by Jin Yong
At that thought, he said to Linghu Chong, “Brother Linghu, we have already fought an entire day and an entire night. Even if we keep fighting, you wouldn’t stand a chance beating me. Although you have your Grand Uncle-Master Feng to give you pointers continuously, it’s useless after all. Why don’t you just behave yourself and follow me down Mount Huashan?”
Before Linghu Chong had a chance to answer, a cold voice suddenly rose from behind his back.
“If I had really given him some pointers, you don’t think he can even take care of a chap like you? I doubt that!”
Chapter 10: Sword Training
The old man nodded, let out a sigh, and then slowly walked to the front of the big rock to sit down. Tian Boguang yelled, “Here’s the chop!” and then slashed his knife at Linghu Chong. Linghu Chong turned to the side to dodge and then fought back with a thrust.
Linghu Chong was thunderstruck. He turned around and saw an old man with a gray beard in a green robe standing in front of the cave’s opening. The old man had a somewhat depressed expression on his face, which was as white as a sheet.
“Could this old man be the masked man in green robe I saw the other night? Where is he from? When did he come right behind my back? How come I didn’t feel a thing and had no idea about it?” He couldn’t help but feel bewildered.
“Are you…are you really Grandmaster Feng?” Tian Boguang asked in a trembling tone.
“It has gotten to be rare for people in this world to still remember my name.” The old man heaved a sigh.
In the instant, many thoughts flashed through Linghu Chong’s mind. “There is still a senior grandmaster of our Huashan Sword School alive today? Why haven’t I ever heard Master or Master-Wife mentioning anything about it? What if he is just an imposter who took the opportunity from Tian Boguang’s words? Wouldn’t everyone in the Martial World laugh at our Huashan Sword School if I recklessly salute him as a junior? Besides, what a big coincidence is this? As soon as Tian Boguang mentioned the name ‘Feng Qingyang,’ a ‘Feng Qingyang’ suddenly shows up right away?”
“Linghu Chong, what an useless lad you are!” The old man shook his head with another sigh. “Let me teach you. Use the move White Aurora Shooting the Sun first and follow up with Graceful Phoenix, then use Golden Geese Crossing Sky followed with Sword Interception Stance….” He talked on and on in a flow of eloquence and soon mentioned the names of thirty different moves.
Linghu Chong had learned all the thirty moves before, but the sword positions and the stances of those moves didn’t seem to connect at all.
“What are you waiting for? Oh, I see. With your current understanding of martial arts, it isn’t easy to just perform all thirty of them at once, indeed. Why don’t you try them out slowly, first?” The old man instructed.
His voice was low and deep, and his face looked desolate. It almost appeared as if he had infinite grievance, yet there was a certain majestic feel in his tone.
“Well, there’s nothing to lose if I give it a try,” Linghu Chong thought to himself.
So he performed the White Aurora Shooting the Sun move and thrust his sword with the sword tip pointing up. Then he got stuck, having no clue how to connect the second move Graceful Phoenix to it.
“Alas! Idiot! Idiot! Only able to rigidly adhering to formalities with no adaptation, no wonder you are an apprentice of Yue Buqun. The art of swordplay calls for fluency like floating clouds and flowing water – natural and smooth, come and go freely. After you finished the move White Aurora Shooting the Sun and had your sword tip pointing up, couldn’t you just follow the flow and slash it downwards? Even though there’s no such posture in the move, why can’t you adapt to the flow and make it more convenient for yourself?”
The words struck Linghu Chong’s ears like bell rings and woke him. Slightly pulling the sword back with a slash, he naturally transformed it into the move Graceful Phoenix. Before it was entirely done, he had already changed it again and smoothly transformed it into the move Golden Geese Crossing the Sky. The long sword swished across above his head, and then with a hook and a jab, it easily turned into Sword Interception Stance – all the connections and transformations appeared to be smooth and flawless. With the ease of mind, he continued performing one move after another following the old man’s instruction. By the time he stopped at the move Ringing Bells and Drums, it was exactly a total of thirty moves. All of a sudden, Linghu Chong felt indescribable joy. On the old man’s face, however, there was no trace of approval whatsoever.
