by Jin Yong
"I struck with all the might I could muster, catching Yama off his guard. He toppled at once to the ground, without letting out a cry, spilling the jewellery across the room. I quickly tore the quilt open, picked up the child and fled. I told myself at the time that every single soul present, without exception, was Master Gully's enemy. I must, therefore, take the baby home and ask my mother to bring him up. I knew well that the Canon on Pugilism and Knife Techniques was an esoteric heirloom of no small consequence and it should not be allowed to reach the hands of outsiders. Thus prompted, I tried to recover it from Yama, who, on losing consciousness, was still holding the Canon tightly in his hand. Being too flustered, I wrenched it hard from his grip, and succeeded only in recovering an incomplete booklet: the first two pages tore off, and remained in Yama's hand. Presently, there was a commotion outside. Phoenix the Knight-errant was also looking for the baby. I at once recollected myself, picked up the baby, slipped away through the back door, and set off for home at a run.
"Not until today have I ever met Yama again. I could not believe that he had taken the Buddhist vow. Was it deep guilt that caused him to renounce the world to expiate his sins? It is hard to believe that, with only the stolen front leaf of the section on Pugilism, he succeeded in training himself to become a celebrated Master of the Martial Brotherhood. He assumed that no one would ever know anything about his past. He was only too surprised to learn that the fellow who dealt him a hard blow some years ago is still safe and sound, and very much alive. Yama, turn yourself around, so that we can take a look at the scar on the back of your head. It was caused by a blow from a door-bar, a long time ago, wielded by someone who was then a janitor chopping firewood at an inn."
At Quad's command, Tree raised himself slowly from his seat while the remaining party was waiting with bated breath, thinking to themselves that he would certainly launch an aggressive move to dispatch Quad instantaneously. To everyone's surprise, Tree only responded by chanting, "Amitabha! Amitabha!" After reaching his hand out to stroke the back of his head, Tree reseated himself, remarking, "For the past twenty-seven years, I have been wondering who it was that launched a blow on my head from behind. Today, I finally have the answer." The Company was taken aback by the frank and open manner in which he admitted himself to be in the wrong.
Presently, Orchid followed up with the question, "What happened to the poor child afterwards? What became of him later?"
Quad provided her with an answer, "I stole away quietly from the door at the back, holding the baby closely to me. Hardly had I gone a few paces than a voice shouted suddenly from behind, 'Hey, little scabby-head! Bring back the child!' I did not heed the command, which merely induced me to run even faster. The man, continuing the harangue, overtook me in no time. Seizing me by the arm, he attempted to wrench the little one from me. I panicked, and bit him hard on the back of his hand, drawing on all my strength. Blood soon came oozing out."
"That was my Master!" burst out Curio on a sudden. Sign stared him straight in the eye. Alas, it was too late. The words were already out of his mouth. Curio, regretting his blunder, soon sensed all eyes falling on him and began to feel acutely uneasy.
Quad resumed his narration after Curio's awkward interruption: "Yes, it was Pastoral, Tian the Young Master. The bite left a permanent mark on the back of his hand. I presume he never told you who bit him on the occasion, nor anything about how he came by that mark."
Sign, Valour, Curio and Radiant each looked at one another, thinking to themselves that there had been indeed on the back of Pastoral's hand a very deep mark left by a bite, and it was also true that he had never mentioned to them how the mark had been inflicted.
After pausing for a considerable while, Quad proceeded, "On that occasion, I bit Tian the Young Master hard, focusing all the strength in me. He was an adept fighter, and yet he could not fight the excruciating pain. Thereupon, he whipped out his sword and smote two blows, the first slashing across my face and the second hacking off my arm. Fuming with rage, he flung out his leg with a kick, thrusting me right into the river. Maimed though I was in one arm, I still held the child closely to me with my other."
