by Jin Yong
Lotus lowered herself from Guo Jing’s back and kowtowed four times in the direction of Sole Light’s rooms.
“Uncle Sole Light, I did not know I was demanding such a rich and precious gift from you.” She spoke softly as tears trickled down her face.
Her earnest gesture eased the tension a little.
“Tell us honestly,” the fisher demanded. “Did you know that your father sent you to entrap our shifu?”
“Why would Papa do that?” Lotus was reaching boiling point. “How dare you slander him! The Lord of Peach Blossom Island would never sully himself with such a dishonorable, underhanded trick!”
“Forgive my unjust words.” The fisher cupped his hands, backing down in the face of her fury.
“If Papa heard how you besmirch his name, he’d make you pay, disciple of Reverend Sole Light or not…”
“Your father is known as the Heretic of the East. We thought that, with such a title, he would behave in a … manner becoming the Venom of the West.” The fisher offered a wry smile. “It seems that we have made a false assumption.”
“How could you think my papa is anything like that shriveled old snake! And what has that stinky toad done to you?”
“Let’s talk inside,” the scholar said. “We will tell you everything.”
5
The scholar led Guo Jing and Lotus back to the chamber on the eastern side of the temple’s front courtyard where they had first waited for an audience with King Duan. As everyone sat down, Lotus noticed the scholar and his brethren chose places close to the window or the doorway, cutting off all direct routes of escape. She sniggered at their precautions, but decided not to draw attention to them—for now.
“Have you heard of the Nine Yin Manual?” the scholar asked.
“Yes, that book has brought nothing but harm to this world.” Her mother’s untimely death came to Lotus’s mind. If she had not expended all that energy trying to recall its contents, she would most likely have survived childbirth.
“Presumably you are familiar with the Contest of Mount Hua too? The leader of the Quanzhen Sect not only won the respect of the other Greats, he also gained custodianship of the Nine Yin Manual. One year after the Contest, Immortal Double Sun came to the Dali Kingdom with his martial brother—”
“Zhou Botong the Hoary Urchin?” Lotus interjected.
“You are well-informed about Masters of the wulin for one of your tender years.”
“Spare me your compliments.”
“Well, Martial Uncle Zhou is indeed a most jocular fellow. I didn’t know that he also goes by such a whimsical title. At that time, Shifu had not yet taken the vow.”
“So he was still the king?”
“Yes, he was still our sovereign then. The reason for Immortal Double Sun’s visit was the Yang in Ascendance kung fu. He had admired the technique at the Contest and traveled all the way to our court to learn more. Over a fortnight, Shifu shared everything he knew about the pressure-point locking system, and the Immortal taught Shifu his signature skill, Cosmos neigong. We four were tasked with waiting on the Immortal and his brother during their stay at the palace, and were privy to their discussions, but, alas, we were too ignorant to be able to benefit much from this treasure trove of martial insight.”
“What about the Old Urchin? Did he learn anything? His kung fu is very good.”
“Lengthy discourse did not interest Uncle Zhou, so he roamed every corner of the palace to keep himself amused. He even visited the women’s private quarters—where the Queen and the other consorts lived. The eunuchs and ladies-in-waiting dared not bar him, as he was the king’s honored guest.”
Guo Jing and Lotus exchanged a smile. They knew this irreverent streak all too well.
“Toward the end of the Immortal’s stay, he said to our shifu: ‘I fear I don’t have long in this world—my old ailment has returned—but it heartens me that the secrets of Cosmos neigong are now in your capable hands. No man shall be tyrannized by Viper Ouyang and his black-hearted ways: with my learning allied with Your Majesty’s Yang in Ascendance, you can keep him in line. This impoverished monk is most blessed to be granted access to the Dali Kingdom’s cherished martial secret, and I vow never to share my knowledge of Yang in Ascendance with anyone else.’
“Only then did Shifu apprehend the Immortal’s true intentions. It was the prospect of an unchecked Viper Ouyang that had driven him to travel thousands of li to Dali. If the Immortal had come merely to offer his knowledge, it could have been misconstrued as an affront, but the Greats were martial equals, and it was not unheard of for Masters of their stature to learn from each other and to exchange one supreme kung fu for another.
