by Derek Dorris
Bai Feng smiled as he noticed their jumping began to suffer under the weight of the competition. He understood of course their movements were almost entirely driven by internal strength. Typically, expert practitioners employed their internal strength non-competitively when they were traversing distances at pace or scaling obstacles. Thus, it was easy to keep their mind clear and their movements delicate despite the undercurrent of power flowing through their bodies. But these older boys were now using it to establish dominance over one another so their minds were full of egotistical distractions that weighed on their movements. Their jumps became slower and clumsier. They were moving with more power for sure but they were making silly mistakes that saw them ultimately fail in their goal. The sound of water splashing was followed by accusations of cheating, unfairness, bad luck, anything to shift the blame of failure from them.
Leaning back against the tree, Bai Feng considered this a perfect analogy to the problems the great masters must experience while trying to compete with internal energy during combat. As soon as ego gets involved, all the grace and subtlety that real external kung fu is predicated on gets lost and all you have is raw power. Bai Feng smiled at how the age gap between the young and old—even the incredibly old—wasn't that wide after all. Even the best experts will continue to fall into the same trap for the rest of their lives. Before settling into his meditations, he thanked the gods of fate he found his way to Earthly Dragon in time to avoid that negative spiral.
By this point, the young men were reeling and in desperation to show their abilities in a different context, their eyes scanned the vicinity. One pair landed on Bai Feng sitting under a nearby tree and noticing the smile on his face, he was exactly what they were looking for.
The owner of those eyes—the tallest and strongest looking of the group—stalked towards him. “Just what are you smiling at punk?” he demanded to know while glowering down at the still sitting Bai Feng. “You obviously fancy yourself a kung fu master? Perhaps you can give us a few pointers.” Bai Feng had begun to meditate while waiting for the ferry and he was overcome with a sense of relaxation. Hence, without realising it, the smile hadn't faded from his face. The Yellow Lake disciples were interpreting this as an attempt to goad them.
Bai Feng heard their jibes but as usual felt no insult whatsoever. However, a slight wave of ambivalence moved through him. He would've loved to join in with their fun but his motives were more akin to the younger children’s. He merely wanted to play. What's more, he knew where it would lead. Despite their closeness in age, their internal kung fu was incomparable to Bai Feng’s. It would either rile them further or ruin their whole day. Either way, that didn't strike Bai Feng as fun. So he chose to stay out of it.
“No thanks,” he replied amiably. “My skills are meagre compared to yours. I was simply smiling at the game you were playing. It reminded me of when I was young.”
The eldest of the group, a well fed young man with pockmarks stepped forward. “Are you calling us kids?”
Bai Feng wasn't practiced at navigating the currents and eddies of conversational protocol. He had just attempted to avoid conflict with a polite sidestep yet these guys were persisting in creating an issue that didn't exist. Not knowing what else to do, he closed his eyes and just ignored them.
Nonplussed, the Yellow Lake brothers looked at each other. “Did he really just go to sleep in front of us?” asked the taller one before kicking the sleeping Bai Feng in the leg.
“Ouch!” Bai Feng looked at them confusedly but in the absence of any real anger, he merely closed his eyes again. Finally giving into his more mischievous impulses, he made as if he was going back to sleep.
“Is he serious?” the well fed one asked. “Who does he think—?” Interrupted mid-sentence, he felt something lodge itself in his mouth.
The tall one looked up to see why his friend hadn't finished his sentence when he saw his mouth was plugged with a small apple. He pointed and attempted to laugh but, as soon as his own mouth opened, it too was plugged. The three remaining brotherhood members looked around for the source of this flying fruit. The sounds of the apples flying lasted only for a split second so they couldn't have come from far. Not for a moment did it occur to them the person responsible was the young man sleeping at their feet.
The only others in the vicinity were the younger kids playing over at the tree. It must have been them, they concluded. As the two senior brotherhood members spat out whatever bits of fruit were left in their mouths, they tore towards the lakeshore—intent on dishing out a beating.
