by Jin Yong
Chapter 9: Invitation
Linghu Chong’s hand happened to come upon the sheath by his waist, without thinking, he pointed the sheath at Mrs. Yue’s long sword in a straight line. “Clank,” Mrs. Yue’s long sword snapped into the sheath perfectly.
At dusk one day, Linghu Chong looked down from the cliff as usual and saw two figures coming toward the cliff in great speed. The one in front was in a skirt and obviously was a woman. Both of them had excellent Qing-Gong55 skills. To them, the steep slope and precipices were just like leveled ground. Linghu Chong stared some more and then realized that they were actually none other than Master and Master-Wife.
“Master, Master-Wife!” in great joy, he called out loudly.
Only a few moments later, Yue Buqun and Madam Yue leapt onto the cliff. Madam Yue had a meal basket in her hand. According to generations of traditional Huashan Sword School rules, when someone was being punished to meditate on the “Cliff of Contemplation,” other than bringing food to him, none of his apprentice brothers would be allowed to come up the cliff to chat with him. Even the apprentice student of the one being punished would be restricted from coming up to pay his respect to his Master. Who would have thought that the Yue Buqun couple actually came up the cliff themselves?
Unable to hide his shear joy, Linghu Chong rushed forward and knelt down, embracing Yue Buqun’s legs into his arms.
“Master, Master-Wife, I missed you so much!” he cried out.
Yue Buqun’s eyebrows knitted into a straight line. He always knew that this top apprentice of his was forthright and sincere with his feelings and was never strong at self-discipline, which was exactly the major barrier for studying advanced Huashan style Qi-Gong.56 Before the Yue couple came up the cliff, they had already inquired about the cause of his illness. Although none of the apprentices had a straightforward answer, from the combined information from everybody’s words, they had already figured out that it must have something to do with Yue Lingshan. After checking in details with their daughter and only getting hums and haws as her answer, they came to the same conclusion. Now seeing the revelation of Linghu Chong’s true feelings, Yue Buqun could tell that apparently in the last half a year, Linghu Chong had not progressed at all during his stay on the “Cliff of Contemplation”. Feeling somewhat displeased, he let out a snort.
Madam Yue reached out and propped Linghu Chong up. Seeing Linghu Chong’s thin and pallid face, so different from the face that had glowed with health and radiated vigor on normal days, she couldn’t help but pity him.
“Chong, your Master and I just got back from the far northeast and heard that you have been quite ill. Have you recovered yet?” she asked in a soft tone.
“I am all recovered now.” Linghu Chong felt a stream of warmth coursing through his body and teardrops starting to emerge in his eyes. “Master, Master-Wife, you two must have had a tiring journey, and as soon as you got back today, you are already coming up…coming up to see me.” In great excitement, he choked with sobs and turned his head away to wipe off his tears.
Madam Yue took out a bowl of ginseng soup from the meal basket. “The soup is made with stewed wild ginsengs from the far northeast. It will be very good nourishment for you. Go ahead and drink some,” she said.
Realizing that Master and Master-Wife had carried the ginsengs over a very long distance from the far northeast and had thought of letting him take it before everyone else, he was so grateful that when he took the soup from Master-Wife, his hand trembled slightly and spilled a little of the ginseng soup. Madam Yue reached for the bowl so she could feed him, but Linghu Chong quickly finished the soup in big swallows.
“Many thanks, Master and Master-Wife!” he uttered.
Yue Buqun stretched his arm out and placed his finger on Linghu Chong’s wrist to check on his pulse, but his pulse was slick and speedy, which could only mean that Linghu Chong’s inner energy level actually slipped back quite a bit. Yue Buqun was even more displeased, but he only said dryly, “Yeah, he has recovered.”
After a short while, Yue Buqun asked, “Chong, what did you do during the several months you spent on the ‘Cliff of Contemplation?’ How come your inner energy level not only did not progress, and quite on the contrary, has slipped a lot?”
“Master and Master-Wife, please pardon me!” Linghu Chong said, bowing his head down.
