by Jin Yong
“Second apprentice brother, do you think Master Yu was making a fuss over a trivial matter by going there and leading the operation himself?” fifth apprentice Gao Genming asked.
Lao Denuo answered, “Master Yu’s teacher had lost to Lin Yuantu’s ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Art;’ whether Lin Zhennan was an unworthy descendant or an even stronger opponent, outsiders would not have known. It might not have been proper for Master Yu to only send a couple of apprentices to settle the score. He went to Fuzhou himself and also urged all his apprentices to practice the sword art, then prepared in advance to start the attack. I wouldn’t really call this making a fuss. But from what I saw, I think that for him, revenge was only of secondary importance, while finding that sword art manuscript was the main priority.”
“Second apprentice brother, you saw them practicing the ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Art’ in Pine-Wind Temple. If they had already known how to use this sword art, why bother looking for the sword art manuscript? Perhaps they were looking for something else,” fourth apprentice Shi Daizi suggested.
“I don’t think so.” Lao Denuo shook his head. “What else besides secret martial art techniques could have interested Master Yu, a master of martial arts, so much that he would be willing to spend so much effort on it? Later at the Yushan town in Jiangxi Province, Little Apprentice Sister and I met them again and heard Master Yu asking messenger apprentices from other provinces whether they had found the thing. He looked worried, so it seemed that nobody had actually found it yet.”
Shi Daizi still could not understand. He scratched his head and asked, “They already knew how to use this set of sword arts, why would they bother looking for the sword art manuscript? How strange!”
“Think about it, fourth apprentice brother,” Lao Denuo explained. “Years ago, Lin Yuantu was able to defeat Evergreen; the sword art must have been truly outstanding. But not only was the ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Art’ that Evergreen remembered nothing out of the ordinary, Master Yu also saw with his own eyes that the Kung Fu skills of the Lin family were not even worth mentioning. Something was just not making sense.”
“What do you mean?” Shi Daizi asked.
“There must be some secrets to the ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Art’ of the Lin Family,” Lao Denuo exclaimed. “Although the moves appear average, the power of the sword art could be very strong. And Lin Zhennan did not get to learn these secrets.”
Shi Daizi thought for a while and nodded, “That’s right. But secret methods for sword arts are normally only passed down by one’s master orally. Lin Yuantu has been dead for decades, and even if they could find his coffin and dig up his body, it wouldn’t help them at all.”
“The secret code for our own sword art is taught orally by Master in spoken words, with no written parts, but not every school or clan necessarily has to be like that,” Lao Denuo said.
“Second apprentice brother, I still don’t understand,” Shi Daizi said. “It was logical that before their attack they would want the manuscript for the ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Art.’ Know the enemy and know yourself; this way, you can win every battle. They wanted to defeat the ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Art,’ so it was better if they knew the secret within the sword art. But the Qingcheng Sword School has already captured the Lin couple, and the Headquarters and Escort House branches have all been wiped out. What score is there left to settle? Even if there really was a powerful secret in the sword art, why should they bother looking for it?”
“Fourth brother, what is your evaluation of Qingcheng’s Kung Fu compared to the Kung Fu of our Five Mountains Sword Alliance?” Lao Denuo asked.
“I don’t know,” Shi Daizi answered. After a short while he said, “Perhaps not as good.”
“That’s right, probably not as good as ours,” Lao Denuo said. “Think about it. Master Yu is a conceited, arrogant man. Doesn’t he want his fame to be greater than everyone else in the Martial World? If the Lin Family really had some kind of secret technique, something which could change the average sword moves of the ‘Evil-Resisting Sword Art’ into something very powerful, then if they used this secret technique with their Qingcheng sword art, what would happen?”
Shi Daizi thought for a long while and suddenly struck the table heavily as he stood up and shouted, “I see! Yu Canghai wants his Qingcheng sword art to be number one in the Martial World!”
Right at that moment, sounds of footsteps floated in from the street outside. Everyone in the teashop turned and saw a group of people rush toward the teashop in quick steps. From the way they ran, one could tell that they were all Martial people. They were all dressed in oilcloth raincoats, and as they got closer, everyone saw that it was a group of Buddhist nuns.
