by Jin Yong
Zhang Wuji was pleasantly surprised; not only this mute Ku Toutuo could talk, but he was also his own Cult’s Right Emissary of the Brightness. It was truly beyond what he expected. He Busily held out his hands to raise him up and said, "It turns out that you are our Cult’s Fan Youshi [Right Emissary Fan]. I am extremely happy. We are family, so you don’t have to be overly courteous.”
Actually when they arrived at the rock mound, Yang Xiao and Wei Yixiao had already guessed with 30% certainty; only Fan Yao’s appearance was greatly changed that they did not dare to say anything. When he displayed his martial art, they were 70, 80% sure; now that he mentioned his own name, they rushed forward held his hands tightly. Yang Xiao stared at his face for half a day with tears streaming down his face. "Fan Xiongdi [Brother Fan],” he said, "Gege [big brother] missed you very much.”
Fan Yao hugged Yang Xiao and said, "Da Ge [big brother], we should be thankful for ‘Ming Zun’s [Translator’s note: I don’t know how to translate this properly. I am guessing that Fan Yao was referring to the Ming Cult founder (or prophet).] blessing and protection, that we have such a highly capable Jiaozhu, and that we brothers can see each other again.”
"Xiongdi,” Yang Xiao said, "How did your appearance change like this?”
"If I didn’t deform my own face, how can I deceive that traitor, the ‘hun yuan pi li shou’ [Lightning Hands of the Originating Formation] Cheng Kun?” Fan Yao said.
As soon as they heard him, they realized that he intentionally destroyed his own face to get close to the enemy. Yang Xiao’s heart was moved. "Xiongdi,” he said, "You have suffered greatly.” In the past Yang Xiao and Fan Yao were known in Jianghu as the ‘Xiao Yao Er Xian’ [Xiao and Yao, two immortals]; because they both were outstandingly handsome men. Fan Yao had deliberately made his own face unbearably ugly; truly not many people could match his pain and suffering.
Wei Yixiao had never been close to Fan Yao; but this time he could not help but be deeply moved. He knelt down and saluted, "Fan Youshi,” he said, "Today Wei Yixiao truly submits to you.”
Fan Yao also knelt down to return his salute. Smiling he said, "Wei Fuwang’s ‘qing gong’ [lightness kungfu] is matchless in this world. Your divine skill is even better than in the past. Last night Ku Toutuo broadened his outlook.”
Yang Xiao looked around and said, "This place is not too far from the city; the enemy has ears and eyes everywhere. We’d better go farther up and talk on the mountain ahead.”
Four people ran for about ten ‘li’s and stop on the back of a small hill, where they were able to see for several ‘li’s around and thus did not have to worry anybody would hide and listen secretly, yet from a distant nobody would be able to see them. They sat down and told each other what happened after they were separated.
That year Yang Dingtian suddenly disappeared without any trace; the Ming Cult’s leaders fought with each other over the Cult Leader position. Nobody was willing to submit, so the Cult split up. Fan Yao still believed their Cult Leader had not passed away, so he wandered the Jianghu alone to look for his whereabouts. Several years passed and he had not found the slightest trail. Afterwards he thought that perhaps their Cult Leader was harmed by the Beggar Clan, so he secretly captured many Beggar Clan’s important people and tortured them to force a confession; still he did not find any clue, while in the process he had killed many innocent Beggar Clan members.
Later on he heard the escalating sharp dispute among the Ming Cult leaders; some people even went everywhere looking for him, they wanted to appeal to him. Fan Yao had never wanted to be the Cult Leader; he was also not willing to be involved in this power struggle. Hence he went as far as possible for fear that his brethren would find him. Thereupon he grew a long beard and disguised himself as an elderly scholar; wandering everywhere, free and unrestrained.
One particular day he saw someone at a bustling street in Dadou; he recognized that person as Madame Cult Leader’s martial brother Cheng Kun. He could not help to be secretly shocked. By that time there was a rumor in the Wulin world that many skilled pugilists were murdered, and there was always this message written on the adjacent wall: ‘The killer is Lightning Hands of the Originating Formation Cheng Kun’. He wanted to investigate this case, but also wanted to inquire the Yang Jiaozhu’s whereabouts to Cheng Kun; thereupon he followed Cheng Kun from a safe distance.