“Chong had fallen ill. He hasn’t fully recovered yet. Of course his inner energy would suffer. Do you actually expect the more severely he had fallen ill, the better his Kung Fu would have become?”
Yue Buqun shook his head and explained, “I wasn’t talking about if he’s healthy or not. I am talking about his mastery of inner energy, which has nothing to do with whether he falls ill or not. Our school’s Qi-Gong is quite different from other schools. As long as one keeps practicing it with devotion, he can progress even in his sleeps, let along the fact that Chong has been practicing our school’s Qi-Gong for over ten years. He shouldn’t have gotten sick unless he has incurred external wounds. In short…in short, it would still attribute to his not being able to control his emotions and desires.”
Madam Yue knew her husband was right, so she said to Linghu Chong, “Chong, your Master has repeatedly advised you to practice Qi-Gong and sword arts diligently. He punished you to meditate on top of the ‘Cliff of the Contemplation,’ but it isn’t really a punishment. He just wished that without any outside interference, your Qi-Gong and your sword skills would advance by leaps and bounds within the one-year period. Who would have thought…thought…alas…!”
Linghu Chong felt very embarrassed. “I am sorry. I realize my mistake now. I will practice with all my heart starting from today,” he said with his head down.
Yue Buqun spoke again. “There have been more and more turmoil in the Martial World these days. During the last several years, your Master-Wife and I went on many journeys and tried to smooth things up, but the root of the trouble remains and is difficult to get rid of. We believe that in the near future, big disasters are simply inevitable. We were both deeply concerned.” He paused for a moment and then continued. “You are the first apprentice of our sword school. Master-Wife and I both have great expectations for you. We hope that one day you’ll be able to share some of the responsibilities and tasks with us and gain great fame for our Huashan Sword School. But all you did was to tangle yourself with love affairs, neglecting your existing Kung Fu, not striving to make progress. You have really disappointed us.”
Seeing the deeply worried expression on his Master’s face, Linghu Chong felt even more frightened and embarrassed. He immediately knelt down. “I…I am so sorry that I disappointed Master and Master-Wife!”
Yue Buqun reached out and propped him up, smiling. “It’s good that you realize your mistake. Half a month from now, I will come back to check on your sword skills.” Right after those words, he turned around and headed down the cliff.
“Master, there’s this…,” Linghu Chong called out, wanting to report the drawings in the back cave and the man in the green robe. Yue Buqun waved him off and then walked away.
“You must practice hard and truly master the sword moves. This is something that will affect your entire future life. You must not take it lightly,” Madam Yue urged in a low voice.
“Yes, Master-Wife…,” Linghu Chong answered and was about to tell her the sword moves on the rock wall and the man in the green robe. Madam Yue pointed at Yue Buqun’s receding figure in a smile and waved her hand. She then turned around and caught up with her husband in big strode.
Linghu Chong thought to himself, “Why did Master-Wife say that how I practice sword moves would affect my entire future life and that I must not take it lightly? Why did Master-Wife wait till Master had left and then urged me behind Master’s back? Could it be…could it be…?”
A thought suddenly emerged in his head and his heart started thumping heavily while his cheeks burned with embarrassment. He didn’t dare to develop that thought, but hope still rose in
his heart.
“Is it possible that because Master and Master-Wife know I got ill for little apprentice sister’s sake and have decided to betroth little apprentice sister to me? But the criteria is that I must work hard on my Kung Fu skills, and become capable of carrying on Master’s legacy in both Qi-Gong and sword arts. Master probably thought that it was inappropriate to speak it out. Master-Wife considers me her own son, that’s why she urged me behind his back. Otherwise, what else could have effects on my entire future life?” At that thought, he found himself in high spirit.
He drew his sword and picked a couple of the most advanced sword art forms Master had taught him to practice. But the drawings on the rock wall in the back cave had been so deeply engraved in his mind, regardless of which move he used he would naturally remember the many ways how others could break the move with. In the middle of the form, he withdrew his sword and held it still in the air, thinking, “I didn’t get a chance to tell Master and Master-Wife about the drawings on the rock wall in the back cave this time. When they come up the cliff again half a month later, they must be able to answer my questions and rid my doubts after they study the drawings carefully.”