“You got them connected alright, but see how stiff and rigid they are, also very clumsy. Even though you are still far from capable of fighting a master hand, it would be enough to deal with that little chap over there. Go ahead and try them out on him!” he demanded.
Linghu Chong still didn’t quite believe that the old man was his Grand Uncle-Master, but he was quite convinced that the old man had to be an elite Kung Fu master. His sword pointing down at the ground, he bowed to salute to the old man, then turned to face Tian Boguang.
“Brother Tian, please go ahead!”
“I’ve seen you perform all thirty moves. What’s there to fight about?” Tian Boguang questioned.
“If brother Tian doesn’t want to fight, that’s totally alright. Will you please leave now? I’d like to ask for some more advice from this senior master here. Sorry, can’t be your company now,” Linghu Chong said.
“What are you talking about? Do you expect me to just die for nothing only because you don’t want to go down Mount Huashan with me?” Tian Boguang objected loudly. He turned to the old man.
“Grandmaster Feng, Tian Boguang is only a junior here. I am not worthy to exchange moves with you, the respectful one. If you join in the fight, it would really be beneath your dignity.”
The old man nodded his approval with another sigh. He slowly walked by a big rock and sat down.
Tian Boguang felt great relief. “Look out!” he yelled and brought his knife swishing down upon Linghu Chong’s head.
Linghu Chong dodged to the side and stabbed back with his long sword. The move was the fourth move Sword Interception Stance the old man had told him earlier. Once starting his attack, he poured out many continuous moves with ease. Some of the moves he used were among the ones named by the old man, and some were outside of those thirty moves the old man had told him. Since he had comprehended the essence of the phrase “floating clouds and flowing water – natural and smooth, come and go freely,” his sword skills improved dramatically, and the fight went on well over a hundred moves.
All of a sudden, Tian Boguang roared loudly and chopped straight down. Knowing that it would be very difficult to dodge out of that one in time, Linghu Chong snapped his wrist and pointed his long sword toward Tian Boguang’s chest. Tian Boguang turned his knife around and smacked it at the sword. “Clank,” the knife and the sword clashed. Tian Boguang didn’t wait for Linghu Chong to pull back his sword. He simply let go of his own knife and jumped forward. Reaching out with his two hands, he seized Linghu Chong’s throat in a strangle hold. Linghu Chong was almost suffocated. In the rush, he dropped his long sword as well.
“If you don’t come with me, your old man here will choke you to death.” Tian Boguang yelled out.
He had been calling Linghu Chong a brother earlier with a very respectful tone. After the fierce fight of over a hundred moves, he really lost his temper and started calling himself Linghu Chong’s “old man” after he seized Linghu Chong’s throat.
Not able to breathe, Linghu Chong still shook his head as his face went purple from the choking.
“One hundred moves or two hundred moves, it doesn’t matter. As long as I am winning, you’ll have to go down Mount Huashan with me. The hell with the bet on the thirty moves thing. Your old man I don’t care!” Tian Boguang cursed between his teeth.
Linghu Chong wanted to laugh, but with Tian Boguang’s hands choking onto his throat hard, he couldn’t make any sound.
“You idiot! You
r finger can be used as a sword, too. Do you absolutely have to use a real sword for that Treasures All Over the Room move?” The old man reproved.
Those words worked the magic as a flash lighted in Linghu Chong’s mind. He thrust out with his right hand and used the move Treasures All Over the Room. His middle finger and index finger struck the Tan-Zhong Acupoint on Tian Boguang’s chest in a jab; Tian Boguang uttered a muffled groan and collapsed onto the ground, his hands letting go of Linghu Chong’s throat.
Linghu Chong had no idea that such a casual jab would actually subdue the “Ten Thousand Miles Loner” Tian Boguang, a man who enjoyed great fame for his Kung Fu skills in the martial world, in such an easy manner. He gently rubbed his own throat, which was still hurting uncomfortably from Tian Boguang’s choking, and then looked down at the evil rapist, who laid on the ground huddled up, twitching involuntarily. Seeing Tian Boguang showing the whites of his eyes and having lost his consciousness, Linghu Chong found himself deeply amazed and overjoyed. Instantly, he felt tremendous admiration toward the old man. Rushing by the old man’s side, he knelt down and kowtowed.