He saw Cheng Kun enter a restaurant, where two older men were waiting; they were the Xuanming Elders. Fan Yao knew Cheng Kun’s martial art level was high, so he sat on a rather far away table, drinking wine. He could only hear those three people talking indistinctly, but the words ‘must destroy the Brightness Peak’ were heard clearly. Hearing his cult was in danger Fan Yao could not ignore it; he followed those three secretly and saw them entering the Ruyang [a place in Henan] ‘wang fu’ [lit. king mansion - governmental palace]. Later he found out that those two Xuanming Elders were martial art experts under the employment of the Prince of Ruyang.
The Prince of Ruyang, Khakan Timur, was a very high ranking officer in charge of the military forces. He was brave and resourceful; in fact, he was the most capable person of the imperial household. He was the one who dispatched troops to suppress the rebellion of Jiang Huai [Jiangsu and Anhui]. It can be said that the victory and defeat of the imperial army was the sole responsibility of this prince Khakan Timur.
Zhang Wuji and the others had heard his name for quite some time, by now hearing that Lu Zhangke and the others were his subordinates, they more or less could guess, but in the end they were still surprised.
"Who, then, is this Miss Zhao?” Yang Xiao asked.
"Da Ge, there is no harm for you to take a guess,” Fan Yao answered.
"Is it possible that she is Khakan Timur’s daughter?” Yang Xiao said.
"Pretty good!” Fan Yao clapped his hands, "One guess and right on target. This Ruyang Wangye [Prince, lit. king master] has one son and one daughter. His son is Kuku Timur; his daughter is this girl. Her Mongolian name is Minmin Timur something. Kuku Timur is Ruyang Wangye’s crown prince; he will succeed his father as the future Prince Ruyang. The daughter’s title is Shao Min Jun Zhu [‘jun zhu’ means a ruler of some region, or a princess. Translator’s note: I don’t know how to translate this ‘Shao Min’ name; I guess we’ll leave it as is: a name.]. These two children are good in martial arts and they both have good level of skill. They love to dress as Han people and they speak Han language. They even adopted Han names; the boy chose Wang Baobao, while the girl chose Zhao Min. These two characters ‘Zhao Min’ came from her title, Shao Min Jun Zhu.”
Wei Yixiao smiled and said, "These brother and sister are very strange; one uses Wang as his surname, the other Zhao. From our Han people’s perspective, it is very funny.”
Fan Yao said, "Actually, their surname is Timur. Their given names are in the front; this is the custom of the barbarians. Ruyang Wangye Khakan Timur also has a Han’s surname; which is Li.” Speaking to this point the four of them burst out in laughter.
[Author’s note: In the New Yuan History, 220th chapter, on the biography of Khakan Timur:
‘Khakan Timur was the ancestor of Kuokuotai, Zunaimantai, Fualuwen. He made Henan his home and thus was known as Shenqiu people. Later he changed his surname to Li.’ Although officially Kuku Timur was his crown prince, in reality he was Khakan Timur’s sister’s son. This little detail is not distinguished clearly in the novel.]
[Translator’s note: I apologize for not able to find any reference on the above note; hence my translation might be inaccurate.]
Yang Xiao said, "This Miss Zhao’s appearance and lifestyle is just like Han people, but the way she handles affairs was so fierce and ruthless, revealing her true barbarian origin.”
Until that moment Zhang Wuji did not know Zhao Min’s origin. Although he guessed she must be from the royal household, he had never expected that she was actually the daughter of Prince Ruyang who was the commander of the Yuan Dynasty’s military forces. He had fought wi
th her several times and each time he was somewhat overpowered. Although her martial art skill was not as good as his, when it comes to quick-thinking and resourcefulness, he was not her match.
Fan Yao continued, "Subordinate continued listening secretly and found out that Prince Ruyang had made up his mind to exterminate Jianghu’s martial art exponents [‘men, pai, bang, hui’ - gate, sect, clan and society]. He had accepted Cheng Kun’s scheme, in which the first step was to eliminate our Cult. I considered it carefully; our Cult was involved in endless internal strife, while the enemy was so strong, our destruction was imminent. The only way to prevent this is by entering the palace, learning Prince Ruyang’s plot, and act accordingly. Other than that I could not think of anything else. What I found to be strange was that Cheng Kun is not only Madame Yang Jiaozhu’s martial brother, but he is also Xie Shi Wang’s [Lion King Xie] master; why did he hate our Cult so much? I thought about it but could not come up with a good answer. I thought he must be seeking riches and honor so that by exterminating our Cult he would render a meritorious service to the kingdom. There are not too many Cult brethrens who know Cheng Kun, but I have met him once, so he knew me. To prevent my plan from leaking out, I have to kill this man.”