Even though Madam Yue’s words greatly encouraged him, he didn’t progress much with his practice of Qi-Gong and sword arts during the half-month period. He kept going off into wild flights of fancy everyday.
“If Master and Master-Wife betrothed little apprentice sister to me, I wonder, in her own mind, whether she would agree to it or not. If we can really become husband and wife, would she forget her love to apprentice brother Lin? Well, apprentice brother Lin has only joined our school recently. He was only asking her for her advice on sword arts and sometimes chatting with her so she doesn’t get bored. They don’t really have true love between them. And how could that relationship compare to the relationship between little apprentice sister and I, when we grew up together and spent over ten years together everyday? That day, I almost got killed by Yu Canghai’s palm strike, and thanks to apprentice brother Lin’s interference with his shouting, I barely escaped death. I’d better never forget that and treat him well. If he ever gets into danger, even if I have to risk my own life, I’ll definitely step forward to save him.”
Half a month went by quickly. In an afternoon, the Yue Buqun couple came up the cliff again. Coming together with them were also Shi Daizi, Lu Dayou, and Yue Lingshan. Noticing that the little apprentice sister came together with them, Linghu Chong’s voice trembled when he greeted Master and Master-Wife.
Madam Yue could tell that Linghu Chong had a high morale. His complexion was also completely different compared to half a month ago. She nodded with a smile and said, “Lingshan, go fill the rice bowl for your big apprentice brother. Let him have a full stomach before he demonstrates his sword skills.”
“Yes.” Yue Lingshan answered. She carried the meal basket into the cave and sat it on the big rock. After taking out the bowls and utensils, she filled a bowl with rice.
“Big apprentice brother, you can eat now!” she said with a smile.
“Many…many thanks!” Linghu Chong replied.
“Why? Do you still have a fever? Why is your voice trembling when you speak?” Yue Lingshan grinned.
“It…it’s nothing,” Linghu Chong answered as he thought to himself, “If you will always be by my side when I eat for the many days and nights after, I won’t be asking for anything else in my entire life.” Not in the mood for food at the moment, he quickly finished the bowl of rice.
“Let me fill you another one,” Yue Lingshan suggested.
“No, thanks! Master and Master-Wife are still waiting for me outside.” Linghu Chong declined.
After Linghu Chong came out of the cave, he found Master and Master-Wife sitting on a big rock abreast. He went in front of them and bowed to salute. He wanted to say something, but then decided that no words would be appropriate. Lu Dayou winked at him with happiness piled upon his face.
“Sixth apprentice brother must have gotten some inside information and is feeling happy for me,” Linghu Chong thought.
Yue Buqun had his eyes fixed onto Linghu Chong’s face. After a long while he finally said, “Gengming came back from Chang-An57 yesterday and said that Tian Boguang has just committed several big crimes in Chang-An.”
“Tian Boguang has come to Chang-An? He won’t be doing anything good for sure.” Linghu Chong was surprised.
“Of course not! He burglarized seven families in a single night in the town of Chang-An. I wouldn’t have minded that much if he was simply stealing, but he left his handwriting on every family’s walls saying, ‘Borrowed by Ten Thousand Miles Loner – Tian Boguang’,” Yue Buqun exclaimed.
“What?” Linghu Chong uttered a cry. He said angrily, “The town of Chang-An is right next to Mount Huashan. He obviously left those words to defame our Huashan Sword School. Master, let’s….”
“Do what?” Yue Buqun asked.
“Master and Master-Wife are honorable masters, and it’s not worthy to dirty your sword for such a low life scoundrel. But my Kung Fu is not good enough to match the villain, besides that I am still being punished and can’t go down the cliff to look for him. That gives the villain the freedom to be on a rampage at the foot of Mount Huashan. This is so exasperating!”
