by Jin Yong
Zuo Lengchan replied, "The martial art of your master, Dingxian Shi Tai, is high, and her experience is really out of the ordinary. She's in fact the greatest person among everyone in our five mountains sword schools, and I admired her very much. But it's a pity that they were killed in Shaolin Temple. If she was still alive today, then she would know what is right or wrong in today's gathering." He paused for a time before continuing, "That day when I was discussing the merger with Dingxian, Dingjing, and Dingyi Shi Tai, I mentioned about this matter already. Actually it didn't matter if this merger comes to fruition or not. But if the merger actually goes through then I would have definitely asked Dingxian Shi Tai to be the leader of the combined schools. At that time, Dingxian Shi Tai was being humble and declined, but I would definitely have supported her fully. Later on, for some unknown reason, Dingxian Shi Tai firmly declined this idea. Ai, what a pity, what a pity, such a hero unexpectedly passed away when her service here isn't done yet. Her death at the Shaolin Temple really made people sad." He had now mentioned Shaolin Temple twice in his speech, as he implicitly put the responsibility of Dingxian Shi Tai's death on Shaolin Temple. He was implying that even though the murderer might not have been someone from Shaolin School, there were many martial art masters at Shaolin who were capable of killing these two masters. Also, even if Shaolin School didn't plot the demise of the Shi Tai, they had let their murderers escape and were negligent in their responsibility to protect the people inside the temple.
Suddenly, someone with a crude voice said, "What Headmaster Zuo said was wrong. That day, Dingxian Shi Tai told me, she actually wanted to choose you to become the headmaster of the five mountains sword schools."
Zuo Lengchan felt really happy. He took a look at that person and saw that person had a horse face, mouse eyes, and looked very weird. He didn't know who that person was but since he was wearing a black gown, it indicated that he was from the Heng-Shan School. Besides him were five more people with similar appearances, wearing similar gowns, but Zuo Lengchan didn't know that they were the Peach Valley Six Fairies. Even though Zuo Lengchan felt exulted, his face stayed calm and collected.
"Honourable Brother, what's your name? Even though Dingxian Shi Tai had said that at that time, I still couldn't be compared to her. I would never be able to be as good as her."
The person who spoke out before was Peachtree Root Fairy. He now loudly replied, "I'm Peachtree Root Fairy. These five people are all my brothers."
"I have heard of your illustrious name for a long time," Zuo Lengchan replied.
"Which illustrious name have you heard of me? Did you hear about my powerful martial art or my vast knowledge?" Peachtree Root Fairy asked.
Zuo Lengchan thought, "So these six idiots were the ones who ripped Cheng Buyou apart." But thinking that Peachtree Root Fairy had just supported him, he said, "The six of you have powerful martial arts and vast knowledge. I've heard of both."
Peachtree Trunk Fairy said, "There's nothing great about our martial arts. But if the six of us teamed up together, we would be better than Chief Zuo by a bit. However, if we're fighting one on one, then we lack by a lot."
Peachtree Flower Fairy added, "But with regards to knowledge, we're way better than Chief Zuo."
Zuo Lengchan snorted and replied, "Really?"
"I'm not wrong at all. That's what Dingxian Shi Tai said on that day," Peachtree Flower Fairy replied.
Peachtree Leaf Fairy said, "When Dingxian Shi Tai, Dingjing Shi Tai, and Dingyi Shi Tai were chit chatting inside the convent, they talked about the merger of the five mountains sword schools. Dingyi Shi Tai said: 'It's alright if the five mountains sword schools don’t merge. But if we're going to merge, then we must ask Songshan School's Mr. Zuo Lengchan to become the headmaster.' Do you believe me?" Zuo Lengchan was secretly feeling very happy. He replied, "Dingyi Shi Tai gave me a lot face, I don't deserve it."
Peachtree Root Fairy said, "Don't be happy yet. Dingyi Shi Tai also said: 'Among the heroes in the realm, Songshan School's headmaster Zuo is very highly regarded. If he does become the headmaster of the Five Mountains School, that's really the best choice. But he's very selfish, narrow minded, and has no tolerance. If he really becomes the headmaster, then my female disciples would certainly suffer under him.'"
Peachtree Trunk Fairy continued his brother's speech, "Dingxian Shi Tai then said: 'On the other hand, we have six heroes here. Their martial arts are really high, and their knowledge is also vast. They would do well enough as headmaster of the Five Mountains School.'"