The leading old nun was a tall one, and stopping right in front of the teashop, she shouted, “Linghu Chong, come out!”
Lao Denuo and the other apprentices recognized the old nun. She was Sister Dingyi, the Master of the White-Cloud Nunnery atop Mount Heng-Shan. She was also the junior apprentice sister of Sister Dingxian, the Head Master of the Heng-Shan Sword School. Not only was she a famous Master within the Heng-Shan Sword School, she was also a renowned master of great fame in the Martial World, and all Martial people considered her a tough fighter. All the Huashan apprentices stood up and saluted her respectfully.
“We hereby pay our respect to Uncle-Master!”30 Lao Denuo said loudly.
Sister Dingyi glanced over everyone and yelled in a husky voice, “Where is Linghu Chong hiding? Get his ass out here!” Her voice was even huskier than that of a man.
“Uncle-Master, senior apprentice brother Linghu is not here. We have been waiting for him, and he hasn’t arrived yet,” Lao Denuo replied.
“So this Big Apprentice Brother they were talking about is named Linghu Chong. He really seems like a troublemaker. What did he do to make this old nun so mad?” Lin Pingzhi thought to himself.
Sister Dingyi surveyed the teashop and stopped in front of the girl’s face. “Are you Lingshan? Why are you disguised like that? To scare people?” she asked.
“There were some bad men who wanted to harass me, so I disguised myself to hide for a while,” the girl answered with a smile.
Dingyi gave a snort. “The rules of your Huashan Sword School are getting looser and looser. Your father is too lax with his apprentices, and that is exactly what encourages them to cause trouble wherever they go. When I finish my business here, I’m going to have to go to Mount Huashan myself, and discuss this with him.”
“Uncle-Master, please don’t do that!” Lingshan begged worriedly. “Big Apprentice Brother just got punished with thirty strokes from Father recently. He was wounded so badly that he could barely walk. If you talk to my father, he might get another sixty strokes of the stick. That would kill him!”
“The earlier that animal gets killed, the better. Lingshan, how can you lie to my face! Linghu Chong could barely walk? If he could barely walk, how did he manage to kidnap my little apprentice?” Sister Dingyi bellowed.
Hearing those words, the faces of the Huashan apprentices turned pale with horror.
Lingshan almost cried. “Uncle-Master,” she said hurriedly, “that’s impossible! No matter how bold Big Apprentice Brother is, he would never dare to offend fellow apprentice sisters of your respectful school. Somebody must be making up stories to sow discord with Uncle-Master.”
“You still deny it? Yiguang, what did the apprentice from the Taishan Sword School tell you?” Dingyi barked.
A middle-aged nun stepped forward. “Apprentice brothers from the Taishan Sword School said that Priest Tian-Song saw apprentice brother Linghu and junior sister Yilin drinking together in a wine house in the town of Hengyang. The wine house was called something like Huiyan House. Junior sister Yilin had obviously been seized by apprentice brother Linghu and coerced into drinking the wine. She looked…looked very upset. And drinking together with them was that…that…villain who stops at no evil…Tian…Tian Boguang.”
Dingyi had already known thi
s, but even hearing this the second time around, she became just as angry as before. She struck the table heavily with her palm. Two bowls of wonton jumped off the table and smashed onto the ground.
The Huashan apprentices all looked very embarrassed. Lingshan was so worried that tears began to roll down her cheeks. “They must be lying, or…or maybe Uncle-Master Tian-Song saw a different person,” she said in a trembling voice.
“We all know who Priest Tian-Song of Taishan Sword School is,” Dingyi exclaimed loudly. “How could he be mistaken? How could he ever speak nonsense? This animal Linghu Chong, he even gets along with an evil person like Tian Boguang. He has sunk very low. Even if your Master doesn’t handle this seriously and covers for his students, I won’t let him go so easily. This ‘Ten Thousand Miles Loner’ Tian Boguang has been a plague on society. I, an old nun, must rid the people of the scourge. When I heard the news and went there, Tian Boguang and Linghu Chong had already spirited Yilin away! I…I…looked everywhere but still couldn’t find them….” Her voice became hoarse. She stamped her feet on the ground and sighed, “Oh, Yilin, my child. Yilin, my child!”
