by Derek Dorris
“The Reverend Tai is a holy man who stands strongly against lethal violence,” Wong Shi Hong explained. “He would have refused. This was not a request for me to duel with Yu Guo Wei. This was a request for me to assassinate him. I don't come from the Buddhist school of thinking. I would have no qualms about such an action. How many Qui generals and other officers have I sent you to kill?”
“But Shifu, Reverend Tung was a monk too! It was he who made the request of you in the first place!”
“Ah, Reverend Tung was much more of a realist than his disciple,” Wong Shi Hong responded flatly. “It's arguable that by this point, old Boundless Palms has risen to Gilded Divinity’s level in martial ability but he'll never possess the vision his master did.”
Xun Da nodded his head without really understanding. “So did you confront Yu Guo Wei?”
“Yes... I did,” Wong Shi Hong answered, his voice distant as if he was reliving the experience all over again. “After I dispatched the letter to Mount Song, I went to where he was staying and challenged him. I didn't explain why I was there other than to say that his cruelty had gone too far. By that time, he was making a name for himself as a master of poisons too so his reputation was truly vicious. I was a relatively young man in my mid thirties and it was my first battle with a real master. I nearly lost my life to him numerous times. In the end, I heeded the Reverend’s words and relied on means other than fighting. I trapped him in a cave and set a fire at the entrance. I trapped myself in there with him to give the fire time to spread inside. I was willing to sacrifice myself to get rid of that smelly sadist. And that's when I experienced his Cotton Viper Kung Fu for the first time. The same martial skill I noticed in Wangchuk Drup this morning. It was extraordinary—amazingly soft and incredibly hard all at the same time. Though vicious like no other fighting form I've ever witnessed. My own kung fu had little softness to it in those days so I soon fell under his palms.
“However, in his haste to escape, Yu Guo Wei didn't see that he had me beaten. He panicked and began combining his empty hand form with his poisons. He had yet to become proficient at wielding the latter and his inefficiency allowed me to at least keep up with him.
“But what has left me stumped to this day is he never once used the kung fu he learned from Gilded Divinity’s hut. I had seen it myself, in detail, when I made a copy for Reverend Tai and it was ingenious. I'd also seen Yu Guo Wei practice it inside the hut and he had a masterful grasp of it. Yet he didn't use it when he needed it most. That took discipline.”
“What do you mean?”
Wong Shi Hong looked at his disciple with a seriousness that raised the hairs on the back of the young man’s neck. “He kept it secret. To this day nobody has ever associated the Divine Alchemist with the type of martial style I saw in that hut which means he's probably never used it. That's why I maintain that, of all the Greats, his is the power we know least about. Why he may in fact be the strongest of us. Don't you see? He pretends to be worse than he is!”
Xun Da pondered that for a minute before shrugging noncommittally. “How did you both escape the fire?”
“Eventually he got to the other side of me and disabled me long enough to make the entrance of the cave. He covered himself with his cloak and ran right through the flames. That was the last time I saw him. I got out with much more difficulty,” Wong Shi Hong added as lifted his gown.
Xun Da gasped as he saw ferocious scars all over his master's body. He had never seen Wong Shi Hong without his full cloak on so had no idea his body looked like that.
“I covered my face with my hands as I jumped through the flames because I still cared about my looks in those days.” Wong Shi Hong laughed as he swigged on a new flask. “Ah, vanity,” he sighed. “It was that incident that taught me about the uselessness of ego and, in its own way, led me to disappear for the next forty years—eventually leading me to Earthly Mountain.”
“Shifu?” Xun Da blurted. “You were at Earthly Mountain?”
“He-he,” Wong Shi Hong laughed softly. “Your Shifu was a disciple of the Earthly Dragon Sect.”
Xun Da felt like he would have toppled over if he had been hit with a feather.
“The Earthly Dragon is not what you think Da’er—not what anyone thinks. The Eight Guardians are trained to an extraordinary degree. In a contest of pure external kung fu, they can match any of the Ten Greats—only they refuse to use any internal strength whatsoever when they fight. Because of this, they cannot compete with us. So they seclude themselves on Earthly Mountain until their pure external kung fu can withstand and overcome anything the Greats might throw at them.”