Zuo Lengchan laughed coldly and said, "Six heroes? Who are they?"
Peachtree Flower Fairy replied, "Of course these six heroes are the six of us." As soon as he said this, the thousands of people on the mountaintop burst into laughter. Even though most of these people didn't know of the Peach Valley Six Fairies, they saw that these six brothers looked weird and that their appearances were comical. When they heard that they were praising themselves as heroes and were saying that their 'martial arts are high and their knowledge is vast', they couldn't hold back their laughter.
Peachtree Branch Fairy said, "At that time, when Dingxian Shi Tai mentioned these words 'Six Heroes', Dingjing and Dingyi Shi Tai immediately realised that these words were referring to the six of us, and they immediately cheered. Hmmm, what did Dingyi Shi Tai say at that time? Brothers, do you remember?"
Peachtree Fruit Fairy confidently replied, "Of course I remember. At that time, Dingyi Shi Tai said: 'The knowledge of these Peach Valley Six Fairies, when actually compared to Shaolin Temple's Great Master Fangzheng, lack only by a bit. Compared to Priest Chongxu of Wudang School, their martial arts aren't as good. But within the five mountains sword schools, no one can be compared to them. Martial sisters, what do you think?' Dingjing Shi Tai then said: 'I actually think otherwise. Martial Sister Dingxian's martial art and knowledge aren't below the Peach Valley Six Fairies at all. It's a pity that we're females and we're also Buddhists. So it'll be inconvenient for us to become the headmaster of the Five Mountains School and lead the thousands of heroes. So, we should choose the Peach Valley Six Fairies for this position.'"
Peachtree Leaf Fairy continued with the story, "Dingxian Shi Tai nodded her head and then she said: 'If the five mountains sword schools are really going to merge, and these six brothers aren't the headmasters, then it would be hard for the school to flourish and prosper.'" As Linghu Chong listened on, he found it becoming funnier and funnier as he came to understand that the Peach Valley Six Fairies were deliberately trying to cause trouble for Zuo Lengchan. Zuo Lengchan had fabricated words and tried to pass them off as words said by people who had already passed away, and now the Peach Valley Six Fairies were copying him. This tactic of making use of Zuo Lengchan’s method to dispute with him was really good as Zuo Lengchan was unable to dispute back.
On top of Mount Songshan, besides people from Songshan School and some outsiders who are under Zuo Lengchan's command, there were actually many people who disagreed strongly with the idea of merging the five mountains sword schools. Some were highly experienced heroes such as Abbot Fangzheng and Priest Chongxu who were afraid that Zuo Lengchan's ambition would become unchecked and disaster would strike in Jianghu. There were also those who saw Priest Tianmen died miserably and were feeling very angry at Zuo Lengchan. There were some who believed that after the five mountains schools had merged, the reputation of the Five Mountains School would prosper greatly, and that they wouldn't allow their own school to miss out on this; And there was also Linghu Chong and his Heng-Shan School's people who had great hostility towards Zuo Lengchan believing that Dingxian Shi Tai, Dingjing Shi Tai, and Dingyi Shi Tai were killed by him, and were hoping to exact their revenge on him. When all these people heard the nonsense that the Peach Valley Six Fairies were spouting, some people also fabricated similar things making Zuo Lengchan unable to dispute them back. But for the most part, people were just laughing quietly, while the young ones laughed slightly louder. Suddenly, a rough voice sai
d, "Peach Valley Six Weirdos, were there other witnesses around when Dingxian Shi Tai said this?"
Peachtree Root Fairy replied, "Many Heng-Shan School disciples heard it themselves. Miss Zheng, isn't that right?"
Zheng E quickly held back her laughter and calmly replied, "That's right. Headmaster Zuo, you said that my master approved of the merger of the five schools. Who else heard this? Martial sisters, did any of you hear these words from our honourable master?"
More than a hundred female disciples answered together, "We've never heard of these words." One of the disciples said loudly, "Most likely, those words were Headmaster Zuo's own fabrication." There was also a female disciple who said, "Compared to Headmaster Zuo, my master was more inclined to support the Peach Valley Six Fairies. We've all been following the three honourables for many years now, how could we not have known what was in their minds?"