After Orchid had let out a soft exclamatory 'Oh!', Quad continued, "Pain tore through every joint in my body when I dropped into the waters. In no time I lapsed into unconsciousness. When I regained my senses, I was lying in a boat. Apparently, I had been fished up by someone. Thereupon, I shouted out, 'The child! The child!' A woman was heard crying from the prow, 'Amitahba! You have come round at last. The child is here.' I immediately raised my head to see for myself. She was holding the child in her arms and feeding him. Later, I found out that, after being fished out of the waters, I had been lying unconscious in the boat for six days and six nights. I dared not return to my village: we were already quite a distance from home and I was afraid that Master Gully's foes might lay their hands on his heir. I gathered from what Miss Miao said of the child that Phoenix the Knight-errant has presumed that the child had already met his fate."
Thereupon, Orchid lit up with joy, exclaiming, "So, after all, this poor baby is still alive, am I right? My father will be so excited to hear the news. Where is the child now? Can you take us to see him?" Then it struck her that she had been referring all the while to Master Gully's heir as the 'poor child'. He should, after all, by now be a man twenty-seven years old, ten years her senior. This very thought made her blush.
Presently, Quad remarked, "I am afraid you will not have the opportunity to see him. No one is going to leave the mountain alive."
Orchid tried to contradict him, "My father is sure to find his way up the mountain to rescue us all. I am not a bit worried."
"Your father is the Invincible Under the Sky only when all the opponents are common people," retorted Quad. "Now, no matter how martially accomplished he may be, he can never hope to conquer a summit several thousand feet tall, like this one."
Thereupon, Orchid posed a question, "Were you dispatched by the child to pass sentence on us?"
Quad shook his head disapprovingly, "No, no. This child is also a hero fighter and a knight-errant, like your father. He would certainly have stopped me if he knew I was scheming vile tricks like this."
Curio responded angrily, "I am pleased to learn, after all, that you know you are scheming vile tricks!"
Orchid hastened to ask questions, with genuine concern written on her face, "How is the child? What is his name? Is he well-versed in martial ability? What is he doing at present? Is he kind-hearted?" Orchid poured out a string of questions showing her great concern, because ever since she was little, she had remembered well how her father made annual sacrificial offerings to Master Gully and his wife and how it hurt him to be unable to bring up his child as promised.
Presently, Quad reminded Orchid, "Miss Miao, you could have the opportunity to meet him if only I had not blown up the hawser."
"So it was you who blasted the hawser," thundered Curio, echoed by six or seven members of the Company.
"Yes," replied Quad.
"How could I have seen him today?" asked Orchid.
"He has a meeting with the lord of the eyrie," explained Quad, "and is scheduled to conquer the mountain at noon. Now it is already mid-day, he should be at the heel of the mountain."
All at once, the Company assembled cried out aloud, "Is he Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain?"
Quad answered them politely, "Yes, he is the heir of Master Gully. His name is Fox Hu, also known as Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain."
Chapter Six: Encounter
Having listened to stories for half a day, the Company had become completely absorbed by the story of Gully's conduct. However, a feeling of admonition and foreboding descended on them when they learned that Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain was his son. They also recalled that the lord of the eyrie had gone to enlist the help of various adept fighters from all over the country especially to meet him in battle. His martial ability must, therefore, be as good as his father's. Despite the
inner fear that they all had, the Company was still eager to meet him, knowing full well that the encounter would do them no good.
Suddenly Orchid cried out, with fear in her voice, "Oh, no, those fighters coming here at the invitation of the lord of the eyrie and my father have not yet made their way up the mountain. A fight will certainly ensue should they run into Fox Volant at the foot of the mountain. My father does not know him to be the son of Uncle Gully. What happens if he puts him to the sword and dispatches him with one blow?"
Quad gave out a wraithlike smile and hastened to assure her, "Even though Phoenix the Knight-errant is the Invincible Under the Sky, I doubt if he could dispatch Master Fox with just one blow." His smile twisted the muscles of the scar on his face, further contorting his already horrible appearance.
