by Jin Yong
After some time, she began to mumble to herself.
“For the fourth time the loom is ready,
To weave a pair of lovebirds so they can take flight.
Pity the hair that grows gray before its time!
The ripples of spring among green grass,
The chill of dawn lurking in the deep,
In each other scarlet feather bathe.”
She chanted the verse over and over again, savoring the words. Ke was not educated in literary matters and could not understand the poem’s meaning, but he was moved by the melancholic note in her voice and was shaken by the depth of her despondency.
At length, she got to her feet and arranged the prayer mats into a makeshift bed. She lay down on her side and soon her breathing slowed. She was deep in slumber.
Ke put his hand on the spear shaft; and childhood memories came flooding back. Zhu Cong clutching a tattered old book, reading out loud and nodding in appreciation. Ryder Han and Gilden Quan climbing onto General Wang’s statue, tugging the deity’s beard for fun. Teaming up with Woodcutter Nan to play tug-of-war with Zhang Asheng, using this very same iron spear. Jade Han, a small child of four or five, clapping and cheering, the red ribbons on her two pigtails bobbing up and down …
Blackness. Once more, he could see nothing. His sworn siblings, his own brother, all of them taken from him, from this world, by Apothecary Huang and his disciples. The fire of hatred was rekindled in his heart. There was nothing he could do to quench it.
With the iron shaft’s support, he limped softly over to stand before Lotus. She was fast asleep, her breathing light and even.
One strike. She won’t know what killed her, he said to himself. I will never beat Apothecary Huang one-on-one. This is an opportunity granted by the heavens. This is my one chance to get revenge, so he can taste the pain of losing his own blood! And yet, she saved me. How can I repay the gift of life with death? Yes, that’s what I’ll do. I’ll kill myself afterward, to thank her for today.
His mind made up, he raised the shaft.
I, Ke Zhen’e, have followed the path of righteousness all my life, he silently intoned to the gods above. I have not done a single deed that would be considered shameful to the heavens or the earth in all the decades that I have been alive. Tonight, I shall strike this maiden while she dreams. It is a reproachable act, but, when the deed is done, I shall atone for my trespass with my own death.
5
A gruff cackle rang in the night, jolting Lotus from her sleep. She jumped up to see Ke Zhen’e standing over her and at once understood what he must be contemplating.
“Viper Ouyang,” she whispered, recognizing the spine-chilling laugh.
Hearing her scrabbling to her feet, Ke knew he could not follow through and he lowered his weapon, focusing on the noise coming from outside the temple instead. He heard voices, but they were too far away for him to make out what they were saying. Soon, he was able to pick out footsteps … a large group, at least thirty or forty men, some on horseback, heading his way.
“They must have seen the pagoda and decided to take shelter here. We should take cover.” He held out his hand, waiting for Lotus to kick the prayer mats into disarray. The last thing they wanted was for the new arrivals to realize someone had been sleeping there. Ke could still see in his mind’s eye every nook and cranny of this place, and he was confident he could find somewhere to hide. What about the doorway at the back of the main hall that led to another part of the temple? He tried the doors. They were barred.
“Damn those soldiers,” he rasped. They must have bolted them when they scrambled away earlier.
They were trapped in the hall.
The main gate creaked as it was pushed open. Too late to break down the doors now. The Venom would hear them …
“Behind the statue,” he whispered.
They were only just in time. The second they crouched down beneath the colossal effigy of General Wang, a dozen men walked into the hall. A scraping sound. The smell of sulfur. A torch had been lit.
“Your Highness, even though we could not claim a victory at the Tower of Mist and Rain, we have crushed our enemy’s morale.” Viper Ouyang’s metallic voice.
“Thanks to the Master’s foresight.” This was Wanyan Honglie, without a doubt.
The same grating laugh. “It was all thanks to your son the young Prince’s clever plan to deploy Jiaxing’s army. We would have annihilated the rogues—if it weren’t for the fog.”