Bai Feng was chuckling to himself but soon realised he had inadvertently got the kids in trouble. He had no desire to confront these guys but he couldn't let them thrash the kids. He looked over at the nearest fishing boat and saw a large trawling net and a length of rope. His chuckle turned into a full blown laugh.
Xun Da returned within minutes finding Bai Feng in the same place, seemingly fast asleep. The kids were still playing but on closer inspection, their game had changed. Now they were hitting something caught up in the willows. Xun Da walked towards them to see a giant fishing net hanging from the inside of the willow tree. It contained the same Yellow Lake Brotherhood members who had been practicing their jumping kung fu earlier and the kids were beating them with willow branches. For some reason they were just hanging there, taking the punishment. He reached up to steady the net and saw that all of them had been immobilised and their mouths were stuffed with small apples.
Laughing to himself, he returned to the tree under which Bai Feng was now snoring contently—this time for real. By the time the ferry docked, the kids had cleared off and the two men resumed their journey. It was a short trip across the lake.
* * *
Arriving at Fangshen a day later, they were as far south as Bai Feng had ever been. It was only a day's ride but he felt the humidity was heavier. With the vast lakes and green hills, it was certainly more beautiful. They had been riding all night so they stopped at a restaurant and ordered some food. As they were eating, the door swung open and an old man of medium height and with a comically bushy beard stormed in shouting.
“I don't care, I'm hungry and I'm not fighting anyone until I've eaten half of what they have here.” They heard his companion remain outside, mumble and ride on alone.
Xun Da and Bai Feng looked at each other quizzically. The old man had a full head of long white hair, was dressed in a yellow gown, and carried a meter long wooden staff slung across his back—like most would carry a long sword. In addition, the bottom half of his white beard was dyed a distinct colour of blue. He looked ridiculous.
“Innkeeper,” the man yelled. “Prepare two of your finest dishes and then two of your next finest.”
The manager of the restaurant came forward and bowed politely. “This is not an inn, Senior.”
“Senior?” the man roared. “Why I'm younger than your brother!” He swept his hand to the left and sent the manager flying through the far window. “Ha-ha, your granny!” he shouted as the manager flew perfectly through the small wooden frame without so much as grazing the edges.
Seeing the manager land comfortably in a hay-pile across the street, Xun Da watched on in bewilderment as the manager jumped up and ran straight back in. Once again, he bowed politely to the old man and said, “Of course, you're right Sen… eh, Uncle?”
The old man arched a white bushy eyebrow at the manager as if he was considering another smack but then threw his head back and laughed out loud. “Good boy, I'll be your uncle. Go get uncle his dinner. I'll have the first best dishes and if my travel companion joins me, give him the second best ones.”
He breezed past the few customers who were already eating including Bai Feng and Xun Da and headed straight for a large table that could comfortably sit ten. “Bring some wine too”, he boomed comically and, then pointing at Bai Feng and Xun Da, he added, “and some for the two heroes over there.”
Xun Da and Bai Feng were increasingly stunned. This old
man’s manhandling of the manager was a deeply impressive demonstration of internal strength but to recognise the seated men’s level of kung fu simply by walking past them was truly unusual.
“Only don't think I'm buying you wine because you're heroes,” the old man shouted at the two friends. “I hate heroes. I'm simply counting on your constitution. Nobody wants to drink alone. But if you two fall asleep before we're done drinking, I'll take your kung fu and give it to a three legged cat.”
The two men smiled at each other completely ignoring the degradation of their skills. Xun Da turned around and cupped his fist in greeting. “We'll gladly join you for one but then we have to get moving.”
“Hey!” The old man jumped up and flew over to them. “You didn't take offence when I badmouthed your kung fu—why not?”
Xun Da laughed. “You were only joking.”
“And even if you weren't,” Bai Feng weighed in, “you're clearly better than us. Why would we debate your expertise?”
The old man stood up straight as if attempting to make sense of what they said and then exploded in laughter. “Good. Great! Two kindred spirits plus one more makes three. You're like me.”
He sat down amongst them and smiled broadly. “Manager, bring my food over here. I'm eating with my new friends.”