Many people burst into laughter. Peachtree Branch Fairy loudly added, "That's right, we're not telling lies, isn't that right? Later on, Dingxian Shi Tai also said: 'When the five schools do merge then there's only one position of headmaster, while the Peach Valley Six Fairies have six people. Who do you think will be the best one to take on this position?'. Brothers, what was Dingjing Shi Tai's answer?"
Peachtree Flower Fairy replied, "This... Hmm, yes, Dingjing Shi Tai said: 'Even when the five schools merge into one, the mountains of Taishan, Hengshan, Huashan, Heng-Shan, Songshan are on the east, south, west, north, and in the middle respectively, and they can't be physically merged into one. Zuo Lengchan is also not an emperor. How could he move all these mountains together and make it one? So we'll just ask five of the Peach Valley Six Fairies to take care of each of the mountains, and have the remaining one to be the headmaster.'"
Peachtree Leaf Fairy said, "That's right! Dingyi Shi Tai then said: 'Martial sister is right. The parents of the Peach Valley Six Fairies had really good foresight, they knew that Zuo Lengchan wanted to merge the five mountains sword schools sometime in the future so they gave birth to six brothers, not five or seven. Really admirable, admirable!'" When the crowd heard this, their laughter was so loud that it reverberated through the whole mountain.
Zuo Lengchan had prepared this place of worship for the merger of the five mountains school. He had originally set the place up in all its grandeur so that all the attending heroes would be awed by it. But he had never expected that these six idiots would come out and start telling jokes in front of everyone, making this grand ceremony looking like a comical play. Zuo Lengchan was actually furious, but since he was the host at Mount Songshan, he couldn't just do whatever he wished and was forced to hold his anger in check. He secretly hatched a plan, "Once this matter is finished, if I don't kill these six idiots, then I'm not Zuo."
Peachtree Fruit Fairy suddenly wept loudly and started calling out, "This is not good... not good! Ever since the six of us were born, we've never been more than a foot apart from each other. One is to be the headmaster of the Five Mountains School, while the others are going to live separately on five other mountains. This won't do, we can't do that." He was crying genuinely, as if the headmaster position of the Five Mountains School had been decided, and that the six of them were faced with the situation of parting ways forever.
Peachtree Branch Fairy said, "Sixth brother, don't be upset, the six of us won't be separated. Brothers, don't give up. I also won't give up. But since people expect us to become the headmaster of the Five Mountains School, we're left with no choice but to go against the merger of the five mountains schools."
Peachtree Root Fairy and the other four brothers replied together, "Right, right, why do we need to merge the five mountains sword schools?"
Peachtree Fruit Fairy snorted his nose and broke into a smile. He said, "Even if the schools are really merging, there's a great hero in the Five Mountains School. Compared to the six of us, his knowledge is higher, his martial art is more powerful, and just like the six of us, he has the favour of everyone. It's not late for this kind of person to become the headmaster."
Zuo Lengchan was worried that these six chaps would continue with their pestering and make more and more trouble. So he quickly cut them off and immediately said clearly, "Six heroes, are you the headmaster of Heng-Shan School? Or is it someone else? Are the six heroes taking responsibility for Heng-Shan School's matters?"
Peachtree Branch Fairy replied, "We originally wanted to become the headmaster of Heng-Shan School. But thinking that the headmaster of Songshan School is you, old brother Zuo, when the six of us become the headmaster of Heng-Shan, then we would be on par with you. Hey, hey, this... that..."
Peachtree Flower Fairy said, "If we're on par with him, then the six of us heroes would definitely lose our position. That's why we asked Linghu Chong to take on this difficult job and become the headmaster of Heng-Shan School." Zuo Lengchan was seething with rage, and he said coldly, "Headmaster Linghu, you're now leading the Heng-Shan School family, but you're not restricting the people in your noble school but allowed them to spout nonsense in front of the entire realm's heroes and shame themselves."
Linghu Chong smiled. "These six Peachtree brothers are honest and sincere, and they speak candidly. But they're not the kind of people who blindly invent rumours. Their story of Dingxian Shi Tai is more reliable when compared to the nonsense from someone outside this school."
Zuo Lengchan snorted and said, "Today, on this matter of the five mountains sword schools merger, your noble school is thinking of objecting to it all by yourself?"