“The Immortal departed this world not long after his return home. We heard that he stayed true to his word and did not teach his disciples Yang in Ascendance. Apparently he didn’t even practice it himself. Shifu worked hard to attain mastery of Cosmos neigong and fulfill the duty entrusted to him, but before long misfortune struck our Dali Kingdom and Shifu renounced the trappings of the mortal world for the tonsure.”
Lotus wondered what could have been so traumatic as to make a man give up his kingship. Much as she wished to find out, she was aware that being inquisitive right now might be taken amiss. She shot Guo Jing a withering glare to stop him from commenting, knowing his simple soul would not grasp the sensitivity of the situation.
Sorrows from a bygone time gripped the scholar. “Somehow, news of Shifu’s knowledge of Cosmos neigong got out,” he said eventually. “One day, my elder martial brother –” he gestured to the farmer—“was sent by Shifu to gather medicinal herbs from a snow-capped mountain on Yunnan’s western frontier. There, in the wilderness, he was attacked with Exploding Toad kung fu.”
“Viper Ouyang!” Lotus exclaimed.
“Who else!” the farmer roared. “A foppish youth appeared from nowhere and railed at me for stealing herbs from his home. How could a whole mountain range—thousands of acres of land—be his? He was spoiling for a fight, but I wouldn’t be provoked, because Shifu has always bade us to let peace be our guide. He grew bolder in his provocations and demanded that I should grovel for my freedom with three hundred kowtows. His insults got under my skin. It was a protracted fight, for I wasn’t skilled enough to overpower him. The Old Venom came out of nowhere and ambushed me. The next thing I knew, I was being carried down the mountain to the Celestial Dragon Temple, where Shifu was residing at the time.”
“You’ll be pleased to hear that this rake, Gallant Ouyang, met his fate,” Lotus said.
“What? Who slew him?”
“Why? Are you troubled by his death?”
“I’d hoped to wreak vengeance with my own hands.”
“That satisfaction will never be yours, I’m afraid…”
“Who killed him?”
“A good-for-nothing. His kung fu was pathetic, but he outwitted that coxcomb.”
“A deed most just,” the scholar remarked. “Do you know why Viper Ouyang injured my brother?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Lotus replied. “The Venom would not hesitate to take someone’s life, there and then, but he chose not to, because, by keeping his victim alive, he could impair Uncle Sole Light’s elemental qi. Since it would take five years to recuperate from the strains of the healing process, the King of the South would lag far behind at the next Contest of Mount Hua.”
“That was not the half of Viper Ouyang’s infernal scheme. He intended to come for Shifu right away, when he was at his weakest—”
Guo Jing spoke up. “I don’t see how someone as peaceable as Uncle Sole Light could have done anything to provoke such enmity from Viper Ouyang.”
“Well, it is in the nature of men cruel and evil to hate anyone who is their moral opposite, and such men need no animus before they do harm. For Viper Ouyang, the fact that his Exploding Toad was vulnerable to Yang in Ascendance combined with Cosmos neigong was reason enough for him to act against our shifu.”
Guo Jing nodd
ed in agreement with the scholar’s explanation. “How did Uncle get away?”
“The moment Shifu set eyes on the injury, he divined Viper Ouyang’s purpose,” the scholar replied. “That night, after tending to my brother, we abandoned Celestial Dragon Temple. The Venom wasn’t able to track us down, but we knew he would not give up. We searched far and wide for a secluded location where we could resettle, and eventually came upon this place.
“My brethren and I wanted to take the fight to the Venom at White Camel Mount after Shifu’s recovery, but he was adamant that he would never grant us leave, for he has always believed that heaping wrong upon wrong would bring no resolution. So, for a few years, we enjoyed peace and stability—until your arrival. We had assumed that, as you are the Divine Vagrant’s disciples, you could not harbor ill will for our shifu … ‘The man has no mind to hurt the tiger, but it is in the heart of tigers to prey on men.’ If only we knew, we would have laid down our lives to stop you from setting foot in this temple.” The scholar rose to his feet menacingly. “We would have done everything in our power to stop Shifu from succumbing to your dark plots.” He drew his sword from its scabbard with a sha! The cold glisten of polished metal filled the room. His fellows, weapons in hand, had also assumed fighting stances, hemming the young couple in.