The Huashan apprentices’ hearts were beating rapidly. That Big Apprentice Brother dragging a nun of the Heng-Shan Sword School off to a wine house to drink and staining the nun’s reputation was already a clear violation of school rules; to make matters worse, he made friends with someone like Tian Boguang!
After a long pause, Lao Denuo was finally able to collect himself and speak again.
“Uncle-Master, maybe senior apprentice brother Linghu was at the same table of Tian Boguang only by chance; that doesn’t really make them friends. Senior apprentice brother Linghu has been quite drunk these days and probably was a little hazy. What one does when drunk shouldn’t really count….”
“A drunk still has thirty percent of his faculties. As a mature adult, can’t he even distinguish between good and evil?” Dingyi roared.
“Yes, Uncle-Master!” Lao Denuo said hastily, not daring to argue. “I wonder where senior apprentice brother Linghu might be right now. Let us apprentices find him and reproach him; we’ll have him come and kowtow to apologize to you first, Uncle-Master, and then report to my Master so he can administer a heavy punishment.”
“Am I here to discipline your apprentice brother?” Dingyi snarled. Her arm shot out suddenly and grabbed Lingshan by the wrist. Lingshan felt as if an iron hoop had bound her wrist. “Ah!” She cried out and then muttered in a trembling voice, “Uncle…Uncle-Master!”
“Your Huashan Sword School kidnapped my Yilin. I am taking a female apprentice of your Huashan Sword School in exchange. When you return my Yilin to me, I will release your Lingshan!” Dingyi growled. She turned around and dragged Lingshan after her. Lingshan felt her upper body become sore and numb, and had to stagger along with Dingyi into the street.
Lao Denuo and Liang Fa both jumped forth instantly to block Sister Dingyi’s way.
“Uncle-Master,” Lao Denuo bowed and said apologetically, “my Big Apprentice Brother offended you; naturally you would be angry, but that really has nothing to do with Little Apprentice Sister. Uncle-Master, please show mercy and let her go.”
“Sure, I will!” Dingyi yelled scornfully. She raised her right arm and swept it out in an arc.
Lao Denuo and Liang Fa felt a strong burst of energy shooting toward them, so strong that they could hardly breathe. They then found themselves flying backwards. Lao Denuo landed on his back at the door of the shop across the street from the teashop. With a splintering crack, two of the door planks broke in half. Liang Fa flew straight toward a wonton stove. If he had landed on the wonton stove and knocked it over, boiling water would have splashed all over him and scalded him badly. But the old wonton seller reached out with his left hand and caught Liang Fa by his back, so Liang Fa landed safely.
Sister Dingyi turned back and stared at the old wonton seller. “So it’s you!” she said.
“That’s right, it’s me,” the old man smiled. “Sister, you’ve got quite a temper.”
“That’s none of your concern,” Dingyi snapped.
Right at that moment, with oilcloth umbrellas over their heads and lanterns in their hands, two men rushed toward the teashop. “Are you the respectful Sister of the Heng-Shan Sword School?” they shouted from afar.
“You flatter me. I am Dingyi of the Heng-Shan Sword School. Who are you?” Dingyi asked.
When the two men came closer, the two big red words written on the lanterns in their hands also became more recognizable. It read, “Liu House.”
“We junior apprentices were instructed by our Master to invite Uncle-Master Dingyi and all the fellow apprentice sisters to have dinner at our humble house,” one said. “We didn’t get the news that you had already arrived at Hengshan, so we didn’t greet you at the gate. Please pardon us.” He bowed to pay his respect.
“That is very polite of you. Are you two apprentices of Master Liu?” Dingyi asked in a slightly softer tone.
“Yes. My name is Xiang Danian, and this is my apprentice brother Mi Weiyi. How are you, Uncle-Master?” The two saluted again.
Seeing the good manners of the pair, Dingyi agreed, “All right, we were just about to go visit Master Liu, anyway.”
“May I ask who you are?” Xiang Danian asked Liang Fa.
“I am Liang Fa, apprentice of the Huashan Sword School,” Liang Fa answered.