Bai Feng liked this old lunatic immediately but was concerned about wasting precious time. “Uncle, I'm afraid we are in a rush. We need to find someone who needs our help.”
“Never mind them. Nobody will hurt your friends. If they do, they'll have me to contend with. Waiter, where's the wine?” the old man roared.
A small nervous waiter hurried up and poured the drinks. They saluted each other and drank. “Wonderful. Best wine I've ever tasted.” the old man said.
The two men found it rather insipid but said nothing.
“More wine!” the man shouted.
Xun Da stood up and politely echoed Bai Feng's words. The old man seemed hurt. “But, we've just met! Wait a minute. You, you... Oh this is so unfair!”
The two men were nonplussed, wondering how someone with so many years experience could be so childish. They would be tempted to conclude he was senile but he had demonstrated such acute awareness of his surroundings, he couldn't be.
The old man's face appeared stuck in a deep frown when suddenly he was smiling again. “I know! I'll go with you. We'll help your friend and come back here. Yes?”
The two men glanced at each other. This man was a little unpredictable but he was certainly powerful. His company might prove useful.
“Good, it's settled so. Let's go. Manager, put those meals aside, we'll eat them later. Don't bother cooking new dishes. But the old meals better be fresh though…” he rambled on like this while Xun Da and Bai Feng walked out ahead of him.
Xun Da spoke quietly while the old man was still rabbiting away to the manager. “He could prove a strong ally. But how could we control him? He could end up causing more trouble than he solves.”
Bai Feng couldn't help but agree. Reluctantly, he nodded.
“I think it's best to just get out of here now,” Xun Da said and jumped on his horse without hesitation.
Bai Feng felt a little guilty. There was something about the old man which he warmed to but ultimately, he agreed with Xun Da. Their business was too urgent. As the men sped off, they were slightly surprised the man didn't burst out of the restaurant and shout something. With his abilities, they were sure he'd hear them leave. Yet they heard nothing and so they proceeded to ride out of town at a quick clip. Xun Da was on the lead horse and, after a while, he threw a look over his shoulder to see if they were being followed. Shockingly, he saw the strange old man sitting behind Bai Feng as the latter rode on obliviously. Pulling the reigns until the two horses came to a stop, he looked over at Bai Feng trying to signal him. “Ahem... It strikes me, we haven't introduced ourselves.”
“Right! Right!” The old man exclaimed, frightening Bai Feng half out of his saddle as the old man's voice boomed from behind him. “My name is Liao Quan. What's yours? No, let me guess… Du Gong? No, umm… Ouang Kang? No, umm...”
“Eh,” Xun Da interrupted not wanting this bizarre game to continue but still utterly shook by the name he just heard. “I'm Xun Da and this is my martial cousin Bai Feng.”
Bai Feng had just about recovered from the fright of realising he was carrying a passenger on his horse when he noticed the man really didn't suspect any foul play on their part. He had simply tagged along as they were pulling out of town—exactly like he said he was going to do. “It's an honour to know you Mr. Quan.”
Xun Da was still in shock and could say nothing more.
“What's this ‘Mr.’ business? Aren't we friends? Call me “Uncle Liao”. No, that's too stiff. How about ‘Brother Quan’? Actually, you better make it ‘First Brother’ because I'm a little older than you. I'll call you ‘Second Brother Da’ and ‘Third Brother Feng’. Right, that's that tidied up.”
At this point, the sun was settling in the middle of the sky, lighting up a nearby lake in a beautiful hue of jade green. Both Bai Feng and Xun Da, who were on the lookout for this lake gasped, “The jade green lake.”
With those words, Liao Quan jumped from the horse. “Ah... that reminds me! I'm supposed to fight someone. Brothers, wait here. I'll be back in a few minutes.”
They felt a gush of air breeze past them and he was gone before they could say anything. They watched him glide across a nearby rice paddy straight for the lakeshore in a matter of sixty seconds. The distance between them and the lake must have been three quarters of a kilometre.