“With Master Ouyang on our side, we shall, for a surety, crush them another day,” Yang Kang said. “But it’s a shame I arrived too late and missed the chance to witness Master Ouyang in action.”
Ke Zhen’e was simmering inside: Yang Kang was still consorting with his father’s killer and his country’s enemy!
Graybeard Liang, Tiger Peng, Hector Sha and the others took turns to heap praise upon Viper Ouyang, following the young Prince’s example, making exaggerated claims for his martial flair and the ignominy to which he had consigned the Quanzhen Taoists.
And yet there was not one mention of Qiu Qianren. Ke Zhen’e surmised that he must be elsewhere. Still, there were enough wulin masters present to make him wary of breathing too freely, lest it expose their hiding place. He was fully aware of the contradiction inherent in the fact that, just moments ago, he was going to kill Lotus and then himself. He thought he had made peace with death, but now he could not stop praying that they would not be discovered and that no harm would come to either of them.
He wanted to live, and wanted her to live too.
A servant came up timidly to the Princes and Viper Ouyang, informing them that their beds were ready.
Once the man had been dismissed, Yang Kang sighed. “Master Ouyang, though my acquaintance with your nephew was short, we shared something of a rapport and I hoped we would become great friends, for he was not only cultivated in the martial arts, he was also learned in all things scholarly. Whenever my mind turns to his memory, such pain and anger grips my heart. I have sworn to slay each and every one of those loathsome Taoists of the Quanzhen Sect with my own hands, to bring peace to the spirit of Brother Ouyang in the heavens, but I am also aware of the limitations of my own power. I might have the heart, but I do not have the skill.”
Yang Kang was hoping that Viper Ouyang would dispatch his shifu Qiu Chuji so nobody would question him again over his loyalty to his adopted father. So, at every given opportunity, he had been reinforcing the idea that the murder of Gallant Ouyang in Ox Village was committed by the Quanzhen Sect.
There was a long silence before Viper Ouyang responded, sounding more subdued than usual. “I have always suspected that odious boy Guo Jing of having a hand in my nephew’s death. I did not realize it was the evil doing of the Quanzhen Taoists, until you told me about Qiu Chuji earlier. Do not doubt that I will have my revenge. But, for now, I have a proposal for you, young Prince. Since White Camel Mount has lost its heir, I will take you on as a disciple.”
“Shifu, please accept your student’s kowtows!”
Yang Kang’s joyous tone and the audible knocks of his forehead on the floor as he bowed to Viper Ouyang filled Ke Zhen’e with repugnance. Although the young man was descended from a line of patriots and honorable men, he had not only denied his birth father and chosen to side with his country’s invaders, he was now happy to call a wicked, unscrupulous man his mentor.
He’s on the path of no return, Ke thought, feeling a great contempt for the young man’s lack of judgment.
“We have no suitable gifts with which to honor the teacher today, but I shall make sure our respect is shown handsomely in due course,” Wanyan Honglie said.
“White Camel Mount has a small store of treasure already,” the Venom replied. “I have come to realize how clever this child is and I simply wish to have someone to inherit my martial knowledge.”
“I beg your pardon, Master. I spoke out of turn.” Wanyan Honglie’s painfully polite apology came amid a chorus of cong
ratulations from the rest of the retinue.
* * *
“I’M HUNGRY! I want food!”
Wait! Was that the girl from Peach Blossom Island? Ke Zhen’e could not believe his ears. How did she end up here, and in such company?
“It’s coming, it’s coming,” Yang Kang soothed, placating her with good humor. “Quickly, bring something for the lady.”
A little while later, Ke was treated to the sound of the Qu girl smacking her lips, devouring whatever she had been given with great relish.
“Nice brother, you said you’ll take me home,” she slurred, her mouth full. “I’m a good girl and I listen to you. Why am I not home yet?”
“We’ll be there tomorrow. Just make sure your tummy is full so you sleep well.” Yang Kang was exceedingly patient with her.
She wolfed another helping of food. “What’s that swishing noise? It’s coming from the big building.”