“You are the senior third brother Liang of the Huashan Sword School!” Xiang Danian said happily. “I have been looking forward to meeting you. Everyone please come to our humble house. Our Master told us to greet all the heroes from different groups, but there are so many people coming, we are afraid that we have been poor hosts and offended friends. Please come this way.”
“We were planning to wait here until Big Apprentice Brother shows up, and then go to congratulate Uncle-Master Liu together,” Lao Denuo went over and said.
“You must be second apprentice brother Lao,” Xiang Danian said. “My Master always praises Huashan apprentice brothers studying under Uncle-Master Yue. Especially apprentice brother Linghu, a very outstanding young hero. Since apprentice brother Linghu is not here yet, why don’t you come first?”
Lao Denuo pondered the situation in his head. “Little Apprentice Sister is under the control of Uncle-Master Dingyi, and it seems that she won’t let her go easily. We simply have no other choice but to go with her.” At that thought, he answered, “I hope this will not be an inconvenience.”
“Your coming to Hengshan is an honor. Why be so modest? Please! Please!” Xiang Danian greeted.
“Aren’t you going to invite this one?” Dingyi pointed at the old wonton seller.
Xiang Danian looked at the old man for a moment before he recognized him. “So, it is Uncle-Master He31 from Mount Yandang!” He bowed. “What a lack of manners on my part. Uncle-Master He, will you please come to our humble house as well?”
He had guessed that this old wonton seller was the master from Mount Yandang, He Sanqi. He Sanqi made a living by selling wontons when he was young. Even after he became proficient in the martial arts, he still carried his wonton stove with him when he wandered about. The wonton stove was more or less like his trademark. Although he had tremendous skills, he did not seek fame or wealth, and was content to live off his small business. Everyone in the Martial World respected him. There were thousands of people selling wonton on streets and in alleys; the only one that sold wontons and also had excellent Kung Fu skills would have to be He Sanqi.
“I’ll go,” He Sanqi said with a smile, and started to clear off the wonton bowls on the table.
“We junior apprentices didn’t recognize you, respectful Master. I hope senior Master does not mind,” Lao Denuo said apologetically.
“Not at all, not at all. You came to me as my good customers, why would I mind? Nine bowls of wonton, ten coins a piece. That means you owe me ninety coins.” He Sanqi extended his left palm out after the words.
Lao Denu
o was very embarrassed, and wasn’t sure if He Sanqi was just kidding.
“Hey, pay the bill after you eat. He Sanqi never said he was letting you eat for free,” Dingyi said.
“Yeah, small business, cash only. No credits or late payments, not even for relatives or close friends,” He Sanqi announced.
“Of course, of course,” Lao Denuo answered. He dared not to give any extra, so he counted ninety copper coins carefully and handed the money over respectfully with both hands.
He Sanqi took the money, and then turned to Dingyi, with his palm out. “You broke two of my bowls and two china spoons. That comes to a total of fourteen coins.”
“You penny-pinching skinflint! You even cheat money from nuns. Yiguang, pay him the money,” Dingyi chortled.
Yiguang counted fourteen coins and handed over the money respectfully with both hands. He Sanqi took the money, threw the coins into a bamboo tube by the wonton stove, and then lifted the stove and said, “Let’s go!”
“We’ll take care of all the bills later. Write them up under Master Liu,” Xiang Danian said to the teashop waiter.
“Ha you all, they are all Master Liu’s guests ha you all. It is an honor to have them here ha you all. Forget about the bills, ha you all. It’s on the house,” the waiter said, beaming.
Xiang Danian distributed the umbrellas they had brought with them and then led the way at the front. Dingyi dragged the girl Lingshan of Huashan Sword School and walked side by side with He Sanqi. All the Huashan apprentices and Heng-Shan apprentices followed behind.
Lin Pingzhi thought to himself, “Let me follow them from far behind. Let’s see if I can sneak into Liu Zhengfeng’s house by chance.”
After the group turned a corner, he stood up and walked to the corner of the street. The group was heading north, so he followed in the heavy rain by walking under the eaves by the street. After walking three long streets, he saw a big mansion on the left side of the street. Four big lanterns in front illuminated the gate. About ten people stood in front, some holding torches and others holding umbrellas, busily greeting guests. After Dingyi, He Sanqi, and the others walked into the house, more guests approached the house from both ends of the street.