“So the Eight Guardians stay on the mountain because they're not good enough to practice their kung fu in the wider world?” Xun Da asked—a little bewildered as he recalled the awesome skill of the Artless Monk.
“Not until they can overcome the strongest of opponents using only external kung fu—to execute it purely. Until then, they continue their training and act as protectors for the sect’s three Grandmasters. You see, the ‘Earthly Three’ as they’re known don't know any external kung fu at all. They are masters of internal kung fu only—a very unique type of internal kung fu designed, not to make them strong but to keep their spirits free from distraction—the distraction of selfhood. They’re among the most intelligent people who have ever lived. It was they who unlocked my potential and allowed my abilities to soar. By the time I left the mountain, my kung fu had exceeded anything I had previously thought possible—simply because of how they taught me to conceptualise the world. My mind was completely liberated and, with that, my skills were too.”
“But Shifu, your 100 Fists of Majestic Oak is a hard style—amongst the hardest in the world. It’s designed to feed off abundant internal energy.”
“Alas, I was too confident when I left Earthly Mountain. When it came to my most testing battles, I soon found I needed my internal strength. In my continued search for Yu Guo Wei, I crossed paths with those despicable siblings the Heavenly Tailor and Heavenly Seamstress. For several months, they had been kidnapping highborn men and women from the imperial capital and even several concubines of the Emperor’s. I caught up with them and while my Earthly Dragon Style rattled them for sure, they ultimately bested me.
“I wrestled with my conscience for days. Then, given the seriousness of their crimes, I finally decided I couldn't walk away and do nothing. So I retreated into meditation for sixty days and modified much of my Earthly Dragon Style, developing a brand new external kung fu around my internal strength. Once I had a reasonable grasp of it, I sought out the Heavenly Siblings once more. They had been hiding in an oak forest near the capital city, raiding the city by night… well the least said of that the better. They fell in a whirlwind of punches that Wulin came to refer to as my ‘100 Fists of Majestic Oak’. I defeated them; but, ultimately, I failed my Earthly Dragon grandmasters.
“From that point on, I resigned myself to imperfection and renounced my vow to abstain from using internal strength when I fight. I completed work on my 100 Fists. The power of my external kung fu increased by gargantuan degrees and within ten years of leaving Earthly Mountain, I was shaking the Jianghu. Yet, I had betrayed my artform. The longer a bout lasted, the more my external kung fu would choke. I was always victorious but my most challenging fights were won with brutish displays of inner power.”
Xun Da's head was dizzy from what he had been hearing. “Shifu, why are you telling me all this now?”
“Because everything has changed,” Wong Shi Hong replied with sudden stillness. “The Qui are gathering for real and they've managed to get the Divine Alchemist on their side. With that dangerous disciple of his, it spells possible disaster for the Liu. You and Bai Feng need to know where the various allegiances lie so you can rally support.”
“Will Li Jing's plan work to that end?”
“I've been going over it in my head and it just might.”
Earthly Dragon
The city wok
e and rose well before Bai Feng did. In fact, he had slept longer than he ever had before. When his eyes opened, he experienced an overwhelming freshness and felt completely recovered from his injuries. Wong Shi Hong was across the room asleep on the floor. Having been asleep for a whole day, Bai Feng was starved so he decided to sneak out quietly and get some breakfast. However, before he even moved Wong Shi Hong mumbled in that reverberating voice of his, “No need to tiptoe around young man; I'm just dozing. I've been waiting for you to wake.”
Bai Feng stood up and kowtowed deeply. “Uncle Wong, it's an honour to have finally met you.”
“Good child, get up. Though we've met once before.”
“Yes, I remember you prepared a meal for me—while I hid above you in a tree. It took me a long time to figure out it was you. I meant it is an honour to finally speak to you.”
“You spent only ten years on Earthly Mountain. I myself spent thirty.”
“The three elders felt it was time,” Bai Feng responded with neither pride nor humility.