You should,” Wei Yixiao commented.
"But this man is so sly, also his martial art is strong,” Fan Yao continued, "I have tried to kill him secretly three times but to no avail. The third time I managed to stab him with a sword, but I was hacked by his palm. It was really not easy for me to escape. I did not reveal my identity, but I suffered a severe injury, which took me more than a year to recover. By this time the Ruyang Palace conspiracy has ripened. I thought if I disguise myself I might be able to conceal my identity for a while. In the past the number of Jianghu people who knew me and Yang Xiong [brother Yang] as the ‘Xiao Yao Two Immortals’ were truly not a few. Over longer period of time I will surely give myself away. Thereupon clenching my teeth I destroyed my own face and disguised myself as a Toutuo. I used some medicine to dye my hair, and went to the Watzu kingdom of the Western Region.”
"Watzu kingdom?” Wei Yixiao wondered, "It is tens of thousands ‘li’s away; why did you go there?”
Fan Yao smiled, but before he could answer Yang Xiao clapped his hands and said, "That’s a marvelous idea! Wei Xiong, Fan Xiongdi went to Watzu kingdom looking for a chance to show his skill, so that the Mongolian nobility would surely notice. Prince of Ruyang was looking for warriors from all over the world, so if the ruler of Watzu wanted to please the Prince, he would send him to the palace to offer his service. This way Fan Xiongdi became a warrior from the Watzu kingdom. His face was changed, also he did not open his mouth. Even if Cheng Kun had divine skill, there is no way he would have recognized him.”
Wei Yixiao heaved a deep sigh and said, "Yang Jiaozhu placed the Xiao Yao Er Xian above the four ‘Fa Wang’ [Protector King]; his vision was truly as bright as a torch. This kind of scheming, some Eagle King, Bat King, will never think about.”
"Wei Xiong, that’s enough of praising,” Fan Yao said, "Just like Yang Zuoshi said, in Watzu I killed some lions and slaughtered some tigers, making a name for myself; for their honor, the local king sent me to the Ruyang Palace. But that Cheng Kun was not in the palace; I didn’t know where he went.”
Immediately Yang Xiao narrated briefly the enmity between Cheng Kun and the Ming Cult; how he sneaked into the Brightness Peak to attack, and how Zhang Wuji thwarted his treacherous plan, and how in the end he fought with Yin Yewang and finally died.
As Fan Yao listened to this story he was silent for half a day; he did not realize that there were so many twist and turns in this affair. He stood up and bowed respectfully toward Zhang Wuji, "Jiaozhu,” he said, "Subordinate would like to ask for your forgiveness.”
"Fan Youshi, there is no need to be modest,” Zhang Wuji replied.
Fan Yao said, "When subordinate entered the Ruyang Palace, in order to win the King’s heart, during a disturbance in the market place subordinate has killed three of our own Cult’s ‘xiang zhu’ [a position within the Ming Cult; I am not sure how to translate this term properly], giving the impression that there was a deep enmity between myself and the Ming Cult.”
Zhang Wuji was silent, he thought, "Killing a Cult brother is one of our Cult’s five big prohibitions; that was the reason why although Yang Zuoshi, Four ‘Fa Wang’s, Five-Element Flags and the others fought fiercely over the Cult Leader position, they had never killed a fellow Cult brother. Fan Youshi’s transgression is really not light, but his primary motivation was to protect our Cult and not because of personal grudge, so I really cannot judge him guilty.” He said, "Fan Youshi has suffered so much in protecting our Cult, I can’t really blame you.”
Fan Yao bowed and said, "Thank you for Jiaozhu’s forgiveness.”
Zhang Wuji silently thought, "A man as cruel as Fan Youshi is truly rare. He is capable of mutilating his own face with seventeen, eighteen cuts; then he killed several of our own Cult’s innocent ‘xiang zhu’s, all without any guilty feeling. People calling the Ming Cult a heretical Devil Cult is not without reason. I wonder if, in the future, we can change this perverse and evil characteristic.”
Although with his mouth Zhang Wuji said, ‘I can’t really blame you,’ Fan Yao could see the unsatisfied look on his face. He held out his hand to draw Yang Xiao’s sword, and with a swing of his left hand he cut off two of his right hand fingers.
Zhang Wuji was shocked; he snatched the sword from Fan Yao’s hand and said, "Fan Youshi, you ... you ... why did you do this?”