“Grand Uncle-Master! Will you please pardon me! I have treated you with such disrespect.”
“You don’t think I am just swindling and bluffing now?” The old man let out a slight smile.
“I dare not! Grandmaster Feng, I am so fortunate to be able to meet a senior grandmaster of our school! This is so marvelous.” He kowtowed more.
“You can get up now,” the old man Feng Qingyang said.
Only after another three respectful kowtows, Linghu Chong stood up. Noticing that the old man had a very pale and pallid complexion, looking wan and sallow, he asked, “Grand Uncle-Master, are you hungry? I have some food in the cave. Let me go get them.” He turned around and headed toward the cave.
“No need for that!” Feng Qingyang shook his head.
He squinted at the sun and then murmured, “The sunshine is so warm! It has been a long time since I last basked in the wonderful sunshine.”
Linghu Chong was taken by surprise, but he dared not ask.
Feng Qingyang threw a glance at the huddled up Tian Boguang on the ground. “You have jabbed onto his Tan-Zhong Acupoint,” he said. “With his mastery of martial arts skills, he will probably regain his consciousness in two hours. By then, he’ll start another round of harassing. Once you beat him one more time, he would have no choice but to behave and leave. After you subdue him, you must force him to swear a deadly oath that he would never mention to anyone that he had seen me.”
“When I won earlier, it was only because I got lucky and took him by surprise. I am still no match for him with my sword skills. To be able to subdue him…subdue him…,” Linghu Chong murmured.
Feng Qingyang shook his head. “You are Yue Buqun’s apprentice. I really shouldn’t teach you any Kung Fu. That day…that day…I swore an oath that I would never fight anyone in the remaining of my life. When I demonstrated the sword moves to you the other night, I just wanted to let you know that if one executes the Huashan Sword School’s Nineteen Stances of the Jade Maiden Sword the right way, how can anyone ever flick the sword out of your grip? I suppose if I don’t make you do the work, I won’t be able to force a deadly oath out of Tian Boguang, promising not to let out the secret. You, follow me.”
Feng Qingyang walked in the cave and entered the back cave through the hole on the rock wall. Linghu Chong followed in behind him.
“You have studied and memorized all those drawings of Huashan style sword art on the rock wall. When you used them though, they were all totally off. Alas!” Feng Qingyang pointed at the rock wall and shook his head.
Linghu Chong thought to himself, “So when I was studying those drawings here during those many times, Grand Uncle-Master had been watching me. I guess every time I was simply too focused in studying and didn’t even notice that someone else was actually in the cave as well. If…if Grand Uncle-Master had been an enemy…hmm, if he were an enemy, even if I had found out about it, would I then have any chance of surviving?”
“The chap Yue Buqun is a total moron. You are very good apprentice material, but he turned you into a dumb fool with his teaching.” Feng Qingyang continued.
Hearing Feng Qingyang’s humiliating words to his respectful Master, Linghu Chong was very displeased.
“Grand Uncle-Master, I don’t want you to teach me any more. I’ll just go outside and force Tian Boguang to swear the oath, promising that he will never let out Grand Uncle-Master’s secret,” he said in a bold tone.
Feng Qingyang was seized by surprise, but it only took him an instant to understand the reason behind. “What if he won’t agree? Are you going to kill him?” he asked dryly.
Linghu Chong hesitated and didn’t know how to answer. He thought that since Tian Boguang had never intended to kill him even when he won the many fights, how could he himself be so cruel to kill Tian Boguang immediately after he got the upper hand?
“You are blaming me for swearing at your Master, aren’t you? Fine. I won’t mention his name any more. He calls me Uncle-Master. It should be alright for me to call him a ‘chap,’ shouldn’t it?” Feng Qingyang asked.
“Grand Uncle-Master, if you stop scolding my respectful Master, of course I will listen to your advice cautiously,” Linghu Chong replied.