“I sincerely had no idea that it would cost your shifu five years of training to heal my injury.” Lotus still hoped she could talk them down. “I also didn’t know that the pills had been meddled with—it was not my doing. But one thing is clear in my heart: Uncle’s gift of vital growth is as expansive as the heavens and as nourishing as the earth. Not even the most heartless, unscrupulous person could reward such bounty with bale.”
“Then why do you lead his enemy here now?” the fisher demanded.
“We didn’t!” Lotus and Guo Jing protested as one.
“You didn’t? Shifu was poisoned. Then, a jade bracelet arrived. It can’t be a coincidence.”
“What bracelet?” Lotus asked.
“Stop playing the innocent!” Armed with two iron oars, the fisher swept one sideways at Guo Jing and jabbed the other at Lotus.
Guo Jing leaped into action. He twirled his right arm, pushing aside the oar aimed his way, while his left hand grabbed the blade of the one threatening Lotus and jerked it up and down. A blast of his inner force tore it from the fisher’s grasp. He immediately spun the makeshift weapon around and knocked its loom into the farmer’s metal rake.
Sparks flew as the two met with a reverberating clang.
Then, with a twist of his wrist, Guo Jing slammed the oar back into its owner’s hand, as swiftly as he had snatched it away.
A moment passed before the dumbstruck fisher gathered the wherewithal to tighten his grip. Gathering strength to his arms, he raised the oar to bludgeon Guo Jing into submission. At the same time, the logger swung his axe at the young man.
Guo Jing let fly with a palm thrust from each hand, whipping up a storm that lashed into the men’s chests.
“Back!” The scholar recognized the might of the Dragon-Subduing Palm.
The fisher and the logger were no common brawlers, having been trained personally by one of the Five Greats. They halted their offensive and stepped back, unflustered. As they did so, a jolt went through their bodies. They felt themselves being drawn forward, through their weapons, by the power in Guo Jing’s palms. Only two options were open to them now: let go, or let that frightful strength forever knock the breath of life out of their rib cages.
Once Guo Jing had gained control of the oar and the rake, he tossed them back gently. “Catch!”
“Exquisite!” Even as the scholar was praising Guo Jing’s kung fu, his sword was darting, at an oblique angle, toward the young man’s right flank. The least martial disciple of Reverend Sole Light in appearance was turning out to be the most accomplished fighter of them all.
Startled by this brisk, incisive attack, Guo Jing’s palms danced faster to create a shield of protection around himself and Lotus. This invisible line of defense was powered solely by his internal force, and yet it was like a mountain range had descended between the young couple and the scholar—not even whetted steel could find a way through. With each thrust and twirl of the hand, Guo Jing enlarged his circle of protection, turning an unbreachable barricade into a swelling tidal wave, pushing the four men back toward the walls, giving them no breathing space to launch any meaningful counter.
Hard-pressed to avoid being struck themselves, none of the four men could break through. When they attacked head-on, Guo Jing parried. When they tried to steal in, Guo Jing thrust back. They could not gain the upper hand, even though Guo Jing was keeping the keen edge of his palm strength in check, careful not to use more force than necessary.
The scholar’s sword quivered and the air around it hummed. Its point danced like summer lightning, six high strikes followed by six low. Then it lunged dead on, seeking out Guo Jing’s torso six times, before whizzing to his back with the same wicked precision. Now it aimed six probes at his left flank, now it flitted to his right side in a mirror image of what had come before. Six successive stings of the sword, repeated from six directions, in the blink of an eye.
The Thirty-Six Swords of Mount Hhaqlol. The most aggressive sword-fighting sequence under the heavens.