“Birds? Mice?”
“Scary!”
“Nothing to be scared of.”
“They’re ghosts. I know. I’m scared.”
Chuckling, Yang Kang replied, “Look how many of us there are. Ghosts and monsters are too scared to come out.”
“I’m scared of the tiny fat ghost.”
“Now you’re being silly!” His mollifying tone was cracking, and irritation was beginning to show through. “There’s no tiny fat anything, here.”
“Huh! I know the tiny fat man died in Grandma’s tomb. Grandma’s ghost will chase him out. She won’t let him live with her, so he’ll come and haunt you.”
“Another word from you and I’ll tell your grandpa and he’ll drag you back to Peach Blossom Island!”
The threat silenced the girl, but now Ke heard a scuttle of scurrying feet.
“Ow, you stepped on me!” Hector Sha barked. “Stop running around. Sit down!”
Questions and doubts gnawed at Ke Zhen’e. The tiny fat man must be Third Brother, he said to himself. Ryder Han was killed by Apothecary Huang on Peach Blossom Island. Why would his ghost haunt Yang Kang? He knew that the girl did not have all her wits about her, but she must know something to have come to that conclusion. How he wished he could go out and question her, but what could he achieve on his own with so many martial masters about?
Now the last thing Apothecary Huang said to him came to his mind: “How could a man of my status behave like one of your ilk?” He had brushed it off, at the time—he thought the Heretic was simply being his usual condescending self—but it chimed with a different tone now. If he deigned killing me to be beneath him, then why would he lower himself to butcher my little brothers and sister? But, if it wasn’t Apothecary Huang, then why did Fourth Brother say he saw him murder Second Brother and Seventh Sister?
As uncertainties continued to chip away at his prior conviction, he realized Lotus had taken his left hand and was tracing a character on his palm, stroke by stroke.
P-L-E-A-S-E
She paused and waited for his reaction before continuing.
DO THIS FOR ME
He took her hand and wrote: YES.
She was scrawling faster now.
TELL PA WHO KILLS ME
Dumbfounded by her request, Ke reached out for her hand to seek clarification, but all he caught was a breeze on his fingertips. She had leaped out from their hiding place.
“Good evening, Uncle Ouyang.”
Her unheralded appearance was greeted by cries of “Who goes there?” and “Assassin!” accompanied by the swish and clinks of weapons being unsheathed and the shuffle of footsteps. Ke could tell she was surrounded.
“Papa sent me to wait for Uncle Ouyang here. Why are you all so on edge?” She sounded unfazed. There was even a hint of amusement in her tone.
“How did your father know we’d be here?” Viper sounded tense.
“Papa is an expert in medicine, divination, astrology, physiognomy and many other things. All he needs to do is to consult the heavens using the King Wen’s Afore Heavens method.”
The Venom chuckled. He did not believe a word of it, but he also knew that the young woman would not tell him the truth, however much he threatened her.
Hector Sha, who had taken several men to check the temple grounds, now returned, having found nothing irregular. They clustered protectively around Wanyan Honglie.
Lotus, meanwhile, had made herself comfortable on one of the prayer mats. “Uncle Ouyang, you’ve put Papa in a very awkward position,” she said, with a wide grin.
A thin smile hovered on Viper’s lips. He knew better than to give her a verbal response—he could not outwit her, and anything he said would provide her with more material to tease and taunt him with. He could not allow that to happen in front of this audience.
“Uncle Ouyang, Papa is trapped by the Quanzhen mob on the Little Island of Fleabane and Goosefoot in Xincheng Town. He can’t get away without your help.”
“Indeed?”
“Yes! A real man owns up to his deeds. It was you who killed the Quanzhen monk Tan Chuduan, but those stinking Taoists won’t stop pestering my father about his death. And when you add in the meddling Hoary Urchin and Papa’s refusal to explain himself … It’s one big mess!”
“Your father’s kung fu is unparalleled. Surely those Quanzhen fledglings could not possibly inconvenience him.” The Heretic’s tribulations were welcome news to the Venom.
