously vicious member of the Ten Greats,” Xun Da explained to Wu Chen while attempting to figure out what Li Jing had in mind. “She’s known throughout the Jianghu as the last person one should get on the wrong side of—especially if you are a man.”
“I’ve heard of her, of course,” Wu Chen replied. “I just haven’t heard much about her.”
“These past forty years or so, she has kept very much to herself.”
“She probably needed the rest after all the hell she raised before that.” Li Jing joked.
Xun Da grinned. “In
deed. My master told me that, in her youth, her exploits made her the focus of frightening bedtime stories which fathers told their children as a warning to respect their mothers. While she has always remained aloof of political matters, the one thing that has consistently prompted her into action is tales of men bullying other women. She’s known to trek hundreds of miles hunting down such wrongdoers and when she finds them, they become inevitable test subjects for her lethal sword style, the ‘Shrieking Blade’.
“The Shrieking Blade Style,” Wu Chen said with increased interest. “I’ve heard of it.”
“It’s a system that favours a long thin blade which she uses to pierce her enemies, firing it outwards from her body as fast as a projectile. The blade she uses has an unearthly blue hue to it—hence her sobriquet. Her empty hand style is based on the same concept as her sword style: wielding her extended arms and fingers as she would her sword. She’s an imperious fighter.”
“Have you seen her fight?” Wu Chen asked.
“No, several decades ago, my master travelled with her and her husband for a time; helping them route some bandits from the central plains. Her real name is Fu Xiaoli and back then, her and her husband roamed Wulin as the most powerful martial couple in the world.”
“Who is her husband?”
“None other than Tao Huiqing,” Li Jing answered. “The great Folding Wind himself.”
“How do you know about all this?”
“Brother Da told me about them one evening when you were rolled up in a drunken ball.”
“You were pretty drunk yourself, Brother Jing,” Xun Da ribbed.
“Yes, but I never forget a good story,” Li Jing replied with a smile.
“Actually, the broad story is common knowledge for those old enough to remember,” Xun Da said. “Even the older non-Wulin folk from around this town would remember the tales of their deeds.”
“Well, I never knew there was a martial couple among the Greats,” Wu Chen muttered.
“Ha, you don’t know the half of it,” Xun Da laughed, getting caught up in the joviality that seemed to flow so freely between them. However, deciding not to veer away from the original subject, he continued to explain the Blue Lady’s background to Wu Chen. “They’re no longer together. According to my master, when Tao Huiqing made the mistake of flirting with another woman, she cast him out of their home—an event that prompted him to shave his head and become a Taoist monk in the obscure Shangqing Monastery of the northern mountains. That was forty years ago. Since then, Tao Huiqing has perfected his Shangqing Kicking Style to the point that it now rivals Reverend Tai’s Boundless Palms or my master’s 100 Fists of Majestic Oak. Fu Xiaoli wasn’t idle in her training either; though she made her most profound advancements in her early life.”
“That’s unusual,” Wu Chen commented.
“Indeed. Real martial advancement typically takes decades to achieve. It makes her something of an anomaly in Wulin. Actually, because of that, she’s widely touted as the most natural fighter of the Ten Greats.”
“She sounds like she could be the most contrary of them too,” Wu Chen frowned, his natural impatience for these masters’ eccentricities stirring within. “Do you really think she would help us, Jing’er?”
“Brother Chen is right,” Xun Da said, echoing Wu Chen’s doubt. “Fu Xiaoli is a cruel and unpredictable avenger who cares little for the wider world. She’s renowned as a person who will show up out of nowhere and render assistance to women who need help. Then, just as quick—she’s gone. On top of that, the ferociousness with which she dispatches her victims is not something people would comfortably attribute to a ‘hero’.”
Li Jing listened with a strange confident smile. Then, nodding his head, he began to lay out his thoughts. “One way or another, the Plum Tree Brotherhood needs to rally the great warriors of Liu to our country’s cause, right Brother Da?”
Xun Da shrugged, “Right.”
“And if a call to their patriotic heroism will not do it,” he continued, “then something else is needed. You’re correct, Brother Da; typically the great masters preclude themselves from worldly matters out of contempt for the duplicity and ineptitude of politics. However, Fu Xiaoli might just be the lynchpin in bringing some of these unusual personalities on side—so long as that side is battling Wangchuk Drup.”
Xun Da frowned, “I don’t get it.”
“Let me explain: When the Yarlese resurfaced after years of secluded training, his quick defeat of the Blue Lady all but catapulted his prestige into the realm of the Greats. One could say, therefore, that his meteoric rise has been solely at the expense of the once feared Fu Xiaoli.”