Fan Yao replied, "Killing our own innocent Cult brothers is a grave offense. Fan Yao still has an unfinished important matter, so I can’t kill myself yet. I cut my two fingers first then later on I’ll cut my own head.”
Zhang Wuji said, "I have already forgiven Fan Youshi’s mistake, why bother doing this? We should be more concerned over the important matter. Fan Youshi, don’t raise this matter anymore.” He quickly took out some cut wound medicine and applied it to his wound; he also tore up his own clothes and wrapped Fan Youshi’s wound. He knew in his heart that this man was hard-hearted; although Zhang Wuji said he did not hold him accountable, he could see any sign in Fan Youshi’s face that he would take Zhang Wuji’s words by heart. He was capable of doing what he said, so there was a great possibility he would commit suicide in the future for his own crime. Zhang Wuji remembered how he had suffered this much for the sake of the Cult, his heart was moved. Suddenly he knelt down and said, "Fan Youshi, you have rendered a great service to the Cult; please accept my respect. If you harm yourself, that means you are saying to me that I am neither competent nor worthy to hold the Jiaozhu position. You stab yourself with a sword, I will stab myself twice. I am young and my knowledge is shallow; I don’t understand much of our affair, I can’t distinguish good from evil.”
As they saw their Jiaozhu kneel down, Fan Yao, Yang Xiao and Wei Yixiao quickly knelt down on the ground. With tears in his eyes Yang Xiao said, "Fan Xiongdi, please rest your case. Our Cult’s prosperity and decline are in the hands of our Jiaozhu only. Jiaozhu has given you an order, you surely must not disobey it.”
Fan Yao saluted and said, "Today subordinate has tested his sword and palm skill against Jiaozhu’s, and I fell on my knees in full admiration. Ku Toutuo’s personality is eccentric and unreasonable, I am asking for Jiaozhu’s forgiveness.”
Zhang Wuji held out his hands to stand him up. From that day forward a strong bond had formed between the two; no more misunderstandings happened.
Fan Yao continued his narration on what happened after he entered the Ruyang Palace. The Ruyang Prince, Khakan Timur, was very capable in commanding the military force. Unfortunately for him the royal government was dominated by corrupt ministers, plus the current emperor was a muddle-head, so chaos and confusion reigned everywhere in the kingdom; insurrections arose everywhere, forcing the Ruyang Prince to dispatch troop’s expeditions to east and to the west, crushing innumerable rebell
ions. These insurrections had kept the Ruyang Prince busy for years and his plan of annihilating the Jianghu’s sects, schools and clans was put on hold for the time being.
Several years passed; his children grew up. While his son Kuku Timur followed his steps commanding the troops, his daughter Minmin Timur gathered Mongolian warriors under her command, Western Region’s warriors and foreign monks, to carry out a large scale attack against the sects, schools and clans. Cheng Kun secretly helped her engineer the plan; taking advantage of the six major sects’ besiege of the Brightness Peak, Zhao Min sent a large quantities of her martial art masters in an attempt to extinguish the Ming Cult and the six major sects all at once.
The Green Willow Manor affairs and the subsequent events were part of this grand scheme. At that time Fan Yao’s assignment was to protect the Ruyang Prince, hence he did not participate in the attack to the western region and he did not learn about the attack until much later. Fan Yao said that although he did not raise any suspicion in the Ruyang Palace, Zhao Min would not allow him to participate in the attack to the western region since he came from the western region. Perhaps it was also part of Cheng Kun’s idea.
Zhao Min used the poison ‘shi xiang ruan jin san’ [ten-fragrance muscle softener powder], offered by the foreign western region monk, to drug the masters of the six major sects who were just returning from the Brightness Peak, by poisoning their food. This poison had no color and no smell, so once it was mixed in the dishes, who could detect it? Once the drug worked, the muscles and bones in one’s whole body would be weakened for a few days. Although they were able to move around as usual, they could not exert the least bit of internal energy; for that reason all the six major sects’ masters who were involved in the Brightness Peak expedition were captured one by one within just one short month. It was when they tried to drug the third group Shaolin monks under Kong Xing’s command that they were detected. A fierce battle followed, Kong Xing died under Ah San’s hand; about a dozen or so others died under the hands of Xuanming Elders, Shen Jian Ba Xiong [Eight Divine Archers], as well as Ah Da, Ah Er, Ah San and the others. The rest were captured.