“Who the hell can move that quickly?” Bai Feng was completely bewildered. “And he… he must be seventy years of age! And who the hell is he fighting at the lake?”
Xun Da finally spoke, “Feng'er, this is too much of a coincidence. I've a bad feeling about this. We have to move quickly.”
As they galloped for the eastern shore of the lake, Bai Feng looked over at his friend. “Brother Da. What is it?”
“He said his name was Liao Quan.”
“So?”
“With those abilities not to mention that personality, it has to be him.”
“Has to be who? Who's Liao Quan?”
“Liao Quan is one of the Ten Greats!”
“What?”
“He's often referred to as ‘The Great Fool’ but I wouldn't call him that to his face.”
“I'm not sure he'd care,” Bai Feng muttered as his eyebrows creased in confusion. “It’s difficult to believe someone so strange can be truly one of the most revered experts in the country.”
“Ah, but remember what I told you all those years ago Feng'er—about the personalities of the Ten Greats. They’re all highly unusual characters in their own way.”
“I can accept ‘unusual’ but that guy is raving mad! His kung fu must be really unorthodox.”
By this point, the two men were quickly coming up on the lakeshore. “Fu Xiaoli’s home should be ahead,” Xun Da remarked while pondering Bai Feng’s last comment. “It’s true. He’s mastered an obscure kung fu that he calls the ‘Lightning Arms Style’. I’ve never seen him fight but I believe it’s based on blinding speed and almost no power whatsoever.”
“No power? My three grandmasters would dearly love to see that. I’m surprised they haven’t mentioned him.”
“Very little is known about him. His origins are a mystery. Truth be told, he’s considered an anomaly.”
“What’s he doing here then?”
“I don't know. But it's reasonable to assume that he's mixed up in this Blue Lady business.”
* * *
After riding two kilometres along the lakeshore, the two men came in view of a thatched house nestled into a small patch of bamboo forest. The outside of the house was swept clean and blue flowers hung from latticed fences giving the entire scene a certain grace without being too feminine. From behind the house, somewhere within the bamboo forest, came faint sounds of c
ombat. Dismounting simultaneously, the two heroes used their internal kung fu to approach the scene quickly but stealthily. Xun Da moved to the left, Bai Feng to the right. The light dimmed as they went deeper into the patch but the sounds of battle got louder. A distant voice was interrupted by the wince-inducing sound of bamboo splitting or cracking. The voice belonged to Liao Quan. Closing in on the scene, they saw the old lunatic chasing a tall woman dressed in a long blue gown with grey hair tied back behind her head in a manner befitting a woman of the martial world. Liao Quan was fast and direct but the old lady kicked her way through the trees delicately and assuredly. She was of course Fu Xiaoli, the Blue Lady.
“Come down here now and fight me young miss!” Liao Quan was shouting in his comically booming manner.
“Get away from me you ridiculous fool! You don't even know why you're attacking me!”
“I do know as a matter of fact. I do! Look at my beard. If this isn't your work, I don't know whose it is.”
Fu Xiaoli was continuing to evade Liao Quan’s imperceptibly quick strikes which every now and then splintered the bamboo trees she was treading on. “Your beard? What the hell are you talking about?”
Liao Quan stopped moving and grabbed the bottom of his beard, holding it up for her to see. “You waited for me to keel over drunk and then you sneaked into my room and did this to my beard. Are you really going to deny it?”
“Why would I do such a ridiculous thing? What's more, I haven't seen you in years. I wouldn't even know where to find you!”
“And what was the last thing you said to me all those years ago?” Liao Quan asked with enough rectitude to make a cat smile. “You threatened to cut my beard off and dye it blue. Just because I stole your silly blue blade and had some fun with it. Oh yes, you didn't have the guts to cut my beard off because you knew the sound of hair being cut is the one thing that will wake a drunken man. But you went as far as changing its colour. Didn't you? Now come down here and I'll only give you a light spanking.” Liao Quan felt like his argument was well made and stood proudly with his arms folded waiting for what he assumed would be her inevitable capitulation.