by Jin Yong
"I am at fault in this," pleaded Curio. "Strike me again."
The lady smiled a light, contented smile and answered, "My hand hurts. I cannot go on any more."
Curio laughed out aloud, "I will make it feel better." He reached out for her arm.
The lady lashed at his skull. Curio dodged and warded off the blow just in time. He said cheekily, "How is it that your hand did not hurt just then?" The lady frowned and retorted, "Will you not leave me in peace?"
"All right, all right," Curio chuckled. "Just tell me how you came by this golden bodkin."
"My true love gave it to me," said the lady teasingly. "If he did not give it to me, who else could have? Could it have been you?"
Curio was seized with jealousy and felt hot blood rushing to his head. He was bursting with rage but held himself back at the sight of her blooming face, her quivering red lips and teeth that shone like pearls.
The lady looked him in the eyes and heaved a sigh. "Brother," spoke the lady in a soft voice, "I have been well looked after by you since I was very young. You even treat me better than my own brother. I am not wholly ungrateful and I do appreciate what you have done. I will surely repay your kindness. After all, we.... Don't be hard on me over this matter. You have always cared for me and seen that no harm came my way. My father died in great misfortune, and the Dragon Lodge is now entangled in a matter of life or death. Yet you fail to see my problems and make no allowances for me." Curio was taken aback by her words and remained silent. Then he waved his left hand and said, "You are always in the right, I am always wrong. Go now."
The lady smiled a sweet smile and said, "One moment, please." She drew out a handkerchief and mopped his forehead, now beaded with sweat. "In snowy country like this, if you leave your perspiration, you will catch a cold," she said. Curio found her feminine touch soothing and all his pent up anger presently subsided. He tapped lightly on the rump of the lady's grey horse with his whip and the two trotted off side by side.
The lady went by the name of Sign Tian. Though she was young, she had already made a name in the Martial Brotherhood of the border region. As her beauty was matched by sharp intelligence and quick wit, the elder members of the Liaodong Martial Brotherhood had given her the title of Glistening Sable. The sable can make great speed on snowy ground, and is sharp and intelligent; "Glistening" described her beauty. Her father, Pastoral Tian, had only recently passed away which was why she was clad in white silk, in deep mourning.
* * *
The two made good speed and in no time caught up with Fortune, Valour, and Radiant.
Valour cast Curio a glance and said, "You have been gone so long! Have you found anything of interest?" Curio flushed and muttered, "Nothing special." Kicking his horse fiercely, he galloped off into the distance.
A few miles on, the mountainsides were precipitous and blanketed with thick snow. The horses lost their balance and stumbled occasionally. The four riders dared not press their animals on, but slackened their reins. They passed two cols; the mountain paths were dangerously steep. The neighing of horses came suddenly from the left: Curio leapt out of his saddle and landed behind a large pine; he stole behind the trunk and gazed intently into the distance. Five horses were tethered near the trees on the edge of the slope. A neat line of footprints ran up the snowy ground, going straight uphill.
Curio cried out aloud, "Fortune and Valour, the thieves have made their way uphill. We must hurry after them!"
Fortune was cautious. "Our enemies have led us all the way out here; they may well have laid a trap for us," Fortune warned the others.
"Come Heaven or Hell, we shall have to make an attempt, snapped Curio. Fortune expressed disapproval of Curio's recklessness and turned to Valour, What think you of this?"
Sign spoke before Valour could utter a word. "Uncle Fortune, the Might of the Southern Sky is here with us; we should not be put off so easily. We can surely withstand perilous attacks of any nature."
Fortune beamed. "Look at the way they conduct themselves. They have been going at such high speed that they don't seem to have laid a trap for us. Let me see," he continued, pointing his finger to the right. "We shall make a detour up the mountain and take them by surprise on our way back."