“If you do have the confidence to kill that villain, of course I will let you go down the cliff and make amends for your faults with good deeds,” Yue Buqun replied. “Go ahead and show us the ‘Unrivaled and Unmatched, The Thrust of Ning’ your Master-Wife taught you. In the last half a year, you probably have grasped sixty to seventy percent of it. Once your Master-Wife gives you some more pointers, you might not lose to the villain Tian.”
Linghu Chong was taken by a shock. He thought to himself, “Master-Wife never taught me that move.” But after thinking about it a bit more, he understood, “On that day when Master-Wife demonstrated that move, even though she didn’t pass it on to me formally, with my training and knowledge in our school’s Kung Fu skills, I should have understood the key aspects of the sword move. Master reckoned that during the half year of practicing and polishing, I should have mastered most of it.”
He repeated the name “Unrivaled and Unmatched, The Thrust of Ning” back and forth in his head, and cold sweats started to emerge on his forehead. When he had first come up the cliff, he did ponder upon the fascinating techniques of that move many times and also practiced it several times. But ever since he discovered the drawings on the rock wall in the back cave, in his heart, he had been convinced with no doubt that each and every sword moves of the Huashan Sword School could be defeated. The move “Unrivaled and Unmatched, The Thrust of Ning” would especially suffer a crushing defeat. So, naturally, he had lost confidence in the sword move. Several times when the words “That move is useless. Others can break it easily.” came to his tongue, he swallowed them back. He really couldn’t criticize Master-Wife’s highly valued sword move in front of Shi Daizi and Lu Dayou.
“You haven’t mastered that move yet? That’s quite alright. That sword move represents the most advanced techniques and skills of our Huashan style Kung Fu. Your Qi-Gong is not that advanced yet, it’s only natural that you haven’t gotten it right. Give it some time, and you will get there,” noticing the strange expression on Linghu Chong’s face, Yue Buqun commented.
“Chong, don’t you want to thank your Master? He has agreed to teach you the secret formula for the Divine Art of Violet Twilight,” Madam Yue said with a smile.
“Yes! Many thanks to you, respectful Master!” Linghu Chong said in shock and quickly knelt down.
Yue Buqun reached out and stopped Linghu Chong from kneeling down. “Divine Art of Violet Twilight is our school’s most advanced Qi-Gong technique,” he said with a bright smile. “The reason why I didn’t teach you that rashly wasn’t because I wanted to keep it to myself. It was because once someone starts training with this Qi-Gong, he mustn’t have any distracting thoughts and must stay focused on
advancing the skills. Any delay in the middle of the training would cause great harm to the practitioner and usually send him into a self-conflicting state. Chong, let me first see how your Kung Fu skills have progressed in the past half a year, then I will decide if I’ll teach you the secret formula for the Divine Art of Violet Twilight.”
Shi Daizi, Lu Dayou, and Yue Lingshan all showed great admiration on their faces when they heard that the big apprentice brother got to learn the Divine Art of Violet Twilight. All three of them knew that the Divine Art of Violet Twilight had magnificent powers. It was well said, “Nine skills of Huashan, Violet Twilight leads them all.” Although they were all aware that among all the apprentices, nobody’s Kung Fu skills were even close to Linghu Chong’s. There was no doubt that Linghu Chong would get the mantle from the Master and become the Head Master of Huashan Sword School in the future, they still didn’t expect Master to teach him the number one skill of Huashan Sword School so soon.
“Big apprentice brother works very hard. Every time when I bring the food up, I always saw big apprentice brother meditating to practice breathing exercises or practicing sword arts,” Lu Dayou claimed.
Yue Lingshan threw a sharp, sideways glance at Lu Dayou and made a face to him behind everyone’s back, thinking, “You Monkey Six! You are lying to their faces. You just want to help big apprentice brother anyway you can.”
“Chong, draw you sword! The three of us will be fighting Tian Boguang soon. We are really making a frantic last-minute effort here. Even though we are sharpening the spear only before going into battle, it is still better than not sharpening it at all.” Madam Yue grinned.
“Master-Wife, did you say the three of us are going to be fighting Tian Boguang?” Linghu Chong asked in shock.