Quad then continued, "Master Fox's purpose for coming to the mountain today is to inflict retribution on the lord of the eyrie. Other than that, he also wants to take vengeance on Phoenix the Knight-errant by challenging him to a duel. I tried to dissuade him from harassing Phoenix the Knight-errant by telling him how intimate Master Gully and Phoenix once were in their mutual dealings, as well as the fact that the person responsible for Master Gully's death was indeed somebody else, and yet Master Fox still insisted on learning the truth from Phoenix the Knight-errant's own mouth. Later, I ran into Yama the osteopath at the foot of the mountain. I immediately recognized him in spite of a lapse of some twenty years. Thereupon, I decided to follow the group up the summit, blow up the hawser and dispose of all the provisions in order to starve every single one here to death. In this way, I hope at least I can repay some of the heroic deeds and chivalric acts Master Gully once lavished on me."
These words of Quad sent a wave of resentment through the whole Company, freezing them all. They stared at each other in fear, not knowing what to do, thinking to themselves that Tree was the only one deserving of death, as he had once committed murder out of greed. The rest of the party were crying and moaning. None of them was connected in any way with the crime, and yet they also had to suffer for it without knowing why.
Judging by the looks on their faces, Tree sensed that the others were inwardly accusing him. Thereupon, he stood up and bawled out, snatching the casket and holding the poniard, "As things now stand, we are all facing the same fate! We have, therefore, to stick together and discover a solution to get down the mountain. As the ruffian..."
A flapping sound came suddenly to their ears before Tree could finish his sentence. A white pigeon was seen flying into the central hall, arresting its flight on the table.
Orchid smiled with delight, exclaiming, "Is this little dove not adorable?" She moved closer with gentle steps, held up the bird in both hands and stroked the plumes on its back. At once, she found fastened to the foot of the tiny bird a silken cord, trailing all the way to beyond the doorway. Orchid started gathering in the thread. The longer she worked at it, the greater the length the tiny string seemed to assume. After pulling the cord in for some while, Orchid still could see no trace of the other end. Gripped by curiosity, Orchid started collecting the long silken cord crisscrossing her hands, but the cord still seemed to be infinitely long. Presently, Sign moved forward to assist her. After drawing in another several hundred yards, they began to feel the weight, which was growing heavier minute by minute, as if an object was attached at the other end. Thereupon, the steward lit up with joy, crying out aloud, "We shall be saved!"
"How?" asked the Company.
The steward then explained, "This white pigeon is kept by the eyrie for carrying messages up and down the mountain. Most probably, when our people at the foot of the mountain found the long hawser destroyed, they dispatched the bird up here, tying emergency equipment to the silk cord to enable us to descend the mountain."
These words threw Quad into a fury. Amid sounds of roaring, he surged forward, meaning to snap the thread. Fortune, standing next to him, immediately whirled round and blocked him. Then, concentrating all the force in his palms, he sent Quad sprawling to the ground.
Meanwhile, Sign warned Orchid, "Sister, be easy with the thread or you will break it." Orchid nodded her assent. Although the silk cord seemed very fine, it was of an extraordinary strength. The two ladies soon felt the cord mounting in weight without its giving way. After a little while, Orchid began to feel a bit out of breath. Thereupon, Peace volunteered to help. "Miss Miao, you rest. I will take over." He stepped forward and took over the thread from Orchid.
The sight of the silk thread sent the Company into another flurry of desperate activity. Valour, Curio, Hawk and the others immediately pushed their way outdoors, eager to discover what salvation was attached to the other end of the thread.
Peace and Sign had been some while collecting the thread. Suddenly the group which had gathered outdoors roared out in loud applause. Thereupon, Peace and Sign slackened their grip on the cord, assuming that the article was already up the mountain. Those remaining inside the hall immediately rushed outside. Valour and Curio were standing on the edge of the cliff, both pairs of hands feverishly engaged in pulling in the cord. Eventually the other end of the thread disclosed a slightly thicker silk cord and attached to the other end of that was a very heavy rope.