They dismounted from their horses, tethered the animals under the pines, tucked up the lower front of their robes and strapped them in with their girdles. Then they began to levitate up the mountainside, bounding along the right hand track on the slope. This part of the mountain was thickly wooded and strewn with jagged boulders of grotesque shapes; clambering up the slope was quite a task. The terrain, however, afforded them good cover, and protected them well from their enemies. The five started out in single file, one following close behind the other, but after some time, the disparity between them gradually became evident: Fortune and Valour were ahead, walking side by side; Curio, lagged behind them by several yards, while Sign and Radiant were yet another ten or so yards further back.
Curio thought to himself, "Uncle Fortune is Grand Master of the Southern Branch, known as the Might of the Southern Sky. I am interested in finding out which of us fares better in martial ability, he of the Southern Branch or myself of the Northern Branch." Activating all his inner energy, Curio quickened his pace and was ahead of both Fortune and Valour in no time.
"Brother Curio," said Fortune in a tone of admiration, "I could not do better. It is a true saying that heroes spring forth from the unruly young." Curio, afraid to be overtaken, dared not turn around, but answered, "Thank you." Having spoken, he continued to quicken his pace. In a while, he heard steps close behind and turning round, he was startled to find Fortune and Valour right behind him. He doubled his effort, and quickened his pace yet again and made a sustained headlong dash.
Fortune found this amusing and followed him at his usual pace. High up on the mountain, the snow was thicker and the mountain paths rough and rugged. Walking was strenuous and after a while Curio slackened his pace. He felt heat at the back of his head as if someone was panting. Just as he was about to turn around, he was tapped on the right shoulder. "Hurry up, young man," said Fortune smilingly. Curio was stunned and he activated his inner energy and made another wild burst. Presently, he found himself about thirty yards ahead of Fortune and Valour. By now his heart was thumping hard and he was panting heavily; beads of sweat glistened on his forehead. Mopping his forehead with his sleeves now reminded him of Sign a while ago. He was filled with contentment and could not help beaming to himself. Soon, a muffled sound on the snow alerted him that Fortune and Valour were catching up with him.
Curio's inconsistent pace convinced Fortune that he was not his match in levitational arts. However Valour, the Seven Stars Hand, was able to keep pace with him; he was silent all the way. When he ran fast, so did Valour; and when he slowed down, Valour followed suit. Valour seemed to be managing capably and could still go quite a way; he had not yet tried his utmost. Fortune thought to himself, "You two are testing the strength of an old fellow like me." Then he took a deep breath and made the best use of his levitational arts, acquired through ten years of vigorous training and laborious practice. He glided up the snowy, white slope with his feet barely touching the ground.
Levitational arts had always been a specialty of the Southern Branch, and although Fortune was heavy, when he came to practising the principal martial skill of his Branch, he was as nimble as a monkey. Soon, he found himself over a thousand yards ahead of Curio. But Valour still kept up with him, walking by his side. Fortune tried several times to quicken his pace to shake himself free of Valour, but succeeded only in throwing him off by ten yards or so.
The pinnacle was only some ten miles away. "Brother Valour, how about testing the strength of our legs?" suggested Fortune in good humour. "Let us find out who will be the first to reach the summit."
To this Valour replied, "I doubt that I can beat you."
"Come on, accept a fair challenge," wheedled Fortune.
No sooner had the words
been uttered than Fortune made full speed uphill, like an arrow whistling from the bow. In a second, the pinnacle was barely ten yards away. Fortune turned around and found Valour falling behind by some five yards only. Then he activated all his inner energy, and was just about to dash up the mountain when suddenly up bounded Valour, landing right by his side.
"Watch out! Somebody is there," whispered Valour, pointing to the copse on the left of the slope.
"He certainly beats me," shuddered Fortune. "He is much better at levitational arts than I am."
Now Valour bent double, lowered his head and advanced quietly towards the copse while Fortune followed behind.
* * *
They reached the copse, hid behind a huge boulder which jutted out and looked below them. In the valley, swords glistened in the sunlight. Five men were gathered at the end of the valley; three were armed and had posted themselves on three thoroughfares to guard against trespassers. One of the remaining two was digging feverishly under a big tree with a steel hoe, while the other used an iron spade. The two apparently knew their fierce enemies were hot on their trail; they were pressed for time and were digging and shovelling with all their might.