“This is almost like I am begging you to learn from me.” Feng Qingyang was amused.
“I dare not. Grand Uncle-Master, I beg for your pardon.” Linghu Chong bowed.
Feng Qingyang pointed at the drawings of the Huashan style sword art on the rock wall and started explaining.
“These moves are indeed the unique moves among our school’s sword arts. Most of them have long been lost, and even Yue…Yue…hmm…even your Master doesn’t know them. Even though they are brilliant moves, when you use them one move at a time, others would still be able to overcome them….”
Hearing these words, Linghu Chong felt a sudden inspiration and vaguely understood an ultimate principle of sword art. He couldn’t help but show a wild, joyful face.
“What have you figured out? Tell me about it.” Feng Qingyang requested.
“Grand Uncle-Master, are you saying that if all the moves become an integral whole, then the enemy would have no way of breaking them?” Linghu Chong stated.
“Didn’t I say that you are good material? You have very good comprehension.” Feng Qingyang nodded happily. “Those Demon Cult Elders….” He pointed at the staff-wielding figure on the rock wall as he spoke.
“Is that an Elder of the Demon Cult?” Linghu Chong asked in bewilderment.
“Didn’t you know? The ten skeletons are the remains of the Demon Cult Ten Elders,” Feng Qingyang said while pointing at a skeleton on the ground.
“Why did all the Demon Cult Ten Elders fall dead here?” Linghu Chong became quite curious.
“Tian Boguang will wake up in two more hours. If you keep asking about these past events of many years ago, do you think you’ll still have time left to learn some Kung Fu?” Feng Qingyang reproved.
“Right! Right! Grand Uncle-Master, please go on.” Linghu Chong replied.
“Those Demon Cult Elders had truly outstanding and brilliant minds. They were actually able to defeat the advanced moves of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance cleanly and completely.” Feng Qingyang sighed. “They didn’t know, however, that the most devastating move in the world is not inside Kung Fu, but in setting up schemes, intrigues, and traps. If one falls into someone’s clever trap, regardless of how brilliant his Kung Fu moves are, it would still be completely useless….” At these words, he raised his head and fell into a daze. Apparently he had remembered many things from the past.
Hearing the bitterness in his tone and seeing the anguish look on his face, Linghu Chong dared not interrupt and only thought to himself, “Could it be true that the Five Mountains Sword Alliance really had ‘no way to win in a fair fight,’ so they tricked the enemy into a trap? Grand Uncle-Master Feng is a
member of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance, but he probably didn’t object to such contemptible means. I guess in order to counter the enemies from the Demon Cult, it is probably necessary to use some contemptible means.”
Feng Qingyang went on talking. “If we judge them by their understanding of advanced Kung Fu theories, these Demon Cult Elders shouldn’t be counted as ones who have entered the realm of top level Kung Fu. They didn’t know that moves are static, but the one executing the moves is alive. No matter how clever the counter-move is for breaking static moves, as soon as they encounter moves performed in a lively way, they would feel like their arms and legs are all tied up and would have no other choice but to give themselves up to the opponent’s mercy. You must remember the keyword ‘lively’ here. When you learn a move, you need to learn it in a lively way; when you execute a move, you also need to execute it lively. If you only rigidly adhere to formalities without adding your own lively elements, even if you have mastered thousands or tens of thousands unique moves, as soon as you encounter a true elite master hand, he would still be able to overcome every single one of them.”
Linghu Chong felt tremendous joy in his heart. He was the unrestrained and unconventional type. Each of Feng Qingyang’s word struck a chord in his heart. He kept agreeing and agreeing, “Yes, yes! One must learn it lively and use it lively.”
“Each of the Five Mountains sword schools have countless number of idiots who believed that as long as they become proficient with the sword moves taught by their masters then naturally they would become elite fighters.” He paused the let out a disgruntled snort. “You must have heard of the saying, ‘Once memorizing three hundred poems well, one will be capable to write poems himself!’ After memorizing others’ poems well, one might be able to write a couple of ragged verses, but without being original in conception, can he ever become a real poet?” Feng Qingyang criticized.