Despite the sustained onslaught from the other three disciples, Guo Jing dedicated one hand to fending off the scholar’s sword, tracking it as its tip flittered up and down and around his body, throwing it off target with the power pouring forth from his palm. The dazzling variations failed to cut through this invisible barrier, the sword’s point slipping and glancing off its mark. It could not even snag itself on Guo Jing’s clothes.
As the scholar thrust the sword for the thirty-sixth time, its point hissing over Guo Jing’s right side, the young man curled his middle finger under his thumb and—clank!—a jet of inner force struck the foible of the sword.
A Divine Flick.
Apothecary Huang’s fight against the Quanzhen monks at Ox Village had come to Guo Jing’s mind and he had copied the Heretic’s signature skill. The attempt lacked finesse, but it was enough to send a shock of energy up the hilt, numbing the scholar’s arm and weakening his grip. The sword almost flew out of his hand.
“Stop!” he ordered as he leaped back.
The other three disciples backed down.
“I told you their hearts are pure, but you all doubted me,” the logger said as he tucked his axe into his belt.
6
The scholar put away his sword and bowed, holding his palm over his fist. “I am most grateful for your forbearance.”
Guo Jing returned the polite gesture, though he was thoroughly confused. Why did it take a fight to prove they meant no harm?
Seeing that the scholar’s reasoning had eluded Guo Jing, Lotus whispered in his ear, “If you had impure motives, you would have injured these four by now. Then there would be no more obstacles between you and Uncle Sole Light, who is in no state to defend himself.” She now turned to the four men. “Who is Uncle’s enemy? Why did they send this jade bracelet?”
“I wish I could give you an answer,” the scholar replied. “We are also very much in the dark. The only thing we know for sure is that it’s related to Shifu’s decision to renounce the secular world.”
Just as Lotus parted her lips to ask another question, the farmer glared at the scholar and said, “How could you take such a risk?”
“What do you mean?” the fisher said.
The farmer pointed at the scholar. “He let them know that Shifu’s elemental life force was drained. If they really did harbor dark thoughts and we four couldn’t hold them back, then Shifu…”
The logger laughed. “If our dear Chancellor Zhu did not consider such things, would he have been offered the most prominent official post in the Dali Kingdom? He has long recognized that our guests are friends not foes. The scuffle just now was staged to gauge their kung fu training and to convince you
.”
The scholar smiled at his martial brother’s outraged expression—a look of frustration mixed with admiration.
The novice appeared at the doorway and touched his palms together in a Buddhist greeting. “Brothers, Shifu asks that you see our guests off on his behalf.”
The four disciples stood to attention the instant they heard the word “shifu.”
“We can’t leave when Uncle’s enemy is on their way,” Guo Jing said. “I wish to help you fight them.”
The martial brothers were heartened by the offer.
“Let me ask Shifu,” the scholar said.
When he eventually returned, Lotus could tell from his expression that Reverend Sole Light did not want his guests to become embroiled in the matter.
“Shifu asks me to convey his thanks,” the scholar said, the disappointment in his voice clear. “He says no other soul can take our place when it comes to making peace with our karma.”
Nodding at the scholar’s words, Lotus said to Guo Jing, “We’ll speak to Uncle directly.” He supported her on the walk to Sole Light’s rooms, but the doors were shut. He knocked several times. Not a sound came from within.
These two flimsy wooden boards would give in to the lightest shove, but who would dare use force to enter the Reverend’s chamber?
“It looks like Shifu will not be receiving guests,” the logger said. “Water runs far in mountains tall, our paths shall cross again.”
“Lotus, let’s fight anyone we run into on our way down.” Guo Jing was fired up by the thought of the sacrifice Sole Light had made to save Lotus. “Whoever we find climbing this mountain must be Uncle’s enemy. I don’t care if he forbids us to stop them, it’s the least we can do.”
“Great idea!” Lotus replied loudly, to ensure the monk could hear her through the doors. “They may be every bit as terrifying as Viper Ouyang, but we can tire them out. If we die trying, we’ll die reciprocating Uncle’s great gift.” She began to walk away, pulling Guo Jing along behind her.