Linghu Chong shook his head. "Heng-Shan School is not objecting to it by ourselves. Huashan School's headmaster, Mr. Yue, is the respected master who initially taught me my skills. Today, even though I belong to another school, I don't dare to forget the instructions from my former respected master."
Zuo Lengchan replied, "The way you said that, you'll still listen to what Huashan School's Mr. Yue say?"
"That's right. My Heng-Shan School and Huashan School are uniting our effort and working together," Linghu Chong replied.
Zuo Lengchan turned his head to look at the Huashan School. He then said, "Mr. Yue, Headmaster Linghu didn't forget your past kindness to him. Congratulations! Headmaster Linghu will follow your lead whether Sir agrees to the merger or not. But what does Sir think of this merger?"
Yue Buqun replied, "Since Chief Zuo asked me earlier, I've already considered about this matter in details. But it's actually not easy to reach a decision." At that moment, everyone in the crowd turned their eyes to look at him. Many of the people in the crowd thought, "Hengshan School is weak to stand by itself, and Taishan School has divisions inside their school, so both of them were unable to resist Songshan School. At this time, Huashan School and Heng-Shan School have become allies, and adding Hengshan School to the mix, they can definitely go up against Songshan School." They then heard Yue Buqun continued, "My Huashan School was founded more than two hundred years ago. Some time ago, our school suffered a schism and divided into the Qi Branch and the Sword Branch. All the seniors in Wulin already know about this. When I thought of the days when the two branches were killing each other, I still tremble with fear..."
Linghu Chong pondered, "Master once mentioned that the struggle between these two branches was the school's biggest shame and cannot be mentioned to the people outside of the school. Why is he now publicly discussing about this matter in front of all the realm's heroes?" He then heard Yue Buqun's sharp voice travelling over many li, and each word that he said echoed back from distant places. Linghu Chong thought, "Master's cultivation of the 'Divine Art of Violet Twilight' has gotten even higher. His voice and the way he used his inner energy seems quite different than the past."
Yue Buqun continued, "That's why I deeply feel that being apart is not as good as being together for all the sects in Wulin. Hundreds of years ago, the fightings were very fierce in Jianghu, and no one knows just how many people from the orthodox path died from such fights. Tracing the source of this, it's most likely that
these fighting occur because there were too many sects in Jianghu. I've always believed that if all the sects in Wulin are to become one, then everyone will be like brothers, and all those kinds of killings would be greatly reduced. Then many heroes would not lose their lives while they're still in their prime, and the numbers of orphans and widows would also be greatly reduced." He said this with a voice full of pity towards the fate of mankind, and many people couldn't help but nod their heads when they heard this. There were some people who whispered, "Huashan's Yue Buqun is called 'Gentleman Sword'. He's really earned his reputation. His heart is full of compassion." Abbot Fangzheng joined his two palms and said, "Very good, very good! Scholar Yue is very compassionate. If everyone in Wulin thought the same way as Scholar Yue, then all the bloodshed and killings in Wulin will disappear completely."
Yue Buqun said, "Great Master is overpraising me. That was just my shallow view of things. Shaolin temple's reverend monks from generations past must've thought of the same thing a long time ago. It's evidence of Shaolin temple's prestigious status in Wulin that with just one call, all the wise and outstanding warriors from every school and sect responds to it. This must be because of Shaolin temple's achievements for the last hundreds of years. It's true that each school and each sect's martial art has different roots and that their methods of inner energy cultivation are very different from each other. So if we actually want every pugilist out there to be under one school, then that would be easier said than done. 'A gentleman is friendly but not at the expense of principle.' Just so, our martial arts can be different but we must still be at peace with one another. Even until today, there are still a lot of sects and schools in Jianghu, which are clearly fighting in the open or are fighting in secret, and countless lives are lost because of this. All these deaths and killings, just because of some senseless fights. All the wise heroes from years past must've known that all these divisions in sects and schools are causing a lot of harm in Jianghu. But why can't we resolve all these heartaches and eliminate this division? I really don't understand this. So I've been thinking about this matter for many years now, and it was only recently that I've suddenly become enlightened and understood the key point that's been hindering this from happening. This matter affects the life and death of everyone in Wulin from the orthodox path, so I don't dare to keep this matter to myself. That's why I've cautiously raised the issue and ask everyone here to give me some advice."