"Just as we expected: Tao Senior and Junior of Horse Spring." Fortune lowered his voice. "I wonder who the other three are?"
"They are all three Chieftains of Horse Spring. They fight fiercely and vigorously," whispered Valour.
"Our five against their five. Just about right," added Fortune.
"The three of us, Curio, you and I, will have no problem handling them," said Valour. "But I am worried about Sign and Radiant. Perhaps we should attack one or two of them from behind? The rest can then be easily taken care of."
Fortune frowned at this suggestion, "If word reaches people moving in our circle that we of the Dragon Lodge make surprise attacks on our adversaries, would we not be mocked by the heroes of the world?"
"To avenge our Brother Pastoral," answered Valour coldly, "we have to wipe out every single enemy and no one shall escape alive. If we keep this to ourselves, nobody will find out."
Fortune asked, "Do Tao Senior and Junior really fight that fiercely?"
Valour nodded. After a while, he said, "If I were to have a proper match of prowess with my opponent, I would not stand a chance." Fortune knew well that Valour was considered the champion of the Northern Branch after the demise of their Grand Master, Pastoral Tian. When Pastoral lived, even he had shown deference to Valour. In the test of strength on the way uphill a while before, Valour had apparently slowed down on purpose or they would never have come out as equals. Had Valour taxed himself to his utmost, Fortune surely would have been beaten. Considering this, Fortune nodded his consent, "You are the Master. You take overall charge of the matter."
Valour reflected, "So, you want to be known as the hero and me as the devil." No more words were exchanged. By now, Curio had joined them, and in a little while they were joined by Radiant and Sign. Valour lowered his voice. "Fortune, Curio and I will dispatch poisoned darts to finish off the three on lookout. We shall then form a circle round Tao Senior and Junior. Sign and Radiant are to support us once we get started. After getting their instructions, the four bent double and stole their way in silence, along the track behind the boulder.
Sign followed behind Valour and whispered to him, "Uncle Valour."
He halted and asked, "What now?"
"We are to capture Tao Senior and Junior alive," answered Sign.
Valour rolled his eyes. "You still want to side with that knave Peace?" he hissed.
"I still believe that it is not he," replied Sign.
Valour turned livid with rage. He pulled out the arrow tucked in his girdle, passed it to her and said, "Look at this and then say that. It is the same arrow that the knave shot the goose with a while ago."
Sign took the arrow; one glance at it was enough to set her hands shaking. Curio was paying more attention to her than to their enemies. Seeing her now in such a troubled state, mixed emotions of vexation and elation assailed him. His spirits rose at the thought that Peace's life would be in danger; yet he was vexed by her being so totally inclined towards the rogue. Curio had a hot temper and just the thought of it drove him crazy. Just as he was about to vent his rage on her, Valour tapped him on the shoulder and directed his attention to the back of the sentinel in the east.
Sign and Radiant had bent down and stopped moving. Valour, Fortune, and Curio were stealing close, each aiming at an enemy and gripping three poisoned darts in their hands. The use of poisoned darts had, for generations, been one of the esoteric killer skills on which the Dragon Lodge prided itself. They flew true and fast and the poison was extremely potent. It could kill its victim within three watches. The outlawry called it the Lethal Dart.
"Uncle Valour wants me to attack the fellow in the east," Curio pondered. "I shall first take the life of that knave Peace with the poisoned darts. That way I shall not only revenge a serious wrong for my Branch, but will also rid myself of a rival. If he is captured alive, many things may happen during his captivity. I do not know what strange ideas she may eventually come up with." Having set his mind on this, Curio moved closer until he was no more than fifty paces from his enemy. Presently he bent down and fixed his gaze on the back of Peace who was now creeping stealthily with a wave-like motion. Curio would speed forth his three poisoned darts the minute Valour signalled with his hand.