Immediately, the Company let out a loud cheer. Then they busily set to fastening the rope securely onto two large pines by the edge of the cliff.
"We should move!" shouted Hawk. "I shall descend first."
Just as Hawk was grabbing the rope with both hands, intending to slide down the slope, Century bawled out, "Wait a minute! Why is it that you are to be the first one to go down? Who knows what dirty tricks you will play on us once you get down there?"
"Well, I will accept whatever you say," snorted Hawk to Century, wrath in his voice.
Century was momentarily silenced, thinking to himself that they all distrusted each other, each harbouring ill-will against one another. It did not matter in the least who was the first to go down as the remaining party would inevitably be unable to set their minds at rest. Century, when that question was posed, found himself at a loss for an answer.
Finally, Curio came up with a suggestion. "We shall let the ladies go down first. We men will then draw lots to establish the order in which we shall descend."
In a whispering voice Hawk put forward his idea, "I suggest that the Dragon Lodge, the Horse Spring Banditry and we, the Peking Overland Convoy, take turns to send one of each of our people down the mountain. By checking and watching each other, we can certainly forestall any vile schemes."
Valour immediately agreed to Hawk's idea and said approvingly, "An excellent idea! Tree, the Great Master, would you kindly return the iron casket to us?" Having made this request, Valour stepped up one pace and reached out his hand, meaning to wrench it from Tree.
Earlier on, the Company had set their minds only on matters concerning life and death. Now that the crisis was over, they shifted their minds back to the treasure. Before the secret was made known to them, the Company had taken the iron casket only to be a treasure of the Martial Brotherhood, without the slightest idea of what the treasure was and where it was hidden. Now that they had discovered that the poniard had once been the weapon wielded by the Dashing King, they were quick to grasp that it was indeed an article of value. When they eventually learned from Quad that the poniard somehow held a clue to finding the vast fortune hidden by the Dashing King, the Company all became as greedy as a devouring soul. The ancients held that after the Dashing King had captured the capital, his army general Liu Zongmin inflicted torture on the royal households and ranking officials of the Ming Court, extorting from them ton upon ton of precious stones and articles. Soon after this, the Dashing King's armies were defeated. The fortune looted by him vanished from then on, along with all articles of value handed down from generation to generation to the Royal House which were stored in the Imperial Treasury of the Ming Court at the time. If all this treasure could be retrieved by the clue provided by the poniard inside the i
ron casket, its value would certainly crown all other fortunes on earth.
Valour's request met with a scornful laugh now that he had broached the subject. Tree simply blurted out with a leer, "What right do you people of the Dragon Lodge have that makes you the sole possessor of the poniard? The blade has been in the safekeeping of the Dragon Lodge for over a hundred years, and it is time now for it to change ownership."
Valour was taken aback, his eyes darting fires of fury. Fortune, Curio and Radiant all advanced one step simultaneously, positioning themselves alongside Valour.
Immediately, Tree laughed aloud, tossing back his head, remarking, "So the Brothers here want to make aggressive moves? You acquired the poniard a long time ago in a battle, but soon you will have to part with it in another battle. Does that seem fair?"
Valour and his contingent were put in a terrible rage, ready to pounce upon the old monk, wrestle the poniard from him and hack him to pieces. But they restrained themselves, fearing his prowess. They were also forced to retreat a few paces involuntarily by the piercing gaze of the old monk's eyes.
* * *
The party standing by the edge of the cliff grew quiet. Suddenly Lute, Orchid's personal maid, cried out, beckoning down the mountain, "Look, Miss Miao! It seems as if somebody is ascending the mountain."
The Company all stood in awe, thinking to themselves, "We have yet to descend the mountain; how can anyone already be scaling it?" Thereupon, they raced to the edge of the cliff and looked down. They saw a blurred white shadow clambering speedily up the mountain. When they looked closer, it was a man swathed in matte white fabric.
"Sister, could this be your father?" asked Sign.
Orchid shook her head, saying, "No, my father never dresses in white."