“True, but the cow muzzles have the Urchin on their side, so Papa’s really struggling. And he also bade me tell you this. He has beening poring over this one text for seven days and seven nights, and he’s at last unraveled its meaning.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Mahaparas gatekras suryasanyanagha sirahstha hahoramanpayas…”
No one present could understand a single word, including Viper Ouyang, but he knew she had just quoted the first line of the incomprehensible passage at the very end of the second volume of the Nine Yin Manual. He had read those pages over and over again to the point where he almost had them memorized, and yet he could not unlock their meaning at all. Could Apothecary Huang really have worked it out? The thought excited him, but he made sure he did not betray a smidgeon of agitation or curiosity in his reply.
“Is this what little wenches like to joke about, these days? Who can understand such a random collection of characters?”
“Papa has translated it, line by line. It makes perfect sense. I saw it with my own eyes. Why would I jest with you?”
“Well, he deserves my congratulations, then.” The Venom tried to sound nonchalant. He would never admit it out loud, but, deep down, he had always admired Apothecary Huang for the breadth of his accomplishments and expertise beyond matters martial. If anyone were to make sense of that passage, it would be him.
Lotus could tell that she would have to work harder to catch him in her snare. “I can still remember a few lines. Would you like to hear them?”
Without waiting for an answer, she began:
“Sometimes the body aflutter stirs; sometimes the body heavy as if weighed down; sometimes the body light as if to take flight; sometimes as if restrained and bound; sometimes in curious cold or harsh heat; sometimes in merriment gambols; sometimes as if touched by matter malevolent, in alarm, the hairs stand on end; sometimes in great joy inebriated. All such many states with the method below can be guided into the mystic marvel.”
Lotus had cited a few lines from the passages Reverend Sole Light had deciphered. These states and sensations, strange and indescribably wonderful, were familiar to anyone who had reached the higher levels of internal neigong training. These were moments when a practitioner should proceed with the greatest caution to ensure that heart and spirit were calm and in control, or else one could easily misfire into the demonic way. If there were methods to rein in and tame the heart-fiends she had just cited into the mystic marvel, then they would represent the most precious, treasured wisdom under the heavens.
A master of internal cultivation himself, Viper Ouyang
recognized that the author must have achieved and experienced the supreme state to be able to pen such vivid descriptions. There was no doubt about its authenticity—the little girl could not have made it up, and indeed she had not.
“What comes next?” He was eager to hear more.
“Oh, there’s a huge chunk I can’t remember … but this line sticks in my head:
Each and every pore on the body clear and wide, and with the eye in the heart sees the thirty-six matters inside the body, as if opening up the garner and catching sight of the grains and pulses within, to the heart’s wondrous joy, quiet calm and carefree stillness.”
Viper regarded Lotus with distrust, trying to guess at her intentions. Why does she tell me about this now? he asked himself. She clearly knows the whole passage from top to bottom, but she chooses to play dumb, giving me the symptoms and the results, and skipping the portion in the middle that explains the process of cultivation.
“Papa also instructed me to ask Uncle Ouyang this: would you prefer the five-thousand-word version or the three-thousand-word one?”
“Do explain.”
“If you help Papa, and together you destroy the Quanzhen Sect, then he will share with you the full translation of this mystical method from the Nine Yin Manual.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Papa entreats you to avenge him. Once you have killed Zhou Botong and the Six Immortals of the Quanzhen Sect, I am to recite the three-thousand-word version for you.”
“Your father and I have never been close friends. What makes him think so highly of me?”
“Papa says, firstly, he knows your nephew’s murderer was a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect, and he believes that you will be keen to take vengeance.”
It is well known that I’m Qiu Chuji’s disciple … Yang Kang shuddered at the sly, insinuating expression on her face.
“Are you cold?” The Qu girl, sitting next to Yang Kang, noticed his reaction. He mumbled a few words to humor her. He could not let her tongue run wild and draw attention to him.