“Good… yes good,” said Wong Shi Hong, liking the young man immediately. “I know it was contrary to your wishes to learn martial arts but I felt strongly you were the perfect candidate—the youngest in Earthly Mountain’s history by far. And now, also the quickest study—again by far.”
“I'm indebted to you and the three elders,” Bai Feng said solemnly.
“You know of course, this is only the beginning of your most testing stage?”
“Yes Uncle. Though, I'm a little confused by all the rules.”
“There's nothing that can be done about that now. You're walking a fine line that few have attempted. Make no mistake, you have been returned to the Jianghu to fail; at least, initially. And you'll find yourself failing in all sorts of unexpected ways. Ways you never imagined, some—many in fact—disguised as successes. The key is to notice those failures as soon as possible and correct your thinking. I myself didn't do that.”
Bai Feng was aware that Wong Shi Hong had given up his search for perfection to protect his country from the Qui. Intuiting that it was a touchy subject, he changed tack. “I'll just keep practicing and deal with the difficulties as they occur.”
“A good idea,” Wong Shi Hong said as he opened a fresh flask of wine and drank. “Most disciples enter with their own martial skills already somewhat developed. That can be a hindrance. I was hoping your lack of previous training would provide sturdier bedrock for the Earthly Dragon Kung Fu. It appears to have been the case. How long did it take for you to master their entire style, the base system plus the additional forms?”
“About five years Uncle.”
“Amazing. Do you have any idea how special that is?”
“I guess so,” Bai Feng said, again with no hint of pride. If anything, right now, it was melancholy he was feeling—for the only family he had ever known. He was remembering back to his first day on Earthly Mountain. When the Fourth Artless Monk carried him across the Third Gorge in one mind-boggling leap and introduced him to the Nameless and Deedless Monks. He remembered puzzling over their strange names before quickly flying up a staggeringly steep flight of steps and then up a hundred foot bamboo ladder.
When they reached the top of the peak, he saw a moderately sized but unusual looking temple nestled into the mountain rock. Without knowing why, its design struck Bai Feng's young eyes as very familiar.
Other than inquiring if he was hungry or thirsty, the three guardians were mostly silent. They weren't stern exactly, just not talkative. As he entered the temple, he noticed they didn't bow like the monks in his monastery back home did. In fact, there was nothing to bow to. No arhats or sacred images of Taoist deities. Nothing.
He was asked to sit in a small antechamber off a big hall while the monks went off somewhere else. Looking around the room he noticed it was decorated, like every other room he had passed through, in an extremely simple manner but warmly nonetheless. The walls and spotless matted floor gave off clean straight lines in all four major directions. The walls were of a pleasing sable colour and there were no paintings or scrolls hanging from them—or from any of the walls in the temple for that matter. There was nothing but a simple table and a few floor cushions but all organised and distanced immaculately from each other.
After a while, the Artless Monk returned with some rice cakes and water which Bai Feng devoured. Barely tasting of anything, he nonetheless found them delicious. The Artless Monk merely smiled and waited for him to finish. “You know you can't do anything wrong here. Just be yourself and immerse yourself in that freedom.”
Bai Feng was peculiarly intelligent for his age but even he wondered what that meant. Eventually, the Nameless Monk came to the door of the small room and invited him into the large hall. Bai Feng stood up and stuck one last rice cake in his pocket, glancing at the monks to see it that was okay. They merely smiled.
As he entered the large hall, he noticed it was like a bigger version of the room he had previously sat in—same shape, same proportions, and a few more cushions for sitting on. The ceiling was a lot higher and there were various weapons racked against or hanging on the walls. Bai Feng assumed this must be the main training hall.
At the head of the room, three ancient looking men were sitting cross-legged like they were meditating. The one on Bai Feng's right had a bald head, wispy beard and piercing eyes. The one on his left had long white hair all the way down to his hips and his face was covered in a bushy beard while the one in the middle was completely shaven on both his head and face. He possessed a ruddy complexion and struck Bai Feng as infinitely kind, simply by the genuineness of his smile. They were all dressed in plain brown robes. The Nameless Monk signalled Bai Feng to sit in front of them. Once comfortable, the young boy waited for them to speak.