Suddenly there came the clatter of metal upon metal. Peace knocked his steel hoe into an iron object buried underground. Valour was just about to signal by lowering his left hand but stopped himself on hearing whizzing sounds in quick succession. Seven or eight secret weapons sprang from the snowy ground to the side, aimed straight at Peace and his other comrades.
These secret weapons, flying forth so unexpectedly from under the ground, caught everybody by surprise. The whole incident was most mysterious and left everybody in a state of perplexity. The secret weapons had been dispatched from close range, and they came at an incredible speed. Both Tao Senior and Junior were well advanced in martial arts and reacted quickly to the attack. However, they still had to resort to whirling their hoe and spade to ward off the weapons. One of the three sentinels turned on his back and rolled down a gulley. He narrowly missed the two sprung barbs, one glancing off his skull and the other grazing his neck. The other two sentinels dropped dead before they could utter a word. They had both been attacked from behind; one had a steel dart through his heart and the other a dirk through his chest. They lay flat and motionless in the snow.
The unexpected attack on the sentinels caught everybody by surprise. Valour and his company were no less surprised than the others.
"You dastardly coward! How dare you lie in ambush?" snarled Century Tao, Peace's father, known as Commander of the Eastern Border. His words came like a thunderbolt out of the blue; mighty and awe-inspiring. Presently, flashing blades were visible against the snowy ground to the side, and out leapt four enemies from below the ground.
The four had dug a pit in the snow in anticipation of Century's and Peace's arrival, and had been lying there in waiting for several days. The mouth of the pit was covered with branches and twigs, which in turn were hidden under a blanket of snow, with only a few perforations for ventilation. It was a foolproof scheme.
Tao Senior and Junior dropped their hoe and spade and snatched up the weapons from their sides. Century was wielding a twenty-pound notched steel rod, while Peace flashed his single blade. The one who had rolled down the gulley was Chieftain Ma of Horse Spring. He made a few more turns down the gulley before springing up fearing that the enemies might be after him next. He had in his hands a pair of chained maces.
One of the enemies was thin and of swarthy complexion. He could be distinguished as Prime Xiong, Chief Escort of the Peking Overland Convoy. He was proficient in the Ground Blade, the art of fencing with a broadsword. Bandits from Horse Spring had once robbed his establishment of merchandise of great worth. He had tried every po
ssible means to recover the lost merchandise, but had never once succeeded. The incident sowed the seeds of animosity between the two parties. Another assailant was a female, in her early thirties. She was known to Chieftain Ma as Third Zheng, alias Brandisher of the Twin Knives. Her husband had been an escort with the Peking Overland Convoy, but had died in a robbery staged by the Chieftains of the Horse Spring Banditry. Of the remaining two, one was a monk, of heavy build, wielding a Buddhist monk's knife. The last was a man whose face was covered with dark hair, plying a pair of iron staves. They were in league with the Peking Overland Convoy, also adepts in martial ability. They had been invited by the Overland to lay an ambush here to wreak vengeance upon their adversaries.
"So," cried out Century, "It is you, the worthless rogue who once got beaten by an old fellow like me. Prime is the only coward in the Martial Brotherhood capable of undertaking a low trick like this." Though the words were directed at Prime, when they touched the ears of Fortune, they caused him to flush. Fortune stole a glance at Valour, who, at that particular moment, was found gazing intently at their enemies in the valley. He was not in the least disturbed by the words.
"Chieftain Tao," said Prime in a soft voice, "Please allow me to introduce to you Wisdom the Great Master, of the Confluence Monastery of Shandong Province."
"This is Hawk Liu," continued Prime, "Guardsman of the first rank at the Imperial Court in the capital. He is my Brother, we acknowledge the same Master. Please befriend each other and get well acquainted."
Century Tao was a man of strong build and imposing bearing; his voice rang like thunder. Prime was his diametrical opposite. One was tough and harsh; the other gentle and courteous; the two seemed born to fight each other.
"Let us set to, you vermin," growled Century. "We can surely get acquainted through swordplay."
Immediately he displayed the extraordinary strength in his back by turning the steel rod in the air causing it to hum loudly.