Li Jing waited for both Xun Da and Wu Chen to indicate their understanding. When both nodded, he proceeded. “There is also an off-colour rumour that when she lay defeated and at her most vulnerable, the former monk disgraced her by stripping her of her blue outer gown which he took as a trophy. Whether or not that is true, it exists as rumour and, as such, that alone would be enough to render the self-proclaimed avenger of women apoplectic.”
Caught up in the intrigue of his plan, Li Jing stood up absent-mindedly and began pacing around the table. “She was soundly beaten in that duel,” he continued, “so she has been forced to bide her time and hone her skills before she can even think about taking vengeance on him. However, you can bet that’s all she thought about during her seclusion. On the other hand, up north in the Shangqing Monastery, Tao Huiqing still bears a deep love for his former wife and the rumours of her disgrace at the hands of Wangchuk Drup will surely have left him seething. Yet, knowing how independent his wife is, the act of seeking vengeance on her behalf would be considered by her to be the height of disrespect. Thus, he will have had to swallow his rage.”
As the logic to Li Jing’s thinking began to reveal itself, Xun Da’s eyes widened. Yet he was still a couple of steps behind Li Jing so he let him continue.
“The final person of relevance here,” Li Jing said, recognising that Xun Da was almost there but Wu Chen was still far behind, “is Silver Phoenix, another of the Ten Greats and the woman who Tao Huiqing was caught flirting with all those years earlier. You see, Brother Da, I really did listen to everything you told me—drunk or not.”
Xun Da grinned before offering Wu Chen a quick explanation, “Silver Phoenix is a profoundly skilled warrior from the western plains who is notorious for her use of the ‘Silver Fire Form’—which, by the way, she has perfected to goddess like levels.”
“Brother Xun told me,” Li Jing added for context, “that she hails from an obscure tribe of desert nomads who were wiped out by rival tribes when she was very young. She spent her early years being pursued by those same tribes before one of them finally caught her. However, before they could torture her, Fu Xiaoli descended on their tribe and slaughtered every last one of them. Importantly, Tao Huiqing was also present during this slaughter but given the peculiarity of his wife’s temperament during matters of male-on-female aggression, he left the carnage to her. It was that same peculiarity in his wife's character that saw her leave Silver Phoenix tied up after the massacre.”
“What?” Wu Chen interrupted.
“Apparently, she blamed the young woman for allowing herself to be captured and thereby demeaning women’s ability to remain imperious above the opposite sex. Anyway, Tao Huiqing took it upon himself to cut her down and in that short moment of exhilaration, Silver Phoenix developed a bit of a fascination with him.”
“Of course, Tao Huiqing had no intentions toward her at all,” Xun Da was quick to point out.
“Yes, but he couldn't help be flattered by the attention of the beautiful young woman,” Li Jing added before exposing the final thread to his plan. “So he persuaded his wife to allow her to accompany them for a time and given the debt Silver Phoenix felt towards her and the guilt-ridden attraction she felt towards him, she followed them ambivalently. Brother Da, it was during this period that your master joined them for a while, right? He told y
ou that Silver Phoenix grew to deeply resent the closeness of the married couple and—in that resentment—she became ever more fixated on Tao Huiqing. After the couple split up, she remained dedicated to Tao Huiqing. She was known to appear out of nowhere and slay his enemies before he could take care of them himself.”
Suddenly Xun Da gleamed Li Jing’s entire plan. However, rather than an expression of elation which Li Jing hoped for, he threw him a severe look of caution.
“I’m mindful of the treacherous shoals that come with navigating love and passion,” Li Jing said, eyeing his friend carefully. “However, you can’t deny that there’s a direct line between the Blue Lady, Folding Wind, and Silver Phoenix; a line that might very well pull all three of them onto any side that is fighting Wangchuk Drup.”
Xun Da said nothing as he attempted to analyse the plan from every angle. Yet, he allowed his concern to remain visible.
“Fu Xiaoli will be fighting to prove the very point she had spent her life proving,” Li Jing continued, not quite emboldened but enthusiastic to lay it all out, “and she won’t want to see Wangchuk Drup fall unless she has a direct hand in it. Folding Wind won’t take on the Yarlese himself but he would be only too happy to slaughter his associates. More than that, he will want to be on-hand to protect Fu Xiaoli lest Wangchuk Drup once again proves too powerful for her. Silver Phoenix, on the other hand, will rush to fight under any banner he carries. Even if it is flown for the woman she is most jealous of.”
Li Jing looked at Xun Da, biting his lower lip with anticipation. In his mind, he could almost guarantee Xun Da and the Majestic Wanderer the support of at least three other grandmasters.
However, Xun Da was clearly less certain. He couldn't deny the genius of Li Jing’s plan yet it involved manipulating three great masters and taking advantage of their personal misery. That wasn’t simply disrespectful, it was downright dangerous. Then again, he thought, in times like this how can I worry about offending a few seniors?