“We're delighted to have you here with us,” the ruddy faced monk in the middle said with little ceremony. “My name is Kwan Dang and I’m the Head Abbot of Earthly Dragon Temple. This is Wen Dang,” he said signalling to the sharp eyed monk on Bai Feng's right, “and this is Jian Dang,” he said while nodding to the hairy monk on Bai Feng's left.
Feeling awed by the grandeur of his hosts’ status, Bai Feng spoke honestly, “It’s nice to meet you... actually I suppose it's an honour. But I really don't know why you want me here.”
“Why did you claim to hate fighting?” the sharp eyed Wen Dang asked without any pause.
The thought of his family's dishonour flashed across the boy’s mind and, initially, he shrank from the question. However, he knew this very issue had him tied up in knots these last few months and now was as good a time to face it as any other. Actually, in the presence of these wise looking monks, it was probably the best time.
Thinking as deeply as his mind would allow, he responded carefully, “A lot of people fight to make themselves look good in front of their friends… at least it seems that way to me. They're not fighting for their lives or for something important—just a silly reputation; their family's reputation, even their country's.
“But what's so special about being strong?” Bai Feng continued his argument, encouraged by the lack of interruption. “There are plenty of more important qualities like being smart, being kind, or being a good friend and neighbour.”
The hairy monk, Jian Dang interrupted, “But there are also plenty of people who gain satisfaction from being thought of as smart or kind. What's the difference between them and those who want to be thought of as strong?”
Bai Feng appeared stumped. “I don't know,” he answered, thrown by the obvious logic. “I suppose there’s nothing wrong with being any those things. I suppose, it's wanting to be thought of as strong or smart that seems silly. Who cares what other people think of you? It's what you think of yourself that should matter. No, it's what you are that matters.”
“You seem very angry over this,” Kwan Dang observed, frowning in sympathy. “What is troubling you?”
Bai Feng was quiet for a moment. He was desperately struggling to
disentangle his thoughts; he had been for weeks now. He knew how he felt; he just couldn't articulate it into words.
Eventually, he spoke in a soft whisper, “I think about my family a lot.”
“Your family?” Kwan Dang asked.
“Yes... everyone thinks they're dishonourable for refusing to fight their enemies. But I don't think so. I really don't. And when I think about how truly unimportant other people's opinions are, it makes me sick that fighting is so wrapped up in caring about people’s opinions. The truth is, I used to love fighting; but with my friends... you know, for fun?”
To Bai Feng's left, Jian Dang smiled broadly. “It just so happens that we on this mountain have spent decades thinking about just that.”
Bai Feng's eyes widened slightly.
“Tell us,” Wen Dang prompted, “what do you think the main difference between us and the animals is?”
This was the last question Bai Feng expected. “I don't know,” he answered warily, but still being a kid, he fancied a guess. “We can talk. They can't?”
“Ha-ha, wonderful!” Kwan Dang boomed while slapping his knee in delight. “Actually, that might be the most important difference.” He felt an immediate kinship toward Bai Feng despite the considerable age gap. “Tell me Feng'er, why do we need to talk?”
Bai Feng scratched his head for a moment. “To tell other people how we feel. To help us work together.” He was enjoying this game now but he was also feeling particularly happy at how the ruddy faced monk had just addressed him with affection.
“Exactly!” It was Wen Dang’s turn to slap his thigh. “We do better around other people. We build towns, even cities, make medicines, grow an abundance of food, and protect each other. Because of this we need to be able to live alongside them, make plans with them, learn what's important to them, and to clear up any misunderstandings that might arise between us.”
“The animals are different,” Jian Dang added. “They don't live alongside each other even when they live in groups. They live above or below each other with clear divisions between high and low. Their lives are caught up in their attempts to establish and maintain those divisions. But people... people don't need to live that way anymore. When living on harmonious terms, we can mutually thrive in each other’s company.”